Author Topic: Mystery Corner ~ 2 (Read 911359 times)

Tomereader1 · « **Reply #6880 on:** November 11, 2014, 02:53:03 PM »

____

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
Fantastic Fiction
Stop You're Killing Me

Discussion Leader: JoanK

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Frybabe, if you want to be REALLY disillusioned about the Italian law and legal system, read "The Monster of Florence" (not the new book by the same title, but the non-fiction one of a couple years back). It was written by one of our favorite Mystery authors (whose name I can't seem to recall at the moment - I will search later). It is reminiscent of the Amanda Knox debacle, which is still occurring.

JoanK · « **Reply #6881 on:** November 11, 2014, 02:59:56 PM »

TOME: I just noticed your tag in the post above. I love it. Maybe I'll make a cover of some profound philosophy book, and slip it over whatever mystery I'm reading, just in case.

Frybabe · « **Reply #6882 on:** November 11, 2014, 03:05:37 PM »

JoanK, I thing is was Douglas Preston (or was it his counterpart, Lincoln Child?). Wasn't that one a book discussion several years back? I avoid serial killer stories, for the most part. Suffice it to say I do not watch Criminal Minds.

MaryPage · « **Reply #6883 on:** November 11, 2014, 03:56:00 PM »

The PBS show series is called DCI BANKS.

Joan, I have an iPad and got enthusiastic about reading electronic books and spent a small fortune on buying about a dozen and then discovered with the very first one that I don't LIKE reading that way. So there they sit, on those cute little bookshelves on my iPad, paid for but mostly unread!

I really AM one who loves reading the real thing. I love to underline, highlight, write comments in the margins and pass them on to the one of my 13 granddaughters who is not only my namesake, but turned out to be the one exactly like me, except in looks. I love to race back through the pages looking for something said earlier, or race ahead to see what happens when I just can't stand the suspense. I like the softness of a paperback in my hands and the lack of weight. My daughter Anne has one of those very light weight Kindles, and she is currently reading the OUTLANDER series on it, despite the fact that both I and another daughter, her sister Debi, own them all. Well, given how thick each volume is, I must admit that maybe she is ahead of the game. Still, she has to pay for each book, when she could borrow ours. As a last plus for her, though, she absolutely HATES my underlining and my comments. Paige, her daughter, adores them! So ya win some and ya lose some!

FlaJean · « **Reply #6884 on:** November 11, 2014, 04:29:33 PM »

I occasionally read an ebook on my iPad, but I also much prefer a real book with real paper. Don't know why I feel that way because I enjoy my iPad for reading the news or short articles.

maryz · « **Reply #6885 on:** November 11, 2014, 07:05:34 PM »

The only thing I don't like about reading on my iPad is that I have to buy the books and that I can't loan them to anyone. Being Mortal is the first paper book I've read in probably a year or more, and I got that so that I could loan it to others. I am no longer comfortable holding a paper book.

But I love our library, and we've just worked our library book sale. Nothing, IMO, will ever totally replace good old paper!

Frybabe · « **Reply #6886 on:** November 12, 2014, 06:46:44 AM »

Mary I've only bought a few books for my Kindles. Almost all of the ones I have on my Kindles are free books. The reason I don't want to spend money, or much money, on an eBook is that you are only licensing its use, not buying the book. As far as I know, you still cannot lend, sell, or inherit most of the eBooks you buy. If you want to lend or copy an eBook you have bought, look for those that are DRM (Digital Rights Management) free. DRM coding is what restricts you from copying or lending books out. I've noticed that some authors are now insisting that their book(s) be offered DRM free. I don't know about B&N, but on Amazon there is usually some comment the book description or with the author bio section that will state if the author is offering his book DRM free.

Here is an article about what could happen to your eBooks that have DRM restrictions.
http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/ebook-drm-5-reasons-to-free-your-kindle-library/

Here is a site that sells only DRM free books (there are others). It lists the formats that are DRM free. Kindle accepts .mobi files but not ePub. Many other devices will accept ePub. I learn something new every day. I didn't know that ePub is a DRM free environment. https://www.baenebooks.com/t-DRM.aspx

JoanK · « **Reply #6887 on:** November 12, 2014, 04:17:08 PM »

MARYPAGE: I agree about real books. I have an "old" kindle, not the first, but one of the first and I think it's much more reader friendly than later ones. I saw an interview where whoever -it-was talked about how much research they had done to make it as close to reading a real book as possible. The feel in my hand, the soft background etc. are very comfortable for reading. And I can make the print larger than most books.

The newer ones are more "tarted up" and, to me, have lost that cozy feel.

JoanK · « **Reply #6888 on:** November 12, 2014, 04:24:10 PM »

We it's tat time of year again. Another Anne Perry Christmas book is out "A New York Christmas."

If you aren't familiar with then, she does one every Christmas. They are short (about 100 pages) and each one features one of the supporting characters from her long books as the detective. This one has Jemima Perry, Charlotte and Thomas's daughter, who is now 23 and traveling to New York.

A simple story and obvious solution, but if you've followed the series, you'll want to know what happens to Jemima. (Goodness, I can remember when she was born!)

JoanK · « **Reply #6889 on:** November 12, 2014, 04:26:01 PM »

Thank you for the info on DCI Banks. I'll check him out, as soon as I work through my latest library haul.

Steph · « **Reply #6890 on:** November 12, 2014, 05:34:10 PM »

Finished Playing Dead. Really terrific for a first novel.She handled a very very complicated plot with ease.. I will keep her name on my list to check..

MaryPage · « **Reply #6891 on:** November 13, 2014, 08:22:17 AM »

One of the things I love about the DCI BANKS series by Peter Robinson is the setting in Yorkshire and the descriptions of the countryside. David and I spent about a week in Yorkshire. He was just terribly brave (I was not) and we got a rental car and drove all around to see all of the sights, such as Fountains Abbey and the Bronte home and some famous Great Homes and such. We loved the hills all around and the stone fences that went on forever. None of the enclosures are the same size as any others, and the whole aspect is most pleasing and endearing. We were on our own and could do just as we pleased, which was just great. Three days in York itself, where we of course explored Yorkminster and walked the entire wall around the original city.

Steph · « **Reply #6892 on:** November 13, 2014, 08:29:43 AM »

That sounds wonderful. I have always wished that the brits and us used to the same side of the road. I have no desire to drive on the other side and living in Florida, where there are a lot of expats,, they cause a lot of accidents, because when they panic,, they swerve to what they think of as their side of the road.

Zulema · « **Reply #6893 on:** November 14, 2014, 03:00:55 PM »

I am no longer qualified to rent a car anywhere in Europe, but when I was, I braved it and drove in Britain, the first time in 1983, when I drove everywhere for 5 weeks, Yorkshire included, and Scotland. I had my daughter with me, and I remember spending so much time looking for Castle Howard until we found it. I have been twice since, and drove both times. We could never have been in all the Cotswold towns and villages had I not been driving. We did not drive in London, of course.

What I want to tell you is that I just read Ruth Rendell's latest novel (I am not sure I should call it a mystery), The Girl Next Door, and I think it is one of the best books I have ever read, not just by her. It's not a who-done-it, and I am not giving away anything by saying there are murders committed, but for me it was a book for the ages.

JoanK · « **Reply #6894 on:** November 14, 2014, 03:20:30 PM »

ZULEMA: it sounds awesome: I've ordered a sample.

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/r/ruth-rendell/girl-next-door.htm

Books outside the who-done-it formula are appropriate here. "What on earth happened?" is a mystery, too. Rendell is a well known mystery writer.

Steph · « **Reply #6895 on:** November 15, 2014, 08:53:40 AM »

I like Rendell and will look for it.

MaryPage · « **Reply #6896 on:** November 15, 2014, 09:40:08 AM »

Good on you, Zulema! We did not drive in London, either, but David drove in both Scotland and England, scaring me near to death in Cornwall. I was never brave enough to even Think of trying it!
I have found Ruth Rendell and her other name, Barbara Vine, is a really most excellent writer, BUT. But her books always seemed to depress me. I bought the DVDs of all the shows the BBC made of her books and stories, and they depressed me, too! So I gave her up. At almost 86, I find myself depressed enough over the condition of mankind and the overall mess we are in as a species, so I avoid depressing. Did this new book leave you uplifted? That is what I love about the Charles Lenox books by Charles Finch; they leave me happy inside, and not at all disturbed.

Zulema · « **Reply #6897 on:** November 15, 2014, 04:35:14 PM »

Mary Page,

Yes, I felt very good after I read this Rendell book. Some of her earlier ones I couldn't even read, and I am 83 and know exactly how you feel about depressing books. I am reading some light-hearted mysteries by G. M. Malliet now, village mysteries with some delightful characters and a very warm modern Anglican priest who is the narrator. And I have also been reading Kate Atkinson and Joanna Trollope. They make one feel good while one is reading them, and that is a great experience. Of course, I start the day with the newspaper.

MaryPage · « **Reply #6898 on:** November 16, 2014, 09:31:31 AM »

Thank you! I have put the Rendell book on my list, and also G.M. Malliet. I have not read any of hers/his, but I adore Atkinson and love Trollope. I sometimes get a wee bit down after reading Atkinson, but she is just so very good.

Steph · « **Reply #6899 on:** November 16, 2014, 09:38:43 AM »

I like Trollope.. She has such a very different slant on many things.

JoanK · « **Reply #6900 on:** November 16, 2014, 04:11:20 PM »

Here is Malliet:

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/m/g-m-malliet/

Looks like you're talking about the Max Tudor series, ZULEMA. Have you read the other one?

Steph · « **Reply #6901 on:** November 17, 2014, 08:36:41 AM »

Will have to check the author out. Not someone I had heard of.

JoanK · « **Reply #6902 on:** November 17, 2014, 05:53:57 PM »

I'm reading the first in the max Tudor series, and enjoying it, although I wish max had a few more flaws. The book is funny, pointing out everyone else's warts and pimples: we need to see it be equally sharp about him.

I usually read several books at once. This time, I notice that the new "Poirot", "The monogram murder" is the one I never quite get back to. I've finally given up, and admitted I'm not going to finish it.

There's nothing particular wrong with it. it just doesn't hold my interest. Perhaps it's that Christie could handle a character with as many quirks as Poirot, but in other hands, they just seem tedious.

Steph · « **Reply #6903 on:** November 18, 2014, 08:36:48 AM »

I loved Tuppence and Tommy and Miss Marple, but Poiret, alas, he was just way too quirky to suit me.

MaryPage · « **Reply #6904 on:** November 18, 2014, 09:22:31 AM »

Precisely my own response to those books! I just never could cotton to Poirot. If I cannot relate to the main figure in a story, I have to at least LIKE them, and I was sort of kind of revolted by Poirot. If I had known him, if he had been a real life person, I may have held some respect for him, but could never, ever have warmed to him in any way.

Steph · « **Reply #6905 on:** November 19, 2014, 08:39:02 AM »

I tend to like Christies stand alones... I also have her house on my to be done list. It seems it is some sort of a museum in England and I do so want to go..

jeriron · « **Reply #6906 on:** November 19, 2014, 08:51:46 AM »

I never could get into Poirot but all of them were on Netflix and Acorn streaming. And because the last ones where he dies got my interest I started from the beginning. Even though he was rather weird I ended up liking him.

FlaJean · « **Reply #6907 on:** November 19, 2014, 09:18:22 AM »

I love the Poirot series with Capt. Hastings and the secretary, Miss Lemon, that are on Netflix. I believe I originally saw them on A&E Mystery and PBS years ago but had forgotten them.

jeriron · « **Reply #6908 on:** November 19, 2014, 10:22:10 PM »

I bought the book by David Suchet "Poirot and Me". It was so interesting the way he explained several of the shows and how he read all of Christie's Poirot books before he started filming and tried to portray him the way she wrote him.

Steph · « **Reply #6909 on:** November 20, 2014, 08:35:38 AM »

Just finished Girl in a Box by Sujata Massey.. I like Rei, but she does sort of push the envelope here. I would guess she wants to show us the retail world in Japan.

JoanK · « **Reply #6910 on:** November 20, 2014, 05:34:58 PM »

I'd lost track of Massey. I read her early ones and then forgot to look for new ones. Have to catch up.

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/m/sujata-massey/

I see Girl in a Box is 2006. I see it has been longer than I realized since I read one.

Each of the ones I've read talks about one aspect of Japanese culture: very interesting. Her personal life I find less so.

Steph · « **Reply #6911 on:** November 21, 2014, 09:01:58 AM »

Her personal life has changed a bit in this one. The boyfriend is gone..

FlaJean · « **Reply #6912 on:** November 21, 2014, 11:29:20 AM »

I thought that her book in 2008 was going to be her last, but she has a new one coming out.

Amazon has her new book The Kizuna Coast on pre-order for $2.99 for Kindle. I'm glad you mentioned her, Steph, as I had forgotten her. Since I hadn't gotten any ebooks for a while I ordered it for my iPad. Her character's personal life had gotten a little tiresome and it will be interesting to see what has changed.

JoanK · « **Reply #6913 on:** November 21, 2014, 04:32:24 PM »

"The boyfriend is gone.." Thank goodness!

Steph · « **Reply #6914 on:** November 22, 2014, 08:38:30 AM »

not sure that her new crush is any better..I thought she was going to have an interesting friend in this one, but he ended up being a casualty.

JoanK · « **Reply #6915 on:** November 26, 2014, 02:42:25 PM »

Reading the latest Berenson mystery: "Death of a Dog Whisperer." Of the mysteries featuring dog shows, I like hers the best, because she starts out with her narrator knowing nothing about them and you learn with her. I love mysteries that take me where I never would have gone.

Now later in the series, her original dogs have retired and her 11 year old son is learning how to show dogs. A person claiming to be a dog whisperer is murdered (there actually is such a person: a show on Animal Planet. he comes in and trains problem dogs).

FlaJean · « **Reply #6916 on:** November 26, 2014, 05:29:06 PM »

Just finished an Amish mystery which was a lot like watching a Hallmark movie. I never watch Hallmark type movies because they make me cry for some reason. And, yes, the tears were falling before the end ( and it was supposed to be a mystery). I Think I have a copy of that Charlotte MacLeod Christmas story in one of my bookcases. The one that is funny.

JoanK · « **Reply #6917 on:** November 27, 2014, 02:28:38 PM »

JEAN: what is the name of the Amish mystery?

I'm reading the latest Susan Whittig Albert's China Bayles mystery. "Death Come Quickly". Summary of the plot here:

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/a/susan-wittig-albert/death-come-quickly.htm

FlaJean · « **Reply #6918 on:** November 27, 2014, 03:54:27 PM »

Joan, the title is The Amish Seamstress.

maryz · « **Reply #6919 on:** November 27, 2014, 09:04:05 PM »

Did you see that P.D. James died today? She was 94.

News:

Author Topic: Mystery Corner ~ 2 (Read 911359 times)