The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group discussion

Crow Mary was a little slow at times but still darn good. My four star review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

My review for The Stranger in the Library by Eva Gates, a fun cosy mystery featuring a travelling art exhibition.

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

I read Holy Enemies of Freedom: How Martin Luther Unleashed the Beast of Anti-Semitism by A.J. Deus It describes much more than Martin Luther's antisemitism. It is a history of organized religious violence. My 3.5 star review, rounded down https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Now starting CITY IN RUINS by Don Winslow, the concluding novel of his Danny Ryan trilogy and his final published work, as he is retiring from writing.

There are a couple of his novels that have been optioned for movies so perhaps the author is going to transition into a producer or screenwriter role. If so I wish him well, as I have twenty of his novels in hardcover first edition sitting on my bookshelves.

Even the great ones eventually ride off into the sunset. Muchas gracias for all of the great stories, Mr. Winslow.

My review of The Stranger in the Library by Eva Gates

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

Dog Day Afternoon is another humorous addition to the Andy Carpenter series. My four star review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Bark of Night by David Rosenfelt

Andy Carpenter #19. Andy's vet tells him he has been asked to euthanatize a perfectly healthy dog. But the man who brought in the dog is not the owner. And the owner has been murdered. What's going on here? Another very likeable entry in the series with suspense, plot, great characters and humor. I liked it a lot, 4 stars.

Standalone by Michael Wood, an ARC coming out in July: Vengeance Is Mine
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Not as big a fan of The Burning as I usually am with this series. My three star review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I finished the fifth book in the John Corey series, a disappointing follow-up to The Lion's Game


The Lion by Nelson DeMille
Rating: 2 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading the third book in a hard-boiled detective series written by a noted Fantasy author


The Man Who Tried to Get Away by Stephen R. Donaldson originally published under the pseudonym Reed Stephens

Slough House by Mick Herron

In this addition to the series, Mi5 first chair Lady Di seems to be in over her head and someone is targeting slow horses.

Plenty of action. 4 stars

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

My review of Hideout by Jack Heath

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

I expected to and did enjoy "Ernest Cunningham's" second novel (by Aussie author Benjamin Stevenson, of course), Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect. The trademark humour is there, along with murders and secrets. Good fun!
My review of Everyone on this Train is a Suspect

I like this children's series that celebrates Big Dreamers. It shows the Little People they once were. Rafa Nadal by Mª Isabel Sánchez Vegara (aka Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara) is about a favourite tennis champion many of us love seeing on the courts.
My review of Rafa Nadal with several illustrations

PUBLICATION DAY


Goyhood by Reuven Fenton

Mayer, an Orthodox Jewish Talmud Scholar, discovers that he's a 'fake Jew'.....and is desperate to remedy the situation. This debut novel is funny and heart-warming, with a bit of thriller thrown in.

Highly recommended. 4 stars

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

If You Can't Be Good by Ross Thomas

It appears a US Senator has been blackmailed into resigning and a famous newspaper columnist hires Decatur Lucas to investigate. He finds a whole array of ugliness and murder. Ross Thomas couldn't write a boring book -- amazing characterizations with humor and fascinating plot movement. I read a lot of mysteries and I was actually stunned at one plot shift. Great thriller mystery -- 5 stars.

The Gift

I'm getting a jump on next week's new releases with a look at the fun Kill or Bee Killed by Jennie Marts https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I finished my 55th book

It Was a Very Bad Year by Robert Randisi

Rat Pack Mystery #7. Las Vegas, 1963. Abby Dalton is in trouble and then Frank Sinatra Jr. is kidnapped. Eddie G. gets caught up in more trouble for his friends Frank, Dino, Sammy and etc. Fun series, light and very enjoyable. I liked it, 3 stars.

Stardust by Joseph Kanon

Hollywood, 1945. Ben Collier comes home from the war to find his brother dead. The cops say suicide but Ben doesn't believe it. Great idea but the book is all dialogue -- talk, talk, talk. Terribly slow. I had to work to read it so I quit. 1 star.

A Column Of Fire

Lay Them to Rest

A Refiner’s Fire is a decent addition to the series, but not one of the stronger books. My 3.5 star review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Sixth Lie

My review of Murder in Mayfair by Verity Bright

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

A Fatal Inheritance: How a Family Misfortune Revealed a Deadly Medical Mystery by Lawrence Ingrassia

The author, a prize-winning journalist, was inspired to write about 'family cancer syndrome' because his extended family has suffered so many cancers.

Interesting and important book. 4.5 stars

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

I've got a rare non-fiction book today, but a book written by a mystery author - I Sleep Around by Sue Ann Jaffarian https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Now starting THINK TWICE by Harlan Coben, the 12th novel in his ongoing series featuring former college basketball player turned sports agent Myron Bolitar. And of course you get the added benefit of Myron's best friend, the wisecracking yet lethal yuppie Winsor Horne Lockwood III.

Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell

Very funny and very dark thriller about a hit man who becomes a doctor. Absolutely unique and fascinating story, half medical mystery and half violent story of a Mafia killer. And do you know why bottled water in hospitals is 5% dextrose? So that they can bill you $35 for a liter of (almost but not quite) plain water. Wonderful hilarious story -- highly recommended. 5 stars.

Mark Sullivan has done it again with All the Glimmering Stars . My five star review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

My review of Four Blind Mice by James Patterson

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

I recently finished Lola in the Mirror by Trent Dalton - loved it!

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

My review of Lest We Forgive by Phillipa Nefri Clark

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

Shades of Mercy is a well done police procedural, with lots of thriller overtones. My four star review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read Ladykiller by Katherine Wood It is a romantic mystery set on a Greek island. My 4 star review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Now starting SCRUBLANDS (2018) by Chris Hammer, the first novel in his Martin Scarsden mystery series set in modern day Australia.

The book won the 2019 U.K. Dagger Award as the Best Mystery Novel by a new author and was nominated for the U.S. Barry Award in the same category.

Last night I finished Bad City: Peril and Power in the City of Angels by Paul Pringle, an investigative reporter for the LA Times. Solid book about a major investigation into the dean of USC's medical school and his involvement with a young woman and drugs, but that's not the actual story. Instead he focused on how difficult it was to get the story published because the main editors of the Times didn't want to piss off USC --serious conflict of interest issues.

My review of Murder on the Train by Faith Martin

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

The Girl Thief


4 stars
Read as an ARC
Thriller Mystery Woman author Thriller specialist

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

The Overnight Guest

Hi All, ive just finished reading this authors debut novel and I believe hes a member of this group. Well worth a read.

Louisiana Hydra by Gregory Ryman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


As soon as we meet Stephanie Borden, having a meeting with a Senator at a restaurants outdoor patio, we know something terrible is going to happen. No sooner have they sat down, blood drips onto the hands of William Stinson who was quietly minding his own business reading a book.
He looks up, realising that a man has been shot. Not just any man, but esteemed Senator Michael Glenway. William jumps up and grabs Stephanie, pulling her away as another bullet hits the chair she was just removed from.

This is just the beginning of this enjoyable technical spy thriller. William, works for the CIA, not as a field agent but as a behind the scenes technical wizard. The man is a legend, known as the mythical "sauron", as he is like an all seeing eye, watching over everything.

I really enjoyed the technical aspects of this novel, the computer programs, daemonware placed on phones allowing William to connect a 'guest list' of who knows who. This really helped drive the narrative and introduce compelling new characters.

The plot was well thought out and worryingly seemed really plausible. The characters and their conversations were believable.

The book did seem to come to an end quiet abruptly, after building the story the anticipated crescendo didnt happen. There is the occasional action scene but I do wish there had been more, especially with William or Carl.

I would like to find out more in this world and I hope the tagline 'The Stinson/Borden Thriller Series' becomes just that.

Thank you to Gregory Ryman for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.



View all my reviews

Recently finished reading If Something Happens to Me.

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

Currently reading: My Favorite Terrible Thing by Madeleine Henry. It's a great read.

My review of Kill or Bee Killed by Jennie Marts

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

I finished my 54th book

Finished The Angel of Indian Lake by Stephen Graham Jones, last of his Indian Lake trilogy. The protagonist of the trilogy, Jennifer "Jade" Daniels, references movies, mostly slasher flicks, because she found a comfort zone in slashers after stumbling over a VHS tape of Bay of Blood. Too much plot over the three books to go into here, but if you're interested in horror novels and not put off by themes drawn from and threaded through with reference to slasher movies, this is a very good trilogy charting the maturation of Jade from 17 years old to 24 years old. Note, though, that there is some intense, gory violence, made more intense by Jones's ability to draw fallible, understandable, relatable characters.

Also finished 101 Horror Books to Read Before You're Murdered by Sadie "Mother Horror" Hartmann. Because it concentrates on books published in the 21st century, it's not as thorough as either Stephen King's Danse Macabre or Grady Hendrix's Paperbacks from Hell, but probably belongs on the same shelf as those and Horror: 100 Best Books and Monster, She Wrote as fan-written and fan-oriented non-fiction offering an array of readings for someone new to the genre or for someone familiar with the genre, but looking for suggestions beyond their own experience.

Tell Me Who You Are didn’t quite work for me as a psychological thriller. My three star review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read A Refiner’s Fire by Donna Leon I rate it an easy 4 stars. Perfect for readers who like books w/o bad language, graphic sex or violence. My review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...