Author Topic: Mystery Corner ~ 2 (Read 910492 times)

Babi · « **Reply #3440 on:** March 08, 2012, 08:24:14 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!

Links:
The Hound of the Baskervilles
Our Favorite Old Mystery Writers
Fantastic Fiction
Stop You're Killing Me

Discussion Leader: JoanK

Thanks for that author, JOANK. I do enjoy learning ancient history painlessly.

'Mystery' meant something different in medieval times. It referred to the 'mysteries' of religion
and was a popular way of teaching them to the general populace. I don't know enough about
the development of the modern 'mystery', but must be among the earliest.

Frybabe · « **Reply #3441 on:** March 08, 2012, 09:14:20 AM »

Right, Bab and JoanK. The earliest mention of "modern" mystery fiction (e.g. detective/crime novels) I found was an article that stated the earliest of this genre, in English, was about 1790. The author of the paper neither listed authors nor titles to corroborate his statement. He simply said that these were little read now. I saw a mention of a 1819 novel (French title, if I remember correctly), but it appears that Poe was the catalyst for most if not all of what followed.

It appears that to many people the mystery novel is synonymous with detective/crime. Too bad. I consider novels such as Carol Goodman's writings to be mysteries. They are puzzles to be unraveled. Yes, sometimes with a long hidden, unsuspected crime, but crime solving isn't the primary motivation for the hero or heroine. Steve Berry's books are mysteries which involve rediscovering long missing artifacts or solving long held mysteries about past events or people.

Oh that reminds me, for a long time I couldn't find any Daniel Silva books in my local used bookstore. I finally mentioned it to the proprietor's husband. He pointed me to the adventure section. She had reclassified the spy genre as adventure rather than mystery.

JoanK · « **Reply #3442 on:** March 08, 2012, 12:26:47 PM »

Actually, I think they are using "mystery" in a different sense than we do: "a dramatic representation of a religious story ".

mabel1015j · « **Reply #3443 on:** March 08, 2012, 02:16:09 PM »

I agree Frybabe, i always thought Mary Alice Monroe's books were "mysterious" even tho noone dies in them, but they sure keep me reading to find out how the problems will get solved.

Just finished Shelly Freydont's Halloween Murder. She's one of the authors i found when i started reading "mysteries" set in New Jersey or Pa. She was a dancer with Twyla Tharp's troop and her lead character is an ex-dancer and now directs various kinds of shows. It makes interesting reading for me. It's a subject i know little about. She has a series that relate to the various holidays. This one was o.k., but not engrossing.

Jean

JoanK · « **Reply #3444 on:** March 08, 2012, 02:37:11 PM »

I didn't notice there was a new page, and didn't see Babi's post before I posted. Dickens' "Bleak house" is also now being claimed as an early mystery.

Frybabe · « **Reply #3445 on:** March 08, 2012, 02:40:46 PM »

I remember Twyla Tharp. Shelley Freymont also has written several romance novels under using the name Gemma Bruce.

Steph · « **Reply #3446 on:** March 09, 2012, 06:19:26 AM »

Yes, I had honestly forgotten, that in several religons, they have Sacred Mysteries.. Hmm..
But our current take on mysteries can be wide. Daniel Silva does spy and adventures, but I think of him as a mystery writer. Likewise for Mary Alice Monroe..
I simply love books.. Started a fun new one yesterday.. Lee Smith.. On Agate Hill.. She does do the south so well.

Babi · « **Reply #3447 on:** March 09, 2012, 08:38:45 AM »

I think your bookstore owner had the right idea, FRYBABE. Spy novels are not mysteries,
and I agree adventure is the logical genre for them.

salan · « **Reply #3448 on:** March 09, 2012, 12:36:08 PM »

Steph, I read and enjoyed "On Agate Hill". I like Lee Smith & have read most of her books. She does the south well, doesn't she?
Sally

Steph · « **Reply #3449 on:** March 10, 2012, 06:15:58 AM »

Ihave always liked Lee Smith and read most of her stuff. I did not know until now, that she had a son with major mental problems and that he had died.. I read the afterward and the book is really a way for her mental health to improve.. A writer writes as she says..
The book is great so far.

ursamajor · « **Reply #3450 on:** March 17, 2012, 03:16:36 PM »

I have read most of the Silva books and given up on them. Too many corpses.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #3451 on:** March 17, 2012, 09:56:43 PM »

I just finished Donna Andrews "Murder w/ Puffins" it was o.k. It was set on an island off the coast of Maine in the middle of a hurricane.....way to much rain, the characters were soaked thru the whole book, way too grey, everything was grey, the weather, the sky, the houses. Her first one about Peacocks sounds like it will be better and funnier. I'll try that one before i give up on her.

I got my husband a deSilva book at the library. He 's reading it first, then i'll give it a shot.

Jean

JoanK · « **Reply #3452 on:** March 17, 2012, 10:03:27 PM »

Just finished the newest book by William Tapply "Overcoming trolls". It's also the last, of more than 40 since the author has died. I hadn't read any earlier ones, but will look for more. The detective is a lawyer, and the jacket calls it a "legal beagle", but that's a bit misleading: it doesn't have the courtroom battles of most of those.

The plot is simple: I admit I liked it because the author (who also writes books about the outdoors) is careful to identify every bird he comes across. Any friend of Evening Grosbeaks is a friend of mine!

Steph · « **Reply #3453 on:** March 18, 2012, 06:42:02 AM »

I like Donna Andrews, but oh my she really is put upon by her family. Still most of the series are fun.
These themed mysteries are getting way out of hand. I picked up one at the book sale that is taking place in a farmers market and the protagonists runs a small farm and sells preserves.. Thats a living??? Whew.

Babi · « **Reply #3454 on:** March 18, 2012, 09:02:03 AM »

Oh, don't give up on Donna Andrews, JEAN. I find her books so humorous. As I
recall, "Murder With Puffins" was not one of her best.

I am currently reading Reginald Hill's "Dialogues of the Dead". Interesting and
unusual premise. I did not realize it was a Dalziel and Pascoe book until I got into
it. Usually the jackets make a point of including that info on the jackets.

Steph · « **Reply #3455 on:** March 19, 2012, 06:30:10 AM »

Yes, some of Donna Andrews are a lot more fun than others. Do try another.

dbroomsc · « **Reply #3456 on:** March 19, 2012, 08:03:55 AM »

As a member of two mystery book clubs, I read a lot of mysteries. In one we only read books by women writers; the other, by both men and women writers, but they tend to be on the softer or cozy side. Several years ago I bought The Poe Shadow by Matthew Pearl and finally got around to reading it last night. Have only read one chapter, but what a fascinating book. Don't know whether this book is classified in the mystery or fiction genre, but since its about Edgar Allan Poe, I would have to guess mystery. I understand Pearl has a new book.

I read a Donna Andrews book years ago, don't remember the title, but it did not make me want to read more books by her. One of my book clubs read a Lisa See book about a year ago and members rated it very good. I had forgotten the definition of "a shadow son."

For J.A. Jance fans, there is an interesting interview of her in the lastest issue of The Strand magazine

marjifay · « **Reply #3457 on:** March 19, 2012, 02:11:38 PM »

Thanks, Dean, for mentioning that Matthew Pearl has a new book out. I checked, and it is THE TECHNOLOGISTS. The book description says, "Set in 1868 Boston, studded wtih suspense and soaking in the rich historical atmosphere for which Pearl is renowned..." Sounds good.

I really liked Pearl's THE LAST DICKENS. Very interesting story about Dicken's visit to the United States to advertise his books and read to large audiences from them. Also about his publisher's efforts to try to find out what Dickens may have intended for the last unfinished part of his The Mystery of Edwin Drood. I've meant to read his book on Poe, but haven't got to it. Will move it further up on my TBR list.

Marj

marcie · « **Reply #3458 on:** March 19, 2012, 02:36:39 PM »

I just finished THE TECHNOLOGISTS by Matthew Pearl. I enjoyed it. There is a mystery component and it tells a lot about the early days of MIT and the Boston area and includes MIT rivalry with Harvard.

JoanK · « **Reply #3459 on:** March 19, 2012, 02:47:35 PM »

DEAN: you are lucky to have two mystery book clubs in your neighborhood. Keep us informed of good ones you find.

We have read several Pearl books here, including "the Poe Shadow" with the author in the discussion. It was great -- he really shared a lot of his research with us. Now that he is better known, I don't know if he has time for us --- sigh.

dbroomsc · « **Reply #3460 on:** March 19, 2012, 07:36:40 PM »

JoanK, I checked the archived discussions and yes, you did discuss The Poe Shadow in 2006. One of the first things that caught my eye was the question, if anyone had written to a writer as Quentin Clark did to Poe. Well, I did. I wrote to Ann Cleeves about one of books in her Shetland Quartet series and she wrote back in detail. Needless to say, I was impressed.

marjifay · « **Reply #3461 on:** March 20, 2012, 01:17:58 AM »

Dean, I don't know whether your book clubs are ones online or face to face. But my favorite online book group is the Yahoo group, 4_Mystery_Addicts. I get a lot of good suggestions for mysteries there. (But they don't read cozy mysteries, nor for the most part do I)

Marj

Steph · « **Reply #3462 on:** March 20, 2012, 06:34:44 AM »

Two mystery book clubs. I would be in heaven. Are they online or in person. We have two in person around me. One reads nothing but their version of classic.. and the other picks all the books a year in advance.. only books the library can get for them... and really reviews by who the author is and the backhistory. I tried, but just could not get into stuff, I had already read a year or two before.

JoanK · « **Reply #3463 on:** March 20, 2012, 03:03:20 PM »

DEAN: wow! I would have been impressed, too!

Steph · « **Reply #3464 on:** March 21, 2012, 06:26:53 AM »

just marking.

ursamajor · « **Reply #3465 on:** March 21, 2012, 08:08:23 AM »

Present.

FlaJean · « **Reply #3466 on:** March 21, 2012, 10:01:37 AM »

MaryPage · « **Reply #3467 on:** March 21, 2012, 02:30:09 PM »

Someone in here said they liked Margaret Maron, whom I had never read. So I asked for her first Deborah Knott, Bootlegger's Daughter, for Christmas. Just got around to reading it, and loved her native down home take on northern North Carolina. I mean, she is SPOT ON; but then, she would be, wouldn't she!

So I tried to order all of the others in her Deborah Knott series. Some are out of print (but will probably be brought back eventually, as #1 was), but I did manage to obtain nine (9) of them. Yummy!

Thank you, Someone!

dbroomsc · « **Reply #3468 on:** March 21, 2012, 03:58:36 PM »

I love Margaret Maron's Deborah Knott books. I have read all of them. Maron never disappoints.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #3469 on:** March 21, 2012, 07:19:01 PM »

I liked Maron's first couple of the Knott series, very much, then, like many series writers, the last two i read were not as good, but i'm only 2/3rds of the way thru the series and will continue reading them.

Steph · « **Reply #3470 on:** March 22, 2012, 06:13:44 AM »

I adore Maron and have heard she does a lot of signings in her native state.. So all summer, I will keep track. Would love to hear her speak..She is so true to North Carolina..So is Sharon McCrumb who also lives there.

MaryPage · « **Reply #3471 on:** March 22, 2012, 08:04:40 AM »

I LOVE Sharon McCrumb!

dbroomsc · « **Reply #3472 on:** March 22, 2012, 09:21:18 AM »

I loved Sharon McCrumb too until she starting writing about auto racing.

maryz · « **Reply #3473 on:** March 22, 2012, 10:45:10 AM »

McCrumb is wonderful. I don't do auto racing, either, but it certainly is part of North Carolina culture.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #3474 on:** March 22, 2012, 01:02:03 PM »

Do you like the "Ballad" series or the "Mcpherson" series?

maryz · « **Reply #3475 on:** March 22, 2012, 01:20:09 PM »

I've liked all of McCrumb's books that I've read - haven't read nearly all of them. I had some communication with her a few years ago, looking into the possibility of getting her to come speak at our Friends of the Library annual meeting. She sounded like a very nice lady. It didn't work out, unfortunately, but I'm sure she'd do a great program.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #3476 on:** March 22, 2012, 02:17:26 PM »

Hello,

I am just back from the Pym conference in Cambridge, Mass. Whilst I was away I read some of the stuff backed up on my Kindle - the first was Blue Murder at Kudu by Daniel Edmondson, which I knew nothing about, although on looking at the Amazon reviews it seems to be quite well known. It's all set in a remote part of British Africa in the 1920s and is fascinating just for the social details - the British camp, the hierarchy, the wagoneer who drives oxen thousands of miles, the local shopkeepers, the indigent tribes. There is also a travelling freak show, and quite a lot about the wildlife. The murder itself seemed almost secondary to all the back story - I really enjoyed it, and would never have read it had it not been free for Kindle.

The second one was Tea is for Terror by Gayle Wigglesworth: I haven't finished it yet but I have to say that so far it is so bad as to be laughable. It features a group of Americans on a coach tour of the UK, led by the owner of a travel bookshop from California. The characters are all complete stereotypes, but what irks me the most is the terrible dialogue. For example, the tour guide is supposed to be an English cockney; he starts of calling people "Luv" but after a few pages he reverts to West Coast American, saying things like "I'll need to review my papers", or "Only if you are comfortable with that" - ie things that no Cockney would ever say. The travel details are clearly designed to appeal to Americans who have never been to the UK, and sound as though they have been copied straight from a tourist board brochure - if you just read this book you would think that we all spend our time in cosy pubs with roaring fires drinking ye olde English ale. I could go on.

There are also numerous mistakes - apostrophes in the wrong place, etc - and can you believe this one:

"Jack told them lots of antidotes to keep them entertained."

Honestly, as one of my mother's friends used to say, I kid you not.

Has anyone ever read any of this writer's work? I'd be interested to hear an American view of it.

I'll try to write a bit about the Pym conference over the weekend. It was certainly an experience!

Rosemary

JoanK · « **Reply #3477 on:** March 22, 2012, 02:29:38 PM »

Wigglesworth sounds like one to avoid.

I ordered "Blue Murder" for my Kindle. I had to pay $0.99, since I don't belong to something called "Prime". I'll have to find out what that is.

Frybabe · « **Reply #3478 on:** March 22, 2012, 02:36:51 PM »

Wigglesworth sounds almost like a pseudonym, however she is real. Retired banker. Tea is for Terror was her first book;she has written eleven. I've never heard of her.

Tomereader1 · « **Reply #3479 on:** March 22, 2012, 05:27:05 PM »

Through my face-to-face Mystery Book Club, I just learned of a book that sound extraordinary! It is titled "The Time In Between" by Maria Duenas. A hit in Europe, and just now gotten here to U.S., translated from the Spanish. I will try to put a link here to get you to Simon*Schuster's website, with details about her, the book, with a wonderful gallery of pictures with information about the places and people in the novel. www.TheTimeInBetweenBook.com

And I hope that works for you all. I have it on reserve and shall be reading it soon. It is quite long 600+ pages.

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Author Topic: Mystery Corner ~ 2 (Read 910492 times)