English Mysteries Club discussion

I read Curse of the Pogo Stick by Colin Cotterill. It is set in 1977 Laos and book 5 in the series. It has quirky characters and humor.
I borrowed this eBook from the New York Public Library, which will grant a library card to anyone who lives in New York state. My library does not have all the books in this series, so I am happy to be able to read more of the series using NYPL. See nypl.org if you want to get a library card there.
My 4 star review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter by Sharyn McCrumb This book is set in 1991-92 rural Tennessee Appalachia. It is a story of tragedy and hope. My 4 star review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read A Death in Summer by Benjamin Black It is book 4 in this series, set in 1950s Ireland. I have read the previous 3 books in the series. My 4 star review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read The Maid by Nita Prose It is a mystery about a quirky heroine that was a Good Morning America pick. My 4 star review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This is my 971st GR review. I hope to make 1,000 next year.

Thomas wrote: "I read The Maid by Nita Prose It is a mystery about a quirky heroine that was a Good Morning America pick. My 4 star review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7..."

Good luck with your reading goal. Sounds very doable with the number of books you read each year.

Sue wrote: "Thomas wrote: "I read The Maid by Nita Prose It is a mystery about a quirky heroine that was a Good Morning America pick. My 4 star review https://www.goodreads.co..."

Thanks Sue

I read The Women's Orchestra of Auschwitz: A Story of Survival by Anne Sebba
It is not an easy book to read, but informative. The author was able to interview some surviving members of the orchestra. My 4 star review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read As Texas Goes...: How the Lone Star State Hijacked the American Agenda by Gail Collins
It is not a mystery, but an explanation of how Texas damaged our nation. My 4 star review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read Robert B. Parker's Hot Property by Mike Lupica I enjoyed it and recommend it to Parker fans. My 4 star review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

My review of Death in the Countryside by Maria Malone

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read The Art Detective: Fakes, Frauds, and Finds and the Search for Lost Treasures by Philip Mould The author is the owner of an art gallery and appears regularly on BBC's Antiques Roadshow. My 4 star review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read Hard Margins by Edward J. Delaney It is set in two time frames: Book I, 1958 and Book II, 1872, both in rural Wyoming. My 3 star review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read Gray Dawn by Walter Mosley It is set in 1970 or 71 Los Angeles, California. My 3.5 star review rounded up. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I'm book-visiting the Scottish islands this summer. After (parts of) the Shetland series I have now landed on the Isle of Skye with the Misty Isle series. I like them both once I manage to overlook the incredible accumulation of murders in such small communities (much like the Iceland mystery phenomenon: there's a whole school of Icelandic mystery writers, each one merrily inventing murders galore in an island with about 1 actual murder case per year).

The Shetland series consists of 2 tetralogies. I read 2 books in the first one (for reasons) beginning with Raven Black and all 4 of the second one, beginning with Dead Water. There will be a new series with the same MCs but set in the Orkneys.

The Misty Isle series has 6 books so far, beginning with A Long Time Dead.

... and while I have loved the subgenre "regional mystery" for a long time, I enjoy it even more in this era of google maps ;-)

Sabagrey, I know exactly what you mean! I also managed to suspend disbelief and fell madly in love with those series. If you’d like to linger a bit longer on the islands, Peter May’s Lewis Trilogy is a great choice. It’s set in the Outer Hebrides rather than Skye, but the atmosphere is just as powerful. I’ve read the first book, The Blackhouse, and actually found it even better than the Misty Isle series. I am planning to read the second one soon, but not to soon because I want to make It last.

Lucia wrote: "Sabagrey, I know exactly what you mean! I also managed to suspend disbelief and fell madly in love with those series. If you’d like to linger a bit longer on the islands, Peter May’s Lewis Trilogy ..."

thank you for the hint! - yes, will definitely add the Outer Hebrides to my island collection, seems like a good idea!

I've been on Skye and to the Orkneys, long ago, as a student. Although you could buy ferry tickets at reduced rates with the Interrail pass, the more distant islands were out of my - financial - reach. And also the climate ("four seasons in a day" is a stark understatement) was hard on a continental European. My nose never stopped running. ;-)

sabagrey wrote: "Lucia wrote: "Sabagrey, I know exactly what you mean! I also managed to suspend disbelief and fell madly in love with those series. If you’d like to linger a bit longer on the islands, Peter May’s ..."

Thanks for sharing your experience! I really wish I had had your chance. It must have been such an adventure, even if the more distant islands remained out of reach. I’ve never been to those places, and as things are now, it seems unlikely I’ll ever make this dream come true. The only thing I can do is let books carry me there… and try to imagine surviving the wild weather!

I read Picket Line: The Lost Novella by Elmore Leonard It is not a western or crime story, like Leonard's other books. It is a story about an effort to unionize farm workers in Texas. My 4 star review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read The Hitchhikers by Chevy Stevens It is more of a thriller than a mystery, set in Canada. My 3.5 star review, rounded down, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I've been reading a lot of Elizabeth Cadell, especially her mysteries. Recently finished Shadow on the Water and highly recommend. Just began Journey's Eve. Any Cadell fans?

Sharon, I have enjoyed a few Elizabeth Cadell and currently have two ordered from my library: Out of the Rain and Honey for Tea.

But I didn't realize she's written books considered mysteries!

I read Cut Off from Sky and Earth by Melissa F. Miller. It is a psychological thriller with flashbacks to incidents in the past. My 4 star review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I have read one or the other Inspector Rebus book over the years - many years. Some of them in translation, so I do not even know which ones in the series. Now I have decided to revisit them in order, and so I am reading Knots and Crosses. Not that Rebus is that young even at the beginning of the series, but he does still seem to be in his pupal stage: all there, but yet to unfold. (not that the chrysalis will be that splendid ;-))

I read The Zorg: A Tale of Greed and Murder That Inspired the Abolition of Slavery by Siddharth Kara. It is the story of a slave trader ship and the murder of some of the abducted people. It is history. My 5 star review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I just finished The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club and loved it.

I read Fallen Star by Lee Goldberg It is book 6 in the Eve Ronin series. Both my wife and I enjoy this series and recommend it to mystery/police procedural fans. My 4 star review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

reading Devil Bones, no. 11 in Kathy Reichs' series. Middling so far ... lots of info-dump, and squeezing out more pages by repetitive details. Also, the attempts at flippant style seem forced. I find myself skimming the pages.

I think I know more of the earlier books in the Temperance Brennan series, but I cannot be sure - my library has only German translations with wildly deviating titles, and some of them I have read years and years ago. Does the series generally go down the drain after, say, no. 10, or is this one merely a slump?

I read A Season for Spies by Iona Whishaw It is a spy story, set in WWII Britain. This book is a prequel to the Lane Winslow series, and can be read as a stand alone and/or a starter to the series. My 4 star review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read Family of Spies: A World War II Story of Nazi Espionage, Betrayal, and the Secret History Behind Pearl Harbor by Christine Kuehn
It is a little known story of German spies paid by the Japanese government to gather information about Pearl Harbor ships, defenses, etc. My 4.5 star review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...