February 2018 - What Are You Reading?

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February 2018 - What Are You Reading?

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1tottman
Feb 1, 2018, 12:09 am

I'm reading Sunburn by Laura Lippman. Really interesting noirish feel.

2Molly3028
Feb 1, 2018, 7:12 am

I'm listening to the latest Eve Dallas novel ~ Dark in Death by J. D. Robb ~
a favorite series of mine

3raidergirl3
Feb 1, 2018, 8:44 am

I'm reading The Devil in Nanking (Tokyo) by Mo Hayder. It's going a little slow for a thriller so I hope it picks up soon.

4jwrudn
Feb 1, 2018, 8:57 pm

Just finished The Expendable Man by Dorothy B. Hughes. I wish more of her books were available at my library.

5AnnieMod
Feb 1, 2018, 9:58 pm

>2 Molly3028: Ha, I forgot it is coming out this week :) Thanks for the reminder.

I am starting February with a Nero Wolfe novel: And Be a Villain

6leslie.98
Feb 1, 2018, 10:11 pm

>4 jwrudn: I have only read a few of her books but have liked those. It is a shame that so many of the mystery writers of the past get weeded out of public libraries...

7AnnieMod
Feb 1, 2018, 10:28 pm

>4 jwrudn: Check what are the conditions for ILL in your library - I had been working through the Erle Stanley Gardner novels in the last few years and out of the 74 I had read, 63 came to me via ILL.

8cmbohn
Feb 2, 2018, 1:11 am

5- That's one of my favorites in that series.

9Dr_Flanders
Feb 2, 2018, 8:48 am

>4 jwrudn:
>6 leslie.98:

The Library of America series has a two volume boxed set called Women Crime Writers of the 1940s & 50s consisting of eight novels by different writers from that area. The reason I bring it up is because it includes a novel by Charlotte Armstrong titled Mischief, and a novel by Dorothy B. Hughes called In a Lonely Place, as well as six other novels. I have read the first volume, and all four novels are stellar.

I don't know what the odds of your library having a copy of these novels is, but if you can get it via inter-library loan, you might discover several more several mystery writers of the past to track down.

Each volume is also available via Amazon for around 25 dollars or so, I think. I just thought you all might be interested.

10Bookmarque
Feb 2, 2018, 9:18 am

That set is marvelous. I bought it a while back & that's how I came to know Hughes and Armstrong and the other ladies featured (except for Highsmith whom I already read).

11Dr_Flanders
Feb 2, 2018, 11:23 am

>10 Bookmarque:

Same here. I've only read the first volume, but I enjoyed each novel. I have the second volume on my bookshelf and look forward to getting into it at some point. It seems like a great starting point for anyone interested in crime writing from that era.

12Maura49
Feb 2, 2018, 12:37 pm

I have been reading U is for Undertow by Sue Grafton as a tribute to one of my favourite Crime Fiction writers. As many readers of this thread will know she died recently- one book short of completing her series about Kinsey Millhone P.I.

I don't like all of the later entries in this series but this one is tightly organised and very gripping.

13leslie.98
Feb 2, 2018, 1:33 pm

>9 Dr_Flanders: Thanks! I just checked and both volumes are in my library system :-)

14leslie.98
Feb 2, 2018, 1:33 pm

I am starting John Thorndyke's Cases, a short story collection.

15seitherin
Feb 2, 2018, 2:49 pm

16tottman
Feb 2, 2018, 6:18 pm

>9 Dr_Flanders:
>4 jwrudn:
>6 leslie.98:

I recently got sent a copy of In the Shadow of Agatha Christie which is a collection of stories by female writers who predated Agatha Christie and helped pave the way for her and many of the authors who followed her. It looks like a really interesting collection. Since it's a new collection just released this month, maybe it will have greater availability in libraries.

17jwrudn
Feb 2, 2018, 8:59 pm

>7 AnnieMod:
>6 leslie.98:
>9 Dr_Flanders:
>10 Bookmarque:
>16 tottman:

Thanks for the suggestions and recommendations. Just checked and my library has the Women Crime Writers volumes and the In the Shadow of Agatha Christie. Gotta get reading!

18jwrudn
Edited: Feb 2, 2018, 9:37 pm

>9 Dr_Flanders:
>10 Bookmarque:

I have read In a Lonely Place. As you probably know, it was the basis for a movie of the same name with Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame. In case you dont know and care... Gloria Graham is the subject of a current movie Film Stars Dont Die in Liverpool starring Annette Benning. She was involved in quite a scandal. After her divorce from the director Nicholas Ray, who was 12 years her senior (and reportedly had discovered her in bed with his 13 year old son), she eventually married her former stepson Anthony Ray who was almost 14 years younger than her.

19leslie.98
Feb 3, 2018, 9:52 pm

I have finished another Nero Wolfe (actually 2 separate novellas in one book) -- Black Orchids.

20Zumbanista
Edited: Feb 4, 2018, 2:13 am

I am almost done Resurrection Row by Anne Perry, 4th in the Charlotte and William Pitt series. Enjoying it, albeit being a bit preachy. Love the era and the characters.

21Molly3028
Feb 4, 2018, 10:16 am

audiobook ~

The Wife Between Us: A Novel by Greer Hendricks

22ted74ca
Feb 6, 2018, 11:57 pm

I'm quite enjoying this Canadian mystery series by Anne Emery. This one was the first in the series, (I've been reading them out of order), and is called Sign of the Cross.

23gmathis
Feb 7, 2018, 10:12 am

Just started Hard Row; it's way down the line in the Deborah Knott series. I consider myself an honorary member of the judge's huge North Carolina family by now.

24Bookmarque
Feb 7, 2018, 12:14 pm

Have 2 going at the moment - ebook and paperback - You Can't Catch Me by Rosamond Smith aka Joyce Carol Oates & The Guise of Another by Allen Eskens. Both good in different ways.

25Molly3028
Edited: Feb 8, 2018, 7:48 am

Enjoying this legal thriller audiobook ~

The Ex: A Novel
by Alafair Burke

26leslie.98
Feb 8, 2018, 8:31 pm

I have just finished the first book in a new-to-me Golden Age series - The Penguin Pool Murder by Stuart Palmer. It was quite entertaining even though I did figure out whodunit about halfway through (though that may have been a subconscious recollection from the 1932 film version with Edna May Oliver).

27seitherin
Feb 8, 2018, 10:19 pm

Finished Sad Cypress by Agatha Christie. Comfort read.

28ted74ca
Feb 9, 2018, 4:28 pm

I tried the first in a series that I think someone here may have recommended, the Kate Shackleton mystery series by Frances Brody and really enjoyed it. This one was Dying in the Wool. I'm on the hunt now for the next book in this series, as our local library only has two of the more recent ones.

29ted74ca
Feb 12, 2018, 4:38 pm

Loved this whole series (a trilogy). The Chess Men by Peter May

30leslie.98
Feb 13, 2018, 2:44 pm

I am reading the second in a historical fiction mystery series - Jester Leaps In. I have read several others in this series and liked them & this one isn't disappointing me!

32seitherin
Feb 14, 2018, 4:59 pm

Adding T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton to my reading rotation.

33ted74ca
Feb 14, 2018, 11:12 pm

Good thriller: What She Knew by Gilly MacMillan

34seitherin
Feb 15, 2018, 8:19 pm

Adding A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny to my reading rotation.

35leslie.98
Feb 15, 2018, 9:41 pm

I finished my first mystery by George Bellairs - Death in High Provence. This is something like #27 in the Inspector Littlejohn series...

36rabbitprincess
Feb 16, 2018, 6:11 pm

Started Malice Aforethought, by Francis Iles, on the bus this afternoon. What a first line: "It was not until several weeks after he had decided to murder his wife that Dr Bickleigh took any active steps in the matter."

37leslie.98
Feb 16, 2018, 7:08 pm

>36 rabbitprincess: That is a great book! Enjoy :)

38jwrudn
Feb 16, 2018, 8:32 pm

>30 leslie.98: Could the title be a play on the Count Basie (with Lester Young) tune "Lester Leaps In"?

39leslie.98
Edited: Feb 17, 2018, 12:29 pm

>38 jwrudn: No, I don't think so. The main character is a thirteenth century court jester (otherwise known as a fool). In this series, the fools have a secret Guild which works to promote peace and stability and provide information to each other (i.e. spy).

40seitherin
Feb 17, 2018, 3:16 pm

Finished A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny. Liked it muchly.

Next into the mix is Prince of Darkness by Sharon Kay Penman.

41seitherin
Feb 17, 2018, 10:17 pm

Finished T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton. Enjoyed it.

42tottman
Feb 18, 2018, 1:12 am

I finished Sunburn by Laura Lippman and it is great! I'm still reeling from the ending. So good!

Next up is The Terminal List by Jack Carr. One of the debuts I've most been looking forward to this year.

43leslie.98
Feb 18, 2018, 1:12 pm

Starting another Nero Wolfe -- Not Quite Dead Enough, 10th in the series. Archie is in the Army!

44Travis1259
Feb 18, 2018, 9:27 pm

Reading and liking The Man in the Crooked Hat by Harry Dolan.

45Lynxear
Edited: Feb 19, 2018, 12:44 am

>3 raidergirl3: I found that The Devil in Nanking definitely picks up as it goes along... it turns into a real horror story eventually as the mystery plays out

46Lynxear
Feb 19, 2018, 12:53 am

Just starting to like The Day After Tomorrow by Allan Folsum. It started very slow with a guy who finds the killer of his father in Paris France and is plotting to kill him... but it is not quite working out as planned. An American detective (McVey) is on his tail as a suspect for a number of other murders which he did not commit. Many twists in this plot and you see both sides of this mystery.

A little slow at first as there are many characters introduced quickly but I liken the details to the way Michael Connelly writes and I like detail. It is not a highly rated book but I beg to differ... it has a strong story, many twists and you get into the head of the main characters... my kind of mystery.

47flips
Feb 19, 2018, 10:29 am

48seitherin
Feb 19, 2018, 7:08 pm

Added Justice Lost by Scott Pratt to my reading rotation.

49leslie.98
Feb 22, 2018, 6:27 pm

I am reading Ruth Rendell's A Judgement in Stone. It isn't my usual type of crime book but she is holding my interest so far.

50Bookmarque
Feb 22, 2018, 7:03 pm

Oooh, that's one of Rendell's finest!

51ted74ca
Feb 23, 2018, 2:07 am

The latest by one of my long time favourite crime fiction writers: Peter Robinson. This one is Sleeping in the Ground and I really enjoyed it.

52seitherin
Feb 23, 2018, 10:34 am

Finished Justice Lost by Scott Pratt. Enjoyed it but not comfortably.

Next up is The Walls by Hollie Overton.

53LeahKingsley
Feb 23, 2018, 1:16 pm

Just finished Blood Moon's Fury by Leah Kingsley. Great book! Highly recommend!

54seitherin
Feb 24, 2018, 9:18 pm

Finished Prince of Darkness by Sharon Kay Penman. Enjoyed it.

55leslie.98
Feb 24, 2018, 10:29 pm

Finished #2 in the Inspector Mallett series - Death is No Sportsman. Quite good Golden Age mystery

56rocketjk
Edited: Feb 26, 2018, 12:06 pm

I raced through The Score, the fifth entry in the "Parker" crime noir series by Richard Stark (a.k.a. Donald Westlake). I love these books, though Parker definitely puts the "anti" in anti-hero.

57vivienbrenda
Feb 26, 2018, 2:55 pm

Michael Connelly, Two Kinds of Truth. Burned through the pages. The only Connelly book I gave up on is Late Show, his intro to a female cop. It read like a text book.
Harry Bosch has his highs and lows, but I've never been disappointed in any of the books in the series.

58seitherin
Feb 27, 2018, 1:28 pm

Added Faithful Place by Tana French into my reading rotation.

59leslie.98
Feb 27, 2018, 3:11 pm

I listened to the audiobook of The Preacher, the second in Camilla Lackberg's mystery series. It was okay but imo overly long - I doubt I will read more of this series...

60Dr_Flanders
Feb 27, 2018, 5:32 pm

>57 vivienbrenda: I really enjoyed Two Kinds of Truth as well. I think The Late Show got better toward the end, but I wasn't crazy about it either. It looks like the next novel is going to be some kind of team up between Bosch and Ballard, so we can look forward to that.

61tendring
Feb 28, 2018, 4:47 am

I agree with you' I gave up halfway. A truly awful lazy book. It seemed the author just thought of every clichéd police detective character trait he could and just threw it in.

62seitherin
Mar 1, 2018, 10:23 am

63Mary_Ann_Janicki
Mar 7, 2018, 6:11 pm

Just got A Shimmer of Hummingbirds. Am not familiar with the series and am looking forward to read it. I love birds and the mix of a trip to Columbia and country-side England sounds interesting. Does anyone know this series?