It's A Mystery To Me.

Hello Folks,
This site has been inactive for nearly a year now...so...I thought that I would try posting...yes, another challenge. This is actually partly what this group was started for. I don't know how many members actually ever used it, or even will use it...so depending on the interest in the challenge...it may become inactive again. I'm going to try running the Challege here for two months instead of our usual month, just to test the waters....so if we have any activity other than my own and perhaps, Andrew's...this one will run from May to the end of June and a new one MIGHT reappear in July.

"It was a dark and stormy night"...does that sound familiar? There will be two different Mystery and Suspense books and their authors featured. The challenge will remain up for a two-month timeframe...so this one will change in July. You do not have to read either of the two featured books or any book by either of the authors...but that option will be part of the challenge. You do not have to complete any given number of the challenge topics, just see how many the books you are reading fit, and remember you have two entire months. The only "rule"..."request", that I ask is that when completing one of the challenge topics that it be with ONLY MYSTERY & SUSPENSE books. I just want this site to be used and this sounds like something that will be easy for a group of people that read a lot of this genera. So....

Our Books for May - June, 2024


The Quary Girls - Jess Lourey
Published November 1, 2022

Minnesota, 1977. For the teens of one close-knit community, summer means late-night swimming parties at the quarry, the county fair, and venturing into the tunnels beneath the city. But for two best friends, it’s not all fun and games. Heather and Brenda have a secret. Something they saw in the dark. Something they can’t forget. They’ve decided to never tell a soul. But their vow is tested when their friend disappears―the second girl to vanish in a week. And yet the authorities are reluctant to investigate. Heather is terrified that the missing girls are connected to what she and Brenda stumbled upon that night. Desperately searching for answers on her own, she learns that no one in her community is who they seem to be. Not the police, not the boys she met at the quarry, not even her parents. But she can’t stop digging because she knows those girls are in danger. She also knows she’s next.


The Summer House - James Patterson
Published June 28, 2022
Once a luxurious southern getaway on a rustic lake, then reduced to a dilapidated crash pad, the Summer House is now the grisly scene of a nighttime mass murder. Eyewitnesses point to four Army Rangers—known as the Night Ninjas—recently returned from Afghanistan. To ensure that justice is done, the Army sends Major Jeremiah Cook, a veteran and former NYPD cop, to investigate. But the major and his elite team arrive in sweltering Georgia with no idea their grim jobs will be made exponentially more challenging by local law enforcement, who resists the Army's intrusion and stonewall them at every turn. As Cook and his squad struggle to uncover the truth behind the condemning evidence, the pieces just won't fit—and forces are rallying to make certain damning secrets die alongside the victims in the murder house. With his own people in the cross-hairs, Cook takes a desperate gamble to find answers—even if it means returning to a hell of his own worst nightmares . . .

The Challenge

1.Read either or both of the featured books or another book by either of the above authors.
2.Read a Mystery & suspense book...other than the featured one...that is set in Minnesota.
3.Read a M&S book that was published in 1977 or in 2022.
4.Read a M&S book that someone is kidnapped or has disappeared in the storyline.
5.Read a M&S book that is set on a body of water.
6.Read a M&S book that features a night scene on the cover.
7.Read a M&S book that is set in New York.
8.Read a M&S book that features a character that is the armed forces of any country.
9.Read a M&S book that features a house that someone has been murdered in.
10.Read a M&S book that is set in Georgia.
11.Read a M&S book that a character suffers from a mental disorder of any type.
12.Read a M& S book that the authors first and last initials can be found in SUNMMER HOUSE or QUARRY GIRLS.

Carol Likes a Good Mystery
9/12
🌸 - ★
1.Read either or both of the featured books or another book by either of the above authors.

2.Read a Mystery & suspense book...other than the featured one...that is set in Minnesota.

🌸3.Read a M&S book that was published in 1977 or in 2022.
The Angel of Indian Lake - Stephen Graham Jones - 4.5★

🌸4.Read a M&S book that someone is kidnapped or has disappeared in the storyline.
Things in Jars - Jess Kidd -5★

🌸5.Read ,u>a M&S book that is set on a body of water.
The Neon Rain - James Lee Burke - 3★

🌹6.Read a M&S book that features a night scene on the cover.
Midnight Is The Darkest Hour - Ashley Winsted - 3★

🏳️‍🌈7. Read a M&S book that is set in New York
Thirteen - Steve Cavanagh - 5★

🏳️‍🌈8.Read b>a M&S book that features a character that is the armed forces of any country.
Written in Blood - Chris Carter 5★

🌸9.Read a M&S book that features a house that someone has been murdered in.
Cold as the Grave - James Oswald- 4★

🌸10.Read a M&S book that is set in Georgia
The Resemblance - Lauren Nossett - 4★

🏳️‍🌈11.Read a M&S book that a character suffers from a mental disorder of any type.
Dragon Tears - Dean Koontz - 5★

🌸12.Read a M&S book that the authors first and last initials can be found in SUMMER HOUSE or QUARRY GIRLS.
Starling House - Alex Harrow - 5★ (A & H)

Here goes my M + S Trawl during May and June.

1/12

1.Read either or both of the featured books or another book by either of the above authors.
2.Read a Mystery & suspense book...other than the featured one...that is set in Minnesota.
3.Read a M&S book that was published in 1977 or in 2022.
✅4.Read a M&S book that someone is kidnapped or has disappeared in the storyline.
The Lola Quartet by Emily St. John Mandel ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
✅5.Read a M&S book that is set on a body of water.
The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
✅6.Read a M&S book that features a night scene on the cover.
The Repenting Serpent by Wes Markin ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✅7.Read a M&S book that is set in New York.
The Rembrandt Secret by Alex Connor ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/4
✅8.Read a M&S book that features a character that is the armed forces of any country.
Sharpe’s Eagle by Bernard Cornwell ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
✅9.Read a M&S book that features a house that someone has been murdered in.
The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️❤️
10.Read a M&S book that is set in Georgia.
✅11.Read a M&S book that a character suffers from a mental disorder of any type.
Trick of the Dark by Val McDermid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
✅12.Read a M& S book that the authors first and last initials can be found in SUNMMER HOUSE or QUARRY GIRLS.
Nowhere Child by Rachel Abbott ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pantheon - Sam Bourne 4★s (Main character suffers PTSD)
The Death of Remembrance - Denzil Meyrick 5★s (Published 2022)
The Shadow of Your Smile - Mary Higgins Clark 4★s (Set in New York)

This looks like fun!

The Challenge

1.Read either or both of the featured books or another book by either of the above authors.

2.Read a Mystery & suspense book...other than the featured one...that is set in Minnesota.

3.Read a M&S book that was published in 1977 or in 2022.

4.Read a M&S book that someone is kidnapped or has disappeared in the storyline.

5.Read a M&S book that is set on a body of water.
Death at the Deep Dive - Josh Lanyon, Secrets & Scrabble #7 - Rhode Island

6.Read a M&S book that features a night scene on the cover.

7.Read a M&S book that is set in New York.

8.Read a M&S book that features a character that is the armed forces of any country.

9.Read a M&S book that features a house that someone has been murdered in.

10.Read a M&S book that is set in Georgia.

11.Read a M&S book that a character suffers from a mental disorder of any type.

12.Read a M& S book that the authors first and last initials can be found in SUNMMER HOUSE or QUARRY GIRLS.

>6 Onilyn: Welcome. Josh Lanyon is one of my favorite authors and I love her books. I've read everything that she has written. I am a bit frustrated with this series. Just when Ellery & Jack were going to get together...finally...Book #6 Lament at Loon Landing, can't be found anywhere. Have you read it? Even my library says their supplier says it's unavailable.

Yes, I borrowed the ebook through my library. I need to ask them to get book 8.

>8 Onilyn: I'll have to have the library try again... or maybe I'll just buy it from Amazon. I liked the series enough to buy the entire series.

>9 Carol420: I'm definitely going to be buying at some point. I borrowed it through Libby.

>10 Onilyn: Thank you. I see that Hoopla also has it in ebook. I don't see #7 but nothing for #8 though...not even a cover picture or a title. I know she had some problems with her publisher when the series first came out during the pandemic, but I thought that had been resolved. I started reading her books with the Aiden English series. It will always be my favorite...but this one runs a close second. I like the book club that meets in Ellery's shop.

>11 Carol420: I don't think 8 is out yet, her website just says we'll keep you posted. I first read Winter Kill by her. I picked up the first Aiden English book. The Book Club is a riot.

Oh, I missed noticing the challenge!

I'll play. I'll back up and check if anything in May fit, and continue on through June.

The Challenge

1.Read either or both of the featured books or another book by either of the above authors.
2.Read a Mystery & suspense book...other than the featured one...that is set in Minnesota.
3.Read a M&S book that was published in 1977 or in 2022.
4.Read a M&S book that someone is kidnapped or has disappeared in the storyline.
The Finders / Jeffrey Burton. 3.5 stars
5.Read a M&S book that is set on a body of water.
Two Days Gone / Randall Silvis. 3.5 stars
6.Read a M&S book that features a night scene on the cover.
Murder on Black Swan Lane / Andrea Penrose. 1.5 stars
7.Read a M&S book that is set in New York.
8.Read a M&S book that features a character that is the armed forces of any country.
9.Read a M&S book that features a house that someone has been murdered in.
10.Read a M&S book that is set in Georgia.
11.Read a M&S book that a character suffers from a mental disorder of any type.
12.Read a M& S book that the authors first and last initials can be found in SUNMMER HOUSE or QUARRY GIRLS.

I'm going to soon post for July & August, but I'll leave this one up for now. I don't see any reason to change the recommendations thread.

Not read much the past two months but did manage to get to 8 of the 12 Challenge themes. Thanks for setting this up Carol.

>15 Andrew-theQM: Well done, you... and you're welcome.