Monthly Sub-Genre Challenge: What Type Are You? September 2018

Each month a randomly selected sub-genre of Mystery and Suspense will appear. We want you to discuss your favorite books and make recommendations. You may choose books to read in this sub-genre and post comments or reviews about the books read. Even a sentence or two will do!

The sub-genre for the month of September 2018 is...Futuristic Mystery

A Futuristic Mystery is a mash-up of science fiction and mystery where the crime is set in the future or includes SF elements. Examples of Futuristic Mysteries are Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick, The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde or Alien Nation by Alan Dean Foster.

The Futuristic Mystery is a popular subgenre and there are many books to choose from. I’ve included a list of links below to assist you in your search:

1. https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/19016.Science_Fiction_Detective_Novels
   
2. https://best-sci-fi-books.com/23-best-science-fiction-mystery-books
   
3. http://bestsciencefictionbooks.com/best-science-fiction-mystery-books
   
4. https://io9.gizmodo.com/5526900/top-10-greatest-science-fiction-detective-novels...
   
5. https://futurism.media/best-sci-fi-mystery-books-of-the-00s
   
6. https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/12-sci-fifantasy-books-channel-blood-hardboiled-no...
   
7. https://www.tor.com/2014/08/13/eight-essential-science-fiction-detective-mash-up...

Happy Reading ❤

Think i’ve got two books that meet this criteria both of which I will be reading through September. One i’ve already started, The Waste Lands by Stephen King (book 3 in the Dark Tower Series) and one I will start shortly, The Children of God By Mary Doria Russell, the sequel to The Sparrow.

>2 Andrew-theQM: did you like The Sparrow? I have it but somehow keep bypassing it for others - almost used it for the Alphabet Challenge in Dusty's group last month (bird on the cover)

First thing that comes to mind is J.D.Robb’s Eve Dallas series (In Death).

Re: The Sparrow - I loved the book!

>3 bhabeck: >4 sushicat: I will add another vote for The Sparrow. The sequel, Children of God, is also good so if you like the first book, it's worth reading the follow-up.

>4 sushicat: >5 ScoLgo: looks like I'll be moving the book up to the top of Mt. TBR and will be using it for a challenge soon. thanks for the feedback!

>4 sushicat: >5 ScoLgo: >6 bhabeck: Totally Agree, excellent book with a unique storyline and a strong element of mystery with twists a plenty. I’m looking forward to reading the sequel as have heard positive things.

I loved The City & the City by China Mieville. The concept was so completely unique to me and I hope he writes a sequel someday. I also really liked The Last Policeman trilogy by Ben H. Winters. I was a big fan of The Sparrow but have never read the sequel.

I will definitely be reading Devoted in Death by J. D. Robb. I've been reading them all over the last three years. It's not a series I cared for one way or the other until I started the audios. They were so well done I became an In Death Addict. I've always wanted to read The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon so might see if I can fit it in too.

>8 Olivermagnus: Agree about The Last Policeman trilogy! I was wondering why it does not show up more often on the linked lists in >1 bhabeck:. I too found it to be a compelling read.

Have not yet gotten to the Mieville or the Chabon you mention - but both are on my TBR.

Holy cow! There are a lot of those 'In Death' books!

My parents are in town, so I've had next to no time online this week! Getting a very short spurt this evening, but will likely be back on Sunday to see what I might have on the tbr that fits!

I'm not much of an SF fan but The Yiddish Policemen's Union sounds interesting so I'm going to read that. The Last Policeman trilogy also sounds good so I put that I my TBR list.

>11 gaylebutz: The only SFnal thing about The Last Policeman story is the asteroid threatening to destroy Earth. Otherwise, it is a police procedural. Well... I suppose there is a certain dystopic element too... However, that element is what made Hank's motivations to keep on sleuthing so engaging, (motivations that he himself questions throughout).

Hope that's not too spoilery...

>12 ScoLgo: That’s good to know. It sounds like I would like that.

>12 ScoLgo: >13 gaylebutz: - I agree...it's a standard police procedural. The asteroid has very little impact (lol).

The Yiddish Policeman's Union by David Chabon
3.5 ★

In Yiddish-speaking Alaska, Orthodox gangs in side-curls and knee breeches roam the streets of Sitka, where Detective Meyer Landsman discovers the corpse of a heroin-addled chess prodigy in the flophouse Meyer calls home. Marionette strings stretch back to the hands of charismatic Rebbe Gold, leader of a sect that seems to have drawn its mission statement from the Cosa Nostra. Meyer is determined to unsnarl the meaning behind the murder.

It took me about halfway through the book to really get interested in the story and start liking Detective Landsman, his humor and his loose cannon approach to investigating. There were a lot of characters with Yiddish names and a lot of Yiddish words used throughout which was a bit challenging. The plot was complex with many Jewish beliefs an important part to some of the Jewish characters and not important to others. The alternate history was different, had a noir feel and I enjoyed it.

>15 gaylebutz: Thanks for the review Gayle. I generally enjoy noir-style so really need to move this one up on my list.

The Waste Lands by Stephen King - 590 pgs. - ★★★★★ - 9/4/2018
The Waste Lands is book 3 from Stephen King's epic saga The Dark Tower. Roland, Eddie, Susannah and Jake are moving closer to the Dark Tower. The book seems like a haunting dream that is breath taking. The reader is quickly drawn in. I loved all the riddles Blaine asked the group. I'm looking forward to book 4, Wizard and Glass. I recommend this series for those who love action fantasy!

>15 gaylebutz: - I read this last week (gave it 4 stars) and totally agree with your review, especially the noir feel. I thought about switching to the audio book halfway through but just decided to give some of the Yiddish words easier pronunciations. I enjoy the alternate history genre and have The Darkest Hour by Tony Schumacher planned for October.

Immortal in Death / J.D. Robb
3.5 stars

When Eve’s best friend, Mavis, is charged with murdering a model, Eve has to get to the bottom of it and free Mavis. She knows Mavis would never do such a thing, though it does look bad.

Thought I’d leave any of Eve’s personal details out of the summary, so as not to be spoilery (though this is only the 3rd book in the ridiculously long series, so I suspect most people who are interested have already (probably long since!) bypassed this one). I will say that I didn’t dislike Rourke nearly as much in this one as I did in the previous two books. The book was good. This was probably a similar rating as what I gave the first two books, I think. Decent story, but nothing overly special. I was surprised at the ending. Will I continue the series? I suppose I probably will, at least for now. They are quick to read.