Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends discussion

Happy New Year!!!

Here are my December reads:

Top Reads

Hand in Glove
Robert Goddard
Another well written though deliberately paced story from one of my favorite authors. There was quite a lot going on this book including literary fame, The Spanish Civil War, family relationships, and even a bit of romance but it was all handled very deftly and the ending was quite suspenseful.

Hour of the Red God
Richard Crompton
The Nairobi setting during the 2007 election and the violent aftermath was used to good effect in this debut featuring a former Maasai warrior turned police detective. I really liked the main character, thought the author did a great job of incorporating Maasai legend into the plot, and found the ending very suspenseful. I did have some trepidation about the author's style (no quotation marks) but once I started had no trouble with the narrative flow.

Good Reads

The Brass Verdict
Michael Connelly
A nicely done legal suspense story. My favorite sections were in the courtroom where Mickey is at his best. Listened to the audio version which was well narrated by Peter Giles.

Murder to Go
Emma Lathen
Wall Street banker John Putnam Thatcher is one of my favorite characters to read about so even though the plot in this entry dragged a bit I did find this entertaining enough.

Fuzz
Ed McBain
The Deaf Man returns to disrupt the lives of the crew of the 87th Precinct during one of the coldest months of March on record. Almost all of the guys are in this book with Meyer Meyer, Kling, Carella, and Hawes having the largest roles. A good crisply written entry though the ending was a bit of a stretch.

The Glass Devil
Helene Tursten
Not one of the best entries in this series, I found it a bit stilted and obvious in spots but still a fairly solid police procedural set in Sweden with some action in England and Scotland.

Twelve Days
Alex Berenson
This book continues the story from The Counterfeit Agent and I found it enjoyable with lots of action and suspense. Listened to the audio version which was narrated by the always impeccable George Guidall.

Shock Wave
John Sandford
Another highly enjoyable audio featuring BCA detective Virgil Flowers. This series is consistently good and I always get a kick out of Virgil's social investigation skills. The narration was performed by Eric Conger and he did a fine job.

Death of a Toy Soldier
Barbara Early
A holiday mystery series debut set in a vintage toy shop in a quaint small town. The plotting was fine and I liked the characters (especially some of the supporting characters) but all the punning was perhaps a bit excessive.

Last Reminder
Stuart Pawson
I really like this English police procedural series and this entry was no exception. The lead character, DI Charlie Priest, is a very likable, humorous, and well adjusted guy who gets along with the his co-workers. The first person narration flowed nicely and the plot had a number of twists and turns.

Cliff Diver
Carmen Amato
Started a bit slowly but, in the end, I thought this was well worth reading. The main character, the first and only female police detective in Acapulco Mexico, was young and inexperienced and her dealings with some of the co-workers was sometimes a bit much but she was brave, persistent, and held her own during the complicated case.

Hour of the Red God sounds interesting.

Happy New Year to you too, good month.

I'm also interested in Hour of the Red God. As usual, I'm maxed out on hold requests. I have to go to the library and pick up the ones that are available in order to request more.

Another interested in Hour of the Red God!

What a great month Sandi!

Sandi: Happy New Year to you!!
A very nice month with several series entries, i always like to be able to tick off completed books in favorite series. Hour of the Red God does look good.
Shomeret: I am usually flirting with hold limits and borrowing limits too. It's often frustrating to try to determine the best format to request for the best timing and to juggle requests to try to stay on top of new releases before the hold lists get too long.
Shomeret wrote: "I'm also interested in Hour of the Red God. As usual, I'm maxed out on hold requests. I have to go to the library and pick up the ones that are available in order to request more."

Stuart Pawson is in my FictFact list, no doubt due to you. I should put reading the first in the series on my Determination List for 2017. I always enjoy finding new British police procedurals.

Carol/Bonadie wrote: "Stuart Pawson is in my FictFact list, no doubt due to you. I should put reading the first in the series on my Determination List for 2017. I always enjoy finding new British police procedurals."

I really like the series. The main character is not dark and brooding, just a regular good guy trying to do his job to the best of his ability.

Sandi wrote: "Carol/Bonadie wrote: "Stuart Pawson is in my FictFact list, no doubt due to you. I should put reading the first in the series on my Determination List for 2017. I always enjoy finding new British p..."

The first in the series, written in the late '90s, is almost impossible to find! I tried amazon (cost of PB original $24, no thank you), even amazon UK (similar), Paperback Swap and my library systems. Nada. I finally bought a used copy in good condition through Amazon but a 3rd party seller so no free shipping through Prime. The shipping costs more than the book, but the total is under $10 so it's worth it to see if I take to it. The books written after 2000 seem more readily available, but there are a few before that.

Carol/Bonadie wrote: "The first in the series, written in the late '90s, is almost impossible to find! I tried amazon (cost of PB original $24, no thank you), even amazon UK (similar), Paperback Swap and my library systems. Nada. I finally bought a used copy in good condition through Amazon but a 3rd party seller so no free shipping through Prime."

Bummer. My library system has pretty much the whole series thru Overdrive but the first book is only on the EPUB format not Kindle.