June, 2022 ~ What are you reading?

Topic for the new month.

Still reading Poirot Investigates by Agatha Christie.

I've just started Trouble at the Brownstone the latest (I think) of Robert Goldsborough's continuation of the Nero Wolfe series. They can't hold a candle to the originals, of course, but they scratch an itch.

Fall of Angels by Barbara Cleverly. London in the 'twenties and the people are all fairly pleasant. British Bobbies, militant suffragettes and the handsome Inspector Redfyre.

I just finished Naomi Hirahara's latest book, An eternal lei. I like this new series of hers, following a twentysomething woman of Filipino and Japanese descent who lives in Waimea on Kua'ai (in Hawai'i, USA). This book takes place in the middle of the pandemic, FYI.

Finished Poirot Investigates by Agatha Christie. Meh. Started The Night She Died by Dorothy Simpson.

Finished The Night She Died by Dorothy Simpson. Enjoyed it. Next up is Six Feet Under by Simpson.

A couple of days ago I finished Cold Skies, by Thomas King. Next, I'll probably try to finish Agent in Place, by Helen MacInnes, which has been hanging around on my stacks for a while.

Ongoing read: Every vow you break by Peter Swanson.

Reaching back to my Graham Greene pile for The Third Man. This edition the Penguin 50th Anniversary of the film’s re-release with a nice picture of Orson, but no musical soundtrack (thankfully).

I'm struggling a little with Favorite Father Brown Stories; I want to love them and I do like the doughy little character, but not all the short stories have held my interest. The Man in the Passage did; could not finish The Sign of the Broken Sword.

Reading the newest Ann Cleeves, The Heron's Cry. It's the second in her new series featuring Matthew Venn, in north Devon. So far, so good.

(Ann Cleeves also wrote the Vera Stanhope and Shetland series.)

I finished The Mystery of the Fiery Eye, the 7th in the juvenile The Three Investigators series. These books are a fun bit of nostalgia to when I first read them in the '70s.

Arsene Lupin by Maurice Leblanc

I just started Moonflower Murders. So far, so good.

Finished Six Feet Under by Dorothy Simpson. Not bad but not as enjoyable as the first book. Started Puppet for a Corpse by Simpson.

>13 camsheppard: I like that when I read it, long ago. Is it still fun? And have you seen the TV series?

Just finished The Change by Kirsten Miller. Don't mess with women who've reached menopause.

Also read The old woman with the knife by Gu Byeong-mo, her first novel translated to English. Good story about assassins, the main one being a 65-year-old woman who's been in the business for decades.

Today I started 'Til Death, an 87th Precinct novel by Ed McBain.

Finished Game of Snipers- Hunter (5/5) and The Midnight Lock-Deaver (3.5/5).

Just starting A Quiet Flame by Philip Kerr, Bernie Gunther’s fifth episode starting with his arrival in Buenos Aires in 1950.

Finished Puppet For a Corpse by Dorothy Simpson. It was OK. Started Payment in Blood by Elizabeth George.

Just finished Gentlemen & Players by Joanne Harris.
This was a delicious read set in an English Public School. Revenge to be had, two really interesting protagonists. Classics teacher & ?? (that's to be figured out)

I'm reading Cold Fear by Brandon Webb and John David Mann. It's a fun thriller, 2nd in the series. This one is set in Iceland, so it's nice to read about something cold when it's so hot outside.

Finished Payment in Blood by Elizabeth George. Mostly liked it. Next up is A Killer's Wife by Victor Methos.

Just finished The Murder Rule: A Novel by Dervla McTiernan. I found the plot rather implausible and the main character thoroughly unlikeable. I've liked her other 2 novels I've read, so I'll try again with another one of hers later.

Just started the latest Brunetti novel: Give Unto Others.

Today I finished The Wintringham Mystery, by Anthony Berkeley.

Finished re-reading On Dangerous Ground by Jack Higgins (3.5/5).

Now reading Anthrax Island, by D. L. Marshall.

Finished A Killer's Wife by Victor Methos. Interesting turn of events. Next up is The Secret Witness.

>20 Roycrofter: I love the Bernie Gunther series. I'm just one or two books ahead of you, reading through the series gradually.

The Trees by Percival Everett - most of the book is dialogue and so reads very quickly. Short chapters, too, which is a thing I don't remember him doing before. Just how Emmett Till's body goes from crime scene to crime scene is truly mysterious. I love the two State Detectives. Their conversation and quips remind me of McCorkle and Padillo in Ross Thomas's series that features them - https://www.librarything.com/nseries/32191/McCorkle-Padillo

>31 rocketjk: Exactly. I try to keep at least 6 months between each one. Coincidentally, I’m currently reading Shirer’s Berlin Diary, which turns out to be an unintended companion piece.

Wasn't feeling Anthrax Island (not least because the print in my edition was small *and* kind of faint, making it annoying to read), so I'm switching to a reliable series: Obsidian, by Thomas King, book 5 in the Thumps DreadfulWater series.

I finished Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L. Sayers: I love her wit and sense of fun

A sunlit weapon by Jacqueline Winspear. Three stars. Further adventures of Maisie Dobbs, in 1942 England. Women flying planes for the war effort; finding spies working against the allies. Subtopic about Anna, Maisie's adopted daughter, and her schooling. All of Winspear's Maisie Dobbs books are excellent, because of the writing and the unique character of a psychologist who solves crimes.

Razorblade tears by S. A. Cosby. Four stars. Unique setup: the fathers of two murdered gay men, one black, one white, seek their sons' killers. Wonderful interplay between two men on opposite sides of the racial and social divide who come together through love. Much violence. Believable characters. Good plot resolution.

Five Decembers by James Kestrel. Four stars. Tough guy policeman in Hawaii during World War II and his adventures surviving the war while solving a grisly murder. Much violence. The plot takes the reader to unexpected places and reveals the hero's character and intelligence. Unique plot development.

The maid by Nita Prose. Three stars. A maid at a hotel has difficulty reading social clues but has no problem with maintaining a moral code. As she cleans up the messes both physical and criminal, she gains confidence and a solid group of allies.

A Familiar Sight (Dr. Gretchen White Book 1) by Brianna Labuskes

Finished The Secret Witness by Victor Methos. Like his endings. Added Mother Dear by Nova Lee Maier to my rotation. (Maier is a pseudonym for Verhoef.}

Currently in crime: Les scrupules de Maigret, by Georges Simenon.

I'm still with Dorothy Sayers, this time with The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club, more a mystery than a crime so far...

Just started the latest Ann Cleeves The Heron's Cry. As a lover of both the Vera & Shetland series, this new series set in Devon featuring Detective Matthew Venn is up to the same high standards

Finished: Dry Bones (Audio Book)- May (3/5), Precipice - Doiron (4/5) & Sacrifice (Audio Book) - Finch (3/5).

I just started the latest Ruth Galloway mystery from Elly Griffiths, The Locked Room. This is one of my favorite series and in the opening chapters it does not disappoint. It's set just as COVID-19 is starting to spread across the globe, and I'm intrigued to see how Griffiths handles solving a mystery during lockdown.

The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers and Bluefeather Fellini

I've added The Black Tide, by Hammond Innes, to my crime reading pile. So far so good.

The secret of Cold Hill by Peter James.

Adobo and arsenic by Mia P. Manansala. Good especially if you like food and foodways.

JULY THREAD: https://www.librarything.com/topic/342699