Mystery Lovers! discussion
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What are you reading? Do you recommend it?
Dia wrote: "Me too! *L* Finished The Scarecrow and started David Baldacci's True Blue. So far so good!"Hello Dia, I just bought The Scarecrow and I was wondering if I have to read The Poet first or can I start here??
I just started Lee Child Nothing to Lose. Has anyone read this book??
I'm reading Robert B. Parker's HUGGER MUGGER and do recommend it.
GOOD MORNING MIDNIGHT by Reginald Hillvery intriguing beginning and the writing is first rate
an example
he went into the room with the energy of an archaeologist entering a tomb
Recently finished Harlan Coben's "The Woods," which I thought was really great. Different then his usual endings, which was refreshing. Currently reading "An Arsonist's Guide to Writer's Homes in New England," which is quirky. Not technically a mystery, but it does have mystery elements.
I have just finished Laurie R. King's The Beekeeper's Apprentice
and it was soooooo good! If you love the classic Sherlock Holmes mysteries, you will loooovee this author's mystery stories. The book was eloquently written, gritty, real, with the endearing and playful aspects of the characters Doyle originally created, as well as their darker sides. Wonderfully captivating mystery novel. I am starting on the next book,A Monstrous Regiment of Women , the second it comes into my library.
I'm reading Sweet Dreams, Irene by Jan Burke - really enjoying the second title in this series about reporter sleuth Irene Kelly. Definitely recommend it.
Reading Daniel Silva's thriller-mystery Moscow Rules. I've read all his books and as a Georgetown D.C. resident he's close to a lot of political intrigue action.
Listening to Neighbor by Lisa Gardiner and can't put it down--or turn it off. Read most of it yesterday while in airport waiting for flights or waiting on planes for gates, etc.
I recently finished BEAT THE REAPER by Josh Bazell. It grabbed me from the beginning with a terrific voice, a badass doctor, quirky medical footnotes, and a great backstory. It was over the top in places but I still loved it.
L.J. wrote: "I recently finished BEAT THE REAPER by Josh Bazell. It grabbed me from the beginning with a terrific voice, a badass doctor, quirky medical footnotes, and a great backstory. It was over the top in ..."I loved this book
Just started Lustrum, by Robert Harris, and an Amelia Peabody mystery, Lion in the Valley, by Elizabeth Peters.
Just finished Robert B. Parker's new one, Split Image, and recommend it for Parker fans. This is a Jesse Stone novel but Sunny Randall is in it as much as Jesse. Both storylines are neatly wrapped up - almost as if the author knew the series were ending.
T.C. wrote: "Just finished Robert B. Parker's new one, Split Image, and recommend it for Parker fans. This is a Jesse Stone novel but Sunny Randall is in it as much as Jesse. Both storylines are ..."How would you compare the Jesse Stone books with the Spenser books by Robert Parker? I find that I like the Spenser books better.
L.J. wrote: "I recently finished BEAT THE REAPER by Josh Bazell. It grabbed me from the beginning with a terrific voice, a badass doctor, quirky medical footnotes, and a great backstory. It was over the top in ..."I enjoyed it too, although I did think there was one plot hole (SPOILER ALERT>>>)
How did the mob group track them down to that diner where the girlfriend got shot? Did I miss something?
Barbara wrote: "T.C. wrote: "Just finished Robert B. Parker's new one, Split Image, and recommend it for Parker fans. This is a Jesse Stone novel but Sunny Randall is in it as much as Jesse. Both st..."
Hmm, guess I'd say that both Jesse and Sunny are obsessed with their ex's and their struggles are part of the story - where Spenser seems more cocky and sure of himself, and blissfully happy with "the girl of his dreams." All of them have great banter and smart-ass quips though!
Hmm, guess I'd say that both Jesse and Sunny are obsessed with their ex's and their struggles are part of the story - where Spenser seems more cocky and sure of himself, and blissfully happy with "the girl of his dreams." All of them have great banter and smart-ass quips though!
I just read :"A Matter for Roses: A Faith Abbey Mystery" by David Manuel. Quite good. Not a long of violence---more a character-driven mystery with an intriguing puzzle. Now searching for others in the series. Definitly recommended.
I am reading Curse of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz. This is #2 in the series, very funny and clever and a twisted family dynamic.
Elaine wrote: "I just finished 13 1/2 by Nevada Barr. It is totally different from her other books. Riveting! I highly recommend this book to anyone who has a whole day to devote to reading as you will not be abl..."I LOVE Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon series and look forward to reading this one too.
I'm reading "Chasing Darkness" by Robert Crais. Still have a couple more of his books to read. I am really liking Elvis Cole and Joe Pike.
Like Kari, I'm a big fan of C.J. Box's Joe Pickett series. After many people told me that if I liked his series, I would also like William Kent Kruger's outdoorsy series set in Minnesota, I read the first, Iron Lake, and now I'm hooked! I've met both of these fellow mystery/suspense authors at conferences, and they're both very friendly, unassuming guys, so I'm happy to support them.
I've finally discovered Josephine Tey and just finished Brat Farrar. Can't wait to start another of her books.
Miss Pym Disposes was the first Josephine Tey book that I read. I took Daughter of Time with me when I visited my parents this weekend. My 85 year old mother pounced on it and is really enjoying it. I guess that I will read it when I visit them again in three weeks. I'm looking forward to reading it.
“Good appraisers are, by nature, detectives,” explains Sterling Glass in her second appearance as a sleuth and crime solver in THE BIG STEAL (Algonquin 2009). “I’ve always said it’s because we see so many fakes and frauds—both the inanimate and the two-legged variety—that we never take anything, or anyone, at face value.” With that mindset, Sterling starts her investigation in the attic of Wynderly, a historic Virginia house museum that has been robbed and vandalized. Hired by an insurance company to assess the current value of the broken objects and to see what she could find out about the stolen ones, she almost immediately discovers that many of the antiques in the mansion are forgeries. Inevitably, she is drawn into the suspicious behavior of the museum’s curator who knows nothing about antiques and a Board with its own agenda. Had the wealthy Wyndfields who built the mansion a century earlier been taken advantage of by unscrupulous dealers? Or were the fakes a more recent substitution by a curator or board member? When Sterling literally stumbles into a secret room in the attic, she finds a curious stash of identical antique porcelain dogs. And wasn’t “dogs” the last word spoken on the deathbed of Mazie Wyndfield, the mansion’s original mistress who hated dogs? In the course of her investigation, Sterling manages to solve a historic mystery as well as the present-day robbery.
Author Emyl Jenkins was an appraiser and as such, published a number of best-selling nonfiction books on antiques and home decorating in the 1980s and 1990s. In 2007 she turned her talents to fiction with her first Sterling Glass mystery, STEALING WITH STYLE. Each chapter starts with a short, seemingly random Q&A on antiques that quickly ties into the plot. Both books are fun to read, with stories set in rural Virginia. They are not what I call “cozies” but there is little violence. Rather the mystery is the focus . . . and the antiques.
Thanks for this description of Stealing With Style. I live in Virginia and, from your post, it looks as if these books by Emyl Jenkins will be right up my alley. I'll have to look for them.
I just finished Amendment of Life by Catherine Aird. It's the first book that I've read by her and I think that I'm going to try to find some of her earlier books.
Thanks. I'm going to the library this afternoon. I'll see if they have them.
Just finished reading Firestorm by Nevada Barr. I think that this is one of the most interesting of her early books.
finished The Man From Beijing by Henning Mankell and enjoyed the book but thought the ending wasn't that goodinteresting look at modern China and kept my interest until near the very end
As usual, I've got a boatload of things going at once...I just started all of these, so no comment on them yet, except one I'll place at the end. :)The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson. I've had this as an ARC for months, well before it came out, but after reading what was to me a (disappointing) first in series, I haven't been able to make myself read it til now.
Finding Nouf by Zoe Ferraris--just downloaded the audio version of this from the library to start tonight.
A Killer in Winter by Susanna Gregory. One of the Matthew Bartholomew medieval mysteries, which I always enjoy.
A Hard Ticket Home by David Housewright, first of a series set locally to me, in St. Paul, MN. This is where my one comment comes in....NOTHING bugs me more than finding misspellings and incorrect word form usage (they're/their/there, too/to/two, taught/taut, etc) in a book that isn't an ARC or Uncorrected Proof. So finding a brand name misspelled within the first few pages of this book threw me right out of the story. (He spelled Sorels (the heavy winter boot) as Sorrels (like the herb.) I mean, come on now...if you're going to use a brand name, oughtn't you make sure it's spelled correctly? LOL I'm just afraid that that one error is going to color my whole view of the book--I'll be concentrating on finding other errors rather than on the story. I've actually given up on books over this. Yeah, I know...I'm weird that way. I'll try to keep an open mind about the story and content of the book...but making no promises. LOL Am I the only one who feels that way?
Cheryl
The Tourist by Olen Steinhauerfast paced and interesting look at the spy world, their bureaucacies, and how they change sides, ethics, relationships
I have finished recently The Kalahari Typing School for Men, by Alexandre McCall Smith, and I highly recommend stepping into this little village of Africa, and savour its tidbits of wisdom.
Spuddie wrote: "NOTHING bugs me more than finding misspellings and incorrect word form usage..."*LOL* I am with you on that. I have written to several authors about typos in their book or on their websites. It is the teacher in me... plus, if it was MY book or site, I would want to know. They have all been very gracious and appreciative of the feedback.
The Happy Harrow Murder Trilogy by Bea F. Cayzer. Robert Mykle
I just finished LIVE TO TELL by Lisa Gardner. It was my "first reader" win from Goodreads. I have a lengthy review on my Goodreads site http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/.... One of the best books I have read this year. Someone also mentioned P.J. Tracy. I caught up with their Monkeewrench series while on vacation and read the last three, all fabulous.
I'm reading Inspector Cataldo's Criminal Summer by Luigi Guicciardi, translated from the Italian by Iain Halliday, published in the UK by Hersilia, a small independent press. Very much enjoying it, 100 pages in.Inspector Cataldo's Criminal Summer
Linwood Barclay - first book I am reading and pretty good!Others recently: Chelsea Cain and Linda Castillo.
April hightlight read: Brian Freeman's THE BURYING PLACE! (4/13) Stride #5...yes!!!!
The F2F mystery group that I attend wanted to honor Rex Stout's memory, so they selected his Fer-de-Lance for the May meeting. Nero Wolfe was one of the detectives that my mother loved, so I read some when I was a teenager. I haven't read any since though I still retain a fondness for Nero Wolfe. I'm currently reading Fer de Lance in a combined edition with The League of Frightened Men.
I grew up reading my grandfather's Rex Stouts. I always liked them.
I am deeply immersed in PB Ryan's Gilded Age mystery series. This was a new author for me and I loved the first one Still Life with Murder. They are set in post Civil War Boston amongst the wealthy Brahmin set. I adore historical mysteries so I am scarfing them right now, i enjoy her two main characters.I also discovered Beverly Connor's Diane Fallon series that starts with One Grave Too Many. Also immensely enjoyed that one and plan to start the second one as soon as I glut out on the Ryan books.
#1053Kari -
Patricia Hodge ("Portia" Erskine-Brown from the Rumpole TV series) does a great job reading Jemima Shore on audio.
I finished all of my Crais books. I really enjoy his books and look forward to more of Elvis and Joe. :) I started "Eyes of Prey" by John Sanford today. I do like these books but it took me a few years to decide to read them.I hope everyone is having a good reading day.
Penny
Currently reading and enjoying...
I'm reading and enjoying "Nemesis" by Jo Nesbø. Harry Hole is a maverick detective with the Oslo police department—he is much like Ian Rankin's John Rebus or Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch. Nesbø is a new author for me, but I'll be back for more.
I just started Without Mercy by Lisa Jackson. So far, it's really good. Last night I finished Blood Vines by Erica Spindler and liked it a lot! =)
I highly recommend the Jonathan Stride detective series by Brian Freeman. The fifth book was just released but this page-turning series of psychological suspense should be read in order:
Wow, best first book I have ever read in a series...it was awesome!
My least favorite but still very good! Don't let it stop you from reading the rest! 
Intense and as good as the first!
After being Immoralized, Stripped and Stalked, there's no going back now!!!
Shocking suspense!!! Years ago, I read on a message board to read IMMORAL by another reader who lived in Australia (she called it a "gem"). I did and it was the best recommendation that I have ever received! I think you should try it and see if you are telling ALL of your book buddies as well!
IMO...Brian's new release should be on the display at B&N/Borders when you walk in the door instead of some of the other stuff I see. I am not saying everybody will enjoy it as we are all individuals with our our own tastes and opinions in books but I can say that nearly everybody that I have recommended IMMORAL to is a dedicated series reader of this author.
Mystery Lovers!
Books mentioned in this topic
Defending Jacob (other topics)A Box of Darkness: The Story of a Marriage (other topics)
The Strangler: A Novel (other topics)
My Forbidden Past (other topics)
Double Life: A Love Story from Broadway to Hollywood (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Harlan Coben (other topics)Karin Slaughter (other topics)
Robert Crais (other topics)
Gerald Elias (other topics)
Robert Crais (other topics)
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I don't know how Connolly keeps Harry Bosch fresh while at the same time keeping his character the same as it's always been
loved ..."
I don't know either, but it must just be the sign of a good writer. I love Harry and I think I've read every one of Connelly's with him in it. The ones without Harry are pretty good, too.