Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends discussion

Hi everyone, had a good February reading wise but am hoping for some warmer weather now that it is March. Here are my February reads:

Top Read

The Girl on the Train
Paula Hawkins
I am usually a bit skeptical about books that receive lots of publicity but this book turned out to be the exception. I thought the plotting was very well done and the suspense level was kept high throughout the narrative. The characters were sometimes exasperating but quite realistic. I listened to the audio version and all three narrators (Clare Corbett, Louise Brealey, and India Fisher ) were excellent.

Good Reads

Solo Hand
Bill Moody
Enjoyable first book in a series featuring Evan Horne a jazz pianist who cannot play anymore due to a car accident. The plotting was good and Evan was an appealing hero. The only downside was that it was written in first person present tense but it was done so well that after the first few pages it did not bother me.

A Land Remembered
Patrick D. Smith
Entertaining historical fiction set in Florida mainly in the latter half of the 19th century. I very much enjoyed the story of the first generation of the family and the hardships they had to endure and overcome just to eke out a living in the Florida wilderness. Unfortunately the second generation story had a bit too much romance which was tiresome and the third generation story, which hit the 20th century, was shoe-horned into the last couple of hours of the audio. The narration by George Guidall was excellent, as usual, and I would recommend the audio over the written book since the actual writing style was a bit pedestrian.

The Torso
Helene Tursten
While the crimes in this book were a bit too grisly for my taste I did find this to be a worthwhile read. I like the main character, her co-workers and her family drama which was a nice contrast to the horrific crimes that were depicted.

The Confession of Brother Haluin
Ellis Peters
One of my favorite series. As always, well plotted with interesting characters and situations. Listened to the audio version read by Patrick Tull who is perfect for these books.

Moonspender: A Lovejoy Novel of Suspense
Jonathan Gash
Fun though a bit frantic. There were enough plot lines in this entry of the Lovejoy series for about three books and, at times, I wondered if everything could get resolved in a coherent manner.

Broken Prey
John Sandford
One of the more graphically violent entries in this series but well written and I felt the ending, while a bit far out, was quite good. Even though I am not a huge fan of the serial killer plot line, I enjoyed the characters, especially Lucas, so much that I became totally engrossed in the story. Listened to the audio which was read by the always excellent Richard Ferrone.

Hex: A Ruby Murphy Mystery
Maggie Estep
A nice change of pace. While the actual mystery plot was only so so the quirky characters and the interesting locales (Coney Island, the Belmont Racetrack, and the Juilliard Music School) made this well worth reading.

Carnage on the Committee
Ruth Dudley Edwards
After a bit of a stumble with the previous book in the series, this was nicely done return to form. I loved the humor and the outrageously over the top characters who represented the worst of the literary establishment. Listened to the audio version which was read by Bill Wallis who did a great job with all the various voices.

Great sounding audiobooks as usual, Sandi!
I agree with your comments on The Girl on the Train. I really enjoyed the narration.

Very nice month, Sandi. The locales in Hex are certainly interesting.

I own Broken Prey and put it down cuz of the violence, though I like Sanford. All I remember is the first chapter was a doozy. Liked Girl on the Train as well! Great month! :)

I don't like to read books that are to gory either.

I also liked THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN and don't tend to pick up the book-du-jour either as they almost never live up to the hype. I like the Evan Horne books and have read all of them except the most recent one. Moody was on a panel about music in mysteries at one of the B'cons I went to. Enjoyed listening to him. He's a jazz drummer himself.

I too saw Bill Moody at at least one of the B-cons I went to but had forgotten the series. Thanks for the reminder, Sandi and Mel!

Good month as alwasy. What, no sports biopics available? ;-)

Carol/Bonadie wrote: "I too saw Bill Moody at at least one of the B-cons I went to but had forgotten the series. Thanks for the reminder, Sandi and Mel!

Good month as always. What, no sports biopics available? ;-)"

I don't even have any sports books on hold right now. Probably need to check one out tomorrow. I do have some music bios I hope to get soon including Let's Go Crazy: Prince and the Making of Purple Rain which I hope is good since I was a huge fan of the movie and the album.

I can't remember whether I saw Bill Moody at a Bouchercon or not (was he at the Vegas one?) but I knew that Melodie really enjoyed his books.

Sandi wrote: "I do have some music bios I hope to get soon including Let's Go Crazy: Prince and the Making of Purple Rain which I hope is good since I was a huge fan of the movie and the album..."

Whew, that sounds like one I need to read. I'm a huge Prince fan and Purple Rain is a favorite.

I have out from the library Scribe: My Journey As a Sportswriter by Boston Globe sportswriter Bob Ryan, but not sure I will get to it as it's due in a couple of days and I've already renewed it twice. Plus I can't stand to think of sports at the moment with the news that Darrelle Revis has signed with the hated NY Jets, LOL.