What are you reading? Do you recommend it? Showing 1,451-1,500 of 2,320

[Jennifer]

Just started Deadly Notions -- trying to make my May challenge deadlines!

[Susan]

In Amsterdam with its culture of overt prostitution and pornography, it takes a lot to attract the attention of Inspector DeKok. But the facts of A. C. Baantjer's DE KOK AND THE DEAD LOVERS are utterly bizarre. Only with much ratiocination and some antics does DeKok solve this mystery that starts when a young man chained to a radiator is found dead of a few bullet wounds. The novel, despite being in translation, has a quiet literary tone that is very appealing.

[Susan]

One Good Turn is one of Kate Atkinson's well plotted novels in which all the characters manage to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and some have good impulses towards another. Against the background of the Edinburgh Drama Festival, we watch as the Hatters who are a corrupt builder and his shallow wife, retired inspector Jackson Brodie and his actress girl friend, a neurotic writer of shallow nostalgic mysteries, a female detective who lives in one of Hatter's Homes and lusts after Jackson Brodie, a number of Russian prostitutes, and some local low-lifes swirl together in attitudes of slapstick and utter disgrace. Atkinson's gift is to make everything seem as plausible and detailed as a Dickensian novel, cozily leaving no loose ends. Have I written this before? Well, it is a good formula that few manage. Suspense comes from leaving each navel-gazer suspended and then going on to the next disaster.

[Susan]

The One from the Other (Bernard Gunther, #4) by Philip Kerr has enough realistic description for a Walt Disney cartoon of de-Nazification in Germany, 1947. That said, I enjoyed it.

[Susan]

Kate Atkinson's STARTED EARLY, TOOK MY DOG is a great title for a novel that gives meaning to what would otherwise have been just another prostitute killing in Leeds. But, as other reviewers have noted, STARTED EARLY starts rather late.

[G.G.]

I don't know if this group covers romantic suspense, but my novel "Foggy With a Chance of Murder" set in San Clemente, CA in the unsavory fog of June was just published. It's here on Goodreads if you want more information and reviews.

[Jennifer]

Also reading Decaffeinated Corpse -- trying to finish it and Deadly Notions today for my May challenges. Oh crap--what am I doing on GR-- I need to get reading!!!

[Jiana]

Just finished The Scent of Rain and Light by Nancy Pickard. The Scent of Rain and Lightning
Great read. Pickard among my favorite.

[Dia]

Am just finishing Vince Flynn's Act of Treason. I really enjoyed it and will definitely check into his other books. It was a little confusing though in the fact that the book info on the back of the book did not match the story line. It said that Vice President Baxter is behind in the polls and then wins the election after his motorcade is attacked, and his wife killed. In the first few pages of the book it is established that Baxter is not considered a strong enough candidate, and isn't on the ticket. It is a totally different candidate who loses his wife in the motorcade bombing. Stuff like that bugs me. I assume there was some rewriting after the cover work had gone to press?? The aforementioned wife is described as having shoulder length blond hair, but then later in the book is described as having long chestnut hair. It's all in the details. *L* I will be curious to see if this kind of discrepancy will be found in his other books.

[Susan]

Just finished Fallen Angel, David Hewson's mystery based on the incestuous story of Beatrice dei Cenci who was executed for patricide in Rome at the end of the sixteenth century. There's a heck of a lot of padding and the writing is pretty hackneyed, but Hewson's whirlwind scooter tour through today's Rome is fun. I've just started Three Stations, Martin Cruz Smith's new thriller set in today's Moscow. Atmospheric and absorbing so far.

[Ed]

I've just started to read Dennis Lehane's The Moonlight Mile. The dialogue is snappy, but other readers have told me it's not as good as the earlier titles were in the PI series. I don't want to abandon it, at least not yet (say, after 50+ pages I'll see how it's going).

[Mark]

At My retired librarian Mother suggested I read CJ Box "Joe Pickett" series...I'm hooked and I'm plowing through them as fast as I can!!!

[Barb H]

I'm reading Sixkill. It is supposed to be Parker's last book, but I read in the newspaper that some other author is going to take over the series. How could anyone capture Parker's essence?

[Jennifer]

Barbara wrote: "I'm reading Sixkill. It is supposed to be Parker's last book, but I read in the newspaper that some other author is going to take over the series. How could anyone capture Parker's e..."

SACRILEGE!!

[Jennifer]

I'm reading Busy Body -- the only book out in either of the series she publishes under the Beaton name that I haven't read yet.

[Barb H]

Jennifer, I totally agree!

Sixkill was okay, but certainly not Parker's best. A few of us have agreed that Susan is becoming an annoyance. She's just too perfect to be real!

[Susan]

I recently finished Martin Cruz Smith's new mystery THREE STATIONS, a beautifully crafted, satirical, and surprisingly tender top to bottom examination of the lost kid population of Moscow.

[Deanne]

Read Death at the President's Lodging by Innes, written in 1936 and set in an obscure Oxford university college. Very like a murder in a locked room with a list of suspects and an ending I didn't guess.
The BBC has made Case Histories based on the Kate Atkinson book into a six part series, Jason Issacs is the lead actor,(Lucius Malfoy) and it's filmed in Edinburgh. Only started to show in the UK so I don't know when you'll see it in the US.

[Laurie (Kwiltreader)]

I'm reading and listening to
Enjoying both.

[Shomeret]

Jennifer wrote: "Barbara wrote: "I'm reading Sixkill. It is supposed to be Parker's last book, but I read in the newspaper that some other author is going to take over the series. How could anyone ca..."

Well, the Spensers in the TV series and movies were different from the Spenser in the books. I liked all three versions of Spenser. That's why I'm willing to give Ace Atkins (the author who will be writing Spenser) a chance.

Actually, it's also critical that anyone who writes this series do a good job with Hawk because Hawk is a character that can become a stereotype in the wrong hands. Given Ace Atkins' track record, I have confidence that he won't do that.

[aprilla]

Deanne wrote: "The BBC has made Case Histories based on the Kate Atkinson book into a six part series, Jason Issacs is the lead actor,(Lucius Malfoy) and it's filmed in Edinburgh. Only started to show in the UK so I don't know when you'll see it in the US. ..."

Oh! I better read it soon then as I don't like to see things on TV before I've read the book! Thanks for the heads up :)

[Barb H]

Shomeret wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "Barbara wrote: "I'm reading Sixkill. It is supposed to be Parker's last book, but I read in the newspaper that some other author is going to take over the series. Ho..."

Certainly Spenser on TV and in the books are different.In this novel he seemed to be mostly his usual character. Hawk did not appear at all, but was mentioned. The TV series did a good job of portraying him as "his own man". I think and hope any writer would see that. I am still concerned that a new author will rob the series of Parker's spirit.

[Tracy]

I am waiting for Sixkill to become available at my library. Mostly I have listened to the audiobooks of Parker. I love Spenser. I also like Jess Stone, he is quite the character to.

[Barb H]

I like Jess Stone also. He needs to abandon that ex of his though. I wonder why Parker created such strange relationships for his men.

[Tracy]

I totally agree Barbara. I think Stone needs to hook up and stay with Sunny Randall.

[Susan]

I just finished Vermillion Drift: A Cork O'Connor Mystery
by William Kent Krueger. This rather sentimental take on culture of Irish Catholics, iron mining and Indians in Northern Minnesota was a more complicated version of the camp fire tales my cousin used to tell to scare me.

[[deleted user]]

I just finished The Thorn by Daron Fraley. It was a 4 star story.

[Barb H]

Tracy wrote: "I totally agree Barbara. I think Stone needs to hook up and stay with Sunny Randall."

Absolutely! Sunny is an intriguing character too! She needs to abandon her fixation on her ex too!

[Susan]

I just finished The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz and loved it!! Can't wait to read the rest of this series!!

[Tom]

Susan wrote: "I just finished The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz and loved it!! Can't wait to read the rest of this series!!"
Susan -
Lisa Lutz is a regular on this message board, keep an eye out for her. I've yet to work up enough nerve to tell her I think Izzy is based on her life. The whole family is, shall we say, most interesting. Enjoy!
Tom
Richmond, VA

[Susan]

hahaha do you really think so??? :)

[Tom]

Susan wrote: "hahaha do you really think so??? :)"

But of course I do . . .:-)

[Alan]

Just finished Jasper Fforde's Nursery Crimes Division book the Fourth Bear.

I am always very hesitant to recommend humor writers. Even more so than music the enjoyment of humor depends on an individual's tastes. This is my third Jasper Fforde book, and so far I have enjoyed all them. Perhaps, it is because the humor fits into the story's context.

And, context is not always for the week.

This is the second and last Nursery Crimes Division book. Fforde is staying in his metafictional comfort zone. Jack Spratt's new case is his biggest yet. Not only does it involve escaped mass murderer the Gingerbread Man, but cucumbers (no spoilers here-but the cucumbers are vitally important), and a multi-national corporation and its WWI theme Park. Jack is suspended, again, from the investigation, and Mary Mary and the alien Ashley get larger roles. Ashley and Mary even develop personalities.

Fforde and the characters do not take themselves too seriously. Often Jack and Mary reference plot twist #26, or the like as if they are acknowledging that they know they are in a story. This is a world where nursery rhyme characters exist and have been granted citizenship. Jack himself is one, a fact that he prefers to keep hidden.

So what begins as the missing person case of Goldilocks, becomes a murder investigation that includes the plot points mentioned above, and porridge smuggling. Yes, porridge.

Light, amusing, and I think the author plays well with the absurdity of certain facets of his story to make the overall whole work.

[Deanne]

Reading Turkish Gambit by Akunin and hopefully learning about Russia during the crimea.

[Susan]

I am reading Blue Lightning, the fourth and final installment in Ann Cleves's Shetland Quartet, a slow-moving closed-room mystery that takes place in a birding center on Fair Isle, where Inspector Jimmy Perez takes fiancee Fran home to meet the parents.

[Beth]

I just finished Killer Listing and loved it. I gave it 4 stars in my review. It's a great mystery, well-plotted, that kept me guessing about whodunnit until the end. I recommend it.

[Sue]

Glad to hear about BBC producing Case Histories. Guess I'd better take it off the shelf and read it. I enjoyed One Good Turn.

Just joined the group today and I'm enjoying the notes here. Nice ideas.

[Deanne]

Just got My brother Michael by Mary Stewart from the library, it's on a top 100 crime novels list.

Saw the final episode of Case Histories and I'm hoping Auntie Beeb makes a second series. Fantastic acting and really good storylines.

[Sue]

Nice to hear about Case Histories Deanne.

[Barb H]

Case Histories looks like a good book. I'd like to see what the BBC has done with it on film. I do not see it listed anywhere. BBC America and PBS, who often shows these, are both often tardy about presenting their episodes here.

[Sue]

I think we usually have to wait 6 months or so. I hope they do get it. BBCAmerica doesn't seem to be going in for this type of show any more which is too bad. They used to have "mystery Monday" which was BBC imports.

[Barb H]

We used to watch Mystery Mondays all the time! Now BBC America seems to carry much "trash".

[Sue]

I think all the mysteries now go to PBS or perhaps to the premium cable channels. I hope it's PBS.

[Ellis]

Susan wrote: "I recently finished Martin Cruz Smith's new mystery THREE STATIONS, a beautifully crafted, satirical, and surprisingly tender top to bottom examination of the lost kid population of Moscow."

I haven't seen this one, but I love Martin Cruz Smith. I can still see the frozen sea in Polar Star. Groan. Another one for my TBR stack.

[Ellis]

Barbara wrote: "I like Jess Stone also. He needs to abandon that ex of his though. I wonder why Parker created such strange relationships for his men."

I think they're based on his personality. I read an interview he did some years ago, and he talked about his wife, Joan, the same way Spenser talks about Susan. And a very early, pre-Spenser book had another smiliar relationship. Kind of obsessive, it seems, but I still love his books.

[Deanne]

Barbara
You might be able to see the trailer for Case Histories on Youtube if you add BBC.

[Sue]

Deanne wrote: "Barbara
You might be able to see the trailer for Case Histories on Youtube if you add BBC."

that's a good idea

[Barb H]

Deanne wrote: "Barbara
You might be able to see the trailer for Case Histories on Youtube if you add BBC."

Thanks,Deanne. I'll try it. I still want to watch it on TV.

[Debra]

I'm reading a really fun mystery called Blood and Groom by Jill Edmonson. Her protagonist Sasha Jackson is a relatively new P.I. struggling to make ends meet. It's a good whodunit with a fair bit of humor. Just the kind of thing I like.

[Jennifer]

I've been reading some Vince Flynn lately. Dunno that they're mysteries, particularly. More like thrillers. But very good.