Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends discussion

Hi everyone,

Had a good month of mainly old reliable authors with a couple of new ones sprinkled in. Here are my November reads:

Top Reads

Bombproof
Michael Robotham
A grade A thriller that had great characters (Sami MacBeth a man so unlucky that he can turn any "desperate situation into a hopeless one" and Vincent Ruiz my favorite recurring character from this author), a fast and furious plot with clever writing, and excellent narration on the audio version by Sean Barrett.

Semper Fidelis
Ruth Downie
Another excellent entry in this series featuring a doctor in the service of the Legion serving in Britannia. Ruso is a great reluctant hero and Tilla is always highly entertaining. The plot was quite suspenseful and quick moving and the look at Hadrian and his wife interesting.

Smiley's People: A George Smiley Novel
John le Carré
A fitting conclusion to the Karla trilogy. Though retired, George Smiley is still at the top of his game and many of his old compatriots also make appearances throughout the narrative. Listened to the audio version which was excellently narrated by Michael Jayston.

Good Reads

When the Devil Holds the Candle
Karin Fossum
While part of the Inspector Sejer series, Sejer and the police actually have a small role in the narrative. Instead this was more psychological suspense with an emphasis on characterizations. Dark, suspenseful, and, though very well written, quite disturbing.

The Cuckoo's Calling
Robert Galbraith
A pretty good Private Detective story that would have benefited from some tighter writing. The plot was interesting, I enjoyed the characterizations, and the narration of the audio by Robert Glenister was extremely well done.

The Elberg Collection
Anthony Oliver
An enjoyable mystery dealing with pottery and murder. The plot was not particularly great, the weakest of the series so far, and very predictable but the engaging characters made this an entertaining read.

Blood Safari
Deon Meyer
A decent read but not up to par with the author's previous works. I did enjoy the main character, the rural South African setting, and I learned quite a bit about the environmental issues facing South Africa. Unfortunately the resolution of the plot was overly complicated and too unrealistic for my tastes and the book was a bit overlong.

Dark Of The Moon
John Sandford
Virgil Flowers, from the Minnesota BCA and works for Lucas Davenport, is sent to a small town where everyone knows everyone but law enforcement is baffled by a brutal murder of elderly couple. Virgil is kind of different but smart and competent. The plotting was good with lots of twists and turns though the narration of the audio by Eric Conger was only just adequate.

The Promise (Joe Pike #5)
Robert Crais
A quick, enjoyable read. I am a big fan of Elvis and Joe and thought that Scott and Maggie were integrated well throughout the story though would have preferred more Joe and less Jon Stone POV sections.

Payback
Mike Nicol
While fast paced, action packed, and violent the story line could have been more focused. The characterizations were also a bit uneven though the Cape Town setting was interesting.

The Last Refuge: Sam Acquillo Mystery Series, Book 1
Chris Knopf
For the most part I really enjoyed this debut book. The plotting was fairly well done, the setting and sense of place were quite good, and the main character was intriguing enough. I did have a few problems with the pacing and while the main character's backstory was interesting I felt it could have been condensed down just a bit. All in all though a good read and I want to continue on with the series.

Death of a Snob
M.C. Beaton
A pleasant entry in the Hamish MacBeth series. This book is set around Christmas and Hamish travels to a remote Scottish island to help the owner of a health farm who thinks someone is out to get her. The plotting and writing were fine and the narration by Shaun Grindell was well done.

Good month Sandi.

Great month! Some of my favorite authors as well, and a couple I'll have to note to try for the first time!

Nice month Sandi! I'll have to look for the Karin Fossum and a couple of others. I'm looking forward to The Promise too.

Good month! I'm going to read The Cuckoo's Calling soon, just picked it up.