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Currently Reading? Just Finished? 2015
For Hakan Nesser fans, I just finished reading Die Perspektive des Gaertners. This book has not yet been translated from Swedish into English, as far as I can tell. It is a stand-alone book for Nesser, as it primarily takes place in New York city and involves the mystery of a child kidnapped in Sweden. There is no police investigation involved, except as a peripheral, interlocking part of the novel, and the action moves slowly at first with frequent flashbacks, but the pace gets hotter towards the end and the story becomes a page turner. It should be on your watch list to discovery a different side of Nesser's repertoire.
Jan C wrote: "I never heard about this development. I remember when they found him in Milwaukee and Porter was released. Wonder why he left the Trib?"It’s all in there! Though not sure why Crawford is no longer with the Tribune.
Nancy wrote: "That's unusual! Normally you see the Innocence Project connected with getting an innocent person OUT of prison, not sending someone there."This book really challenges many of the assumptions about The Innocence Project and Northwestern University. It’s actually very shocking.
Sarah wrote: "Nancy wrote: "That's unusual! Normally you see the Innocence Project connected with getting an innocent person OUT of prison, not sending someone there."This book really challenges many of the as..."
I'm not ready to change my impression of the Innocence Project. The article below suggests that, while Protess and crew appear to have been overzealous in their efforts to exonerate Anthony Porter, Alstory Simon's innocence is far from certain. Even if he was 'coerced into confessing' as his lawsuit alleges, he repeated his confession and 'tearfully apologized for the murders at sentencing.'
I am surprised to find that David Protess, after resigning from Northwestern University as a result of these allegations, now serves as the president of the Chicago Innocence Project.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/lo...
❆ Crystal ❆ wrote: "I'm listening to the audiobook for True Blue 
"I read this not to long ago and really enjoyed it. Hope you do to.
Amanda
I'm currently reading
. Always a good story from this author.
I finished The Burning Room by Michael Connelly. Harry Bosch and his partner, Lucy Soto, work cold cases for the LAPD. Now they have an unusual one. Ten years ago mariachi band member Orlando Merced was shot. He survived, but the bullet wasn't removed, and the shooter was never caught. Now Merced has died and the bullet's been recovered giving Harry and Lucy new lines of investigation. Meanwhile Harry learns that Lucy survived a long-ago building fire that was thought to be gang-related, and Harry agrees to help her re-investigate that crime. The fire is linked to the robbery of a check cashing store, and Harry and Lucy work all three cases.The investigation into Merced's death has political implications, and the check cashing robbery points to an inside job. Harry and Lucy make an excellent team - their witness interrogations making good use of Lucy's fluency in Spanish. Harry also uses other talents, like opening locked doors with paper clips and convincing a couple of old friends to get him needed information.
The book has a wide array of interesting characters, including mariachi players, a former mayor and his assistant, a beautiful socialite, a Mother Superior, and more. The story moves at a steady clip to a well-constructed conclusion. This is a good book, recommended for mystery lovers - especially for Harry Bosch fans. 4 stars.
I've finished Trespassers. This is a nice sci fi story, with a good pace and a little bit of mystery, adventure, humour and some good twists.
just finished The Bones Beneath by Mark Billingham excellent book and I liked how he left it at the end....
I would like to recommend the entire series by Cotterill. Set in Laos during the 1970's, these books center on the country's only coroner, who manages to solve crimes with the help of some of the quirkiest characters in crime fiction. Throw in animism and spirits which inhabit the coroner's body and give him clues, plus jocular commentary on the deficiencies of Communist state at that time, and the reader has any number of reasons to find these books appealing. They are fun to read.
Just finished reading Little Black Lies .. It picked up really well in the last 100 odd pages....Found it really descriptive in the start but at the end realized every damn description adds to the mystery.. Amazing book!!! worth a read...
Georgia wrote: "Just finished 
. Don't miss it. All should read it even though it really isn't a mystery. Excellent book"I put in a request for the audio version at the library. It's a popular book (I'm number 6)
Thank you to Net Galley, the publishers and author for a advance copy for a honest review.
Though they seem to have everything, Hannah Parks has watched her husband, Dallin, become increasingly distant. Her hope is buoyed when the couple decides to start a family, but what Dallin reveals in his sleep one night rocks Hannah to her core. As she starts to investigate a much darker side of Dallin than she ever knew existed, Hannah peels away the layers of a diseased relationship closely tied to her own abusive past. When Dallin attempts to have Hannah abducted, she is forced to run, doing so with the aid of a man named Black—an ex-con and expert at helping people disappear. Together they must keep Hannah safe from her husband's far-reaching grasp, all the while trying to solve the mystery behind Dallin's sudden violence. Does Hannah's dark family history hold the key to her survival?
Carter Wilson has given us a strong leading character in Hannah, and some great other characters including Dallin, Black and the father Billy, and sister Justine.
From the very first shocking, irreverent, and chilling line, you know The Comfort of Black is anything but your average thriller.
The plot has been written in a really interesting and different way. You get shocked at every twist and each turn is completely unexpected. It thrills you, excites you and you just cannot stop reading waiting for the next twist which keep coming right till the book ends. It is more than a page turning novel!
Fast paced, action packed, a mystery, combined as a thriller, with great shocks, and I do highly recommend this book and this author.
An easy four stars for me.
Just finished The Redeemer by Jo Nesbo. Harry Hole #6. Loved it. SO glad I started this series from the beginning to watch Harry grow.
Tom wrote: "Just finished The Redeemer by Jo Nesbo. Harry Hole #6. Loved it. SO glad I started this series from the beginning to watch Harry grow."I agree that Jo Nesbø's books are best read in order but, unfortunately, his first two books (The Bat and Cockroaches) are my least favorite. They also don't take place in Norway. That said, The Redbreast is the first book that was set in Norway and is a good example of Nesbø at his best.
I've finished Blood Song, the first book of a fantasy trilogy. I'm satisfied, this is a great story and now I'm reading the second book, Tower Lord.
The Doctor's Daughter: Journey to Justice by Belle BlackburnI received this ebook free from the author in return for an honest review. The first third of the book was very slow while the author introduced the characters. The main character is Kate Seaver, who is present at her father's death from a gunshot wound. He emerged from a house with a gunshot wound in his chest and tells his daughter:"He shot me."
She is dismayed when the police and coroner declare it a suicide and sets out to prove he was murdered by James Rayburn. The rest of the book shows how she finds out the truth and also how the civil war affects her and her family. The book starts in Nashville, Tennessee in 1860 and ends in 1862 after the Union army has captured Nashville.
The author did quite a bit of research into how people lived their lives during this period, using such words as "sockdolager" and "snood".
I found snood in the kindle dictionary but had to ask the author what sockdolager meant--a forceful blow.
There are some laugh out lines early on in the book when she is called to a wake and the corpse is still alive.
I give the book 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars.
I finished I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming. As this 6th book in the series opens the relationship between Reverend Clare Fergusson and Chief of Police Russ Van Alstyne is strained. Still, Clare manages to get involved with law enforcement when she decides to help immigrant laborers (i.e. illegal aliens) who work on the local dairy farms. When the bodies of several immigrants turn up it becomes clear that some of them are involved in activities other than farming - things of interest to the police. Russ would prefer that Clare keep her nose out of these police investigations but she inserts herself into them in her usual fashion. Meanwhile the police department has a new female rookie cop - a single mom named Hadley Knox who has a steep on-the-job learning curve and shows spunk in difficult circumstances.
In addition to the romantic angst between Russ and Clare there are some sparks between Hadley and a fellow cop and between an immigrant worker and the sister of some local thugs.
Thus the book is a sort of mystery/multiple romance that touches on the topic of illegal immigration. The mystery is interesting but overly complicated and the bad guys do some things that don't ring true. Therefore, the book's climax isn't completely satisfying. Still, fans of the series will probably enjoy this book. 3 stars.
I am reading
a good legal thriller with interesting characters and good pacing!
I finished Cop Town by Karin Slaughter. This stand alone is set in 1974 Atlanta, where a serial cop killer is on the loose. Kate Murphy, a beautiful young widow from a wealthy neighborhood has completed her police training and starts on the job. She's soon partnered with working class Maggie Lawson, whose uncle Terry and brother Jimmy are both cops. The job isn't easy for women however. The 1970s Atlanta PD is dominated by racist, homophobic, white men who disrespect and grope their female colleagues - who are usually relegated to traffic duty or undercover work where they pose as hookers.
Before long Jimmy is wounded by the cop killer and his partner is killed. The Atlanta PD goes into high gear to catch the murderer and Maggie - who thinks Jimmy's hiding something - wants to help. Uncle Terry is violently against this but Maggie uses personal sources to get information and she and Kate launch their own inquiry.
The book has a wide array of interesting characters and the plot is fast-paced and leads to a dramatic, believable, and satisfying climax. I enjoyed this mystery thriller and highly recommend it. 4 stars.
(A note: I'm glad to think the bigoted male cops in this story would be thrown off the job pretty quick in this day and age.)
Finished Apple tree yard by Louise doughty and it was so good a definite 5★ now reading the husbands secret by liane moriarty
Burglars Can't Be Choosers
isn't a bad story, nor is it a great one. The debut of Lawrence Block's gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr is an exercise in having a personable character amble through an adventure that you may not remember very long after you finish it. Three stars.Read the full review here.
Now reading Chasing Chaos: My Decade In and Out of Humanitarian Aid .
Just finished Ivory Tower Cop
4* from me. Here is my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I finished Fox Is Framed by Lachlan Smith. Twenty-one years ago Lawrence Maxwell was convicted of murdering his wife. Since then prosecutorial misconduct was proven and Lawrence's conviction was overturned. Now the DA intends to try him again. Lawrence's two attorney sons, Leo and Teddy, plan to assist Lawrence's defense attorney. The situation is complicated, though, because Teddy was shot and brain-damaged 5 years ago and Leo believed his father was guilty and became estranged from him. The DA's office turns up new evidence in the form of Lawrence's former jailmate Russell Bell, who says Lawrence confessed to the crime when they were in prison together. Ironically, Russell is now free because Lawrence helped him write an appeal.
Russell Bell is murdered before he can testify, potentially placing Lawrence on the hook for two murders: that of his wife and Russell. In any case the DA begins by re-trying Lawrence for killing his wife. Meanwhile Leo is working behind the scenes to discover who really killed Russell Bell.
The story starts out strong and has compelling courtroom scenes. By the end, though, the explanation of what happened with Russell is so tangled and confused as to be almost incomprehensible. Thus this is a 3 star book for me.
Barbara I have read 1 book(book 2) by Lachlan Smith and enjoyed it, giving a 5 star review. Perhaps he has lost his touch. See below for my review of Trust Me by Peter Leonard Peter Leonard has his father Elmore's gift of writing criminal dialogue and putting you inside the mind of criminals. The story revolves around Karen Delaney's plan to get back the $300,000 stolen from her by Samir, a loan shark criminal. She recruits 4 men to help her steal the money and then steals it from them. The rest of the book revolves around the all of these people trying to find her and the money.
I do have one complaint. One of the people murdered is killed with a crowbar, p.106. On p.141, the author has a news reporter reporting that this man was killed by a gunshot wound, linked to another murder. There is never any followup explaining why the reporter got it wrong. I don't ever remember a lapse of continuity in any of Elmore Leonard's books.
I give it 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars.
Just finished The Woodsreview https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Kite Runner
review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished Tower Lord and now I'm reading The Witches of Karres. I like these old sci fi novels, with a lot of humor and some interesting characters. No so much hi-tech gadgets, but some interesting concepts and what may seem like magic or mental powers.
I finished the husbands secret last night and what a rubbish book it was!
Curlyhair wrote: "I'm currently reading The Drop by Michael Connelly". I love this series and Harry Bosch."I have the audio versions of both
and
but haven't been able to decide which to listen to first.
I finished American Gods by Neil Gaiman. It took me an astonishing 3 weeks to read - normally I read a book in no longer than 3 days! At 600+ pages it was a bit of a slog and a bit slow-moving but I'm glad I got to the end and actually quite enjoyed it. I've now started You're Next by Gregg Hurwitz which is intriguing me :)
Mod
Tom wrote: "Curlyhair wrote: "I'm currently reading The Drop by Michael Connelly". I love this series and Harry Bosch."I have the audio versions of both [bookcover:The Drop|110..."
Well I say go for Harry Bosch. I'm nearly halfway into it and I'm loving it.
❆ Crystal ❆ wrote: "I'm starting The Surgeon 
today"Good book. I'm a few ahead in this series now and all good.
Curlyhair wrote: "❆ Crystal ❆ wrote: "I'm starting The Surgeon today"Good book. I'm a few ahead in this series now and all good."
Great to hear! I'm looking forward to reading the series.
Reading the ghosts of sleath by James Herbert, I needed something totally different after the husbands secret
Mod
You should also catch the other two in that little mini-series. Fun ghost stories.
Just finished The Crown and really enjoyed it. The mystery was based on a little-known bit of English history--the missing and supposedly powerful crown of King Athelstan.
I didn't realise the one I'm reading is the second book and it seems to have given away what happened in the first one
Mod
Right. First Haunted, then The Ghosts Of Sleath, and then Ash. Haunted is just downright creepy.
I finished The Snowman by Jo Nesbø. In this 6th book in the series Harry Hole investigates a number of disappearances/murders in Norway - which he suspects is the work of a serial killer. Over about 20 years a number of women have disappeared, and one is known dead. In each case the woman is married and a mother. In a bizarre twist, a snowman has been left at the site of each disappearance.Harry and his new partner Katrine Bratt, along with a small task force, are assigned to the case. When they uncover a connection among the women a number of possible suspects come to light - one after another - each seeming to have a possible motive. Meanwhile, Harry struggles with his alcoholism while the love of his life, Rakel, prepares to move in with another man.
The characters in the story are well-developed, interesting, and often quirky and there are plenty of twists and turns. The book races along to a dramatic climax - where the murderer plans to stage a grande finale. A compelling, well-written thriller, highly recommended.
I may go back to it if I enjoy this one nancy, thanks for the info
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The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group
Books mentioned in this topic
A Dirty Job (other topics)Secondhand Souls (other topics)
The Black Dahlia (other topics)
L.A. Confidential (other topics)
The Black Dahlia (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Christopher Moore (other topics)Jeffery Deaver (other topics)
Jeffery Deaver (other topics)
Caroline Graham (other topics)
Vince Flynn (other topics)
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Before long the dead body of an unpleasant, bullying Polish ESL student named Ludmilla is found at the FLC - and against the wishes of her husband Claire jumps in to investigate. Claire's attempt to solve the crime involves questioning people involved with the FLC again and again. Meanwhile, almost everyone at the FLC has things to hide and Claire is followed and threatened as she pursues the murderer.
Unfortunately the various 'suspects' in the book are not very interesting or distinctive, the interrogations go on and on, and the story becomes tiresome. The book is punctuated by snarky conversations between Claire and Caron - typical mom and teen daughter stuff - which are meant to be humorous but aren't. Claire also has intermittent interactions with Peter, some romantic, some about Claire sticking her nose in police business.
Claire eventually solves the crime but by then I didn't care much who did it. Unless you're a hard core fan of the Claire Molloy series and want to see what the characters are up to I'd say skip this book.