Author Topic: Mystery Corner ~ 2 (Read 881392 times)

mrssherlock · « **Reply #1000 on:** June 29, 2010, 12:41:22 PM »

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

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Discussion Leaders: BillH and JoanK

Steph: The second book, A Bad Day for Pretty, has much less violence. Perhaps the intent in book 1 was to establish Stella and violent encounters won't be necessary.

JoanK · « **Reply #1001 on:** June 29, 2010, 03:00:20 PM »

Finally back online: it feels like forever. I finished "The Secret Files of Fremont Jones" and liked it a lot Now I'm reading Alafair Burke. I usually don't care for serial killer books, but this one is very good.

A lot more good suggestioons. I have to write them down on my library list.

joegreyfan · « **Reply #1002 on:** June 29, 2010, 07:30:46 PM »

JoanK, I really enjoyed Alafair Burke's Dead Connection and Angel's Tip.

I've just started Sacrifice by S.J. Bolton, which quite a number of people have been raving about. After I started it, I remembered that I'd intended to read A Bad Day for Sorry next. I do plan to get to it very soon, though, so I can see what I think of it.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #1003 on:** June 29, 2010, 09:17:13 PM »

Just read afun book. The Bride Will Keep Her Name by Jan Goldstein. The book was in the fiction section of the library, but i would call it a mystery. The author is male, but the protagonist is female. He does a good job writing from a female perspective.

Random House says: JAN GOLDSTEIN, the author of All That Matters, is an award-winning poet, playwright, and screenwriter. He lives with his wife, Bonnie, and their family in Los Angeles.

His site is here: http://www.jangoldstein.com/goldstein-bio.htm

It was an often humorous story about a woman who gets an e-mail msg a week before her wedding saying her groom is not who he appears to be. The best parts of the book are the interaction between the bride-to-be and her 2 best friends who have known each other since childhood and will do anything for each other. The parents and in-laws to be are well drawn characters - in both senses of the word - also. I like it. I'll look for the other 2 books, this was the first one of his i've read....................jean

mabel1015j · « **Reply #1004 on:** June 29, 2010, 09:32:48 PM »

I copied the above post from the "mystery" site because i got both of Goldstein's other books at the library last night and i tho't you might want to know about them here in "fiction." I started All That Matters and read almost the whole 200 pages last night. It's a very different book, from The Bride......., not a "mystery." It was his first book and got great reviews. I don't want to give any of the story away, so i'll just say it's a wonderful story about a grandmother who survived the holocaust and a 20-something granddgt who thru interesting circumstances have to live together after having been out of touch for a couple yrs.

Again JG does an amazing job of writing women's tho'ts and voices. I highly recommend it. There is a lot of discussion about death and dying - but not in the least depressing. (Steph, i tho't about you while reading the hospital scene, you may not want to go at it yet, altho as i said it's not depressing and has many light moments.) The grandmother has a wonderful philosophy of life that she learned from the woman who hide her as a thirteen yr old from the Nazis

The third book looks like it will be entirely different again. The title is something about Nantucket, it's upstairs and i have forgotten exactly what it is..............I will, of course, let you know what i think of it...........jean

Steph · « **Reply #1005 on:** June 30, 2010, 05:52:23 AM »

Will try A Bad Day for Pretty. The violence in the first one turned me off.. But I think that the writer is a good one and will improve the series. You cant keep putting your heroine in the hospital over and over.. My holiday treat. I have the paperback.. Fingerlicking Fifteen. Ah.. Stephanie Plum,, the one sure laugh for me.. She always makes me laugh without fail.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #1006 on:** June 30, 2010, 12:48:04 PM »

Sorry, i meant to post those two previous msgs in "fiction," don't know what happened................

I LOVED "All That Matters." Finished it last night. Some may consider the ending schmaltzy - I might have been one of those, except JG does a great job of including humor at just the right moments. For any of us who have experienced depression and/or lose, or longed for a great realtionship w/ a grandparent/parent, this provides a lot of food for thought. .....................it is interesting to me that the reader reviews are all over the place. Some think the writing is great - i'm one of those - others think it's terrible...............uuuummm wonder why that is. ................anyway, i tho't it was a great story told in just 200 pages..........jean

mrssherlock · « **Reply #1007 on:** June 30, 2010, 12:56:20 PM »

Spencer Quinn's Dog On It was a hoot, Iaughed out loud. The dog is the narrator and we get to follow the dog's thinking (?) process, very funny. Quinn's second in the series, Thereby Hangs a Tail, is out now and #3, To Fetch a Thief, will be out in September. http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/q/spencer-quinn/

Steph · « **Reply #1008 on:** July 01, 2010, 05:51:49 AM »

I did not like Dog Gone it and I am a dog lover. Just too weird for me to like.
Gobbled up FingerLicking Fifteen. I love Stephanie, but am not a Lula fan and this one is way too much Lula for me.. This is mostly a Ranger type book.. Stephanie seems to be more and more relying on Ranger for help.. and working for him part time.. Not enough Grandma.. Nothing about the sister or husband.. No Mooner.. No Sally.. Darn. Still like the series.

Babi · « **Reply #1009 on:** July 01, 2010, 05:07:09 PM »

I am having a similar reaction to my first 'Joel Grey' book by Shirley Murphy. I'm enjoying it, sort of, but it does carry the idea of animal/human communication a bit too far. I know from
my own experience that there is a level of communication, but outright human speech is a
bit too much. One simply has to suspend belief and take it for what it is.

joegreyfan · « **Reply #1010 on:** July 02, 2010, 02:32:35 PM »

Finished Sacrifice by S.J. Bolton yesterday. It's a totally enthralling gothic suspense tale involving Scottish/Norse legends and bloody ancient pagan rituals in the present-day Shetland Islands, with one shocking twist after another. A real page-turner!

Started A Bad Day for Sorry last night. Loving it so far!

Just got my first iPod, so I've started rereading (yet again) the Harry Potter series, this time via Jim Dale's brilliant audio books. (I guess this really belongs in the SF/Fantasy discussion, but I think H.P. also qualifies for the Mystery/Thriller category.)

JoanK · « **Reply #1011 on:** July 02, 2010, 05:06:43 PM »

Harry Potter will qualify for anything, as far as I'm concerned.

Browsing in Borders, I found a mystery series based on yoga. Had to try it, yoga enthusiast as I am. The first book "Corpse Pose" was disappointing -- slow to start, undervalueing yoga (the main character, who hasn't done yoga since a child, assumes she will be qualified to teach with a few weeks preparation, and there are very BAD yoga instructions and recipes in the back -- organic foods using canned vegtables. Who's she kidding?) I'll still try a later one to see if they get better.

Babi · « **Reply #1012 on:** July 03, 2010, 08:06:31 AM »

Good luck with that, JOAN. You're more optimistic than I am, and that's saying a lot.

mrssherlock · « **Reply #1013 on:** July 03, 2010, 12:11:17 PM »

Publishers trying to cash in on the popularity of The Girl Who series are scouring the international mystery novel market according to this Wall Street Journal article: http://tinyurl.com/27jfg5c

JoanK · « **Reply #1014 on:** July 03, 2010, 04:39:57 PM »

Sorry, I meant to say frozen vegetables above. Maybe freezing them kills any chemicals on them? Anyway, I'll let you know.

JoanP · « **Reply #1015 on:** July 03, 2010, 04:44:35 PM »

Please forgive me for running this PBS promotion again, but the programming is scheduled to begin in a little over a week, and I have many FREE copies of Agatha Christie's book to give away. Can't figure out what to do with the extras. Can you think of anyone who might like to receive a copy?

Come July, PBS is celebrating A Christie's 120 birthday - with PRESENTS for all -

We know you have seen film productions of "Murder on the Orient Express" - but how many have actually read the book? If you are interested in receiving a free copy of the book (except for some postage), please email me your full name and mailing address and I'll get it off to you as long as the supply lasts. My email address is jonkie@verizon.net.

Babi · « **Reply #1016 on:** July 04, 2010, 08:29:13 AM »

Your local nursing homes and senior center would probably appreciate a copy,
JOAN. You wouldn't even have to mail them. Just a thought.

JoanK · « **Reply #1017 on:** July 04, 2010, 03:53:49 PM »

I'm not as fond of Alafair Burke as I was at first. Read another book by her (don't have the title here) set in Portland. It seems she is a conservative, who occasionally makes side comments, irrelevant to the plot, on anything she considers "liberal". I don't like political opinions in mystery stories (of course I mind more when I don't agree with it).

She presents Portland as having a liberal enclave in a conservative background. My two neices live there-- one is liberal, the other conservative. I'll ask them.

Babi · « **Reply #1018 on:** July 05, 2010, 08:22:24 AM »

I'm reading another Jeffrey Cohen book and again, finding things that have me lol...and giggling for a long time afterward. This one is "A Night at the Operation", a take-off on "A Night at the
Opera", obviously. Cohen's hero in this series operates "Comedy Theater" and the Marx Bros. are favorites. As indicated, it shows only comedies but Elliot keeps getting involved in murders anyway.

mrssherlock · « **Reply #1019 on:** July 05, 2010, 02:04:04 PM »

Oregon is a state where the Dems have a majority in both houses, the Gov and both senators are Dems, and the only Representative who is Rep represents the vast, empty eastern 2/3 of the state's area.

mrssherlock · « **Reply #1020 on:** July 05, 2010, 02:05:45 PM »

PS: Portland's mayor is openly gay and has survived efforts for his recall when the petitioners failed to gather enough signatures to qualify for the ballot.

JoanK · « **Reply #1021 on:** July 05, 2010, 04:44:02 PM »

Sounds interesting, politically. No wonder my liberal niece, a graduate of the liberal Reed college. likes it (according to Alafair Burke, all Reed college students smell bad. Poo on her.) We'll see how my conservative niece, who just moved there, likes it. By the way, in spite of their political differances, my nieces are close, and don't insult each other's beliefs. The people in this country could learn from them.

pedln · « **Reply #1022 on:** July 05, 2010, 10:36:45 PM »

Quote

I don't like political opinions in mystery stories

Ha ha JoanK, that's just an additional reason why I enjoy Margaret Maron so much. Her opinions just sort of slide in without you realizing it. I'm thinking that she does NOT stand along side Alafair Burke.

My Seattle granddaughter has started looking at colleges. She's an excellent student, but has been scared off from Reed. Supposedly all they do there is study and work.

Steph · « **Reply #1023 on:** July 06, 2010, 09:30:26 AM »

Hmm, Alafair was in fact raised in Louisiana.. So the conservative is probably natural to her, but her later books move from Portland to the east coast. I am a liberal to the core, but I like her books, not as much as her Dads,, but I still like them.

marjifay · « **Reply #1024 on:** July 06, 2010, 02:51:17 PM »

I just finished a great book -- KILLER by Dave Zeltserman, recommended by a book discussion group that reads noir. (214 pp, 2010) Very well written.

Per an Amazon reader of the book:
"KILLER is the final instalment of Zeltserman's "man-out-of-prison" series. SMALL CRIMES and PARIAH take some beating, but KILLER is superb. When once-upon-a-time hit-man, Leonard March, is freed from prison, he's like an old, de-fanged wolf, battle scarred and shunned by the pack. Zeltserman, in this meditation on the mind of a killer, expertly weaves together two time frames: Leonard now, and Leonard in his bloody heyday. KILLER is a measured, compelling, character study that manages to be at once terrifying and strangely moving, as Leonard struggles with alienation, loneliness, and old ghosts. But don't be lulled into expecting a Hollywood ending to this story: this is vintage Zeltserman, and that means there's always a tail. With a sting. Be warned."

Marj

Steph · « **Reply #1025 on:** July 07, 2010, 06:51:30 AM »

I am reading a new book by Ann Purser.. Not her cleaning lady, but another small town in England. Ivy is the heroine in this book, although Ivy is as prickly as ever.

JoanK · « **Reply #1026 on:** July 07, 2010, 04:24:43 PM »

I found another book in my collection that I had never read. This one is "Killer Whale" by Elizabeth Quinn. The "detective is a scientist trying to prevent the capture of killer whales in Alaska. The background on whales, native American culture, diving, carries a slight (so far) plot. I'll certainly read more.

Steph · « **Reply #1027 on:** July 08, 2010, 06:04:10 AM »

Whales?? Aleut culture. Marked the name down and will look at the stuff.

JoanK · « **Reply #1028 on:** July 08, 2010, 02:20:46 PM »

Not real deep stuff, but carries you along. The author is not an expert (and it shows), but she gives her bibliography at the end.

JoanK · « **Reply #1029 on:** July 08, 2010, 02:58:30 PM »

My local PBS station is running a special with David Suchet talking about the Orient Express tonight. And Christies "Murder on the Orient Express" Sunday.

As I said on PBSMasterpiece Mystery: I rode the Orient Express in 1964(?) from Geneva to outside Athens. You had to be sure to get on the right car, or you would wind up in Belgrade, or Rome or somewhere else. Unfortunately, all the glamour is in first class and we rode tourist, with the women with the chickens, and the toilets that didn't flush for two days.

They had little compartments that hold about six or eight people, like you see in British mysteries. We were the only Americans, but the others managed to communicate with us. I'll never forget when we went through then Yugoslavia, how nice and friendly the Yugoslovians were. I couldn't believe what happened there later.

It was January, and there was snow outside. When we got to the border, everyone had to get off the train while they searched it. Everyone but us! At the time, I think Tito wanted good relationswith the US. So my husband and I sat on the train warm and toasty, while everyone else stood on the freezing platform for hours and glared at us. When our compartmentmates got back on board, we apologized, and I gave my coat to cover a woman who was shaking from the cold. Peace was restored.

Steph · « **Reply #1030 on:** July 09, 2010, 05:43:58 AM »

How interesting. I did not know Tito ever cared for anyone but himself..Certainly not Americans. I have ridden the current Orient Express, but only from London to Bath and back as a day excursion.. Beautfiful train.. All the porters in costume,, and a very nice brunch on the way to Bath.. It was part of Great Trains of Europe, which we did maybe 10 years ago. Really a wonderful tour.. Every kind of train.. Chunnel, high speed, kog, Orient Express, Glaciar Express. We both loved it. Thats where we discovered Zermatt.. The magical town in the sky by the Matterhorn. I hate cold, but I would love to live there in the peace of no cars.

Babi · « **Reply #1031 on:** July 09, 2010, 08:40:39 AM »

Okay, I have to know. What is a chunnel train and a kog train? I'm
guessing chunnel may have something to do with tunnels, bur 'kog' leaves me clueless. Bog? Clog?

Frybabe · « **Reply #1032 on:** July 09, 2010, 12:45:00 PM »

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rack_railway

Pictures are worth a thousand words so they say. Cog is another word for rack and pinion. They are used on very steep grades. Mt. Washington in New Hampshire has one; so does Pike's Peak in Colorado. I expect there are a lot in the Alps regions besides the ones at Interlaken and Luzerne.

maryz · « **Reply #1033 on:** July 09, 2010, 01:03:06 PM »

The Chunnel is the train that goes from England to France under the English Channel.

Frybabe · « **Reply #1034 on:** July 09, 2010, 04:48:57 PM »

Mary, is it the name of the train or the name they gave they channel tunnel?

maryz · « **Reply #1035 on:** July 09, 2010, 06:18:23 PM »

I've never taken it - I'd guess it's sort of a nickname. You'd have to check google or wikipedia.

joegreyfan · « **Reply #1036 on:** July 09, 2010, 06:49:00 PM »

According to Alafair Burke's Facebook page, she graduated from Reed College in 1991. There's no indication on her page of what her political views might be. I didn't notice any political bias in the two Ellie Hatcher books I've read; I haven't read her other series yet.

I think I don't notice the more subtle political biases in books as much as some people do. If I do notice them, they don't bother me much (in either direction), unless the writer is so preachy that the message overwhelms the story. I pass some mysteries and thrillers I've read on to my brother, and he complained that one, by Meg Gardiner, had "liberal stuff" in it. If it did, I either missed it or had forgotten it.

Steph · « **Reply #1037 on:** July 10, 2010, 06:06:04 AM »

Babi, I see where others explained. I was having a bad spelling day on the cog.. It just looked wrong to me. The chunnel is in fact the train that goes under the channel. Fun.. and the cog one we took went to Zermatt.. Small, vertical.. trains are so lovely and different. MDH and I loved trains and took them all over the world. I still love them and will probably take the train from Florida to Delaware this fall for my high school reunion. I get a little compartment ( said for two, but oh you woul dhave to squeeze) but for one it is perfect.

Babi · « **Reply #1038 on:** July 10, 2010, 10:46:08 AM »

Thank you all for the answers to my question. I get the impression that traveling up a mountain that steep would have me as tense as though I were the 'cog' holding it all in place.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #1039 on:** July 10, 2010, 12:35:04 PM »

Isn't there one of those "cog-type" trains near Pittsburg? Seems as tho i remember reading about it a long time ago..........jean

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Author Topic: Mystery Corner ~ 2 (Read 881392 times)