Author Topic: Mystery Corner ~ 2 (Read 897531 times)

nlhome · « **Reply #5680 on:** September 07, 2013, 09:36:17 AM »

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Discussion Leader: JoanK

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I know, MaryPage - how did our children get so old when we didn't?

Anyway, I tried to read Murder in Thrall by Anne Cleeland - the first in a new series set in Scotland Yard. To me, the whole premise was too unlikely and rather "icky" as well. Has anyone else tried this book? I gave it a fair chance, but realized that I wasn't looking forward to picking it up, even though I was almost half way through, so I read the very end and decided that I wouldn't waste any more time, nor will I look for the 2nd in the series when it comes out.

JoanK · « **Reply #5681 on:** September 07, 2013, 09:05:02 PM »

I haven't tried her. I guess I won't.

Steph · « **Reply #5682 on:** September 08, 2013, 09:55:03 AM »

I had an aunt who stuck to her one age... 59, her whole life. All her sisters and brothers managed to pass her, even though she was the second oldest. She just decided it was a nice age.

JoanK · « **Reply #5683 on:** September 08, 2013, 03:42:03 PM »

It is a nice age. But so is 80!

marjifay · « **Reply #5684 on:** September 09, 2013, 09:12:38 AM »

Well, JoanK, age 80 is a little better than not being alive, LOL. Too many aches and pains, tho.' My favorite age was my late 30s and early 40s. Had gotten a divorce, and was really having fun.

Marj

Steph · « **Reply #5685 on:** September 09, 2013, 09:44:19 AM »

I loved my 50 and 60's.. Children grown and educated and my husband and I retired early, so we had plenty of time to experiment with different styles of part time work and lots of play.

pedln · « **Reply #5686 on:** September 09, 2013, 11:20:07 AM »

I agree with JoanK and say 78 is a nice age as well as 80. The other years were good too, but now I don't have to set an alarm clock, I can get up when I please, set my own schedule (or not). I feel completely free. The knees could be better, the hearing could be much improved, but they're mine and we get along. So now my only problem is to find someone to build a new fence, and to not get caught by the cops when I ride my trike on the sidewalk.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #5687 on:** September 09, 2013, 02:01:51 PM »

Joan, thanks for the info re the new Louise Penny - like you, I will read it because i have followed the whole series, but I did feel the last one was disappointing, and I have to admit I am getting a bit tired of her endless self-publicising - I know writers these days have to do all their own publicity, but she's now so well known that I doubt she does, and sometimes it's all just a little bit too saccharine for my tastes. However, the very fact that I want to know what happens means she can't be that bad!

Though I do sometimes think I read on because I love the descriptions of the food in the bistro so much....

Rosemary

JoanK · « **Reply #5688 on:** September 09, 2013, 02:17:44 PM »

Winchesterlady · « **Reply #5689 on:** September 09, 2013, 08:27:02 PM »

"...and sometimes it's all just a little bit too saccharine for my tastes."

I agree Rosemary. Her email newsletters repeat so much info about her books. I do enjoy her descriptions of food, the village, and the people. They give you a warm, comfortable feeling. And I do keep buying her books! Just bought her latest but haven't read it yet. My TBR pile is getting quite high.

rosemarykaye · « **Reply #5690 on:** September 10, 2013, 02:06:14 AM »

Good morning Winchester Lady - glad you agree about Louise Penny; everyone seems to love her sooooo much that I feel bad saying anything negative, but boy does she go on about her perfect life! And as I think we have already mentioned, her last book was heavily overwritten IMHO - there were so many three word sentences that they lost their impact early on. That said, like you I will read on - though I'll probably wait for the library to get the new book!

Rosemary

Steph · « **Reply #5691 on:** September 10, 2013, 10:13:09 AM »

I am two behind on the Louise Penney, but like both of you will read them, but wish she would expand a bit. I dont follow her personally,so no idea that she self publicizes.. Oh well. common nowadays. I like Dana Stabenow on facebook, because she talks about Alaska and life in general and is fun.

salan · « **Reply #5692 on:** September 10, 2013, 07:16:00 PM »

Steph, I am also two behind in the Louise Penny series. I am one behind in the Julia Spencer Fleming series. I have these books on request at the library. Both series were better in the beginning; but I want to see what happens to the characters.
Sally

Winchesterlady · « **Reply #5693 on:** September 10, 2013, 09:41:55 PM »

I love to find a book that I love and then discover it is part of a series.

Today I bought Burial Rites by Hannah Kent. It was just published today and I've been waiting for it. Amazon describes it this way ... "A brilliant literary debut, inspired by a true story: the final days of a young woman accused of murder in Iceland in 1829." The reviews I've read all say it is a beautifully written first novel, even though the subject is very bleak. I'm looking forward to reading it.

Steph · « **Reply #5694 on:** September 11, 2013, 08:45:15 AM »

Sally.. I love Julia Spencer Fleming and feel she has worked hard at keeping up the tension..I think I am up to date..The last I read was about Viet Nam vets and a group dynamic.. Interesting.
Almost all series tend to get a bit bogged down.Sometimes if we are lucky, the author picks up on this and changes it enough to make it fun again. I used to love Diane Mott Davidson, but she started concentrating onthat poisonous son and I stopped cold fora while. Now she seems to have gone back to Goldy and I can enjoy them again. I love Stephanie Plum, but really dislike Lula and hope that Evanovich might back her off a bit.. Oh well, not yet.

MaryPage · « **Reply #5695 on:** September 11, 2013, 10:21:54 AM »

I love Julia Spencer-Fleming so much that I have had her next book on preorder with Barnes and Noble for simply ages now.

http://www.juliaspencerfleming.com/

I think I have said before, but will risk repeating, I have never read such an excellent description of falling in love as Spencer-Fleming produces. AND my twin first cousin was a female Episcopalian priest, so the books do a double whammy on me.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #5696 on:** September 11, 2013, 12:37:13 PM »

Per a discussion here i read a Barbara Micheals book House of Many Shadows. It was good, an unusual one for me, about "ghosts". But it had an illusion to the Penna Dutch and why they came to Pa, so that kept my interest. In looking at the rest of BM's series, they look like they are all related to "spirits" so i may not get another, altho i may look for her books by another name - which i have forgotten at the moment, is it Elizabeth Peters?

Jean

MaryPage · « **Reply #5697 on:** September 11, 2013, 02:11:52 PM »

Her real name was Barbara Mertz and she lived just up the road apiece in Frederick, Maryland. She had two pen names: Barbara Michaels and Elizabeth Peters. I much preferred the Michaels books. Ammie Come Home was a great favorite, as was Stitches in Time and Shattered Silk. She had a Ph.D. in Egyptology.

JoanK · « **Reply #5698 on:** September 11, 2013, 04:51:58 PM »

Just pre-ordered the new Spencer Fleming for my kindle. They say it will come November 5th. guy falkes day: a perfect day for a new mystery.

I had no idea Barbara Michaels lived up the road from me in Frederick. Or that she was Elizabeth Peters.

MaryPage · « **Reply #5699 on:** September 11, 2013, 07:34:46 PM »

Well, there ya go!
And remember: it was Barbara Mertz who lived in Frederick.
By the way, and this is of no significance whatsoever, I attended the Visitation Academy in Frederick as a boarding student for 2 years. So long ago. Back in the nineteen forties!
Know the town well, I do, and never used to approach it without having the famous words from the poem about Barbara Fritchie repeat in my head.
Up from the meadows ripe with corn,
Clear on a cool September morn,
The clustered spires of Frederick stand
Green-walled by the hills of Maryland.
Of course, in order to get the beat right, you have to say MERRY LAND.
And those were the only stanzas I ever memorized, except, of course, for:
Shoot if you will this old grey head
But save your country's flag, she said!

Frybabe · « **Reply #5700 on:** September 11, 2013, 07:57:30 PM »

The first of the Longmire series is now waiting at the library for me to pick up on Friday. I am looking forward to it.

Steph · « **Reply #5701 on:** September 12, 2013, 08:46:49 AM »

I loved the Elizabeth Peters,,, Amelia Peabody series, Barbara Michaels,, I have read some I loved, but others not quite so much. Still an admired author.. I always liked Frederick , MD. beautiful place.. and so much history in it.

Frybabe · « **Reply #5702 on:** September 12, 2013, 06:22:13 PM »

What I liked best about Frederick when passing through was the huge satellite dishes. Now they are hidden behind highrise buildings. Bummer! Oh, BTW, I have a kept a special collector's edition of Frederick Magazine (A Pictorial History) from about five years ago that I helped ready for press.

JoanK · « **Reply #5703 on:** September 12, 2013, 10:06:39 PM »

Reading a Charles Finch mystery "death in the Small hours" and enjoying it. The Lenoxes, now husband and wife, are in a small town in England, 19th century.

I think I've read it before, but one advantage of my senior memory is that I can enjoy it again.

Steph · « **Reply #5704 on:** September 13, 2013, 09:00:57 AM »

Reading a Sharon Fiffer... "Scary STuff". Interesting, but the plot is somewhat twisty. Jane Wheel who is the heroine bothers me though.All that stuff, she saves and keeps.. Sounds two steps away from a hoarder.

marjifay · « **Reply #5705 on:** September 13, 2013, 11:26:34 AM »

JoanK wrote: "Reading a Charles Finch mystery "death in the Small hours" and enjoying it."

I really liked that book, Joan, and his first one, BURIAL AT SEA. The protagonist, Charles Lennox, formerly a detective, now a member of Parliament, is sent by his brother at the request of the PM, on one of Her Magesty's ships to Egypt, nominally to meet with the new leader of Egypt, but actually to spy and find out France's intentions toward England (they suspect France is going to attack England without warning). I was not aware of France's interest in Egypt before reading this book, altho I have a book about Napoleon and Egypt (unread).

I had to laugh in Death in the Small Hours because altho Lennox is referrered to as a "commoner" (vs. a Lord), he is well off enough to have a butler, a maid, a cook and a governess for the baby. What I really like about these books is that you get so enthralled with the Lenox family and their friends and learning a lot about the Victorian era. Excellent writing and research.

(I have to keep a list of books I've read so I don't get the same book twice. Before I started it, I found I had 3 copies of one book. If anyone wants a copy of PETERSBURG by Andrew Bely, let me know.)

Marj

JudeS · « **Reply #5706 on:** September 13, 2013, 01:52:49 PM »

Hi Marjifay
Hey -never heard of the author but if you have THREE copies of his book it must have a great deal of merit (Subconciously you really must feel it was very good).
So send me a copy if you will and I will return stamps for your postage or a book of mine for yours.

Judith Shernock
5019 Moorpark Ave.
San Jose CA 95129

Thanks

MaryPage · « **Reply #5707 on:** September 13, 2013, 09:14:43 PM »

Murder Mystery FUN and a brand new, to me, author. Apparently Australian.
Tonight on Maryland Public Television (MPT) their Friday Night Mystery Hour brought us a brand new detective: Phryne Fisher. I have never previous to tonight heard of this series or this name. It seems to be pronounced FRY KNEE. Imagine!
The books are by Kerry Greenwood and are set in the Roaring Twenties. The clothes are TO DIE FOR! Seriously, if you had a dislike for mysteries, you would love this just to watch the outfits she wears. I should have been born in the twenties. Oh, Oops, I was! And my mother wore these clothes, so probably that is why they turn me on so.

http://www.phrynefisher.com/

Steph · « **Reply #5708 on:** September 14, 2013, 09:02:31 AM »

I checked and I seem to have read Kerry Greenwood, but dont remember that heroine.. Hmm.

maryz · « **Reply #5709 on:** September 14, 2013, 09:58:02 AM »

I'm reading a new-to-me mystery/author - The Muffin Man by Brad Whittington. The protagonist is a sheriff in a Texas Hill Country town. I'm liking the characters, and the writer's style and humorous, succinct descriptions. I'll look for some more of his books.

MaryPage · « **Reply #5710 on:** September 14, 2013, 02:25:44 PM »

I've looked up the history of the name Phryne, and it is fascinating. From Ancient Greek History, but not mythology. It means toad, but the real Phryne, whose name that was not but who was called that as a publicly given nickname, was a great beauty and very rich. There is a famous court case involving her. Makes me wonder if Hawthorne took the name (Hester) Prynne from Phryne. I'm betting big time that he did, because back then when everyone educated studied Greek History quite thoroughly, he would have known all about Phryne! She lived hundreds of years before Jesus was born.

JoanK · « **Reply #5711 on:** September 14, 2013, 04:31:36 PM »

I've read some of Greenwoods books -- in fact I have one in my library pile to read now. Phryne Fisher has been called a female version of "The Thin Man." She's very exotic: should make a good TV series.

What is the name of the TV series?

I see there are a ton of books in the series:

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/g/kerry-greenwood/

She has another series about a woman baker who lives in a building with all kinds of weird characters. I see she has other series too.

JeanneP · « **Reply #5712 on:** September 14, 2013, 06:16:41 PM »

MaryPage.

Now do you remember your mother wearing a corset. Made the small waists. She would hold onto the bedrail and I would put the laces as tight as she could stand it.
Bet they had no back problems wearing them. She was born in 1907. Did dress smart and was a great dressmaker.

MaryPage · « **Reply #5713 on:** September 14, 2013, 07:34:13 PM »

No, my mother did not wear corsets. She was born in 1903, and was most definitely of the "flapper" generation that threw away corsets. I was born in 1929. We sometimes wore girdles to cinch our waistlines, as did my mother, but never a corset. Never. I remember my grandmother wearing a corset when she got dressed up.

MaryPage · « **Reply #5714 on:** September 14, 2013, 07:38:25 PM »

http://www.shoppbs.org/product/index.jsp?productId=20299596

http://www.kqed.org/tv/programs/index.jsp?pgmid=21435

Steph · « **Reply #5715 on:** September 15, 2013, 09:19:09 AM »

Possibly the wrong discussion for this book, but it does not fit into a category. It seems to be classified in the Young Adult section in book stores. Author is Cassandra Clare.. and I am reading the first one of The Mortal Intrument series.. City of Bones. Odd and interesting.. Not making the Harry Potter fuss, but plays on that in some ways.. A fantasy, but set on this earth in this time. Anyone else heard or read it.There seems to be a lot in the series and there is also supposed to be a movie being made.

JoanK · « **Reply #5716 on:** September 15, 2013, 08:15:00 PM »

No, I haven't. Does my sis over in Science Fiction know it?

Started what I thought would be a good book, but it reeks of some perfume, and is giving me a headache. I HATE IT when my library does that! My kindle needed charging, and the electricity was off for six hours, so I couldn't do it, and was stuck with smellybook!

I've gotten so used to instant gratification in books! Boy, am I spoiled!

Frybabe · « **Reply #5717 on:** September 15, 2013, 09:01:21 PM »

I am well into the second Liam Campbell series from Dana Stabenow. Really enjoying it. Can hardly wait to see what Liam's Dad is up to, not to mention who did the murders.

My library is missing the next two Kate Shagak series. Bummer. I requested the next one which is only available in an audio book. After listening to Basil Rathbone and Vincent Price doing Edgar Allen Poe (recommended if you can find it) years ago, This will only be my second audio book experience.

Steph, I think Amazon has been advertising one of the Mortal Instrument series but I didn't pay much attention to it. Some lean hunk with wings is on the cover which reminds me of those popular Christian mystery/romance books for young adults and teens. I would not have thought Harry Potterish from the cover art. Next time I'll take a closer look.

JoanK · « **Reply #5718 on:** September 15, 2013, 09:18:34 PM »

Just finished the latest Kate Shugak book, "Bad Blood." It had an interesting theme: a Hatfield and McCoy feud between two neighboring small towns which threatens to blow up when someone from one town is accused of killing someone from the other.

But I was disappointed, with the development and with the ending which seemed just stuck onto the end, and made no sense to me.

Frybabe · « **Reply #5719 on:** September 16, 2013, 08:17:12 AM »

JoanK, maybe after so many Kate Shugak books she is running out of steam or just needed to finish in a hurry to meet a deadline. I've got a while to go before I get to Bad Blood.

As far as I can tell, she only wrote three of the Liam Campbell books. I wonder why. I get a kick out of Campbell's vanity when it comes to his uniform. Everything has to be pressed just so and the hat is worn just so. He can't find a laundry to his satisfaction where he is stationed, so he posts his uniforms to Anchorage for dry cleaning. Woe is him when he has to wear civies because both his uniforms are out. Hah!

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Author Topic: Mystery Corner ~ 2 (Read 897531 times)