August 2018 ~ What are you reading?

Still reading Dead Water by Ann Cleeves.

I'm trying to get started on The Last Equation of Isaac Severy, but it might not be holding my attention well enough to fend off several others vying for my attention.

A nice older mystery, Somebody at the Door, by Raymond Postgate (1943). It is and it isn't like one of those Golden Age British whodunits: a group of people on a train, someone gets killed--someone that many of them knew. Motives, means, and opportunities abound; standard so far. But it isn't procedural. Instead it appears to be a series of parallel biographical sketches of the suspects, engaging stories in themselves. So we'll see.

Just started Girl Waits With Gun by Amy Stewart. So far, so good.

Finished Dead Water by Ann Cleeves. Enjoyed it.

I'm still re-reading The Honourable Schoolboy, by John le Carré, although the end is in sight!

Added Thin Air by Ann Cleeves to my reading rotation.

Just started a re-read of Speak Ill of the Dead, by Mary Jane Maffini (the first in the Camilla MacPhee series).

Starting this Audible book (nonmember freebee) ~

Thrill Ride by Julie Ann Walker

(book #4, Black Knights Inc. series ~ Spec-Ops team/
suspense-romance/a favorite series)

The Arsenic Labyrinth by Martin Edwards. Okay read, not exactly groundbreaking mystery.

Preparing to start another British Library Crime Classic: Bats in the Belfry, by E.C.R. Lorac.

This week's read was not a winner: The Girl in the Green Dress by Cath Staincliffe. Boring, and characters often unbelievable.

I'm currently reading Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz. I'm only about halfway through but enjoying it immensely. I know a bunch of you read this one last year, but I'm late to the party. I don't know why I waited so long to give this one a go.

Finished the last Jimmy Perez novel, Thin Air, by Ann Cleeves.

Next into my rotation is Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz.

>14 seitherin: I hope you enjoy Magpie Murders as much as I am. I'm glad I'm not the only one left who hadn't read it. It is a fairly hefty book and with a one-year old in the house, I don't read as much as I used to, but I am hoping to finish it in the next day or two. I'll be interested to hear what you think about it when you finish.

>15 Dr_Flanders: I put it on my wishlist whenever everyone else was reading it and then completely forgot about it. It was you mentioning it that prompted me to get it. Haven't actually started it yet since I got it late last night, but I plan on burrowing into it later today.

Pepper Martin series by Casey Daniels

Finished this library audiobook ~

Believe Me: a novel by JP Delaney

(psych thriller/Claire ~ a Brit in US without a green card ~ gets a job
entrapping straying husbands for a firm of divorce lawyers/ensemble
cast ~ a semi-play format)

WEIRD

Girl Waits with Gun by Amy Stewart
4 1/2 ⭐️

This novel is loosely based upon the first female deputy sheriff in the USA, Constance Kopp. Constance and her two younger sisters lived just outside Newark NJ on a small farm. Her brother was married and live in a neighboring town. It was unusual for women to live on their own in 1914. While on a trip into town, the sisters’ horse and buggy was hit by a motor car driven by a local wealthy silk factory owner. He refused to pay the $50 damages to the buggy. Constance and her sisters had no other transportation and needed the buggy repaired. After writing a letter to thefactory owner, Constance went to the factory to get compensation. While there she met a young woman who worked at the factory. The woman’s child went missing after a workers strike. Constance, getting nowhere with the factory owner, went to the courthouse and was directed to the county Sherrif for help. The sherrif provided protection for her family, as the factory owner began to harass the Kopp women. This was an enjoyable read as Constance became involved with the protection of her sisters with help from the sherrif. The story was fairly bare bones with plenty of the flavor of early 20th Century life, combined with a light humor. I look forward to reading more in this series.

Today I started The Chinese Parrot, the second of Earl Der Biggers' Charlie Chan mysteries, this one first published in 1926. I read the first in the series, The House Without a Key a year or two ago, and was immensely surprised by how good it was, nothing like the kitschy, cringe-inducing movies.

>16 seitherin: I finished Magpie Murders yesterday. I liked it quite a bit. I thought it was a little long and it dragged a bit in the middle, but I thought it was a pretty fun read overall. I haven't read a ton of those classic or cozy type mysteries, so I think some of the references my have been lost on me a bit. It did keep me guessing until the end. Both mysteries did, actually. I hope you find it as enjoyable as I did. I think I will read Anthony Horowitz's next novel, The Word is Murder sometime soon.

>21 Dr_Flanders: I haven't made much progress. Real life keeps getting in my way. I'm hoping the weekend is an easy one so I can dig in and read.

I’m about 2/3 rds of the way through Disordered Minds by Minette Walters and enjoying it immensely. It’s always good to be in the hands of a pro at the top of her game.

Finished Women Crime Writers Four Suspense Novels of the 1940s. Good and varied novels by writers little known today. Women Crime Writers Four Suspense Novels of the 1950s is on my TBR list. But for now I am back to Reed Farrel Coleman's Moe Prager series. I started the 4th in the series Soul Patch.

Starting The Quaker: A Duncan McCormack Novel, by Liam McIlvanney.

Adding Cold Earth by Ann Cleeves to my reading rotation.

Been a while since I visited my old friends the Emersons. This time, they're digging in The Tomb of the Golden Bird.

The Mayan Secret by Clive Cussler
#5 Fargo Adventure
5 ⭐️

Remi and Sam Fargo were on a shark tagging expedition in Mexico, when an earthquake devistated southern Mexico and Guatemala. Being aboard a large yacht, and being extremely wealthy, the Fargos decided to fill their boat with medical, food and other needed supplies. Taking along doctors, they headed south to areas where roads were inaccessible. While making their last aid delivery up a volcano, they stumbled upon an unknown Mayan shrine. In the shrine they found a mummy holding a sealed jar. In the jar was a Mayan codex, now only the 5th codex known to exist. Photos were taken and somehow managed to reach the notice of an exc Edinburgh greedy heiress. This heiress tracked the Fargos back to their home in California.This heiress tries to buy the codex, which is illegal to buy or sell. The Fargos head back to Guatemala to try to verify information found in the codex. The Fargos face danger at every turn, from drug lords, to assassins, to angry Mayan descendants. This was a very fast moving fun read. Actually one of the best Cussler novels which I have read, to date.

Finished Cold Earth by Ann Cleeves. Enjoyed it.

Continuing a noirish streak by starting The Getaway, by Jim Thompson.

>21 Dr_Flanders:

I've finished Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz. I really enjoyed it. There were a couple of slow spots, but they weren't annoying enough to not make this one of the better reads of my year so far.

Finished Soul Patch, #4 in Reed Farrel Coleman's Moe Prager series. A solid series that seems to be getting better.

The Wife Between Us. Really enjoyed it!

Listening to this Kindle/Audible combo ~

The King Tides by James Swain

(book #1, Lancaster & Daniels series/Florida/kidnappings)

>31 seitherin:

That's is basically how I felt too. I really enjoyed the book. I recommended it to my wife, which I try not to do too often because she doesn't read as often as I do. I liked it enough that I am going to give Anthony Horowitz's next novel The Word is Murder a try sometime in the near future. I am glad you also enjoyed it!

>35 Dr_Flanders: When you finally read The Word is Murder, please let me know if I should read it. Unfortunately, I've got so many commitments to read right now that it will be a couple of months before I can get back to reading just for fun.

I just finished a book in a long time favourite series of mine, the Kincaid and James series by Deborah Crombie. This one was Garden of Lamentations. Good as always.

I finished The Chinese Parrot by Earl Derr Biggers, the second of Derr Biggers' Charlie Chan series, published in 1926. These books are a lot of fun and written in a sprite, breezy style. There are one or two eyebrow raise inducing coincidences along the way, but the plot is engaging and holds up.

I've moved now to The Lord God Bird, a novella by Russell Hill. A friend lent it to me. I'm not big on borrowing books, as I have such a giant TBR pile of my own at home, but this is a short work, so I decided to indulge by buddy, who thought I would really like this story. The sticker on the cover says this was an Edgar nominee in 2012, so I've got reasonably high hopes.

The Solomon Curse by Clive Cussler
#7 Fargo Adventure
4⭐️

Sam and Remi Fargo, wealthy philantropists and sometime treasure hunters get a call from a Russian friend. The friend is an archeologist searching for a legendary lost city in the Solomon Islands at Guadalcanal. While looking over the proposed archeological site, a worker of Leonid’s is attacked by a 20 foot crocodile. The Fargos rush the man to the hospital and meet the local doctor. They also hear about missing children in the outlying areas. Later, back at the site, they realize that Leonid will need more than their scuba help, so they rent a diving boat and crew from Australia. While searching the bay they find a lost city, toppled and sunk by an earthquake 1000 years ago. They even find evidence of treasure looted by the Japanese in WW II. Upon returning to their hotel, they find trouble in the city. Rebel factions from the mountains are clashing with police. All is not well in the Solomons. The Fargos are interested in the Japanese looting and want to find the gold and treasure stash. Lots of strange happenings on the island make their search difficult: missing children, caves, Rebel riots, destroyed rental vehicles, nervous natives, and threats to their lives. A great story with loads of action and intrigue with quirky characters, make this a fast enjoyable read. On to their next adventure!

I haven't posted here for a while, but recent very enjoyable reads (4 and above out of 5) have included:

The Memory Watcher - Minka Kent
The Seagull (Vera Stanhope Book 8) Ann Cleeves
The DCI Banks series numbers 18 -24 by Peter Robinson
Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith
Up Country by Nelson DeMille
Money in the Morgue: The New Inspector Alleyn Mystery Ngaio Marsh
I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh
The Wife by Alafair Burke
Bryant & May - Wild Chamber and Bryant & May – Hall of Mirrors by Christopher Fowler
The Liar's Girl by Catherine Ryan Howard
The Murder of Mary Russell by Laurie R. King
The Grownup by Gillian Flynn - might just be my mood at the moment, but this ticked all the boxes...

Currently reading: The Arsenal Stadium Mystery by Leonard Gribble - ok so far, but not outstanding.

I'm reading Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter and it's really really good.

I’m back in 1915 New Jersey with sherrif’s deputy Constance Kopp and her sisters. Lady Cop Makes Trouble by Amy Stewart

Finished Rivers of London and will be moving on to Christopher Moore's Noir. So a little more than just crime. Some humor, some fantasy.

Enjoying this library audiobook ~

Crimson Lake by Candice Fox

(book #1, in Crimson Lake series/murder mystery/Queensland, Australia/
interesting facts about geese and crocs/the narrator uses an Aussie accent)

>36 seitherin:
I will be sure to let you know how I feel about it. It is likely to be a month or more before I get around to it because I have so many other things I am planning to read as well.

>44 Molly3028: I listened to that book too and loved it. You're right about the geese and crocs. I was especially fascinated with the "guard geese" history.

Lady Cop Makes Trouble by Amy Stewart
#2 A Kopp Sisters Novel
4 1/2 ⭐️

Constance Kopp was the first female sherrif deputy in the US. This book is a fictional account of one of her cases. Constance lives with her sister Norma and her adopted sister (her daughter) in New Jersey, not too far from NYC. A German speaking prisoner was in the hospital, and refused to speak English. Constance was directed to the hospital to speak with him. While there, there was a blackout and the prisoner escaped on Contance’s watch. She was demoted to Jail Matron, and the sherrif was now facing jail time due to the escape. Constance felt it was her duty to track down and apprehend the at large prisoner. I thouroughly enjoy the author’s writing style. There is just enough detail, but it’s not bogged down. The life of an independent woman in 1915 wasn’t without societal problems. Constance is a strong minded woman, who does what women were not supposed to be able to do. She faced much sexism in her line of work. This was a fast paced story. I look forward to the next installment.

I'm about halfway through Girl Waits With Gun; just getting acquainted with the Kopp sisters. I rather like the dour carrier pigeon training sister :)

Back to Reed Farrel Coleman's Moe Prager series - up to #5 Empty Ever After

>46 tottman:

I've started delving into novels written by Australians this year. I enjoy learning about Australia
and listening to the accent of the narrators. This particular book may be an outlier, however,
because it is read by a Scottish actor using an Aussie accent ~ LOL.

The Emporer’s Revenge by Clive Cussler
Oregon Files
3 ⭐️

It has taken me almost 2 years to finish this book. It just didn’t grab my interest the usual way. The start was rather slow. Juan Cabrillo and the crew of the Oregon had their banking accounts hacked to the tune of millions of dollars. Juan set out to find the hackers. To that end he comes across a former Russian Admiral who is intent upon finding Napoleon’s cache of Russian plunder, as well as robbing the world’s banks of billions of Euros. The hunt takes them from the Mediterranean to the Baltic Seas and puts Juan’s ship in serious jeopardy, along with the lives of the Oregon’s crew. It was a marginal read, once I got past the first 150 exceedingly slow pages. Not one of the better Cussler yarns.

I pulled out and dusted off the 1975 Spindrift by Phyllis A. Whitney. Haven’t read anything by Whitney in years. We will see how well it holds up.

Preparing to start Follow the Dead, by Lin Anderson.

Enjoying this Walmart-Kobo audiobook freebee ~
(new digital service)

Texas Ranger by James Patterson (Rory Yates is searching for his ex-wife's killer)

UPDATE: a fave for the year/the Kobo app isn't as user-friendly as my other audiobook apps ~
dropped my membership

Added Pretty Girls Dancing by Kylie Brant to my reading rotation.

Couldn't fall asleep last night, so read this not-too-bad suspense novel: Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris.

>50 Molly3028: You should definitely check out Jane Harper if you haven't already. Her first two books are fantastic! The Dry and Force of Nature. Great stories and fascinating Australian settings.

>57 tottman:

The Dry is one of my faves for this year. I am looking forward to hearing the second book in the near future.

I join you who have read Magpie Murders this month. I, too, enjoyed it very much. The plot was a bit convoluted at times but I still gave it four stars as I really enjoyed the "story within the story" and the literary references.

Other than that, I've read The House at Sea's End by Elly Griffiths. That's the third in the series and quite an ok story. The problem was that I started it immediately after Magpie Murders which I totally loved, and the Griffiths book - through no major fault of its own - was a letdown. It was such an *ordinary* detective story. Lesson learned: if you really really like a book, take a day's break after starting another one :D

Jens Henrik Jensen and his "Hirtetyt koirat" is a Danish novel (orig. title 'De hængte hunde'). It hasn't yet been translated into English I think, but if and when it is, you'll have something good to read! Very good job, good writing, interesting plot.

Also, I've read a few Finnish books. Antti Tuominen's "Parantaja" has been translated into English as The Healer.

At the moment, I'm reading Anniina Tarasova's "Venäläiset tilikirjani" (direct translation "My Russian Ledgers"). It's a detective story / thriller of a Finnish auditor who has to go to St Petersburg to make a audit of accounts to their Russian subsidiary. What is slowly revealed is plotting, lying, cover-ups, fraud, murder.... Half way through, the story is moderately interesting and fairly easy to read. Not the most gripping of books but I'll muddle through. There's "Detective Story Festival" here in Helsinki this fall, and Ms Tarasova is one of the guests, and I always like to read something from the guests, it makes listening to the interviews more interesting.

Just started I Know You Know by Gilly MacMillan which is one of my ER wins. Not bad so far, but boy it would be a great audiobook since a lot of it is made up of Podcast episodes.

I just finished Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Letham. It was a decent mystery, but the real fun was how Letham uses his protagonist to play with language. I enjoyed it.

Decided I wasn't in the mood for Follow the Dead, so I'm going back to the Kopp sisters with Miss Kopp's Midnight Confessions, by Amy Stewart.

Added A Guilty Thing Surprised by Ruth Rendell to my reading rotation.

I started reading Perfidia by James Ellroy last night. I actually started reading it over a year ago about two weeks before my wife was due to give birth to our first child. I got about 100 pages in and my wife had to have an early delivery, so with all the excitement and learning to survive on less sleep while caring for an infant, I just didn't want to commit to reading a large novel. Once the baby started sleeping through the night, it got a bit easier to read consistently. I avoided starting back in on Perfidia because I dreading having to reread the beginning and half-remembering everything. I finally decided to give it a go last night and just started at the beginning. I love Ellroy's other work, and while I think Ellroy's later work has some serious faults, I am enjoying it so far.

Just finished The Lies We Told by Camilla Way It's full of secrets and lies and when you think there can be no more... well, there are!

Spindrift by Phyllis A Whitney
2 1/2 ⭐️

Christy Moreland has just gotten out of the hospital. She suffered a mental breakdown on New Years Eve when her father was found shot to death in the tower room of Spindrift. Her husband Joel brought her home to his mother’s mansion, where Christy’s father had died. Christy wasn’t thrilled, but she knew her son was at the mansion. Christy desperately want her son back. She also was determined to find her father’s murderer. Christy’s stepmother tries to convince Christy not to go to Spindrift, as something bad would possibly happen. Old empty mansions, an armor collection, a jade collection, threats real and imaginary plague Christy as she tried to get her life and her son back. This was an excruciatingly slow read, especially the first half of the book. Christy spent so much time thinking about her past, present and future. Way too much introspection for this reader to bear.

This book is in high demand at my library and I'd heard good things about it. Didn't really enjoy it all. Couldn't relate to any of the characters and I didn't find it particularly thrilling or believable: The Perfect Mother by Aimee Molloy, Starting The Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz today, which I have high hopes for.

Finishing August with this OverDrive audiobook ~

Balloons Can Be Murder by Connie Shelton

(Charlie Parker series ~ sister & brother PI firm/Albuquerque, New Mexico ~
interesting info about hot-air ballooning/a one-off for me)

Finished Empty Ever After #5 in Reed Farrel Coleman's Moe Prager series. On to #6 Innocent Monster.

Finished A Guilty Thing Surprised by Ruth Rendell. Meh.

Next up is The Night of the Moths by Riccardo Bruni.

September thread: http://www.librarything.com/topic/295676