Mystery Corner ~ 2

[roshanarose]

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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 Leaders:    BillH and JoanK   

Hi everyone - I have been checking my library catalogue for some of the books you have recommended.

Only problem is that I see Nevada Barr is quite prolific.  Can you recommend one of her books that I should start with?  Thanks.

I am looking forward to reading Ursula Le Guin and my library has plenty of her books.  A new experience for me.  My ex loved her.

"Haunted Ground" by Erin Hart is only in Large Print.  Oh well!  I will get in practice.  

Couldn't find "If Angels Fall" by Rick Mofina.  I shall stay on the trail of that one.

Michael Grant's "Readings in Classical Historians" does not show.  I think it may be under another title.  Does anyone know that book's ISBN?

Unfortunately, no Sigrid Undset.  

[maryz]

I'd recommend you start with Nevada Barr's first one - the one set in Mesa Verde.  Her character does progress and change over time, so, although the stories are "free standing", some of the stuff might make more sense when read in order.  Enjoy!

[roshanarose]

Hi Mary  Thanks for that info on Nevada Barr.  That has to be a nom de plume, but I love that name. 

You mention "Mesa Verde" Mary.  Is that the title of the book you are recommending?

[Gumtree]

 Roshanarose: Looks like we're both chasing the same books.

My local libraries don't have Sigrid Undset either -however WA State Reference Library has Kristin Lavransdattar but the trouble is that it's in Polish ... ??

Reading in Classical Historians doesn't show up either although they have other works by Michael Grant.

The good news for me is that the University has Undset and also something by Michael Grant titled The Ancient Historians which may be what we're looking for. Publisher Weidenfeld and Nicholson 1970 ISBN 0297000802.

So, eventually I'll probably borrow them from Uni though it may be some time - real reading is not an option for me at present as although my eye problem has improved dramatically it's still a problem. To read SLearn I have the zoom way up and can only manage that for short periods.   

[Babi]

ROSE,  here's the ISBN # for Michael Grant's "Readings in the Classical Historians".   0-684-19245-4

[Steph]

Hmm, that is why I h ave netflix.. I am watching all of the later night tv shows, I have been missing. Great fun.

[jeriron]

Here's a web site that you can type in the name of the author and the series will come up in order.

http://www.fictfact.com/

[maryz]

Thanks, Jeri.  And here's Barr's site .   http://www.nevadabarr.com/
And now that I look at it, The Mark of the Cat is the first one - set at Guadalupe Mountain Nat'l Park.   

[mabel1015j]

I agree w/ Mary about starting at the beginning of Barr's series, but i'd also say if you have a favorite national park, or live near one that you have some knowledge about, I would say read the book about that one also. When i can "see" the environment that an author is talking about, that always makes it more fun for me to read and any of Barr's books are worth reading...................jean

[maryz]

That's one reason we like Barr's books - we've been to most of the parks she uses as locales.

[JoanK]

"Fantastic Fiction" and "Stop you're killing Me" will  also give you the authors books in order. Let us know how you like Navada Barr, Rose.

[roshanarose]

Gumtree and Babi - Thanks so much for that information.  Gumtree - my eyes are giving me lots of trouble as well.  Symptoms:  Sore, red and watery when I first get out of bed in the morning, mainly the left one but the right is also giving me problems.  I would just like new eyes.  I think the ones I have are just worn out.

jeriron, maryz and JoanK - Thanks also to you for your help.  I will keep you posted on my progress re Nevada's first book "The Mark of the Cat".  My cat thinks she is a cougar - all she has to do is look in the mirror and see that in reality she is a very pretty, fluffy, grey and white fluffball with a cute sagging fluffy belly and short legs.  Oh well, cats should be allowed their dreams too.

Unfortunately, I am not near the locales you enjoy.  In fact I couldn't be further away.  However, a good book should take me there.  

[JoanK]

Where are you? I'll bet there are beautiful places there, too.

[Gumtree]

 Gumtree - my eyes are giving me lots of trouble as well.  Symptoms:  Sore, red and watery when I first get out of bed in the morning, mainly the left one but the right is also giving me problems.  I would just like new eyes.  I think the ones I have are just worn out.


Unfortunately, I am not near the locales you enjoy.  In fact I couldn't be further away.  However, a good book should take me there.  

Roshanarose Have you seen someone about your eyes? It may only take a few drops or ointment to clear the trouble up. My problem was an infection and my defective autoimmune system kicked in and was intent on killing me and not the infection. - I was in big trouble but things are improving daily now.

As for your last remark - you could be further away from our friends in the states - you could be here in WA    Seriously though, I love to read about places I will never visit - if the author is good enough they can really bring the locale to life.

[Steph]

I love reading about specific locals.. I h ave several favorite Canadian authors and they make the snow and cold soo real.. But I live in Florida, thank heaven.

[Babi]

 Too real, sometimes, STEPH.  I can't read one of those 'ice and snow'
book in cold weather. Honestly, I start rubbing my arms, trying to get warm. 

[mrssherlock]

Speaking of bringing foreign places to life, I posted this in another discussion on SL: 

Steig Larsson's site has a map online showing the locations of various sites he refers to in his stories:  http://www.stieglarsson.com/millennium-stockholm-map

The Stockholm City Museum has organized a walking tour to places such as Blomqvist's favorite bar and the hangout for Salender and her friends, both real places.  http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/20100712/ap_tr_ge/eu_travel_trip_sweden_dragon_tattoo_tour

[JoanK]

" I can't read one of those 'ice and snow'
book in cold weather. Honestly, I start rubbing my arms, trying to get warm."

I was reading "Into Thin Ice", about being lost in a blizzard on Mt. Everest once in August on a hot subway, and had to stop, I was shivering so bad.

If I ever get to Stockholm, I'll definitely take that tour.

[ursamajor]

I would like to join this discussion.  Has anybody talked about the mysteries by Julia Spencer-Fleming?

I love Nevada Barr's mysteries but found her autobiography disappointing.

[JoanK]

WELCOME, WELCOME! What do you like to be called? Ursa?

I'm not familiar with Spencer-Fleming? Do you recommend her?

Too bad about Barr's autobiography. She must have had an interesting life. Maybe it's harder to write about your own life than to hide behind a fictional character.

[Tomereader1]

Joan, I definitely recommend Spencer-Fleming!!! Start with the first one!   Ursa, You sound like you have already been reading her.  For anyone who hasn't, a super string of mysteries.  You will love the characters.

[Steph]

I love Julia Spencer-Fleming. A truly original main character.. Good books, have read all of them.
Did not know that Nevada Barr had written an autobiography. I am having fun on facebook via Dana Stabenow. Her facebook page is fun.She writes about everything.. I love it.

[ursamajor]

There are currently six mysteries by Julia Spencer-Fleming.  One will be published next spring and she is working on still another.  I am particularly interested in the next one, as there is a break in the ongoing plot and things will be different.  Won't discuss the break as people need to read the last book to see it.  It is important to read them in order, starting with In the Bleak Midwinter. 

I truly like the Stabenow books too.  You learn a lot about Alaska from reading them.  Her heroine, Kate Shugak, has a lot of spunk.I am looking forward to participating in this discussion.

[Babi]

 Julia Spencer-Fleming sounds familiar, but I can't place it.  I'll have to
check it out.

[mrssherlock]

I can hardly wait for the next one in Spencer-Fleming's series.  If I had to choose among several of my favorite authors, she is the one I would pick right now because of the turn in the main story line.  Usually I would choose Connie Willis or Laurie R King first.

[JoanK]

Off I go to Amazon again. I already have about four mystery books coming. But I just finished the last one I had on hand, also a suggestion from here: "Too Many graves". I enjoyed it.

Connie Willis is Sci-Fi, rather than mystery, but even non-sci-fi-reading me loved her book "Bellwether". Hilarious.

[Steph]

Yes Spencer -Fleming threw us a hard ball out of left field. An interesting plot swerve. Good book..

[maryz]

On a recommendation from here (I think), I started reading a book by Denise Mina - set in Glasgow.  I have to confess that it was a DNF for me.  I never got into the character, and had too much trouble figuring out what a lot of the words meant.  My laziness, for sure - but I didn't want to have to google something on every other page to find out what it meant in Scotland or the UK.

[marjifay]

Thanks, JoanK, for recommending Connie Willis's Bellweather.  I'll get it.  Recently finished her Doomsday Book and really liked it. 

And if you want another book for chills during these hot summer days, get Lee Child's 61 HOURS, a good thriller set in South Dakota during a snowstorm.

Marj

[JoanK]

I'm hesitating about reading "Doomsday Book". A funny book about the Black Death !?!

Went to Borders yesterday, and got a new (to me) Nevada Barr and Donna Andrews. I haven't gotten any of the books written by Dick Francis and his son, figuring I wouldn't like them, but I got one yesterday ("Silks") and so far It's OK. Narrator is a lawyer hoping to "take the silk", (a British lawyer's honor) and also racing (in racing "silks"- the outfits they wear) as an amateur, trying to defend another jockey in a murder case.

[ursamajor]

I like the Dick Francis books.  The early ones are pretty much the same story over and over, set in the racing world.  The hero is always the same personality with a few variations - young, unmarried, semi-naive.  The later books are much more complex and Francis has branched out and learned about other areas than racing and describes them very well.  The last couple are co-authored with his son (their pictures are on the back cover and the son is at least twice the size of his ex-jockey father).  I think they ae very good.

[marjifay]

JoanK said, "I'm hesitating about reading "Doomsday Book". A funny book about the Black Death !?!"

Doomsday Book is not a funny book about the Black Death.  The very subtle humor of some of the goings on and the people at the University who sent the student back to the Middle Ages merely makes the sadness and horror of the part told in the Middle Ages bearable.  There is a lot of suspense at the university as they try to figure out what went wrong and worry about the student. And the book brings the characters in the Midieval time very much to life.  A good story.

Marj

[mrssherlock]

Connie Willis wrote a funny book about the university time-travel History Department sort of like "The Importance of being Ernest" called To Say Nothing of the Dog.

[Gumtree]

I've become addicted to reading this mystery forum even though I don't read mysteries much so can't really contribute to the discussion.

 I haven't gotten any of the books written by Dick Francis and his son, figuring I wouldn't like them, but I got one yesterday ("Silks") and so far It's OK. Narrator is a lawyer hoping to "take the silk", (a British lawyer's honor) and also racing (in racing "silks"- the outfits they wear) as an amateur, trying to defend another jockey in a murder case.

JoanK: For what it's worth - taking silk in legal circles is a major honour which is actually conferred by the crown - at present Queen Elizabeth II. In common parlance it's known as 'taking silk' and the barrister becomes a Queen's Counsel or QC. (if there was a King on the throne it would be King's Counsel or KC). It means he is a senior and highly regarded member of the legal fraternity. It also means larger fees. He has to appear in court with a junior barrister at his side and wears a silk gown which is designed somewhat differently from the norm. Most prominent legal eagles here are QCs.

Mrs Sherlock Love the title To Say Nothing of the Dog - obviously snitched from Jerome K Jerome's classic Three Men in a Boat - To Say Nothing of the Dog - humorous tale about a journey along the Thames in a small boat. Fun. 
 

[Babi]

JOANK, "Doomsday" is not one of Willis' humorous books. It is powerfully
written, but it puts you into a grim era. Historically, I believe it to
be very accurate and I found that engrossing. I found it very worthwhile
reading despite the sadness. 
  Hi, MARJ.  I see we are of the same opinion here.

[mrssherlock]

Gum:  The derivation of the title gives you a hint about Willis' sense of humor.  She is a delight to read IMO.

Question was asked about the author Craig Johnson who writes a series about Sheriff Walt Longmire in outer Wyoming.  The first book in the series, The Cold Dish, suggests the saying about revenge being served best cold.  I like this book and will read all the others.  Johnson writes about this place, Absaroka County, and its residents in a folksy, sly manner with lots of humorous exchanges between the principles.  The landscape is bleak, end of summer with winter knocking on the door while Longmire is still waiting for fall.  His best friend, since grade school, Henry Running Bear, runs the local bar, The The Red Pony (he is know to read lots of Steinbeck).  Here's what Bookmarks Magazine, as quoted on Amazon,  had to say:  

The Cold Dish, a multilayered whodunit mystery, stands out in its genre. Shades of racism, mysticism, and revenge give the novel nuance; dead-on dialogue, good-natured humor, and flesh-and-blood characters, including the foul-mouthed deputy Victorian "Vic" Moretti, give it life. Johnson, who lives in Ucross, Wyoming, knows the Western landscape well, and creates stunning and violent scenes (including a raging blizzard) of the Rocky Mountains. Only The Philadelphia Inquirer faulted the novel’s roughness and comparatively immature prose. The other critics look forward to reading more from Johnson’s powerful voice and reconnecting with his eccentric mélange of characters.

[Babi]

ALERT!!  MY E-MAIL SITE HAS BEEN COMPROMISED.  DO NOT OPEN ANY E-MAIL THAT THAT PURPORTS TO BE FROM ME, WITH A SUBJECT LINE OF "HI".  OPENING IT COULD PLACE YOUR E-MAIL AT RISK
Babi

[mrssherlock]

oh, Babi, what happened?  What a mess for you to deal with.

[Steph]

I have the Doomsday book set aside for when I can handle sadness better. But I loved "Too Say Nothing of the Dog" A funny loving look at the department. I am reading a China Bayles, but she is away from Texas and it is not the best of her books. I had hoped since it is placed in a Shaker historic community, but she has decided to go for the scandals in the latter part of the Shaker life. Shame really.

[Babi]

 It was a bloody nuisance, is what it was, JACKIE.  My address book disappeared, for one.  It was such a stupid hack job, too.  The hacker
didn't even say where to send the money! 
  I've got a new password, and I've retrieved some of my addresses from my old mail site.  If you get an e-mail from me about updating my address book, it's legitimate.  Any address that didn't get rejected I figure must be correct.
  I suspect this may have been some kid, into mischief.  Definitely amateurish.