The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group discussion

Dead Run by P.J. Tracy

Monkeywrench #3. Grace, Annie and Sharon go off on a road trip and encounter a deserted small town and terrible evil. Lots of suspense but I never quite believed the women's plight and responses. 3 stars.

I recently finished Good by Stealth by Henrietta Clandon (1936, reprinted by Dean Street Press in 2020). It's third in a set of books featuring poison pen letters I'm reading this year, and the narrator is beyond slightly deranged.

Next up mystery-wise, Kiss the Blood Off My Hands by Gerald Butler, which is part of a series of novels that made it to the noir screen, offered by Stark House Press.

I finished my 60th book

4/5 stars

Please read my review linked below:

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

The Longmire Defense by Craig Johnson

Sheriff Walt Longmire investigates a cold case that hits very close to home; can his deceased grandfather have been a murderer?

Plenty of suspense and action. 4 stars

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

I'm kicking off the week with virtual cupcakes. I enjoyed Fondant Fumble by Jenn McKinlay https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

My review of The 24th Hour by James Patterson

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

Code Name Helene is a thriller in the true sense of the word. My five star review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read Black Betty by Walter Mosley
I liked this book about Easy Rawlins, an unofficial PI in LA. There is violence and racism in the book. My 4 star review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I've finally read a book by acclaimed Ojibway author Richard Wagamese. His Medicine Walk is outstanding.

My review of Medicine Walk with a few long quotations to give a sense of his writing

The Lifeline


5 stars
Ian Fleming's mentor
Spy Thriller
Read as an ARC. Netgalley
Nazis adventure.

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

4/5 stars

A cross-country road trip across the USA .

Please read my review linked below:

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

If You Like It Darker

Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice


Elle Cosimano has written her novels as standalones because she alludes to events in previous novels, but she has refrained from making the latest novel completely spoiler-y. So it would be okay to delve into the series here.


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

Thomas wrote: "I read Black Betty by Walter Mosley
I liked this book about Easy Rawlins, an unofficial PI in LA. There is violence and racism in the book. My 4 star review https://www...."

I liked this one a lot too, Thomas.

My review of A Palm for Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman

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

Fighting the Night: Iwo Jima, World War II, and a Flyer's Life by Paul Hendrickson

In this memoir/biography, author Paul Hendrickson writes about his father Joe, a farm boy who became a fighter pilot in WWII.

The book covers a lot of ground. 4 stars

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

Next up for me was A Collection of Lies by Connie Berry https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Murder by Milk Bottle by Lynne Truss

Constable Twitten #3, probably best to read #1 first...... Brighton, England, 1957. People are being killed by milk bottles and Constable Twitten is on the case. The concept here is that Twitten is a very smart nerd with zero social skills or awareness. He is surrounded by idiots. I really like the series; ingenious plots encased in hilarious goings-on. The book is really very funny, I liked it a lot. 4 stars.

My review of Murder on Stage by F.L. Everett

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

I finished my 59th book

Agony Hill is the first in a new historical police procedural series. My four star review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Long Time Gone by Charlie Donlea

An up-and-coming medical examiner submits her DNA to a national database and discovers she's 'baby Charlotte' who disappeared nearly 3 decades ago.

Very good thriller. 4 stars

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

I really enjoyed Will Dean's latest suspense The Chamber, a very suspenseful locked room mystery in a hyperbaric diving chamber.

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

Now starting THE UNQUIET DEAD by Ausma Zehanat Khan, the first book in her mystery series featuring Detective Inspector Esa Khattak and Detective Sergeant Rachel Getty, set in modern day Toronto.

The book won the 2016 U.S. Barry Award and the Canadian Arthur Ellis Award as the Best First Novel by a new author. It was also shortlisted for the Macavity Award in the same category.

The Furthest Station by Ben AAronovitch

Rivers of London #5.5....... London, present day. Peter is hunting ghosts on the underground (subway) . He actually finds several, one of whom points him to an actual kidnapping. Short novella detailing the further adventures of the Folly. Rivers of London is a fantastic series in which magic is real and the English cops have to deal with it. As you might imagine, many of whom are not extremely pleased. Wonderfully written with a great deal of humor. Completely unique, I love this series. 5 stars.

My review of The Body in the Bookstore by Ellie Alexander

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

Storm Child by Aussie author Michael Robotham is the latest in his always excellent Cyrus Haven series. The action is in Scotland this time. I wish this unsettling, timely story weren't so believable.
My review of Storm Child

Gotta love a feisty role model who sticks to her standards. Taylor Swift by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara is a well-illustrated children's bio of this popular entertainer who seems to be right up there with Elvis and the Beatles when it comes to her fans - the Swifties. Nice girl.
My review of Taylor Swift with several illustrations that do her justice

Love Saves the Day by Gwen Cooper

Gwen Cooper is well known for her non-fiction, humorous cat books. This is a novel centering on Prudence, a New York cat who helps renew the love in a family.

Charming, fun, and moving story. 3.5 stars

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

Home Is Where the Bodies Are was ok but will be quickly forgotten. My 3.5 star review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Wrapping up the week with Dance Hall of the Dead, the second Joe Leaphorn mystery from Tony Hillerman. A few parts got bogged down a little for me, but overall, I enjoyed this book.

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

All the Way Gone is a deeper than normal investigative procedural. My four star review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny It is book 18 in the series and I have been reading them in order. There is a serial killer and incidents of child abuse in the book, although not graphically described. My 4 star review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Don't Ask, Don't Follow by Mary Keliikoa is a dark tale of two sisters investigating the death of a lawyer, only to uncover a network of corruption and secrets within their own family.

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

I finished my 58th book

Spotlight: The Complete Series: A Space Circus Villain Origin Short Story Collection


3.5 stars
Read as an ARC. BookSirens. Female author. Space opera.

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

Getting Tyson by P.K. Davies.

I don't read a lot of self-published work but this makes me think I am missing out. Solid debut novel that deserved a lot more readers than it got. 3.5/5

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

My review of A Murder at the Movies by Ellie Alexander

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

The Ghost Orchid by Jonathan Kellerman

In this addition to the 'Alex Delaware' series, the psychologist Alex Delaware helps his friend, LAPD detective Milo Sturgis, investigate a double murder in an upscale Los Angeles neighborhood.

Police procedural novel. 3 stars

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

Recently binged on J.A. Jance’s detective series featuring J.P. Beaumont of the Seattle Police Department.
I read some of the newer ones (when he retires) .. and had an enjoyable time going back to read most of the earlier ones too.

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann

It was more interesting than I had expected given that so much was revealed in the title. Murder, mutiny, disease, and starvation revealed just how thin is the veneer of civilisation that covers man.

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

My review of Buried on the Fens by Joy Ellis

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

Woman Reading wrote: " The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann

It was more interesting tha..."

My real-world book group read this book in May and we all loved it. It's difficult to put down once you start it.

Reading The Noh Mask Murder by Akimitsu Takagi, recently released from Pushkin Vertigo. Early days but so far so good; I have a DVD copy of the film to watch after I read the novel.

Started a novel I just wasn't getting into -- good in itself, just not what I was feeling up for after completing a trilogy -- and have since gone off to American Demon: Eliot Ness and the Hunt for America's Jack the Ripper by Daniel Stashower. Intriguing so far.

Burn is a dystopian novel that feels all too likely. My 3.5 star review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto is a fun cosy mystery with delightful characters, not least of all Vera herself.

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

One Strange Date by Laurence Shames

New York mobsters chase a con man who stole from them to Key West where they encounter a naïve young woman, an amateur PI, an exterminator, an elderly retired hood and his little dog and many others. Shames has written a wonderful comic crime series that take place in Key West but this is not his best. 3 stars. p.s. Shames page in Stop Your Killing Me.com is woefully incomplete.

Pigs Get Slaughtered Pigs Get Slaughtered A cracking thriller. Well worth a read.