February, 2023 ~ What are you reading?

New month, new topic.

Started a re-read of My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite.

Getting ready to start Whose Body?, by Dorothy L. Sayers.

Settling in with Daniel Silva and “The New Girl” (second book in a row where touchstones not working). Always look forward to reading this series.

I've finished La fille de papier by Guillaume Musso, a adventure-thriller where a book character lands in the author's home.

Put The Furies (Connolly) on the list for next read and completed Bloodless by Preston/Childs (3.5/5). It has some interesting twists ... and a cliffhanger ending.

Still making my way through The Tenant.
It's good, but I guess apart from Agatha Christie I'm just not interested in murder mysteries any more - especially ones that concentrate on police procedure and the personalities of the detectives.
*shrug*
Psychological thriller and Gothic are far more my jam now...

Studying Agatha Christie's The Mystery of the Blue Train. Not one of her best, but perhaps one that exposes some of the nature of the framework needed in crafting traditional mystery.

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite.

Just started the latest Pentecost & Parker book, Secrets typed in blood. This one's client is a writer whose stories appear to be used by someone to commit murders. Talk about a nightmare scenario.

I've started Jane Harper's brand-new Exiles, just published on Jan. 31. It's the third book in her Aaron Falk series.

>10 rosalita: Many many thanks for the tip. I can't wait- I am a huge fan of all of Jane Harper's books

Just finished Viviana Valentine gets her man, about a private investigator's secretary in 1950 New York City. First novel, first in a potential series.

>11 Maura49: Yes, me too! She is fantastic.

Continuing my Golden Age crime spree with Blood on the Tracks, a collection of railway mysteries edited by Martin Edwards and published by the British Library Crime Classics imprint. (Ha, the first touchstone for this was the Bob Dylan album.)

A Killing of Innocents by Deborah Crombie

I've started two thrillers/mysteries: 1) Dial M for Merde by Stephen Clarke, a humorous mystery set in the South of France where food and crime intersect; 2) The Bookshop of Yesterdays by Amy Meyerson where a young women inherits her uncle's bookshop and is sent on a wild goose chase to find out her family's dark secrets.
Both a fun, light read with no gore, no dead bodies (so far) but plenty of puzzling enigmas.

Added The Glass Room by Ann Cleeves to my rotation.

Quite enjoyed Bleeding Heart Yard by Elly Griffiths.

I just finished a re-read of Ghost Image, which is my favorite of the dozen or so novels of Ellen Crosby's that I have read, in preparation for a sequel due in May.

I just finished An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten. Odd and entertaining!
I liked it and I'm looking for the next one - An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed

Reading of The Tenant is ongoing.
Additionally started Japanese crime/psychological suspense/noir Villain by Shuichi Yoshida a few days ago.

Bones and Silence by Reginald Hill, #11 in the Dalziel & Pascoe series.Watched the entire series over the years and now reading the novels with a good visualization of the characters. Great writer!

I'm reading Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs about murders linked to long lost bones that a few rogue anthropologists believes are the remains of Jesus. A quick, captivating read.

Just finished the latest Thomas Perry, a standalone called Murder book. Protagonist is a former cop, now PI, hired to look into some odd criminality in small-town Indiana. Technically not law enforcement, but an ally to law enforcement.

I finished The Devil's Punchbowl by Greg Iles. This is the third entry in Iles' Penn Cage mystery/thriller series. Cage is an ex-Houston Assistant District Attorney who, at series start, has moved back to his hometown, Natchez, Mississippi. By now he is the mayor, two years into his 4-year term. As the book begins, an old friend brings Cage evidence that their is evil afoot emanating from the riverboat casino whose presence Cage, as mayor, has arranged for in order to bring jobs and tax revenue. Before long, naturally, mayhem has ensued. The evildoers running the casino are, in fact, evil indeed. Very evil. Super evil. There is some graphic violence, including a couple of rape scenes. If those are not deal killers for you (they teeter on the brink of that for me), and if you are in the mood from some escapist good vs. evil thriller reading, this series is otherwise nicely written and pretty good. I'm rating this 3 1/2 stars.

Finished The Glass Room by Ann Cleeves. Really enjoyed it. Next up is Harbour Street by Ann Cleeves.

Now reading Blue like me, Aaron Philip Clark's first second book featuring Trevor Finnegan. At this point he's a private investigator, having invalided out of the LAPD a couple of years ago. Some of his PI work ends up tracking current LAPD people, including his old partner -- and a couple of murders bring in the cops too. Just complex enough, so far.

I am reading Concrete Blonde by Michael Connelly and wondering why it took me so long to begin reading books by this fantastic writer. On the plus side I have a lot of Bosch books to enjoy, this being only the third in the series.

Currently in crime: Maigret et le corps sans tête, by Georges Simenon.

>28 Maura49: >27 karenb: And if you're from a Frozen North like me, reading books set in LA have a certain something extra in the middle of February, too.

Just finished The hypnotist by Lars Kepler

Just finished another one set in Los Angeles (no snow), What meets the eye by Alex Kenna. Investigator is private but former LAPD, a divorced mom with ADHD and chronic pain from a back injury. Murders, artists, and art fraud all feature. Pretty good, especially for a first novel.

Added The Widening Stain, by W. Bolingbroke Johnson, to my pile of current reads.

Finished Harbour Street by Ann Cleeves. Enjoyed it,

Finished The Widening Stain. Now on to more recent crime with A Dark Matter, by Doug Johnstone.

NEW THREAD: https://www.librarything.com/topic/349004