Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends discussion

Had a really great month. Not a bad book in the bunch.

Top Reads


Starvation Lake: A Mystery
Bryan Gruley
Excellent debut mystery. This book was nominated for both the Edgar and the Anthony for best first Novel. Really enjoyed the small town Michigan setting and the mix of sports and suspense.


Persona Non GrataRuth Downie
This is fast becoming one of my favorite historical mystery series. In this entry, Ruso, a doctor serving in the Roman Legions in Britannia, is summoned home to southern Gaul by a cryptic note that seems to have come from his brother. Ruso and Tilla are great characters, the history of the period is skillfully woven into the plot, and the comic element never seems forced.


Sudden Prey
John Sandford
Top drawer thriller. This book starts with a bang and never lets up. I love the character of Lucas Davenport and this tale of revenge and retribution is my favorite in the series so far.


Heart of the Hunter: A Novel
Deon Meyer
Another wow thriller from Deon Meyer. Great characters (especially loved learning Tiny's backstory), lots of action, and interesting look at South Africa's security forces and the various factions within.


Don't Look Back
Karin Fossum
Karin Fossum's English debut features older, widowed Inspector Konrad Sejer who is trying to solve a murder that took place in a small Norwegian village. Very well done police procedural. Sucked me in from the first page. Great plot, suspense, and characters. Will definitely continue on with the series.

Good Reads


Rhapsody in Blood
After finishing up the first draft of his memoir (which should be a definite bestseller since Justice has the most tortured backstory of any fictional character I can think of), Justice agrees to accompany his good friend to a remote hotel where a movie is being shot. Obviously, trouble finds him again. The plot was a bit creaky (very far-fetched for this series) and the writing a bit clunky (a couple of long info dumps probably could have been cut) but I do enjoy the characters and will look forward to the next adventure.


Good Omens CD
Terry Pratchett
Neil Gaiman
According to the Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, the coming Apocalypse is nigh. Luckily for mankind, the angel Aziraphale (a rare book dealer who never actually sells anything) and the demon Crowley (who did not exactly fall from grace but just kind of sauntered downward) decide that eternity would be extremely boring no matter which side wins. Like most Pratchett this started off with a bang, was extremely funny in places, bogged down a bit in the middle, and had a rousing finish. I listened to the audio version which was performed admirably by Martin Jarvis.


The Chalk-Circle Man
Fred Vargas

The first book in the Commissaire Adamsberg series (though not translated into English first). Newly tranferred to Paris from the Pyrenees, Commissaire Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg has a rather unconventional way of looking at crimes. When blue chalk cirlces start showing up all over Paris he is sure something sinister is afoot. Offbeat and quirky with a rather nifty ending.


Murder in a Cathedral
Ruth Dudley Edwards
Edwards excels in skewering various British institutions and in this book she turns her sharp pen on the Church of England. Pretty standard plot (tensions between the high church curates and the newly appointed Dean who displays a rather fundamentalist streak) but the characters are all so over top that laughs abound on every page if you enjoy the author's brand of humor.


A Bad Day for Sorry: A Crime Novel
Sophie Littlefield
Promising Debut. This was nominated for an Anthony and Edgar for Best First Novel. Thought the main character Stella Hardesty, a mature woman who runs a sewing shop and doles out vigilante justice to abusive men on her days off, was fascinating but wished the actual plot line was a bit more plausible.


The Silent Man
Alex Berenson
CIA super operative John Wells is back for a third adventure and while I found this to be a perfectly enjoyable listen (read by George Guidall) it was not quite as good as the previous two books. This one got bogged down a bit with technical details of nuclear weapons and the ending, while exciting, seemed a bit rushed.


Between a Heart and a Rock Place
Pat Benatar
No frills account of Benatar's life in rock and roll. I've always been a fan (Hit Me with Your Best Shot was one of the staples of our playlist in high school band) and it was nice to read that Benatar is basically a normal person who puts her family first and really seems to appreciate her career.


Thrillers: 100 Must-Reads
David Morrell
Collection of essays by members of the International Thriller Association presenting their selections of the 100 best thrillers of all time. Some rather out there picks (I never thought of Summer Lightning by P.G. Wodehouse as a thriller) but overall an enjoyable read and I added many new books to my TBR. Probably should be either avoided or just skimmed by those who are spoiler sensitive.


Moving Mars
Greg Bear
Enjoyable hard science fiction novel about the coming of age of the Mars colony both politically and scientifically and how Mother Earth reacts to the changes. Thought the main plot was very interesting and loved all the political machinations but did get a bit bogged down during the scientific explanations. Listened to the audio version read by Sharon Williams.


Seasons in Hell
Mike Shropshire
The author looks back at his tenure as the beat writer of the Texas Rangers back in the mid-seventies.

What a great and varied mix, Sandi! Lots of new-to-me authors in the bunch for me to explore.

Wow! You did have a great month Sandi!

I loved , too, Sandi. Picked it up after Cheryl said it was outstanding. Enjoyed the hockey parts of the story, too. His new one, , comes out next week and Amazon shipped my copy yesterday! BAD DAY FOR SORRY looks interesting! I picked up a copy on eBay for cheap. DH saw it at B&N and said he might like to read it, too. If he's interested in a book I always buy it!

Sandi:
a very impressive month with several that are quite tempting!

Sandi wrote: "Had a really great month. Not a bad book in the bunch.."

Great month Sandi!