Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends discussion

Better late than never...

August 2011

Buried Prey by John Sandford. Just when you think Lucas has done it all, Sandford brings in a whole new element. This time Lucas is drawn into one of his first cases, when the murder victims, never found, are discovered years later under the foundation of a building being demolished. This has all the requisite Sandford elements, the step by step chipping away at the mystery, the quips and one-liners, the presence of Lucas' family and friends, and a bangup pageturnerish ending. I give this high marks.

Smokin' Seventeen (2/5) These books get sillier and sillier. I stick with them only to find out what happens to the major characters. Even the Ranger/Morelli ping-pong seemed cheesy. The characters all seem just a little too eccentric, and Stephanie and Lula's incompetence as bounty hounters must make the real deals cringe (not that they would be reading these books....). I for one wouldn't be sad to see this series come to a close. They are good for a brief diversion every once in a long while.

In Too Deep (left over from July) (3/5). Fallon Jones, head of J&J Investigations, hires Finder talent Isabella as his assistant. The rest is history. A continuation of Krentz's paranormal Arcane Society series, set in modern day.
====== Serviceable paranormal romance, continues the story of Jones and Jones Investigation and the Arcane Society

White Lies by Jayne Ann Krentz. (3/5). Level ten Clare Lancaster returns to the estate of her estranged father to be offered a role in his business; she wants none of it but does want to clear her name of the suspicions that she murdered her step-brother in law. She joins forces with para-hunter Jake Salter. Satisfying paranormal romance/mystery made better by a suspenseful mystery.

The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly. (4/5) Mickey Haller has taken the case of Lisa Trammel, a mother/activist who is accused of murdering the president of the bank foreclosing on her home. Plenty of solid courtroom action and detection. The courtroom scenes dragged on a bit, but luckily interspersed with action and snippets of Mickey's personal life. I'm never quite sure if I like Mickey or not, I started out thinking of him as a hapless teddy bear but he is pretty edgy and ruthless. Still, I'll root for him any day. I look forward to seeing where Connelly takes Mickey going forward.

I loved Buried Prey. It was the best Lucas Davenport novel in years. Lucas has lost some of his bite and aggressivess as Sandford has aged the character.

As to Smokin Seventeen, Evanovich doesn't seemed to have matured Stephanie in this series.

Carol: Your August is 100% a part of my virtual TBR!
I need a good Prey novel or two for the commute. I may need to start lining that up. (quite a few ahead of them though) I do like Mickey Haller. Agreed, at first he seemed a bit smarmy. Perhaps McConaughey has a part in that change of opinion, but seriously I liked Mickey in the Lincoln Lawyer book too ;).
Does it annoy you trying to figure out which Arcane Society book to read next since she writes them under three author names? I am always confused. Even FictFact can't help me get it straight.

Nice list. I do the Evanovitch's now only if they are laying on the library shelf in front of me. Glad you got to the Connelly, it was quite good, and an interesting play on 5th.

I too have played out my string with the Plum books. The latest was given to me by a friend who finished it before it was due back to the library. I think I read 2 pages and just couldn't find the ambition to continue There must still be an audience for Stephanie Plum but I'm afraid I am not one of them.

Ann, I spent the better part of an evening flipping between FictFact, Amazon and Goodreads trying to get it straight and sort of did, but then my books starting coming into the library and I lost track. Not only are there three author pseudonyms but different time periods and themes. I just had to get over it, LOL. Besides, it's not like you don't know who is going to wind up with whom...

Ann wrote: "Does it annoy you trying to figure out which Arcane Society book to read next since she writes them under three author names? I am always confused. Even FictFact can't help me get it straight.
..."

Yes, thanks to you for sending me The Fifth Witness!

Barry wrote: "Glad you got to the Connelly, it was quite good, and an interesting play on 5th. ."

Maria, I think they are still wildly popular, Janet Evanovich draws a crowd wherever she goes. And she is a very entertaining speaker, I'm just over her characters.

Maria wrote: "There must still be an audience for Stephanie Plum but I'm afraid I am not one of them. ..."

Good point Carol - I should just get over it and grab one that catches my eye!
Carol: Carol/Bonadie wrote: "Ann, I spent the better part of an evening flipping between FictFact, Amazon and Goodreads trying to get it straight ... I just had to get over it, LOL. Besides, it's not like you don't know who is going to wind up with whom..."

Carol/Bonadie wrote: "Maria, I think they are still wildly popular, Janet Evanovich draws a crowd wherever she goes. And she is a very entertaining speaker, I'm just over her characters.

Maria wrote: "There must still..."

i pretty much am, too, but will still read them. only from the library, though. i hope that when 18 comes out ,stef finally makes up her mind and then i think it's time for them to sail off into the sunset with patrick and angie (although i miss them)