Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends discussion

Not a great month, though I did enjoy The Talented Mr. Ripley and loved Bliss, Remembered.

Storm Front (Dresden Files #1) by Jim Butcher (audio) - The wizardry business is not booming until the Chicago PD wants their special consultant to investigate a very unusual double murder and so Harry Dresden, quite an unusual character, sets about fighting the supernatural forces unknown to mere mortal humans. This gritty, urban fantasy is far afield from my usual reads, but I did find the action, the humor and even the fantasy entertaining.

Tic Tock (Michael Bennett #4) – by James Patterson - Although I had given up reading James Patterson's book a few years back because I found them formulaic, simplistic and totally predictable, I decided to give Tick Tock a try because I needed a quick easy read and it was sitting on my kindle as a freebie. Michael Bennett, NYC homicide detective, has a complicated personal life as a widower with 10 adopted children. His family vacation is cut short when he is called to investigate a bomb threat and a series of escalating crimes. The book, while entertaining enough, was certainly less than wonderful - not a total waste of time, but not a book I'd strongly recommend either.

The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith - In this complex crime thriller, Patricia Highsmith allows us to enter the mind of a sociopath and experience the layering of lies upon lies which ultimately end up being Tom Ripley's new truth. As frightening as his character is wonderful, Tom is a mass of contradictions - insecure, calculating, terrified and demonic. This story of his needs to grab the gold ring and the morally corrupt ways in which he does was fascinating. Adding in the delightful sense of place (I love Italy) and this was a very good read for me.

Heresy by S.J. Parris - Heresy is an historical novel featuring the fictionalized character of the real life excommunicated monk, humanist and philosopher Giordano Bruno, who travels to Elizabethan Oxford to participate in a debate, search for a rare book, and act as a spy to uncover heretics for her majesty's government. Soon after his arrival, many Fellows of the college are murdered and the mystery is under way. While I appreciated the information about the extremes of religious persecution of the time, I felt the story moved very slowly, the Bruno character lacked depth and the plot never fully engaged me. In short, I found it interesting in parts, but just okay overall.

Bliss, Remembered by Frank Deford - Sydney Stringfellow, an 80+ yr. old dying from cancer, shares with her son previously undisclosed details about her trip to Berlin for the '36 Olympics and the resulting impact on her life. Beautifully written with a compelling storyline and wonderful prose, this was a book I didn't want to end. I enjoyed both the elderly, spunky Sydney and the naive, but brave teenager who followed her dreams. Many thanks to Shomeret for sharing this treasure with me.

Marcy: You had quite an eclectic month! I highly recommend the Jim Butcher books. I am enjoying the short stories in Side Jobs so much I want to get back to catching up with Harry.

Marcy wrote: "Not a great month, though I did enjoy The Talented Mr. Ripley and loved Bliss, Remembered.

Storm Front (Dresden Files #1) by Jim Butcher (audio) - The wizardry business is not booming until the ..."

Glad you enjoyed STORM FRONT. And as far as the Dresden series, it's really not that good! You've got some great ones ahead of you if you stick with the series!

Melodie and Ann - I remember you cautioning me beforehand about the Dresden series getting better as they go on and so I'm eager to move ahead. You two also seem to steer me in the right direction.

You had some good reads this month. I remember watching the movie,'The Talented Mr. Ripley." A smart, sharp plot.
I may check out the Dresden series myself, although I'm not into fanatasy/sci fi stories.

I may check out the Dresden series myself, although I'm not into fanatasy/sci fi stories.

While the stories are certainly fantasy, the tone of the books is very different from the usual "princess meets the ogre." Try one and I think you'll like it.

Lorraine, I didn't think it would be for me either, but I like the main character and enjoy the meld of fantasy with mystery. I think Dan is right - the tone is different from other fantasy stories.

Daniel wrote: "I may check out the Dresden series myself, although I'm not into fanatasy/sci fi stories.

While the stories are certainly fantasy, the tone of the books is very different from the usual "princes..."

Dan is absolutely right! Harry is a great character and stories are first rate!

Marcy wrote: "Lorraine, I didn't think it would be for me either, but I like the main character and enjoy the meld of fantasy with mystery. I think Dan is right - the tone is different from other fantasy stories."

I love Harry, too, though I think Bob is almost my favorite character.

Melodie: Ahh, Bob - YES! You have to love Bob and Harry's humor.
Melodie wrote: "I love Harry, too, though I think Bob is almost my favorite character. "

Too bad about Heresy since I am always on the hunt for good historical mysteries.

While I do not care for James Patterson I have really enjoyed the two books I read by his co-author Michael Ledwidge The Narrowback and Bad Connection

Sandi wrote: "Too bad about Heresy since I am always on the hunt for good historical mysteries.

I was disappointed that Heresy was not great. Any suggestions for a wonderful historical mystery?

I have also read a co-author of Patterson's - Roughan - and enjoyed the book.

I didn't think Heresywas that great either. I'd read a non-fiction bio of Giordano Bruno and had some doubts as to whether he would have acted as described in the book. It's possible that he would have. It depends on how you look at what he had to say in his correspondence about his stay in England.

Marcy, if you like the Tudor period, I recommend the Matthew Shardlake series by C. J. Sansom. Of course, being an UOOOR, I didn't start at the beginning. So you'll probably want to start with Dissolutionwhich I still haven't read. The characters are wonderful and there's great attention to period detail in this series.

Dissolution looks interesting and I've added it to the ever growing list. Thanks for pointing me to the beginning of the series.