Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends discussion

Finally a decent reading month number wise and, for the most part, quality wise too. Here are my July reads:

Top Reads

The Lively Dead
Peter Dickinson
In another author's hands the plot of this book would be too far fetched to work but the smart, subtle, and literate style it was written in made this extremely entertaining.

The Blue Knight
Joseph Wambaugh
The author was still working as a policeman when this book was published so I felt like I was getting the true inside story of walking a beat in L.A. during the early seventies. "Bumper" Morgan is a larger than life character and this chronicle of his last few days walking a beat before retirement really showed both the highs and lows of police work.

Good Reads

Louder Than Hell: The Definitive Oral History of Metal
Jon Wiederhorn&Katherine Turman
Metal Rock gets the oral history treatment and while some of it gets a bit repetative (almost all the bands have the same issues with alcohol, drugs, and sex) the chapters on some of the less popular branches were quite interesting. The whole Scandinavian black metal scene was not to be believed.

The Expats
Chris Pavone
Nominated for both the Edgar and the Anthony for best first novel, this proved enjoyable in the end. At first, I was a bit put off by all the time shifting during the narrative, especially since I was listening to the audio, but the shifts did help build the suspense and kept the momenteum going. The audio was narrated by Mozhan Marno whose low key style went well with the story.

Kisscut
Karin Slaughter
I found this to be well written with compelling characters but the plot was not something I really cared to read about and some of the scenes were a bit too graphic for my tastes.

Don't Ever Get Old
Daniel Friedman
Debut novel featuring a retired Memphis homicide detective who is definitely not the cuddly old person type. This was nominated for the Edgar best first and was different enough to be entertaining. Listened to the audio which was read by Nick Sullivan who had the main character's raspy and a bit abrasive voice down cold.

I Feel Bad About My Neck: and Other Thoughts on Being a Woman
Nora Ephron
A series of essays on being a woman of a certain age. The writing was light and witty and the author narrated the audio in a conversational style that was very engaging throughout.

A Watery GraveJoan Druett
First book in a series featuring a half New Zealand Maori/half American who sets sail with the United States South Seas Exploring Expedition in 1838. Thought this had a great premise, some interesting historical color, and a winning main character though the actual plot was a bit lacking.

Old City Hall
Robert Rotenberg
Set in a fictional Toronto this had a large ensemble cast and a nice leisurely pace. The plot unravelled logically and I ended up finding the entire experience quite good. Listened to the audio version narrated by Paul Hecht.

Night Rounds
Helene Tursten
The second book written in the series (though the fourth published in the US) was a very readable police procedural set in Sweden. I really liked the main character who successfully navigated her police work and her home life and found the plot, which revolved around deaths at an older private hospital, quite compelling.

Comfort Station
Donald E. Westlake
Totally off the wall spoof of the type of book Arthur Hailey specialized in writing. Instead of the setting being a glamorous hotel or airport though this took place mainly in the men's room (a Comfort Station) behind the New York Public library in Bryant Park where a diverse group of characters all meet up and a fair bit of hilarity ensues.

OK Read

The Good Son
Russel D. McLean
I was pretty underwhelmed with this debut PI book that was nominated for the Shamus Award for best first novel. The plot was frankly mediocre and while the main character had the requisite tortured back story his willingness to just wallow in his grief made him not someone I wanted to spend time with. I did like the Dundee setting though.

Wow, what a great looking (and tempting) list Sandi! I love how you sprinkle in award nominated books. If I had time to listen to all that I want I would have already gotten to The Expats, now I have some others to load onto the burgeoning tbr pile too.

LOUDER THAN HELL sounds interesting, for sure. Need to look into that one!

I used to love Joseph Wambaugh! I read them many years ago. Liked your review on Kisscut too...I haven't read that one yet.

Great mix of books, Sandi. I think I need to add Night Rounds to my list, but of course I will find its predecessor first.

I have Don't ever get old by Daniel friendman (an arc) to review for the bookstore at the shore. I'll be reading it after I finish the current arc I'm reading. I have the hc so I put that one off to read last. I'll post when I go to start it. I'm hoping to finish the current book tomorrow maybe so should be starting it either tomorrow or thursday.