Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends discussion

Had a great start to my reading year. Here are my January reads:

Top Reads

Her Last Call to Louis MacNeice
Ken Bruen
Nobody does dark better and with more style than Bruen and this early work is another great example of his skill.

The Skeleton Box
Bryan Gruley
Another excellent book in the Starvation Lake series. I thought the author captured the small economically depressed town feel in the three books really well and the characters always seemed so realistic. The plot in this entry was my favorite secrets of the past type and kept me totally engrossed. I do hope he will publish another work soon.

Mad World: An Oral History of New Wave Artists and Songs That Defined the 1980s
Lori Majewski & Jonathan Bernstein
A highly entertaining though subjective and sometimes snarky look at the New Wavers who broke through in the eighties. I thought the authors did a great job of organization and putting things in context and the oral history parts were interesting. Part of the fun though was firing up the Google Machine and checking out the videos on U-Tube. It brought back a lot of memories with the only downside being that I keep catching myself humming "True" and "Obsession".

The Warlord's Son
Dan Fesperman
Set after 9/11 a former war correspondent, now working a suburban desk, gets a chance to get back in saddle and jumps at the chance to go to Pakistan and try to get a dateline and story from Afghanistan. The details of a working journalist in a foreign land were fascinating, the various tribal leaders and factions kept the suspense level high, and the personal story of the local translator helped make this an excellent read.

The Dead Hour
Denise Mina
Set in 1980s Glasgow this was a dark and gritty story of journalism, crime, and how the economic downturn of the time was affecting the city. The characters were all very well drawn, the plot quite suspenseful, and the ending made me want to find out what will happen next with Paddy's life.

Good Reads

Angel Touch
Mike Ripley
An engaging and fun lead character along with his quirky friends and flatmates were the main attractions of this mystery set in London. Since it was written in the late 1980s the tech was pretty dated but the plot still worked, it was well written, and quite humorous.

Dead Souls
Ian Rankin
There is a lot going on in this book, maybe too much, but I found the various story lines to be quite compelling and though Rebus seems to be going through a particularly dark period this was one of the better books in the series so far.

The Dark Tower
Stephen King
A nice ending to this long fantasy saga. I did have some problems getting into the book since I had taken so long between reading the previous book and this one but after about a quarter in, and the whole Mia arc was completed, the plot really started to perk along. I thought the ending was very apt especially for Roland though had a few quibbles with some other parts. Listened to the audio which was narrated by George Guidall who has done a fine job since taking over from the late, great Frank Muller.

He Who Hesitates
Ed McBain
A bit of a departure in the 87th Precinct series since there is pretty much no police procedural plot and the detectives have very little page time. More of a psychological character study, but I did not think it was bad, just different from the other books in the series I have read.

Lusitania Murders, The
Max Allan Collins
I really like these books not only because of the historical settings but also because the main characters are always famous writers of the time period. In this book S.S. Van Dine takes a writing assignment to profile various travelers on the Lusitania and gets involved in shipboard intrigue. Listened to the audio version which was competently narrated by Jeff Cummings.

If The Dead Rise Not
Philip Kerr
A good entry in this series. The book has two timelines (Berlin 1934 & Havana 1954) and while I liked the Berlin section better (its focus was the build-up to the 1936 Olympic Games) the Havana part was an interesting look at pre-Castro Cuba.

Phantom Prey
John Sandford
An entertaining listen though the plot in this entry in the Lucas Davenport series was a bit too out there and strange for me. Loved the ongoing relationships between all the characters and thought the b plot was interesting. Listened to the audio version read by Richard Ferrone who got a bit of a workout with some of the voices in this story.

Rumpole on Trial
John Mortimer
Collection of seven tales featuring Horace Rumpole. The best two were Rumpole and the Children of the Devil and Rumpole on Trial but all were well worth the time. I listened to the audio version which was read by Timothy West who, while not the regular narrator, was very good.

Great month Sandi! You have a lot of new to me authors!

I'd like to see a new Starvation Lake book from Bryan Gruley, too. Great series. Also really enjoyed Max Allan Collins Disaster books. PEARL HARBOR MURDERS was my favorite.

You always read such great books, I count on your reviews. Great month! :)

Sandi-Wow, this is a great looking list, so many that tempt me. Ken Bruen is a master of noir and I understand your comments on the ending of the arc with the Dark Tower. Someday I am going to listen to all of them again closer together. I know I will pick up on subtleties that way.

Nice month, Sandi.

I always enjoy reading your reviews, Sandi. You've pointed out a couple I want to pursue. And, you almost make me want to go back to the beginning and listen to the Prey books all over again. Lucas goes through so many changes over the years, and watching his relationships develop also would be fun.

Now you've got me humming "True."!