What are you reading now? (cont.)

To start off the continued thread, I am reading All Mortal Flesh by Julia Spencer-Fleming.

Just finishing Flesh and Spirit (wonky touchstone) by Carol Berg. Pretty good read!

Death and the Dutch Uncle, Patricia Moyes.

Currently reading The Bone Collector by Jeffery Deaver

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde. A literary (literally) mystery. It's also funny.

Just cracked open Trunk Music by Michael Connelly. The more I read from him, the more I enjoy Connelly's work.

The Color of Blood by Declan Hughes

The Color of Blood by Declan Hughes

Almost finished with Dark Tort by Diane Mott Davidson. I'm also almost finished with Anonymous Rex by Eric Garcia. I'll probably start Casual Rex next.

Just finished All Mortal Flesh too, which was amazingly good. Now starting on Three Bags Full.

Just finished Drop Shot by Harlan Coben which, although not as funny as Deal Breaker was still excellent. Started the much more gloomy Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell.

I was really saddened to read of the recent death of Magdalen Nabb who wrote the Guarnaccia series. She was touted as being the succesor to Georges Simenon. I happened to like her books better than his, especially the later ones. I guess The Innocent is the last one, now in the series.

The Solitaire Mystery by Jostein Gaarder. A friend recommended it.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.

The Tolls of Death by Michael Jecks

A Few Good Murders by Cady Kalian.

I'm just about to start The Cairo Diary by Maxim Chattam.

Just finished The Street Lawyer by John Grisham and have started Jeffery Deaver's Vanished Man.

I finished up the 5th & 6th Harry Bosch novels - Trunk Music & Angels Flight - both excellent crime mysteries. I enjoyed Trunk Music just a hair more, but Angels Flight was just as engaging.

I've moved onto Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child's Brimstone - a set of dual authors I've never tried before. Anyone else a fan? So far so good, I started last night and before I knew it I was 150 pages in and several hours had flown by. Quite the eerie thriller so far.

Ha ha, I love Preston and Child! They're definitely not high literature or anything, but I love their books. (Oddly, I've tried reading their solo novels and hated them...) My favourite was The Cabinet of Curiosities, but Relic and Reliquary were pretty good too.

I just finished The Hellfire Conspiracy, the latest in the Barker/Llewellyn series by Will Thomas. It was a great read!

Finished The nutmeg tree by Margery Sharp and started Britannia Mews, also by Margery Sharp.

Finished Almost Dead by Lisa Jackson last night & started Don't Say A Word by Rita Herron this morning.

Finished Beach Road by James Patterson yesterday and really liked it. What a great twist at the end!

Working on Retribution by Jilliane Hoffman. I'm having a hard time sustaining interest in it but am keeping on because of all the rave reviews on LT. Haven't gotten to the courtroom scenes yet, so maybe it'll perk up my interest then. In a way, Retribution reminds me of the early Patricia Cornwell books, with the grisly murders.

#18 - have your read any other P&C novels w/Pendergast? If not, you may want to check them out. Many can be read as stand-alones, but there are threads tying all the books together.

#19 - I had the same experience...loved Cabinet (my first Pendergast) & then read the first two. Again, nothing too deep, but great stories, action & mystery. Couldn't get into any solo books for either author though.

Recently finished The Wheel of Darkness which is the next installment. Nicely done. Glad they didn't go back to the frigging museum again. Luxury liner instead. Creepy goings on and another supernatural element, but not as heavy handed as Relic/Reliquary.

Am now at the tail end of One Across, Two Down which is an early Rendell. I love how she can throw a curveball at the reader.

#24 Bookmarque & #19 d2vge - Brimstone is my first work by the two of them. Someone I was standing next to at the bookstore while gazing at the Child/Preston books (obviously a fan) had told me that at the end of Book of the Dead (I believe it was BotD) had a note from the authors stating which order their books should be read in. I read that and committed it to memory, and since they stated that almost all could be read as a stand alone but the Brimstone/Dance of Death/BotD should be read in that order so I decided to give Brimstone a whirl.

Since you both liked Cabinet I will pick that one up as well.

I did also pick up a solo piece from each (Tyrannosaur Canyon & Deep Storm) - so when I'm finished with the Brimstone I'll have to see if I come to the same conclusion.

Appreciate the recommendations.

I'm curled up with the latest Amelia Peabody to make it into paperback: Elizabeth Peters's Tomb of the Golden Bird, in which the Emersons get to look on while Howard Carter uncovers Tutankhamon's tomb against the usual backdrop of yet another dead body. Entertaining fluff, with no real surprises.

I just finished reading Volk's Game by Brent Ghelfi. Some months ago, Greg Iles recommended this book and I found it to be a good read! This afternoon I'm going to begin The Grave Tattoo by Val McDermid. I'm really enjoying McDermid's work, especially the Hill/Jordan series.

Glass Houses by Jane Haddam. I really like her books.

I am reading the "Sleeping Beauty Proposal" by Strohmeyer. Granted, this isn't a mystery, but this author write a wonderful series about "Bubbles". Check them out!

Just started The Woods. Damn you Harlan Coben! I needed to call in sick so I could finish it, but my calendar is too full. Bah. Will have to wait for the weekend and down it in one gulp!

touchstones not awake yet today.

To all talking about Preston and Childs, I agree they are fun to read. I started with Still Life with Crows. I think I have read all the Pendergast books except Wheel of Darkness. I usually wait for a used copy or for the paperback to come out.

Bookmarque, I started reading The Woods in Borders several weeks ago while stranded waiting for a ride. I hoped to find a used copy, but haven't to date. Coben certainly can grab you in those first few pages. It's been so long since I started it, I may have to read again from the beginning.

I’m 100 pages into Tim Cockey’s “The Hearse You Came In On”!

This is my first book by this author. Anyone else read Cockey??

#18/25...If you can, I think it's much better to start with Relic and go through the series in order! Also, I felt that Brimstone was actually the weakest of all the books. (So if you enjoy that one, you're in for a treat with the others, IMO!)

I'm slowly making my way through the other books by Preston and Child individually.

Bookmarque, glad to hear that the latest is good. I've been wondering how they'd handle another installment and it sounds intriguing!

Hm...I recall Brimstone as being one of the stronger ones...how funny.

Just finished Game of Patience by Susanne Alleyn, a mystery set in Paris about 3 years after the end of the Reign of Terror. It's a historical period I haven't read much about, so I found it fascinating. I'm going to look up the other novels in the series. BTW, Ms. Alleyn is an LT author.

Now listening to Find Me by Carol O'Connell, the latest (and maybe last) Mallory mystery, on audiobook. Quite different from the others in a way I won't reveal lest I spoil it for others, but, as usual, so good!

Finished Retribution, by Jilliane Hoffman which really picked up for me half-way through--so much so that I bought her Last Witness. But I'm saving that until later, and have started on Knots and Crosses, my first Ian Rankin read. Just a short way into it and am thoroughly enjoying it.

Am just nearing the end of A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh

Charisma by Orania Papazoglou and I am enjoying it so far. The structure and tone is similar to the Gregor Demarkian books that she writes as Jane Haddam.

#38 quartzite, is Charisma about a different detective? I'm just wondering about the difference in the author's name. I really enjoy the Demarkian books, so I'd be happy to check her out as Papazoglou.

Finished Walk In Fear by W Howard Baker earlier today , and just started By Whose Hand by Rex Hardinge.

Just started Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs

citygirl,

The book is set in New Haven, CT and the main detective is Chief of Homocide Pat Mallory with a former nun as a second major protagonist.

Reading Death on the Downs which is another mystery of the Fetherings series. Second I've read. Quite nicely done cozies as I think of them. Very British.

Murder Superior by Jane Haddam

#39, #42: In About the Author for Not a Creature Was Stirring, the first Gregor Demarkian, it says: "Born in New England, she was gifted with a name that sounds like something she'd be afraid to order on a Middle Eastern menu." which I found pretty funny. I think it's a perfect refelection of the sense of humor she displays in the Demarkian novels.

Even though she writes the Gregor Demarkian novels under the name of Jane Haddam, I notice that they're copyrighted under Orania Papazoglou.

Naked to the Hangman by Andrew Taylor--his latest Lydmouth mystery. Charisma by the way had an ending that was rather over the top. Also I should mention that child sex abuse is a key plot element.

I just finished The Water Clock. It is the first book by British mystery novelist Jim Kelly featuring reporter Philip Dryden. I enjoyed reading it. Jim Kelly has an agreeable voice, and the setting is well-developed.

I am currently finishing up A Long Shadow by Charles Todd, the eighth in the Ian Rutledge series (and my first).

Just started Open Season by C.J. Box.

Started Make Death Love Me by Ruth Rendell. Am about 100 pages in and while some of it is familiar, I just know she's going to pull the rug out from under me any minute now...

Am trying to get into Liseys Story by Stephen King, its taking a long time to get to the story though.

I finished Brimstone on Monday, and I couldn't make it up to the library any time this week or this weekend, so instead I read cover to cover A Darkness more than Night by Michael Connelly. I think I've discovered that I read Connelly's books by far the quickest - usually I can knock one out in two nights. But I do enjoy them so I'm not going to complain.

Brimstone was a joy - I really liked the touch of the paranormal mixed with a flesh & blood killer. I also enjoyed how the story line paused, rather than ended when the pages came to a close. Makes you itch for the next in line that's for sure.

I'm going to pick up the next two in the Pendgerast Trilogy tomorrow, so I should be reading Dance of Death tomorrow at this time.

The Crime on the French Frontier by John Hunter. Am not far into it and already a motorist`s been shot dead and a senile old lady done to death with a hammer.

Don`t think the Touchstones are working today.

I'm currently reading On Beulah Height by Reginald Hill. I have read several books by this author of the Dalziel and Pascoe mysteries, but I have never read this one before. And people tell me it's one of his best ones! I'm not in far enough to know whether I agree, but it's looking good so far.

My friend and neighbour came over last night to give us three thrillers, I started the The Murder Book, by Kellerman at midnight. I almost gave up, the first few pages, too many dead persons in unattractive appearance. But then I looked up Kellerman at his homepage and thought it could be worth reading on. Now page 93.

Promise Not to Tell by Jennifer McMahon. It was hard to put down!! (Touchstone doesn't seem tobe working right).

I just finished Jeffery Deaver's The Vanished Man last night. I have just started Dead Run by P.J. Tracy. This is my first Tracy book. The little I have read so far has certainly captured my attention!

The Vanished Man was a very emotionally charged book for me. I got really mad while reading it. The villian is so slippery and the way the plot is woven mimics the unsettled/unsure state of the investigators. One of Deaver's best. Enjoy.

Not sure if it counts, but I'm listening to Heart-shaped Box by Joe Hill.

Just finished the Smoke and Spectres in the Smoke by Tony Broadbent. Both are excellent although I thought the first was better.

Now reading Precious Blood by Jane Haddam, the second in the Gregor Demarkian series.

Started Bones to Ashes yesterday which WILL NOT and HAS NOT touchstoned correctly. Why this feature continues to be fine and then get completely F-ed up from one day to the next is beyond me.

Bah. I'm so crabby today. Anyway, this is a Kathy Reichs novel and the next in the Tempe Brennan series.

# 51

I`ve finished John Hunter now, and moved on to one by W A Ballinger, Murder in Camera.

Just finished The Woods by Harlen Coben.

#58 Touchstones are maddening these days. Why "The Woods" shows up as "A Walk in the Woods: rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail" by Bill Bryson, but when you click on "others" the correct book title is FIRST ON THE LIST is beyond me! Grrr. (I've fixed the touchstone.)

Reading Break No Bones by Reichs and then hoping to move on to An Unkindness of Ravens by Ruth Rendell which sounds excellent--if I can find a copy!

Another one here reading Kathy Reichs !

I've almost caught up, I'm reading Break No Bones and am on the waiting list at the library for Bones to Ashes (no touchstone).

I'm listening to The Book of the Dead by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. I was immediately drawn in and am enjoying it immensely. So far it is even better than it's predecessor, Dance of the Dead (bad touchstone).

Now reading "Out" (touchstone not working) by Natsuo Kirino ... a Japanese thriller involving four women trying to cover up the murder of an abusive husband.

KromesTomes - if you would be so kind to let us know what you think of Out. I liked Kirino's Grotesque very much and so am interested in the other english translation. Thanks.

Touchstones completely useless again. Shock.

I started Revenant by Carolyn Haines this morning. I've never read her before, but this has started out pretty good. Has anyone else read her?

(touchstone not working)

I loved Out! But I thought Grotesque was only so-so. I loved the first 2/3 of it, but then...I don't know...it just fizzled out or something.

I'm about 115 pages into "Out" and it's pretty good ... it's nothing fancy, but it's doing a good job of portraying how people can get run down enough to do just about anything ... and the touches that remind you the story is taking place in Japan, the stuff about the small apartments and homes and tatami mats and futons and all that, is fascinating.

Currently reading The Curse of the Pharoahs by Elizabeth Peters - the 2nd Amelia Peabody mystery.

Just finished The Alienist which was excellent right up until the end, which was sort of anticlimactic for me. But I loved the ending itself. Somehow that last sentence of the book was perfect.

#70> Joycepa, I loved The Alienist, but liked The Angel of Darkness even better. Did you read it? If not, do, you will enjoy it.

I'm just finishing up 13 Bullets. It's a pretty good vampire suspense/mystery kind of story, but a bit violent for some, I suspect.

#71 aluvalibri: That's the sequel, correct? Thanks for the tip--I'll add it to my TBP list! I was hesitant, because The Alienist is a hard act to follow...

I love the way Carr writes--you really get a feel for the era! I STILL can't get over the last paragraph/last sentence in The Alienist. You really have to have confidence in yourself as a writer to end that kind of book in that way (trying not to do any spoilers here).

Yes Joycepa, it is the sequel. Even more chilling, in my opinion, but great reading indeed.
I am still wondering why he never wrote a third one....such interesting characters!

#74, aluvalibri: so--there aren't more, just those two. I was pretty confused to see that he also wrote science fiction. Hard to figure out what the sequence of books was.

I was enthralled by Carr's description of 1896 New York. And of course we all can appreciate the way he describes the very infancy of forensics. But what really got to me was Delmonico's. Reading the descriptions, late at night, of the meals at Delmonico's made me ravenous! Raised havoc with my diet, I can tell you.

Ha ha ha ha! Seeing NY as it is now, and how much it has changed (not always for the good), makes me feel nostalgic for that world...

Joycepa and aluvalibri ~ I've read both and couldn't agree with you more! Loved them not only for the noirish mysteries and writing style but for the descriptions of old New York and the characters that inhabited it. As I've said on other threads, the most memorable villianous character I've ever read (including Randall Flagg) is in Angel of Darkness. That book had me so tense that I had to put it down for awhile in the middle to calm down. lol And that doesn't happen very often, I assure you!

It's been awhile since I read The Alienist, and after reading what ya'll wrote about it, and esp. Joycepa thoughts on Delmonico's, I think it's time for a reread.

(touchstones don't seem to be cooperating today)

#s 76 & 77: Ok, THAT does it--Angel of Darkness makes tomorrow's book order.

Touchstones out to an extended lunch break. Hmm-food references again.

hello Joycepa, I am new to this group and just read your excellent review on The Alienist, it seems a must to read it.
I started my second book by Jonathan Kellerman, Bad Love. Has anyone read several of child psychologist's Delaware cases? My first one was The Murder Book. What is your opinion? - I find it very well written, but the plot is weak, and the story kind of drags along. I read it for the documentary style of situations and places. Reading the book is like a trip to LA and an introduction to child psychology.

#1 Just discovered Julia Spencer-Fleming as a result of this board. I've only read In The Bleak Midwinterand 2/3 way through A Fountain Filled With Blood, but very happy with them!!! So good!

Reading Third & Forever by Lowen Clausen because I'd just finished rereading First Avenue and had to go out & get another Clausen. I was beginning to wonder if he was going to be like Caleb Carr with only a couple of mysteries, but found on his Clausen's web site that new book out soon called The River. Caleb Carr has a very interesting web site and he really bounces around with the subject matter of his books, fiction & non.

#77> Storeetllr, I agree with you: she is one of the most heinous villains I have ever met. So cold blooded, ruthless, downright cruel....(shivers).
I think it is almost time for me to re-read both.
You know that, at a point, I wanted to write to Caleb Carr and ask him why he has not written a sequel to those two. It should not be difficult to find his e-mail address since he teaches at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson. Perhaps I should pursue that idea.....

#82 aluvalibri: What an excellent idea, to contact Carr about this! It would be fascinating to know what his plans are--if he's going to continue and if not, why.

#82 Agree with Joycepa!

#81 Joycepa ~ I just read your review and completely agree with kinmon. It's excellent! As are all your reviews. Based on your review of Caesar's Civil War, I've reserved a copy from the library. Thanks!

*edited to try and correct the touchstone, but couldn't. surprise.*

#82/83: Has Caleb Carr ever said he wasn't planning to write a third?
See here: http://17thstreet.net/books/untitled.php

I'm halfway through Bones to Ashes (no touchstone) by Kathy Reichs, her latest. That means I've finally caught up and have to wait for her to write more . boohoo

#85> christiguc, thanks for the link, quite interesting!
So, it seems there is hope he is writing a sequel...

I'm finally finishing up The Black Echo by Michael Connelly. I have had the worst time getting into and finishing this book, although it's well enough written and plotted. I think my major problem is, when I started reading it was "Oh,no--not ANOTHER hard-boiled, wounded-soul cop!" I think I can take Rebus or Bosch, but not both. I'm giving Bosch The Black Ice to see if I still feel the same way.

Just finished Dexter in the Dark by Jeff Lindsay and enjoyed it as usual. However, the opening was a little tedious but quickly redeemed itself. I love the relationship between Dexter and Cody and Astor. Scary, but sweet.

#89 ~ Oooh, I can't wait to get into the third Dexter thriller! Glad to hear it's going to be worth the wait.

I’m about 100 pages into William Lashner’s latest novel, “A Killer’s Kiss”. His main character, Victor Carl, is a hoot and at his best in this one.

#91, jxnhole: Good to know! I've just started Hostile Witness, the first in the series. Not far enough into it to be able to say much, but certainly Victor Carl is not your everyday legal-thriller lawyer!

I'm about a quarter of the way through Devices and Desires by P. D. James for my local library reading group. It's moving slowly, providing lots of details about some characters' histories. She's trying to evoke a very clear sense of place, but I fear i don't have the proper referents to quite appreciate that aspect. I think I get what she's trying to do, though, so I'm not missing it entirely.

Oh, D&D is one of my favorite James's. Very subtle. Builds slowly, but woah, what an ending.

I just started Ian Rankin's Naming of the Dead - my first Rebus novel. I realize that I'm at the wrong end of the series for my first book, but it looked interesting at the used bookstore so I thought it worth checking out. So far so good.

Just finished Danger ahead by Peter saxon.

Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde, more Thursday Next. Laugh out loud funny.

When I'm done with that one I'll move on to Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn, of which I've heard very good things.

Harm None by M.R. Sellars--it could use a little editing--the repeated use of petite is begining to ge to me; and Walking Dead by Peter Dickinson.

I'm reading the Harry Potter series , im on the 3rd book

#94 Thanks for the word, Bookmarque. I just finished D&D and enjoyed it quite a bit. Brought in quite a few things at the end, including the kitchen sink. Very impressive book.

I'm about to start James Crumley's The Last Good Kiss, based on Cliff Burns's recommendation.

A certain Justice in Penguin's new Old Style lovely colours.

Inclining to crime by Arthur Kent. I`ll post a review when I finish it.

Yeah, she does cram a lot into it doesn't she, Jim53? I remember wondering how she would tie all the threads together, but she manages it.

Reading Play Dirty by Sandra Brown - not quite sure what I think of it, but it is interesting.

I'm reading Critical by Robin Cook. Seems to be taking me a long time to get through it.

Fortune Like the Moon by Alys Clare.

I'm reading Cries and Whiskers by Clea Simon.

Re-read Most Wanted by Michele Martinez & started The Finishing School this morning.

Just last night I finished Dance of Death by Preston & Child and today I'll be moving on to Book of the Dead, the follow up to Dance of Death.

I've enjoyed it enough that I'll be going back after this last book in their triology to pick up some of their earlier works.

#97...citygirl.... You're gonna love "Sharp Objects" I read it a couple of months ago and I'm still thinking about it.

The Chemistry of Death by Simon Beckett about a forensic anthropoligist in Norfolk, England. So far it's pretty good.

OOPS... just realized that I haven't posted anything in a while. I finished Dead Run by P.J. Tracy - a real page-turner. I will definitely read more of their (mother & daughter team) books. I also read Nature Girl by Carl Hiaasen. I enjoyed it but think that it is not Hiaasen's best work. I am now reading Margaret Truman's Murder at the National Gallery.

#93 and #94, you've made me want to start all over with P.D. James books. Seems like there hasn't been a new one forever!! I'm reading Lake of Sorrows by Erin Hart and A Very Fine Lline by Julie Johnston.

live bait I'm reading them through in order to get to the latest snow blind that I've just bought.

Just started Heartsick. Holy moly is it good so far.

Started Dexter in the Dark last night and after reading a couple of chapters was a little disappointed. Then I reread LittleTaiko's comment above (#89) and now feel so much better. I'm looking forward to getting back to it as soon as I can get ready for bed! (And yes, Dex's interaction with the kids is one reason I'd have plodded through it whether it was good or not ~ though I'm relieved to know that it does get better!)

I started Southern Fatality by T. Lynn Ocean this morning.

Tonight I will open to the first page of The Red Scream, an Edgar winner, I believe. Any words of advice?

After finishing up Book of the Dead by Preston & Child (an excellent end to the Diogenes Triology), I picked up Paranoia by Joseph Finder today and got about 100 pages into it. So far so good.

I'm finishing Thunderstruck by Larson and just started A Body in the Library by Agatha Christie, one of her Miss Marple books. (Miss Christie is fond of alliteration, isn't she? Just noticing how many characters and places are like that...Basil Blake, St. Mary Mead, Danebury Downs...LOL)

Death of a Dude and The Final Deduction which will finish all the Nero Wolfe books - to be quickly followed by True Evil.

I can't figure out how I managed to survive BC--Before Harlan Coben. I'm on Fade Away. Win the Sociopath is definitely one of my favorite characters.

Just started reading "Sleeping Beauty"by Phillip Margolin> If yall have not read any of his books you should give him a try.

I hopefully will be starting The Architect by Keith Ablow here soon. I'm struggling through a historical romance right now that has a lot of Scottish slang and old English phrasing in it so it's a bit much for me.

I have read almost all of Keith Ablow's fictional work and just love Frank Cleavenger. Anyone who hasn't checked out these books, I highly recommend them. You won't be disappointed.

Am bogged down in 2 Barbara Vines which is weird for me. I'm sure I'll shake it off. In the mean time I'm listening to Equinox by Michael White, which is a pretty standard type book about ancient orders, secrets and murder in Oxford.

joycepa #122.... Don’t you just love Coben? If you’re trying to figure out how you survived BC, then wait until you’ve read them all and you’re anxiously waiting and waiting for the next. I agree, Win is a very favorite character. Coben’s stand alone novels are equally as good.

I'm about halfway through In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming, and I'm really enjoying it. Thanks to Ansi (#80) and others who mentioned her!

I recently finished He kills coppers by Jake Arnott ... it's blurbed a British L.A. Confidential and that's pretty much exactly right ... it's worth a read if you like that kind of thing.

Just finished Sharp Objects and The Well of Lost Plots. jxnhole, you're right, I loved Sharp Objects.

Edited for html hijinks (on my part).

#126 jxnhole--Hey, it's bad enough waiting for the next in the series! I ordered early this week, just another 10 days or so more to go......I can hold on, I'm strong!

I've read lots of good things here on LT abut the Woods as well. But I have to get my Win Fix first.

On another thread, about quotes from your favorite book--I posted a quote from Fade Away's preface (I read everything). After he lists a bunch of people he wants to thank, Coben says "Any errors--factual or otherwise--are totally their fault. The author is not to blame."

Good thing I was in bed reading at the time or I would have fallen off any chair, I laughed so hard. But then I'm easy to please. :-)

Just got back from a few days in the woods where I read Sharp Objects--very good, and Gentlemen and Players by Joanna Harris set at an English boys school. Have just started Peter Robinson's latest Friend of the The Devil.

> 130 -Joycepa

I remember reading that same line and thought it was very funny for the obvious reasons. Coben is great.

Hi All
I love Kathy Reichs AND have just started reading Harlan Coban

But the latest read was by James Patterson You've Been Warned as I posted on my 50book challenge this was one seriously wierd book not up to his usual standard I think but I could be wrong but I perservered with it and read it I was just as confused when I finished the last page as I was when I read the first page has anybody else read it and what do they think of the book let me know

I just started The Tremor of Forgery by Patricia Highsmith.

I am on the verge of starting Ashes of the Elements by Alys Clare.

I just finished Blindsighted by Karin Slaughter. Wow, that was good.

Hostile Witness by William Lasher

Just finished Frank Church A Death in the Koryo--a beautifully crafted mystery set in North Korea.

Highly recommended.

I’m a little over half way through Val McDermid’s novel, “A Place of Execution”. It took a bit to get into, but now I’m hooked. Also, on Books-on-Tape, I’m listening to Caleb Carr’s “The Alienst”. Whoa... very good.

Just finished The Black Ice by Michael Connelly only because I promised a LTer that I would give Connelly another chance after The Black Echo which I more or less hated. However, I wound up really enjoying The Black Ice and will go on to read others in the Bosch series. I think I just didn't sync with Bosch in his Vietnam vet mode--others have done it far, far better, IMO.

Just started The Monster of Florence by Magdalen Nabb. She died about a month ago from a stroke--too bad, because I really loved the Marshall Guarnaccia series.

#139 - jxnhole - The Alienist is on my all-time faves list. The sequel Angel of Darkness is an excellent read as well.

I'm currently reading Kirby Williams' "The Opera Murders", an S.S. Van Dine inspired mystery from 1933 featuring sociology professor and "gentleman criminologist" Thackeray Place. Set in Chicago, the mystery centres around a killer of sopranos who matches their deaths to famous opera roles. So far one singer has discovered the perils of playing Madame Butterfly.

I'm also reading "The Strange Disappearance of Mary Young" by Milton Propper in which the title character is found stabbed to death on an amusement park ride.

Name to a Face the new Robert Goddard.

>142 Harry_Vincent: Currently ready through the S.S. van Dine books I had on my shelf for years, plus a few new ones I bought. I'm getting some vocabulary lessons, but I don't find the books as interesting as I did the first time I read them.

Finished up Ian Rankin's Naming of the Dead and now I'm onto another Joseph Finder thriller - Company Man. Really hope Company Man lives up to Paranoia - I was really quite impressed with Finder's edge of your seat writing style.

Just finished Peter Robinson's Friend of the Devil as an early review, but haven't finished the review. Started Mallory's Oracle by Carol O'Connell for the Go Read That Book! LT group.

Just finished The Architect by Keith Ablow and starting on Mystic River by Dennis Lehane.

The Architect turned out to be a good book, but not the better of Keith's work. This particular novel was the latest in his fictional series.

I am reading "Power Play" by Joseph Finder. This is the first book I've read by this author, but I really like it!

Yesterday I started The Angel of Darkness by Caleb Carr. I'm 42 pages into it, and I must say, I'm a little disappointed at what feels like a slow start. Perhaps it's just my anticipation and overly high expectations since there are plenty of people in this thread that have raved about it. Seems like the main story is just barely beginning.

Keep reading, Joycepa....you will be rewarded!

I finished Julia Spencer-Fleming's In the Bleak Midwinter and really liked the interplay of the major characters. I just finished a quick re-read of Katy Munger's Bad to the Bone for my library reading group--it's quite vulgar and funny, they mystery is decent-- and have jumped back into the world of Clare and Russ in Miller's Kill with A Fountain Filled with Blood.

I just found Bernie Rohdenbarr in the "Burglar" series by Lawrence Block. I'm enjoying them. I also tried Block's When the Sacred Ginmill Closes and liked it, so I started requesting the other Matt Scudder books from the library (in chronological order).

I am enjoying martha grimes series re: Emma Graham--hotel paradise cold flat junction and belle ruin. These are much better than the Richard Judy series.

#148 smilinkyn - let me know how you like that one. I've just recently finished Finder's Paranoia & Company Man and I am now just in the first few chapters of Killer Instinct. I'll be picking up Power Play shortly.

#150 aluvalibri--Hoo-ey, boyhowdy!! Were you ever right about Angel of Darkness!!! I'm not quite 2/3 of the way through, and I had to put the book down because I did NOT want to start the next chapter--it was too darned frightening! I mean, since when do you wind up being terrified of a BOOK, for heaven's sake! I don't even know how he did it--I'd been going along thinking that the writing was good but nothing to write home about (sorry) and then before I know it, the cumulative effect is such I had to quit for a while and take up something a lot lighter A Great Day for the Deadly by Jane Haddam. No one is ever going to be afraid of turning out the light by reading about Gregor Demarkian.

I just started "Vanished" by Tess Gerritsen. I'm behind on her Maura Isles thrillers and thought it was time I caught up because I enjoyed "The Sinner" and "Body Double" quite a bit. She has an engaging style that keeps things moving.

Bitter Truth by William Lashner

just finished Liberty fallin by nevada Barr

#155 Joycepa ~ The exact same thing happened to me when I was reading Angel of Darkness! I thought the first 1/4 or so was slow and pretty borin, then by 1/2 or 2/3 of the way through, I had to put it down because the tension was just too much for me. A couple of weeks later, I picked it up again and finished it, and I was so glad I did. But it was weird ~ I've NEVER stopped reading a book in the middle before because it was just TOO good.

>#159 storeetllr: I have to ask this and I'm trying to do it so as not to do any sort of spoiler---BUT--did you have to stop just before they meet the train? I absolutely couldn't bear it--just too scary. And I'm STILL trying ot figure out how Carr did it! I managed to read the next chapter today, but sort of slithered into it, ready to drop the book if it got too tough. Now I have to worry about Clarence Darrow! (No spoiler--on the cover of the book). Nerve wracking, to put it mildly.

What I appreciate about this book is how differently it's structured from The Alienist. Normally, a writer gets a good approach, a formula that works and sticks to it. But Carr has done a totally different approach in Angel of Darkness.

I don't remember exactly where I was when I had to put it down, but I remember the part you're talking about, and yeah, that was some tension-filled writing! I do think it was right around there. I kept thinking, "what going to happen next?" and bracing myself for some new horror. It was just too much to take in one big gulp.

Isn't the villain (trying not to put in a spoiler) the most evil character you've ever come across! Worse than Randall Flagg or the psychos in Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs or the psycho nurses in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Misery. Still gives me the shivers to think about it.

>#161 storeetllr: Re the villain--yes! There had been quite a few messages on this thread about Angel of Darkness a while ago, and several remarked about just how bad a villain this one was--someon, can't remember who, said that it was the worst he/she'd ever come across.

Well, I had all these expectations, and as I was reading along I thought--when is this going to happen, this sense of ultimate evil? Naw, not gonna.

But it did! I don't know the books you're referring to except Cukoo's Nest--did see the movie of Silence of the Lambs, and of those two, I agree completely!

I'm cautiously reading about a chapter a day. One eye reading along, the other eye nervously glancing two sentences or a paragraph down, trying to see if there's anything I can't handle skulking among the nouns and adjectives there.

You’re killing me. Before I can read “Angel of Darkness”, I have to finish Heartstone, the Philip Margolin book that I’m half way through, then I have to read Richard North Patterson’s latest book “The Race” as it is due back in the library. In the meantime, I have to go to work and sleep and I’m a slow reader! I can hardly wait. I love a good (or is that bad?) villain!

Making me have a need to read this Angel of Darkness too. Hmmmmmm...it's not even in my TBR pile yet.

I requested it from my library today. I liked The Alienist, but it didn't make me automatically seek out more from Caleb Carr. We'll see if this one does.

>#164 jxnhole: Courage, jxnhole--bear up under the struggle! Its' worth it, and we're all pulling for you. :-)

But have you read The Alienist yet? What's the group's opinion--should The Alienist be read before Angel of Darkness?

Joycepa, I just scrolled down here to post the same question!

#168 d2vge: Well, for what it's worth--not having finished Angel of Darkness yet--IMHO I think that you would appreciate Angel of Darkness even more after reading The Alienist. The books are structured differently and I think you get an appreciation particularly of The Doctor--even some of the other characters-- more in the Alienist. Sort of sets the scene. There's a slightly different focus in each book.

But there are an awful lot of people on this thread who have read both. It will be fascinating to read what the opinion is on this.

Boy am I glad The Angel of Darkness is stirring so much interest!!! In my opinion it is one of the best thrillers I have ever read, and the tension keeps building up to the very end. The villain is so scary because of the cold and calculated ruthlessness of his/her actions.
Unlike you, I could not put the book down because I had to see what happened next, not because it scared me. It did fill me with dread, though, as it dawned on me that people like that do exist!

I believe The Alienist should be read first, and it is meant to be read first as it introduces the reader to all the characters he/she will find in the following book, The Angel of Darkness.

I am sorry Caleb Carr did not write a third one featuring the same group of "sleuths". Perhaps we should all drop him a line asking whether (and when) he is going to do it? Since he teaches at Bard College in Annandale on Hudson, I don't think it would be difficult to find his e-mail.
And, by the way, I apologize if I have said this already (I believe I might have). Senior moments, you know.....

#170 aluvalibri: Well, I put it down for an entire 24 hours--maybe less. Then I just had to start it again, but cautiously. But I certainly had to break the tension up. I've read a lot of mystery/serial killer/etc books and have been more engaged with some than in others but have never had this reaction before. So for me, it says a great deal about Carr's writing and plotting. He certainly has me interested in Clarence Darrow, who is not coming across like Spencer Tracy!

There are a great many writers in the genre who, it seems to me, have acieved a much greater status than Carr. Everyone knows about Rankin and Connelly and some others. but while I'm a fan of those writers, neither of them--nor any other writer in the genre--has the subtle power that Carr does.

OK, you've hooked me. I'm going to jump these two Carr books to the head of my reading list. I've never read any of his books. Looks like I've missed something!

You will enjoy them, etrainer, and I am sure our friends here agree with me.
:-))

>#172, 173: Absolutely! Isn't it nice--another Alienist/Angel of Darkness addict! :-)

Well, I just finished The Angel of Darkness. It's all been said already.

And in an entirely different galaxy, I'm reading Before the Frost by Henning Mankell.

Still Life by Louise Penny - a police procedural set in a Canadian village during Thanksgiving. So far, it's quite good.

I just started The Tavern in the Morning by Alys Clare.

Hi, I'm new to this forum and wanted to say that I am currently reading The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory. It is quite good. I had to force myself to put it down last night to do other things.

Keishon, avidbookreader.com

I just finished The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen and am now reading Friend of the Devil by Peter Robinson.

Welcome, Keishon! I started Obsession by Karen Robards this morning.

Starting on Psychopath by Keith Ablow. Just finished up Mystic River by Dennis Lehane and loved it. Sad ending tho.

I'm about 100 pages into Steve Berry's The Alexandria Link which is my first go at this author.

Just finished Gone to Ground by John Harvey and I am now working on Dancehall by Bernard Connor.

Just started Murder in the air by John Hunter, a writer from the `40s/`50s who is rapidly becoming a personal favourite.

I'm becoming obsessed with Clare Fergusson. Currently on the third volume, Out of the Deep I Cry. Great stuff.

The Grifters by Jim Thompson

Just finished Diamondback, by Elizabeth Dearl. (Touchstones won't work for it.) Not too impressed, but it did have a lot of info about rattlesnakes. I will probably give another of hers a try.
Just started Mercy Falls, by William Kent Krueger and have the next in the series requested at the library. I like a hero who is a family man.

I finished Stalemate last night & was somewhat disappointed with the direction she seems to be taking the main characters. Has anyone else read this series?

nickhoonaloon- your touchstones are off and I could not find the book via search--is it catalogued?

Starting Everything She Ever Wanted by Ann Rule.

I couldn’t stand to wait so I got an ILL for “The Angel of Darkness” book-on-tape. I’m a baker so books-on-tape are a must early in the a.m. when I’m working alone. However, it’s a very old creaky building. Not a good time to be listening to a scary book!!

Hmmmm....I think I might have liked “The Alienist” a little better. This one borrowed heavily from a true murder that took place in 1983 (yes iluvalibra message #170 these people do exist) so it kind of spoiled the suspense for me and I didn’t find the villain all that horrific.

I do enjoy the way Carr weaves in the history of the period and how he uses real people and events from that time.

All in all though, I did enjoy both books and would highly recommend them.

I started AofD last night. I'm about 150 pages in, and I'm enjoying it more than I did The Alienist, for reasons I haven't figured out yet.

Linkmeister, I KNEW that would be the case!!!!!
:-))

#192 Linkmeister: Kinda blindsided you, maybe? Wait!! There's plenty more to come.

You know what's worse? I thought I owned The Alienist, but apparently not. I suppose I got it from the library. I own The Italian Secretary, which didn't grab me the first time either.

But that means I'll have to check out Alienist again to determine what it was that put me off. ;)

#195 Linkmeister: I tell ya, it's a hard life. But I know you can do it! :-)

Just tonight I cracked open Sandstorm by James Rollins - my first Rollins book. Heard good things from a friend about Rollins so I hope I'm not disappointed.

The Italian Secretary is painfully bad. I was shocked and disappointed by Carr's lack of insight into the characters he had to uphold. I'm not even a particular fan of the original stories, but know and read enough of them to realize what utter crap Carr's pastiche was. The Alienist is brilliant though.

I agree with you totally, Bookmarque.

Good to know, Bookmarque. I hate to put in time and be disappointed. I'd have read it just because of his two previous novels.

#200 jxnhole: Ditto. Thanks for the tipoff, Bookmarque, aluvalibri.

My work is done here. ; )

#198-202
Wish I would've read these posts before I laid good money down for that sucky book...sigh. I couldn't even finish it.

#203 Tiddleyboom: That's my problem--paying money for books. I don't have an English-language library within 500 miles, and the Spanish language ones are for school children. I buy every book I read, have to pay shipping charges to Miami (unless an >$25 order with amazon), THEN shipping and customs duties into Panama. Shipping and customs can sometimes cost more than the book itself. So I depend a lot on what's said on LT.

Joycepa, have you tried BetterWorld.com? The shipping to the US is free, and outside the US is ONLY $2.47.
I have been buying all of my books from them, ever since I discovered the site by chance (blessed be that day!).

Just finishing the constant gardener Haven't seen the film so I can't compare it, slow but good book.

I have seen the movie (excellent, imo), but not read the book yet, even though it is in one of my TBRs.

#205 aluvalibri: I will definitely check them out, since I'm not that great a fan of amazon.

The problem for me is customs. I use a courier service in Miami for all my US mail/shipping, because they take care of customs for me in Panama City--I live out in the western part of the country and am never in Panama City except once a year at most to fly internationally. I live near a village whose post office is open (maybe) two days a week. If I can get packages shipped here and take care of customs here, then BetterWorld is a BIG BIG boon for me! I pay air freight out of Miami, and just live with the financial pain. Through gritted teeth.

Thanks for the tip!
Gratefully---
Joyce

#206 reading fox, #207 aluvalibri: Agree wholeheaertedly about the excellence of the movie--due greatly to Ralph Fiennes, IMHO. But then I'm prejudiced! :-)

Richard North Patterson’s latest novel, The Race is soooooo gooood. It’s a political mystery/thriller/ edge-of-your-seat/nail biter from beginning to end. I love everything Patterson has ever written.

Just started Witch-Hunt by Desmond Reid.

From the Sexton Blake Library series, this was in fact written by one Rosamond Mary Story, (a relative of Jack Trevor Story ? One wonders) and revised by George Paul Mann, better known as writer Arthur Maclean.

As and when I get it finished, I`ll post a review.

Just finished Denial by Keith Ablow which did not impress me much and have now moved on to An Oxford Tragedy by J.C. Masterman.

Just started The Sleeping Doll by Jeffrey Deaver. Enjoying it so far. I really liked Katherine Dance in the last Lincoln Rhyme novel so I'm glad she got a book of her own.

I'm one chapter into Murder in the Dispensary, an early (1938) title from Edith Pargeter (aka Ellis Peters of Brother Cadfael Fame) written under the pseudonym Jolyon Carr.

I'm also reading The Bleston Mystery by Robert Milward Kennedy (a joint pseudonym for two British mystery authors), a post WW1 thriller written with tongue occasionally planted in cheek.

Just started Espresso Jungle by W Howard Baker. In my experience, he can (could ?) write intelligent and witty thrillers, or he could write ones with neither quality.

I`m only a few pages into this one, and I have to say, so far the omens aren`t good.

I just finished The spiral staircase by Ethel Lina White. Excellent!...and quite different from the movie, which starred Dorothy McGuire, George Brent, and Ethel Barrymore. The suspense grows with each page.....well worth reading.

#208 joycepa.... I think I would go mad if I didn’t have instant access to my books. I thought of your dilemma when I saw the “Kindle” on Amazon. I don’t know if it would work for you, but it would be a way around shipping, customs etc. Go to amazon.com and search “electronics” for “kindle”. It's pricey right now, but then, like all electronics, that will change. And who knows? It could be a solution.

#217 jxnhole: I'm considering it, but I sort of doubt it at the moment. I am incredibly old-fashioned--I love the feel of books. For example, I bet I'm not the only one who thinks that the Library of America volumes are just about the sexiest things around. :-) I open those books, touch that paper--just the way they feel opened in my hand, fall instantly in love with Grant, Sherman, Lincoln, Steinbeck....

Anyway.

I have looked into the BetterWorld.com folks suggested by #205 aluvalibri (many, many thanks again);they won't work completely for me, since they don't have everything I want, but I am going to try them out after the holidays to see if I run into problems.

And who knows--some day someone will figure out how to give the illusion of actual books electronically. Some sort of hologram with weight. Until then, various schemes appeal such as proposing to Amazon to barter bananas and limes for books. Entering the local rodeo. Moneymakers like that.

On the literary side: on a whim, I decided to read my way through Martha Grimes' Richard Jury series from beginning to end. I'm on one of my favorites right now, Help the Poor Struggler.

On a similar note, I`m working through my Sexton Blake collection re-reading them all (though I keep getting distracted and reading other things) and posting reviews on LT. Currently reading Murder in the Sun by Jack Trevor Story.

Cinnamon Kiss - Walter Mosley. I'd missed Easy Rawlins, I hadn't read Mosley in years. Light reading, but he (Rawlins, and I suppose necessarily Mosley) is a pretty heavy dude.

Good Morning, Heartache set in 1964 Hollywood, but it much ore interested in famous name/event dropping than actual detection.

I’m almost 100 pages into T. Jefferson Parker’s novel, California Girl. I’d read some of his stuff years ago and I’d forgotten how good he is.

My husband and I have enjoyed Martha Grimes` Emma series. I know of only three, beginning with Paradise Hotel. Grimes is very funny and clever. I like them better than the Richard Jury series.

I am reading Jackpot by Bill Pronzini. It is #17 in the Nameless series and I started at number 1. I love to read/re-read a series from the beginning, to see the development of both the author and the characters. What an amazing writer Pronzini is! His Nameless series has 32 titles.

I just finished The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and really enjoyed it. What an ending!

I'm anxiously awaiting 2 books that I know I'm getting for Christmas:

Heartsick by Chelsea Cain (lady at B. Dalton said this was really good)
The Reincarnationist by M.J. Rose

Oh, and the other bookstore clerk asked me if I'd read the latest Karin Slaughter, Beyond Reach. I said no because its in hardback and I'm trying to wait for pb...so she fixes one eyeball on me and says, "It filled me with a rage." LOL!!

What, what??

Dying to Sin by Stephen Booth

The Mystery of the Rio Star by Walter Tyrer

Have an Egypt thing going on lately -

rereading for the grillionth time Crocodile on the Sandbank - it's so fun, charming and hilarious that I can't resist it. I can hear Barbara Rosenblat in my head, too, which is a bonus.

and

Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie. I don't read a lot of AC so thought this would be fun in an audio format, especially with David Suchet reading. What a brilliant actor he is.

>225 thatbooksmell: thatbooksmell

"It filled me with a rage." Ditto! Let me know when you read it what you think.

I am enjoying Donna Leon`s Doctored Evidence. The setting is Venice, well defined characters and a believable detective.

Starting on The Da Vinci Code today after finishing Everything She Ever Wanted. That book was great and fascinating. What an evil woman.

Reading Mystic River by Dennis Lehane--terrific!

I loved Mystic River. I want to read more Lehane books. I'm thinking about checking out Shutter Island. It sounds like it would be good. Glad you are enjoying it.

#233: It isn't at all like I thought it would be from what little I'd read. I had a little bit of trouble keeping all the characters straight--who belonged to which family--but that's settled down.

If you do read Shutter Island, please let us know how it compares to Mystic River and how you like it!

Just finished Mystic River and whoa--what a book! What an ending!! 5 stars plus! sure makes me want to read more of Lehane.

#235 Joycepa

Dennis Lehane is GREAT. I've loved all of his books. Mystic River is probably my favorite. He hasn't written anything for a few years. If you haven't read his Kenzie Gennaro series you're in for a real treat. They're best read in order:
‘94 A Drink Before the War
‘96 Darkness Takes My Hand
‘97 Sacred
‘98 Gone Baby Gone
‘99 Prayers For Rain

also.... "Gone Baby" Gone was made into a movie recently.

Just cracked open Power Play by Joesph Finder, my 4th book by him in the last month.

An overall excellent author, I can't quite say enough about how much I enjoy his thrillers.

Joycepa I also had a hard time keeping up with who was who there for a while in the book. I had to keep flipping back to the back cover summary to remember who did what, etc, but glad you liked it. It's definately one of my top reads of the year. I want to see the movie now too just to see how it compares.

I will definetly fill you in on Shutter Island once I've read it.

After dipping my toe into some science fiction, I'm back to Hawkenlye. I've just started The Chatter of the Maidens by Alys Clare.

Charters and Caldicott by Stella Bingham

I read Deadly Blessings by Julie A. Hyzy (a new to me author) yesterday.

No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy. Started out slow but it got way good a little way in. I just got to a part that I can't read as it is upsetting me (can't say what, or it'll be a spoiler, but I'll say why ~ I don't want what happened to have happened) so am stopping for awhile and will come back to it after my ragged emotions have smoothed out a bit.

Also still reading The Moonstone and almost finished with The Sociopath Next Door on audio.

#243 storeetllr: Good to see you back! How's your computer diet going these days? Getting much writing done?

#244 Hi, Joycepa! Thanks for asking. I had a surprisingly productive November ~ managed to win the coveted NaNoWriMo purple bar by the skin of my teeth, with just over 50k words! Yay me! :)

>storeetllr: Congratulations! and I'm sure I'd be even more delighted for you if I had even the vaguest notion what you're talking about! :-)

So, please, if you don't mind--enlighten the ignorant. :-)

heh You see how it is for me ~ for 30 days during November, I ate, slept, and lived NaNo, and I just throw the word out as if everyone on the planet would know automatically what I was talking about. Sorry.

National Novel Writing Month is celebrated by thousands of people world wide by writing a 50,000 word novel in 30 days (November). This was my second year doing it, and it has changed my life! (Well, it has given me a life, at least for those two months, since I don't actually have one (a life).) Anyway, Nov. 06 and Nov. 07 were two of the most brutal yet exhilarating months I've ever spent (other than my daughter's teenage years ~ lol). People get together for Kick-Off parties, Write-Ins, and TGIO (thank God it's over) parties, post excerpts of their novels on their profile page at the website, post to the bulletin boards to share their enthusiasm, encourage those with troubles, brag about how many words they wrote so far, and generally act like total geeky idiots. :) Here is the link to the website: www.nanowrimo.org.

ETA: I'm Storeetllr on the NaNo site too. Also, there's a group on LT for LTers who NaNo.

>storeetllr: That is terrific! What an achievement!! You have every write to feel proud of yourself! I can't even imagine doing it--which is why I'm NOT a writer.

Carry on, woman. All the rest of us benefit from the obsessives like you--may your tribe increase! :-))

Storee, congratulations!!

I`m impressed as well. Congratulations and good luck to you.

On a slightly different level, what I`m reading now is Murder by Moonlight by Desmond Reid.

It has a few claims to fame. One is that the writer - it was really the work of Wilfred McNeilly - did in real life meet a violent death, murdered whilst walking home after a night out if I recall correctly. The other, more cheerful, note is that it`s the only crime story I`ve read so far where the principal witness is a dolphin !

CONGRATULATIONS Storeetllr..... Wow! What an accomplishment. I’m happy for you and a little jealous. I couldn’t write myself out of a paper bag! Does that make sense? Well, that’s what I mean about not being able to write!

I just finished T. Jefferson Parker’s novel, California Girl. Loved it. Gotta read more of his stuff. Now I’m on to Michael Koryta’s first novel, Tonight I Said Goodbye.

Thanks, everyone. Winning the purple bar is an accomplishment, but, just so you aren't impressed by a false conception, the novel is, at this point, mostly unreadable. But I guess that's why there's a NaNoEdMo (do you want to guess or should I just tell you that's short for National Novel Editing Month?). lol

I put aside The Moonstone to read the latest Eve Dallas/Roark novel Creation in Death by J. D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts because those books are so much fun. Also went back to No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy, though I am still upset at what happened in the story.

Michael Connelly's "The Lincoln Lawyer". My fourth Connelly, I think, only one of which was a Bosch.

Shadows of Sounds by Alex Gray set in Glasgow with the victim a member of the city orchestra.

Just finished Shop till You Drop by Elaine Viets. Not impressed. I was curious about the dead-end job setting, but I found the protagonist hard to sympathize with and the other characters pretty cardboardish, with the possible exception of her landlady.

Not a mystery or a thriller. I am reading Amy Tan's The Opposite of Fate and it is absolutely fascinating.

I'm reading the thriller Bitten by Kelley Armstrong. Appeared a bit Stephen Kingish at first which is fine with me - but I'm pleased to say that Armstrong's dialogue is much better than King's.

I'm in the middle of Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann which is a hoot. I also just started The Concrete Blonde by Michael Connelly, which so far is excellent.

Touchstones acting up again.

Just finished The Mystery of the Missing Angler by Walter Tyrer - I`ll post a review when I get round to it.

Just started Danger`s Child by Jack Trevor Story.

Touchstones a bit unpredictable today, I think. Mind you, I quite like them that way.

I just finished “Tonight I Said Goodbye”. Michael Koryta’s debut novel. Good read. I really like the heros, Lincoln Perry and Joe Pritchard. If you like wise cracking PI’s, you’ll like this team. I will definitely read his other books.

I’m just starting the first page of “Eye of the Beholder”, the latest novel by David Ellis. It’s like opening a big package and knowing it’s going to be something good. I’ve read all of his previous novels and enjoyed every one.

Finished Danger`s Child. It was a chore from start to finished and not really worth persevering with. A bit of a disappointment, as I enjoyed his Murder in the Sun and Season of the Skylark.

Currently reading The World Championship Mystery by W J Passingham. Thoroughly enjoying it.

I've just finished Halfway to the Sky, and I'm now reading Eldest, and Once Upon a Marigold.

I'm re-reading The Daffodil Affair by Michael Innes, one of his more 'intellectual' books, but also quite amusing.

Georgette Heyer's Envious Casca. Eight guests and a nasty host gathered in a country house for Christmas.

Started on Deception Point by Dan Brown yesterday and so far pretty interesting.

The Club Dumas by Arturo Perez-Reverte.

Finishing The Concrete Blonde by Michael Connelly and just started Festival of Deaths by Jane Haddam.

I'm almost finished Falling Angel by William Hjortsberg. It's the only one of his books I've read so far, but I love it!

>266 etrainer:: How are you liking The Club Dumas?

Edited to fix touchstones...

For Karen Slaughter fans, she has a book, “Fractured”, coming out in July of next year. It won’t be a Grant County book, but will have some of the characters from Triptych.

>268 SJaneDoe: I haven't really gotten into the action yet. From reviews, I know it will get better.

I'm reading Whiter Than the Lily by Alys Clare.

#264 Pamelad

Now, you see, that`s exactly the sort of thing one should read at Xmas (that, and Victorian ghost stories). I shall have to look out Ms Heyer`s book some day.

For myself, however, I am currently reading The Corpse Came Too by Desmond Reid, which was actually written by A A Glynn.

Not sure why the Touchstone is`t recognising `Reid`, he`s definitely in the system, so to speak.

Experiment with Death by E. X.Ferrars a nice traditional British mystery about a murder in a research institute.

This was in Harlan Coben’s last newsletter.....

The next book is a stand-alone thriller called HOLD TIGHT, coming out April 15th, 2008. In a quiet suburb, the lives of five families collide in surprising, tragic and even violent ways. More on this to come, but man, I can't wait for you to read it. Oh, for those who wondered about the ending of THE WOODS, well, Cope has a small part in this one so you just might learn a little more (no Myron in this one -- well, maybe a sentence for those reading closely).

#267 Joycepa - what did you think of Concrete Blonde? That very well may be my favorite Connelly novel.

I'm about 100 pages into Interred with their Bones a Shakespeare thriller by Jennifer Carrell, a Harvard Lit Professor giving the writing world her first shot at a novel.

#275 jmcclain19: So far, I think The Concrete Blonde terrific. I've been reading the Harry Bosch series in order. I really didn't like the first, The Black Echo and wasn't going to continue with the series, but got talked into it by another LTer. I thought the second, The Black Ice, was outstanding. So far this one, IMHO, is the best; not finished, but can't imagine it deteriorating.

About to start Murder with Variety by William Arthur, a Sexton Blake Library title in fact written by SBL editor W. Howard Baker, a man of many pseudonyms (you may know him as Peter Saxon or W. A. Ballinger). I don`t know why he`s not Touchstoning in any of his incarnations.

It doesn`t seem to be in the LT system - probably because it pre-dates ISBNs and was probably not published in the US. I`ll add it into my library.

Hello,

I am reading a book by P.D. James and enjoy it very much: Death in Holy Orders. She is a British author and wrote this when she was already in her eighties.
Greetings, Dorith

I am reading the latest book by Dean Koontz. The name is "The Darkest Evening of the Year". A little strange, but that's not unusual for Koontz!

I'm reading The Butcher of St Peter's by Michael Jecks.

Killer`s Playground by Edwin Harrison. Very promising, I like that fact that one of the villains has a cat called Socrates !

Am reading a 10-year old thriller from Joseph Finder called Power Play. So far it's pretty ho-hum.

Just finished Mind Prey by John Sandford as I absolutely love his stuff and have just started Winter Prey.

I just finished Eye of the Beholder by David Ellis. Very good. I’ve read all of his books and enjoyed every one. Now I’m starting a new author (to me), Keith Ablow. This is his first book, Denial. I’m only 25 pages in but so far he’s got my attention!

(the touchstones are not correct)

#284 jxnhole
I love Keith Ablow's fiction work. I have read all of his fictional work. I think he got bored with writing Frank Cleavenger by the end of the series because he just seems to be lacking something towards the end. Let me know what you think?

# raggedtig... Whoa! I loved it. Sex, murder, madness and medicine. What more could any thriller reader want.....

A word of caution to others about “Denial” by Keith Ablow. If you don’t like creepy psychological thrillers, I’d definitely stay away from this one. As for myself, I have his second book, “Projection” already on order.

Jxnhole I actually picked up Projection first and read it and it hooked me so I know you will enjoy that one too. His final three seem a bit disconnected tho. Let me know what you think once you've read them.

Enjoy and Happy 2008!

Am re-reading The Mystery of the Italian Ruins by Derek Long.

I'm reading Girl in a Red Tunic by Alys Clare.

Exit Music by Ian Rankin

Seascape with Corpse by Roy Hart.

I finished Girl in a Red Tunic and I'm about to start Heart of Ice, both by Alys Clare.

Reading Blonde Faith by Mosley. Excellent so far!

I'm in the middle of Fault Lines by Anna Salter. It's okay, but seems to be a bit disconnected.

I'm happily reading Find Me, the latest (in paperback anyway) in Carol O'Connell's Mallory series. (Anyone know why the touchstone for O'Connell isn't working?)

I've also got John Connolly's Every Dead Thing going, which is apparently the first in a series feature Charlie "Bird" Parker. It's a little gory for my taste, and I'm not sure if I'll stick with it (much less go on to others in the series).

I just finished the first book of the Victory O'Shea series, Family Skeletons by Rett MacPherson. Only 9 more to go, but I really enjoyed the book. It is very easy to read and has good characters in it too!! If you enjoy genealogy, you will like the main character who does family trees for families.

#295 webgeekstress ~ Find Me is one of my top five fiction reads for 2007. I'll always remember 2007 as a stellar year for having "discovered" O'Connell. Did you read her non-Mallory thriller/mystery yet? Judas Child is just amazing!

ETA correct touchstone.

Oops, my clicker finger was a bit too fast on the draw.

Ditto.

Just finished Beyond Reach by Karin Slaughter and am now working on books in 3 different series that I am reading: Iced by Carol Higgins Clark, Evans to Betsy by Rhys Bowen and Grievous Sin by Faye Kellerman. I am also reading one I saw recommended here on LT as Christmas reading (but only because the mystery is set at Christmas): Envious Casca by Georgette Heyer.

I finished Heart of Ice by Alys Clare and I've started Master of Souls by Peter Tremayne.

#297 Storeetllr
Yes, I read Judas Child awhile back. O'Connell is one of my favorite authors.

Just finished The Mystery of the Italian ruins by Derek Long - excellent story - and about to re-read Trouble is My Name by Rex Dolphin.

I'm getting read to start The Sex Club by L.J. Sellers which is an LT Early Reviewer book.

I'm reading Death of an Airman by the pseudonymous C. St. John Sprigg, a 1935 mystery set at an aviation school, of which Dorothy L. Sayers raved (if the publisher's blurbs are correct) "a most ingenious and exciting plot...vigorous style...entertaining characters...exceedingly odd goings-on."

This is my third St. John Sprigg title--I enjoyed the delightfully titled "Pass the Body" (set at a London boarding-house) but was disappointed with the kitchen sink approach of "The Corpse with the Sunburned Face".

As we have crossed the 300 message line, I am once again going to start a new continuation thread t speed loading. See you there!