Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends discussion

Had a good start to the year. Here are my January reads:

Top Reads

Arabesk
Barbara Nadel
Another fine entry in this police procedural series set in Istanbul. The plot, which blended the Arabesk music scene with a lesser known religion found in the far east of Turkey, was serviceable. The real draw of this series though is the authentic seeming atmosphere and the characters who run the gamut of Turkey's various ethnic and religious groups.

Dark Times in the City
Gene Kerrigan
An excellently written dark, gritty crime novel set in Dublin. The author is a former journalist and the characters and situations reek of authenticity.

Good Reads

The Big Killing
Robert Wilson
Blackmail, diamonds, a kidnapping, and the Liberian Civil War all mix together in this complexly plotted though enjoyable suspense tale set in West Africa.

The Mediterranean Caper
Clive Cussler
This was the first published book in the best-selling Dirk Pitt series. Lots of adventure, romance, and evildoers to overcome though perhaps a bit dated. Listened the audio version reliably read by Michael Prichard.

The Night Ferry
Michael Robotham
Alisha Barba, who had a supporting role in the author's previous book Lost, takes over as the main character in this very tense suspense yarn. The plot takes her from London to Amsterdam and while it skirted the edge of being too melodramatic the various twists kept my attention throughout. I listened to the audio version which was capably read by Clare Corbett.

Mortal Prey
John Sandford
When the FBI calls wanting his help with a hired killer that he tangled with in a previous book, Lucas drops everything to go to St. Louis and join in on the chase. While I missed the Minneapolis crew, this was a fast paced thriller with a very good plot. Listened to the audio which was read by Richard Ferrone.

Gone to Ground
John Harvey
The author is one of my favorite English police procedural writers and this, a first book featuring a police detective duo in Cambridge, was a perfectly acceptable read. The plot and supporting characters were quite interesting though one of the two lead characters was a bit on the boring side.

The Honourable Schoolboy
John le Carré
This was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I loved the writing, the setting, and the overall atmosphere but the plot was not the tightest and at times I wondered how it would all come together in the end. I listened to the audio version which was read by Michael Jayston who did an excellent job.

A real trip around the world...except for Minneapolis, of course.

Re Barbara Nadel-- I read Arabesk too and liked it better than the first book in the series. I got a few more of her titles from PBS but haven't gotten to them yet.

You always reading the most interesting sounding stuff! Will you be rooting for Peyton tomorrow??

Looks like a great start to the year, Sandi!

Melodie wrote: "You always reading the most interesting sounding stuff! Will you be rooting for Peyton tomorrow??"

Yes, I hope he has a good game and it would be nice to see him win another Super Bowl. I think all of Indy is pulling for him and one of the local grocery stores is having an 18 hour sale today along with 18 super recipes in his honor.

Love the tie-in with the number 18, Sandi!
It is a very famous number in the football world. I'm rooting for Peyton too. If they get him the ball often enough they'll win. It all depends on Seattle's defense.

good list

An interesting list, as always, Sandi!