Mystery Lovers! discussion
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What are you reading? Do you recommend it?
Andrea wrote: "I'm currently reading The Skull Mantra by Eliot Pattison. The detective is a former official from the Chinese government who has been sent to a labor camp in Tibet as an inmate. It's..."Andrea. . . thanks for reminding me about Eliot Pattison as I need to catch up on him and new books over the past two years. Enjoy The Skull Mantra (I know I did)!!
Tom A
Richmond, VA
Tom wrote: "I finished Calumet City by Charlie Newton and it merited a one star rating. (my review can be found at the book level if the one star isn't enough to warn you off)Enough said for the past. Onwar..."
Goodreads has done it to me again listing the oldest posts first. Andrea, I'm sure you've finished the Eliot Pattison book in the last year and I'm sure you enjoyed it. Chalk up another brain cramp moment for Tom. Jeesh, I think its time for my medication :-)
I'm reading the 12th Alex Cross book by James Patterson, CROSS. Patterson is an amazing and prolific writer. Next up: PORT MORTUARY by Patricia Cornwell.
Jodi wrote: "I'm reading the 12th Alex Cross book by James Patterson, CROSS. Patterson is an amazing and prolific writer. Next up: PORT MORTUARY by Patricia Cornwell."oh, i am excited for these too........not all the reviews for port mortuary are good however....but i still can't wait......have to save my money tho, so looks like i will be waiting for a bit...
k
Linda wrote: "I love James Patterson's Cross series, but I am so far behind on him!!! I must catch up!!!! :)"i am catching up too.........i am reading kiss the girls now.......lol
k
Yeah, PORT MORTUARY is very long (500 pages or so) and not quite as action-packed as a typical Scarpetta book. But still a good read with very interesting technology discussions about 'flies on the wall.' As for the cost, I use the library and get to read all the latest releases for free!onarock wrote: "Jodi wrote: "I'm reading the 12th Alex Cross book by James Patterson, CROSS. Patterson is an amazing and prolific writer. Next up: PORT MORTUARY by Patricia Cornwell."
oh, i am excited for these t..."
I am reading Where are you now? By Mary Higgins Clark. I am really enjoying it. It's very mysterious, it makes you want to keep on reading to find out what is going to happen next! I really like it so far.
Susan wrote: "I recently read Travel Writing by Peter Ferry, which was terrific. Ferry writes about how a guy named Pete Ferry who teaches in a high school outside of Chicago and does some travel writing is cha..."I really liked Travel Writing too: great descriptions of Chicago and interesting idea of happenstance detective.
I downloaded the e-book Blood of the Wicked by Leighton Gage for free. I'd heard great things about this police procedural series set in Brazil, and this is the first book in the series. I'm enjoying it, but I'm worried that it may get to dark and violent for me.:)L.J.
The Sex Club
Secrets to Die For
Thrilled to Death
Passions of the Dead
L.J. wrote: "I downloaded the e-book Blood of the Wicked by Leighton Gage for free. I'd heard great things about this police procedural series set in Brazil, and this is the first book in the ser..."thanx for this.......i love free.......lol
k
Finished up Tana French's The Missing last evening. I enjoyed it quite a bit and though the author requires you to make a leap of faith MS. French convinced me and everything else fell into place. I'm now starting Missing by Karin Altvegen, a new author for me. I'm hoping my faith will be restored in the Edgar Awards with this book.
Best Wishes to all for a safe and happy holiday season.
Tom Arthur
Richmond, VA
Donna: A coincidence--I just finished Die Trying by Lee Child last night.I intend to seek out more of the "Jack Reacher" series by him---hope they are all just as good.
Just read Greenmantle by John Buchan, enjoyed reading more of Hannay's adventures and may have to search out more of Buchan's books.
Known to Evilok, this was the 2nd book with leonid mcgill........he grew on me big time......i really enjoy this character and am looking forward to more from mr. mosley.
i luv the way the chapter numbers appear........this adds to the story.......don't ask me how...
i love the way leonid describes people by colour......and the things he compares things to and just some of the outrageous comments he makes.........
i highly recommend this series, and i am looking forward to reading the next one
k
I am currently reading THE HANGING TREE by Bryan Gruley, and I am finding that it lives up to good things I have read about it in various places and groups.Another I am reading on my new Kindle is DOUBLE WHAMMY by Carl Hiassen. This was a gift from a fellow teacher. I had never read Hiassen, and my colleague thought I'd enjoy him. He was right.
I am finishing up DRIVEN TO INK by Karen Olson. I really enjoy this series and regularly recommend it to folks who enjoy something slightly more edgy than the traditional cozy but not hardboiled. I'm also working on Don Winslow's SATORI. SATORI I just started but it's pulled me in already. I expect good things.
Jen wrote: "I am finishing up DRIVEN TO INK by Karen Olson. I really enjoy this series and regularly recommend it to folks who enjoy something slightly more edgy than the traditional cozy but not hardboiled. I..."both have been added to my tbr list
k
Last night I finished What Never Happens. Anne Holt keeps up the suspense, and without being absolutely hooked I am looking forward to reading more of her series. The detective Stubo, who resists a femme fatale, and his almost crazy wife Johanne are rare and admirable, while the victims are so unappealing that even though their bizarre deaths are recounted in minute detail they are not disturbing.
EDGE by Jeffrey DeaverDeaver seems to have regained his intensity and mojo back with a new character in this book about the nether world of intelligence in the US.
Larry wrote: "...Another I am reading on my new Kindle is DOUBLE WHAMMY by Carl Hiassen"on my tbr list
k
I'm reading Got No Friend Anyhow by Peggy Ehrhart. If you read Sweet Man Is Gone you will enjoy the new book. Next I plan to read The Terror of Living by Urban Waite, a new author for me. After that it will be Who Is Gideon Crew? This is a new series by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.
I've been a busy reader over the past 10 days. I wrapped up Missing by Karin Altvegen. A very interesting book that moves along well and was most entertaining. Upon completing this book I was feeling a bit nostalgic and revisited one of my favorite characters in the person of Sir Harry Flashman in George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman and the Redskins. Its not a mystery but the character and the series are some of my all time favorites!! The book takes place in the post-Civil War era in the U.S. and culminates with Flashman's presence at the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Fraser interjects Flashman into various historical events throughout the Flashman series and if you're ever in need of some great historical fiction, Flashman will not disappoint.The nostalgia theme continued as I delved into a Dorothy Sayers' mystery Whose Body?. Somehow or another I had not read this book featuring Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey and his faithful man servant Bunter. An excellent mystery and anyone looking for a new series to get into, this is one of the best ever. If you should ever find a unknown nude corpse in your bathtub, fear not, Lord Peter can solve the crime.
The nostalgia tour will now shift into the more recent past tour as several of my favorite authors have published books in the last couple of years.
Happy New Year to all!!!!
Tom Arthur
Richmond, VA
DJIBOUTI by Elmore Leonard is a fun yet insightful look at the Somali Pirates who captured so many ships the past few years.some great lines - one of the female characters thinks that she'd like to hit her male companion with something - a fire extinguisher comes to her mind.
finally...finished the Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan which is a YA novel based on Egyptian mythology.I didn't enjoy it even half as much as the Lightening Thief series based on Greek mythology. The voice of the "troubled" student in the Lightening Theif seemed genuine while the spoiled kids in The Red Pyramid were cloying and annoying. The story line going from disaster to disaster seemed like the bad plays I wrote as a kid. I did learn alot about Egyptian mythology though..
Stuck at the airport, bored with reading material that I brought along, bought The Girl Who Played With Fire and am really enjoying it. Will I finish before the end of the year? Who knows? Have to spend some more time in the airport...
Jim wrote: "EDGE by Jeffrey DeaverDeaver seems to have regained his intensity and mojo back with a new character in this book about the nether world of intelligence in the US."
I just picked up Edge for 60% off at B&N, I can't wait to get started.
Mary JL wrote: "Donna: A coincidence--I just finished Die Trying by Lee Child last night.I intend to seek out more of the "Jack Reacher" series by him---hope they are all just as good."
Mary, I plan to read this series this year as well. I have heard good things about Jack Reacher!
Well, my nostalgia tour continues for one more read in the company of Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus' Tooth and Nail (1996). This is one of the early Rebus books and will not disappoint. Rebus is sent to London to assist the local police in investigating a series of serial murders. Once again Rankin crafts a clever plot and culminates it with a very exciting conclusion. Anyone searching for a new author/series will find these books easy to read, captivating, and entertaining!!!Tom A
Richmond, VA
J.R. wrote: "I just finished THE TURNAROUND by George Pelecanos. Highly recommended. This was the first of his I've read. I'll definitely be looking for more."Yeah this was a good book.
I just finished Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks: Fifty Years of Mysteries in the Making - Includes Two Unpublished Poirot Stories by John Curran. Recommended if you're interested in how the queen of British cozies got her ideas.
Currently reading 3 books right now. One mystery is Dan Simmons' Drood. Yes, I very highly recommend it! The other is the complete short stories of Sherlock Holmes as printed in The Strand, using the original typeface and with all the original drawings. (And The Hound of the Baskervilles, since that was published serially in The Strand.) Yes, I very highly recommend that, as well. (And wish me luck, everyone, as I also submitted a short story mystery I wrote to The Strand.)
61 Hours by Lee Childs - suspensful up to the last pageChilds is up there with Michael Connelly and the Reacher character definitely rivals Harry Bosch in old school attitudes and a common sense of justice
Peter James Dead Like You http://www.peterjames.com/books-dead-... not so hot: disgusting people, disgusting crimes.
Ahhh, just finished The Girl who Played with Fire...I didn't want it to end. Looking forward to #3...and did I hear that they may be publishing #4?Now, on to Stephanie Plum for Mystery Book Club. I'm on #3 and am enjoying the series more than I expected.
To quote myself, Peter James's Dead Like You: Nasty characters, confusingly similar but not in a novelistic way, time shifts -- it seems that everyone dislikes women who wear classy shoes. There is also a lot of padding in the procedural details and in bringing characters up to snuff. I don't know why I am plodding through this to the end.
I'm near the end of The Professional by Robert B. Parker and have enjoyed it probably as much as most other books in the Spenser series. I've read some unfavorable reader reviews of the late Mr. Parker's most recent books that complain that the main character has mellowed too much. As someone who has mellowed myself as I've gotten older, it would be hard for me to believe Spenser would be the same today as he was in the early books. The snappy dialogue and humor is still there, which has always been what brought me back for the next one.
I'm currently reading "The Monkey's Raincoat" by Robert Crais. I wanted to read something familiar so I'm doing a re-read of the Elvis Cole series.I really enjoy thesebooks.
Hope everyone is having a good reading day.
Penny
I don't know about anyone else, but I read the Spensers first for the snappy dialogue, the humor, and the buddy act with Hawk, and the story second. And Susan's nibbling last!
I jsut started PAINTED LADIES by Robert Parkerthe banter by Spenser is a little antiquated but this book has a good beginning with unexpecteded events within a few chapters of the beginning that has my curiosity up as to who and why.
A River in the Sky by Elizabeth Peters is my current read and it is good to get back to Amelia Peabody and the whole cast of characters that have entertained me for years. It is hard to believe that this book is about the 19th or 20th in the series. This one is a tad different in that it takes place in Jerusalem as opposed to Egypt (the site of all the other books). Not to worry though as the Peabodys just import their whole (and now familiar) archeological staff to Jerusalem to staff their excavations. I read 230+ pages last evening and regaled in visiting with all of my old friends. Speaking of excavations, in the initial 230 pages not so much as a cup of sand has been dug. International intrigue is the order of the day in this one as only Ms. Peters can do it.Film at eleven!!!
Tom
Richmond, Virginia
Started the last days of Newgate by Pepper, historical crime thriller with Pyke a bow street runner.
I started reading Play Dead by Harlan Coben. It's a reprint of his 1st novel. I'm hooked so far. It may not be as polished as some of his later works like Tell No One or Gone for Good but it's still a good read.
Finished up A River in the Sky by Elizabeth Peters and now reading a Sherlock Holmes / Mary Russell novel The Language of Bees by Laurie King.Kudos to Elizabeth Peters (Barbara Mertz)who is now in her early 80's on a most entertaining and vibrant career of providing us mystery genre readers with quality characters and stories over the years!
Tom
Richmond, Va.
I'm listening to S. J. Rozan's latest Bill Smith/Lydia Chin mystery: On the Line: A Bill Smith/Lydia Chin Novel. Lydia's been kidnapped, so barely appears in the story at all, instead Bill is racing to find her with the help of supporting characters. William Dufris does a good job with the narration, although the plot does get a bit silly at times.
Books mentioned in this topic
Defending Jacob (other topics)A Box of Darkness: The Story of a Marriage (other topics)
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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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Enough said for the past. Onward and (certainly) upward for me as I started Tana French's second book The Likeness last evening.
Hope everyone had a pleasant Thanksgiving!!
Tom A
Richmond, VA