Berengaria > Recent Status Updates

Jumping in several books from the start of the series. Seems to be one you need to read in order as not much is repeated to help you orient yourself. Plot is clear and understandable, though, and I've only seen 1 major writing gaff thus far, so all's well in that dept.

A rather slow Allmen, but still with the usual flair.

So far, the stories that most reviewers really liked I think are terribly subpar (esp in the writing) and the ones I'm enjoying they mostly didn't.

I must be reading for different reasons than the rest. Still, Canadian Arctic + supernatural ....good stuff!

Going to DNF. Just too much of a cutesy snore.

Minorly interesting memoir of a boyhood in Ulster during The Troubles. Mostly childhood stuff and thus far, very little about the actual Troubles.

When I read a Merrily Watkins novel, it's like coming home.

It's a realistic setting where the supernatural and spirituality are not rejected as nonsense and you, personally, insulted as being a gullible moron for being part of it, but where all the characters take it seriously and it's central to their lives...no matter in what colour it comes in. Such a relief!

Extremely far-fetched but a decent thought experiment about how jurors are chosen. Things go majorly south and it's Eddie to the rescue!

Really enjoyed Cavanagh's The Liar (Eddie Flynn #3) so thought I'd read #4. So far, not nearly as exciting or immediately engaging. I guess I don't find genetically freakish, neurodiverse, psychopathic serial killers so interesting. But the writing and Eddie himself are in top form, so chugging along...

Since this is a series, young Lucy isn't going to be killed off by some angry mobsters...but she's trying her damnedest to be!

Pretty good English police mystery set in Greater Manchester. Fast paced with realistic characters and a fmc who isn't a po-faced hard ass, thank goodness.

English title: "The Paris Apartment".

I feel like I'm reading a 3-D French version of Clue/Cluedo. It's Col Mustard in the Library with the Wrench! No, Miss Scarlet in the Conservatory with the Rope!

More dumb romantic side plots.

Seem like male writers simply have to have hot chicks sighing with love and lust over their mmc to prove he's not only fast with his fists, he's also a stud muffin.🙄 Why can't they just stick to the action, huh?

This is one of the best historical thrillers I've ever read. We just had to get some pointless romance in 🫣 but luckily it was brief and we an return to the good stuff.

Not overly enamoured of the clipped writing style (copying 1930s noir?) but the plot has me on the edge of my seat The locations of Midway, Wake Island, Guam, Hong Kong and other Pacific settings just make it all the more engaging.

A pretty good Danish police thriller thus far!

It's enjoyable to kick around Copenhagen for a change, since I read Swedish and Norwegian thrillers far more often than Danish.

(Blame the German book market which focuses strongly on Sweden/Norway, but largely ignores our direct neighbour to the north!)

Every single last character in this book could be described either as "lost" or "holding on by their fingernails". The atmosphere continues to be very good, but the investigation is losing itself a bit in the descriptions of what a ruse these people's lives are.

1961 in a Russian city that exists on no map where they're building the world's biggest bomb. Great atmosphere and excellent historical vibes. Not as mystery-esque as Martin Cruz Smith nor as deep Soviet as Tom Rob Smith, but pretty good.

Much better now and I do want to know what's going to happen to Demon, but the story's structured a lot like real life...that is, largely plotless and full of the damnedest twists of fate and coincidences, which is very unlike fiction. I suppose that's the 19th cent "serial" structure showing through.

While I love Demon's narrative voice, none of the reviews mentioned it is told in exactly the same style as 19th century literature. I don't get along well with older lit, so perhaps I won't finish this one.

But being from VA, I love this quote: "Southwest Virginia, we're just one damn thing after another"

Really very interesting so far, but not what I was expecting. A lot about Japanese culture and how humans struggle to fit into societies they're flung into, regardless of if by choice or not.

Currently sitting at a 3.5 to 4 star read.

Famous people, famous people, famous people.....

Too much concentration on love stories and marriages for me, but enjoying the atmosphere of historic Malibu.

And that Carrie Soto was "the other woman"! I'll probs never read Carrie Soto but cool to see where the character started.

The Daemon has pretty much taken over society and is kicking ass and taking names, but the US governmental agencies can't see past their 'war on terror' and 'arrest 'em and lock 'em up' mentality. I'm expecting them to lose this one badly...but then, aren't they supposed to be the good guys, so can they???

Getting better and better....!

Enjoying this cyber mystery tremendously! Can't follow all the tech bro prattle and info dumps, but you've got to love a killer Hummer taking out snotty-arrogant FBI agents. 👍

This is the 2nd time in a Swedish mystery-thriller, I've run into the character of a rabid female cop who decides one of the suspects is guilty! guilty! guilty! and pursues that one person with the sadistic aim of destroying them forever.

It seems Swedish authors/readers love to follow characters you just have to hate/find disgusting. Beats me why.