Happy & Brainy Group discussion

Has any one read THE COFFEE TRADER, SPECTACLE OF CORRUPTION or ETHICAL ASSASSIN by David Liss?

Hello Courtney and everyone,

Ethical Assassin and Spectacle of Corruption are intriguing titles.

Ethical Assassin is different, but equally brilliant. The other two are amazingly riveting historical financial thrillers lush with betrayal, mystery and romance. I wish I could read them again for the first time!.

Happy Reading!

My copies are buried somewhere in my "library" (stacks piled everywhere),Tara...sorry I couldn't find.

Happy reading!

Hi Courtney and others,

I just wandered in here and saw that this was another group.

I haven't read them either but the Titles sound like books I read. Ethical Assasin, is that book about assassins with a conscience? I love to try and figure them out. Good versus evil if you would.

Best of luck Courtney, and Good Reading to all, Donna

yes, Donna that's the book. I can't wait for my pre-ordered copy of Liss's new WHISKEY REBELS arrives. It will go immediately to the top of my "to be read" pile!

Peace!

John le Carré

I read novels of John le Carré and David Morrell a long time ago - I have forgotten details of the stories.

I also like Len Deighton, a British novelist like John le Carré.

I've added 'The Ethical Assassin' to my 'to read' list. Thanks, Courtney.

I'm reading 'Havana' by Stephen Hunter now. It's similar to some of Morrell's novels. Hunter doesn't get into the complexity of the spy world as much as put his heroes into theirs. His heroes aren't spies. They have to deal with them or other bad guys, but they're just tough, practical men. Interesting.

Donald Hamilton wrote the Matt Helm series & rates with Ian Fleming. I like it better. The books bear NO similarity to the few movies made with Dean Martin. Helm is a tough, practical US government assassin. Very realistically done, like the original Bond books - very similar.

Hi All, I am big into John Sandford. His is a cops series with Lucas Davenport as the main character. He is now the head of an elite police squad. The suspense, hunt(for killer or killers), will grab you and not let go. They take place in Minnesota and when they are traipsing around in the cold and snow you feel like your there. He is an amazing writer. Everything rings so true. Thanks for listening, best reading to all, Donna.

I'm new to Goodreads and am not sure if it is appropriate to post a general comment here, or if there is a better way to do it.At any rate, I would like simply to mention a quite wonderful underappreciated Capote story. It's entitled "A Christmas Memory."Please do not confuse it with"A Christmas Story" by Jean Shepard(You'll shoot your eye out!")Capote was a real wordsmith and this story, read at his funeral by Jackie Kennedy(I believe), is a perfect example of Capote at his best..There's a 50 minute PBS t.v. version done years ago with Capote doing the voice over. I believe his long -time partner was the director.Treat yourself to a very moving experience.

Thanks, Joseph. Welcome to the group. Here, anyone may post anything allowed by Goodreads.

Please tell us about your book, Half-Past Nowhere, and your upcoming event. Good luck.

Hello everyone. Have fun.

I,too, have read the book as it was recommended by my writing critique teacher as a must read. And I, too, have the copy of the PBS version and I play it every Christmas. Lond ago I read some of his other, not well known, short stories and they too were excellent. Happy to "meet" someone else who appreciates these small wonderments...nina

I'll check out the PBS version and the book. Thanks.

Nice to hear from you,Ilyn and Nina.Glad to tell you a bit about my book,Half-Past Nowhere.
To begin,it's patterned after Hemingway's In Our Time,a seminal collection of related stories that was published in 1923.Like that work,mine also traces the growth of a young hero as he moves from "innocence to experience."Two of the stories,"Phineas Rising" and "Mountain Men" were selected as finalists in Glimmer Train's prestigious contest for the short story.You can see a few reviews on Amazon.com.
Although based on my life, the collection illustrates common passages in the lives of many others."Mayflies,"for example movingly recounts the joys and pains of first love.Set on a lovely mountain trout stream during a mayfly hatch,the symbolism is obvious but powerful.The gorgeous but fated mayfly is born without a stomach since it is to live but one day."Mountain Men" may well remind you of Faulkner's "The Bear," one of my very favorite short stories.Set in the deep woods of upstate New York, it is the story of the growing relationship between an old ginseng hunter and the young hero.
Other stories include Twelve Steps," a story of a very young Joey Fusaro and his two brothers,six and ten years of age, as they stand defiantly atop the twelve stairs leading from their grandparents downstairs apartment in an effort to stop their alcoholic father from coming up to beat their mother again.A crisis in faith in "Currents," the slighty bawdy,"A Perfect Trifecta,"and my personal favorite,"Phineas Rising" a tribute to the deep friendship between an old black jazz pianist and Joey for whom he has become a kind of surrogate father are a few others rounding out the collection.
Please feel free to check it out and tell friends,neighbors and complete strangers!We authors have to look out for one another!
Hope you all have a wonderful day.
Joe Cavano

Congratulations on your achievement, Joe. Thanks for telling us about your book.

Hi everyone. Enjoy the weekend.

Thanks for telling me about your book. Sounds like a good winter reading. I will definitely check it out when I no longer have Thanksgiving, Christmas and cleaning our garden staring me in the face. nina

I would have been thrilled to have been selected by Glimmer. nina

Hi Nina.

Time flies; Thanksgiving & Christmas are around the corner.

Thanks, Nina. I'd be flattered to have you read my book.I Think it becomes more and more interesting as the character matures and the stories become more sophisticated...At least that's the intention.Joe