Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends discussion

A good month of both old favorites and new authors.

Top Read

Ready Player One
Ernest Cline
Completely entertaining and just plain fun. Loved all the 1980s lore and the first person narrative voice kept me interested even during some of the slower parts. Listened to the audio read by Wil Wheaton who seemed to having a great time.

Good Reads

The Hundred Days
Patrick O'Brian
I liked this entry better than the previous but the series is definitely on the downswing though it was still fun to catch up with Captain Jack and Stephen. After a one book hiatus I was able to find an audio read by Patrick Tull who really is the voice of this series.

Deadly Appearances
Gail Bowen
Started a bit slowly but really built up steam and ended up being a very solid read. Really enjoyed the mix of Canadian politics and dark secrets from the past.

The Hunger Games
Suzanne Collins
Obviously I am a bit late to the party with this series but I found this to be a very good book to listen to while exercising since the pace was quick and the story engrossed me enough that the time seemed to flow by effortlessly. The narration was done by Carolyn McCormick who did a great job.

Rumpole and the Age of Miracles
John MortimerJohn Mortimer
An entertaining collection of short stories, including a very short Christmas party interlude, featuring everyone's favorite English barrister, Rumpole.

A Dangerous Man
Charlie Huston
While dark and grimly violent I did think this was a fitting conclusion to the Hank Thompson trilogy. Was put off a bit though by the no quotation marks style (I had listened to the previous two installments on audio) but did get used to it in the end.

Wobble To Death
Peter Lovesey
The author's debut mystery, first published in 1970, turned out to be a very enjoyable historical mystery set back in Victorian England where six day walking races known as "Wobbles" were very popular.

Chain of Evidence
Garry Disher
One of the better police procedural series going. I really enjoy the Australian setting, the books are well plotted, and the author does a great job with both the major and supporting characters from book to book.

Rilke on Black
Ken Bruen
An early stand alone novel that had all the ingredients of Bruen's latter work but was not quite as polished. Still well worth reading and it was fun seeing a couple of names like Brant and Falls pop up in the narrative.

Winterfair Gifts
Lois McMaster Bujold
A short, though pleasant, romantic story with just a touch of intrigue. I listened to the audio version which was narrated by Grover Gardner

Fargo Rock City: A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota
Chuck Klosterman
Fairly interesting look at metal rock during the eighties and the effect it had on the author during his younger years growing up in a small town.

OK Reads

Call Me Princess
Sara Blaedel
An average police procedural set in Denmark. The main character was a bit too flighty for me and I did not really care about her personal problems. The writing was a bit wooden but that might have been the translation.

Torpedo Juice
Tim Dorsey
This series is up and down for me and unfortunately this entry was a down. The plotting was pretty scattershot and the whole enterprise seemed like just an excuse for the author to retell all of the strange stories from the Florida Keys that he had been storing up. The one bright spot was the narration of the audio by George Wilson.

Thanks for your list, Sandi. Will have to look into the Disher series, I'm always looking for a good police procedural.

We saw Sara Blaedel at B-Con 2012 and I've been meaning to hunt down one of her books. Sorry you didn't enjoy it more, this does not make me want to rush out and get it.

Wow, Sandi! Ken Bruen and Charlie Huston in the same month = Stellar! I need to read more of both. I don't think I ever tried either on audio. Both have a style of writing that is arresting and yet unique. and hard boiled!
Sandi wrote: "A good month of both old favorites and new authors."