BIG SKY (PolProc-Jackson Brodie-North Yorkshire, England-Contemp) – 5th in series – Kate Atkinson Jackson Brodie has relocated to a quiet seaside village, in the occasional company of his recalcitrant teenage son and an aging Labrador, both at the discretion of his ex-partner Julia. It's picturesque, but there's something darker lurking behind the scenes. Jackson's current job, gathering proof of an unfaithful husband for his suspicious wife, is fairly standard-issue, but a chance encounter with a desperate man on a crumbling cliff leads him into a sinister network-and back across the path of his old friend Reggie.
Cindy – DNF – She did start to get into it, but just didn't like where it was going. Gabriel – DNF – Read the first 20 pages or so. The first page was interesting, but then Jackson and his stepson appeared and they were just so full of British glumness. It bothered him that Jackson doesn't get any respect. The book just wasn't interesting enough to keep reading as the plot didn't seem to be going anywhere. Gene – Good – He was surprised it was set in England but he had not read her before. Although he almost stopped at the opening because of the foreshadowing, he kept going and ended up liking it. Fortunately, everything wasn't as he thought. He liked the humor but a number of the characters seemed stereotypical. He felt the book was an introduction to a spinoff series for two of the characters, but that was fine. Although he did enjoy it, 370 pages is really long and the book could have been edited down. Helen – Poor – She didn’t like it. The book was too long and could have been cut down by one third. There were too many characters. It was hard to keep track of them, partly because she wasn't that interested in them. Jackson seemed so out of touch; the epitome of "okay, boomer." Some things didn't make sense and she didn't think the mystery was really a mystery. She did think it was hard to figure out the setting; time and place. There were a lot of people really blasé about killing others. Marilyn – Okay – She almost always finishes a book. She hated the foreshadowing, and there were way too many characters. She did finish it but it wasn't clear that it was really a mystery. Lots of odd family relationships. After a point, she found the book really funny, whether it was intended to be or not.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE: Poor
PAPER SON (PI-Lydia Chin/Bill Smith-NYC/Mississippi-Contemp) – 12th in series – S.J. Rozan The Most Southern Place on Earth: that’s what they call the Mississippi Delta. It’s not a place Lydia Chin, an American-born Chinese private detective from Chinatown, NYC, ever thought she’d have reason to go. But when her mother tells her a cousin Lydia didn’t know she had is in jail in Clarksdale, Mississippi—and that Lydia has to rush down south and get him out—Lydia finds herself rolling down Highway 61 with Bill Smith, her partner, behind the wheel. From the river levees to the refinement of Oxford, from old cotton gins to new computer scams, Lydia soon finds that nothing in Mississippi is as she expected it to be. Including her cousin’s legal troubles—or possibly even his innocence. Can she uncover the truth in a place more foreign to her than any she’s ever seen?
Cindy – VG – Liked it. Liked learning about the Mississippi Delta, and the information on the Chinese stores. The relationship was interesting, and the device of the flood having wiped out the records was believable and effective. She did feel it was more of a cozy, and would like to read more of the series. She liked the end. Gabriel – VG – Rozan may have been the first mystery writer he had read, and he felt this was as good as were her early books. The first hundred pages were a bit disappointing as it was something of an info dump, but it gets much better after that and it was fun. A family tree would have helped. Linda F. – VG – She prefers the Lydia-focused books, and this was one. Liked the Chinese culture and background. Liked that it was in the South and learning about the stores. The relatives were interesting. She really liked the resolution. LJ – VG – A book that opens with humor is always good. Liked learning about Lydia's family history, Rozan's picture of life in small-town Mississippi, and about the Chinese groceries in black towns. The immigration path of Mississippi was fascinating. The characters were well-developed and interesting. It was fun seeing Lydia out of her element and Bill going "Southern." The two characters balance one another so well, and I loved the ending. The plot was well done with just the right level of suspense and twists, with good humor sprinkled in. Marilyn – Okay – She felt she was being lectured by the author about the South. Hadn't read any other books by Rozan so she didn't know the relationship between Lydia and Bill, which made it a bit awkward. She had trouble keeping the family tree straight. The mystery was okay. She didn't figure out the ending in advance.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE: G+
FER-DE-LANCE (PI-Nero Wolf/Archie Goodwin-NYC-1934) – 1st in series – Rex Stout The fer-de-lance is among the most deadly snakes known to man. When someone makes a present of one to Nero Wolfe, his partner, Archie Goodwin, suspects it means Wolfe is getting close to solving the devilishly clever murders of an immigrant and a college president. But this is a case with more twists than an angry rattler...and if Wolfe doesn’t handle it with extreme care, he’ll be the next one struck by a killer with poison in his heart.
CINDY – VG – She likes Nero Wolfe, and enjoys the whole series. Stout set up the basics of how the characters worked together. Interesting all the antics Archie has to go through to get people to come to Wolfe. Interesting how Stout started right off with Nero's depressive periods and Archie just copes. GABRIEL – DNF – Read the first 20 pages. Liked the idea of the characters, but the story just didn't interest him. GENE – VG+ - He didn't recognize that it was the first of the series, but that was kind of fun. It was interesting seeing Stout make changes to the characters as the story progressed. He loved the way the story went and liked the relationship between Wolfe, Archie and Fritz. Fun to watch how Stout built the case and Wolfe always figures it out. Great dialogue and food references. For Gene, if Stout wrote it, he'd read it. HELEN – VG – She did read, it and really enjoyed it. For her, it felt like Sherlock Holmes in NYC, but she liked Nero Wolfe because of the relationship between the three men. Archie is a bit of a rough, but she liked the way he was written, and liked the slang. Archie does a really good job at the legwork. The pacing was good. She liked how the story was a bit twisty, but plausible, but the ending felt a bit rushed. Liked that it was contemporary for that time, and found it a good grammar workout. Really well written. LINDA F. – The book didn't arrive in time for here to read, but she has a sentimental attachment to Nero Wolfe because her mothers introduced her to the stories. Wolfe was a role model for her. LJ – Good – The fun of reading Stout is not the plot, although this did have a good twist to it, but the characters. The two main characters are complete opposites, but one immediately senses the underlying respect and affection. Great dialogue. Although we meet the characters seven year into their association, the references to previous cases simply become historical notations. Fascinating that Stout was writing in his present, which is now our past. Because of that, we are presented with a living sense of time, place, social mores, and behavior. The slang was interesting and there were times I had to re-read sentences or paragraphs to understand what Wolfe was saying. It was fun to read. MARILYN – DNW – This was her first, and will be her last, Nero Wolfe book. She identified with Archie and didn't like the way Wolfe treated him, always putting him down. She found Wolfe's relationship to Archie to be unacceptable.
Jackson Brodie has relocated to a quiet seaside village, in the occasional company of his recalcitrant teenage son and an aging Labrador, both at the discretion of his ex-partner Julia. It's picturesque, but there's something darker lurking behind the scenes. Jackson's current job, gathering proof of an unfaithful husband for his suspicious wife, is fairly standard-issue, but a chance encounter with a desperate man on a crumbling cliff leads him into a sinister network-and back across the path of his old friend Reggie.
Cindy – DNF – She did start to get into it, but just didn't like where it was going.
Gabriel – DNF – Read the first 20 pages or so. The first page was interesting, but then Jackson and his stepson appeared and they were just so full of British glumness. It bothered him that Jackson doesn't get any respect. The book just wasn't interesting enough to keep reading as the plot didn't seem to be going anywhere.
Gene – Good – He was surprised it was set in England but he had not read her before. Although he almost stopped at the opening because of the foreshadowing, he kept going and ended up liking it. Fortunately, everything wasn't as he thought. He liked the humor but a number of the characters seemed stereotypical. He felt the book was an introduction to a spinoff series for two of the characters, but that was fine. Although he did enjoy it, 370 pages is really long and the book could have been edited down.
Helen – Poor – She didn’t like it. The book was too long and could have been cut down by one third. There were too many characters. It was hard to keep track of them, partly because she wasn't that interested in them. Jackson seemed so out of touch; the epitome of "okay, boomer." Some things didn't make sense and she didn't think the mystery was really a mystery. She did think it was hard to figure out the setting; time and place. There were a lot of people really blasé about killing others.
Marilyn – Okay – She almost always finishes a book. She hated the foreshadowing, and there were way too many characters. She did finish it but it wasn't clear that it was really a mystery. Lots of odd family relationships. After a point, she found the book really funny, whether it was intended to be or not.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE: Poor
PAPER SON (PI-Lydia Chin/Bill Smith-NYC/Mississippi-Contemp) – 12th in series – S.J. Rozan
The Most Southern Place on Earth: that’s what they call the Mississippi Delta. It’s not a place Lydia Chin, an American-born Chinese private detective from Chinatown, NYC, ever thought she’d have reason to go. But when her mother tells her a cousin Lydia didn’t know she had is in jail in Clarksdale, Mississippi—and that Lydia has to rush down south and get him out—Lydia finds herself rolling down Highway 61 with Bill Smith, her partner, behind the wheel. From the river levees to the refinement of Oxford, from old cotton gins to new computer scams, Lydia soon finds that nothing in Mississippi is as she expected it to be. Including her cousin’s legal troubles—or possibly even his innocence. Can she uncover the truth in a place more foreign to her than any she’s ever seen?
Cindy – VG – Liked it. Liked learning about the Mississippi Delta, and the information on the Chinese stores. The relationship was interesting, and the device of the flood having wiped out the records was believable and effective. She did feel it was more of a cozy, and would like to read more of the series. She liked the end.
Gabriel – VG – Rozan may have been the first mystery writer he had read, and he felt this was as good as were her early books. The first hundred pages were a bit disappointing as it was something of an info dump, but it gets much better after that and it was fun. A family tree would have helped.
Linda F. – VG – She prefers the Lydia-focused books, and this was one. Liked the Chinese culture and background. Liked that it was in the South and learning about the stores. The relatives were interesting. She really liked the resolution.
LJ – VG – A book that opens with humor is always good. Liked learning about Lydia's family history, Rozan's picture of life in small-town Mississippi, and about the Chinese groceries in black towns. The immigration path of Mississippi was fascinating. The characters were well-developed and interesting. It was fun seeing Lydia out of her element and Bill going "Southern." The two characters balance one another so well, and I loved the ending. The plot was well done with just the right level of suspense and twists, with good humor sprinkled in.
Marilyn – Okay – She felt she was being lectured by the author about the South. Hadn't read any other books by Rozan so she didn't know the relationship between Lydia and Bill, which made it a bit awkward. She had trouble keeping the family tree straight. The mystery was okay. She didn't figure out the ending in advance.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE: G+
FER-DE-LANCE (PI-Nero Wolf/Archie Goodwin-NYC-1934) – 1st in series – Rex Stout
The fer-de-lance is among the most deadly snakes known to man. When someone makes a present of one to Nero Wolfe, his partner, Archie Goodwin, suspects it means Wolfe is getting close to solving the devilishly clever murders of an immigrant and a college president. But this is a case with more twists than an angry rattler...and if Wolfe doesn’t handle it with extreme care, he’ll be the next one struck by a killer with poison in his heart.
CINDY – VG – She likes Nero Wolfe, and enjoys the whole series. Stout set up the basics of how the characters worked together. Interesting all the antics Archie has to go through to get people to come to Wolfe. Interesting how Stout started right off with Nero's depressive periods and Archie just copes.
GABRIEL – DNF – Read the first 20 pages. Liked the idea of the characters, but the story just didn't interest him.
GENE – VG+ - He didn't recognize that it was the first of the series, but that was kind of fun. It was interesting seeing Stout make changes to the characters as the story progressed. He loved the way the story went and liked the relationship between Wolfe, Archie and Fritz. Fun to watch how Stout built the case and Wolfe always figures it out. Great dialogue and food references. For Gene, if Stout wrote it, he'd read it.
HELEN – VG – She did read, it and really enjoyed it. For her, it felt like Sherlock Holmes in NYC, but she liked Nero Wolfe because of the relationship between the three men. Archie is a bit of a rough, but she liked the way he was written, and liked the slang. Archie does a really good job at the legwork. The pacing was good. She liked how the story was a bit twisty, but plausible, but the ending felt a bit rushed. Liked that it was contemporary for that time, and found it a good grammar workout. Really well written.
LINDA F. – The book didn't arrive in time for here to read, but she has a sentimental attachment to Nero Wolfe because her mothers introduced her to the stories. Wolfe was a role model for her.
LJ – Good – The fun of reading Stout is not the plot, although this did have a good twist to it, but the characters. The two main characters are complete opposites, but one immediately senses the underlying respect and affection. Great dialogue. Although we meet the characters seven year into their association, the references to previous cases simply become historical notations. Fascinating that Stout was writing in his present, which is now our past. Because of that, we are presented with a living sense of time, place, social mores, and behavior. The slang was interesting and there were times I had to re-read sentences or paragraphs to understand what Wolfe was saying. It was fun to read.
MARILYN – DNW – This was her first, and will be her last, Nero Wolfe book. She identified with Archie and didn't like the way Wolfe treated him, always putting him down. She found Wolfe's relationship to Archie to be unacceptable.
GROUP RATING AVERAGE: GOOD