Author Topic: Mystery Corner ~ 2 (Read 1073179 times)

mrssherlock · « **Reply #320 on:** December 26, 2009, 11:57:52 AM »

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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

There's always numbers!

JoanK · « **Reply #321 on:** December 26, 2009, 01:23:54 PM »

I'm behind with Grafton -- have to get "U". I'm always grateful to her for making it so easy to figure out which is the latest.

I've almost finished "Benjamin Franklin Takes the Case". It's a little stodgy, to tell the truth. Not the fun I had hoped for: I think the author isaiming to sound like Dickens without Dickens' sense of humor.

mrssherlock · « **Reply #322 on:** December 26, 2009, 08:30:17 PM »

The world of antiques is fascinating, especially as practiced in Virginia and its environs. Emyl Jenkins is a professional appraiser and it shows as she writes about an appraiser in Leemont, Virginia, who is drawn unwittingly into suspicious circumstances when she is asked to value a silver coffee pot in Stealing with Style. Turns out the "pot" is extremely rare, worth maybe $65,000. The trustee, a local bank,. is horrified and Sterling Glass,. our protagonist, is mystified - how did this treasure turn up in the effects of a little old lady? Jenkins' style is quiet and gentle, no murders, but sprinkled with smippets of poems and other quotations she remembers in her mother's voice. http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/j/emyl-jenkins/

Frybabe · « **Reply #323 on:** December 26, 2009, 10:24:27 PM »

Sounds like something my Mom would like, MrsSherlock. She doesn't like a lot of violence and definitely not a lot of swearing.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #324 on:** December 27, 2009, 11:49:30 AM »

Joan - i was also disappointed in the Ben Franklin mystery, in fact i didn't finish it. It was boring. ..........................am reading a Luanne Rice now Summer's Child, just started, but seems promising, much better written than B Franklin..........jean

mrssherlock · « **Reply #325 on:** December 27, 2009, 12:49:33 PM »

Kerry Greenwood's series about Corinna Chapman"s bakery in Melbourne has a new two. I'm reading Trick or Treat and Forbidden Fruit comews next. There's lolts to like in this series. Corinna and her fellow residents of Insula, a Roman-themed apartment building, are a mixed group, old, young, polyglot, but they form the kind of comunity that is like a family. Next, there are the mentions of food, lots of food, and recipes at the back. The puzzles are challenging and the solutions are satisfying. Local color as well. http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/g/kerry-greenwood/earthly-delights.htm

FlaJean · « **Reply #326 on:** December 27, 2009, 02:34:41 PM »

mrssherlock, that book by Emyl Jenkins definitely sounds like my type of mystery. I believe I've read Trick or Treat but not sure. Will check out those two authors. Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

Golden State Poppy · « **Reply #327 on:** December 30, 2009, 06:02:34 PM »

I haven't been her for a while. Too busy reading, I guess. I am now reading "Skull Session" by Daniel Hecht. On the cover is a quote by one of my favorites, Steven White. "The most phycologically sophisticated thriller I've read since 'the Alienist'. It about someone with Tourette's Syndrome and the problems with it and how he deals with it. NYT describes it as a neurological thriller. I am only about one-half the way through it and find it most interesting and educational.

mrssherlock · « **Reply #328 on:** December 30, 2009, 08:38:12 PM »

That sounds interesting, Poppy. I knew someone with Tourette's. It's now on my list.

JoanK · « **Reply #329 on:** December 30, 2009, 08:54:59 PM »

I read a book like that years ago: I wonder if it's the same one. Being me, I can't remember the name or the author: just that it was very good.

Now people are saying that Mozart had Tourette's Syndrom.

FlaJean · « **Reply #330 on:** December 31, 2009, 01:11:35 PM »

I read a book about a young woman who can sense people that have been buried and then solves the mystery. It was interesting and somehow I have misplaced the author's name. Can someone help me--please?

mrssherlock · « **Reply #331 on:** December 31, 2009, 01:19:00 PM »

It is Charlaine Harris' series about Harper Conelly: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/h/charlaine-harris/

FlaJean · « **Reply #332 on:** January 01, 2010, 11:37:21 AM »

Thank you, mrssherlock!

peace42 · « **Reply #333 on:** January 02, 2010, 01:43:52 AM »

wow, been a while for me again...spent 2 1/2 days in the hospital last week, coming home on the evening of the23rd..had a bad (well I guess they're all bad) case of cellulitis in my left hand/arm...when the doc said I had to go to the ER I said no way, I had to finish my Christmas shopping! needless to say i went to the ER. at age 67 it was my first time in the hospital as a patient! I have been blessed with pretty good health and have never broken a bone and have all my parts I came with..it definitely is true: you leave your dignity at the door and you do not get much sleep..but the hand/arm are doing well tho I'm still on anti-biotics...had continuous anti-biotics running thru me 24/7...hard to even read there as my left hand was in a half cast thingey and then suspended in the air from my IV pole! I could do my Queen Elizabeth wave quite well

Have read the following:
The Spire by Richard North Patterson...always like his stufff...I kinda guessed who dun it about half way thru but there was always that little doubt..but, I was right...was ok but not spectacular
Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo - her first and jacket says she is writing a follow up...female sheriff in Amish country (she is a former Amish resident who was shunned and returns to become sheriff)...not bad in the first half but then formula stuff takes over...good guy rescues fair damsel, blah, blah...but, I will say that I would read a follow up one, if only to see what happens to her and her relationships!!
am reading a Patricia Cornwell that's from my "winter pile"..and the winter pile is needed tonite here in SW Michigan...tons of that lake effect snow coming down...it's great to look at which is the way I like to spend winter! did receive a book for Christmas...Open by Andre Agassi...I love to watch tennis (can't play but I watch really well

) so will be anxious to start it
hope your Christmas was wonderful and that you all have a safe,peaceful, healthy and blessed New Year...always with a book or two or ten at your side, on the floor, near the tub

sleep well

Babi · « **Reply #334 on:** January 02, 2010, 10:11:43 AM »

Not to mention doing penitence with the hospital food, PEACE. I'm sure
they try, but feeding large numbers of people diets guaranteed not to
cause problems just automatically means very little taste. And may I
congratulate you on your general good health. It is a boon we don't
appreciate sufficiently when we are younger, isn't it?
I'm almost finished reading Donna Andrews' "Swan For The Money".
As usual her humorous viewpoint makes her perfect for a light holiday
read. A rose show is the background, and I was astonished to learn the
hard work and detail that goes into 'grooming' a rose!

EvelynMC · « **Reply #335 on:** January 02, 2010, 12:57:01 PM »

I just finished reading "The Big Steal" by Emyl Jenkins. Someone here recommended "Stealing with Style" also by Emyl Jenkins, but our library only had her latest book.

I agree that the story was very light, but was filled with information about antiques. And in the back of the book she has a primer on different styles of antique furniture with drawings. So it was very educational.

Thank you to whoever recommended this author.

Evelyn

mrssherlock · « **Reply #336 on:** January 02, 2010, 01:23:04 PM »

Evelyn: So pleased that you like The Big Steal. Sterling Glass is an interesting chracter, isn't she? Another series with an antiques theme is written by a husband-and-wife team under the name of Barbara Allan. Called the Trash 'n Treasures series, each title has the word "Antiques" in it. A bipolr mother and her adult, divorced daughter pair up to annoy the local law enforcement professionals with their wacky antics. This is reading for fun, though there is enolugh meat to the polots to keep your mind entertained as well as your funny bone. Here's #1: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/a/barbara-allan/antiques-roadkill.htm

JoanK · « **Reply #337 on:** January 02, 2010, 03:05:19 PM »

PEACE: being so healthy must make hospitals doubly hard to take -- I always wonder about the professional dietitians who have these long conversations with you: whatever they say, you wind up with food that has had all the nutrients cooked out of it. Do they believe in their job?

I'm a very good watcher of tennis, too, and looking forward to reading Agassi's book. Did you see the interview he did with Tavis Smiley? It sounds as if he has gone through quite a bit of personal growth.

In fact, I am a professional watcher of almost all sports. Everything from ice skating to rodeo.

Just started a different mystery "The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie" by Alan Bradley. The detective/narrator is a precocious eleven year old girl who lives in a British mansion right after WWII. The mansion contains a chemistry lab and books, so she has taught herself to be a chemist.

mrssherlock · « **Reply #338 on:** January 02, 2010, 04:30:19 PM »

Sweetness is a fun book. A new book is coming out in March: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/b/alan-bradley/

mabel1015j · « **Reply #339 on:** January 03, 2010, 12:25:59 PM »

Laura Childs has a new series: The Caterberry Cafe series. I don't remember if you've discussed it already, but i just picked up one at the library - Eggs Benedict Arnold. I think there are just two so far, both have the word Egg in the title. Three women who are recently single - 2 widows, one whose husband "ran away," have opened a cafe/knitting nook/reading nook! What could be batter than that! I've just started it, but it seems to be a typical Laura Child book, w/ humor and murder. ...........jean

JoanK · « **Reply #340 on:** January 03, 2010, 02:19:33 PM »

Sounds great. Thanks, I didn't know.

Babi · « **Reply #341 on:** January 04, 2010, 08:40:32 AM »

Sounds good, Jean. I'll want to check that out.

Frybabe · « **Reply #342 on:** January 04, 2010, 10:08:57 AM »

Sounds good to me too, Jean. The title is making me hungry. I haven't had breakfast yet.

JoanK · « **Reply #343 on:** January 04, 2010, 03:05:12 PM »

I've finished "The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie". It has some plot faults -- clearly the author is not a detective story reader. But I enjoyed it a lot and would recommend it.

Steph · « **Reply #344 on:** January 05, 2010, 06:30:10 AM »

Since I was badly in need of a laugh. I got and just read Plum Spooky.. I like her numbered series more, but still this one did make me laugh. An accomplishment that helped me through the last day or so.

JoanK · « **Reply #345 on:** January 05, 2010, 02:41:57 PM »

STEPH: I agree I like her numbered ones better. But the "plum" ones, with their spooky character are worth reading too.

Another good laugh, although lacking a mystery, is "Confessions of a Shopaholic". If you're like me, and painfully frugal to a fault (I'm not as bad as my friend who's still wearing the clothes he wore in High School, but only because I can't fit into them anymore) you get to laugh and feel superior at the same time.

Babi · « **Reply #346 on:** January 06, 2010, 08:20:20 AM »

I wear my clothes until they get to the shabby stage. Did I mention my
middle name is Frugal? Really, I hate shopping. I plan shopping days to get several things in one trip, buy only what I set out to get, and
return home asap.
I picked up Laurie King's "The Game" as a side-note to "Kim". Of course, "The Game" takes place 25 years later. There are a number of
references, tho', to the original story, and Kim is regarded with appropriate respect.

Should make a good fit.

Golden State Poppy · « **Reply #347 on:** January 07, 2010, 01:23:46 PM »

http://www.danielhecht.com/

This is the web site for Daniel Hecht. The book, Skull Session, is a haunting book and one of the best I have ever read. I am eager to read more my him. I will order them from the second-hand books at Amazon.com. I often get them for .01 cents and though I have to pay for shipping, they are still a bargain.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #348 on:** January 07, 2010, 01:27:01 PM »

I'm not thrilled by Laura Childs "Caterberry Cafe series," I'm reading Eggs Benedict ARnold It's just too slow getting into the solving of the mystery. She describes in detail every single scene and person in the book. I feel as tho she doesn't have much of a story to tell, so she's filling in...............but maybe it's just this book. I don't feel that way about her "tea shop" stories - altho they are definitely "cozy" easy reading mysteries.......................jean

Steph · « **Reply #349 on:** January 08, 2010, 11:17:23 AM »

I am not that crazy even about the tea shop ones. Though I do like the setting in Charleston.

Tomereader1 · « **Reply #350 on:** January 08, 2010, 12:48:56 PM »

I must "crow" a bit here. Last night the UPS man came banging on the door and my somewhat belated Christmas and Birthday present arrived. I got a Kindle! Spent a couple of hours while it charged figuring out how it worked. It's gonna be fun, nd since I have no more room for bookshelves or books, this may be the saving grace for me. I do love the feel of a book in my hand, seeing the cover work, and cover notes, but I will adjust!

mrssherlock · « **Reply #351 on:** January 08, 2010, 01:34:05 PM »

Tome: Happy Kindling!

There is a fun read in a series I recently discovered. Susan Kandel writes a series about a biography writer. While she is researching Erle Stanley Gardner in I dreamed I Married Perry Mason[/] she discovers a real mystery. Per Fantastic Fiction:

Quote

Think Sex and the City collides with Murder, She Wrote.

CeCe Caruso is dicorced, has a grown daughter, and lives in a 1932 house in West Hollywood. Kandel tells a good story and the narrative is filled with snippets to enhance the sense of place, the sense of the woman CeCe is, and fascinating bits of the histories of Gardner, LA, and Ventura, Gardner's old legal stamping grounds. http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/k/susan-kandel/i-dreamed-i-married-perry-mason.htm
Next up is Nancy Drew in Not a Girl Detective

JoanK · « **Reply #352 on:** January 08, 2010, 08:05:02 PM »

TOME: how exciting! You must let us know how you find it. I know Winsommm loves hers.

I read "I dreamed I married Perry Mason" years ago. read one other of hers too, but can't remember which. Then I forgot to look for more. Have to check her out.

Well, I spent my Christmas gift certificate to Borders today. Of course, I went over the amount. In addition to other things, got McCall Smith's latest Philosophy club book (something about Muddy Shoes). And replaced a ten-year-old lap desk that was literally falling apart. They're perfect for my crossword puzzles.

JoanK · « **Reply #353 on:** January 08, 2010, 08:21:53 PM »

In fiction, PatH was remembering Cornell Woolrich, many of whose stories appeared in the old Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. Best known perhaps for "Rear Window" on which Hitchcock's movie was based. Pat claims that the story was better than the movie. Do any of the rest of you remember him?

mrssherlock · « **Reply #354 on:** January 09, 2010, 12:51:12 PM »

Cornel Woolrich was head and shoulders above many of his contemporaries. See this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornell_Woolrich When EQMM had his name in the TOC I turbned there first.

JoanK · « **Reply #355 on:** January 09, 2010, 03:21:24 PM »

Do you remember the "Minute Mysteries" in Ellery Queens Mystery Magazine? One paragraph long, and there was always a clue that you had to find. As a kid, I loved them.

FlaJean · « **Reply #356 on:** January 09, 2010, 04:47:58 PM »

JoanK, Are you talking about "The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday" about Isabel Dalhousie, the philosopher? I enjoyed that. The latest McCall Smith Isabel Dalhousie (The Philosophy Club) series is named "The Lost Art of Gratitude". I just finished it and it continues on with Jamie, and little Charlie (now 18 months old). I think it is one of the best in the series with several interesting twists and turns.

I finally broke down and ordered the "No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" dvds from Amazon. Have looked at three so far (stretching it out at one a night). My husband and I are both enjoying them.

Also just completed "The Tale of Applebeck Orchard", Susan Wittig Albert's latest (I think) of the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter. At long last, the romance of Beatrix and the lawyer is gaining a tiny bit of ground (and about time).

JoanK · « **Reply #357 on:** January 09, 2010, 06:40:45 PM »

Oh, there's one more!! I can't keep up with McCall Smith. I loved the "No1 Ladies" DVDs For once, I think they did a perfect job of transcribing the books. Can't say that too often!

I did it again!! Went to the library, and forgot to bring the names of books you all recommended. But I did get a Laura Childs teashop mystery -- I can't believe I've never read them.

Babi · « **Reply #358 on:** January 10, 2010, 09:28:39 AM »

A new Beatrix Potter story?! I love that series, JEAN. Thank you for
mentioning it. Didn't know the Ladies Detective Agency was on DVD, either.
Your comments on "The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday" look interesting, too. My, you've been very helpful to me this morning.

JoanK · « **Reply #359 on:** January 10, 2010, 05:12:18 PM »

Thank you

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Author Topic: Mystery Corner ~ 2 (Read 1073179 times)