Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends discussion

You will notice that I use the word "quirky" a lot this month. I think maybe it was my mood, also trying to read books that have been on my shelf for years - mostly paperback, mostly small print. Trying to get through those...

* The Rabbit Factor by Antti Tuomainen -4
Mystery, translated from the Finnish, first in a trilogy. The brother of an introverted actuary dies and wills to him the "fun" business he owned. Along with the disgruntled employees and the bad guys. Quite fun to read. Quirky.

* The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa -4
Literary fiction, translated from the Japanese. Just a lovely, feel-good story with a melancholy ending about a young gentleman traveling in Japan with his special cat, visiting old friends.

* Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson -3.5
Mystery, third in the series. Didn't like this one as much as the first two, but also did this one in audio and I wasn't crazy about the narrators voice.

* A Girl in Exile by Ismail Kadare -4
Historical fiction, translated from the Albanian. I really liked this. Set during the 1945-1991 dictatorship, the main character, an author and a playwright, is called into Party Headquarters to be questioned because an exiled young woman was found dead with a signed copy of his latest book. Kadare himself sought asylum in France in 1990 because "dictatorship and authentic literature are incompatible. The writer is the natural enemy of dictatorship." Hmm.

* The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng -5
Historical fiction, set in 1922 Malaysia and 1949 Africa. Somerset Maugham and his male secretary visit an old army buddy in Malaysia in 1922. Gives a good background of both Malaysia and Maugham (of which I personally knew very little) at the time. In real life, Maugham made the trip to Malaysia (the friends are the fiction) and actually wrote a book of short stories about his stay. In this story, a copy is sent to the friend's widow in Africa in 1949. Thoroughly enjoyed this.

* When the Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzén -5
Literary fiction, translated from the Swedish, about an elderly gentleman, his son, and his faithful dog. Heart-wrenching ending but so well written.

* I Am Not Sidney Poitier by Percival Everett -4.5
Satire, about a young black boy whose mother was an early investor in Ted Turner's entertainment business. The mother dies and Ted takes him home, not to live with him (and Jane Fonda) but to the house adjacent with his own staff. Once I read it the way it was supposed to be read it was quirky and fun.

* The Devil Comes Calling by Annette Dashofy -4.5
Mystery, book 3 of the Detective Honeywell series. My favorite of the series so far. Honeywell's father is released from prison and comes a-callin'.

* The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain -5
Literary fiction, translated from the French. Have you ever read a book, that after you finished it you just held it against your chest and said out loud "Love this!". Yeah, I do that. Not too often, but this was one of them. A bookstore owner finds a fancy purse on top of a garbage bin and attempts to find the owner. It just hit the right notes.

* Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires -5
A collection of short stories written about a group of middle-class Americans in various situations that struck the right chords. Will definitely read more of this author.

* Offshore by Penelope Fitzgerald -4.5
Literary Fiction, another quirky one that I truly enjoyed. The story is set in the 1960's and surrounds some of the folks that live on houseboats on the Thames, ranging from an early middle-aged man who has a good job and could retrofit his boat well, to a single mother raising two young girls on very little money, to an artist who needs to sell his dilapidated boat quickly so that he can take the money and go live with his sister.

Gail, nice month and lots of translated works on your list. Thanks to you I also read The Rabbit Factor this month (and loved it) and now I am also reading I Am Not Sidney Poitier; what an unusual perspective. Not Sidney imagines/dreams and therefore illuminates many injustices and historical wrongs. It may be my first book of December. Percival Everett is quite a writer.
As for The Rabbit Factor - what a total treat this Finnish story was - the translation is top notch and I am very glad we picked it for a group read. I look forward to the next book in the trilogy and will add Anti Tuomainen to my authors to follow list. Thanks!!