Random books from jonesli's library
Time's Witness by Malone
Cold Is the Grave: A Novel of Suspense by Peter Robinson
A Traitor to Memory (Inspector Lynley) by Elizabeth George
The Manchurian Candidate by Richard Condon
Cross by James Patterson
The Age of Innocence (Barnes & Noble Classics) by Edith Wharton
Great Expectations (Barnes & Noble Classics) by Charles Dickens
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Friends: Ambrosia4, amwmsw04, blondierocket, debbaker, edlynskey, fasciknitting, RidgewayGirl, VictoriaPL
Interesting libraries: EarlyReviewers, karenmarie, rorygilmore
LibraryThing authors: Marisa de los Santos (Marisa1), Chris Tusa (cmtusa), Joe Hill (joehill), Lisa See (lisasee), John Green (sparksflyup)
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jonesli's reviews
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Member: jonesli
Collections2010 Category Challenge (1), Own (270), Borrowed from Library (142), Your library (461), Currently reading (3), To read (113), Read but unowned (59), All collections (752)
Reviews54 reviews
TagsMystery (278), Library (136), Read in 2008 (110), Read (82), 999 Challenge (81), TBR (65), Thriller (53), Finished September 2009 (22), Finished June 2009 (22), Finished August 2009 (21) — see all tags
Cloudstag cloud, author cloud
Groups1010 Category Challenge, 75 Books Challenge for 2009, 999 Challenge, 999 The Brothers Karamazov, BookMooching, Crime, Thriller & Mystery, Gilmore Girl Addicts, Hardboiled / Noir Crime Fiction
Favorite authorsJames M. Cain, Raymond Chandler, Agatha Christie, Michael Connelly, J. California Cooper, Dorothy Dunnett, Sue Grafton, Dashiell Hammett, P. D. James, Ngaio Marsh, James Patterson, Ruth Rendell, Peter Robinson, John Saul, Josephine Tey, Stuart Woods (Shared favorites)
Favorite bookstoresFriends of the Free Library Book Corner, Whodunit?
About me999 Challenge : http://www.librarything.com/topic/47380
75 Challenge :http://www.librarything.com/topic/51964
1010 Category Challenge:http://www.librarything.com/topic/70757
About my libraryBooks Read in 2009
1. The Apple by Michel Faber (999)
2. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls (999)
3. The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent (999)
4. The Big Sea by Langston Hughes (999)
5. The Tsarina's Daughter by Carolly Erickson (999)
6. Alice Adams by Booth Tarkington (999)
7. The Golden Girls of MGM (999)
8. The Whore's Child and Other Stories (999)
9. The Pale Horse (not included in 999)
10.Going Wrong
11.The Undertaker's Widow
12.The Chimney Sweeper's Boy (not included in 999)
13.Lady In The Lake (not in 999)
14.The Keys to the Street (not in 999)
15.Twisted (999)
16.The Crocodile Bird
17.A Demon In My View
18.March
19.The Secret House of Death
20.The Little Sleep
21.Make Death Love Me
22.The Mysterious Affair at Styles (daily lit not in 999)
23.A Summons to Memphis (999)
24.The House of Stairs
25.Your Heart Belongs to Me (not in 999)
26.A Kiss Before Dying (not 999)
27.Death of a Gentle Lady
28.I Married a Dead Man (not 999)
29.In Cold Blood (999)
30.The Secret Life of Bees (not 999)
31.Lake of Darkness
32.The Brothers Karamazov (999)
33.Playback (read with Victoria)
34.Heartshaped Box (not 999)
35.The Concrete Blonde (999)
36.Not The Girl Next Door (999)
37.The Moving Target
38.The Uncommon Reader
39.Death of a Witch (not in 999)
40.Death of a Maid
41.Death of a Poison Pen( not in 999)
42.Breathing Lessons (999)
43.20th Century Ghosts
44.Trouble Is My Business
45.Collected Stories Volume 1 Ruth Rendell
46.The New Girlfriend and Other Stories
47.The Magnificent Ambersons (999)
48.The Birthday Present
49.Heartsick (999)
50.Sweetheart (not 999)
51.Rebecca (999)
52.Death of a Glutton (not 999)
53.Bleeding Heart Square (999)
54.The Street (not 999)
55.Garnethill (not 999)
56.The Optimist's Daughter (999)
57.Ragtime (999)
58.It's Only a Movie
59.The Stone Diaries (999)
60.Shoot The Piano Player (not 999)
61.To Love and Be Wise (not 999)
62.Whose Body? (not 999)
63.Poodle Springs
64.The Nothing Man (not 999)
65.The Best Man to Die (not 999)
66.Dreams From My Father (999)
67.A Man Lay Dead (not 999)
68.Absent in Spring and Other Stories
69.Enter A Murderer
70.Plum Lovin
71.A Daughter's a Daughter and Other Novels
72.Bloodlines
73.A Shilling for Candles
74.Shake Hands Forever
75.Loitering With Intent
76.Pieces of My Life (999)
77.The Nursing Home Murder
78.1st To Die
79.The Daughter of Time
80.The Man in the Queue
81.Death of a Hussy
82.Death of a Travelling Man
83.A Highland Christmas
84.The Body in the Library
85.Kaffir Boy (999)
86.Suite Francaise (999)
87.The Franchise Affair
88.In The Still of the Night
89.Cross Country
90.A Sight for Sore Eyes
91.The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
92.Looking for Alaska
93.Ironweed (999)
94.The Crime at Black Dudley
95.Death of a Dreamer
96.A Dark Adapted Eye
97.Brat Farrar
98.The Beautiful and Damned (999)
99.The Lost Stories of Dashiell Hammett (999)
100.The Killing Doll (999)
101.The Heir (999)
102.Age of Innocence (999)
103.Death of a Snob
104.Fer De Lance
105.Sleeping Murder
106.Forever Amber (999)
107.The Singing Sands
108.From Doon With Death
109.A Sleeping Life
110.The Tea Rose (999)
111.Atonement (999)
112.A Song Flung Up to Heaven (999)
113.The Winter Rose (999)
114.Blueberry Muffin Murder
115.Executive Suite (999)
116.Paul Newman: A Life (999)
117.Grifter's Game
118.Champagne for One
119.The Bone Collector
120.Cover Her Face
121.Montgomery Clift-A Biography
122.East of Eden
123.The Spire
124.Etta James:Rage To Survive
125.The Audacity of Hope
126.Some Rain Must Fall
127.Innocent Blood
128.When the Women Come Out to Dance
129.Lady Chatterly's Lover
130.Someone to Watch Over Me
131.Love For Sale
132.It Had to Be You
133.Who's Sorry Now?
134.Pride and Prejudice
135.Agatha Christie: An Autobiography
136.Vanity Dies Hard
137.Wuthering Heights
138.Death of a Doxy
139.Death of a Charming Man
140.Evil at Heart
141.Black Coffee
142.Tree of Hands
143.A Mind to Murder
144.Life is Short But Wide
145.Gallows View
146.The Face of Trespass
147.Great Deliverance
148.Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder
149.Strawberry Shortcake Murder
150.Fudge Cupcake Murder
151.Sugar Cookie Murder
152.Peach Cobbler Murder
153.Purple Hibiscus
154.A Dedicated Man
155.Unnatural Causes
156.Four To Go
157.Cream Puff Murder
158.Sad Cypress
159.A Necessary End
160.Shroud for a Nightingale
161.The Hanging Valley
162.Alex Cross's Trial
163.Past Reason Hated
164.A Pocketful of Rye
165.Payment in Blood
166.Lemon Meringue Pie Murder
167.An Unsuitable Job for a Woman
168.Final Account
169.Wednesday's Child
170.The Price of Love and Other Stories
171.Trouble in Triplicate
172.Innocent Graves
173.Still Life
174.Push
175.Black Orchids
176.Blood at the Root
177.Dead Cold
178.Portobello
179.Hickory Dickory Death
180.The Mother Hunt
181.In a Dry Season
182.In The Best Families
183.Carrot Cake Murder
184.Key Lime Pie Murder
185.Cherry Cheesecake Murder
186.No Wind of Blame
187.The Cruelest Month
188.Finger Lickin Fifteen
189.Sharp Objects
190.The Last Coyote
191.To Fear a Painted Devil
192.Knit the Season
Also onBookMooch
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LibraryThing Early Reviewers/Member Giveaway
Real nameLisa
LocationPhiladelphia, PA
Account typepublic, lifetime
Connection NewsConnection News
URLs
http://www.librarything.com/profile/jonesli (profile)
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/jonesli (library)
Common KnowledgeSeries (93), Awards (187), Characters (3300), Places (428)
Member sinceJul 7, 2007
Currently readingJane Eyre (Penguin Classics) by Charlotte Brontë
China Governess by Margery Allingham
Rabbit, Run by John Updike
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posted by Porua at 9:29 am (EST) on Nov 17, 2009
posted by Porua at 12:04 pm (EST) on Nov 16, 2009
I thought the idea of finding a body after a reservoir is drained or dries up, I forget which, was an original way of starting the plot. Banks and DS Cabot investigate in a conventional way, it seemed to me, gradually uncovering the identity of the victim and some details about her life 50 years ago, during WWII. The memoirs or recollections of Vivian Elmsley/Gwen Shackleton fill in the details of actual events preceding the murder. All of that was fine. We are made aware of a character who eventually is revealed as the murderer. There are plenty of other suspects in Vivian's account of life during the war. Banks and Cabot know nothing about these people and Elmsley knows ALMOST nothing about the existence of the real killer. Banks and Cabot do not thoroughly investigate this character.
It takes a confrontation between Elmsley and the killer at the end of the book to reveal the actual details of the killing. The investigation doesn't solve the crime and Elmsley account only fills in details without being helpful in solving the crime. This was the unsatisfying part of the novel. The confrontation between Elmseey and the killer would have occurred even without Banks' investigation. So what was the point of it all?
I realize that there are other Inspector Banks novels. I haven't read them. Perhaps that is why I wasn't particularly interested in all the back story about Banks and his divorce and the problems he was having with his son, Brian. The frequent music references throughout the book didn't add anything to the plot. Perhaps all of this would have been more interesting or would have meant something to someone who had read the previous novels in the series. I most often read series novels as I can obtain them, not in chronological order. I don't think I've ever felt this to be a serious drawback to enjoying the stories or felt that a character's background carried over from previous books got in the way of the story at hand. But I did feel that in this book.
Wow, I didn't think I could write that much. But that is pretty much why I felt In a Dry Season was not as good as many other mystery novels I've read. Everybody's got an opinion. That's mine, for what it's worth.
posted by etrainer at 6:10 pm (EST) on Nov 13, 2009
posted by RidgewayGirl at 8:20 am (EST) on Oct 30, 2009
posted by VictoriaPL at 2:21 pm (EST) on Oct 25, 2009
posted by VictoriaPL at 8:04 pm (EST) on Oct 24, 2009
posted by VictoriaPL at 9:19 pm (EST) on Oct 7, 2009
posted by VictoriaPL at 10:20 am (EST) on Oct 7, 2009
posted by VictoriaPL at 1:38 pm (EST) on Sep 27, 2009
I know you said historical fiction was OK, do you mean historical fiction that was written in the past or in modern times? Would you read a Victor Hugo or Alexandre Dumas? The 1010 has a group read of The Three Musketeers scheduled for March which would be France. My favorite Dumas is called The Corsican Brothers. It's a very thin book compared to his other tomes. I wouldn't mind lending it to you if you couldn't get it through the library.
You might also look into Arturo Pérez-Reverte. I liked The Flanders Panel. He has others.
Hmmmm. Need to think. Be back later.
posted by VictoriaPL at 8:54 am (EST) on Sep 25, 2009
posted by VictoriaPL at 12:04 pm (EST) on Sep 24, 2009
posted by VictoriaPL at 4:38 pm (EST) on Sep 23, 2009
I enjoyed Evil at Heart the least of the trilogy. But it was still enjoyable. You're right, the dark humor is just dead on. Yes, Susan's facts were interesting. I love the stomach blushing one. I kept thinking of her Salt & Vinegar chips. I love those and I don't have any in the house.
posted by VictoriaPL at 5:02 pm (EST) on Sep 15, 2009
A few months back you indicated that were interested in a copy of my novel, Dirty Little Angels, but I didn't have any physical copies at the time. Good news . . . I found a few lying around my house the other day. If you're still interested, send over your mailing address (my e-mail is mail@chridstophertusa.com) and I'll send you a signed copy.
Chris
posted by cmtusa at 12:28 pm (EST) on Sep 5, 2009