Author Topic: Mystery Corner ~ 2 (Read 910570 times)

Babi · « **Reply #4000 on:** August 02, 2012, 08:43:55 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

Perhaps it's the climate and the short periods of sunshine, but so far I've found all the
Scandinavian writers I've tried to be somewhat dreary, dark and depressing. I tried one
Wallender film and decided not to do that again.

marjifay · « **Reply #4001 on:** August 02, 2012, 09:24:08 AM »

I haven't read many Scandinavian mystery writers. But I sure liked THE KEEPER OF LOST CAUSES by Jussi Adler-Olsen. Danish author. Teriffic writer with a wry sense of humor. Not depressing. Very suspenseful.

Marj

MaryPage · « **Reply #4002 on:** August 02, 2012, 10:23:22 PM »

I read most of the Scandanavian mystery writers. On the whole, they are better than most. It was Per Wahloo and Maj Sojwall. Wonderful series of books. They had a TV mini series, as well.
My current favorite is Camilla Lackberg. she is as good as Minette Walters.
Of course, I will always love Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg. The movie sort of flunked. It was the kind of story that takes an exceptional person to bring to film.
The Danish THE KILLING was a huge success. The American attempt to copy it with financial success was not.

Winchesterlady · « **Reply #4003 on:** August 02, 2012, 10:58:27 PM »

I read “State of Wonder” earlier this year and thought it was a great book. Not a subject I would usually read about, but really interesting.

I have “The Keeper of Lost Causes” on my Ipad, but haven’t read it yet. I think I’ll move it up on my list to be read.

I just finished reading “The Stonecutter” by Camilla Läckberg. Last year, I started “The Ice Princess” by the same author, but couldn’t get into it. I thought “The Stonecutter” was better.

I watched a couple episodes of Wallender on PBS, but they were too depressing. I haven’t read any of the books in the series. Steph, please let us know if you like the book.

Babi · « **Reply #4004 on:** August 03, 2012, 08:17:47 AM »

Not depressing and with a sense of humor? I'll have to give that one a fair trial, MARJ.,
assuming I can find the author in my library. Adler-Olsen, duly noted.

Steph · « **Reply #4005 on:** August 03, 2012, 08:43:27 AM »

State of Wondor.Oh me, I have to be careful read every word and reread if stuck. I love the book, but she is putting in so much background at this point. I love it.
Will look for some of the authors. I will keep trying on the Wallander, but if it does not pick up. boom,, gone.

JoanK · « **Reply #4006 on:** August 04, 2012, 01:36:43 PM »

Ordered samples of State of Wonder and In the Woods (Tana french's first in the series for my kindle. I've been glued to the Olympics for the past two days, and my brain is turning to mush!

Babi · « **Reply #4007 on:** August 05, 2012, 08:32:46 AM »

I want those same two books, JOAN. I'd have them now, but my library had to close for a long
weekend while the construction makes a major shift. I'm hoping they will be open again tomorrow.

Steph · « **Reply #4008 on:** August 05, 2012, 09:23:55 AM »

I was at a flea market yesterday. I ran on the very first Bruce Alexander book of Fielding and the first Jan Karon.. I am sure I have read both of the, but they were .50 each, so grabbed them up.. The Karon are so nice when you are down and lonely..

pedln · « **Reply #4009 on:** August 05, 2012, 10:03:28 AM »

Bruce Alexander was an unfamiliar name for me, so looked him up on Amazon. (When I saw Fielding, Steph, I wondered if you were reading another book about a shortstop.)

The Kindle price of The Price of Murder is $6.99, but the new paperbacks . . .

Quote

Available from these sellers

12 new from $422.55 19 used from $11.21

This is a bargain book and quantities are limited. Bargain books are new but could include a small mark from the publisher and an Amazon.com price sticker identifying them as such. Details

I've been wanting to read Grisham's The Litigators and finally started it the other night. It was the right time to find a good story and just go with the flow. Just Grisham and me -- now another day of not accomplishing anything constructive.

marjifay · « **Reply #4010 on:** August 05, 2012, 11:02:36 AM »

I loved Grisham's THE LITIGATORS! Like his earlier good ones. Humorous and suspenseful.

Marj

mabel1015j · « **Reply #4011 on:** August 05, 2012, 02:07:26 PM »

Enjoyed Carol Higgins Clark's "Cursed". It's a fast-paced, good story as i've come to expect of Clark.

OTOH, if you are at the library, as i was last week, and think "i haven't read a Susan Issac book in a long time" and pick out Past Perfect and think to take it home, DONT! It was ghastly long, with unneccesary extensions of scenes that go on and on w/out adding to the story; a protagonist that, IMO, does really idiotic things for a supposedly intelligent woman who worked for the CIA and is the developer and writer of a cable television spy show. I.e., leaving her pocketbook, phone and keys in an unlocked car to go breaking into a person's house she has just concluded was nuts and knew she (the nut) was on her way home, about to pull into the driveway next to the protagonist's car, which would be a clue that the protagonist must be somewhere on, or in, her property.

I know mysteries/spy novels, etc need to have some unrealistic fantasy, but geez....it just wasn't working for me. Actually .......now that i think about it, the protagonist was written as being both smart and dipsy, in a silly-woman kind if way, maybe that turned me off w/out my realizing it til now.

Jean

JeanneP · « **Reply #4012 on:** August 05, 2012, 04:17:44 PM »

Wallender. I just did not care for him when on TV. I think he is due to return. Will give him another chance. Can't remember what it was about him I didn't like. Wasn't he kinda Scruffy in it?

Frybabe · « **Reply #4013 on:** August 05, 2012, 06:15:09 PM »

A bit, JeanneP. The character is somewhat broody and depressive. That's what most people don't like about it.

Steph · « **Reply #4014 on:** August 06, 2012, 08:52:51 AM »

Plugged on with the Wallender and it is getting better. I must confess that he seems foolhardy to me.. He has done nothing but end up with all sorts of stupidity in love and accidents. I am beginning to believe the actual murderers are not the point. Hmmm.

Frybabe · « **Reply #4015 on:** August 06, 2012, 09:43:12 AM »

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I am beginning to believe the actual murderers are not the point.

I hadn't thought about that Steph. Which one are you reading? My favorites are Dogs of Riga, which is one of the PBS offerings this fall, and The White Lioness. The action in The White Lioness is set mostly in South Africa, and actually doesn't have a lot of Wallander presence.

Mankell has written many other books than the Wallander series, including several set in Africa. He has long time relationship with a theatre in Mozambique, where he lives half the year.

The only non-Wallander book I have read so far is The Return of the Dancing Master. It seemed similar to Wallander except that the detective was on leave and about to commence a cancer treatment. I think almost as much of the story was taken up with his fear of cancer and dying solving the murder of a former colleague.

On my list to find and read are Chronicler of the Winds and The Shadow Girls(to be released in the US this fall). Both are set in Africa and or have African connections. I don't expect them to be much brighter because they deal with HIV, the devastation caused by the wars, and human trafficking. http://www.henningmankell.com/

JoanK · « **Reply #4016 on:** August 06, 2012, 02:08:46 PM »

I used to kind of like Susan Isaacs stories set in hippy Berkley. The only problem was that the way the detective ate made me feel sick. She lived on eggs, ice cream, pizza, and bagels.

At least, she bought her bagels at the same bagel store where my niece was working.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #4017 on:** August 06, 2012, 04:25:07 PM »

Babi · « **Reply #4018 on:** August 07, 2012, 07:49:53 AM »

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I don't expect them to be much brighter because they deal with HIV, the devastation caused by the wars, and human trafficking.

Oh, my word, FRYBABE. I never knew you were a glutton for punishment.

Maybe the pizzas were loaded with veggies, JOAN. And the bagels were whole wheat with
blueberries.

You guys are a lot of fun this morning. I'm starting off with a big grin.

Steph · « **Reply #4019 on:** August 07, 2012, 10:37:15 AM »

It is amazing howmany female detectives supposedly have horrid eating habits. No idea why the authors do that. I finished the Wallender. It was the very first book in he series. It picked up in the end, but I still find that he was more interested in setting up Wallender and his fellow policeman than the murderers..

Babi · « **Reply #4020 on:** August 08, 2012, 07:51:18 AM »

May be those writers are simply using their heroines to vicariously blow their own diets, STEPH.
Second-hand enjoyment of all the easy, luscious goodies they have to deny themselves.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #4021 on:** August 08, 2012, 07:54:13 AM »

I sometimes wonder that about all that delicious food that Louise Penny lets Inspector Gamache eat at the Three Pines bistro. Love reading about it though

Steph · « **Reply #4022 on:** August 08, 2012, 08:27:10 AM »

Actually Gamache frets about it, but he really does eat good stuff, but there are a number of heroines in mysteries that live on fast food and revel in it..Ugh.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #4023 on:** August 08, 2012, 08:31:37 AM »

Yes Steph, you're right - the meals in Penny's books sound just wonderful - but they do all drip butter and cream, don't they? I actually don't think I'd enjoy reading a book in which someone ate lots of rubbish. Ian Rankin's Rebus seems to live on take-aways and Scotch, and whilst I know that this is the typecast for a hard-bitten policeman, I still much prefer to see Gamache sit down beside a roaring fire with a plate of beef bourguignon and a large glass of Cabernet Sauvignon.

marjifay · « **Reply #4024 on:** August 08, 2012, 10:36:25 AM »

Jackie, I really liked David Liss's WHISKEY REBELS. Fascinating book with real historical figures. I have his THE DEVIL'S COMPANY on my TBR list. Have always been curious to know more about the British East India Company, so am looking forward to it.

Marj

MaryPage · « **Reply #4025 on:** August 08, 2012, 10:46:11 AM »

In the Margaret Maron Deborah Knott series, Deborah is always eating wonderful food long since forbidden on MY diet. Bummer!

But she DOES describe it all so very well.

Steph · « **Reply #4026 on:** August 09, 2012, 08:35:26 AM »

Oh the joy.. I found a brand new Carol O'Connol.. The Chalk Girl.. Oh Mallory.. I love the whole character Not kind...not nice.. but ruthless works in this context and I suspect we are going to detect a softening..If you like complicated characters.. Mallory is just that.

Tomereader1 · « **Reply #4027 on:** August 09, 2012, 12:13:11 PM »

Steph, is "The Chalk Girl" published this year, or before? I, too, love, love Mallory...have since the first book.

Winchesterlady · « **Reply #4028 on:** August 09, 2012, 01:13:10 PM »

Steph, the Carol O'Connell books sound good. I looked at them on Amazon. Should they be read in order?

Tomereader1 · « **Reply #4029 on:** August 09, 2012, 06:10:10 PM »

I would vote for reading them "from the beginning" or you won't really "get" Mallory.

Steph · « **Reply #4030 on:** August 10, 2012, 08:14:24 AM »

Yes, Kathy Mallory is quite a different human and probably reading in order will help you see her better. publish for Chalk Girl is January 2012 and July2012 for the paperback.. This is an enormously complex plot.Whew.. and a little girl with a syndrome that I have never heard of.. I am loving it.

Winchesterlady · « **Reply #4031 on:** August 10, 2012, 11:39:33 AM »

Thanks for the advice...I'll start at the beginning.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #4032 on:** August 10, 2012, 12:35:14 PM »

Me too, i hadn't heard of O'Connell, but my library has 17 of her books.

Jean

JoanK · « **Reply #4033 on:** August 10, 2012, 03:07:58 PM »

For those of you with kindle, a friend told me about a useful feature. In the store, if you are looking at a book in a series, there's something below that says "Extra features". If you click on it, it will tell you what number the book you're looking at is in the series. If you click again, it will list all the books in order, with links to them. If you're like me, and like to read the books in order, you can easily figure out which is the first, or the next, and order it.

JoanK · « **Reply #4034 on:** August 10, 2012, 03:17:31 PM »

I tried tyhat with "Chalk Girl". It told me that's the tenth in the series, and the first is "Mallery's Oracle". Usually, you can just click on that to get to the "buy page". Here, that didn't work, I had to type it in. But I ordered a sample.

I have so many sample I got from Seniorlearn, I'm scared to look at them. And scared to open my credit card bill to see how many books I bought last month. But it is my only indulgence.

Tomereader1 · « **Reply #4035 on:** August 10, 2012, 03:23:09 PM »

JoanK, that is so neat. I had never noticed it on my Kindle! You must feel free to add other "Tips" here anytime you wish. I am just a basic "Kindle 101" person, who mostly can't find the information in the manual, which I printed out (143 pgs.)and had 3-hole punched at OfficeMax, or one of those stores. I simply could not find or manage to read the manual that appears on the Kindle itself!

JoanK · « **Reply #4036 on:** August 10, 2012, 03:24:43 PM »

I read part of the manual when I got the kindle, but ran out of steam. I'm sure there are lots more goodies I don't know.

Steph · « **Reply #4037 on:** August 11, 2012, 08:38:32 AM »

I too printed out the manual, punched holes and have it in a three ring binder. It helps when you get stuck..At least if you are me. I can turn to the right pages and then sit the IPAD next to it and work my way through the steps.l I love the printed word in manuals.. Yes, Mallorys Oracle was the first in the series. O'Connell has also written some stand alones. They are all about alienated humans in one shape or another.

pedln · « **Reply #4038 on:** August 12, 2012, 10:36:34 AM »

Somewhere along the line I downloaded a PDF version of the Kindle manual, put a short cut on my desktop, and then immediately forgot about it. DUH! Kindle is also on both my computers because it's easier to search (keyboard and bigger screen), but when I needed the manual, the program wouldn't open. Amazon had updated some software. Fixed now.

Just browsing the news and Sunday morning book reviews. I've never heard of Megan Abbott, but it appears she's written a few mysteries. Her latest one is Dare Me: a Novel, with a focus on a high school cheerleading squad. Made me think it was a YA, but after reading the review I don't think so. Has anyone read her?

mabel1015j · « **Reply #4039 on:** August 12, 2012, 01:00:48 PM »

Starting a new Miss Julie book. It's kind of silly - after having some jewlery stolen, she takes off to Fla to try to find the crooks, having very superficial evidence that the crooks were even in Fla., let alone knowiing who or where they were. But i like the Miss Julie character, i can "see" and "hear"her clearly as i read, so its entertaining as a before-sleep read.

Jean

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Author Topic: Mystery Corner ~ 2 (Read 910570 times)