The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group discussion

And the winners are

Jan C: Murder Down Under
Donna: The Coroner's Lunch

Congratulations!


It's time for nominations again.

April/May Group Read featuring settings and/or authors from the Far East,* Australia and New Zealand

* The countries listed in this Wikipedia article will be considered "The Far East" or "Near North" [depending on where you live (see Wiki article)]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Far_East
People's Republic of China (PRC), Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, Republic of China (Taiwan), Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar (Burma), Papua, New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam,
Russian Far East


General rules for Group Reads

If your nomination wins - you will be the moderator.

One nomination per person. Authors, please no self-nominations.

Please do not repeat an author we have read in the last year

Nominations will be open until Sunday, April 3, 2011, with voting until Sunday April 10, 2011.

For your post, use Title, Author and Link (use the "add book/author" link at top of comment box) please.

Since we are a rather international group check to make sure the book is readily available. Is it available in paperback? Used? Your local library? The last thing we want is to nominate a great book that no one can get!

Finally, a word about series - the joy or bane of a mystery reader’s life! Please consider whether the book you are nominating would be best read by someone who has read all the previous books in the series or can be enjoyed by someone new to the series too.

Thanks for your cooperation!

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A Corpse in the Koryo by James Church - North Korea (Doreen)
Murder Down Under by AW Upfield - Australia (Jan C)
The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill - Laos (Donna)
True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey - Australia (Knowledge Lost)
Fieldwork by Mischa Berlinski - Thailand (Debra)
Broken Shore by Peter Temple - Australia (Kim)
Moonlight Downs by Adrian Hyland - Australia (Sharon)
Blood Men by Paul Cleave - New Zealand (Gatorman)
The Skull Mantra by Eliot Pattison - Tibet (Jessie Rose)
Shinju by Laura Joh Rowland - Japan (Alex)
When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro - China (Hayes)
Buddha Kiss by Peter Tasker - Japan (Barbara)
The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino - Japan (Rebecca)

I nominate A Corpse in the Koryo by James Church. It takes place in North Korea.

How about Murder Down Under by Arthur William Upfield. Don't know much about it - I'm on page 23. An Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte mystery. Takes place in western Australia.

might be too big, but what about the classic tale of a life of crime in Fyodor Dostoyevsky's book Crime and Punishment

Knowledge Lost wrote: "might be too big, but what about the classic tale of a life of crime in Fyodor Dostoyevsky's book Crime and Punishment"

Hi Knowledge Lost. The theme/challenge for this month is the Far East/Australia/New Zealand and I belive most of Crime and Punishment is set in St. Petersburg in western Russia. Would you like to nominate a different book?

I'll nominate The Coroner's Lunch. Set in Laos.

Donna wrote: "Hi Knowledge Lost. The theme/challenge for this month is the Far East/Australia/New Zealand and I belive most of Crime and Punishment is set in St. Petersburg in western Russia. Would you like to nominate a different book? "

I miss read that, how about True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey

I'd like to nominate Fieldwork by Mischa Berlinski which is set in Thailand.

I will nominate Peter Temple's Broken Shore, which is set in a rural area of Victoria and in Melbourne, Australia.

I'd like to nominate Afterlight by Alex Scarrow , set in the United Kingdom :)

Don wrote: "I'd like to nominate Afterlight by Alex Scarrow , set in the United Kingdom :)"

Hi Don, the theme/challenge for this month is the Far East/Australia/New Zealand. Scarrow was born in Nigeria but now lives in the UK. Would you like to nominate another?

ETA: perhaps an author from your native Malaysia.

Oops sorry Hayes...I didn't see that bit XD Actually no. I don't read any books from my country apart from text books. Hmmm...I don't think I've ever read any bookd from those part of the world hihihi XD

I'll nominate Gunshot Road: An Emily Tempest Investigation by Adrian Hyland.

I haven't figured out how to link to the book/author but will nominate "Diamond Dove" by Adrian Hyland, which is the first of the Emily Tempest series, set in Australia.

(Would also be perfectly happy with Gunshot Road as well, as it's on my wish list.)

Sharon wrote: "I haven't figured out how to link to the book/author"

Quick tutorial Sharon and it's really easy.

>Right above the "comment box" where you type your messages you can see "comment" to the left and "add book/author" and then "(some html is ok)" to the right.

>Click on "add book/author": a white pop up will appear with a place where you can type the title of the book, or the name of the author (make sure you select the proper tab). Under that you can click to choose if you want the simple link, or the bookcover link.

>Click search and then choose which of the possibilities is the one that you want.

Hayes wrote: "Sharon wrote: "I haven't figured out how to link to the book/author"

Quick tutorial Sharon and it's really easy.

>Right above the "comment box" where you type your messages you can see "comment"..."


Thanks!

I can't find Diamond Dove under Adrian Hyland's name. Different author? Not published yet?

In any case, Barbara just nominated a Hyland, so if you want to choose another book, just let me know.

ETA: Might have a different title in different countries... will go investigate and in any case I will accept the first of the series only as a nomination. Will let you know what I find out.

OK... found it:

It was originally called Diamond Dove. It's now being pupblished as Moonlight Downs, and it is the first in the series. Gunshot Road is the second, so I will accept Sharon's nomination and if Barbara wants to, she can nominate another.

I nominate Blood Men by Paul Cleave for New Zealand.

I nominate The Skull Mantra by Eliot Pattison. This is the first of the "Inspector Shan" novels set in modern day Tibet featuring former Beijing police inspector Shan Tao Yun. The Skull Mantra won the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best First Novel in 2000.

"The Skull Mantra takes place in Chinese-occupied Tibet where former Beijing police inspector Shan Tao Yun has been sentenced to a hard labor camp for offending a high party official. When a murder occurs at the camp with apparently supernatural origins, Shan is called in to help the prison officials with their investigation. And so begins Shan's journey into the heart of Tibet's politics, religion and culture."
"This is a novel of great hope and great tragedy, of incredible greed and stalwart selflessness, and of the tremendous gulf between those who live for enlightenment and those who live for power."
"The Skull Mantra does for Tibet what Martin Cruz Smith's Gorky Park did for Russia. .. . a colorful moving portrayal of a strange and complex Tibet under an iron fist. As suspenseful as it is beautiful and tragic."

I recommend Blood Men by Paul Cleave.

Clayton wrote: "I recommend Blood Men by Paul Cleave."

Hi Clayton. Were you nominating? or just seconding? Gatorman already nominated that one. Do you want to nominate another?

I will nominate

When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro which takes place in Shanghai, China

I'll nominate Buddha Kiss byPeter Tasker

I'd like to nominate The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino from Japan.

Please Look After Mom Korea

Almeta wrote: "Please Look After Mom Korea"

Hi Almeta, this one looks really good; however, it isn't classified as a mystery or a thriller (here at GR it's literary fiction or modern fiction), so I'll ask you to nominate another. Thanks

huh. No I can't think of one right now.

Thanks

Poll is open!

And the winners are

Jan C: Murder Down Under
Donna: The Coroner's Lunch

Congratulations!

Murder Down Under is not available for Kindle. I downloaded a Sample of The Coroner's Lunch.

I'm so glad we have 2 choices, as I didn't want Down Under to win. Since I'm a purist, I didn't want to feel pressured to read the first 3 books in that series before I could get to Murder Down Under. I've added the first in the series to my "to-read" list and will get to it somewhere down the line. So many books, so little time!

Good choices. I think I'll read The Coroner's Lunch.

Guess I actually ought to read my book this time.

Has anyone read Murder Down Under?

I'm normally a purist too except for those cases when I pick something up at a used book sale.

I've read several Insp Bony books by Upfield many years ago and I am sure it will be interesting.