The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group discussion

So I only just decided to take on this challenge so I'll just post the books I am planning on using for each decade (chances are a few of these will change but we'll see).


1914 - 1924 - Greenmantle (1916) Richard Hannay - John Buchan
1925 - 1934 - The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club (1928) Lord Peter Wimsey series - Dorothy Sayers (read sept. 9-10th)
1935 - 1944 - Double Indemnity (1935) - James Cain - read on November 9th
1945 - 1954 - The Long Goodbye (1953) - Raymond Chandler
1955 - 1964 - Cover Her Face (1962)adam dalgliesh series)- PD James (read on September 5th 2014)
1965 - 1974 - Hallowe'en Party (1969) Poirot - Agatha Christie
1975 - 1984 - Innocent Blood (1980) - PD James
1985 - 1994 - A Drink Before the War (1994) Kenzie-Gennaro series - Dennis Lehane Sept. 28th - 29th
1995 - 2004 - The Surgeon (2001) Rizzoli and Isles Series - Tess Gerritsen
2005 - 2014 - The Reversal (2010) Mickey Haller and Harry Bosch - Michael Connelly (sept. 5th7th)

These look wonderful

Skye wrote: "These look wonderful"

I am certainly looking forward to reading them!

Anyways to review the ones I've read so far:

Cover Her Face (1962):

I've been meaning to start reading the Adam Dalgliesh novels for a few years now cos they are my dads fav, but I never got round to it. I'd only ever read the first Cordelia Gray novel and that was it. I must say I really enjoyed the book. The reveal itself of who the murderer was was only ok - I'd kinda guessed it by then and I definitely thought we should have got more in terms of motive and explaning the character of the murderer better. But the novel itself was really well written and my favourite part about it were the characters...I ended up really loving all the characters and really hoping they weren't guilty cos I didn't want them ending up in prison! Adam dalgliesh is also a character that I really enjoyed and I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

The Reversal (2010)
I'm bias here cos I have come to love the character in the Michael Connelly books so much, that I think I'd love it no matter what the quality of the thriller itself was. In this case we have a new Mickey Haller novel also featuring Harry Bosch in a pretty big role. The plot of the book is generally interesting - we get to see Haller, who is usually a defense attorney, work for the prosecution to prosecute a re-trial from 86 that just got reversed by the courts. Getting to see the trial from the eyes of the prosecution was interesting since we'd been so used to rooting for Haller on the defense side. It was also great to get to see Mickey work together with his ex-wife (another one of the great characters - Maggie McFierce). While the court thriller was great, what I love most about these books is the characters...it's always nice to get to see Harry Bosch and Mickey Haller again and their developing relationship is certainly interesting (and the equally amazing secondary characters: Rachel Walling and Maggie). Over the years, if you follow the series, you get to see these characters grow and adapt and so it's always a pleasure to read these books. Just a side-note: while you can read all of these books separately and you really don't need to have read any of the others before to understand the story...the author does make loads of references to his other books and so if you plan on reading the rest of them...there are definitely some spoilers there. (especially nine dragons - the book immediately before this one - if you read this one first, you'll get a hell of a lot of spoilers for it).

Can I join in? This looks so interesting :D

Ishita wrote: "Can I join in? This looks so interesting :D"

Go for it. :) Pretty sure the more people doing it, the more fun it is :D

Looks like an excellent mix, Helena. I've enjoyed John Buchan's Hannay books and have just been introduced to Dorothy Sayers. Good luck.

Helena- sure is. Thanks BTW :)
And I totally forgot, I did sign up for the challenge :P
I guess it's so easy to loose track of all the challenges you sign up for around here, for there are so many. Anyways, luckily I read a few that totally fit the requirements. I'll make the thread tomorrow.
So excited :D

I only read the first of the Hannay books so I am lookign forward to reading the rest of them. Hpoe they are up to the standards of the rest.

Just to keep this updated. Just started The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club - I've read 3 other Dorothys Sayers novels and I must say that I loved Lord Peter in all of them Think he's a terrific main character to have and Parker, Bunter and the other secondary characters are great as well. However out of the 3 I read...I loved 2, but really disliked the mystery of the 3rd one...thought it was a little farfetched and boring. So we'll see how this one goes.

Ishita - Can't wait to check out your thread. :)

Ishita's thread is unbelievable, isn't it?

Skye wrote: "Ishita's thread is unbelievable, isn't it?"

Such a great choice of books! Kinda makes me wanna switch some of mine :P the ones I have read that are on that list are some of my favs.


Anyway - finished The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club (1928) and I must say I really enjoy it. The thing I enjoy most about these books are the atmosphere that Lord Peter lives in and his world view. He's such a great character and I so enjoy reading novels from this time period. Can't wait to read a few more of them. Liked the mystery as well. Nicely thought out and had some very good twists. All in all a great novel.

Thanks for writing this, Helena!

Thanks again Helena and Skye :)
Helena, sure, switch some of yours and let's buddy up ;) also, I might be copying your choice for the 80s :P looks good, that book :D

Sounds like a plan. Let me know when you are planning on reading any of yours and I'll try and join in!

I just started Strangers on a Train today. Only 1 chapter in so far.
Join in if you like!

I've already read it and loved it though it was a few years back. I'm not sure if I own the book or if I got that one from the library - if I have it here then I'll re-read it cos I barely remember any details and only the main plot.

Whatever's fine with you :)

Kinda slacking on this challenge a bit lol. Finally gonna start another one that's on the list.
Going to start A Drink Before War next. I have high hopes for it because a lot of people have recommended Dennis Lehane to me (never read any book by him even though I own quite a few) and I saw Gone, Baby, Gone and loved the characters in the movie so I am hoping to love them in the books as well.

Looking forward to how you like it!

Your challenges are challenging! Helena; my friend like Dennis Lehane. I have never read, either.

Dennis Lehane is a good writer:)I still need to get all the books in his Gone Baby Gone book series..I think I have 4 of them so far.

There you are, my friend~~~!

Afternoon Skye:)

Ok turns out I really like Dennis Lehane as an author cos I started reading it and couldn't put it down. stayed up until two am to finish it. lol.

I really enjoyed it.


Marian wrote: "Dennis Lehane is a good writer:)I still need to get all the books in his Gone Baby Gone book series..I think I have 4 of them so far."


This was the first one in the series and I'm definitely going to be reading the rest. Patrick and Angie were even more interesting characters in the book than I remembered from the movie. I like that they are pretty screwed up characters and I liked getting a glimpse of Boston (no idea if it's a realistic glimpse since I've never been and don't know much about it, but it was a certainly interesting read.) The story dealt with a lot of fascinating theme - like the class and race divide in Boston (again, no idea how accurate it is, but it made for a very good read). I liked how the detectives themselves were affected by the issues (for example even though Patrick speaks against racism a lot throughout the novel, in a really angry moment of frustration he still uses racial slurs and shows that he didn't completely escape from the education he was given etc)


Skye wrote: "Your challenges are challenging! Helena; my friend like Dennis Lehane. I have never read, either."

I hope they continue to be challenging :P
I don't know about his other novels, but I can certainly recommend this first one. Very interesting main characters. (if you trust the rating system here on the site, then the rest of the books should be the same quality level :P )

That just went straight to my TBR! Is the review up yet? :D

Ishita wrote: "That just went straight to my TBR! Is the review up yet? :D"

Now I am feeling pressure. Last book I recommended. turned out pretty boring lol.

Helena wrote: "Ishita wrote: "That just went straight to my TBR! Is the review up yet? :D"

Now I am feeling pressure. Last book I recommended. turned out pretty boring lol."

Hahaha, let's just hope your taste in book has improved even if 10 years too late ;) LOL :D

Helena wrote: "Skye wrote: "These look wonderful"

I am certainly looking forward to reading them!

Anyways to review the ones I've read so far:

..."

Thanks for letting us know about The Reversal. The only Connelly I've read is The Lincoln Lawyer - which is excellent! I was planning to read the Mickey Haller series (I have all of those) and then go back and read the Harry Bosch ones (I only have the first one). Brass Verdict will be my next read. I'm reconsidering after reading your comment about spoilers in The Reversal.

Helena wrote: "Ok turns out I really like Dennis Lehane as an author cos I started reading it and couldn't put it down. stayed up until two am to finish it. lol.

I really enjoyed it.


Marian wrote: "Dennis Leh..."

Glad you like Dennis Lehane Helena:)

Nell wrote: Thanks for letting us know about The Reversal. The only Connelly I've read is The Lincoln Lawyer - which is excellent! I was planning to read the Mickey Haller series (I have all of those) and then go back and read the Harry Bosch ones (I only have the first one). Brass Verdict will be my next read. I'm reconsidering after reading your comment about spoilers in The Reversal.

The Lincoln Lawyer was actually also the first Michael Connolly I read and loved it. Then went back to read all the rest of his books.
I would recommend reading the Harry Bosch novels first if you can. It's not that you won't understand the Mickey Haller ones (they are mostly independent and are all amazing novels. there isn't any that I haven't enjoyed), but there are definitely some storylines that will get spoiled if you read them before HB. (the only major spoiler would be The Reversal which does give away some major Nine Dragons details. the rest is mainly just nice little comments which draw the two characters together, but that really doesn't ruin anythin)

Totally slacked on this challenge for a while. Got kinda obsessed with some other series and had to read them.


Double Indemnity
This is pretty much the most noir, noir book ever. "I had killed a man, for money and a woman. I didn’t have the money and I didn’t have the woman." has got to be one of the most brilliant noir sentences ever written. The story is pretty much known if you like noir. Man meets femme fatale. Commits crime. Gets screwed over. But the gritty way that Cain wrote it is just brilliant. It's from the POV of the main guy (Walter Huff - in the movie it's Neff) and it's a just a brilliant little short read. It's the epitome of noir. I think I would probably have enjoyed it more if I hadn't seen the film - the book is all about the suspense and the atmosphere and so knowing pretty much everything that's gonna happen ruins it a bit. Still a gripping read though. The ending is different from the movie and I don't really know which one I prefer. The one in the movie fits more with the femme fatale leading the man to his death, but the one in the novel is more gothic and bleak and somehow makes sense. All in all it's a great read and I'd definitely recommend it for fans of noir. Even if you've seen the film, Cain is a must-read. (Doesn't get 5 starts cos I didn't find his love for her believable and for her to be a true femme fatale then she'd have to have convinced him to do everything and to be honest...he didn't take any convincing whatsoever. He was pretty much waiting for the chance.)

Sorry if this is disjointed. I just finished reading it and just wanted to put down a few thoughts. I'll probably edit it later on and make it an easier read.

I love noir! Though I haven't read one that blew my mind but from what I've read in your review, seems like this is the one to read. And it also kinda makes me glad I didn't see the movie. I passed it on a lot of times on the television for something else.

Not knowing the story would definitely help. It's just that a huge part of what makes the book so cool is the atmosphere and the mounting suspense. And of course knowing what's gonna happen ruins that a bit. It's still a thrilling read and at just over 100 pages it's a quick read as well.

Well, I think what really is a plus, is that it's short. Lately, I've been reading a lot of lengthy books lately! :P

Glad you have found Dennis LeHane and James M. Cain.

So am I. I've already made it through most of the Dennis LeHane novels since I read the first one. Now I must have do the same with all the James M. cain novels.