Author Topic: Mystery Corner ~ 2 (Read 898384 times)

Steph · « **Reply #4920 on:** March 17, 2013, 06:05:05 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
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Discussion Leader: JoanK

New name for me. What type of plots..a continuing character?? Will look her up on my swap section.

Tomereader1 · « **Reply #4921 on:** March 17, 2013, 11:19:39 AM »

Don't know, Steph. Will have to look her up on Fantastic Fiction and see. The character in this book did not seem to be a continuation, might be start of new series though.

JoanK · « **Reply #4922 on:** March 17, 2013, 03:40:59 PM »

Here is Ryan.
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/r/hank-ryan/

I had never heard of her. Interesting background.

JoanK · « **Reply #4923 on:** March 17, 2013, 03:49:21 PM »

I ordered a sample of her first "Prime Time" for kindle. I now have 45 samples in my mystery folder alone! So many books ....

just finished a real bare-bones procedural "One Perfect Shot" by Steven Havill. I really liked it -- no plot gimmicks, just police procedure, gradually closing down on the perp. Set in a small town in the Southwest. It's a "prequal" to a series with 17 other books, and the first one is free on kindle. So I'll be busy for awhile.

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/h/steven-f-havill/

Steph · « **Reply #4924 on:** March 18, 2013, 05:57:20 AM »

Interesting bio..Will have to try something of hers.

marjifay · « **Reply #4925 on:** March 18, 2013, 12:42:22 PM »

Speaking of more women being in control, Congress is finally bginning to address the awful problem of rape in the military. It has gone on mostly ignored with the victims mostly being the ones who are punished. Someone asked if this would ever have come up for examination, except for the fact that there are now more women in Congress.

Marj

mabel1015j · « **Reply #4926 on:** March 18, 2013, 05:41:41 PM »

Just finished "Death's Half Acre" by Margaret Maron. It was o.k. It alluded to the conflict between the city folk moving to the country to get the benefits of the country and then being irritated by crowing roosters, etc, and the natives. It touched on the corruption that can come w/ development. I think it had more potential then she teased out of it. She tried to weave that story with a woman who had all the dirt on people and died for it with a concern that Judge and Kizzie Knot might get caught in the dirt. It got confusing near the end when her Father had his own scam going, but she gave us little fact about what was happening.

I think it had a lot of possibility, but i think she tried to do to much.

Jean

Steph · « **Reply #4927 on:** March 19, 2013, 05:58:18 AM »

Wasn't that an early book of the Judge?? I seem to remember it.

Frybabe · « **Reply #4928 on:** March 19, 2013, 09:06:19 AM »

I've just started the second of Steve Robinson's Genealogy series. It's called In the Blood. This one is about finding the birth parents of a client. The genealogist, Jefferson Tayte, is already in hot water when the story starts.

JeanneP · « **Reply #4929 on:** March 19, 2013, 01:17:46 PM »

I am for seeing more women getting into power in Government, Business but just not in the church. Can't see one as Pope as would not fit in their way of life. I was raised Anglican. C of England. Never did see a female priest and can't see one there either. (Maybe now could be them). I do go for the priest being married although we never did have one. Just something about the authority the men have that I don't think women would appreciate from another women

mabel1015j · « **Reply #4930 on:** March 19, 2013, 01:40:40 PM »

Steph, in this Knott story she and Dwight have been married about 4 months and Cal's mother Jonna as died, so he's living w/ Dwight and Deborah. My guess is it's the first book after they gt married.

Jean

JoanK · « **Reply #4931 on:** March 19, 2013, 04:07:38 PM »

I have "In the blood on my kindle. I must have read the first one, but I've forgotten it Sigh.

Just finished a "Bad hair day" mystery by Nancy Cohen, "Shear Murder".The detective runs a beauty salon. It was an OK cozy, not outstanding. The 10th in a series: I have so many other books waiting, I probably won't follow up.

MaryPage · « **Reply #4932 on:** March 19, 2013, 06:19:59 PM »

Oh my! Oh Jeanne!

There is absolutely no reason on the face of this Earth that a woman or women cannot have and exercise and do a wonderful job with Authority!

How you have been immersed in your own life can set the way you see things, but please believe me: women can be ANYthing! Doctors, and doctors in full charge. Lawyers and Judges and Chief Justices of the Supreme Court. Representatives and Senators and Presidents of any country in this world. There is NO automatic setting of all authority for life on a babe born with a penis as opposed to one born without one. There is no "PLACE" for women to keep to. If you were raised with your father as a partriarchal figure, you may emotionally and instinctively feel men must rule the world. Believe me, this is not only not the case, but they have been a dismal failure at it and Women Must Take Over in order to save our species from extinction. Seriously.

And now there you have MY point of view, for what it's worth!

And I am Episcopalian born and bred, with bishops on the family tree and a twin first cousin who was in the very 2nd group of female priests ordained in this country. And she was a Huge success as a parish priest and a counselor. Much loved. Died 1994. I am all for a female Pope! Yep! You 'betcha!

Frybabe · « **Reply #4933 on:** March 19, 2013, 07:18:45 PM »

JoanK, sorry, my mistake; In the Blood is the first one. The one I am now reading is In the Grave. So you don't remember the first one, because you haven't read it yet. Let me know what you think of it when you get around to reading it.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #4934 on:** March 20, 2013, 04:22:41 AM »

The Church of England now has numerous female vicars - in fact if they didn't many churches would have no vicar. The Church of Scotland has had female ministers for ages - almost all of the local churches here in East Lothian have female ministers.

The minister at St Mary's Parish Church in Haddington is a very capable woman - I don't think anyone would ever think she wasn't up to the job, and she is now Moderator of the church's Lothian Presbytery. The priest at the Haddington Episcopal church is also a woman, again very capable and has done a lot to turn that church around after a string of ineffectual incumbents and a falling congregation.

I think who makes a good minister/vicar/priest depends entirely on the individual. I've been to churches with very uninspiring ministers of both sexes, and vice versa.

I suppose the problem with having a female Pope would be that much of the RC church's doctrine seems to exclude women or put them in a subservient position. However, I like what I see of the new Pope so far - the main thing, IMHO, is that whoever is Pope should be a great person and priest, and do his/her best not to get bogged down in all the pomp and ceremony. So far Pope Francis seems determined to do that - good for him.

How on earth did we get on to this in the Mystery Corner?

Steph · « **Reply #4935 on:** March 20, 2013, 06:25:46 AM »

Ah now I remember that Knott story.. I like them all, but that one did have some plotting problems. One of the few authors I would love to meet.. Living part of the year in North Carolina makes me understand her passion for her home state.
Ah packing.. the house is officially starting to be trashed. boxes here and there.. lists everywhere and I am trying to sort out things I need, things I want and things I have no idea about.

marjifay · « **Reply #4936 on:** March 20, 2013, 10:18:05 AM »

Per Jeanne: "Just something about the authority the men have that I don't think women would appreciate from another women"

Gosh, Jeanne, that sounds like something women used to say before the women's rights movement in the 1970s. Back when some women were afraid of having to take responsibility for themselves and not depend completely on a man for support. (As they found out when that man tossed them out in their older age for a younger woman.) Women learned not to go straight from daddy to hubby, but to get some education and work experience before getting married.

Women aren't afraid of other women having authority over them. What they resent is always being controlled by some men.

Marj

JoanK · « **Reply #4937 on:** March 20, 2013, 04:18:18 PM »

"How on earth did we get on to this in the Mystery Corner? "

That's a mystery!

There was a mystery as the book in Blanko, and I didn't get it: one of Rita Mae Brown's. No how many mysteries I read, there are always more. I tried one of hers decades ago, and didn't care for it: can't remember why. Maybe it's time to revisit her.

Steph · « **Reply #4938 on:** March 21, 2013, 05:26:14 AM »

I like Rita Mae.. She is writing several series now.. One on the cats, one on foxhunting.. etc. Interesting and very light.
I have been reading a memoir by Susanna Sunnenberg?/ Has a disclaimer, that this is her version of her life and that all of the characters in the book escept for her are not considered real.. Weird sort of remark, but the book is very different.. The Mother is a monster.. the writer ( Susanna) not much better.. Interesting in a train wreck sort of way.

pedln · « **Reply #4939 on:** March 21, 2013, 11:14:06 AM »

Do you ever wish you could just take a day off from your daily life and curl up with a good mystery and read as long as you wish? Right now life is not bad, just too complicated.

Looking forward to Margaret Maron's new title, if I can get hold of it, or maybe Louise Penney's "debut" novel from years back -- Still Life, on my Kindle forever. Or John Mortimer's A Summer Lease, if my library has it.

Will Schwalbe had the right attitude. He had to take a long flight to somewhere, but was delighted that he would have five hours to do nothing but read.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #4940 on:** March 21, 2013, 01:11:47 PM »

Pedln, I know exactly what you mean.

Still Life is not Penny's best - it was a good start but far too self-indulgent in places. She improved markedly with each book after that - until the most recent, which was a disappointment.

Summer's Lease is - as we've been saying - just wonderful, and may be exactly what you need if you're feeling harassed. John Mortimer was one of those writers who made everything seem effortless.

I always plan to read a lot on long journeys, then find myself so easily distracted by magazines, my phone, etc. The most reading I ever did on a holiday was when we were camping so had no electricity! Got through Great Expectations and Middlemarch that way.

Rosemary

Steph · « **Reply #4941 on:** March 22, 2013, 05:30:11 AM »

Since I am not fond of TV, I read each night. But my IPAD is seductive because of the newspapers, I have always been a newspaper junkie and I can get so many different ones on my IPAD..So each day I read at least the NY Times and mostly several others..

Dana · « **Reply #4942 on:** March 22, 2013, 11:33:52 AM »

MaryPage, I agree that women should be able to do whatever they aspire to, including Pope.
I do think women are more cautious, generally speaking, either from genetic selection or socialization or both. That makes sense in the member of the species that bears the children and has been so caught up in bearing and caring for them. It makes sense too that they would like to hear what everyone thinks before making a decision (teamwork!). But this makes them less decisive and less able to take that dominant leadership role that is sometimes so necessary. Exceptions on both sides of the gender aisle of course!

JoanP · « **Reply #4943 on:** March 22, 2013, 09:53:31 PM »

We are happy to announce that Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone has been selected for the Book Club Online discussion. We will begin on April 15 and continue through the month of May. This is a delightful selection, believed to be the first detective/mystery novel. We hope you drop in now and say hello, select your chair...

Steph · « **Reply #4944 on:** March 23, 2013, 05:54:55 AM »

Since my life is really truly way past full just now, I am reading a light mystery Nancy Martins.. one of the Blackbird series.. I believe the last one published thus far.. Not much content, but lots of fun.. But Nora is really a wimp with her parents popping up.. Oh well.

JoanK · « **Reply #4945 on:** March 23, 2013, 03:52:00 PM »

Hooray! One of my favorite mysteries is the April book selection! If you haven't read "The Moonstone" (or like me, you've read it and would like to discuss it) you're in for a treat. For me, it is much more interesting, fun, and readable than Sherlock Holmes. TS Eliot called it the greatest English detective story. Let's see if we agree.

http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?topic=3772.new#new

Frybabe · « **Reply #4946 on:** March 23, 2013, 06:13:37 PM »

I've finished with In the Grave by Steve Robinson. Once again it took me a little time to warm up to the story, and then, I was hooked. I was sad that it didn't end on a happier note, but the client did get the to meet extended family and find out who her birth parents were.

I can't borrow the next one from Kindle until the 1st of April, and my next SciFi installment didn't arrive yet, so I am falling back on a history of the Acadian Exiles that I had started a while back. Interesting reading.

JoanK · « **Reply #4947 on:** March 23, 2013, 07:38:57 PM »

I liked "The Llama of Death" by Betty Webb, the third in her series featuring a zookeeper as a detective. She shows her love of animals in these cozies, just as her more serious "desert" series shows her love and appreciation of the desert. I like authors who are passionate about what they write about.

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/w/betty-webb/

Steph · « **Reply #4948 on:** March 24, 2013, 06:44:32 AM »

I must look for the Zoo series. I love mysteries that have animal components..

FlaJean · « **Reply #4949 on:** March 24, 2013, 12:29:57 PM »

"The Moonstone" is free from the Apple iBook store on the iPad.

jane · « **Reply #4950 on:** March 24, 2013, 12:32:35 PM »

It's also free at Amazon for the Kindle. Barnes and Noble has charges for it for the Nook.

Steph · « **Reply #4951 on:** March 25, 2013, 06:22:34 AM »

Finished the Nancy Martin.. Blackbird sisters.. She is writing another series now and don't know if she will continue this one or not..She seems to have written herself into a corner in this one.

pedln · « **Reply #4952 on:** March 25, 2013, 10:25:22 AM »

Thanks for the info, Jane. I just now downloaded it to my kindle.

More books are piling up. Yesterday I bought the Kindle Daily Deal which happened to be Kate Atkinson's Started Early, Took My Dog.

I've only read one other Atkinson, don't remember which, and I'll probably never get the title of this one straight either.

Tomereader1 · « **Reply #4953 on:** March 25, 2013, 10:51:59 AM »

I downloaded Moonstone free from Kindle also. HOpe to join the April discussion. (If I don't contribute, I will be following)

JoanK · « **Reply #4954 on:** March 25, 2013, 04:45:28 PM »

Pedlin and Tomereader: GREAT: check into the pre-discussion and let us know you will be joining us.

http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?board=149.0

Steph · « **Reply #4955 on:** March 26, 2013, 06:14:58 AM »

With the move and some medical tests, I know I wont be joining the Moonstone discussion.. Oh well..

JeanneP · « **Reply #4956 on:** March 26, 2013, 03:51:10 PM »

Just a quick one on my post 734.

That was just my feelings on Religious areas, not the Business side. Been years since I went to church. Fact not since I left the UK. Not really been interested in going and so my thinking goes back to what it was like years ago. I never saw a women priest. No experience listening to one. I am sure that one could just take over and do just as good as a man. Really not that much to it. Just have to be a good listener, Speaker and Patience with people.

Having been in the Business world working for at least 40 years,first around construction and then Finance. With most years being a single women.

I found there was very little that a women could not do as good as a man. Did see lots that a women would not want to do. This I found where the woman's rights didn't work to good. They played up on the female side.

Most my work was with men but very seldom did I have one in charge, and when one was, I found it easy to be equal to him. Walked out twice and was asked to return.

I came from a family of women that were for Equal rights way before it became popular. (Maybe that is why a few of us became Single again). Over did it a little. Men still do not like it in a women.

It is going to be a long time before women get ahead of men. It can't be expected to be in every field. Women still are not fighting hard enough.

Better get out of the forum before I am asked.

JoanK · « **Reply #4957 on:** March 26, 2013, 04:32:56 PM »

Naah, you won't be kicked out for having an opinion. Only for insulting other's. I agree with you.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #4958 on:** March 27, 2013, 06:02:51 AM »

Jeanne! You are more than entitled to your own opinions, that would never (in MY opinion!!) be a reason to throw someone out! One of the many great things about this group is that we all share our different opinions a civilised manner - debate not 'dissing' as I believe my teens call it...

Please stick with us!

Rosemary

Steph · « **Reply #4959 on:** March 27, 2013, 06:16:49 AM »

Good heavens.. opinions is what we are all good at and rarely do they match. My father was a commercial contractor, so I know a bit like Jeanne about the construction industry.. I am impressed that I now know women carpenters, painters, plumbers.. Some major construction companies have a lot of women and are owned by women.. Still there is an undercurrent of what women can do and some of the unions are hard to deal with for women.

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Author Topic: Mystery Corner ~ 2 (Read 898384 times)