Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends discussion

One of the better months I have had recently quality wise. Here are my August reads:

Top Reads

Missing Witness
Gordon Campbell
A well written courtroom drama that had the right amount of suspense, realistic characters, and a really good narrative flow. This was a first novel and it was nominated for both the Edgar and Barry Best First in 2008.

The Whites
Richard Price
An excellent crime novel. Gritty and dark, with what seemed to be a fairly realistic look at how police actually operate in New York City during their regular day to day operations. What really set this book apart, though, were the great characters both major and supporting and their motivations which really propelled the plot.

The Long and Faraway Gone
Lou Berney
Even better than the author's first two books, which I very much enjoyed, though much more serious in nature. While the previous books were more in the comic caper vein this book dealt with two terrible crimes that occurred in Oklahoma City in 1986 and how those left behind are still searching for answers. The dual story lines were expertly handled, the characters were all very realistic, and the suspense level was just right.

The Night RangerAlex Berenson
While the stakes are not quite as high as in the previous books in the series, I really enjoyed this outing which finds John Wells looking for some kidnapped aid workers who were working in a camp for Somalian refugees in Kenya. Lots of action and I find the working dynamic between Wells and the supporting characters (Ellis Shafer and Vinny Duto) always fun. Listened to the audio version which was narrated by the stellar George Guidall.

Gunshot Road
Adrian Hyland
Set in the Australian outback and featuring a half-Aboriginal, half-white young woman who has been newly appointed to the post of Aboriginal Community police officer, this book's main highlights were the great characters and fascinating setting. The plot was perhaps a bit convoluted but the suspense factor was very high and I hope there will be further adventures at some point.

Good Reads

Ax
Ed McBain
In this entry, Steve Carella and Cotton Hawes are sent to investigate the murder of a building superintendent who was killed with an ax. One of the shorter books in the 87th Precinct series but still pretty good.

Heart: In the Studio
Jake Brown
An overview of all the albums Heart made through 2008. Some interesting details on how a band works in the studio and all the various producers are quoted extensively but, at times, just a bit too technical.

Infinity's Shore
David Brin
While I wish this book was a bit more tightly written with less POV characters it did seem to move the story forward and give me hope that the final book in the trilogy will tie together all the different dangling threads. This was a rather long audio clocking in at a bit over 26 hours so thankfully the narration by George Wilson was excellent.

The Damsel: An Alan Grofield Novel
Richard Stark
Actor Alan Grofield, a supporting character in the Parker series, gets the lead in this book which is set right after the events of The Handle. While this was in no means a bad book, it just was not quite up to the standards of the Parker books. Listened to the audio version which was narrated by R.C. Bray who gave a very good performance.

There Is No Justice
R.B. Dominic
Another entertaining entry in this series featuring an Ohio congressman with support by his fellow committee members. The plot focused on a Supreme Court nomination and was tightly written with some sharp observations about politics and the DC lifestyle.

The Raphael Affair
Iain Pears
Set mainly in Rome, the combination of art history and mystery made this a fun audio. The plot was quite twisty, the characters interesting, and the writing was lean with no excess verbiage. The narration by Ralph Cosham was top rate.

So So

Happy Birthday, Turk!
Jakob Arjouni
At least this was a quick read because otherwise I was underwhelmed. Set in Frankfurt, Germany and featuring a PI of Turkish heritage who, instead of being a smart wisecracking operator, was pretty boorish and blundered through the rather ludicrous plot.

Good month! I always enjoy seeing what you've read!

Very good month Sandi.

Sandi: wow, you had a busy month! Lots of top reads too, I'm glad you liked The Whites too. I'll have to look up a couple of your other top reads for sure, i really liked RC Bray's narration of The Martian, so am interested in other books he narrates. Missing Witness looks good!

Great month, Sandi. Gunshot Road sounds interesting.

Great month! Agree with you about the Whites. Didn't it come off as realistic? It really impressed me. I'm gonnna check out your other good reads.

Great variety Sandi!

Sandi wrote: "The Long and Faraway Gone . . . this book dealt with two terrible crimes that occurred in Oklahoma City in 1986 and how those left behind are still searching for answers. The dual story lines were expertly handled, the characters are all very realistic, and the suspense level was just right."

Hi, Sandi, this is a small still voice wafting to you from the stacks of long ago reads. Boo!

I was scanning through long-dead monthly reads posts and found your review of The Long and Faraway Gone in 2015. I read the book earlier this year and loved it. It has haunted me ever since--an interesting effect since one of its themes is emotional haunting. How did Berney do that? The idea of past events clinging forever is very affecting, but I don't really expect authors to be able to haunt me with their characters' hauntedness.

I'm here to tell you that Berney's depiction of Oklahoma City, both in the 80's and present day, is spot-on accurate.

This was a book of which I wanted to write a review, but couldn't quite gather my thoughts. I also see that I only gave it 4 stars, no doubt because of some quibbles I had at the time, which have burned away in the glow of fond and admiring remembrance. I'm going back to change my rating to 5 stars.

Jan O'Cat, ghost of Books Past

OMalleycat wrote: "I was scanning through long-dead monthly reads posts and found your review of The Long and Faraway Gone in 2015. I read the book earlier this year and loved it. It has haunted me ever since--an interesting effect since one of its themes is emotional haunting. How did Berney do that? The idea of past events clinging forever is very affecting, but I don't really expect authors to be able to haunt me with their characters' hauntedness."

Haunting is an apt description of this book and it was one of those stories that stays with you. I was surprised that I read it back in 2015 since I can still remember how good it was.

It looks like the author finally is going to have a new book out this year, November Road, which is getting some good pre-publication buzz.

Jan O’Cat: Thanks! I am now happily adding The Long and Faraway Gone to my library hold list. Happily adding books is a good way to spend a Saturday evening. 😀

Sandi wrote: "It looks like the author finally is going to have a new book out this year, November Road, which is getting some good pre-publication buzz."

That one looks good, Sandi. However, I'm getting set to read 11/22/63 sometime this year. Depending on when November Road is published, it might be an oversaturation of JFK assassination for me. I'll keep it in mind, but may wait a while to read it.

I also see that you liked the two Berney books about the organized crime guy. They didn't appeal to me at first sight, but with your endorsement, I'll take another look at those too.

I'd sort of forgotten how one's tbr explodes while hanging around the M/T. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Ann wrote: "Jan O’Cat: Thanks! I am now happily adding The Long and Faraway Gone to my library hold list. Happily adding books is a good way to spend a Saturday evening. 😀"

I hope you'll like it, Ann.

And see my post to Sandi re: happily adding books on a Saturday evening. ;-)