Susan_MG’s Comments (group member since Nov 13, 2023)

Susan_MG’s comments from the Reading the Detectives group.

Finding some of the ECR Lorac titles is quite difficult. It seems that if they were very popular they are completely sold out and no longer to be found. If they were not popular enough they have not been reissued. It’s frustrating. Kindle has Murder On The Oxford Rd in a volume of 3 titles, there are 4 Volumes. I also found that title as a single.
Has anyone else who has read the detective inspector Macdonald series find that the stories as shown in series order seem somewhat out of sequence? Since there are books unavailable maybe things do line up but without the missing books it’s odd.
For example, I notice that in a few titles Macdonald’s associates refer to him as “Jock” which is not shown in early books. I get past the anomalies because I totally enjoy the plots devised by the author. I finished this one and carried on to 5 more.

As usual I’m late to the group reading of a great book. I just finished River Of Darkness which I consumed in two days. I found this sometimes gruesome crime mystery drama unputdownable. The characters were compelling, except for the perpetrator and the interfering Asst. Police Commissioner. I have the next in the John Madden series in my Kindle library and though I have a stack of partially read and TBR I know I will start this one tomorrow.
I am sad to learn that award winning South African author Rennie Airth died a couple of months ago.

I must admit to having read this book quickly. I could not put it down.The excessively educated and accomplished authors in the Surray family had me considering a few possible scenarios. I think this is my first Detective Inspector Macdonald book and that put me at a disadvantage because I didn’t know Macdonald’s expertise in detecting. Also, the reader of this book today deals with the cultural nature of that period and the author’s opinion. I highlighted many more lines in this book than I usually do in detective fiction.
I won’t be posting any spoilers. This book is too good to give the conclusion away.
I am grateful to this group for introducing me to Detective Inspector Macdonald and his friends.

Wrexford and Sloane have caught my attention. I’m reading the second book, Murder at Half Moon Gate and am enjoying this book even more than book one!

Susan in NC (I wish I could post links on this platform 😩).
I hope so because his decisions in book 2 made me wonder how he remains unscathed.

Sandy, I hope to get to the King Henry Viii series. In the Crispin books the author doesn’t glamorize or overly develop the characters but she focuses on the plot and the local, At least in the early books 1 and 2. I do hope Crispen’s decisions improve as his story goes on.

Susan in NC, I agree that the author has portrayed Crispin to be a bit hapless. I am in book three which has a different problem for me but it’s early pages so I will continue. On the positives, I like the way Jeri Westerson weaves the story and builds suspense. The time period is also interesting to me. All this said, I do hope Crispin pulls himself together and has a significant change of fortune.

I have been hopping between The Seeker Series and Jeri Westersons Crispin Guest novels. Both are incredibly entertaining.

Hate inc, Why Today’s Media Makes Us Despise One Another, Matt Tibbi

Sandy and Susan in NC…
My knowledge of the Cromwell Protectorate history is abysmal. I am reading the fiction and jogging over to Wikipedia and the web to clarify references in the story. It is cumbersome but one of the things I love about historical fiction is what I learn while reading the stories.

The Seeker series (book 1-5) are on Amazon Kindle US for $2.99 the series. I’m halfway in The Seeker (book 1). Very intriguing so far.

Just reread the Lily Adler mystery books 1-4 in anticipation of new release, book 5 tomorrow. On Kindle and Audible US
Author Katharine Schellman provides intrigue and entertainment.

Listening to Martin Edwards Gallows Court. It’s a long listen but the plot is interesting and a bit more detailed and complicated than other mysteries of that era that i have read.

I’ve just started this fun mystery by a new to me author. The author hasn’t wasted time with elaborate character details but she certainly included humor for the reader. I loved her description , thought by the victim’s work associate, of how the deceased would view an economics class filling the schedule of her classes. I couldn’t agree more of the snide comment about economics as a subject. I chuckled because my undergraduate degree, in economics, is a bachelor of science.
The chemistry teacher wouldn’t have liked to know that, ha ha.

I lived on the Kensington, CA hillside when that fire whipped through the Berkeley hills. I hope you were not impacted. Thank you for mentioning this book so I may read it.

Will continue The Hollow Msn and start the Big Four, Agatha Christie.

This was a great introduction to Chief inspector Macdonald. I will definitely read more of his series. I hope to read the original UK editions.

I’m just beginning Fete Worse than Death.

This is my first book by this author and I enjoyed the story.

I completed this book a bit early and now I can just remember an outline of the characters and the story. The gaps in Tommy’s timeline threw me off a bit but I thought the story was well constructed and even though he was on the villain’s side for a while things improved later in the story.