The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group discussion

Zadie Smith's 'New Yorker' story The Embassy of Cambodia, is about neither an embassy nor Cambodia, but about Fatou, a young Ivory Coast woman living near the embassy in England, a scary place for someone like her to be right now, I imagine.
My review of The Embassy of Cambodia

I finished Knock Knock by Chris Merritt


Happy to have found this: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

My review of The Murders in Great Diddling by Katarina Bivald

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

Liz wrote: "The Heart in Winter is a beautifully written story about the Wild West. The mystery is whether the lovers will survive. My four star review:
https://www.go..."

Definitely reading that one. I love his work in general, but I especially enjoyed his Night Boat to Tangier.

Andrew✌️ wrote: "I'm at the beginning of The Club Dumas."

It's been a while, but I liked that book.

Finished reading Blood Ties. I made the mistake of reading this book at bedtime and I didn't sleep until finishing it at around 2 a.m. The first few chapters are just effing brutal to read, but the novel is based on a true story about a woman in Mexico who, in the 1940s, ran an illegal adoption business as well as performing illegal abortions. The author has built a crime novel that imagined her with two sons who somehow survived her cruelty. Twisty as hell.

The Night Woods is an intelligent, well thought out addition to the Mercy Carr series. My four star review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

5/5 stars

AN excellent horror novel written by Stuart Neville.

Please read my review linked below:

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

Now starting DESPERATION REEF by T. Jefferson Parker, his latest stand alone thriller novel set in the world of professional surfing on the California coast.

I started out the week with Death in St. George's by M.A. Monnin https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Gage

4 STARS
A good political thriller in the sci-fi space. The story is closer to 3.5 stars for me.
Read as a NetGalley review copy.
Released March 2024

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

My review of Fire on the Fens by Joy Ellis

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

Sleeping Beauties

An absorbing historical mystery The Rose Arbor by Rhys Bowen ⭐⭐⭐⭐.2 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

A dual reality concept that works really well! The Other Year by Rea Frey ⭐⭐⭐⭐.1 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Ten Second Staircase by Christopher Fowler

Peculiar Crimes Unit #4, in which Bryant and May again stave off retirement by trying to identify a mysterious multiple murderer who seemingly cannot possibly exist. 2 great characters, a bizarre and puzzling plot and piles of obscure facts about London history all rather undone by a silly and unbelievable resolution to the mystery. Rating should be 4 stars but downgraded to 3 because of the ending.

Prophet Song is a beautifully written, immensely frightening story. My five star review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Out the Window is exactly where she went in Lawrence Block's story, which he narrated himself in exactly the right voice. Now I want to find more of his #MatthewScudder crime series.
My review of Out the Window

A novella to start her series. My review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Liz wrote: "Prophet Song is a beautifully written, immensely frightening story. My five star review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."

Another excellent book!!

The Known World has a great premise about a black slave owner, but the book itself came across as clunky and discombobulated. My three star review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I’m reading Twisted Hate by Ana Huang

Deep Cover
4 stars
Read as a review copy. Netgalley.
2nd reading.
Action thriller.

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

I read Bad Boy Brawly Brown by Walter Mosley It is book 7 in the Easy Rawlins series. Easy is an unofficial PI in the LA black community. My 4 star review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The More the Terrier: An Andy Carpenter Mystery by David Rosenfelt

In this humorous mystery, lawyer Andy Carpenter defends a college student accused of killing his professor.

Fun cozy, though not as humorous as usual. 3 stars

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

Hello everyone!

I am new here and I look forward to sharing the love of books with you all. I just finished Lock Every Door by Riley Sager, and I am currently reading The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth.

My review of High Wire in Nuala by Harriet Steel

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

Thomas wrote: "I read Bad Boy Brawly Brown by Walter Mosley It is book 7 in the Easy Rawlins series. Easy is an unofficial PI in the LA black community. My 4 star review https://www.go..."

Nice! I'll be reading that one myself in a few months.

Jodi wrote: "Hello everyone!

I am new here and I look forward to sharing the love of books with you all. I just finished Lock Every Door by Riley Sager, and I am currently reading The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth."

Hi Jodi! Nice to "meet" you!!

Confusing, disappointing. Only the Guilty Survive by Kate Robards ⭐.5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Finished The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager this morning. Excellent thriller with paranormal overtones, convoluted in good ways, and very entertaining.

I finished my re-read of the Cold War espionage classic


The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carré
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading Dan Brown's second novel


Deception Point by Dan Brown

An edge of your seat mystery/thriller The Girl in the Dark by Zoë Sharp ⭐⭐⭐⭐.3 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

A Grave in the Woods lacked the tension I was expecting. My 3.5 star review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I recently finished The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie as part of my run of books featuring poison pen letters. This is a reread, of course, and even though I knew the who going into it, it was still entertaining. I then watched two versions on tv, one with Joan Hickson (a two-parter) and then one with Geraldine McEwan as Miss Marple.

Nancy wrote: "I recently finished The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie as part of my run of books featuring poison pen letters. This is a reread, of course, and even though I knew the who going into..."

You're very thorough Nancy. 🙂 Who was the best Miss Marple?

Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson

In this third book in the 'Ernest Cunningham' series, set in Australia, the amateur sleuth investigates a very tricky case when his ex-wife is accused of murder. The book works fine as a standalone.

Fun golden age style mystery. 3.5 stars

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

Barbara wrote: "Nancy wrote: "I recently finished The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie as part of my run of books featuring poison pen letters. This is a reread, of course, and even though I knew the ..."

I always prefer Joan Hickson as Miss Marple, and the TV episodes she's in are generally truer to the books.

4/5 stars

Coming out: August 20, 2024

Does cruelty beget cruelty?

Please read my revie linked below

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

Greeks Bearing Gifts by Philip Kerr

Bernie Gunther #13........ It's 1957 and Berlin is isolated in a sea of red so Bernie, with a new name, is stuck in Munich. He gets a job with an insurance company and is sent to Greece to investigate possible insurance fraud. Greece was occupied by Germany during WW II and Bernie walks right into reminders of that. One more book remains of Bernie's saga but it's a prequel and, sadly, Philip Kerr is gone so we'll never know what happens to Bernie following the resolution of his Greek adventures. Very fine story; 4 stars.

Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books is great fun (at least for liberals). My 4.5 star review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

My review of Murder at Work by Faith Martin

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

The Neil Gaiman at the End of the Universe by Arvind Ethan David is a delightful Audible short story narrated by 'the' Neil Gaiman himself, which makes it more fun.
My review of The Neil Gaiman at the End of the Universe

I finished Death at Dead Man's Stake by Nick Oldham


A good start of a new series: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Now starting SMALL MERCIES by Dennis Lehane, a stand-alone mystery novel set during the busing crisis in the city of Boston back in the summer of 1974.

The book has earned nominations for both the U.K. Gold Dagger Award and the U.S. Barry Award as the best mystery/crime novel of 2024... It has been quite a while since I last read a Lehane novel so I am anxious to see how this one stacks up against his earlier stuff.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 for Talking to Strangers by Fiona Barton https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Edge by David Baldacci

Former U.S. Army Ranger Travis Devine investigates the murder of a CIA agent in rural Maine.

Lots of action in this thriller. 3 stars

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

My review of A Scandal in Mayfair by Katharine Schellman

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

I finished my 79th book