Mystery Max in 2025

I'm trying to find a format that will require fewer steps to staying current, so this year I'm doing things differently (and perhaps a bit weird).

Must have categories to be in a category challenge! So I have ColourCAT, CoverCAT, RandomKit, BingoDog, ER, and 2025.
I'm also going to track the gender of the authors because I have always been under the impression that I read more male authors than female (due to my heavy leaning toward hard-boiled pulp fiction.) Thought I'd see if that is a valid observation or not. WHAT I LONG FOR IS A TIME WHEN GENDER ISN'T EVEN NOTICED.

Must also have a challenge! So I am aiming for 100 reads.

I am only going to enter books as I read them and put a check mark when I have completed something in the categories. I'll put as much info as possible in each entry and comments can follow! If this doesn't work I'll change it during the year!

COLOURCAT


These are my favourite trees!

January – Green The Informationist
February – Gold The Exile
March – Pink The Case of the Late Pig
April – Brown
May – Red Pied Piper
June – Yellow Lullaby Town
July – White Bony and the White Savage
August – Grey Rogue Protocol
September - Silver
October – Black
November – Blue
December – Purple

COVERCAT



A little bragging here! I loved this cover from the moment I first saw it.

January - cover contains something involved in a tea party - Acquired Tastes
February - a tree on the cover Forest of Noise, A Guide to the Birds of East Africa
March - farm animals on the cover The Hidden Life of Dogs
April - cover shows a road The Sign of Fear
May - more than two elements/objects on the cover Survival...Zero!
June - something with wheels on the cover The Bookseller of Kabul
July - a fruit pictured on the cover Wild Apples
August - cover image includes a photograph
September - dogs and/or cats on the cover The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' Cat: Volume 1
October - something on the cover that will fit in your pocket.
November - celestial objects on the cover
December - something you would like for a Christmas present on the cover

RANDOMKit



January—Eat, drink, and be merry - Pass the Gravy
February— Playing with Time - A Guide to the Birds of East Africa
March—
April— Prime numbers (2) - Man of Two Tribes
May— Punctuation (!) Survival...Zero!
June— Invasion Until the Sun Falls
July-- Music Allegro
August—
September—
October—
November--
December—

BINGO DOG


A friend and her dog that share a great love.

I know I'm not going to get all of these, but a few might get checked off.

1. Newly in public domain
2. Features adoption/foster care/non-traditional family - Pied Piper (Nevil Shute)
3. A long title (5+ words) - The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
4. Author has your or relative’s 1st or last name - The Exile (Allen Folsom)
5. Nonhuman narrator - Artificial Condition
6. The sun on cover/in title - Until the Sun Falls
7. Hollywood! - The Monkey's Raincoat
8. A place you've never been -Man of Two Tribes (Australia)
9. Features winged creature(s) - A Guide to the Birds of East Africa (Birds)
10. A profession in title
11. Travel - My Bonney Lies Under (Ocean voyage)
12. Child as a main character - Paradise
13. Read a CAT - The Informationist
14. Totally random
15. Originally published in a language not your own -Montalbano's First Case and Other Stories (Italian)
16. Medical topic - The Dead Can Wait
17. A holiday in title - Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret
18. Writing about writers
19. Either "Library" or "Thing" in title - The Twisted Thing
20. Features fire
21. Recommended by a friend or LT member - Forest of Noise
22. Oldest book in your TBR - The Silent Speaker
23. Set in your favorite season
24. Features a birth
25. A piece of furniture on the cover - Acquired Tastes

2025 Starts here with Book One!

1. Masterpieces of Mystery: The Supersleuths by Ellery Queen 4 stars



CATEGORY: 2025
Genre: mystery
Date of publication: 1976
Gender of author: male

This is a collection of short stories. The book itself is lovely. A red and gold cover, gold leaf edge papers, and a ribbon to serve as a book mark. Fourteen tales of some of the greatest sleuths in fiction: Holmes, Poirot, Queen, Wolfe, Perry Mason, Insp Maigret, Dupin, Sam Spade, Father Brown, Peter Wimsey, Philip Marlow, Dr. Fell, Lew Archer, and Albert Campion. I was disappointed that Mike Hammer wasn't there. I would have given him Lew Archer's place. As with all "collections" some stories appealed more than others. The ones featuring Dr. Fell and Dupin were my least favourites. Each story is fronted with a photo of the author and a short paragraph about the writer.

Great to see you hear, Max! I found it hard to keep up last year.

Glad to see you've arrived, Max. Looking forward to seeing your reading this year.

Excellent set-up. I hope you enjoy your 2025 reading!

A belated Happy New Year and good luck with your reading.
>1 mysterymax: May I ask the name of the glorious sleeping kitty?

>10 lowelibrary: His name is Cato. He is named not for the ancient Roman, but for Inspector Clouseau's manservant who would jump out from behind doors, closets, etc and attack Clouseau. Mu Cato looks innocent in the picture since he is asleep, but in real life he has many of his namesake's attributes.

Found your thread Max and I love those blossom trees too. I had some beautiful flowering laburnam trees at home when I was younger which have poisonous pods. My sister thought that they looked edible and had to have her stomach pumped i double quick time.

Have starred your thread.

I see Cato is a mystery fan too! Happy reading in 2025. I'm looking forward to seeing how you fill your categories!

>12 PaulCranswick: Glad to have you! I've already ordered Forest of Noise and can't thank you enough for the BB!

>11 mysterymax: I am unfamiliar with Inspector Clouseau, but by the description, Cato is a perfect name for a cat.

>3 mysterymax: A beautiful cover indeed! :) Happy reading in 2025!

Hello and Happy New Year! Dropping off my star.

>15 lowelibrary: Think The Pink Panther films! Peter Sellers is hilarious.

>17 LadyoftheLodge: I always love how when Clouseau and Cato are in the midst of one of their apartment battles, destroying the room, the phone rings and they immediately stop what they are doing.

2. The Informationist by Taylor Stevens 4 stars



CATEGORY: 2025, ColourCAT (January - Green)
Genre: Thriller
Date of publication: 2011
Gender of author: female

Taylor Stevens joins Zoe Sharp in being a female writer of kick-ass thrillers. One needs to understand that thrillers require a suspension of belief, far more so than mysteries. So moments when you might say, 'not bloody likely' don't bother me. Second thrillers are 99.99% of the time violent. So if that bothers you, don't pick up this book. I wonder why some readers find fault with Munroe's violence when they wouldn't even think about it if the book was written by a man and featured a male protagonist. Perhaps one doesn't like to think about this type of violence being real when we are reading curled up in our comfy chairs in a home warm and safe. But the world can be a very violent place.

This is Steven's debut novel. It features Vanessa Michael Munroe who is searching for a missing child in Equatorial Guinea, a small country on the west coast of Africa, situated between Cameroon and Gabon. She has a violent past as a victim and has honed skills of defense and retribution. I will be reading more in the series.

Hello Max, great to see you again. That cover in >3 mysterymax: is well worth bragging about!

>20 MissWatson: Thank you!

>18 mysterymax: There were some hilarious out takes from the movies too. In one of them, Clouseau has a fake parrot on his shoulder and it falls off. Then Peter Sellers starts to crack up and that sets off laughter amongst the whole crew.

3. Acquired Tastes by Peter Mayle 4 stars



CATEGORY: 2025, CoverCAT- (Jan. - Cover something at a tea party)
Genre: Nonfiction
Date of Publication: 1993
Gender of Author: Male

Mayle tells us in the introduction to the book that his interest in the spending habits of the rich was blessed by Martin Beiser of GQ magazine who told him to 'go forth and mingle with the wealthy. Do as they do providing you obtain clearance from the Accounts Department first, and report back.'

Thus book came into being with chapters devoted to his findings. There are chapters on handmade shoes, riding in limos, getting handmade suits and shirts, and best of all chapters on food - restaurants, champagne, truffles, caviar, and scotch.

4. The Innocent by Taylor Stevens 4 stars



CATEGORY: 2025
Genre: Thriller
Date of Publication: 2011
Gender of Author: Female

Having been raised in a cult herself, I imagine this must have been a gut-wrenching book for Stevens to write. Munroe has accepted a job to help one of her dear friends. His daughter was kidnapped by a religious cult and hidden away. After years of searching her location has been pinpointed and Munroe and her friend Miles are going to kidnap the girl and bring her out.

The book is violent, and sad in places, but Munroe pulls it off. I'm on to the third book in the series.

5. The Three Locks by Bonnie MacBird 4 stars



CATEGORY: 2025
Genre: Mystery
Date of Publication: 2021
Gender of Author: Female

The new MacBird Holmes mystery should arrive soon, so I was eager to get this one read. As always, it did not disappoint. Three cases - one of which was for Dr. Watson - made this quite complex but they came together at the end. Now I await the arrival of her new one!

6. The Doll by Taylor Stevens 4 stars.



CATEGORY: 2025
Genre: Thriller
Date of Publication: 2013
Gender of Author: Female

Taylor Stevens is not only an amazing writer, she is an amazing lady. In this book Vanessa (Michael) has been kidnapped and forced due to threats to people she cares about (Logan) to transport a kidnapped woman to a buyer of women for sex. Again, the book is violent, though she doesn't kill as many people as usual. I've been doing a lot of research on sex trafficking for use in my next book and I found Stevens description very realistic. The problem most of us face is the "it doesn't happen in my town" syndrome. The reality is: it does. You can learn how to recognize it and how to report it - go to TAT (Truckers Against Trafficking) and you will find a lot of information. The one difference with The Doll is that often women are often moved short distances rather than internationally (at least here in NA). But the violence and what women suffer is the same. The book is not for people with weak stomachs, but it is a very good thriller.

7. Pass the Gravy by A. A. Fair 3 stars



CATEGORY: 2025, RandomKit
Genre: Mystery
Date of Publication: 1961
Genre of Author: Male

A.A. Fair is Erle Stanley Gardner. The protagonist is Donald Lam, of the Bertha Cool and Donald Lam agency. Donald does the footwork and Bertha is the money lady. She tries her best to be hard-hearted when she decides which cases they will take, and when she is trying to keep Donald within the expenses part of the contract, but she sometimes (not often) lets a soft side try to peek through. This case involves two missing men, unknown to each other, whose lives will intersect at a gas station in Carver City.

8. The Catch by Taylor Stevens 3.5 stars



Category: 2025
Genre: Thriller
Date of Publication: 2014
Genre of Author: Female

I love Vanessa Michael Munroe as a character, but I took a half star off because I couldn't get into her reason for taking this situation on. It involves a ship being used to transport illegal arms down the east coast of Africa being highjacked by pirates. My favorite parts where her descriptions of Mombasa which was 80 miles from where I lived (or 100 miles by road).

>27 mysterymax: >28 mysterymax: I know it’s probably just a typo, but I really like the idea of gender as a genre. It’s so fitting in so many way!

>29 Charon07: Well caught! It was a typo but your note is so diplomatic and well said that I'm going to leave it rather than edit it! I wish all our social media was as supportive as LT! In many ways in the world at large, gender is a genre, you're right.

<29 I notice that you recently added The Manuscript found in Saragossa to your collection. I've been catching up on the past seasons of ASTRID on PBS before watching the 4th season and this book played a part on one of the episodes in Season 2!

>30 mysterymax: I am rarely accused of diplomacy, but I would never point out a typo for its own sake—I really just found it delightful, and I’m happy you let it stand!

>31 mysterymax: I just added it after it came to my attention from Kerry (avatiakh)’s thread: https://www.librarything.com/topic/367189#8746503. But now I’m also going to have to add Astrid to my PBS queue, as that looks like an interesting series.

>32 Charon07: I really enjoy Astrid. I tend to watch series that have been completed rather than current ones. When I have to wait a year for the next season I've usually forgotten all the small details and have to go back and rewatch. LOL I don't know if it's an age thing or not, before the days of streaming, dvds, etc. you didn't have the chance to go back and check to see what happened when the new season came out. There's another series with an autistic main character that I love. It's on MhZ, and has subtitles. (I guess you don't since you've added Astrid.) But, The Extraordinary Attorney Woo is a delight.

>33 mysterymax: It’s true that we didn’t have the chance to rewatch the prior season, but we also didn’t have to wait so long for the next season that we forgot the previous one. We’d wait over the summer, and there were usually reruns to keep things fresh in our minds. I agree that it’s best to wait for complete series—I can’t tell you how many series I’ve just stopped watching because I had to wait so long for the next season that I couldn’t remember all the details but I couldn’t be bothered to rewatch it (Sweet Tooth, I’m looking at you!). That said, the first season of Extraordinary Attorney Woo is available on Netflix, so I’ve added to my queue nevertheless. :-P

>34 Charon07: Hope you enjoy it. I have actually bought the first seasons (I think there are three). There was a long wait for a new one because the young man who plays Woo's potential love interest had to take time off for his compulsory military stint. That is over and another season is being done.

January

Books Read: 8
Genres: Mysteries -3, Thrillers -4, Non-Fiction - 1
Gender of Writer: Male (3), Female (5)

CATs and Kits: January - Colour, Random, Cover
Bingo: 2 squares - #13 (Read a CAT) and #25 (Piece of furniture on the cover)

Stars: 3 (1), 3.5 (1), 4.0 (6)

Most enjoyed: Acquired Tastes
Least enjoyed: The Catch

Comments: I didn't get to LT for almost a week and the Your Books has been totally changed. Especially the Add Books, once you've entered the book and want to edit. UGH. And trying to figure out how to deal with covers. I, for one, do not want Amazon covers and it took me ages to figure out how to get my own image to replace it. I'm sure these changes are for the benefit of people viewing LT on their phones rather than on their PCs.

9. The Silent Speaker by Rex Stout 3.5 stars



Category: 2025
Genre: Mystery
Date of Publication: 1946
Gender of Author: Male

First read in February.
I love the Nero Wolfe series. Archie Goodwin is my favourite sidekick. This one involves the old steno tubes that were used before dictating machines.

I have to admit, Max, that I'm a creature of habit and don't take well to changes. I'm sure I'll eventually get used to it, but it will take me a while. Some things don't seem as convenient as they used to be.

>37 mysterymax: I also enjoy Nero Wolfe and started reading the novels starring him when I was a teenager.

10. My Bonney Lies Under by Susan Cummins Miller 3 stars



Category: 2025, ER
Genre: Historical Mystery
Date of Publication: 2025
Gender of Author: Female

This historical mystery has well-drawn, interesting characters. You get to know them and care about them. A young girl, Keridec Rees, is about to turn 15. She is being escorted home from Asia to San Francisco following the murder of her father who had appointed his two friends and business associates as Keri's guardians and protectors. Keri's companion, Anne Bonney, is killed and thrown overboard when the killer mistakes her for Keri. The story's strong points are the characters and the backdrop of the story of Chinese immigrants to San Francisco. The character I came to care about most was Phineas, one of her guardians, who is ill with TB. Because of his illness he plays a small, but vital role. The book had two weak points, for me. The first was Keri's age. I realize that in the 1800s, a 15-year-old was more of an adult than perhaps they would be now, but I still had problems melding her maturity and composure with her age. The second was the ending. You are left needing the next episode. I would have preferred to have a longer book with a fuller ending where Keri could then go on to another adventure. This was like the Saturday afternoon matinee where you had to go back the next week to see what happened, and I felt cheated. Clearly Miller has an idea of where the next book is going because she carefully laid openings. The ending was why the book was 3.5 stars for me rather than 4.

A late edit: After thinking about the book for a few days, I marked it down to 3 stars rather than 3.5. I failed to realize how much a "buy my next book to see what happens to her" ending bugged me. It was okay when I was 8 years old and going to the Saturday afternoon matinee at the local theater, but now I find it irritating and when I looked at how I have rated other books with this issue, I felt 3.5 was too strong.

11. Some Women Won't Wait by A. A. Fair 4 stars



Category: 2025
Genre: Mystery
Date of Publications: 1960
Gender of Author: Male

Another Bertha Cool and Donald Lam adventure. They've been hired to protect a young woman, but the job means they have to go to Hawaii. A blackmailer dies and now they need to protect the woman from a charge of murder. The plot was twisted, but if I had been watching a tv version of it I would have picked out the culprit in flash using the old saw - it's the one you least suspect.

>36 mysterymax: The changes on LT pages alarmed me too. Especially as images and many of the covers were missing and it was almost impossible to get or change them. Adding a few books took more time than I can spare so I'll think twice about adding books unless I have them in my hand (e.g. no wishlist). I have nothing against change, but I don't like this change. If it helps people using phones to access LT then I'll have to live with it. And thankfully, the image/cover problem has been fixed.

>42 VivienneR: I guess there will come a time when it is 'one change too many.' In spite of the younger folks using their phones for everything, we older folks are still in the majority. I don't mind learning new stuff to make the programs work, but sometimes by the time I've learned how to operate in the 'new' system, another one has already taken its place. Change for a reason is okay, but often you wonder if it's not just change for changes sake. And stats are interesting once in a while, but really what I want is a simple place to catalog my library and have some discussions with people who love to read. I do 99.99% of my computer work on my pc. I have a cell phone which I only use on long trips for gps and emergency phone calls, at home it sits in a drawer. No one has the number so I don't have to worry about calls. The latest changes on LT were especially frustrating when I tried to change a book cover. It took ages, and I was ready to ask for help when I stumbled on how to do it quite by accident. It's not that the new changes aren't nice, some of them are, but were they necessary? Not for me. I was very happy trotting along the way it was. What amazes me is that the simplest change that I requested, which would take someone only minutes to fix doesn't seem to be important. When you are adding a book...and you get a long list of possible books...when you reach the bottom of the list you have to scroll all the way to the top to go to the 'next page'. Why can't there be a simple copy of the bar at the top of the selections where 'next page' is at the bottom of the selections? Well, I've had my rant for the day!

>43 mysterymax: - I agree with you, Max. I'm not a big one for change. I'm going to need to update my computer this year and I'm not looking forward to it. The book cover thing was annoying. I eventually went and looked at "Talk" and "New Features" and found that the book cover thing was a "bug". They put a banner up finally, but it was annoying for sure.

>43 mysterymax: I agree completely. I don't like the sound of the changes being considered for review thumbing. I've decided not to post reviews anymore but keep them in the private comments field.

I do most work on my Mac. Recently my old Mac was having trouble accessing some websites so I got a new one. Mistake! Now I have both on my desk. My daughter-in-law thinks that looks cool, not me. I hate the new one.

Your suggestion for the long list of books in the Add Books section is spot on! I've often had to scroll up and down to get to the next page.

>44 dudes22: See above regarding my computer update woes. I had exactly the same experience with book covers. I thought I was doing something wrong and spent a long time on it before giving up.

>43 mysterymax: >44 dudes22: To add to my woes, I had to get a new printer. Got the exact same one as I had before... it will not install. I've spent two entire days and it won't and all the "help" I've gotten is too technical to be of any use to me. And of course, I needed the printer the day the old one quit. Now I also have a brand new machine sitting on my desk that won't work. AAARGH.

12. The Exile by Allan Folsom 4.5 stars



Category: ColourCAT (February - Gold), BingoDog (#4 - Author with same name)
Genre: Thriller
Date of Publication: 2004
Gender of Author: Male

A solid 4.5 stars for this thriller. (700 pages!) You follow a young LAPD detective all the way to Russia. I'm eager to read the rest of Allan Folsom's books. I grew up being told that all the Folsom's in the US were related. Distantly sometimes, but related none the less. Never did I realize how true it was until I saw Folsom's photograph on the back cover of his book. He is an absolute doppleganger for my brother.

13. The Serpent Under by Bonnie MacBird 3 stars



Category: 2025
Genre: Mystery
Date of Publication: 2025
Gender of Author: Female

A low 3 stars for this one. The writing is great as usual, but two things bothered me. #1 - Snakes are a real turn-off for me. I disliked almost everything about the book because of this one factor. #2 - There were far too many violent and/or gruesome deaths for a Sherlock Holmes story. I don't mind lots of murders, goodness knows One Bad Day After Another had a high body count, but MacBird has always, in my opinion, kept the hallmarks of a Holmes story intact and this one seemed too heavy on the number of deaths and the gruesomeness of them.

14. Forest of Noise by Mosab Abu Toha 5 stars



Category: 2025, CoverCAT (tree on cover), BingoDog #21 (Recommended by LT person) -Thanks Paul!
Genre: Poetry
Date of Publication: 2024
Gender of Author: male

At the beginning of the year >12 PaulCranswick: Paul C. put this into his Category Challenge. I was so moved by the poem he chose to share that I bought the book. I'm now engaged in helping to plan Arlington VT's first Book Festival. My task (besides kabitzing) is to find and organize speakers. Thanks to this book I have reached out to four different poets to speak.

15. A Guide to the Birds of East Africa by Nicholas Drayson 5 stars



Category: CoverCAT (tree on cover), RandomCAT (not a time travel book, but a race against time), BingoDog (#9 Winged creatures)
Genre: Fiction
Date of Publication: 2008
Gender of author: male

This book joins the list of quiet, gentle, but wonderful, books...books like Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, 84 Charing Cross Road, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It isn't a guide book on birds (although it could be). It is, in fact, a love story that takes place in Nairobi, Kenya. I started the book as my read before falling asleep book and was still reading in the wee small hours. Definitely a book I will reread.

>50 mysterymax: That one's been on my TBR list for ages -- thanks for reminding me!

>50 mysterymax: - I really enjoyed this book when I read it.

16. Everyone This Christmas has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson 3 stars.



Category: 2025, BingoDog (#7 Holiday in Title)
Genre: Mystery
Date of Publication: 2024
Gender of author: Male

I picked this because the series sounded fun, but I was not over-awed. Maybe because it was a Christmas story, but I'd mark it as 'average'. Nothing wrong with it. But nothing to be remarkable either.

February

Books read: 8
Books read year-to-date: 16

Genres: Mystery - 5, Thriller - 1 (it was 700 pages!), Poetry - 1, Fiction - 1
CATS & Kits: Cover, Colour, Random
BingoDog: #4 (author with same name), #7 (holiday in title), #9 (winged creature on cover), #21 (recommended by LT person)
Gender of Writer: Male (6), Female (2)
Gender of Writer year-to-date: Male (9), Female (7)

Stars: 3 (3), 3.5 (1), 4.0 (1), 4.5 (1), 5.0 (2)

Most Enjoyed: The Guide to the Birds of East Africa
Least Enjoyed: Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret

Comments: Two 5 Star books!

17. The Case of the Late Pig by Margery Allingham 3.5 stars



Category:2025, CoverCAT (March-pink)
Genre: Mystery
Date of Publication: 1937
Gender of Author: Female

I originally read this, probably in 2016, but it wasn't showing up as read, so I started it and new instantly I had read it. I remembered the general plot, but not the actual solving of the mystery so I still enjoyed it. I raised the rating from 3 to 3.5 because I realized how I had been rating Agatha Christie's books and Allingham deserves at least a high of rating as Christie and something higher.

The pig in this case is not a four legged animal, but Champion's nemesis from school days. And now it seems he has died twice.

18. The Dead Can Wait by Robert Ryan 4 stars



Category: 2025
Genre: Mystery
Date of Publication: 2014
Gender of Author: Male

This is the second book in the Dr. Watson series. For reader of James Benn's books this is a great series to indulge in while waiting for the next Billy Boyle book. Sherlock Holmes has retired, now an old man, and World War I in going on. Dr. Watson finds himself back at war. In this episode, Churchill has sent Watson to investigate the mysterious deaths of a group of Army men working on an ultra-secret weapon. The weapon is the TANK. Holmes, of course, is never far away in Watson's mind and he plays a small but important part in the story. Watson's medical knowledge lets him solve the mystery of the deaths and the details surrounding the introduction of the tank was not only carefully researched but compelling reading.

18. The Dead Can Wait by Robert Ryan 4 stars
DON'T KNOW WHY THIS CAME UP TWICE.



Category: 2025
Genre: Mystery, BingoDog (#16 Medical Topic)
Date of Publication: 2014
Gender of Author: Male

This is the second book in the Dr. Watson series. For reader of James Benn's books this is a great series to indulge in while waiting for the next Billy Boyle book. Sherlock Holmes has retired, now an old man, and World War I is going on. Dr. Watson finds himself back at war. In this episode, Churchill has sent Watson to investigate the mysterious deaths of a group of Army men working on an ultra-secret weapon. The weapon is the TANK. Holmes, of course, is never far away in Watson's mind and he plays a small but important part in the story. Watson's medical knowledge lets him solve the mystery of the deaths and the details surrounding the introduction of the tank was not only carefully researched but compelling reading.

>40 mysterymax: Looks like we both got that ER book. I also rated it 3.

>50 mysterymax: This one sounds really interesting to me. I kind of think I saw it at the library. I will be going this afternoon so perhaps I can check the catalog before I go and pick it up if it is available.

19. Tether's End by Margery Allingham 2.5 stars



Category: 2025
Genre: Mystery
Date of Publication: 1958
Gender of Author: Female

This was a reread by mistake. I meant to read Traitor's Purse but didn't have my glasses on when I pulled it off the shelf. I decided to give it another read even though I had only given it 3 stars the first time around. This time, I'm afraid it hasn't grown on me and I'm going with 2.5 stars. I couldn't finish it. I usually love Allingham but this was tedious beyond belief. After 100 pages I gave up. Calling it a mystery is a stretch.

20. A Study in Murder by Robert Ryan 4 stars



Category: 2025
Genre: Mystery
Date of Publication: 2015
Gender of Author: Male

I enjoyed this one more than the second. Here Watson is in a POW camp. The thrilling part comes at the end. There is a plot to capture Sherlock Holmes as an exchange for Watson. The government (read Churchill) has agreed, but forces also are not going to let Holmes be taken by the Germans and decide to have him assassinated when he enters Germany. Other plots are also afoot to save Watson. Of course they will all converge. Watson also wants to report murders that were going on in the POW camp for money and there are people who want to make sure he doesn't live to tell about it. Altogether a good read.

Watson is like a lot of us. His body is trying to be old, but his mind isn't.

>50 mysterymax: I loved that book too! I recommended it to a friend and she just rolled her eyes and never did pick it up. Obviously my description was lacking in some way.

21. The Sign of Fear by Robert Ryan 4 stars



Category: 2025
Genre: Mystery
Date of Publication: 2016
Gender of Author: male

Watson is no longer in the POW camp, and he is once again embroiled in a mystery. Four men have been kidnapped and tortured and Watson is pressed into finding out what has happened to the men and who is responsible. I think the series ends here. I enjoyed the first and the fourth the most.

22. The Hidden Life of Dogs by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas 3 stars.



My only comment: It didn't live up to the hype, for me.

23. The Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction edited by Maxim Jakubowaski 3.5 stars.



Category: 2025
Genre: Mystery
Date of Publication: 1996
Gender of Author(s): Male

Some stories are better than others, as is always the case in collections. My favourite was the story by Lawrence Block, A Candle for the Bag Lady.

March

Books Read: 7
Books Read Year to Date: 23

Genres: Mystery - 6, Non-Fiction - 1
CATS & Kits: Colour, Cover (All farms have dogs!)
Gender of Writer: Male (3.5), (Female 3.5) (compilation had both male and female writers)
Gender of Writer year-to-date: Male (12.5), Female (10.5)

Stars: 2.5 (1), 3.0 (1), 3.5 (2), 4.0 (2), 5.0 (0)

Most Enjoyed: The Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction
Least Enjoyed: Tether's End

Comments: The book of pulp fiction didn't get the high number of stars as some stories are much better than others, but I enjoyed it the most as I could pick and choose.

24. Black Alley by Mickey Spillane 4.5 stars



Category: 2025
Genre: Mystery
Date of Publication: 1996
Gender of Author: Male

I am hopelessly in love with Spillane's writing. Mike Hammer has been shot and everyone thinks he's dead. And it is going to take a long time to heal, but things won't wait when an old Army buddy is dying and wants to talk to him.

April has been an insane month. I'm going to try to catch up.

25. Montalbano's First Case and Other Stories by Andrea Cammilleri 4.5 Stars



Category: 2025,BingoDog #15 (original in language not my own)
Genre: Mystery,
Date of Publication: 1998
Gender of Author: Male

The first time I read this I only read the first story, Montalbano's First Case. This time I read the entire book and discovered much to my delight that almost all of the short stories had turned up as full blown episodes on the tv series.

I've said before that one of the reasons these books are so enjoyable (in my opinion) is that the same person (Stephen Sartarelli) translated all of them so the tone of the characters remains constant.

26. The Cornish Coast Murder by John Bude 4 stars



Category: 2025
Genre: Mystery
Date of Publication: 1935
Gender of Writer: Male

I'm coming to realize that I love the way the older mysteries were written, whether they are traditional, hard-boiled, or cozy. Whether they are police procedurals, private detectives, or amateur sleuths. This book, written in 1935, is a wonderfully written, excellent mystery. I'm off to find more of the British Library Crime Classics!

27. The Rosie Project bu Graeme Simsion 3 stars



Category: 2025
Genre: Romance
Date of Publication: 2013
Gender of Writer: Male

Liked this better the second time around. First time I felt that both characters needed a slap upside the head. I still feel partly that way, but this time I found I was liking Rosie quite a bit.

28. Portrait of an Unseen Woman by Roberta Harold 4 stars



Category: 2025, ER,
Genre: Historical Fiction
Date of Publication: 2025
Gender of Writer: Female

Annie Shaw became a widow during the American Civil War. Now, thirty years later she is in Paris, France, hoping to free herself from society's expectations. She enters the world of Parisian artists. This is a book for those that enjoy historical fiction, and fiction that explores a woman's journey.

>68 mysterymax: I also love vintage mysteries and always pick up the British Library Crime Classics when I see them at library sales! I've had mixed luck with John Bude, though...found The Lake District Murder incredibly boring. But I also own The Cornish Coast Murder, so I'm glad to see you liked it!

>71 christina_reads: I own several from the series, and especially enjoy the anthologies that are based on a specific theme, such as Blood on the Tracks which is all about railway crimes.

>68 mysterymax: I'm also a fan of British Library Crime Classics and just finished two by E. C. R. Lorac. I quite liked The Cornish Coast Murder but after Christina's comment won't rush to read The Lake District Murder.

>71 christina_reads:, >72 LadyoftheLodge:, >73 pamelad: Glad to hear reports of the British Library Crime Classics. Sounds like there will be some you love and some you don't. Blood on the Tracks sounds like I'd like to find that one. I have only become a fan of short stories recently.

29. Man of Two Tribes by Arthur William Upfield 3.5 stars



Category: 2025, RandomKit (Prime number), BingoDog #8 (Place I've never been)
Date of Publication: 1956
Genre: Mystery
Gender of Author: Male

Bony sets off to find a woman missing from a train. He crosses one of the most inhabitable places on the planet in search of her, only to find that she is not the only person who has gone missing. I gave this a 3.5 rather than 4 stars because I enjoy seeing Bony solve mysteries based on his skills as observer of human behaviour and his half-caste abilities as a tracker. This book clearly showed his ability to survive and was interesting, I just enjoyed others more.

April

Books Read: 6
Books Read Year to Date: 29

Genres: Mystery, Romance, Historical Fiction
CATS & Kits: Random, BingoDog
Gender of Writer: Male (5), Female (1)
Gender of Writer year-to-date: Male (17.5), Female (10.5)

Stars: 2.5 (0), 3.0 (1), 3.5 (1), 4.0 (2), 4.5 (2)

Most Enjoyed: Black Alley by Mickey Spillane
Least Enjoyed: The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

Comments: Well my plans to do more reading fell by the wayside.

>67 mysterymax: - I haven't gotten to this one yet, but wanted to say that the same person narrates all the books too (at least the ones I've listened to so far), and that makes them enjoyable, I think. Unfortunately, the library doesn't have the next 2 on audio, so I'll have to read them before I can go back to listening.

>77 dudes22: And have you watched the TV series?

30. Pied Piper by Nevil Shute 5 stars.



Category: 2025, ColourCAT (red), BingoDog #2
Date of Publication: 1942 (my copy 1964)
Genre: Fiction
Gender of Writer: Male

This book, written during WWII is about an elderly Englishman. In his 70's, John Sidney Howard is in his club in London during a bombing. Rather than head for the shelter he remains upstairs in a chair, sipping brandy, and talking with a younger man. Gradually Howard begins to tell his story of going to Europe to fish and being caught up in the German invasion and being asked to take two English children with him when he goes back to England. It goes without saying that the Germans move faster than Howard, and he must use his wits to not be caught. Along the way, like the pied piper of old, he becomes the protector of other children. When he reaches England he has seven children with him of various ages and nationalities.

I chose this as one of my month's books, because it the cover was red, so it would fill the ColourCAT. Book covers never cease to amaze me in how they often incorporate images that have nothing to do with the story. In this case, many covers for this book contain the image of an airplane. There's no airplane in the story other than a few times Howard and his group witness bombings.

Nevil Shute is an excellent storyteller and Pied Piper is not an exception.

>78 mysterymax: - I did see that there was one but haven't had a chance to look for it yet.

ETA: I see that it's avilable on Hoopla, so I'll have to check it out.

>80 dudes22: I think it is also on MhZ or whatever the initials are! It's one of the channels I get through Prime and it has a lot of overseas series that you would probably love.

>81 mysterymax: - It is but it looks like you need to pay for that channel.

31. Dark Star by Alan Furst 4 stars



Category: 2025, CoverCat (2 objects on cover: man/stairs)
Date of Publication: 1991
Genre: Spy
Gender of Author: Male

Color me gobsmacked. I knew Furst wrote spy stories. What I wasn't expecting was that this spy story had a protagonist who was 1) a Polish Jew, and 2) a foreign news correspondence for Pravda. The story covers the years 1937 to 1940. Years ago, I would have read this story as simple spy story, but suddenly struck me, along about page 8, that this story not only chronicled the war as experienced by our journalist, Andre Szara, but it became glaringly obvious that it also chronicles the US's slide into autocracy. Since the book was written in 1991, that clearly was not the book's intent. Rather you watch the history we are repeating done to the smallest detail:
"Madness, he thought. Then he corrected himself. He had seen a newsreel of Hitler dancing a jig outside the railroad car in Compiegne where the French had been forced to sign a peace treaty. A weird hopping little dance, like a madman."

32. Survival...Zero! by Mickey Spillane 4 stars



Category: 2025, RandomKIT (Punctuation), CoverCAT (two elements),
Date of Publication: 1971
Genre: Mystery
Gender of Writer: Male

When a guy Hammer knows calls out of the blue, and with his dying breath whispers "no reason" Mike has to get involved.

Here's a funny. I chose this Hammer book to fit the RandomKit. "I thought that I rarely see exclamation points in the book titles and started searching for examples. And, thus the idea for this month was born!" Looking through my book titles I realized that Survival...Zero! fit the bill. Not only did it have an exclamation mark, it also had an ellipsis! When I took the book off the shelf I found that the exclamation mark didn't appear. Inside the book, however, it is on the title page. Does anyone know the reason?

Can someone remind me how to enter a book that has multiple books in it?

>85 mysterymax: You can enter it however you like. I enter the anthology/collection as a whole, then enter the individual titles as I read them, using the tag “in anthology” and noting the collection it’s in, like this:

https://www.librarything.com/work/596514/book/270616585 (the anthology)
https://www.librarything.com/work/15605/book/270616924 (one novel in the anthology)

If I were more ambitious, I’d enter the table of contents in the comments field, but in the case of this book someone’s already got the ToC in their review.

>86 Charon07: I didn't state my question well enough! An anthology I do enter as the title of the anthology and then list the individual stories/novels. The one I am having trouble with is where Penguin, or maybe Pocket Books published two books in one binding. There is no title for the combined set. Rex Stout would have books with three novels in them, but there was always a title for the group as a whole.

I tried entering both titles with a / between them. However, that only brings up the best know of the two. At first, I thought it was bringing up the first I entered, but that doesn't seem to be the case. I actually bought the book even though I had the best known book in my collection, I hadn't been able to find the second book as an individual book, and I can't get it to come up with that title first.

>87 mysterymax: Do you mean you’re having trouble locating it on the Add Books page? If there is only one ISBN, I’d search using that. Or even if there are two, that might help narrow down the number of hits you have to page through to find it. Otherwise, you can enter it manually.

>88 Charon07: Manually works.

33. I, the Jury by Mickey Spillane 4.5 stars



Category: 2025
Date of Publication: 1947
Genre: Mystery
Gender of Author: Male

This is a classic, the one that started Mike Hammer on his road to fame.

MAY

Books Read: 4
Year to Date: 33

Genres: Fiction, War Time, Mystery, Thriller
CATS & KITS:
Gender: male (4), female (0)
Year to Date: male (21.5), female (10.5)

Stars: 2.5 (0), 3.0 (0), 3.5 (0), 4.0 (2), 4.5 (1), 5.0 (1)

Enjoyed the Most: Really all of them! Didn't get a lot read, but they were all excellent.

34. Red Sky at Morning by Richard Bradford 5.0 stars



Category: 2025
Date of Publication: 1968
Genre: 2025, Fiction, Coming of age, War Time
Gender of Author: Male

Back in the 1980s, I chose this book as an audio book for a long trip. It became a book I listened to on every long trip much to my girls dismay..."Mom, you know this book word for word..." Funny, touching, I love everything about this story of a young 17 year old boy transported from the humid climate of Atlanta, GA to the dry mountain air of New Mexico because of WWII. I pulled it out for a reread due to last month's colour challenge (red) but didn't get it read it time. I also wanted to see if it was still as good. It was.

35. Raise the Red Dawn by Bart Davis 5 stars



Category: 2025,
Date of Publication: 1992
Genre: Thriller, Naval
Gender of Writer: Male

This was another book I wanted to reread in time for the coverCAT last month and to see if I still liked it as much as I did on the other times I have read it. I did. Let me be upfront and say that I LOVE submarine books and movies, so I was starting it figuring I would like it. This is the one book that I wish I could hand Ron Howard and say PLEASE MAKE A MOVIE OF THIS, and don't change a thing. A Russian sub, with an experimental drive gets frozen inside the ice.

36. The Twisted Thing by Mickey Spillane 4 stars



Category: 2025, BingoDOG #19,
Date of Publication: 1951
Genre: Mystery
Gender of Writer: male

Another hard hitting Mike Hammer. In the moments when I can take a breath from the story I get reminded that pulp fiction it may be, but Spillane was a really good writer.

37. The Monkey's Raincoat by Robert Crais 4 stars



Category: 2025, Bingo #7
Date of Publicaion: 1982
Genre: Mystery
Gender of Writer: Male

I have several of the Elvis Cole/Joe Pike books on my shelf, but I hadn't gotten around to reading them. I needed to read this one as research for an article and I am blown away. Everything I love about the old hard-boiled mysteries is there, plus plus plus. I will be reading more of them right away!

I hate it when I get so far behind on my posting and then I have to add a whole bunch at once. Somehow I thought that getting to this age would mean that my time was calm, orderly, not rushed, not chaotic. And I sit here looking at my calendar and thinking, at what point will it go back to being sane? I'd really like a date that I could look forward to!

>95 mysterymax: - So true! And I sometimes wonder how I had time for it all when I was working.

ETA: I realize that some of the chaos is self-imposed, but still...

>96 dudes22: Yup.

38. Lullaby Town by Robert Crais 4 stars



Category: 2025, ColourCAT (yellow)
Date of Publication: 1992
Genre: Mystery
Gender of Author: Male

This was the third in the Elvis Cole/Joe Pike series. I'm missing book 2, but I have to find one. I'm enjoying the series a lot. Elvis and Joe are hired to find the ex-wife and child of a well-known movie producer. The mafia gets involved, and Joe has to keep everyone safe.

39. Until the Sun Falls by Cecelia Holland 4.5 stars



Category: 2025, RandomKit (Invasion)
Date of Publication: 1968
Genre: Historical Fiction
Gender of Writer: Female

I have 12 of Holland's books and hadn't reread any of them. I loved them in the 60s. She amazed me, she was so young and the books were so detailed. This one is about the Mongols after the death of Genghis Khan and the invasion of Russia and Eastern Europe.

40. The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad 3 stars



Category: 2025, CoverCAT (wheels), BingoDOG #6 (sun in title)
Date of Publication: 2003
Genre: fiction
Gender of Author: Female

While "fiction" it is more a non-fictional account of life in Afganistan. Wasn't what I thought it would be, which was more an account of a man trying to save his culture by secretly providing and selling books. He did go to prison for his book dealings, but he was more of a merchant than a quiet protester of those in power who would prevent books from being read.

JUNE

Books Read: 7
Books Read Year to Date: 40

Genres: general fiction, historical fiction, mystery, thriller
CATS & KITS: cover (wheels), colour (yellow), random (invasion) bingo dog (#6, 7, 19)
Gender of Authors: male (5), female (2)
Stars: 3.0 (1), 4.0 (3), 4.5 (1), 5.0 (2)

Most Enjoyed: A toss-up between Red Sky at Morning and Raise the Red Dawn Both old favs that I thoroughly enjoyed rereading.
Least Enjoyed: The Bookseller of Kabul I think the author could have made a very interesting novel, almost a thriller, and kept all the facts she has in the book. It would have been a more enjoyable read. I think her publisher missed the mark with this one. As is the book is very dry and you don't really connect with the characters in any emotional way.

41. Bony and the White Savage by Arthur Upfield 4 stars



Category: 2025, ColourCAT (white)
Publication: 1961
Genre: mystery
Gender of author: male

Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte known as Bony as been sent to the south-western corner of Western Australia to determine whether a vicious criminal is hiding there, and if he is, to capture him. It's not so much a mystery of 'who done it' because we already know the man has robbed, raped, brutalised, and killed. Instead we watch Bony use his skills in finding the man, which involves an unexpected twist at the end.

42. Allegro by Ariel Dorfman 2.5 stars



Category: 2025, RandomKIT,
Publication: 2025
Genre: Fiction
Gender of author: Male

The New York Times book review says this book is 'profoundly moving' and The New Yorker calls it 'exhilarating.' It's supposed to be a thrilling historical mystery with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart trying to discover the real cause of the death of Johann Sebastian Bach. It fell flat for me. Couldn't summon up enough interest and involvement to care.

43. Wild Apples by Henry David Thoreau 3.5 stars



Category: 2025, CoverCAT (fruit)
Publication: 1862
Genre: Non-fiction
Gender of author: male

A small gem. "To appreciate the wild and sharp flavors of these October fruits, it is necessary that you be breathing the sharp October or November air. The outdoor air and exercise which the walker gets give a different tone to his palate, and he craves a fruit which the sedentary would call harsh and crabbed. They must be eaten in the fields, when your system is all aglow with exercise, when the frosty weather nips your fingers, the wind rattles the bare boughs or rustles the few remaining leaves, and the jay is heard screaming around. What is sour in the house a bracing walk makes sweet. Some of these apples might be labelled, "To be eaten in the wind."

44. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams 3.5 stars



Category: 2025, BingoDog #5 Nonhuman narrator
Publication: 1980
Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Satire,
Gender of author: Male

Not as funny as the first book, but still a good read.

>104 mysterymax: A small gem indeed! The beautiful quotation is a gem on its own.

>106 VivienneR: He is the writer of some of my favourite quotes!

45. The Long Wait by Mickey Spillane 4 stars



Category: 2025,
Publication: 1951
Genre: mystery ( hard-boiled)
Gender of author: Male

I love how people put down pulp-fiction writers as somehow inferior to literary authors. By 1951, when this book came out Mickey Spillane had already sold 28,000,000 books. And to top it off he was an excellent writer. He puts together a phrase that makes me want to chew my knuckles, they are so good.

It turns out that The Long Wait is not a Mike Hammer book. It's a stand-alone with a character named John McBride who is every bit as hard boiled as Hammer. It was quite the page turner. Good twist a the end.

Writing all day these days so only get a few pages read at bedtime before I fall asleep. Today was acupuncture so since I was going out anyway I went to the post office and brought home a motherlode! 8 new books!! Rogue Protocol, Exit Strategy, Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, The Memory Police, The Stone Raft, Paradise by Gurnah, The City and its Uncertain Walls, and Octavo (which was an ER book). I want to read them all right now! I started Paradise waiting for my acupuncture appointment, but I hear the siren call of more adventures with Murderbot.

46. Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells 4 stars



Category: 2025, ColorCAT (grey)
Publication: 2018
Genre: Science Fiction
Gender of Author: Female

I love this series. I had to read this one before I started the others I got the other day. Murderbot just can't help himself. He keeps trying to save the good humans.

47. Paradise by Abdulrazak Gurnah 3 stars



Category: 2025, BingoDOG (child as main character)
Publication: 1994
Genre : Fiction
Gender of Author : Male

This was one of my batch of non-mystery/sci-fi books that I just got. An interesting story, but not one I will go back and read again, so a donation to the library, I think. It's the story of Yusef, who is 12 when his story begins. He is "given" to a merchant as payment for his father's debts. While the idea of transition is abhorrent to us in the day and age, Yusef's life is not a horrible one compared to what many children would experience in Africa at the time just before the First World War. I found it not so much a story as a historical travel log. You see all the cultures - African, Arab, Indian. Yusef, is of Arab culture, a Muslim. This is an interesting choice because most people think of Africa as being populated by black Africans for the most part, except in the north where the Muslim Arab culture is predominate. In fact, Africa is heavily made up of all three elements. Then along comes the "civilized" countries - Britain, Germany, and France who believed the continent should belong to them.

48. Exit Strategy by Martha Wells 4 stars



Category: 2025
Publication: 2018
Genre: Science fiction
Gender of Author: Female

My stars, I love this series!

49. Days at the Morisaki Bookshop 4 stars



Category: 2025,
Publication: 2010
Genre: Fiction
Gender of Author: Male

It struck me, as I tried to find a genre for this book, that when people say a book is a "coming of age" book, they meant it's a story of a young boy/man. I'd call this book a coming of age story for a young woman. When she loses her boyfriend and her job, Takako goes to live above her uncle's bookstore. Here she learns to love books, and she finds her real self. I read the book in one sitting. The original book is in Japanese, the translation is smooth and completely enjoyable.

>112 mysterymax: I've seen a lot more Japanese literature in translation coming out this year. I've enjoyed the ones I've read--some more than others. I've been ordering some for the library but trying not to overdo it, but I've noticed people seem to be checking them out. I've even had some people comment on how much they've enjoyed them.

>114 thornton37814: I'm not surprised. I think it is the same force that is making foreign films, especially tv series, so popular. The writing, the subjects...it is all better that 90% of what we are turning out. I am trying my best not to let my books join the long line of cookie cutter mysteries.

>115 mysterymax: "The writing, the subjects...it is all better that 90% of what we are turning out."

I think that's an illusion. The books that we get in English translation are only a small part of what's published in those languages, and they're likely to be the cream of the crop; there's just as much "cookie cutter" stuff being published (filmed, televised, etc.) outside the English-speaking world as inside it.

It's something like the idea that everyone was listening to nothing but Beethoven in the 1820s, because the music written by his less skilled contemporaries -- folks like Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Franz Danzi, or Simon Mayr, all of whom were reasonably successful in their day -- has mostly faded into much-deserved obscurity.

>116 KeithChaffee: You are right, of course. I shouldn't make broad statements! But I have to say that while self-publishing has allowed many, many very good writers to get published who otherwise wouldn't be published, it has also allowed a lot of books to go on the market that shouldn't.

Again, it's a broad statement, with many exceptions. In fact, one writer (who I will not mention by name) was published by a major publisher (in my opinion because they had worked in publishing for a number of years and had the contacts). The book featured a female protagonist in military law enforcement. The book went on to win a couple of major awards. HOWEVER, the book was so bad it actually made you consider the possibilities of book burning. I know that as writers we all ask readers to suspend belief and enter our world, but the world in this book was so bad it was ridiculous. The protagonist, supposedly trained, did things that not even a civilian who only watched tv mysteries would know not to do. The simple truth is - you can't judge a book by its cover, or where it is from.

Ignoring all that, my book buying has suddenly changed. I am a mystery reader, there have been years that I have read over 200 books and 98% of them would have been mysteries. But my last book buying binge was 12 books, 6 of them foreign, and 4 of them science fiction. Plus there are foreign mystery writers (both in translations and in English) that I count as favourite authors.

In the end, I find, that I feel like the foreign mysteries often go deeper into their characters than the American ones. You are undoubtedly right, there is likely as much cookie cutter foreign books as American, and the translations we see are the cream of the crop. But that, for me, means that I am browsing the best of what there is, while, when faced with buying American mysteries there is an abundance of cookie cutter books to wade through.

Also, writers in other languages, are often forced by their language and their culture to look at the same plot from a slightly different angle and this makes the book seem fresher for the reader.

Plus, you have to take everything I've just said and have a laugh because my favourite mysteries are the old hard-boiled pulp fiction ones... a genre just made for a cookie cutter.

50. Octavo by Marty Neumeier 5 stars



Category: 2025
Publication: 2025
Genre: Fiction, Historical, Mystery
Gender of Author: Male

Wow. I am at a loss for words. Could we have 10 stars? A modern thriller and an historical mystery story. I could not put it down, and when I did I found that I was still thinking about the book. Thank you Mr. Neumeier for gifting this beautifully produced, amazingly written, captivating story.

51. Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells 4 stars



Category: 2025
Publication: 2021
Genre: Science Fiction
Gender of Author: Female

This is such a great series. When I reach the end I am going to reread them start to finish. What a romp. The ending in this one is perfect.

>118 mysterymax: With a review like that, I have to add this to my TBR!

>120 Charon07: I hope you enjoy it. I was reading at night when I went to bed, but found I would be too tired after only a couple of pages, so I wasn't making headway and didn't get into the story at all. Thinking "I have to read this, it's an ER book," I started it before going to bed. Twenty pages later I was SO hooked. I read for hours. I loved the pages written (?) by Leonardo de Vinci's assistant, and was engrossed in the relationship between the two women who have found this old manuscript and are trying to protect it from a collector. Have fun.

>118 mysterymax: I am also taking a BB for this one.

July and August

Total Read: 11
Year to Date: 51

Can't do the whole run-down thing tonight.
Mystery (1), Science fiction (3), Fiction (6), Thriller (1)

Best Book (most enjoyed) : Octavo by Marty Neumeier
Least Enjoyed: Paradise by Abdulrazak Gurnah (This was disappointing because I had really looked forward to it.)

Comments: Of course I love the Mickey Spillane even though it wasn't a Mike Hammer one. I am so into the Murderbot series. I love them. Octavo was not only an excellent read, but the production of the book was amazing so it was a real joy.

52. Death with Interruptions by Jose Saramago 5 stars



My last four books have been just wonderful!

There are those books whose story is far bigger than the words on the page. Death with Interruptions is one. I'll have to reread it at least once or twice more before I could even begin to talk about it. There are times when truth is spoken so simply as to be understood clearly in your heart but not in your brain. This is one such time.

I may sound confusing, but that is how one sounds after reading about death and about Death. And the way in which love can be the final victor.

Saramago writes in his own unique style. A conversation can go back and forth without breaking into different paragraphs, or being identified by quotation marks, so you have to pay attention. The first part of the book is almost a thesis on the role that death plays in our lives. The "people" are identified by their role...the prime minister, the undertakers, etc. We see what happens when no one dies. Eventually, the story turns to death herself and by now you are ready to be completely immersed in her story.

>124 mysterymax: Oh, I love this book! Saramago is one of my favorite authors, and this is one of my favorite books of his. I’m happy you liked it too!

>125 Charon07: I did. My favourite line is "One can not be too careful with words, they change their minds just as people do." There is so much to think about in it, plus the laugh out loud antics of the government spinners.

I see we share another of my favourite books...Project Hail Mary. What a book!

>126 mysterymax: I have Project Hail Mary on my shelves, but I haven’t actually read it yet. My husband and my niece have both recommended it, so I can use BingoDOG as an excuse to get to it soon.

>127 Charon07: It is quite the read! I think Weir had a hard time with Artemis, because everyone was comparing it to The Martian which was a hard act to follow. But this one...it's the best of the three. If it was a movie, I'd be standing at the end, cheering!

>128 mysterymax: "If it was a movie..."

The film adaptaion of Project Hail Mary is due to be released in March 2026. Ryan Gosling stars, and it's directed by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, who have a strong record of making good movies out of improbable source material. (Not to suggest that the novel is improbable material; I haven't read it.)

>129 KeithChaffee: Keith, you have made my day!

53. Network Effect by Martha Wells 4 stars



Category: 2025
Publication: 2020
Genre: Science Fiction
Gender of Author: Female

I love this series. Have I said that? Probably.

54. The Devil's Cook by Ellery Queen 3 stars



Category: 2025,
Publication: 1966
Genre: Mystery
Gender of Author: Male

The book date says this is #3 in the Ellery Queen series. Someone must mean that it is the third book written by Queen? Because it is NOT an Ellery Queen mystery (ie. protagonist is Queen and his dad.)

Well, I started The Memory Police and got far enough into it to not want to put it aside for any amount of time, and my new Billy Boyle book arrived. Torn, torn, torn.

>132 mysterymax: The Devil's Cook (and a number of other "Ellery Queen" authored books of the 1960s) were not written by the cousins, just published under their pen name. The Dutch Shoe Mystery (1931) is the third in the Ellery Queen series.

>134 NinieB: It was an okay mystery but I was expecting the father and son duo.

55. The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa 3.5 stars



What I appreciated most about the book was the realization of the importance of keeping memories - at least some of them.

You are plunged into what is happening to the island without any explanation ever being given. That created a hole for me. While I really like the other book I read by Ogawa, I don't think I will add more to my collection.

NOW I can start Billy Boyle!!!!! A Bitter Wind is the 20th book in the series.

I had to weed some books to make room for it on the shelf. Billy now takes up almost two shelves in my book case. He is outnumbered by Agatha Christie, and the Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum series. Then he's in a three-way tie for books in a series, all in the 20-23 books, with the William Monk series by Anne Perry, and the Harry Dresden series by Jim Butcher. Pretty exalted company.

September

Total Read: 4
Year to Date: 55
Genres: Mystery (1) Science Fiction (3)

Most EnJoyed: Network Effect
Least Enjoy ed: Memory Police

Comment: Even though Death with Interruptions was a five star read, I'm giving Most Enjoyed to the MurderBot book because it's so much fun.

56. A Bitter Wind by James Benn 4.5 stars


This episode of Billy's war has him teamed up with Big Mike. As always, the book is letter perfect.

57. The Stone Raft by Jose Saramago 3 stars



Not my favourite. I wouldn't have finished it, except his writing is so seductive I found I had to keep reading.

58. Deadly Trade by Sara Driscoll 3 stars



This series remains my favourite K9 series, I didn't enjoy this one as much as the others. The focus seemed to have shifted with the change in relationship of Meg and Todd. As well, I didn't buy into their taking on the work because of the threat to the birds. I enjoyed it, but not nearly as much as the past ones.

Not much reading getting done these days. My computer decided to join the other side during a recent storm that included strong winds with frequent multiple power outages. In spite of auto-save, a fifteen minute period of several on/off outages occured before I could get the computer to "save" my material and close. "Save" is in brackets because when I finally decided (two days later) that it was probably safe to start writing again, I opened my document to find that 1) I had LOST over 8,000 words and 2) the formatting was shot to h***. Paragraphs were indented incorrectly, apostrophes all faced the same direction, etc etc etc. I am still (four days later) trying to reconstruct what I had written. I think I've got the formatting resolved, but I feel like I'm trying to build a skyscraper on a bed of quicksand.

As a post script I can say that I now see that it also hit my imput here on LT, because it shows as a review of an ER book, the tag that I entered for the book.

Maybe, it was a time warp, not a power outage(s).

>142 mysterymax: NOOOOOOO! Eight thousand words lost!! That's awful :( I hope you're able to get those words back in some form.

>143 mysterymax: I think there’s seeds for a good story right there—it’s practically writing itself!

Oh no, so sorry to hear about your tech woes, especially the lost work!

<44

>147 mysterymax: Now this is downright worrisome. Have the gremlins grabbed mysterymax?

>148 Charon07:
Yup! I could say I was just checking to see if anyone was paying attention, but in reality I sit down at the computer and my brain no longer functions. I have no idea what I was going to say. My other good trick was putting a tag in the place where my ER review was supposed to go. So now I have a review that says Viet Nam. And that's all.

I got a new keyboard. I love it, love it, love it, but it hasn't managed to synch with my brain yet.

>149 mysterymax: Whew! You’re back! Or is it really mysterymax? I feel we should insist on some proof that it’s really you… but the keyboard probably knows all your secrets and could easily impersonate you online.

>150 Charon07: I'm not sure if it is me, or not.

I've tried my best to stay reasonably current with technology, after all when I was a bookmobile librarian our town library system was on "computer". Read: DOS and floppy disks, but now when something goes wrong like it did a few days back all I think is - I'm too old for this s***. I suspect that's why the larger changes here on LT upset me so much. It hasn't gotten easier, it has become more complicated.

It's good to know there is someone out there making sure I'm still here ... mentally, at least.

>151 mysterymax: - I'm right there with you, Max. I've been having problems with book covers and I ran that service tester thingy they were talking about and apparently one of the Amazon sites for books covers isn't working on my computer. Someone said, "just add it to your whitewall" which I assume is a place for trusted sites, but I have no clue how to do that. So, I'll just press on, and no be able to see book covers that people post. I can fix the ones of mine that are missing - gradually. I also probably need a new computer, but I dread it so much, I think I'll delay as long as possible and hope it doesn't die.

So sorry to hear of your computer problems, especially the loss of your work. I can't imagine what you must have felt. I hope Billy Boyle softened the shock.

>151 mysterymax: Just keeping up with technology seems to eat more and more of our time, doesn’t it? They should pay us for that.

>153 VivienneR: Billy Boyle is always a joy. There are so few series that can last to the twenty mark without becoming cookie cutter or going off in a new direction you don't enjoy. True, there are some of Billy's adventures I enjoy more than others, but the series remains steadfast.

>152 dudes22: I have trouble getting books to show up when I search for them when I am trying to add to my collection. I usually just give up and add them manually. And I hate not having the Common Knowledge right there so I can fill it in as I am adding the book. The more click throughs I have to use to get to what I want, the less likely I am to bother with it. And some things must seem obvious to everyone but me. I always hear, "it is so much more intuitive" and I'm thinking, "to everyone but me."

>156 mysterymax: - I agree.

59. The Pacifist by Lyn Bixby 3.5 stars



The Vietnam War, and the anti-war movement. The FBI, and the Boston Police. They come together in a murder mystery that is as current today as to the time it portrays.

60. A Dragon, A Gargoyle, and A Faery Walk Into A Pub by Nicole DragonBeck and Lisa Barry 3.5 stars



A fun read. The charactors and the setting could have been a little more developed, but I enjoyed it.

61. Until the Night by Giles Blunt 3.0 stars



Two plot lines one from the past, one present. You know they will meet up, obviously. One involves an Artic expedition in the past and the other are murders and a police team in Algonquin Boy in the present. I would normally have given this a 3.5 rating, but I grew to so dislike the female cop I could only bring myself to do 3.0 stars.

Can someone tell me how to edit "comments" on a book in my library?

From the work page, at the lower left corner of the “Your Book information” box, click Edit Book, and scroll down until you find the comments section.

Alternatively, from your catalog page, if Comments is one of the columns in one of your display styles, you can just double-click in the field and type.

Thanks!

Need to do a lot of catching up:

62. System Collapse by Martha Wells. This wasn't my favorite, but it was still a great read. 4 stars.



If we get another big snow storm, I may sit down and reread them from the beginning.

63. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' Cat: Volume 1 by Patricia Srigley.



I really enjoyed this EXCEPT for the portrayal of Mrs. Hudson, which nearly turned me off the book. I am going to give Volume 2 a go, but if Mrs. Hudson isn't better, I'll pass on Vol. 3. 3.5 stars

64. Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa. 5 stars



Translated from the Japanese, this is a wonderful story about acceptance, love, and endurance.

65. Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood. 3.5 stars.



I thought I would real all of her books that I had since she had passed away and some of them I had never gotten around to starting. However, as enjoyable as it was it didn't call out to me to continue the series, which I put in our massive book clearout bin.

I'm going to take a moment to talk about a book that I haven' t finished yet, in fact I've only started it. By Hand: Can the Art of Writing be Saved? by Tim Brooks is one of those books that everyone should read because it is about a very important topic...the loss of our ability to write and read cursive. If we, as a society, become totally dependent on our keyboards...what happens to our brains, our culture, our links to our past. I've barely begun the book and already I am determined to begin writing by hand more. I've always made notes by hand, but I've got to begin communicating in this manner as well. May I suggest that you try to get a copy of this book and read it, and then if you wish pass it on. It's important. (And no... Mr. Brooks doesn't pay me for talking about his book.)

>165 mysterymax: I was appalled to find out that my pen pals (to whom I have been writing for three years!) cannot read or write cursive handwriting! They are now in grade eight and will be in high school in a few months. All along their teachers had to go through my letters to them and basically translate my handwriting. This year all their letters are typed out on the computer.

>166 LadyoftheLodge: It boggles my mind. And there is this assumption that just because technology moves on all of us are expected to 'be onboard' so to speak. The number of places where you are supposed to give your cell phone number in order to register for or to order something, for example. Lots of people don't have cell phones, and society is willing to push them aside into 'they don't matter' categories because they've set up a program that requires it. I hope you can get a copy of Tim Brooks book. It is quite the eye opener.

66. No Time to Spare" Thinking About What Matters by Ursula K. Le Guin 5 stars



This was a re-read. It is a collection of her thoughts at various times. I love the way she starts the collection with comments about spare time. Written when she was eighty, she says she doesn't have any spare time. Her time is completely filled with living. She takes offense with the saying 'old age is not for sissies', and says old age is for anyone who gets there. I'm glad because I'm there, and it's good to know there's a place for me and I don't have to jog down the road with the lady who is probably as old as I am. She'll be jogging on her return leg while I'd be lucky to have covered (walking) the length of an average city block. When I see her I wonder what she does with her 'spare time.'

67. Life, the Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams. 3 stars.



The third in The Hitchhickers Guide to the Galaxy. Read it just for fun, but it's the last one I'm going to read. Absolutely the best part is Chapter Five... "it is now realized that numbers are not absolute, but dependent on the observer's movement in restaurants..."

October Summary:
Only one book read? That doesn't seem possible, but that's all I recorded.
A Bitter Wind by James Benn - A Billy Boyle, WWII mystery (series)

November Summary:
Four books read.
Favourite: Deadly Trade by Sara Driscoll - An FBI K9 mystery (series)

December Summary:
Nine books read.
Favourite: By Hand: Can the Art of Writing Be Saved? (I'll be finished this before the end of the month) This will teach me not to jump the gun. Tied for my favourite is: A Wilder Time by William E. Glassley.
This was a book that will live with me a long time. Geologists on the edge of the Greenland ice. Wow. Wow. Wow.

>168 mysterymax: - Every time I see a mention of Le Guin, I think that I should really give her a try. Lois (avaland) sent me one of her books a while ago and I put it on a shelf and forgot I had it. Maybe I'll take it when we go away this winter and give her a try. I'll also take a BB for this one.

The Year in Review - 2025

Not a great year for reading overall. Only a total of 70 books read. But over half of them got a four star or higher rating. In fact, 11 books got a five star rating. The three series that I enjoyed the most were: Billy Boyle, Murderbot, and Mike Hammer.

The most outstanding books were Octavo, Death With Interruptions, Pied Piper. and By Hand: Can the Art of Writing Be Saved? AND A Wilder Time: Notes from a Geologist at the Edge of the Greenland Ice

I agree with you about handwriting. It is tragic that so many kids are not learning cursive writing. I have heard that schools here are not teaching cursive anymore - but I don't know if that's true or not, or any details. And having to give a cell phone number or email address if I want to buy something as paltry as a pair of socks is ridiculous.

Your year of reading was good, numbers don't count as much as enjoying the books read. Happy New Year!

Will look for your 2026 thread and hope I can keep up with it better than I did with everyone's 2025 ones.

>173 VivienneR: Thanks for the reminder. Part of the year was great reading and part was real slogging. Looking forward to our yearend meme to see how the titles will fit in.

>174 thornton37814: I have a difficult time keeping up as well. I start off the year with such high hopes and then by October or November I get slower and slower.

68. By Hand: Can the Art of Writing be Saved? by Tim Brookes. 5 stars



Tim Brooks is founder of the Endangered Alphabets Project. This is another in the process - even though we have the alphabet, many people can't read the handwritten words. Lots to think about in this book, and lots of new thoughts and ideas to contemplate.

69. A Wilder Time: Notes from a Geologist at the Edge of the Greenland Ice by William E. Glassley



This is a wonderful book, what more can I say. Glassley's writing is sometimes technical, but mostly it is lyrical. I wanted to stand next to him seeing sights never seen before by anyone...never mind just seeing...add to that smelling, tasting, feeling. It will leave you with a feeling that you must do all you can to protect Greenland.

My last book of the year.

Thanks Lori for posting!

Describe yourself: A Study in Murder

Describe how you feel: Portrait of an Unseen Woman

Describe where you currently live: The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

Your favorite time of day is: Until the Sun Falls

If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Paradise

Your favorite form of transportation: A Stone Raft

Your best friend is: The Exile

You and your friends are: Acquired Tastes

Describe your job: The Informationist

What are you eating: Sweet Bean Paste

What’s the weather like: A Bitter Wind

You fear: The Serpent Under

What is the best advice you have to give: No Time to Spare

Thought for the day: The Dead Can Wait

How you would like to die: Death Interrupted

Your soul’s present condition: Survival...Zero

What is life for you: A Forest of Noise

70. Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa 4 stars



How could I have forgotten to enter this book? It was a December read, and a five star one to boot! I only realized I hadn't entered it when I was doing the meme.

A young man in Japan who makes sweet bean paste learns what he wants to do with his life with the help of two friends - an elderly woman and a teenage girl.

And another one from Lori!

Did you have guests during the holidays?

What would you call the event? The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

How did they find their way? Pied Piper

How did they know they'd arrived? Rogue Protocol

Any special activities? The Long Wait

Did your guests stay over? Days at the Morisaki Bookshop

Were there servants to help? The Devil's Cook

Was there turn down service? Lullaby Town

How were the guests greeted? The Silent Speaker

Was dinner held for late comers? Some Women Won't Wait

And dinner was? Wild Apples

Afterward? Exit Strategy

Wonderful responses to the memes! And believe it or not, I got a BB from them! (Sweet Bean Paste)

Love the meme answers. I'm going to have to see if Sweet Bean Paste is available at one of our libraries. I'm on a Japanese literature kick right now (as you can probably see by the first finish of 2026).