Author Topic: Mystery Corner ~ 2 (Read 897399 times)

Steph · « **Reply #5360 on:** July 10, 2013, 08:39:20 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

The Hart mystery is really wild. I just want to reach out and shake the narrator. He is scared of his own shadow or something. A very very damaged man.. but then the police woman is not a rational human either.

ginny · « **Reply #5361 on:** July 10, 2013, 07:32:32 PM »

I appreciate all the lists. It looked to me as if Tourist Season was one of his first ones so I got it today but I have to admit, shame on me, that I read so much more of Bad Monkey online I wanted to see how it ended and the local Ingels store had it at 40 percent off, so I got it, too.

I'm also glad to see that list in the heading, it's really a good one, I didn't even look!!!! hahaaa

I went on a bit of a binge today actually with books.

JoanK · « **Reply #5362 on:** July 10, 2013, 07:52:00 PM »

And I went on a binge with chocolate. Your binge is healthier!

Steph · « **Reply #5363 on:** July 11, 2013, 08:50:57 AM »

Tourist season is funny as I recall.. Hmm chocolate and books. my two favorite indulgences.

JoanK · « **Reply #5364 on:** July 11, 2013, 03:11:53 PM »

Especially when enjoyed together!

I'm still working through "Her Royal Spyness" books. Usually, I don't let myself read two in a row by the same author; I get tired of them. But sometimes I get hooked.

Steph · « **Reply #5365 on:** July 12, 2013, 08:47:33 AM »

Finished the King of Liars..Fascinating writer. But a complicated story. At the end, I was into him, but I still think he was a wimp... The women in that story were the strong ones.. Even his sister.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #5366 on:** July 12, 2013, 01:01:31 PM »

I'm reading Dorothy Cannell's The Thin Woman which i think someone mentioned here.

It's a good read, except for the premise of the book - "the thin woman"

........ I get exasperated at her talk of dieting and the food she eats or can't eat, and the need for a woman to be thin and always thinking about food. I wonder if i had read it 50 yrs ago if it would disturb me so much. I recognize that we all need to be healthy, but the focus on THIN these days is psychologically and physically UNhealthy to many.

Of course, i may be biased, i was so skinny when young , in the days of Marilyn Monroe's figure being the ideal, and i was soooooo conscious of being SKINNY, i hated it! I am now overweight, but don't worry about it much except i have a pounds number that i won't go over and have kept a pretty steady weight for two decades. I figure that some where between 30 and 60 yrs old, i must have had an "ideal" figure for the time.........but i missed enjoying it.

Jean

JoanK · « **Reply #5367 on:** July 12, 2013, 05:14:43 PM »

" i was so skinny when young , in the days of Marilyn Monroe's figure being the ideal, and i was soooooo conscious of being SKINNY, i hated it!"

We women can't win! I've fought to keep my weight down all my life. And surgeons say half their patients want breast enhancements, and half want breast reductions.

There are a number of more modern mysteries with the theme of an overweight detective. My mind blanks at the names for now.

Steph · « **Reply #5368 on:** July 13, 2013, 08:55:02 AM »

I never finished The Thin Woman because of the obsessing on food.. Just turned me off.
I too was skinny, flatchested and wore glasses. Definitely not the ideal in the 50's, but I survived,fell in love and enjoyed my life. Now I am a bit overweight, but dont really care. At 75, I seem healthy and do a lot to keep this way. I think that major overweight is dangerous,but I also think it is most important to keep active.

JoanK · « **Reply #5369 on:** July 13, 2013, 04:05:12 PM »

Exactly: it's health that's the point, not weight or looks.

Steph · « **Reply #5370 on:** July 14, 2013, 10:39:32 AM »

I have read a small series that uses an overweight woman as a detective.. Her boyfriend/husband is in a wheel chair. Fun reads. and if my brain worked I could tell you the author.

pedln · « **Reply #5371 on:** July 14, 2013, 01:39:38 PM »

How can one say, "this book is too good to be a first novel?" Too complex, too compelling?

I never heard anyone say that about Harper Lee or Margaret Mitchell. But apparently a large number of self-made critics are saying that about Robert Galbraith's Cuckoo's Calling. Well, whatever they say it's going on my TBR list.

JoanK · « **Reply #5372 on:** July 14, 2013, 03:08:48 PM »

PEDLIN: let us know what you think.

STEPH: that's the series I'm thinking of, too. And for the life of me, I can't remember the author's name.

There's another series where the narrator is a dorm manager for a thinly disguised NYU on Washington Square. Since my hubby did a postdoc at NYU, I enjoy it. Can't remember her name either.

salan · « **Reply #5373 on:** July 14, 2013, 06:28:13 PM »

Steph, are you thinking of Sue Ann Jaffarian's books with Odelia Gray as the overweight detective. Too Big to Miss was the name of one of them.

Speaking of trying to remember books. Does anyone remember a book where the bride is pushed overboard by her husband. They were on a cruise ship. She is saved by a bail of marijuana that was floating by. It was an amusing story, but I can't think of the name or the author. Help!!
Sally

Frybabe · « **Reply #5374 on:** July 14, 2013, 08:04:24 PM »

Pedln, Robert Galbraith is the pen name of J K Rowling. She hadn't wanted that to leak out so soon because she wanted to see reviews that weren't tainted by her famous name and Harry Potter comparisons. Saw the news about it this morning on Huffington Post.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/13/jk-rowling-pseudonym-robert-galbraith_n_3592769.html

Steph · « **Reply #5375 on:** July 15, 2013, 09:06:36 AM »

Sally.. yes, yes Jaffarian.. Odelia is fun for sure.. The dorm supervisor.. Does not ring any bells.. Yes, J.K. Rowling set off quite a hunt..

mabel1015j · « **Reply #5376 on:** July 15, 2013, 02:32:11 PM »

Yes, i liked Jaffarian's books.

Well, The Thin Woman turned out to be more interesting in the second half and i just ignored the rantings about food and fat. Part of what helped was the male character assuring her that she was just as interesting and appealing before she lost the weight. Way ti go Dorothy Cannell! Altho i almost gave it up before i got to that salvation.

JoanK · « **Reply #5377 on:** July 15, 2013, 03:38:05 PM »

I guess the reviewer who thought the Galbraith couldn't be a first book was right. Wonder if they suspected the truth?

JudeS · « **Reply #5378 on:** July 16, 2013, 12:51:56 AM »

I read an off-beat mystery. Extremely interesting:
Case Histories by Kate Atkinson.
A P.I. gets three new cases in one week. How the cases ,all cold now, intertwine in a very strange way.

I am a Mystery buff. read all kinds. Love Ann Perry. Met someone who knows her personally. What a woman she is.

Steph · « **Reply #5379 on:** July 16, 2013, 08:37:38 AM »

Dont like Atkinson.. Wish I did.. I think the critics were suspicous of the bio.. It was quite ornate.. former spy, etc.

MaryPage · « **Reply #5380 on:** July 16, 2013, 11:49:14 AM »

Well I love Kate Atkinson, albeit I have chosen NOT to read her latest. Jude, Case Histories was made into a TV miniseries, and you can get the DVD. I have really enjoyed that series of her books.

pedln · « **Reply #5381 on:** July 16, 2013, 12:40:03 PM »

The Rowling sleuths used some really intricate software to ascertain if she might have written Cuckoo's Calling. I hope technology will not take away the magic and thrill of starting a book, getting immersed in it.

That Case Histories sounds interesting. Think I'll try for the mini-series first. Atkinson's Started Early, Took my Dog is on my kindle. Looking forward to reading it someday.

Currently reading Louise Penney's first in the Three Pines series -- Still Life -- love it. Can't put it down. And that's a problem because Sharon McCrumb's Ballad of Tom Dooley is due back at the library tomorrow. I've had it for six weeks and can't get through it. I read the ending. Now just need to find out who done it before my f2f group meets.

JeanneP · « **Reply #5382 on:** July 16, 2013, 01:47:25 PM »

I managed to find " Tom Dooley" in large print .will start it next.

marjifay · « **Reply #5383 on:** July 16, 2013, 03:10:52 PM »

Sally wrote: "Speaking of trying to remember books. Does anyone remember a book where the bride is pushed overboard by her husband. They were on a cruise ship. She is saved by a bail of marijuana that was floating by. It was an amusing story, but I can't think of the name or the author. Help!!"

Sally, I think the name of the book you're looking for is SKINNY DIP by Carl Hiaasen.

Marge

JoanK · « **Reply #5384 on:** July 16, 2013, 03:56:02 PM »

JUDE: WELCOME! I love Anne Perry's books, too. What is she like, personally? I'm afraid my knowledge of her past would color my feelings toward her.

JoanK · « **Reply #5385 on:** July 16, 2013, 04:14:02 PM »

Ordered a sample of Case Histories for my kindle. Ahhh, instant gratification!

I've been meaning to post: for those of you who like to read series in order and are kindle owners, Kindle helps you. If you're on a page in the store for a book in the series, look down under "customer reviews" (on my version- other versions may differ). You may se a line "Book extras -- 8 books in series" (or whatever number). If you click on it, it will tell you that the book you are looking at is number X in the series. If you click again, it will list all the books in the series in order. You can click on any name and get the page where you can buy that book.

JoanK · « **Reply #5386 on:** July 16, 2013, 04:19:13 PM »

Or you can go to Fantastic fiction:

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/a/kate-atkinson/

FF has four books in the series: Kindle says there are six. But when I click on the Kindle, it tells me to try later.

In any case, Case Histories is the first.

JoanK · « **Reply #5387 on:** July 16, 2013, 04:31:50 PM »

Just finished a mystery by Marsha Clark (OJ Simpson's prosecutor): "Murder by Degrees". it's long (over 400 pages) but kept my interest. A prosecutor for the Los Angeles DAs office (what else) is angry when she sees that the man prosecuting the murder of a homeless man is not taking it seriously, and takes it over. It leads to resurrecting a cold case, and eventually threats on her life.

I liked it except for the food! The narrator lives in a hotel, and eats every meal (including breakfast) in a restaurant or room service. And she has to tell you what restaurant (it's like a restaurant guide to LA) and what she and her companions ate (and drank: they drink like fishes, every evening). She's always complaining about the small salary the prosecutors get. Well, DUH! No wonder she has money problems. And she'd be as big as an elephant! And in AA!

Tomereader1 · « **Reply #5388 on:** July 16, 2013, 05:20:17 PM »

LOL, JoanK!

salan · « **Reply #5389 on:** July 16, 2013, 05:29:18 PM »

Marge, I think you are right. I love a book that makes you laugh out loud!
Sally

Steph · « **Reply #5390 on:** July 17, 2013, 08:34:06 AM »

I had forgotten that Hiaasen.. It was truly funny , he always writes in a lot of payback..

MaryPage · « **Reply #5391 on:** July 17, 2013, 05:13:41 PM »

Those are good tips, Joan. I always go to Google Search and type in:

list Jo Nesbo Harry Hole books in order

and it usually comes up perfectly.

in other words:

list ___name of author ___ name of hero ___ books in order

Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole books are my latest passion, and I suddenly own 7 of the 10 he has written. Two of the 3 I do not own are not yet available here, as they have yet to be translated from the Norwegian. The third I do not own is available, but only in hardback, and I have it on my list to get as soon as it comes out in paperback.

I read the Kate Atkinson WHEN WILL THERE BE GOOD NEWS on my iPad, and it will sit forever on the little bookshelf there. But I find I much prefer the real, in paperback if at all possible, book. I love to write in the margins, for one thing. And I love to pass them on to family members. And I love to go back and reference them and take them everywhere with me (while I am reading that book, of course; I do not take all of my over a thousand books on hand with me everywhere!) Both ways of doing one's reading have their pluses, but for me, a paperback still leads the parade.

marjifay · « **Reply #5392 on:** July 18, 2013, 08:45:54 AM »

I've read only Jo Nesbo's THE SNOWMAN. One of the scariest books I've read in a long time. Plan to read more of Nesbo's Harry Hole thrillers.

I find it easiest when looking for a chronological listing of an author's books, to go to StopYoureKillingMe.com. A great place to find mystery books by author, characters, and other ways.

I've read only one book by Kate Atkinson long ago (Case Histories) and wasn't that interested in reading more of her books. However, I will try her WHEN WILL THERE BE GOOD NEWS because of your recommendation.

Marge

Steph · « **Reply #5393 on:** July 18, 2013, 08:48:09 AM »

Not much time for reading yesterday. I got to meet MaryZ inperson along with her husband.We had a wonderful day. It is such fun to get to personally meet someoneyou have been on line with for years.

jane · « **Reply #5394 on:** July 18, 2013, 09:15:40 AM »

Aren't MaryZ and John delightful! We've met them when they were visiting family in S. Texas a couple years ago.

jane

maryz · « **Reply #5395 on:** July 18, 2013, 08:13:24 PM »

All this works both ways. We had a great time with Stephanie (and jane and Ray) - and it was fun meeting with Gracie and Duncan, too. What a fun lady to spend time with.

We stayed in Franklin overnight and drove the long way around getting home - the Blue Ridge Parkway, through the Great Smoky Mtn Nat'l Park, and on the Foothills Pkwy. We didn't get home until after 4.

Steph · « **Reply #5396 on:** July 19, 2013, 08:25:11 AM »

My very favorite road in the world is the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is such a joy in all seasons. The park is wonderful as well. We never missed stopping in Cades Cove. I did love it so much. I have somewhere a wonderful picture, I thought I was taking a picture of very pretty horse and lo and behold, when I looked closely,in back of the horse was a doe.. standing very very still..

JeanneP · « **Reply #5397 on:** July 19, 2013, 12:20:05 PM »

Only on the Blue Ridge Parkway one time. Can't remember the year. Do remember it was a beautiful drive until we got stuck on it because of a accident. Think stopped over 2 hours. Sort of fun. weather nice. People were getting out of their cars making visits.. Kids just our of them playing on the grass . Sharing drinks and food. Nice experience.
Was stuck in Dullas Airport one winter for again 2 days and that experience was about the same. All of us coming in from Europe. Many from Italy. AP ran out of food and many shared their Sausage and Wine. Makes travelling fun. Don't know if my patience would hold up now. But if have my IPad or a book would be O.K I think

mabel1015j · « **Reply #5398 on:** July 19, 2013, 12:50:40 PM »

Just finished Back Roads by Susan Crandall. I guess she is primarily a "romance" writer, but this was an interesting mystery - w/ a bit too much romance for me, but i just glossed over that. A mysterious guy shows up in a very small town, an exuburant 18 yr old female had given him a ride into town. He has some previous connection to the town. He meets the woman sheriff who is agonizing about needing a life change - so, of course, he becomes her life change, but the 18 yr old disappears from a still-running car w/ a smashed window and keys, wallet and phone still in the car. Who is this guy? Why is he so closed about his past? What happened to the 18 yr old? Will the sheriff ruin her brother's political ambitions by pursuing the investigations? It was an easy, but interesting mystery.

JoanK · « **Reply #5399 on:** July 19, 2013, 03:14:58 PM »

Sounds interesting.

I love the Blue Ridge Parkway. We always used to take a long weekend in the fall when the leaves were turning and drive it. I'll never forget.

My husband wanted to have his ashes spread there, but I took them to California with me instead. Didn't want to leave them behind.

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Author Topic: Mystery Corner ~ 2 (Read 897399 times)