THE LONG AND FARAWAY GONE (Novel-Wyatt/Julianna-Oklahoma City-Contemp) - Standalone - Lou Berney Winner of Anthony, Macavity, Barry, and Edgar Awards In the summer of 1986, two tragedies rocked Oklahoma City. Six movie-theater employees were killed in an armed robbery, while one inexplicably survived. Then, a teenage girl vanished from the annual State Fair. Neither crime was ever solved. Twenty-five years later, a private investigator in Vegas, Wyatt’s latest inquiry takes him back to a past he’s tried to escape—and drags him deeper into the harrowing mystery of the movie house robbery that left six of his friends dead. Like Wyatt, Julianna struggles with the past—with the day her beautiful older sister Genevieve disappeared. When Julianna discovers that one of the original suspects has resurfaced, she’ll stop at nothing to find answers.
Christine – G+ - She really liked it and how it went between the various characters. Don – VG+ - Liked the writer's style, the characters, and the plot development. Liked it because it was a story about redemption. LJ – Ex – So well done. Great characters; each is fully developed and interesting. There are essentially three mysteries and although they intersect, each is separate. This is not your average mystery. It is more about people who once were lost and now are found. Susan – VG+ - This was her favorite read. Great character development. The author knew his stuff. Susan wasn't certain how he was going to get everything together, but he did. It was like real life.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE: VG+
THE UNQUIET DEAD: A Novel (Pol Proc-Det. Rachel Getty/Det. Esa Khattak-Canada-Contemp) - 1st in series - Ausma Zehanat Khan 2015 Barry Award Winner / Best First Novel-Macavity Award Despite their many differences, Detective Rachel Getty trusts her boss, Esa Khattak, implicitly. But she's still uneasy at Khattak's tight-lipped secrecy when he asks her to look into Christopher Drayton's death. Drayton's apparently accidental fall from a cliff doesn't seem to warrant a police investigation, particularly not from Rachel and Khattak's team, which handles minority-sensitive cases. But when she learns that Drayton may have been living under an assumed name, Rachel begins to understand why Khattak is tip-toeing around this case. It soon comes to light that Drayton may have been a war criminal with ties to the Srebrenica massacre of 1995. If that's true, any number of people might have had reason to help Drayton to his death, and a murder investigation could have far-reaching ripples throughout the community. But as Rachel and Khattak dig deeper into the life and death of Christopher Drayton, every question seems to lead only to more questions, with no easy answers.
Betty – Okay – Found it very depressing but beautifully written. The descriptions were wonderful, but the subject was hard. Charlotte – Good – She had mixed feelings and found it somewhat depressing. There was a lot of description and the memoir was painful to read. Christine – Good – It is very well written, but the information on the genocide is depressing and hard to read. Don – VG – Not a typical mystery. It did make him want to learn more about the genocide in Serbia. LJ – Ex – A beautifully written, painful book. One thing that was interesting is that we normally expect the senior officer to be the lead. I like that the second took the lead in the mystery since the senior was too emotionally involved; and Rachel is a wonderful character. It's more of a novel, and a warning. It is disturbing, painful, and excellent. Susan – Good – found it interesting but thought the ending was a bit "Orient Express" and over the top. She did enjoy it, but it was a bit slow.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE: G+
MR. CHURCHILL'S SECRETARY (Hist Mys-Maggie Hope-England-1940) - 1st in series - Susan Elia MacNeal London, 1940. Winston Churchill has just been sworn in, war rages across the Channel, and the threat of a Blitz looms larger by the day. But none of this deters Maggie Hope. Access to the War Rooms exposes Maggie to the machinations of a menacing faction determined to do whatever it takes to change the course of history. Ensnared in a web of spies, murder, and intrigue, Maggie must work quickly to balance her duty to King and Country with her chances for survival. And when she unravels a mystery that points toward her own family’s hidden secrets, she’ll discover that her quick wits are all that stand between an assassin’s murderous plan and Churchill himself.
Diane (one of our remote members) - I read Mr. Churchill's Secretary and enjoyed it so much that I have read all the subsequent books. I like the descriptions and interactions of her characters, and of London. Making Maggie English, but raised in America as well as a math whiz, gives her fabulous plot possibilities. I love her Winston Churchill; she brings him to life and makes him approachable. I recommend the entire series as they are fun and fascinating plot twists.
Christine – VG+ - Loved it. It was very English, and she can remember that time. It was well-written, although it did lose track for a bit, but she really enjoyed it. Wonderfully written. Gabriel – Okay – It picked up as it went along and became more interesting. It has a lot of visual detail. Kathy – G+ - Liked the writing. She doesn't generally read books about war, but this doesn't go into blood, guts, and gore. LJ – VG – Would love to have had a cast of characters. It was a bit confusing in the beginning but then settled down. The time period, and sexism was reflected very well. I learned things I hadn't known and found her description of the German's bombing London to be very well done. It was definitely more a woman's book, and you could definitely tell it was her first book, but it was filled with intrigue, action, and history. Marcy – G+ - Little things, anomalies and modern phrases being used, bugged her, but she did enjoy it even though the ending beggared belief a bit. Susan – Good – She did enjoy it, but you could tell it was the first book of the series, and more geared toward women readers. There were a lot of non-credible elements to the plot. It felt contrived.
Winner of Anthony, Macavity, Barry, and Edgar Awards
In the summer of 1986, two tragedies rocked Oklahoma City. Six movie-theater employees were killed in an armed robbery, while one inexplicably survived. Then, a teenage girl vanished from the annual State Fair. Neither crime was ever solved. Twenty-five years later, a private investigator in Vegas, Wyatt’s latest inquiry takes him back to a past he’s tried to escape—and drags him deeper into the harrowing mystery of the movie house robbery that left six of his friends dead. Like Wyatt, Julianna struggles with the past—with the day her beautiful older sister Genevieve disappeared. When Julianna discovers that one of the original suspects has resurfaced, she’ll stop at nothing to find answers.
Christine – G+ - She really liked it and how it went between the various characters.
Don – VG+ - Liked the writer's style, the characters, and the plot development. Liked it because it was a story about redemption.
LJ – Ex – So well done. Great characters; each is fully developed and interesting. There are essentially three mysteries and although they intersect, each is separate. This is not your average mystery. It is more about people who once were lost and now are found.
Susan – VG+ - This was her favorite read. Great character development. The author knew his stuff. Susan wasn't certain how he was going to get everything together, but he did. It was like real life.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE: VG+
THE UNQUIET DEAD: A Novel (Pol Proc-Det. Rachel Getty/Det. Esa Khattak-Canada-Contemp) - 1st in series - Ausma Zehanat Khan
2015 Barry Award Winner / Best First Novel-Macavity Award
Despite their many differences, Detective Rachel Getty trusts her boss, Esa Khattak, implicitly. But she's still uneasy at Khattak's tight-lipped secrecy when he asks her to look into Christopher Drayton's death. Drayton's apparently accidental fall from a cliff doesn't seem to warrant a police investigation, particularly not from Rachel and Khattak's team, which handles minority-sensitive cases. But when she learns that Drayton may have been living under an assumed name, Rachel begins to understand why Khattak is tip-toeing around this case. It soon comes to light that Drayton may have been a war criminal with ties to the Srebrenica massacre of 1995. If that's true, any number of people might have had reason to help Drayton to his death, and a murder investigation could have far-reaching ripples throughout the community. But as Rachel and Khattak dig deeper into the life and death of Christopher Drayton, every question seems to lead only to more questions, with no easy answers.
Betty – Okay – Found it very depressing but beautifully written. The descriptions were wonderful, but the subject was hard.
Charlotte – Good – She had mixed feelings and found it somewhat depressing. There was a lot of description and the memoir was painful to read.
Christine – Good – It is very well written, but the information on the genocide is depressing and hard to read.
Don – VG – Not a typical mystery. It did make him want to learn more about the genocide in Serbia.
LJ – Ex – A beautifully written, painful book. One thing that was interesting is that we normally expect the senior officer to be the lead. I like that the second took the lead in the mystery since the senior was too emotionally involved; and Rachel is a wonderful character. It's more of a novel, and a warning. It is disturbing, painful, and excellent.
Susan – Good – found it interesting but thought the ending was a bit "Orient Express" and over the top. She did enjoy it, but it was a bit slow.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE: G+
MR. CHURCHILL'S SECRETARY (Hist Mys-Maggie Hope-England-1940) - 1st in series - Susan Elia MacNeal
London, 1940. Winston Churchill has just been sworn in, war rages across the Channel, and the threat of a Blitz looms larger by the day. But none of this deters Maggie Hope. Access to the War Rooms exposes Maggie to the machinations of a menacing faction determined to do whatever it takes to change the course of history. Ensnared in a web of spies, murder, and intrigue, Maggie must work quickly to balance her duty to King and Country with her chances for survival. And when she unravels a mystery that points toward her own family’s hidden secrets, she’ll discover that her quick wits are all that stand between an assassin’s murderous plan and Churchill himself.
Diane (one of our remote members) - I read Mr. Churchill's Secretary and enjoyed it so much that I have read all the subsequent books. I like the descriptions and interactions of her characters, and of London. Making Maggie English, but raised in America as well as a math whiz, gives her fabulous plot possibilities. I love her Winston Churchill; she brings him to life and makes him approachable. I recommend the entire series as they are fun and fascinating plot twists.
Christine – VG+ - Loved it. It was very English, and she can remember that time. It was well-written, although it did lose track for a bit, but she really enjoyed it. Wonderfully written.
Gabriel – Okay – It picked up as it went along and became more interesting. It has a lot of visual detail.
Kathy – G+ - Liked the writing. She doesn't generally read books about war, but this doesn't go into blood, guts, and gore.
LJ – VG – Would love to have had a cast of characters. It was a bit confusing in the beginning but then settled down. The time period, and sexism was reflected very well. I learned things I hadn't known and found her description of the German's bombing London to be very well done. It was definitely more a woman's book, and you could definitely tell it was her first book, but it was filled with intrigue, action, and history.
Marcy – G+ - Little things, anomalies and modern phrases being used, bugged her, but she did enjoy it even though the ending beggared belief a bit.
Susan – Good – She did enjoy it, but you could tell it was the first book of the series, and more geared toward women readers. There were a lot of non-credible elements to the plot. It felt contrived.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE: G+