Mystery March

It is a dark and stormy night here, which makes it a great time to announce Mystery March



Be it a Cozy or a Police Procedural, YA or Historical, Scandicrime or American Noir, who doesn’t like a good mystery. Last year we designated March to be a month for reading mysteries, and now we are about to do it again. Here is the place to list both your planned and completed mysteries during the month of March. Have fun everyone!

I have so many books set aside for Mystery March -- I don't see how I'll get to them all!

Are the covers above some of your planned reading? If so, I'll be joining you with The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. I've heard so much about that series, that I finally decided I need to give it a try.

Now we just have to hope that the TIOLI Challenges will allow all our mysteries to fit!

Hi Dejah, glad you found the thread. The covers posted above are just ones that I liked. So far my planned reads are:

Don’t Look Back by Karin Fossum
Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourne
Christine Falls by Benjamin Black
Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin
Remember Me Irene by Jan Burke
One Under by Graham Hurley
Lazybones by Mark Billingham

Don't know if I will get to all of them, but I would like to.

I'll have to decide which ones I want to read. I'm glad Spring Break is in March, although I suspect that I'll be packing up/cleaning out my Dad's house and may not get as much reading done as I want. He's either going to have to move in with my brother or me or into assisted living soon. He hasn't decided which he prefers. We're still investigating options.

Judy, I may join you on Christine Falls which I've had on my TBR shelves for a few years now.

One mystery I know for sure I'll be reading is the third in the Marcus Didius Falco series, Venus in Copper by the fabulous (to me) Lindsey Davis.

Will also give Dorothy L. Sayers' first Lord Peter Wimsey mystery a try, Whose Body?.

I want to read Colin Cotteril as well. One of the things I so love about Librarything is all the books I might never have heard about otherwise.

I'll have at least a dozen books planned. Just have to decide which ones.

Judy, thanks for setting this up.

I'll be joining in, but I won't be planning my books. My reading is very random right now but I read a lot of mystery anyway so I should be able to add a few here :)

Oooh, sounds good! I'll most likely be reading books 3 & 4 in the Flavia de Luce series, and will try to squeeze another one or two in there for good measure.

Looking forward to what everyone will be reading!

My possibilities for Mystery March include:

Dead Man's Ransom by Ellis Peters
Precinct Puerto Rico by Steven Torres
Red Station by Adrian Magson
Plunder by Mary Anna Evans
The Black Mountain by Rex Stout
North by Northanger by Carrie Bebris
Oolong Dead by Laura Childs
Murder Is Easy by Agatha Christie
The Cold Light of Mourning by Elizabeth J. Duncan

Here are the mysteries that I've selected for March. They will all fit into my TIOLI Challenge when I post it. (Can you guess what it is?)

Out Of The Deep I Cry
To Darkness to Death
Dire Threads
Affairs of Steak
Chili Con Corpses
Remains to Be Scene
The Shifting Tide
Tempest in the Tea Leaves
Gilt by Association
Set Sail for Murder
Diva runs out of Thyme
Killer Weekend

Cheli

Just looking at the titles...I have no clue! LOL!

But, I'm super excited for the March TIOLI thread so I'll stay tuned to see if anyone guesses!

The Coroner's Lunch? Again? It is everywhere I turn. That must mean something...

I have several books set aside for this and I can't wait!

Great to see lots of imput here already!

#5 - Katie, glad we'll have a shared read with Christine Falls.

#11 - Cheli, excited to see that you are having a TIOLI challenge that mysteries will fit, but like kittenfish I don't know what the challenge will be!

ETA: #13 - Berly, that exactly why I chose that cover, it's been mentioned in so many places the last little while!

#11 - I thought I had it, but I can't make Killer Weekend fit. Oh, the suspense! (Unless... wait.. maybe I can force it to fit...?)

Edit: I've got it! Finally figured out how Killer Weekend fits. :-) Good idea for a challenge!

I'm in Judy and I'll select a few. I have committed to Troubles in tribute to dear departed Janet, but I have a fair few to go at. Will prepare a list shortly.

Planned reads for March are:

A Plague on Both Your Houses by Susanna Gregory
Under the Snow by Kerstin Ekman

Maybe others, but we'll see.

Count me in, but I won't plan anything in advance...

I've got a few reads that will work for this month:

Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn
Still Life by Louise Penny

I've got Silence of the Grave, the sequel to Jar City on order from the library. Also, I'm planning to get the sequel to Dissolution sometime this month.

Thanks for the reminder, Jim! I've been meaning to read Dissolution for a while now and will add it to the list...

I've identified a dozen mysteries that I would like to get to in March. I doubt I will get to all of these. In alphabetical order by author:

1. Agony of the Leaves by Laura Childs - This one is due to be released March 6.
2. Bedeviled Eggs by Laura Childs - Just hoping it is still on the paperback shelf at the library when I return the books I have and get ready to check out the next batch.
3. Damascened Blade by Barbara Cleverly
4. The Cereal Murders by Diane Mott Davidson
5. Old World Murder by Kathleen Ernst - Kindle
6. Buttons and Bones by Monica Ferris - Hoping this one is on the shelves at the library when I get ready for it too; it's also available as an e-book, so I might get lucky with that option too.
7. Death by the Glass by Nadia Gordon - Kindle
8. Dead Angler by Victoria Houston - Kindle
9. Pasta Imperfect by Maddy Hunter
10. Memorial Hall Murder by Jane Langton
11. Bake Sale Murder by Leslie Meier - Kindle
12. In the Blood by Steve Robinson - Kindle

I'll be reading The Singing Sands by Josephine Tey

Hi, Judy. Thanks for organizing this! I'll be reading Colin Cotterill for sure, and I should use this opportunity to try Karin Fossum.

Thanks for doing this, Judy! My top choices are the latest Michael Connelly (The Drop) and Robert Crais (Taken) mysteries. Also plan to read the next Lee Childs in the series (I think I'm up to 3) and maybe one of the Special Agent Prendergast mystery thrillers by Preston and Child (not sure where I am in the series) and a C.J. Box (who's a new-to-me author) that's been on my Kindle for awhile. That should make for a good start.

ETA I forgot to say I also want to read the next in the Kelsey and Gennaro series by Dennis Lehane.

I'm hoping to focus on the recently-announced Agatha Award nominees, particularly the Best First Novel nominees. I also see Cheli's Julie Hyzy-- Affairs of Steak, Lori's new Laura Childs' Agony of the Leaves and hope to join in on those. Probably a few other new mysteries, including the new Hamish MacBeth mystery, the new Daisy Dalrymple one (I think it's Gone West, and the new Claire Molloy mystery from Joan Hess. It seems like ages since there's been a new Claire Molloy.

The ones mentioned above give me about 10 or so. Beyond that, maybe a couple of oldies, such as a Stuart Palmer or a John Dickson Carr.

Just some initial thoughts. I'll put together a list of about a dozen. The Agatha's aren't until late April so I probably won't read all the nominees in March but I would like to read as many as I can before the winners are voted on.

I'm definitely reading The Crossing Places in March, not sure if I will get to any other mysteries.

I'm planning on reading some of the old detective novels by authors that I love, such as Raymond Chandler and Dashiel Hammett, continue progress in series that I have become addicted to such as Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch, Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole, and Deanna Raybourn's Lady Julia Gray, and perhaps squeeze in a new author (to me anyway) such as Louise Penny or Alan Bradley.

I have a copy of Dissolution that I need to get out of the house. I will start that one very soon. I also have Ice Princess laying around that I want to get read. I think I will make it those two for March.

I read Christine Falls last year for the Murder & Mayhem in May and liked it. I then read two more of the Benjamin Black books. Silver Swan and Elegy for April. I finally quit reading them because I found that they were dragging me down, as the main characters are very depressing. Almost as depressing as is Harry Hole in the Jo Nesbo books. I will probably read some by Black again, but will wait.

I really like the Araina Franklin books. I have Murderous Procession somewhere in my possession. Perhaps I will read that one as well.

I found the short list of mysteries I want/need to read. These are continuations of series that I've started:

When the Devil Holds the Candle
A Letter of Mary
A Taste for Death
Revelation
A Fountain Filled with Blood

And then there are the free-standing mysteries I've been eyeing:

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher
Night Train to Lisbon
The Maltese Falcon - Springfield, MO Big Read book - why? I don't know!
The Postman Always Rings Twice

New-to-me-author recommended by our hostess Judy:
The Spies of Warsaw - by Alan Furst
Night Soldiers - Alan Furst
ETA: I'm saving these for May!

I'm certain I won't read all of these in March. The good news is that May Mystery and Mayhem month is coming!

So glad you've got this thread started, Judy. I think I may join you with Christine Falls, as it's been on my TBR shelf for a while. And I may join Donna with When the Devil Holds the Candle, as that's next up for me in the Fossum series, I think.

I just got an ILL of Boundary Waters by William Kent Krueger, #2 in his Cork O'Connor series. If I don't rush through it over the next few days, I'll be reading (or at least finishing ) it in March, too.

I have no shortage of other possibilities for mystery reading, either.

I have quite a few on my TBR shelf that work for Mystery March. I'd like to get to Still Life by Louise Penny, for sure. And maybe some that also meet cyderry's TIOLI challenge?

Birds of Prey by J. A. Jance
Cruel Intent by J. A. Jance
Die for You by Lisa Unger
Live to Tell by Lisa Gardner
Nighttime is My Time by Mary Higgins Clark

Always glad to see a mystery challenge. I've quite a few waiting for me; I'll plan on about four, the first of which will be If I'd Killed Him When I Met Him, surely one of the most provocative little titles I've come across.

If I'd Killed Him When I Met Him (I'd be out of prison, now) is a brilliant title -- the entire saying runs through my head occasionally. I recall the book as being excellent, but it's the only one in the Elizabeth McPherson series that I've never reread - too dark (and I admit I've never actually read PMS Outlaws, the last one). Call me shallow, but in this instance I prefer the lighter tone of books earlier in the series.

After that cheerful commentary, I hope you is enjoy it! It is a well written book.

#34 I've never read it but have long thought that Sarah Shankman's mystery, I Miss My Man, But My Aim Is Getting Better, is one of the more clever titles I've seen.

As I suspected none of us is short on mysteries that we want to read! The good news is that if we don't get to all of them this month, we can carry them over to May's Murder and Mayhem.

oh! May Murder and Mayhem... More to look forward to!

I don't know yet which mysteries I'll be reading in March, but wanted to check in. It's fun seeing the lists folks have compiled! And I'm anxious to see exactly what Cheli posts as our March TIOLI challenge.

Ivyd stole my TIOLI Challenge before I could post mine. My challenge was going to be Read a book with a word in the title that is a homonym for another word (embedded words allowed) Identify the other word/spelling. I had 15 books picked out for this challenge.

Ivy is going to share! So instead of a shared read, we're having a shared challenge!

>1 DeltaQueen50: Judy - I love that picture! And thanks for setting this up.

I'm terrible at planning my reads but I have lots of mysteries just waiting in the wings. This month I may try my first Karin Fossum and I have C. J. Box's newest Joe Pickett book so I should get to it, too. And it's been a while since I've read a Charles Todd book.

FYI - Anyone who is planning on reading Christine Falls and take part in the TIOLI Challenges, I was able to fit it into Madeline's Challenge #1.

I've got about a dozen mysteries scattered throughout tioli for March. Agatha Award nominees for best first mystery in my challenge (#3). Others are in #6, 7, and 8.

FYI: I've got Deborah Crombie's new book No Mark Upon Her in Challenge #8 -- I originally put it in Challenge #1, apparently oblivious to the fact that McKinney has two letters from March....

Linda -- I've already joined you for several Challenges -- there will be a lot of shared reads this month!

I just wrote up my list of possible mysteries for March, and there are 41 books on it. 41. Well that's not going to happen!

I suspect I'll end up mostly reading books which count for shared reads on TIOLI.

41 - how could I have that many mysteries to be read?

This will be my first Mystery March, and I'm looking forward to it! I hesitate to do too much planning, because my reading life seems to have a mind of its own, but here are a few possibilities:

A Study in Scarlet, Arthur Conan Doyle (following up on my resolution to read all of Sherlock Holmes for the first time this year)
Started Early, Took My Dog, Kate Atkinson (the fourth Jackson Brodie)
Jar City, Arnaldur Indriðason (my first Scandicrime, believe it or not)

The good thing is that I have all of these on hand right now, so no waiting for library books to come in, or having to rush through them before they are due back.

$45 - Julia, don't worry about having to stick to your list, I can see I will be making some changes, everytime I read though other's possible reads I see books that I've been wanting to get to. Of course, the TIOLI challenges and whether I can get my books to fit them may cause me to make some changes as well.

I'll be reading the third book, The Cruelest Month, and probably the fourth, A Rule Against Murder, of the Three Pines series. Also Entangled by Barbara Ellen Brink and Maids of Misfortune: A Victorian Mystery by M. Louisa Locke and Finding Clarity: A Mom, A Dwarf and a Posh Private School in the People's Republic of Berkeley by Laura Novak on my Kindle. I'd also like to check out and read the second book in J. D. Robb's series.

Just to note some good mysteries in the science fiction field:
The Bones of Time by Kathleen Ann Goonan set in Hawaii
Wrapt in Crystal by Sharon Shinn
Deadly Silents by Lee Killough

I'm already making changes to my list based on the March TIOLI challenges!

41 - how could I have that many mysteries to be read

That's not so bad. I have well over 50 mysteries on my physical TBR bookshelf, not counting titles on my Sony Reader and ones I want to read from the public library.

Heaven only knows which ones I'll actually get around to reading this month.

>49 tymfos:

Thank you, Terri, that makes me feel better! I know that many readers her on LT have huge TBR piles that make mine look small - it was just a bit of a shock when I realized that the total number of books I'd been mentally or physically setting aside was far more than I'd have any chance of reading. Oh well - there's always Murder and Mayhem May, right?

>46 DeltaQueen50: Thanks, Judy! I love how no-pressure this group is. After reading Roni's list in #47 I realized I should have added that after seeing recommendations from nearly everyone I follow on LT plus a real-life friend, I'm also thinking of diving into the Three Pines series, which if it's as good as everyone says I will surely regret! :)

rosalita...be ready for regrets!

I am, Chèli, I am!

I am so in! Can't wait for March!

44> 41 mysteries to read. That sounds heavenly!

I'm sure I'll make changes to my March reads as well, but I purposefully picked out several books for my Kindle because I'll be travelling one week. I also picked a few out because they were thirds in series, for the version of TIOLI on the 12 in 12 challenge. I'll take a look at the TIOLI here and see what I end up choosing.

Dejah, you only have 41 mysteries? I've probably got a couple hundred unread ones here, not to mention those on my wish list or my library TBR list, etc.

>55 EBT1002: Wallowing in mysteries does sound fun, doesn't it? But that's not all I'm going to real this month so I'm afraid 41 is out of the question!

>56 thornton37814: Hey Lori - 41 is the number of books that I physically set aside / requested from the library / planned to purchase as they're released during the month to be read in March. I kept adding to the "oh I'll read that in March" shelf somehow thinking I could get to them all.

I'm not certain I want to know how many mysteries total I have TBR / Wishlisted. I don't keep track of them in any formal way, so I really don't know what that number is! I'll keep reminding myself I can always keep them for May....

I was able to fit 10 of my 12 planned mysteries into the TIOLI. Maybe the other two will eventually fit. If not, that's okay because I have a couple of chunksters to read among my 3 books for the Europe Endless challenge for the month. If I get through those, I'm going to move up a book that will fit Linda's Agatha category that I had planned for later in the year and maybe get another Agatha out of a TBR pile that I have not put in my planned 2012 reads yet. I'm hoping for a good reading month.

Now I need to get off of here and go work on finishing my last (I think) February TIOLI book (which is a mystery). I'd like to read at least 100 more pages of it before I head to work.

Lori, What are the two that don't fit?

Being such a slave to the TIOLI Challenges, it's driving me crazy that I have two books out of the sixteen that I am planning to read in March that I can't fit yet. I keep popping back to see if any new challenges have been posted.

I'm having trouble fitting Agatha Christie's Murder Is Easy in any of the March TIOLI challenges. I'm planning to listen to the audio version.

I expect/hope/intend to read the second Cotterill, the second novel in the Shardlake series, and possibly the second in the Flavia deLuce series (I sense a trend developing here). I liked the first of each of those well enough to read another, but I haven't yet fallen in love with any of them. Beyond that, I have untold unread mystery/suspense novels hanging around, so who knows where my inclination will take me.

Here's my list for Mystery March.

1. Death of a Kingfisher by M.C. Beaton
2. Celebrity in Death by J.D. Robb
3. Agony of the Leaves by Laura Childs--COMPLETED
4. Gone West by Carola Dunn
5. Affairs of Steak by Julie Hyzy--COMPLETED
6. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
7. Billy Boyle by James R. Benn
8. Cinnamon Roll Murder by Joanne Fluke--COMPLETED
9. Sup with the Devil by Barbara Hamilton
10. Dead Tease by Victoria Houston--COMPLETED
11. Murder with Peacocks by Donna Andrews--COMPLETED
12. Due or Die by Jenn McKinlay

I'm doing 4 of the same books, Linda.

# 63 - Wow, great list, Linda. That should keep you pretty busy through March.

#64/65 More of a goal, I'd say. I'm not sure that I'll get to all the firsts in a series but I would like to get caught up on a lot of my regular series in March.

For any other TIOLI devotees, Lisa (Lahochstetler) has added a great challenge - "Read a mystery that is over 300 pages". This is Challenge #19. I have now placed the two mysteries that I couldn't fit anywhere else.

I started is Haunted Ground by, Erin Hart others I would like to get to this month are:
The Snowman by, Jo Nesbo
Defending Jacob by, William Landay
Bury Your Dead by, Louise Penny
Corpse Pose by, Diana Killian

I doubt I'll get them all read but it gives me a little direction!

>67 DeltaQueen50: That still didn't help me with Murder Is Easy or Plunder since I'll be listening to the audio version of one and reading an e-galley of the other.

I'm hoping my local library system gets Plunder - if it doesn't show up as being 'in processing' soon, I may have to by the hardcover and donate it to my branch. After I've read it, of course.

>>#69 If you check your book on Amazon or one of the other sites that lists page numbers and you have the right number, I'm sure it would qualify anyway.

>71 lyzard: I'd love to do that, but the rules for the challenge limit it to print. I'm not sure either one would exceed 300 pages anyway. I'm almost positive that the Agatha Christie wouldn't.

Cheli - the two that didn't fit were Old World Murder by Kathleen Ernst and The Damascened Blade by Barbara Cleverly, but now that we have the 300+ pages, they both fit. The only book that doesn't fit is a non-fiction that I've already begun and will finish in March. Oops - I just read the challenge rules and will have to remove Old World Murder because it's on my Kindle, so I guess I still need a category for it.

>>#72 Oops, yes - hadn't grasped that bit, sorry!

Lori - you might want to ask ivy and cyderry if you could go with world / whirled for Challenge #6 -- they might go for it!

Okay, I haven't done the TIOLI it ever before, but I think that Lori could use the book The Damascened Blade for challenge #6. The challenge is:

"Challenge #6: Read a book with a title word that is heterograph/homonym (same pronunciation, different spelling, different meaning) - embedded words allowed - a SHARED CHALLENGE by Cheli and Ivy"

Because the homonym can be embedded, couldn't you use scene, seen from the middle of the word Damascened?

#70 - Carrie, doesn't Plunder fit Challenge #12: Read a newly released series continuation?

I see the publication date for Plunder is March, 2012, and there are other books that are coming out in March listed in the challenge.

>77 DeltaQueen50: Yes, it does. Thanks! I can't tell you how many times I've looked at the categories and completely missed it.

Lori -- Old World Murder would fit into Samantha_kathy's new Challenge #21, if you can get Ernst into the E author spot.

>73 thornton37814: & 75 Yes, world/whirled works for our Challenge #6.

My tentative list for Mystery March:

Continuations:
The Right Jack by Margaret Maron
Baby Doll Games by Margaret Maron
Eggsecutive Orders by Julie Hyzy
Buffalo West Wing by Julie Hyzy
Sup with the Devil by Barbara Hamilton
The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley

Thriller:
Hello, Darkness by Sandra Brown

New to me series:
In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming
Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen

There are plenty more I could add, from my shelves as well as my wishlist, but I'll be doing well if I even get to all of these.

As for TIOLIs, I can't find a spot for Baby Doll Games. Any ideas? (she was born near Raleigh; the book is barely over 200 pages; not first in series)

Ivy --

Since embedded words count, how about by/bye?

Definitely, Ivy- by/bye

Thanks, Dejah & Cheli! I didn't spot that!

I can see that my mystery wishlist is going to be increased this month. So many interesting planned reads being listed. I started Christine Falls today and it's really good.

Will start A Murderous Procession by Ariana Franklin tonight. I hope I won't be too tired to read.

I'm planning to read:

Disco for the Departed in the Dr. Siri Paiboun series--COMPLETED
Ashes to Dust to see what the fuss is about
Racing the Devil because I owe an ER review on it--COMPLETED
Dissolution to see what the fuss is about
An Ordinary Decent Criminal because it's already here
I, the Jury because sometimes you just gotta go lowbrow

I'll be pleased if I finish them all.

Two hours left till March begins, and I've already got three started: Tripwire by Lee Child on audio, The Hangman's Daughter on Kindle, and Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich. If you're gonna jump the gun, might as well do it in a big way, I always say.

I think I'm going to start with Celebrity in Death, the new J.D. Robb mystery. On Friday, I'm taking the train downtown to attend Showboat at the Lyric Opera in Chicago and prefer to take an actual book with me, not my Kindle.

I've started my first mystery for March - Kil'n People by David Brin. Going well so far.

Mystery March for me will include:

Zoo Station by David Downing
Troubled Man by Henning Mankell
Black Dog by Stephen Booth
Blackwater by Kerstin Ekman
Agent 6 by Tom Rob Smith

I didn't finish Good Morning, Irene before the end of February so it will be my first March mystery.

Just began Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn.

Additionally hoping to read (at this point):

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
Death at the President's Lodging by Michael Innes
Still life by Louise Penny
The Last Kashmiri Rose by Barbara Cleverly

Not sure I can get to then all but plan to give it a whirl.

There were so many interesting books posted in this thread, that I know I'll never get to all of them I ordered from the library. PS: If anyone else is reading Coroner's Lunch, I've listed it on TIOLI#21, as a new-to-me author's first-in-a-series.

Started Thirty-Three Teeth last night---laughed so hard at the early scene with Siri, Civilai and the bottle of Russian vodka that I nearly got booted out of bed.

I only have two mysteries on my March list:
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins and
One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson.

I didn't realize I haven't read The Cruellest Month by, Louise penny so I picked it up at the audible bogo sale, so will be reading that one too!

92> I definitely recommend The Last Kashmiri Rose by Barbara Cleverly. It was wonderful!

I started the next Sigrid Harald mystery The Right Jack last night, and I'm loving it.

I'm incredibly frustrated, though, because I can't find Buffalo West Wing. I know I have it -- it was a hardback remainder copy -- and I remember where it was sitting in the living room before I decorated for Christmas. I'm sure it will show up eventually -- I hope before the end of the month!

uh oh. look amongst the boxed up Xmas stuff!

I'm going to try Karin Fossum. Her Don't Look Back is on its way.

I'm just starting A Plague on Both Your Houses by Susanna Gregory. I've really been looking forward to reading this one, so I hope it lives up to expectations! Anybody familiar with this book or this series?

Wow, everyone is reading or planning to read so many interesting titles. My March is packed though but I'm going to TRY to read:
Beat the Reaper I bought this over a year ago and now his 2nd book is out and getting just as strong reviews!
Voices I loved the 1st 2 books in this Scandi series and now I need to get to 3.

Paul- I truly loved child 44 but stalled out reading the 2nd book, which I OWN. Now, you are reading the 3rd and final?

Joe- You will LOVE Fossum! Get ready to put her on your favorite list.

OK, I've finished one! (Of course, I started it last month, but finished it tonight.) Boundary Waters by William Kent Krueger, #2 in the Cork O'Connor series, was a really great, suspenseful read with marvelous wilderness scenes. This is quickly becoming a favorite series for me.

#103 tymfos

Darn! Now I have to get to Iron Lake.

I will be starting A Murderous Procession in the next couple of days. I have read the others in this series and liked them so this should be a good murder mystery for March.

I finished my first mystery for the month. Unfortunately I wasn't as taken with Christine Falls as I hoped I would be. Extremely well written, but I found both the pacing and the plot a little contrived.

Next up will be a continuation of a series, Remember Me, Irene by Jan Burke is the fourth in her Irene Kelly series.

#105 DeltaQueen50

I read Christine Falls a year ago and then read two more in the series. i found them interesting because there is some great character development in Quirk and his daughter in the space of the three books I read. I thought the books were less about the mysteries than they were about the character development. They also gave me a good picture of life in Dublin in the late 1950's among those who were upper middle class. It is very different than I had thought. Much poorer than in the U. S. at the same time among the wealthy. If you are curious about Quirk I would recommend reading the next book, but if he doesn't interest you as a character then skip this series and go on to another mystery series. There are too many great mysteries out there to read something that doesn't really interest you.

104 Try it; I think (hope!) you'll like it!

105, 106 Hmmmm. . . I was planning to read Christine Falls this month. I may as well try it, since I own a copy. But plots that are "contrived" are a pet peeve of mine lately.

I've started Red Bones by Ann Cleeves, and plan to start an audio book of The Dirty Secrets Club by Meg Gardiner tonight while driving to a meeting I must attend.

I finished my first mystery for the month last night: Good Morning, Irene by Carole Nelson Douglas. I didn't have much left to read. I didn't quite manage to finish it on Wednesday evening due to distractions from the storms that came through our area. I've started Precinct Puerto Rico. It's not long and theoretically I could finish it tonight. However, we're expecting strong storms again this evening so I'll be tuned in to the weather channel again.

#106 - Thanks for the info Benita. I think I will try at least one more of the Quirke books, as you say, the author gives great detail on life in Dublin during the 50's which I find very interesting.

#108 - Carrie, stay safe.

I've been sick the last few days, so I've managed to finish my first two mysteries for the month: the excellent No Mark Upon Her by Deborah Crombie and Celebrity in Death by J.D. Robb.

I hope everyone stays safe with all the widespread storms tonight and tomorrow!

I've been wanting to read Celebrity in Death but I think it may be a victim to the whole brouhaha with ebooks from certain publishers not getting to the libraries anymore. I guess I'll need to break down and actually buy it for myself. Although I love the Eve Dallas series I don't see them as books I'll read twice.

I tried starting The Dirty Secrets Club this evening, but I'm not sure it's my cup of tea.

I know I said I'd start with the new J.D. Robb but, on my trip downtown today, I took along the trade pb of Victoria Houston's latest Loon Lake (northwoods Wisconsin) series, Dead Tease. I read half of it today during my long train ride to and from downtown Chicago.

Enjoyable as always.

I finished Kil'n People - great fun:)

At least I found the Mystery March thread early in the month! I'm trying to finish up a final fantasy book but I have a few mysteries on my shelf and I will no doubt poke through my reading diary to see what my favorite authors have written lately:

A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (reread inspired by watching Sherlock)
Skein of the Crime by Maggie Sefton
Moscow Rules by Daniel Silva
Betrayal in Death by JD Robb
Virals by Kathy Reichs

I've just finished the (very disappointing) Death Comes to Pemberley as my first Mystery March read. The reviews of those who've already read it forewarned me not to have too high an expectation, but even so I was disappointed - the blending of a Jane Austen sequel with a murder mystery was, I feel, very clumsily done, although there were some points of interest for fans of Pride and Prejudice.

Other mysteries I hope to get to this month include:
Revelation - next up in the C J Sansom Tudor series featuring Matthew Shardlake
The Water's Edge - by Karin Fossum, which I've had out from the library for ages
Have his Carcase - Dorothy L Sayers - next up in my re-read of this series (need to get hold of a copy)

and possibly others, maybe the next in the Margaret Maron series featuring Judge Deborah Knott.

I know I'm going to read Death Comes to Pemberley, Genny, as I can't resist the P.D. James/Austen combination, but I'll have my expectations lowered thanks to your take on it and that of others here.

Ditto

I'm sure I'll read Death Comes to Pemberley whenever my turn comes around at the library. I'm not quite as anxious to get it now!

I've now started The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths.

I'm reading Thirty-Three Teeth and loving it as much as the first one so far. I'm not sure which I like better, the characters or the dialogue!

*edited to fix the touchstone

I loved Thirty-three Teeth and The Coroner's Lunch, too, Mamie. I can't decide whether to save the next ones in the series for a trip we're taking or not.

I finished Precinct Puerto Rico this morning, a police procedural set in a small town in Puerto Rico. I tend to prefer historical mysteries and cozies, but picked this one up because of the setting. I liked it despite the graphic violence, and I'll probably continue with the series.

I've started Man Overboard!, a YA book that involves German spies in Canada during WWII.

Death Comes to Pemberley wasn't terrible, but it wasn't all that interesting. I got about halfway through, put it down, and just never bothered to pick it up again. Then it had to go back to the library. Maybe I'll get it out again and finish it someday.

Tremendously enjoying Venus in Copper by Lindsey Davis at the moment for my first read and picked up from the library yesterday A Grave in Gaza: An Omar Yussef Mystery by Matt Beynon Rees and Second Violin by John Lawton. I picked them up while browsing the mystery shelves. Seems like they sound familiar from a Librarything mention somewhere! A promising month ahead!

I finished my first March Mystery. The terrific 12th book in the Loon Lake fishing series set in the northwoods of Wisconsin. Dead Tease by Victoria Houston. I really enjoy this series, though I don't fish.

I forgot to post my first completion over here. I finished Maddy Hunter's Pasta Imperfect. Imperfect is a great way to describe the book. It didn't work for me, and I only gave it 2 stars. I'm reading Jane Langton's The Memorial Hall Murder featuring Homer Kelly. If I don't finish it tonight, I should finish it tomorrow easily.

I'm ready to start my first Karin Fossum - Don't Look Back.

# 128 - Joanne, I have Don't Look Back on order from the library, I should be starting it early next week. I am really looking forward to my first Fossum.

I finished my first mystery for hte month - You Can't Stop Me by Max Allan Collins. Utterly awful.

I have Don't Look Back around here somewhere, too. I may join you, Joanne and Judy!

My first for the month - A Killer Plot - great plot and characters.

I liked A Killer Plot, too. I've got the second and third in the series waiting to be read -- will you get to them this month? I'm always looking for another shared read.

I'm thinking of Ellery Adams this month, too.

Me, too, Judy, Joanne and Katie - I just started Don't Look Back.

Finished Explosive Eighteen on Thursday and started Cold Vengeance last night.

ETA that I'm also listening to Tripwire.

Hey, I love all these Fossum starters! Yah! You guys will not be disappointed and the books keep getting better. Enjoy!

I finished The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths - very good.

Next up an ER - The Girl in the Box by Sheila Dalton.

Just finished Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn. Skated a bit too closely to romance in several parts (for me anyway) and seemed a bit obvious with regards to some things, but nonetheless a good read. I enjoyed the characters who were well drawn and interesting. Will read the next two I'm sure.

Starting off with a classic author and character, Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot in Dead Man's Folly. The setup is a beautiful old estate, where an assortment of characters have assembled to take part in a weekend mock murder/mystery game, only someone thinks things might actually turn deadly and they have invited Poirot in to help.

132>>I don't think that I'll be getting the next ones soon, I have a TBR pile that I'm working on and trying to keep myself from buying more books until I've read some of those I already have. BOMBS away first!

I suppose that Betrayal in Death isn't technically a mystery since we find out early on who the killer is and it's just a matter of how they are caught, but it's my first read of the month. I like Eve and Roarke.

I'd say it's a mystery, elfchild, but the mystery isn't why I read those books. I just like Eve and Roarke a lot.

Third mystery I finished this month, but not one I really enjoyed much (it took me over a month to finish it, which should tell you something): The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Potzsch.

I finished my second mystery read. Remember Me, Irene by Jan Burke is the 4th book in her Irene Kelly series. This was not my favorite of the ones I have read so far, but good enough to keep me reading the series.

I have to take a break from mysteries for a bit, but my next planned mystery will be either Silent In the Grave by Deanna Raybourn or Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin.

I finished another mystery last night, this one on the thriller/espionage end of the spectrum. Red Station by Adrian Magson is the first book in the Harry Tate series. It's set mostly in the nation of Georgia. I enjoyed it a lot, although it has a few flaws. I had a hard time putting it down, and I'm already looking forward to reading the next book in the series

Last night, I finished Red Bones, third book in the Shetland Quartet by Ann Cleeves; a slow paced, very atmospheric book. Cleeves is a real master at exploring human nature -- especially the mixed motives and skewed perceptions that create havoc in human relationships. This book is as much about the characters and setting as it is the "mystery," but the mystery was fine and I didn't guess "whodunit."

#142> Mystery isn't why I read the in Death books either. Like you it's the characters - the interaction between Eve and Roarke, and the other recurring characters as well. I love the friendship between Eve and Mavis.

I'd rather just come and list my mysteries as I read them since I don't know how many or what they'll be for sure.

1. The Betrayal of Trust by Susan Hill I don't love Simon Serrailler, but I love the series that carries his name.

#142 storeetllr

I have a copy of Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Potzsch. What didn't you like about that novel?

Don't Look Back by Karin Fossum was a solid Norwegian mystery. I'll be looking for more Inspector Sejers.

149 I just read Fossum's He Who Fears the Wolf last month, and really liked it.

I am reading a couple Sherlockian novels this month; The Holmes-Dracula File by Fred Saberhagen and The Peerless Peer by Philip Joss Farmer.

I've finished Thirty-Three Teeth and a Jeffery Deaver non-Lincon-Rhyme thriller called Speaking in Tongues. Will take a short break from the genre to read The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, because it makes perfect sense to do so after spending some time with Dr. Siri.

So far this month, I've read the following mysteries:

Death of a Royal Pain by Denise Swanson
Finding Clarity: A Mom, a Dwarf and a Posh Private School in the People's Republic of Berkeley by Kim Novak
Lord Peter: The Complete Lord Peter Wimsey Stories by Dorothy Sayers

>149 jnwelch: Joe - Was? You finished Don't Look Back already? I'm so slow... Halfway through and it's great! Glad to hear you liked it! I should put the laptop down and get back to it.

I've completed Thirty-Three Teeth. Really enjoyed it. LOVE Dr. Siri!

Just finished a re-read of The Salaryman's Wife by Sujata Massey, which reminded of how bloody good the first books in that series were.

Adore Dr. Siri! Cotterill is just as funny as his writing, too. I'm not as enamored of his new series, so I'll be very sorry when Dr. Siri finally goes off to meet his shamanic ancestors.

My other mystery completed was The Jackal Man, by Kate Ellis, in her Wesley Peterson series.

Am now reading Believing the Lie by Elizabeth George; this time around I'm finding it slow going. Not that I'm not enjoying it, but feel less impetus to whip through it. Usually a book's length isn't a deterrent, and I don't mind being taken on a long journey to get to the point as long as the view is interesting, but this time.... Well, we'll see.

>148 benitastrnad: Hi, Benita ~ Here's my mini-review of The Hangman's Daughter.

I started Don't Look Back by Karin Fossum last night. So far, so good...

My copy of Don't Look Back is finally in at the library, will pick it up tomorrow, and perhaps get started on it over the weekend. In the meantime, I have started Mistress of the Art of Death and I think I'm going to be a fan of this series.

#157 Storeetllr

Nice review. And it answered my questions. Do you think the translation had anything to do with the woodenness of the story?

Thanks, Benita. It could have, of course, but I wouldn't know, not (sadly enough) being a reader of anything but English.

Hi, Judy ~ I'm also a fan of the too short series beginning with Mistress of the Art of Death, which I listened to and just loved on audio.

Finished Butchers Hill, third in Laura Lippman's Tess Monaghan series. A pretty good mystery. It started slow, but really hooked me about a third of the way through. Interesting characters. The final conclusion didn't quite feel right, though.

Two mysteries finished so far this month:
Sherlock Holmes In Orbit (short stories) and The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher (non-fiction)

Planned:
The House of Silk - A Sherlock Holmes pastiche
Slash and Burn - the new Dr. Siri mystery from Colin Cotterill

I also forgot! I had put February Trouble by Neil Albert on ILL for a Feb. read, but it didn't come in until yesterday so it will be a March mystery! (Love it when a plan comes together!)

>154 Copperskye: Hah! Yes, I liked Don't Look Back, Joanne. I'm trying, unsuccessfully so far, to find the next one.

>155 Crazymamie: Good to see another Dr. Siri fan, Mamie!

I've never read Sue Grafton. I'm starting by reading A is for Alibi.

Anyone here a fan?

I've read all of Sue Grafton...I think they get better as the series goes along. She has never disappointed me yet.

I have A is for Alibi in my stack,too.

I finished reading Kingdom of Shadows by Alan Furst. This is a spy novel and as such it is made up of many mysteries. The novel ended in a way that made me think that Morath might be back in another book. I liked this book because it is set in that huge chunk of Europe about which nobody writes and little is known of the history and culture of the place. A large part of the book was set in the Romanian city of Cluj in the region of Transylvania. I had a student who worked for me that was from Cluj, so I was happy to read about this area and why Hungary lost it and wanted it back. Such interesting history and nobody, except Herta Meuller writes about it. So sad.

I like the fact that there are so many mysteries being set in exotic places these days. Dr. Siri in Laos, that series set in Turkey, those good mysteries of Dona Leon and Michael Dibdin, all are taking advantage of different histories and cultures that offer great fodder for mysteries.

How does one pronounce Cluj? I tried Wikipedia, which sometimes has an audio link for such things, but not in this case. I do not "do" the new style phonetic stuff.

I finished A Plague on Both Your Houses by Susanna Gregory. I really, really loved this book! My full review is here.

Nice review, Samantha_kathy. Unfortunately, I had to go and add it to my wishlist!

172> *grins* Glad to see I'm not the only one who's constantly adding books to my wishlist because of reviews here. But it's worth it, though, I've found some real gems of books through this group.

#170 laytonwoman3rd

It is pronounced as Clue-sch. According to the student who worked for me, that area of Romania was part of Hungary until after WWI and the people who lived there spoke German. I know that some of the other Romanian students said that people who lived in Transylvania weren't really Romanians. This book partly explained how that came about. the maps in the front of the book helped.

I can't remember if I posted already, but I finished one mystery The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley and I'm currently working on Dark Fire by CJ Sansom.

I just finished Haunted Ground by Erin Hart, which fit Linda's TIOLI challenge to read a book nominated for the Agatha Award for best first novel. Maisie Dobbs won the award that year. The judges made the right choice.

Inspired by all the great reading that going on here this month, I have started a list to carry over to May's Murder and Mayhem reads - so far I have 10 books that I want to get to, but I doubt if I will get to read them all.

>176 cbl_tn: I didn't like Haunted Ground as much as I thought I would, but I'll be giving Lake of Sorrows a try.

I've read a few more mysteries:

Death of a Kingfisher by M.C. Beaton
Tempest in the Tea Leaves by Kari Lee Townsend
Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James
Fair Game by Patricia Briggs
'
Death of a Kingfisher was a fairly standard Hamish mystery, if a little more complicated than usual. Tempest in the Tea Leaves was a big disappointment to me (I posted my review), but many people loved it. Death Comes to Pemberley was also somewhat disappointing; it just didn't work well for me. Fair Game on the other hand, which is really more Urban Fantasy than Mystery, was great fun. I'm listing it here because Charles and Anna travel to Boston to help track a serial killer that's killing werewolves.

That brings my mystery total to six so far. BTW, it's been really interesting to see what people are reading - and what they think of the books!

I just started Murder on the Cliffs a cozy mystery series featuring Daphne du Maurier..

Just finished Bedeviled Eggs. Not sure which one is next for me. I have to decide.

I have about 50 pages left in Don't Look Back. I love it.

Today I read Louise Penny's The Hangman, a Three Pines stand-alone story written for Canada's Good Reads Program. It was a fun little read, Three Pines lite. Good for her and the other authors for contributing.

I just finished A is for Alibi. Never read Sue Grafton before but I think I'm going to enjoy this series. At first I was thinking, "What is she doing? Why doesn't she have a cell phone, at least?" Then I looked at when it was written -- 1982! I guess I didn't realize how long-lived these books have been. But if folks are still enjoying them, it looks like a good bet I will, too.

I have not been reading much. My reading lamp by the couch died and my efforts to find a suitable (halogen) replacement have been fruitless plus the daughter has been grumpy for days now. Husband is away this weekend and I am debating between Skein of the Crime and Moscow Rules once the kids are in bed...yeah, I know...very different books.

#156> Thank you for the reminder. I keep meaning to read that book because I went to college with the author.

#182 You will find that Grafton doesn't move Kinsey into the 21st century----she keeps her in the 1980's throughout the series. The latest installment, V is for Vengeance (published last year) takes place in 1988. I find that lack of up-to-date technology sometimes helps the story lines. Things would often happen quite differently if she DID have a cell phone or internet access.

#182 & 184

Setting books in the 1980's makes them historical fiction doesn't it? :-)

Funny how we take all of these technological things for granted and find it hard to think about life before them. That is when they work. When they don't things are a mess. For instance, the telephone. The original telephone had to be made to work even when the electricity was off. The reason - governmental regulations said that it was a communication device for emergencies and most likely an emergency involved no electricity. Plus the telephone was invented when even the cities didn't have electricity like we do now. As a result the telephone in my house works even when the electricity is off. My cell phone won't. That fact alone keeps me with my house phone land line - so I will have a phone in an emergency! (Backwards, I think from the way most people think, as they have the cell phone for emergencies.)

So far I have read The Coroner's Lunch and Don't Look Back. Right now I am reading Thirty-Three Teeth. When I finished with it. I am going for some oldies off my shelf. The Toff on Board by John Creasey and several of his others.

We're riding the same wave, Cindy. I finished Don't Look Back and now I'm on the one after Thirty-three Teeth, Disco for the Departed.

My planned reads for March are panning out nicely. Reviews of Disco for the Departed, Racing the Devil, and a dark-horse Kindle candidate A Shot in the Bark, are all up in my thread.

Adding to the mayhem is yet another Dr. Siri Paiboun Laotian mystery, Anarchy and Old Dogs, and A Real Basket Case, a sort-of cozy set in upper-middle class Denver.

#184 -- thanks for the heads up! I'll have to keep remembering, no cell phone, no google.....
Waiting for B is for Burglar to come up at the library. I'm on the waiting list.

I just looked and the Louise Penny novella was available for $2.99 for Kindle so I downloaded it. I'll probably save it for my spring break which starts one week from today!

#190 I think that's the one she wrote to help kids learning to read, isn't it?

I've been in a reading funk the past week or so but, last night, after I came home from the local professional theater's performance of Legally Blonde, I picked up the new Laura Childs teashop mystery, The Agony of the Leaves and read about a quarter of it. This was about my longest sustained stretch of reading in about a month.

>186 cindysprocket:, cindysprocket - I'm in the middle of The Coroner's Lunch, and I've added it to TIOLI challenge #21. If you haven't put yours somewhere else, you can add it to #21 and it can be a shared read!

Benita, if you're looking for more stuff about central Europe (although it's not a mystery...) try Patrick Leigh Fermor's two books about his walk from the Netherlands to Istanbul in the 1930s, before Hitler and Stalin between them managed to bugger up the region completely. He stays with local folks, including the aristocracy -- A Time of Gifts and Between the Woods and the Water. He died last June, but his publisher says volume 3 will finally be published next year!!! drawing on his journals and the drafts he had written before his death at 96 -- of cancer yet, not even old age. Anyway -- he knew a lot about Romania, and was living with an aristocratic Romanian noblewoman in Moldavia when WW2 broke out. Furst is very good about using this region as a setting for his books, and I'm always on the lookout for novels with this backdrop (that aren't Vlad-related, that is...) A big chunk of the former Austro-Hungarian empire was handed off to Romania post WW1 at Versailles, hence the "stranded" Hungarians and the continued existence of a big minority population.

Finished Believing the Lie, which was too long and rambling even for me, and a suspense/thriller by Sophie Hannah that was OK. Now starting Rack, Ruin and Mystery by Ann Granger, which isn't quite a cozy (I'm not v. fond of these) but is set it the Cotswolds, so it's a cozy-ish setting. Also on deck, The Hidden Child, the newest "Scandicrime" opus from Camilla Lackberg.

Finished Venus in Copper by Lindsey Davis, the third book in the fabulous Falco series, a favorite series of mine.

Just finished A Grave in Gaza by Matt Beynon Rees, the second in his Omar Yussef mysteries. I haven't read the first one but now I want to. I thought at first I wouldn't like this book. I was confused by all the factions and I don't like politics, but ended up liking it and learning a lot too, and can't wait to read the others. I feel like I'm actually choking from all that dust!

Next I'm going to give The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley a shot, since I've heard so much about it here on Librarything.

So far this month for mysteries:

Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn. A tad bit too romancy for me, but still a pretty good read. Victorian with a bit of bodice ripping. Good mystery though.

Death at the President's Lodging by Michael Innes
First in the Inspector Appleby series. A good start! Set in 1930s Oxford, likable detective, interesting perspectives, colorful setting. I wasn't crazy about the denouement. Seemed overly complicated but liked it enough to hope to read more of the series.

Finished Still Life by Louise Penny - definitely cozy, but loved the characters. I am listening to The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie - the narrator is a perfect fit for Flavia, and beginning A Share in Death.

Finished Thirty-Three Teeth by Colin Cotterill enjoyed the story, love the characters and suttle humor. Now on to an oldie The Toff on Board by John Creasey.

Adding to The Betrayal of Trust, I've just finished Deborah Knott #16, Christmas Mourning. It was fun - maybe not one of Maron's best but very entertaining.

#191 Linda actually it was written for an adult learning program.
http://www.louisepenny.com/literacy.htm

I finished Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin and I absolutely loved it. I can see I will be following up on this series in the near future. One of the best historical mysteries that I have ever read.

Next up in mysteries for me is Don't Look Back by Karin Fossum.

>200 DeltaQueen50: Judy, I share the love for Adelia Vesuvia! What a cast of characters. Rowley's a surprise, don't you think? Her clever way of getting around the prejudice against women was inspired on the author's part.

But I bear unglad tidings: "Ariana Franklin" (pseudonym) has gone to the Bookstore in the Sky. The four there are are the four there will be.

I am just finishing up The End of the Wasp Season by Denise Mina which is a police procedural and second, and most recent, in the series. Also labeled "tartan noir" by some reviewers.

I like Julie Smith and have read all of her Skip Landon series set in New Orleans. Next I am going to read The Sourdough Wars which is #2 in her Rebecca Schwartz series and set in San Francisco.

#201 Hi Richard, that's such a shame about "Ariana Franklin" who I believe is historical fiction author, Diana Norman. I will have to content myself with the remaining three, hopefully all as good as this first one.

I am a fan of all types of mysteries--from the really creepy kind to the cozies--
A friend just gave me Curiosity Killed the Cat Sitter by Blaize Clement. It is the first in a series. Looks like a fun and interesting read! So I'll make it #2 on my list for now. Maybe I should make this a totally Murder March.

Yes, Ariana Franklin was Diana Norman. If you're into HF, you can always go and read A Catch of Consequence whose heroine is just as feisty and interesting.

Finished Rack Ruin and Murder by Ann Granger, which was decent; now starting The Hidden Child by Camilla Lackberg.

I'm a little late to the party, but I'm enjoying everyone's reads! I'm a big fan of Karin Fossum! I just finished The Betrayal of Trust by Susan Hill which I really enjoyed!

I'm sure I'll fit another mystery in March!

I finished When the Devil Holds the Candle by Karin Fossum. Quite suspenseful!

I'm now about a quarter of the way through an ER book, The Gods of Gotham by Lindsay Faye, which is an historical fiction mystery set in 1845 NYC. It's quite grim. I haven't formulated a firm opinion of it yet.

Finished The Last Kashmiri Rose by Barbara Cleverly and LOVED it! Terrific setting, interesting characters and I even cared about the killer. Yeah, the mystery might be a bit obvious, but I didn't care!

I think Maisie Dobbs is up next.

I finished two more mysteries: Prague Fatale by Philip Kerr and Murder Is Easy by Agatha Christie. I took a chance with Prague Fatale when I requested it from February's Early Reviewers batch and I'm glad I did. It's darker than I usual like to read, but not so dark that it was too depressing to read. I might go back and read some of the earlier books in the series. I'll borrow them from the library, though. I don't think this is a series I'll want to buy and keep.

Murder Is Easy is a fun book. One of the murder victims is a Miss Marple-like character. The amateur detective (although he's a retired policeman) and the local girl who ends up helping him remind me of Tommy and Tuppence.

It hasn't been a good reading month for me, not even for mysteries, so I've cut my 16 book list down to (perhaps) a more manageable 12.

I'd planned to read all of the Agatha Best First nominees for this year. I've had bad luck with these and couldn't get into the ones I started. To get out of a reading funk, probably best to stick with books I know I'll like.

Anyway, as usual, I thoroughly enjoyed the newest Laura Childs teashop mystery. For me, these are second only to the Louise Penny books, as my favorite.

For Mystery March, these are my reads so far:

A Place of Secrets by Rachel Hore - (England) - 3.7 stars
Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay - (Russia, Boston) - 4.2
The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill - (Laos) - 4.7
The Lilac House by Anita Nair - (India) - 4.5

I mentioned that I had asked for February Trouble by Neil Albert on ILL, but it didn't come until March... funny, I must have enjoyed January Corpse (can't find my notes on it) enough to request it, but this was a 'two thumbs down' read.

The book is 235 pages and by the end of page 52 I knew the basic who-dun-it and at least 50% of the motive. I decided if it was this clear I would give it up and check out the ending. I was basically right, although there was a bit more to the motive than I had figured out. So, I quit reading. Disappointing!

The Cold Light of Mourning is the first book in Elizabeth J. Duncan's Penny Brannigan series. It was a decent mystery, although the clues were a little too obvious. I like the characters and the North Wales setting so much that I'll keep reading the series even if the mystery plots don't improve. (As long as the plots don't get worse!)

Read my first Deborah Crombie mystery. No Mark Upon Her. I enjoyed the main characters and the story. This was an ER book. Now I will go back to the beginning of the series.

I finished The Cruelest Month last night, the 3rd book in the Three Pines series by Louise Penny. That brings me to 4 mysteries for the month.

Had a number of Serious Books to read this month, so have chosen the delightful Lady Julia Grey for some entertaining fluff to have some fun with. Just started Silent in the Sanctuary. I agree with comments above that they do skirt a bit close to romance (well, the first one did, this is the second so I'm not really in a position to make sweeping statements really), but I'm in the mood for that sort of fluff.

Yay! Bodice ripping! Manly men! Clever Lady Julia! Woot!

I just finished Don't Look Back by Karin Fossum and although not as moodily atmospheric as I have come to expect from most Scandicrime, it was a good police procedural and I will be carrying on with this series.

I am now joining Wookie above with reading about Lady Julia, although I am on the first in the series, Silent in the Grave.

I'm also late, but I downloaded The Paradise Mystery off of librivox and have been working my way through it this week while doing housework :P. Eleven chapters in and I'm very intrigued in the mystery - the obvious answer seems obvious, but there are so many chapters to go that it can't possibly be!

Out of the Deep I Cry by Julia Spencer-Fleming
Chili Con Corpses by J. B. Stanley
Tempest in the Tea Leaves by Kari Lee Townsend
Diva Runs Out of Thyme by Krista Davis

Intrigue by their titles!

I finished A fountain filled with blood, the second in the Julia Spencer-Fleming series featuring the double-act of a police chief (male) and an episcopal priest (female).

Now a couple of chapters into Revelation, the fourth of the C J Sansom Tudor series featuring the hunchback lawyer Matthew Shardlake.

Today marks the half-way point in the month, we still have fifteen days to get our mystery fix in.

So far this month I have read:

Christine Falls
Remember Me, Irene
Mistress of the Art of Death
Don't Look Back

I am currently reading Silent in the Grave and I have my eye on a few more from my TBR shelves.

I'm reading When Will There Be Good News by Kate Atkinson. It's moving right along, but doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Over 100 pages in and there's no crime yet, except one that's 30 years old and nobody seems to be interested in that one at all. Knowing Atkinson, things will start to come together before long, but I think she could have tightened this up a tad.

My March mystery completions so far are:

Pasta Imperfect by Maddy Hunter
The Memorial Hall Murder by Jane Langton
The Damascened Blade by Barbara Cleverly
Bedeviled Eggs by Laura Childs
Buttons and Bones by Monica Ferris
Bake Sale Murder by Leslie Meier
Agony of the Leaves by Laura Childs

You can read my reviews on my thread: http://www.librarything.com/topic/132610

A mid-month update seems like a good idea -

The Hangman byLouise Penny - Three Pines novella written for Canada's Good Reads Program to encourage adult literacy. (Sorry, I can't seem to find or force the correct touchstone.)

A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny - The latest Three Pines book. I read this last fall and re'read' it this month on audio.

Don't Look Back by Karin Fossum - Excellent Scandi crime, thankfully not as dark as I feared.

And my current read is:

Force of Nature by C.J. Box - The latest Joe Pickett book, this one focuses on Nate Romanowski, an interesting character first introduced in Winterkill.

My reading has slowed to a crawl this month, including mysteries. I did manage to read the fourth Jackson Brodie, Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson. Also the most recent Jack Reacher, The Affair by Lee Child, though that's not so much a mystery as a thriller, maybe? Sadly, I am now fully caught up with both of these series, and am now dependent on the authors to decide when and where to let go of the next one. I like it better when I am behind in series, and there is always another book waiting.

Rosalita, I know what you mean! It's great when you can just keep reading a series, book after book, and really get into it. I've started A is for Alibi about three decades late, so I've got a while to go on that one.

I am really enjoying the Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne series. Just finished the third one, Out of the Deep I Cry. I love the relationship between Clare and Russ, and I think this is the best of the series yet. Granted, it's only the third...so I have great things to look forward to, I suppose!

Terri, you've got a lot to look forward to! I envy you just starting on that ride.

Terri, I've only read the first installment in that series, but I made the comment then that I will be extremely disappointed if a priest breaks up a marriage in a future installment.

I just finished the first in a mystery series, Curiousity Killed the Cat Sitter by Blaize Clement. I thought it might be a little silly but entertaining since the series is about a cat sitter. I was pleasantly surprised because the mystery is well plotted, and the setting and characters are well developed. I have the next book on hold at the library.

A Real Basket Case is suffering by comparison to its predecessor, The Song of Achilles, which I've just reviewed. Mrs. Groundwater is a competent writer, not much more, and the book is a competent mystery, not much more, and that feels like a zero-star experience after the beauty of Madeline Miller's magnum opus.

Has anyone else read any of Beth Groundwater's mysteries? Is this simply bad timing, as I suspect it is, or is this really just a very average little mystery with a dull little plot?

I'm still reading mysteries at a frantic pace, although I think I'm going to have to branch out soon.

Recently read:

7. Choke by Kaye George (TIOLI #3) one of this year's Best First Novel Agatha Award Nominees
8. Mallory’s Oracle by Carol O’Connell (TIOLI #21) an excellent first in a series from 1994 - the sociopath is the heroine
9. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley (TIOLI #3) the first of the Flavia de Luce novels
10. Learning to Swim by Sara J. Henry (TIOLI #3) another of this year's Best First Novel Agatha Award Nominees
11. The Heirloom Murders by Kathleen Ernst (TIOLI #19) Wisconsin, 1982 - was it suicide?
12. The Cold Light of Mourning by Elizabeth J. Duncan (TIOLI #3) first in a series, great Wales setting
13. The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag by Alan Bradley (TIOLI #19) the second Flavia novel

I've noted what TIOLI Challenge there are listed under in case anyone wants to join me, and in some cases, the others reading these mysteries.

I've read and reviewed a Kindle original mystery novella, Accomplished in Detection, in my thread...post #163. I needed this buffer between the excellence of The Song of Achilles and the mundane-ness of all other books.

It's quite charming, a Victorian woman forced into amateur detective-hood by a dastardly attempt to pin a crime on the man she's only recently rejected as a suitor. Well worth the hour or so it takes to read it.

Thornton -- One of the things I like about the Clare Fergusson-Russ Van Alstyne series is maturity of the characters, as shown by the respect for vows and commitments I've seen so far.

I've now also read my ARC of No Mark upon Her. Crombie has taken Elizabeth George's place as my favorite non-Brit British crime novelist.

I've finished my first (and maybe only!) Mystery March read: Silent in the Sanctuary. Yep, heaving bosoms, manly men, and a really rather excellent little whodunnit in the middle of it all. Maybe not for everyone, but I had a ball reading this, and I must buy the next in the series sometime rsn...

Finished up The Silence of the Grave, sequel to Jar City. It's a pretty good mystery set in Iceland about a mystery going back to World War II.

I have been seeing several of you reading Louise Penny and became interested. But I was disappointed that my library doesn't seem to have many of them as ebooks (I never check out real books -- by the time I pay overdue fines I could have bought them). I spent some time this afternoon trying to clean up my catalog and was pleasantly surprised to discover that at some point Barnes and Noble must have given away the first one of the series as a Free Friday offering, because I have Still Life in my B&N library!

I'm putting it on the Reading Next shelf. Which is actually becoming way too big of a pile...but I know I'm not alone in that, right? If I really like it, I won't mind buying books in the series. I just like to try the library first.

Still Life was a big 'ol dud for me.

Still Life is the first in the Three Pines series, and shouldn't be taken as representative of the writing of the rest of the series. Penny's learned an enormous amount. She's become amazingly deft. I'd say keep going!

Nah...I really didn't enjoy the 1st book. If it had been set in the 20's or something I may have been more interested. I know I'm in the minority...but, I found the writing, the plot and the characters to be way old fashioned to be set in modern times. Big ol bore as far as I was concerned. But, I'm also finding that I'm not into mysteries as a genre. I enjoy a good book and in my opinion Still Life wasn't one of them.

>240 richardderus: Ditto!

I was able to finish three more mysteries this weekend: The Black Mountain by Rex Stout, Dead Man's Ransom by Ellis Peters (audio version), and Goodbye, Nanny Gray by Susannah Stacey. The Nero Wolfe was the best of the three, and also my first Nero Wolfe. I love the TV series that ran on A&E about a decade ago. I don't know why it's taken me so long to try the books.

Still Life is not Penny's best, but I do think that it does give a lot of background that is needed for future installments. It's also not my least favorite of the series. Read them in order. By the 3rd or 4th book, you'll be singing Penny's praises and within a book or two after that, you'll be wondering how she's going to top that one.

ok ok

I'll try again

I am about half done with a paranormal cozy mystery Secondhand Spirits by, Juliet Blackwell and am enjoying it very much!

Just finished The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. I found it entertaining and quirky, and improbable fun. Really enjoyed it.

Now reading Second Violin by John Lawton. This is the sixth in the series and my first. I usually don't read series out of order, but it was the only one my small library had and it looked good. So far, so good.

I finished an audio book of Meg Gardner's The Dirty Secrets Club. First I disliked it (seemed to sensational at first) then it settled down and I liked it, but in the end I found the whole thing just too convoluted for my taste.

I'm still working on Gods of Gotham. Still deciding what I think of it. Seems rather well written with lots of historical detail, just . . . VERY . . . GRIM.

Oh dear - I'd been looking forward to Gods of Gotham, but very grim does not sound promising....

>247 tymfos:, 248..I am waiting for the library to send me a copy of Gods of Gotham...hope its not too grim for my taste..I've been looking forward to reading this one.

Okay, I was going to start my Serious Group Read, but it's a manic week at work. So I picked up The Beekeeper's Apprentice instead. I'm back in Mystery March!

250>> The Beekeeper's Apprentice is one of my absolute favorites!

#251> I'm enjoying it so far, but she was dissing Dr Watson a bit too much for me at the start! I've always been very fond of Dr Watson. But she's actually met him now, and all is well.

I think it is time to continue this onto a new thread!