Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends discussion

Hello everyone,

Had a very good month of reading. Here are my July reads:

Top Reads

The Enchanted April
Elizabeth von Arnim
An ad for a Castle in Italy brings four very different Englishwomen together for an enchanted month in April. A very entertaining listen with great characters, humor, and lovely descriptions. Listened to the audio version which was expertly read by Nadia May.

Niagara Falls All Over Again
Elizabeth McCracken
I really enjoyed this look at a vaudeville team that makes it big and goes to Hollywood. The first person narration by the straight man flowed well and there were both funny and tragic moments.

7 Days
Deon Meyer
One of my favorite police procedural series. Benny Griessel is a great character, the South African setting is always fascinating, and the plot in this entry was very exciting.

House Odds
Mike Lawson
This seemed darker and more cynical than the previous entries in the series, but I was still entertained by Joe DeMarco, the fixer for the now Minority Leader in the House. Listened to the audio version which was narrated by Joe Barrett who did his usual great job.

Dead Lions
Mick Herron
A blast from the Cold War past made this an excellent spy thriller. The plot was suitably twisted with lots of paranoia and deception and the writing was smart and clever.

Good Reads

I'll Never Tell
Catherine McKenzie
Besides some small quibbles with the pacing and ending, this was an engaging tale of suspense and family dysfunction. Listened to the audio which was narrated by Julia Whelan and Whitney Dykhouse who were excellent and Timothy Andrés Pabon who was not quite as good.

Dead Scared
Sharon J. Bolton
DC Lacey Flint is sent on a undercover mission to Cambridge to look into a rash of suicides of young women. The plot was pretty implausible, Lacey tends to rush into dangerous situations, and I hated the romance angle but still, I could not stop turning the pages.

The Roar of the Butterflies
Reginald Hill
An entertaining final installment in this series that features a redundant lathe operator turned PI in Luton, England. Joe is a great character who has really grown into sleuthing and the plot, centered around a private golf course and it members, was well done. Listened to the audio version which had high quality narration by Rupert Farley.

So-So Reads

Pretend I'm Dead
Jen Beagin
A bit different but fairly interesting though I was underwhelmed given all the hype I had seen.

The Silent Patient
Alex Michaelides
An underwhelming listen for me. I found the characters and their motivations lacking, so all the twists and turns did nothing for me. The narrators of the audio, Louise Brealey and Jack Hawkins were very good and helped me get through to the end.

Oh, Sandi, I love The Enchanted April! Was this your first time to read it? It’s a book I return to from time to time. Have you seen the movie, circa 1990? If you haven’t, look for it!

Nice month Sandi! Nice to get to so many series books and good audios!

Another series added to the list - Benny Griesell. Love the Africa settings.

OMalleycat wrote: "Oh, Sandi, I love The Enchanted April! Was this your first time to read it? It’s a book I return to from time to time. Have you seen the movie, circa 1990? If you haven’t, look for it!"

Yes it was the first time. Such a great book and I was able to download the movie from hoopla right after I finished listening and also really enjoyed it.

Great month!

As always, loved your reviews Sandi!