Author Topic: Mystery Corner ~ 2 (Read 910460 times)

Phyll · « **Reply #3760 on:** June 01, 2012, 08:26:02 AM »

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Pull up a comfortable chair and join us here to talk about mysteries and their authors.
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Discussion Leader: JoanK

Sadly, I must agree with you, Rosemary. I started The Charming Quirks of Others but have laid it down to read a new (to me) Charles Todd with Bess Crawford as the central character, A Bitter Truth. I'm finding the Todd book much more interesting than Isabel Dalhousie. I haven't read his latest in the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. Is he showing signs of running out of steam in those books, too?

I haven't read Nora Roberts in years. On the recommendation of you, Jean and Jane, I'll have to pick up one of her latest and try it.

Babi · « **Reply #3761 on:** June 01, 2012, 08:26:24 AM »

I had rather dropped Nora Roberts, but when someone (like Jane) identifies a book as one to
used as a measuring line, I have to be inerested. I'll have a look at the three JEAN & JANE
recommend.

Steph · « **Reply #3762 on:** June 01, 2012, 08:39:32 AM »

Publishers adore continuing characters, so authors are encouraged to continue characters.. I think they run out of ideas.. The next book of Spencer Fleming is the Soldier one and it is magnificent..

MaryPage · « **Reply #3763 on:** June 01, 2012, 09:38:17 AM »

I have never liked Nora Roberts at all, at all; and refuse to buy her books now.

But Nancy Atherton's AUNT DIMITY, I adore. I own all 17 and pass them on and through my daughters and then send them to my granddaughters. We all love Aunt Dimity. Silly, fun summer beach reading, if you like. Certainly not intellectual. But sweet and funny and cosy and fantastical and dreamy and; well, I love Aunt Dimity. Try one! It may not be your thing, or you may enjoy going along for the ride.

I tend to sandwich an Aunt Dimity between the larger, darker tomes I read. Sort of the creme brulee at the end of a heavy meal. Cleans the palette, or something.

Just yesterday I received DVDs of COMMISSARIO BRUNETTI Episodes 1 and 2 by Donna Leon and CASE HISTORIES, a mish mash of the books about Jackson Brodie by Kate Atkinson. I find Kate Atkinson a really, really, really good fine writer. Amazing, actually.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #3764 on:** June 01, 2012, 12:37:24 PM »

Marypage - i don't enjoy Roberts "romance" novels, but i do like her mysteries, altho she does combine the two frequently, then i just skim thru the romance.

JeanneP · « **Reply #3765 on:** June 01, 2012, 01:59:05 PM »

I use to Enjoy book written about the Amish way of life. For years there were 2 good Authors who really did their research. Now must be 50 of them. Tried a couple and not very good at all. Seem to just be guessing what being Amish was like. Throwing in a little Sex along the way. They seem to be able to put out quite a few books a year.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #3766 on:** June 01, 2012, 02:47:06 PM »

Phyll - I have only read the first one of the No1 Ladies Detective Agency series, so I don't know about those, but even his Scotland Street series, which has always been my absolute favourite, isn't half as good as it used to be. He also started a London-based series - Corduroy Mansions - but I couldn't really get into that, possibly because he doesn't know London nearly so well as he knows Edinburgh (where he lives), so there was a notable lack of local detail - without that the characters just didn't come alive so well.

Shame really, but I don't think we need to worry too much about his bank balance!

Rosemary

Phyll · « **Reply #3767 on:** June 01, 2012, 03:11:19 PM »

I'm sure he is well set for life, Rosemary, so I'm not hurting him too much if I don't read something he wrote.

The Corduroy Mansions was the least favorite of all his books, IMO. I couldn't get into it either.

JoanK · « **Reply #3768 on:** June 01, 2012, 07:45:57 PM »

I've started to read "Aunt Dimity's Death", and am enjoying it a lot.

salan · « **Reply #3769 on:** June 02, 2012, 03:58:20 AM »

Joan, I'm #1 on the waiting list for Aunt Dimity. I'm looking forward to a light fun read!
Sally

Steph · « **Reply #3770 on:** June 02, 2012, 08:33:33 AM »

I could not get into the
African stories of Alexander Mccall.. liked one or two of the Edinburgh ones though. Still not an author I look for though.
There is a number of authors who write about Edinburgh. I used to read a police detective who worked there,, wish I could remember the authors name..

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #3771 on:** June 02, 2012, 11:10:37 AM »

Ian Rankin - Inspector Rebus?

JoanK · « **Reply #3772 on:** June 02, 2012, 01:53:05 PM »

Rankin is the exact opposite of McCall Smith. Hard to believe they're talking about the same city. The dark side and the light side. But any city has them.

Steph · « **Reply #3773 on:** June 03, 2012, 08:17:10 AM »

Does Rebus have a problem of some sort?? It seems to me that the detective had some sort of continuing problem.The books are dark, but good.

JoanK · « **Reply #3774 on:** June 03, 2012, 01:04:27 PM »

Depression, alcoholism, driving everyone away, etc. etc.

Finished "Aunt Dimity's Death" and bought the next one reading a very different book about Hawaii and surfers. The title next time.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #3775 on:** June 03, 2012, 02:18:51 PM »

Yes Steph, he's a big drinker and total misery guts - bit like Inspector Morse but not quite so highbrow! He's into old rock music - not surprising, as Ian Rankin is a huge fan and great supporter of vinyl record shops (which are of course now becoming trendy again.) I think Rankin is quite a jolly soul though - he's always speaking at some book festival or other, or on TV/radio, and he seems to have a good sense of humour.

Rosemary

JeanneP · « **Reply #3776 on:** June 03, 2012, 04:00:26 PM »

Chief Insp. Lewis on our PBS tonight. Sounds like a repeat. Still they are asking for donations. Been doing it all weekend. Spoils it for me. People only want to send in once in awhile not every 3 months.

JeanneP · « **Reply #3777 on:** June 03, 2012, 04:03:14 PM »

I use Gmail.com for my E-Mailing. Is there anyone else on here using it. Problems last few weeks with them having you change your Password every week.

MaryPage · « **Reply #3778 on:** June 03, 2012, 05:43:31 PM »

Reading Aunt Dimity books is like eating peanuts: you cannot read just one.

Steph · « **Reply #3779 on:** June 04, 2012, 08:57:13 AM »

Yes I have read Rebus then. I think just a few books as you have to be in the right mood.
I am stil working on the Darling Dahlias.. Not sure how I feel other than I like her herb books better.

JoanK · « **Reply #3780 on:** June 04, 2012, 02:42:00 PM »

STEPH: I agree.

jane · « **Reply #3781 on:** June 04, 2012, 03:06:16 PM »

Jeanne... I've managed several email accounts at gmail for years and none has ever asked me to change my password.

JoanK · « **Reply #3782 on:** June 04, 2012, 04:56:52 PM »

Could this be a hacker, trying to get your password? I got messages from my e-mail account, asking me to change my password, saying they were going to cut off my account from lack of use. I deleted the message, but made sure I e-mailed someone, in case it was genuine, and I haven't had any trouble.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #3783 on:** June 05, 2012, 02:28:56 AM »

I recently had the same thing with Facebook and I just ignored it.

Rosemary

Steph · « **Reply #3784 on:** June 05, 2012, 10:03:45 AM »

The hackers are out in full force. I am getting dozens of emails from an acquaintence, who has never emailed me and they are all something to click on. No thanks.. And Bankof America ( not the real one) keeps telling me I have to change my password. I just forward those onto Bank of America to grab.

Frybabe · « **Reply #3785 on:** June 05, 2012, 10:43:58 AM »

I got one from the US Postal Service a few weeks back saying I owed shipping on a package I didn't send. A good place to check on these emails if you are not sure is www.snopes.com. They are pretty good about keeping up with the scams, phishing, and other bogus emails that people send.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #3786 on:** June 05, 2012, 04:03:28 PM »

Rizzoli and isles marathon on TNT all day today!

Jean

Babi · « **Reply #3787 on:** June 06, 2012, 08:03:32 AM »

Thanks for that link, FRYBABE. I gave the e-mail 'phishing' listing a quick
scan and found it most interesting. There were a couple in there that might have
caught me without the warning.

I was so glad Rizzoli and Isles opened their new season last night. The gap
between the end of the regular seasons and the opening of the summer shows is
always so boring!

Steph · « **Reply #3788 on:** June 06, 2012, 08:25:32 AM »

Since I am an early to bed person, I get things like Rizzoli and Isles in Newflix.. My kids laugh, but it works for me. Just now I am in the middle of In Plain Sight, which I really like..Leslie Ann Warren is old now and looks s sleezy as always.

Tomereader1 · « **Reply #3789 on:** June 06, 2012, 11:47:13 AM »

Gee, Steph, you don't have to wait for Netflix to get the Rizzoli & Isles episodes. They usually run them later on that same week, or just before a new epi the next week. That is the way I'm having to DVR a bunch of my faves, because on Sunday night, the cable networks tend to run everything at the same time period, or such. Last Sunday is a good example: "The Killing" at 8:00; the new show "Longmire" at 9:00; "Mad Men" at 9:00; the Borgias at 9:00. Thankfully, I DVR'd The Killing at 9:00; the Borgias at its 11:00 repeat and MadMen at its 1:00 AM repeat. So I was able to get everything I wanted on DVR.
The Borgias even ran again yesterday evening, but I already had it.

JoanK · « **Reply #3790 on:** June 06, 2012, 02:43:45 PM »

I was able to catch up with Drop dead Diva last night. missed it Sunday.

Reading a Victoria Thompson "Murder on Fifth Avenue". Not as rich in atmosphere as her earlier, and I think the "surprise ending" is obvious (we'll see if I'm right). Hope she's not running out of material.

JeanneP · « **Reply #3791 on:** June 06, 2012, 06:55:10 PM »

Leslie Ann Warren. Now didn't she win the Miss America years ago. Married a Singer who was well known back then. Can't remember his name. Divorced him I believe.

Babi · « **Reply #3792 on:** June 07, 2012, 08:11:10 AM »

We've got it made, TOME. Our vcr will record four shows simultaneously. Even
with that many, Valerie sometimes has to got looking for a different time slot.
She follows a good many more shows than I do.

Steph · « **Reply #3793 on:** June 07, 2012, 08:48:29 AM »

I am not a fan of taping anything. I know toomany people who have whole libaries of things they intend to see sometimes..
Leslie Ann Warren was a Cinderella out of the blue years ago.. Dont honestly know who she married. She did a lot more B movies than anything. My husband was a huge fan.. I always regarded her as not very talented and a good example of why did she get the chance.. She does sleezy very well hwever as she gets older.

MaryPage · « **Reply #3794 on:** June 07, 2012, 10:27:41 AM »

I am with you, Steph. Wish I had known in the beginning, though!

I was so excited by the brand new (to me) technology of taping television programs that I practically bought out the store of blank VHS tapes and taped everything I was going to miss and some of what I loved and wanted to see again.

I forgot about that great enemy of ours, TIME. Never had the time to watch most of 'em. When I had two huge bookshelves full, and 2 rows DEEP, at that, I finally cracked recently and dumped most of them in our dumpster. One of my daughters took a few off my hands. Now SHE can hoard them until she sees the light!

Nope, I DO NOT RECORD any longer! Hey, nowadays we can also see it all over again on ON DEMAND, and there are other options, as well.

JoanK · « **Reply #3795 on:** June 07, 2012, 04:48:30 PM »

I have VHS tapes. And I hang on to an old, small TV, instead of getting one where I can actually SEE with my failing eyesight because I can play my tapes on it. But I never DO!

I was right about the "surprizes" in the Victoria Thopson, but the ending was more complex and interesting than I thought it would be. And some interesting "New Yorkcana" (if that's a word) at the end.

Now I'm reading "Sticks and Stones" by Karianne Larsen, the author of "Liar, Liar". The detective runs the "Pants on Fire" detective agency, speciallizing in (you guessed it) tracking down unfaithful spouses (after having divorced an unfaithful spouse of her own). She's chanelling Evanovitch, with dark lovers, zany family, zanier sidekick, culprits getting away in funny ways. But fun, good laughs. Sticks is better than Liar.

Babi · « **Reply #3796 on:** June 08, 2012, 08:22:27 AM »

Oh, heavens, STEPH & MARYPAGE. I don't record things on VHS tapes to keep. I
record the shows on my vcr, then erase them after I've watched them. I have enough
trouble finding a place for books; forget about tapes!

I very much enjoyed Victoria Thompson, JOAN. I read all of her New York 'society' midwife
series. It was a very interesting insight into what the police departments were like in those days.

Steph · « **Reply #3797 on:** June 08, 2012, 08:33:25 AM »

I like Victoria Thompson. She gives such a true feeling to the period and the problems involved.
Will look for Karianne..Sound like fun.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #3798 on:** June 08, 2012, 12:03:54 PM »

I finished Nora Roberts' High Noon - a very good story, a bit gruesome in parts, a typical stalking/harrassment story w/ some romance. But there was an interesting bit of the mother being agoraphobic. I thought Roberts was going to do more w/ that than she did, and there was a piece of the story that she emphasized sev'l times about the protagonist having to live in the house w/ the mother, but i never got a detailed answer as to why that had to happen. There was a superficial story about a mean cousin leaving them the house, but it wasn't clear, or i missed the point, as to exactly the legal ramifications of what would happen if she moved out.

I'm just thinking that Roberts' mysteries do tend toward the gruesome, i.e. the J.D. Robb stories. I like mysteries that are more subtle and complex and less based on grotesque crimes. But, i think Roberts is a good storyteller, whether she writes them all or not - as we've discussed before.

Jean

marjifay · « **Reply #3799 on:** June 08, 2012, 12:26:55 PM »

I haven't read any Nora Roberts' mysteries, mainly because I've heard they are romance/mysteries. I don't like romance novels, and don't like romance mixed up in mysteries.

Marj

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Author Topic: Mystery Corner ~ 2 (Read 910460 times)