Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends discussion

Happy New Year to everyone.

Here are my December reads:

Top Read

Winter's Bone
Daniel Woodrell
Excellent book with an atmospheric setting in the Ozarks, a powerful story, and an unforgettable heroine.

Good Reads

The Snow Tiger
Desmond Bagley
Highly entertaining disaster/adventure novel set in New Zealand. I am a big fan of this author and he did a great job of mixing action with a touch of romance and court room drama. Listened to the audio version which was ably read by Paul Tyreman.

The Late Monsieur Gallet
Georges Simenon
An early book in the Inspector Maigret and the best so far. Maigret's character is becoming a bit more fleshed out and the plotting was quite good. Listened to the audio version which was well read by Gareth Armstrong.

The Man Who Came Uptown
George Pelecanos
A quick read that had the author's usual Washington D. C. setting. I really liked the characters and the look at how the prison library and book club impacted the prisoner's lives.

Once a Spy
Keith Thomson
A pretty good spy yarn with a very interesting premise but I found all the action scenes wearying and thought it was a bit too long. Listened to the audio version which was very well narrated by Danny Campbell.

Death from the Woods
Brigitte Aubert
Like a lot of the French crime fiction I have read, this had a plot that was a convoluted mess but the heroine (who was blind, mute, and quadriplegic) was so interesting and her first person narrative kept the suspense and tension levels high.

Quarry
Max Allan Collins
The first book in a long running series, this was published in the mid-seventies but the professional hitman plot did not seem dated at all. A good quick read.

A Death For A Darling
E.X. Giroux
A nicely done classic English manor house mystery. Since it was published in 1985 it was under 200 pages but none of the characterizations suffered and the plot moved at a brisk pace.

Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me: What Pop Music Rivalries Reveal About the Meaning of Life
Steven Hyden
An entertaining look at various "musical rivalries" like The Beatles vs. The Stones and Nirvana vs. Pearl Jam. The author mixed in his personal history and current events during each rivalry to help with context and he had a nicely readable style with some humor.

Jolie Blon's Bounce
James Lee Burke
A pretty good entry in this series that touched on all of the author's usual themes. Listened to the audio which was narrated by Mark Hammer.

Winter's Bone sounds good Sandi! I also used to read a lot of Max Allan Collins, but not that series. It sounds good too!

Good month! I saw the Winter's Bone movie...never read the book!

Melodie wrote: "Good month! I saw the Winter's Bone movie...never read the book!"

I watched the movie on Amazon Prime right after I read the book and thought it was excellent too.

Much of the dialogue came straight from the book and the performance by Jennifer Lawrence was stellar.

Susie, I enjoyed all the Disaster novels by Max Allan Collins so thought I would branch out.

Good Month.

Sandy: Very nice month! I also really liked the book Winter's Bone (and the movie)

Sandi wrote: "Happy New Year to everyone. Top Read
Winter's Bone Daniel Woodrell
Excellent book with an atmospheric s..."

Looks like you had a good month, Sandi. I really liked Winter’s Bone too. The character of Ree and her quest are unforgettable. I haven’t seen the movie, but it sounds like I should.

I echo all the raves about the movie Winters Bone. It's unforgettable, as is Jennifer Lawrence's performance. I've thought of reading the book but didn't see how it could match the movie. But now perhaps enough time has passed that I would enjoy a reintroduction.

Interesting selection as always, Sandi!

Daniel Woodrell is an excellent writer. The books I've read by him--Winter's Bone and Tomato Red were so compelling.

Some good ones in there.