Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends discussion

A very diverse month but you'll notice an intense read, followed by a fun read, ad nauseum.

And I'm betting you sometimes wonder why I am in the group when a lot of my reads don't seem to be mystery/thriller, but I just checked and 52% of my reads this year (and every year) are. I just have a tendency to read them first! (Don't know why I felt the need to explain that...)

☀ Little Ghosts by Gregg Dunnett -3
This was definitely a case where the book blurb is a lie as to what actually occurs in the book. Billed as a mystery, the book centers on 10 year old Gale, whose older sister was murdered two years before. He has since struggled with daily living. Now ten, he discovers that he can see her ghost and eventually is able to talk with her, finding out who murdered her. The premise was interesting enough for me to decide to read. The murderer, an out and out maniac, is a prominent figure in the book and becomes the most disturbing figure that took the book from thriller to horror.

☀ The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill -5
Yes, I'm a grown woman. I'm a grandmother. And I just gave this book a 5. This story has it all: parents who love children, children who love parents. Witches who care for and protect children. Dragons and swamp monsters who are loving and kind. And a bad guy, and woman, who lose in the end. Who says middle grade/ya is only for kids?

☀ American War by Omar El Akkad -4
The book takes place in Louisiana in the not too distant future (2074) and the second American Civil War has broken out. Some Southern states have broken off from the US, other southern states are now under the protection of Mexico, oil is illegal, a deliberate man-made plague has erupted and Louisiana is half underwater. The story follows the life of a young girl into adult hood and her place in the continuing battles. Very thought provoking.

☀ A Fire at the Exhibition by T.E. Kinsey -4
The tenth installment of the Lady Hardcastle mystery series starring Lady Hardcastle and her maid in 1912. (Although they have a very interesting, secret back story in the world of spies). Stolen art and very expensive book, followed by a murder during a bicycle race.
This is simply a fun series.

☀ The Last Brother by Nathacha Appanah -5
A historical fiction set on the island of Mauritius (off the coast of Madagascar) during WW2. The backstory is the actual incarceration of several hundred Jews fleeing Europe who were refused entry into Palestine. The British government instead held them at the camp for 5 years. The main story is the meeting of two 9 year old boys, one the son of a brutal prison guard, the other a sickly Jewish boy. Although they don't speak the same language, they become fast friends and the local boy determines that they must run away in order for him to save his friend.

☀ The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie -3
This is the second installment in the Superintendent Battle series, set in the 1920's. A lot of "to the manor born" house guests, government employees, and of course murder.

☀ Consolata by Beata Umubyeyi Mairesse -4
A short story that I wish could have been pulled into a full-length. The story is based in Rwanda and highlights the plight of one local young girl during this period of French colonialism.

☀ The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley -5
A cross-genre adventure story, historical fiction, and magical realism. Set in 1859 Peru, an injured British East India Company employee is charged with going to Peru to essentially steal quinine plants to aid in the treatment of malaria (the historical fiction part). The employee's father and grandfather spent a lot of time in the same area and the employee is intrigued to see it. There he meets a young priest with a very strange disorder who knew the employees grandfather (part of the magical realism.) This was my favorite for the month.

Gail, American War sounds interesting although the author could probably have moved the date up a couple of decades the way things are going.

I'll never complain about your variety in reading. There is just so much out there worth the time.

Gail, nice month! I've never questioned your genre variety. I love it, how interesting that your m/t books were mainly early in the year and your genres widen out more at the end of the year.
. Little Ghosts would have interested me too, and like you I would have likely been repelled by the move to horror from mystery. I had to drop an audio this month when the level horror was more disturbing than I was up for (How to Sell a Haunted House) .
The Bedlam Stacks is intriguing.

Gail W wrote: "A very diverse month but you'll notice an intense read, followed by a fun read, ad nauseum.

And I'm betting you sometimes wonder why I am in the group when a lot of my reads don't seem to be mystery/thriler.."

Ann wrote: "Gail, nice month! I've never questioned your genre variety. I love it, how interesting that your m/t books were mainly early in the year and your genres widen out more at the end of the year.
. [bo..."

I've never questioned it - not all of my reads are myster/thrillers either.

Gail, keep those summaries coming, we love hearing about all genres even if we, well I, mainly read mysteries. Every now and then something outside my usual selection strikes my fancy and I pick it up, thanks to others sharing what they read. I rarely regret it.

I have also found I cannot live on mysteries alone. I also read thrillers.

BarryP wrote: "I have also found I cannot live on mysteries alone. I also read thrillers."

🤣🤣🤣

Ann wrote: "Gail, nice month! I've never questioned your genre variety. I love it, how interesting that your m/t books were mainly early in the year and your genres widen out more at the end of the year.
. [bo..."

Thank you for making me aware of The Bedlam Stacks, Ann. I've placed it on hold.

Right now I'm having a serious problem receiving e-mails from Goodreads. I've been having to dig it out of my spam folder every day.