The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group discussion

Currently reading by Charles Finch. At least I would be if I hadn't accidentally left my Kindle at home this morning. What do people normally do at lunch if they don't read? :D

Just finished the Mystery/Suspense/Thriller~ Icehotel.


Far,far too gruesome and gory for my tastes,plus scattered profanity and crude conversations
Very Original.This was actually a pretty good mystery with really surprising twists and turns.I did manage to stick with it to the finish,even though it has several elements that I normally avoid[profanity,an explicit sex scene,and gruesome gore].

It was not difficult to put down so it took me 4 days to finish it!I rated it 3-stars.

At times it is really wordy,and I did skim some in the middle.

The descriptions of the locale were great,and the characters are well developed.

Mystery lovers with stronger stomachs will most likely love The Icehotel.

Christine, this actually sounds like it is right up my alley. I'll have to check it out.

I just finished The Drop by Michael Connelly and thought it was another pretty good Harry Bosch book. Today I'm starting Secrets to the Grave by Tami Hoag. I'm hoping this picks up where Deeper Than the Dead left off.

Christine wrote: "Just finished the Mystery/Suspense/Thriller~ Icehotel.


Far,far too gruesome and gory for my tastes,plus scattered profanity and crude conversations
Very Original.This..."


Sounds interesting. I'm going to try to get it from the library.

On a serious binge reading jag: the Gabriel Allon serious by Daniel Silva. 3 to go. Pity.

Just started reading "Das Boot" or "The Boat."

I just finished Beautiful Lies by Lisa Unger. It was so good. I like how the author had the character talking to you. Questioning you what would you do in this situation. It made me feel like I was a part of the story not just an observer. The characters were likable (at least some) not all of them. The ending makes you wonder who really is the villain? I still haven't figured that out since everyone felt that their role in life was justified and they were just helping out a bad system.

I will read more books by her and hope that her writing doesn't change. I liked being included in the story.

Brigands Key

I just finished reading Treacherous Bastards and Tales of Old Brigands Key both collections of short stories by Ken Pelham that are available at Amazon. I greatly enjoyed both sets of stories, Ken has a very friendly writing style that brings you in, sets the hooks, and starts pulling. I always like finding a new author to read and went ahead to by his full length book Brigands Key and think that if you start reading Pelham, you'll be joining me in racing through his books.

Going back and doing some re-reads. Just finished and about halfway through . As good as I remembered, great characters. Just wish the author would get busy and write some more!

I finished Through the Evil Days: A Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne Mystery by Julia Spencer-Fleming. In this mystery/thriller, the first part of the book is a mystery: the cops are trying to find out who kidnapped a child, Mikayla. Once the suspects are identified, the remainder of the book is a thriller as the cops set out to rescue the girl and catch the perps during 'the ice-storm of the century.' This is book 8 in the series and many well-known (and mostly well-liked) characters are on hand for the action/personal dramas.
I liked the first part of the book but got bogged down in the second part: the prolonged scenes of slogging through ice and snow and tangling with the perps. All in all I thought the book had interesting characters and a good plot but I found myself skimming through parts in the second half.

I just finished No Human Involved by Barbara Seranella. This is currently a free download on kindle and surprisingly good. It dates from the 1970's with that time period's technology (or lack thereof). It is character driven suspense with a compelling storyline, somewhat formulaic but well written.

I've started and set down White Jazzand American Tabloid by James Ellroy. I liked LA Confidential and I liked The Black Dahlia but these two are too off the rails for my taste.

The more acclaim an author seems to garner the more the writing seems to take on a Hunter Thompson, Cormac McCarthy 'I'm gifted and I'll do what I want' kind of flair. Recognition is like heroin to these guys it seems. Putting together three word phrases separated by slashes and calling it a sentence.

Kathryn wrote: "Christine, this actually sounds like it is right up my alley. I'll have to check it out."

Yeah, the more she talks about how naughty it was the more i want to read it....lol

Just finished Heat Wave by Richard Castle. My next book will be Just One Evil Act by Elizabeth George.

I started The Poisoned Pilgrim by Oliver Pötzsch

Rick wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "Christine, this actually sounds like it is right up my alley. I'll have to check it out."

Yeah, the more she talks about how naughty it was the more i want to read it....lol"

It made me think of a Chelsea Cain novel. Love Gretchen.

I finished Lucky Bastard by Deborah Coonts. This mystery starts off with Lucky O’Toole, customer relations honcho for the Babylon Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, being called to the hotel's on-site car dealership. There a beautiful woman lies dead on top of a Ferrari, stabbed in the neck with a Jimmy Choo shoe. It turns out the woman participated in high stakes poker games at the hotel and just might have been cheating. Soon more people associated with high-stakes poker turn up dead - and as Lucky runs around investigating her own life may even be endangered. The book has a good deal of humor, engaging characters, some romantic angst, and a nice touch of Las Vegas casino ambience. Enjoyable light mystery.

Jannene wrote: "I just finished Beautiful Lies by Lisa Unger. It was so good. I like how the author had the character talking to you. Questioning you what would you do in this situati..."

I have one of her paperback books called Die for You but I have not read it yet. This is good to know about this author because I've been wanting to read her stuff for a while!

Barbara wrote: "I finished Lucky Bastard by Deborah Coonts. This mystery starts off with Lucky O’Toole, customer relations honcho for the Babylon..."

Sounds like a good one to read between the heavy ones. I've added this to my list. Thanks for the recommendation.

I just finished reading...

Just finished "Live from Cape Canaveral": Covering the Space Race, from Sputnik to Today by Jay Barbree. Starting MEAN SUN by Gerry Garibaldi, a book I won via First Reads.

Just starting and

Donna wrote: "Barbara wrote: "I finished Lucky Bastard by Deborah Coonts. This mystery starts off with Lucky O’Toole, customer relations honcho..."

yw Donna.

Aiesha wrote: "Jannene wrote: "I just finished Beautiful Lies by Lisa Unger. It was so good. I like how the author had the character talking to you. Questioning you what would you do..."

I just started the second book Sliver of Truth by her and it is just as good as the first one. I have Die for You as well and plan to read that shortly.

I just finished . I didn't get the ending that I expected but it was a great book. The character involved you in the book and kept you wanting to read and find out more. It was like an old friend talking to you and discussing their day. I enjoyed it.

So far in November I've read: It's been a great month of reading. :-)

Ken wrote: "I've started and set down White Jazzand American Tabloid by James Ellroy. I liked LA Confidential and I liked The Black Dahlia but these two are too off the rails for my..."

I like Ellroy as well but sometimes have trouble following his pace, with his hep-cat dialogue.

Just finished The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon by Alexander McCall Smith. These books are so charming.

Just found out that Camilla Lackberg's first three books are $1.99 each only today on Kindle. They are The Ice Princess, The Preacher, and The Stonecutter. I read the Ice Princess and thought it was one of the best books I read this year.

I just started reading...

i finished reading the other night

Marian wrote: "I just started reading..."

I really liked Sutton, hope you do as well.

Reading Takedown Twenty and My Notorious Life

Diane S. wrote: "Marian wrote: "I just started reading..."

I really liked Sutton, hope you do as well."

Yes,Im enjoying this book a lot:)Thankyou!

I am a third of the way through Faithful Place - . Reading a book by Tana French is like sitting down for a talk with an old friend. She is one of my favorite authors.

Just finished "Just One Evil Act" by Elizabeth George. It was so much better than her previous 2-3. Mostly about Havers, but Linley is getting back to normal, and Deborah and St. James have a few pages. I found it hard to put down, and it's locale of Lucca, Italy, brought back my visit there. I really enjoyed this one!

I just finished the latest installment of the Donovan Creed series, Because We Can. It was a whole new level of strange and ridiculous.

Starting "The St. Zita Society" by Ruth rendell. Looking forward to it since it's the first novel I've read of hers. I read about her in this group, thanks! I like finding new authors that have written lots of books, and finding new-to-me mystery authors.

I just started . I thought Sarah died a few books back. I guess not.

Just started The Keeper of Lost Causes, which has been on my list forever so I'm glad I'm finally getting to it.

Finished "Volk's Game" and "Dead I May Well Be" that I referenced upthread, and went and got Brent Ghelfi's next Volk book and one of McKinty's "Sean Duffy" police procedurals set in Belfast back in the '90s.

I'm also reading Nick Tosches' biography of Dean Martin, which is not "technically" a crime book, but...

Dorie wrote: "Just started The Keeper of Lost Causes, which has been on my list forever so I'm glad I'm finally getting to it."

Hope you enjoy this one. I found it to be a real page turner.

Dorie wrote: "Just started The Keeper of Lost Causes, which has been on my list forever so I'm glad I'm finally getting to it."

I will look for your review. It has been on my list for a while. I tried to start it as an audiobook but the narration was terrible.

Sandi wrote: "Just finished "Just One Evil Act" by Elizabeth George. It was so much better than her previous 2-3. Mostly about Havers, but Linley is getting back to normal, and Deborah and St. James have a few p..."

I gave up on this series after Playing for the Ashes. I found the main characters aside from Havers too pretentious and the procedures suspect. The fact that the author is an American doesn’t help. Is there some point in the series where I might be able to tolerate it again?

Just started "Blindness" by Jose Saramago Blindness I'm enjoying this book - reminds me of Wool. We'll see how it goes. Something different at least.

Dorie wrote: "Just started The Keeper of Lost Causes, which has been on my list forever so I'm glad I'm finally getting to it."

I've got that on my TBR shelf, looking forward to reading it. I hope you enjoy.

I'm reading Sara Paretsky's memoir Writing In An Age Of Silence. It's an interesting look into her life and how she came up with the character of V I Warshawski.

Namoi
I like Sara P. I will have to read her book about writing. Thanks for mentioning it.
Paige

Just picked up a historical thriller entitled The Lincoln Conspiracy.