The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group discussion

@ bill I'll be curious as to what you think!

Nice :-)

I'm reading the 28th Stephanie Plum book: Game On: Tempting Twenty-Eight by Janet Evanovich. So far, so good.

Finished reading Outsider

by Linda Castillo

My Review

Real Easy by Marie Rutkoski

Women who work in a strip club (which they do because they need the money) become the victims of a disturbed man.

The strip club is an interesting background for this thriller. 3.5 stars

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

Just finished "21st Birthday" by James Patterson. Pretty good read, not the best.

My review of The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley

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

Also, I finished a book I thought was going to be a horror novel only to find out that it was more of a crime novel with mild Southern Gothic elements that seems to have found some influence from Heart of Darkness:


Gone South by Robert R. McCammon
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Now starting CUTTHROAT DOGS by Loren Estleman, the 29th novel in his ongoing mystery series featuring Detroit private eye Amos Walker.

It’s been 40+ years since his first mystery novel was published and Mr. Estleman is still going strong. If you like old school private investigators, they don’t come any better than Amos Walker.

Completed An Ugly Truth: Inside Facebook's Battle for Domination by Sheera Frenkel

Pandora's Lab: Seven Stories of Science Gone Wrong by Paul A. Offit

Joe Country by Mick Herron

Slow Horses #6, recommend read in order. Further adventures of the slow horses in which Louisa helps a frenemy look for her son, not knowing this will put her in it so deep that all the horses may not survive. Incredibly suspenseful plot. One of those books where you can't wait to see what happens next but you hate that it's bringing you closer to the end. 5 stars.

I read All the White Spaces by Ally Wilkes It is a paranormal book of horror and fiction set during a 1920 Antarctica expedition.. I rated it 3 stars, too much paranormal for me. My review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Stranger was my introduction to its author - Albert Camus. It wasn't what I had expected at all from its synopsis (with its claim to a "perfectly executed thriller") but its zeitgeist was a curiously intriguing aspect.

My review - www.Goodreads.com/review/show/4565705108

A Time for Mercy by John Grisham

In this 3rd book in the Jake Brigance series, the attorney represents a juvenile accused of murder. The book works fine as a standalone.

Grisham likes to tackle 'issues' and this one addresses juvenile criminals. Very good legal drama. 4 stars

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

Laura wrote: "Barbara wrote: "Real Easy by Marie Rutkoski

Women who work in a strip club (which they do because they need the money) become the vi...

Is it based on a true story?
"

Not so far as I know.

CBRetriever wrote: "I'm reading the 28th Stephanie Plum book: Game On: Tempting Twenty-Eight by Janet Evanovich. So far, so good."

this one was pretty good - a return of Diesel and hackers

Facts and Other Lies: Welcome to the Disinformation Age, by Aussie author Ed Coper, is just as unnerving as you probably gather it is from the title. The current division in many democracies has been caused by bad actors with thousands of automatic bots that set us off down fake rabbit holes. Started with the printing press, escalated to social media.

You may be sent one way, while I'm sent another. CLASH! If democracies crumble, guess what happens next?!

5★ My review of Facts and Other Lies

It's long, but I've included a lot of examples from this terrific book.

I finished my 18th book

I'm reading a classic mystery, The Rasp from 1924 by Philip MacDonald.

I have "Triple Jeopardy" by Philip MacDonald. Supposedly it contains the story which inspired the Van Johnson & Vera Miles thriller "23 Paces to Baker Street".

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048919/...

Tone wrote: "I'm reading a classic mystery, The Rasp from 1924 by Philip MacDonald."

I once went to a yard sale where someone was selling an entire set of Anthony Gethryn novels for like a nickel each, so I had to buy them. I wish more of these would be reprinted along with his other books.

Christine wrote: "I finished my 18th book"

You're ahead of me this year, for sure.

I've read 28 books so far and will finished 3 more over the next couple of days.

Nancy wrote: "Tone wrote: "I'm reading a classic mystery, The Rasp from 1924 by Philip MacDonald."

I once went to a yard sale where someone was selling an entire set of Anthony Ge..."

You got a good deal there, Nancy. Some of them cost a small fortune nowadays.

Christine wrote: "I've read 28 books so far and will finished 3 more over the next couple of days."

good grief! That's a lot!

Tone wrote: "Nancy wrote: "Tone wrote: "I'm reading a classic mystery, The Rasp from 1924 by Philip MacDonald."

I once went to a yard sale where someone was selling an entire set..."

Oh, I know!

Nancy wrote: "Christine wrote: "I've read 28 books so far and will finished 3 more over the next couple of days."

good grief! That's a lot!"

Yes, but I'm retired. :)

yep, retirement helps as does the pandemic shelter in place thing:

I'm at 42 right now (some were novellas) and moving forwards

I love to read in order to escape from the pandemic and Ukraine and other problems, at least for a while.

The Paradox Hotel by Rob Hart

Time-travel sci-fi mystery. January Cole is chief of security at the Paradox Hotel where time travelers stay before and after their trips. Now there's a dead man in room 526 and only January can see him. Probably more sci-fi than mystery but this book is written so well that I was fascinated at every page. Like nothing else you'll read this year; deserving of all the rave reviews. 5 stars, highest recommendation.

Finished Things We Do in the Dark

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

I just finished No Hiding in Boise

A well done thriller. My four star review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Just finished reading "Still Life" by Joy Fielding. I like her earlier thrillers better, but have to admit that "Still Life" was still more rewarding than "Charley's Web" which I didn't care for. Since last year I'm reading all her books in chronological order.

Hoping that "The Wild Zone" and "Home Invasion" will be better again than the previous books.

I finished reading The Scorpion’s Head by Hilde Vandermeeren


A three star book: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Jannelies wrote: "I finished reading The Scorpion’s Head by Hilde Vandermeeren


A three star book: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."

I just got that one in the mail.

The Day the Music Died by Ed Gorman

1st book in the Sam McCain series. It's 1958 in Iowa. Poodle skirts, saddle shoes and talk of fluoride in the water. Susan Whitney is dead and Sam's friend Richie, her husband, has killed himself. And soon Sam finds another dead girl. His boss, the local judge, puts Sam on the case. Cute mystery with all sorts of historical trivia sprinkled throughout. Not written at a particularly high level but it is an easy fun read. 3 stars.

I read No Land to Light On by Yara Zgheib It is literary fiction, describing how the Executive order barring anyone from several Muslim countries entry to the US, affected 1 man. My 3 star review for a sad story https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Now starting PAST CARING by Robert Goddard, one of his earliest stand-alone mystery novels from 1986.

I’m really enjoying it so far. And I have two other Goddard novels in my TBR pile waiting in the wings.

Nancy wrote: "Jannelies wrote: "I finished reading The Scorpion’s Head by Hilde Vandermeeren


A three star book: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show......"

I hope you like it, Nancy.

Christine wrote: ""

This one is kind of cuckoo. 🙂

I recently read three Daphne DuMaurier mysteries by Johanna Challis. Highly recommendable:

https://www.amazon.com/Joanna-Challis...

Left my book downstairs accidentally last night, so I picked up and started reading Devil House by John Darnielle. I didn't make it very far before dropping off, but so far it's pretty good. Early days, though...

I finished my 19th book

Finished reading Gated Prey

by Lee Goldberg

My Review

Not a mystery, but here you go anyway. 🙂


Sure, I'll Be Your Black Friend: Notes from the Other Side of the Fist Bump by Ben Philippe

Author Ben Philippe - who was born in Haiti, grew up in Canada, and lives in the U.S. - writes about being black in a white society.

The book is lots of fun but serious as well. 4 stars

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

Barbara wrote: "Not a mystery, but here you go anyway. 🙂


Sure, I'll Be Your Black Friend: Notes from the Other Side of the Fist Bump [bookcover:Sure, I'll Be Your Black Friend: Notes from the Oth..."

I always list non-mysteries I'm reading here, so don't worry about that.

Christine wrote: "I finished my 19th book"

I finished my 30th book this afternoon.

A Hero of France by Alan Furst

The fictional story of one of the leaders of the French resistance during WW II I am one of the great fans of Furst's work but this one is the weakest I've read -- it's really just a collection of vignettes, or short adventures, with no continuity and none of the humanity of Furst's normal writing. A generous 3 stars.

The Art of War: A Graphic Novel by Pete Katz and Sun Tzu. This graphic novel with bold, colorful images is a great way to learn the ancient military treatise.

My review - www.Goodreads.com/review/show/4517376193