What are you reading? Do you recommend it? Showing 1,751-1,800 of 2,320

[David]

Ellis wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "Kyle wrote: "I love the Harry Bosch series, too, Jennifer. So far I've read [bookcover:A Dar..."

If you'd like to make sure you read them in order, go to www.stopyourekillingme.com for the full series listing, in order.

[Jannene]

David wrote: "Ellis wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "Kyle wrote: "I love the Harry Bosch series, too, Jennifer. So far I've read [b..."

They also have them in order at www.fictfact.com as well as other series. They send you notices when the next book in your series just came out.

[Jennifer]

I finished A Drop of the Hard Stuff yesterday. I love this series. I think this book of this series may be singular in that I'm racking my brain and I don't think the protagonist had to resort to violence even once to solve his case-- very unusual if my memory is correct. Usually someone squares off on him at some point. Good book.

[Jannene]

I just finished and found it wasn't as good as the others. I was pretty disappointed with this book. I had to force myself to finish the book and haven't had a problem with that ever on this series. I hope the next book is back to the great reads that I enjoy.

[Jim]

eagerly waiting on THE DROP at my library
The Bosch series has been great from day 1

to me the only other modern author who compares to Connelly is Peter Robinson and his Alan Bank's series but he hasn't written anything since 2010.

[Shomeret]

I'm currently reading Ghost Heroby S.J. Rozan. It's the second that I'm reading by this author and I am not liking it as much as The Shanghai Moonwhich was the first one.

[Jannene]

I just finished . This was a good book. It wasn't like her other books. It was like a treasure hunt. She never did get to use her indestructible dress in this book.

[Jannene]

I just finished . This book was so much better than the previous. I was dreading reading this book because the previous ones weren't as good as te earlier ones. This was great and I loved the story line. I laughed many times like I did with the earlier books. I was pleasantly surprised.

[Linda]

I'm about 60 pages into 11/23/63, the latest by Stephen King. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!!! I am also reading The Drop. It's good so far too.

[Jannene]

I just finished Murder at the Vicarage. I did not care for it at all. I think this type of mystery is not for me. I couldn't stand the gossiping in the book and the back and forth notes. I'm glad I stuck with the book to finish it though.

I'm now reading and the .

[Jennifer]

Just finished Swan Peak . Good book but a weirdness-- in every single other book with this protagonist he's mentioned his family-- his first wife, his second wife, and his daughter all figure prominently, if only in memory in some cases. He doesn't mention them at all, not even once, in this book. Now-- I'm about five books behind in this series (and this is the sixth book I was behind so yeah, I read it way out of order) but I'm now dying to get caught up to see what could so completely have changed!

[Mark]

Been expanding my selections recently, Ken Bruen, Ian Rankin, Louise Penny and have been devouring George Pelicanos. Heard Michael Connelly speak and when asked who he reads he said George Pelicanos, been a fan ever since.

[Anne]

Right now I'm reading and enjoying it very much. I've loved the whole series so far, but the author warns in his intro that things will change drastically after this book, I'm scared :P

[Jannene]

I just finished this book. This was a good novel. I think it could have been sized down a little. At times it was slow because she went into so much detail that I almost lost interest in what she was saying. I expected part of the book but didn't know who the killer would be.

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads]

Just finished Farthing, which is a country-house murder mystery in a rather different 1949 than ours. England is creeping fascist.

I enjoyed this one a great deal, and will be looking for its two sequels.

[Shomeret]

Susanna, you should be aware that the sequels to Farthing aren't mysteries. They develop the alternate timeline and continuing characters.

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads]

Yes, I deduced that from the general descriptions. Sound fascinating, however.

[Jannene]

I just finished . I liked this novel. It was very good and the plot was well thought out. The more that I read about Lucy the more I wish she'd move near Kay. I like Marino a lot more too. My only complaint is that the lose ends weren't all tied up to my liking.

[Ellen]

Just finished , #7 in her Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series, which I enjoyed. I also read Asa Larsson's which I loved.

[Mark]

Reading V Is For Vengence enjoying it immensely, jsut finished Louise penny A Rule Of Murder excellent

[Mark]

I'm sorry that was The Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny

[Ruth]

I'm reading The Drop by Michael Connolly - one of my favorite writers. I think there have only been one or two of his that I found disappointing, but most of his Bosch novels are great, including this one!

[Mark]

The Drop is next for me

[Jannene]

I just finished . It was a good listen. I really liked Guy and how he wanted to make amends for his rough past. I just started listening to .

[Jannene]

I finished listening to N is for Noose. This was a good listen. I liked this book. I didn't have any particular attachment with the characters except Kinsey. I didn't have a clue what was going to happen with the twists and turns in it.

[Linda]

I'm about halfway throughThe Drop and am enjoying it although I feel like I am still caught up in my last read,11/22/63 which was so fantastic I can't forget it. I love it when I get so excited by a book that I wish it would never end.

[Gavin]

I just finished Black Hornet by James Sallis. Loved it and want to read all of the Lew Griffin series.

[Jannene]

I just finished listening to The Secret Servant. The characters were believable and convincing. The plot took many twists and turns. I just don't like Chira. I find her a needy, insecure woman which is surprising for the kind of job that she does.

[Ellis]

Linda wrote: "I'm about halfway throughThe Drop >

I listened to the audio version on a recent trip and really enjoyed it. Connelly is always good. I'm a Harry Bosch fan.

[Jannene]

Halt's Peril. I just finished this book. This was a great book. I really enjoyed reading it. I hate to see this series end.

[Mark]

I know I have mentioned this before but I heard Connelly speak and he was asked who he reads and he said George Pelacanos,love his books

[Ellis]

Mark, thanks! I haven't read George Pelacanos, but since I love Connelly's books, I'll try him. Always good to find a new author.

[Mark]

Ellis,
You won't go wrong,I also read a lot of James Lee Burke and he recommended Ken Bruen, also quite good

[Ellis]

James Lee Burke is on my top ten list, up there on the shelf with Pat Conroy. So I guess I'll have to try Ken Bruen too. :-) My TBR list is already overwhelming, but I keep adding to it.

[David]

Ellis wrote: "James Lee Burke is on my top ten list, up there on the shelf with Pat Conroy. So I guess I'll have to try Ken Bruen too. :-) My TBR list is already overwhelming, but I keep adding to it."

I, too, like both James Lee Burke and Ken Bruen. However, they are different in most aspects of their prose. Where, Burke uses long descriptive passages for setting scene and mood, and his books are therefore near-doorstop length, Bruen uses spare, crisp dialog to set mood and provides very little description. They both can write very violent scenes and have enigmatic protagonists who can exhibit equal shares of goodness and evil.

You could probably read three Bruens in the time it takes to read one Burke.

Dave

[Ellis]

Thanks, Dave. I'll keep that in mind. I like Robert B Parker's Spencer novels, and they're very spare. So maybe I'll like Bruen. It would help my list if he's a fast read.

[Ariel]

I am almost finished with A Bitter Truth: A Bess Crawford Mystery. It is complex and although I have my suspicions of who the killer is I am not at all sure.

[Jannene]

I just finished . I really liked this book. I have just one issue and that is how she goes back and forth between Ranger and Joe. She needs to pick one. I love reading these books to see what grandma is up to.

[Ellis]

Ah, but if she settles on Ranger or Joe, what will we have to wonder about and keep reading to find out? That triangle is half the story--and the fun. :-)

[Jannene]

She could have kids and start a different drama with Joe's grandma. Grandma Mazur could do some crazy things...or bring back Sally Sweet. ;)

[Ellis]

I love Grandma Mazur and Sally Sweet--two good characters. I like Mooner too. I'd like to read the first couple again. It's been a long time now, and they'd seem fairly fresh.
By the way, who would you pick? Ranger or Joe?

[Jannene]

I would pick Joe. I know the majority would probably go with Ranger.

[Ellis]

Ranger's exciting but hard to sustain. I think Joe would be around for a long time. What a choice!
I want to see the movie. I hope Hollywood does a good job with it.

[Linda]

I thought The Woodcutter was excellent. Well written and unusual.

[Libby]

Two books, both by UK authors:

THE DEVIL OF NANKING by Mo Hayder. Beautiful prose. Strange, disturbing story. Very dark. But I can't put it down.

CRUEL JUSTICE by Mel Comley. The prequel to her police procedural series with DI Lorne SImpkins. This one is good. I'm enjoying it.

[Mark]

If you enjoy Carl Hiaassen and Janet Evanovich you might enjoy David Rosenfelt, quick, funny and he always includes his dog in the stories.

[Jannene]

Mark wrote: "If you enjoy Carl Hiaassen and Janet Evanovich you might enjoy David Rosenfelt, quick, funny and he always includes his dog in the stories."

I tried his first two and . I disliked them both and stopped reading the series.

[D.L.]

I strongly refute an Amazon reviewer!

Recently, a reviewer on Amazon.com gave my murder mystery, The Wardens of Punyu, a two-star review and accused me of writing a "hateful" book about China. He alleged that Wardens contained far-fetched accusations about China's trade in organs obtained during executions of prisoners (while the prisoner was still alive.)

I don't want to get into a row on the book's amazon page, and they say that all publicity is good publicity, but this reviewer's knowledge of China appears to be limited to a few visits.

I refer any interested Goodreaders to the archived reports of Human Rights Watch and other organizations on this phenomenon (I used classified Chinese records passed to me by HRW at the time of writing) and to a very shocking article, "The Xinjiang Procedure" by Ethan Gutmann available here: (http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/x...)
published December 5, 2011 in which a Chinese surgeon confesses to being ordered to remove organs from prisoners while they were still alive under a procedure refined for the purpose of preserving organ condition for sale. (This article was singled out by David Brooks in the International Herald Tribune as one of the best pieces of journalism of 2011.)

Deputy Health Minister Huang Jiefu, speaking at a conference of surgeons in the southern city of Guangzhou in mid-November 2006 acknowledged that executed prisoners sentenced to death are a source of organ transplants. He said: "Apart from a small portion of traffic victims, most of the organs from cadavers are from executed prisoners."

Organ harvesting by the state has been a particular nightmare for those arrested under the campaign against the religious practitioners Falun Gong, as documented in a report "Bloody Harvest" Revised Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China
By David Matas, Esq. and Hon. David Kilgour, available here: (http://www.organharvestinvestigation.net...)

My ignorant critic who alleges my book went too far in drawing a link between organ removal on the execution grounds and profit at the provincial or state level should note that even a Chinese Minister called for a halt to this scandal, acknowledging impliciting that it remains a serious problem.
"Under‑the‑table business must be banned,' Mr Huang said cognizant that too often organs come from non consenting parties and are sold for high fees to foreigners."

Meanwhile, my critic has not had the privilege, as I did in 1992, of interviewing Japanese diplomats in Shenyang who detailed for my reports Japanese corporate equipping and training, including management, inside Chinese prisons in the Northeast.

A fictional thriller demands certain conventions—and I admit to combining aspects of separate issues for the purpose of weaving an intriguing plot with a plucky protagonist, but when portraying the anguish of Chinese victims of abusive state practices, I can hardly be accused of writing a book expressing hate for the Chinese people.

I wish all mystery fans a wonderful 2012 with lots of chills and shudders, and thank you all for a chance to air this refutation.
D.L. Kung


The Wardens of Punyu

[Denise]

Reading Breakdown, by Sara Paretsky; LOVE it!

[Jannene]

I just finished . Awesome book. I couldn't put it down. The characters are so likeable. I like Rook the best. He always has some funny comment to make. It was better than the first one. I am excited to read "Heat Rises".