Thursday, April 19, 2018

What We're Reading


DEBORAH CROMBIE: I've had a request from one of our regular commenters (that would be you, Gigi Norwood!) for a "What We're Reading" update, because she needs some good new book suggestions! And we are happy to oblige.

I'm two thirds of the way through Tina Whittle's Tai Randolf #1, THE DANGEROUS EDGE OF THINGS, and I keep wanting to sneak off and finish it when I should be working.  We had Tina as a guest last week talking about her latest in the Tai Randolf series, #5, and I was so intrigued that I started the series from the beginning and I am loving it. (JRW gets me in so much book-buying trouble...)



Next up, THE NIGHTINGALE by Kristin Hannah, which just came out in paperback and looks fab.  And I've ordered THE ESSEX SERPENT, by Sarah Perry, which comes out in pb next week and is supposed to one of THE books of 2017.

On the non-fiction side, I'm reading BEATEN, SEARED, AND SAUCED by Jonathan Dixon on Kindle, a memoir of his training at the CIA (Culinary Institute of America.) (I plead research related.)

And in hardcover, Greg Easterbrook's IT'S BETTER THAN IT LOOKS, and A BRIEF HISTORY OF EVERYONE WHO EVER LIVED by Adam Rutherford. I heard Easterbrook on NPR and was so fascinated that I immediately bought the book, and the Rutherford was recommended by our own Ann Mason.



Oh, and I just finished Anthony Horowitz's HOUSE OF SILK. It's a Holmes pastiche, and very well done. I dare say Horowitz writes better than Doyle!



JENN McKINLAY: I just finished A BEAUTIFUL PLACE TO DIE by Malla Nunn. Set in 1950's apartheid South Africa, featuring Detective Emmanuel Cooper, it was a fantastic read. It fascinated me because I don't know much about that time and place but also the writing was crisp and clever, the characters sympathetic, and the relationships complex. In nonfiction, I am enjoying KNIT LOCAL: CELEBRATING AMERICA'S HOMEGROWN YARNS. I had no idea there were so many yarns handcrafted in the States. Now I want to visit them all. Next up is Anne Gracie's newly released MARRY IN SCANDAL because...Anne Gracie! No one writes regency romance as cleverly as she does. And then I will dive into WHY KILL THE INNOCENT by C. S. Harris because I am signing with Candi (C.S.) at the Poisoned Pen in May. I've told her before that  Sebastian St Cyr is my fictional boyfriend, but she insists he's actually hers. So rude. LOL.



INGRID THOFT: I’ve read a lot of intriguing things recently.  AN AMERICAN MARRIAGE by Tayari Jones is about a marriage that is put to the test when a black man is wrongly convicted of a crime and sent to prison in Louisiana.  He and his wife struggle to maintain their connection under the most difficult of circumstances.  THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT by Chris Bohjalian was a page-turner that I read in a matter of days.  An alcoholic flight attendant wakes up in a bed in Dubai next to a dead man.  What she did and who he was are just some of the questions that get answered in this suspenseful tale.  I’m currently reading MAGPIE MURDERS by Anthony Horowitz, which is a book within a book.  The story starts with a book editor reading her star author’s latest manuscript, a traditional mystery set in England in the 1950s.  I don’t want to give too much away, but the book toggles between that story and the present, and I’m equally engaged with both threads of the story.  On the non-fiction front, LOOK ALIVE OUT THERE, is a great collection of essays by the hilarious Sloane Crosley.  If you need an injection of humor into your life, look no further.

LUCY BURDETTE: Jenn, A BEAUTIFUL PLACE TO DIE was one of the top five Edgar nominees one of the years I served on that committee. I still remember it as an excellent book. I have recently finished DEATH AL FRESCO by Leslie Karst (she was a guest recently--love this series), HUMMUS AND HOMICIDE by Tina Kashian (ditto, guest, fun first in a new cozy series), and DEAD WATER by Ann Cleeves. Thanks to you all, I am now addicted to this series. Sadly, I'm getting toward the end of what's available, so I will have to beg her to hurry up and write! I may try a non-mystery next, maybe Elena Ferrante's MY BRILLIANT FRIEND, or Amy Bloom's WHITE HOUSES, or Joshilyn Jackson's GODS IN ALAMBAMA? I hate this in between feeling so suggestions warmly welcomed!



HALLIE EPHRON: I'm reading a wonderful book, THE WIDOWS by Jess Montgomery (a pseudonym for Sharon Short) and it will be published by Minotaur, but you'll have to wait for it to come out. It's a historical mystery set in Ohio coal country in the 1920s. Keep an eye on it. It's a winner. And a book that Lucy recommended by Karen Joy Fowler, WE ARE COMPLETELY BESIDE OURSELVES, beckons. I've also added AXIOS to my daily mashup of newsfeeds that are keeping me from getting my novel finished.

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Oh, I loved MAGPIE MURDERS, Ingrid, (can't wait to read his upcoming one) and THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT, too. Because things are all coincidence, I was in an airport, and needed a book and the was absolutely nothing,..until I saw A TALENT FOR MURDER by Andrew Wilson. It's the mostly-fiction story of why Agatha Christie disappeared for those two weeks.  I completely adored it! And have scarfed up all of his books now.  Kate Moretti's THE VANISHING YEAR! Yay.  I love Wallace Stroby, and am reading his terrific upcoming SOME DIE NAMELESS,  and got to love Alafair Burke's THE WIFE.  I am judging for a contest, though, and cannot talk about most of the stuff I'm reading!  (And thank you Gigi, I love doing this and hearing about everyone's reading!)

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: In audiobooks, I'm still working my way through OREGON TRAIL: A NEW AMERICAN JOURNEY by Rinker Buck. Not that it's a slog, just that I'm (thankfully) not in my car as frequently as I used to be. In my hot little hands, but haven't started it yet: HEAD ON, John Scalzi's sequel to his near-future police procedural LOCK IN. Interestingly, as a SF reader, I'm seeing a lot more mash-ups of science fiction and mystery - mostly from writers known for the former. I'll be interested to see if some crime fiction authors get into the genre-splicing game.

I'm also reading my way through the Agatha Best First Mystery nominees. I'm on THE PLOT IS MURDER by V.M. Burns, which has a delightful mystery-within-a-mystery story; and Kellye Garrett's HOLLYWOOD HOMICIDE - great characters and and a genuinely fun read. I can see why both of them nabbed the nomination.

RHYS BOWEN: I'm impressed with the amount of time the rest of the Reds seem to have to read. I find it impossible to read fiction when I'm writing as I tend to pick up another writer's style. I mailed off my latest book to the editor a couple of weeks ago and since then I have been reading nothing but books to blurb. I seem to have become the blurb queen of historical fiction these days. If there is any book about a British aristocrat in the first half of the 20th Century it is sent to me. I can't tell you about the books as they are not yet published but I enjoyed them.

 But what I am also doing is re-reading Louise Penny's series in order as I have to interview her at Malice next week. However, I'm going to Europe at the end of May and my Kindle is already loaded with things I want to read, have been dying to read.


DEBS: It's so interesting how different our reading choices are, but at the same time, books on my to-read or have-read list turn up on other people's lists. Now, if we follow even a few of these suggestions, I don't think any of us will run out of things to read anytime soon...

(And I haven't even mentioned my Bookbub addiction, which means that I buy mumble mumble $2 books a week for my Kindle--enough to keep me in reading matter for the next two-hundred or so years!)

READERS, tell us what you're reading that you love love love and that we should add to our lists!

76 comments:

  1. What have I read recently?
    Fiction:
    Chris Bohjalian’s “The Flight Attendant” and “The Sleepwalker” . . . Clare Mackintosh’s “I Let You Go” . . . Lee Goldberg’s marvelous “True Fiction” . . . Joanne Fluke’s “Raspberry Danish Murder” . . . Jeffrey Deaver’s “The Cutting Edge” . . . Stuart Woods’s “Shoot First” . . . .
    Nonfiction:
    Amelia Earhart’s “20hrs. 40 min.: Our Flight in the Friendship” . . . Alan Bean’s “Painting Apollo” . . . .
    Reading Now:
    Just finishing David Putnam’s “The Innocents” . . . Diane Chamberlain’s “The Dream Daughter” . . . .

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh, great. More books to add to the TBR pile. As for my own reading, right now I'm working on Tattered Legacy by Shannon Baker in paperback and What to do About Wednesday by Jennie Marts on Kindle. I'm enjoying them both!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm reading an advance copy of the D.B. John thriller "Star of the North" and the latest C.J. Box thriller "The Disappeared". Oh and I've read all four of Maddie Day's Country Store mysteries.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How scary/violent is the new CJ Box book Jay? I love his series but the last one scared me!

      Delete
    2. Lucy, I'm about 1/2 way through the book and it really hasn't been all that violent or crazy yet. Minor stuff only really. But of course, opinions vary.

      Edith, you are welcome. Still hope I can get to that late May event with the time change.

      Delete
  4. So many good reads!

    I just binge-read the last three of Catriona McPherson's books: her new cozy, Scot Free. Her last Dandy Gilver book, The Reek of Red Herrings, which I'd somehow managed to forget was on my Nook. And her latest standalone suspense, House.Tree.Person.

    Now I'm reading Bastard out of Carolina, by Dorothy Allison.

    And I'm addicted to BookBub, too, Debs!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I just finished Tina Whittle’s most recent, Necessary Ends, and Peter Lovesey's Beau Death. Enjoyed both very much. I have on my bedside table Naomi Hirahara’s Hiroshima Boy, Jeff Siger’s Aegean April and the biography of Shirley Jackson, A Rather Haunted Life. Decisions, decisions! Plus Malice right ahead where I will pick up Scot Free, Mariah Frederick’s first adult book, A Death of No Importance, and who knows what else? I’m secure in good reading for awhile!






    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'd love to know what you think of the Shirley Jackson biography after you've read it Triss. I was eyeing it at the library - I love her work, but I'm not usually a big biography fan.

      Delete
  6. My eyes are tired just reading this list! I just finished Uneasy Prey, Annette Dashofy's latest - another great and suspenseful mystery. Now I'm laughing my way through Catriona McPherson's Scot Free, and up next is debut author Becky Clark's Fiction Can Be Murder. On the non fiction side, I have Jane Friedman's The Business of Writing waiting in the wings (which I think I learned about from this blog) and then books on being blind in the nineteenth century, getting ready to write Quaker Midwife #5!

    ReplyDelete
  7. A few books I've read recently include A BRILLIANT DEATH by Robin Yocum, which is excellent, and CLOSER THAN YOU KNOW by Brad Parks. That one I could not put down.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I read a brilliant Death last year, Judi, and thought it matched its title... Brilliant!

      Delete
  8. So many great books mentioned - not that I've read them all, but many are on my list - the never-ending list. Anyway, I did read Magpie Murders and loved it. Lately I've read:

    1. Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney - quite a bunch of crazy twists
    2. The Wildling Sisters by Eve Chase - sisters' relationships and family secrets
    3. several Peter May books for our 'May in May' mystery book group - I reread his Lewis trilogy
    4. The Dark Angel by Elly Griffiths - latest Ruth Galloway book set in Italy this time
    5. discovered Sherry Thomas' Lady Sherlock series when we had a Sherlock theme for mystery book group
    6. lastly, I'm reading Dear Mrs. Bird by A.J. Pearce right now - not out in the US yet, but it is across the pond - wartime advice columnist tale - loving it
    7. Oh, and I also loved Eowyn Ivey's To the Bright Edge of the World - told in diaries and pictures and documents - historical Alaska and Pacific Northwest - another book group (the regular one) selection - great discussion

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I must get to THE MAGPIE MURDERS! And the Elly Griffiths. And I think I would LOVE Dear Mrs. Bird. Thanks, Kay!

      Delete
    2. Can't wait to read DEAR MRS. BIRD--I was crazy about the Guernsey Society

      Delete
    3. Kay, I think we may be reading twins. I love your list!

      Delete
  9. Madly taking notes here. So many great suggestions.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I just finished Kristen Lepionka's second novel, WHAT YOU WANT TO SEE, and it more than lives up to the promise of the debut. And I finished up THE UNSEEING (on audio) which I wanted to read because it was nominated for an Edgar - most deservedly so, it turns out. What a fascinating historical with a blend of fact and fiction.

    I will also mention a new YA novel that has the potential to be the next Harry Potter level of fanaticism for both children and adults. CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE by Tomi Adeyemi. Wow, wow, wow. Does for YA literature exactly what Black Panther has done for film - that is open a whole new world of African heritage for the fantasy realm. The first in a trilogy - at least - and the world-building is so impressive you will feel like you have lived in that world forever (not unlike how you first felt when you entered Hogwarts). Tomi is so young, the world is her oyster; and we readers will be feasting for years to come!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ooh, thanks, Kristopher! Looking up the Tomi Adeyemi books!

      Delete
    2. Kristopher...I'm jealous that you have read Kristen Lepionka's 2nd novel already. I'm eagerly awaiting that one.

      Delete
    3. Jay, she doesn't disappoint. I think I prefer this second book even to the excellent debut.

      Delete
  11. Donna Leon's 2018 release, The Temptation of Forgiveness. Wonderful, as are all her books, but I preferred her 2017 book Earthly Remains. Venice, crime, the enigmatic Inspector Brunetti.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Interestingly, I felt the same way. I definitely did like the new one, but maybe the previous one a bit more.....

      Delete
  12. Wow! Such an outpouring of great books! Glad I can finally chime in again, now that my concert season is over. It's been a crazy ride these past few months, and I've missed checking in with the Reds.

    I have been reading, though. Thanks to an interview here on Jungle Red I picked up Keziah Frost's "The Reluctant Fortune Teller," which I loved. It's going on my keeper shelf next to Helen Simonson's delightful "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand." Then I gobbled up Jenn's "Wedding Cake Crumble" as soon as it hit my doorstep on release day. Great fun!

    On the non-fiction side, I just finished "Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit," by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker. It was recommended to me by the young lady I mentor, and I enjoyed it very much. I'm also reading Gregory Berns' "What It's Like to be a Dog," which is more on the neuroscience/brain imaging research he's doing at Emory University. I don't always agree with how he sets up his experiments, but his findings are out there on the frontier of animal cognitive research. Cool stuff!

    I'm sort of between fiction reads right now, with a choice of either Dianna Wynne Jones' "The Pinhoe Egg," or Catie DeSabato's "The Ghost Network." More Charles Todd, Louise Penny, and Alan Bradley await in my TBR pile, so I shouldn't have to wander in the desert too long.

    And, if I may . . . instead of listening to audio books in the car, I've been listening to the in-house bootleg of "At the Movies: the Music of John Williams," which the Dallas Winds recorded a couple of years ago. It's due out in June. If you are of a certain age, this is the soundtrack of your life, and the liner notes are pretty fun. I adore pulling out of the driveway for my morning commute to the theme from "Superman," or coming home at night, opening my gate, and processing up the driveway to "Olympic Fanfare and Theme." Check it out if you're of a mind.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That music sounds right up my alley. I'll have to write the title down, because I'll forget it before it comes out if I don't.

      Delete
    2. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand is one of my keeper books, too! I've lost it twice now to lending it out, so I keep buying another copy. The last one stays here.

      Delete
    3. I didn't risk my own copy. I just bought new copies for all my friends.

      Delete
  13. Oh, the riches in this thread. An embarrassment of riches (and thanks to everyone who included me on the list -- my heart is happy!)

    As for my own TBR shelf, I just finished J.J. Hensley's BOLT ACTION REMEDY and I'm getting ready to read THE NIGHT OF THE FLOOD (which features of one his stories in a fantastic lineup). I just discovered Angela Sanders' caper series set in a retirement home for petty criminals, and I'm starting book two of that: CAT IN A BAG (and if you are sad at the loss of actor/magician/former con man Harry Anderson, you'll love this series). And for a dose of YA spookiness, I'm a third through the Lockheart & Company series, about a group of ghost-banishing adolescents working in a contemporary London under paranormal siege. Like modern day Dickens meets Ghostbusters.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tina, looking up the Lockheart & Company books. Those sound just my cup of tea. For reading when I've finished my Tai Randolf binge, lol. Finished THE DANGEROUS EDGE OF THINGS last night and then started the next one on Kindle because I couldn't wait to get it in paperback. So good!

      Delete
  14. I'm going to get my flashlight, grab a book from the pile, and go back to bed--pull the covers over my head and pretend there's no adult world out there with THINGS WHICH MUST BE DONE. So many great books to read!!

    I finished Elizabeth George's The Punishment She Deserves (come on, Elizabeth, write faster--I have to know what happens next for Barbara Havers), Susan Wittig Albert's Queen Anne's Lace-a sweet frisson of the supernatural included, and am devouring M.L. Longworth's Verlaque & Bonnet Provencal mysteries--like a visit to Aix and environs every time I open the covers of her books.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Wow! Thank you for so many new books for me to borrow from the library! I read a wonderful romance novel by Alyssa Cole. Fans of royalty would love this book. In the mystery genre, I loved the new Maisie Dobbs novel by Jacqueline Winspear. TO DIE BUT ONCE. I just borrowed the storybrook series by Ellery Adams from the library so I can read them before the new book launches on the 24th.

    My current read is THE BEAR AND THE NIGHTINGALE by Katherine Arden. I received the books for Christmas. There is a wonderful young adult series that I just finished by Chris Grabenstein. The Lemoncello Library series was wonderful.

    I also discover new books on Instagram too. The Reese bookclub is reading the Happiness book by Heather Harpham. That is the next book I will read after I finish the two books by Arden. I also plan to read the new Lisa Genova book.

    I loved the WISE agency series by Cathy Ace. They were new to me series when I discovered her books at Malice Domestic.

    There are so many wonderful books.

    Diana

    ReplyDelete
  16. Currently reading an ARC via Netgalley, ISLAND OF THE MAD by Laurie R. King. 16th of 16 in series featuring Mary Russell, student and then wife of Sherlock Holmes. In nonfiction, I'm reading LET GO NOW: Embracing Detachment by Karen Casey. Next up will be the new one by Spencer Kope, WHISPERS OF THE DEAD 2nd of 2 in series featuring Magnus “Steps” Craig, the lead investigator for the FBI’s Special Tracking Unit, who can see a “shine” people leave behind, living on Chuckanut Mountain in northwest Washington.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Rhys, looking forward to you CAN talk about the historical ones you're blurbing. I love and adore historical mysteries.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Last night I finished MACBETH by Jo Nesbo, and is this ever a departure from his usual! Don't miss it. I started the newest Martha Grimes, THE KNOWLEDGE, and work up at three ayem and read again until four. Wow, what a page turner. Last week I finished Catriona's latest, SCOT FREE, good plot and so very funny that you would thing she was in the same room, THE GREAT ALONE, by Kristin Hannah, about the same calibre as THE NIGHTINGALE, not my favorite read of all time, SIX FOUR, by Hideo Yokoyama, which was like no other book I've read since 1Q84. Also, I have COOKING WITH FERNET BRANCA in progress, when I need a break from mayhem. If you aren't familiar with James Hamilton-Paterson, check this out. It is one of the funniest books ever written, and fun-making too, mostly of ghost writers. I've recently read and enjoyed Rhys's newest, THE TUSCAN CHILD, THE WHICH WAY TREE, by Elizabeth Crook, and TANGERINE, by Christine Mangan and the newest Elizabeth George, THE PUNISHMENT SHE DESERVES. Next on my heap is the new Jeffry Deavers and A MURDER OF MAGPIES. Can you see why there's dust under the piano and I haven't seen the iron in a decade?

    It is snowing here on the 19th of April, nothing is in bloom, and I have a ferocious cold, a souvenir of our trip to Pennsylvania a ten days ago. So keep writing my friends, lest I run out of stuff to do.

    And Deb darling, I'm eager to hear what you think of A BRIEF HISTORY OF EVERYONE WHO EVER LIVED.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ann, I will get to it, eventually... So you're liking THE KNOWLEDGE? I wondered if it was good.

      Delete
    2. Richard Jury is one of my book boyfriends. Melrose is no slouch either.

      Delete
    3. The Knowledge was great. I hope we'll eventually see more of the group of characters we met in this book.

      Delete
  19. I am reading Twenty One Days by Anne Perry and had forgotten how much I love her books. I am a big fan of her Charlotte and Thomas Pitt books, and this book is about their now grown son Daniel who is an attorney and has twenty one days before a client is hanged to exonorate him of the brutal murder of his wife. I never finished the Charlotte and Thomas series, so am now going to go back and start where I left off ~

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tell me, Cecilia, I've read the Monk ones and hadn't read the Pitt ones because I thought they'd murk up my love for Monk. Are they separate enough and still lovable, if you know what I mean? My favorite part of the Monk series is the Monk / Hester / Oliver dynamic. Is there something like that in Pitt?

      Thanks!

      Delete
    2. Dark Tide Rising new Monk in October!

      Delete
  20. I'm slowly getting back into reading after some concentration issues. I read a wonderful biography of Thomas Merton, LIVING WITH WISDOM. Now reading Bruce Coffin's first Detective Byron. Thankfully, I finished all my reading for the Agathas next week, so I'm good. After that, it's back to a WWII historical series with Rosie Winter by Kathryn Miller Haines.

    Mary/Liz

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mary, I'm kind of glad I'm not going to Malice next week, because it means I can read the Agatha nominees at my own pace, rather than racing to get through them to vote.

      Delete
    2. I only had a few I really wanted to get to anyway. Voting gave me a kick in the pants to quit line jumping other books!

      Mary/Liz

      Delete
  21. I recently finished TRUE FICTION by Lee Goldberg. A thriller with humor and an intriguing premise that I loved. I'm about to finish A DATE WITH MURDER, the newest Murder, She Wrote tie in novel. As much as I adore the TV series, I've never read one of these books, and I am loving it. Up next is THE ART OF VANISHING by Cynthia Kuhn.

    I listen to audio upon occasion as well, and I've actually been doing quite a bit of that this month. I just finished "J" IS FOR JUDGMENT by Sue Graft, which was excellent as always. Now, I'm about half way through A DARKNESS MORE THAN NIGHT by Michael Connelly, which I am enjoying.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've been listening to Elizabeth Gilbert's THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS on audio, which is really good but the book is so long that I keep getting sidetracked.

      Delete
    2. Mark, that Murder She Wrote book is the one with Jon Land writing the series now right?

      It's on my list to pick up once it hits shelves.

      Delete
    3. Yes, this is the transition book with Jon finishing a book started by Donald Bain.

      Delete
  22. Wow, what a lot of terrific books! Now all we need is time...

    ReplyDelete
  23. I'm winding up Abbi Waxman's Other People's Houses at the moment. Earlier I read Susan Meissner's As Bright as Heaven; Tessa Arlen's Death of an Unsung Hero; Tracee de Hahn's A Well-Timed Murder; Stella Cameron's Whisper the Dead. I have library books staring at me: A Dangerous Crossing by Ausma Zehanat Khan, No One But You by Brenda Novak, In Prior's Wood by G.M. Malliet. When I read those I can finally read Tina Whittle's Necessary Ends and Rhys's Tuscan Child. FINALLY.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I didn't even know Gin Malliet had another book out! That's why conversations like these are so useful.

      Delete
    2. Pat, I read DEATH OF AN UNSUNG HERO, too, and really liked it.

      Delete
  24. What a relief to realize I can access this page whenever for more good reading suggestions.

    Currently I am finishing the Cat-sitters series by the Clements, and Leann Sweeney's "Cats in Trouble series." . I am half-way through the Dangerous Edge of Things (thanks again JRW's + Tina) and have downloaded the series. Ah! what bliss retirement is.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anything by Chris Pavone. Recently discovered the team of Nicci French: fascinating books,

    ReplyDelete
  26. First off, I am back and so happy to be back. I was gone for a week visiting family and friends in my hometown area. Then when packing my car for my trip home, I broke my hand and have been dealing with that. Of course, the breaking of my hand involved a way too heavy bag of books. So appropriate. I'm learning to type with one hand and the index finger of my other. Luckily, I broke my left hand and I'm right-handed. It will be at least 4 weeks in the cast. I can't believe my first broken bone happened at this stage in life. And, I am going to have my bone density checked as a precaution, but I think it was solely due to my carelessness.

    So, I am here and love the topic which I find today. Hallie, I think I must have chimed in with Lucy on We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves. It is one of my favorite books, so powerful. I'd love to know what you think about it. Hank, I read A Talent for Murder and really enjoyed it. Debs, I have The Essex Serpent, but I haven't read it yet. I hope to get to it this summer at the latest.

    Yesterday I made out a list of what books I hoped to read the rest of April and May, and I will share that here. This list was made from my "New Books of 2018" list and my "Reading 2018" list. Yes, I do love lists. Hahaha! The list is a fluid one, as I'm sure it will change, and there is no way I'll get to all of them. (Had to stop for a minute. My arm is itching under my cast.)

    I do want to start my reading list with what I'm reading now. Broken Girls by Simone St. James is my fiction read, and Death in the Air: The True Story of a Serial Killer, the Great London Smog, and the Strangling of a City. The last book is about the killer London fog/smog of 1952 that was responsible foe 12,000 deaths across London. It was featured in an episode of The Crown, and my interest was peaked, leading me to this book published last year. Oh, and I should add that Elly Griffith's/Domenica de Rosa'a new Ruth Galloway, The Dark Angel is fantastic. I've already reviewed it on my blog, and it will be out May 15th. I think I'll include the new books for June I want to read, too. James Ziskin's new Ellie Stone is sitting on my review pile and will be reead and reviewed before its June 5th publication date. And, dear Jenn and Ingrid, I am planning to read books by you both before Bouchercon.


    Reading for April and May 2018

    Broken Girls by Simone St. James
    Sunburn by Laura Lippman
    Woman in the Water by Charles Finch
    The Listener by Robert McCammon
    The Case of the Unsuitable Suitor by Cathy Ace
    Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
    Turning the Tide by Edith Maxwell
    Paper Ghosts by Julia Heaberlin
    Sometimes I Lie by Alice Fenney
    All the Beautiful Lies by Peter Swanson
    If I Die Tonight by Alison Gaylin
    The Wife Between Us
    When Books Went to War by Molly Guptill Manning
    The Legacy: A Thriller (Children’s House) by Yrsa Sigurdardottir
    The Last Equation of Isaac Severy: A Novel in Clues by Nova Jacobs
    Alternate Side by Anna Quindlen
    Under a Pole Star by Stef Penny
    The Wildling Sisters by Eve Chase


    June 2018
    Ellie Stone by James Ziskin (June 5th)
    The Word is Murder: A Novel by Anthony Horowitz (June 5th)
    Island of the Mad by Laurie R. King (June 12th)
    Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier (June 12th)
    Lying in Wait: A Novel by Liz Nugent (June 12th)
    Murder at the Grand Raj Palace (Baby Ganesh Agency Investigation #4) by Vaseem Khan (June 12th)
    Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris (June 19th)
    Salt Lane (Alexandra Cupidi) by William Shaw (June 26th)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kathy, I am so sorry to hear about your hand! What a pain, literally and figuratively! We are all sending you get well quick wishes.

      I've read the Ellie Stone (Jim is one of my JRW guests in June) and it's terrific!

      And I must say, I don't know how you manage to read all these books... sigh.

      Delete
    2. Debs, I won't get through all of them by any means. I'm a slow reader, which is such a handicap. Thanks for the get well wishes. xo

      Delete
    3. OMIGOSH HOW FAST DO YOU READ?!
      Oh. I see. Never mind, LOL....

      Delete
  27. Ladies, this is a great thread of comments. When I have time, I will slowly digest all the suggestions from you and your fans too. I love and adore historical mysteries too and I cannot wait for Ms. Penny's new book in November. In the meantime, I am reading Edward Rutherfurd's book Sarum, may take awhile as it is over 1000 pages. So much wonderful fiction sprinkled in the history of England since before Christ. A stellar author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I’ve read SARUM over and over as well as the rest of his books. A thrill of my life was spending a week in Salisbury. Much of it in the cathedral

      Delete
    2. I keep trying to read SARUM and I never quite make it. Now I'm re-motivated.

      Delete
  28. I also wanted to thank those who mentioned my blog The Reading Room in the post discussing online content foe the Anthony Awards. Although I didn't originally start my blog as a mystery/crime blog, it has turned into pretty much that, as that is what I read and review. I think I turned that corner after my first Bouchercon in 2012, and the Reds had more than a little to do with that. So, thank you for your support, my dear friends. Now, back to catching up on what I missed.

    ReplyDelete
  29. I love all these suggestions! Thanks for chiming in, everyone!

    ReplyDelete
  30. So many books, so little time! I have recently devoured and thoroughly enjoyed Rhys's THE TUSCAN CHILD and Tina Whittle's NECESSARY ENDS. I was pleasantly surprised to see Elly Griffiths on several of your lists -- I was previously unfamiliar with her and just picked up THE ZIG ZAG GIRL. I have barely started it, but am already in love with her writing. How have I missed her until now? In a similar vein, I discovered Sheila Connolly's County Cork Mysteries a few months ago and am four delightful books into it. It is a series you would want to read in order, so I recommend you look up BURIED IN A BOG.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susan, do read Elly Griffith's Ruth Galloway novels! They are super!

      Delete
    2. Susan, I have been a huge fan of Elly Griffiths/Domenica de Rosa for a long time. I met her in 2012 at the Albany Bouchercon, and we became friends. She will be at Bouchercon this year in St. Pete, and I'm hoping to do something to celebrate this, her tenth year for the Ruth Galloway series, one I love so dearly. If you are there, and anybody else here, I hope you will join in celebrating Dom's ten years with Ruth. Debs, I am so happy that you love the Ruth series. We will have some fun in St. Pete!

      Delete
  31. Reading Jack Cady, just finished "The Night We Buried Road Dog" and can not get it out of my head. I talked to another person who likes his writing and they told me his stories just worm into your head and you can not quit thinking about them. Even though I attended the local (in WA State) University where he taught, I only recently discovered his writing. He is defined as a fantasist or horror writer. (He died in 2004.) I also just finished another great yet older book by Carol Shields, the Stone Diaries. (published 1993) And I read the title story from ZZ Packer's short story collection, "Drinking Coffee Elsewhere." The most current title I am reading is "Camino Island" by John Grisham an impulse buy because it was on "super discount" at a local store. For non-fiction I am enjoying Katrina Kenison's "The Gift of an Ordinary Day" and Starr Smith's biography of Jimmy Stewart, "Bomber Pilot". I am enjoying ALL of these books and would highly recommend all of them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What's ROAD DOG about? I need a new author to binge-read. :)

      Delete
  32. Currently, I am reading Grant, by Ron Chernow. It is a large tome given to me by my brother. I have nevertheless borrowed the audiobook on line from the library. I just finished listening to Where All Light Tends to Go, by David Joy. An essay in the New York Times Magazine Section at the beginning of the month about guns, recommended by my other brother, I found was very well written. And so I became curious about the author. I have come to like audiobooks because I can listen while I'm walking (which I do a lot of). I wish I could read all the books you guys seem to get through and also write.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha, David. I wish I got through all these books...

      Delete
  33. This thread makes me crazy! I think I read a lot, and I don't even know most of these books. I remember going to the book room at Bouchercon the year before my first book came out and thinking, "Wow! Look at all these great books." The year after the book came out, I went into the book room and said, "OH NO, look at all these great books!" I've just read TANGERINE (mixed feelings about it), RAGGED LAKE by Ron Corbettt (loved it), and Catriona McPherson's SCOT FREE. Also counting the days until Jim Ziskin's next Ellie Stone book comes out. I read A BEAUTIFUL PLACE TO DIE years ago and it stands as one of the best, ever.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Just finished binge-reading Preston & Child's Pendergast series. Was all set to put my family aside and let the MC, Aloysius Pendergast, settle them with several million dollars and drive me off into the proverbial sunset with his Rolls. Sadly, my family had to keep reminding me he was fictional, but they've been through it all before... I was ready to convince Armand Gamache that I was his true love as well, but I'm still waiting, LOL...

    Anyhow, your lists are clearly handy.

    I've moved from fictional crime to true crime, and have been enjoying John Douglas & Mark Olshaker's MINDHUNTER & JOURNEY INTO DARKNESS - I know MWA invited Douglas once, I'd love to hear him speak. Anyway, they really informed my writing, and I'm onto their next book, OBSESSION.

    Meanwhile, I'm also reading THE CHILD, by Fiona Barton. Meh. It's good, a rapid read, but... Meh.

    So, I'm leaving the best for last. I've read this series a thousand times, and I just can't ever make book recommendations, especially crime recommendations, without including it. Alex Grecian's Yard series. (He also JUST put out, the same day as Comey's book, poor him, LOL, a new book which I didn't enjoy as much but is still good). So the Yard series is about a group of London homicide cops at the beginning of Scotland Yard. The Ripper is out there, VERY well done and VERY different than I've read him before. The main crimes are NOT the Ripper, he's sort of this floating terror that braids into and out of the plot. So. Alex Grecian, first one is THE YARD, but the best in the series is probably either HARVEST MAN or DEVIL'S WORKSHOP.

    Fantastic stuff.

    And, of course, it's April 20 and it's snowing. SNOWING! Sigh...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alex Grecian Dark House is coming this fall.

      Delete
  35. Is anyone else doing the Goodreads Reading Challenge? I started last year and found that it actually helped me find decent books to read.

    ReplyDelete