Reading the Detectives discussion
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What mysteries are you reading at the moment? (2021)
I read one of the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series. I haven't been interested in reading more, although I have one or two of them I think. I didn't much care for the period and the prose wasn't interesting enough (as I recall).
Sandy wrote: "Jackie wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: "I had been on library hold forever, but finally got an ebook copy Of Murder on Pleasant Avenue."I read that last summer and enjoyed it. The Gasl..."
I’ve been thinking the same, give Monk another go since I’m enjoying the Daniel Pitt series so much. This Gaslight is ok, not really riveting my attention, taking too long to get through when I have other books ready to go for group reads! Glad I borrowed from the library, as I have the last several books. I’ll wrap it up today, even if I skim - the crazy news cycle isn’t helping, grabbed my attention for last few days!
Jackie wrote: "I love the series about Chief Inspector Armand Gamache by Louise Penny, is anyone else reading those? or, too modern for this group? I am done with book #13 in the series, but have to space them ou..."I’ve been hearing that about this series for years - that the village is such a delight- unfortunately, even if it were real, I’m afraid with Covid quarantine, they wouldn’t let me in, anyway!
Susan in NC wrote: "Jackie wrote: "I love the series about Chief Inspector Armand Gamache by Louise Penny, is anyone else reading those? or, too modern for this group? I am done with book #13 in the series, but have t..."Right now we can't go anywhere that isn't our country. And, depending on what state we are in, we have to quarantine in certain states. My brother was going to go to New Mexico for a few days on his way home (TX) from Colorado. Except NM put Colorado on their list because it had gone up there and Texas has gone down. I think Illinois has every surrounding state on their list. Although I did read yesterday if people from Wisconsin or Indiana who work in Chicago can still come to work. They are just against people staying there. NC is off the list currently.
Yes, but isn’t the series set in Canada? Imagine they don’t want Americans coming across right now, with Covid numbers worse here!
Susan in NC wrote: "Yes, but isn’t the series set in Canada? Imagine they don’t want Americans coming across right now, with Covid numbers worse here!"That's right. We can't go to Canada - or anywhere else.
True. I had a trip planned for myself and five friends to Vancouver Island in August that we had to cancel. The kind Canadians allowed us to postpone till next year without penalties—maybe we’ll have a vaccine by then!
Abigail wrote: "True. I had a trip planned for myself and five friends to Vancouver Island in August that we had to cancel. The kind Canadians allowed us to postpone till next year without penalties—maybe we’ll ha..."Sure hope so!
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https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...
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Sandy wrote: "I'm starting yet another series, Dissolution, inspired by the monthly read for another group. It is set in the time of Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell, Boleyn has been executed, and th..."I hope you enjoy it. It is my favourite series of all time I think
I've started Death in the Wasteland. A brief biography suggests Bellairs was a British Simenon. I thought "Oh Goodie!"
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High praise! Not sure I could ever choose a favorite.
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I just finished Hallowe'en Party, which I thought I got via looking at the kindle deals thread (??). Anyhow, it was good fun as you would expect. I probably read it a (really) long time ago, but I didn't remember it and having Poirot and other recurring characters together was fun.
Jill wrote: "Sandy wrote: "I'm starting yet another series, Dissolution, inspired by the monthly read for another group. It is set in the time of Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell, Boleyn has been ex..."Oh, me, too!
Back to the subject of reading in order, I read the first Bobby Owen mystery and then missed the next two buddy reads. I'd like to join in this month's read. Should I try to first catch up or will I be OK to read out of order?
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Judy wrote: "I think you will be OK to jump in on Bobby Owen reading out of order, Carolien, but it is a while since I read the first four books. Can anyone who has read the fourth book, [book:Mystery Villa|255..."I have not yet read it, so take this opinion with a grain of salt. There was nothing in books 2 and 3 that hinged on the prior novels. I do not anticipate book 4 to be much different. I understand, that as the series progresses, Bobby does get older and that there might be promotions in store for him. Bobby is an enterprising fellow and learns with experience.
I do hope you'll join us, Carolien!
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I would say that you have read the most important one, where Bobby Owen is introduced.
With great relief I finished The Vengeance of the Ivory Skull by Marion Harvey
- tedious stuff indeed!Now on to some Christopher Bush - The Case of the Second Chance
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- tedious stuff indeed!Now ..."
If I can ask, why did you finish it? I once felt bad about dropping a book I started, but no longer. My TBR cannot possibly be completed in my life time. (I won't feel bad if you ignore the question.)
I hate to leave a book unfinished. I abandoned a Ngaio Marsh earlier this year as I cottoned on to the fact it was not going to work, but that was the first for a long time and I gave up quite early. This time I was well over a third of the way in before the penny dropped. I figured that since I'd gone that far I might as well just tough it out. Probably not the most sensible answer but there it is.
Recently finished Surfeit of Suspects, by George Bellairs. I did not find this novel (published in 1964) to be as satisfying as the earlier Inspector Littlejohn novels. This edition was published by Poison Pen Press as part of the British Library Crime Classics, a hit or miss proposition. However, I am always attracted to the covers of the novels which use old British railway posters...A book by its cover...Readers note: Bellairs, Michael Innes, Nicholas Rhea, Margery Allingham, Hilda Lawrence, and others are being reissued by Agora Books. I became aware of Agora's effort through their association with Peters Frasier and Dunlap Literary Agency in London which represents the estates of several renowned authors of the last century.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Judy wrote: "I think you will be OK to jump in on Bobby Owen reading out of order, Carolien, but it is a while since I read the first four books. Can anyone who has read the fourth book, [book:Myst..."Thank you for all the advice! I'll definitely join.
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I've only read one by Bellairs so far, The Case of the Demented Spiv, but have been meaning to try another. I will bear your advice in mind and go for one of the earlier titles, Laurence.
Thanks for mentioning Agora - they are doing a great job, together with the Peters Frasier and Dunlap Literary Agency as you say, in reissuing so many titles by 20th-century authors. I've signed up for several of their newsletters.
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That's good to hear. :)
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Reading Bats in the Belfry which is starting out strong. Who doesn't love a drawing room discussion about how to dispose of a body?
I feel the need to shill for Mystery Villa, an upcoming buddy read. I didn't realize how appropriate to the season the setting would be. The "villa" is an old derelict house complete with cobwebs and in a seedy London neighborhood. Creepy.
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I'm going to have to reread (or at least skim) Mystery Villa as I can only picture the house from Bats in the Belfry.
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Sandy wrote: "Also working my way through Three Doors to Death, one of the Nero Wolfe collections of three novellas. I like the novella length for Wolfe better than his full length novels."I think I have a couple of his collections. I must get myself in front of one soon.
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Me too! I think the novellas are perfect for Wolfe and Archie, and there is more chance of me following the plots in those than in the full-length novels - I'm afraid my brain does not even begin to match Wolfe's and I often get lost somewhere along the line, though I enjoy the characters anyway.
Having finished and enjoyed The Case of the Second Chance - brief review here https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... - I'm now going on to tackle the next in the series The Case of the Curious Client
.The fact that it actually is the next one along in the series is pure coincidence though. I generally couldn't care less about reading books from this era in order as it's not really necessary.
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Good to know that it doesn't matter too much about reading this series in order - having said that, I will probably go on to the second book, The Perfect Murder Case, as the plot sounds intriguing.
Not read that one myself yet, Judy. I've heard it's better than the first in the series, something which is often true of many authors' work.
Judy wrote: "Colin, I've only read the first of the Ludovic Travers mysteries by Christopher Bush and have been meaning to try another one. Good to know that it doesn't matter too much about r..."
I'm glad these are being mentioned (again?). I'll add the first to my wish list, but watch for them as a deal. Yes, they're only $2.99 US now, but as I have an over abundance now ...
Reading the Detectives
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I read that last summer and enjoyed it. The Gaslight series see..."
Yes, good comparison! I agree, I read all the Thomas Pitt mysteries, and now read the Daniel Pitt books when my library gets them, but gave up on Monk years ago.i had read and enjoyed much of the series, but yes, the “sameness” and “heaviness” got a bit much...