The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group discussion

I'm kicking off the week with the delightful Fondue or Die by Korina Moss. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Snow Child is one of my favourite books, and I think its magical, wintry theme is perfect for the (northern hemisphere) holiday season. Eowyn Ivey's debut novel - get that - debut! - was nominated for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize. A beautiful read.
My review of The Snow Child

I like reading about writing to better understand why a book appeals to me or annoys me. Not all writers can teach, but Colum McCann sure can.

In the past, I've enjoyed his well-known novels, Apeirogon and Let the Great World Spin. I reckon his writing classes are just as good. Letters to a Young Writer: Some Practical and Philosophical Advice is excellent.
My review of Letters to a Young Writer...

Never Lie by Freida McFadden

A young couple looking for a house to buy are stranded in an isolated home by a blizzard.

Okay suspense story. 3 stars

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

The Dying Day was everything I want in a historical mystery. My five star review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

New Kid in Town: A Jack Reacher Story

2 stars Short story
Reacher #andrewchild
fast-paced, short story

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

Vamp by Loren Estleman

Valentino #7. The UCLA film historian and researcher is asked to help an old friend find a daughter from long ago while trying to track down a print of the 1917 film Cleopatra starring Theda Bara. Murder complicates everything. Enjoyable series and I did like this story but it's nothing special. 3 stars.

Bark to the Future by Spencer Quinn

Bernie and Chet try to track down Bernie's old high school teammate, who's fallen on hard times.

Plenty of adventure and laughs. 3.5 stars

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

Araych wrote: "Vamp by Loren Estleman

Valentino #7. The UCLA film historian and researcher is asked to help an old friend find a daughter from long ago while trying to track down a prin..."

I haven't read Estleman in a while. A film historian character does sound interesing.

Broken Country is a big, meaty book with a murder at its center. My five star review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read Somewhere Toward Freedom: Sherman's March and the Story of America's Largest Emancipation by Bennett Parten It covers an overlooked aspect of Sherman's March to the sea in the US Civil war. This march broke the back of the Confederate war effort. But enslaved people fleeing plantations and attaching themselves to Sherman's army played a vital role in the success of the march. My 5 star review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I am still enjoying my Michael Connelly binge. Latest one was Echo Park, which I feared I might not have enjoyed because I saw the Bosch TV episode that was based partly on it. I was wrong. Bosch is not all plot, it's people, and I liked seeing them back at work.
My review of Echo Park

On a completely different note, I'm also getting a kick out of Alexander McCall Smith's mystery series for kids, going back to his famous Lady Detective's schoolgirl investigations. Precious and the Zebra Necklace is another I'd recommend for young and old.
My review of Precious and the Zebra Necklace

Time to kick off my Christmas cozies. I started out with Shock and Paw by Cate Conte https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

3 stars for Veronica Ruiz Breaks the Bank by Elle Cosimano
My review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Finished Cat of Many Tails by Ellery Queen. I enjoyed it enough to give it 3-stars. Brief review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Just started a reread of The Lady in the Lake by Raymond Chandler.

Just finished reading ‘The housemaid is watching’ - the third book in the housemaid series - by Freida McFadden.
Although my least favourite of the series, I still really enjoyed it.
I’d definitely recommend reading the series!

Now starting RED TRAITOR by Owen Matthews, the second novel in his mystery/thriller trilogy featuring KGB officer Alexander Vasin.

The trilogy is set during the Cold War of the early 1960s. The first book was linked to the efforts to design, build, and test the Tsar Bomb (Russia's most powerful hydrogen bomb) in October 1961. This second novel is supposed to be linked to the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

The Governor's Wife by MIchael Harvey

Michael Kelly #5. P.I. Kelly is hired to track down a disgraced ex-governor who disappeared rather than face prison. Turns out the wife is more interesting than the Gov. This is an excellent mystery with significant thriller shoot-em-up portions. Very well done. I liked it a lot 4.5 stars.

Havoc is an aptly named psychological thriller. My 3.5 star review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

A Perilous Premiere by Gail Meath

This launch of the 'Stone and Steele' mysteries, set in old Hollywood, has the discordant detective team working together for the first time.

Fun cozy thriller. 3.5 stars

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

Krampus The Yule Lord

Marie Benedict shows she can write mysteries along with historical fiction in The Queens of Crime. . My four star review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read Gated Prey by Lee Goldberg It is book 3 in the Eve Ronin series, and My 4 star review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...? I recommend that you read them in order.

I finished my 102nd book

The Christmas Jigsaw Murders is a cozy mystery perfect for this time of year. My four star review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

True Fiction by Lee Goldberg

T.V. writer uncovers deadly domestic terrorist plot. The book is written as sort-of satire with lots of humor and many silly over-the-top action pieces. It's cute, I guess, although I keep coming back to "silly". 2 stars.

The Fourth Monkey
Just getting started on this one. Excited for what's to come.

I read Head Cases John McMahon It is the start of a new series. My 4 star review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I'm really enjoyed Sleep in Heavenly Pizza by Mindy Quigley. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I liked the exciting SF thrillers set in an alternate space-race reality and written by an actual NASA scientist:
Hot Moon (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) and Radiant Sky (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...), both by Alan Smale:

I finished The Cleaner by Mary Watson


It's not even January and this book earned five stars already: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I recently listened to the first 'volume' (two short stories in this) of the very entertaining New Adventures of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer Vol 1 by Max Allan Collins. They were full dramatisations, like radio plays with footsteps, gunshots and all.

They're narrated by the inimitable Stacy Keach, who played Hammer in the TV series, back in the day. Great fun from Audible.
My review of New Adventures of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer

Now starting EYE OF THE RED TSAR by Sam Eastland (pen name of novelist Paul Watkins) that is set in 1929 in Stalinist Russia and features Inspector Pekkala, a remnant of the reign of Nicholas II who served as the Tsar's special investigator.

Christine wrote: "I finished my 102nd book"

Nice going Christine. 👍

Cue the Sun is a fascinating look at the mystery of how reality shows transformed tv and the American mindset. My four star review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Eye of the Moon Ivan Obolensky

A gathering of a dysfunctional family and friends experience drama and supernatural entities at a country mansion.

Fun debut for a trilogy. 3.5 stars

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

I'm ending the week with Rockin' Around the Chickadee by Donna Andrews https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read Movieland by Lee Goldberg It is book 4 in the Eve Ronin series, a police procedural set in California, USA. My 4 star review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I started listening to The Christmas Egg by Mary Kelly.

Hot Chocolate for the Unicorn and Other Flights of Fancy

4 stars
Read as an ARC.
Collection of SF and Fantasy short stores. Female author.

Great stories from 2-3 pages to 11 odd pages each.

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

The mystery of Ask Not was how much of this book was made up. My three star review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Fragments of the Past: A Gripping Psychological Thriller with a Shocking Twist

4 stars
Published August 1, 2024
3.5 stars for me.

I read this book as a BookSirens ARC and this review is based on my completing the book and is an honest feedback based on my reading it.

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

I finished my 103rd book

Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life by Steve Martin

This is a memoir about the the 'early years' of Steve Martin's career, when he was a standup comedian.

Very good. 4 stars

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

Now starting SHADOW PASS by Sam Eastland, the second novel in his mystery series featuring Inspector Pekkala, who was the special investigator for Tsar Nicolas II but was released from the gulag to work in the same capacity for Joseph Stalin.

The first novel in the series dealt with Pekkala looking into the execution of the Romanovs. This second book is linked to the development of the T-34 battle tank, which became the work horse for the Red Army during WWII.

The Black Loch was an excellent surprise addition to the original three books of Peter May's Lewis Trilogy. Rugged Isle of Lewis setting, dark mysteries, more secrets revealed from the past - love it!
My review of The Black Loch

I finished DMV by Bentley Little


Although it is officially labelled 'Horror' it is as much interesting for thriller fans: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Just finished Charles McCarry's The Shanghai Factor The Shanghai Factor
An intricate espionage puzzler, highly enjoyable. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

My review of Night Prey by John Sandford

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