Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends discussion

Hi Everyone,

A much better month for me reading wise.

Top Reads

The Broken Shore by Peter Temple
Another excellent book by one of my favorites. Always enjoy the Australian setting and the author's writing style. Listened to the audio version which was well narrated by Peter Hosking.

Miracle Creek by Angie Kim
A very impressive debut that won the Edgar for best First in 2020. I found this to be a very readable courtroom melodrama that had a lot going on both plot wise and with the characterizations.

Good Reads

Masked Prey by John Sandford
Lesser Prey installment but still entertaining enough. Listened to the audio narrated by Richard Ferrone who did his usual stellar job.

State: A Team, a Triumph, a Transformation by Melissa Isaacson
The author, who went on to be a sports journalist, recounts her high school years and how being on one of the first girl's basketball team molded her life.

The Nursing Home Murder by Ngaio Marsh
An early entry in this series. Inspector Alleyn still does not seemed fully formed as a character yet but the plot was entertaining enough and I enjoyed the narration of the audio by Philip Franks.

Dope by Sara Gran
Set in 1950s New York City, this book had a great atmosphere and really made the seedier side of life in the city come alive. The plot was a bit standard issue though very dark.

The List by Mick Herron
Entertaining novella with some of the Slough House characters.

The Dark Angel by Dominique Sylvain
Like all French crime fiction, I found this a bit strange but entertaining. The mismatched crime fighting duo of an American masseuse and retired French policewoman were fun to read about and the plot chirped along nicely.

Vanity Dies Hard by Ruth Rendell
Rendell was a master of psychological suspense and this early standalone (published in 1966) is no exception. I quite enjoyed the audio version which was ably narrated by Eva Haddon.

Great list! I need to pick up Miracle Creek, it seems! Dope and The Dark Angel look interesting too.

👋👋👋 Hi, Sandi, good to see you!

I’m glad you liked Miracle Creek. I thought maybe you’d decided to skip it.

Looks like a good reading month for you. I’m going to try to follow your example and get my reading back into gear.

I read Dope some years ago. Don't remember anything about it, but looked it up and only gave it 1 star.

Nice month Sandi!
The Australian setting of The Broken Shore sounds good. I liked Sara Gran's Claire DeWitt series, haven't read Dope

Two of my favorite authors on your list,Sara Gran and Ruth Rendell. And I haven't read either of the books you just read, so something to look forward to.