The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group discussion

I finally got The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson from the library. Yeah! I'm going to start reading it tomorrow.

Just popping in to say that Amazon has discounted DOUBLEBACK (the paperback) to three dollars. If you've been meaning to try it, (and I hope you will) now might be the time.

I'm reading This Body of Death by Elizabeth George. The Inspector Lynley series is one of my favourites so I'm definitely enjoying it so far.

Jan wrote: "I'm reading This Body of Death by Elizabeth George. The Inspector Lynley series is one of my favourites so I'm definitely enjoying it so far."

That's on my to-read list.

I've just finished readingThe Alienistby Caleb Carr. It was good but not amazing.

Now I'm struggling with Portrait of a Killer: Jack The Ripper - Case Closed by Patricia Cornwell

Just started Joy Fielding= Still Life!

Ceinwin wrote: "I've just finished readingThe Alienistby Caleb Carr. It was good but not amazing.

Now I'm struggling with [book:Portrait of a Killer: Jack The Ripper - Case Closed|6..."

Whats wrong with the Portrait of a killer? I have that on my actual tbr shelf, was hoping it would be good.

I have Portrait of a Killer. I put it down for a while but have no recollection why. Just too many other books, I guess.

I tried one Joy Fielding book. It was set in my home town. Unfortunately, she or her editors could not decide how to spell Sheridan Road. They used about three different spellings ... intermittently.

@Yas : There's many things I don't like about this book. But mostly,I don't like the angle Patricia Cornwell gave to it. She decided that Jack the Ripper was Alfred Sickert (this is no spoiler, she tells it from the start) and the entire book focuses on gathering all the possible evidence to prove him guilty. For me it's not the way you do an investigation. You use evidence to find the murderer and not the contrary.

Finished dark Provenance last night. Christie fans should like this one. It's available through the swap.

Ceinwin wrote: "@Yas : There's many things I don't like about this book. But mostly,I don't like the angle Patricia Cornwell gave to it. She decided that Jack the Ripper was Alfred Sickert (this is no spoiler, she..."

Yeah that sounds fair enough. Oh well, I guess I'll get around to it soon enough!

Jan- To be honest, not far into it but it seems like the first chapter is quite chick litty kinda writing, not hardcore crime which I expected, and I'm not into that genre at all (chick lit) so it doesn't bear well. Going to at least give it a few chapters though.

Edit; its better now. None of this perfect girls, perfect everything writing. Thank bloody god.

I finally got The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest which I had had on hold at the library for months and months. Yeah!!!

I hope you enjoy it. I loved it. Was a download from Audible ... a really great listen!

Has anyone out there read House of Leaves? Every time I go to the book store I am drawn to it. Looks bizarre as heck; but intriguing as well....curious as to anyone's input.

Just finished reading Killer Dreams by Iris Johansen.. It was just okay, just a light quick read. I'm now reading How Starbucks Saved My Life: A Son of Privilege Learns to Live Like Everyone Else by Michael Gates Gill

Mary wrote: "Has anyone out there read House of Leaves? Every time I go to the book store I am drawn to it. Looks bizarre as heck; but intriguing as well....curious as to anyone's input."

I started it a few years ago, got sidetracked, and now it's buried somewhere in my stacks of books. But I remember needing to suspend my disbelief in sections. And take that with a grain of salt because I have a low tolerance for sci-fi elements and if memory serves, the house's inner and outer dimensions were radically different and physically impossible.

Currently listening to The Burnt House (Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus, #16) by Faye Kellerman. Didn't realize it was 16th in the series! :-) Got it in one of Audible's great sales. Wasn't sure at first, but liking it better now so might start the series at the beginning.

I'm taking way too long to get through Brad Meltzer's "The Book of Fate." I don't know why? Next up is The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. I'm thinking of heading straight for it.

A Touch of Deceit

I finished Deception: An Alex Delaware Novel byJonathan Kellerman. I didn't enjoy this book as much as some of Kellerman's earlier works; in previous books Alex Delaware got involved in interesting sinister situations with various crackpot villains. In Deception Alex just kind of tags along with his detective friend Milo Sturgis while Milo questions suspects. The book was kind of boring to be honest.

I finished In the Presence of the Enemy and really liked it. Good writing, good plotting.

Now I'm reading The Ice Limit. Good so far. It seems similar to a thousand other thriller/supernatural potboilers but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Just finished (Brilliant!)

While I wait for from my library,

I'll start a classic

I just finished Heaven's Rage by new author Tiffany Craig Brown and really enjoyed it! It's about a man who is found murdered in his apartment and the main suspects are his three ex-wives and girlfriend from college. Here's the link to my review: Heaven's Rage. I'm hosting a giveaway on it too, starting 8/07.

Finished Ice Limit; if you're interested in thrillers involving dangerous meteorites and hazardous ship voyages, you might enjoy it. I rated it ***. Now I'm reading The Fourth K.

Just finishing up Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously... okay in parts, not so okay in others. I think I'll enjoy the movie more.

Am reading a fun kids fantasy thing, The Door To Time, and will start The Lacuna soon... can't seem to read a mystery these days...

Hayes said: can't seem to read a mystery these days...

I wonder if it is something in the atmosphere. I've been impatient with nearly every mystery I've picked up in the past couple of weeks. And normally, I can't get enough of them.

Currently I'm reading The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, which contains a mystery for the main character, but I wouldn't classify as a mystery. It's a good enough book, but I think I'd be enjoying it more if Matthew Pearl hadn't given it such high praise: "This debut novel flows with poetic charm and eloquence that achieves high literary merit while concocting a gripping supernatural puzzler. Katherine Howe's talent is spellbinding." I'm still waiting for the spellbinding and high literary qualities to make an appearance. Again, it's a good enough book. It's entertaining. The title is great. The names of the characters are wonderful: Deliverance, Mercy, Prudence, Patience, Temperance, Grace, and then there's Connie, who I hope is really Constance. But Connie is annoying. She's supposed to be this stellar grad student in colonial history, but she stumbles over some (in my opinion) basic things. But I still have over 100 pages left so maybe Connie will redeem herself in my eyes.

I'm having a hard time with reading now, too. Just feel in a lull or something ... started yet another book hoping I would enjoy it & it's helping, but still not too interested in the others. I rarely have this problem so I'm puzzled by it.

Barbara wrote: "I finished Deception: An Alex Delaware Novel byJonathan Kellerman. I didn't enjoy this book as much as some of Kellerman's earlier works; in previous books Alex Delawa..."

Barbara, I agree with you, I was disappointed in this one although I've been a long time fan of the Alex Delaware series. This one just wasn't up to standard.

Finally finished The Savage Garden, took me a while to get into it but it wasn't a bad read. Now on to Storm Prey

I finished The Cobra and now I am racing through Santa Fe Dead. Both are entertaining quick reads.

I just started The Night Stalker and it is fantastic. It really gets you inside the head of Richard Ramirez.

About 100 pages into The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest but have also started the latest installment in the Mistress of the Art & Death series-- A Murderous Procession. I should be done with at least one of them, but I've been catching up on The Pillars of the Earth series on Starz...

I just started Fearless Fourteen.

Just finished Spare Change by Robert Parker. Starting Private by James Patterson tonight - can't wait!

Hi Jenny, I'm a big Lynley fan. I just assumed that the books took place approximately when they were written/published. So for Deception on His Mind, that would be about 1997.

There is actually an Inspector Lynley thread - I'll post a link to it.

Here's the Lynley thread:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

Hi, Jenny! Welcome!! I just joined recently & am now nearly obsessed with reading the posts. Have so many new choices for reading, but have so many books at home to read, too. LOL I've never read any of the Lynley series, but they are definitely on my tbr list.

Heidi, I loved POTE & plan to watch episodes online. I've heard it's excellent.

Ceinwin wrote: "I've just finished readingThe Alienistby Caleb Carr. It was good but not amazing.

Now I'm struggling with [book:Portrait of a Killer: Jack The Ripper - Case Closed|6..."

Good luck with this one. I have read many different books done by others - including John Douglas (one of the founders of the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit - and found Cornwell's theories to be completely divergent from the both the evidence and the theories brought forth by Jack the Ripper experts. I found Cornwell's theory to be completely unbelievable and could not finish the book. Cornwell should stick with fiction.

I'm reading The Twelfth Card by Jeffery Deaver.

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane

K.B. wrote: "The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane"

I enjoyed this, but was expecting something different, not quite so "fluffy". I was a little disappointed.

Hayes, I wanted it to be darker. I had extremely high expectations for the book based on the back cover blurb by Matthew Pearl. It didn't live up to my expectations.

Hayes wrote: "Just finishing up Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously... okay in parts, not so okay in others. I think I'll enjoy the movie more.

Am reading a fun kids fantasy thing, [..."

I've watched the Julie and Julia movie and loved it :) Haven't read the book though

Started The Passage. I'm curious to see if it lives up to the hype.

Just finished The Burnt House (Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus, #16). Want to start The Girl Who Played with Fire, but I haven't downloaded it yet. Should have thought ahead!

trying to slog my way through Mudbound. Not liking it so far. I have another book I keep dipping into called Primitive People: A Novelbut I'm trying to stay focused. sigh. so many books, so little time. I'm giving Mudbound until Page 50 before I throw in the towel.

@Mitzi : I agree with you. It's a bit of a disappointment. But the good side is that it made me want to read more about Jack the Ripper

I finished Fearless Fourteen and I enjoyed it. It was a nice light read.

I just finished This Body of Death by Elizabeth George. I'm never disappointed by this author and this book was especially satisfying. Inspector Lynley is back at the Met, there is a lot of Havers & Nkata, and it was a great puzzle. I wasn't impressed with the new character, Isabelle Ardery, but I think that's what George was aiming for!

I was on a break from mysteries, too. Just finished Other Voices, Other Rooms; My Lobotomy. "Working" on finishingEmpty Cradles and just started The Lace Reader which is a mystery...I think!

This is my first post and I am very happy to recommend and it is as good as expected. It has been a long wait for this third book about the Dublin Murder Squad and I am eagerly awaiting number four.
was my 'warm up' book for Ms. French and I was so impressed by it that Mr. Kellerman's other three novels are now sitting on my side table waiting! This is an excellent psychological thriller.
I've been lent a copy of Shutter Island and am not far into it, but feeling underwhelmed. Haven't I heard/read/seen this story before?