Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends discussion
Miscellaneous Book Talk
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First Lines
Ann: is that why it isn't available? I know what you mean...I'm getting annoyed also. If they are going to charge $15 for an e-book, there better not be EVEN ONE TYPO !!! Note even one! If I have to pay 50% more then the product better be absolutely flawless.Carol/I'll check out Book Nook...thanks for the invite.
Carol/Bonadie wrote: "Mary/Quite Contrary wrote: "Okay, okay, okay...I'll read 'The Help' already.
"
Mary and Joyce, if you are going to read The Help by Kathryn Stockett may I invite..."
Thanks Carol, I will check it out. I started reading it yesterday and had trouble putting it down to go to bed last night! It is riveting.
Mary/Quite Contrary wrote: "Ann: is that why it isn't available? I know what you mean...I'm getting annoyed also. If they are going to charge $15 for an e-book, there better not be EVEN ONE TYPO !!! Note even one! If I ha..."I feel the same way Mary, only I'm not even that forgiving. I expect the time and effort the author put into writing it to be respected with a good editing job. If I had a book published and it was poorly edited, I would be very upset.
"The girl screamed once, only the once, but it was enough." Exit Music by Ian RankinI'm reading this for my F2F mystery club.
From across the aisle Harry Bosch looked into his partner's cubicle and watched him conduct his daily ritual of straightening the corners on his stacks of files, clearing the paperwork from the center of his desk and finally placing his rinsed out coffee cup in a desk drawer. Nine Dragons Michael Connelly audio started yesterday. First line compliments of MichaelConnelly.com http://www.michaelconnelly.com/Book_C...
Found an article by Dennis Lehane on Michael Connelly and Harry Bosch - very insightful. Enjoy!http://www.michaelconnelly.com/Book_C...
"Driving East on I-90, Tomas Rivera was surprised to see the snow spinning down out of a darkened sky in huge fat flakes that threatened to overwhelm the puny efforts of the 4-Runner's hardworking windshied wipers."Fire and Ice by J.A. Jance (Beaumont and Brady)
Shomeret wrote: ""The girl screamed once, only the once, but it was enough." Exit Music by Ian RankinI'm reading this for my F2F mystery club."
That's a very good first line.
Carol/Bonadie wrote: "Shomeret wrote: ""The girl screamed once, only the once, but it was enough." Exit Music by Ian RankinI'm reading this for my F2F mystery club."
That's a very good first line.
"
There are other very good lines in this book. Rankin is a NTMA for me and this is the last book in his Inspector Rebus series.
"It was pitch black."Blind Side by Catherine Coutler
"Dropping a sealed manila envelope on the desk, General Buck Grant eased himself into his chair and stretched out his bad leg."
The Mission: Crazy Hot by Tara Janzen
"The car hurtled west towing a swirl of black exhaust into the first light of day."Iron River by T. Jefferson Parker
I'm going to post the first two lines, so it makes more sense...."The cemetery smelled of freshly mowed grass. Today Sadie would've preferred the pungent stench of body decomposition."
Dead and Kicking by Wendy Roberts
"Had CC de Poitiers known she was going to be murdered she might have bought her husband, Richard, a Christmas gift."A Fatal Grace: A Three Pines Mystery by Louise Penny
Prologue: I'm not sure where one should expect to find the bereaved daughter of a wealthy Malibu suicide in need of a trauma cleaner long after midnight, but safe to say a trucker motel down the 405 industrial corridor in Carson was not on my list of likely locales.
The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death
Sherry:I am eager to hear how you like The Story Sisters.
Sherry wrote: "once a year there was a knock at the door.
The Story Sisters"
Ann wrote: "Prologue: I'm not sure where one should expect to find the bereaved daughter of a wealthy Malibu suicide in need of a trauma cleaner long after midnight, but safe to say a trucker motel down the 4..."
This sounds interesting, Ann. Where did you hear of it?
Carol:The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death is a finalist for the 2010 Edgar Award for Best Novel
I have enjoyed several Charlie Huston books, he writes a hardboiled vampire series (Joe Pitt) and I have read all of those, a Henry Thompson series I have read the first one so far, and a couple of other stand-alone novels. They are spare, harsh, and violent, and quite good!
http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/H_A...
Carol/Bonadie wrote: "This sounds interesting, Ann. Where did you hear of it? :
"Prologue:
I'm not sure where one should expect to find the bereaved daughter of a wealthy Malibu suicide in need of a trauma cleaner long after midnight, but safe to say a trucker mote..."
"Inspector Albert Franc approached him about the dead woman in the quarry because there was no one else around." from Cezanne's Quarry by Barbara Carrado Pope (historical mystery)
The studio was filled with the rich odour of roses, and when the light summer wind stirred amidst the trees of the garden there came through the open door the heavy scent of the lilac, or the more delicate perfume of the pink-flowering thorn.The picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
"The name on the stranger's ID card may have read Valentine, but he was no cupid."The Chocolate Cupid Killings by JoAnna Carl
I had the hardest time finding this book. I kept searching the library by the author's name but it never came up. So, I finally searched by the book's name and it came up...but..the author was Barry Maitland?? It had a picture, so I knew I had the right book ;)
Susie:what a great first line!!
Susie in KS wrote: ""The name on the stranger's ID card may have read Valentine, but he was no cupid."
The Chocolate Cupid Killings by JoAnna Carl ."
Susie in KS wrote: ""The name on the stranger's ID card may have read Valentine, but he was no cupid."The Chocolate Cupid Killings by JoAnna Carl
I had the hardest time finding this book. I kept..."
Re the author being "Barry Maitland" on the library's records--This sounds like a cataloging error. It may not be your library's fault. Some libraries outsource their cataloging or copy their cataloging from other sources that they believe are reliable. Errors in cataloging happen on a regular basis.
Shomeret the Library Student (who took cataloging last semester)
"When we lived in the City of the Dead, my brother dreamed mostly of food." from Alphabet of Dreams by Susan Fletcher (YA historical fantasy)
"Kneeling in the fragrant moist grass of the village green Clara Morrow carefully hid the Easter egg and thought about raising the dead, which she planned to do right after supper."The Cruellest Month by Louise Penny.
another great first line! Shomeret wrote: ""When we lived in the City of the Dead, my brother dreamed mostly of food." from Alphabet of Dreams by Susan Fletcher (YA historical fantasy)"
"On the first of May, Mack Petersen swung his jeep into the parking lot of the Nantucket Beach Club and Hotel for the start of his twelfth summer season as manager, the Almost Head Honcho."The Beach Club by Elin Hilderbrand
" There were four black and whites already at the 7-eleven when I arrived"
Whiskey Sour by J. A. Konrath
"A Light snow was falling as I left my hotel and hurried across the narrow rue Cambon to the employees' entrance of the Hotel Ritz."
Educating Alice by Alice Steinbach (DL book)
Just started: "Ours is an age of enforced psychosis. I'll forgive yours farang, if you'll forgive mine -- but let's talk about it later." The Godfather of Kathmandu (Sonchai Jitpleecheep Series #4) I am excited to visit with Sonchai again!
I also considered starting this one...
"It began with my father not wanting to see the Last Rabbit and ended up with my being eaten by a carnivorous plant."
Shades of Grey: The Road to High Saffron
I always think of Margie, our dear Misanthrope from the AOL MT Board when I read Jasper Fforde. She introduced me to the most enjoyable Thursday Next series. This new book starts something new or is a stand-alone.
Sherry: I am eager to hear what you think of this one -- a great first line!
Sherry wrote: ""they had flown from england to minneapolis to look at a toilet." Juliet, Naked"
"I remember lying in the snow, a small red spot of warm going cold, surrounded by wolves." Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Ann wrote: "Sherry: I am eager to hear what you think of this one -- a great first line!
Sherry wrote: ""they had flown from england to minneapolis to look at a toilet." Juliet, Naked""
the first line is a good one, isn't it? LOL
this is my first hornby and so far, i hate to say it, but i'm underwhelmed and am thinking of putting it aside for now for something else.
has anyone read juliet, naked?
"Henry could remember the moment of his birth."from In Great Waters by Kit Whitfield (alternate universe fantasy)
Would you believe a Philippa Gregory novel in a context where all the royals are part mer-people? Hmmm...
"sara linton stood at the entrance to the dairy queen, watching her very pregnant sister walk out with a cup of chocolate-covered ice cream in each hand." A Faint Cold Fearby karin slaughter
"I still remember the day my father took me to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books for the first time."The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Carol/Bonadie wrote: ""I still remember the day my father took me to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books for the first time."The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón"
i really liked the shadow of the wind, carol. hope you do, too. one of these days i need to read angels game.
Sherry, I am enjoying it so far but it is so remniscent ofThe Angel's Game in mood and theme that it takes a bit away from the enjoyment. I would suggest you wait to read The Angel's Game so that it is fresh again.
Sherry wrote: "Carol/Bonadie wrote: ""I still remember the day my father took me to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books for the first time."
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón"
i really liked the shadow of the wind, carol. hope you do, too. one of these days i need to read angels game.
..."
Carol/Bonadie wrote: "Sherry, I am enjoying it so far but it is so remniscent ofThe Angel's Game in mood and theme that it takes a bit away from the enjoyment. I would suggest you wait to read The Angel..."
i read "shadow" a few years ago, but i totally agree. it could be another year before i get to it..lol
I got the Shadow of the wind I believe at a garage sale a year a year or two ago if it's the book I'm thinking of.
"The office of the university president looked like the front parlor of a successful Victorian whorehouse."from The Godwulf Manuscriptby Robert B. Parker
This is the first Spencer novel and a read for my F2F club. I also think it's a great first line.
"If Anne-Victoria Hadley had been forced to tell the truth--and she never had to be forced; she always told the truth--she would have to admit that this was not the first time that she had been the most hated person in Snow Hill, Pennsylvania."from Living Witness: A Gregor Demarkian Novel by Jane Haddam (mystery)
"If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth." The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Now THAT's a first line!
"I WANT YOU to raise my wife from the dead, Ms. Blake," Tony Bennington said, in a voice that matched the expensive suit and the flash of the Rolex on his right wrist. It probably meant he was a lefty. Not that his handedness mattered, but you learn to notice primary hands when people try to kill you on a semi-regular basis. Flirt
hmm, started to read to capture the first line and ended up on page 12...
Carol:yes it is! I have been tempted to read The Catcher in the Rye. I look forward to hearing how you like it!
Carol/Bonadie wrote: " Now THAT's a first line!
"If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they ha..."
And you surely shall, Ann! I'm halfway through, and it took a little time to get the feel of the character (because he is every bit as casual and irreverent and disinterested as that sentence conveys) but now I'm hooked.Ann wrote: "Carol:
yes it is! I have been tempted to read The Catcher in the Rye. I look forward to hearing how you like it!
Carol/Bonadie wrote: " Now THAT's a first line!
..."
Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends
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Okay, okay, okay...I'll read 'The Help' already.
"
Mary and Joyce, if you are going to read The Help by Kathryn Stockett may I invite you to pop over to the Book Nook Cafe group, where we have begun an active discussion of it? Here's the link.. http://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_...