February 2011 - What are we reading?

Hello my fellow mystery buffs! Here’s the new thread for the new month. Enjoy!

I'm on the 4th installment of the Sir John Fielding Mysteries by Bruce Alexander, Person or Persons Unknown.

None of the touchstones are working! I hate that!

Thanks, Porua.

I'm in an escapist frame of mind, and re-reading Tripwire by Lee Child.

touchstones still not working

I'm reading a shaker mystery - Killing Gifts by Deborah Woodworth

Nearly finished with "Stone Cold." Going to leave Camel Club novels alone for a while and finish listening to "Riders of the Purple Sage."

Working through Len Deighton's spy story "XPD". I'm not that thrilled with it but as I put it in my alphabet challenge to represent "x", there's nothing more to be done than to plough through it. Maybe it will get better later on in the novel...

Dame Agatha's Thirteen at Dinner, a Poirot I've never read before.

PS thanks for starting the new thread, Porua!

Finished Tomb of the Golden Bird by Elizabeth Peters yesterday. It's not bad, but the pleasure was chiefly from reading about the characters again. Next up for me will probably be Patrick Hamilton's Hangover Square

Not sure what mysteries I will be reading this month.

I am at the Tavistock Fair w/Sir Baldwin Furnshill & bailiff Simon Puttock solving a murder in The Abbot's Gibbet by Michael Jecks which is the first book I have read of his. so, i am still in the Middle Ages just reading a new author! 8^)

After a crime-free January, I'm in the thick of it with An Instance of the Fingerpost. Not for the squeamish, but fascinating and possibly quite brilliant.

(I want the touchstones back! I hope they get fixed soon.)

I've just finished reading The Lazarus Vault by Tom Harper. It was a da Vinci Code genre book and not very good.

There were two parallel stories, one set in the 12th century and the other in 21st century, both about gaining a sceptre and the Holy Grail (of course!).

I was pretty bored by the end and tended to skim until almost everyone was dead, much to my relief as almost everyone was nasty and almost everyone made bad choices. Thinking about it, there was only one character who covered himself with any sort of glory and that was the loyal boyfriend.

Touchstones gone again?? *sigh*

Edited to add some boldness and italics to replace the touchstones

Just finished 1222 by Anne Holt
Started A Grave in Gaza & The Poison Tree
Also started The Pot Thief Who Studied Ptolemy, which is pretty funny so far.

I have just started Touchstone by Laurie R. King, one of my favourite authors.

I've just read Falcon Seven and Marine One by James W. Thurston both excellent and suspenseful. Also read The Alibi by Joseph Kanon another good thriller.

Finished a re-read of The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie, one of my ultimate comfort reads. This is probably her best non-Marple/Poirot novel, IMO. My review is here,

http://www.librarything.com/review/63938116

Or my 75 Books Challenge thread,

http://www.librarything.com/topic/106099

>16 Porua: Porua
Enjoyed your latest review immensely. Appreciated the effort you extended to identify characters and make connection to other Christie novels; and, that you gave nothing away.

Have finished "Stone Cold" after rushing through the final pages. Not much of any substance to say about this third Camel Club book except to wonder if the author is beginning to kill off his club members one at a time.

Going to lay aside mysteries and thrillers for a while - unless "Riders of the Purple Sage" stands as a member of the genre.

Starting my first Lee Child book, Killing Floor

The Moving Toyshop is my current read.

Last night I finished Faithful Place by Tana French. I loved this book! I enjoyed her 1st two books very much also. I, like many others, hope she will have another book out soon.

Tonight I dive back into Louise Penny's series with A Rule Against Murder.

I am reading my very 1st Agatha Christie - And Then There Were None

#20 I have Tana French on my list to try this year, I hear her book are fabulous.

Read Faithful Place recently too and really enjoyed it.

Enjoyed The Mapping of Love and Death so much I went back to the beginning with the first one (Maisie Dobbs) while waiting to get my hands on the new one!

Reading X Dames by j.J. Henderson

Elementary! I'm reading The Sherlockian by Graham Moore.

# 3 & 7 You’re welcome guys!

# 7 As far as I can remember Lord Edgware Dies (British title for Thirteen at Dinner) was the first Poirot mystery I ever read. I fairly enjoyed it.

# 17 Thank you so much!

“Appreciated the effort you extended to identify characters and make connection to other Christie novels; and, that you gave nothing away.”

Oh yes, after reading and re-reading almost all of Agatha Christie’s books numerous times I am bound to see a whole lot of connections between stories and characters. The more I read, the more I discover these connections. Makes the re-reads all the more fun!

Trying to fix touchstones.

Finished my Tripwire re-read, and am now continuing my Jack Reacher series re-read with Running Blind.

Halfway through From the Dead by Mark Billingham.

#21...definitely worth a move up the tbr pile. Her writing is so descriptive and her characters' thoughts and diologues really impressed me. Very good story-telling.

Reading Jar City by Arnaldur Indriðason

>30 madeleineh:
What I have read so far of Indriðason's work is really good. A bit dark, but true to my limited experience in Iceland. I have several in my TBR pile.

>30 madeleineh:, 32 - I've loved all the books, and am waiting now for a new one. Either Indridason or the translator needs to hurry up!

I'm starting the Inspector Brunetti series, Death at La Fenice. Loving the Venice setting.

For the umptheen times Dorothy Sayers' "Murder Must Advertise"

Running Blind was a fun re-read. Now I'm turning to the "new Lord Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane mystery" by Jill Paton Walsh, The Attenbury Emeralds, which arrived at the library.

The Passion of Molly T., weird revolutionary-feminist-political thriller by Lawrence Sanders. Good. Weird. Fun.

I've just started The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher.

Just started Trevanian's The Loo Sanction. Even more over the top than The Eiger Sanction.

ed. to fix touchstones (which are being very, um, touchy lately, aren't they?)

Finished listening to the LibriVox recording of Riders of the Purple Sage. It was well worth listening too. Lauri Ann Waldon (sp?), the reader of the LibriVox recording of Riders of the Purple Sage, does a commendable interpretation of this Zane Grey romance. Clear, emotive, with a charmingly appropriate accent, Ms Waldon captures the spirit of Jane Withersteen, the tormented Mormon heroine as she struggles with her faith and her loyalties in the face of betrayal and evil where one oughtn't to expect it.

I've just finished reading Touchstone by Laurie R. King. It is quite a long book but most enjoyable if a little different from King's other books. I didn't like the ending all that much, but ...

I am about to relax into an Agatha Christie book, The Moving Finger. Nice simple plot and not much brain power required. I am sure that I have probably read it before at some stage but that isn't a problem.

Some Jo Nesbo, James Thompson . . . chilly reads for a chilly month. (and fine, touchstones, don't work, see if I care). Scandanavia seems like a good place to be in February.

I'm cruising through Under the Stone Paw, a DaVinci Code-style read only in Egypt, and with a more readable writing style. It's a good book.

I just finished Jack in the Pulpit by Cynthia Riggs

I'm listening to The Long Fall by Walter Mosley. It's very good.

I liked The Long Fall a lot.

I really enjoyed my very first AChristie - And Then There Were None I didn't figure it out of course.

I just started JT Ellison series, All the Pretty Girls

>44 nbsp: Just downloaded The Long Fall from amazon. Thanks for your posting, I'm looking forward to the book and perhaps to finding a new persona to follow.

Reading The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths - atmospheric, with great characters (although I think I worked out whodunnit pretty quickly).

I am reading Kiss of Death by P D Martinand finding it a dead bore and rather silly, so far at least, but being an e-book I need to get to the end one way or another or it will remain as a 'not read' book.

One day I must find out how to delete books from my Kobo or become more selective in my choices.

As light relief I am re-reading The Creation Memos by Geoffrey Atkinson, having found a copy at Abe Books. It arrived today. It is over 20 years since I owned a copy and I am thrilled to have it again.

I'm visiting the Lake District in The Coffin Trail by Martin Edwards.

For me The Attenbury Emeralds was just so-so. Good to spend time with Peter and Harriet, but the writing just couldn't reach the level of Dorothy L. Sayers.

Starting The Death of Achilles by Boris Akunin today.

Finished The Loo Sanction yesterday. Off in a completely different direction now with Alexander McCall Smith's The Sunday Philosophy Club. Just lovely.

Just finished The Long Fall by Walter Mosley. Great book. Great web-site - without the postings by nbsb and jnwelch I would not have come across this book and would never had the opportunity to enjoy Mr. Mosley's fine writing. Looking forward to reading more of his books - especially more featuring LT McGill.

The Long Fall is a fast moving page turner with a clearly drawn plot, which, alone, would make make the book worth the price.

What makes the book worthy of the time spent in reading it, is the development of the protagonist, Leonid T. (Tolstoy?) McGill.

What makes the book great is the insights one can gain about race.

Just started The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie. My first Hercule Poirot book.

>54 RonWelton: Glad you enjoyed The Long Fall, Ron! I had the same reaction as you, and am looking forward to more of LT McGill.

You might take a look at Mosley's Easy Rawlins series, starting with Devil in a Blue Dress. It's a great series, and the one he was really known for before he started branching out.

He's become a wide-ranging and prolific writer, with a lot of good ones out there, including RL's Dream and Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned.

>56 jnwelch: Thanks for the recommendation. I'll give it a try.

Cool - let us know what you think.

#54 Glad you enjoyed The Long Fall. I think Mosley's taking a risk with this new character, Leonid (LT) McGill because of the similarities to Parker's Spenser. But LT is his own man.

#56 I agree with your suggestions. I especially liked Little Yellow Dog. Easy Rawlins began to grate on me in Cinnamon Kiss so I was happy to see a new series.

I have the audiobook version of The Long Fall and have to give props to the reader, Mirron Willis. I'd listen to him read anything.

The Cove, by Catherine Coulter

I thought I had begun to read Devil in a Blue Dress: the kindle e-book I just purchased opened on a story or beginning of a book called "Crimson Stain" and ended with a note to see the conclusion in Six Easy Pieces. Normally i don't read teasers but this one caught me unaware. (As a teaser it was not completely successful since it ended at what seemed to be a concluding moment with a murder solved, although I don't know what happened to Mouse or if Easy is going to succumb to temptation and his "previous life.")

While you could primarily classify it as science fiction, The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder, is a mystery and a thriller. Grand!!

I've just finished Spider light by Sarah Rayne. Its not bad but wound up a bit too easily I thought.... In many ways it was like the other book of hers that I have read - The Death Chamber - in that it continuously changed from present to distant past.

Now reading Hell's Corner by David Baldacci

Just finished first Jack Reacher novel now time for something silly I think. Curiosity Killed the Cat Sitter by Blaize Clement

Started Gallows View by Peter Robinson.

Way back at the start of the month, I started An Instance of the Fingerpost. I've now finished it, and thought it was excellent (my review is here: http://www.librarything.com/work/2329/reviews/69132439 and I completely managed to forget to mention the *obessions* of all the main characters!!).

Am now reading some non-crime...

Reading The Track in the Sand by Andrea Camilleri. Really enjoy author.

Me, too.

A Pale Horse by Charles Todd.

It is a bit strange; the hero/detective Inspector Ian Rutledge suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (shell shock in the 1920s) and he is constantly accompanied by the voice of a Scotsman called Hamish McLeod whom Rugledge had executed for refusing to obey an order during WWI.

Personally, I think that McLeod talks a lot of sense and I would welcome his advice. He is definitely my favourite character in the book.

I am not sure if I will read any more of the series (I think that this one is No.5). Has anyone here read any of the other Inspector Rutledge books?

#69. I have not, but my husband was just telling me about them - recommended them to me. He is currently reading one, probably the newest. Had similar comments about Hamish to yours.

Charles Todd ? First one I read, I was confused about Hamish McLeod the first couple of times he appeared. Then it became clear, really enjoyed the books. Just bought 2 more at my library book sale last weekend.

Finished Gallows View by Peter Robinson and started The Redbreast by Jo Nesbø.

Reading Buried Strangers by Leighton Gage.

I've started The Secret of Chimneys.

I just finished Follow That Gun by Gerald hammond and am starting Spackled and Spooked by Jennie Bentley

I'm thoroughly enjoying A Fountain Filled With Blood.

The Bell Ringers by Henry Porter -- excellent so far.

The Main by Trevanian.

What are we reading. Well after great delay i have finally received my copies of
Lee Child "worth dying for"
Robert Crais "The Sentry"
it has been a long time for a Crais book so i will start with this.

The Track of Sand by Andrea Camilleri.

Tre små gummor in a Danish translation. Quite nicely done historical (1929) mystery.

Love to read Robert Crais. He never disappoints.

Reading a cozy mystery Death of a Glutton by M.C. Beaton.

I'm reading Ring of Truth by Nancy Pickard.

It is a rather odd book about the author of "True-life murder mysteries" with every second chaper being parts of the book she is writing and the other chapters being her own life and investigations as new evidence suddenly comes to light.

I am not sure that I am really enjoying it. It is hard to identify with any of the characters. Nancy Pickard is one of my favourite authors but this is definitely NOT one of her best books.

Reading Known to Evil: A Leonid McGill Mystery. Enjoy LT very much but find his home-schooling by his autodidactic father --"Hegel, Marx, and Bakunin until the age of twelve, ... " insufficient to explain his knowledge and sensitivities.

Starting Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell

Just started The surrogate by Tania Carver - its about a killer on the loose who targets heavily pregnant women, drugging them and brutally removing their unborn babies.

I have been unable to put it down so far.

RonWelton #86 - Interesting comment. It's hard to tell how many people like LT's dad survived outside captivity. But while in prison they had lots of time to simmer.

Just finished Laura Lippman's The Last Place, the 7th book in the Tess Monaghan series. I am really enjoying them. Each one has been better than the last!

nbsp #86 I wish I could understand clearly the meaning of your comment. (I don't question LT's father's capacity for Hegel, etc. -- what is difficult to convince me is his ability to teach it to a child less then thirteen.)

Finished Known to Evil. It was a well written page turner but lacked the depth of provocative examination into racial identity of The Long Fall.

Blind Eye by Stuart MacBride

The Codex by Douglas Preston

More of an adventure than anything but quite good entertainment.

So many tempting books on this thread that I've starred it and will make my way through it when I've got the time to try and get hold of some of the ones I haven't read.

I'm having my kitchen overhauled, so I've been reading a fair amount of police procedurals at night to unwind...

Read 4 of 5 Garry Disher mysteries - which are superb (and addicting). The books are of the quality of P.D. James, Åke Edwardson...etc. The 5th book is calling me but I'm ignoring it (because if I start it, I will get nothing done until I finish)

Read a Kjell Eriksson on the plane to and from Iceland in November The Princess of Burundi and liked it, so read the 2nd recently and am now on the 3rd The Demon of Dakar.

Am reading Patrick Hamilton's Hangover Square,which I've started before. This time,however, I think I'm getting into it.

RonWelton - Rereading, I'm not sure what I meant either. I was thinking of the news reports in the 60s of Malcolm X-style radicals building armies of young people they'd indoctrinated. That seemed farfetched too but we heard it often.

nbsp

Thank you. I need to read a lot more - lived through the 60's without them touching me much - sheltered by indolence.

Just realised Started Early, Took My Dog is due back at the library this weekend (someone else has requested it, so no extension!) so have put aside all other books for the next few days. (Should have enough reading time, I hope.)

Listening to Mark Billingham's In The Dark, his only non-Tom Thorne novel thus far.

It's my first experience of one of those Playway devices. They're handy, sturdy gadgets but the reader on mine, Adjoa Andoh, sounds like she's talking down a phone line. I know its not my headphones, which work fine with other devices, so I don't know if this is the norm with Playaways or if I have a duff one.

Good novel so far, though.

The Stonehenge Legacy by Sam Christer. It is his first book and is of the da Vinci code genre. It is an OK book but is badly edited, has a slightly amateurish feel about it and it is keeping my interest but not my wholehearted attention.

It involves human sacrifice in the leadup to the summer solstice and I suspect that our hero has been lined up by his father as the next victim - after the girl has been dispatched. It is all pretty improbable; the girl is the only daughter of the vice-president of the USA so Scotland Yard, the Wiltshire police and the FBI are all having a go at solving things.

I am about halfway through at the moment. Watch this space ...

Edited to put in italics as the touchstsones seemed to have stopped working yet again.

I just finished Invisible Ivy Malone by Lorena McCourtney.

I have finished The Stonehenge Legacy and the hero acted very properly and rescued the girl from certain death by blood sacrifice. I'm not sure that anyone lived happily after, though; a lot of people died.

I have just started the e-book version of Duplicate Death by Georgette Heyer, one of my old favourites and one of the of her few murder mysteries which I don't have in paperback. It is decades since I read it and although I can remember bits of it I can't remember who got murdered, although even at this early stage I can make educated guesses as to whodunnit and who was done.

Edited to put in italics to replace the touchstones which are struggling with book recognition.

I've started The Mapping of Love and Death in the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear, one of my very favorite authors.

I finished Medicus and enjoyed it quite a bit. I would like to read the second in the series, I think. Interesting reading about Roman Britain.

I am re-reading Birdman by Mo Hayder.

Oh wow...finishing Special Assignments for my Erast Fandorin fix...finished Ragtime in Simla, the Joe Sandilands mystery...started The Last Templar from the Michael Jecks series...powered through Posted to Death, a gay vampire mystery, but I doubt I'll pursue that series.

"Deep Creek" by Dana Hand (the pen name of a female/male writing team from Princeton, NJ). Just great, as a tale of cultural clash and racial violence that moves from darkness into light. Based on all-too-real events. Plus: a strong French/Indian woman is the heroine; don't mess with Grace Sundown!

I'm reading the 4th book in Ruth Downie's series about Roman Britain, Caveat Emptor. I haven't read the earlier books in the series, and so far I don't feel like I'm missing important information about the characters from the earlier books in the series. I'm excited about this one because it's taking the investigator to Verulamium, later known as St. Albans. I lived there for a while. The Verulamium Museum and the Roman ruins was part of my standard tour for visitors.

I've gone back to Quinsigamond and taken up a temporary residence at The Skin Palace.

Finished Patrick Hamilton's Hangover Square,about which I am ambivalent. The book appears on several 100-best mystery story-type lists and is about an undiagnosed schizophrenic who is driven to murder by callous treatment. It took me a long time to warm up to the main character and virtually every other character in the book was unlikeable. Next up will probably be Death of a Chimney Sweep,the new Hamish Macbeth, which I am getting in the Kindle format and which I am eagerly anticipating.

James Patterson, Stuart Woods and Robert Parker always have a good crime hanging around. Just finished Shrink Rap by Robert Parker and Imperfect Strangers by Stuart Woods. Currently reading Santa Fe Dead by Stuart Woods and Potshot by Robert Parker.

I started Midnight Club by James Patterson but I can't seem to get into it. That's a first for Him and me.

Robert B Parker is definitely one of my favourite authors and at one time I had his whole collection but ... I'm moving house and released them with much regret. Hawk is one of my very favourite characters, along with Grandma Mazur in Janet Evanovich's number series, whom I hope to emulate in my older age.

I avoid James Paterson; I've read a few of his books but no longer bother.

I've just finished reading Duplicate Death by Georgette Heyer and haven't yet started anything else. I'll keep you posted.

I've started on the first Inspector Morse mystery, Last Bus to Woodstock. I have a stack of mysteries lined up for Mystery March.

Still reading Dame Agatha's Third Girl when lunchtime permits. A girl comes to Poirot because she may have committed a murder, then disappears.

Just starting The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley.

#92 I've just started reading Saw Bones by Stuart Macbride. It's the first book of his that I've picked up. Have you read any others?

Started A River in the Sky by Elizabeth Peters yesterday.

#117, Helenoel, will be interested in hearing what you think of the Peters. It's the only Amelia Peabody I haven't read. I've found that the latter books are sometimes too confusing to try and make sense of. Devoured the new Hamish Macbeth last night--not one of Beaton's best efforts, but pleasant, light reading.

I am thoroughly enjoying Legacy of the Dead by Charles Todd. This Ian Rutledge series just gets better and better.

#113 mstrust
I envy your first reading of Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse mysteries. Hope you enjoy them (I'm already assuming that you won't be able to stop with only one) as much as I did.

#118 - Bjace, I understand your confusion- I find that I need to pay attention, and knowing the previous stories helps keep track of the characters. Sometimes her hints are subtle, but I enjoy the books still. About half way through - will let you know what I think at the end.

#116 I have read the Logan McRae series up until Blind Eye. Some of them can get a bit gruesome for my taste, but on the whole I enjoy the series. I think this is a series that should be read in order, because there are things that happens to the people in the books that is referred to later.

I'm not familiar with Sawbones.

>120 RonWelton: Ron Thanks, I am enjoying it. This is actually my second Morse, as I read The Dead of Jericho a few months ago. But I'm liking this book a lot more. Morse seems a bit less depressed. I have maybe four more Dexter's on the shelf, so I will keep with them.

#122 Thanks I will look up the series in my local library.
I believe Sawbones is the first book by Stuart Macbride

The Chemistry of Death by Simon Beckett which had me hooked right from the start. It's the first in a series that has a new one out right now so thought I'd start at the beginning.

Just started Crocodile on the Sandbank for my library group. Can't decide yet whether Ms. Peabody is entertaining or annoying.

Another "Can't decide yet....." book for me: Between Summer's Longing and Winter's End by Leif G.W. Persson. It's rather long for a crime fiction novel as far as I'm concerned, coming in at about 550 pages, and seems to be going into the finer details of Swedish secret service bureaucracy and police corruption at considerable length; probably telling me more than I actually need to know.

Just hoping it all comes together soon.

#126 The whole Amelia Peabody series is written very tongue in cheek and needs to be read that way.

That said, they are very funny. Look out for the phrase "Another shirt ruined" which appears in almost, if not all of the books and is a phrase used by Terry Pratchett in one of his books - I can't remember which; perhaps another Pratchett fan can put me right on that one.

Finished and reviewed Last Bus to Woodstock and started On What Grounds.

I'm reading The Nomination by william Tapply. I'm having a hard time putting it down.

Just finished Kohtalon kirja (The Book of Fate) by Brad Meltzer. Wasn't too impressed. It had a few enjoyable characters but all in all was just another version of "plots within government, cia, fbi & al" and not a very fascinating version at that...

Started re-re-re-reading Lee Child's Jack Reacher series :) Began with Killing Floor.

Began Zombies of the Gene Pool by Sharyn McCrumb. I'm not sure if it's a mystery/crime, but LT-tags show that it's supposed to be one so... I've only just read 14 pages so I can't tell yet myself; there's been no bodies found in libraries thus far -- however, otherwise this seems hugely enjoyable :)

I'm currently reading A Dilly of a Death by Susan Wittig Albert. Plenty of events have been set in motion, but no bodies or disappearances yet.

Just finished Jack, Knave and Fool. I'm now on to #6 in this series, Death of a Colonial.

Just started The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey.

#118, Bjace, I enjoyed A River in the Sky, but it is out of chronological order in the series, so relationships have not progressed yet. It is also set in Palestine, not Egypt. I adore Amelia, and don't mind having to pay close attention for the hints that explain the sometimes cryptic transitions. This is not the strongest of the books, but I liked it.

I just picked up Allingham's Cargo of Eagles and Claude Izner's The Montmartre Investigation from the library. I'm more excited about the Allingham, since I loved the Albert Campion books. And also Monsieur Pamplemousse on probation, which I'm reading first. I'm only a chapter or so in, but it's amusing and I think I like it already.

Started The Toff and the Deadly Parson by John Creasey.

Starting Spider Bones by Kathy Reichs

Helenoel, is Spider Bones her newest?

#139 AndieG, I think so- it has an Aug 2010 publication date and was on the new books shelf at the Library. CK has it as book 13 in the Temperence Brennan Series

#131 I had a hard time with Zombies, but her Bimbos of the Death Sun is hilarious.

>141 Jim53:. Ok, thanks, good to know about the Bimbos :) I've read some more of the Zombies and it has become really, sort of, how to put it... melancholy, somehow. All the light and humorous touch is gone.

**
A new thread for March, maybe?? :)

The new thread for the month of March is here,

http://www.librarything.com/topic/111174