Author Topic: Mystery Corner (Read 160478 times)

marjifay · « **Reply #640 on:** June 05, 2009, 05:53:33 PM »

Yes, Pedln, I read THE VIRGIN OF SMALL PLAINS a couple of years ago. I rated it 5/5. Great story and characterization. Some good twists and turns as well as surprises. She's a good writer. Have meant to read more of her books, but you know how it is with the big TBR list waiting...

Tomereader1 · « **Reply #641 on:** June 05, 2009, 06:56:17 PM »

Yea, pedlin. Virgin of Small Plains was very good. I also read Paretsky's "Bleeding Kansas" and enjoyed it. No, not a mystery.

JoanK · « **Reply #642 on:** June 05, 2009, 07:56:25 PM »

I almost picked up "The Virgin of small plains" last time I went to the library, but already had enough (If I get too many at once, I tend to lose them!) Let me know if it's good.

Hi, ANNA. WELCOME!

Steph · « **Reply #643 on:** June 06, 2009, 11:53:39 AM »

I just ordered Bleeding Kansas since I love Paretsky.. Mystery or not, she writes beautifully.

JoanK · « **Reply #644 on:** June 06, 2009, 02:42:37 PM »

Yes, she does. I particularly like the way she structures her plots.

For those of you who don't play "Author, Author", whoever is "it", me this time, gives clues as to an author and a character. Whoever gets it has to pose the next clue. They just got my author (Agatha Christie) and are trying to get the character. You mystery fans should have no trouble-- come on in and play.

http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?topic=467.new#new

Steph · « **Reply #645 on:** June 07, 2009, 11:27:09 AM »

Housefull of company just left.. Hooray for me. I love to see them come, but am delighted when they leave. My 7 year old grandson is a barbarian.
Still reading Rampart Street. Fascinating book.. Several murders, but in the end, the actual killer will not be important. It is who ordered it and why.. The characters are compelling.

MsGray · « **Reply #646 on:** June 07, 2009, 03:57:35 PM »

Pedln -

I'm sorry, Olive Kitteridge has already been claimed.

maryz · « **Reply #647 on:** June 07, 2009, 04:18:02 PM »

Steph, my MIL always said she was glad twice when company came - once when they arrived and again when they left. I agree!

marjifay · « **Reply #648 on:** June 08, 2009, 07:12:11 AM »

Thanks, Steph, for recommending Rampart Street. I haven't read any of that series. I loved visiting New Orleans, but haven't been there since the flood.

Have you read any of James Sallis's mysteries. with a very literary private eye in the French Quarter of New Orleans? Very good, i.e.,
THE LONG LEGGED FLY, MOTH, etc.

Steph · « **Reply #649 on:** June 08, 2009, 07:40:29 AM »

Wrote down James Salis and will look for his stuff. Rampart Street is the second I have read by David Fulmer. He does wonderful things mixing real people with his fictional hero.. New Orleans is a favorite of mine for mysteries or all types.

Babi · « **Reply #650 on:** June 08, 2009, 08:23:48 AM »

Pay dirt! My library has one Fulmer and at least 3 by Sallis. I do a quick check
before writing down new authors. It saves time and avoids disappointment at the library. Especially if I'm running out of books to read and find they don't have anything on my list!

Steph · « **Reply #651 on:** June 09, 2009, 07:43:58 AM »

Fulmer is hard to find.. My swap club has me on the waiting list for three of his books.. They have no James Salis in stock.. hmm.. Since I am busy packing for the rv trip , I dug into the old pile of books for something to read.. An older M.C. Beaton.. Agatha has married James, which will of course be a disaster.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #652 on:** June 09, 2009, 02:00:43 PM »

I'm having so much going on that i'm reading only "cozy" mysteries these days.........something light and entertaining, taking me out of my real world..............

I finished the first Death on Demand book, and, yes, the comments about mystery writers are a bit much, but i liked the story anyway and will read on thru the series. I'm almost finished w/ Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris. It's an interesting premise of a young woman who after being struck by lightning as a young girl gets a "vibe" when she's near dead bodies and can see how they died. What makes it interesting is the way Harris portrays the response she gets from people who know that she finds bodies. Her brother works w/ her to calm her from the stress of the job and Harris writes an interesting interplay between the two of them. I'm also reading an April Henry book, have forgotten the title......................but i thank you all for your recommendations, i think i learned about each of these authors from this site.................how nice to have this community to go to to find good reads....................jean

JoanK · « **Reply #653 on:** June 09, 2009, 04:48:34 PM »

MABEL: I do the same thing -- when I feel stressed I read only cozies

I guess I'm not too stressed now. I'm reading "the Girl with the Dragon Tatoo" by the Swedish writer Larson. So far I like it. But it has a large, complicated list of characters, all related to each other, and with my senior memory, I keep forgetting who people are. Luckily, there is a family tree in the front. Without it, I would be lost.

mrssherlock · « **Reply #654 on:** June 09, 2009, 09:20:51 PM »

Joan: Isn't that family a riot? There are only three books by this author before his untimely death at 40 something but I intend to read them all.

Steph · « **Reply #655 on:** June 10, 2009, 07:47:03 AM »

I am looking for clues.. Patricia Cornwall. I picked up a short paperback from her, not about Scarpetta.. This one so far has noone that deserves to be rooted for. The lead female is the most repulsive character I have ever read about. The detective seems to have some sort of twisted agenda. Everyone is after something crooked. It says in the squib that this is the second one of the series and then tells you once again aboutCornwall and her fame. What is she passing off as novels. Incidently the print is large and widely separated. I realized this is because there is very little plot involved.. All in all, I have not been reading her recently and wont again. What a waste of money.

Babi · « **Reply #656 on:** June 10, 2009, 08:54:51 AM »

JoanK, I also find myself most appreciative of family trees or lists
of characters these days. There may even come a day when I may have to
select my books by the tenet, "KISS".

I used to enjoy Cornwall, STEPH, but I eventually got so annoyed with Scarpetta's bouts of lashing into her niece that I stopped reading the books.
Sounds as though that cruel streak may be even worse in the new books.
I've had the impression of a decline in Cornwall, into increasing arrogance and/or bitterness. A pity; she was an excellent writer.

joangrimes · « **Reply #657 on:** June 10, 2009, 11:37:16 AM »

I read some Conrwall in the past but her books are too violent and gory for me. Since I live alone I do not like to read things that are going to frighten me. I need to be able to sleep and I don't read things that will disburb me. I mentioned this recently at my f2f bookclub meeting when we were choosing a book for next month. Everyone laughed at me but then they were very considerate in choosing the book for next month which is not a mystery and which I do not really think I will enjoy reading but I did not say anything and I will try to find it in large print since it is not available on Kindle.

Joan Grimes

JoanK · « **Reply #658 on:** June 10, 2009, 02:22:09 PM »

I have to admit I never liked Cornwell -- there's something about her that put me off. But many others really do like her.

Yes, Larsson's book is about the family from hell -- it makes me really appreciate mine. What is an odd cousin or two compared to that mess.

The Swedish names don't help. There is one character named Berger and another named Birger. One is a man, the other a woman -- I guess it's like Joan and John, it wouldn't confuse a Swede, but it took me awhile to get them straight. My memory for names is so bad, I'd forget my own if it wasn't written down. I'm afraid when I find out whodunnit, I'll have no idea who they are!

mrssherlock · « **Reply #659 on:** June 10, 2009, 04:16:01 PM »

Believe me, it is worth it to stick with Tattooed Girl. The names are confusing, too, but ther slight change in one letter in a word can have profound effects. Think of luck and a word that rhymes with it!

Steph · « **Reply #660 on:** June 11, 2009, 08:15:17 AM »

Finished the Cornwall book.. What a waste of time. I suspect this was an early draft that never sold and since she is famous, she drug it out.
Started on Bleeding Kansas. Not a mystery, but interesting.

mrssherlock · « **Reply #661 on:** June 11, 2009, 12:15:06 PM »

Bones is one of my TV addictions so when I saw a new Kathy Reichs at the library I grabbed it. Good puzzles but I saw one clue long before Tempe did. An interview is pubolished as the end of the novel and she speaks about juggling her responsibilities as forensic anthropologist, writer and TV producer. Reichs is one of my must-read authors.

nlhome · « **Reply #662 on:** June 11, 2009, 12:25:55 PM »

The first Patricia Cornwall book I read was riveting. I remember I was at a conference, sharing a room with a co-worker. I had trouble putting the book down so we could get some sleep and get up for the conference the next day.

I really enjoyed that book but have not really appreciated any of the others that I read. There is another series she writes about a woman who is, I think, a police chief or some such thing. That seemed to me just a "make money off the author's name" series - not a compelling read.

N

maryz · « **Reply #663 on:** June 11, 2009, 12:39:54 PM »

I used to read Cornwell, but, like others, they started going downhill, so I quit.

I've started watching Bones on TV, but the few Reichs books I've read, I didn't like as well.

JoanK · « **Reply #664 on:** June 11, 2009, 03:27:00 PM »

Wow, JACKIE! You've really pulled me in.

No, I'm staying with it, although the murders are pretty grisly: maybe that's why I had nightmares last night. But it's got me hooked!

Steph · « **Reply #665 on:** June 12, 2009, 07:51:43 AM »

I like Kathy Reich, but dont particularly like Bones. It really has nothing to do with the books however.. Tempe is much more her own person in the books. And her off and on policeman boyfriend in the books is much more appealing than the FBI agent.

Babi · « **Reply #666 on:** June 12, 2009, 09:22:20 AM »

I found the TV 'Bones' before I found the Reich series. I read two books by
Reich and found them rather uninteresting. I don't even remember the policeman boyfriend. I preferred Bones and her FBI partner. He is an interesting person, quite aside from his professional side. his roles as a father and brother give him unexpected dimensions.

mrssherlock · « **Reply #667 on:** June 15, 2009, 12:11:00 PM »

Found a new author. Denise Hamilton's The Last Embrace is LA noir, on the fringe of Hollywood in 1949. Lily Kessler, formerly of the OSS, makes her duty visit to her dead fiance's mother where she learns that hs sister, a "starlet" who has excfhanged her given name Doreen for Kitty, is missing. Lily was born in LA so it seems logical for her MIL-to-be th ask her to help find out what has happened to her daughter. Hamilton sprinklkes big namers throughout her narrative such as Daryol Zanick and Mickey Cohen. Hamilton's twist on the typical noir hero, a former spy who isw alswo a woman, holds the tale together without the blood and gore. I'll be reading more Hamilton, she has a series about an LA girl reporter, but I'mhoping that we see more of Lily, too.
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/h/denise-hamilton/

mrssherlock · « **Reply #668 on:** June 15, 2009, 04:48:02 PM »

Am I the last the learn that Kathy Hogan Trojeck also writes under the name of Mary Kay Andrews? While researching my library's new books I found that MKS has a new one called The Fiixer Upper, not one of the Savannah series. http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/a/mary-kay-andrews/fixer-upper.htm
FF lists the AKAs and there it was: KHT = MKA. I'll have to go back and check out KHT.

BTW FF lists similar books and this one had Lisa Lutz' Spellman series. sounds like fun. :http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/l/lisa-lutz/

Steph · « **Reply #669 on:** June 16, 2009, 08:07:15 AM »

Denise Hamilton is quite a good writer. I have not read the one you mentioned, but have read someothers. She loves to mix fictional and real characters.

JoanK · « **Reply #670 on:** June 16, 2009, 02:38:48 PM »

JACKIE: you're not the last, I am. I had no idea!

Has anyone read Mary Kay Andrews?

mrssherlock · « **Reply #671 on:** June 17, 2009, 10:44:33 AM »

Her Savannah series was a great read. Her other novels also clicked with me. http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/a/mary-kay-andrews/

JoanK · « **Reply #672 on:** June 18, 2009, 02:36:35 PM »

I'm readin Nevada Barr's "Wolf Study". So far, I have to say it's one of her best! Her descriptions of the wolves and the winter are very sharp: I feel like I'm there.

Steph · « **Reply #673 on:** June 18, 2009, 03:11:41 PM »

I was bothered by Wolf Study in that I did not find the new characters interesting or worthwhile.. Heroine is as always, but this time, the brutal treatment bothered me.

JoanK · « **Reply #674 on:** June 18, 2009, 09:35:24 PM »

I agree, now I've read further. It is too long, drags in the middle, and more brutal than I like. I could still barely put it down to get on the computer: our detective Anna, is in one of her usual life-threatening survival situations, and I can't wait to see how she gets out this time. Shades of Saturday morning serials.(remember those).

retired · « **Reply #675 on:** June 19, 2009, 01:16:28 PM »

Hello All :
Some of my favorite mystyery writers are;
David Baldacci , Michael Connelly ,
Linda Fairstein Series portrays a Chief of Special Victims attorneys in NYC.) GoodI read most of her novels) .
For legal mystery writers : John Grisholm, Medical Mystery writers : Robin Cook ,Michael Palmer.
I too have read a number of the Patricia Cornwell series , some better than others of course , the most recent one I read was titled : Scarpetta .

Golden State Poppy · « **Reply #676 on:** June 19, 2009, 01:35:00 PM »

I just finished reading Jeffery Deaver's "The Blue Nowhere". It is a good read expecially if you are into computers. (I am teaching computers at a local senior center). It is about a hacker who is taken out of prison in order to help police track down a criminal who is killing people on the anniversary days of the development of computers.

I have now started reading James Lee Burke's "Time Roof Blowdown". He writes about Louisiana and this one is about the hurricane that flooded New Orleans in 2005. It is a mixture of real and fictional characters.

JoanK · « **Reply #677 on:** June 19, 2009, 03:08:51 PM »

RETIRED: WELCOME! Curl up here with your current mystery. Christie is very different from the authors you mention, but I think you'll like her.

How many of you are going to join Retired and me watching th PBS version of Cat Amoung the Pigeons with David Suchet Sunday, and commenting on it in our new "PBS Masterpiece Mystery discussion"?

I've started reading the book -- I hesitated whether to read the book first, or wait til afterwards, but the matter was settled by running out of things to read. And my local library is closed on Fridays! When, when will I learn to plan ahead?

JoanK · « **Reply #678 on:** June 19, 2009, 03:19:09 PM »

Here is the link to the PBS Masterpiece Mystery discussion:

http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?topic=617.msg26643;topicseen#new

Steph · « **Reply #679 on:** June 21, 2009, 10:14:31 AM »

Connie, I loved Tin Roof Blowdown, but then I love James Lee Burke.. I have the next one in the series in paperback with me in the rv. Just have not gotten to it yet. It takes place in the west since Burke owns a home there as well as Louisiana.

News:

Author Topic: Mystery Corner (Read 160478 times)