Currently Reading? Showing 1,951-2,000 of 2,623

[John]

Leslie - yes, Judith, the woman with whom (!) Appleby becomes involved, is the future Mrs (later Lady) Appleby.

Jean - yes, if anyone knows another quasi-Innes, I'd love to hear of him/her!

[Karlyne]

John wrote: "As you know, Leslie, you having read the first nine, it's erudition as fun, and the sheer enjoyment in style, vocabulary, and arcane and esoteric knowledge. I got into them as a teenager in the ear..."

John, that's a major point! The only reason I have a modicum of erudition is because I always read books that were over my head, especially as a teen-ager.

[Karlyne]

And now I have to find some Applebys. How have I missed them all these years?!?

[John]

Just started The Case of the Missing Servant (Vish Puri#1) by Tarquinius Hall. Came across in the library quite by chance. Overweight Indian private investigator, currently mainly checking the bona fides of prospective spouses in Delhi.

So far, good flavour of Delhi (where I have stayed), a touch of humour and a nicely unfolding story.

[John]

Tarquin, not Tarquinius. Wretched predictive text!

[Sandy]

John wrote: "Just started The Case of the Missing Servant (Vish Puri#1) by Tarquinius Hall. Came across in the library quite by chance. Overweight Indian private investigator, currently mainly checking the bona..."

I've listened to the first three Puri's and enjoyed them very much.

[John]

Sandy - nice to hear: thank you.

[Leslie]

John wrote: "Just started The Case of the Missing Servant (Vish Puri#1) by Tarquinius Hall. Came across in the library quite by chance. Overweight Indian private investigator, currently mainly checking the bona..."

I listened to one of those on BBC Radio 4X a while ago and thought it was pretty good.

[John]

Leslie - good. Although I see the GR average marking is only 3.7, I'm still thoroughly enjoying it

[Kay]

My library has lots of books by Tarquin Hall. I'll try them next. Thanks

[Amy]

I'm reading Have His Carcase by Dorothy Sayers and loving it! I gave up on Five Red Herrings so I'm relieved that this is back to her usual style.

Train travel times are incredibly boring to me.

[Carolien]

John wrote: "Just started The Case of the Missing Servant (Vish Puri#1) by Tarquinius Hall. Came across in the library quite by chance. Overweight Indian private investigator, currently mainly checking the bona..."

Nice to know, I picked it up at a secondhand bookstore recently, so will hopefully get to it soon.

[John]

Carolien - still enjoying it, plenty of smiles as it unfolds.

[C.J.]

John, I say God bless any electronic device that auto-types Tarquinius! Mine can't even handle rhododendron.

[Bionic Jean]

I must admit I was surprised at that too ;)

[John]

LOL

[Diane]

I listened to the third in the Vish Puri series, The Case of the Deadly Butter Chicken and liked it a lot. I started craving Indian food although I'm totally unfamiliar with it.

[Jean]

This is the one I read - I found it in a library we use a few years ago, all by its lonely self, then forgot about it - so thanks for reminding me. It was quite funny yet the detective was sharp and effective. I'm going to Amazon now and see if I can find more for my kindle.

[Cheri]

Thank you for the comments on Tarquin Hall. I am a voracious mystery reader and finding something new is something of a challenge ,these mysteries have never crossed my path before !

[Jean]

Me too, Cheri - I'm so pathetically happy to discover a new-to-me good writer or to rediscover an old one. . . .

[John]

Cheri, looking at your home page, I see loads of new (to me) crime writers in your listed 11 favourite books. I know Carola Dunn and Louise Penny. Which of the others would you recommend me to get, and should it be the first in series, or the ones listed. I think my tastes seem the same as yours. The authors are: Emerson, Ballard, Kimberley, Casey, Page (2!), Rosenfelt, McKevett, and Cleland. As you say, a new find is great! Ta.

[Cheri]

If you tell me what interests you most in mysteries I can direct you towards many brilliant British authors.Edward Marston writes about mysteries on the trains in Britain when they were first coming into use, G.A.McKevett is really Sonja Massie who is Irish by ancestry but her McKevett mysteries are set in Southern California.I am almost as great a fan of dogs as of mysteries so any of the Rosenfelt books featuring Andy Carpenter and Tara have been wonderful. I am sure you are familiar with Caroline Graham,Bartholomew Gill ,Peter Lovesy & Patricia Wentworth.I don't always start with book 1 but if it is easy to start with it that is often good .

[Cheri]

Jean wrote: "Me too, Cheri - I'm so pathetically happy to discover a new-to-me good writer or to rediscover an old one. . . ."

Jean wrote: "Me too, Cheri - I'm so pathetically happy to discover a new-to-me good writer or to rediscover an old one. . . ."

Jean like you I am always delighted to find new mystery authors.I used to read only British authors but the librarians here have introduced me to some North American mystery writers that are quite good.Interestingly many of them have a British heritage !

[Jean]

Cheri, I've wondered if something in the British lifestyle leads to mystery addiction. We in the US do have some pretty great ones too, though. If you haven't already tried Tony Hillerman, Donna Andrews, Cassandra Chan, and Thatcher Robinson, I can recommend them. Let me know what you think about each, and I can make other recommendations.

[John]

Cheri, it's always easier to say what one doesn't like: the gruesome - Patricia Cornwall, Kathy Reichs, Minette Walters. I love the classic whodunnits, whether Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, Michael Innes, as well as Elizabeth Peters, Carola Dunn, Louise Penny, Simon Brett, Donna Leon, Andrea Camilleri. also more hard-boiled stuff: Chandler, Peter Cheney, Robert Crais. And many others. So, well-written, often with a little humour, and some quirkiness. I have just been sampling McKevett on Amazon, and he doesn't seem my cup of tea, but Rosenfelt certainly does. Just bought Open And Shut, and New Tricks on Kindle. Thank you.

Jean, from your earlier suggestions, I came home from a week's holiday to find second-hand books by Cassandra Chan (3), Barbara Cleverly, and a 3-book Bill Slider Harrod-Eagles omnibus delivered by Amazon, and I got a Huss book on Kindle. Thank you.

What a lot of reading to be done!

[Jean]

I hope you love them all!

[Leslie]

John wrote: "Cheri, it's always easier to say what one doesn't like: the gruesome - Patricia Cornwall, Kathy Reichs, Minette Walters. I love the classic whodunnits, whether Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, Micha..."

John - I think that you would like Tony Hillerman. I don't know how available his books are now but worth spending some time searching for them.

[Kay]

All very available in the U.S.

[Cheri]

Jean wrote: "Cheri, I've wondered if something in the British lifestyle leads to mystery addiction. We in the US do have some pretty great ones too, though. If you haven't already tried Tony Hillerman, Donna ..."

Jean I will check those out and let you know what I think of them.Thank you so much for the new authors to peruse !

[Cheri]

Leslie wrote: "John wrote: "Cheri, it's always easier to say what one doesn't like: the gruesome - Patricia Cornwall, Kathy Reichs, Minette Walters. I love the classic whodunnits, whether Ngaio Marsh, Margery All..."

John I am not a great fan of the gruesome and I do like the classic whodunnits

[John]

Leslie, thank you re Hillerman. I've just ordered a second-hand omnibus of the first three Leaphorn books. They look good.

NO MORE BOOK-BUYING UNTIL THE SUMMER!

[S.K.]

I like the more traditional and less gruesome whodunnits too. One of my Goodreads friends just recommended the Thomas Chaloner series by Susanna Gregory, which looks interesting.

Also, I'd like to make my way through Ann Cleeves' various series--I've heard that her books are great.

[John]

A good source of possible new authors to try is at: www.StopYoureKillingMe.com

Wouldn't It Be Deadly by DE Ireland 1914 is mentioned in the latest newsletter with approval. It involves Eliza Doolittle, of course (Wouldn't It Be Luverly from My Fair Lady being the punning reference). Might try this.

[John]

Wouldn't It Be Deadly only came out in hardback/Kindle in Sep, and still costs £16+ for each version. So, wait, or library order (which, here, is the same as waiting). I said I wouldn't buy anything else until Summer, anyway!

[Mara]

Just finished SWORN TO SILENCE by Linda Castillo.

Loved the book, but I wasn't crazy about the narrator.

She did the female voices okay, but her male voices could use some work. They sounded like teenage boys.

[Jean]

S.K. - I've liked all the Ann Cleeves books I've read.

[S.K.]

Jean wrote: "S.K. - I've liked all the Ann Cleeves books I've read."

Doesn't she have several series? Which one did you read?

[Jean]

S.K., I've read all the Shetland Island ones and recommend them highly; I've read two of the Vera Stanhope ones and none of the other two series - the libraries I use don't have them and I need to order some. I'm in a rural area of eastern AR in the US - I have my small town library which used to be wonderful for mysteries but now isn't (good librarian died and the current one is willing but clueless - she's trying to get what I recommend but money is limited) and a larger college town library that's much better but still more limited than ideal primarily because of funding.

[S.K.]

My father's family is originally from northwest Arkansas, and my mother was on the board of a small-town library very like the one you describe. Money was always limited.

I'll see if my library here has the first in the Shetland series. Thanks!

[Laurie]

Has anyone read The Book of You by Claire Kendal? She is American but was raised in England.

[Joan]

Just started Peter Robinson's Abattoir Blues.

[Leslie]

Laurie wrote: "Has anyone read The Book of You by Claire Kendal? She is American but was raised in England."

Not me. Sorry for the delayed response; I must have missed this when it was first posted.

[Leslie]

I am reading the 3rd Jane & Dagobert mystery, Corpse Diplomatique. I am enjoying it but wish I had read the second one first... not having done so doesn't impact the mystery (at least so far) but the relationship between Jane & Dagobert has progressed.

I didn't get to my usual Innes mystery in March (or many other books I had planned on!) so I hope to get to A Night of Errors soon...

[Lesley]

Leslie wrote: "I am reading the 3rd Jane & Dagobert mystery, Corpse Diplomatique. I am enjoying it but wish I had read the second one first... not having done so doesn't impact the mystery (at l..."

I was thinking that myself Leslie. Not sure why this one was made ready before the 2nd book.

[Kay]

I enjoyed Corpse Diplomatique very much . I was surprised by how far the relationship between Jane and Dagobert had progressed but it really didn't effect the plot.

[Michell]

I am currently reading Anne Perry's Angel Court Affair.....so far so good, as all of her books have been before. I love them!

[Jean]

I just managed to finish Cora Harrison's Condemned to Death; don't bother. So boring . . . . I really loved the first few Anne Perry books of the Thomas Pitt group, but I finally had all I could stand of the personal drama. When the detective is assailed by enemies while trying to solve the mystery - over and over - it turns me off. Over-reliance on the same old plot twists is a sign of burnout, IMO.

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂]

I'm rereading Artists in Crime by Ngaio Marsh. I'm assuming I've read cleaned up editions before as the racist remarks in this one are testing my preference for reading uncensored works.

& its the start of one of the most uncomfortable romances in detective fiction - Alleyn & Troy.

[Karlyne]

***Carol*** wrote: "I'm rereading Artists in Crime by Ngaio Marsh. I'm assuming I've read cleaned up editions before as the racist remarks in this one are testing my preference for reading uncensored works.

& its the..."

I haven't read that one in a while, Carol, but I always find the murder rather gruesome. I don't remember racist remarks, so I'm wondering if I just passed over them as a sign of the times or if I have a censored version?

[C.J.]

I just read Edmund Crispin's The Moving Toyshop. What fun! Oxford on steroids: dons rampant, students couchant, & Gervase Fen drinking & detecting at large. A fast-paced puzzle of dazzling verbal agility. I can't recall another mystery where the characters seamlessly refer to the author, & to being in a book. Must try another.