The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group discussion

I just finished The Police by Jo Nesbo which I could not find as a link on Goodreads. It is the best police procedural I have ever read, although you had to have read the previous two books to truly understand all the character interactions. The Oslo police department is riddled with duplicity, schemers, troubled souls, and grasping ambition. Add a few mentally disturbed characters and you have a dense, riveting read. Still getting my head around some of the plot twists. Oh, and an excellent ending.

I am now reading Police by Jo Nesbo. It is a big and complex police procedural with a lot of action. (Does this make it a thriller?) If there are any non-US authors currently writing better (or even similar) books of this type I would like to know who they are.

Gary wrote: "I am now reading Police by Jo Nesbo. It is a big and complex police procedural with a lot of action. (Does this make it a thriller?) If there are any non-US authors currently writing better (or eve..."

Gary, you should check out the books by Leighton Gage which feature a detective in Brazil. Gage, who recently passed away, was American but lived for years in Brazil and his books are wonderfully authentic. The first in the series is
Blood of the Wicked

THE BAT by Jo Nesbo isn't listed on Goodreads! Nonetheless, here is my take:

THE BAT is the first in the series, but was only recently made available in English and for Kindle. I was thrilled to read it, as the subsequent books in the series refer to Harry’s investigation of a serial killer in Australia. But as I gobbled it up, literarily speaking, one thought kept surfacing: this is a strange way to start a detective series.

The book introduces Harry Hole as an Oslo detective sent to Sydney, Australia to assist in the investigation of the murder of a Norwegian woman who was a moderately successful Norwegian TV star. His guide throughout the investigation is an Australian detective named Kensington who is of Aboriginal descent. Kensington’s boss isn’t thrilled to have Harry there and wants to shut him out even as Kensington keeps introducing Harry to strange folks in the outback as well as in bars in Sydney’s red light district called King’s Cross.

Now, I’ve been to both Oslo and Sydney (including a night of clubbing in King’s Cross) and the two cities have a lot in common. They are both vibrant and modern with an athletic vibe and a well-educated populace. Lots of tall white people in rock band tees. Just like Harry.

But Nesbo makes the differences really speak to the reader by using the murder investigation to reveal the lifestyle, history, and integration difficulties of Australia’s Aboriginal population. We discover pain and passion through Harry’s eyes in a way that neither the Norwegian detective nor the reader expect to do so.

The serial killer does bad stuff, the ending is full of suspense, a romance goes awry, and the roots of Harry’s self-destructive behavior—more of a central issues in later books—are revealed. But overall, I can’t shake the feeling that this was an odd way to start a mystery series, because at no time do we see Harry as particularly Norwegian or in his natural element. We don't meet his colleagues or understand the context for any continuing series. I recognized places in Australia, and loved the great descriptions, easy dialogue, and twisty plotting. But I’m not sure I’d be compelled to read more in a series set in Norway if I only had this story to go on.

Bottom line? Read THE BAT by Jo Nesbo, but not as your introduction to the Harry Hole series.

I will add it to my list. GVC

Gary wrote: "I am now reading Police by Jo Nesbo. It is a big and complex police procedural with a lot of action. (Does this make it a thriller?) If there are any non-US authors currently writing better (or eve..."

I want to read this book so much!

Carmen wrote: "I just finished The Police by Jo Nesbo which I could not find as a link on Goodreads. It is the best police procedural I have ever read, although you had to have read the previous two books to trul..."

Is this is it?

Carmen wrote: "THE BAT by Jo Nesbo isn't listed on Goodreads! Nonetheless, here is my take:

THE BAT is the first in the series, but was only recently made available in English and for Kindle. I was thrilled to r..."

Gary wrote: "I am now reading Police by Jo Nesbo. It is a big and complex police procedural with a lot of action. (Does this make it a thriller?) If there are any non-US authors currently writing better (or eve..."

OK, with an African bias:

Nairobi Heat by Mukoma wa Ngugi starts in Wisconsin and then rushes over to Kenya. An American cop has to rely on a Nairobi cop to get to the bottom of it all.

Kwei Quartey's WIFE OF THE GODS. Its the first in a series based on Ghana.

You might try also some of Jassy Mackenzie's books (South Africa).

Richard Crompton (of the UK) sets his story in Nairobi at a momentous time in recent history and his characters are a very real and sympathetic set of police detectives in THE HOUR OF THE RED GOD, which was also published under the title The Honey Guide.

I have read all of Jassy Mackenzie's books. I think they are very good.

Gary wrote: "I have read all of Jassy Mackenzie's books. I think they are very good."

I agree. I also liked the Michael Stanley books based in Botswana starring Detective Kubu. The first one is A Carrion Death.

My compliments on your taste in literature.

While I haven't given it much thought, I prefer books set in first world countries where traditional Western standards of order apply. Although I have read some books set in Thailand and have been enjoying a series set in China (which is or was a second world country).

Gary wrote: "While I haven't given it much thought, I prefer books set in first world countries where traditional Western standards of order apply. Although I have read some books set in Thailand and have been ..."

Oh, that might open up a whole new discussion about the developed world and the developing world and Western standards of order! :>

And I think the South Africans, particularly, have some opinions on that. As would the Chinese, considering the investments they're making in Africa.

Nairobi Heat makes a great comparison, with an American detective heading to Africa to solve a murder committed in Wisconsin and must work with an urban Kenyan cop.

Or you might also try the Amsterdam series by Janwillem van de Wetering. (Ja, I also have a Dutch bias.)

Donna Leon writes a series set in Venice which is also super good.

And Per Wahlöö is pretty great too.

I have Dutch ancestors and a Dutch last name but haven't read anything set there. Lots in Sweden and some in Norway and a few in Denmark.

No time like the present to start delving into the written world of your people!

There's a great book about the flooding of 1958 (the thought of it still makes my Mom shudder--they didn't emigrate until '67). There's a mystery involving twins and the aftermath: The Storm by Margriet de Moor

I just started All Cry Chaos that starts with an Interpol investigation of a murder/bombing in Amsterdam. I'm really enjoying it so far. Interpol and the ICC have such a weird bureaucratic relationship with law enforcement, even with their own investigators.

There's a classic Georges Simenon called Maigret in Holland. Actually takes place in the wee northern corner where my own people are from.

I seem to have gone all obsessive on you! Pardon me. My enthusiasm got away from me. (And my procrastination... I'm sure there's something else I should be doing.) But outside of books about the Pacific Northwest I think we've exhausted my bailiwicks.

Happy reading.

Just finished an ARC of The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches, the sixth Flavia de Luce. I liked this one a lot.

I started Never Nosh a Matzo Ball by Sharon Kahn, a "Rabbi's Wife" mystery.

Last night I finished Roomies - Sara Zarr

I have finished Police and and also read The Bat recently. Not sure why people are having problems finding these on Goodreads as they are listed.

I finished . That was a great book. I never saw the ending coming. I am about 40% through . Another good book in the series.

Gary wrote: "I have finished Police and and also read The Bat recently. Not sure why people are having problems finding these on Goodreads as they are listed."

I just bought today "The Bat" and "The Phantom"

I'm reading The Apostle by Brad Thor. Seems like it will be another five star book.

Just finished F. Paul Wilson's Dark City his second to last Repairman Jack book, and like all the rest of Wilson's books this one was just great. I reviewed it here at Goodreads
and now I've moved on to

Cross and Burn by Val McDermid the latest book in the Tony Hill Carol Jordan series

Just finished Night Film by Marisha Pessl Although it had a promising start it was downhill from there. This book felt like a good first draft that skipped the polishing stage. A simple word search for the action crutch, "suddenly" should have thrown up a red flag for someone. Maybe the publisher was pushing to get it out the door. Giving the work a little time tucked in a drawer to let the blind alleys, wordy and weak passages surface for editing would have made it much more enjoyable. Now I've moved on to Stephen King's Doctor Sleep and am enthralled.

Kent wrote: "Just finished Night Film by Marisha Pessl Although it had a promising start it was downhill from there. This book felt like a good first draft that skipped the polishing stage. A simple word search..."

Not a big fan of King anymore but there is a group read for this book if you're interested. https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

I just finished "Follow every rainbow" and it has left me spellbound. Below is my review on this book:
http://sanchitasarkar.wordpress.com/2...

I just finished The Rembrandt Affair. I liked it. I have just a few more books to read in the series.

Dorie wrote: "Just starting Devil's Night by Todd Ritter. Unfortunately the author is discontinuing this wonderful series because sales have not gone well. It's a shame because they are well written and engros..."

I did not know that. I read the first one and didn't even know there was a sequel. That's a shame because I really enjoyed the first one.

I am reading 3 books at a time BUT the one book has taken over the other's.Its a book by Dennis Lehane,called "Live by Night" and this is a book with a high level of writing,about mobsters.I am highly enjoying this book.

I've just finished Perfect Gallows, only I have a different edition and cover art from the book listed here on GR. I can't recommend it enough. I'll write a review in a minute. It's set in the wartime UK and is a really, really good atmospheric murder mystery.

I'm reading my first Daniel Silva book in The Kill Artist.

Just finished the amazing and highly recommended http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16...

Such a fun read !! 5/5 easy stars

Hate doing that on my phone - The Rosie Project

I finished The Devil Colony by James Rollins and I didn't like it much. The story boils down to Sigma Force (a group of government scientist/tough guys) trying to contain the threat from ancient hidden nanotechnology-fueled doomsday devices while The Guild (ancient society of bad guys) tries to obtain the devices for their own benefit. Lots of running around the globe, shooting, kidnapping, and killing ensue. There are conspiracies within conspiracies, Mormon beliefs about ancient Israeli tribes coming to the New World, pseudo-science, ancient indestructible maps, the Founding Fathers involvement, secret codes, and much much more. For me it was confusing and just not my kind of story.

I think I'll skip that one...

Now I actually enjoyed Devil Colony. It had me looking things up super volcano activity in and around Yellowstone, and a lot of what Rollins is writing about is based pretty securely in reality, which is scary.
Of course you kind of need to follow Rollins' Sigma Series from the beginning, which will give you the background on all the characters and the situations they're dealing with.

Agreed Rick. Rollins is a master in the genre.

Rick wrote: "Now I actually enjoyed Devil Colony. It had me looking things up super volcano activity in and around Yellowstone, and a lot of what Rollins is writing about is based pretty securely in reality, w..."

I know a lot of people liked the book :)

Reading White Fire, I so love this series.

Tay wrote: "I did not know that. I read the first one and didn't even know there was a sequel. That's a shame because I really enjoyed the first one..."

Just FYI, his next book will be written under the pseudonym Alan Finn.

I pre-ordered Whit Fire, but it doesn't show up tll 11/11

I just started by James Patterson.

Currently reading and ; enjoying them both :)

Currently reading my sister's bestselling book: Out of Nowhereby Rebecca Phillips . Brilliantly written and compelling so far. I'm such a proud big brother to be reading my sister's novel.

I'm reading They Never Die Quietlyand just finished this series: Sworn to Silence

I am reading It is a
little unnerving, foreboding, different. It has held my interest as there is interweaving of the animal world, the spiritual world, and Clara, the priest's wife. I have to read this one until the end to find out
if all the strange implications are fulfilled.

Tim. Read It was
good and had some good research of WWII.

I am reading

I'm reading The Broken Ones by Stephen M. Irwin. It's starting out pretty interesting. The Earth's poles have reversed throwing the world into electronic chaos...and apparently somehow causing the dead to rise as ghosts. Meanwhile a serial killer is loose in the land (which in this case is Australia).

I have just finished The Likeness by Tana French. After reading the first two books in the series, I have become a serious fan of this author. Her writing style is captivating. The story moves very slowly as the characters are the main focus of the novel. I have read few authors that better develop their characters and explore the characters motivations. I highly recommend.

My Review
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...