Novenber 2020 ~ What are you reading?

Still reading Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith.

Our Kind of Traitor by John le Carre. From the nightstand TBR pile.

Currently in crime: The Inugami Curse, by Seishi Yokomizo, translated by Yumiko Yamakazi.

Also still working on The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books, by Martin Edwards.

Just finished a book set in Paris which had lots of great atmosphere but I wasn't that impressed with the plot or the main character. Murder Below Montparnasse by Cara Black

>4 gypsysmom:

Had you read the previous ones in the series? While the stories themselves are mostly independent (although some work better if you had worked the older ones), Aimée Leduc needs the back history of the earlier books to actually work as a character - and it gets more pronounced as the series progresses in my opinion...

I just finished proof-reading my recently published action-thriller SWARM, which has gone consistent 5-star reviews. Inspired by a true story, it integrates dangers of AI in consumers, weapons and cyber-espionage into conspiracies set in our current pandemic and political division and end-time prophecies. I am currently reading research books for a sequel including Putingrad and the Copper Scroll Project.

>6 Guy_Morris:

Advertising (including self-promotion) is not allowed in LT outside of a set of specific groups about authors. You may want to delete/edit your comment and remove the advertising.

>5 AnnieMod: No I haven't read any of the previous ones but I didn't really feel like I was missing anything important. There were enough discussions about her grandfather, father, mother, partner etc. for me to feel I understood the background. I just thought the plot was unnecessarily complex plus I really hated how she was always obsessing about having gained 1 kilogram and how fat she was. Body shaming if I've ever read it and it really bothered me that it was a woman writing that.

On the other hand I recently read another mystery set in a far off place i.e. New Zealand. A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh was atmospheric but also tightly plotted and held my attention all the way through.

Finished Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith. Really liked it.

Tried to read A Cry in Silence by C. Connelly. Had to put it aside. Just did nothing for me.

Finished Thunder Point (Higgins) and started The Lost Boy (Lackberg).

Just finished the first mystery in the Enola Holmes series, The Case of the Missing Marquess, by Nancy Springer. I've requested the next one in the series immediately.

Next up in crime: Still Life, by Val McDermid, the latest in her Karen Pirie series.

Really enjoyed Still Life, as mentioned in >12 rabbitprincess:.

Next up in crime is Murder in the Crooked House, by Soji Shimada.

Really enjoyed The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton. Very different!

>14 ted74ca: Currently reading this book myself and would agree. Very intriguing and impossible to review without spoilers I would say.

A Geek Girl's Guide to Arsenic by Julie Anne Lindsey
#2 Geek Girl Mysteries
c. 2018
3 1/2 *

Mia Conners is the IT at the gated community od Horseshoe Falls, Ohio. She recently moved into a penthouse apartment in Horseshoe Falls, due security concerns, after a Friend had been murdered last summer. Mia is also very wealthy as she owns half of her Grandmother's beauty products company. Generally, they sell the products online and at a booth in the local Renaissance Faire, where Mia dresses as Guinevere to promote the products. While at the faire, a man is poisoned and falls dead at Mia's booth. Jake Archer, now a U.S. Marshall, comes to the crime scene. Mia hadn't seen Jake in three months. The deceased man just happened to be in witness protection under Jake's overview. The death is doing harm to Mia's company, so she sets out to find out what is going on, against Jake's wishes. To make matter's worse, Mia's twin sister is trying to be a matchmaker. It was a fast moving story full of fun, family, and intrigue. Much of it took place at the Ren Faire.

Added Knife by Jo Nesbø to my reading rotation.

>14 ted74ca: >15 Maura49: I LOVED this book! I can't imagine how much work must have gone into keeping all the stories straight.

Finished Murder in the Crooked House yesterday, and it was totally bananas.

I'm trying to get back to Quand sort la recluse, by Fred Vargas, but I have a lot of library books out and they tend to demand my attention more.

Just finished Still Life Val McDermid. Just started Death in the Family Tessa Wegert.

>19 rabbitprincess: I agree. I felt at times that I needed a spreadsheet to keep track of details!

>21 ted74ca: It definitely stretched the bounds of credulity for me!

Currently reading The Devil and the Dark Water, by Stuart Turton.

Crime and Poetry by Amanda Flower

Just started Quiller Bamboo by Adam Hall, #15 in the series.

I finished And Now She's Gone by Rachel Howzell Hall, one of my favorites. Not sure what's up next; I'm trying to broaden out a bit and read some poetry and non-fiction. But Tana French's new one has been casting sly glances my way, and I don't know how much longer I can resist...

Finished #4 in the Enzo Files by Peter May, Freeze Frame, and i liked it quite a bit more than the last couple. Enzo is on an island in the Bay of Biscay trying to solve a 20 year old murder. It reminded me a lot of May's Lewis trilogy which was my introduction to May.

Crime and Poetry by Amanda Flower
c. 2016
#1 A Magical Bookshelf Mystery
3 1/2 *

Violet Waverly is an English Literature Phd. candidate at the University of Chicago. She got a call from her "dying" grandmother, so she drove all the way to her hometown of Cascade Falls, NY, a place she had run away from 12 years ago. She hadn't been home since. Her grandmother runs the magical Charming Books store out of an old Victorian mansion. It's a unique store with a live birch tree growing in the middle of the store, and a chatty raven named Faulkner. The books seemingly have a mind of their own. However, when Vi reached the store, her very healthy grandma introduced her to her mail friend and horse carriage driver Benedict. A book plopped itself in Benedict's hands. A poem about death by Emily Dickenson. Grandma convinced Vi to stay overnight, as she tried to convince Violet to stay in town and take over the Caretaker job at the bookstore. The next morning Benedict was found sitting in his horse-drawn carriage in grandma's driveway. He was dead, strangled wiih one of grandma's scarves. Vi devieds to stay in town long enough to figure out the real murderer, so thst grandma doesn't get arrested. Wills, vindictive daughters, Underground Railway tunnels, the city natural spring, an old boyfriend, bad memories, and a little cat named Emerson, keep Vi on her toes as she struggles to keep her grandma safe.

This was a fun read with engaging small town characters. There was just enough back story to help me to understand what made Violet click as a character. I will definitely read more of this series.

Some Buried Caesar by Rex Stout

Final Sentence by Daryl Wood Gerber
#1 Cookbook Nook Mystery
c. 2013

Jenna Hart, a recent young widow and ad agency executive decides to move back home to run a culinary bookstore with her Aunt. All was going well as they prepared for the grand opening. Jenna's college friend and TV cooking celebrity was to sign books at the opening. Unfortunately, the friend was murdered and the local police chief pegged Jenna for the murder.

I wasted time reading this. The characters were not believable and some were downright mean. Jenna came off as a flittering empty headed paranoid dope, with not one ounce of common sense. I found it hard to enjoy any of the other characters. This is the first of the series, and the last I will read.

Finished Knife by Jo Nesbø. Very twisty. Darker than usual.

Next up is Dark Highway by Lisa Gray.

I am doing very little reading now, as I was foolish enough to get a new puppy to raise-despite living on my own and in a pandemic. So, I am very, very tired! But, did manage to get a book finished during puppy's naptimes: Her One Mistake by Heidi Perks

Felt the urge to reread some Agatha Christie Miss Marple stories, so reading The Thirteen Problems. All short stories and just perfect for cold winter nights.

Just finished The Informer, by Liam O'Flaherty, which could be classified as a thriller.

Next up in crime is The Traveller and Other Stories, by Stuart Neville.

Ready to start The Late Clara Beame...a thrift store find that surprised me. I was unaware that Taylor Caldwell had ever attempted a whodunit.

I am just coming to the end of The 7 deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton which has had a lot of success. It seems at the outset to be a classic country house mystery a la Christie but it is far more complicated than that. I dare say no more as almost anything I could say would be a spoiler. It is a very intriguing book, but demands a lot from the reader.

December thread: http://www.librarything.com/topic/326858

>34 rabbitprincess: I read The Informer a couple of years back after my most recent trip to Ireland. I thought it deserved its classic, or at least semi-classic, or maybe Irish classic, standing.

>38 rocketjk: It was definitely fast-paced and had just the right paranoid, desperate atmosphere. I'd be interested in comparing it to the John Ford movie.

>32 ted74ca: Congratulations on the new puppy even if it does reduce your reading time. We got one in the middle of 2019 and not only did he interfere with my reading he even chomped on some of my books. A friend that I loaned a book to contacted me a while ago to say that her dog had taken the book from her bed after she had fallen asleep and chewed it so she reimbursed me for the cost (which I told her not to do because we all love dogs). Anyway if there are any books you don't want chewed be sure to put them out of reach. Our pup is now 20 months old and usually can be trusted not to chew now so I do sometimes leave a book lying on the couch but for months I didn't dare do that.

Anything Goes by Jill Churchill
#1 Grace and Favor Mystery
c. 1999
3 1/2 *

Lily Brewster and her brother Robert had grown up idle rich in NYC. But, the stock market crashed in 1929. Their mother was dead and their father committed suicide. The siblings were left destitute. Lily found a job at a bank and Robert often worked waiting tables at fancy restaurants. They lived in a poorly furnished tenement, barely scraping by. Then one day they recieved word that their still wealthy Great Uncle Horatio had died and left them his estate, with conditions. Lily and Robert immediately moved to upstate New York, taking residence at Grace and Favor Cottage, a huge mansion along the river. In order to help the Brewsters with living expenses, their uncle's lawyer and wife decide to board at Grace and Favor Cottage. Soon the Brewster siblings realize that their uncle's death had not been an accident aboard a yacht, but rather a murder. Lily and Robert want justice for Uncle Horatio, but who in the sleepy town of Voorburg-on-Hudson had a motive?

This was an engaging fast read. I liked the setting, interesting characters, and the sparely written plot, with a few twists and turns to keep me guessing.

Someone to Watch over Me by Jill Churchill
#3 Grace and Favor Mystery
c . 2001
4 *

Siblings Lily and Robert Brewster were born into a wealthy family, but all that changed with the 1929 Stock Market Crash. After living in a NYC tenement, they were informed that they inherited their late Uncle Horatio's estate and holdings, but with conditions. They had live on the estate fir 10 yrs, and support themselves. They were too embarrassed to let their new community know that they were moneyless. During their second summer at Grace and Favor Cottage, the world was changing. Many of the local Great War veterans had headed to Washington D.C. for the Bonus Army March. The Bonus was money promised to the veterans, but not to be given to them until 1945. With so much of the country out of work, the veterans wanted the money to be distributed now. Jack, the local newspaper editor decided to go check out the March. Meanwhile Robert found a mummified man in an icehouse which he was tearing down for the wood and building supplies. The mummy was unidentifiable. Lily joined a local woman's organization which tried to help those is need. One of the members, the local vegetable grower, had her husband found dead. Lily and Robert took it upon themselves to solve these murders.

I learned about the Bonus Army March, and how President Hoover forcefully disbanded it using the military. I had never heard of this March. Churchill weaves a truthful tale about how the Depression effected the life of the general population. A very well written historical mystery.