Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends discussion

A good month of usually old reliable authors with some new authors sprinkled in. Here are my November reads:

Top Reads

Crime: Stories
Ferdinand von Schirach
Collection of short stories set in Germany featuring a defense attorney who records his observations of his clients and their crimes and motivations. The writing was rather spare though very realistic. Most of the stories were depressing but there was a bit of humor in a few.

The James Deans
Reed Farrel Coleman
Moe Prager reluctantly takes a job looking into the disappearance of a young woman who was interning for an up and coming state senator. Moe is a great character and the story had just enough plot twists to keep me turning the pages.

The Uncommon Reader
Alan Bennett
Very enjoyable listen. This was a short novella that featured the Queen of England and what happens when she decides to take up reading. Both funny and insightful. The audio was read by the author who did a commendable job.

Good Reads

Hidden Prey
John Sandford
Lucas finds himself up along the shores of Lake Superior investigating a dead Russian. Very good like all the books in this series. Listened to the audio version read by the stellar Richard Ferrone.

Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s
Jeff Pearlman
A good overview of the Lakers after Dr. Jerry Buss purchased them and Magic Johnson's arrival at the dawn of Showtime. The author does a good job with these type of books and I was glad to see that Jack McKinney was not forgotten.

Pietr the Latvian
Georges Simenon
I was glad to see that Penguin was republishing this series and that my library had the e-book. A good introduction to the classic series. Maigret is a fully formed character and while the plot was a bit thin it held enough promise that I will read onward.

Taming A Sea-Horse
Robert B. Parker
Much better than the previous book in the series. Spencer got his groove back, Hawk played a small but pivotal role, and Susan was bearable. Listened to the audio version read by the reliable Michael Prichard.

Mama Does Time
Deborah Sharp
An agreeable first mystery set in a smaller rural town in Florida. I liked the quirky characters though the plotting was a bit obvious and I wish the writing had been a bit tighter.

Sorrow Without End
Priscilla Royal
Enjoyable historical mystery. Set during the last year of Henry III reign the plot revolved around men returning from the Crusades and the effect it had on them. I enjoy the characters and look forward to the next entry in the series.

A Series of Murders
Simon Brett
Usually out of work actor Charles Paris has landed a plum role in an English mystery series but when another actor is found dead on the first day of filming he can't help but try to find out what really happened. The author has worked on many radio and TV productions so everything seemed pretty authentic and Charles is a winning leading man on the page.

Underwhelming

Cycle of Violence
Colin Bateman
Set mainly in the small town of Crossmaheart in Northern Ireland, this was rather a bit too dark and depressing for me and while there was some dark humor it was not nearly as funny as I remember his first book Divorcing Jack being. I listened to the audio version and unfortunately the narration by Andrew Jackson was rather pedestrian.

Good month, Sandi. Lots of variety.

Sandi: Three top reads, and several good reads - nice month. I was disappointed to see the library doesn't have the first Moe Prager book. I think I would potentially like that series.

Ann wrote: "Sandi: Three top reads, and several good reads - nice month. I was disappointed to see the library doesn't have the first Moe Prager book. I think I would potentially like that series."

Ann I do think you would like the series though the first book is very important since there are still some threads hanging over Moe from that book that I am sure will come home to roost sooner or later.

Sandi, good month. The Moe series looks interesting.

Sandi:

Great summary as usual. I love the variety and the way you characterize the books ("underwhelming," LOL).

I was recently reminded of the Maigret series, which I have on my list to start, but was shocked to learn that there are NINETY-EIGHT BOOKS IN THE SERIES. What?!? That's overwhelming, even for a series-loving RIO like me.

good month

Carol/Bonadie wrote: "Sandi:

I was recently reminded of the Maigret series, which I have on my list to start,but was shocked to learn that there are NINETY-EIGHT BOOKS IN THE SERIES. What?!? That's overwhelming, even for a series-loving RIO like me."

The one plus is that the books are all very short. Another big problem for a RIO is that various websites have the books in all sorts of different orders plus the books seem to have different titles each time they are translated. I guess I am going to go with the order Penguin is publishing their new updated translations. I doubt that I get through the entire series though.

Carol: That is CRAZY! How many years did that take?
Carol/Bonadie wrote: "Sandi: I was recently reminded of the Maigret series, which I have on my list to start,but was shocked to learn that wthere are NINETY-EIGHT BOOKS IN THE SERIES. What?!?..."

Many of the John Rain books have been re-released with different titles because he got the rights back from his previous publisher. Some or many of the Maigret series, especially since they are translations, may actually be the same book re-released under a new title.

Daniel wrote: " Some or many of the Maigret series, especially since they are translations, may actually be the same book re-released under a new title. ..."

Oh, there's a thought, thanks for the tip, Dan. I'll be on the lookout so I don't wind up wasting my time waiting for a book I already read to come in.

I think Ed would like the Lakers book.