Mystery Corner ~ 2

[maryz]

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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
Fantastic Fiction
Stop You're Killing Me

Discussion Leader:    JoanK   

The first Stuart Woods books are wonderful!  I can't remember the names, but they were based on a sheriff in a rural Georgia county.  They made a TV show out of the first one.  I read one or two of the Stone Barrington ones, and quit - all he seemed to do was talk about the clothes he wore and the food he ate.  Not my thing - and I haven't read any of his since then.  (Just looked it up - the first one is called "Chiefs".) 

[mabel1015j]

I'm about 1/2 way thru Family Jewels. As executor of an estate, he finds a diamond choker just like the one on the painting Lady in Gold, so he goes thru the whole story of the painting and the provenance of the choker. Its fun. I like the way he puts a lot of pop culture in his books, or at least the Stone series.

Jean

[marjifay]

Speaking of books by Stuart Woods, it's been a while since I read them, but two of my favorites were THE TWO DOLLAR BILL (Stone Barrington mystery) and IRON ORCHID (No. 5 in the Holly Barker series),  Think I'll put another on my TBR list.

Right now I'm reading a very good new mystery, DEATH SITS DOWN TO DINNER by Tessa Arlen.  This is the first book I've read by her, but won't be the last.  I'd recommend it, especially if you like a little history with your mysteries.  It is set in London towards the end of the Edwardian era.  King Edward VII has recently died and there has been some talk about the possibility of England getting into war with Germany.   Lady Kingsley has invited a group of her elite society friends to a dinner celebrating the 37th birthday of Winston Churchill.  When dinner is over (8 courses!), the guests retire to other rooms.  Lady Kingsley and her friend Lady Clementine step back into the dining room, to see that the room has emptied, and find that one of the guests, Sir Reginald, is still seated bent forward with his head face down on the table.  Lady Kingsley, thinking he has imbibed a bit too much wine, tries to waken him.  But Lady Clementine draws closer and discovers a knife enbedded up to its hilt in his chest.  Not dead drunk - but dead for sure.  Churchill, hearing the commotion of the servants, tells everyone to stay out of the dining room and he sends someone to telphone for the police.  The next day when Lady Clementine has recovered from the shock of finding the murdered man, she is curious to know who could have done such a dastardly thing.  I also want to know who is the culprit and, altho the book is overdue to the library, I'll keep it until I find out.  Well written with interesting characters have kept me reading.

Marj

[evergreen]

I've just finished reading The Interior by Lisa See, who wrote Snowflower and the Secret Fan. I think the author has only written three mysteries:  Flower Net, The Interior, and Dragon Bones.

This mystery is set in China.  Enjoyed it.  Good writing.  Again, I'm way behind the times, since these were written in the 1990's.

[evergreen]

Okay, Marg!  How does one get stabbed in a room full of people?   And no one noticed!   Now I'm dying of curiosity...please tell us.  Hummmmm..maybe it was suicide...no, that wouldn't so fun to solve.

[JoanK]

I've been off the computer for a few days, and come back to find o many good suggestions. Have to jump on it.

Hit a bunch of duds on my last library trip. hope I do better this time.

[marjifay]

No, Evergreen, in the mystery Death Sits Down to Dinner, the man did not get stabbed while a roomful of people were there.  It happened after dinner when the man has stayed at the dinner table while others went to other rooms.  (Or, perhaps they all left the room except the murderer?  That's what I want to find out.  I had to return the book to the library and have checked it out again.

Just finished another Ira Levin mystery, Rosemary's Baby.  (Better than the movie!)

Marj

[marjifay]

Have just started one more Ira Levin novel, This Perfect Day.  It's set in the future where a central computer rules the world.  Aggression among the people is unknown.   People are kept drugged so they do not question who they are.  Even the basic facts of nature are controlled, i.e., it only rains at night.

Marj

[JoanK]

fans of Downton Abbey (and who isn't?) should "murder most malicious" by Allyssa Maxwell:

https://www.fantasticfiction.com/search/?searchfor=book&keywords=murder+most+malicious

A guest in a manor house is murdered, and the daughter of the house and her maid investigate. Will the murderer be found upstairs or downstairs? Only flaw: not as much clever detecting as I like.

I haven't read this author's other series.

[mabel1015j]

I see The Dante Connection is still a free ebook on Amazon. I've already read it. Did anybody read The Gaugain Connection? What did you think?

My dgt and I went to "organizational meeting" on Thurs night that afriend and her dgt organized for a Mother and Dgt book group. One of the women was a lifelong professor of criminology at Rutgers. She said she had read so much research for her classes that in retirement she was enjoying the cozy mysteries. Someone asked her if she read saying"oh, no, that couldn't happen?" And she said "no, she just enjoyed the stories."

Jean

[Frybabe]

I did Jean, and the next on which is The Baroque Connection. The bad guy is back and looking for revenge. I still haven't warmed up to the main character much, but the stories are okay and I like the other good guy characters. It seems the bad guy issue is eventually concluded in the third book, so I guess that means book four starts with a new set of bad guys (I hope).

[JoanK]

 read the second book, but haven't yet read more.

[JoanK]

Fans of Downton Abbey (and who isn't) might enjoy Murder Most Malicious". A guest of the manor is murdered and the daughter of the house and her maid investigate. Will the murderer be found Upstairs or Downstairs?

[mabel1015j]

Of the Connection books I've read the first three - Gauguin, Dante, Braque. Of course, because of the uniqueness of the protagonist, and getting to know the story line, I enjoyed the Gauguin the most. But, I also liked the other two.

Checkout this beautiful home page of Estelle Ryan

http://www.estelleryan.com/index.html

Jean

[Frybabe]

It is a great website, Jean. I hadn't looked at it before. I love that for each book listed, there you can see the art and here the Mozart pieces that are in the book. You can bet that the next book I read will include a trip to the website to see the pix and hear the music.

[mabel1015j]

Yes, isn't fun? I've never run across a similar homepage for an author.

I'm "encouraging" 😀 my library to get the whole series of Ryan's books.

Jean

[Frybabe]

None of the libraries in our in our system had the Estelle Ryan books. On my recommendation, our library branch manager ordered the first three to see if there was interest. She only seems to want to order things that are newly published. It is a the she ordered the first three instead of ordering the newest published. However, I did persuade her that, in this case, the first book was somewhat essential to knowing Genevieve's background. They are being read, but they are not flying off the shelf. I think that is mainly because the first book is a freebie ebook (at least on Amazon). 

[ANNIE]

I am reading a new Masie Dobbs book entitled "Journey to Munich" which takes place in 1941 during WWII and quite exciting. Author is Jacqueline Winspear.  At the same time, am listening to "Mrs. Roosevelt's Confidant" by Susan Elia .  Her main character is Maggie Hope who is a spy for the British and Winston Churchill during WWII in 1942.  Both of these books are from a series and I am enjoying reading about women who served their country during WWII. 
I don' know if anyone here watched Blechley Hall on PBS a few years ago but it was more stories about women serving their country during the war.  At one time, when we were on SeniorNet, we had a poster from Canada who helped break an important German code during WWII.  She was most interesting to talk (post) with.  Anyway, I thought I'd mention these two series.  The writing is well done and fun to read.  Enjoy!!!😋😋😋

[ANNIE]

I have forgotten how to cut and paste using my iPhone!! So, JoanK, could you copy this post and put it up in the Library as that way it will be seen by all who might be interested? I would be most grateful! 😋

[marjifay]

AdoAnnie, I started the Masie Dobbs book, Journey to Munich, some time ago, and, sorry to say, I found it so boring I could not force myself to continue it after the first few chapters.  I got the book because it was set in WW2 and I like some history with my mysteries.  Several Amazon readers said how exciting it was, but I sure didn't find it so.  I kept waiting for it to get interesting, but it did not and I finally gave up and returned it to the library unfinished.

I am halfway through David Baldacci's latest book, The Last Mile, and and am finding it very hard to put down.  It starts off with a man waiting in a Texas prison his last few minutes before he is to be put to death for the murder of his parents twenty years ago.  At the last moment, the warden comes to his cell and tells him another man has just confessed to the murder, and the condemned man's execution has been cancelled.

A group of people put together by an FBI agent to look into old closed cases and choose one or more to investigate decide to look into this one, and their investigation turns up some surprises that will keep you turning pages.  This book is as good or even better than Baldacci's  previous excellent one, Memory Man, about a man who while playing football in college was hit in the head by another player, resulting in the man who's head was hit finding that his brain injury left him with a rather unique condition -- he was unable to forget anything he read or saw.  That man who was the subject of Memory Man, is also in the FBI group in this book, and is especially anxious to explore the case of the man whose parents were killed, because his family was also murdered.  The FBI head of this group had helped him find the killers of his family.   
Critics talk about what a great story teller Baldacci is, and IMO they are so right! 

Marj

[PatH]

Annie, it's been copied in the library.  Interesting post.

[FlaJean]

Reading a cozy mystery Death by Cashmere by Sally Goldenbaum.  Good writing and nice to read about a group of friends in a small New England town who like each other.  There is often more depth and thought in these unknown cozies than in the top selling novels in the NY Times (IMHO).

[ANNIE]

just picked up two Baldacci titles at the library last night.  He is a great story teller, Marj.  Sorry you didn't like Mazie in Munich. 

[Frybabe]

I guess I have to add Baldacci to my to read in future list, as if I don't have enough already.  His are among the most populous book in our little library. Along with James Patterson, Stewart Woods, Clive Cussler, Fern Michaels, Beverly Lewis, and a few others he takes up a bit of shelf space. I've been meaning to try Cussler, but have had to many other book attractions and books on my waiting list.

I expect to finish The Daughter of Time this afternoon and will start on Mr. Penumbra's 24-Bookstore by this evening. After that, I am going to read Odd Thomas and the third in the Beyond the Wall series (Lucas Bale, SciFi).

[mabel1015j]

Short, fun essay by Lisa Scottolini about throwing out the first pitch at a Phillies game.

http://scottoline.com/humorous-essays/

Jean

[marjifay]

Frybabe, if you want to read David Baldacci's mysteries (and I think you would probably like them), I'd suggest starting with The Camel Club, the first book of the Camel Club series, about a group of eccentric lovable older men, retired from various federal government departments, each man with his own special skill. They do have a bit of a problem, tho.  They are somewhat addicted to conspiracy theories and get together to find and stop suspected criminals and crimes against the government.  The trouble is, altho their theories often turn out to be real ones,  they often find themselves in dangerous scary situations as they try to find the suspected criminals, and it takes all their skills to evade the danger and solve the crimes.  Makes for very interesting reading as you  hold your breath hoping they will be able to escape these dangerous predicaments in which they find themselves.

Marj

[PatH]

Jean, that essay is absolutely hilarious.  So are the titles of her collections.  Have a Nice Guilt Trip is my favorite, with My Nest isn't Empty, it Just Has More Closet Space and Meet me at Emotional Baggage Claim tied for second.

[mabel1015j]

 
Yes, I like her sense of humor and her essays as well as her mysteries. She and her dgt were at our library in the spring. They are fun to see together.

Jean

[ANNIE]

Marj, you have made the perfect Baldacci starting place.  We also liked the Sean King series.
I am finally reading "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand" and enjoying it so much!   

[Frybabe]

I am now reading MatthewPearl's The Poe Shadow. It is holding my interest much better than The Dante Club did. I was surprised to learn that Mr. Pearl did original research while writing this book, finding some previously unknown info/papers.

[PatH]

That sounds like Pearl; he takes his background seriously.  I was in the discussion of The Last Dickens here, and he joined in.

 The one I want to read is The Technologists, a mystery involving the early days of MIT.

[pedln]

We are opposites, Frybabe.  I loved Matthew Pearl's The Dante Club, but found it difficult to stick with The Poe Shadow  I also liked The Last Dickens and the discussion we had on it here.  Today it appeared on BookGorilla or BookBait -- the Kindle reduced price or freebie site.  I felt a little sad when I saw it there, like it had been remaindered.

[Frybabe]

Sad to say that I am not going to finish The Poe Shadow right now. It is good, but not what I expected what with the apparently impending spy intrigue.  It is not a book I can just pick up and keep reading; but rather I am reading it in short spurts. That means I will wait to get my hands on a used copy, or, more likely, an ebook.

PatH, I think I took The Technologists off my reading list, but I still want to read The Last Bookaneer as well as coming back to The Poe Shadow in the future. These are book that, for me, need to be read slowly and savored, rather than in a rush like the adrenaline pumping actioners.

[ANNIE]

Frybabe, Don't miss "The Technologists"!  Didn't we discuss the book in here? 

I am reading "Murder Most Malicious" and really enjoying it.  Thanks to whoever mentioned it!😋😋. 

[Frybabe]

I knew it! I knew it! I thought we had more than one Pearl at our library branch, but only one is still on the shelf. I went down to the Friends of the Library bookstore and there it was. They had withdrawn it. Had it not been for the perseverance of the bookstore gal in digging through the ton of books they have in the back room, I would have missed out. Anyway, I have it now. Mine, all mine. Now I can take my time reading it.

My next book, Weapons of Math Destruction (non-fiction), was waiting for me when I got into the library this morning. I also picked up The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman; they list it as a SciFi.

[JoanK]

What is "weapons of Math destruction?" As a math nerd, it sounds interesting.

[Frybabe]

PatH, I ran across Cathy O'Neil being interviewed on a PBS program last week. She wrote Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy. Essentially, it is about data algorithms (mathematical models) which, when poorly constructed, can do some serious damage to people's lives. In the program, I remember she talked about how students and teachers were unfairly treated because the data does not include circumstances beyond a student's or teacher's control. She also talked about race and incarceration (both rates and number of years given).

I believe this is the show I came in on part way through: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cK87rN4xpqA

Her blog: https://mathbabe.org/

[mabel1015j]

I feel so sorry for teachers these days who are being evaluated on how well their students do on standardized tests. First of all, I think it is unfair because as Cathy O'Neill says, there are a thousand factors in their students lives over which they have NO control. But I also think it would incredibly boring to have to teach your subject-matter to answer the questions on the test. No wonder truancy is up. The best, most interesting, teachers are those who can tell relavent stories and do inventive things that meet their students needs.

One woman I talked to last night says she thinks the Trump phenomenon is the result of how bad our schools are doing. Students don't get history or civics classes, they don't learn critical thinking, just how to answer the questions on the tests.

Jean

[PatH]

Jean and Frybabe, you've hit so many of my hot buttons I don't know where to start.  But for a local example, a year or two ago there was a scandal about a DC principal who increased her school's test scores by changing a few answers on some of the students' papers.  It was poorly investigated; there obviously fraud, since the erasure frequency was much higher than normal, but no one asked the relevant students "did you change your mind on a lot of answers?"

Next year, a respected teacher was fired because her test scores dropped.  They dropped from the faked scores of the year before!  How stupid can administrators get?

Frybabe, it's Joan who's the mathematician.  I can't even remember my calculus.

[Frybabe]

PatH, O'Neil talks about that incident in her book. The teacher who got fired because of the previous teachers' fraudulent test scores almost immediately got hired into a more affluent school district that didn't use those computer algorithms. Her comment was that the poor school district lost a good teacher while the richer school district gained one. The loss, of course, is to the children.

I didn't read what happened to the teacher who cheated, or how long it took (only because of the persistence of a few) to figure out what happened. I assume the school district changed how it evaluated the teachers. O'Neil points out that while these types of algorithms are useful and effective when evaluating large amounts of data (like Google or Amazon use), they are next to useless when it comes to a small number of inputs. There just isn't enough data to come to a somewhat accurate conclusion.

This book is easy reading, and you don't have to be a math nerd to understand it.