New York Times Groupies discussion

I just finished The Last Detective which I really enjoyed!

Is anyone else reading a good book this month?

This was one of the most interestingly written mystery novels I have read in a long time. First of all it's a police procedural which is very different from most of the mystery novels out there. It wasn't so much like CSI, Peter Diamond is specifically against all that technology, but it did focus heavily on suspect interviews and interactions within the police department. The book is actually divided into parts, two of which are narrated by two suspects as they give their account of events during interrogation.

There were parts that I really enjoyed and it was fascinating to watch as the police followed both good and bad leads with equal enthusiasm, all of us getting our hopes up and then often hitting the proverbial wall together. I did feel at times that I as the reader was not privy to the same information or process as the police and the conclusion came as kind of a anticlimactic left field curve ball. The hunt for the killer was so much more exciting than the actual apprehension that I felt a little cheated, but I still enjoyed the book and will very likely order the next ASAP (to be added to my already daunting To-Read pile).

I am reading The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend. I am only about 100 pages into it. The characters are well-developed. The reader gets to know one of the characters through the letters she wrote before she died.

Barbara wrote: "I am reading The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend."

Ah! So I read one of our monthly group reads but I haven't started on this one yet! I'm creating a thread to talk about this book so PLEASE discuss because I really want to read it next! I was so good at the beginning of the month to get both one group read and the genre read done (I loved them both) but now I need to move on to Broken Wheel.

I just finished The Crypt Thief. Three Stars but a good book for a rainy afternoon.


For some reason I have a hard time getting into Pryor's books, they start a little slow with a lot of back story, but I always end up enjoying them. After reading The Bookseller a few months ago I thought I'd give the sequel a try.

The Hugo Marston novels take place in Paris which makes for a great back drop to this mystery, something of a psychological thriller with lots of side character development. I like that Pryor makes an effort to mix in french words, mainly those simple phrases that we all picked up somewhere along the line or can understand from context, but I am a little disappointed that he isn't more descriptive about Paris itself. The sights and sounds could have added a lot to the story, but he does a great job describing people from prostitutes to ambassadors and for a book like this the people are the main focus.

My one serious complaint is that Pryor kept bringing up the events from the first book. They really didn't tie into this one at all, besides it being a shared history for the characters, but they were quickly rehashed in almost every chapter for the first half of the novel. Ms Marple might have eluded to a prior case but she certainly didn't reminded us of it every time she saw two people drinking coffee or walked a specific street. It started to get annoying so I was happy when the book picked up and Pryor lost interest in reminding us that there was a first book.

Overall an interesting read which was quick and entertaining. It was short on mystery because we pretty much know who the killer is the whole time, but finding out they why behind it all was a good trip. If they were longer books I probably wouldn't go back for the third one, but, since they only take a couple afternoons if that, I may do.

I just finished The Anonymous Venetian by Donna Leon.

Another great mystery from Leon! Brunetti, the average but above average Venician detective protagonist, is exceptional and Leon blends a classic detective novel with a more current police procedural to solve this third mystery in the series.

When a dead man is found outside Venice dressed as a woman and dumped in an area known for prostitution Brunetti has to use his knowledge of Venician culture, society and politics to solve a sensitive case.

This is a must read for Brunetti fans and will launch me right into the fourth book.