Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends discussion

88. b The Impersonator by Mary Miley -358
Bought this at an "author fair" in Pittsburgh more than a few years ago. Filed it on a bookshelf and just now getting to it.
This first book in a series is about a young woman who is being paid to impersonate a long-lost kid for the inheritance. Has a little of "Brat Farrar" style to it, but not enough to turn me off. I liked it.

89. b The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen - 4 stars
Again, another older book. This is the first in a series surrounding a Nordic policeman who has been given his own department to run (albeit without any other employees) and is assigned cold cases to keep him out of trouble. It's a missing person's case with some very odd twists. I was afraid I would be uncomfortable with this as I was with the Girl with Dragon Tattoo series, but it only skirts around the gore. Will definitely read the next one.

90. k In the Frame by Matthew Costello and Neil Richardson - 4 starts
This is a "go-to" mystery series for me that I love to listen to when I'm a bit stressed. A retired NYC cop living in the Cotswolds has partnered with a female web designer to solve local cases. Haven't found one yet that wasn't fun.

91. b The Lost Book of the Grail by Charlie Lovett - 5 s
I love smart books about books. And this is one of the guys who can write them. A little slow to start, but once it picked up, it went fast. Centers on ancient manuscripts, in particular a missing manuscript, kept at a cathedral with a long religious and political history.

92. b The Blood Promise by Mark Pryor
This is the third book in the Hugo Marston series. And so far, my favorite. Hugo is the head of security for the American Embassy in Paris and often finds himself playing detective. An American senator comes to Paris to broker a deal between France and America (and he hates the French). In the mix is a 200-year-old chest with a "blood promise" written during the French revolution, hidden in it. And people are killing for it.

93. b Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia - 4 star
A beautiful story that I read in an "overnight" reading session. I'm torn in my review. I initially gave it 4 stars with reservations - really only think it's a 3. The premise of the book was wonderful. The book-length was too short to cover all the holes that were left in it. I loved the ending but for the holes. But I'm leaving it at 4 because when all is said and done, I stayed awake to finish it! A young woman battling addiction, her Cuban-born mother who does not talk about her past or her family, the grandmother, and a child from the neighborhood. Can't tell you much more without giving it away.

94. b The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles - 5 star
This is a lousy reason to explain why I waited to read this - I didn't like the cover. It was too "chick-lit"ty. Shame on me. The story is based on the librarians working at the American Library in Paris at the start of WW2 and their heroic efforts to save it.

95. a Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout - 4 star
I waited a long time to read this because friends who had read it didn't like it. So I procrastinated. I finally listened to it. And I really really liked it. Olive is a retired math teacher, with a reputation for being a bit of a b.... Yes, she is a bit. But in the chapters that follow you hear the stories of the students to whom she provided enough emotional help for them to make different, and good, life choices. She has a heart in that stern crusty exterior. And waiting to read it until now, well, let's just say Olive and I would likely have been friends if she let me.

Gail, great reviews and a very good month for you. I love the Dept Q series (Jussi Adler-Olsen) and grab them up as soon as a new one is available. Re Olive Kitteridge and The Paris Library; it's funny how initial impressions of books can be off-base sometimes, pleasant surprises.

Just getting to older posts and agree with Ann wholeheartedly on the Jussi Adler-Olsen series. Love them!

I did not read the first Olive book but did read the second: Olive Again. Did not like it. It didn’t strike me that it was really a book. Each chapter was totally different except there was some episode with Olive. No other characters went from chapter to chapter. Probably would not have finished it except it was for book club.

Jacquelyn Schingeck wrote: "I did not read the first Olive book but did read the second: Olive Again. Did not like it. It didn’t strike me that it was really a book. Each chapter was totally different except there was some ep..."

The first book was like that as well, but there were people who popped up in each of the episodes (her son, her husband, and friends). It was more introspective on Olive and what made her tick as life changed around her.

Gail: I have at times had no patience for Olive, and others devouring the small details.