The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group discussion

I finished Outlaw Mountain by J.A. Jance. In this seventh book in the series Sheriff Joanna Brady is involved in several cases: a wealthy older woman is murdered in the Arizona desert, rabid environmentalists oppose a shady building project, and a developmentally disabled man is abandoned in a church. Plenty of complications in all the cases which Joanna and her deputies have to sort out. Meanwhile, Joanna's boyfriend Butch is getting more serious. The usual characters make an appearance including two of my favorite trouble-makers, spiteful reporter Marliss Shackleford and Joanna's controlling mother, Eleanor Lathrop Winfield. Good book. 3 stars for me.

Olivia wrote: I just finished the adorable cozy Baseball Cat by Garrison Allen It had a lot of humor and charming, eccentric characters. The cat of the title is the 25-pound Abyssinian Mycroft or Big Mike. I highly recommend it.

Thanks for the recommendation Olivia. My library doesn't have that one but it has Movie Cat by Garrison Allen which I'm going to try :)

Just finished . Loved the first book in this series and keep making the attempt to continue, but think this is my last try. This really seemed to have a lot of things going for it, with a very unique 'possibly King Arthur's bones' archeological plot but it felt like at least a third of the book focused on the very intertwined 'angsty' relationships between half the main characters instead of the mystery/archeology.

I don't need a single mother of a child (the forensic archeologist), still involved with the child's father (the police chief) and his wife, the archeologist's boyfriend plus a good male friend who is the father of a child of a married policewoman on the same police force ...

It's unfortunate because archeological mysteries are one of my favorites and that part of these mysteries are excellent. I'd hoped once they got past the 'affair/child' situation it would level out but instead it's gotten even more tangled.

Sorry ... if I wanted a soap opera, I'd be watching one ...

Got Done reading The Sixth Man by David Baldacci on Friday. The book was okay but not my fav of the King & Maxwell series. I did like Edgar Roy though.

Also got done reading Gone Missing by Linda Castillo I liked it but the family in this one was crazy but I love Kate Burkholder.

Still got to read Black House by Stephen King & Killing Floor by Lee Child

Also going be reading Did You Miss Me? by Karen Rose

I, too, love Linda Castillo's Kate Burkholder series.

Kathy S.

Renee wrote: "Bill wrote: "I'm currently reading a Tommy and Tuppence spy mystery by Agatha Christie, N or M? and just starting Deep Water by [author:Patricia Highsmi..."

I'm enjoying very , Renee, it's got a different feel to it from her mysteries. I like Tommy and Tuppence as well.

Finished The Bone Collector by Jeffery Deaver. It was OK, didn't set my world on fire though.

Sharon wrote: "Just finished . Loved the first book in this series and keep making the attempt to continue, but think this is my last try. This really seemed to have a lot of thin..."

Sharon, I recently read a book called Airtight Case by Beverly Connor and liked it really well. It's from a series that follows Lindsay Chamberlain, who is an archeologist. This is the only one that I have read from that series but I wouldn't mind reading the rest. Thought since you said you liked books about archeology, you may like this one.

Marian wrote: "Am reading Lisa Gardner "Touch and Go" at the moment."

How is this book? I'm a Lisa Gardner fan but I haven't read any of her new stuff yet.

Kathryn wrote: " I recently read a book called Airtight Case by Beverly Connor and liked it really well."

Thanks for the suggestion. I see my library has several of hers and will definitely check out a couple the next trip to town.

Shannon wrote: "
Also got done reading Gone Missing by Linda Castillo I liked it but the family in this one was crazy but I love Kate Burkholder."

I've tried very hard to like this series better than I do ... nearly gave up after the first book because both main characters were so damaged/conflicted ... then Gone Missing was just grim. Tried again with Her Last Breath and I'm still pretty much on the fence ... there just seems to be a very dark tone to this series and I'm not sure I like the main characters enough to continue.

Between the holidays and preparing to move out of state I haven't been reading much lately. But I've started A Few Right Thinking Men, which is set in 1930s Australia. I hadn't previously heard about this series but saw it mentioned on a blog. Very enjoyable so far.

I finished Touch & Go by Lisa Gardner. Justin and Libby Denbe and their teenage daughter Ashlyn, are kidnapped and an assortment of law enforcement personnel try to locate them. Added to the mix, Justin has been unfaithful, the Denbe's have severe marital problems, and Ashlyn has deep dark secrets. I didn't enjoy the book and had to push myself to finish it. Kidnapping stories are my least favorite suspense themes and a lot of the characters were unlikeable. Just not my kind of story.

Started a standalone that I apparently missed when it came out. Lots of action and a dash of black humor with it.

I am currently reading

and I love it!!!

I just bought The Fall Guy for a good cause. Check out Simon Wood's blog post (link below) for ways you can help.

https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...

Got finsh reading both Killing Floor & Black House i loved both. I am a big fan of Stephen King so i knew i would love it. And this is the first book i read by Lee Child but i loved it going have to read his other books.

Now i am starting on Did You Miss Me? by Karen Rose i am really loving it so far i am on page 200 right now. I have read almost every book of this series and so far love them all.

When i get done reading that book here the next books i going read
The Stranger You Know by Andrea Kane
Still Life by Louise Penny
Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult
Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain
Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

Marian wrote: "I am currently reading

and I love it!!!"

Loved that one!

Just finished The Da Vinci Code. I found it an absorbing page-turner so I gave it 4 stars. Now reading 8.4 by Peter Hernon which is about earthquakes on the New Madrid Fault. The New Madrid Fault, located in the Midwest, is where the strongest quakes ever to hit the US took place in 1811 and 1812. So far it has been very good.

Blood Orchids This is the first entry in a mystery series, by T. Neal, featuring Lei Teixera, a police constable on the Hawaiian Island of Hilo. Lei, short for Leilani, desperately wants to be a detective. When she and her partner stumble across the bodies of two dead high school girls while on another call, she brazenly introduces herself to the detectives who caught the case. She is determined to work her way onto the investigating detective team. Teixera's situation is complicated by a troubled past. While she struggles to prove her worth to the detective heading up the case, she is struggling to not let residual effects of past experiences hamper her ability to do her job. On top of that, someone has begun stalking her at home. These details may seem like common themes for an author to use. Nevertheless, what Neal accomplishes with her plot construction and character development draws you into the story, and keeps your interest as the investigation and Lei's role in it, unfolds. I have deliberately not included details about what happened to Lei, since the reader needs to learn about her past, as the rest of the plot is revealed. The author has lived in Hawaii for several years, and her backstory details are realistic and interesting. I really enjoyed this book, and finished it in a little more than a day. The tropical setting and Officer Lei, are both worth another look in the next book, Torch Ginger.

I'm finishing Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz and I'm going to start by Kevin O'Brien.

Shannon wrote: "Got finsh reading both Killing Floor & Black House i loved both. I am a big fan of Stephen King so i knew i would love it. And this is the first book i read by Lee Child b..."

Heart Shaped Box is a great book. Joe Hill may be Stephen King's kid, but he's got his own style and writes some pretty damn good books.

Amen Rick...and I thought Nos4a2 was even better...he's really finding his voice.

Currently enjoying Deep Water by Patricia Highsmith. It was a bit of a slow burn at first, but I'm quite into it now.. Just started Carved in Bone by Jefferson Bass and am enjoying so far.

Bill wrote: "Currently enjoying Deep Water by Patricia Highsmith. It was a bit of a slow burn at first, but I'm quite into it now.. Just started Carved in Bone by [a..."

I read Carved in Bone a few months ago and really enjoyed it.

Rick wrote: "Shannon wrote: "Got finsh reading both Killing Floor & Black House i loved both. I am a big fan of Stephen King so i knew i would love it. And this is the first book i rea..."

I loved Heart Shaped Box, and NOS4a2! He is a great writer

Rick wrote: "Shannon wrote: "Got finsh reading both Killing Floor & Black House i loved both. I am a big fan of Stephen King so i knew i would love it. And this is the first book i rea..."

I do think he has his father's sense of humor. I've read Horns and laughed my way through most of it. Good book!

Bill wrote: "Currently enjoying Deep Water by Patricia Highsmith. It was a bit of a slow burn at first, but I'm quite into it now.. Just started Carved in Bone by [a..."

I loved Carved In Bone. It's my favorite in the Body Farm series, though I have enjoyed all the rest.

I started The Girl of His Dreams by Donna Leon

I'll be finishing up Connelly's The Black Ice tonight. :)

Just finished which was the usual good Thomas Perry standalone. Plenty of less than admirable characters, well developed, a strong leaning toward vigilante "get even" and enough ironies and humor to keep it a fun read.

Just began reading

Have started The Vanishing .

Back to the In Deathseries. Just started by J.D. Robb

Began Mad Dog House only 20 % finished, and I already have a great dense of foreboding about where this story is heading.

Im reading another one by Lisa Gardner..

and:

I'm reading Perchance to Dream by Robert B Parker. Excellent read. Love Phillip Marlowe.

I've recently finished Ubik and started A Maze of Death by Philip K. Dick

Breathless by V.J. Chambers
I just finished Breathless which was a YA book, not my usual fair, but I met V.J. Chambers here at Goodreads and I wanted to check out her books,and it was actually pretty good, because it threw in enough wild turns to make it very interesting.


4/41: Earth's Magick by Mel Massey
I'm moving on to Earth's Magick because I follow Mel Massey on Twitter and she always has the coolest artwork that she Tweets to promote her books and it made me wonder how cool her books would be.

Marian wrote: "Im reading another one by Lisa Gardner..

and: "

I've had The Poison Tree on my list for sooooo long and keep passing it over for other things. Looking forward to what you think of it.

I really got myself in a pickle Renee,as I am now thinking of reading 3 books sort of at the same time.I just finished reading another Lisa Gardner book called "Touch &Go" and just loved it!!So I just HAD to get another book of hers..lol!Then I saw "The Poison Tree" at the library,so I picked it up today as well,THEN,I got a notice from the library that "The Other Typist" was now avalible..I have waited along time for this:)))Forgot all about it actually.Thats my pickle..lol!

Marian wrote: "I really got myself in a pickle Renee,as I am now thinking of reading 3 books sort of at the same time.I just finished reading another Lisa Gardner book called "Touch &Go" and just loved it!!So I j..."

Marian wrote: "I really got myself in a pickle Renee,as I am now thinking of reading 3 books sort of at the same time.I just finished reading another

r Lisa Gardner book called "Touch &Go" and just loved it!!So I j..."

Laurel wrote: "Marian wrote: "I really got myself in a pickle Renee,as I am now thinking of reading 3 books sort of at the same time.I just finished reading another Lisa Gardner book called "Touch &Go" and just l..."

I think I would start them all, but do you have to return the library one by a specific date? Perhaps it should be first. What a pleasant dilemma to have!

pleasant? I love your outlook on books Laurel:)))

Marian wrote: "pleasant? I love your outlook on books Laurel:)))"

That is one of the reasons we are friends, Marion!

Finished the 1983 winner of the Edgar Award for Best first novel. Unfortunately, no awards from me. I know a few of you really like this one, but I just couldn't connect with the story. That said, I did like the hitman and found his rather sympathetic.

The Butcher's Boy -

My Review

Reading Lisa Gardner's latest. Fear Nothing

Darker and somehow more gory than the other books in the D.D. Warren series. I think it is the nature of the crime, which is quite sick and reminds me of Silence of the Lambs.

I finished The Girl of His Dreams by Donna Leon. In this 17th book in the series a priest acquaintance asks Commissario Guido Brunetti to look into a possibly shady "spiritual advisor" and Brunetti investigates the death of a gypsy girl who drowned during the commision of a robbery. Leon's usual characters - Brunetti's police colleagues and his wife and kids - are on hand and, as always, the interactions between Brunetti and the police chief's secretary add a touch of intrigue and humor. Donna Leon is adept at infusing the feel of Venice into her stories. This is a good light mystery.

Marian wrote: "I really got myself in a pickle Renee,as I am now thinking of reading 3 books sort of at the same time.I just finished reading another Lisa Gardner book called "Touch &Go" and just loved it!!So I j..."

Oh, the drama! The burden! The horror! (There's no font for sarcasm, but that's what that was.)

I'm with you, Laurel! What a pleasant dilemma to have. I also agree about the reading the book that will have to go back to the library first. And yet...

There's always that book that you want to/must read right now, no matter what else is there to be read and returned. I do read more than one book at a time, as long as they aren't too similar--only one British cozy, Southern accent, one first-person narrative, one paranormal, one serial killer at a time. Otherwise I get confused. ("Wait. Didn't she say the killer was taking ring fingers as trophies? What is this business with the riverboat and the cat?") Also, a good, though non-mystery, example is trying to read the Allegiant series and the Hunger Games series at the same time.

So, there's the coffee break book and the bedside book and the hunker-down-with-coffee-or-wine book, etc. It works for me.

Marian wrote: "I really got myself in a pickle Renee,as I am now thinking of reading 3 books sort of at the same time.I just finished reading another Lisa Gardner book called "Touch &Go" and just loved it!!So I j..."

Let me know about The Other Typist I've been thinking about buying that one.