Mystery Corner ~ 02/02 Export

Pull up a comfortable chair and join us here to talk about mysteries and their authors. We love hearing what YOU enjoy and recommend!

Entries for “Master Mystery Writer”

author voter

Lawrence Block Shirley & Ed

John Dickson Carr Gerja

Raymond Chandler Bunny Mills

Agatha Christie Mary Hanagan

Michael Connelly newtonite

Patricia Cornwell Phyll

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Jackie Lynch

Dick Francis Stephanie Hochuli

Elizabeth George Carol Jones, jeanlock, & Yuki

Sue Grafton Kiyo

Tony Hillerman Cmac

P.D. James Maida

Faye Kellerman Camw

author voter

Jonathan Kellerman Scootergirl

John D. MacDonald Linda

Ed McBain AJL

Margaret Maron Kippy

Marcia Muller cappie

Robert B. Parker Bruce E. Clark

Ruth Rendell Gail T.

Lawrence Sanders Lee D.

Dorothy L. Sayers Jean Gordon, reffie, & Jeryn

Rex Stout jane

Josephine Tey Gail G. & MaryPage

Peter Tremayne Nancy McKeever

Patricia Wentworth singagain

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WELCOME EVERYONE!

Enjoy this fresh new page but be sure to hit that "SUBSCRIBE" button [penultimate left hand, green button at bottom of posts] before you move on for the day!

Who will be the first... ???

I confess I've not read this very popular author and am not sure I will again. I'm plodding through "A Traitor to Memory". It is mildly interesting but deadly tedious to read. She takes foooor evvvveer to move the story along. Maybe it's just me who likes a little faster pace. Don't know if I'll be able to finish this book. I think I know how it's going to turn out anyway - and , no, I have not peaked at the end.

I am the first here! The pillows are all fresh and new and the flowers look grand sitting on the tables that glow from the rich clear lighting. Good job Jeryn!

Elizabeth George may be an acquired taste... probably best to start with her earlier books and get to know the characters, Judy. She's very popular with her "following" but reading a new one "cold" probably is a bit offputting.

Glad you like it, gaj! I hope everyone finds their way here and hits that ol' SUBSCRIBE button... that's Seniornet for "dropping breadcrumbs..." <BG>

Jeryn. Just under the posts I have seven navy blue buttons. (There are no green buttons). They say:

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Sorry to be in the in the awkward squad yet again - which of these should I choose & but is this some sort of identity tag?

"People can put up with almost anything if they can see a reason for it" (Bruno Bettelheim)

You know there are lots of discussions on SeniorNet, right? So you only want to check new messages on just the ones you like? Okay. When you get to the bottom of the page, click on--well, there used to be a button for "subscribe", where did it go?

Anyway, if it was there, you would click on it and that discussion would be on your subcription list (you can see what's on your list by clicking on "preferences" and then clicking on subscrptions--if I remember right). You only have to click on subscribe once, then after you log on (I log on at Books and Literature) you just click on "CHECK SUBSCRIPTIONS" and they will keep coming up until all your preferences are viewed by you. When any discussion has about 1000 posts, they start a new one. So you unsubscribe to the old one and subscribe to the new one.

Every once in a while I go through the whole SeniorNet list, and rummage around, and I do have a few things bookmarked that are not about books.

HOWZAT

Howzat. It's a relief to hear you don't have a green button either. I'm grateful you explained everything else & what it would be for if I had one. I've grown used to my system now though - I thought you were advising me to stop abseiling from the roof - leaping through the windows of the favourite departments at will. My computer-use is all self-taught - & accounts for the smirks my techie gives when he calls for repairs. I say "Why are you pulling that face, am I doing it wrong?". He laughs & says it's perfectly OK doing it my way, he'd just not seen it before.

Viogert ... My buttons at the bottom are green... Where did you order the blue ones?

If you are not subscribed the "Cancel Susbription" button would say "Subscribe."

Perhaps the kind of monitor one has determines how the buttons appear. Mine, I call green but really is lort of blue green. Just a thought.

I guess I'm late cheecking into the New room. Well better late than never. My buttons are dark green?????? I think I posted previously that I was reading DECEPTION ON HIS MIND by ELIZABETH GEORGE, but after a few pages i decided I had read it before, quite a while back. I also vaguely remember plodding through it (but I could be wrong). Now I'm just curious enough to get another one of hers just to see. I'm presently reading the new LILLIAN JACKSON BRAUN book , they read so fast. I don't read them for the great story content or the mystery but for the characters, locations and of course the CATS. Dont know what I'll read next probably something a little heavier. JERYN, Nice cozy room , just right for our discussions BARB

This is the hoppin'est site. You all are sure busy. Miss a few days and there is all kinds of news.

This morning I was browsing in the NYT and came upon John Thaw's obituary. He played Inspector Morse, and ironically, Morse "died" just about a year ago. The obit really covered Morse information before it did that of Thaw.

FanFan -- saw your comment about Patricia Cornwell, and I totally agree. I liked the first ones, but she has just become too bloody for me.

JudyK -- I've only read one Elizabeth George -- Deceptions on his Mind -- which was really very good, I couldn't put it down.

He was such a nice actor - I didn't see his later work, but he was known as "the thinking-woman's crumpet", which was about right. They had nothing but daughters in his house, who would tease him about it when he wore an apron & washed the pans at the sink. They said "They should see you now!". I am a thinking woman & I'd think he was lovely - I don't know about you.

Patricia Cornwell's books get creepier & have more outlandish plots & she doesn't write very well but I still collect them. She produces a bleak, sinister atmosphere - absolutely humourless - & for some reason I find it fascinating. Those other books she writes about women police are supposed to be exciting but I yawn.

My buttons are a very dark blue - (PC Windows 95) - but I've never noticed improbable colouring in anything else until now.

Jeryn--Kathy Reichs is very similar to Patricia Cornwell in many ways. I really don't find her books anymore gruesome than Cornwell's.

Mamabear--Alex Cross is in many of James Patterson's books. Go to your library and check the publishing dates for the books, then start checking out some of the earlier ones.

Does anyone else enjoy reading Peter Robinson's books? I'm usually sort of ho-hum about British mystery writers, but Robinson's books are plausible, his characters are fascinating and the books are just an entertaining read from start to finish. His Alan Banks character is so believable, so human--you just have to like him.

Just thought I would mention buton coclors(lol) I rally wanted to say I am reading Linda Fairnstein's latest Alexander Cooper story The Dead House. Does anyone read her books. Linda Fairnstein works in the Manhattan Attorney Geerals office although I seem to have heard she was retiring.I hope she continues to write .I like her work and from what I have read so far this one doesn't disappoint .A bit of irony.This book was pulished in 2001 .In it she makes reference to a character going to the World Trade Center. I am sure while she was writing this she never would have imagined Sept 11th happening to her city.

Sorry to hear of the death of John Thaw...loved him as Inspector Morse.

Just home from the library with a new MC Beaton's Agatha Raisin's Love from Hell, an Eric Wright, Laurence Shames, Stuart Woods and Mark Twain's A Murder, A Mystery and A Marriage...

Years ago, my sister, who lives in Chico, CA, asked me to go to my local Bealls store and get her a red silk blouse (she visits every 18 months or so and likes the Bealls store here in Texas.) We didn't have computers then, so we're talking on the phone, right?

So, I say, "There's a lot of red, you know. What so of red do you have in mind?" "Well," she replied, "I think red going to blue. I saw one when I was there, it should be still on the rack in 'better women's'" (my sister is a high maintenance woman).

Being a tee shirt and jeans person myself, I am totally ignorant of fashion. I mean, I have always thought pink and red look great together. So I said, "Red going to blue means what? Reddy bluey?"

Then she explained about red going to yellow is what one would call Chinese red. And, I can't believe it but I understood that! I have never looked at color the same since. Bless my sister, she's thin and beautiful and smart. Just the opposite of me.

So here's what I think. Viogert has green going to blue buttons. Just like mine.

HOWZAT

Color and tint are definitely in the eye of the beholder! I'm laughing a bit at the various ways you all see those Darkish-Green-slightly-leaning-towards-Blue buttons!

In any case, the importantest part is that if it says "Cancel Subscription" on the second button from the left, you are already subscribed! If it says "Subscribe", you'd better click on it to keep getting all the Mystery news and reviews!

I too, mourn for John Thaw. A very credible Inspector Morse... both character and actor will be missed.

I just reread my former post Oh the mispelling.Buttons,colors,really and Fairstein.I am not a bad speller ...honest .My key board fingers move faster than my brain(VBG)

I love both Kathy Reich and Linda Fairstein. Both are much better writers than Patricia Cornwell. I really enjoyed her first several and then have had problems ever since. The last one was simply a rewrite of the one before. What a copout.. Not a Grisham fan, but my husband is. Another favorite of mine,, Dana Stabenow.. Oh me, I do like Kate Shugak.. I guess I like strong women who stay in charge of their lives. This is an important concept to me. Another excellent writer who should get better promotion is Lauri King.. Both her Mary Holmes and the other stuff she writes is equally good. Another not too well known writer is Darian North. Very dark, but oh my, she is good. Carol O'Connol is also an excellent writer, but dark..Strength.. that is the uniting characteristic of all of the above. Elizabeth George has a female policewoman who is wonderful.. Ahh me.. you can see my likes so clearly

Stephanie Hochuli. You are right about Dana Stabenow - she has written some great books about Alaska - she's a geography lesson with an atlas beside me. I read a book called "Murder on the Iditarod Trail" by Sue Henry about a dog-sled race they hold every year. Because of global warming, these books will be a historic record of what it was like before the snow melted.

Don't you think Kathy Reich is improving all the time? I can't understand why she hasn't overtaken Patricia Cornwell several books back, maybe she doesn't get so much of the publicity budget. But Laurie R. King gets better & better since "The Beekeeper's Apprentice". Her books are very clever so they are publicised more than they were. Haven't heard of Damian North though - I like the authors you call 'dark' - probably for that reason - Carol O'Connell has become a cult writer in the event. Where is she now? A bit like Janet Dawson who appeared with "Kindred Crimes" which was brilliant - then disappeared for a few years & then popped up writing four more & has now gone again. I sent for the Nevada Barr which I hope is as good as "Blood Lure" - about the bears. It would be more sensible to write to the Nature Reserve for a map of the place she's writing about - before I started reading it, but by then too late. . .

PERKIE What an interesting title. Sounds like something I'd like so will check my library when I go today. I'm now reading Marcia Muller, Point Deception, its a pretty good read. I just finished organizing my bookshelves (by author no less) and came across a lot of books I should read instead of going to get more. I don't have a lot of room for books so will have to weed them out soon. BARB

JERYN 7 GINNYANN Remember I was telling you at lunch about a series about a amish innkeeper and I didn't like her character? The author is Tamar Myers, the character is Magdalena Yoder and she's mennonite not amish. She hs also written another series with Abigail Timberlake as an antiques dealer (sleuth) I haven't read any of that series but will pick one up to see if I like it any better. If you get a chance read one of them just to if it's just me that doesn't like her.I love reading abput the amish and mennonite but this didn't quite hit the spot BARB

Just cleaned out our bookcase and we took about 50 books to the Friends of the Library. They are a big help and support to our local libraries. Now I have room for more books! I just finished Thale's Folly by Dorothy Gilman. It is listed as a mystery but I'm not sure it should be classified as such. Interesting but too much emphasis on the Wicca religion for me. Was wondering if others who enjoy her Mrs. Pollifax series have read it and how they felt. Kippy

Bab and Jeryn: The term I was trying to remember was Familiar. The author I was thinking about (mystery writer) is Jonathan Valin. He writes the "Harry Stoner" mysteries. :GinnyAnn:

Are Dorothy Sayers books a series? I've never read her and thought they sounded interesting but my library only had one and I didn't want to start in the middle. I've never read Nevada Barr either so picked up two of hers. I had a whole list of authors but our library doesn't seem to be very well stocked. Guess it's time to visit the 1/2 price book store. BARB

Gram62 Yes - the Sayers Peter Wimsey books are in some order but as they were among the first thrillers I read, I honestly can't remember which was the first. If you look in the front of any of her books, they will probably be listed in order of being written. I thought they were brilliant when I was a girl - superior to Agatha Christie, but as Sayers had taught English at my old school, (before my time unfortunately)I tended to favour her. I really loved Josephine Tey as well. If you come across any of her, they are a very good read as well.

Gram62/Barb: You're not alone. I didn't care for Magdalena Yoder, either. It just didn't "work" somehow for me.

š jane›

Gram62 and Jane -- I'm with you on "Magdalena Yoder." I did not care for her.

Coloured buttons. . . the mystery is solved this end by the weekly visit of my sherpa who shops/banks/posts letters. I asked him "What colour are those buttons there?". He said "Navy Blue".

WHEW I'm glad I'm not the only one who didn't like Magdalena, I picked up one of her other series yesterday and will see if that is any better. VIOGERT Thanks for the info on Dorothy Sayers & Josephine Tey. I will add her to my list. I finished Mullers "Deception Point" last night and started Faye Kellerman's " The Forgotten" , haven't gotten far enough yet to know if I'll like it, I did like her other books. Since it's snowy and cold ,cold,cold today, I will probably get a lot of reading and/or computing done. BARB

Count me in on the "no thanks" to Tamar Myers/Magdalena Yoder books, too. They just seem to flounder around and go nowhere---or at least nowhere that I found interesting.

Magdalena is very irritating. The antique dealer isnt that much better either. She likes irritating women for some reason. However sometime in the last year I read another author who wrote about an Amish mystery. Now to remember what.. Those senior moments reach out and grab hold. It will pop up soon and I will try to write it down. If you like books on different odd religions and mysteries.. Irene Allen writes about Quakers, mostly in Cambridge and Deborah Woodworth writes about Shakers ( they are wonderful stories). Try them,, I think you will enjoy them. They are different.

Hello everyone! After all those negative reviews, I think I'll just pass on Magdalena Yoder! I read a book recently that might be classed as an Amish mystery... it was certainly about the Amish, an alleged murder, and a trial. Plain Truth by Jodie Picoult. Anyhow, it was interesting enough that I finished it!

Ah Barb, speak reverently when you speak of Dorothy L. Sayers, my all-time favorite whodunit writer! The first in the Peter Wimsey series is Whose Body. You can always check on a series at this site, Series Lists. This is one of our permanent links in the heading.

"Hunting Season" - her latest book - arrived in the mail this morning. It looks great. She has a website now, with pictures taken since she was little. You can email her of course - she says "I would love to hear what you think of the books so long as it is unstinting praise". We don't need to mention "Liberty Falling" then need we? The new book has maps for endpapers, so here is one satisfied customer.

http://www.nevadabarr.com

JERYN Yes I know Dorothy Sayers is your favorite, which is why I wanted to read them, but want to start from the beginning.I've used the series list in fact I printed some of it out to carry to the library with me. STEPHANIE Thanks for the two new authors to add to my list. I think its fun to read about different cultures and what better way than with fiction (mysteries) VIOGERT I really don't know how I missed Nevada Barr ,but that's the purpose of this discussion isn't it? To keep up to date on the good authors. I checked at my library and got a couple of her older books so will let you know how I like them. JANE,PEDLIN AND PHYLL Hi to you too. Magdalena is just a rough, tough nasty person, not my cup of tea.

Because someone on this list loved the early Thomas Perry, I have dug out and found two older ones. I am currently reading Metzgers Dog and howling with laughter. What a neat book. A sendup of the CIA and the secrecy disease.

Stephanie. Too right -- there are quite a few fans of Perry's in the Mystery Corner - & no wonder. He IS really good isn't he? Just before Christmas I set out to collect all his out-of-print books - mostly pre-Jane Whitefield & eventually I had all of them except "Island" - - (the first try it went AWOL & the second try from another shop in another town in another state coming by air, is still not here after a month. I think the book is jinxed.) I'm not moaning, so much as suggesting it's all worth while in the end - & if you fancy more after "Metzger's Dog", there's a nice long list for you to hunt for. It's absolutely sickening now I've finished them all - "Island" can take it's time so I have something to look forward to.

I was reading Greeley's The Archbishop and the Beggar Girl of St. Germaine but something about it just threw me off. Am going to Paris, and staying right near the other "St. Germaine" church (view of gargoyles out the hotel window) so I thought it might be fun, but...I just can't get into if for some reason, so , having finished the newest Agatha Raisin, and not wanting the "Scrooge" experience described above, I started the newest Hamish McBeth last night and I think it's one of her best Hamishes.

Death of a Celebrity, it's really quite good, it's an easy light read but the characters are well defined, even the minor ones and you can't see the author moving around thru it deliberately, you get caught up in it.

I know several of you have mentioned it, have any of you read it?

ginny

I also started his The Archbishop and the Beggar Girl of St. Germaine and put it down. It went back to the library. I am usually a fan of his, but couldn't get into this book.

Hi all, I just had to tell you about Sent of Murder by Cynthia G. Alwyn. Her book was a lot like Virginia Lanier's books about bloodhounds. So if you liked Virginia Lanier's books, you'll enjoy Sent of Murder. Although it is more gruesome.

I couldn't eiher, Ginny Ann, and I don't know why? It's my first one of Greeley's and you say you're a fan, how does this one differ from his other ones? I didin't dislike it I just didn't enjoy reading it or care enough about the characters to turn the page, don't know what's wrong, one of the prettiest covers I ever saw on a book tho, I guess I'll keep it in case I change my mind.

I put Kaleidescope up on the Book Exchange and it was snapped up, maybe we'll have another report here soon.

ginny

first Blackie books were fun mysteries. Maybe he has run out of steam for the Blackie stories.

Just finished Robert Crais's The Monkeys Raincoat and L.A. Requiem they were good I liked L.A. Requiem best.

I hadn't read any of the Cordelia Gray mysteries that P.D. James wrote. I found a Large Print one...marked as NEW...at the Library, and althought he copyright was 1977, I enjoyed it. I've read a lot of P.D. James, but somehow had missed this "PI." Title was An Unsuitable Job for a Woman.

š jane›

Book Exchange I have offered L.A. Times by Stuart Woods

Jane, some of P.D.James early books were pretty good. The one you mention was the first one I read too. Also I liked Cover Her Face and Death for a Nightengale. Don't even remember any of her other titles and eventually quit reading her altogether.

Thanks for the reviews, Ginny, gaj, FrancyLou, and Judy! I not only get good ideas for reading from this gang, but also learn which ones to avoid!

Were those Cordelia Gray ones, Jeryn? I read a lot of P.D. James there for awhile, but somehow never grabbed a Gray one before.

š jane›

I won't trust my memory completely, Jane, but I think that one is the ONLY Cordelia Gray. James went on to that Inspector Dalgleish and repeated his character in several books but I don't think Cordelia Gray appears ever again.

Ah..ok...maybe that's how I missed her before then...since Dalgleish was the character I remembered from James.

That would 'splain it.

Hi Everybody, I just finished reading a great new debut novel called "Angel Fire" by newcomer author Lisa Miscione. I wanted to share this with you because I found it to be a real page-turner and I would highly recommend it! Check out her website at http://www.lisamiscione.com for more info...

Beachbum: NIce website...and my guess is it's your design????

Well unfortuately now 3/4ths of the way thru the newest Hamish MacBeth, Death of a Celebrity, and it's bogged down considerably. Strange. The plot has picked UP, new twists and turns, a nice angle on a horroscope writer and her predictions, like that bit, but the writing has slowed, hopefully it will pick back up.

Just reporting in,

ginny

Ginny . Sounds like a dud - sound like the books I think: 'just one more chapter . . . ' & wish I hadn't. There's a really good crimewriter in the West Country called Scarlett Thomas - wrote three really exciting thrillers. When "Bright Young Things" was published I sent for it thinking it would be a mystery. Started off with 6 top class graduates answering an ad, & the next thing they are all stranded on a island miles from anywhere in a well-stocked house. Food, booze, fags, videos & a library of books. Mystery. They discover their kidnapper & what his plans for them had been if he hadn't suddenly died. (Not even half way through). The rest of the book they sat around TALKING! About television, about films, serials, sex, food - computer games. More or less, that was it. I wrote to her asking if it as an allegory about alliterate people - (kids who CAN read but don't) - but she didn't write back. Then in Amazon I saw dozens of people loved it - 'just the things for the seaside.' Please report in if your book was worth sticking with.

Viogert, your book sounds more interesting! hahahaaha

No, I"m determined to finish it, I like Hamish I like the personal stuff, I have NO idea who dun it, but it's slogging work to get to the end, it's work. I want it to end because I like the main character, I like the developing romance here and the new Chief Inspector, I don't know who did it and there are lots of red herrings, but it has become work, no joke, almost thru now, think I'll put this one on the Book Exchange here.

ginny

Perkie: I had just read that book...and had no idea it was a TV series. Someone here said there was only one Cordelia Gray book by P.D. James...so I wonder what they based the TV series on?

I'm not a movie person, so I have no idea who those actresses are. Was Edith the secretary? You can see the book didn't make a big impression on me. When I first saw your post I couldn't recall at all who Edith might be. I assume the series was on a cable channel like A&E?

š jane›

How do you submit a name for the Master Mystery Writer?

I'd like to add Michael Connelly and John Sandford.

Yes, Perkie, which channel was that "Unsuitable Job for a Woman" on? Was it a one-time-only or a series? Loooong time ago, I saw that story on a PBS channel but it was just a one shot TV movie thing. I could not name the actresses at this late date!

Ah, Ginny, life is too short to finish really terrible books and when done, they are best filed in a round receptacle! Mayhaps you have at last OD'd on Hamish?! <BG>

WELCOME, WELCOME newtonite!!! Glad to have you in our discussion of mysteries. You may submit a new author for inclusion in the Master Mystery Author chart, but please just ONE author's name. Which shall it be... Connelly or Sandford?

Perkie + Jane + Jeryn That book was the only Cordelia Grey mystery. She occurred briefly in a later book where Dalgleish was observed 'taking Cordelia Grey out for dinner.' I always thought it was a terrible waste of a character - but P.D.James pushed the boat out for women sleuths in UK. P.D.James is in love with Dalgleish so she has more fun writing about him - bit like Dorothy Sayers & Peter Wimsey. (Not teasing Jeryn - she WAS!)

I did some rootling about to find when "An Unsuitable Job for a Woman" was published by Faber & Faber. It was 1972! so she was probably the first female sleuth with a licensed gun.

Google have a page on Cordelia Gray under "An Unsuitable Job for a Woman". It has all the information about the films. There was an URL, but I couldn't get it to work here. Sally Slapcabbage rides again

JERYN, My library finally came through so I shall be starting Dorothy Sayers soon.I also got some Nevada Barr and M.C. Beaton so wiil have a busy time the next three weeks. I better get all my reading done before the nice weather comes. BARB

Some of your expressions are a hoot, viogert! Sally Slapcabbage! Delightful Britishism. Do you get a kick out of our idioms as well? I can believe that James fell in love with Dalgleish-- who wouldn't?! However, I also agree it's a shame she abandoned Cordelia. I rather liked her.

Ah, Barb, I hope you like those authors. I am extremely fond of Sayers and usually much enjoy Barr. Don't know Beaton; never sounded like my cuppa. Saaaaaay, you never heard of beach books? Hammock books? Patio books? Suuuuuuuuuummertime, when the livin' is easy... certainly includes BOOKS!

Ikeep thinking that there are several short stories about Cordelia Grey.. Probably not, but i could swear I had read more than one thing of her.

The 2 I know of are:
An Unsuitable Job for a Woman (©1972)
The Skull Beneath the Skin (©1982)

It's tough for me to choose,but Michael Connelly it is!!!!!!!

Pat Westerdale - you are absolutely right - there were two Cordelia Gray books quite clearly listed on the website. I'm ashamed if I misled anybody who didn't get to look it up. It's likely I didn't read the book when it came out because it had bad reviews, or I started reading it - as I did with "Devices & Desires" & hurled the thing from me. I can't read P.D.James any more. She gets more caste-ridden & turgid in time but "An Unsuitable Job for the Woman" was inspired, I thought. I have read it several times.
Jeryn - you are quite right about finding some Americanisms make me laugh. Why are they missing when I want to remember them? I will collect a few & print them out when I get my marbles back.
Newtonite - Michael Connelly is a brilliant choice. His new novel "City of Bones" is due to be published April 8th. Only four weeks.

This is sure a busy site. Miss a few days and there are 50 some messages. Makes me just want to stay home and curl up and read, but unfortunately . . . . . .

I just finished Lost Bird by Margaret Coel, about a priest on an Arapaho Reservation in Wyoming. With the exeception of the priest, most of the main characters are Native Americans. There are murders because someone has a secret to keep, but it is not bloody. A good read with a lot of cultural ino. I couldn't put it down, and books with a Western flavor are usually not my cup of tea. Does anyone know if this is part of a series or just a "one of a kind"?

Enjoyed the "Cordelia Gray and Edith" on PBS a while back.

I know for sure that Margaret Coel has written several Indian books, but dont remember a priest.

Hmmmm, I thought I'd read Skull Beneath the Skin but surely don't remember the plot at all. Two Cordelia Grays but one of them nsg*... isn't that about what we've come to expect from James? About every other one has been readable.

Michael Connelly it is then, newtonite. Good choice! I've enjoyed every one of his books myself!

Glad to hear of Connelly's new one, viogert. Oh, I can hardly wait to hear what Americanisms you find most amusing!

Thanks for the recommendation of Margaret Coel, pedln. I don't usually care about Westerns either but, because of recommendations seen right here in Mystery Corner, I am enjoying my first Jamie Harrison novel this week!

nsg=not so good

and I planning to go to Half Price Books tomorrow!!! I am hoping to find some good mysteries! :GinnyAnn:

I've put the newest Hamish McBeth on our Book Exchange if anybody is interested.

ginny

LEE CHILD. This crimewriters name came up during "Books on My Bedside Table discussions & I wanted to go on writing about him, & also see if I could get his website to light up here. (I am sometimes hamfisted - doesn't always work.)Roidininiki kindly pointed out this website - that to my shame I didn't know & wanted to spread it around:

http://www.leechild.com

One of the few super-writers whose books come out in UK before USA, Child's new book "Without Fail" is supposed to come out 1st April (- which is Easter Monday?) His Jack Reacher sprang fully-formed & brilliant with "The Killing Floor" - which I thought was the best plotted book I'd read since "Tinker Tailor". I am pitifully grateful for any forward movement in the genre, (Carol O'Connell, Denise Mina, Jenny Siler) & go right over the top when a new author appears. The website has a few pages of the new book which is absolute TORTURE. 18 days to go then.

I still think Lee Child would have been better advised not to kill off Jack Reacher's brother - - - not complaining mind!

Seems like i set off a quick run to find www.Lee Child Viogert? Keep spreading the word on all these new authors as you find them! Heres another Michael Connolly fan.....me... to join you Newtonite and Jeryn dont you find tho that they cant write fast enough... we get too hooked?M. C. was problably quite unknown here when i found him but now is in bestsellers list.Has anyone come to read Irish author John Connelly.. not to be confused with M.C. his 1st. book being Every Dead Thing., a v.v.good thriller on v. different lines.J.C. was/ is a newspaper correspondent. A new one in our bestsellers list is Harlan Coben.. Tell No One.. not an author i have given much time but think i have done him a disservice maybe.. or has he just pulled one out of the bag here?

Roidininki. Funny you raise this one. Whenever I look to see what Amazon recommends (especially-for-me), they list all the Harlan Coben's. So I sent for one & it was a poor match. I could barely read a chapter we were so incompatible. I can just about read John Connelly - somehow his writing feels like voyeurism rather than storytelling but I have bought all his books so far, so he can't be that bad. I forget his plots the minute I put the book down. Lee Child managed to write gore-soaked prose about well-mutilated bodies that didn't bother me a bit - maybe if the author lacks sadistic relish, the reader is detached?

Thanks to everyone who recommended Nevada Barr. I just finished Firestormand didn't want to put it down until I finished. Am headed to the used book store now to find some more. BARB

Jeryn,, Jamie Harrison is a wonderful writer. I know you will enjoy the town and people very much. I never miss her stuff. I envy anyone just beginning the Nevada Barr stuff. She has made me make efforts to go to many of the national parks in her books. Sign of a good writer.. someone that makes me want to visit the locale.

Thanks, Ginny, for making the Beaton available on the Book Exchange. I've asked for it there and also emailed you my home address, if nobody else has grabbed it first.

š jane›

WECOME, WELCOME roidininki! A pal of viogert's is a pal of ours! Love to hear you two discussing mysteries; don't always agree, but that's what makes the world go round, right?! Connelly, Lescroart, Mina, Barr, Martini, Grisham... it's TRUE! They can't write fast enough to suit me!

Since I liked Mina so much, guess I'll have to check out those others you've mentioned. I went to the library today and hit the jackpot! Neveda Barr and John Lescroart's new books awaited me! Also picked up Metzger's Dog so enthusiastically recommended here.

Coben leaves me cold. There's no accounting for you-know-what!

Glad you liked Firestorm, Barb. More treats in store! Actually, that one was NOT among my favorites...

Yes, Stephanie, I'm enjoying this book by J. Harrison. Lots of characters to learn but I love a story with subplots and complexities so I'm paying attention!

Jeryn. "Dr Metzger" in Thomas Perry's book is an interesting cat. Those animals hijacked the book I thought. I was quite relieved to hear Harban Coben was yawn/snore for you too - I couldn't find anybody who'd read him & Amazon rated him highly.

Stephanie. I've never heard of Jamie Harrison - I'll look him out seeing as how both you & Jeryn are enthusiastic.

Gram62. "Firestorm" was a very heavy thriller - an acquaintance once said she thought Nevada Barr tortured Anna Pigeon & gave her a hard time - she certainly did in that book. I think she gets better as Anna gets older - if you don't count "Liberty Falling" which was away from nature reserves.

Since not noticing Lee Child's website, I started looking at the jackets of some of the better thrillers I've read. Caroline Carver, whose first thriller "Blood Junction" - set in Australia - & very good too, has a website on her cover so I sent the usual fan-email. "Great book - you writing another? - please", & had a reply almost by return saying her second book was finished & would be published next year. Not the authors fault -- all that delay. They seem to write them quick enough to suit us.

Jeryn,et al , well i did say that i had,nt taken to Harlan Coben until Tell No One? Sometimes i think authors have ghost writers the style seems to alter, i thought H:C.very boring at one time , didn,t he have a sleuth called Myron? T.N.O is not like previous. Anyway i,m not here to sell him? Well spotted about John Connelly!Would you believe i picked up a John Lescroat only yesterday! A new to me author tho i have passed him by in the past thought this sounded pretty o.k. Happy reading!

Welcome, roidininki !! All the way from England, with Viogert! Welcome!!

I saw yesterday in the newspaper here where the Queen is putting on display all the gifts she has been given over the years, at least she keeps them, quite a bit of history there revealed, wish I could see them this year.

But the Books' Own Joan Pearson is IN London as we speak, harrassing the British Library, so we will hear all very soon!

I started a new one last night and first did a SEARCH here for JS Borthwick, I don't see too many references, but may have misspelled, anyway it's called My Body Lies Over the Ocean and is a mystery about a Trans Atlantic cruise on the new ship Victoria hahaahahah which is a thinly disguised QEII, I recognized the Harrod's store (from our one cruise on the QEII hahahahaa which was a nightmare...not the CRUISE itself but the logistical mess in getting there) in the "ship's map"....Since Cunard has a new liner coming out....is it next year or this year? Another Queen Mary? Not sure, I thought this might be fun, and so far, it is. It is not new and was written in 1999.

Are any of you fans of Borthwick which I hope I have spelled correctly?

ginny

Viogert, Are You Really Going to Persevere?

Ginny . Sounds like a dud - sound like the books I think: 'just one more chapter . . . ' & wish I hadn't.

I did persevere, isn't it funny how you feel about things like that? There I was, 3/5ths of the way thru the book, and it's very strange, but if I have invested that much time and the author turns suddenly ...er....flat, I get....determined to finish, but sometimes as you have noted, it's not only one more chapter ugg but one more page uggg and it happens to the best of writers, too.

It's for me a question of how far I have gone in the book. I guess I am stubborn and figure if I've invested all that time so far I'm going to get something out of it (besides it might pick up)....it didn't.

Will be interesting to see how Jane likes it.

How far do you all read before abandoning a book? Is there a point at which you slog on regardless?

ginny

Ooh Ginny. I love being asked 'how' I read - just as much as I like being asked why I like what I read. Some people read the end first - they say they can't bear not to know. I have never been able to match the beginning of the book with the end anyway, so I never do that. But I always start a book remembering how modern authors hope to hook a reader with the first para - the first sentence even. Nobody forgot "Last night I dreamed I went to Manderly again", or "The past is another country, they do things differently there". Openings that make all your hair stand up are rare but they are a reliable guide to a good author.

The reading rules I think I've used all these years, get broken as often as they are observed. When a book is slow. if I think "Oh buck up, do" more than once, after 4 chapters with no hooks, its chances of being finished are slender. What might keep me reading is good writing, unexpected wit, likeable characters & interesting dialogue that subtly helps describe the characters. Sue Grafton is brilliant doing this - she has a good ear for dialogue. What puts me off are cardboard people, cliches, very long sentences with no rhythm, poor continuity, literals & bad editing. There are some writers I can't trust - the books are rickety - like the plot will come to pieces? Some novels are all clever wordwork but no substance. Ian McEwen comes to mind - some of his stuff is 'mysterious' but he cheats. But he wins prizes - who am I to judge? But when you open a book to find the author doing back-somersaults with the language, you know the plotting is going to be loosely-textured.

So what keeps me up at night with my eyes bugging out is:

1. straight narrative line: (like "The Killing Floor")
2. fairly upright central character; (like Dick Francis)
3. good character dialogue that carries the story along; (Thomas Perry)
4. side-plotting that is woven together at the end; (Dick Francis)
5. minimal sex & no marriages; (Ian Rankin)
6 good strong believeable plotline; (Thoman Perry)
7. incidental information as a reader's bonus; (Dick Francis)

This lot is just what I think I want - & how I think I read, today. By tomorrow it could have changed into something else.

I can do 100 pages and then,,, bang, it must have hooked me or down it goes. On authors.. a theory I have heard is that if an author becomes a popular one, they then drag out any of their old books that they could never sell and insist that the publisher use them. It seems to be true when i consider about the 4th book in on most authors. Amazing the junk that gets thrown in.

Ginny , loved your happy face as i clicked onto you!Thanks for the lovely colored welcome! I havnt heard of J.S. Borthwick but will check it out too,always glad to find new recommendations.Viogert, well loved your list,it is so good to find people with such similar tastes,who are looking for x, y, and zee. I can see you are L.C's number 1 fan now ?(apart from me, that is)Now may i ask a serious question?You may have heard of Martin Amis? Has anyone read Night Train? This is the Ist novel i have ever read where i thought part of the book was missing.If anyone would like to give it a try would appreciate an opininion, as i began it again immediately{not a long book} with the same result!

Roidininki. I've read all of Martin Amis's books, but never found a gap in them. They were all much too long. He goes on & on, long after the natural ending of the book. I don't think he knows how to say goodbye. I quite liked "Night Train" though. He said in his interviews at the time, that he had saturated himself with American 'noir' & the classic thrillers of Chandler, Hammett & Ross MacDonald. He said he enjoyed writing the book & having a female protagonist. But I thought it was a bit pedestrian. He didn't tie up the loose ends, & I suspect subliminally, he may have felt genre fiction was easy, & that he was slumming a bit. We discussed it at our library when it came out - they said they thought the ending was unlikely, & to be honest now, I have forgotten what it was about. Was it that we didn't know for sure if the policewoman committed suicide?

Stephanie. You're absolutely right to moan about publishers dragging out old works of popular authors. It's ever so disappointing. In some cases they can be very sneaky, publishing them with the author's successful name & not mentioning the original pulp pseudonym they originally came out under. It's a great temptation with a best-selling author, to publish all the juvenilia that had been carefully (& sensibly) hidden away. I do wish they wouldn't.

In addition to the excellent points you all have made, I think mysteries and fun novels [and even serious novels] NEED to have characters that one can "see" and care about. If the characters don't come to life after a few short chapters, if you don't give a dern whether they live or die, then you certainly don't want to read on!

Speaking of "good editing", do you all find more typos and bad editing in today's fiction than formerly or is it my imagination? And books that fall apart... well, that's another problem, I guess!

I read that very Borthwick, Ginny! Engaging enough that I thought I would pick up another one of hers but so far have not done so.

Jamie Harrison is a her, roidininki; her picture on the back cover makes her look like a regular cowgirl! Not that the novel is like that, not at all. My husband and I enjoyed An Unfortunate Prairie Occurrence so much we will quickly search out her first two in the series. An excellent example of characters you can care about, and PLENTY of them! And I believe there is a new one too? Blue Deer Thaw, I saw somewhere.

Jeryn: Yes, on the typos...but the bad editing ...where the wrong name has been used, drives me up the wall. I've read several cases where the characters' first or surname suddenly changes for a page or two and then are back to the original name. Sloppy, sloppy proofreading and editing, I think.

š jane›

Recently I tried a book that had very good reviews and didn't like it at all after a few pages and it went back to the library unread. At one time I would have pushed myself to give it another chance, but I have so many books waiting to be read that I figure it is better to move on to one of the books that are waiting for me to read them.

I started Envy by Sandra Brown put it down. At a bookstore I was chatting with a fellow bargain hunter about mysteries. She told me to give Envy another chance, that it 'gets better'. So since I usually like her stuff I will probably give it another go.

This same person recommended a new author to me. The next day at the library one of the clerks and I got chatting and she recommended the same aauthor! Alex Kava is this new author. She is supposed to have one book that is now in paperback and another that just came out in hardback. The only title I wrote down is <A Perfect Evil . Has anyone else heard of her? :GinnyAnn:

Viogert, thanks for your Night Train info. I too thought Amis was slumming, have read all his stuff too! The ending of Night Train was that we really did not know "if".....that was my complaint! Where did you see the interview with him, on live t,v. or website?Had a librarian who told me all authors Ist. novel was in the main largely about themselves, so wrote to Martin Amis and he wrote back to say "unfortunately " this was true! I think his mentor is definitely Saul Bellow.. Have you read Heavy Water.. short stories,came out after N.T. and such a slim volume for the price.. still do look forward to his next.On the subject of authors having previous work published as they come to be pretty hot i read a few under the name of Jack Harvey.. maybe is Ian Rankin.. i just cannot believe he said his publishers told hin to write something else under a different name just while they were waiting to see how well the current book did!!Still we do have Ruth Rendell doing just as well as BarbaraVine.Gaj... thanks for the Alex Kava recommendation.. one i havn´t heard of.

One of the nicest features about Jamie Harrison is that she keeps her characters in the little town and develops more and more of them. Wonderful to see old friends and greet new ones. Just got a new J.D.Robb.. How I love that series.. This is the new paperback one. They are my biggest vice.. Not really a mystery as such, but neat anyway. I skip the way too violent passion, but otherwise, they are fun.

GinnyAnn. Doris Lessing advises your method of reading in her "Doris Lessing Reader". Her fiction isn't my sort, but any of her non-fiction is full of good sense. She thinks it's a waste of time soldiering on with a book that is hard going. With so much variety to choose from, we should dedicate our reading hours to enjoying ourselves. She writes that the more we read, the greater our taste in the language so it's an upwrard curve all the way. That accounts for how we 'grow out' of some favourite authors. I looked up Alex Kava & she has been well recommended in Amazon - nearly 5 stars. A new book just out (forgot its name though).
Roidininki. There was a media fuss when "Night Train" came out some years ago - so I read everything about it then. He had a reputation for writing about cool sex & macho status. The reviewers were dazzled by his flash prose but I didn't think he had much to say, until his autobiography, "Experience".
Ruth Rendell said she wanted to get away from the Wexford mysteries - she took her mother's name & her own second name, & started to write a slightly different type of thriller - quite deliberately she said.
Stephanie Jamie Harrison has good reviews too. I'm pleased I'm not the only one who skips the carnal excesses. Who wants to be a voyeur eh?

A book by Henry Porter A Spy's Life looked good. I read the first chapter and it has the feel of a thriller. I have never heard of Porter. Anyone know anything about him?

viogert: Thanks for the info on Doris Lessing. I am going to see if the library has her Doris Lessing Reader.

In an Intrigue book I finished recently the characters talked about the "Wild Geese". Does anyone know of a good book about these geese? I remember there was a move called The Wild Geese but who wrote the book? I find myself thinking about these Wild Geese and need to know more. lol It is supposed to be an Irish legend and the Irish in me whats to hear more of this story.

Stephanie Hochuli: As much as I enjoy Nora Roberts work I could never get into her J.D.Robb novels. They seemed so dark to me. Is darkness a large part of them?

:GinnyAnn:

gaj,was talking to an American lady yesterday, recognised her book title from your message about re-reading Envy by Sandra Brown, she said it was "full of sex but i skip those bits"(laughing)Have you begun again'

GinnyAnn.. . two great reviews for a book by William Fiennes this morning called "The Snow Geese". He migrated from Texas up to the Hudson Bay tundra with them. It isn't published here until Friday week, but it's available in the USA. Paul Gallico wrote a small wartime book called "The Snow Goose" -- the start if Fienne's attraction to the bird - & it's still in print.

To track snow geese migrations:

http://north.audubon.org/

According to Amazon.com Tony Hllerman has a new book coming out JUne 2. Am I right? If true, I can't wait.

Ginny-- Borthwick is a fun read. I think I've read most of hers, but see there are a couple of new ones out. My favorite is The Case of the Hook-Billed Kites, about bird-watching at a reserve in Texas. The subject doesn't sound exciting, but it moves right along.

Saturday during a History of Ireland on the International History Channel Preview there was mention of the "Wild Geese." They were the young Irish men forced to leave Ireland. They fought in many of Europe's wars. Now I know I must do a search of this because it is on my mind needing an answer in depth.

I saw an advertisement that a new Nero Wolf series is start on A&E April 14th.

Yea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A New Hillerman. Oh joy.. He is simply not writing much any more. We are all getting older. JD Robb. They are dark indeed, but interesting just the same. The just one step into the future is an interesting twist on a detective story.

A new Hillerman and a new Nero Wolfe, oh joy! Each wonderful in it's own way...

I've made a note to remind everyone as April 14 draws near...

Jeryn + Perkie. Thanks for the Hillerman news. Not long now. I saw the multi-authored book on Nevada Barr's website & wondered what it was like. . . . I might try it after what you said.

Henning Mankell again. I've been reading his books in random order because they were not all translated at once. I finally received his first book "Faceless Killers", (1991) this morning & just read the first page -- just to see what it was like -- just to see how he started off & why he was picked out of Swedish fiction to be translated worldwide. I was still sitting there an hour later -- well into the plot & unable to put it down. Like most other series, it helps to start with the first book because like this one, it has all the grounding I didn't know, that the author doesn't repeat in subsequent books. I haven't a clue how "Faceless Killers" ends - I'm trying not to read it too quickly. There is a useful map of the province in Sweden where the police action takes place. One of UK's neglected crimewriters - Mark Timlin reviewed the book saying: "An excellent thriller, full of northern European angst....a terrific novel".

Shades of the Bobbsey Twins and Nancy Drew. Was it the Edwin Streetemeyer Publications (not sure about the name) where each writer was given a chapter to write. Of course, they had "formulas" too.

What you're describing, Perkie, does sound like a bit of fun, with the writing on a level lots higher than the Streetemeyer stuff. Sounds like an exercise in coping with what you're given, and being able to toss the ball.

Hmmmm, two more intriguing titles [new to me] to add to my looooong list! Thanks, Perkie, viogert!

I've hunted through 3 library systems and one bookstore trying to find Jamie Harrison's first, Going Local. Was it not very good, or something? Before I go to any more trouble...

My fun for this week is Nevada Barr's latest, Hunting Season. She's back on the Natchez Trace with all the [haha] good ol' boys!

Jeryn i keep thinking i have post ed a message and actually saw it on scree n only to find it is not here, i distinctly remember posting for Scootergirl , about Lee Child's books , maybe on another discussion, like Adventure?

roidininki, just be sure when you're finished that you click on the button under the posting box that says "Post My Message". However, if you posted a message somewhere else, that may not be the problem! Can't help you there...

I've just finished that latest Nevada Barr, Hunting Season, and found it to be a VERY satisfying yarn! All Ann Pigeon fans will LOVE it! Wonderful resolution! I'd better shut up before I give it away. <BG>

Marianne McDonald went on my must find list. Sounds really neat. Jamie Harrison does not seem to be that popular, but I love her stuff. Keep looking and try used books stores. Just discovered that Universe Explorer is having a cruise featuring Dana Stabenow,Sue Henry, John Strahle and a catholic priest who writes Alaskan mysteries. They will give lectures, conduct a class for people wanting to learn how to write mysteries and generally be available. It is ( I think ) in late May. If I had known earlier would have taken it. Now have made other plans that cannot be cancelled. It is a two week cruise through the inner passage and two glaciar areas. We took it about 5 years ago and loved it. Very low key laid back sort of ship.

I am reading a great mystery/thriller. It is Last Man Standing by David Baldacchi. It is my first book by Baldacchi and I am find it a very satisfactory read. Has anyone else read his work?

Oh, yes, I read his Absolute Power. Great book, I thought! I did a second one of his, too, but that title escapes me at the moment.

I enjoy Baldacchi very much. He has a new book out but I am not sure of the title.

In looking for his lastest book, I discovered I had mispelled his name: The correct spellingDavid Baldacci.Can't find his latest book.

Could it be Wish You Well? We had once thought (he lives in DC) he might make a super author to talk with on our Bookfest.

ginny

Gaj,i am David Baldacci fan,but have not seen Last Man Standing [nothing to do with the Bruce Willis film,[ sorry movie] of the same title is it , as D.B's Absolute Power was filmed srarring Clint Eatwood and Gene Hackman, do watch!]Other titles areThe Simple Truth,Total Control,TheWinner and yes Ginny his latest is Wish YOU WEll. I love coming into this discussion by the way, you all make me feel so welcome.Thanks Jeryn. Happy reading but someone don't forget to tell me if L.M.S. is the same as the film as i have it prerecorded on video.Scoot ergirl did you get a postmessage fromme on any booksite?

Hellooo roidininki (what an interesting name!!) and thank you for your kind words way back there!

Oh to be in England in the spring, how's the weather over there? This is one year I won't get there and am already pining over the 50 year celebrations I will miss, it's a Jubilee, right? 50 years!

I've so enjoyed everybody's take on how long they read a book because I gave up on JS Borthwick's My Body Lies Over the Ocean. I think it's me, but there's something about, forgive this slight lapse the smart mouth characters that is beginning to grate.

It's three people on a cruise and I know some of you have read and enjoyed it, but it's Sarah and Alex and their Aunt Julia who is...er....supposed to be a loveable curmudgeon, but who, instead, has become somebody I personally want to throttle. Since she's one of the main characters, having read about half way in hopes she "gets it," I've given up.

You know, rude is rude. I don't think it's cute and don't want to read about it, but it may be that others find her refreshingly outspoken, so I'm putting it up for grabs on the Book Exchange, it's hardback....

Have started the new Reginald Hill and so far it's eerie and scary.

ginny

Thanks for the vote of confidence, roidininki! I read a couple of those David Baldacci titles-- very fast moving and satisfying whodunits but sort of stretched my credulity a bit.

Thanks for further recommendations to stick with Jamie Harrison. I HAVE found the first book-- a library in the next county has it and I have a card there so will pick it up next time I go up that way. It's not too far from where my son lives, so not a problem.

Well, I found Aunt Julia pretty silly too, Ginny-- probably why I have not attempted another book by that author even though I have one lying on one of my multiple back burners!

I am still reading and enjoying Last Man Standing. The movie with Clint Eastwood and Gene Hackman was a good watch. For some reason I didn't realize that Baldacci had written it. He has a great web site.
http://david-baldacci.com
:GinnyAnn:

GinnyAnne, may i call you by thae name you have added to your message?As you are stll reading Last Man Standing and i know a little about the movie of the same name , is it about a man who goes to sort some rival gangs out?Ginny, Round Tables Host, the name i use has maybe got distorted, but i was called this by a "suitor", he told me it was" a term of endearment "used in the film The Great Escape, when Steve McQueen asks Charles Bronson if he knows any Russian , and the only bit of Russian he knows is a phrase . I will leave it at that,but assure you it is a term of endearment.You ask how is the weather? It is absolutely superb today, the sky is so clear up here in the NorthWest of England 40 miles from Manchester, with brilliant sunshine. As this is Eastertime and also the time we move our time on an hour this Sunday it is all very uplifting!

roidininki , no kidding! A term of endearment, who knew? I never watch Steve McQueen movies, thank you for telling us that, I'd never have made the connection. I have several problems with McQueen. One is that he was a wife beater, he abused his wife who had actually been interred in a Nazi prison camp as a child in WWII, can't remember her name. No no, not good.

In fact the very first date my husband and I went on, we went to dinner and the movies and it was a Steve McQueen thing something about a prison? And the one character was just beating the other one half to death, I excused self and left, couldn't stand it. And so remained in the lobby, finally Winston came out and found me and later on we were all talking about it, among friends, when he said that attitude had reminded him of his mother and everybody in the room said UH OH, and that was.... 35 years ago,. hahaha and I guess still going strong, hahahaha

Oh is that the area 40 miles North of Manchester, is that the area that "James Herriot " (Alf Wight) wrote about? Is that Yorkshire? I have all his books and his son's new book on him, an extraordinary humble human being, I don't think we'll see his like again, is it the same area?

I'm familiar with the Carlisle area, Hadrian's Wall, Haltwhistle, Vindolanda, I absolutely love England altho I can't drive there.

Reginald HIll's new book is bogging down for me, I think it's me, I normally love him. Have started A Weelend at Blenheim by JP Morrissey (sp) and it purports to have factual information, it looks quite good, actually.

Blenheim is another place that blew me away, what a huge...it's not a house, it's a....words fail me.

Have put the new Hill aside for a moment, reading the musings of a madman is done quite a bit but for some reason am not in the mood today.

I really like Michael Dobbs, he of the House of Cards...To Play the King BBC series? The evil Prime Minister starring Ian Richardson, who just reappeared, didn't he in one of the Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings movies? He's super. I like the way Dobbs writes, he's British but lives in America now, in fact in DC, I think, I"m trying to collect all his books.

ginny

Hello Ginny , my screen is terrible today , half the words are missing! [on both mine and your reply, it was The Great Escape , the film iin case you got half too.A lady here in my library also refuses to watch movies if she has problems with actors , but i say in that case we really would'nt be watching anyone?[laugh]I am a short distance from Herriot country, near Skipton, gateway to the Dales so not going in the Carlisle direction.I never persevere with a book i know isn;t me, is that wrong of me?I have just picked up David Baldacci's Wish You Well and so i shall not persevere if it is not to my liking , as i think reading is for pleasure and to push on with something not to your liking is not conducive to happiness. It' s still lovely here and i am off to London tomorrow for a few days, Looking round the really big bookstores is a delight i look forward to, and who knows i might just find a cybercafe to keep in touch ,I have developed rather bad pains in my shoulders since coming onto the Internet does anyone else have that problem i wonder? Happy reading P.S. Ha ve just checked this message and the same thing has happened half of it missing on my screen.

Roidininki - it seems such a waste of good time to press on with a book that's heavy going. Reginald Hill writes ever so well - he has thousands of fans, but he feels like lead to me & I don't like any of his characters. Alternatively, there are writers that are not particularly popular, nobody seems to have read them -- they disappear for years -- like John Wessel who has finally written another book. His first "This Far, No Further" was dark & sad & the plot & characters were unusual. A year or so later he wrote "Pretty Ballerina" & I thought I'd found another smashing writer -- but he disappeared. Gone. Then I saw he had a new book out- it came this morning - "Kiss It Goodbye" -- I opened it up to just to look, but I was 30 pages in before I realised I had settled myself down for a read. These are the kind of books we want. Some writers have a reader in mind, I'm told. John Wessel writes for me.

I was tempted by the high praise for David Baldacci. I looked him up & his books look like the ones I read, until I saw a review by a reader who thought Baldacci was trying to imitate Lee Child, but failed because he was a bit stodgy. Stodgy? Can this be true? I know a few people who don't like Sara Paretsky so it's obvious crimewriters can't please all of us.

Sometimes, when the writing disappears when I scroll down, it rights itself if I use the Page Up/Page Down keys. It's like there's a crease in the screen & it shakes it loose.

The Dales are lovely this time of year - Swaledale especially. The first summer of the war, some of our school were evacuated to the little village called Hutton-le-Hole.

Your messages look OK to me, viogert and riodininki, but when I tried to come into the Mystery Corner a while ago, my whole dern computer hung up! NOTHING would move, couldn't even keystroke my way out! Had to turn off the machine and restart.

Look out, the computer gremlins are attacking!

I hope I got all the letters in your name right. If I didn't, pick the ones you like and throw the rest out. YES. My shoulders ache, my neck burns, my eyes blur . . . mostly it's my fault. I haven't had my eyes checked since 1997, I slump over when I sit (imagine a sitting Budda) and in my last job, I sat in front of a computer terminal for 8 hours a day and my shoulders and neck ached then, too.

HOWZAT

Thanks everyone,you are all too kind!The messages all look o.k.today!Must have been a weird day yesterday. Viogert i am not familiar with J.W. but am always open to suggestion.Happy reading

Oh joy, someone else who does not like Reginald Hill. I just flat out think he is boring, but he is so popular. My husband loves Baldacci , but I cannot finish his either. Good thing there are thousands of mystery writers, that way we all can find favorites. I read some obscure ones simply because they write about a world that I have never entered. Others because they write of areas that interest me. I love an author John Strahle...He is Alaskan and writes of the town that he lives in.. They are a bit harsh, but I love feeling as if I were there with him.

Stephanie. There was a book called "The Woman Who Married a Bear" in 1996 that I read by John Straley which I think must be the same Alaskan you recommend. I know he has written several books since, but he doesn't get much publicity, probably because although he's very good, he's also quiet & subtle. He's the same one is he? The Alaskan setting of the Stabenow & Sue Henry books makes them exotic because it's unfamiliar, but to little old pensioners in Europe, all the thrillers set in American cities are exotic & exciting - they have novelty value for us too. I recommended June Drummond's brilliant "The Farewell Party" to my e-friend in S.Africa who said "I don't want to read about where I live! Recommend to me a book somewhere foreign, like where you live".

I just finished 5 books by M.C.Beaton with Agatha Raisin as amateur sleuth. I don"t really care for Agatha's character but do love the way the author describes the lovely English villages and countryside. I kept reading just for that and will probably try to find more of her series.

I took a break and read Nevada Barr's Endangered Species. The character is much more to my liking. Tonight I will start a series by Jonathan Valen. I haven't read him before so will see how it goes . If I don't like it I'll go on to something else because I have many many books waiting. Happy Easter everyone

BARB

A Harry Stoner Novels. I know I have read his The Music Lovers. But, I don't think that is the only one of his books that I have read. Please let us know what you think of his work.

Viogert, took David Baldacci's Wish You Well back to the library unread , thought it was the kind of thing John Grisham[who i don't read anymore, has got far too boring]attempted when he changed style to do A Painted House. Have just bought L.C's . [somethings are meant to be saved and savoured as i told you ?] Echo Burning in p.b. so is one for the holiday case!Also bought John Lescroart[new to me author].....The Mercy Rule. Am in London for Easter and have seen in a bookshop a John Connelly new to me again title, after Dark Hollow ,have you seen/read?

Viogert.. You are right.. Had a senior moment with his name. I like him and have read 4 books by him. I first found him when I went on an Alaskan cruise.. The little bookstore in Sitka had a featured author and I bought one.. Then had a terrible time finding more. Found the next three in Sacramento, California two years ago while we were on a wine cruise.. I must check Amazon, I bet there are more.. and since Amazon now includes the used books as well.. its more fun.

Stephanie. - There is a nice long list of John Straley in Amazon.com, but there are hardly any in Amazon.UK where I looked first. Buying used books from US - especially for me - is quicker & cheaper & they are often in mint condition (AND published earlier than us). I bought both the Nevada Barr & John Wessel from Amazon.com that way. You are a lucky girl - cruising through a hands-on geography education don't you think?

Roidininki -Lescroart does write well - he was just a bit leisurely for me - & I was rude & ungrateful to Jeryn who had recommended him.(Sorry Jeryn). I can remember spending years recommending LC to anybody who would listen - especially "The Killing Floor" - it fair rattled along. His other books are just as good, but without that original surprise. John Connolly is rather on the nasty side. Where LC splashes blood everywhere - there's no relish. JC is prurient & enjoys every horrible minute. There is a woman called Mo Hayder who is like him. I avoid them now.

A smashing read is "The Night Manager" by John le Carre. I read all his books because I like his heros - but that particular book was very exciting - an amateur dealing with intrigue. I keep re-reading it.

If y'all would like to be scared to death have I got a book for you. It is called Miami Heat and is by Jerome Sanford. It is not about the famous basketball team. It is about spies, pro Castro Cubans and anti Castro Cubans, FBI, and CIA and I wonder how much reality is behind it. I know where Mercy Hospital, Coral Gables, and Calle Ocho are. One of the Characters was a pro Castro doctor working at Mercy. He was pushed into the bay.

Just finished Dr. Death by Jonathan Kellerman I enjoy the Alex Delaware novels but this one dragged a little in the middle. NOt as good as some of his books I have read.

Hi everybody and HAPPY EASTER! Happy mystery reading too, by the sound of all your posts!

Oh, no, viogert... I was not upset! Everyone has their own taste in these things! I was wondering, though, if you are referring to Michael Connelly when you said, "John Connolly is rather on the nasty side"? Or is this a new-to-me author, this John Connolly? I certainly wouldn't think of M. Connelly as nasty, not like some-- John Sanford springs to mind!

I'm reading the newest Grisham, The Summons. He's back on track with a mystery now, a mystery of sorts anyway. Be interesting to see where he's going with this. Personally, I think Grisham could hold my interest and keep me reading with a grocery list! Obviously, I prefer these slower-paced whodunits to the galloping blood-and-thunder types!

Jeryn - There's two of them. Michael Connelly can do no wrong with Harry Bosch but John Connolly writes about crime like a pornographer. (As if I were the expert on porn? - but I suppose you know what I mean). Some of John Sandford's books are certainly creepy - (excepting "Night Crew" which was streets ahead of all of them)- but Connolly is necrophiliac.

John Grisham seems to be marking time at present - but I would bet on him springing back with more stories like "The Runaway Jury" & "The Client"; most writers have fallow periods.

Judy Laird - probably Kellerman was going through one when he wrote Dr Death?

Can't say that about Lee Child's "Without Fail" which is brilliant (so far, only half way through.) It has some great women characters. For years I've been blethering on about how Child should never have bumped off Jack Reacher's brother. THIS book brings him back into the picture. I thought he was the most intriguing dead character in a book since "Rebecca".

Jeryn, John Connolly is an Irish newspaper columnist.Wrote his 1st. book which i read and thought he was very "different". the book was Every Dead Thing.I wrote to him c/o his publishers and received a reply to my question "how long did it take you to write such a detailed 1st. novel?"[If i remember correctly it was 5 years.]Very much impressed by his forthright reply which said he refused to become pressured into "rolling" stuff off i awaited his 2nd. novel,Dark Hollow which turned out a bit sicky as Viogert noticed

Roidinski, there's a huge article on Manchester in yesterday's New York Times! I found it very interesting, looks like something of a Renaissance is taking place there?

Listen, I just watched last night two movies, one called The Talented Mr. Ripley, and I know it's based on...is it a Rendell book?

You may have already discussed that here, did you see the movie and if so was it faithful to the book and if so do you recommend the book?

I found it very disturbing the first time around but have watched it twice as I missed some of the points out of shock the first time, would be interested to hear from somebody who read the book.

(The other movie was Best in Show, which I KNOW is not a mystery, hahahaahahah but instead a "Mockumentary" and a HOOT) it's about the world of dog shows and is....just a hoot, if you can get it, watch it, if you have a quirky kind of Waiting for Guffman sort of humor (the same people who did Guffman did Show).

ginny

Ginny, lovely to clickon to you again and to see your smile!Now,you listen to me and don't spoil The Talented Mr.Ripley by reading the book! Would be a mistake! Is a very old Patricia Highsmith novel, nowhere near as exciting as the movie!I watched it twice too! There was supposed to be a follow up with a different actor, but i havn't seen it about.Hey ,have just noticed you have re-christened me![laugh]

I loved Best In Show.. A real favorite for us. We rented it and laughed and laughed. My parents were professional dog breeders and boy have I seen most of those people. Just finished the Latest John Sandford.. Hes back with Weather and it looks like maybe a small Lucas may be coming.

Oh thanks, viogert. That clears that up. John Connolly does not sound at all nice but I am a great fan of Michael Connelly. I read Night Crew; yes, nice plot, but just a bit gruesome even there for my taste. I've heard that was mild for Sanford so have never been brave enough to try another one of his!

The Summons is pretty mild stuff for Grisham. I didn't really care that much for the Christmas thing, either. Actually hated those people before it was over! I'm going to try A Painted House next-- a memoir, is it?

Thanks for the further elucidation, roidininki; maybe the first one of John Connolly's is OK, huh?

Oh, Ginny, I read that Mr. Ripley thing and was mostly just disappointed. It's weird. The movie is actually better than the book, I agree, roidininki.

Ginny , forgot to tell you ,Manchester is hosting the commonwealth games this summer, is this what you wondered about,as to why a Renaissance was taking place

R!! I'm going to call you R because I can't spell it! hahahahaha Ah the Commonwealth Games, actually it's a very nice piece about Manchester and the progressive atmosphere there now, lots of photos, very nice piece.

I've now watched Ripley 3 times and I will take your words for it, Jeryn and R, but I still have some unanswsered questions, namely why did he have to kill the last guy? Right at first he had told Meredith that he traveled under his mother's maiden name, Ripley. I realize he could not kill half the ship in Meredith's family, but why could he not pass it off somehow? He seemed clever enough otherwise?

The guy who played Freddie fascinated me as wsell as the actor who played Dickie. In the production I saw, the actors came out after the movie while the credits ran and discussed what the movie was about and the various nuances, like that singing in the cafe there shounding like Tu La va Americano, was something about an American living higher than his means, pretending, it was intended as a double irony, aparently, by the filmmakers. Gyneth Paltrow said it was about the masks that everybody wears and how everybody pretends or something like that and the guy who played Dickie turned out to be British and have a British accent which I did not pick up in the movie itself. One outtake showed Ripley and "Freddie" having a laugh and "Freddie" didn't seem anything at all like his character. I thought the book might answer some of my questions, but if it's that bad I will skip it!

ginny

Perkie! Do you mean to tell me Ripley is a continuing character? There's a sequel? I can't believe it! Now I have to look these books up because I have to know what happens next, that's unbelievable!

I am flabberghasted.

ginny

GINNYANN To answer your post #127 I finished two books by Jonathan Valin, Music Lovers and Second Chance, I have one more here to read but took a break and went on to something else. I liked his writing because the plots always twisted around but he involves so many characters that its hard to remember who is who I had to keep checking back. However I liked him enough to pick up more of his books but just read one at a time.

I just finished BLUE NOWHERE by Jeffery Deaver now that is a book that will really make you think. MMMMwho's spying on me now as I post???

Am going for a change of pace now perhaps a romance!

Barb

Hey, R and V!! (Please forgive the familiarity, you may call me G!) I figure equality for all hahahaa Something has come up in our discussion of The Sea, The Sea?

A mention of the coast of England has been made and wonderful descriptions that remind me of my stays in Cornwall, near Port Isaac? But the author, Iris Murdoch, has included Martello Towers which apparently occur in Kent down thru Sussex, so I'm thinking that places the story in that area, the opposite coast and Lorrie just asked are the coasts that different between Cornwall and Sussex, and I'm not sure if the Martello Towers only occur ON the East Coast, can you, either of you, if you know, go to Sea The Sea and help us out there??

I would appreciate it, have spent quite a bit of time in both but am not sure of the Martello Tower thing?

Here's a refresher thing on the Spread along the South Kent coast into Sussex is a line of small defensive forts built at the time of the Napoleonic Wars known as the Martello Towers.

and here's a link to The Sea, the Sea if either of you could help us out!!

ginny

Perkie, I feel like you do about Irene Allen. I have read every single one of the series and feel as if Elizabeth and I are old and dear friends, although she is a much better person than I am. The corgi... you know that I think they changed artists because the corgi used to be better drawn. I keep hoping they will go back and get the original drawings. I love our corgi and think they should be portrayed a bit better. Tee Tucker is a joy, but not as nice as ours.

Hi Ginny, yes i will answer to R but you have to be joking that after 3 runs you stiil havn't figured out WHY Ripley had to kill off the last guy!!!!!!!Please to watch a 4th time and i will mark your paper[laugh,laugh ,laugh]You say Ripley "seemed",clever , well yes, as clever as the psycopath he was!But didn't you just feel sorry for him.? Well ,i mean, Matt Damon was so well cast?His characterization [the good versus the bad intention in him was quite spookily acted out]and his singing voice.... i nearly always stay to watch the credits to see if the singing is actually done or dubbed[to mind, Susan Hayward portraying Jane Froman .. oh so many moons ago?]I reiterate Ginny ,the books will not do you any good but if you feel so compelled give them a whirl but don't say you wish you hadn't![laugh, laugh] I really did not want Ripley to get caught.. isn't that awful of me] and of course... well i won,t give the plot away for those who havn't seen it.I really became a Gwynneth Paltrow fan too much to my surprise, always thought her "wishy-washy"before.To The Sea The Sea... well ,i have had Martello towers up on Google and Ask Jeeves,they run between Eastbourne andBexhill-on-. To answer Lori ,yes i should think so, that the coastline of Cornwall is very different to Sussex, as Eastbourne is well known for it's flatness.Cornwall known for rugged coastline.You can get a map up on Ask Jeeves Ginny to see exactly where the towers are.

Oh I did, R, go look I found marvelous sites on the 101 Martello towers built in England and maps where they are now located, do go speak your piece in that discussion.

Mark my paper huh? hahahaahahah I'm afraid of that mark! I have given the movie away to a friend with dire warnings about my questions at the end, so I can't watch it a fourth time?

Matt Damon, that was dubbed, most of it, wasn't it? I thought so, the voice, Freddie is the one who should get an oscar for voice, Tommy, Tommy Tommy Tommy I can hear him now. And that LOOK he shot Tommy while listening to the jazz, pure evil.

But NO, now R, NO NONO.

And no, I don't think it's that clear. Are you saying he could hardly kill off Meredith and the entire family so he chose Simon or whatever his name was?

No I did not feel any empathy at all for Matt Damon in the movie (altho he was very good) and found no inkling that I hoped he would succeed, but I LOVED the guy who played Dickie. It's his performance I keep watching, he's totally good. And such a British accent he has in real life!

Listen, R, where are there YELLOW ROCKS on the coast that would also have a Martello Tower?

Yellow rocks??

What mark do I get? hahahahaha

ginny

OH since this IS the Mysery folder started a new Margaret Yorke last night and had to put it down, very unusual for me with that writer, it's called A Question of Belief, is in hardback and is 1996, so is not that new, but I simply could NOT get into it and am about to unleash a torrent of mysteries on the Book Exchange, so stay tuned there!

ginny

Ginny why don't we continue the T.Mr.R in the movie discussion[laugh, laugh]and oh how you make me smile when i read your post!Does that mean you are astrologically compatible with me?You ask me about Freddie .. no we will have to discuss this by e.mail or something[laughing again] I am going to look for your yellow rocks AND i will now have to go and get The Sea, THe Sea to read . I am going to the South coast on Tuesday of next week, will ask my hosts.Where i am going they have RED soil, due i think to minerals, so yellow rocks should not be all that different by my logic?Still i will investigate to be sure but WHY is it so important?

Ginny - - the 'mysery' folder? - with Roindininki hooting at your private Mr Ripley jokes? there's nothing myserable about it.

Margaret Yorke is a bit old-fashioned don't you feel - that is - without having turned into a valuable antique yet?

The new Lee Child "Without Fail" is as good/better than the surprise of his first book. I know I drone on about Jack Reacher's brother Joe, who was killed in "The Killing Floor" & how he was the most interesting dead character in any book since "Rebecca", well we hear all about him in the new book. It is a brilliantly, dazzlingly stay-up-all-night-to-read yarn.

Had notice to say Michael Connolly's new book should be here tomorrow. I don't know what your reviewers said about his last book, but our's panned it - said it wasn't a patch on his others moan moan moan. I thought it was good - I enjoyed every page - what's the matter with them? (I ordered a single of Bjork's at the same time - called "Cocoon". It's the sweetest most serious little love song I've heard in ages.)

Well, how interesting everyone is being! Martello Towers? Yellow Rocks?? Straaange new authors!

Indeed I certainly did like the last M. Connelly, as I've enjoyed the several before that one, as well. Hadn't known [thank goodness!] that the critics panned it, viogert. Hey, what do they know?!

Having now finished The Summons, I can PAN that a bit, I'm afraid. Not quite the nail biter I've come to expect from Grisham. Oh well, as we said, can't win 'em all! Has anyone here read The Painted House? I think there's a discussion planned for that one right here in our own B&L... SOON...

Yep, sure enough. The Painted House for the Grisham fans amongst us. Don't think this one is a mystery, and hopefully not a mysery either!

One of the books that came home for a visit is The Night Crew by John Sandford. I also found two books that are both mysterries and romance novels.

The Drifter by Susan Wiggs

Shades of Twilight by Linda Howard.

I'll be interested in your opinion of Night Crew, gaj. Have you read any Sandford before?

Jeryn, yes I have read three of his books. They were his computer hacker stories, not the "Prey" books. They were a bit 'bloody' but the stories were good.

John Sandford -- I sent for all Sandford's p/bs one summer after reading "Night Crew" because there wasn't much else around. There are bloodier writers than Sandford probably, but I don't read them if I can help it. I skip sex & gore if the storyline is good.

I just finished "Wilful Behaviour" by Donna Leon - she's an elegant writer & her stories about Commissario Brunetti in Venice are haunting. There is always an underlying theme beneath the crimes - usually having no connection to the narrative but it makes the books richer. Her characters are lovely, but she has been badly served by her publishers. This volume - h/b at RRP £15.99 - has the first two chapters of her previous book stuffed at the end. I understand that - & don't mind it in cheap p/bs, but an up-market mystery (even if it's only glued, plain endpapers, pedestrian production moan moan) - she deserves better. Her books go straight into p/b in USA. I remember Marcia Muller spending years writing smashing books before Mysterious Press decided to give her the de luxe treatment. (She's still only in p/b in UK)

The Michael Connelly book "City of Bones" came this morning. It looks really brilliant. There's 400pp, lovely black & turquoise jacket & gorgeous turquoise endpapers. And the book is STITCHED! (Like Ian Rankin's book was). Not only will the book keep its shape, old arthritic hands can hold it open without a struggle. Makes all the difference. There's nothing more satisfactory than picking up a well-designed book - it can't be that much more trouble for them to do it well can it?

Jeryn - I read "The Painted House" to the end - I'd not expected it to be a mystery - he said it was autobiographical. It was a good story, I still remember a lot of it - especially as this week's New Yorker described's LBJ's youth, when he picked cotton until his hands bled. A similar memory of John Grisham's. The Christmas book was just a pot-boiler & "The Summons" had poor reviews. I didn't like "The Chamber" so he probably can't please us all.

(Jerry Bauer - who looks like he owns the franchise on author photos - took the mugs of Michael Connelly, Lee Child AND Donna Leon! I didn't look at John Grisham's)

John Grisham.. I have read several of his books, but truthfully stopped because I mostly dont like them. I read all of Sandford and it amazes me because I dont like violent books, but I love him. Night Crew was also interesting. I would love for him to develop the characters a bit more. I have a new Michael Connelly (PB) but it is waiting in line, because I found the newest paperback Amelia Peabody and I have this fatal weakness for Ramses, Nefret, Amelia and company. Also of course I am going to Egypt in September and I expect it to be just as much fun as the books..

OH you all are soooo bad, yes the YELLOW rocks are vital!! Yellow rocks, rocky coast + Martello Tower=???

??

Honestly, hahaahaha V and R, you guys are a stitch, MYSERY indeed. hahahahahaaha

I BOUGHT every Ripley book I could get my hands on yesterday (there are many) and already I can see that the question is unsnswered in the book as well, at least at the end, it's completely different yet the same. A mysery! hahahahaaa

And now the mysery circle is growing, there is yet another person who does not know why he killed that last one (and this person's a judge too!) So SEEEEE? hahahahaha

Now R, South coast on Tuesday? Hmmm, well you will miss us and you do need The Sea, that is a splendid discussion, tell your hosts hello from us, you'd consider Port Isaac the West Coast? That's where we stayed for 9 days some time ago, loved it. Went all over everywhere.

Including the south coast? But do you mean Sussex? (Nosy aren't I?) I love Rye, that's why I ask.

ANYHOO, ask yourself WHY ahahahaha he killed that last person, when I've read the book I'll come back in here and bore you all to death with it! (Surely some of you have read it, tho?

V what shall we do with no R! Nooo I love Margaret Yorke, but that last one was a bomb, why do you think old fashioned, this was about modern stuff, in fact it was too tooo modern for me?

??

mysery hahahahaa

Viogert, everyone's hands bleed when they pick cotton, unless they just pick for a short while. The cotton is held in a very hard bole that, when it bursts open, has four very sharp points. Wear gloves? Well, no. Naked, nimble fingers are needed to get inside the bole and snap the cotton loose at the center. Good cotton pickers used both hands, and they never missed getting all of it into the canvas sack they pulled along behind them, attached to them by a strap that went up and around one shoulder. Sometimes, they pulled a baby along on the sack, too. These sacks held 100lbs of cotton. My uncle had cotton fields. His children, and others who worked for him, can tell you all about "bleeding hands".

HOWZAT

Howzat ... thanks for the info, I do understand how it happens because in both situations,'cotton-picking' was explained in detail at the time. It was the juxtaposition of the writer who creates lawyer heros, (men who work extravagant 'billable hours') & the United States President, both having the same painful experience in their youth - & I read about it in the same 6 months.

Forgive my pedantic nature. My children always complained, "Mother, when we ask how to spell a word, please don't give us all the meanings, with examples, before you tell us how to spell the word."

HOWZAT THE WELL MEANING (yes, that's her, the one with the red face)

Hi everyone,I'm green with envy Viogert, havn't set eyes on a review of Michael Connellys[this mix up with Connolly] yet in England!J.C.s The White Road is in the bestsellers list at the moment here but.. i have to say... i don't know if i dare read it!You never know how far he is going to go?Sorry to all if the discussion between Ginny and i got way out about The Talented Mr. Ripley, but we moved out to finish it off , didnt we Ginny?The yellow rocks are somewhere on the southern coast of England which are in The Sea, The Sea says Ginny [Iris book] and no Ginny i will not miss you because i shall find an internet cafe where i am going and try to keep up with you! You didn't really go out and buy ALL the Ripleys's did you ? Oh, i told you , you will not find the answer in there!Have you come in here first or last? I If last, you already know? If first go to Movies where i have revealed all![laugh, laugh]Not going to Sussex, going to Devon, as you ask, by the way ,have packed a Lee Child ,Viogert[if you are still reading this, sorry]i really am intrigued as to why L.C should be unaware that he has ressurected Reacher's brother!!!!!!Why don't you e.mail him?Have also packed a John Lescroat.. am finding him pretty o. k.Have you seen that Martin Amis has something else out by the way tho' not mystery ?

Roidininki --all the stuff about Jack Reacher's brother happened 6 years ago when Lee Child wrote "The Killing Floor" & shot Joe. I really went OTT with that book - the plot was good & the characters interesting but afterwards I kept thinking it was a bad move to bump off Joe. Such a USEFUL character! It never occurred to me to write to the author - he couldn't bring him back alive after all - so I've just been sulking & moaning about it. Until now, where - to my joy - Joe's influence plays a large part in the new book, "Without Fail".

I gave up reading Martin Amis half-way through "The Information". Such a pair of unpleasant characters in that book. I was sure he wouldn't know how to end it, any more than his other books & would go maundering on & on. He never knows how to say goodbye.

Stop It, You're Killing Me signed me up for their newsletter so when it came I spent an hour faffing about looking in author's web-sites & found a nice one for Virginia Lanier - the bloodhound trainer. And a few others.

Virgina Lanier http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/1442/vlnews.htm

Lee Child: (for both US & UK) http://www.leechild.com

Dana Stabenow: http://www.stabenow.com

Ian Rankin: http://www.ianrankin.com/

Hi Viogert, thanks for the links. I would love to read the whole Bloodhound series. I am reading A Pedigree to Die For by Laurien Berenson. I like the series. I am anxious to read the next book in the series. After reading the first one, I am dreaming Poodles. Poodles, Poodles, Poodles.

Hats

Viogert, i really think you should have the job of being Lee Child's P.R officer![laugh, laugh]Have just ordered the new Michael Connelly at my library, so will be 1st to read! Have also just been given a paperback by Richard North Patterson [another fav. of mine ] but cannot remember the title[ am posting this in my library, sorry]stupid of me!

PERKIE! --- manna from heaven - somebody who knows about book bindings. Thank you for describing how they put them together, but exactly HOW much more expensive is it to make a handsome book that doesn't fall to bits or lose its shape? Some books that attract a lot of readers & collectors could use a trained book designer on them. It's always easy to see where a designer had a hand in a book & it was not just cranked out as 'a product'? When Marcia Muller's publishers had promoted her books to a decent appearance, I wrote to her how standard of production was up to the standard of the novel I thought. They had even eventually (in very small print), named the designers - & I thought that was pretty good too because the care & attention was immdeiately obvious. When she replied, she said she had been pleased as well, but hoped I didn't mind, she'd sent a copy of my letter to 'those who labour anonymously in the background of the trade'. A nice lady.

In UK they have been using paper that turned brown in a short time. All this heavy glue that is used -- instead of what you have called 'a quality book' (I love that term), makes it difficult to hold a book open. It was the only thing wrong with Nevada Barr's "Hunting Season" - it was well designed, but my poor thumbs were not up to holding it for long. Will the glue dry out in houses that keep high temperatures? My house is full of ventilation, (draughts), but my neighbour upstairs has heat on high all the time - & a lot of books. It's a worry - he has some of mine up there.
Roidininki - Was it you said I should write to LC about Joe? Well I did, & he has a very chatty weblady who does the job much better ever I could. Looks like he now has a HUGE following. I suppose he deserves it for writing decent books.

Just finished Mid-Night Club by James Patterson and enjoyed it. Am now reading another Patterson book Roses Are Red, I must be on a mystery kick

Viogert, you really wrote to Lee Child ? Has he an e mail address?i shall add my praise if so.jJudy as you are onto James Patterson one of his best to hit the American bestsellers list was Kiss The Girls... very scary!!!

James Patterson is too scary for me! [wimp wimp]

Even though I know nothing about bookbinding, I do agree that a quality book is a real pleasure and a joy for longer, if not forever. I was just handling some old paperbacks that had belonged to my dad, vintage 1974, and one of them fell apart in my hands! Volume 1 of the Anchor Atlas of World History is now in TWO pieces! It does appear to be a victim of dried-up glue--the first 132 pages just fell out in a hunk. Drat!

Roidininki I just had a quick shuft in Amazon UK & found some stinkers had written bad reviews for "Without Fail" - so if you want to defend the boy: http://www.leechild.com

Jeryn An exasperating story about your father's atlas. This is what I have nightmares about - happening all at once in public libraries everywhere. There is a charity that collects books, (any books at all), that they deliver to Africa for students of all ages to practice English with. Will a time come when there are no decent books to pass around any more?

My library doesn't yet have Nevada Barr's latest book. However, I found 3 other books that make my heart quite happy.

P is for Perils by Sue Grafton
Catch as Cat Can by Sneaky Pie and Rita Brown
Cat In A Leopard Spot by Carole Nelson Douglas

I also brought another book home by Carole Nelson Douglas. It is called the Cat and the Jill of Diamonds. It is book #3 of 4 books with Midight Louis in it. They were written in 1985 but apparently never published. I want to try and get the first 2 books before I read this one. They are very skinny books.

About Laurie R King --At the risk of becoming a complete author-website bore, I found a lovely collection of stuff about Laurie King in the Crime Writers Association site. Somebody here was saying a while back how good they thought she was,(and she IS!) This URL takes you to CWA - click on 'Links', then click on 'K' in the alphabet - & you're in.

http://www.thecwa.co.uk/cgi-bin/frame.pl?awards.html

Louise J Evans There's nothing to compare coming back from the library with a big bunch of books you know you are going to like is there? I love Sue Grafton. (Don't know the others yet).

I am a total Laurie King fan. She writes so differently for her characters. Mary Holmes is a great joy with her husband.. and the others about varios characters.. much much darker than the Holmes series are equally good. I am reading another Laurell Hamilton book about Anita.. Very dark, funny and a bit too lusty. I do like them though. They are sort of a sci-fi,fantasy,love,detective mix.. Very unusual actually. This one is Narcissus in Chains, but I also bought in paper the newest start of a series in her Princess of Faery line. I am sure this will be the start of a whole nother world..

I, too shall join the mutual admiration society for Sue Grafton, always a "light read" inbetween , gosh i'm being a bit rude there!Thanks Viogert, thought i could get straight onto Lee Child via e.mail.I havn't been into his website for a while.

Hey, R, how goes it!! Got the latest Stephen King and the latest Patterson Second Chance in the mail yesterday (book club, failed to send back mailer) do you all suggest I read either?

I did see and will now respond to your note in the Movies thing, R, have been busier than a flea on a big dog, more anon....

ginny

Roidininki

Oh, GORMLESS!

www@leechild.com

Couldn't be simpler but I didn't remember it.

I just finished MC Beaton's Agagtha Raisin And the Love From Hell Agatha and James finally marry .Does this make Agatha Happy???Oh no.Talk about creating problems ,that is what this marriage did. Agatha has turned into a moody,complaing,unhappy lady.Her and James don't live together ,she accuses him of cheating and then he disappears.As upset as she is with him she sets out to find him and clear his name.(he is under suspision for murder.)A fun read.

Gormless? May we have a translation, viogert?!

Jeryn
'Gormless' is having no 'Gorm'. Like 'Uncouth' is having no 'couth'. Har har.

Well - my dictionary says "Br informal lacking understanding & intelligence; stupid. From E. dialect from 'gaum' heed, understanding (fr ME gorst fr OE, gaumr)" But I naturally fall into a slumping, crosseyed mouthbreather when I think of it.

NANA B Couldn't you just ring Agatha Raisins neck when she gets into one of her self-centered fits? I'll have to get Love from Hell just to see if she finds James. BARB

Oh do get it.She is more self centered in this book that ever before.But she does get her comuppence .That is all I'll say, I don't want to spoil it for you(VBG)

Perkie, thank you for that list, I have them all, so excited. I can't wait to start I hope I can find out more about the movie, am reading at the moment a Preston and Childs, Ice Limit, I like their books, they wrote Relic, etc., always somewhere in the background is a Natural Museum of History because one of them worked in one, this one's very Jurassic Park like, about transportation of a meteor, I love it, personally.

NanaB, I liked Love From Hell, too, but did not care for the latest Hamish and put it up on the Exchange. I also am not going to give anything away, I always consider it a present to see a new Agatha Raisin in the bookstore, makes my day!

Viogert, I also am very interested in bindings, and you are right in what you say. In fact, I'm somewhat obsessed with how a book is put together, period. Spend lots of time examining the spine and looking for the stitch marks for some reason (takes all kinds ahahahah). On our trip to DC (if Congress approves it) I keep whining about a book making demonstration, saw a splendid one in Munich at the big Technical Museum there, what a place, blew me away.

Anyway, they also show a neat demonstration of book making at the British Library, don't they, I thought that was where I saw it this last time, but may have the museums mixed up?

In Munich they have these live demonstrations in the books and printing area, and I joined the crowd around the young man making paper, always a super fun thing, of course it was in German and of course I did not understand a WORD, nor that he would come around one by one and ask questions!!! I got the feeling that he thought I was a bit slow but what he did was clear as a bell, I think I could make paper myself, now, have always wanted to learn book binding.

Am fascinated by all things book.

Am reading (since this IS the Mystery discussion ahahaah) a strange mystery I bought on a remainder table for $2.98, it's called Holy Treasure by David Williams, about a church in England which, because of a run down exterior and dwindling parish, is being forced to close its doors. But the land it sits on is extremely valuable and when an attempt to Save the Church is mounted, the Vicar's wife is killed by a falling piece of slate. It's in a series with a hero called Mark Treasure, do any of you know of him? It's not new, but new to me?

ginny

Ginny -- now THAT was a fascinating read just now. It doesn't surprise me that Germany has a more enlightened attitude to the book business. They think of bookselling as a 'profession' rather than a 'trade'. I haven't been into London since they finished the British Library - so I don't know if they have demonstrations of bookbinding, but I would be delighted if I thought they did.

In the last five years there were four writers on the book business that described the enormous changes. They write about the time I was married to a bookseller for twelve years & then a publisher for sixteen.

"The Book Business" by Jason Epstein (Norton 2001)
"The Business of Books" by Andre Schiffrin (Verso 2000)
"Apart From the Text" by Antony Rota (PLA 1998)
"Stet" by Diana Athill (Granta 2000)

What I know about bookselling & publishing, I learned by osmosis - I was never in a situation to be instructed, so picked up methods & habits of those I sat next to - if you see what I mean, & only started blethering about GLUED spines, when my thumbs were too weak to hold the book open.

American book production has seemed superior to ours in the last twenty years. They still appear to respect 'book design' so that apart from the jacket & the text, fiction books don't all look exactly alike as they often do here. 'Market forces' have introduced characters into the business who ask "Why don't you just sell best-sellers?" - when any B&L member of SeniorNet could explain why that's impossible without a few Oprahs!

New Nero Wolfe on A&E tonite!

Thanks Nettie! I came here a-purpose to announce that and you beat me to it! Just so everyone knows-- brand new episodes with the same actors as last year, Nero Wolfe on A&E TONIGHT at 8 PM!!! I've even put a new link in the heading to Tell All About It!

Click here Nero Wolfe on A&E or on the link in our heading.

Lucky you, Perkie! I've been looking for C.W. Grafton's books for years; they are out-of-print. Interlibrary loan all the way to Ohio? Pro'bly NOT!

Did everyone get to see the new Nero Wolfe last night? "Death of a Doxy" and very well done as we've come to expect from this group. If you missed it, don't despair. A&E is showing it a few more times this week-- just check the schedule in that link.

Jeryn just to re-cap gormless means sort of stupid,not thinking.What am i missing here Ginny Love From Hell, it sounds a little like what's going on in The Sea? Ha.. Ha?

Just finished a good cozy mystery "Irregardless of Murder" by Ellen Edwards Kennedy. A 40 something English teacher solves a mystery--well written. An entirely different type of mystery and also well written is "Fall Guy" by Scott Mackay. This one concerns two police detectives, one happily married with two daughters, the other a Don Juan type. I'm not a big contributor to this forum but I do enjoy reading all the comments and learning about the different books.

Perkie -- thanks for that link to book preservation. A huge website there isn't it? I had a good look round. There's this great recipe for a mixture that catches silverfish - if they get in your books & papers that is. C.W.Grafton was published here just after the war. I hadn't heard of 'Christopher Nagle' - I have the other three I bought, just after Sue Grafton wrote her first two. I'd written her gushing-groupie fan-letters about how good her books were & she replied - said her father wanted to earn his living writing thrillers but his books didn't sell, & he died before they became popular. He was a lawyer too. I write to women authors when they start out - coax them along to write more, but Sue Grafton's brilliant without needing groupies encouraging her now. She has a website www.suegrafton.com so I looked for her email address for you, but she hasn't one. She has snailmail though:
Sue Grafton
p.o.box 41447
Santa Barbara
CA93140

I think I get it, roidininki! Gormless is kind of like, well, DUH!

Yes, kippy! Don't be shy. We enjoy seeing your recommendations as much as you like lurking for ours!

Well, I'm a fan of Sue Grafton, too, viogert. I've had a link to her Homepage in my Favorites for some time. Here it is and it's going in the heading with the other links, too. Don't know why I didn't think of it before!

Sue Grafton's Homepage

Oh boy! Q is for Quarry coming soon!

Thanks for Sue's page. I just spent time there enjoying seeing pictures of Sue "Family". Sue Grafton has been a favorite of mine for a very long time. I started reading them as she first published them.

Perkie, thank you SOO much for that recommendation of the Grafton, I found my own copy of The Rat Began to Gnaw the Rope (1943). in our B&N Bookstore (click on box in the heading here) and I got the last copy! They have a large selection of out of print books as does Amazon, the same dealers use both.

I am quite excited about this book, I see he has another in the series as well, I have always been partial to that nursery rhyme, very nasty little thing it was too, can't wait thank you so much for that recommendation!

Hey , "R!" All the way from England you and Viogert give us SOME more excitement in here, a great place to come and discuss mysteries!

ginny

Earlier this year, - somebody recommended this author's new sleuth - a true-crimewriter called Marie Lightfoot. I used to read Pickard when I was short of a good plot, but I found Jennie Cain a bit wet - & married to a policeman. Oh well - whatever turns you on. Nevertheless, her book "Bum Steer" - with Jennie Cain & all - was a thumping good read, with an astonishing 'day-noo-mong' at the end. After that, I thought, she had to be capable of writing something stronger. And I didn't mean bonking & swearwords either.

I finally sent for "The Whole Truth" so I wanted to thank whoever it was who enlightened me - the book has characters that are up to the standard of Pickard's plots! I'm only a quarter of the way in, but I've already ordered the p/b of her next, ("Ring of Truth" - due out next month). Mystery Corner is such a good outfit, I can't think how I managed before.

Jeryn -- Denise Mina's "Resolution" is published in US on 10th May. Seems to have taken ages - but you'll be ever so pleased when you get it.

Just came back from the used book store.. Besides the world largest credit( whew,, if only they took all of it, instead of making you pay half of your bill). Oh well. Found some goodies , including a few new ( to me) authors. I am going to Amsterdam on the 22nd and not back until May 3,,, but after that I have a few rejects from the book store and will post them on the Book Exchange

Oh boy I hate to tell you all this because I know you all hate Highsmith but I started The Talented Mr. Ripley and am HOOKED, can hardly put it down, he starts off very moral and very concerned, you can connect with him immediately. I love how she writes. Now judging from what you all have said there's some bad stuff coming but so far I love it, very easy read, and challenging material!

??

Any Highsmith fans out there who have read Ripley??

Hey R!!

ginny

Ginny - So glad you asked. I've been gone for three weeks and so got far behind in my lurking and was so frustrated because I wanted to say I loved The Talented Mr Ripley - the book - not the movie. They changed it so much - and not for the better. Highsmith is great. She is one of the authors that you sit there with your mouth open and think, "How does she do it?" Awesome.

That's the time, Harper, now there are TWO of us, and I wondered where you WERE, had looked forward to you in one of our discussions but you were on vacation, glad you're back! I'm going to read them all, but they may turn ugly we shall see!!

Perkie, I loved that rhyme as a child and was one of the few people who knew what a style is because of it and saw them all over the place in England but when I got older and looked at it, it seemed sort of violent and definitely non PC, what do you all think? I wonder how many other "nursery" rhymes have the same type of violent connotations.

ginny

Most nursery rhymes and children's stories are cautionary tales to foster obedience. The origins of some are lost in time, but many have 17th and 18th century politics and social engineering as a prime motivator. They were often seditious. But slanted to children, their true purpose was hidden and were often updated and revised to fit new times. They almost always had an untimely end in store for those who would not "conform."

HOWZAT

You know, it's strange and let's take this discussion to the LIbrary? Because this is the Mystery discusssion, I want to talk about some of the things you have brought up here: book bindings, and now the content of nursery tales, will you all that would care to discss it more meet me over in the Library?

ginny

Ginny + Harper I remember reading "Stangers on a Train" in the 50s & finding one of the characters - who turned out to be Tom Ripley - pretty revolting, so I never read any more. But I remember just what a powerful psychological writer Highsmith was. Maybe the actor playing Ripley in the film was cast against character - that makes a difference. Particularly when Highsmith's Ripley was a fully paid-up, 8-cylinder, 4-stroke psychopath.

That may be true, Viogert and I have not encountered that particular Ripley and I will read it next. So far in the book I'm reading he's a man with a conscience, I expect to watch him change because I know he's amoral and a murderer but he's not as he was portrayed in the movie initially, either, must get Strangers on a Train, am going from Paris to Rome on the EuroNight in their private bedroom (called Excelsior!!) in June and I must have it to read, thank you soo much for mentioning it, I knew Perkie (or was it Kippy I can't find the post now!!) did as well, but I did not know which book introduced him. Oh boy can you imagine being on a train (tell me it's about a train) and reading that?

Many thanks will order it now!

ginny

ASm reading a new author to me. Mark Graham... book is "The Black Maria" and it seems to be the third in a series.. It is about late 1800's in Philadelphia. The man is a policeman. I love it , this one is about the International Exposition held there in 1876 or so.. Fascinating for the descriptions of the buildings and the exhibits.

Books by Elmore Leonard and Lawrence Block take us into the mind of killers and amoral characters. Ian Fleming had us loving a man licensed to kill. These books are one side of mystery genre while cozies are on the far opposite side of the mystery genre. I happen to like both types of books. lol Many of my favorite PIs in my favorite books are men and women I love to read about but I am not sure I would want as part of my real reality.

Mr Ripply as played by Matt Damon was a great watch. It is like his good looks and innocent manner hide what is really going on inside the character. He makes you understand how the characters around him don't realize what he really is because he doen't look rotten on the outside.

Mr. Ripley is in my yellow "books to read" bag -- my emergency life-saver bag. No doubt he will rescue me one of these days.

Help Help. Have been playing "associations" all afternoon, without any luck. Right now I'm reading Death in Holy Orders by P.D. James, and am enjoying it immensly, but am not very far into it. She is VERY DESCRIPTIVE with her settings, including art artifacts, so I have been searching for "Doom" and paintings by Flemish artist van der Weyden, neither of which, whom I had heard of before.

Now for associations, which will drive me crazy tonight. There was a mystery, probably on PBS some time ago, that focused on a painting called Judith Slaying Holofernes. What was that show, was it from a book, and if so, who wrote it?

I have faith that one of you Mystery Corner folk can tell me the answer.

Pedln I knew a site with old paintings, so I looked & found a couple of van der Weydens. Rogier van der Weyden (1400-1464) painted more than the other. This URL should bring you to the list of what they have. Hope you find it!

http://www.kfki.hu/~arthp/html/w/weyden/rogier/index.html

Pedln again.... The painting of by Artemisia Gentileschi of "Judith Beheading Holofernes" is on that same site if you wanted to see it again.

http://www.kfki.hu/~arthp/html --click on 'G'.

There wasn't much about a television programme on Artemisia, but this was the most likely:

http://www.salon.com/ent/movies/feature/1998/05/15feature.html

Ginny, going thru some backposts ... how many books have you on the go?LOL!!!!!Pheewwww!!! and how many are you packing LOL . Strangers On A Train need not worry you unless you get into conversation with a woman who asks you if... well i'll let you read it. !Am just beginning a nice sensible thriller myself.LOL.I agree with you on Highsmith's writing but you were after answers Ginny, were you not?Seriously am just getting into City Of Bones[ Michael Connelly] but may not like the content. What say you Viogert? You say Tom Ripley was an out and out psycopath? I think i told Gimnny the same many posts ago.. she just keeps on wanting him to be different, have a change of heart Ginny? Look as innocent as Matt Damon? Is not possible Ginny, you have to face it Tom is a poorly in the head guy, i do wish someone would make a sequel movie . Is anyone on speaking terms with a movie director?Must be Matt Damon again tho' how could we enjoy anyone other than he?

Viogert, Interesting sites. Thanks. The salon site was not about the show I am looking for, but an interesting thing happened. In the modern mystery, there is a character named TAssi, same as the teacher who was accused of raping Artemisia. The show I am looking for deals with a copy of "Judith slaying . . ." that was stolen in Italy during World War II. It was one of the two or three part PBS mysteries. Still bugging me.

Viogert, am up to chapter 12 of the latest Michael Connelly, City Of Bones and have to say i am remarkably disappointed!!!When am i going to become interested in what he is saying and taking 11 chapters to tell me nothing really.Is it worth pursueing. Rely on your good judgement in the M.C fan club of which i was/am a fully paid up member! LOL.

Wow, Perkie, The Rat Began to Gnaw the Rope is already here on my desk! It's the "Winner, Mary Roberts Rhinehart Mystery Contest, 1943" and suitably yellow in pagination. The publisher is Triangle Books, located on Walnut Stree, Philadelphia, the exact same city and street where my father worked in 1943 when I was born!

I feel an attraction for it already!!

Thank you all for your remarks on Ripley, as you said, R, I'm up to my eyeballs in books and so have not left Ripley With a Conscience! But the minute I hit him, I'll come in, yes I loved your explanation of why he killed the last guy (my friend says yes he kissed her but it was about MONEY) so I'm caught between the two of you! I think he could have gotten out of it.

Strangely enough, several of you have mentioned Matt Damon, I'm not particularly overwhelmed by his appearance? I thought the guy who played Dickie was MUCH better an actor, I think his performance is just super, but will read on.

I have ordered Strangers on a Train and if it does not scare me to death will read it on the EuroNight from Paris to Rome in about a month, wish me well, will probably sit bug eyed straight up all night straining for the turning knob on the compartment door (on second thought I believe I'll read it when I get back) hahahahaha

ginny

Roidininki You stopped me in my tracks you did. "City of Bones" certainly isn't Michael Connelly's best, it's not as gripping or brutal or smelly as - say - "Trunk Music", but I read to the end, which is more than I do with a lot of books. The h/b volume of Connelly's in UK had the added pleasure of being properly bound, so my poor old thumbs could hold it easily.

There were several books published at the same time as "City of Bones". Connelly was not as exciting as Lee Child or John Wessell, but he was much better than Carl Hiaasen or Ed McBain. I thought I'd give McBain a try because "Money, Money Money" this year has had such good reviews. He is very professional but a bit clockwork. Nancy Pickard's new 'Marie Lightyear' character in "The Whole Truth" was very disappointing too. I had started to get enthusiastic about her, but she is as gloopy as Jenny Cain. (I do apologise if I'm treading on toes about her - I used to read all Pickard's books, but grew out of them).

Thanks to you posters I order the Rat Began to Gnaw the Rope. Received it yesterday and am about half way through. What a treat!

Good evening, Mystery lovers. I got kind of a kick out of Naked Came the Phoenix... it's a parlor game kind of novel where 13 well-known lady mystery writers each write a chapter, developing plot based on what has gone before. A nice exercise that mostly hangs to gether to the fairly believable end. Laurie King got the privilege of writing the last chapter!

Also just wound up reading an old paperback that's been lying around the house called Accounting for Murder by Emma Lathen. Not an author I'd ever read before. Her John Putnam Thatcher is a likable and mostly believable sleuth of a financial sort but the plot is really pretty simple.

I just brought M. Connelly's latest home from the library. Gawrsh, Roidininki, now I'm afraid to open it! Hey, if viogert can finish it, surely I can!

Jeryn, Emma Lathen is one of my favorites, but I can't name a title. She is really two women, -- an economist and a lawyer, and I thnk half of her died. I do hope she's still writing -- at least part of her anyway. There was an interesting one out a couple of years ago about commercial shipping in the North Sea area.

Yeh, pedln, I believe there's a whole series--all somewhat financial in nature perhaps? What do you mean--half of her died? She either quit accounting or quit writing?! Hmmmm, lawyer too, eh?

Jeryn: "Emma Lathen" was, in reality, two women authors--Mary Jane Latsis and Martha Henissart. One of them died. I believe one was a Prof. of English...maybe at Columbia University????

John Putnam Thatcher is a favorite of mine too...and esp. his Miss Corsa! Not deep and involved, but good reading, I always thought. I miss him...and Charlie and Everett, etc.

There are 24 or so that I've read and I may not have counted correctly.

Jeryn i didn't mean to put anyone off Michael Connelly's latest,City Of Bones, it's just that he[ Bosch ] seems to be getting involved and much of the beginning of the book is mundane stuff and not gripping me with a "oh this is going to be good" feeling.Having said that a friend is reading at the same time and finding it interesting, I personally don't think this is going to be another Darkness More Than Night, having said that, of course i shall finish it.Happy reading!

Thanks for that info about Emma Lathen, Jane. I had no idea "she" was two people! 24 novels in the series--oh boy, something more to look forward to!

No problem, roidininki! I would have to read it now, just to see what I think! <BG> In fact, I started it this afternoon.

Has anyone here ever read one of Patricia MacDonald's novels? They are suspenseful, I believe, having just read a review of her latest. Sounded interesting...

I thought I had read all of that series but I know I haven't read 24 of them. I really enjoyed them. I'll have to look around for the rest. At present I'm reading "The Escher Twist" by Jane Langton. Interesting.

Some time ago a book by Virginia Lanier was mentioned. I found one called Death in Bloodhound Red and just finished it. What a fun book I really enjoyed it.

Judy Laird

That's the book where the breeder remarks that bloodhounds shaking their heads can shower everybody for miles around with drool! Is it the same book where one dog was shot? - I didn't like that - but the book was full of information.

Thanks for all the info and great ideas, Perkie. I can't vouch for Patricia MacDonald--yet. I had merely read a favorable review of her latest book.

Hello everyone I have found an authoress new to me Linda Fairstein . Looks promising from the dustcover...The Deadhouse[all 1 word]is not her 1st novel so some of you may be familiar?

Thanks, Perkie, for that URL. I put it in my favorites. I'll look in some of those secondhand book sites for the Emma Lathen. Our library also has three books listed under Emma Lathen written by R. B. Dominic "Epitaph for a Lobbyist", "The Attending Physician", "Unexpected Developments". Does anyone know about that?

I have every book Thomas Perry has written, and find fault only with his latest, "Pursuit". This book is just a how-to for killers. Boring as heck. Normally Perry folds this sort of information into a plot. But the plot for "Pursuit" is so thin it can hardly support itself much less 300+ page audit of "killing people as a day job."

HOWZAT

I just got through reading Michael Connelly's, "A Darkness More Than Night". He brings together his two protagonists from his other novels in this work and I really enjoyed the interplay. It was fast paced and not easy to solve. I especially liked "The Poet". His "Blood Work", "Angels Flight" and "Void Moon" were good too. He is an author that I look forward to reading.

Howzat -- Fans of Perry's - like us - will have to endure an occasional lapse in our genius. This book is brilliant compared with hundreds of other people's thrillers, it's just disappointing after maintaining his high standard all these years. He joined the "with one leap, Jack was free" school of suspended disbelief, when one of the villains, (to thwart the other villain in "Pursuit"), casually removed the bottom half of a staircase in a house.

Thanks, Perkie. I fear that means no more John Putnam Thatcher mysteries. RATS!! I hate it when my favorites die on me. It shouldn't be allowed. Helen MacInnes, Rex Stout, now 1/2 of Emma Lathen. DANG IT!

More info on Emma Lathen; thanks, Perkie. I will check your link in a minute... [5 minutes later... that is a super site, folks, for information of ANY kind! I added it to my favorites!]

Now, Michael Connelly fans... I finished his latest, City of Bones, and I can't decide if Connelly is slipping or he is just making his favorite character slip a bit? An awful lot of slips twixt the cup and the conclusion in this case! And will Harry Bosch really follow through with the suggestion of the last paragraph? You all who have read it will know what I'm referring to.

I'll abstain from the Thomas Perry discussions--just not a fav of mine!

Jeryn i finished the latest Michael Connelly too this weekend and as i'd already said earlier it didn't seem to be going anywhere remotely interesting i am now flabbergasted that this was the best that Connelly could come up with! Not wanting this to be a spoiler i shall say no more than his overuse of "He then" is simply not acceptable [according to how i was taught at school]and yes i do think Connelly lost the plot on this one!I fear Viogert may feel the same as we do, i.e. totally unimpressed and this is not in keeping with his other good writing?Perkie yes i'll let you know about The Deadhouse shortly, i note she has written previously.

Thanks for that URL, Perkie, I'll try one of her books under Dominic and see what it is like. I had heard that one of the women had died but didn't know which one.

Jeryn + Roidininki -- "Darkness More Than Night" - Connelly's last book, had poor reviews in UK. They said he reintroduced a weak character into a weak story & it wasn't up to standard etc etc. I enjoyed it very much. "City of Bones" on the other hand was a bit of a struggle - mostly for Connelly I thought. I didn't notice the poor prose, but I noticed how the plot sagged & how tired everybody was. I read it right to the end though, just as I've done with all Harry Bosch books.

Well, yes, viogert, I wasn't about to NOT finish it! Which is still praise for Connelly's abilities, I suppose. I've liked ALL his earlier books about these characters. Don't recall what weak character the reviewers meant in A Darkness More Than Night?

I didn't notice the bad writing you mention, riodininki, just the rather decrepit plotting. Without all the bum steers and wrong turns, there would have been virtually NO plot. Do you think he is taking Harry Bosch into new territory? The hint at the end of the last paragraph makes me wonder...

Jeryn, yes i think it was a weak plot,maybe Connelly was trying to lead us the way Patricia Cornwell has done with her Scarpetta character?[The Last Precinct]then throwing the female interest in, then out, puzzled me..... although i'm sure the author's intentions were to show us where he intended Harry to go... but are we sure Bosch will return?Viogert, have you been into Connellys website? Oh i would n't not read to the end of a book by an author i sincerely admire because there is always a chance the author is going to really kick-in, sadly this didn't happen and i agree Viogert it got very tired, maybe Connelly Didn;t try too hard with his suspects in this one and we had no tension from this one?

Jeryn The 'weak' character may have been the ex-FBI profiler Terry McCabe, who was not in good shape after heart surgery. But it's over a year since I read the reviews - & the interpretation of the surreal owl business may have been suggested as a weak contrivance? The reader's reviews in both US & UK Amazon are very mixed - & from Connelly's fans too. As for obliterating him for ever, Hieronymous Bosch is far too interesting a character to be dropped by an author. There are all the other people around Connelly who live well off the series, they will want a vote in what happens to him -- I suppose he is some kind of 'industry'?
Roidininki The Connelly website IS good isn't it? I wish I could say that I had finished every book written by a favourite author. I can't cope with non-Scarpetta books by Patricia Cornwell. Her cop thrillers are too neurotically emotional for me. They wear me out so I have to put them down.

I once read a really good Emma Lathen book about ice hockey & a player with a fascinating name. Forgotten. Both title & fascinating name.

Ye gods, viogert! Now we've got to read all 24 of Lathen's books to find this hockey player?!!!

I'm not really afraid Connelly will "do away" with Bosch. Rather, I wonder if he has in mind turning him into a PI? The last line of City of Bones merely mentioned that he MIGHT resign from the police entirely. An idle threat designed to titillate, perhaps. Whaddya think, viogert, roidininki? You have to admit, it's an intriguing idea!

Viogert, i know what you mean about Cornwells non Scarpetta novels, have had to discard too! No reply from Lee Child by the way re who he would choose to play Reacher on screen.Jeryn, an intrigueing lastlinerin City Of Bones yes ,but i don't think Bosch will be done away with, he is too well fashioned now as Connellys tec? You would be a foolish person indeed to get rid of your bread and butter?Incidentally have either of you formed a mental picture of Harry? Would be interesting to swap notes?

Hi Perkie, I have never heard of Irregardless of Murder. You have peaked my curiosity about the cover. When I read a mystery, sometimes the cover is important to me. I don't like bloody, gory book covers.

Hats

roidininki, I picture Harry as sort of like Tim xxxx in appearance. Tall and tough but vulnerable. What IS that actor's name--played the prisoner in "The Shawshank Redemption"? Or like Harrison Ford; yes, he is even better.

Thanks for the two new [to me] authors, Perkie!

Jeryn, Tim Robbins you mean?[ Shawshank Redemption and Jacobs Ladder] Funny but i cannot get Morgan Freeman out of my mind, right from the first book Blood Work[ Yes Viogert?] I had him pictured so.Any other pictures? The Deadhouse is coming along nicely, holding my attention[Linda Fairstein]

Roidininki:

I scroll down three times to make sure I spelled that right. You know I could not get into "The Deadhouse" I read almost three quarters of it and then gave up and read the last chapter. Want to know who did it? haha. Right now I'm reading Barbara Parker's "Suspicion of Malice". It's pretty good. I read her newest one "Suspicion of Vengence" first and liked it so I'm going backwards.

I am reading Donald E. Westlakes' Put A Lid On It.. It is quick reading. Anybody else read him?

Roidininki I never had a clear picture of Bosch - the first book was "The Black Echo" but I don't remember reading it. I didn't collect the books, but had him on my list as 'readable' at the library. I thought his books were a bit bloody, but interesting. I can't remember any book describing Bosch, so I had a middling-sized bloke in mind, unconforming & fearless without being heroic. You could fit all kinds of actors into that template I suppose.

Jack Reacher has been well-described in the books from the first in the heroic mode. Tall, muscular, fair haired, athletic & a loner. The last new movie I saw was "Baghdad Cafe", so I haven't any ideas for an actor to play him.

GinnyAnn - I love Westlake. What a hoot.

Morgan Freeman? Wellll, maybe! And yes, roidininki, I did mean Tim Robbins. Thanks!

I'm kind of surprised you find Connelly "bloody", viogert. Do you mean as in "gory" or is that a Britishism?

Donald Westlake can be very funny, gaj. I haven't read one of his in a long while. I remember some years ago being very amused by one called The Busy Body. Have you read it?

jeriron, Harper, WELCOME to our Mystery Corner! Nice to see some new names popping up. Keep coming 'cause if you like mysteries, you will get more new ideas for good reading here than you can keep up with!

the only other Westlake book I remember reading is Humans. It was a fun farce!

WOW, gaj! Nice display of html! Westlake has been a quite prolific author, I believe?

Jeryn - I know, I've been lurking, and I already have a loooong list. I've just started "The Killing Floor" and am really enjoying it. I've never read Child before. How did I miss him??

gaj -- I used to read some cold-blooded books by Richard Stark, & then discovered it was a pseudonym for Donald E Westlake. A writer of many talents! Jeryn - bloody?/gory? - dictionaries in this context - think they mean the same. Connelly has 'dead-bodies-in-trunks-in-hot-weather-for-several-days' - it's that sort of thing I mean I suppose. Harper - welcome to the Lee Child fan club. There were some pretty bloody scenes in that book but it was like ketchup. I thought "The Killing Floor" was the best-plotted book I'd read in years when it came out. I went on about it rather a lot. Still do. Try http://www.leechild.com.

There was an interesting hour on A & E on Kathy Reich in her real life as a forensic anthropologist. I've enjoyed her books about Temperence Brennan, a forensic anthropologist - Deja Dead, Death du Jour, Deadly Decisions, Fatal Voyage. Her fictional mysteries are interesting, educational and factual without being gory. Her characters are well drawn.

Viogert - Thanks for the link. I'm sure I'll read more Child.

Kippy - I saw just a smidgen of that program -looked really interesting. I've had Death Du Jour and Deja Dead for a long time - on my pile to be read, but I haven't started them yet. Next. (I hope her protagonist is more likeable than Cornwell's doctor whatever her name is. - Scarpetta?) Even at that Cornwell's Scarpetta books are better than her non-Scarpetta books. I thought Isle of Dogs was a real loser. I'll put her on my not-to-read list along with James Patterson's pseudoromances. Sorry - I'm a little opinionated. Too many good books to read - upsets me when I waste reading time.

Yes, The Kathy R.. books are holding up. not like Scarpatta. The last book I listened to by Cornwall was Isle of Dogs and was a true dog of its own.. No more.. I have decided she is just plain bad. Away for ten days and reading through Senior net is always fun. You have been discussing all sorts of favorite authors. I finished off a Borthwick novel on a ocean trip.. Not bad, I think the first or second of that series, that I have read. Am Now reading the John Dunning WWII book. Odd... very very odd book. Almost through and still not sure that I like it.

John Dunning's Cliff Janewaybooks were fun. I remember learning a lot about the used book industry.

I remember reading a couple of books by this John Dunning--about a bookstore, weren't they? Not bad at all. Different.

I shy away from "gory" and "bloody" but have never been bothered by anything in Connelly's books. He doesn't go into the gruesome details enough to activate my squeamishness. And there's been nothing sadistic.

I find it interesting you all praise Kathy Reichs so much. I could NOT get through her first book--a little too much [gulp] detail for me! Cornwell didn't do that, though I agree her later books just haven't been as good as the first ones in the series.

Yes, this is a Dunning.. It is the Two o Clock Wartime.. Not a Bookie book.. This is about murder and espionage and a small radio station trying to recreate the golden age of radio outside of New York.. A love story is woven in there and lots of characters.. You hang on for dear life, since there are a whole bunch of characters. I am nearing the end, but am still bewildered about how many murders... if they were real.. Is there one or two types of spies?? I am usually clear at this point, but not this time. Very different from the bookie books, that I adored. Kathy Reichs.. Well, yes she is into detail, but I still find her books engrossing.

Jeriron,you seem to have pictured Bosch pretty much as i did?Comfortable, crumpled[a little?]lived in face[maybe?]middleweight definitely not a Jack Reacher!I havn't come across a Barbara Parker but thanks for the tip.. that's what i like about this discussion, everyone passes to each other, so that now i have to have a notebook instead of scraps of paper... hahhaha.No .. don't tell me whodunnit[The Deadhouse] .. would you just?.. hahaha. Actually this is such good writing i wonder how you came not to like it? Viogert,Is true we have never had a description of Harry Bosch so the imagination can run riot at whim?Oh , Lee Child is definitely your favourite man of the moment.. haha?Have still got Echo Burning to take on holiday i told you i would be saving it and now there is Without Fail out?We deseve money for all this publicity.. hahaha?What is this Baghdad Cafe?!!!!!!Is certainly one i have missed! Harper, keep on with Reacher, you won't be disappointed, Die Trying is the next one Viogert?You ask how have you missed him? Probably you were busy with others? Jeryn, maybe you are getting mixed up betwwen M Connelly and John Connolly... Viogert and i mention them both ..Viogert is not a great lover of the latter due to his extreme voyeurism into the dead.. am i correct Viogert?... you are much more articulate than i .Who is being unkind to Patricia Cornwell then, calling Isle Of Dogs a dog?!hahaah That is one i gave a wide berth to! I think if you like something tame Scarpetta is as tame as they come,but, i did feel sorry about the boyfriend in Black Notice simply followed by The Last Precinct ... . tho a friend of mine[male] a Harry Bosch fan too, says Cornwell can never deliver a decent ending in anything so we must all agree that promising authors eventually cannot "hold "us as they used to?

Roidininki --you caught me in the middle of Lee Child's new book & his new website & the answered prayer for the return of Reacher's brother - I was full of it wasn't I? But since "The Killing Floor" came out in 1997, I've collected all his books. I wish I DID have some I hadn't read.

Both you & Jeryn cast Bosch as a slightly crumpled character. Maybe Connelly leaves him blank, so readers can fill in a type close to their own ideal. The problem with police procedurals is the chain of command - it's hard to think of a smart cop not being promoted -- but it takes them off the streets. Then they start wanting to retire.

"Baghdad Cafe" was the last film I saw - Perkie says it was 1988 - & she must be right. At that time I thought I'd give up pre-digested entertainment, (what an funny idea)- & just stick to books. I thought eventually I'd go back, but I didn't - so thats 20 years folk memory lost completely. Can't even pronounce the names of the new actors.

We mostly( Kippy Stephanie Harper)agree about Kathy Reichs for a good read. She seems to improve where Patricia Cornwell seems to be all over the place. The tweezers picking out maggots is good for a laugh if you like that sort of thing, but both Tempe & Scarpetta are cool characters & scientific enough about dead bodies to prevent too much cringe. Especially as the information they uncover - however smelly - moves the narrative along. I would always read both of them. I must confess I hadn't noticed that Cornwell doesn't finish off her books very well. It's true, she sort of dribbles off. At least they don't all sit around saying "What I don't understand is..." & "Who took the jewels?" & "Why did she kill the chauffeur?". It still think the best book-ending was Sue Grafton's "'A' is for Alibi". ("I blew him away").

Thank you all for John Dunning - even if there are two of them. I have been looking them up - especially the 'books' Dunning.

Roidininki - Thanks for informing me of the next Reacher. I was just going to ask.

Harper -- lucky old you -- all these Lee Child books yet to read? It's not essential to read them in order, but we age along with the author if we do -- if not the character.
"The Killing Floor" (1997)
"Die Trying" (1998)
"Tripwire" (1999)
"The Visitor" (2000)
"Echo Burning" (2001)

Like you I am not attracted to James Patterson's books. I picked one up & read the first page & it didn't suit. Not a bit. It's a coincidence there's a piece about him in the paper this morning. It says "What makes Patterson unique among the mega-selling elite is that for most of his writing career he never gave up his day job". As he works for J.Walter Thompson's advertising agency, he will have access to any new research into human motivation that all the agencies get. Of course there may NOT be a connection, but if advertisers know what is currently attracting the public, it could be introduced into thrillers & exploited. He has books in best-selling lists both side of the Atlantic so something is working on people - if not on us?

Just finished Thomas Perry Metzger's Dog I was lost from the begining. I liked the parts about the dog and cat and parts were funny. But the story was so busy and so many different people I just couldn't keep up. I guess we can't love every book we read.

Yes, that's how Baghdad is spelled in this movie version (was there a book?)and if that's the last movie Viogert saw then she did very well indeed. This movie (with C H Pounder, Jack Palance and lots of others I can't name right now, including the lady who is the focus of the film) is a classic 'Art' work. I've seen it several times and get something new each time. 'The lady' and Jack Palance give stunning performances, although she hardly says a word. Jack is a used up senior and she is an overweight (really) immigrant who speaks hardly any English. Delicious. Way to go, Viogert.

HOWZAT

Judy Laird -- The animals in "Metzger's Dog" stole the book completely didn't they? It was one of Thomas Perry's 'capers' & it took a while to grasp what was going on. He has several styles, but that cat & that monster dog were absolutely brilliant.

HOWZAT -Thank you for the spelling correction - it's always useful to get it right. I remembered later, that I was taken to see "Round Midnight" at the National Film Theatre as a guest, so that's the last film I saw in case anybody's interested.

Have an old copy (paperback) Thomas Perry of Metzgers Dog.. Fun read.. If someone wants it, let me know..

Stayed up until 3:00 a.m. to find out how The Killing Floor ended and went out today to buy Die Trying. I'm too old for this.

Viogert you are right the dog and cat stole the whole book for me. It was fun, the rest I didn't get.

Yes, Metzger's Dog was quite a caper! Personally, I fell in love with Doctor Metzger--he can come live with me anytime [if he doesn't bring his dog!] <BG>

I'm reading my first novel by Patricia MacDonald... I don't think it's HER first but she hasn't been terribly prolific, at least not according to what's available at our library. This one, Mother's Day, ['94 pub. date] is suspenseful and definitely holding my interest. Reminds me a bit of Mary Higgins Clark only with better defined characters. I'd recommend it.

I'm reading Patricia MacDonald newest book called "Not Guilty" I'm finding it good and a fast read. I've read a couple of her others. Infact I read Mothers Day when it first came out and somehow I just forgot about her. I guess I will go back and read some more of them.

Viogert i swear Lee Child would dedicate his next book to you , surely his most dedicated reader?hahaha. But you missed his last off the list surely, Without Fail?I do agree with you tho' that it is better to read about Reacher from the initial book and in doing so we become accquainted with him?

Roidininki -- no, "Without Fail" was the book where he brought back Jack's brother remember? It was the book that started all my jumping up & down about Joe. How I thought he'd been the most interesting dead character in a book since "Rebecca"? It never occurred to me to write to the author to grumble about it. But because I was so pleased to get more of him in "Without Fail", I wrote to Lee Child (& everybody else,) saying how pleased I was. I had a reply from Lee Child too - he asked if I thought writing a prequel about the brothers before Joe was shot in "Killing Floor" would be a good idea, but I can't make up my mind whether it would work or not. What do you think?

Harper. There really are very few books that have a plot that won't let you sleep, but that is one of them. His other books are good, but "The Killing Floor" - because it was his first book, had an element of surprise. I kept begging the author in my mind, not to let me down by mucking up the ending.

jeriron, it was reading a review of Not Guilty that made me want to try something by Patricia MacDonald. I have now put a reserve on that new one!

Lee Child sounds pretty wild and wooly, you guys! Be honest with me, viogert, roidininki... are his books sort of gruesome? Descriptions of killings, and the like?

jeriron. No, Lee Child 's books are not gruesome! Gruesome is John Connolly, Agreed, VIogert?Tho i have to say i picked up a 2nd. hand copy of The White Road a few days ago. Not eager to read but curious to see if he keeps to his style. You see i thought his 1st book Every Dead Thing was really good storytelling. Oh ,about telling a good story, have finished The Deadhouse, Linda Fairstein and was very impressed. How come tho that besides being talented at her chosen profession she is beautiful and rich and now can add being an author to her credits?Envy, envy hahah?

Jeryn -- Lee Child is not like Thomas Harris - nor even Denis Lehane. It's a straightforward adventure of goodies & baddies. The baddies get bloodied but with no particular relish. Go into a bookshop, pick up "The Killing Floor", start reading the first chapter. If the yarn doesn't appeal -- put it down again. What do you say Roidininki?

Tony Hillerman has another book called "The Wailing Wind" out any day now.

WailingWind is getting very good reviews. Of course any Tony Hillerman is better than none. I do like that man. Reading PD James.."Death in Holy Orders" Still right at the beginning, but Dalglish has always interested me. He is quite complicated for a fictional character. I cannot read Lee Child.. I do find him gruesome and am not quite sure why. But I have tried several and never finished one, so I guess he and I will agree to not bug each other.

Stephanie --That's really interesting - I wish I'd known before because I thought his yarns were fairly harmless. It only goes to show how case-hardened a reader gets if they don't watch. It depends upon what we've read before whether we eventually reach a limit. I thought I'd reached mine with John Connolly - he's not really bloodthirsty, but there IS a relish for violence. Jeryn - maybe Lee Child is gorier than I realised & I apologise for having misled you. I'm grateful for Stephanie's comments - I really should curb my enthusiasms. We have not all read the same books.

Thanks, both of you, Stephanie and viogert! I should do as you suggest and just pick up a copy and read a few pages. I think John Stanford [is that the right name? the "Prey" series] is gruesome; I thought some of John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee series got a little sadistic; I couldn't finish my first Kathy Reichs; I'm squeamish, darn it!

Jeryn I will have to agree with Viogert, you cannot read a book on someone else's say so, you just have to give it a try , as i do, and fortunately i do have a good lending library close by me, so if i find i don't like a book i simply close it and return. This was a thing that happened only 2 nights ago.I had ordered the new J.Wallis. Martin and found it incredibly boring after Linda Fairstein's The Deadhouse.I would only recommend Lee Child if you like a moderate amount of action and don't need romance.I suppose you could say his hero is an action man and if you don't like books like that do not proceed, i mean if someone offered me a Barbara Taylor Bradford or a Danielle Steele i would screw my face up..... these authors do not write what i want to read.Viogert, i don't think i would be happy with a prequel, did you give L.C a response to this?

Roidininki -- no - I think I was waiting to see what you suggested before doing anything about Joe. I agree with you, a prequel wouldn't work. I wouldn't mind a colleague from Joe's past who didn't know he was dead, come looking for him to help with a mystery neither of them solved at the time? What about that?

There is really nothing sadder than finding a book we'd looked forward to, turning out to be a dud. Or more astounding than finding an ordinary p/b, you can't even put down to brush your teeth. I thought Thomas Perry's "Death Benefits" was like that - & it had the same 'Ideal Village' ending as "The Killing Floor".

Jeryn -- I thought J.D.MacDonald was a sadist too - he was a misogynist as well. All the very worst things happened to his female characters - especially the independent ones, but I suppose that's what 'noir' is - dead blonde broads?

Ah Viogert.. Dead blonde broads. I do like your choice of words.. Most noir do seem to have a bunch of dead women. I do not like the so called "tough" detectives for the most part. A very gory writer is John Sandford , but for some reason, I adore his books.. No sense.. Just none at all. I think the problem is that I truly enjoy Lucas and want to be Weather, who strikes me as an eminently sensible woman.

Well, thanks for all the comments on gruesome, gory mysteries, pro and con. It's good to be not totally alone on this! Yet it's true, we each have to see for ourselves what "clicks" Stephanie.

That's true, viogert, about John D. and women. All the worst stuff seemed to happen to them and the female characters generally were weak, helpless types. He LIKED women well enough, just didn't respect 'em! Sort of a love/hate thing, maybe?

At the same time, Barbara Bradford and Danielle Steele are definitely not my cuppa either, roidininki! Back when she was popular, I did take quite a shine to Mary Stewart's novels of suspense, though. NOT the ones about Merlin! Have any of you every read them? For some reason, she quit writing the good stuff and generated a lot of verbiage on the legend of Merlin et al... not interesting to me at all. She may be deceased by now? At any rate, not writing anymore.

Hi everyone i see we have a new format here? Centre title and message beneath? Or is it just the library p c i'm using?I can't seem to find a way of doing heavier type on it,either. Viogert, yes the idea you put to Lee Child sounds o.k. to me. Have just been in a local bookstore where they tell me he is getting popular here.Have you read any Jefferson Parker by the way?Have gone back in to edit this to tell you that whole words are missing on my screen, makes things a lot nonsensical really. How do things look your end?

Roidininki

Everything perfect - don't worry. Came through fine.

Loud and clear, "R," so glad to see your cheery Hello from England!

I'm here with a Book Report of sorts, I guess, am now 3/4th of the way thru The Talented Mr. Ripley and I have to say I'm in awe of Highsmith's talent and her writing ability.

Yes, Ripley is not the boy next door, but how skillfully she sucks us into his world. I grieved over Dickie's death as if he had been a real person and Freddie's too, stumbled down the stairs with Tom dragging him out and actually, while I do think the movie is better, it's an entire different ball game. The "real" Dickie did not play the sax and the "Real Marge" was not as pretty as Gwyneth Paltrow, nor were they going to marry.

But Highsmith is incredibly successful in making the reader part of the rationale, it's scary. Perhaps it scares people to be drawn in so skillfully into the mind and reasoning of a psychopath and maybe when you find yourself understanding and rooting for him to get away with it, it scares the reader? Dark things there.

Here are two simply splendid bits of writing, in my opinion, first from page 52 in the paperback:

Tom envied him with a heartbreaking surge of envy and of self-pity.

And here is another one from page 89:

You were supposed to see the soul through the eyes, to see love through the eyes, the one place you could look at another human being and see what really went on inside and in Dickie's eyes Tom saw nothing more now than he would have seen if he had looked at the hard, bloodless surface of a mirror...

They were not friends. They did not know each other. It struck Tom like a horrible truth, true for all time, true for the people he had known in the past for those he would know in the future: each had stood and would stand before him, and he would know time and time again that we would never know them, and the worst was there would always be the illusion, for a time, that he did know them, and that he and they were completely in harmony and alike.

Isn't that wonderful writing? I am a new Highsmith fan for life!

ginny

I just wanted to say that I've finished Patricia MacDonalds book "Not Guilty" and really enjoyed it. For those of you that mentioned that you don't like gory books I think you will enjoy this one. Basically a story about a family and what can happen to it when the father commits suicide. and how the parts of the puzzle just keep fitting together. but it takes the final chapter to know who, when and where.

Jeryn, I also was a fan of Mary Stewart's suspense books. Tried one on "Merlin" and didn't finish it. I also was a great fan of Helen MacInnes (I'm dating myself, aren't I?).

Ginny - You are up there with some illustrious company being a fan of Patricia Highsmith's. She was always considered the intellectual collector's choice because of her dark psychic magnetism & her beautiful prose. I am really grateful for your quotes - she is better than I remembered, but I read her as a girl & she frightened me to pieces.
Kippy Helen McInnes - like Helen McCloy I remember reading ages ago. Does anybody remember Ursula Curtiss as well? The longer we live, the better able we are to see how good women thriller-writers have always been.

Oh yes, Kippy, I read Helen MacInnes too--had almost forgotten about HER.

Hey, you fans of Patricia Highsmith--did she write anything besides the Tom Ripley things?

jeriron, my heart fills with happiness to hear yet another recommendation for Patricia MacDonald's latest, Not Guilty. I just brought it home from the library yesterday along with Stephen White's latest, Warning Signs. Going to be a good week!

Jeryn: Let me know what you think about "Not Guilty"

Jeryn -- Sorry if I misled you about "Strangers on a Train" being the first 'Ripley' - in fact that psychopath was called Bruno something or other but he was Ripley to the LIFE. Highsmith's prototype I suppose. All the Ripley books have his name in the title I'm pretty sure. She also wrote sometimes under a pseudonym. The one book I remember people talking about was The Cry of the Owl. She has an entry in the Oxford Companion to Eng. Lit. forsooth!

Ginny Yes that is wonderful stuff of Patricia Highsmiths you have copied out.Now do you see why Viogert and i said you would not find the answer to the end of the movie in the book?Viogert is so right we should not forget such talentand beautifullywritten too as you have said. It is a pleasure to reread her books?Glad to hear my posts are coming througho.k. as i see they are today, the machine must have had a senior moment yesterday.Viogert, I would like to see you in Name That Book competion, it's driving me wild at the moment.

Does anymone remember Sarah Gainham "Night falls on the City", "A place in the Country" and about 5 or 6 more post-wwII books about the fall of Germany and the Cold War era. RIveting. I ran into one again, last week, and it "set off" a whole direction to go in to re-read some good old page-turning, yet hostory-based novels. Enjoyed it. Isak

Isak.. Oh such memories. At one time, I had all of the Sarah Gainham books. But the Night Falls was my favorite. The terrible pulling at one was so quietly stated. What a great book.. Not a mystery, but still a great book.

Roidininki - I think you overestimate my literary knowledge. The whole thing has me totally foxed. It sounds like we'll kick ourselves eventually.

Jeriron, NOT GUILTY has caught my attention. I am adding it to my list. Thank You.

Hats

Ginny, that writing from Highsmith's book strikes my heart. It just hits you with a POW or ZING! Never intended to read The Talented Mr. Ripley, but her writing style has opened my mind to it. I did not see the movie.

Hats:

I think you will like "Not Guilty" Jeryn was supposed to be reading it so lets see if she liked it.

Right now I'm reading Stuart Woods "the Short Forever". It's ok but I'm getting a little tired of his character Stone Barrington going from woman to woman in each book. One thing I always thought was funny was his main girlfriend's name is Arrington. It's a good thing he didn't marry her. Could you imagine Mrs. Arrington Barrington!!

I just picked up Michael Connelly's "City of Bones" I seem to remember someone on the board saying it wasn't very good??

City of Bones was an OK read and might even make a Michael Connelly fan out of you, jeriron! It's a shade less wonderful than this author's earlier books in this series, that's all we were saying.

I haven't even started Not Guilty yet. Maybe HATS will report on it before I get to it!?

I just couldn't WAIT to read the Stephen White book I picked up the same day! Warning Signs is the latest in his series [of 10 altogether] about the Boulder CO psychologist, Alan Gregory, his Assistant DA wife, and all the mysterious doings they get involved in. It's another series I've enjoyed immensely and highly recommend.

Stephen White series sounds good, Jeryn. I haven't read any of his. Will look for his books my next trip to the library.

I like Alan Gregory and his wife very much. The series has matured with each book and is a very enjoyable series. I am reading a J.A. Jance.. This one is a J.P. Beaumont.. He is chaperoning his grandmother and her new husband on their honeymoon on a cruise ship. Fun..

Jeanlock:

Your the first person that mentioned J.A. Jance. I have all her Joanne Brady books and have read several of the Beaumont ones. I read the one you are reading now and it was good. I like the Brady ones because they take place in the southwest and I love it there. Especially Santa fe. Her books are set in Arizona though. but i still enjoy them. I'm waiting for the next one to come out but I haven't seen anything about a new one. Jeriron

Stephanie:

I should have sent the last message to you. sorry about that. Jeri

Viogert, nice to see you in the book contest. I have just recapped in a post there but am still frustrated. Agreed we will probably kick ourselves.

Jeriron, twas i who said i had not enjoyed Michael Connelly's City Of Bones and me a devout Connelly fan.Will try Stephen White and Patricia MacDonald, new to me authors,thanks everyone, this is such a good site?

Has anybody read Patricia Cornwall "Isle of Dogs"? I just started reading it and am not sure I'm going to like it. It's different from her Scarpetta books and it has a "funny" tone to it???

Roidininki: I was going to start on City of Bones but I figured if you are such a Connelly fan I will take your opinion into account.And I agree with you this is a great site. I've tried looking on the net for others like it but cannot find one any where near as good as this one. Have you by any chance? Jeriron

Jeri,, I listened to the audio tape of Isle of Dogs and hated it. She was doing a Carl Hiaassen sort of parody and is simply not talented enough to carry it off. A very heavy handed sort of jokey book. I truly thought it was dreadful. However if you like her enough you might enjoy. Different strokes, so to speak

Stephanie:

Thanks for the feedback on Isle of Dogs. I had a feeling right away about it. As I say I like the scarpetta books but this isn't anything at all like it.

jeriron, if you have not read Michael Connelly before, I suggest you try to find some of his earlier books in the Harry Bosch series. Here's the full list:

 
1 - The Black Echo (1992) 
2 - The Black Ice (1993) 
3 - The Concrete Blonde (1994) 
4 - The Last Coyote (1995) 
5 - Trunk Music (1997) 
6 - Angels' Flight (1998) 
7 - A Darkness More Than Night (2001) 
8 - City of Bones (2002)

roidininki and I have both been great fans of his, until this latest and just between you and me, I didn't think it was THAT bad! You should read some of those earlier ones first to see if you like him at all.

Stephanie, is Isle of Dogs anything like her non-Scarpetti novel of a few years ago called Hornet's Nest? Most people disliked that one too, but I sort of enjoyed it.

Jeryn

thanks for sending the list of Connally books and you know what, I've read all of them. I've started City of Bones and so far it seems ok.and I gave up on Isle of Dogs.

Stephanie: I believe Isle of Dogs has the same characters as Hornets Nest. and I know i read it but can't remember if I liked it or not.

I have been jumping around in the catagory of books and am curious as to why I have never seen a mention of such current best seller writers as Mary Higgins Clark, John Grisham, or Steve Martini? Are they on some "hit list" or what?

williewoody: I don't think anything is on any list...except that we're all talking about things we seem to like. I, personally, don't care for Mary Higgins Clark or her daughter - is it Carol Higgins Clark. I'm not into the "lawyer" stuff so John Grisham has never caught my eye. I've never heard of Steve Martini, so would be interested in what he's done that you've enjoyed?

There is a John Grisham being discussed now --Painted House--URL is: Pat Westerdale "---Painted House, A ~ by John Grisham ~ Book Club Online" 5/18/02 9:18am

Please let us know what books by these folks you've enjoyed, and I bet that others will be interested in commenting or adding them to their list of books to look for.

š jane›

Steve Martini was mentioned some time in the past, which is why I picked up one of his books at the used book store. I haven't started reading it yet because I have a Reginald Hill and a Jeffery Deaver to finish first. Oh, the Martini book is The List.....Mary

I was watching a BBC mystery theater production the other night called Deceived and they mentioned that the author was Clare Francis. I had totally forgotten about her until I saw her name mentioned and remembered that I had read a book by her many years ago called Night Sky which I thoroughy enjoyed. I intend to see if I can find anything else she may have written. Is anyone else familiar with her?

No. Actually I sort of enjoyed Hornets Nest, although it was into male bashing big time. There was not a single male with the intelligence of a toad in the whole book. Other than that it was semi ok.. I dont read Mary Higgins Clark ( same plot over and over for me), Used to read Grisham, but dont really care for him that much. I like Steve Martini and have at least one of his is my books to read basket. It just takes me forever to get around to different authors. I rummaged this morning until I found an author that I had never heard of and it was her first book. Sort of fun thus far, although nothing to win prizes. I like Michael Connelly , but still have not started the one that noone is that fond of. I liked the idea of both of his protagonists in the same book.

WELCOME williewoody! Glad to see another Mystery Lover commenting here today! Mary Higgins Clark is quite entertaining, the first two or three times then seems formulaic to me so I quit reading her. I have read ALL of John Grisham's books except The Chamber; couldn't quite relate with the subject matter [ugh]. Otherwise, I've enjoyed all his books, including the out-of-character Painted House. He is a story teller. It might have been me that first mentioned Steve Martini in this discussion? He is a great favorite of mine AND my husband's. Always eager to see what Paul Madriani is up to! How many are there in that series now, anyone know? I'm guessing 8 or 9. He's not on our Series Lists, drat it!

Hi there, Elly Mae... long time no see! Clare Francis is a new author to me, not too well known? Let us know if you find other titles.

I also enjoyed the first few books by Clark but they became formulaic to me also. I enjoy the movies based on John Grisham's books better than his books. I don't know why because I usually like an author's books better than the movies based on them.

The author of "City of Bones", Michael Connelly, was on All Things Considered (PBS radio)this morning and when asked if his next book would be another Harry Bosch he said, "I will start writing my next book this summer. It (the book) will be taking a different direction" and when asked what that direction might be he said, laughing, "I'm not going to talk about that, but it will be, well, different".

HOWZAT

Hats, that was good writing, wasn't it? But I have to tell you Ripley Under Ground is better, I'm 3/4ths of the way through it and it's so good I wish it would not end.

Yes, he's the same old amoral Ripley, living in a huge chateau in France, living the good life, won't tell you how, married, a partner in an art gallery which is forging works by a famous artist named Derwatt, only there IS no Derwatt, he's been dead a long time though he keeeps producing paintings and an American engineering millionaire notices something wrong in the Derwatt (or whatever it is) he just bought...well I won't go on. You can't read IT tho (it's like eating your spinach first, you can't read Under Ground if you haven't read Talented) but I absolutely love this book and I hate to see the end coming, it's been quite a while since I hated to see the end of ANY book coming so I'm giving it a ***** and if you like, watch the video of the Amazing Mr. Ripley first and then read it, the movie does some things better, but leaves out how Ripley got the money.

ginny

Well hello everyone what a lot has been said since i was last here. Claire Francis is the English yachtswoman,fell ill with M.S.turned to writing, RedCrystal[i think] and Nightsky, were her 1st attempts. Has changed style now to mysteries, Deceived and Keep Me Close. Steve Martini, excellent, but yet another who has changed style. Have just finished Last Man Standing and this is action/adventure, good -for- men stuff, as opposed to the excellent Absolute Power for instance.[filmed with Clint Eastwood ] Michael Connolly. City Of Bones was not a bad book but disappointing for me as i didn't like the storyline which went on and on and just didn't interest me at all. The ending would fit in with the interview and Connolly is obviously not going to give away where exactly he is going to take Bosch . This is sort of like what Patricia Cornwell did in her last Scarpetta. I have also just finished the excellent Linda Fairstein novel Likely To Die but noted on the back of the dustcover that it was not for sale in the United States which puzzles me as Fairstein is an American legal eagle.Ginny, I will try to borrow Ripley Underground, you sure have a thing for Ripley now?[ hahaha]Are you saving anything for the train?Kippy, i also prefer to watch the filmed versions of John Grishams novels.Viogert, have accqired another John Connelly The White Road , are you definitely off him or have you read this?Did you read Michael Connollys Void Moon ? [without Bosch]You will never guess the result of the book contest, what a swizz as we say!

Roidininki -- no, I'm not going to even try "The White Road" - I have read all the reviews, readers reviews etc & I have given him a try in the past. He's just too slimey for me. Yes, I read "Void Moon" - I read all Michael Connelly during my library visits - always picked him up there. I used to think he was a squelchy-dead-body writer but he had good mysteries. It never occurred to me to collect him though. I agree with you the book contest led us astray with some iffy clues. I had thought of "Q" some time back but thought he was too estoteric for the "world-wide, well-known, famous, used-every-day" clues we were given, but in my ignorance, hadn't noticed my own Oxford Book of Eng. Verse was edited by him (1923). "Q" was Daphne du Maurier's mentor. He was born 1863 which is the Chinese Year of the Pig - I suppose that's where the 'ham' comes in maybe. Har Har

Good heavens, I will roast Wizzie if the clue came from the chinese year.. First contest that I have considered not quite fair.. Oh well. poor loser, I would guess for me.

They have indeed made some terrific movies from Grisham's books but I can't really say I like them better. Books and Movies are two different things; to me, like comparing apples to oranges. If I had to choose between, books would win every time!

Roasted Wizzie?! That'll be the day, Stephanie! <LOL>

I just knew Connelly had some new plans for Harry Bosch! Or maybe he's starting a new series? Guess we will all wait and see... Thanks for telling us about the interview, Howzat.

I enjoyed Void Moon and I know it was a girl, not Harry, but darned if I can remember her name!

Too many books; too little brains!

Viogert,i too thought the contest was v. unfair,you know there were some v. misleading clues, such as 20th century author, o.k. but "Q"was born in the 19th?Everyone knows this book... well i'm afraid not the people i associate with.

Stephanie and Jeryn are you aware of who Wizz is?I don't think the clue about ham was connected to Chinese astrology[a subject close to my heart incidentally]but well pointed out Viogert,altho Wizz said it was to rhyme with ram? I guess i'm a poor loser too but would have been thankful for just anyonr to guess it the tension was driving me silly, hahahah.Please, anyone wanting to read another Bosch, don't be put off.I have 6 paperbacks by my bed but they are meant for holidays so i am scanning in my library at the moment.... bookless and you all know how that feels?

Roidininki + Stephanie -- absolutely right there - aren't we just a bunch of poor losers though?

Jeryn More astrology - (Western) - in "Void Moon" . The woman's name was Cassie Black - that was quite a good plot, I thought.

Joan et al : Thanks to all who have suggested some new authors for me to explore.

If you don't like mysteries, or court room stories, then Grisham and Martini are not for you. I have read all of Grishams books except the Painted House, which I understand is not his usual plot. Martini is not quite as prolific as Grisham but he bases his books on the exploits of a fictional detective Paul Madriani. Just finished my first Mary Higgins Clark, which I enjoyed,so consequetly I do not see a sameness in her writing. Maybe I'll try a few more and will be better able to judge. I have read several Rita Mae Brown's mysteries and am now getting a little tired of the "sameness" of her stories. Her cat and dog, and other animal interactions were a novelty at first.

My preferance is for non-fiction History and biographies. If anyone is interested I can give you a wide variety of good and interesting books in those categories.

Well, roidininki, I most certainly do know about the Blue Wizard of SN Books & Literature and his obtuse contests! I used to lurk in there fairly regularly, but his choices were too esoteric for me and I'm too lazy/busy [pick one] to spend time on research! If you have comments or complaints, I'm sure he'd want to hear about them--you might want to voice your concerns there?

Oh thanks, viogert! Cassie Black--I liked it, too.

Well, that would be nice, williewoody, but this is after all "The Mystery Corner". Why don't you come on over to our Library Discussion [just click here] where it would certainly be appropriate to talk about books you've enjoyed in ANY genre or category! I got tired of Rita Mae Brown pretty fast, too!

I almost forgot... I promised someone here [whoever you are, speak up!] I'd give an opinion on Patricia MacDonald's latest, Not Guilty. It was engrossing enough that I finished it quite quickly! Can't decide though, if it read a little bit like a romance novel in spite of all the suspense? A humdinger plot IF you could get past the heroine and her rather naive actions and reactions. This is the second book of MacDonald's that I have read and she seems to do teenager characters QUITE well but the adult women are less believable. My last word: definitely entertaining enough to recommend.

Jeryn:

that was me. I'm glad you enjoyed "Not Guilty" I think MacDonalds books are worth reading. They are mysteries but a change of pace from the usual ones.

Well I have to say I just finished "city of Bones" and thought it was quite good. So i guess everyone has different opinions of books or movies they see or read. What a boring place it would be if we all saw everything the same, I guess!

Tony Hillerman's "The Wailing Wind" was finally available at our library. I loved it. Hillerman never disappoints me. I especially liked the ending and the legend about the two hunters.

williewoody, as i said somewhere, Steve Martini, Last Man Standing is not mystery more action and adventure for men. For the lady who fancied Clare Francis, i remembered A Dark Devotion . Stephanie i dare not dream to challenge Wizz but i did think that by choosing a book close to him/personal that it wasn't a fair contest.Oops.... it might be that him is a her?

I'm looking forward to reading 'The Wailing Wind', Kippy.

I've just read 2 by Aimee & David Thurlo that were highly recommended by Tony Hillerman.

Nettie + Kippy - I was reading "The Wailing Wind" in bed last night where Leaphorn & Chee were discussing the recent murder over lunch - carefully trying not to tread on each other's territory & being courteous. I put the book down a minute so I didn't finish it too fast, even though I re-read all his books over & over. They are a real joy aren't they? This book itself is a joy with that lovely big map on the end-papers & Tony Hillerman's nice rosy face on the back of the jacket. I have still three-quarters to read yet. Then I'll look forward to Janet Evanovitch ("Hard Eight" due in UK 18th June).

Nettie Many thanks for recommending Aimee & David Thurlo -- I was off on a hunt & found several available here. I ordered Red Mesa, (going to take 1-2 weeks)

Nettie, Glad you mentioned Aimee & David Thurlo. I haven't read any and will look for them.

Looking forward to reading the Hillerman. I like the Thurlows, but only a little at a time. There are some authors like that. Did not know that a new Stephanie Plum is getting ready to hit the world. That woman is one of the few authors who makes me laugh out loud. I love to listen to her books on tape. Somehow it adds. Wiz... well I have a suspicion or two, but no proof as to who it is.. Am Reading the latest Jane Whitfield.. by Thomas Perry. Oh what a lovely book. Her mind works in such an interesting fashion.

Looking forward to her new ones, yes, I laugh out loud reading them, too!

I didn't think City of Bones was so bad either, jeriron. I'm eagerly awaiting this author's next venture.

Oh boy, a new Tony Hillerman. Must go put a reserve on it...

roidininki, Last Man Standing was written by David Baldacci. Steve Martini writes suspense novels featuring an attorney named Paul Madriani; they are quite good reading.

What a thrill to hear from THE Sue Grafton! Thanks so much for sharing that with us, Perkie! I hope someday to find some of her father's books. A shame they are out of print.

I have'nt read a Clark book in years so I decided to reserve Daddy's Little Girl" at our library. Do you know, there are 90 people ahead of me. I guess she"s popular. But then so is Danelle Steele and I can't read her books, although I used to years ago. Now i think all of hers are the same. Rich girl, losses husband but finds another big handsome hunk pretty quick.

Stephanie, I love Stephanie Plum too. I read One for the Money and just died laughing. I wanted my husband to see what he was missing so, I read parts of it aloud to him. I also want to get into Tony Hillerman.

Jeriron, can you believe I have never read Mary Higgins Clark? I feel embarrassed and ashamed (whisper, whisper).

Hats

Jeryn , apologies, thankyou for that correction may i blame Wizz for screwing my mind up?hahah.Seriously i do read both Martini and Baldacci, have recently finished one by each which is probably how i made the error. Hats, don't feel alone in admitting to not reading Mary Higgins Clark....she doesn't appeal to my taste, it's like we don't all like strawberry ice cream?

Haven't been here in quite awhile as the last couple of months have been hectic for us. Took a three week road trip in March, which was wonderful, but have had lots of illness in the family in the last month or so. It's kept us very busy.

For those of you who like Tony Hillerman--have you read any of the James D. Doss books? His style is like Hillerman, except his main character, Charlie Moon is a Ute Indian. His books are set in Southwestern Colorado near the Ute Indian Reservation. I really like his characters and he repeats them in each of his books.

I also love Stephanie Plum and look forward to the latest book. Haven't read any mysteries lately, but have read several books. Grisham's "Painted House", Nicholas Evans new book, "The Smoke Jumper" and a few others.

Will pop back in later unless another family crisis strikes--even our dog has been sick, but is improving.

Yes, I've also read all of Margaret Coel's books and like her characters, as well.

Will have to try Sinclair Brown. There are times when a lighter read is good. I've enjoyed Joan Hess and her Maggody series--she's very light reading, especially if I've just read something by Kathy Reichs or John Sandford.

I really enjoy Peter Robinson's books. I normally don't really care for English mysteries, but Robinson's characters and plots are very well written.

I've added James Doss and Margaret Coel to my library list.

and anyone else who enjoys mysteries set in the Southwest--have you read Michael McGarrity's books? Two titles that come to mind are "Tularosa" and "Mexican Hat". He uses Santa Fe, NM as his setting and has a central character who appears in all his books. It's best to read them from the earliest to the latest, if possible to do so.

I'm sure you've probably also discovered J.A.Jance and her Joanna Brady series, which is set in Arizona.

FanFan:

I love the Janna Brady books and am anxiously waiting for a new one to come out. My library called yesterday and both the new Tony Hillerman book and the Amiee and David Thurlo were ready for me to pick up. Now i don't know which one to read first. and I'm still in the middle of Clarks Daddys Little Girl" which is so so.

Jeriron I haven't read the Thurlo's book, but I have just finished "The Wailing Wind" so I suggest you give yourself a treat & read that first. I put it down thinking what a nice man Jim Chee is & how I have always thought I wouldn't shove him off my knee if he sat there. Then I tried thinking how many other fictional characters I felt the same about in Mystery books. How about Malcolm Bledsoe in Sara Paretsky's "Deadlock"? Or Sue Grafton's Robert Dietz (with the bad knee). She mentioned him first in A is for Alibi then brought him out as a bodyguard for Kinsey in G is for Gumshoe. Some of Dick Francis's hero's - the younger brother in "Straight", who inherited a gemstone firm & a lot of trick boxes - & the jockey in "Reflex" who kept getting beaten up & being brave? (Well - I suppose that was ALL his hero's really). Anybody remember young Peter Guillem in "Tinker Tailor"? Hahahaha! All gone but not forgotten.

Thanks all for more ideas for good reading. Keep 'em coming...

Happy day has come, viogert! I picked up my copy of Resolution at last. I do believe I'm the first person in our library system to check it out! I had requested it while it was still "On Order" status about two months ago.

For those who weren't around when we first talked about it, Resolution is the third mystery novel in a trilogy by Denise Mina about young Maureen O'Donnell of Glasgow, Scotland. The earlier two books, Garnethill and Exile, were very good.

Gotta go read now...

Yes, I've read all of Michael McGarrity's books. Just couldn't remember some of the other titles when I first posted.

Thanks for the info about Sarah Andrews. Am always looking for new authors to read.

Have a wonderful holiday week-end everyone!

I finished "Daddy's Little Girl" last night and I don't think I have any plans on reading another Clark book for awhile, a long while...

Viogert: I decided to start the "Wailing Wind" first. It got a good review from everyone that read it here so I'm sure I will enjoy it also.

Hi everyone. Was looking at the latest bestsellers in one of our broadsheets last night and i see John Grisham has a new one out is number 9 in the list, The Summons. It is, quote, "back to the setting of A Time To Kill" I did enjoy that one, particularly well made into a movie too.Harlen Coben also is in our bestsellers and i know none of you liked him yet his last book Tell No-one was good and different because he was on different track. Hopefully will stay on the new one and this will be worth a read as he seems popular over here.

This is the busiest site. Miss a few weeks and there are hundreds of posts. I'm still reading. Someone mentioned a new Jane Langton --I'd like to hear more about it.

Perkie, I'm trying to find a site you mentioned that everyone spoke of, but can't find the post. Did it get deleted?

This is from today's NYT -- a new legal thriller by a law school professor -- Stephen Carter's Emperor of Ocean Park -- about affluent African-Americans. He's been paid 2.4 million dollars for an initial 500,000 first printing.

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/27/books/27CART.html?8hpib

I don't usually like novels set in the 1800s, but I like Anne Perry's novels. I just finished her "Funeral in Blue" and enjoyed it. Have always enjoyed the Father Dowling mysteries by McInerny and have just read a couple of his other series with the Knight Brothers. They are just as good, I think. I have so many recommended authors' names jotted down I don't which to try first.

Hi everyone, Just joined the SeniorNet last week and my first search was the Mystery Corner. I feel like a kid in a candy store. I enjoy mysteries most of all in my reading and thought I had quite a list of favorite authors but now I have so many more I don't know where to start. I'm looking forward to many more hours of fun reading. I laugh at Stephanie Plum too.

OJUNE21

Let me be the first to welcome you. I have only been here for a month or so myself and the people are wonderful. You will love it here.

Jeri

Perkie--I've also enjoyed the Southern Sisters series by Anne George. Our daughter-in-law gave me a treat last year and brought about 6 of these books from GA. Nat manages a book store, so we receive lots of goodies from her.

ojune21--Welcome. I haven't been here very long either and am enjoying talking books with all these nice people. Also love Stephanie Plum and am anxiously awaiting the ninth book to read. Did you know you can go to evanovich.com and read all the "Plum" news? This is the name of Janet Evanovich's newsletter. She also hold contests for naming each new book. If you haven't been to her web site--check it out, because it's really cute.

Let me add my BIG WELCOME to ojune21 and to FlaJean! Gawrsh, I take a couple of days off and come back to find we've got company! Please feel at home and return often. And thank you, old friends, for being so welcoming!

We do come up with gobs of great reading ideas and the occasional neat-oh website. Thanks for those new ones, pedln and FanFan.

Stephanie Plum is very popular... I must give her a try once again.

Right now, I'm happily following Maureen O'Donnell around Garnethill, poor wretched girl! What is to become of her?! Don't tell me, viogert!

ojune21 + FlaJean -- oh brilliant - new readers with new book lists & favourite authors. Welcome indeed.

Jeryn -- wouldn't dream of mentioning Denise Mina's "Resolution" except to say I really like her which you know already.

Thanks for the nice welcome. I already feel like I've found a new home. I'm looking forward to all the authors I have overlooked and maybe I can pass on a new one now and then. One that comes to mind that I haven't seen listed so far (I read most of the old messages) is Sharyn McCrumb. She sort of hops between Scotland and the South (USA). Let me know if any of you has read her work.

Fanfan: Thanks for the info on the Stephanie Plum site. I'll give it a try.

Yes, I like Sharyn McCrumb, ojune21. In particular, the so-called "Ballad series". My favorite of these was She Walks These Hills but all have been entertaining. What did you think of that latest one, something about a singer--don't recall the title.

Just finished 2 Jonathan Valen books. Extenuating Circumstnces and Day of Wrath. Time to return him to the shelf for now. Pretty graphic but quick reding. I've just barely started ADAM AND EVE AND PINCH ME by RUTH RENDELL. I read several of her books several years ago and enjoyed them I hope this one is just as good.I have such long list of good authors reccommended by all of you I don't think I'll ever get through it. It sounds like I've missed several of Janet Evanovich"s if she's already on #8 , I enjoy her books. BARB

I've been intending to change my user name from Kippy to my real name for some time and finally changed it to Fla (for Florida) and Jean my real name. Am in the middle of Agatha Raisin and the Love from Hell. That Agatha is such an unlikable person but somehow I like her. Oh, well, that nice Mrs. Bloxby likes her also, so I guess there isn't any logical reason.

Most of us agreed that Agatha wasn't very nice and yet we keep right on reading. Must get Love From Hell to see what her latest adventure turns out to be. James is quite an odd fellow too, isn't he?

Just read where the first Carolyn Keene, Millie Benson, just died. Millie wrote the first 30 Nancy Drew mysteries. The newspaper said she died at age 96 years. "She fell ill on the job in the Toledo Blade newsroom and died later that night." What a lady she must have been--to still be working on a newspaper column at age 96. The best Christmas I remember was when I was 11 or 12 and I got a dozen Nancy Drew books. How I loved those books. That is probably why I'm still reading mystery books at age 66.

Katie Sturtz, whose father worked on the Toledo Blade for over 50 years as the Outdoor Editor (I believe), sent me some wonderful URLs to articles in the Blade about Ms Benson. I hope they're still current and accessible.

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2002105290069

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2002105290043

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2002105300107

Hi I haven't been in this thread in awhile, I love mysteries but it seems lately I have been reading non mysteries.But this visit to the library I chose two mysteries. I finished James Patterson's 2nd Chance and I just started Particia Mac Donald's Not Guilty, which you mentioned.I am enjoying it .I find myself wanting to know "What next for this popor woman??" I am at the part where the detective is questioning her son. I can't recall reading anything else by this author.Is she new to the book world?

So glad you brought us that news item about Millie Benson, FlaJean. I should not be surprised if my lifelong love of mysteries began with reading her work, too! Someone in another discussion mentioned that Ms Benson also wrote the Penny Parker series, popular around the same time as Nancy Drew, the Dana Girls, and Judy Bolton sets. I loved them all.

Thanks for those links, Jane. I'm looking forward to checking them out. I had no idea Katie's dad was a newspaperman!

Hi, Nana B and WELCOME to our Mystery Group! I have just recently discovered this Patricia MacDonald myself. The back of the book jacket mentions four other novels of suspense she has written; one was nominated for an Edgar Award--The Unforgiven. Also I've read one called Mother's Day that was pretty absorbing. I'd call these novels of suspense rather than true mysteries. She seems to concentrate on women characters but there is really nothing of the "romance" about them, do you think?

Jeryn,Thanks for the welcome Yes these stories are suspense as opposed to mysteries.The Unforgiven rings a bell I might have read it.I have to to create a cyber list of what I read (lol) About Not Guilty I think I have figured out who is the culprit.. But I won't peek at the ending !! As for romance any romance Keely might have experienced was very short lived.

I think it is a western by Allan LeMay.

I tried the Thurlo mysteries hoping they would be similar to Hillerman's, but I was disappointed. The three books I got were all pretty much about conspiracies (skinwalkers/witches) against her family. There were a few interesting tidbits but the plots just didn't interest me.

I thought that also So curious me went to B&N web site.And you are right. Patricia MacDonalds is titled Unforgiven Didn't Clint Eastwood win an oscar for the movie version of The Unforgiven??

Don't know, Nana B. There WAS a movie of that name but I'm not sure it was based on Patricia MacDonald's novel? More likely, it was based on the Western that gaj has mentioned. I guess there's no law against two books having the same title!

Thanks for the tips, Perkie and FlaJean. Negative tips are just as useful as recommendations!

Jeryn The movie that won the award was the western The Unforgiven with Clint Eastward and gene Hackman,I am not a wastern movie fan but this was very good. Two books with such similar titles My how confusing(LOL)

Hi everyone, i am astray in here just at present as you are all discussing authors i simply don't recognise. Patricia Mcdonald being the exception but i find her a bit tame . Is that rude of me?There also seems to be a dearth of good mysteries around at the moment and this is a very unusual state of affairs for me not to have a good book to hand.As i said in an earlier post we have the new John Grisham in our bestsellers has anyone begun this? It is set back around A Time To Kill.

Roidininki -- no I don't think it's rude to find Patricia MacDonald tame - she belongs in a large group of women mystery writers that are 'safe & satisfactory'. And you are right thinking there is a gap in new books by 'Star' writers at present. I have just finished a big fat book called "Mandrake" by Paul Eddy - a second novel about the superagent "Flint" (of the beautifully restructured face). It was action-packed, character-packed & plot-packed. It was sometimes hard to follow who was a goodie & who wasn't. But I persevered. It probably deserves more than 4 stars, but it constantly made me feel I wasn't paying attention. 'Mandrake' was the second of three coming out this month - (the first was Tony Hillerman). Janet Evanovich is due 18th June. Next month Kathy Reichs has her new book, & Marcia Muller "Dead Midnight" with Sharon McCone after a long break. Then for me there's a good Brit thriller-writer called Anabel Donald with a new book on the 18th July as well. Maybe our problem is that we read them too quickly?

I didn't read John Grisham's latest either - one reviewer suggested he'd run out of steam & didn't think it was very good. He's written some ripping yarns so I can forgive him that awful Christmas book, & maybe this one too, but I don't want to yawn through another book by him.

On the recommendation of a good reading-buddy, I have filled in the time with Philip Pullman's "Dark Materials" trilogy. She promised it wasn't like Tolkein nor full of warrior symbolism. He has said his greatest influence was Milton's "Paradise Lost", so I tried the first book & was hooked. Lovely children, satisfactory villains & plausible plots. I don't like science fiction, but I liked Harry Potter. I loved Marge Piercy's "Woman on the Edge of Time".

Hello I have to agree with you .I haven't posted in here in awhile because I haven't found many good mysteries.None worth talking about. I have been reading regular fiction. I did finish John Grishom's The Summons.Is that the one you are refering to?? I liked it very much. A Time To Kill is my favorite John Grishom. book. Patricia Mac Donald ....I am still forming my opinion about her work I found the Not Guilty plot a little hard to believe. Take care,

I have read everything that Marge Piercy ever wrote. No mysteries as such, but most of them are wonderful. You might try one that I think is called "Vida". Probably out of print, but a glorious book about going underground during the Viet Nam mess and never coming up..Truly a remarkable tour de force. I just read mystery writers that I have never read before. They are all wonderful. I had not read P for Peril and it just came out in Paper, so bought it this morning. But I always have a backlog of books and I just root around in my basket until something catches my eye.

Stephanie -- "Vida" was brilliant. It wasn't a mystery, but it gripped like one. It made me ache -- Vida being pursued by the government, & no 'underground safe house' free from the possibility of betrayal. What I remember with misery, is Vida ringing her husband for money, knowing he was living comfortably in their apartment & sleeping in her own nice bed. And safe.

I suppose Patricia MacDonald is "tame" compared to some of the ripsnorters out and about these days! A nice change of pace sometimes, though. I just finished a wonderful ripsnorter, Denise Mina's third tale in the life and times of Maureen O'Donnell. Loved it, maybe even more than the first two! I know viogert is a big fan of hers too. The series numbers three and here they are. If you like "noir" mysteries with plucky young women, you'll love these!

Garnethill
Exile
Resolution

If I'm repeating myself, sorry! I just really really like this author!

And "tame" is the word I would use to describe John Grisham's latest, The Summons. It's not a bad story, really, just not a ripsnorter--NOT what we've come to expect from this author.

Also just finished a quite enjoyable wee whodunit by Jean Hager, The Grandfather Medicine. Not quite Tony Hillerman, but pleasant. I liked it well enough to hunt up another one of hers at the library today. Right now I'm checking out The Dive from Clausen's Pier. I don't think it's a mystery but I read an intriguing review.

I feel a bit guilty being here, as I haven't read a mystery in some time. It's good to know that Janet Evanovich's new book will be out soon--am looking forward to the new Tony Hillerman, as well.

Have been fairly content to read some decent novels. I'm currently reading a novel by Sue Monk Kidd titled, "The Secret Life of Bees." It's the author's first book and is very good. Also finished Rebecca Wells' "Little Altars Everywhere", which preceded her "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood." I understand there's to be a movie based on the "Ya-Ya" book.

I'm really looking forward to some good mysteries this summer and will let you know if I find something interesting.

Talk with you later.

Viogert, good to see you replying, as always i can rely on you for a candid opinion. I've looked at Flint so many times and put it down again, will definitely pick up anr read now on your say-so.Oh you will eat your heart out at this,was talking to a man on a 2nd hand bookstall here on our open market yesterday and enquiring about a copy of The Killing Floor for a friend. [well you need to start at the beginning to get accquainted with Reacher?]Oh, he only knew Lee Child from when he stood the markets up in Cumbria where Lee lived prior to moving over the pond.He told me that not many people are interested in American authors over here so i must be in the minority?

Finally obtained The War Against Cliche[Martin Amis] yesterday from my library... gosh all reviews of his.. i am totally in awe of this mans intelligence, his command of grammar is so vast that i need a dictionary by my side all the time.Of course he is totally devoted to Saul Bellow and said his Augie Marsh novel was a "best book"

Jeryn thanks, you have saved me a need to get to John Grishams latestand he's not really a mystery writer anyway?I must try Tony Hillerman now you are all agreed that he's worth a read. Happy reading Has Ginny set off on her travels by the way?

Roidininki - wait a second - I'm not recommending "Flint" exactly - it rattles along very nicely but it was a first novel where he tried to pile everything on at once. Trust your natural caution with that one.

That was an interesting story about Lee Child working in a Cumbrian market - he appears to have had an unusual life before he started writing. I don't think it's strange for you to like American mystery novels if you choose books from other places than the library. Librarians order British author's books because they get taken out more frequently. But people like you, who are adventurous readers enjoy a wider field. It depends on who you read first sometimes - if you started with Ross Macdonald or Raymond Chandler then Agatha Christie doesn't quite suit.

I'd be glad of a report on "War Against the Cliche". I planned to order it but this once, I will wait for the p/b. I think I have read all his books, but apart from the autobiography & 'Money', I can't remember really liking any of them but I would recognise his 'flash' prose style anywhere though.

Jeryn I'm really pleased you've read 'Resolution' at last - it was such a good rounding up - tying all the loose ends. I wish books could be published on the same day everywhere - I know why they can't - but it would nice if they were.

Hi All, I'm still sorta new and I missed a few days and there are even more new (to me) authors I can enjoy.

Jeryn I haven't read all of the Sharyn McCrumb books yet and I can't remember the titles of the ones I have read. I once started a computer list of what I had read so I could keep track but then the computer crashed and I lost it all. Shame on me for not saving it on a disc. I just picked The Rosewood Casket at the library. I never seem to read stories in sequence. I find a new author and exhaust the list but it would no doubt be much more enjoyable to start at the beginning.

I'm looking forward to the new Evanovich book. She's such a kick!

Dont worry with the mountain stories by Sharon.. They dont have to be in sequence. I love them.. Even the Songcatcher. Jean Hager. She writes two different types of series. One is an Indian and although not of the Hillerman type, still quite nice. Then she does one about a B&B and quilts.. Sort of odd and decidedly a cozy. Still nice I am still trying to catch up on the stuff that piled up to read while we were gone to the Campbell Folk school. I always take stuff to read when we go and then rarely read more than 20 minutes or so a day. Amazing how busy we stay with no tv, no phones..etc.

Yes, ojune 21, S. McCrumb's "ballad" series can be read in any sequence. A few of the same people show up here and there but it's never essential to the plots.

Stephanie, I'm so glad you mentioned that Jean Hager has TWO series! I think this last one I picked up is the second one--the quilts. Really I'm glad; would rather sample a different one since I just finished the other one.

viogert, roidininki--one of you was singing the praises of Ian Rankin a while back? Someone [a GOOD friend!] gave me a sack of pb whodunits today and among them is one by him. Also a whole lot of other BRITISH authors! I'll trot them out and see if you know any of them another day...

Fanfan, my stash also included #2 in Janet Evanovich's series; nice since I read #1 already! I've been wanting to give her another whirl...

Jeryn -- a friend with a big bag of books you haven't read, is a very GOOD friend indeed. It was me wot was rabbiting on about Ian Rankin being good. You should take to him easily after Denise Mina's Glasgow - Rankin writes about The Kingdom of Fife & Edinburgh. Of course, I think all his books are brilliant & that Rebus is a great character. See what you think. It would be fascinating to hear who the other Brits were in that bag.

Viogert, must put things right here, Lee Child didn't work the market, it was the market bookseller who did that up in Cumbria. Oh i know you were not recommmending i read Flint it's just my way of putting things. Am finding Amis so good to read again, he has a "wicked way"sometimes. I didn't read Money either,it seemed too full of men somehow and you know how he gives his characters such "wicked" names? I think perhaps a little too coarse for me at the time.

Jeryn,wish i had a friend with a bag of mystery books going spare. I have only one friend who passes on to me.As he is also the friend , the only other person i know in fact who watches E.R.you can imagine his taste is not for the fainthearted?He is a devout Michael Connelly fan but i have to say my paperbacks go to him rather than the other way around unfortunately for me.

Ian Rankin, also known as Jack Harvey,fill our book outlets here, is a nextremely popular author.

Ijust finished Echo Burning. Thanks to everyone who reccomended Lee Child, I enjoyed it. That Reacher is quite some guy Huh? Am now on my way to library to find some more of his Thanks again BARB

Boy I hit the jackpot at the library today. They had 8 books for me that I had reserved. Two of Lee Childs, Three Michael Connelly, The new Les Roberts book Chinese Fire Drill, Up Country by Nelson Demille and a couple of Romances. Glad they are all renewable. Oh where Oh where to start!!!! BARB

Booklists . . .because I dread running out of authors to list, I've recently been grubbing about looking for recommended writers I might have missed & found this amazing site:

http://www.overbooked.org/hotmyst.html

(Sorry making such a fuss if you know about it already). Their lists are in date order, & the books have signs beside them showing which are popular/top quality/prizewinning,etc. Some of the judgements look a bit iffy until you get the drift of the reader who is making the judgements & then you can disqualify the well-praised stinkers - (usually because they are bloodthirsty I suspect.). An author I found I'd never heard of, but who gets recommended everywhere is C.J.Box. Anybody heard of C.J.Box? I've sent for one called "Open Season".

Gram62 . . . what a smashing bundle from the library! I was pleased to see Les Roberts among them. I've not read that title, but I have been keeping a bunch of his p/bs to cope with withdrawal symptoms when I run out of the more complicated mysteries I like- like right now. I started "The Cleveland Local" last night. He writes reasonable & satisfactory books with no blood & thunder.

C.J. Box.. Now that is someone I cannot find in my mystery stuff. In my Encyclopedia Mysteriosa, I find Edgar Box ( aka Gore Vidal). Also checked by A Womans Hand.. No Box at all. So anyone who knows who it is.. fill me in.

viogert thanks for the great web link!

Stephanie: There are several websites that mention C.J. Box when I did a search at google:

http://www.cjbox.net/home.asp

http://www.booksnbytes.com/authors/box_cj.html

http://www.bookarea.com/Browse/Author/2914224-1

Wonderful links, folks! Thanks! This C.J. Box sounds good.

Well, viogert, my friend exaggerated a bit... I pawed through that pile of 15 pbs and only see four that sound like British authors from the cover blurbs. They are Ruth Rendell, Susannah Stacey, and Linda Davies [and of course the Ian Rankin]. I'm familiar with Rendell already--a good author; what do you know of those other two ladies?

Jane DeNeve . . thank you very much for those links, what efficient research - I had expected to start hunting again today. It looks as if C.J.Box is a newish author which accounts for not reading anything about him. Tony Hillerman likes him!

Jeryn . . . Linda Davies writes Market Trading-type crimes - her "Nest of Vipers" was highly recommended & I have a record of having read it, but can't remember it. Susannah Stacey is new to me completely. There are several very good authors in UK who I always read but who never get reviewed, never reach the charts & nobody ever talks about them. (Janet Neel, Anabel Donald, Michele Bailey, Sarah Lacey) She could be one of these - be nice to find a new one.

Stephanie . . did you think C.J. might have hidden a woman author? (- looking in "A Woman's Hand") So did I at first.

Grandmother For Peace

To J.A.Jance fans.

A new Jance book is due out this Aug. It's called "Partners in Crime" and guess what! It is a Brady meets Beaumont book. They become involved in a case in Arizona and don't get along very well. I am really looking forward to reading it.

I read a Ruth Rendell book last week.Adam and Eve and Pinch Me. I normally like Rendells books, but this one just dragged. The plot was good but was too drawn out for me. I kept wishing it would end but just dragged on and on.

Thanks so much for the info about the new Jance book. What a terrific premise! This one is a must read for sure!

Gram62. . . I don't like Ruth Rendell very much - she's a bit strange. I met a mystery reader in the library once, who didn't like her either. She said she felt Ruth Rendell was the kind of person who, if public hanging was brought back, would go & WATCH!

Oh, Viogert, I do like the description of Ruth Rendell, even though I actually like her very much. Such lovely convoluted plots. On the Box articles.. doesnt sound like an author I would like. Too chest beating male type. I always check on initial type authors. Many women hide behind them. Working on P is for Peril, but boy is it slow to get into. At this point, I simply do not care about the disappearing man or the wife or the exwife.. All too too boring. Kinsey is more low key then normal as well. Sigh.. Another 50 pages and then it better be peaking or I am out of here.

Stephanie . . if I'm honest, I would prefer to read a bad Sue Grafton than a good Patrica Cornwell - mainly for the humour, but P is for Peril was a cold book. For every nasty person, (like the ex-wife), SG usually balances them with a funny or an interesting one, but in that book they were all a bit of a yawn. The last unsatisfactory book - I thought - was H is for Homicide. I didn't like reading about Kinsey held prisoner by a crook with Tourette's Syndrome. I don't like books that have imprisonment or hostages anyway. I liked 'A' to 'E' best, but the scene in K is for Killer where she interviewed a transvestite was brilliantly done - I liked the whole book too - it was low key but the ending was very satisfactory indeed. We can cope with two duds out of sixteen though, can't we?

I've noticed I get mesmerised by fictional transvestites. Do you remember the transvestite rock musician, Sally Sweet in Janet Evanovich's "Four to Score"? When Stephanie Plum called on him, she found this big ugly guy with a large hooked nose wearing a Farrah Fawcett wig, conical breats & tattoos on his biceps. He stood seven foot. She said he was fascinating - "like staring at a car crash". Usually I deeply resent transvestites being called 'she' - no matter how much surgery & medication is involved. Until their chromosomes are changed from XY, they are men, but calling Sally Sweet 'she' was made him funnier than ever. When Stephanie introduced him to Joe Morelli, they said nothing, until she saw Joe's face turn red & the tendons stand out in his neck. THEY WERE ARM-WRESTLING! It cracked me up - I cried - I couldn't get on with the book for laughing - couldn't read for tears. Oh boy, another Stephanie Plum coming out next week. "Hard Eight".

C.J.Box I suspect you are right about this one. He sounds like a rich businessman climbing on an environmental bandwagon. And 'chest-beating' describes him as well. I'll let you know if he's any good when the p/b arrives. He could be funny?

Gram62, join the Lee Child fan club, just Viogert and myself as far as i know?I know Lee wanted Reacher to appeal to female readers too.You lucky person finding a bundle like that all at once at your library, i have not found many who can take Nelson DeMille but i seem to be able to read him o.k.

Viogert, thanks for that website[post388]

Happy reading everyone, if anyone wants any info on English authors i'd be happy to oblige if i can.Has anyone tried J. Wallis Martin? She is fairly well rated here, also P.D.James, both women.Minette Walters also well rated.

Roidininki... I'll be glad to join your Lee Child fan club. I sure did enjoy the one book I read and am now on to others.I also enjoy P. D. James and will try some of the other English authors you recommend. BARB

Rodinki:

I love Nelson DeMille. I fell in love with his books when I read The Charm School way back when and have read everything he has written. I also enjoy P. D. James. When I was working, my boss was English and she and I would compare notes on P. D. James and she'd fill me in on other English authors. I have since informed her of Denise Mina whom she had never heard of.

The Charm School seems rather timely in view of the World Trade terrorists. It deals with Russian agents infiltrating the American society and becoming ensconced in the American culture until such time as they were needed.

Elly Mae

I too fell in love with Charm School and have read all of his other books. They are among my keepers.

I liked Nelson DeMille for three or four books, then there was one that really turned me off. Can't remember the title, sorry. [CRS, you know] I don't think I ever read The Charm School. That does sound interesting... the first one I read and enjoyed was called, I think, The Gold Coast.

I'm afraid I got fed up with P.D.James. The earlier Adam Dalgleish novels were most enjoyable, however.

I've read several of Minette Walters--always deliciously spooky!

Another couple of "British" authors I have read and liked are not, I believe, actually British... Elizabeth George and Martha Grimes? viogert? roidininki?

Where are you finding the C.W.Grafton novels, Perkie? I'd love to read them but can't find them anywhere around town. I'm not real big on mail ordering stuff but I suppose that will be the answer? I live in a large metropolitan area; I figure if Cleveland or Akron or all the suburbs in between can't produce it, it probably isn't anywhere!

Excuse me for butting in -- it's been a while since I've been here. have you read anything by this author. Saw this article in the NYT -- have never heard of her. Apparently no relation to Alfred. High society lady -- has written a novel about murder and manners.

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/06/garden/06JANE.html

Now to go back and reread your posts, which always give me good ideas for books to read.

I love Minetta Walters... Just got a new paperback by her. I also like some of P.D. James. Just have to be the exact right mood for Adam.Oh me, yes a bad Kinsey is much much better than any Patricia Cornwall. I have taken an oath to never again read her. I am tired of the "Oh poor me" syndrome and the aggressive posture for lesbians. They are people,, just like me, only their love life is a bit different than mine. It is simply none of my business who you choose to love,, as it is none of anyone else who I choose to. It does not enhance the novels. I have read several wonderful novels written by gays and embodying a gay or lesbian as the protagonist. They are truly good. Will try and look them up to give an insight on a good novel that does not play "Oh poor me". That said.. ( hobby horse), I like Sharon McCone better than Kinsey and am not sure why. But Janet and her Stephanie Plum. They are great, so silly and I adore every one. I always listen to them on audio since it seems to be half the fun.

Jeryn . Martha Grimes & Elizabeth George are a couple of very smart American ladies & both have very smart websites:
http://www.elizabethgeorgeonline.com/biography.htm

http://www.webheights.net/MarthaGrimes/

The only Nelson DeMille book I remember reading was "Plum Island" - I remember enjoying it too. Maybe I should try a few more seeing as how you've mentioned a few titles.
Stephanie . . I used to really dote on Sharon McCone when she was poor & single. I collected every book to re-read, but the recent books haven't the urgency in spite of Mysterious Press producing some very handsome-looking h/b's for her. Kinsey isn't as funny as she was either (or is that me?) - she doesn't tell us about running like she used to. I suspect health freaks write to complain about her junk food though. I was hoping your mild gay & lesbian rant was not due to mine about transvestites, because I like transvestites. They are not sexual - don't do any of that stuff. They just like wearing frocks - sometimes with a big bristly mustache.

Viogert, Thanks for the Elizabeth George website. I am only into my second of her novels -- Well-Schooled Murder and can't put it down. The first one I read was a much more recent publication, but this one seems to stand alone. That it was written at least 10 years earlier doesn't seem to matter. One wonders what in her background persuaded her to develop the characters of Lynley and Havers. I'm glad she did.

In case all Elizabeth George fans don't know it yet PBS is showing her first 5 novels this summer. I believe they are also on BBC.

Thanks for that link, Perkie. I couldn't get it to work but it gives me the idea--I haven't checked ALL the libraries available to me. I'll track them down someday!

Oh boy! Elizabeth George dramatized! I hope they do a good job. Speaking of which, are all you Nero Wolfe fans enjoying the new season's shows on A&E? I thought the recent "Too Many Clients" two-parter was super. These shows just hit the right mood of those old whodunits, don't you think? Archie carries his part perfectly. Wolfe is such a curmudgeon! And don't you adore Fritz?

Thanks for your links too, pedln, viogert. I set them aside for later perusal. I was pretty sure I had read those gals were both as American as apple pie, as the saying goes! George, especially, sounds soooooo authentic! Haven't heard of your new author, pedln...

I have found a mystery writer that is new to me. Her name is Barbara. She formerly worked in the state attorey's office of Dade County, Florida. (who knows maybe she worked with Janet Reno.) So guess what her books are about. In most of her books her main characters are Gail Connor a prosecuting attorney and a defence attorney named Anthony Quintana, a Cuban American. I like the references to all the familiar locations she uses.

Louise:

Your talking about Barbara Parker, right? I just started to read her books also and really liked them I"m not so sure I like Quintana.Does he come across as a Cubian macho type or maybe I should say Latin.I'm not sure just what it is that bothers me about him. But I do like the books so far. I think I read the newest one first. What intersted me about the book was that it was taken place in Stuart Fla. where I live and My husband was a dade-county policeman for 25 years. I am looking forward to the new tv show CSI Miami. I wonder how much of it will be filmed here.

No, no, the lesbian rant was against Patricia Cornwall, who seems to be making this her first concern in her books. Iwas also pointing out that some fine detective fiction is written with lebians as the heroines.. Excellent stuff in some cases. Transvestites.. WEll the funniest was did you ever read George Baxt. He wrote several in a very very funny vein.. One was "Topsy and Evil) and cannot remember the other. They had everything..And were they a riot.. Elizabeth George. I may break my dont watch what you read thing and tune in. But again I have such a clear inner picture of Lynley and Barbara Havers..

I know what you mean, Stephanie... "a clear inner picture" of the characters we read of. "My" Archie Goodwin, however, is gone forever! I like the stage Archie! It's a chance we must take!

No wonder you like mysteries, jeriron! Is your husband's name Ron? I get a kick out of your name since around home I'm "Jery" and my husband is "Ron"! And our email is jerynron@apk.net

I have just seen an ad in a pape."First Lady.... after a 10 year absence from the crime scene, thriller writer Michael Malone returns to North Carolina the setting of his bestselling Uncivil Seasons featuring the cops Savile and Mangum".Is anyone familiar with this author?

Viogert, have just obtained in a 2nd hand book shop, all 4 of the Ripley stories in 1 volume.I was just guessing when i told Ginny that Tom Ripley was an absolute psycopath, but the dust cover states that these Patricia Highsmith novels are now cult fiction observing the psycopathic mind. I wouldn't mind seeing the other 3 made into films.Did you catch The Talented Mr. Ripley?

This clickable will give you some more information on Michael Malone and this newest book set in NC. Michael Malone The description of the setting that he gives about Hillston sounds very much like it could be a town near me called Hillsboro, NC. It is an old textile town, the county seat of Alamance Co. and is right next door to Durham where Duke University is, and where there are a lot of writers living, so I really suspicion that he has based the fictional Hillston on the real Hillsboro. I'll have to read it to see if I can recognise any of the places he describes.

PS: I read a little further and found out that he does indeed live in Hillsboro and his wife is a professor at Duke. I will definitly have to read this new book! Thanks for mentioning it.

Roidininki . . You're mixing me up with someone else. I don't like Patricia Highsmith. She writes beautifully & is ever so popular & people rave about the Ripley film but sorry. Not me. But if you discover she's up your street, you're landed - she's written a lot of books. Janet Evanovich's "Hard Eight" comes out tomorrow - oh whoopee!!
Jeryn . . about Linda Davies the Brit author you were given - I had a rummage & found "Nest of Vipers" that she wrote in 1995. I couldn't remember reading it, but when I looked, I found I hadn't. In fact it was quite new & rather good. Market traders & insider trading & a dashing heroine. She specialises in that stuff.
Has anybody read Orphan Pamuk's "My Name Is Red"? Translated from Turkish & apparently brilliant. I'm dithering a bit. Those Henning Mankell mysteries translated from Swedish turned out to be really good. It's not easy to tell - Miss Smilla was super (translated from Danish).

roidininki, I believe it was Ginny who showed so much interest in the Tom Ripley series. She's on an extended vacation right now--not sure when she'll be back among us. I hope you or Phyll will report back on that new author who lives in NC--sounds interesting.

Oh thanks for that on Linda Davies, viogert. The one I was given is Wilderness of Mirrors. I like your description so will try to get to it soon.

I'm a very infrequent visitor here because I rarely read mysteries - though I am a slave to Bartholomew Gill's Inspector Garr series.

However, once in awhile I enjoy a well-written mystery. My most recent read was "All She Was Worth" a translation of a novel by Miyuke Miyabe, and except for one deadly chapter of exposition in the middle it was very enjoyable. It is a trip through Japan's consumer-crazed society and what happens to people who get buried under a mountain of credit card debt. Though the detective protagonist is a man, the mystery itself concerns female characters. I found the glimpses of the life of the working woman in Japan to be fascinating. The mystery itself is beautifully plotted and full of surprises. Unfortunately at one point in the middle the detective is treated to a chapter-long disquisition on consumer credit in Japan by a bancruptcy lawyer. It may interest you, but it does slow down the story, and can be skimmed to get the gist without losing the thread of the plot in my estimation.

Jack

Phyll. Thankyou for the address and info, hope to report back on this new to me author.Have browsed the address now and find M.M has the same favourite authors as myself, so i shall probably go and search him out now.

Jeryn. Ginny was indeed the one interested in Tom Ripley and obtained all the Ripley books.I guess she will have lots to say on her holiday reading?

Viogert. Sorry i thought you agreed with Ginny that Patricia Highsmith was a beautiful writer and i therefore assumed you liked her books.

Roidininki. . Wow! that's clever - I got two! One for each foot - hahaha! But about Highsmith, I was only giving credit where it's due - she's the intellectual's choice more often than not. In a good mystery, for me it's the plot that's important - or the atmosphere - or the genre? It's tidy when the baddies get their desserts? Nabokov writes very well I so does Philip Roth - but having read one book of each, it's enough. By comparison, Annie Dillard & Margaret Atwood have a wider range.

The postman brought Janet Evanovich's "Hard Eight" this morning. It is SO hard to read slowly - especially when she seems to be funnier than ever, but as I can't read for laughing & I'm only on p33 that will slow us down a bit. Anybody interested in Rex? I dread the day she realises hamsters only live 3 years. He's still in his soupcan.

It is interesting at all the different likes and dislikes among our mystery book readers. I got Janet Evanovich's first four books thinking I would really enjoy them and couldn't get through the first one. Maybe I should try again sometime. I went on to Jean Hager's "Ghostland" and am thoroughly enjoying it. Must get more of her books. The book mentioned by Jack, "All She Was Worth" sounds interesting.

Oh, the new Janet. I do so love a good laugh. I am hoping that she ignores the life of a hamster. Rex is too nice to lose and Stephanie needs an object to love. Finished P is for Peril.. Did not like it at all. Unsatisfying ending. Not a single sympathetic character.. Why is she doing this to Kinsey. Just started the Michael Connelly "A Darkness More than Night" I like both of his characters, so hopefully will like it. He is a dark dark writer, but appeals to me sometimes. I have read Michael Malone.. Cannot remember what I read, but know I did. I realized that I have never read Ripley at all. I am not that fond of Patricia Highsmith.. But maybe I should give him a try. You make him sound quite unusual.

FlaJean . . mea culpa - I write without remembering how many different types of mysteries that are written trying to please the millions of readers who refuse to be categorised. Janet Evanovich writes lightweight mysteries that make me laugh, but some people don't think she's at all funny. It annoys the hell out of publishers - trying to please us all.

HB and I are fans of the Nero Wolf TV series. I agree they are true old time mysteries. I love the clothes.The characters always look so classy.

I too love the Nero Wolfe series, the clothes, the furniture and the orchids every once in awhile when we are given a glimpse!

I've just finished up 4 new authors (for me). I enjoyed them all. Most were recommended right here! Thank you All for enriching my reading list.

Margaret Coel-Jerrilyn Farmer-Roberta Rogow-Philip R. Craig

Can I intrude on your conversation? I love Philip Graig .As a former Massachusettesite I love his Martha Vineyard mysteries. I so like how he puts the recipes for his dishes at the end of the book. Some day I might even try one (lol)

Hi Nana!

Of course I was speaking to you, too! Yes, I love mysteries that include recipes, too!

Thanks for that website, Perkie. I'll definitely be watching out for the E. George novels adapted for the small screen. I've gotta say, that actor looks nothing like the picture in my mind of Inspector Lynley! But actions will speak louder than...

Hi there, NanaB and Nettie! You've come to the right place for good ideas on something to read! My list runneth over but I keep coming back for more. Just finished Redbird Cries, a Molly Bearpaw mystery by Jean Hager. Quite pleasant pastime and I learned something about poisons I sure didn't know before. Not that I'm going to try it... <BG>

As i've said previously i love coming into this site everyone has a friendly manner and we all seem to want to further each others reading pleasure.

Viogert, yes i seem to have been extra generous giving you 2[haha]love your sense of humour.I'm actually reading every word of the 1st book about Ripley, i think it was Ginny who remarked how beautifully Patricia Highsmith wrote,wasn't she going to take Srangers On A Train with her on her travels?The filmakers put a lot extra into the movie [TTMR]extra characters etc.I often wonder how they get away with it or once they have bought the rights can they?I know Highsmith died after the film came out. I havn't read any Nabokov, but Margaret Atwood is a favourite of mine, her Alias Grace was brilliant in my opinion.

Stephanie, I'm sure you will enjoy A Darkness More Than Night, i thought it much better than City Of Bones which is why i was disappointed with the latter.Have you read his Void Moon, this is not a Bosch book?

Nana B, Linda Fairstein writes about Marthas Vineyard...i've enjoyed her Cold Hit and The Deadhouse.

Another English author some of you may like is Minnette Walters, several of her books have been serialized on English tv.

I am about a quarter of the way into Minette Walters' Ice House and I think I might like it if I can just get past the pictures she is planting in my mind about the state of the body (or I should say the parts that are left) when it is discovered in the ice house. Ugh!!!!

Roidininki. . apparently if an author sells the rights to film a book, they sell ALL their rights - everything. Didn't you read the vitriolic fury from Sara Paretsky about what they did with V.I Warshawsky? She is described as dark-haired (with an Italian mother)in every book. In the film, V.I. was played by blonde Kathleen Turner. Sue Grafton - who was a screen-writer before writing books - says she'll never sell the screen rights of any of her Kinsey books because studios make a dogs breakfast of them. I suspect that some good films have been made out of some boringly-written books

Phyll . . "The Ice House" was Minette Walter's first book - it caused a bit of a fuss at the time - being a sort of 'country house' thriller when everybody thought they were out of style. There aren't quite as many mouldering bones as in Kathy Reichs' books though are there? Her other books are all different & really good.

Jeryn I liked those Molly Bearpaw books, but didn't know Jean Hagar had two styles & once ordered a couple that turned out to be B&B cozies. They were good stories, but certainly no mouldering bones.

Perkie Thanks for the tip about the Lynley series. I just finished a later E. George and really liked it. It will be fun to see one of her earlier ones. Sure hope it will be closed captioned. I went to the website and sent off an email to that effect.

Phyll, how coincidental that you happen to be reading Minette Walters? The one which first springs to mind is The Sculptress, but i did see The Ice House on tv.

Viogert, as always i can rely on you for an answer.[haha]No i didn't know what the filmakers did with V.I.Warshawsky but knew Kathleen Turner played her of course.I do agree that some good films have been made out of what appear to be quite insignificant books.A very slim volume springs to mind [tho not really a mystery ]which i read long before it reached fame as The English Patient.I was amazed tho the huge amount of people who simply did not understand the film and would have benefitted by reading the book first.

In our Sunday Cleveland Plain Dealer, the author Les Roberts reviews 4 new mysteries. He highly recommends JOLIE BLON'S BOUNCE by James Lee Burke.Quote" James Lee Burke perfectly fits my definition of what a great writer should be. He isliterary,stylish,his plots and characters are gripping, and most important, he uses words better than other people. His prose seduces, lacerates, mesmerizes and evokes sometimes uncomfortable feelings"

He also gave a good writeup and rating to Marcia Mullers new book DEAD MIDNIGHT.

In reviewing Janet Evanovich HARD EIGHT he states her plots are about as unlikely as a late model James Bond movie " But if it makes you smile, more power to you" Well her books do make me smile so I must be powerful!!!!

BARB

Gram62 . .Please - do you have the URL for the Cleveland Sunday paper so I could read Les Roberts review? I just recently finished his "Cleveland Local" that I enjoyed - he's a very satisfactory writer. I am waiting for Marcia Muller's "Dead Midnight" but not published here until July 4th. It's a Sharon McCone book - she hasn't written one for ages. I'm pleased she's been given a good review because I was really looking forward to it. I'm the same as you with Janet Evanovich. "Hard Eight" is incredibly fast - & I laughed a lot. I love grandma Mazur ". . in her mid-seventies but looks not a day over ninety".

Roidininki The recent Minette Walters "Acid Row", wasn't as interesting as her others - it was full of people I didn't like.

Perkie - oh boy - what super smashing brilliant efficiency! I am ever so pleased & ever so grateful. I only came back just in case - hopeful - but really thought it wouldn't be until tomorrow before I got a chance to read about Marcia Muller. What a LONG URL though! I copied it out & tried it first - I suppose I will be looking in there every week now, & then came back to tell you. Now I'm going back to READ it after all this. Once again, grateful thanks.

Thanks for digging up the Plain Dealer site, Perkie and thanks so much, Barb for bringing Les Roberts' reviews to our attention. He is a pretty reliable predictor of whether I personally will like a book, I know that. And he pulls no punches... his sentence, "A caveat for the squeamish: There is appalling violence and cruelty in this book- ", about the latest James Lee Burke, makes me KNOW I won't want to read it! I tried one of Burke's Robicheaux series before and Not My Cup of Tea.

How often do they print his recent mysteries' review, Barb? Is it about once a month? Or maybe oftener? The 2-page book review section is in the PD every Sunday; I look forward to it. Here's a shorter link then you could just bookmark it or set it in you favorites, viogert. Hmmmmm, would that take you to a current version each time, I wonder? Les Roberts' current column, Cleveland Plain Dealer

Finished the Michael Connelly and loved it. Harry and McCaleb played nicely together in their own fashion. Started Minette Walters "The Shape of Snakes". I can see thus far, this will be one that she keeps fooling you right to the end. I do like her complicated puzzles that truly have no right or wrong answers. The Connelly had villains, but noone came out scott clean.. But he does that as well. James Lee Burke absolutely mesmerizes me, but like someone else wrote,, you cannot read a lot of his books in a row. They are so intense. I have the new one about his second hero..Billy Bob or Billy Joe or something. Just now my husband has it firmly in his clutches, but thats ok. Alias Grace is a powerful book. Margaret Atwood is a Canadian and does not write mysteries exactly. She is an excellent writer and I think has won some literary prizes as well. I like Sharon McCone about the best of the California women, although Laurie King has a heroine from San Francisco who is also good.

Jeryn...... I really don't know how often Les Roberts Reviews are out. This one just caught my eye because there were big pictures of the Book Jackets. I always read the Sunday reviews and save the the Best Sellers List. I'm still reading Lee Child RUNNING BLIND , this is my third Lee Child book in a row. Boy that Reacher has quite some mind doesn't he? And body too!!! I still have 7 books from my haul at the library on my shelf to read before the end of the month. Looks like I'll be renewing some unless there are some fast reads. I also bought a Marsha Grimes paperback today THE FIVE BELLS AND BLADEBONE. Just can't resist a good buy if it's one of my favorite authors.

Has anyone read anything by F. Jacquelyn Hallquist? Her books are very hard to find. My friend from Fla and I have been looking for them for over a year. I finally found one at my paperback book store last week THE HOUSE ON WIFFEN COVE. I may have to order from internet used book store if I can find some reasonable.

BARB

In reverse order

Gram62,Running Blind is a new one on me, puzzle puzzle, have not seen this in England.Have you read this Viogert?Yes, we women imagine Reacher as some kind of hunk, we have our own picture of him i suppose

Stephanie, glad you loved the Michael Connelly, he can't write fast enough as far as i am concerned.

Perkie, well precisely, what was there not to undestand about The English Patient? Yet so many people here came out of the cinema without a clue as to what had been perfectly plain to me.Just goes to show you we are not all of the same kind of understanding?Yes Margaret Atwood is a pretty prolific Canadian writer,has won the esteemed Booker Prize for literature in this country tho is true she is not a mystery writer

Minette Walters' Shape of Snakes was not so popular here.As wew have said we "expect" and it doesn't always pay?

.

For a long time I didn't think I would like it but I did! Couldn't put it down yesterday---what a lot of wonderful twists and turns she put me through. On to her next book.

Roidininki . . I looked up the missing title in Amazon.Com & found "Running Blind" was the book called "The Visitor" here - you remember, the 'bath full of paint' one?

I don't think Margaret Atwood's prolific enough. She has recently written a hilarious book on why people write. It's a book of lectures she gave & she is a very funny woman. It makes up for having published nothing since "The Blind Assassin" that won all those prizes. I couldn't make head nor tail of it to be honest. She writes a lot of poetry so that keeps me going.

Gran62. . I looked up Jacquelyn Hallquist in Amazon here & couldn't find her - probably because I typed her name wrong. Haha I'll look in Booksearch & report back.

Phyll . .I'm pleased you liked "The Ice House" in the end. She is such a nice woman - booksellers love her book-signings.

Roidininki, viogert, do either of you have any idea why novels [and other books too] are often published under different titles in Gr. Britain and the U.S.? They used to do that A LOT with Agatha Christie's stuff. And I noticed the esoteric Glorious Knits [Kaffe Fasset] had to be changed to Glorious Knitting for the U.S. market? Seems ridiculous, methinks, but IS there a reason other than some who-ha's notion of "marketing"?

Jeryn . . this has something to do with 'Rights' I think. When Nancy Pickard's "Bum Steer" was published here, they changed the name because 'bum' has only one meaning in UK. There are other words with two meanings like 'fanny' & 'ass' for instance. There was a booklet issued to the GI's before they were posted to Britain, warning them of pitfalls like that. The Lee Child title probably didn't sound exciting enough to some character in the Marketing Department & having bought the Rights to publish in the US, they bought the Rights to change the title if they wanted. With the Kaffe Fasset book I suspect 'Knits' phonetically suggested head lice. Can't have that.

I am in the middle of reading "Blue City" by Ross Macdonald at present. I'd forgotten how good he was.

Thanks for the link Perkie. She also has other books out that were not listed. DARK SECRETS OF GREYSTONE MNOR, SHADOWS OF BLACKBRIAR HALL. Hope in our travels, we can find some of these. Barb

Viogert,why are you so clever and i am so stupid[haha] i never thought to look that book up. Oh yes i remember The Visitor.Am still engrossed in the Ripley stories, there are beautiful descriptive passages about European cities contained within, i am almost there.

Re The Blind Asssassin i could not agree more and just how it managed to win the Booker prize that year i don't know.

But i have to disagree on your saying bum only has one meaning in England.We have bum.. rear end or buttocks?Also bum is a slang name for a down and out person, or a drunk or a rogue , even the dictionaries are having to include all these new words i believe.

Jeryn i have no idea why titles are changed but i'm sure Viogert is correct.

Another English author for you, Martina Cole.And a really good mystery book is The Amethysts by Frank Delaney.

My computer is at the shop, so I am posting this at my local library.

I finally read Hard 6 by Janet Evanovich and loved it. I have Seven Up in my stack of books I am taking home with me from the library.

Roidininki . . you are right about bum having more than one meaning in UK - what about 'bum-bailiffs'? Forgot about them. My Longmans dictionary called the vagrant, wastrel & scrounging bum "N.Amer informal".

Martina Cole is in the top of the best sellers with "Faceless" which I sent for thinking it would be good, but (for me) it turned into one of those fling-it-at-the-wall books - mostly because of the infantile prose. Describing the daughter of the protagonist: "Money was her God". I can't manage that stuff any more.

I have a theory about Margaret Atwood's "Blind Assassin". She's on the larky side & has a great sense of humour. So I suspect, out of mischief - (having come second for the Booker with two far superior books to a couple of male winners), - she wrote a complex enigmatic yarn nobody could unravel, so rather than be thought fools, they gave the prize to her just in case it turned out to be The Greatest Novel of All time - like 'Wuthering Heights' did. You have to laugh.

Viogert, as usual you have the most remarkable talent for ferreting things out.Have you ever read Wuthering heights? The dialect is difficult unless you have a good graspof pronunciation Did i tell you i live not far from Haworth Parsonage,and can look across the moors described in that book.

I mentioned Martina Cole just a name i see so frequently but have never been drawn to her sounds like i was using my intuition?

Roidininki . . everybody read all the Bronte's when I was a girl - Dickens, Stevenson, Hardy, Eliot - they were in people's book-cases & borrowable. I read anything - I used to read tram-tickets. Did I tell you I was born in the East Riding?

C.J.Box's first book - "Open Season" - came this morning & on the front it quotes Tony Hillerman, ("A great storyteller"), & Lee Child ("A great crime novel"). I read 13 pages & he's good. I'll let you know if he holds up.

viogert, thanks for that rational answer regarding changing titles when books are published back and forth in our English-speaking countries. I did know that "bum" was slang for derriere though you never hear it used that way here.

You know what Professor Higgins said: "Some places, English completely disappears... in America, they haven't spoken it in years!"

When I visited England, I had no trouble understanding everyone we came into contact with; same for reading British novels--can usually scope it out. BUT, let me tell you, in Scotland, "English disappears!" We tried to converse with a fellow in a bar but could barely catch every tenth word! So embarrassing as he seemed quite able to comprehend our every word!

I must have missed someone's [whose?] comment about The Blind Assassin... that is one book I could not even finish and felt like doing a little wall-flinging myownself! Atwood was having us on; I agree! Too bad. Some of her earlier books were quite good.

Just finished the above and liked it. Then I found "One False Move" on the shelf, and read that. Did not like it as much. The ending and the "who did it" seemed strange.

I went to Harlan Coban's web site, and there was an interview with Brian Gumble in which Coban explained that he needed to get away from the character who was the sports agent. He then explained how the idea for "Tell No One" came to him. Veddy interesting!

Just finished Elizabeth Lowell's book Midnight in Ruby Bayou and enjoyed it very much

Viogert, no you didn't tell me you came from England but i've had a feeling about you.Is reading tram tickets a clue as to wherabouts in the East Riding?[haha]Why do you never post in Geographical[England]Have noticed the posts on C.J. Box but is new to me.

Jeryn, you might have been able to understand the English variants according to where you were but we are talking old Yorkshire dialect in Wuthering Heights which is v. difficult to read.It was Viogert and i who were discussing The Blind Assassin a few posts back.

Catbird, i tried telling on here about Tell No One, as i never liked Harlen Coben's Myron character, and this book is the 1st without him and quite a decent read, also i read that it's going to be made into a movie

No kidding, Perkie?! To me a bum is still that poor, vagrant guy and "bumming around" is aimless wandering. Are you thinking of "buns of steel" maybe? <BG> Truly, I imagine that isn't the only regional difference in our idioms. I'll get H#@*& for this, but in parts of the southern states, English DOES completely disappear! <all in fun, folks!>

Have you ever heard Brooklynese? <grin--now I'm in trouble, too!> And out on Ocracoke Is. (Outer Banks, NC) the old-timers are called "Hoi Toiders" (trans. for all you in-landers: high tiders) and still speak with a cockney accent that could easily be within the sound of Bow Bells--they don't drop the "aitch", though.

When we traveled in Scotland we had trouble with the Highland accent but could get along pretty well with the Borders accent. The place I was truly lost and had to keep saying "Pardon?" was Yorkshire---sorry about that, my English friends, but 'tis true.

HI,I didn't know Linda Fairstein wrote Martha Vineyard stories.I will have to look for her books. I like books where the the author is discriptive about the locale in the story. I think that is why I so enjoy mysteries written about your homeland. I can always visualise where the story takes place.

I just finished both of James Pattersons new books. 2nd Chance was pretty good. "The Beach House", I really did not care for. If Pattersons name had been taped over I would never have thought he was the author. Of course he wrote it with another person and I get the feeling that it was written mostly by the other author and his name was just on it to sell.

Great stories, Phyll, Perkie! Indeed, regional accents can be a lot of fun once you get over the dismay! A midwesterner, born and raised, imagine my shock when I moved to East Tennessee at the tender age of 14! I thought all the high school teachers sounded ignorant! By the time we moved back up north five years later, I sounded sort of ignorant myself. So my peers in Ohio told me, anyway! Thus I learned that "ignorant" is NOT a regional speech pattern!

Hi there, NanaB!

Hi Jeriron. James Patterson should be ashamed of himself! But I suppose that is legal... makes you wonder what the unknown author PAID to have the bestselling guy's name linked with his?!

Jeryn:

I wondered about that too. there were two authors on the 2nd Chance book too. A different one. I think. Oh and yes my husbands name is Ron. Jeri

That is really a coincidence, jeriron! In real life, I'm known as "Jery" so you and your spouse and me and my spouse are both "Jer_ and Ron"!

I've started reading a new-to-me series of mysteries by Margaret Fraser. This one is called The Reeve's Tale and all appear to be based on medieval life. Interesting, so far, but I'll give a final opinion when I've finished it.

Viogert, just thought i'd ask are you giving Harlan Cobens new Gone For Good a whirl?Also see my last post to you.

NanaB, Linda Fairstein is always mentioning Marthas Vineyard and descriptions of food in her novels, the dust jacket says she also has a home there.I seem to have discovered her in reverse order. Am now going to begin her 1st book Final Jeopardy.

Hi How did I miss her I will definately look for her next visit to the library Phillip Craig also puts recipes in his stories.They always sound so good >All the frsh caught fish but I have never made any. Your name fascinates me(VBG)

Hi all, I just finished a Robert Parker non Spencer story. It is Death in Paradise A Jesse Stone Story.Jesse is a police man in the fictional town of Paradise in Massachusettes I am surprised he used a fictional town because he usually uses real places. I like Robert Parker's writing.It isn't earth shattering but I find his work so easy to read.

and laughed my way through Anne George's Murder Carries a Torch, one of her Sisters Mysteries. I loved this book and I definitely will pick up more of hers!

Until our Rodikikini from England brought it to my attention Phillip Craig was the only author i knew who wrote about Martha's Viveyard. It seems more and more authors are writing with other authors I wonder why that is.

Nana B, don't worry but you missed an "i"[haha]just call me roidi.Perkie semms to have it a bit wrong, the stories talk about Marthas Vineyard.

Has anyone discovered Scott Phillips? Apparently he had a[quote]"stylish dark debut novel debut mystery novel out last year that was short listed for a number of mystery writing awards The Ice Harvest"Now followed by The Walkaway, sounds o.k so i'll go check now to see if he has a website

I just finished reading this last night, and I'm completely confused about what happened at the end. Has anyone else read that and can explain it to me. The trouble with me is that if something is implied, it goes right past me. I thought the book in general one of her best, but I'd sure like to know what happened to the characters, especially Gemma.

And I thought I included all the I's and N's (lol) I am going to the library tomorrow and look up Linda Fairnstein .I think I will like her writing. An awful thing happened I finished all the books I took from the library last week but wasn't able to get to the library today.(sighing) Have to find something to read till then.

Nana B..... I'mjust the opposite, I've got so many books from the library waiting to be read that I will never finish them all before the due date. I had put in a request for some of the books recommended here and they all came in at one time. Some are new and not renewable, others I can renew from my computer at home which is very convenient. I'm presently reading The Scolds Bridle by Minette Walters and I think its very good. I have a feeling there will be a surprise ending.

I just saw a movie of that on BBC America recently. Quite a contraption.

I usually plan it so that when I finish all the books I head to the library.Something unexpected came up which prevented from going this week.But all's well I just returned with a new stash(lol) Re newing on line That is a great idea My library has a web site I will have to see if books can be renewed on line.

Hi everyone. Nana it's quite o.k [lol]I'm reading Tender Is The Night at present no mysteries to read.

Oh yes, The Scolds Bridle was v. well done on t.v.

Minette Walters.. Every single one of her books has a twist. Scolds Bridle is no exception. The Sculptress is the scariest. You are left with lingering doubts about who fooled who.

Just finished reading several of Hager's books. She has two series--one about Chief of Police Bushyhead, and the other about Mollie Bearpaw. They are well written and enjoyable. FlaJean

It was on BBC America.

I saw The Sculptress, but not Scolds Bridle.

I love Hillerman's books, too, Perkie.

I saw on-line that PBS is doing Hillerman's "Skinwalkers" on Mystery in the fall. Apparently it has been filmed by Robert Redford's movie production company so I'm hoping that the scenery will be authentic to the "Four Corners" area. I am really looking forward to it.

Thanks for the positive review of Hillerman's new book, Perkie. I'm on the waiting list for it.

Would LOVE to see some of Hillerman's stories made into films! That's good news, Phyll! ...IF they do a good job of it, of course.

Love Hillerman.. But oh please dont let them pretty up the reservation or the Indians or the police. Hillerman is a true grit type writer and I love it.. Glamour is not what we need.

But that part of the country is so beautiful that I hope that we can see it and not just the inside of a police station or all the scenes shot inside somewhere. But Hillerman's action all seems to take place out in the canyons and on the reservations, etc. of the Four Corners Country so hopefully we will see a lot of it, the good and the bad.

I've just really discovered Jane Langton who writes delightful mysteries set in New England. Maybe you can add her to the favorites list.

Perkie,

Have you read The Face on the Wall? That just fascinated me. I wanted to get out a box of colored pencils and color the drawings. Her writing is spellbinding.

Oh dear, another name to add to my list!

I did say I'd report back on The Reeve's Tale by Margaret Frazer. Not bad. Not startlingly wonderful but not bad. I'd certainly recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in Medieval times. The author seems pretty well versed and the cultural aspects are fascinating.

Hi I am reading Marcia Mueller's latest Sharon Mc Cone Mystery "Dead Midnight". Sharon has been asked to investigate a suicide by the victims parents who are planning a law suit against the company he worked . They believe the aggressive work practices in the company caused thier son to commit suicide. I just started it but so far it is intriguing

Nana B... I have Dead Midnight on my request list from the library. I guess I'm behind times because I'm just now reading Mullers" A Walk ThroughFire. I don't know how I missed this one but I guess I was just too busy gathering all the other books recommended here. Let us know how Midnight is. Barb

Hi Gram So far I am enjoying it.I usually read all of the Sharon Cone But I don't recall Walk Thru Fire. Is that where she discovers her birth family?? I didn't know about that and she mentions it in this book. Oh I can see how one can overlook a book with so many suggestions being made. A few weks ago I was reading all fiction but now it seems everything that appeals to me is a "mystery". I have seen your name in Fiction Does that happen to you also or do you take out a mix of mystery and fiction??

Nana B... I see we are posting about the same time. I haven't gotten into A walk through Fire yet, but it seems to be set in Hawaii. I read a combintion of fiction, romance, mystery, newspapers, cereal boxes, billboards etc. In other words reading is a very important part of my life(always has been) along with my husband, grandkids, and cats in that order. Barb

Barb, I really liked your statement, "I read a combination of fiction, romance, mystery, newspapers, cereal boxes, billboards etc. In other words reading is a very important part of my life(always has been) along with my husband, grandkids, and cats in that order." Very much expressed my philosophies as well!

You and NanaB are making Sharon Cone [or is it McCone?] sound pretty good--adding her to my list. How do you all keep your "to-read" lists? I've ended up with half a dozen scraps torn from a steno pad, each covered with several dozen authors' names! My purse runneth over!

Thanks for that author, Perkie--actually I found, to my surprise, that it WAS quite fascinating to learn some of the oddities of life in Medieval times. Incidently, made me very glad to be alive in the 21st century instead!

I've picked up a new book to read based on a recommendation from someone of you...Fool's Puzzle by Earlene Fowler.

Perkie--

Her characters don't seem to develop in the way Elizabeth George's do, it's the locale where she sets the book, and the literary or musical thing that is the basis. Do try to find Face on the Wall. The concept behind it, and her drawings illustrating the concept are a real treat.

You are correct.It is McCone it has been so hot here the last four days ,a real heatwave .I was most likely (sub conciously) thinking of an ice cream CONE(lol) Our library has these book bags with thier logo on,which can be purchased to help the Friends of the Library.They have a little pocket inside If there is a book I want to remeber to get I write it on a list and keep it in the book bag. Doen't always work but most times it does.

I like Sharon the best of all of the California detectives. I have just picked up a new ( paperback) Dana Stabenow.. It is last years new book, but I tend to wait until they come out in paperback. I just finished a James Lee Burke.. The newest Billy Bob and did not like it.. T his was is dark indeed. No heroes, no likeable characters. Very grim. I was disappointed. Billy Bob seems to have had a sense of humor and that is now gone..

Have just completed serveral of Sister Carol Anne O'Marie's books that feature two elderly semi-retired nuns--Sister Mary Helen and Eileen. Light mysteries but with very down-to-earth and interesting characters. Enjoyable.

Hope everyone had a good 4th. We took the grands to see a fabulous fireworks display.We took a blanket, some snacks and drinks and throughlt enjoyed the evening. Jeryn... I keep several sheets of typing paper (papercliped together)next to my computer. When I"m reading the posts I write down the author then the title, then try a remember to take it with me to the library or bookstore. I need to reorganize my list into genre etc. I think I will begin to use a spiral notebook. I use this list mostly when I go online to my library to see if they have the book or can order it. When I go without my list my mind draws a blank and I come home with books I'm not sure I want. I finished Nevada Barr's Hunting Season. Very good. I think I like her best next to Sue Grafton. This week I'm reding something a little lighter, The Provence books by Peter Mayle as recommended by Jeryn

I like the idea of the book bag, NanaB. I used to have one. Boy, things got so disorganized when we moved. Three years already and I haven't seen that thing. Hmmmmmm; can't believe how much time I've spent this past three years just LOOKING for stuff!

Thanks for the review, Stephanie... even if negative, that is useful. I read one, just one, by Burke and did not like it at all. Yet I know some people dote on his series.

Thanks for your recommendation, FlaJean!

Gawrsh, Barb, sure hope you like the Peter Mayle books. Amusing, yes, but not mysteries, I hope you knew? Glad you enjoyed your Fourth; more fun with kids along, I bet!

That is admirable, Perkie! I started a list in MS Word some time ago and forgot all about it--always just scribbling on whatever is handy! Don't know why I'm in a hurry; I have plenty of time, too!

I just finished James Patterson's book Ist To Die and it was good. Kept me guessing all the way. Great book

I received a copy of Patterson's book from the Book Exchange. It sounds like a very good read. Thanks for the thumbs up for it:-)

Just finished 2 by Baxt, very funny! Thanks to whoever recommended him....(senior moment here)!

Nettie, It was me,, says me.. I loved George Baxt. He only wrote a few and the ones he wrote were "Choice". I laughed so hard in them.Pharoh was a trip. I like First to Die.. I listened rather than read, but I liked it. Perkie, No Stephanie Plum.. Ah well different strokes. But my Corgi friend , we go to look at a rescue tomorrow named Dexter. He has been loved and ignored and is not cut, so we will see. Our gentle female may or maynot be able to cope.

Thanks Stephanie! One that I read was about Dorothy Parker and the other about a mystery writer.

I just got 2 by Parnell Hall. 'Puzzled to Death' and 'Cozy'. I had previously read 'A Clue For the Puzzle Lady' which I enjoyed.

The Puzzle Lady turns me off; Stephanie Plum turns me off; can't stand those two idiot sisters from Georgia; but just finished my first Albenia Harper [Fool's Puzzle] and thought it was sort of cute. There's no accounting, is there?!!!

Hey! I found my book bag!

Bennie.. Yes I read at least one by that author. I am with you on the Ann George stuff. Dont like the sisters. I have a new book.. Never heard of the author. It is about 1840's NY.. Hero is EA Poe and a street kid.. Sort of fun thus far.

The hero is THE Edgar Allen Poe, Stephanie? That's sounds really different!

And I had a fruitful trip to the library today bagging Jane Langton's The Face on the Wall! Someone in here highly recommended it, I believe?

Jeryn--

Jane Langton: that was me (I?) Have you looked at the sketches yet? Do let me know how you like the book. To me the basic story was not the big thing; it was her concept of what she was going to do with that wall, and the sketches as her plan evolved. Quite often I find that the surroundings and the basic source for the book are more interesting than the 'mystery'. Just finished one about a total eclipse of the sun on Nantucket in which I learned a lot about tides, and she puts forth what seems to be a very rational explanation for the parting of the sea when the Israelites crossed from Egypt.

Hello everyone, just brought a book out of my library, by a new American author Kelly Lange, called The Reporter, published this year, printed in America. [website twbookmark.com]In the preface is a dedication"in homage to the great Sue Grafton"Has anyone come across this book?Will report back.

Semms like everyone loved !st to die and here, i've been ignoring James Patterson for a long time now, he got sort of boring but if you say so.....now i might give him another chance.

"On Night's Shore" by Randall Silvis. The hero is Edgar Allen Poe and Augie Dubbins. I just really got started with it, but it is good so far. Nice touches on the New York city area at that point in time.

I'm reading the book, jeanlock. An auspicious beginning and, yes indeed, delightful drawings by the author. I'm only looking at them as they come up with the text--I like to be surprised! What was the title of the one on Nantucket? Also by Jane Langton?

Thanks, Stephanie. Let us know your opinion after the final page is turned and read!

Well, Roidininki, that's in its favor--being dedicated to Sue Grafton! Do report back after reading it.

Perkie--

Yes, Dark Nantucket Noon, with drawings of the eclipse.

Jeryn--

As I read the descriptions of what she was painting, I just HAD to leaf through and pick the characters out in the drawings. My fingers still itch for a set of coloring pencils. When I get the book back from whomever I lent it to.

There's another--something about Memorial Hall which has a backdrop of a chorus practicing for Handel's Messiah.

Whew, Perkie... you must take home SERIOUS amounts of book from your library!

I'm about halfway through The Face on the Wall and like it a lot so far, jeanlock! It's neat that there are several mini-plots going on, all tied together by the common characters, the Kellys and their niece, Annie. This is fun!

Roidininki I've been away so didn't read your question about trams. We had these super trams in Hull. Reading past messages, you mentioned Scott Phillips. Well, I wouldn't touch him again with a long prop - he's a sort of man's writer with naked girls in a bar - deep snow outside. They refer to him as 'noir'. Noir usually means dead blondes.

I sent for a big fat book called "The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Modern Crime Fiction" & so I looked up Kelly Lange for you but she wasn't there. I looked in Amazon co uk & found a very mixed reception to one book. One reviewer said "I wish I could give this book 0 stars. It shocked me a bit, but another reader gave her 5 stars. One thing I have learned from the mammoth book, is that writers come in groups. The editor - at the end of each entry on an author - writes: "Similar stuff", & enters other authors who resemble them. In every case, he is absolutely right for me. The 'similar' authors are always ones I like too. It's useful.

viogert Amazon here in the USA also provides that useful information. Sometimes I learn about a new author (to me).

I plan to start James Patterson's 1st To Die today.

Jeryn--

Yes, her books are, as someone in my Long Island book club used to say, "a fun read". I can't remember the title of the one about Walden Pond. She can impart fact, knit a good story, and keep it light. A nice talent.

gaj - - - yes, I do too - in both Amazons - because the readers reviews are not the same.

I have just finished an unusual mystery by Marshall Browne (an Australian) called "The Wooden Leg of Inspector Anders" set in Italy. I was quite impressed.

Finished the Edgar Allen Poe mystery. It was OK.. I will probably get and read the second in the series. It was a bit convoluted and had no heroes as such. A little difficult in some areas.. Langton. Kelly.. I liked the books, although sometimes she gets a bit old fashioned. Still loved the Cambridge ones.

Just finished Skulduggery (published in 1984)about Dr. Cristie that had a good review here some time back. It was a good read so got another of her books (published in 1999) but it had a different protagonist, Henrie O, --also a good read. My husband bought me a nice canvas bag sold by "Friends of the Library" but it doesn't have a pocket that several of you have described. Guess I'll have to sew one on to keep my list of want to read books. lol

Thanks all, for more good ideas and reviews of your current mystery reading.

jeanlock, I finished The Face on the Wall... I too recommend it highly! The best light mystery I've read in a looooong time, really well done. All tied together at the end without seeming too "pat". And the drawings are just superb. Does she illustrate all her mysteries? Either way, I'll be looking for some more of her.

Jeryn--

Yes, she does illustrate them all. I'm SO glad you enjoyed the book. I sometimes hesitate to be too enthusiastic about a book because tastes do differ, and I'm sometimes off on an island of my own. She has one about Emily Dickinsons home, too.

Also: a man named Iain Pears has written a series of books based on art history in Italy. They are amusing, do teach a bit about art, and have a continuing cast of characters. My friend, Alice, told me the other day that she had just finished one she got from the library and that in the end, this VERY disparate group of characters all join in some endeavor. Not related to the foregoing. And she thinks this means that Pears won't be writing any more about them. That's possible. He wrote a very good long novel "An Instance of the Fingerpost", and now has another out which has been well-reviewed--has the word Scipio in the title. So maybe he's going to concentrate on his 'serious' literature.

Perkie - - I'm really grateful for that link - thank you very much for it. I had completely forgotten where I heard of Marchall Browne too - he is totally different from anyone else I ever read.

George Baxt was a movie screenwriter at some point, so the gossip might be true. The ones I loved were based in New York, were written late in his life/ The most famous were a trilogy based on Pharoah Love and set in the homosexual underground of New York in the mid 60's. The books were: A Queeer Kind of Death, Swing Low, Sweet Harriet and Topsy and Evil. I also read A Parade of Cockeyed Creature and I! SAid the Demon. The hero there was a Max Plotkin. Then he turned to the famous people type mysteries which I did not like as much. I also read a book called The Affair at Royalties, which he wrote as a straight forward, not funny mystery. Hope the titles above will help, but the ones I liked were written in the mid to late 60's and are probably not available except in larger libraries.

It's hard to find some of the older mysteries in bookstores anymore. I guess they only have so much space for mysteries and things like Hard 8 and all those alphabet letters <BG> take up a lot of room! Whatever sells, you know.

jeanlock, perkie, I read one of those Ian Pears books with the Italian police chief--don't recall the title but it was interesting. Are you saying that Instance of the Fingerpost is NOT a mystery, not of that series?

Jeryn--

No, 'Instance of the Fingerpost' is not another mystery. It's a very long book and very much different from his art mysteries. I suspect he wrote the art histories to pay the rent while he writes the more serious books. Fingerpost is very long, and it did take me quite a long time to read it (and I don't think I know YET what a fingerpost is), but I did enjoy it.

I watched the tape of the last episode of 'Forgotten' last night. And don't understand just what happened. Can anyone explain it to a dim old lady?

If you are dim then I am dense. I don't really know what happened either unless he whispered to her where her daughter was buried so that would have made him the murderer, after all? Sometimes the point of these stories gets lost when the writer's try so HARD to fool the viewer/reader. That seems to me to be what is happening to the Minetter Walters books. I have tried reading them in sequence and loved the first two, liked the 3rd, but am getting a little annoyed with her sooooo obvious effort to put a twist on everything. I had a real struggle to even finish The Echo. Think I'll move on to someone else for awhile.

Phyll--

That's sort of why I tape those things. I can then go back and replay the final episode til it does sink in. I'm afraid that I'm just not of a subtle sort of mind. It has to be laid out and labelled before I can catch on.

I think the end of "Forgotten" is suppose to leave you guessing. He either revealed where he buried Anne or he made up a place to give her mother some peace.......Mary

Does that mean he really did kill Annie? Who killed Katie?

A few days ago I finished a book that really is so-o-o good. I was just browsing along the bookshelves not knowing what I wanted when I found it. I came to Carole Nelson Douglas but there was no new Midnight Louie book. What I found is a book entitled Chapel Noir. It has Sherlock Holmes and Jack the Ripper in it and Irene Adler to solve the mystery. It is set in Paris during the Victorian age. The mystery and intrigue keeps you reading but they way it ends ~~~ the next book is Caste Rouge. It's not on the shelves yet, but I can't wait!!!!

There are other Irene Adler books but they aren't shelved with the mysteries so I hadn't seen them before.

Thanks, jeanlock... I'd like to read it but I'd surely have been disappointed if I was expecting a mystery!

Thanks for the review, Louise. Is Irene Adler the author or one of the characters in that book?

Is anyone here still following the Nero Wolfe series on A&E? Any guesses as to who the murderer is going to be on this latest two-parter, "The Silent Speaker"? Part 2 next Sunday night...

Isn't she from one of the Sherlock Holmes stories?

Jeryn -- I saw last weeks part one. Ray and I didn't realize it was a two parter until the end!

Oh, gaj! I didn't either! If I'd known, I'd have waited to watch it all at once since I tape them for later viewing anyway.

I forgot to watch Sunday night...the week before they'd not had it on. Last Sunday we got home late and I forgot about it. I'll have to make a note to try and rememeber this Sunday night. I watch so little TV that I tend to forget to tune in Nero. I do enjoy them immensely.

Jane, they might show a rerun of last Sunday's Nero Wolfe... late at night Friday or Saturday? Check your local listings!

Just finished my first book (the only one my library had) by Jane Langton, The Escher Twist. I loved it! Thanks for the recommendation.

Perkie--

Thank you for the esplanation. And, yes, it makes perfect sense in the context of the book. The book really is a 'mystery', but not a mystery. I'm really thinking of reading it again because the first time through, I was so caught up in finding out the 'truth'. Next time I can enjoy the writing, etc.

Nettie--

OOOOH, that sounds great. The Escher Twist. Not only is she creative in her writing, but her titles are great, too. Must keep a lookout for it.

I really did not know about Irene Adler because I have not read too many of the Sherlock Homes stories. When I go to the library tomorrow I am going to look the other Irene Adler books up because except for Chapel Noir they are not with the mysteries. I do hope Castle Rouge continues where Chapel Noir leaves off. One of the characters is in a terrible situation.

I am surprised that the Irene Adler are not with the mysteries. They are mysteries.. I liked them, but did not like the Midnight Louie stuff. Science fiction of hers is not my cup of tea.

Found a new ( to me) author. Anna Salter.. Just finished the latest paperback "Prison Blues". Her heroine is a forensic psychologists, who works with criminals that are molesters, etc. Fascinating quirky woman who is 8 months pregnant in the book and does not let it slow her down one bit. I just went to the library and they had one of her older ones..She has written four thus far. So even though they did not have the first, I will read the one they had. Second in line, actually. I recommend her to all who can deal with a hard nosed woman. This is not a cozy..

Hello Mystery Lovers, I'm back and did a search for Joesphine Tey and see the last reference here to her was in February so let me quickly say A Common Reader is doing a big plug on her (if you don't get their catalogue, free, you want one) and I've read her Brat Farrar and it's quite good, I enjoyed it immensely. I THOUGHT I had guessed hu dun it (I almost never am good enough) and I was right, if you read it, tell us if you did.

When you read it you are IN an English Country House and you are riding out on your horse in the morning (if you like horses, you can relate to this one) and it's quite good. It's not new and neither was she, but Scribner's I think it is has come out with beautifully designed paperbacks very fine good print and it's a joy to read, I've been snapping up her others, hope they are as good.

There's a new AGATHA RAISIN out! I always consider a new book by MC Beaton a reaward for a long day and her newest Agatha Raisin is called Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came, loks like a winner, I've got it but have not started it yet.

Have now read all but one of the Ripley's and I must say I'm going to miss Tom Ripley, have not read the 5th or 6ths one, the Boy Who Followed Ripley, saving it for a last treat I must say I read another Highsmith and did not like it at all, it was almost nasty, in her later Ripleys she attained a feeling that Anne Rivers Siddons did in her The House Next Door (which she has never mastered again, either, in my opinion) that is not present so far in her other books.

ginny

I just finished 'The Ivory Dagger' by Patricia Wentworth. I hadn't read any of her books for years. But several were on sale at the library last time I was there, so picked them up. Miss Silver is quite a bit like Miss Marple. It was quite good, and all wasn't made clear till just about the last page.

Now I'm beginning an O'Hara book also from the library. Pages are so yellow, type is so small it's sort of an effort. But it does remind me of when I used to read all his books.

New from Bantam Dell

Chopping Spree by Diane Mott Davidson
New York Times bestselling author Diane Mott Davidson has prepared another irresistibly tempting tale spiced with mystery and mayhem, as caterer-turned-sleuth Goldy Schulz finds herself in hot water when she sets out to catch a killer with a secret recipe for murder. Between whipping up Sweethearts' Swedish Meatballs, Quiche Me Quick, and Diamond Lovers' Hot Crab Dip and digging up clues, Goldy knows this is going to be one tough case to crack. Her gourmet sleuth's instinct tells her that the final course will be a real killer.

THANKS, Ginny Ann. I'm a Goldy fan of long standing. Now I can give this title to my Librarian and ask to be the Waiting List when it comes in.

Oh boy, lots of good reviews in here today! [My lists are growing longer and longer...and longer...]

I note that Perri O'Shaugnessy has a new book coming out this month, for those of you who like the feisty Lake Tahoe attorney, Nina Reilly. Shucks, I forgot the title already...

I'm just starting my first Carolyn Hart mystery and so far, it's quite entertaining. It's called Sugarplum Dead as I have myself a little Christmas in July!

When I went to the library after the Salter book, I also checked out the Abigail Padgett section and found a wonderful new series book she has written. It is about a woman who is a social psychologist named "Blue". This is the second of the series and I must hunt for the first since the second was quite good. Josephine Tey.. was a wonderful writer. I have probably read all of her books. The thing is that they are generally quite different from one another. She was a curious woman who wrote about things that interested her. Good books. Still have not attempted the Ripley things. Maybe some day, but not quite yet.

When talking about Josephine Tey, one must mention her novel, Daughter of Time in which the detective is in the hospital, and to keep his mind occupied decides to do an investigation into whether Richard III actually did murder the little princes in the tower. Very interesting.

Along the same line, there was a Morse episode about his being in the hospital and re-investigating a murder that had occurred many years before. That one is The Wench is Dead.

Josephine Tey's books are classics. I read them all many years ago; one of these days, I'd like to reread them, since every one of 'em is sitting right on my bookcase! No, I lied; I didn't much care for Daughter of Time and gave that one away.

And I just BOUGHT Daugher of Time based on what Jeanlock said! hahahahahah

Just came from the B&N here so I guess once I finally finish Cabinet of the Curiosities I will begin it and see if it's as good as Brat Farrer, it sounds delightful.

I also have just started Ian Pears The Dream of Scipio and it is soo good and so rich I find myself putting it down just to savor it, good good book, have you all read it, I did not do a search, sorry, trying to make up for lost time here.

ginny

I can't imagine how I have missed out on Josephine Tey, but obviously I will have to correct that deficiency. Sounds as though she has written enough books to keep me busy into the fall! ...Babi

Hi: my nom is cappie, I am 64 yrs old & a mum of a grown son & daughter & gramma of 3 girls 18, 14 & 8. I am retired & just lost my mum last year to Alzheiers disease after caring for her for 5yrs. I live in Stoneham Mass & am disabled with a rare nerve disease (numb from neck down especially hands & feet) so I rarely get out because walking is difficult. SO I love to read & mysteries are my very favorite! I especially love women writers & strong women protagonists. Among my favorites are Linda Barnes (i grew up in Cambridge Ma) Marcia Muller, Lee Harris, Faye Kellerman, Nevada Barr, -- you get the idea.

Jeryn: if you cannot get an older book at your library they can sometimes be had on -line to buy at http://www.half.com for very little money.

Thanks for the tip and WELCOME to our Mystery Group, casppie! So glad you found us. Come back often as we offer lots of good ideas for your next [and the next and the next!] read! And we hope to hear more from YOU as to what you liked best.

I like "strong women protagonists" too. Have you tried the V.I. Warshawski series? She's one of the strongest female protagonists around! <BG> The author's name is Sara Paretsky. And I'm sure you've probably already discovered Sue Grafton?

For those who like women protagonists in their mysteries, be sure to check our last link in the heading, Women Whodunit for lots more ideas.

Jeryn: yes I've read all of Paretsky & am awaiting her next book with anticipation. Right now I am reading Lee Harris' stories about former Nun Christine Bennet. Not exactly a cozy but they are amateure sleuth type. VERY plesant books--I have only 3 more in the series to go. I hate when I finish a series because then I need to wait till the next is written! Cappie

I notice that at least one author on our voting list for Master Mystery Writer is scheduled to be at the National Book Festival in Oct. ....Tony Hillerman. I plan on being there, and will definitely plan to attend his session.

I checked out two Josephine Tey books the other day, and discovered that I have read some of her books after all. It has just been so long ago that I had forgotten. I am re-reading "Brat Ferrar", which I quickly remembered as one I had liked very much, and "A Shilling for Candles" is waiting in the wings. An easy, fast, and very pleasurable read. ...Babi

I noticed the master list but have not found where or how to vote for or nominate anyone.

cappie

YES, Mystery Fans, not only Tony HIllerman but if you like Mary Higgins Clark and her daughter Carole Higgins Clark, they, too, will be at the National Book Festival in Washington DC and so will we, do try to come October 10-13, you will be so glad you did!

casppie, I'm not sure how Jeryn is doing that, she'll have to let us know if voting is still going on.

Babi, were you able to guess HU DUN IT in the BRat Farrer or do you remember? Don't give it away, but did you guess it before it was revealed? Let us know how you like a Shilling for Candles. I agree, they are very enjoyable, I actually hated to leave the Country House and my morning rides, hahahahaa.

Mystery Lovers Alert! Don't know if you all are watching the new Mystery Series on Monday nights on PBS, but it's something about the original Sherlock Holmes or how Arthur Conan Doyle wrote or something, but ALERT! Ian Richardson is in the cast, you remember him as the sinister Prime MInister in House of Cards and To Play the King, he was also in Gormenghast, he's super!! Any time you can see him it's a treat, are you watching this series? I'm taping the first one (for me) at 9 pm this Monday.

I have a thing about Sherlock Holmes, have just bought as I said a while back all the CDs of the original radio broadcasts with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, Anthony Boucher and Dennis Greene adapted Arthur Conan Doyle's stories for a (wartime audience in the 40's and they are just delightful. The commercials alone are worh the price of the CD's. I need to go read something about Basil Rathbone, I know nothing about him. All those who are alive who tape reminiscenes about the show have super things to say about Nigel Bruce, etc., but nobody says ANYTHING About Rathbone, do you all know anything about him?

To me HE is the quintessential Sherlock Holmes, but I know a lot of people don't agree, I'm going to look for a book on him, wonder why he's so mysterious?

Would you all say that generally you figure out Hu Dun It before it's revealed or not? I almost never do, almost never. Just finished The Cabinet of Curiosities (don't buy it) and even when HU was thrown before me in the last few pages I still didn't realize HU or WHY.

Bad book, actually, very gory.

ginny

Loved the Abigail Padgett I just finished. Blue is quite an interesting protagonist. A very strong woman. Not a cozy, but a good mystery. Then I tackled a Eleanor Taylor Bland.. Its ok, but a bit longer than it needed to be and a bit extra plot that didnt make too much sense. Still nice to have a heroine who is a woman of color.

Stephanie: I have just started reading her series & am liking them. Not too gory & a good new protag. Very good writing without obvious plot contrivances (which drive me nuts as I consider them a lazy author's trick). Just finished New Year's Eve Murder & Mother's Day Murder by Lee Harris. Easy light pleasant reading. Anyone read any by Harris?

For those of you who like discussing real life mysteries:

Click here to visit our discussion of Court TV

dapph

Actually, casppie, I believe there is room for one more nomination in that chart so if you would like to suggest a favorite, please do! Just put the name in your next post and I'll see it and add it to the heading.

I'm delighted to hear there will be some mystery writers at the National Book Festival; heaven knows, mysteries are certainly popular in this country!

Jeryn: I MUST nominate one of the first (if not THE first) writers to publish a series with a strong female PI -- Marcia Muller!

She is one of the few writers whose protag has continued to grow & change, whose life I am still actively interested in, who has matured along with the author's writing.

CAPPIE

Ginny, there was never any question in my mind about HU DUN IT in "Brat Farrar", just how on earth could anyone prove it. A Shilling for Candles was iffy. (I added a couple more lines to this post, and then deleted them as giving away too much.) ..Babi

Babi, Brat Farrer was one of the few ones I figured out, I must read the Daughter of Time next as I love the premise, and then will try the Shilling one, (IFFY?) let me see if I can guess it or when and we'll compare notes.

Jeryn, you are so right, any person who looks at the Best Seller Lists can't miss the fact that it's full to the brim with mystery writers, I wondeer why?

Dapphne, good to see you here, I lvoe Court TV and was transfixed with the Menendez Brothers Trial, that was the first one I ever saw, unfortunately our Satellite company has cut if off our offerings, it's gone digital apparently, too bad.

I understand Dominick Dunne is going to write more on the Menendez brothers, something came out in the trial that he reveals in the latest edition of Vanity Fair that I never knew: that is, the mother was shot deliberately, apparently, and not very nicely in sequence, quite unlike what the brothers said.

Dunne lost his own daughter to a murderer who got off apparently with a slap on the writst and he's been on fire ever since to see justice, as in the Moxley case.

Well true to form, as is for our Book Discussions, I went to our B&N Bookstore and there was a new book LONG LONG out of print on Basil Rathbone (there are two, one his own autobiography and one $60 out of print one by somebody else) so thinking this was an "omen," hahaha I ordered this now available, long out of print book and am very excited that we seem to be in the forefront here, always, of what's happening.

Where is Roidinski?? (she will hate my mispelling of her name0 hahahaahah

Apparently Basil Rathbone has some startling things to say about Sherlock Holmes, the character, when I find out what they are, I'll tell you.

ginny

Ginny--

The PBS Mystery series The Murder Rooms is another set of stories about how Conan Doyle got his input for the Sherlock stories. I saw the first set, and liked them.

There you go, casppie! Marcia Muller's name and YOURS right there on the chart now.

After reading the posts here, I've picked up my old copy of Brat Ferrar for a second [third?] perusal. Trouble is, after chapter 2, already I REMEMBER a lot of what happens! A memorable plot, folks, to stick with ME so many years!

[How's that for a recommendation!] <BG>

I love Marcia Muller and think like you, that Sharon has grown over the years. The plots are always good and always different which has to be difficult over the years. Josephine Tey.. Oh,, Daughter of Time is a wonderful book. I must have reread it ten times over the years. One of her finest.

Perkie--

I go to the library book sales each month, and have increased my library substantially with old favorites. Got several Miss Silvers. And some interesting (to me, at least)biographies.

I just finished Nelson DeMille's The Talbot Odyssey

Normally I love DeMille, I will never forget The Charm School many years ago. This one did not get it for me. I'd give it a 1

More courtroom scenes than Lake Tahoe, sorry to say, Perkie! A strong, woman protagonist though, folks! [A series by Perri O'Shaughnessy]

I liked Nelson DeMille's earlier books too, Judy, but don't even bother with him anymore. I think it was about the third one back that started turning me OFF--can't recall the title but there was a yucky scene where someone was kept prisoner, bound and gagged, that left a baaaad taste in my mouth!

The Miss Silvers mysteries sound like my cup of tea. Who wrote them?

Yes, please tell us, who wrote them? They sound good to me also. Leann

Angelknutson and FlaJean: Patricia Wentworth wrote a series of Miss Silver Mysteries...some titles are:

Out of the Past: A Miss Silver Mystery
Eternity Ring (A Miss Silver Mystery)
The Key: A Miss Silver Mystery

I think I read one or so many years ago. I'm going to check at the Library again. They just got me Chopping Spree by Diane Mott Davidson, but I haven't started it yet. Still reading Bel Canto , which isn't a mystery (or I don't think it is yet) and it's off to a good start.

FlaJean

Patricia Wentworth wrote the Miss Silver books.

Additional titles:

The Clock Strikes Twelve
Latter End
Spotlight
Ladies' Bane
The Ivory Dagger

You know, Amazon has access to used books, so if you do a search at their site, you can probably locate some. And their used books are cheaper, of course.

http://half.com has useed books which are cheaper than Amazon & their shipping is less also.

ps my nom is C A P P I E without an s

Maybe if you click on "Preferences" [one of the green buttons], Cappie, you can get that "S" out of your SN moniker ... if you want to?

Well, folks, we are going to install a new CPU onto my computer this afternoon later... if you don't see my "smiling face" in here for a few days, you'll understand that all is not going smoothly! Keep fingers crossed, everyone!

Good luck, Jeryn! You'll love a new CPU, I'm sure. Nothing like new computer "stuff!"

š jane›

thanks Jeryn: I tried but it puts the s in anyway

Cappie

Cappie...after you make the change by clicking on the Preferences button below, be sure you go clear to the bottom of the page and click the SET PREFERENCES button. Yesterday there was a glitch in the software and new changes weren't being set. Try again today and see if you have better luck. If not, please email me and I'll see if I can get help for you changing that username.

š jane›

I have been left in the dust behind you. They are fun books, somehow I stopped with Face Down Among the Winchester Geese. Gotta get back to them

I just tried to e-mail you and it bounced back to me. Please e-mail me so I can get the correct address.

Just finished up 2 by Frances Fyfield, interesting characters.

I've just begun my first Josephine Tey, as recommended by many here.

Thank you all for the good suggestions.

Thanks for helping Cappie, Jane. I forgot about that "low down" SET button! I hope she can fix it the way she wants it now...

Thanks for the review, Perkie.

gaj, left in the dust? At least you're not Face Down in the dust! We hope...

Hi there and WELCOME back to "Mystery Corner", Nettie. What sort of mysteries does Frances Fyfield write?

I just finished a rereading of Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey after many years; it still entertained, but I remembered the ending. Which tells me that it is pretty memorable! I think I'll reread the others I have, as a treat, just now and then.

I finally found a copy of Going Local which I THINK is the first in the "Blue Deer" series by Jamie Harrison. An Unpleasant Prairie Occurrence was sort of cute so thought I'd keep reading them.

Here is a link to her page...

http://www.figuresdestyle.com/fyfield/index_en.htm

My computer broke down - disintegrated completely, accumulating a new one took a bit of time, but while I was hanging around, I found a quote in that Mammoth Encyclopedia of Modern Crime Fiction. Otto Penzler says :
"'Uncivil Seasons'(1983) was "one of the few nearly perfect novels in the history of detective fiction".
So I sent for it & it came this morning. The first paragraph starts :
"Two things don't happen very often in Hillston, North Carolina. We don't get much snow, and we hardly ever murder one another. Suicide is more our style; we're a polite, college town, and our lives are sheltered by old trees."
Irresistable - where have I been that I didn't know about him? Did anybody else?

Voigert Glad youre back with us, your presence has been sorely missed. Someone must have mentioned Uncivil Seasons earlier because I have it on my list but unfortunately have not located the book yet. Let us know how you like it.

One of my good friends from Florida just brought me 4 books by Lydia Adamson. For all you fans of Lillian Jackson Braun these are also Cat Mysteries. I haven't had time yet to read them, they seem quite old.The inside cover states that Lydia Adamson is a pseudonym for a noted mystery writer and cat lover in New York City. I wonder who it is???

Lydia Adamson is Franklin B. King according to Unicorn.com

http://www.myunicorn.com/pseudos.html

Gram62 -- nice saying you missed me, & was delighted you'd heard of Malone as well. Be a big guffaw if he turned out tedious! I looked for Lillian Jackson Braun in mammoth book, & he says similar authors are Lydia Adamson, (as you know), Marian Babson & Rita Mae Brown.

Viogert!! THERE you are, where is Roidinski? or however she spells it, so glad to see you back!

Yes, I've heard of Michael Malone but not as a mystery writer, that looks delicious, he has a wonderful sense of humor, I must order that one.

Lydia Adamson, isn't she the one who also writes the Veterinarian mysteries? I had a ton of hers on the Exchange but am not sure if they are still there or I took them to the library, I think I did, many people like her a lot!

I'll go see if I have any if anybody might like them, that is.

ginny

GINNY, - - nice to be functioning again.

Roidininki is called :

ROIDININKI!

Hahaha - -good fun fooling around with fonts?

I looked him up on my library's web site. It showed Uncivil Seasons as a mystery but his other books as just novels. I've added him to my new library list.

Nettie....yes, you're right - he writes non-crime novels as well, but the three Lieutenant Justin Savile & Police Chief Cuddy Magnum books ("Uncivil Seasons" 1983, "Times Witness,1989 & "First Lady" 2001), it says here, are the thrillers. It also says here he wrote scripts for a daytime soap called "One Life to Live" for six years - he won an Emmy for that.

I've still not yet started either of the first two Malones I ordered - I'm finishing off a couple of Kate Wilhelm's - "The Deepest Water" & "Desperate Measures". I like her - a bit slowish, but good value.

Hard Eight is waiting for me at the library! Can't wait until I get there and pick it up.

It is interesting how some authors fit neatly into a genre and others well they are all over the board.

Ginny Here i am, not eloped or anything remotely interesting like meeting srangers on a train.... but i might even yet.

Gram62 Re pseudonyms. Ask Google to fetch up Pseudonyms of authors or Authors with pseudonyms [as you will] I think you will be very surprised to see just how many authors are listed.

Not having read anything remotely thrilling i have to say i have gone back to John Connolly because despite the often gruesome detail he can write a fascinating tale. But i daresay i shall be out on a limb now?I need something gripping i fear and not about children disappearing /being abused/abducted/murdered.I refuse to read these kind of books.What kind of entertainmen value the authors think they have is pseudo... but they make the cash registers ring?

Roi!! THERE you are!@!! YAY YAY, our English Contingent is back and sassy as ever what with you and Viogert, (Viogert, tell us, is that for Violet Gertrude?)

YAY!!

I'm not going to spell Roi whatever again, I can't spell it so won't! hahahahaha

I'm with you on the abducted children theme, much too much about that now in the news and everywhere else, I want my mysteries to be a bit....not real, I want to enjoy it not suffer as people are tortured and simply won't read anything on a child being done wrong, it's not "ON" with me as you all say over there, how about the rest of you?

Yesterday at the local B&N (where I got in a huffy argument with the bookseller, really, I guess in my old age I've gotten opinionated) anyway, on a table marked Beach Books, attracted by the cover of a swimming pool and diving board and the name Susan Isaacs whom I dimly remember having read, I bought Long Time No See in paperback and it says it's a mystery!! I'm not familiar with her and mysteries, have you all read any of hers or this one (sorry if you've discussed it) and what do you think?

Ginidinininki!

GINNY . . . How perspicacious of you to suss out my Mum's name - born 1900 - long gone.

I am trying to remember the author that wrote mysteries that took place in a retirement center in California and had two of the female residents being the sleuths much to the chagrin of the detective. Does anyone know who I am talking about? Please help me. Bernie

Viogert etal

My library didn't have the Uncivil Seasons, but did have Handling Sin. The inside cover states that it is a dazzling and irrepressible human comedy, a rollicking odyssey that sweeps across the South as a reluctant Quixote is forced on a quest by his eccentric runaway father.

Bernie...I've read at least one of those, but the name of the author is off in some hidden corner of my brain...undiscovered so far.

Thanks Jane, I appreciate hearing from you. It has been a long time since I have been in this discussion site. I am creating a list of books that I want to read especially this winter so I am reserving them at the library or putting them on my book list there.

I love her work. I know for sure that I have read these:

Shining Through

After All These Years

Red, White and Blue

Almost Pardise

Compromising Positions

Magic Hour

Close Relations

Lily White
They all have some 'mystery' to solve, but in my mind they are just 'Very Good Reads'

Ginny , what are you on... laughing gas?The holiday tour has perked you up more than usual.

Well you might have sussed Viogert out but what about Roidininki?I did give someone a clue a long time back...Steve Mcqueen says to Charles Bronson [in The Great Escape ] whoooopppps..... this is the mystery booksection so i won't go into that here.hahahahah.Susan Isaacs seems to be very popular here tho i can't give an opinion not having fancied any.

Viogert, have you been missing?Incidentally i thought Uncivil Seasons was by a mystery writer?

BERNIE, you are, I betcha, talking about Corrine Holt Sawyer, whose first book, The J Alfred Prufrock Murders, is a book no mystery fan should miss.

The series takes place in Camden Sur Mer, a Retirement Community in California where Holt's own mother lived (it's a pseudonym) and many of the residents were happy to recognize themselves in the cast. The two sleuths are Angela Benbow and Caledonia Wingate. Sawyer was a former actress and was at the time of writing her first books, associated with the Theater Department of Clemson University, not far from here. I don't know if she moved to the real Camden Sur Mer or not.

Hope that helps, it's a good series!

Having finished The Remains of the Day and not wanting to spoil the aftertaste, I picked up for nighttime reading Agatha Raisin and the Day the Rains Came, her latest by MC Beaton, and am happy to say Beaton continues in fine form in the series, I have British friends who hate Agatha, and say she's not "right" somehow, but I love it. This time we learn about Alexander Selkirk, who was the "real" or the model for Robinson Crusoe, and Pilates, it's fun, am enjoying it a great deal.

Ginny Ann THANK you for that list, you didn't list so have you read this latest one and do you recommmend it? Are all those mysteries about the same characters? I needed smething to tenderly break the spell of Remains and was afraid Isaccs might be too "real," if you kow what i mean.

Violet Gertrude, my own mother, who passed away in 2000, was born in 1908, so I can identify, those old names, her name was Lillian. It was strange, standing in that old cemetery (which the town fathers now think they will make into a PARK?) with graves? A park? There are 80 Confederate dead in that cemetery? A PARK? Anyway, it wa strange looking at the graves of my grandparents and noting the dates of birth 1868, etc....I truly don't feel that old.

Roi you and Steve McQueen, I have no use for Steve McQueen, he beat his wife who had been a concentration camp survivor, RIP, Steve, walked out on the first date my husband and I ever had, to see a movie of his where he beat senseless or somebody beat him senseless, RIP, Steve. Noli me tangere!

ginny

Ginny,

Thank you so very much for the name of the author. I really liked those books as they were very light, and hilarious reading. I live in a senior hi-rise and her books described some of our residents as well. I always said that someone with a literary sense could write a book about our place.

Thanks again.

Bernie

Yep, I read her Long Time No See. I liked it.

Roidininki . . . oh dear - what a muddle. Yup - Michael Malone wrote three detective books: Uncivil Seasons(1983), then the sequel Time's Witness(1989)and recently First Lady (2001). The rest of his books are not are not in the genre. I've just today, started the middle book because the mammoth books said it was perfect. I will report-back fully when I have his rhythm - seems a bit slow so far, but so was Miss Smilla. I'm not complaining.

I also want to say while I'm thinking about it that during the National Book Festival at which we have a table, come help us represent our Books and SN to the world, there will be lots of mystery authors whom I've heard you all mention and you can get up close and personal with them, including Tony Hillerman, Diane Mott Davidson, Mary Higgins Clark and Carole Higgins Clark, not to mention David Baldacci, and a lot more mystery authors and more being added daily, it will be a very exciting time on Capital Hill, come if you can!

ginny

There are so many Hillerman fans here(including myself), I was wondering if anyone has read his memoir "Seldom Disappointed" that was published last year? I only learned about it today but am interested in reading it.

Bernie, I also enjoyed the series by Sawyer and couldn't remember the author either. Thanks Ginny for the author's name.

FlaJean - - it's such a good autobiog & he's such a nice man, I didn't think I could do the book justice so I found a review.

http://edsbookreview.com/bio/hillerman_seldom_disapp.html

There's some great pictures - lovely one taken on his wedding day.

Having read all the praise of Michael Malone, I have acquired one of his books so I can see what the shouting is all about. I'm looking forward to it, (as soon as I finish the other stuff I'm reading).

Thanks for the link to the "SELDOM DISAPPOINTED" review. I had not heard of this bio., either, and I now want to read it. The photo of Hillerman was a surprise. For no good reason whatever, I had always imagined him as looking like Chee or Leaphorn....and no older. (I am one of those who has to remind herself frequently that the child she remembers must be at least 40 now.) With any luck, I may be able to read that bio. before sitting myself down in front of Mr. Hillerman (sorry, Tony, at the Bookfest. ...Babi

Yessssss, thanks so much FlaJean and viogert for letting us in on information about Hillerman's autobiography. He could write a cereal box blurb and I'd read it! In fact, I just finished The Wailing Wind, more vintage Chee and Leaphorn but shorter and simpler than usual. He was probably busy on the autobiography!

I'm a huge fan, too! Thanks for the link.

Thanks for the link.

Just got back from a week in the lovely lovely North Carolina and North Georgia mountains. It was cool in the mornings and evening. For a Florida person, just wonderful. Sigh. Read a lot of mysteries this last week.. No tv, and not much radio at the old fashioned lake front cabins.. No phone either. Neat place.. Finishing off a Anne George and actually like it.. The first one I tried years ago, I hated. This one is better. Michael Malone is on my list, but I do believe I have read some of his non mysteries. Read a Margaret Coel mystery. Interesting Indian mystery, but a bit militant on the only good Indians and bad everyone else sort of thing.

I just finished reading DOUBLE EXPOSURE by Susan Ford, with Laura Hayden. The setting is the White House and the character is the First Daughter. The copyright is 2002, so I tried to find more of her books at our library but no luck. Perhaps I will try again under the name of Laura Hayden.

I also did a library search for Kathy Reich but no luck as there were non listed. Does she write under another name?

This is really a great place to visit because anyone that loves to read mysteries can certainly be kept in great supply of good authors to read. Thanks everyone I now have a large list.

Bernie

Bernie - - - I've been caught that way too. It's the spelling -- there an 's' on the end: Reichs.

Viogert--thanks so much for the link. I'm heading to the library today for some more reading material and that book is definitely on my list.

I'm in luck. Found the Hillerman bio. in the library this morning, so I'll get that read before I see the man in D.C. I plan to bone up a bit on Jim Chee and Lockhorn, too. It's been a while, and I tend to get the two mixed up sometimes. (shhh...don't tell anybody) ...Babi

VIOGERT

Thanks for the tip. Today I entered all of the books that I have read this year into my computer so that I can look up authors and titles that I may want to read. I have 41 books in my list so far this year and I have a big waiting list to get me through the winter months. I love to read and could spend all my time doing just that. When I was working I was always too tired or too busy to get into reading so I am making up for it now.

However, I still find time to do volunteer work teaching others the computer and attending our computer club. We have 30 members in out club but not everyone attends each week. I volunteer at SeniorNet as a coach for word processing classes and also just now started helping at a temporary shelter for homeless people who are looking to get back on their feet and find work. There are six computers in their facility and I work with the people from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM. which are really good hours, I think.

Bernie

I am going to try another Margaret Coel, but I guess that to some extent I am disturbed mildly by the priest and lawyer byplay. Skating the edge of disaster seems to me. I think that Kate is getting a bit more political as well, but love the books so much. I do think that Kate is overlooking Chopper and wish she would not.. But then that makes for a nice tension in the books. Finished the Anne George and will have to rethink her since I liked the one I read very much. Not much plot that made sense, but fun

WELCOME! Welcome, Bernie Brown! Delighted to have you here! I hope you will share some of YOUR favorite mysteries... how many of those 41 books you've read this year were mysteries?? Yes, you should find Kathy Reichs with the S on the end. She has a new book on the NY TIMES top 15 bestsellers list this week, I noticed.

I am at last reading An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears. A really looooooong book but fascinating so far. This is a historical novel/mystery and might drag a bit for those of us who prefer the fast-paced modern mystery. I'll report again when I've finished it.

Stephanie, I too was green with envy about your vacation. I too belonged to a hiking club when I was in high school only we generally went to the TN/NC mountains, The Great Smokies. I lived in Knoxville at the time. That is such a beautiful part of our country.

Right now I am about half way through Hard Eight by Janet Evanovich It is another light, fast, fun read.

Everyone is sure coming up with new authors.

Happy Reading

I just found out that all the Libraries in my county sell hardcover books for $1.00 to $3.00 each. I have gotten several 2002 books. for $1.00 each. These same books are on their rental shelves. There's about 5 different libraries in the area and I've been checking them out everyay and so far I have gotten at least 2 new ones each day.

I am so excited...check your libraries out and maybe you will be lucky too.

Good Morning from Minneapolis.

Jeryn, of the 41 books I read this year all but five were mysteries. As I said before, I am really a mystery fan.

I too use our public library and request books on the web site for the library. That way I just have to go in and check them out instead of hunting for them. Besides, I live in such a small apartment that I don't have room for storing books.

One year I got to library on the day they were giving away old books and picked up a grocery bag full of books that I have in my bookcase. Some of them I have read already but when I cannot get out to the library they are my back-up.

Today I am going to a Minnesota Netters Luncheon. We all met here in SeniorNet at the Geographical Communitees discussion group and had our first meeting together in Redwing, Minnesota, two years ago and have gotten together once a month since then. I haven't always been able to get to the luncheons but it is nice to put faces on the names that have been writing.

Got to run, have to get ready for the day.

Bernie

Bernie Brown - - Thirty-six mysteries in eight months? You've joined the right gang here. Could I ask: which three did you like best?

Finally finished Michael Malone's "Uncivil Seasons" & now realise I should have started with "Time's Witness" - his first book - then I would have known all the characters, the town - & all, but I was just too eager to read what Otto Penzler called 'the perfect mystery'. (I didn't know - had to look him up - Otto Penzler started the Mysterious Press.) Well, it IS good. It's like a very rich cake. The protagonist Justin Savile is a 'gent' - he comes from old money in a town started by his forebears & everybody thinks he got his job as lieutenant in the local police because of this. Some of the villains in the story are his relations. His partner is a lyrical speaker & goes on a bit, but they are both die-hard cops. The plot is complicated but the people are easy to imagine - in fact I've never read anything like it before. The tempo reminded me of "The Woman in White" (in spite of being contemporary) & his prose style is so lovely in places it takes your breath away. It's not dense or fancy, just ever so good. I didn't think I was going to be able to describe it - this is the best I can do - except to say Penzler is probably right.

Hello again, Bernie! You have indeed come to the right place! <BG> Do you do anything else besides read? Let's see, this is the 28th [?] week of the year and you've read 41 books so far... that's about a book and a half/week, better than my average which is about a book/week. And if most of them are mysteries, well! Can we expect regular reviews on those mysteries?!

She's a keeper, eh, viogert?! As are you... thanks so much for the tip about reading Malone's books IN ORDER. After your discussion of him, he is on my "to read soon" list. Which is a step higher than my "to read someday" list!!! <LOL>

I agree, Jeryn, I'm looking at the fabulous cover illustration of Uncivil Seasons, Viogert, and am glad to hear I need Time's Witness first, will order it today, many thanks, the cover alone on the Uncivil is very interesting, thank you for that report.

Bernie, have fun at the lunch, and rejoin us soon, you certainly are in good company here, we devour mysteries like candy, hahahaha

I finished Agatha Raisins The Day the Floods Came or whatever the new title is, and it's vintage Agatha, Beaton has found her stride once again, just enough self doubt and the all knowing Mrs. Bloxby to make a nice contrast. I must say this time I was a bit annoyed at the moving in of ANOTHER new man next door and his, of course, interest in helping her solve mysteries, that seems a bit thick, to me, how many times does that happen in real life, but again, that's why we read Agatha, it's escape. A nice addition to her stable of adventures (and she would HATE me for saying that. hahahaha)

For some reason I can't pick up Daughter of Time, it....I tell you what, it intimidates me? Now are any of the rest of you like this? WHY does this book intimidate me? I've heard it's the best mystery written and I guess that I'm afraid ....if I'm honest...that I won't be able to appreciate it?

I have missed MORE good books this way. I have read NO F. Scott Fitzgerald? Not one, just a short story or two.

I used to think it was perversity that caused me to turn away from books that others raved over, but it's not, it's intimidation and I have THREE copies of The Daughter of Time, do any of you want one? We will consider it on our Book Exchange if you do, drop me a line. I am going to tackle it next after Monsieur Ripley!

Yes!! Last nigiht, fearful of entreing the world of Richard III, for nighttime reading I opened my old friend, the only Ripley left to me out of, is it 6, The Boy Who Followed Ripley. It's supposed to be the worst one that's why I've left it, but I msut say how delightful it IS to be back in Tom Ripley's world, he's like an old friend. I love Tom Ripley, even tho he's got no conscience. I believe he's Highsmith's darker side, I believe she writes of him so lovingly and kindly and then throws in the darkness only to show us that every person has this in him. I believe Ripley is Highsmith's alter ego.

At any rate, I love it.

I am a great fan of old time radio and have, with the help of a wonderful retired couple, http://www.crabapplesound.com been amassing quite a collection on CDs? I now have all of the Basil Rathbone Nigel Bruce Sherlock Holmes tapes (and there are tons) and now am moving on to the Conway / Bruce tapes. But yesterday they sent me my new order and they included free a Nero Wolfe tape and I'm quite excited because Nero Wolfe is another one I've somehow inexplicably missed, will let you know how good it might be.

ginny

Ginny

You knew Steve McQueen??? but disaproved of him?What are you doing then liking Tom Ripley.. he was a psycho!!!!Oh i see he's only fiction?[hahah]I don't think he is P.H's alter ego at all , i think some people actually know people like Tom and therefore have the knowledge to create the character.Do you picture Tom as you read, and did Matt Damon fit the bill?[haha]Am not reading at present or rather i am dividing my spare time between Miss Smillas Feeeling For Snow[yes it's a mystery]and John Connollys The Killing Kind. An interview with him on his website was very enlightening, he sounds a very sensitive man.

Roidininki - - Miss Smilla is a smashing book isn't it? I wish I hadn't read it - or I wish Peter Hoeg would write another thriller.

Ginny A lot of people think "Daughter of Time" is just a Richard III whitewash, & that's what it ends up being - but Shakespeare, with his info taken from gossips with a vested interest in Richard taking the blame for the dead princes, had made Richard into a monster. I liked the pictures the 'wooly bear' brought back for Grant to analyse. Faces were right up my street, so descriptions of the Matron visiting the patient & making remarks about the faces - especially that Richard - she thought - looked like someone who had been ill in childhood, made Jopsephine Tey's asides interesting enough to plough through historical Bills of Attainder & such.

I am very confused here. I have a question. I saw the movie Smilla's Sense of Snow a while ago. After reading the posts mentioning Miss Smilla's feeling for Snow, I'm trying to figure out if it's the same book because both are mentioned on Amazon. The sense of Snow was dated 1993 and the Feeling for Snow was 2000. Any ideas??

jeriron, I thought it was called Smila's Sense of Snow but maybe there is another similar title out? It was a pretty good one, for sure. How did you like the movie?

On Daughter of Time, I was disappointed in it and found it to be the least entertaining of all Tey's works, in short--boring... sorry if that is sacrilege! You may love it, Ginny, for it IS highly acclaimed by the critics.

jeryn:

I thought Smilla's Sense of Snow was good. It on video. It's stars Julia Ormond as Smilla. It seems that the book is out of print and when they reprinted it in 2000 they may have changed the name to Miss Smilla's feeling for Snow. the review is the same for either one. I want to look for it when I go shopping next time.

Miss Smilla - - It's the translations from Danish cause the difference in titles. I might be wrong but I thought the USA version had a different translator from the European, but it's the same book by Peter Hoeg.(The 'o' has a line through it)

VIOGERT:

I thought that may have been it. You know I just saw it on a for sale book shelf in one of our county libraries and I can't remember which one. Guess I will have to scout around for it.

Roi!! There you are, what do you mean

Ginny

You knew Steve McQueen??? but disaproved of him?What are you doing then liking Tom Ripley.. he was a psycho!!!!Oh i see he's only fiction?[hahah

You are tres amusant! hahahahahaha NO, I did not know S. McQueen personally and did not want to, hahahahaha, that's an interesting point but I don't recall Monsieur Tome beating anybody constantly, it's a different type of madness and yes I definitely think Highsimith knew that side well, how else could she write some of those things she did?

Let's discuss this! ahahahha

VI! (you are now VI, to me, Vi) A lot of people think "Daughter of Time" is just a Richard III whitewash, & that's what it ends up being - but Shakespeare, with his info taken from gossips with a vested interest in Richard taking the blame for the dead princes, had made Richard into a monster.

Is it true that Richard III was not a hunchback or cripple as Shakespeare dsscrobes, him? What are the latest theories on Richard III and the princes?

Have you seen Looking for Richad, Al Pacino's take/ documentary on Richard III?

It's super.

Jeryn, I don't know if I will like it or not, you found it boring, I'm not sure I like boring books, and I don't usually agree with what the critics say: Dorothy Sayers and I have never gotten along since a bookseller in one of those small and greatly lamented disappearing book stores airily told me, Oh she's an author the critics say all the college professors read. Since I was teaching at university at the time, myself, it turned me off, and I'm still turned off, I wish the critics would put a lock on it and let people decide for themselves what they wanted to read or not?

I get more good tips on our own SeniorNet Bookclubs boards than I ever have from a critic.

ginny

Ginny - - Richard had a hereditary right to the throne, & so did his nephews - why would he want them dead? They were his well-loved sister's boys. But Henry Tudor had no right to the throne at all, so anyone with a right was bumped off. Once he took power, nobody risked The Tower by pointing out his lack of entitlement, so all the stories were rigged to clear the Tudors & accuse the Plantagenets. One interesting fact Josephine Tey points out in the book - she says that account books don't lie. If somebody writes that a highborn person never had a baby, but the account books said "9d for ribbon for my lady brought to bed of a fine boy" - you may be sure she did. The main thrust of "Daughter of Time" is like a hunt through account books.

I loved the pictures in Daughter of Time and I too am swayed by faces. My favorite paintings tend to be portraits. No glamour shots, but honest faces. Oh Ginny, I did so love Daughter of Time. If you like English history and had some suspicions of Shakesperes version, you will like this book.

I'm laughing out loud at "the critics say all the college professors read..." Dorothy L. Sayers! She's my alltime favorite mystery writer, just LOVE Lord Peter Wimsey, but I'm a looooooooong way from being a teacher of any kind! <LOL some more> Soooooo, lesson to learn. Don't listen to critics!

As we speak today, I am STILL wading through An Instance of the Fingerpost. I sure hope all this dead-horse beating comes to some good end. You who have read this thing will know what I mean!

Perkie - - I looked up Miss Smilla & the book DID have two translators. I think the USA translator was Tiina Nunnally because my edition was translated by F.David. All his other books seem to be translated by Barbara Haveland. I think I will look for the Tiina Nunnally version - they are often very different. I bought "The Woman & the Ape" but when I (stupidly) discovered it wasn't about snow & wasn't a thriller, I put it aside. It will be somewhere under a pile in the back room, so as you recommend it, I will get it out again. I liked "Borderliners" which was autobiographical they said.

Just like your neighbour, our generation (born mid-20s) were encouraged to read classics - they were then 'popular novels' - Brontes, Stevenson, Austen, Flaubert, Stendahl, Thackery, George Eliot, Dickens, Scott, Dumas - Wilkie Collins! Most people's book cases had some of them & school & local libraries. We all had torches we took to bed to read under the covers - we were in trouble if we were caught: "YOU WILL RUIN YOUR EYES!" they screamed. When we were older we discovered Evelyn Waugh, Grahame Greene, Josephine Tey, Edgar Wallace, Dorothy Sayers, Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, but by then we had bedside lamps. Jeryn - - absolutely right - not only academics collected Sayers, all the clergy as well - bishops etc. (She also taught English at our school for a few terms. Before my time alas)

I am convinced. I will definitely have to read "Daughter of Time".

Meanwhile, I happen to be reading Tony Hillerman's autobio., "Seldom Disappointed", at the same time as his novel, "Fallen Man". Included in the biography is a photo of Hillerman with a group of writers, educators, etc. with whom he has been playing poker for 40 years. I didn't notice until I happened on a review of "Fallen Man" and re-read Chapter One. It has three mountain climbers who find a dead body...and the three are all members of the poker club! (chortle) ..Babi

I've had company for two weeks and haven't been able to visit SN. What a lot of great discussions to catch up on !!!!! Barb

I really enjoyed the Elizabeth George "Inspector Lynly and Barbara Havers" episode on MYSTERY last night. Loved the interplay between the two characters (though I hadn't pictured the B. Havers character as being that young and that pretty) and loved the Yorkshire scenery. Maybe the new Mystery format of featuring American authors will work out ok after all. Of course, E. George sets her stories in England so who can tell if it is an English author or an American author, anyway?

Yes, Phyll, I enjoyed it, too. In the books, though, I think Havers is chubby, isn't she?

Nettie - - that's always the trouble with acted-out books - they are never the same people we cast in the parts. For a start, George Smiley was plump & always wore clothes too big for him. Not Alec Guiness - he did it HIS way.

Anybody a Carol O'Connell fan? I was gutted when she stopped writing Kathy Mallory books, but she's written another - with Charles & Riker & everybody. Called "Crime School" & so far - very good indeed - (I'm on about p50).

PERKIE:

Do you know here in South Fla. they didn't even show it. This is their money making month. I am so furious. I'm checking for reruns also.

here's a link to view the program and Lynley!

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/mystery/programs/lynley/index.html

While perusing the site, I see a Tony Hillerman series (Skinwalkers) is coming in November!

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/mystery/programs/skinwalkers/index.html

Elizabeth George in August; Tony Hillerman in November! Our cup runneth over! Thanks much for the links, Nettie.

Other than the fact that Thomas Lynley is extremely brunette, he played his part quite well. I had always pictured an aristocratic blond type! And I thought Havers acted her part equally well without quite somehow LOOKING like Havers--too pretty, I agree. But their interaction seemed authentic and I bet we can all adjust! <BG>

Don't miss these Monday nights! If you have a VCR, can you set it for weekly taping? That's what I do with Nero Wolfe and now I suppose I must do Monday nights as well! I'm going to try putting a link to PBS Mystery! up in our heading.

Perkie, lucky us! I had parents who loved to read themselves and rarely chastised me for staying up a little late with a good book. Reading in bed is still the only way I can get ready for sleep!

For some reason my PBS station did not carry the Elizabeth George mystery and I was so looking forward to it.

I too read before going to sleep. It doesn't matter how late I go to bed, I always read even if it's only a page or two. My one daughter goes nowhere without a book. When whe was little, she would take a book along to the restaurant and after we had ordered would open her book and occupy herself until dinner came. It certainly made for well behaved behavior unlike what you see children doing in restaurants today. She has passed this love of books on to my grandson. So the tradition lives on.

elle mae

Our PBS station didn't show EG mysteries either but They are going to show it on Monday night Aug. 26th, Hopfully they don't start with the second half. Check yours out...

I didn't find it boring at all. I always like to learn new ways of looking at things, and it did get you to thinking about the way Richard has always been perceived. I think I also mentioned once that Colin Dexter did an Inspector Morse book, The Wench is Dead, using much the same techniques to re-investigate the death of a woman in the 1800s. And I liked that, too. And it's also one of the movies.

A quick review: I just finished Shiny Water by Anna Salter, the first of her series about the lady child psychologist, Michael Stone. It was a pretty good read, fairly credible, and goes quickly. The lady is a bit of a character, to say the least. Don't read if you can't deal with children being sexually abused! Fortunately, nothing too graphic. I believe there are more in the series and I will probably check them out in due course.

Of course, I first heard about this author right here in Mystery Corner!

For those of you that missed the Inspector Lynly mystery last week our PBS station here in fla. is showing both episodes 1 and 2 tomorrow night (monday). Last week they didn't show the first part so I guess they are making up for it so they can start the new mystery next week. Check your station out.

How delightful to be able to talk to readers ABOUT certain books, LOVE IT and DAUGHTER is next on my list, let's all read it and find out for ourselves!! Thanks, Jeryn and Jeanlock!

Well I hate to be a One Trick Pony, but I'm unfortunately 2/3 thru the last Ripley and I THINK, I may be wrong but I THINK this time I have outwitted Tome myself! We shall see, Highsmith is a master craftsman. I will miss Ripley so much that I may reread him (AFTER Daughter) just to have the familiar old Rip! hahahaha

The new issue of BOOK Magazine mentions that a new Highsmith has been released, tho she died in 1995, this collection called Nothing That Meets the Eye, shows the "subtle perils and depravities of society,"...explores "the malevolence, alienation and --most surprisingly-- underlying tenderness of human relationships." I think it's that tenderness in Ripley that makes him acceptable to the reader, if indeed, he is at all, sounds fabulous, to me.

PERKIE,

You asked in a post if there was a seniornet site to get tips on Photo Shop. However, I don't know because I have not used it. I use PRINT SHOP which is a program to make cards, brochures, newsletters etc.

Check on LEARNING CENTERS to find places around the country that have learning centers where they might be teaching Photo Shop.

Has anyone heard of Ellen Hart? I just read about her in our Sunday newspaper. Seems she is from Minnesota and has written mystery books. I checked my library and have placed a hold for her latest book "Immaculate Midnight".

I have so many books on hold, some of which I am 1100, 450, 33, 2, etc on the list. But it is a good way to get my books because I don't have to stand and roam around the library looking for a book. I just get on the Internet and make my reservations. I also live less than one block from a great library.

When ever my mother found me engrossed in a book, she would say, if you have nothing else to do, you can clean your room, or clean the house. She wasn't a big reader and wasn't brought up reading. But I loved to read, it was my favorite pastime and an escape from boredom.

Bernie

Have figured out why I think Havers is well-done.

Altho she is much thinner, and finer of feature than I pictured her, they have taken pains to dress her to add pounds, and her mannerisms and way of reacting makes her seem heavier and more gauche. I like her.

I like Lynley, too. But wasn't the other man handicapped in some way? I thought he is supposed to limp. And haven't had time to decide about Deborah and Helen.

The 'other man', Simon. He was walking with a cane last night...I had him imagined as older.

I had a bit of a problem understanding some of the dialog, especially Rebecca telling her story.

Am afraid to watch the Elizabeth George. I have such a definite picture in my mind as to the various characters. I like Anna Salter.. and loved the Tay Bodal of Medawar. Will look for her new series. I am reading for the first time. Alex Kava and not sure how I feel about them. The main character is a bit on the spooky side. Actually at this point, am not sure she should have a carry permit for the gun.

I'm about 1/2 through Time's Witness and really enjoying it. I guess I got confused about the order of the books, I thought this was first before Uncivil Seasons, but the cover says this is the second one.

Nettie--

I always tape them; then I can go back and replay until I figure out what they're saying. I usually don't have trouble with the English, but that Scots in Hamish Macbeth gets waaaaay beyond me. No matter how many times I replay it. And I'm Scots/English, too--in addition to my Slovak.

These British-made whodunits ARE sometimes hard to understand. I tape them too, jeanlock, then can replay if needed. Besides, those things are broadcast after my bedtime! If I stayed up late watching things like that, I'd probably never get to sleep.

Yes, Simon was using a cane but not much limp. I would have expected more of a limp too, but I think he looks enough older than Deborah to be credible. I think the gal playing Havers is doing a splendid job, best of the cast so far. Lynley is good but still not looking the part--I had so long pictured a blonde aristocratic type. Where did I get that? Did you all think of him as brunette before seeing this?

Did anyone listen to Diana Rigg's final words afterwards? I disagree violently with her assessment of E. George's works as "cozies". NOT!

There will be more of these? Does anyone know? Sure hope so...

We finally had the Inspector Lynly mystery in full on last nght. I am ALMOST sure I have been it before. I believe there are going to be several through out the season, Could it be possible that they replayed the first one to show how they became partners and their characters?? I know I read the book but as soon as I saw the daughter in the first scene I was sure I had seen it before because I knew the ending.

I don't know, jeriron. It was totally new to me.

I agree, Jeryn, I don't consider George's stories cozies, either. I'd never seen it before, and do hope they will have more! I had imagined Lynley as blonde, too.

JeanLock, I've never watched a Hamish MacBeth, darn it! I think they are aired on BBC and I don't get that channel.

Anybody J.A. Jance fans out there.... I just finished reading her new book "Partners in Crime" I thought it was very good and I really liked the combination of the Brady and Beaumont characters. I read it too fast and I'm really sorry I'm done with it.

Jeryn--

Absolutely!!!!

However, don't blame Rigg too much; she just reads what some dumb kid (probably) who doesn't know a cozy from a thriller wrote. I've seen that mis-understanding several times lately. Maybe we need a GOOD, ACCURATE definition of 'cozy' mystery to promulgate.

This series never seen on our PBS before altho I'm sure it aired first in England. We usually get them a year later. Note: Saw previews of Forsyte Saga on our PBS station last night. From the number of tantalizing previews of new shows for fall, on all channels --not just network-- I'm beginning to wonder if 3 TVs will be enough.

An, BTW, a third Monarch of the Glen series begins on BBC-A soon.

So I always turn on the Closed Captioning during those shows and read what they are saying. Helps my understanding of the plot a whole bunch!

Somehow the closed captioning doesn't always kick in for the BBC shows.

Nettie -- any confusion over the order of Malone's books is my fault entirely. I really did think Uncivil Seasons was his second book - in spite of listing it by publication date for all to see -- six years before his second. Please accept my apologies. I was even reluctant to start Time's Witness simply because I thought I'd have to go backwards in the life of Lieut.Justin Savile.

Elizabeth George isn't a proper 'cozy', but I didn't finish the first book of her's I tried - I'd say she was a 'comfy' read. And anyway - there is a big difference between books & films. With books we do all our own work, but with films, we are given somebody else's predigested picture-book version of what the author meant - & it always stays exactly the same. Books change as we get older.

Glad to see you all agreed with me as to what a cozy isn't! I'll try not to hold it against Rigg, but she reads so convincingly! <BG>

Hey, why don't we put forth our own definition! Who wants to add to this?

Components of a "Cozy" mystery:
Often a homey domestic setting
Usually a woman [or women] protagonist--an amateur who just happens to have a talent for sleuthing
Unlikely events, with often a scene of danger to the protagonist.
Some examples: Crewel World series by Monica Ferris
Cat Who series by L.J. Braun
Miss Marple series by Agatha Christie.

jeriron, thanks for that review of Jance's new book. I've read good things about it elsewhere, too. I may have to try this author. [Get in line... ]

Oh yesssss, jeanlock! I nearly fell off the sofa when I saw those previews for a NEW Forsyte Saga! LOVED those books and somehow never got to see the first TV series. During my working years, I think. I never could stay awake in the evening!

Closed captioning would be great for British-made material; unfortunately, my TV is too old! Do they ever wear out?!

Viogert said,

"With books we do all our own work, but with films, we are given somebody else's predigested picture-book version of what the author meant - & it always stays exactly the same. Books change as we get older."

That is really philosophical, really thoughtful, and TRUE! If the "pre-digested version" doesn't fit our own perception, well, we are disappointed. Not really fair, I suppose, because each person the world over is going to have a different perception, not necessarily matching the author's either! Well spoken, Viogert! I love pithy remarks like that...

Jeryn--

VCRs -- do they ever wear out? No. They just get superceded by the next new thing. In this case DVDs. BTW, saw in the paper this week that Sony has sold the last Betamax. They are stopping production. I thought that happened about 15 years ago. I had done my research, and discovered that Sony was superior to VHS, so paid $425 for an early Betamax. And then no one was stocking Betamax tapes any more. So got rid of player and bought inferior VHS. Then my daughter gave me a DVD for Christmas last year. It never worked for me, so my other daughter took it home to see if it is the DVD or the Grandmother. Finally, last week she called to tell me that the DVD really did not work. Well, perhaps I'll get that all resolved by Xmas 02-- just about the time I finish sewing the Xmas presents for Xmas 01.

It would be hard, nay impossible, to match the quality of the original Forsyte even tho it was in black and white. I saw that just about the time I was reading the books. Nyrene Dawn Porter will always be Irene. And I doubt anyone can match the qualities of Eric Porter. (WERE they BOTH named 'Porter'? -- it's been almost 30 years ago.

I'd hardly call Elizabeth George a 'cozy' writer. She is almost a regular novelist who incorporates mystery. And that last one was a real shocker at the end. I believe I'd classify George as a writer of police procedurals rather than a 'cozy'. Cozy implies a home--stately or otherwise-- warm fire, well-trained servants or domestics, etc. BTW, I have a recipe book called Murder on the Menu that breaks down the British mystery into sections called things like, "Murder in the Country", "The Butler: What he Saw". "The Spinster: The Town Conscience", etc.

Another 'cozy' writer: Patricia Wentworth. I've been on a binge of Miss Silver. Have vowed to make myself a black velvet garment such as she always has with her to stave off the chill of the 'stately' houses. Anyone have any idea where I can find a piece of bog wood to try to replicate the brooch? I'm afraid the pearl would be fake.

Ellie, I still take a book with me many places I go. You never know when you are going to have to sit and wait, and wait, and ...etc.

Sorry to be odd man out, but I read only a couple of chapters of Michael Malone's "The Meatman", and decided I didn't like his character Phillip Driscoll at all, at all. The man was hot-tempered, brutal, vicious...in other words, my idea of a nightmare of a police officer. Sorry, no thanks. ...Babi

I loved the original Forsyth Saga.. Black and white, but magnificent. Nyree Dawn was an Australian ( I think). My husband still gets a gleam in his eye if you mention her.

Paper this week says A&E has cancelled Nero Wolfe.

Rats! When I tuned in last Sunday night, they were doing two Law and Order or some such title back to back. Not a word about Nero Wolfe.

Double RATS!

Susan Elizabeth George (1949 - ) --- I sent for another Encyclopedia of Murder & Mystery - compiled by Bruce F.Murphy (St.Martins Minataur 1999), an American book. His entry for Elzabeth George says: "Like the works of Martha Grimes, George appeals to those Americans who are fascinated with the royal family and things English. She also writes about England in a way that the English themselves never write". Whatever he means by that?

BaBi- - - Michael Malone only wrote three mysteries. The rest were ordinary novels, but "Meat Man" isn't listed as one of his. I could be wrong about this as well - I've been making some lovely blunders recently.

BaBi - - you're not out of step with Michael Malone. Nobody had heard of him, until this encylopedia I bought, said Otto Penzler called "Uncivil Seasons" "one of the few nearly perfect novels in the history of detective fiction". So I read it. Michael Malone's prose style is rich & complicated so it probably accounts for Penzler's praise - the plot is very good too. After a bit of a hunt, I found that "The Meatman" was written by Mike Mallowe -(nearly the same.) If you disliked it, you'll be pleased to hear it's now out of print.

the A&E website.

"Although it performed moderately well amongst tough competition for two seasons, it simply did not do well enough for us to be able to go on making it, given the current television climate."

Why is it that everything I like on tv gets canceled? I must be really out of step with the rest of the world!

Me, too, Phyl. Now I'm back to watching NO regularly scheduled program except the local news.

Viogert, thanks so much for catching my misreading of "Mallowe" for Malone on that old paperback I bought. Now I can go looking for Michael Malone in hopes of a good read. Always looking for a new good author. ...Babi

jeanlock, it's the TV I'm wishing would wear out! <BG> So I could get a new one with closed captioning. I've worn out two VCRs and working on a third, all with the same TV!

I agree that E. George's novels fall into the genre "police procedurals" if they fall into a category at all.

How many British settings are written by American authors? Martha Grimes is the only other I know of and hers are what genre? Hardly police procedurals in spite of the dogged Jury. How about a genre: "mystery-comedy"? All just brain-teasing, though. I really think many mystery novels and whodunits defy classifying into a specific genre.

I was also highly miffed that Rigg dared place my beloved Lord Peter Wimsey in the genre of "cozy". Puh-lease! A little respect here!!

Count me three, Jane and Phyll. I am absolutely going into mourning that there are no more Nero Wolfe stories on Sunday night! All the good stuff gets cancelled. Must be our taste is better than "what sells". Drat!

I got Michael Malone's Uncivil Seasons from the library, viogert. Looking forward to it but am I supposed to read another one first?

boo hoo...

I'm with you, Phyll, 'they' seem to cancel all my favorite shows

I went to A&E and found their Feedback section and sent an email about my disappointment that they'll not be continuing the Nero Wolfe. If you're also disappointed, how about sending them an email too?

http://www.aande.com/feedback/index.html

Then there's a Contact us with an email form that pops up.

Jeryn--

Ever hear of John Dickson Carr? He was from Pennsylvania, and wrote the most atmospheric English locked room mysteries you'd ever want to read. You could cut the atmosphere with a fork. If you've never read him, do me a favor. Beg, borrow, or steal a copy of The Burning Court and let me know after you've read it. He also wrote as Carter Dickson. He's a little old-fashioned now, but still worth a try just to see what he was about.

How about Police Procedural, with a moral? I think that's what I do like so much about her; she explores some psychology as well as just the crime. I keep thinking of the one about the Pakistanis, but can't remember the name and too lazy to look it up.

Well, actually, I do think Lord Peter falls more into the 'cozy' category. He's not exactly a police procedural. I loved the Nine Tailors, and when I was at Cambridge, took advantage of the opportunity to go to a concert at Ely Cathredal, thus riding straight through fen country; thinking of Lord Peter all the way.

Jeryn - - people talk about their 'senior moments' - well I seem to have had some kind of senior month over Michael Malone. It's that "Mammoth Encyclopedia of Modern Crime Fiction" I think. It is full of new writers & information & chatty-bits. Although I copied out the Malone titles & publication dates correctly, for some idiotic reason thought "Uncivil Seasons" was his second book - when it wasn't. It's his first, so anybody who fancies an unusual mystery, written beautifully with attractive characters & a good plot, START WITH THAT ONE!. He wrote other novels, but only wrote three mysteries, the next is "Time's Witness" & the last - written quite recently is called "First Lady". And to anybody I muddled up - my sincere apologies. Mea Maxima Culpa.

I have been intrigued by all the posts about Michael so I ordered a couple from B&N. Which BTW took 14 days to get here. This was not what I expected they are huge. When it said paper back they forgot to mention 5 !/2 by 8 1/2 and over 600 pages. I got Handling sin and First Lady. I have started handling sin and I sure hope they are good it seems a very daunting task. hehe

Judy Laird I do hope you enjoy "Handling Sin". This is not a mystery though - I keep trying to underline that Michael Malone only wrote three mysteries - "Uncivil Seasons", "Time's Witness" & "First Lady". Could readers please make a note of this? He is a good writer so he's probably a good read, but as I've only read "Uncivil Seasons" so far - which I enjoyed, I would hestitate to recommend any of his others until I had read them. Judy - could you let us know what "The First Lady is like?

I just ordered Uncivil Seasons from Amazon. Check out Amazon. Lately they have both new and used copies for sale by others at lower prices. I think a new copy of Uncivil Seasons cost me $5.00 plus shipping. Will let you know how I likeed it after it arrives.

CamW Baltimore, Md

Absolutely had to stay up last night to finish this book. Its biled as a psychological suspense. It sure did keep me in suspense, lots of twists and turns to the plot. Not gory or scary just intriguing. BARB

Jane, I will leave those people at A&E a message, the twerps!

jeanlock, I HAVE read John Dickson Carr, but it's been a while. I'll look on my bookcase and see if I still have any. I did NOT know he was American! I don't THINK I've read The Burning Court... but now it's on my next library list.

Oh, don't worry for a minute, viogert. You've made abundantly clear couple of times now which three and what order to read Michael Malone! The rest is up to us. I just wanted to make sure! <BG>

Thanks for the tip on Amazon, Camw. Powell Books also has used and discount new books--quite good bargains on hard-to-find books sometimes too.

Oh YESSSS, Barb! Not Guilty was quite an absorbing story. Glad you liked it. We discussed it in here a while back... is that what made you decide to read it?

Well I have been away visiting my daughter & fam in Londonderry New Hampshire. Nice to spend time with my 8 yr old grandaughter for awhile. Tried setting preferences again--no dice. Read all the back messages & I must say I enjoyed Malone's Uncivil Seasons a great deal.

Bernie I read about 15 mysteries a month but I am a diabled & retired shut-in so I have an excuse!

Cappie - at last some feedback on Malone's "Uncivil Seasons". Thanks for that - what a relief. I could probably stand it if just one person said it was a load of tripe (which it isn't).

I have just finished a new mystery by a new writer - & it is a really stunning debut. Her name is Louise Welsh & the book is The Cutting Room - which is longlisted for the Guardian's first novel prize. Anyone who enjoyed Denise Mina's "Garnethill" will be familiar with the city & the gritty life there. Short precis: an auctioneer finds some dubious old photographs in a house-clearance. They look to be genuine snuff pictures & he starts researching into the past for the people involved.

viogert: I read Seasons last year & because it was published so long ago I didn't realize there were new books about Cuddy & Justin. I will have to see half.com for the other 2 in the series. I found the protags very believable & the story both exciting & introspectively (is this a real word??) interesting. Being a dyed-in-the-wool yankee, I found the background "Southerness" facinating too.

Cappie, when you changed things in your Preferences, did you then scroll to the bottom and click "Set Preferences"? You do have to do that for any changes to take effect.

Another review for you shortly, viogert. I just started Uncivil Seasons today!

Thanks for the link to PBS Mystery, Perkie--there's also one here in our heading! <BG> Oh yes, I love a mystery that is truly humorous. Too few are but I may be kinda fussy. Silliness just doesn't make it with me!

Does anyone remember the humorous movies, the early movies starring Alec Guiness? They were mysteries, weren't they? "The Lavender Hill Mob", "The Man in the White Suit", "Kind Hearts and Coronets", and even "The Horse's Mouth". I laughed myself silly over those things. THAT's the kind of humor I like.

I just finished Michael Malones's Time's Witness, thouroughly enjoyed it and will be getting Uncivil Seasons. I did also love his (non mystery) Handling Sin. I live in North Carolina and could relate to both!!

I am enjoying a first book by David Fulmer, Chasing the Devil's Tail. It takes place 1907 New Orleans' French Quarter area.

When you're wrong, you're wrong! I was totally wrong with the Ripley and the Boy Who Followed Ripley and I agree that it's the worst of the series, as the critics say, it's not good, just falls apart with no reason. But she regained her stride in the last ones, which are all super. This one's a dud.

I then eagerly pieked up Daughter of Time, but coming off the Ripley I just could NOT get into it, you know, it's strange but you can keep a book for years that you just are NOT ready to read and you can't seem to get into it and then one day WHAMMO! You say, why on earth did I not get into this book, it's super!

So have put Daughter of Time away for a more auspicious occasion and picked up Uncivil Seasons which I do like very much and The Dream of Scipio which is unbelievably good, so I think I'll drown in both of those for a bit.

Both good writers, that Michael Malone has quite a glint in his eye, doesn't he? Does anybody know where those bronze dogs ARE which are featured on the cover of the paperback?

ginny

Ginny - - Why haven't I got bronze dogs on MY book!

I am enjoying Catherine Coulter's Riptide. It is my first of her books. Has anyone else read any of her mysteries? She also writes romance books, but this one is a mystery.

JERYN: yes I set the preferences button both times I changed them -- no dice.

BTW I sent a message to A&E about the Nero Wolfe cancellation. I really enjoyed the series too. At one time I had the entire book series on my shelves--a favorite with me. Time & space prevent that kind of collecting now as I am in a Sr Housing complex & my apt is tiny! Now I donate all my read books to the community center shelves here in the complex.

Just finished 2 of Kellerman's stories--I don't really care for his books, they are filled with too many sickos. I LOVE Faye Kellerman's tales tho-I know she has a new one out & would like to get it soon.

I read Tey's Daughter of Time many mmany years ago & enjoyed it as I recall. I believe I was in my late teens/early twenties when I read all of Christie, Sayers, Tey & also did a History of the Mystery on year & investigated Collins etc who wrote some of the earliest of the beginning of the genre. So much fun!

cappie, There already is someone with the username "cappie." That is why your changes to preferences are not "taking." You can try cappie with a number or letter after it.

Casppie, I too know about not having space since I live in a Senior Hi-Rise Apartment with 550 sq. ft. of living space. However, I am fortunate to have the Hennepin County Library less than one block from my apartment and use the Internet to order books.

Has anyone heard or read anything by Sue Henry? I just finished reading, "Death Takes Passage". The setting is on a small cruise ship through the Inside Passage of Alaska, a reenactment of the Klondike Gold Rush Centennial. I really felt as though I was taking the cruise. There is so many historical facts and such wonderful descriptions of the scenery along the way. Infact, my cousin and I are thinking of taking that cruise next summer. When first starting the book I thought I couldn't quite get into it but after the first chapter, I was hooked.

Bernie

BERNIE: I have only about 450 sq ft of space (you read right!) but I am on the ground floor & have sliding doors to a small patio with a birch tree & flowering bushes. Lovely for reading in nice weather. Unfortunately the library is uptown here & I am too distant to get to it by walking & because of no feeling in hands & feet I cannot drive. I order most books on-line but it sure can get to be an expense. I belong to yahoogroups weekly book sales & when I can get bargain mysteries for .25 & .50, I buy a box load (hehehe)!

Bernie Brown --- Sue Henry's "Murder on the Iditarod Trail" is brilliant. She uses the annual Alaskan Iditarod race as a background to the mystery. She is very good I thought. I haven't read any of her others, but I think I'd now better look them up.

The new Deborah Crombie book is out. I just ordered it from the Mystery Book Club. Have waited patiently. Now, when will Elizabeth George have a new one? Hers take from 2 to 3 years. And sometimes I wonder if I'll have that much time left.

Cappie, Have you checked with your local library? Perhaps you can order books like I do and they will deliver and pick up for people that are home bound or have such handicaps that may prevent them from getting around without a great deal of difficulty. I never buy books anymore, all the books I read are through the library. BTW - where do you live? Your place sounds nice. I would like to have a balcony to sit on and read and drink my coffee on nice mornings or evenings.

Viogert, I too will read her other books, "Murder On The Iditarod", "Termination Dust", and "Sleeping Lady". I haven't checked to see if she has anyothers since she wrote "Death Takes Passage". I will have to go into the library and chech her out.

Bernie

I just checked my library and found that Sue Henry has quite a few other books than the ones I just listed. She has the Alex Jensen series and also Jesse Arnold Series. Alex is the Alaskan State Trooper and Jesse is the Iditarod sled dog racer. I have about seven more on my TO READ list.

Bernie

I missed the offering Monday night [September 2] on PBS Mystery Corner. It's a 3-parter but not Lynley-Haver. Did anyone else watch it? I hope I didn't miss a winner?!!

BERNIE: yes I ck'd with my library--I can reserve books on line but would have to get someone to pick em up & return. Not convenient They are hoping to have more money in the budget to do more. I used to go every week & I miss rumaging around in the shelves more than I can say. I live in the Greater Boston area.

I have read a number of Sue Henry novels and truly enjoyed them. I got the latest Dana Stabenow (Kate Shugak) novel from the library this afternoon and finished it already. I like Dana Stabenow's books even more than Sue Henry--but it's close.

There are a number of authors upon whom I wait for new books. Stabenow is one.

camw

Mystery for this whole month! It has been pre-empted for a panel dicussion by and about great teachers. Interesting but I MISS MYSTERY! Without it and without Nero Wolfe on A&E I am in an advanced stage of withdrawal!

Sorry, but you will have to rely on books. Just think of the quiet and peaceful room with a nice reading light and a comfy chair just waiting for you--no matter how small your home is, there is always room for a reading nook.

camw

I just finished two small Irish village mysteries by Sheila Pim. They were written in 40's and early 50's and published in the USA last year. They are well written and interesting and set in a small Irish village close to Dublin. For those of you interested in a change of pace you will really enjoy them. I found them by brousing in our library's mystery section. The titles are "Common or Garden Crime" and "Hive of Suspects".

The one they showed Monday night was an episode of "Touch of Evil". I don't know if it was a rerun, or a new one. However, I wasn't that fond of the earlier 'Touch' programs so watched more Law and Order.

Ah, another Alec Guiness fan! Perkie, I thought from the start the 911 coincidence was part at least of the reason the phrase 9/11 caught on? For sure, 9-1-1 in any format will never be the same again!

Thanks, jeanlock... glad I didn't miss something good!

Cappie, you can't get to the library but perhaps know or could advertise for some young person who would do this errand for you once or twice a month? I'm thinking a high school girl who could pick up the books you ordered online, take them back, etc, for a small fee. Or you might try calling the library to see if they have a "Friends" organization that would provide a volunteer to do this for you.

Thanks for the other book reviews, folks! I'm still trying to finish An Instance of the Fingerpost, jeanlock, but it's on the back burner while I read some library books. Not getting much reading done this week--new kitten in the house plus a couple of social engagements to keep.

In my house EVERY nook is a reading nook! 8->

I have gone back to an oldie by Margaret Maron, her Sigrid Haraldson series, NYC police detective. I think I'll enjoy it when I get all the characters straight in my mind. I'm going to have to make a list of who is what!

Jeryn--

I've ordered the new Iain Pears book. But I'll probably put it away until Christmas Day. We have our 'family' Christmas on Christmas Eve, and I'm usually alone on the Day. It's a good day for me to plan to just stay in bed and read.

Phyll, you said, "In my house EVERY nook is a reading nook!" Hey, mine too--when they're not in use as cat beds!

That's a really nice Christmas gift to give yourself, jeanlock! I've read the first three narratives of the "same" set of events in "Fingerpost"... I HAVE to finish it to see where the devil he is going with all this wordplay!

PERKIE & JERYN: Yes I've ck'd Sr Services & Library Friends & they would bring reserved books to me as a special arrangement but that is NOT what I want. I want to get to those shelves myself & BROWSE! I also don't want to be treated like a helpless invalid which I am not, I just don't have a completely usefull bod anymore which makes doing things a bit more difficult.

I really enjoy Rendall's psychological tales too -- don't care for her Wexford one's though especially the older ones which are full of unpleasant class bias,racism & hostile comments about people who are not "Brits".

CAPPIE

Jeryn: How he cqan keep it up! It is like different stories from each one, and I was totally in thedark all the way through. When there was a familiar bit, I did'nt always recognize it. That book was had work.

For all our Elizabeth George fans - I found this website:

http://www.elizabethgeorgeonline.com/

Rats. I checked out that site, and it seems she's got a book of short stories coming out. Darn!!! I want a full-length book. May have to wait another year.

WELCOME to the mystery lovers gang here, Esme Watson! You must be talking about Iain Pears' Instance of the Fingerpost? Yes, it is a bit hard going especially when it's not a bit clear WHERE he's going! <BG> I'll finish it out of pure curiosity but now taking a break for a bit of Michael Malone.

Perkie, there was one of those Lawrence Sander's books I really liked... several years ago. All I remember is the title was a girl's name--"The trials of Molly somebody" or something like that.

Elizabeth George short stories? And they are described briefly on the website viogert has so kindly provided. Sounds interesting but I'd rather have a full-length novel, too, jeanlock.

New York Times has an article about Janet Evanovich.

Jeryn--

I may some day re-read 'fingerpost'. I think I'd get a better sense of what it was all about. Incidentally, 'The Dream of Scipio' by Pears came last week; it's stored in the bookcase by the bed--already for Christmas.

One of Michael Malone's mysteries turned up at the library, finally! I now have his "First Lady" to read. I would have liked to start at the beginning, but no luck.

I have mixed feelings on Mr. Pears. Some I've liked; some I haven't especially cared for. ...Babi

jeanlock,

Your idea of staying in bed and reading sounds wonderful. There are days when that is all I want to do. Maybe take the phone off the hook and put on some nice music and just read. Perhaps have some snacks or frozen prepared dinners in the freezer so that time will not be spent for much else than reading. I am looking forward to winter and staying in when the weather is bad and reading. Oh, how I love retirement.

I just picked up three books at the library today - James Patterson - "Beach House" and "Kiss The Girls", and Jeffrey Deaver - "The Stone Monkey" a Lincoln Rhyme novel.

Bernie

PERKIE: I read both of her books & really loved the first. I thought the 2nd was not as good, haven't really figured out why--let me know what you think. CAPPIE

Babi--

Pears writes two types of stuff. The first is a series of 7 mysteries dealing with art history in Italy. Fairly interesting if you're an art afficionado. But Instance of the Fingerpost and Dream of Scipio are basically 'historical' in that they are set in the past. And at least with 'fingerpost' are carefully plotted. As I've said, I'm saving Scipio. I strongly suspect the mysteries were his way of supporting himself while he designed and wrote the longer books.

Bernie... :let me know how you like Stone Monkey. I am just finishing The Bone Collecter by the same author. I have been so busy lately that it has taken me forever to finish this book but I enjoy Deavers style. BARB

Perkie:

Lawrence Saunders wrote a book called The Passion of Molly T. Sorry, can't remember what it was about. I read it a long time ago.

Thanks for the tip, Jeanlock. I'll see if I can find the two Pears' books you recommended. All I've read so far have been in the art history series, with some better than others. ..Babi

Elly Mae to the rescue! That's it! The Passion of Molly T, Perkie. Sorry I mislead you; I KNEW that wasn't right but just could NOT remember more.

I've been reading some of the Miss Silver mysteries lately, and find them extremely satisfying. I've got 4 or 5, but will have to keep an eye out for more.There's just something about them.

BERNIE: I agree totaly about loving retirement despite my new disability! It is sooo nice not to have to go rushing out in the morning, getting to do whatever you feel like that day (Reading!), sitting outside in nice weather or lying abed (& I have an electric bed for mucho comfort) or cooking something special or cleaning those "I'll do it when I can" things. It is so great.

Gram: I have 3 kitties, does tat make my tiny apt a palace???

CAPPIE

Cappie has THREE KITTIES??! Which would make any home, no matter how humble, a palace! [one woman's opinion] And if you think I'm biased, come visit my CATS place on Seniornet!! Me biased? Naahhh...

Hi! Tortoise, here. Just skimming through, I noticed an earlier post concerning Michael Malone-- so he may have already been 'thoroughly' discussed. But--if not---I would heartily recommend his --Handling Sin---Uncivil Season--and Dingley Falls. I have -Time's Witness---but haven't yet read it. Doing an internet search, I found that the reason for the long gap between the last two books was that he'd been writing for a soap opera---more lucrative, I assume.

Perkie - - thank you for mentioning Sarah Andrews. I hadn't heard of her, so looked her up & she sounds good. I ordered "The Bone Collector" -- & another in p/b that looked interesting. She's a bit of a joker from the sound of her - I found this:
http://www.metroactive.com/papers/sonoma/09.16.99/andrews-9937.html

Her definition of 'well-crafted prose' used for Mysteries is hilarious.

CAPPIE wrote: Gram: I have 3 kitties, does that make my tiny apt a palace???

In my opinion one or more kitties makes a house a home. One of my two is named waldo and he lets me live here if I treat him right. The other, April, is gentler and more accepting.

BTW, I finally remembered the Faye Kellerman book was one I found in the Library. Sorry. I did send you another book that I thought you would like. It is by J. A. Jance--I believe it is her latest. Don't sweat the postage. I got it covered.

camw

Vioger, thanks for the link on Sarah Andrews. I'm sold! And still grinning. I definitely have to read this lady's books.

CAPPIE! I didn't know you had a CATS place. I'll be right over!..Babi

Yes, I agree, BaBi....thanks for adding her to my library list!

Where I used to live. a neighbor & I would trap feral kittens & find homes for them. My 3 are problem ones that stayed with me for various reasons. They are such good company & each a funny individualist! Nothing like a warm bundle of purring fur to make you happy huh.

Viogert, et al... I finished Michael Malone's Uncivil Seasons this afternoon. A mystery that reads like a novel, great characters, credible plot, but could have ended about 50 pages sooner already! Author made almost too many "loose ends" to try and tie up... but I liked it well enough I will probably read the next in the series someday.

Sarah Andrews... isn't this the author of Tensleep? Which is sitting on my shelf awaiting my attention as we speak! They have called at "Tensley" on that site... or maybe she wrote a book called Tensley as well??! <BG>

GRAM62

I haven't Started "The Stone Monkey" yet, but I did read "The Beach House by James Patterson and liked it. It was quite different than some of his other books or at least I think so.

On Friday and Saturday I will be going to my 50th Class Reunion. Doesn't seem possible that I have out of school that long (I am still so young - mentally about 35).

Bernie

Thanks Cam I enjoy both of Jance's series.

Cappie

I have The Beach House reserved. can't wait till it comes in. I like James Patterson. I picked up two reserved books today. Rita Mae Browns& Sneaky Pie Browns Catch as Cat Can (love those cat stories) and Diane Mott Davidson"s Chopping Spree (Love that food), both are light reads which is about all I'll be able to handle while my company is here for a month.

Hi Everyone -- I've missed this place -- trying to keep up with too many sites. It's good to be back and I've enjoyed reading your posts -- so many good books to read.

Bernie Brown I'm a big Sue Henry fan and have enjoyed most of her books, especially the ones with both Alex and Jessie. Death Takes Passage was great. Did you read the author notes at the end of the book? I thought they added something. One of her early ones Termination Dust is one of her better ones, I think. It's really two mysteries in one -- modern day Yukon territory and also one about the gold rush prospectors. Very worthwhile.

Jeanlock I hope you're feeling better and will be able to come to D.C. for the day of the Book Festival.

Pedln--

Won't make it to the Book Festival. Partly because I can't manage it financially, and partly because I try to avoid DC when they are having festivals, etc. because of the crowds. I went with a bus trip the other day to see the Jackie Kennedy dress exhibit at the Corcoran and then they took us to the Smithsonian. The dress thing was OK, but the dresses looked better on her than on the mannequins, and I was somewhat surprised to see how much of that dressmaking was actually dress building. It must have been like putting on a box.

I was truly dismayed at the Smithsonian. It's been years since I'd been there, and to my taste they've ruined it. It used to be light and airy, but now it's dim and uninviting. And most of what I saw as 'exhibits' consisted of photos of events and essays about the photos and darn little 'exhibit'. Very disappointing.

Well, Hanna (the offshoot of the hurricane) seems to have arrived at last with some wind, thunder, etc., and I HOPE some rain. So guess I'll get off the PC for now. Hope you folks enjoy your visit to DC. If the weather is as beautiful as it was the other day, you'll enjoy just being there.

I picked up a new paperback at the Library yesterday for the weekend and it's very enjoyable. A new author to me...Anne Stuart and it's called The Widow ...most of it currently set in Tuscany...the world's foremost living artist has died...and his former child-bride and the model for his most famous works is back from NYC to settle the estate. Lots of interesting characters.

Jeryn ---I am coming into the home stretch of Michael Malone's "Time's Witness" - five hundred pages of complicated plot & fascinating characters. What a FAT book! The first person narrative in this, instead of Justin Savile, is Chief Cuddy who talks less & slowly develops into an influence for the good in Hillston. It's a smashing good story - gets better & better.

Perkie The Sarah Andrews books I ordered are slow in coming - & it IS "Tensleep" - I wish reviewers would check their stuff - but the words are similar - wouldn't take long to sort out.

Ann Stuart is new to me too, Jane. One novel or many?

Thanks for the encouragement on Time's Witness, viogert. I plan to read it sooner or later. Am reading my first Dido Hoare saga right now with Tensleep awaiting on the shelf then must pick up two waiting at the library--the new Perry O'Shaughnessy and an old Muriel Spark book someone recommended.

Perkie, that was you, I think? I kind of like Evan Evans too; must read some more of them... Druids? Oh boy!

I've only read the one by her so far, Jeryn. I made a mistake on her name. It's Anne Stuart, not Ann. I don't know what else she has out...but I'll look on my next trip to the Lib.

Just finished this Jane Langton book and really enjoyed the way she ended it. Little old ladies in motorized wheelchairs are not to be ignored.

I keep telling Alice that she and I are going to do a Thelma & Louise off the Grand Canyon in our motorized chairs.

Received the new Deborah Crombie book last night. Looks very interesting, too.

I am looking forward to more of Jane Langton, jeanlock. Do you know whether she is still producing?

Jeryn

"at the Gardner" was 1988. But "The Thief of Venice" is 1999, and "Murder at Monticello" seems to be 2001. So, I think it fair to assume she's still going strong. I still have the above two to read, but will have to check the library/bookstore for other titles. I know I haven't read them all----yet. The drawings she does for each book make them a real pleasure to read.

I remember reading one of hers and enjoying it, too.

I've finished Malone's 'Witness' LOVED it and have Uncivil Season's ordered from the library.

Just picked up 2 Sarah Andrews that were suggested here as well.

Hi All,

Just finished "Kiss The Girls" a James Patterson mystery. It was good. I like Alex Cross interaction with his children and his friend, Sampson.

I attended my 50th Class Reunion over the weekend. It was very nice. Out of a class of 72, we still have 61 living and of those there were 40 classmates present. I reconnected with some that I had not seen for 50 years. One of my best highschool friends,who now lives in Fayettville, Arkansas, was there with her husband, who is in stage 4 lung cancer. He was so determined to be there and we all appreciated the effort it took for him to be there. His wife is not doing well either. We will probably have another reunion in five years.

I have just started on "Stone Monkey" by Jeffrey Deaver. Not far enough into it to tell whether or not I like it. So far though I have all of his books with the character, Lincoln Rhymes. Bernie

Thanks, jeanlock. Lots for me to look forward to! I like the drawings and the original plot ideas Langton has.

What fun to see all the old classmates once again, Bernie! That is a really good turnout percentage--40 out of 72.

I would have loved to attend my 50th class reunion [last year] but they did not have one! All the officers were passed away except one and she was too ill to work on it. I talked to her long distance. Guess no one else had the interest to set it up. Be kind of hard for me to instigate something from 2 states away so I gave up on them. I graduated high school in Knoxville, TN--now live in NE Ohio.

Thanks Nettie. I liked Uncivil Seasons so now have the one you just read to look forward to!

Went to a country school and in 2005 we will be celebrating 50 years. Ever since our 25th, we have tried for every 5 years and have a blast. I am one of the few out of town people, but it is such fun to see them all. Only thing is,, they all look like their parents now and of course I know that I havent changed a bit( OHHOHO)

Perkie.. congrats on that new great grandbaby in Oct. Just finished CATCH AS CAT CAN nothing to brag about, am almost done with CHOPPING SPREE. I'm tempted to read the last page and get on to something more interesting. Sue Grafton has a new one out Q is for Quarry. Am reserving it today and it will probably take 3 mos to get it . Maybe it will be out in paperback by then. Am hoping to hop on the Michael Malone bandwagon soon. BARB

Just finished Fortune's Rocks by Anita Shreve. Not a mystery but a very good read. Takes place at the turn of the century (the 19th that is) Don't want to give away the plot but I find the social mores of that time, particularly relating to women, very interesting. I rate how well I like a book by the amount of time I spend thinking about it after I'm done. It was one of those books that I didn't want to end.

Aha, an author I won't have to jot down on my list in order to remember. As I am nee "Langston", Langton is one I can't possibly forget. (She said.) (*_*( ..Babi

I finished Death's Autograph by Marianne MacDonald, the first [I think] Dido Hoare mystery. Dido runs a bookstore, so this is about selling books, old books, rare books. The plot is credible and the characters pretty well delineated. I particularly liked her father, Barnabas. Book might be better if she took after him more! <BG> I think there are more in this series?

I am enjoying Robert B. Parker's Shrink Rap. It is a fun fast read.

Recently I read Tami Hoag's Dark Paradise. The mystery kept me guessing. And, of course, when all was revealed, it all fell into place.

I haven't read a Tami Hoag yet that I didn't like, tho' I must admit that most of her heroines are possessed of A MOUTH! ...bABI

Yes, there are more Dido Hoare books. I like her better than the ones about the book publisher, ther are all Un-sometinhg. Has anyone read the Eliot Pattison books? Hard to put down. The Skull Mantra introduced us to Shan Tao Yun, a former investigator for the government in Beijing who has been arrested and sent to a gulag in Tibet. There he is imprisoned with monks, who are in prison simply because they are monks. There is a mysterious death which puts all the prisoners in jeopardy. This book is strong going as it reveals (to me) the atrocities of which China is guilty in Tibet. Anyway, Pattison has a new one, Water Touching Stone; I am just starting it.

Dido sounds neat. Will have to look for the books. I always need new authors. I just finished another Val McDermid.. Oh my, they are dark and restless. Not sure I want to continue right away. I have the new Elizabeth George in paperback. Since I am leaving for Egypt tomorrow, am saving it for the plane. It takes 3 hours from Florida to NY and then 10 hours from NY to Cairo. Need at least that book and have two backups in my carry on.. Just in case.

Thanks for the recommendations, gaj and BaBi.

Thanks Esme, and WELCOME to our discussion of Mystery Books. Are you Mrs. Watson returned in disguise?! If so, welcome BACK!
I'm glad to hear there are more Dido Hoare stories. Author is Marianne MacDonald, folks. Dido is the main character.

Bon voyage, Stephanie! I hope it doesn't turn out to be a 3-book trip! That's a loooooong travel time. Have a nice vacation.

Esme Watson - - he is very good indeed - I've been trying to get people to give him a try since I first read "Skull Mantra" when it first came out. Pattison really is excellent isn't he? "Water Touching Stone" was published in the UK last November, & we have been promised "The Bone Mountain" since May 2nd but the date was put back to October. I think it's been put back again - but I can wait. I am so pleased to find another reader to recommend the books - there's nothing like them - nothing even similar is there?

CAM: received & finished Paradise Lost--thank you very much. Jance stories are always enjoyable & I like both her series.

CAPPIE

I just picked up Jance's Parner in Crime . I don't think I've read her before, but I have seen lots of mention of her so grabbed this one from the new book shelf at the Library.

Yes, Jeryn, I am Mrs. Watson (Doctor Watson's second wife). I have forgotten my original password, and when I tried to sign in as Jackie Lynch, I was told that that name was taken(?), so back to my "secret" identity. Perkie, I will be on thelookout for those stories. Just found a new Vancouver author, last name Slade, but haven't found any others than Burnt Bones. Enjoying Edie Claire; she writes about Leigh Koslow (father's a vet, she's a copywriter, best friend is a policewoman). Very nice. Also, Brown-eyed Girl's Virginia Swift has a new one coming out. Any spy fans out there? Read a review of Alan Furst's Blood of Victory which sounds very promising. Six previous novels, strong on atmosphere. Do you remember Manning Cole? I just loved to read those.

Jackie: I suspect Jackie Lynch is taken because you had it registered before. If you wish it back, login as Jackie Lynch and if you don't remember the password press the Lost Password button and Marcie will send you a new one.

Has anyone read Maron's new novel "Slow Dollar"? Just finished "Evans to Betsy" and enjoyed it.

Just finished Baldacci's book Last Man Standing. I would give it a 5 it really was a chore to finish it.

Boy do I wish I had paid more attention earler on. I picked up 3 of Anne George's book and am having the most fun. What great stories and characters. I am hooked.

Perkie: have to agree with everything you say about "Sorrow". Blake writes well & her "under-stories" are thought provoking also.

Did you know/remember that the Catholic splinter group was loosely based on the real group started in Cambridge Ma by Father Feeney in the 1940's? They used to shout their messages of intolerance on soapboxes in the Boston Common. The group was excommunicated for unsanctioned doctrin eventually.

Cappie

Hi all,

I just finished reading "Stone Monkey". The suspects are Chinese smuggling illegel immigrants into New York. It is a Lincoln Rhyme story. I thought it was good and it kept up the suspense until the end. Would I recommend it? Yes. Especially if you like Lincoln and Amelia.

Yesterday I read "Sunset In St Tropez" by Danielle Steele. It was easy reading and was a fun read. Light after all the mysteries I have been reading lately.

Also just finished reading "Kiss The Girls" a James Patterson book.

This make seven books this month and I have two more to go.

Bernie

Hi All,

PERKIE: I guess I won't make my quota this month because the two books I have now are very large. Guess for my punishment I will have to do some house work.

"The Emperor Of Ocean Park" is 1130 pages and the other "In This Mountain" is 653 pages. "The Emperor Of Ocean Park is written by Steven L Carter and is very wordy. It is hard to follow sometimes. One sentence can be a whole paragraph of about 15 or more lines. It was on the Best Seller list for a long time. I have temporarily put it aside so I can read the other book written by Jan Karon.

Now that the new season of television programs has started, I find it harder to read when there is a show I want to watch. Sometimes I can read and watch if the book is light reading.

Bernie

Bernie, I've read all the Jan Karon books except the latest and I LOVED them although they aren't mysteries. Let me know how you like it. I still haven't seen Margaret Maron's new book "Slow Dollar" at the library and am anxious to read it.

Perkie: believe it or not, this group started at Harvard College as a special study/prayer group. It slowly evolved & was taken over by Feeney & his zealots. I guess one had to be a Boston area resident to be fully aware of the group. They actually had a compound in East Cambridge which had great high concrete walls behind which great long concrete buildings housed the members.

CAPPIE

Casppie, whenever any group starts gathering behind high walls and generally keeping their activities out of sight, I become highly suspicious. I figure they have something to hide, and odds are it's not good.

Bernie, any book so 'wordy' as to have 1130 pages has to be very good indeed for me to put up with it for long. I can't help feeling that anyone who takes twenty words to say what could be said in ten is letting his egoism get in the way of his art. ..Babi

Babi,

I agree with you about being too wordy and that is why I have put the book aside and started another. The library has three more books for me to pick up so I will have plenty of reading other than that book and if necessary can either renew it or take it back and read it at another time.

My punishment for not reading seven books this month (ha ha) is that I had to rearrange and clean my bedroom which is also where my desk it located. So that is what I have been doing today. Now just taking a break to get some more steam to finish the project. I HATE HOUSEWORK. Yes I was shouting that time. I just want to keep my nose in a book. This truly is a big punishment for me.

Bernie

Hello all and nice to see so many people discussing mysteries! New ideas and recommendations always welcome, of course.

PUNISH yourself for not reading enough? Well, that's one way to get the housework done! <BG> I'm more likely to punish myself for reading too much!

I finished Sarah Andrews' Tensleep the other day. Easy and entertaining to read in spite of some rather technical [to me] stuff about oil well drilling. She managed to make it interesting since the plot revolved around some of this "insider information". First of a series, I will be looking for the second, which is called A Fall in Denver.

Now I'm reading the latest in a favorite series of mine featuring Nina Reilly--lady attorney. This one is called Unfit to Practice. This is the eighth in the series by Perri O'Shaughnessy. Good, fast-moving, credible plots, pleasant characters. I recommend them all.

Perkie: My bedroom is totally rearranged, clean and my desk is neat. Now if I can just control all the papers that seem to pile up on my desk. I guess my paper shredder will be getting a workout.

Jeryn: I too look for new books and authors through this site. It is just wonderful.

Bernie

Thanks for the link for Sue Grafton's Book Tour I don't do evenings either but I see she will be on the Today Show. I have been so curious as to what Q would be. Oh boy only 9 more books to go. My goal is to still be alive and reading when Z is published.(LOL) She does a book every two years . I am 72 now.MMMMM

I missed seeing and hearing Margaret Maron last week at the B&N just about a mile from me. She is one of my favorite authors, too. Darn!!!! It's tough to lose my night driving sight!!

Bernie, I am frequently reading two books at a time, so that I can switch from on to the other, depending on what I'm in the mood for. As for housework, that's what I do to limber me up when I'm stiff from sitting and reading too long.

Jeryn, I'm having trouble finding anything by Sarah Andrews. Drew a blank at my local library and at the nearby second-hand book store. I guess I'll have to extend my search; she does sound good. ...Babi

Sarah Andrews

http://www.booksnbytes.com/authors/andrews_sarah.html

Just finished 2 by her...very enjoyable, plus I learned alot! (some of it was a bit over my technical head lol).

Now I'm reading 2 new very light ones by M.C. Beaton and have a newish Faye Kellerman (The Forgotten) and a new author (for me) H.R.F. Keating (The Iciest Sin) waiting in the wings...

That looks like a neat site and thanks, gaj. I see Sarah Andrews has written 7 of those lady geologist books, the latest out this year called Fault Line. Oh boy! I hope you can find some, BaBi.

Shucks, Phyll, you could have walked a mile! [Ouch! Don't hit me!]

I'm curious about something... Sue Grafton's newest is called Q is for Quarry. Appears to be spelled the same as "a place where rock is quarried" but don't you suppose she means quarry as in "prey"? So then, is the word pronounced the same in each instance of meaning? Webster's says OK to each pronounciation for each meaning but it just doesn't seem right.

Quar-ry for rocks, the quar- should rhyme with bore. Quar-ry meaning prey, the quar- should rhyme with square. But who am I to second guess Webster? <BG>

Jeryn Q is for Quarry is about bones being found in one - well - according top the storyline in Amazon.

I might hide your loom shuttles!

Now JERYN, if you lived in the Boston area both of the uses would be pronounced: Quawh-ree & you wouldn't have to choose! HEHE

CAPPIE

BABI: that's how I do my housework too--do some lttle thing then sit & read till stiff & rise & do another little something. Less suffering on all fronts this way!

I usually have 2 books going at once also--if I get agravated or bored with one I switch till I forget & then go back to the first.

CAPPIE

Thank you,From your lips to God's ears(VBG)

So sorry! I'll be good, Phyll!

Thanks for that elucidation, Perkie. Indeed, English is a potpourri of bits and pieces from many languages, which goes to make it so colorful and rich... and confusing! ...even to those for whom it is the native tongue. I thought sure the pronounciation would clarify the meaning on this word, "quarry", but Webster just says both pronounciations are correct with either meaning. Maybe I should move to Boston... <BG>

And thanks for clearing up just what Q is for Quarry is about, viogert. I was only guessing that it would be about some wretched person being hunted down as prey. Remains in an old quarry titillates equally well! I put the book on reserve today--I'm only the 184th person to reserve it and it's still On Order!

Well I hope the Q book is better than I felt the P book was.

To me "Peril" was pathetic & strictly formula writing -- phooey!

CAPPIE

I have just started reading Uncivil Seasons. I read Time's Witness about a month ago.

I have a question for anyone else that has read these books. I no longer have Time's Witness as it was a library book, but as I remember, the narrator of that story was Cuddy. This one (Uncivil Seasons) is being narrated by Justin.

Is this right?

thanks!

Nettie - - Absolutely. Cuddy just seems to talk more in "Uncivil Seasons" though - real long sentences.

Cappie I haven't met anybody who liked P is for Peril - they didn't take to any of the characters they said. I thought it was a cold book - even Kinsey didn't seem very interested in any of the people either. Didn't make any jokes did she?

I'm just starting the Malone books, read Uncivil Seasons. Is that the first? Malone is writing about the same poeple in each one, isn't he? But he changes narrator from book to book? I hadn't seen these at the local Big Chain store, but there is a mystery book store in San Mateo which has lots of Malone titles and many, many more by other authors. If you haven't visited a mystery bookstore, seek one out. It is a real thrill to see ALL THOSE MYSTERIES.

VIOGERT: i read it such awhile ago that I omly remember thinking that Grafton was getting into a rut & was becoming bored by her series herself. It was strictly formula writing & she is capable of so much better. I do remember that her minor characters who usually play such an interesting part of most books were for the most part missing or only mentioned in passing. I will not buy the Q book till it has a low price at half.com & a good review by readers.

CAPPIE

I just finished Michael Malones Time's Witness. I really liked Uncivil Seasons, but this one blew me away. I finished the book and was cursing that it ended. I was really into it and wanted more. I am going to Amazon and see what else he has written. If I could pay full Hard Cover Price for them now I would do it. However sine I have to wait for shipping, I will probably just order used/paperbacks.

Thanks for whom ever put me onto him (it was in here). I am impressed and looking for more by him.

camw

Camw -- There's just one more Savile/Magnum mystery that was published last year called "First Lady". All of his his books have recently been reprinted in the UK so he's new to a lot of us here too. People have recommended his other non-mystery fiction:"Painting the Roses Red"(1975), "Dingley Falls" (1980), "Handling Sin"(1986) & "Foolscap"(1991) but I haven't tried any of them yet.
There is a really interesting new Swedish mystery writer called Henning Mankell who is fast growing in popularity since his books have been translated into English. He writes with the same intriguing deliberation as Malone, but with the background of the Swedish police system. His books are Faceless Killers", "The Dogs of Riga", Sidetracked", "The Fifth Woman" & recently translated "One Step Behind", (I'm just about the start that one). Kurt Wallander is the police inspector in all of them - as full of human frailty as Malone's heros.

Perkie, Cappie--I read P is for Peril and, honestly, don't remember much about it. I guess I'd have to say it wasn't particularly memorable... <BG> Isn't the Q book getting quite good reviews, though?

Boy, you just never know. I quite enjoyed Uncivil Seasons and look forward to the remaining two in Malone's series. But I just could not swallow that Henning Mankell... fakey as all get out! Yet, viogert recommended them both... IS there any accounting for this thing called taste??! Don't stop, dear, just because of me! [SHE doesn't like everything I've recommended either!]

Jeryn - -Oh dear - still not forgiven for rejecting Lescroat? You may have reason for rejecting Henning Mankell though - so far they have used three different translators. I like anything from Sweden so maybe I'm biased in favour of the settings. One piece of good news - there is a new book from Denise Mina called "Sanctum" published here next month, & a new Michael Connelly coming at the same time. (Forgotten it's title but will look it up)

cont.... - - It's called "Chasing the Dime" & it is already published in US -- we poor whimpering readers in UK have to wait until next month. Sounds good - not a Harry Bosch though. A man called Harry Pierce moves into a new flat but he gets telephone calls for the the previous owner that are mysterious & he gets involved.

I have read one Michael Malone book so far (First Lady)and thoroughly enjoyed it. The one thing I find hard to believe, however, is that you could find that many brilliant, witty, erudite people all together in one small town. I mean, when was the last time you ran across even one person of the conversational caliber of Justin, Cuddy, et al? ..Babi

I just finished Linda Barne's newest & I hate to say it as she was my very favorite mystery writer but I was bored to sleep by this book. I was unhppy about her last one also & I do believe that this series has lost it.

There was very very little tension, suspence or anything else interesting in this tale. Boring descriptions of Dig sites, which as a worker in the Boston financial district I used to jump over every day.

Carlotta has lost her funny aspects. Even Roz had only a passing part & nothing enjoyable. Sam the Mafia Boss's non-mafia son is no longer her lover. Still no mention of Gloria or the cab co. that was blown to bits in an earlier book--Gloria was a favorite minor character & gave a lot of life to the series. Paulina is a terrible teen & plays very little part in Carlotta's life now.

All these changes would be ok if there was anything good to replace them but there is not.

I lived in Cambridge where the series is set over 40 years & it is nice to read about familiar places but not worth snoring over the chapters!

CAPPIE

No no, viogert! No hard feelings! No accounting for tastes either. Maybe I DID get a poor translation of Mankell? Thanks for the heads up on Denise Mina's newest; I doubt if we see it here till next year if it's anything like the last one! And for M. Connelly as well--can't quite imagine him writing about anyone but Harry, though!

I'm thinking that all novels about small towns tend to evade reality in that regard, BaBi?! Not just mysteries. But then what do I know... I've never lived in a really small town! <BG>

Thanks for that review, even if scathing, Cappie! Linda Barnes can hop to the back burner permanently, sounds like!

My husband just finished Open Season by C.J.Box [A library book I picked up at the recommendation of, um, viogert I think?] He said, "Read it. You can't put it down!"

JERYN: I agree with your husband about Open Season. Someone reccomended it to me & I enjoyed it very much.

CAPPIE

I'm reading it now, Cappie. Moving well and I like the guy's style.

I was able to reserve the new Michael Connelly book, viogert as it's on order. But our library doesn't yet even list Sanctum! [sob!]

Here is an on-line magazine I just found. It has reviews of mystery novels and much more.
http://januarymagazine.com/

Jeryn - - I had a look to see if Denise Mina was listed anywhere in US, but not yet so far. One slight comfort is that both h/b & p/b are published together on November 4th. The p/b would be around $16 approx. & with surface mail, you could get it just in time for Christmas maybe? It's a nuisance - I have just the same problem with American books when nobody buys the UK rights, or like Marcia Muller, she is only published in p/b here.

Henning Mankell, -- I know you didn't take to him Jeryn, but I started ""One Step Behind" last night & was still eagerly reading with my eyes propped open at 1.00am. Big thick book. The policeman hero Kurt Wallender, bearing his load with all the symptoms of diabetes - before he finally gets to a doctor.

M is for Mystery, the mystery bookstore up the peninsula from San Jose, has books from England. I will have to look. They emailed me that the had Maitland's The Malcontenta. I enjoyed The Marx Sisters, and the 3rd one about stamps. Hope #2 is good, too.

I just finished her newest "Stone Kiss" & as usual I found it very enjoyable. I always learn somthing from this series & she writes so well it is a pleasure always!

CAPPIE

Esme Watson -- that writer we talked about last month - Eliot Pattison - his latest book Bone Mountain(that I've waited for since May) is now published in USA. It was just sneaked out by St Martin's Press with no fanfare at all. It's not published in UK until next year so I imported it 'used', & amazingly, it came this morning. Big fat book. Inside, it says it was published in September, so it could be already in your libraries?

Viogert: Thanks for the update. Looking forward to this one. I just finished Malone's First Lady. WOW! What a writer, what characters, what a story.

Thanks for that website, Perkie; I will check it out presently.

You get so far in that C.J. Box mystery, Open Season, and you REALLY can't put it down! I stayed up last night and finished it. It's a winner, folks! Unusual plot and protagonist... you gotta like it.

Yawn... Early to bed tonight! <BG>

Viogert i see you have all the info again,what would we do without you?I was just wondering if Michael Connelly had anything new out.

Hello Roidininki! -- where've you been then? You've been away ages. There's another Michael Connelly coming next month called "Chasing the Dime" - another hero called Harry but not Bosch - but it sounds good.

Simon Brett's new book "The Torso in the Town" is a thoroughly good read in case no one has tried it. Denise Mina's "Resolution" is listed in our library as a new book (2001) and I'm starting that next. Did you Denise Mina fans like it? FlaJean

Oh YESSS, FlaJean, but Resolution is the THIRD in a trilogy by this author. Try to read Garnethill first. Then Exile second, THEN Resolution. And WELCOME to our group! I hope you'll return and tell us some more of YOUR favorites!

Found a new light author.. Deborah Donnelly. Just finished "Died to Match" Heroine is a professional wedding planner. One Carnegie Kincaid.. Enjoyable. Light and fun. Fast read. And she is a most sensible author. Her bio says she has two Corgi.. Anyone who owns Corgi is one step ahead with me.

Hello everyone, how come we are all finding Denise Mina all together?A little telepathy?I read Garnethill first purely by chace and would also recommend to all that this is where you must begin. Ordered Exile as soon as i read on my library catalogue that there were 3 more following.Finished it last night, really one for burning the midnight oil?Could hardly bear to put it down.Oh Viogert ,how on earth could M.C fetch another character out called Harry?There must be a catch? Found Stone kiss [ F.Kellerman ] uninteresting.

Roidininki -- (and everybody else who likes Michael Connelly) I have dragged the synopsis of "Chasing the Dime" from our local branch for us over here, because it describes just the sort of book I would want to read - & it says it better than I could precis. (I got the name wrong - it's 'Henry' not 'Harry', so that's one satisfied customer isn't it, sunbeam?)

Synopsis
Henry Pierce has a whole new life new apartment, new telephone, new telephone number. But the first time he checks his messages, he discovers that someone had the number before him. The messages on his line are for a woman named Lilly, and she is in some kind of serious trouble. Pierce is inexorably drawn into Lilly's world, and it's unlike any world he's ever known. It is a nighttime world of escort services, websites, sex, and secret identities. Pierce tumbles through a hole, abandoning his orderly life in a frantic race to save the life of a woman he has never met. Pierce's skills as a computer entrepreneur allow him to trace Lilly's last days with some precision. But every step into Lilly's past takes him deeper into a web of inescapable intricacy and a decision that could cost him everything he owns and holds dear. Chasing the Dime has the irresistible velocity of film classics like The Maltese Falcon and Chinatown, but with the extraordinary writing and style that have made Michael Connelly 'a crime writing genius' (Independent on Sunday)

I've been reading several mystery collections & enjoying them. What do you list members think of short stories?

CAPPIE

Lawrence Block just put together most of his short stories into one big book. He writes short stories that have a definite twist to them.

I also like to read mystery anthologies.

GinnyAnn --I've not read any of Lawrence Block's short stories, but I will look out for them. One of our publishers has just brought out his entire backlist in uniform p/b edition. Like you suggest, he is very good value & all his books are readable. Two I really liked recently were (in sequence,) "Hit Man" and "Hit List".

Jeryn -- The Grafton book arrived this morning & on the fly-leaf is the info we should have had when you asked about the word.
Quarry; n. An open excavation.
Quarry; v. Transative: to dig up or take from. Intransative: to delve into.
Quarry; n. An object pursued or hunted; prey.
Seems to suggest that "'Q' is for Quarry" is about all three!

I've tried a few mystery short stories from time to time and was invariably disappointed. Maybe I just didn't find the right ones...

Quarry... How very intriguing, viogert! Downright titillating! I'm waiting for my turn from the public library. Let us know how you like the book, but not how it turns out! <BG>

This Thurs. I plan on picking up my copy Q is for Quarry from a branch of my library. I will let you al know what I think of it.

Am currently reading the "Naked came the Phoenix". Its one of those chapter books. In this one, different female detective writers do each chapter. Sort of fun and unexpected in some ways. When they are not writing about their main character, they write somewhat differently than you would expect. Still it is fun..

Hi everyone! My friend from Fla. has been visiting for a month so I now have a lot of catching up to do. There sure are a lot of authors and links to add to my list. JERYN I see by the link that Perkie gave us that there is a mystery bookstore in Akron. Have you been there, should we try and go? My friend and I spent several days delving into bookstores (used and 1/2 price) even in Canada and we both have a boxful of winter reading. I'll let you all know if I find any winners. I'm having trouble finding Michael Malones books and they sound sooo good. Any suggestions? My library doesn't have them. GAJ glad to see you posting again, how are you doing? The weather here doesn't look too promising for the next few days so time for a reading marathon, starting now!!! BARB

My new scanner arrived and I am having a ball learning to use its software! Can you believe that I do not have any library books. Sure is unusual for me. lol Of course, tomorrow I will be visiting the Brunswick branch of our county library system and I bet I come out with more than Sue Grafton's latest. <g> I have so many books waiting to be read that I could be snowed in and not run out of books.

Hello All,

Today the snow flurries are flying and we could get 1/2 inch of snow. Time to stock up on books to read during the winter. I just finished a couple of books and am now into "Immaculate Midnight" by Ellen Hart. the library is holding one book for me to pick up now. I am still on the list for "Q Is For Quarry" and don't know when it will be available.

Thanks for the book store link for mysteries. There are two listed for my area. One is rather close so I can get there very easily and they will put my name on a list to be notified of new releases.

The flurries are getting heavier and I don't want to go out but I have to work the computer room from 5 - 7 PM at the temporary housing run by the Lutheran Church near downtown Minneapolis. This morning was a computer class that I assisted with at the Hennepin Technical School and Minneapolis Community College for the SeniorNet computer learning center.

Happy reading everyone. Bernie

After nearly everybody being disappointed by "'P' is for Peril" (I thought it was cold - everybody borrowing sweaters or walking about in bare feet.) Anyway, "Q" is warm, & it has more laughs. The main characters are a couple of attractive elderly ex-policemen, in & out of hospital & funny with it. So far I'm half way through - it's a relief to get the old Kinsey with jokes & junk food back again.

Yes, do report on the "Q" book, gaj and have fun with that new scanner. Yikes! Not the s--- word already? Noooo, I'm not ready for s-n-o-w!

Stephanie, I read that "Phoenix" thing... very interesting just to see the different styles of writing; considering the method, I thought it held together remarkably well!

Gosh no, Barb... I know nothing about bookstores in Akron. We haven't lived here long enough to explore past Fairlawn yet! And anyway, I live in Cuyahoga Falls even tho' the USPS doesn't know it! <BG> If you don't want to buy Malone's books, why not try Interlibrary loan? Ask your librarian about it. I know Akron Public System has them.

So glad to see you here again, Bernie Brown, but puh-leeze, do us a favor, and keep that s-n-o-w up in Minnesota a while longer! <BG>

Thanks for the halftime review, viogert. I'm so glad there's an improvement over "P"! <BG> I don't know if I can WAIT!

I'm just starting an intriguing tale by Peter Lovesey called The Vault. More on that later...

I waded through A Fall in Denver, skimming a good bit of it because, frankly, it was plain boring. Enough of Sarah Andrews for me for a while, I'm afraid.

I'm just finishing a book by Iris Collier, DAY OF WRATH . I haven't heard of this author before but the book looked interesting when I was at the library. It takes place in Sussex in the times of Henry the Vlll. A Lord is trying to solve a murder along with stemming the political tide against the King. I've found the book interesting because of it's historical nature.

I finally got Maron's new book "Slow Dollar". It was interesting and I'm happy with where Maron is going with Judge Deborah Knott. I thought I knew the murderer but was surprised.

Viogert thanks for the synopsis,i gather i am that sunbeam?[haha]What a boring name ... Henry???Oh well i suppose the storyline sounds interesting.Grateful as ever as you know ,will order at my library forthwith.Am not too happy with the beginning of Uncivil Seasons but i may have to persevere.Did i mention Tony Strong?Have just finished The Decoy.

Roidininki, I am finding the beginning of "Uncivil Seasons" awkward, also, but remembering how great "First Lady" was, I am prepared to be patient. I'm confident Justin and Cuddy (and Michael Malone)won't let me down. ...Babi

Roidininki -- I can tell you now, that I found the start of Uncivil Seasons" heavy going - that is until I got the rhythm of the writer & the atmosphere of the setting. I even got used to Cuddy's long sentences - & though Otto Penzler said it was the 'perfect mystery', I liked "Times Witness" even better. Thanks for Tony Strong -- I'd never heard of him & he's a Brit too - writes in his spare time. I ordered "Decoy" & "Poisonous Pit" - something with a title like that. He's supposed to be rather gruesome - is that true?

"Q is for Quarry" is Grafton on good form. Hilarious episodes with Rosie's food, & Henry groupies - & Kinsey running, avoiding her family & eating the wrong food & sleuthing with two nice old policemen; I didn't guess who dunnit either.

Esme Watson -- Eliot Pattison's new book "Bone Mountain is a brilliant follow-up to the other two. Straight in - with Shan, as endearing as Jim Chee - with a pilgrimage & responsibility to deliver a precious relic. . . Big fat book!

Jeryn - yes I think Sarah Andrews is a pain in the elbow - somebody recommended her - but though I'm as keen on archeology as anybody - I was half way through "Bone Hunters", but when I put it down, I just didn't want to pick it up again. Maybe something about her style?

BaBi, i have begun Uncivil seasons again and am finding the rhythm.

Viogert,it is reminding me of Martin Amis' Night Train somehow.

Just finished Stuart Woods new book Orchid Blues. It was great he is always fun to read.

A new Maron.. How wonderful. I love Judge Knott and her interfering family. Long may they multiply. Finished off the book written by all of the female authors. Laurie King played cleanup and boy did she have a mess to get through. Still she is clever woman and managed to come up with a neat and satisfactory conclusion. I am now on a new Jane Haddam book. Gregor and Bennis seem to be having a good time in their new life.

viogert, it's Em Hansen's style I don't like! She's telling the story and sounds like an utter twit! Credibility shot. Not even much of interest about geology. I'm done with Sarah Andrews.

Have any of you wonderful mystery lovers read the top-of-the-NY Times Best Seller [this week] novel? The Lovely Bones. I'm halfway through it and still not sure if it's really a mystery or not. I'll let you know when I get to the ending.

Jeryn,

Yes, I have read "The Lovely Bones" and I liked it. Such a different way of looking at a crime.

"Immaculate Midnight" by Ellen Hart is my current read. It is a Jane Lawless mystery. Hart has also written "The Merchant of Venus". I will definitly read more of her work.

My reading list just keeps getting longer and longer. The number is now 79. Every Sunday I clip out the list of books on the best seller list and choose some of them. Not all are mysteries. Also all the suggestions from all of you have been added too.

One book I picked up from the library is "The Bondswoman Narrative" by Henry Gates, who spoke at the Book Conference in DC. My cousin was watching a book channel on TV and became enchanted with the way Henry Gates was talking about the book. It is the manuscript of a slave that wrote about her life and Gates purchased the works at a sale of found works that had not been published.

Happy Reading,

Bernie

Bernie Brown -- I also love to keep tract of the names of books and authors that have been recommended to me as good reads. One of the places I keep my list is at http://www.ginnyann.mybravenet.com/
There are different catorgies to choose from depending on your interests.

Ginny Ann,

I enjoyed your site very much. Do you even have room for more books? Thanks for visiting here in the Minnesota Geographical Community. Hope to see you again.

Oh Yes, I bookmarked your site.

Bernie

Ginny Ann that is an awesome site. I sure have saved it.

Thank you for visiting my site. It is an ongoing project.

My office has changed a bit. More stuff and books in my office since I took the pictures of it. Sure, I have room for more books. You can never have too many books, maybe too little space, lol, but never too many books.

Ginny Ann what a neato site, very impressive! Thank you for recommending our own Mystery site there, as well, very fine of you!

ginny

Am bogged down in The Dream of Scipio, anc can't recall how many of you liked it? Too many flash backs, I never know who we're talking about, very off putting?

ginny

Just finished Alan Furst's Night Soldiers. He writes about espionage in the 1933-1945 period. This one's geography was all over the place, though centered on the Danube River. His style is challenging (to me) as he has multiple story lines and many characters, making up one thread but consisting of many intertwinings. However, I am glad I stuck with it. Will read this author again. I started Malone with Uncivil Seasons, then read First Lady - like both very much. Now I have Handling Sin, but it is not about Cuddy et al. Big, thick book.

I skimmed through the last third or so of The Lovely Bones just to get it finished. It isn't a mystery and it isn't much of a novel, in my opinion. Best seller it IS, but you couldn't prove it by me!

Back to a good ol' mystery... I'm reading Peter Lovesey's The Vault now. A tried and true author and a tried and true protagonist, Peter Diamond with the Bath [England] police department. Halfway through already as it is easy reading and INTERESTING.

Today I was reading my copy of Book magazine and saw that they consider The Lovely Bones one of the best novels of the year 2002. I haven't read it and am not sure I want to get into it right now.

I have Q is for Quarry but haven't started it yet. So many books and not enough time.
GinnyAnn

with a pen and notepad close by. The protagonist, Annie Darling, owns a mystery book store on a SC island (sounds very much like Hilton Head to me but she calls it Broward's Rock) and she reels off mystery authors and titles by the dozens. I have SUCH a list! I won't get through all of these books until 3002! I am reading White Elephant Dead and enjoying the series a lot!

I love the Amelia books.. Have never listened, always read however. Might try the audio just to be different. I have discovered that I like the Stephanie Plum books on audio much better than to read.. They are tightened up a bit which helps.

Good review in the Washington Post of the new Scott Turow book, today.

Has anyone read the new book, The Emperor of Ocean Park? My husband is reading it now and seems quite wrapped up in it. John Grisham named it as "his favorite new book" or something like that.

I just finished The Vault by Peter Lovesey, a good old-fashion British mystery where the police actually follow up clues to figure out a fascinating and puzzling pair of seemingly unrelated murders. I liked it.

I started the book "Emperor of Ocean Park" but after about thirty pages I couldn't get interested. I thought the author overly wordy. When I returned it to the library, I had to wait about fifteen minutes for the library to open, so I decided to skip to the middle of the book and it seemed to peak my interest more. By that time I didn't have time to finish the book. It was in large print and over 1100 pages. I will try again later perhaps when there isn't such a waiting list at the library.

I have three books waiting for my now at the library and I have about 100 pages in the book I am currently reading. I will finish it today and then tomorrow pick up the books on hold. Oh, yes, I am reading Carol O'Connor's book, "Judas Child". It is about two 10 year old girls that have been abducted.

Bernie

Carol o'Connel.. Yes Judas child is wonderful. But all of hers are. Very harrowing, but wonderful. She writes way too slowly.

I started Q is for Quarry. More on it as I read it.

I have just finished reading, with great satisfaction, Michael Malone's book "Uncivil Seasons". My thanks once again to the generous soul who sent it to me. Having read two of his books, I am ready to declare M. Malone a truly excellent author. I want to read "Time's Witness" when it returns to the library. Meanwhile I have another novel of his...not a mystery...called "Handling Sin", which looks like another winner. ...Babi

Read the Poe book. Interesting,but a bit long winded. Still I did love the characterization.

Am reading the Lauri King... "Justice Hall" As always a wonderful book. She is truly up in the top rank of Detective authors for me.

Michael Malone -- I found a really good interview with him on:

http://www.twbooks.co.uk/crimescene/crimescene.html

It's a messy site, but if you scroll down just a bit, you'll find "Aren't all stories mystery stories?" in green. Click on that & it takes you to the interview. It's quite long.

Thanks for that, viogert. He is an interesting person and I am about ready to take on "the thick one"... Time's Witness which so many of you have enjoyed already.

I'm about 1/2 through with the last of the 3 mysteries, First Lady. I'm reading it real slowly...hoping he will write another before I finish it LOL!

My library finally came through with Michael Malones books, however thry sent me Times Witness first, am returning it without reading and continue to wait for Uncivil Seasons.

Perkie - it was all there in Grant's researcher's research! He pointed out how good contemporary PR work lasts centuries & quoted the recent hatred the Welsh miners had for Winston Churchill, (when he was Home Secretary). He settled a strike by sending in the Metropolitan Police with only rolled-up rainwear to fight with. A rumour started that he'd ordered 'the army to fire on starving miners,' & that was the 'truth' that stuck because it had more drama. And in spite of newsphotographs & official documents to prove there were only policemen from London. There must have been a lot of gossip at the time of Henry I - Shakespeare got his story from Holinshed who had heard the tattle of Morton - (a sneaky bootlick of Henry's). Nobody wanted to end up in the Tower, so they grovelled to Henry who had no right to the throne at all - & who had every reason to wish the Princes dead. Some historians complain that Josephine Tey whitewashed Richard, but I thought he needed it after Shakespeare.

I've trawled backwards, but can't find who it was recommended "Seven Years in Tibet" as a good book to follow "The Bone Mountain". I wanted to thank them - it's absolutely BRILLIANT!

Sue Grafton's Q is for Quarry is sitting waiting to be finished. I put it down because it just didn't excite me.

It seems to me that there is no definite information about the Princes and the Tower of London. I belong to a Tudor discussion group and they often bring this topic up for discussion. I am not sure which side I am on because both sides can bring up good points in their favor. The link for the Tudor discussion is <tudortalk@yahoogroups.com>

I for one have always wondered about the Princes and the Tower. Tey made a valid point, that they were much more of a menace to Henry than Richard. Who knows.. Noone for sure. Gossip in the era was how you spread the word. After all what do we really know about many of the scandals other than the survivors word.

Just finished a great book which I really enjoyed. Reap The Wind by Iris Johansen. After I got into it I didn't want to put it down.

Roidininki - I finished Chasing the Dime last night -- even sat up late to see whodunit - I hadn't guessed. Well Harry Bosch it isn't - I think of his books as in glorious technicolor, but this one seems to have an absence of color - it seems blenched in some way. It's a good yarn, very technical in places about the chemical product 'Henry' is making. Anyway, I agree with the bloke from the Washington Post (October 28th.) I enjoyed the book, it's a page-turner - especially as the English publisher, Orion, STITCHED the book instead of glueing, so it kept its shape for reading in bed. The next Harry Bosch will be out in April 2003.

Viogert your knowledge of the book trade amazes me but gave me food for thought as i've recently bought a book from the library sale ,it's an old Jonathan Kellerman and the paper it's printed on is a pleasure to feel.

Oh, so , MC hasn't given up on Bosch?Just given him leave?He did this with Void Moon?

Great to have these reports on new books... thanks, gaj, Judy, viogert, anyone else I probably missed. I'm relieved to hear that Harry Bosch is returning!

I've just started an almost intimidatingly long mystery - I think it's a mystery - but after three chapters, I am finding it intriguing. The Emperor of Ocean Park-- Not everyone's cup of tea, I noticed; but my husband liked it and I expect I'll finish it.

I read and read... and read and read and read... and STILL haven't finished An Instance of the Fingerpost. Not far to go now, though. If I had it to do over, frankly, I wouldn't bother! And that's my book review of THAT "mystery"!

I'm just finishing Magaret Marons SLOW DOLLAR. I sat down yesterday afternoon to start it and before I knew it I was 1/2 way through. Definitely easy reading. It's interesting trying to keep with Judge Deobrah Knotts large family and their ties to the carnival world. I enjoy a simple mystery once in awhile, just sit back, enjoy and shut off the rest of the world BARB

I also enjoyed SLOW DOLLAR. Maron's books are so interesting I always lose myself in the story.

Margaret Maron is doing a reading from "Slow Dollar" in Raleigh next Monday. I'd like to go see her but don't know that I am up to fighting the traffic. The holiday shoppers are making going tough all over the Raleigh/Cary NC area.

BTW, MM lives not too far from me---somewhere in the area outside of Raleigh.

Love Margaret Maron.. Judge Deborah is quite a handful. I love that part of North Carolina anyway.

Philip Craig and William Tapply have brought together their two characters, Brady Coyne and J.W. Jackson in FIRST LIGHT a mystery taking place on Martha's Vineyard. I picked this up at my library this afternoon and am already 153 pages into it. Another easy read, LOVE it BARB

I have read nearly 100pp [of over 600!] into The Emperor of Ocean Park and getting well hooked! Yeah, the guy is wordy but there is a plot developing here that just keeps pulling you in.

Anyway, I like a nice long book once in a while. Vive Charles Dickens!

Jere, thanks for the review of "Emperor of Ocean Park". I just may check it out sometime this winter when I am snowed in here in Minneapolis. I had the large print book which was over 1100 pages.

Bernie

I just finished Linda Fairsteins' Likely To Die. I enjoyed it but the ending was a bit anticlimatic. I am now reding Sue Grftons' Q is For Quarry. I hope it gets better fast, something is missing but I just can't put my finger on it.

Gram62 -- I think Sue Grafton had to choose between Kinsey growing old - or keeping many of the characters by maintaining the same timescale. The 20 years since 'A is for Alibi', time would have harvested Henry & his family - retired Rosie & her messy restaurant - & Kinsey would be around 50. Sue Grafton has a huge fan-base that she listen to. "Don't kill off Henry" they say. But in 20 years everything has changed - forensic evidence has developed, most people carry mobile phones, computers are used extensively - would Kinsey still drive a VW? I thought the background of Q felt wrong. Her descriptions are excellent - the interiors are vividly reproduced; she is very good describing the architecture in towns, & the countryside anywhere. Her characterisations are easily recognised but it doesn't make up for clues & plot. Feminism has left a great swathe of cynical women, even in rural areas -- because everybody has seen them on TV, so peoples' behaviour is difficult to interpret when the era is ambiguous. I think readers have grown more savvy too. We wouldn't cope with Miss Marples staying around 70 for several decades, & living in the same village where murder was so common. (People suspended disbelief for Morse who lived within a few Oxfordshire acres & found a body every week - because everything else was modern probably?)

I could be wrong. What do we want? Should Kinsey take on a few years like V.I.Warshawski in the next 9 books? Or do we hope Sue Grafton will find plots suitable for the mid-80s - if there are any? I've always liked Kinsey. Sue Grafton writes very well - she can be witty & some incidental scenes in past books were brilliant - but we probably want plots with more danger & caftier villains? I have often wondered if Grafton was writing the same good books, but the world has moved on.

Q Is For Quarry by Sue Grafton went back to the library unfinished. I couldn't put my finger on what made it easy to put down, so I am happy I am not the only one unhappy with it.

All this serves to make me even more eager to read Q is for Quarry! I've never disliked one of Kinsey Millhone's sagas yet, though some were better than others. I guess, like viogert, I just like the way Grafton writes. Frozen in time is OK with me, too.

Mysteriouser and mysteriouser grows The Emperor of Ocean Park!

my favorite lawyer mystery writer...a series really with the same people plus but with the focus on a different one of them in each of her novel tne last one which I haven't read yet out in hardback this last spring. I'm waiting for it either to come out in paperback or to get to the library. Each one a fine read. . . . claire

I have to agree with those that weren't happy with "Q is for Quarry". To me it wasn't about the time frame but I can't put my finger on what it was. It started out ok but when I start skipping parts of a page when I get to the last couple of chapters just to see who "Done it" and why. I know I'm getting bored with the book.

Hi all,

I read in the paper today, a review of Sue Grafton's latest book, "Q Is For Quarry". The book is based on an old unsolved murder that took place some time back. Just thought in case you didn't know that it might shed some light on the basis of the story.

Bernie

About books based on reality-did anyone read "Night Listener"? If so, did you end up thinking the whole story was a hoax or were the events as portrayed for real?

Jeryn -- I finished "Sanctum" last night. It was a mesmerising page-turner from the start. It's a quieter book than the trilogy books - about middle-class people, but the same psychiatric workers, in prisons this time. It feels like a 'lighter' book than her others, but the mood gets heavier, gradually & I hadn't a clue - at any time - who did it or why. Get it when you can - I'd love to know what you think.

At almost the same time as Denise Mina published "Garnethill" in the UK, Jenny Siler published "Easy Money" in the USA. Both of them unusual, stunning newcomers. Denise has won prizes & been treated with deserving respect because she writes sociological novels with a mystery. Jenny writes crime novels about drugs & Florida - Russian crooks in Montana winters, ("Iced" - 2000) that were so good, the Literary Review said of her, "A major talent is now in place. Welcome to the top table".. She has a new book published alongside Denise's this year called "Shot" - that I've only just started but I am already carrying it about with me. She is really worth a try, if you like well-written pacey mysteries.

Thanks for the tips, Viogert. Mina and Siler are now on my list. ...Babi

I am not sure if this author is known to you but she was new to me. I reaad her book called Split Second by Alex Kava. It was amazing I was scared through most of the book and I read in bed hehe This was really a thriller, gorey but good.

I finished The First Counsel by Brad Meltzer last night. It was a good read. My husband watches The West Wing and I told him this book is similar to watching the show.

Thanks, everyone, for all the hot mystery tips.

I will certainly let you know about Sanctum, viogert. I check for it at our library every couple of weeks. When did you say it was published in Britain?

The Emperor of Ocean Park and its 600-odd pages is taking me a loooooong time, but I'm enjoying it. I have a feeling it may even be the kind of book I will miss when it's finished!

Is a woman attorney who has written about six mysteries with women as the leads, the same ones plus with bonding and humor as well as action. Anything she writes is worth reading starting with "Everywhere that Maary Went". I'm still waiting to get the most recent published in may at the library. I keep giving them away to daughter and friends, since I only read mysteries once and shouldn't really be buying them. I did find some of hers used though in the local paperback trade shop. . . claire

Jeryn --I hunted for the USA publication date of "Sanctum" & it's February & in p/b. This is what it said:

"A powerful new stand-alone novel from Scotland’s princess of crime -- author of the acclaimed Garnethill trilogy.

Lachlan Harriot is in a state of shock. His wife Susie has been convicted of the murder of serial killer Andrew Gow, a prisoner in her care. Unless Harriot can come up with grounds for an appeal, Susie will be given a life sentence, depriving her of her home, her family and her two-year-old daughter.Harriot is convinced that his wife, a respected forensic psychiatrist, is innocent, and each night he climbs the stairs to her study and goes through her papers, laboriously transcribing into his computer her case notes, her interviews with Gow and the press cuttings from the trial. But his search for the truth soon raises more questions than answers. Why had Susie stolen prison files and then lied about it? What was the nature of her relationship with Gow? And what is it in her study that she doesn’t want her husband to find? As things become ever more complex, he must decide what to do with a discovery that involves violence, sexual obsession, lust and ultimate betrayal."

Judy Laird - - Alex Kava sounded good from your recommendation so I looked her up & read the first page of her first book. OOOH Judy! Raunchy. . .

Re Alex Kava,i too read that author assumed Alex to be male.Another A i like is Andrew Klavan, his Don't Say A Word was recently made into a film starring Michael Douglas and our very own Sean Bean,i watched this on video last weekend. Denise Mina's Sanctum has not been released into my library system yet but i'm on the list, waiting .Thanks for the synopsis Viogert,and by the way did you say you had read Lee Childs Without Fail?

Patricia Cornwell was on English t.v last week apparently she has spent 6 million dollars of her own money investigating probably the most famous murders in England those done by Jack The Ripper.She had Linda Farstein as a helper amongst others.I have read probably most of that which has been written about her subject so knew that her suspect was a good one to try to prove "he dunnit" We were treated to scenes in the pathologists rooms in America where Cornwell began to take an interest in murder,hence her very expert terminology and procedures in her novels.How slight a person she is!I ws very impressed by her sifting and searching,so were the guys at the Tate and Manchester art galleries,the paintings of Walter Sickert were so full of clues you.d have to be a fool not to see the comparisons Cornwell uncovered.Portrait Of A Killer is the title.

Roidininki --hello there! Where you been then? Yes I did read Lee Child's "Without Fail" - I thought we discussed it at the time - you remember how we couldn't wait for it to be published - & it had Jack Reacher's brother Joe in it? Then we found his website & everything. We were quite obsessed for a bit.

Thomas Perry has another book published next month called "Dead Aim". The synopsis I read was not very good, but I've ordered it anyway. I like the way he writes. I heard all about Patricia Cornwell's Ripper book. I'm not too keen on true crime though. Well - that's one mystery solved. Now we need to find out who wrote Shakespeares plays. Was it Marlowe? Bacon?

Did you get to read Chasing the Dime yet? I'm having a rest from murder & mayhem with Joan Didion's "Political Fictions" - came this morning. What you reading now?

Viogert, how about Shakespeare having written Shakespeare's plays? I've never bought the Marlowe/Bacon arguments. William may have borrowed an idea or two, but what author hasn't? ..Babi

I get so mad at the people who really think Shakespeare didn't write what is attributed to him. As far as I am concerned Shakespeare wrote Shakespeare, period.

I thought it was me. I can not get into Quarry. I have always enjoyed her alphabet books but Q just does not keep my interest. I guess my goal of being around to read Z doesn't seem so important now.Just kidding. I am sure there will be something to perk my interest again.(lol)

The great Shakespeare Question. I like the question that's phrased to read "Did Shakespeare write Shakespeare, or was it that other guy Shakespeare?" I say Shakespeare wrote Shakespeare.

Marvelle

viogert, thanks for that brief synopsis of Sanctum. I'll keep checking and as soon as the library orders it, I'll be on the list! I'm in line already for Chasing the Dime.

I want to read more of those "Blue Deer, Montana" mysteries, too. Only read one but it was quite entertaining.

Shakespeare is good enough for me... if gaj thinks so! How many of you knew that period of literature is her area of expertise?!

Surely, we must have one open mind among us? Nobody to say - like they do about crop-circles in England "I don't care who does them, so long as they are there"?

Whatever anybody thinks, Marlowe & Shakespeare were both born 1564. Marlowe's education was very well documented whereas Shakespeare's wasn't. Marlowe was a spy, a hooligan & a troublemaker & was killed in a tavern quarreling over a bill in 1593. Shortly afterwards, a fully-fledged playwright emerged writing brilliant plays. The Oxford Companion to Eng. Lit says of Shakespeare: "Nothing is known of his beginnings as a writer, nor when or in what capacity he entered the theatre". It's a really good mystery. I don't give a hoot who wrote the plays or the sonnets now.

I hope you'll all consider joining the discussion on Mr. ?'s Julius Caesar proposed in the new year? It's to be led, if there is a quorum of interested participants, by Ginny and Maryal!

Lovers of works by this man (whoever he was) won't want to miss this discussion, I'm sure.

Indicate your interest here: Julius Caesar...proposed discussion

Viogert,of course i remember now about Without F I'm waiting for it to come out in paperback , is one for my special needs dept. for holidays.

Shakespeare? I don't believe all of these works were the writing of just one man.Watching a tv programme the other night on him there are huge gaps notaccounted for and questions still lay unanswered.I mean why make an image of a face to suit?Why was there no likeness available of him?Why make a face up to suit ?My guess is that 2 or 3 educated men were very good pals and wrote the lot between them.Christopher Marlowe amongst them.I work on logic,not sentimentality.Shakespeare was quite a drinker and died after falling into a drunken stupor from which he never recovered.

Oh Roidininki! ---aren't you the clever one? - I never knew that. I know about the Bodley Head, & the second-best bed - & with a lot of playgoing friends who never stop comparing Lears & Hamlets & Portia's - I know who played what going back as far as the war. I was once taken to see the delectable Paul Scofield play Richard II ("Let us sit upon the ground and tell sad stories about the death of kings") Our actors still have schoolchildren saying the words along with them during the matinees.

Here is a site all about Shakespeare. Shakespeare

Just started the new Sara Paretsky ( that is the paperback) Total Recall and it seems to be a major Lottie book. Which could be bad. I am not that fond of Lottie, who is bossy and makes VI do stupid things sometimes. Oh well. I love VI so will stick with it. Jamie Harrison wrote three books thus far. She is pretty slow as a writer and I have been waiting for the next one for quite a while. I love the books, but would never ever want to live in that sort of winter. I sort of gave up on Anne Perry.. I like them, but Charlotte and Pitt seem to be doing the same things over and over. I am not fond of Monk at all.. Although there is a tv show by that name that is quite interesting. It is not about the books however. Another author not heard from for a while is Susan Conant. I enjoy her dog books. You can tell she actually knows and cares for dogs. Most of the dog and cat mysteries are a bit weird about the animals. I like Rita Mae Browns, but they are mostly fantasy. Do not like The Cat Who books at all.

I have started on Jenny Siler's "Iced", and I'm having trouble getting interested. If things don't pick up soon, I'll probably toss it and pick up something else. ..Babi

BaBi -- I keep quoting Doris Lessing -- who said: "Never persevere with books you don't like. There are plenty of books out there that you WILL like." -- or words to that effect. I agree with her - put "Iced" down & read something else.

BaBi: I agree with viogert and Lessing. Life's too short to bother with books you don't like or can't get into that you're not reading because you have to (ie, for a grade, for a job, etc.) Dump it! ;0)

gaj, thanks for the Shakespeare site.Isn't it it amazing that so little is known though?Let's compare with a playwright of today for instance,someone as prolific as Shakespeare surely there would have been scholars who would have followed him around,documented essential things? viogert,wern't you the lucky one ?We were taken from school to the cinema to see the film of Hamlet starring Laurence Olivier.All the other plays i have seen have been rep.and set in modern time

Re plodding on with books that don't grab you, one of my friends has a rule... if things havn't grabbed you by page 67 it's not worth plodding on.I agree, but don't give them that much of a chance!

Roidininki -- we've agreed on this before - about how books we rave about can be considered unreadable by other people? It makes it difficult to rave about an author we have enjoyed, (like I did about Jenny Siler & BaBi went to look her up,) without adding riders about what type of book it is, what type of writer they are - whether it's cozy, or soft porn, or sadistic or just a slow read. It gets harder all the time to recommend books that will please us all.

About contemporary playwrights, I have been unable to discover why John Osborne's brilliant play, "Hotel in Amsterdam", has never been revived once. Historians will ask about the neglect - maybe think there was a conspiracy? I'm beginning to think there is.

Oh me,, I dont like John Osbourne at all.. plays never make much sense to me.. So as we can see, we are all so different in likes and dislikes On books.. if it is an author I like, I will persevere, at least for 100 pages. Someone else.. about 60 pages and I will bail on it. Am listening to an Ed McBain on audio. This one combines both Matthew Hope and Steve Carella.. Big problem is that the bad guys are busy killing each other off. Not one bad guy, but a whole book full except for Hope and Carella.. Also McBain read it and he has such an accent. Not one of my favorite audios at all.

is one of my favorite authors but I had an awful time getting into WARLOCK. It's a big book and he filled it with discription of anciennt egyption life which didn't interest me at all. When he fnally got down to character and story line though I found it useful and am now still with it and enjoying the action, the politics etc. When it's a pet author, I'll hang in there to the bitter end. . . . claire

"Beauty [and a wonderful mystery] is in the eye of the beholder!"

I might have given up on The Emperor of Ocean Park after about 50pp but my husband had liked it so I persevered. At about page 75, I could no longer put it down! I think, too, a long book [+500pp] deserves a longer grace period. Does that make sense?

From one of my publisher's newsletters I learned about a book that sounds good to me. "Cameron Colley is a crusading journalist -- exposing crooks, uncovering schemes, looking out for the little guy. But when a serial killer takes up his beat, killing his subjects even before he can expose them, he falls under suspicion...and must seek out the killer to clear his name! COMPLICITY is another inventive pageturner from Iain Banks."

Only problem is that it is so new, it hasn't gotten to the library yet. They have it listed, but no copies yet. Has anyone read anything by Iain Banks? He writes for Simon and Schuster.

FINISHED IT! Final report on The Emperor of Ocean Park by Stephen Carter...

Here is a tale, well told IF you like lots of side issues, subplots, extraneous characters, interesting complications, and so on. For 657pp, no less. The basic plot could probably have been expounded in half that number of pages but, honestly, wouldn't have been as much fun! Along about page 67, I think it was - the cemetery scene - I was hooked. It's a really different mystery plot and the guy has a compelling way of writing. I liked it in spite of the wordiness, or perhaps even BECAUSE of it. I'm sad that it's over! <BG>

Any Lindsey Davis fans here? You know, the gal who sets her mysteries in the Roman Empire and does it so well. There's finally a new one out, "The Body in the Bathhouse". (Not as catchy a title as one might like, but what the heck.) I just grabbed it before it got away. Now all I have to do is finish one of the other two books I'm currently reading so I can start on this one. And I did set "Iced" aside. As some of you said, it wasn't worth pushing with so many other books out there to read. ...Babi

I love Lindsey Davis.. Will look for the new one. The characters are so much fun.

Jeryn, You make a compelling argument about giving more time to a book, with a large number of pages, before giving up on it. I will try "Emperor of Ocean Beach" again.

I just finished reading "Stone Kiss" and found it interesting. However, I did learn some informative things about the Jews that I was not aware of before. There are many different sects. Almost like the various faiths among Christians. There are some rather sorid discriptions but overlooking that, it was a good read.

The library just notified me that my the book, "Red Dragon" is ready for me to pick up. I have two other books here to read so I guess that when I pick up "Red Dragon" I will read it next because it can only be checked out for two weeks and cannot be renewed. The two other books I can renew.

Bernie

Oh, I hope you like it then, Bernie! Let us know...

In fact, I'd like to hear more of others' opinions on that book, if anyone else is reading it?

I am gritting my teeth, determined to wade through the last few chapters of An Instance of the Fingerpost. It's a paperback I bought so have had it simmering on a back burner many weeks. My apologies to anyone who liked it; I've found it VERY disappointing and it goes straight into my library donation sack when finished. But having read hundreds of pages to get this far, I've got to see it through...

is it Southhampton Row that is the new one? I read it and was disappointed. She had been writing the same story about Hester and Monk for years. I was glad to see that they got married, although I missed the book where that happened.

Unless she really needs the money, I think Anne should take a rest.

About setting aside a book that isn't grabbing one. If you like mystery, you might like the novel, "Atonement". BUT, don't give up until you've read about 110 pages. The author is setting a nice, calm pastoral and slow-moving scene as a foil for the rest of the story.

Finished an early Marcia Muller. Not as good as what followed. Anyone here a fan of hers?? (besides cappie, that is...

Hi, I just subbed to this group. I enjoy a good mystery, and read many of them. My favourite mystery writer is Minette Walters, second favourite Richard North Patterson, third favourite Elizabeth George. I just started John Sanderford 'Mind Prey.' And, just finished Chris Ryan "The Hit List.' Chris is ex-SAS. I think his book is an indication of how difficult it is for special forces to re-adjust to the community, but better to write about it than act it out. I buy all of Minette Walters books as soon as they are released. I also like Richard North Patterson. And especially like Elizabeth George's Inspector Lyndley series. Elizabeth George has a good understanding of the English culture and uses many English words. She must have spent a good length of time in England, I reckon.

Catbird + Cappie -- It's great to find other fans of Marcia Muller - Sue Grafton said that she inspired all the subsequent women P.I.'s that emerged. Her books are only available in p/b in UK, so I didn't see how good the h/bs looked until "Murder One" bookshop opened in Charing X Road & started importing them. It means my proper collection didn't start until "Wolf in the Shadows". I liked Sharon when she was starting out & struggling, but I'd rather have the rich Sharon than no Sharon. I sent for "Point of Deception" which was good but I missed her.

Bobbicee - another collector! There's nothing like info from real obsessives, I'm ever so pleased you joined in. I don't exactly collect Minette Walters but I seem to have bought all her books -- I've liked them all but "Acid Row" - I found myself indifferent to who dunnit - but the writng was good as usual. There's some good Australian women crimewriters - especially a new one called Caroline Carver - you probably know about her anyway. She wrote that brilliant book "Blood Junction" that won the Brit. Crime Writers Assoc. first prize for a debut novel.

Jeryn --I've absorbed everything you've written about "Emperor of Ocean Park" - being a long slow read but rewarding. By accident I sent for a book that turned out to be a very fat 450pp mystery called "Skull Session" by Daniel Hecht. With your example before me I started it & was dug in for days It is very good indeed, but coming out of a deep book, as you said, leaves one at a bit of a loose end. So I sent for two of his other books to keep up the impetus. I will eventually read "Ocean Park" too.

Viogert, yes, I know Carolyn Carver. I try to read all Australian authors, and buy many of their books. I also buy a number of Australian historical novels...one of the reasons I have so many bookshelves in my house.<g>

Your post 915... absolutely in agreement, i never recommend to anyone unless i know the type of mystery thriller they have previously indicated suits them.

Roidininki - which only goes to show you've more sense than me. I leap in feet first saying "It's brilliant, it's marvellous, it's stunning" & can't grasp why people say it's unreadable. I've done it to other people's enthusiasm as well. Amazon is quite a good guide where they list books people bought, as well as the one's we liked.

Bobbiecee -- do you remember in 1995 when "Miss Smilla's Sense of Snow" had already been published a year, when Andrew Reimer raved about the book in the Sydney Morning Herald? His review whipped round the globe & suddenly it was a best-seller.

Marjorie I got the Magnolia book and am going to start it tonight can hardly wait.

Yes, Viogert, I do remember that. The power of the press, eh? And, it works just the opposite as well. I sometimes buy books from the discount book pile at Big W or Target, books that have never become best sellers. Many of them are quite good, but have never hit the best sellers list, perhaps because they didn't get a good review, or didn't have an Andres Reimer to go to bat for them.<g>

I just finished reading a Reginald Hill Book, and started one by Lisa Scottoline --Moment of Truth (got it for a quarter at the library sale). And oh my, what a difference in the quality of the writing. No way is it up to Reggie. However, the book has an interesting premise, and it's worth finishing to see how she resolves it. But the writing is so pedestrian. Usually I'm not all that conscious of the actual writing in a book, but I guess reading these two in such a short time made me more aware.

Just goes to show the difference in what we call good writing and stuff we could probably write ourselves?Lisa Scottlione sounds an impressive name..only wish her novels were half as much impressive.Once bitten twice shy.

Hi all,

In my earlier post I said that the book "Red Dragon" was waiting for me at the library, but I should have said "Red Rabbit". There is a movie out by that name now so I will read the book and decide if I want to see the movie. Bernie

I couldn't disagree with you more. The scottoline books at the least the five I've read have been a pleasure, well written, the characters well drawn, the tension well sustained. There's a new one out now in paperback. I've been waiting for it -- eagerly. Different strokes for different folks. . . . .claire

After reading raves, I go to BN on the net and put the book on my wish list.

Then I wait and sure enough, there is a bad review.

So in the end, I still have to make up my mind whether to buy it or not....

Different strokes......lol

There is no denying that one mystery lover's joy will be another mystery lover's dud! We are all different which makes life and discussions like this just that much more interesting. Keep expounding your favorites as there are many kindred spirits amongst us!

Glad to see you dropping in, Bobbiecee! WELCOME and hope you will return to share more of your favorites.

You got that right, viogert! Finishing a looooong, good read leaves a void that can best be filled by starting another one! Lucky me; I managed to find Time's Witness by Michael Malone this week to satisfy my cravings!

I'm working my way through his output which is prodigous....some things better than others but all worth my time.

I enjoyed the earlier ones in the series. However, the two I liked best were the ones about Egypt. My daughter's especial interest is ancient Egypt and the pyramids, so she reads everything she can lay her hands on about ancient Egypt, fiction and non-fiction, so I borrowed her books, which is why I've forgotten the names of them.<g>

Jeryn- - another big fat pacey read is "One Step Behind" - the translation from the Swedish by Henning Mankell. I know I go on about him a bit, but I really enjoyed that book. I hadn't a clue who dunnit until I was told. Some long books are a nice slow read, I discovered, & other long books move so fast - I'm at the end double quick. Daniel Hecht, who I am bingeing on at present - wrote his first book "Skull Session" with 450pp - it took days (nights) to read - all about Tourettes Disease & absolutely fascinating. I am now galloping though Hecht's third book "Puppets" - same length & taking half the time. Different style of writing probably. Anybody remember that group "Windham Hill"? Hecht was the guitarist.

Bobbiecee + Winsum - - I looked up Wilbur Smith - not having read him before - I thought he was a 'bloke's writer' like Clancy et al. Some of the readers remarks in Amazon suggest he's not as good as he was. Is there one book of his, better than all the others?

All those books, and I've never even heard of Wilbur Smith before. It must be the "Smith"; the name tends to fade into the background before it really registers. :>) ..Babi

I have heard of him and I don't think I have read any of his work.

best book s a matter of taste. I think I like struggle agains adversity and BURNING SANDS is probably one I can identify with although I've never had that kind of challange. . . a womans fight for survival plus. some are better than others. this one "The Roar of Thunder" an early effort is not. it's a struggle to stay with it, but by now I'm a loyal subject who can't give up on a WILBUR SMITH. . . . . claire

I found this site through Google. It has some good info on his work.

http://members.tripod.com/~rollindice/iewilbur.html

I too am a great admirer of Marcia Muller. I adore her heroine.. She seems real to me. Elizabeth George and Minette Walters are also must reads for me. Minette always keeps me guessing and sometimes even though the book ended, I keep arguing with myself over some of her characters..The Sculptress makes me still willing to hear more.. Isnt that silly?

the above link is for Wilber Smith

Thanks for the Wilber Smith link, GinnyAnn. The two books about ancient Egypt are River God and Seventh Scroll. Good reading.

Stephanie, Elizabeth George and Minette Walters are must reads for me too. I'm sure I've read some Marcia Muller but can't recall anything specific at present, but will check her out when I go to the library.

Bobbie

Bobbie, Sharon McCone is Marcias primary heroine. She has written a few books about another women, but Sharon is the main focus. She started out working as a PI for All Saints Legal Cooperative in San Francisco and has evolved over the years. Worth looking for. She lets Sharon mature over the years involving her with several male friends and a lot of close friends. Interesting series.

Stephanie....yes, I have read some of her books. Isn't McCone now based in Monterey or one of the Calif beach cities? With a retreat at one of the secluded beaches? And she has a boyfriend who is gone a lot, in some sort of police work? I think I have the right one. I definitely recognise the name Sharon McCone.

Stephanie + Bobbicee -- there's the unauthorised website of Sue Trowbridge, who keeps the site up to date. Next book Cyanide Wells - in July 2003, is not a Sharon. Oh curses.

Http://www.interbridge.com/marciamuller/

Shucks..now I'm blushing, Bobbie. I have read "River God" and "The Seventh Scroll", and thought them both great. BUT, did not remember the author's name was Wilber Smith. (I'm just as bad with the names of actors and actresses. I enjoy the stories, and don't give enough thought to the 'creators'.) ...Babi

P.S. I've received another Michael Malone book (First Lady) from that generous fellow, Cal. My thanks to you, Cal. Is there anything you're looking for? If I have it, it's yours! ...Babi

BaBi...Never mind. I tend to remember the authors and the story while forgetting the name of the novel. I remember the authors I really like so I can check for additional books by the same author when I go to the library. Weren't 'River God' and 'The Seventh Scroll' excellent? His best two books, IMO. In contrast, with non-fiction, I often remember the book title but not the author. Figure that out.

Viogert....Marcia Muller is a prolific author. I didn't realise she'd written that many. I'm reading my last library book, so it's library time again this afternoon. Any ideas of what I should look for?

Bobbi

I had to make a quick trip to the library today. Discovered I had overdue books and a book waiting for me that I had reserved. Hence the trip. lol The mystery book I renewed is titled Something Borrowed, Something Black:The New Peter Macklin Thriller by Loren D. Estleman. Estleman writes books that he sets in Detroit. He has done a series of books about the history of the automotive industry. He fictionalizes the stories that are based on real facts. One of his mystery series has Amos Walker as the PI. Walker lives in an ethnic neighborhood (Eastern Europe Descendants) When ever we drive past the Detroit area I love to see the sign for Hamtramic (sp?) because that is Walkers neighborhood.

GinnyAnn -- It's amazing how Loren Estelman isn't recommended more, because he is really good - especially his Amos Walker series. I confess I dropped off a bit when he wrote about Detroit history & prohibition. Those books were very good, but I missed his P.I. I looked up the Detroit neighbourhood, Hamtramck(I had to check) - it said it was mostly settled by people from Poland!

Bobbiecee -- I can give you a list of authors to try, but you seem to be quite clued-up anyway. Some of these you might not know.
Nevada Barr - writes as a Park Ranger
Earl Emerson - P.I. called Thomas Black in Seattle.
Anabel Donald - start with "In at the Deep End"
Ian Rankin - start at"Knots & Crosses" - addictive, Scottish.
Donald Harstad - small town police in Iowa. Very satisfactory
Donna Leon - cop Brunetti in Venice - better than Dibdin.
Tony Hillerman - Navajo Reservation Police (& Jim Chee).
Carol O'Connell - Kathy Mallory - cranky genius(?)
Janet Evanovich - well plotted books, funny bounty hunter.
Denise Mina - brilliant Scots social doctumentary/thrillers.
Sara Paretsky - brilliant Chicago P.I. (& campaigner)
Leslie Field - two excellent exotic books so far.

Other authors we've raved about or argued about are Thomas Perry; John Lescroart; Michael Connelly; Lee Child; Sue Grafton; Michael Malone; Eliot Pattison; John Sandford; Les Roberts; S.J.Rozan; Michael Ridpath; Lawrence Block. I've forgotten a lot of them, but I'll make another list when I remember.

Thanks SO much for that list of recommendations, viogert! Excellent! I've enjoyed some [not all] of these myself and it's always nice to add some new authors to the old "to read list"!

I'm about halfway through Connelly's latest, Chasing the Dime; quite a different path from the usual Harry Bosch fare but definitely keeping me reading!

I read a few chapters of Michael Malone's Time's Witness and found it to be almost too much Cuddy [main character]! Does he keep that up for the entire book? I'll be exhausted!

Thanks for the list, Viogert. I got a John Sandford and 2 Sue Grafton books...right on the shelves, and put several of the others on reserve, as well as Hannah's daughter. And was informed that I can order the books over the net, so have put some more on reserve. They'll probably all become available at once,...be my luck.<g>

Jeryn - Cuddy was a real pain in the elbow in "Times Witness", those long sentences were very trying. But he was a delight (in the first person) in "Uncivil Seasons" - Malone's first mystery - so maybe we should suggest that people start with that, & progress to the second book when we are familiar with him.

By accident I found a new website for Thomas Perry for interested readers:

http://www.randomhouse.com/features/thomasperry/home.html

On impulse I sent an email to the address provided, whingeing about how hard it had been finding his books last year, & what a relief they are now all back in print. Also repeated how good I thought the 'Stillman' character was in "Death Benefits". (Heh! Heh! he might bring him back?). Oh joy - he replied this morning.

Someone said they liked Richard North Patterson,so do i, has he had any recent stuff out?Minette Walters has a new title out if anyone's interested ,Fox Evil.I havn't read it yet. Viogert i just had a new book sent to me for subscribing to a books mag.it's a Henning Mankell,read up sounds good another new to me author.We don't have any other English people in here or i would ask what their opininion was on the dramatisation of Val MCDermid's Mermaids Singing ,part of the Wire In THe Blood series ITV are doing.It was extemely shocking, detailed tortured corpses.John Conelly has a challenger!

A new author( for me).. I am reading Jo Ann Adamson "The Elusive Voice". Seems to be her second book in a series. Historical Detective.. set in the late 1800's in Cambridget. Michael is the hero and his boss who owns the newspaper is interesting as well. The book is about the spiritualism craze of that period. I love it. Will look for her first as well. What a neat thing for me to find a brand new author.

GAJ.. thanks for the info on Loren Estleman. My parents were from the Detroit area and Dad was with GM so I know I'll be able to relate to the subject matter and area. VOIGERT... Thanks for the list of authors, I found several I haven't read and have put them on my list. BARB

Well, I started with Uncivil Seasons, viogert, and found Cuddy to be an interesting and amusing secondary character but, THIS book... I don't know... the wisecracks are beginning to wear me out! I'm just starting and really wonder, does the author try to keep that up the whole 537 pages?

roidininki, I read several of Richard North Patterson's books and liked them a lot. Have not kept up with his recent output, however. Which was the last one you read?

Calling all Brits! hahahaha

viogert and roidininki, (note the proper spelling, I copied it this time) hahaahah are you there?

We're discussing the movie Remains of the Day and would like to know how Beaufort as in the Duke of Beaufort's Hunt is pronounced? Can you give it a go phonetically?

For instance we have two ways of saying Beaufort SC , one is Beeu furt and one is Bo ford, (sort of soft on that final t) are either of those what we'd hear if we were addressing the Duke of Beaufort?

Inquiring minds definitely would love to know?

I'm reading Patricia Cornwell's new book, the non fiction one about solving the case of Jack the Ripper, and I think it's excellent. I saw her on the Today Show talking about it and it's very well written in my opinion. If you like Cornwell, I think you'd really like this book. I had no idea she was so gorgeous, it gives you a look into her own thoughts and life and also that of the real forensic world, I'm not too far along but really enjoying it.

ginny

Ginny - it's Bo fort. Just when you think it couldn't be pronounced like it looks, it is. There's a Duke of Buccleuch - (there's a dirty limerick about HIM.) Pronounced Buck loo - half us Brits usually don't know how toffs names are pronounced. I speak for myself of course - what about you Roidininki?

I read that Patricia Cornwell was very keen for Jody Foster to play Scarpetta, but she'd refused every offer. Cornwell has been having little alterations to her face so she can look like Jody, they said, it could eaily be just a media fiction though. But her face HAS changed recently & she's a lot prettier.

Jeryn - I thought Savile was belaboured by Cuddy throughout "Uncivil Seasons". In "Times Witness" Cuddy has the first person narrative & isn't such a windbag - much improved I thought. Dump him Jeryn, if he's a pest - it's a long book!

viogert, I took a break from Cuddy and read Chasing the Dime. Fast-moving, interesting, wham-bang ending! Done in no time! Not Harry Bosch, but pretty darn good. I may tackle Cuddy one more time, give it to 100 pp since it is so long.

Jody Foster needs to have her head examined! She'd be a super Scarpetta and probably ensure the movie's success. I'd want her to, if I were Cornwell.

Remains of the Day... sigh, one of the saddest books I ever read but so well done. The movie was good too.

Hey everyone, don't forget that some of your PBS stations are airing Hillerman's "Skinwalkers" tonight, 9-11pm. We have two PBS stations available to us. One of them shows it tonight; the other not till Thursday evening. Don't know why.

great, but ok. It is that same old story, I guess. When I read a book I imagine the characters in my own mind---how they look, how they speak, how they move. It is always a little hard to pair up the movie actor with the picture in my mind. Jim Chee wasn't at all as I imagined him. Joe Leaphorn was a little closer to the character in my mind. But the scenery was really great! Not sure it was actually filmed in Arizona but it sure looked like it.

In the program afterward, that told of how the film was made, Tony Hillerman said (I think regretfully) that they always have to "kill" the novel to make the movie. I think he is right.

Ginny where have you been,haha?,Bofut it is,say it quickly.I mean how do you say Beau Bridges? Bo? Bew? Baw ?I say Bo.Thankyou for spelling our names correctly too!I did a post a way back a couple of weeks ago on the tv programme Patricia Cornwell did for the BBC here,she was in London showing how she did her research for the book.One of the broadsheet critics slammed it,called her wateryeyed amongst other things,and that was his politest remark!He reckoned it was all utter rubbish.Sickeret?You're off your trolley sort of thing,yet Sickert had been a suspect before she took an interest!Wasn't as if.. you know?I was so angry at his obvious dislike of Patricia rather than taking notice of a very brilliant analysis with so many clues backed up with paintings and sketches,so that Sickert was quite rightly a prime suspect that i wrote to the critic,then got someone else to watch the video i'd done of said prog,and he was amazed,just as i was.My first impression of Patricia was how tiny she looked.By no means did i think her pretty,not as much as the photos i'd seen of her.But she has a first class mind!Well respected by forensic peop;e and pathologists in America she brought Linda Fairstein along too as well as other expertst. One of our former senior police officers.who escorted her around London thought she was first rate yet a journalist took her down.. only glad she wasn't still here to read it.He didn't reply to my nmissive needless to say! Having read probably every book on Jack i wasn't shocked by the photos of The Rippers victims, but some may be are they in this book Ginny? Jodi Foster ...ummm...not my choice..i suppose this was because she played Clarice Starling so well?

One of the reading groups i'm in have announced that we are to read a book soon by the author of Remains Of The Day.

I suspect that Jody does not care for the connotation with Patricia. Besides Jody is very very fussy about what roles she does. I think she would be an OK Scarpatta. Actually I would not like the books to hit the screen. They always ruin books..

HEY, Roi, I've been in Remains, you missed a heck of a discussion, and am finishing the movie discussion now, thank you for that pronunciation of Beaufort, I will go report it along with Vi's and I spelled your name correctly because I copied it, otherwise you'd be doomed hahaahahah

I have a feeling some of the antipathy about Cornwell comes from how she expresses herself in the book about people who might not agree with her, it kind of startled me when I read it last night, she's pretty firm if you don't agree with her why you don't (it has to do with your bias and limited self ) hahahaah it's no holy wonder people were up in arms.

I'm not seeing any photos of the victims in the book, but there are plenty of Sickert and the letters he wrote and that Jack the Ripper wrote for comparison.

On the back cover is her photograph and all I can say is, I wish I looked like that, I'll scan it in here tomorrow and you all can see for yourselves.

ginny

Here is Patricia Cornwell from the back cover of her latest book, which I have taken to carrying around with me, you can see why she's a mystery writer, she's quite good.

I am not sure she looked exactly like this on the recent Today Show, but I recall thinking how attractive she was, but THIS, I dunno, I wish I looked like this, actually.

ginny

I've read a number of Cornwell's books, and they are very good. (And I always thought her a beautiful woman from her jacket pictures .) I haven't read any for quite a while. I was finding the persistent aggresiveness, strain, and tragic losses of her heroine, in pretty much all her relationships, a bit hard to take. I'll probably go back to reading her work again one of these days. ...Babi

a cool lady, at least that's the impression I get from her picture and her writing. I found the descriptive gorey stuff too hard to take after a while, especially lacking in warmth or compassion. I think I read two of her books and part of a third. Ginny you don'twant to look like that. . . cool b**ch. You're a nice WARM lady.

Hey, everybody... I hope there's nothing mysterious about your turkey!

Have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Ginny -- that's a pretty picture of Cornwell - looks like she's done the fashionable thing - lost weight & bleached her hair platinum. I don't want to read the Sickert book - but it will probably put an end to the cult of Jack-the-Ripper books. There are hundreds of them.

hahaha Clare, you are such a stitch, appreciate that!

Viogert, were you the one who asked if there were photos of the victims in it? HORROR OF HORRORS!!!

Last night I was reading quite nicely in bed (no glasses no contacs, so I have to hold book up to nose) when I saw coming up a new section of photos close to the front I had not seen, I was pleased, there's granny and there's Sickert's mother and what's that? ER...peering nearsightedly at grainy photo, er.. it's a victim, just the face, all dressed up, ok, er...here's another one, er....oh er...here's a third one, she looks less good, very much less good, and turn the page, and OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!!! AGGAGG dear goodness, who knew, here's one whose face was slashed horribly, and a huge one of I guess the same person I was in shock, the before the funeral home sewed her up, o horrors I can't tell you the effect on these nearsighted eyes up close, suffice it to say I got out the gun my husband insists I keep in the night chest, and had nightmares all night, so , er....yes Viogert, you were right! There are victim photos in the book.

Horrors!

I think I like my mysteries kind of not visible.

Anyway, hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgivingi holiday, those of you in America, and those of you in other lands, we're thankful for you, too!

ginny

I just finished Kathy Reichs book Fatal Voyage. What a book, quite a lot of technical stuff but the story was a barn burner. It had me right to the end and come to find out I had not idea what the out come was and it shocked me I can't even tell you.

Ginny -- No, it wasn't me. I wouldn't ask about ghoulish pictures EVER. I've never had the slightest interest in Jack the Ripper at any time - certainly not pictures of the ripped women! Put the thing down for goodness sake.

There are some stories that have been done so much that my usual reaction is: "not again!!". I've lost all interest in reading anything about the Ripper. I'm even tired of the multitude of re-takes on the Arthur legend. Ya-a-a-awn. ...Babi

My reaction precisely, BaBi! Some things have just been run into the ground but, as usual, it's "different strokes for different folks" and if it turns you on... enjoy!

I found a copy of Going Local which is, I believe, the first in the "Blue Deer, Montana" series by Jamie Harrison. Just something light to get me through the weekend!

Pies baked, cranberry sauce ready, turkey defrosted, mumble mumble...

Viogert,apologies from me on Ginny's behalf,it was i .[who asked if the Cornwell book had pictures of The Ripper's victims in it] Now i wasn't asking because i am ghoulish,i was asking because Ginny could have spared herself all that horror that she came across apparently looking without specs or contacts,by quickly skipping anything that looked remotely awful.I daresay those of us who have followed all the numerous lit.on The Ripper have become used to seeing said pictures.I know that from previous posts you are not remotely interested in reading detailed descriptions of victims in novels?

Ginny,Patricia was very, very lovely when she was a girl reporter,that i could see from the tv prog what i imagine a cheerleader to look like.Zooming in to your pic[haha] i thought her too angular in the face,not nearly as bonny[do you use that word for rounded features there?]On tv i thought she looked "bushed" ,well you would wouldn't you after all that investigation?

Have any of you read Gideon or Icarus by Russll Andrews?Hope you had a good Thanksgiving.

Hello there Roidininki -- I don't remember you asking about gory pictures in the Cornwell book - but Jeryn obviously thought it was one of us Poms. We are the only people not in the bosom of our families eating turkey & pumpkin pie today - giving thanks. Well, us two & Bobbiecee as well.

I looked up Russell Andrews since you mentioned him - he seems to be really well-liked, but people who bought him, bought Harlen Coban who I'm not fond of, so I will give him a miss. Have you ordered Minette Walters' new book yet?

Phyll - I was grateful for that Tony Hillerman quote about having to kill the book to make a movie. I have always thought of them as completely separate. A good book changes every time you read it, but a film is always the same. I really love the nice Jim Chee I've cast in the part, & the desert & the weather. Having seen a picture of Shiprock - which is as staggering as I imagined - I'm satisfied with my own production.

Viogert,know you're not fond of HC,and i really only went a bit OTT about Tell No One,still to see it advertised film completed and released,maybe someone in here or Movies can tell me,it was a real good read and was not about his Marlon character who really isn't my cup of tea at all.So as i have Gideon and Icarus i'll give them a whirl.I don't agree that books don't make good movies.Andrew Klavan's Don't Say A Word made an excellent thriller recently.Have i ordered the new Minette Walters ...er...no, thanks for reminding me!

My daughter sure picked some good books this time. I just finished The Stone Forest by Karen Harper and it was at least 8 stars.

Ah, now pray tell me, ladies of England, what is a POM??? I thought I knew all the British-English slang but haven't seen that one! Well, we are all feasted to the point of fasting here on t'other side of the pond; back and ready to relax and read a good mystery.

Keep 'em coming, everyone! LOVE your comments, reviews, and general chitchat!

Pie all gone, cranberry sauce mostly gone, turkey and dressing leftovers for supper today; NOT getting on the scales... mumble mumble

Actually I intended my little piece on the Cornwell Ripper book as a cautionary tale if you were considering getting it or giving it to anybody unawares, it's actually excellent, hard to put down, and extremely well written. In fact it's better than her mysteries.

I may be the only person on earth that was not up on all the Jack the Ripper information; however, no matter what was previously known before she wrote the book, she talks about things in the book that have not been mentioned before because she is the one who discovered them or aided in their discovery; it's excellent it really is. Was just not prepared for the photos, nor the descriptions of the violence but I now know what Sherlock Holmes meant by Spitalfields and I understand Scrooge's remark about the workhouses and I know what sort of lives the Unfortunates had, it's quite graphic, as pertains to details about violence and photographs, but is extremely well written.

ginny

Jeryn, POM or Pommy, is an Aussie term for a Brit, especially for a Brit who has migrated here. It's supposed to mean Prisoner of Her Majesty, so was originally POHM. Part of our humour.<G> The Brits who share our type of humour, and most of them do, call themselves Pom's when talking to Aussies.

Bobbiecee -- thanks for that explanation, & thanks for not putting 'whingeing' in from of Pom. I didn't know it's origin so I learn all the time. I thought it was something to do with potatoes! BTW, you have that Australian mystery writer called Marele Day who writes very good page-turners. Has she anything new coming?

Jeryn 'Whingeing Poms' are the ungrateful wretches who emigrated to Oz on assisted-passage grants, & immediately started to complain about everything.

Viogert....I was being kind by not adding the 'whinging' bit. You are right, the whinging Poms are the ones who came on assisted-passage grants. Every now and then I come in contact with one of them. I always suggest they go back to their Home country. That brings on another bout of whinging about England. However, most Poms are beaut people who love it here. Actually, my next door neighbour is from Lancashire. He's NOT a whinging Pom. <g>

I haven't checked to see if Marele Day has a new book. I must do that. Right now, I'm reading a book by Jo Bannister, raised in England, now living in northern Ireland. Do you know her?

Bobbi

Have I said how much I enjoy reading the posts here? So much of interest and fun.

I'm sure you Aussies know whingeing is not confined to POMs. I have found it to be an unfortunate character trait that one runs across most anywhere. No matter what the subject, or what helpful suggestions you may try to offer, these chronic complainers take great satisfaction in cranking up their pessimism another notch. One bit of wisdom acquired with age: avoid them!

I'll see if my library has "Stone Forest", since it comes so well recommended. :>) ..Babi

Bobbiecee -- yes I know Jo Bannister, but she is one of a large number of English crimewriters who write about familiar places, so I don't seem to read them - for that reason. Not very reasonable. All my collections are either American, Canadian or Scots writers. I tried recommending a really good mystery writer*, who writes books mostly set in South Africa - to a South African friend. She replied, "I don't want to read books about HERE, I want to read books about THERE". It accounts for so many parochial English writers being popular with people in other countries I suppose. It might account for the fact that Australian publishers neglect to publicise the number of amazing women novelists they have - like Thea Astley - because she writes about Australia. They under-rate them because their subject is familiar. Some great books don't get the worldwide publicity they deserve - even when they win the Orange Prize like Kate Grenville's "The Idea of Perfection".

*The brilliant June Drummond. My favourites are "The Farewell Party", "I saw Him Die" & "The Trojan Mule"

BaBi....totally agree with you....I also stay away from whingers as much as possible...one of the things I can do now that I'm retired. When I have something I'm upset about, I used the Aussie/Brit humour.. caustic wit...and innuendo.....at least it provides a laugh...

Viogert....interesting, your choice of writers. I choose mostly British and Aussie writers, as well as Irish and Scottish. I'm very cautious with American writers...Make sure they're good mysteries and realistic rather than shoot-'em-ups. BTW, I've been to England 4 times so I'm at least aware of the locales in the books. While I get most books at the library, I tend to buy good Aussie books, so I rate them high. And not just mysteries either, Australiana. I recently bought hard cover copies of Bryce Courteney's FOUR FIRES, and Peter Watt's CRY OF THE CURLEW. I haven't read them yet. I either buy, or my daughter gives me as a present, all of Bryce Courteney's books.

Bobbie

LOVE reading the Brit-Aussie interplay, you all! And thank you, Bobbiecee, for educating me on the meaning of the term "POM". I really had no clue! We spell it "whining" but it means the same in any English-speaking country. Boo-hiss on all whiners!

Tell me too, if you don't mind, how do the Australian people like -or not- Bill Bryson's book about Australia? I believe it was called something like A Sun-drenched Country? No, that's not quite it. You'll know what I mean? I read it and found it enjoyable but seriously wondered how accurate all his observations might be.

A Sunburnt Country? I'll have to review it to give you an answer. What specifically are you referring to?

bobbie

Gosh, it's been a couple of years since I read it. Can't remember specifics. Just give me your general impression, if you've read it. No need to dig it up and read or reread, Bobbiecee! Not that important.

It was amusing but I remember wondering while I read it, just what the Aussies themselves might think?! I remember it seemed a bit patronizing at times. The chapter on Canberra jumps to mind for some reason.

Jeryn....I felt it was a bit patronising as well, but if I remember correctly, many of his observations were correct. We like to laugh at ourselves, and especially our political foibles, and are much more prone to nodding our heads when a writer points out our foibles than Americans are. As long as what is said is said with humour and a caustic wit, we'll probably agree with most of it. BTW, it's common for American writers to be patronising of us....we just consider the source, accept the accurate observations, laugh at the inaccurate ones.....and love our country....warts and all.

Bobbie

and I believe that Mr. Bryson apologized for changing it from "sunburnt". Now where is "a sunburnt country" famous from?

how's that for some fractured English??

Catbird -- not really Bryson's fault entirely - what is his editor for? Our version of the Australian book was called "Down Under" - because that's how the whole of the Antipodes is termed in UK. (If we dig straight down in our gardens, we were told as children, we will reach Sydney!) I thought it was - compared with his others - a rather brief book for a huge country. He was infinitely ruder & nastier about the Midwest of America in "Lost Continent", starting "I come from Iowa. Well, somebody has to". And one of the most horrible women he ever described, was English in "Notes from a Small Country". I see in the Travel Section of the Sunday papers that his new book is called ""African Diary" - all the profits & royalties will be donated to 'Care International'.

Bobbiecee - my South African friend wrote this morning to say she went to bed with a thriller by Jon Cleary (Aus), who I hadn't read. Looked him up & people who buy his books, also buy Jo Bannister it said!

Viogert....I've read all of Jon Cleary's books....one of my favourite Aussie authors. It's best to start with his earlier books. In his earlier books his kids are young. In the later ones they are grown. Just a suggestion. You'd also understand the innuendos and subtle humour in both books as our humour is similar.<g>

In re Sunburned/sunburnt....American's use the first, we use the second...If his editor was a Yank, he wouldn't have picked it up. However, if Bryson claims he knows so much about down under, he should have learned that first off, especially if he listened to one of our favourite poem/songs 'I love a sunburnt country' from which he would have got the idea for the title. Shame on him!

Bobbie

I didn't make myself clear. Bryson knew that it is "Sunburnt" and was apologizing to those who use that spelling. He was using "Sunburned" for us Yanks. (Although many Yanks are educated enough to use the 't' ending version and not say "HUH?)

Sunburnt? Sunburned? Aren't they both correct? Same meaning and my Webster's lists them both in the same breath, as it were! I say both, without much thought about it.

I burnt the toast.

That toast is burned to a crisp.

But if your custom commonly uses "sunburnt"... then Bryson should have too. He wasn't changing it for THIS American! I have thought a large part of his humor is to denigrate and belittle, which is not always funny. I have not read all his books, just the Australia one and one called A Walk in the Woods, about our own Appalachian trail.

NEW SUBJECT: Speaking of Australian authors, are any of you familiar with Arthur Upfield? He was highly recommended here in this very forum, quite some time ago, but I have never been able to find any of his books.

Jeryn -- Arthur Upfield, (1888 - 1964) is still very popular & is still in print here & in the US. I've not read any - have you Bobbiecee? My mystery encyclopedia remarks that his books are old fashionedly racist - implying all Aborigines are 'ugly' - referring to them as 'Abos'. The short biog says his own life was as exciting as his books.

Bill Bryson's was working in Fleet Street for The Times during the printer's strike in London. His report on the dispute (in "Notes From a Small Island")is considered historically, one of the best. Also, his book on European travels in "Neither Here nor There" has the funniest account of Italian motorists that I have read anywhere. I only defend him because his book on the English language, ("Mother Tongue" in UK,)is brilliant.

I'm going to have to look up the authors that our friends in the UK and Oz and NZ are talking about. They're all new to me. Thanks!

I finished one of Margaret Truman's "capital crimes" series Murder at Ford's Theatre last night, and I've enjoyed it. She has a good current "DC" plot...an intern who ends up dead, etc. She'll never win any of those big "book prizes," but she did keep my interest and I looked forward to reading more each evening. Sometimes that's the best it gets!

Oh well, then... I'm not sure I would like Arthur Upfield after all. Thanks for the info, viogert! And now I am quite motivated to read some more of Bryson. The books on England you mention sound very entertaining. He DID live there for some while, did he not?

Yes, Jane, I've read several of Margaret Truman's Washington mysteries, some better than others, but all quite readable. I must check out that new one...

No, I haven't read any of Arthur Upfield's books. It is a 'No-No' to call aboriginals 'Abo's' today. It sounds like he is racist, and he's obviously not a popular author here, as I'm aware of most Aussie authors. Every several months my library has a display of Aussie authors and I've never seen his works. I must check into my library website and see if he is listed, but don't think I'll bother reading any of his books.

If any of you are interested in historical fiction on the beginnings of Australia, I can highly recommend Bryce Courtenay. I liked 'The Potato Factory' best. It's set in first England, then in Tasmania after being transported down. In the same vein, I also highly recommend Colleen McCullough's 'Morgans Run.' It's set in Norfolk Island. She also wrote 'The Thornbirds.' She now lives on Norfolk Island, which I want to go visit sometime in the next several years. It's an Australian protectorate, in the Tasman Sea east of Sydney, and was originally a penal colony for recalcitrant prisoners...a very harsh colony.

Bobbi