Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends discussion

Hi all,

Had a good month of reading. Here are my September reads:

Top Read

Extenuating Circumstances
Jonathan Valin
Another excellent entry in this hard-boiled PI series set in Cincinnati. I love the author's lean writing style (only 234 pgs.) though the plot was extremely dark. This won the Shamus award for best PI novel back in 1990.

Good Reads

SPQR III: The Sacrilege
John Maddox Roberts
This series gets better with each book. I really like the hero, Decius Cecilius Metellus, and find the author's takes on Titus Milo and Clodius very entertaining. The plot used the Bona Dea scandal as a starting point but varied enough from history to make it suspenseful. Listened to the audio version which was narrated by John Lee who had just the right sardonic tone for the proceedings.

Dance Hall of the Dead
Tony Hillerman
Second book in the series and winner of the 1974 Edgar for Best Mystery, this provided a unique look at the Zuni religion and Navajo life. Leaphorn is a patient policeman and the plotting was fairly deliberate but the setting made this well worth the time. Listened to the audio version which was ably read by the always good George Guidall.

A Big Boy Did It And Ran Away
Christopher Brookmyre
A likable regular guy hero along with the author's patented dark humor, violence, and improbable plotting made this far too long book set in Scotland and dealing with terrorism an entertaining read.

Instruments of Night
Thomas H. Cook
This a hard book to rate because, while it was well written and very compelling, it was also very dark and disturbing. The plot was perhaps somewhat far fetched, especially the set up, the narrative though moved along at a brisk pace and the ending was well executed.

Rough Trade
Dominique Manotti
Paris, France in 1980 is the setting and the police are called in to the garment district when a young girl's body is found. There was a lot going on with this book. Besides the crimes (which there are many and some very graphic), there was a whole subplot about illegal Turkish immigrants who work in the rag trade. I found the book to be very interesting though, at times, struggled a bit with the author's writing style.

The Glass-Sided Ants' Nest
Peter Dickinson
I have enjoyed the author's standalone work so I thought I would start this series. This book won the Dagger for best crime novel in 1968 and was nominated for the Edgar in 1969 but parts of it have not really aged well. The plot was pretty surreal and some of it was just plain weird but the book was well written and James Pibble, a Scotland Yard Superintendent, was a pretty interesting main character.

The Girl in the Spider's Web
David Lagercrantz
I had really liked the first book in the original trilogy but, as the series went on, had liked each book less and less so I probably would not have picked this up except that it was a group read. I found this book to bit better written than the previous two books, though there was too much telling in places. I thought the new author did a pretty good job with most of the returning characters though I did not feel Salander had the same pop as in the original books. Listened to the audio version which was read by Simon Vance who had read the original three books too so that helped with the transition.

The Gentlemen's Hour
Don Winslow
A worthy follow-up to the first book in the series The Dawn Patrol. Boone Daniels is a great character and though the plot was a bit creaky I found it quite entertaining. Listened to the audio version which was read by Holter Graham.

Shape of Water
Andrea Camilleri
A good start to a series featuring Salvo Montalbano, a police inspector in Sicily, Italy. I enjoyed the storyline, all the characters (though there may have been a few too many), and the well done sense of place. Listened to the audio version which was read by Grover Gardner.

Underwhelming

Body of Lies
David Ignatius
Not up to the usual standards of this author's work. Only one character was interesting and smart and he had too small of a role. While the plot could have been fairly intriguing, if the characters had not continuously done stupid things to propel it along, there was entirely too much focus on the MC's romances and the female characters were pretty laughable stereotypes. Listened to the audio which was read by Dick Hill who does male characters fine but his female characters and the love scenes were almost cringe worthy.

Good month Sandi.

I had forgotten how much I liked the Harry Stoner books until I saw your list! Good month!

Nice month Sandi!
You always read an interesting mix of audio books that tempt me! I'm glad we read The Girl in the Spider's Web as a group read around the same time so that we can discuss it. I agree with your comments on the execution of the story in this new book.

Impressive month Sandi! Great commentary!

If you are planning on reading through the Hillerman series, you're in for a treat.

I'm always interested in books by Thomas Cook, although the description of the plot as "far-fetched" gave me pause -- some of his far-fetched plots aren't my favorites. The description on Audible sounds interesting, though, and the fact that it's read by George Guidall (who I haven't heard from in a while, I think his choices for narration have diverged from my preferred authors) is a plus.

Carol/Bonadie wrote: "I'm always interested in books by Thomas Cook, although the description of the plot as "far-fetched" gave me pause -- some of his far-fetched plots aren't my favorites.."

I do really enjoy Cook but this was not one of my favorites though even his lesser works are better than some other's best work. You might not find the plot that far-fetched and I bet listening to George Guidall would add to your enjoyment.