May, 2012 - What are we reading?

Just to get the topic started for the month.

I'm still reading Butchers Hill by Laura Lippman, a carry-over from April.

Started The Brutal Telling, by Louise Penny, yesterday and making very quick progress.

I'm listening to the audio version of And Then There Were None and reading a true crime story, And the Sea Will Tell.

I've moved to the next in the d'Artagnan series - Twenty Years After which is much more of a political thriller than the first one. Hard to see the musketeers on opposite sides though. And boy, how they get through horses.

I recently read Fear of the Dark by Walter Mosley. It's the third in his Fearless Jones series set in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts during the 1950s. Mosley is an amazing author, and I can't praise him enough--which is why my review might be just a tad bit sycophantic. Whatever. At least I acknowledge it, right?

I'm halfway through Dissolution by CJ Sansom

Currently I'm reading Just Take My Heart by Mary Higgins Clark. Until now I'm really enjoying it.

the Sansom series is superb...oh such alliteration. I'm putting off reading the last one. I space them widely so I always have one to read, but I have only the last one to go.

>6 I'm with you re Walter Mosley, Willy. He got me hooked with the Easy Rawlins series and I've read a ton of his other books since then. Have you read his recent Leonid McGill ones? Another great central character and series.

I just finished The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection, another charmer in the Precious Ramotswe series. My review is on the book page. Whatever the opposite of noir is, this series would probably fit it.

#10--my French is all but non-existent, but I like the concept of "mystery blanc--light!"

Top of the to-be-read stack: The Teaberry Strangler and Death of a Gentle Lady. Definitely part of the same anti-noir genre.

I love CJ Sansom.

I've also just read and really enjoyed a debut crime novel, Bad Moon Rising by Fances di Plino, published by Crooked {Cat}. One to look out for.

>10 JN - Yeah, my first Mosley novel was actually All I Did Was Shoot My Man, which I received as part of the LT Early Reviewers program. That got me started, and now I've read a book from the Easy Rawlins, Leonid McGill, and Fearless Jones series. I gotta say, though, I liked Fear of the Dark the best. I also read Devil in a Blue Dress, and it was good, but it wasn't Mosley's best. I mean, it was his first published novel, so we can't expect it to be 100% pure distilled awesome.

>12 kbwalker - Ditto That. C.J. Sansom is great. I read his novel Dark Fire a couple years ago and I want more.

The Eyre affair by Jasper Fforde and Careless in red by Elizabeth George.

DEFENDING JACOB, what a great book!

Read another vintage mystery The Lodger by Marie Adelaide Belloc, although this falls more into the category of psychological thriller. This book went on to become the basis for Alfred Hitchcock’s The Lodger. The book and the movie have different conclusions though.

My thoughts on the book are here,

http://www.librarything.com/topic/130815#3378534

Just began John Sandford's novel stolen prey. his novels are good and this one has somewhat of a different premise which is engrossing.

I'm reading the adventures of sherlock holmes

Calumet City by Charlie Newton.

Murder Is Where You Find It by Amanda Rutter

Kill Shot by Vince Flynn.

The Affair by Lee Child

Reading Death Angels by Ake Edwardson

My most recent read is that of The Mystery of the Yellow Room by Gaston LeRoux. Originally published in 1907, it's been hailed as one of the seminal works of French mystery fiction. It's also been called one of the best locked room mysteries of all time. That, I'm not so sure about. Read all about it in my review here.

Not reading yet: I can't wait for Tana French's BROKEN HARBOR (to be published July 24). I wonder which "minor" character from her 3rd in the series will be the major character in the next.

Scorcher I believe.

I've started Buried Prey by John Sandford, the next-to-latest in the "Prey" series (and the latest in paperback). So far (about 100 pages in) it's very good, and likely to become one of my favorite rereads in the series.

# 25 WillyMammoth, I read The Mystery of the Yellow Room about three years ago and didn't like it that much. I found it too melodramatic for my taste. No wonder Gaston Leroux went on to write The Phantom of the Opera.

Just finished Silent Scream by Lynda La Plante

I am reading Whole Truth by David Baldacci It been on my shelf for a long time. He is one of my favorite authors.

I've reviewed a thriller called An Ordinary Decent Criminal, quite quite violent, in my thread...post #19.

Just finished Death Notice by Todd Ritter, I think his first. Not bad. Started Nocturnal by Scott Sigler. Crime with elements of the supernatural. Not too far in.

Just finished the following: No Mark Upon Her by Deborah Crombie, Mrs. Jeffries Defends Her Own by Emily Brightwell, and Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear. Have also started The Polish Officer by Alan Furst and The Litigators by John Grisham.

Lucky me was on vacation and able to enjoy catching up on some mysteries!

Reading some Phryne Fisher - Blood and Circuses by Kerry Greenwood.

I am reading "Fallen Angel" by Connie Dial. This is the first book I have read by this author.

Rereading The Abominable Man, by Sjöwall and Wahlöö. I borrowed it from the library about four years ago and apparently remember next to nothing about it. How did I manage to forget it? The murder is quite horrifying. But the story is moving along nicely.

I'm reading The Bride Wore Black by Cornell Woolrich.

The Girl of His Dreams by Donna Leon.

I've started Los Angeles Noir, edited by Denise Hamilton. Just finished the first story, by Michael Connelly, last night

Reading for the first time Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier a true classic which is not my cup of tea but I am definitely appreciate and overall am enjoying it.

#41, Wish I could go to Manderley again for the first time. I read The Eyre affair, which took me a bit of mental adjustment but which I finally enjoyed. Now I'm looking at Careless in red, the next Elizabeth George I haven't gotten to. Wish her books weren't so long.

# 42 Bjace, "Wish I could go to Manderley again for the first time."

Oh so do I! I loved Rebecca when I first read it about a decade ago and my re-read last year reaffirmed my first impressions.

I set forth the causes of my discontent with Case Histories,the first Jackson Brodie, in my thread...post #70.

King of the World by Celia Fremlin. Not worth my time. Can't remember where I had heard this recommendation...

I recently read Walter Mosley's 1990 neo-noir title, Devil in a Blue Dress. It's not as good as some of his later work, but don't let that stop you. It's still a great read. My review is here.

Up next is more neo-noir circa 1990--James Ellroy's L.A. Confidential.

Do any of you prefer British "Golden Age" mysteries? I'd love to discover some authors I haven't read yet.

I'm currently reading Death Comes As the End by Agatha Christie.

>47 There is an Old Mysteries and Detectives Club on the site, endpapers, but it's fairly quiet (more's the pity). Still, you might mine it for ideas, as there are several threads of information waiting to be browsed!

#47, endpapers, maybe these are fairly standard, but given Michael Innes a try. I like Edgar Wallace, too. Margery Allingham is VERY British but writes a good mystery. The Red Redmaynes by Eden Phillpotts. I don't much care of Christianna Brand's Inspector Cockerill, but a lot of people think highly of those.

Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspear

I am reading About Face by Donna Leon.

Started Death in the Air this morning after watching a rerun of the Poirot adaptation on PBS this past weekend.

The new Harlan Coben, Stay Close finally came in to the library for me and I spent two happy days reading it. I'm packing to move so reading breaks were my motivator. Good timing! Enjoyed the book. It had some torture going on in the plot, which I don't like reading about and hope he doesn't include that in future books. No graphic descriptions of it, but still....yuck.

Ahhahaha! I just remembered I dreamed about finding a C. J. Box book at a sale last night!

Finished The Litigators and have started Partners in Crime by Agatha Christie as part of my quest to reread her books in order.

God, I love James Ellroy. I finished his novel L.A. Confidential, and just... wow. It's not a book for everyone, and it's not an easy read, but by the end of it I was amazed. If you're interested, you can find my review here.

Just started a creepy little book called The Lodger which is a riff on the idea of what would happen if your lodger turned out to be Jack the Ripper.

>57 - Sounds like a fun one!

>56 That is a terrific book. I came to it after seeing the movie (which is also excellent) and really enjoyed it.

I've started Dark Hollow by John Connolly, and got about 60 pages in last night--good so far.

I've just finished Broken Prey by John Sandford.... The first of his that I've read. A real page turner; sustained suspense and even a convincing car chase, although some may find the scenes of sex and torturous violence unnecessarily explicit.

>56 Terrific review, thumbs up!

>59 Jestak - It sure is. I saw the movie first, too, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the book's ending was totally different. There were also a lot of other subplots that the movie left out. Like I said in the review, though, I understand why. When a book is as dense as L.A. Confidential, you simply can't do a 100% faithful film adaptation.

>61 richardderus - Thank you, sir!

I started a new series (new to me) -- the Louise Penny Inspector Gamache series and have read the first two books. I kept seeing references to the awards the books had gotten, and people referring to Three Pines. Well, I surely wasn't disappointed. What a great find. I enjoy Penny's writing style very much - especially her characterization, her dialog, and her descriptions. I'm looking forward to more of this series!

I read a Jack Reacher for the first time in many months. I forgot where I was in the series, and read #9 One Shot, which was absolutely great. But I found out afterward I'd skipped over 6, 7, 8. I read everything in order, so it was mildly aggravating. I'm in the midst of #6, Without Fail now. It's hard to work and think about work when you're in the middle of a Jack Reacher.

Love the Gamache series! So envious that you have the rest of the series to read. I'm patiently waiting for the latest book to come out this year.

>63 Oh goody good good, another Three Pines admirer! I think Louise Penny's ability to create a character the reader can really invest in is outstanding. She's got no rivals in that quarter, and as you go along in the series, the way the characters shift and grow is a constant source of pleasure for me.

I just finished Death Comes As the End by Agatha Christie, the only historical mystery she ever wrote. The mystery was good, the historical setting less so. Full review is here.

Wow, Rebecca was a joy to read, I can see why so many readers favourite book. I'm not a classic fan but this was truly a gem, stunning mystery for sure.

Just starting The Water's Edge by Karin Fossum

Reading The White Russian. It has taken me awhile to get into it, but looking forward to it for the weekend. Yay Friday!!

Reading Soft Target by Stephen Hunter. Have always enjoyed his books.

Started Dissolution by CJ Sansom.

Death on a Galician Shore by Domingo Villar. I loved Water-Blue Eyes but had to get it through inter-library loan. I purchased "Galician Shore" because I really like the characters in "Eyes" and it wasn't in World Cat at that time. It may be there now.

Started The Spies of Warsaw by Alan Furst. Haven't read him before. Good so far.

Spider Dance by Carole Nelson Douglas. Picks up immediately where Femme Fatale left off ... and it's been nearly a year for me between the two books. Probably should have backtracked and at least flipped through FF first.

# 57 Bookmarque, Oh yes The Lodger is creepy! I read it last month and liked it. The movie ending is different because of the movie's hero Ivor Novello's image. The audience would not accept him as a villain so the ending had to be changed.

My thoughts on The Lodger are here,

http://www.librarything.com/topic/130815#3378534

I am currently reading Before the Poison by Peter Robinson for my mystery book club.

I've just finished the Crombie book and really enjoyed it - thought it was one of the best in the series so far.

#8 I love Mary Higgins Clark. I like to listen to hers on audiobook.

#16 I have heard so much about this book. I guess I need to check it out.

#18 someone gave me a lot of the Prey books so I have been collecting them but I can't start because I can't find the first one.

Just put the finishing touches on Curse the Names by Robert Arellano. It's a psychological horror/thriller-type thing I got from the LT Early Reviewer's program. My review is over here somewhere.

I've been on a Jack Reacher run. I've just read 3 in a row, which is very unlike my usual reading habits. It's going to be a sad day when I finally catch up and have to wait a year for a new Reacher like everybody else. :-)

So I'm delaying that sad day for a while and have tried somebody new to me, Andrew Vachss' Flood, the first in the Burke series. I've only read a bit so far, but it seems like one I'll be finishing and enjoying. It's in first person, which is really my preference, and the voice of Burke is quite interesting.

Just started Risk Agent by Ridley Pearson. This is my first book by him. Good so far.

I just finished 1222 by Anne Holt.

Now I'm reading what I thought would be a thriller. But it's so slow going that it's not: PRAGUE FATALE

It's getting great reviews, but I don't agree. Histrical detail is good, but here it seems to be forced, burying the murder mystery.

>82 My Reacher experience was just like that, Pea Jay. Hard to stop once you're on a roll with him! After having lots of them to read, I've become just like the other readers you mention, waiting a year for each new one. Of course, now I'm thinking about re-reads . . .

I'm now back in Boston with Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro in Prayers for Rain, which is very good.

The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie. I think she had great fun writing it. Here is the description of the butler at Chimneys:

They were received at the door by a white-headed butler whose demeanour was perfect.
'We are not accustomed,' it seemed to say, 'to having murder committed within them walls. But these are evil days. Let us meet disaster with perfect calm, and pretend with our dying breath that nothing out of the usual has occurred.'

I finished the Andrew Vachss book, "Flood" and loved it. Another good series to work my way through, yay! :-)

I'm also working my way through the Margaret Frazer's Dame Frevisse series. I haven't read one in many months, and after all the recent Reachers and the Burke and the Gamaches, a good medieval mystery seemed like it would hit the spot. I'm halfway through the 7th book called "The Prioress' Tale" in a 14th century convent in Oxfordshire, England. I'm greatly enjoying it.

Reading Revenge of the wrought-iron flamingos, the third Meg Langslow book by Donna Andrews. So far it's as much fun as the first two.

Finished The Ranger by Ace Atkins, which I read because I got The Lost Ones through early reviewers. When I requested it I didn't realize it was the second in a series, Not that I am complaining. Never read Atkins before. It is nice to find a new author with a body of work already out there. I enjoyed The Ranger. Very spare writing style. I just started The Lost Ones, and will write a review when I finish.

I've got The Ranger in ebook format. I've read the first 20 pages or so, but haven't really sat down with it yet. I really like a southern setting, so glad to hear this is a good one.

I'm now reading Fallen by Karin Slaughter. It's very good; once again Slaughter is putting her characters, especially the women, through nine kinds of hell.

Read and reviewed yet another vintage mystery. This time it is The Old Man in the Corner by Baroness Emmuska Orczy from 1909. It was quite an enjoyable read!

My thoughts here,

http://www.librarything.com/topic/130815#3412454

I'm on a C. J. Box kick - just finished Blue Heaven, next up is Back of Beyond and Force of Nature

Just started Messenger of Truth by Jacqueline Winspear just love her books.

about halfway through Stolen Prey, by John Sandford. I have read all of Sandford's books, and with the exception of 2 or 3, they have all been excellent. This one looks like another of his good ones.

Started Blue Monday, a psychological thriller by Nicci French, the pen name of a married couple. It's quite intriguing so far.

Just finished The Bloodman by Robert Pobi. It's a very good dark, psychological mystery. I didn't see the ending coming.

Today I started the first installment of the third Bernard Samson trilogy: Faith, by Len Deighton.
(Ooh, wow, the touchstone worked on the first try! I was expecting to have to wade through a whole bunch of other titles.)

I am reading The Past is Never Dead by David Schulman. I absolutely love it. It's got a great plot, lots of quirky characters and it's funny. Unfortunately, he has not written another.

I'm back in L.A. with Harry Bosch in The Overlook by Michael Connelly.

New thread is up:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/137837

With respect to Ace Atkins, I love his first few books -- mysteries with a southern music theme. Well worth checking out. I'm near the end of The Ranger. Guess I'll be looking for The Lost Ones soon.

82-Peajay, I feel the same way! I love Reacher! I have also come to love Stuart Woods Stone Barrington and Michael Connelly Harry Bosch.

I'm so happy to jump on the Louise Penny fan base. I often discover new authors because of enthusiastic LT posters and my love-affair with Penny and "Three Pines" is thanks to you all. Keep those cards and letters coming folks!