The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group discussion
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Currently Reading? Just Finished? 2015
right now i am reading Cold Cold Heart by Cold Cold Heart but i am going go to the library tomorrow to pick some new books out havent been in a long time with all the bad weather we got here
Another gripping, tension filled book by Linda Castillo, number four in the Kate Burkholder books.
Rumspringa is the time when Amish teens are allowed to experience life without the rules. It’s an exciting time of personal discovery and growth before committing to the church. But when a young teen disappears without a trace, the carefree fun comes to an abrupt and sinister end, and fear spreads through the community like a contagion. A missing child is a nightmare to all parents, and never more so than in the Amish community, where family ties run deep. When the search for the presumed runaway turns up a dead body, the case quickly becomes a murder investigation. And chief of Police Kate Burkholder knows that in order to solve this case she will have to call upon everything she has to give not only as a cop, but as a woman whose own Amish roots run deep, and for the first time leaving her local town behind to work as part of a team with Tomasetti.
Kate and state agent, John Tomasetti, delve into the lives of the missing teen and discover links to cold cases that may go back years. But will Kate piece together all the parts of this sinister puzzle in time to save the missing teen and the Amish community from a devastating fate? Or will she find herself locked in a fight to the death with a merciless killer?
A tense filled, suspenseful read, with the relationship between Kate and Tomasetti growing and the same time the characters growing as well. An action packed last few chapters as the plot builds to a shocking ending, with no glues at all throughout.
4 stars for me, another great book.
Your recommendation gives me encouragement, Brenda. Thanks.
I love her work and have recently finished the third in the series - #4 coming soon:) All have been 5 star reads for me:)
Sean wrote: "Another gripping, tension filled book by Linda Castillo, number four in the Kate Burkholder books.
Rumspringa is the time when Amish teens are allowed to experie..."
I like this series.
Bill wrote: "Your recommendation gives me encouragement, Brenda. Thanks."It encourages me too! I'm reading The Elephant Whisperer: My Life with the Herd in the African Wild by Lawrence Anthony, nonfiction, adventurous and would like to read fiction set in South Africa by a South African writer.
I finished The Jury Master by Robert Dugoni. Attorney David Sloane - a former foster child with no memory of his early years - has a knack for getting juries to vote his way. The lawyer, plagued by bad dreams, finds himself in a dangerous situation when Joe Branick - a friend of the U. S. President - apparently commits suicide. Before his death Branick, a stranger to Sloane, left the attorney a message and sent him a package. Sadly for Sloane someone will do anything to get the package.Meanwhile Detective Molina, who's investigating Branick's death, suspects it wasn't suicide. He's stymied when the Justice Department takes possession of Branick's body and moves to close the case. Clearly someone has something to hide. Concurrently, retired ClA operative Charles Jenkins - who once participated in an operation with Branick and the future President - is pulled into the situation when an attempt is made on his life.
It becomes clear that a massacre occurred in a Mexican village many years ago, an incident which somehow affected Sloane. As it turns out all three men - Sloane, Molina, and Jenkins - become involved in figuring out what happened to Branick, why the package is important, and what government officials are covering up.
There are a lot of interesting characters and plenty of murder and violence in this enjoyable thriller.
I'm currently reading The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party
. I really enjoy this series, and I hope to travel to Botswana one day!
I've got to get back to the series, Beth. I've read about 5 but it's been a couple of years since I last explored this interesting world.
WOOHOOO Finally went to the library and these are the books i check out 
Read and finished Embryo - J.A. Schneider. Was a great thriller with a medical twist. Now on to the Into the Darkest Corner - Elizabeth Haynes. Can't wait to see where this is going to take me lol.
Just finished
Tapping The Source
. Kem Nunn's much-feted debut surf noir novel is a moody, atmospheric evocation of Southern California surf culture before the developers paved it over, marred by some rookie mistakes. Expect to respect it more than you enjoy it or are thrilled by it. Four stars.Read the full review here.
Now reading The Art Detective: Fakes, Frauds, and Finds and the Search for Lost Treasures .
I started the third Flavia de Luce book, 'A Red Herring Without Mustard'. As with the first two, it seems to be light and amusing, and so far, no guesses as to the murderer.
and thoroughly enjoying it. 8:D
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Just finished the intriguing Into the Darkest Corner - Elizabeth Haynes, a good thriller and into a mind of a psycho. Now I am off to read Crosshairs - J.A. Schneider, to carry on the series where I left off.
Just finished Twelve Days by Alex Berenson, which was good but predictable. I think people can do better. I also read Thief by Mark Sullivan which was very good.
I've finished some days ago The Casual Vacancy and I'm a little disappointed. It was so boring, I was expecting something different. Today I started The Silkworm, and I am pleased to find the two main characters, combined with a more exciting storyline that previous story.
Just finished Emerald city by Chris Nickson and Narrated by Lorelei King, started A Song from Dead Lips William Shaw, narrated by Cameron Stewart
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I finished Damage Control by Robert Dugoni. When law professor James Hill is murdered during a home robbery his sister Dana is devastated. Dana, also a lawyer, finds an earring in James' apartment and sets off to help Detective Mike Logan investigate James' death. This requires traveling and skipping work - which is difficult since Dana has a vengeful boss, a toddler daughter, and a neglectful husband. Nevertheless intrepid Dana carries on and discovers that James had a hideaway cabin and that the earring belonged to a woman in the public eye.More killings follow and Detective Logan and Dana realize that a huge cover-up is in the works - but what is being covered up?
During all this Dana has serious health concerns and marital problems - and warm-hearted Detective Logan helps by providing support and sympathy. Other characters include a fey jewelry maker who seems to have psychic powers, a presidential candidate, security personnel, a witness to a killing, and so on. This helps round out the story.
Though somewhat predictable this is an enjoyable fast-paced thriller, good for a plane ride or beach read.
A rainy night, an Amish father returning home with his three children, a speeding car hurtling toward them out of nowhere.
What at first seems like a tragic, but routine car accident suddenly takes on a more sinister cast as evidence emerges that nothing about the crash is accidental. But who would want to kill an Amish deacon and two of his children? He leaves behind a grieving widow and a young boy who clings to life in the intensive care wing of a hospital, unable to communicate. He may be the only one who knows what happened that night. Desperate to find out who killed her best friend’s husband and why, Kate begins to suspect she is not looking for a reckless drunk, but instead is on the trail of a cold blooded killer amid the residents of Painter’s Mill. It is a search that takes her on a chilling journey into the darkest reaches of the human heart and makes her question everything she has ever believed about the Amish culture into which she was born.
Her Last Breath is to me less gory than her previous books, not such brutal murders, but more touching and heartbreaking and shocking.
With also murders in her past come back to haunt her, but a great sub plot with her relationship with Tomasetti growing and adding some humour into the story.
An easy 4 stars for me
Started the girl who played with fire, much easier to get into than dragon tattoo
Rhian wrote: "Started the girl who played with fire, much easier to get into than dragon tattoo"I read the entire trilogy some years ago. I must say that the first was my favorite, not the better, only the one I like more. I hope you like the whole series.
@Andrew, thanks I'm sure I will enjoy them all
I finished Dark Places by Gillian Flynn. 25 years ago Patty Day and two of her young daughters were slaughtered. Seven-year-old Libby Day survived and her brother, 15-year-old Ben Day was convicted and imprisoned. Libby was convinced of Ben's guilt and has had nothing to do with him for a quarter century.Libby lived off a fund donated by a sympathetic public but now, at 31, she's broke. To make money Libby hooks up with an organization called 'The Kill Club', who study crime. They believe Ben Day is innocent and are willing to fund Libby if she'll talk to people they view as suspects/persons of interest. Libby agrees and begins to waver in her belief that Ben's guilty.
The story alternates between events that occurred twenty-five years ago and what is happening today. Major characters include Ben Day and his creepy friends, absentee dad Runner Day who comes home only to ask for money, Patty Day who can't make ends meet, etc.
The book made me uncomfortable at times because most of the characters are unlikable people who behave badly. It would be a spoiler to tell more so I'll just say the book has many threads which are skillfully woven together to lead to the twisty, satisfying conclusion. This is a well-written mystery, highly recommended.
Kathryn wrote: "Barbara wrote: "I finished The Bone Orchard by Paul Doiron. Sgt. Kathy Frost and her partner, Maine game wardens, are forced to shoot a disfigured Gulf War veteran,..."Kathryn wrote: "Barbara wrote: "I finished The Bone Orchard by Paul Doiron. Sgt. Kathy Frost and her partner, Maine game wardens, are forced to shoot a disfigured Gulf War veteran,..."
This author is soon to be on my reading list I plan on starting with The Poacher's Son. He is one of two authors that write using the Appellacian Mountains for geographic locations.
I want to mention I am even suprised anyone from this group is familliar with Doiron. He isn't like a famous NY Times best selling author and his books don't nominated for the monthly group read.
On Tuesday I finished reading The Last Jihad. I am currently reading Battle of the Ampere However I have taken a break in the middle of Special Topics In Calamity Physics so I hope to get back to this soon. This is what happens when 3 books are being read before one is finished but it also happens when one has 1 or more books checked out from the libary that get put on top so they can get read before all renew periods expire.
Scott wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "Barbara wrote: "I finished The Bone Orchard by Paul Doiron. Sgt. Kathy Frost and her partner, Maine game wardens, are forced to shoot a disfigured G..."
Scott, I picked up The Poacher's Son as a bargain book because I saw that it was about a Maine game warden, which is from my home state, and that particular book takes place close to where I live. I loved that book and most of the rest from the series. I hope you enjoy it, too.
Scott, I picked up The Poacher's Son as a bargain book because I saw that it was about a Maine game warden, which is from my home state, and that particular book takes place close to where I live. I loved that book and most of the rest from the series. I hope you enjoy it, too.
I have finished the action packed Raney & Levine - J.A. Schneider. Now I am going back to reading The Good Girl - Mary Kubica (once I buy the Amazon copy in morning). So I'm not sure what to start til then lol. As soon as I know, I will tell ya ;) xx
Bill wrote: "I've got to get back to the series, Beth. I've read about 5 but it's been a couple of years since I last explored this interesting world."It's such a comforting series, Bill. I always go back to it when I need to feel that most people are inherently good and that justice is usually ultimately served.
Well, the most recent book I finished before I joined this group was No Name Lane by Howard Linskey. I've done a brief review without any spoilers, so you should be able to find that on my bookshelf if you're interested. Currently reading The Exit
My first book by this author and had read many good reviews for this book, so chose this for myself and my book pal Lisa for March.
Black flowers for the missing ones mean they're never coming back, in a chilling new tale from a master of modern crime.
This is not a story about a girl who disappears. This is the story of a little girl who comes back. As if from nowhere, she appears one day on a seaside promenade, with a black flower and a horrifying story about where she's been. But telling that story will start a chain reaction of dangerous lies and deadly illusions that will claim many more victims in the years to come. Neil Dawson has grown up wanting to be like his father—a writer. When his father commits suicide, he is devastated. But through his grief, Neil knows something isn't right. Looking through his father's papers, he finds a copy of an old novel, The Black Flower. Opening it will take Neil into an investigation full of danger, pain, and subterfuge. Hannah Price is also mourning her father. She followed his footsteps into the police force, and knows she has a big reputation to live up to. When she gets assigned to Neil's father's case, it will lead her on a journey into her own past and to the heart of a shattering secret.
The fact that you have a story being told within another story is ingenious and Mosby does it in an amazingly good way. You get pieces and pieces of information -some real, some fictional- and you have to put them all together to see the whole picture. Of course, you have a great help from the main characters, each one investigating in their own way the same past story at the same time.
The book also involves a serial killer, but not just any old serial killer, he's really clever and smart this one, he's twisted and sick, but he's evaded the eyes of the world for a very long time. The horror and chills that the book evokes from the scenes describing the killer, his motives, his thinking and his deadly methods were heart stopping. I had moments of thinking I wanted to dive into the book and shout at the victim or help them, or anything. Instead I watched him do his work. Not pleasant. You will never think of flowers the same way again after reading this book.
A complex but gripping story that holds your attention to the last page.
Why only a four star, mainly because so many characters to remember from the past and present.
Currently reading a lot! Smitten by the spinster, persuader, how to make a living as a writer, and xf classics v.1 graphic novel.
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I have read all the Sue Grafton books and given that N for Noose is about 15 years old re-reading that. Sue Grafton has stated no movies or TV from her books but who wouldplay Kinsey if a TV show or movie were to be made?
Bob wrote: "I have read all the Sue Grafton books and given that N for Noose is about 15 years old re-reading that. Sue Grafton has stated no movies or TV from her books but who wouldplay Kinsey if a TV show..."
Hmmm, that's got me thinking. I have a clear picture of her in my head but I can't say as she matches any actresses out there right now. Maybe one from the 80s is who I have pictured.
Hmmm, that's got me thinking. I have a clear picture of her in my head but I can't say as she matches any actresses out there right now. Maybe one from the 80s is who I have pictured.
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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)
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The Black Dahlia (other topics)
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Christopher Moore (other topics)Jeffery Deaver (other topics)
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Vince Flynn (other topics)
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While in Bethesda Louise stays with her friend Emily Holiday who is under the thumb of her husband Tom. After the garden show taping, Louise, Emily, and Tom are taking a walk when they hear gunfire. They discover that Catherine Freeman was killed as she and her husband were returning from an evening out. Louise feels compelled to investigate and Emily is an enthusiastic sidekick.
This is one of those books where the amateur sleuths are more capable than the police. Louise tries to put the police on the right track, but they reject her interference - which makes her more adamant to solve the crime. Louise and Emily decide the killer must be a woman in the garden club and proceed to investigate the ladies.
I like cozies, but in books set in modern times - with police having access to forensics, phone records, CCTV, and so on - it strains credulity to think amateur detectives are more capable than the cops. Even accepting that amateurs are better, however, this story relies too much on blind luck and an unlikely confession to unveil Catherine's killer. I won’t read more books in this series.
FYI: The author does weave some interesting gardening tips into the story, and provides a useful essay about gardening in times of drought.