Monday, February 10, 2020

What We're Reading


LUCY BURDETTE: I only took three books with me on my two-week vacation--a scary-low number, right? But I knew we’d be busy, and we only took carryon luggage so my space and weight was limited. Lest you think I’d lost my marbles, I did have my ipad loaded to the gills with back-up books just in case. My first read was CRY THE BELOVED COUNTRY by Alan Paton, which you may remember reading in high school--a heartbreaking story about an African pastor trying to rescue his son and sister from a life of crime in race-riven Johannesburg, which is at the time a white man’s world. Paton wrote this in long hand in 1947, and shortly after it was published by Scribner, and became an international bestseller. It has been described as the greatest novel to come out of the South African tragedy, I found it distressing but haunting and lovely--a good introduction to what we’d see in that country. (Also if you’re interested in this difficult subject, read Trevor Noah’s BORN A CRIME. Or better still, listen to him narrate his story.)


 Book number two was HARBOUR STREET by Ann Cleeves, the 6th Vera Stanhope investigation. I’ve been doling these out so I don’t have a big wait before a new one arrives--next fall I think. She’s simply an amazing wordsmith, aside from drawing characters so clearly and developing intricate plots. I always enjoy her books--and having this one with me in a foreign country was like traveling with an old friend. And the third book which I finished on the way home was HOW TO WALK AWAY by Katherine Center. She’s immensely popular in the field of women’s fiction and with good reason--her characters face disruptive life events and enormous disappointments but manage to emerge having made the best of them. Or at least grown from them...


Now I’ve started Juliet Blackwell’s THE VINEYARDS OF CHAMPAGNE, and after that Jenn’s BURIED TO THE BRIM is waiting. How about you, Reds?


HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Why is this such a hard question? It always makes my brain fry. 


I just finished Joe FInder’s HOUSE ON FIRE. I always admire his fast-paced linear story-telling ,which I can NEVER do, but my special reason for devouring this one came from a funny story. He and I were at dinner recently--a few months ago--and I asked him: “What’s your new book about?” And he said “I’ll tell you, but you tell me about ours first, “ Okay,”  I said, “I have to figure out how to talk about it, and it’s not really ABOUT this, but the main character is a daughter of a Sackler-like family who decides to blow the whistle on the big pharma company. What’s yours?
And Joe paused ,and said:  “The main character is a daughter of a Sackler-like family who decides to blow the whistle on the big pharma company.”
I am not kidding.  And then we just stared at each other. 
So I went crazy, because yikes. (And his book came out Monday, and mine not til August.) But it is so fascinating, because now that I’ve read it, it’s a master class in how EXACTLY the same description can be used for two ENTIRELY DIFFERENT books. (and whew.)


I also read the amazing Jennifer Hillier’s new LITTLE SECRETS. (She wrote the super creepy Jar of Hearts.)  She is such a brilliant writer, and such a master of suspense. I loved it. AND I’m very envious of her talent.


And next up is an advance copy of WAITING FOR THE NIGHT SONG by Julie Carrick Dalton,  is a thriller about a climate change scientist who’s searching for a certain insect she thinks is precursor of  massive wild fires. So far, so fabulous.


HALLIE EPHRON: I’m reading Paula Munier’s BLIND SEARCH and loving it. Great dogs-and-people book. Amazing weather. A page turner.


We were just on a 2-plus week vacation so I stopped at my library book sale to get some paperbacks I could read and leave behind. I grabbed an ancient paperback copy of Dorothy Sayers STRONG POISON and I’m here to tell you, it does not hold up. Not at all. It begins with a judge going on for about 40 pages summarizing, for the jury, what happened during testimony at a murder trial -- Harriet Vane is on trial for the murder of her ex-boyfriend. So boring. And when Lord Peter and Harriet are finally on the page together, talking in her a jail cell, it’s like Rosalind Russell dialogue from His Girl Friday. Quip. Parry. Quip. So dated. And I *loved* Dorothy Sayers. Sigh. 


Fortunately I also picked up a copy of C. J. Box’s Joe Pickett novels. Terrific. And I’m getting ready to read Carol Goodman’s THE SEA OF LOST GIRLS with great anticipation.


DEBORAH CROMBIE: Hallie, I loved Blind Search, and A Borrowing of Bones, a couple of my favorite reads last year. And that’s very interesting about Dorothy Sayers. A  year or so ago I tried to reread Gaudy Night and found I just...couldn’t. It seemed overwritten and snarkily mean. Maybe I was just not in the right frame of mind, but it was disappointing. I loved Dorothy Sayers, too.


On the upside, I’ve just finished reading Ruth Reichl’s Save Me the Plums, which I’d started last year but got sidetracked, and I loved it. I’ve got her novel, Delicious, on Kindle. Has anybody read it? I’m also reading Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo, which was the co-winner of the Booker Prize last year. The language and characters are fabulous, but I’m not sure yet if there is actually a plot. I’ve started Jenn’s Buried to the Brim--such fun! And I’ve been reading my way through Barry Maitland’s Brock and Kolla detective novels, but I’m a bit burned out on them. Time for a break before the last couple to date in the series. 


LUCY: I read everything Ruth Reichl writes--loved SAVE ME THE PLUMS as well as DELICIOUS! Hope both she and Ann Mah come out with new novels soon...


JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Well, I’ve started a new series based on the fact I also liked Paula Munier’s A BORROWING OF BONES and BLIND SEARCH. I’m reading THE DARKEST THREAD by Jen Blood. She’s a Maine author I met at a library event (she and the fabulous Bruce Coffin read) and I was intrigued. It’s about a single mom whose business is both training dogs for law enforcement and rescue and working search-and-rescue herself. So far, so good. 


Right after the holidays, I read Stephen King’s THE INSTITUTE which is wonderful and creepy and so well-written. I tore through it the first time and then went back to see what he had done, because the book has an almost perfect four-act structure, and the novel I’m working on is a four-act as well. Best way to learn is by watching a master do it.


Then of course, I have my science-fiction read: GIDEON THE NINTH by Tamsyn Muir, which I picked up a couple months ago and finally got around to. It’s SO good, y’all. If you like SF/Fantasy, run, don’t walk to the bookseller and grab this before its sequel, HARROW THE NINTH comes out. It’s so unique and Muir’s prose is like a molotov cocktail thrown through an original edition of Frankenstein.


JENN McKINLAY: Oh, Julia, I loved GIDEON THE NINTH! It was recommended by my friend Kevin Hearne, fantasy author, and it did not disappoint - so original. I loved it! Currently, I just finished REAL MEN KNIT by Kwana Jackson. It was fabulous. A romcom set against the backdrop of friends and family trying to save the Harlem knitting shop when the owner, grandma to the neighborhood, passes away. Right now, I’m tucking into Dean James’s CARELESS WHISKERS, because any mystery set in a library is a-okay with me but his are particularly wonderful.

Your turn Reds--what are you reading?

78 comments:

  1. I just finished . . . and loved . . . THE KEY LIME CRIME . . . .
    Like Hank, I read Joseph Finder’s HOUSE ON FIRE. And J.D. Robb’s GOLDEN IN DEATH, the fiftieth in the In Death series. Also on my just-finished list: Lee Goldberg’s LOST HILLS, Mitch Silver’s THE APOLLO DECEPTION, and Alex Lake’s SEVEN DAYS.
    Now I’m finishing Amy K. Green’s THE PRIZED GIRL; next is Liz Moore’s LONG BRIGHT RIVER . . . .

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    1. Oh, Joan, I think I need to talk to Lucy/Roberta. And, I've been wondering about Long Bright River. Please let us know what you think.

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    2. Thanks so much Joan! Kathy, THE KEY LIME CRIME is on Netgalley now, but the paper copies aren't available yet.

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  2. I am between books. (I'll wait for the gasps to subside.) I finished HERE COMES THE BODY by Maria DiRico about an hour and a half ago. I've been on my computer, so I haven't started my next book, but I plan to get at least a chapter into MURDER MAKES SCENTS by Christin Brecher tonight.

    Among my recent reads is MICROPHONES AND MURDER by Erin Huss. It comes out on Tuesday, and it was absolutely fantastic.

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    1. Yes, I did gasp, Mark. As much as you read, I can't ever imagine you being between books.

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    2. LOL Kathy, he probably had to put a load of laundry in before he started a new one!

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    3. Mark, I just requested HERE COMES THE BODY by Maria DiRico from my library.

      Diana

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  3. Oooh, I have read some terrific books lately. We have had snow and/or rain every day since forever and that gives me all The excuse I need to read. All day. Every day.

    And I have just, minutes ago finished The Last of the Moon Girls by Barbara Davis (ARC). Excellent! Magical.
    Golden in Death by J. D. Robb - I ADORE this series.
    Blood and Brume by Maki Morris - wonderful debut novel.
    A Private Cathedral by James Lee Burke (ARC) - The man is a master. Who can write such tough stuff so poetically?!
    Crooked River by Preston & Child - satisfying weird.
    Buried to the Brim by Jenn McKinlay Hats and Corgis! What's not to love!!
    On Ocean Boulevard by Mary Alice Monroe (ARC) - perfect!
    The Boy From the Woods by Harlan Cohen (ARC) - how does he keep coming up with these wonderful stories?! (I want to be his character Hester).
    The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles (ARC) a must read, truly.
    The Vineyards of Champagne by Juliet Blackwell - beautiful. Compelling. Heartbreaking. Uplifting.
    And chiming in as a big Ruth Reichl fan.
    Nite, all.
    Xoxo
    Kaye

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    1. Kaye, how could I forget to include Maki Morris' debut, Blood and Brume. I have it sitting here on the table beside my chair. I'm so excited for her and can't wait to read it.

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    2. Wow, that's a big list Kaye! I'm in the middle of THE VINEYARDS. Will have to look at the Paris Library

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    3. Kaye, thank you for the recommendations! So many of us are reading or will read Buried to the Brim!

      Diana

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  4. Oh, I love the What We're Reading Posts. I'm reading Lori Rader-Day's The Lucky One, which is due out on Feb. 18th, and it is, like everything Lori writes, captivating. I've done so back reading lately, too, books from 2019 I'd meant to get to but hadn't. Those include Allen Esken's Nothing More Dangerous, Alex Michaelides' The Silent Patient, Haylen Beck's Lost You, Connie Berry's A Dream of Death, and Jojo Moyes' The Giver of Stars. All of those books were such great reads, with Nothing More Dangerous and The Giver of Stars being my favorites. Nothing More Dangerous is an amazing coming-of-age, dealing with racism story in 1976, and I think it's a must-read for anyone wanting to expand their library on the insidious presence of racism anywhere and at any time in history, present included. The Giver of Stars is about the pack-horse librarians in Kentucky in the 1930s, something I've always found a fascinating subject, but it's also about women's rights or lack of them and the importance of reading and the powerful taking advantage of the poor. I also read Jim Ziskin's new Ellie Stone book, Turn to Stone, and I loved it. It takes place in Italy this time, and Jim's knowledge of Italy and the language are evident.

    Now, after I read and review Lori's book, I'm hoping to start Rhys' Above the Bay of Angels. I've downloaded Jenn's first Hat Shop mystery onto my Kindle, too, and I'll be fitting it in soon. I need to reread Elly Griffiths' first Ruth Galloway book, Crossing Places, as I will be leading a discussion of it on the Laurie King Virtual Book Club on Goodreads in March. I usually get Elly's/Dom's ARC for her Ruth Galloway, but my U.S. person hasn't sent me the copy of The Lantern Men, due out in U.S. in June, but it's out in the UK and I'm waiting for my UK order from Goldsboro Books so I can go ahead and read it. I will read Susan Elia MacNeal's The King's Justice, Maggie Hope #9, before it comes out on Feb. 25th, so I can review it by the publication date. And, just as soon as I get through with my February reading, I am grabbing Julia's Hid From Our Eyes, finding a place where no one will bother me, and reading this treat I've been saving. I get so excited thinking about reading Hid From Our Eyes that I'm not sure I can stick to my February schedule.

    Here's what else is on my list for the near future:
    The Seas of Lost Girls by Carol Goodman
    The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James (Feb. 18th)
    Watching from the Dark by Gytha Lodge (Feb. 6th, UK)
    The Holdout by Graham Moore (Feb. 18th)
    As Bright as Heaven by Susan Meissner
    Mortmain Hall by Martin Edwards (April 2nd)
    Rules for Being Dead by Kim Powers (May)
    Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier
    Unspeakable Things by Jess Loury
    Beginnings: A Kate Martinelli Novel by Laurie R. King
    The Bodies in the Library by Mary Wingate

    Happy Reading to everyone!

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    1. Unspeakable Things is stunning, Kathy.

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    2. Kathy, I say this as someone how considers herself a voracious reader - have you fit in any time to sleep, eat, and go to the bathroom between all those books?

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    3. Kathy I am very interested in your comments about Giver of Stars. I too was fascinated by the librarians on horseback background and was looking forward to reading Moyes book (there is another on same topic and I have ordered it) but I disliked Stars so much I didn't finish it! I think the problem was the focus on the viewpoint characters personal problems - read like a romance to me -and that she seemed to shallow a character to me. Does that make sense? (I'm not sure it does!) Or maybe just not the right book for me at that moment? that happens

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    4. Julia, these are the books I choose from and try to get to, but I don't get to them all. Unfortunately, I am a slow reader. Triss, I'm not sure what to say. I enjoyed the personal stories because it showed that women from different situations were involved in the program. I didn't think it read like a romance at all, even though there was some romantic parts to it. I felt like it was more about the womens' struggles in a place where the rule of man was absolute, and it showed how important reading was, not only for pleasure but to educate the poor who worked for the mines. The mine owners had great power over the illiterate, but when the workers could read, it became more difficult to control them. Because I am from Kentucky and familiar with some of the problems in a mining area, I thought the portrayal was authentic and meaningful. I guess not every book is for every person.

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  5. I’ve been hitting my library books pile. The Secret, Book, and Scone Society by Ellery Adams. Hushed in Death by Stephen Kelly. Now You See Them by Elly Griffiths. City of Scoundrels by Victoria Thompson. I think The Hollows by Jess Montgomery is up next.

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    1. Pat, I love the Stephens and Mephisto series by Elly Griffiths, too, and I thought Now You See Them was excellent. I have The Hollows by Jess Montgomery in my TBR pile, too.

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  6. Oh, Julia, if you like the law enforcement working dogs, I have another series for you that I love. It's the FBI K-9s series by Sara Driscoll (Sara Driscoll is Jen J. Danna and Ann Vanderlaan). It features the handlers and their dogs from the FBI’s elite Human Scent Evidence Team, part of the Forensic Canine Unit. There are four books out in the series thus far, and I have enjoyed each one. Here's a link to Jen's page on them, and I've reviewed each one. https://jenjdanna.com/fbi-k-9s

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    1. Thank you, Kathy! Maybe not having my own dog right now is increasing my desire to read about fictional good boys!

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  7. I just finished J. D. Robb's "Golden in Death," and really enjoyed it. Now I'm about a third of the way into Charles Todd's "A Divided Loyalty," the new Ian Rutledge novel. Good stuff. On the non-fiction side, I'm reading "Hidden Figures," and trust me, there's a lot more to the story than you saw in the movie. Very inspiring.

    Also, if you like science fiction and SAR/Police Dog stories, I recommend Jan S. Gephardt's "What's Bred in the Bone." It's the first in a series that's sort of "police dogs in space," except it goes much deeper into issues of canine cognition and political expediency. It's a lot of fun. I've read it twice now, and find Rana Station--the space station where the story is set--a fascinating world to live in. It's obvious the author did a lot of research on animal intelligence and sustainable habitats to create this world. And, yes, full disclosure, Jan S. Gephardt is my sister.

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    1. Gigi, I love this! Talk about a great log line was a way to encapsulate the series: "Police dogs in space" says, "Pick me up right now, this is the science fiction/mystery mash up you never knew you wanted."

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  8. I just finished V.M. Burns's The Plot is Murder and loved it. Now I have a new series to binge read. Did my taxes yesterday so I wanted something light to cleanse the palate after slogging through the detritus of 2019 and I began Kathi Daley's Blizzard in the Bay. I love her books, they are reliable, fast, reads and just the thing for a day of tax work.

    Hallie, thank you for the heads up on Dorothy Sayers. I have the entire Lord Peter series in paperback that I bought in the 1970s and I was considering re-reading. Saved me the pain and I still have the comfort of my memories.

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    1. I envy you being finished with your taxes--you deserve to read!

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    2. Thanks, Lucy/Roberta. I did forget to mention that Cry the Beloved Country was one of my favorite books. I read it in high school and it was an eye opener. I haven't thought of it in years, but I think I should pick it up again.

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  9. I've had some ups and downs recently. Call me an alarmist, but is there a sudden dearth of copyeditors out there? I'm increasingly finding small elementary usage errors (and some big ones) in my reading, and it's irritating enough to close the book. If I can't trust the writer to get that part of things right, which is fairly straightforward, what else can't I trust them with?

    Anyway,,, I'm pretty much still in love with Dorothy Sayers. Recently re-read Murder Must Advertise and found it to be thoroughly entertaining, even though I already knew exactly what will happen next. Other reading... did not love D.E. White's Remember Me (one kept asking oneself what the cop was *thinking*, and plus it seems a little over the top to include "An absolutely gripping psychological thriller with a brilliant twist" IN THE TITLE...

    But I did also read Doug Burgess' Fogland Point and loved loved loved every moment of it. Quirky characters, a creepy setting, family secrets, a trans protagonist dealing with coming home, and oh, a couple of deaths... it has all the right ingredients. Add in a poltergeist who does housework (I want one of those!) and you have a super read!

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    1. Jeannette, I don't know about fiction so much, but I know that a major academic publisher relies on out-sourced copy editors--and the company behind those copy editors recently out-sourced much of the work to their India office. Because it's cheaper. Unfortunately, non-native English speakers tend to introduce even more errors. And I have noticed those same kind of fundamental errors in much of the fiction I've been reading lately.

      And I'm still a fan of Dorothy Sayers--they are period pieces--like Margery Allingham's mysteries. Plus I also read Fogland Point last year. Did not see the ending coming!

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  10. I've recently finished Archer Mayor's Bomber's Moon (Xmas present that I liked), Lawrence Block's The Burglar Who Thought He Was Bogart (Mystery Book Club selection that was at best "OK") and Lee Goldberg's Lost Hills (borrowed from library on Saturday afternoon, finished just before midnight Saturday and LOVED IT!)

    I'm currently working on an advance copy of Maddie Day's Murder at the Taffy Shop!

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    1. Argh. I love Archer Mayor, but he's one of the authors whose series I am so far behind on. What is it with these writers who keep producing a book a year, year in and year out?

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    2. I got behind behind 2 or 3 books at one point but I caught back up. Now, his books become "Read ASAP after I get them".

      I got into reading him after my dad (who was a huge fan) died without reading the last book to come out before he passed. I had bought him the book and was not letting the book out of the house until someone read it. Turned out to be me and I loved it and have been reading him since.

      He came to my local library a few years back so I got to meet him and had a book signed. I've exchanged a couple of messages with him on Facebook and I have shelf in the living room dedicated to his books.

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    3. And I hope you're loving it, Jay!

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  11. A bunch of great recommendations. And you all remind me I have Paula's second book on my kindle and must get to it. Right now I'm in a two-book binge of Ann Parker's latest two Inez Stannert mysteries, set around 1880 and moved from Colorado to San Francisco. I love this series and realized I was behind. Maria DiRico (Ellen Byron's) book is on order for end Feb release.

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  12. Plus, it's totally off-topic here, but I have a feeling Timur Vermes' The Hungry and the Fat is going to be the book of the year. if it's not, it should be.

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    1. Jeannette, it's not at ALL of-topic to recommend a book here! I hadn't even heard of The Hungry and the Fat but the review in The Guardian makes it sound like a must-read for lovers of satire (like me!)

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  13. I love Gaudy Night and re-read it once a year during my annual head cold.
    Safely out of puppy reach: Steve Goble's A Bottle of Rum, a Spider John Mystery
    Shattered Justice, Susan Furlong
    Val McDermid, How the Dead Speak
    Paula Munier, Blind Search

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  14. I haven’t had my first cup of tea yet and I already have so many books to add to my list— I do love hearing what others are reading!

    Like a few others, just finished Paula Munier’s Blind Search and enjoyed it. Right before that I binged on Margaret Mizushima Timber Creek K9 series.

    I also read the ARC of Emily St. John Mandel’s upcoming book, The Glass Hotel. Very different from Station Eleven but I loved it.

    Next up is Golden in Death (I also love this series!) and a book my nephew gave me: Supervilliany and Other Poor Career Choices by J.R. Grey, which is a great title. I’m also thinking about rereading Olive Kitteridge before I start Olive, Again.

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    1. Cindy, I was super impressed by Station Eleven - especially the way she combined several difference genres (post-apocolyptic, coming of age, science fiction) with such a deft, literary voice. I'm very interested in seeing her take on crime fiction, which is what The Glass Hotel is being described as.

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    2. The Glass Hotel is crime fiction and coming of age in a literary voice!

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  15. I always love the What We're Reading posts and comments! I come back to these when I need to freshen my TBR list.

    I just finished Elizabeth Gilbert's "City of Girls" -- didn't love it, didn't hate it. Didn't really warm to the protagonist until about 3/4 of the way through the book. Not sure I would have stuck it out that long if it wasn't my book club's selection. Also just this morning -- like, 15 minutes ago -- finished Jenn's "Copy Cap Murder." I don't remember how I wandered off without finishing the existing volumes of the Hat Shop Mysteries, but somehow I did and it was a delight to be back at them.

    Next up for me are Sally Andrew's "The Satanic Mechanic," which is a sequel to her terrific "Recipes for Love and Murder," "Time's Convert" by Deborah Harkness, and "The Peach Keeper" by Sarah Addison Allen.

    Those selections represent an intentional effort to shake up my routine a little. I would be interested in a great non-fiction book to read, too. I'm not naturally drawn to them so I have to force myself, but often end up really enjoying a good essay or memoir or biography. Recommendations welcome and encouraged!

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    1. Susan, I've read : The Real Lolita by Sarah Weinman and loved it.

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    2. Inheritance by Dani Shapiro is a fascinating memoir and I also loved Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb—About the process of psychotherapy written by a therapist

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    3. Loved the Inheritance book by Dani Shapiro.

      Diana

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  16. Just finished Dana Stabenow's No Fixed Line and am about to start The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys. The latter is a YA novel set in Spain during the 1950s, when Franco was in power. And for something a little lighter after, Arlene McFarlane's Murder, Curlers, & Kegs is waiting on my kindle. As always--great suggestions to be gathered up from today's topic! Thanks, y'all!

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    1. I just read No Fixed Line, too! One of my favorite series.

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  17. I feel so behind on my reading, but I've been, um, very busy (book releases tomorrow, getting a book ready to submit, writing a new book).

    I have been picking up all of Julia's books on sale leading up to the release of the new one and they are on my iPad Kindle app, taunting me.

    I recently finished Rhy's THE VICTORY GARDEN and it was wonderful. I've started reading Gabriel Valjean's DIRTY OLD TOWN, deliciously noir voice. And I started Gregg Hurwitz's new Orphan X book, INTO THE FIRE, last night because I needed something and my iPad was charging.

    I read Trevor Noah's book last summer, my boy had it from his summer reading. Such a wonderful book, humorous, but very thought-provoking. A reviewer somewhere described it as a love letter to his mother and she is certainly a powerful figure throughout the story.

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    1. Liz, I've downloaded Julia's books every month too but I read them as soon as downloaded. I love them, they are so compelling. I've just finished Once a Soldier in two days.

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    2. Thank you, Liz and Danielle! I love it when people buy my books, and the frugal New Englander in me is even happier when they get them discounted.

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    3. Julia, it's one of those things where I've intended to buy them for a while and the discount removes any excuse. :)

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  18. Love this topic! I recently read and loved both of Paula Munier's books and can't wait for the next one. I'm also working my way through the Gemma and Kincaid books, each one better than the last but I won't read them back to back; I want time in between to think about what they might do next. After reading and early William Kent Krueger and enjoying it so much I plan to start from the beginning and read them all. I had read a few before but I think I'll like them better starting from scratch. Also working on the Ann Cleeves books.
    What a marvelous time we live in with so many wonderful books to read and share! Something I am very grateful for.

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  19. Reading This Tender Land right now by William Kent Krueger and enjoying it. Waiting in the wings to read is November Road by Lou Berney and Love Songs from a Shallow Grave by Colin Cotterill. Noticed that people are commenting on reading The Hollows. I finished it a little while ago and the character seem to leap off the page. So good!

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    1. Lynn, I need to get my hands on This Tender Land. I love everything Kent Krueger writes, but Ordinary Grace was SUCH an extraordinary boo (no pun) and I understand This Tender Land is a sort-of-sequel.

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    2. I have cancer book on my nightstand. And I read November Road after Bouchercon—excellent book though a little dark

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  20. I must live under a rock because 90% of these authors mentioned are brand new to me. In my defeense I don't stick to just mysteries. Just finished "Without Her" by Roaslind Brackenbury who spoke at the Key West library last week. In addition to relating to much of it, her writing was elegant, reminding me of Amor Towles in "Rules of Civility", one of only three books I've read a second time.

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  21. I have to agree with Debs that I now find Dorothy Sayers hard to take but still Agatha Christie is my comfort read. I’ve been reading ARCs of yet to be published books, hAving become the queen of blurbs. Cara Black’s Three Days in Paris is brilliant

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  22. This is my favorite topic, too. I'm always interested in what others are reading and what they like and don't like. Not like Dorothy Sayers? Hard to imagine. I've read all her books but one, GAUDY NIGHT. I've started it several times and put it down. different strokes and all that.

    Presently I'm engrossed in Isabel Allende's newest offering, A LONG PETAL OF THE SEA. It is splendid. What more can I say?

    In January I've read:
    MR. NOBODY, Catherine Steadman G
    TURN TO STONE, Jim Ziskin E
    UNSPEAKABLE THINGS, Jess Lourey, E
    LAND OF THE BLIND, Jess Walter VG
    LONDON'S GLORY, THE VICTORIA VANISHES, and BRYANT AND MAY ON THE LOOSE, Christopher Fowler, VG
    HI FIVE, Joe Ide, VG
    LITTLE FACE, Sophie Hannah, VG
    THE POISON GARDEN, Alex Marwood What can I say except I was very disappointed?

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    1. Ann, I've just recently started seeing Joe Ide everywhere, and I want to get started reading him. LA isn't usually a setting I'm interested in, but I've heard his books are fantastic.

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    2. His books are indescribable. Read them in order. His venue is Long Beach. I lived there for ten years. And I had patients in the ‘hood. So all the areas he mentions are familiar to me. I was sure he was African American but he’s not. Japanese. Raised in the area he writes about. So he gets it right imho

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    3. Ann, I got MR. NOBODY for my birthday in January and I hope to read the book sometime this year. I have so many unread books on my shelves!

      Diana

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  23. One more book I'm reading: A BEAUTIFUL CRIME by Christopher Bollen. It's a literary thriller about a pair of grifters in Venice. Dark. Beautifully written. *Literary* and for me a timely reminder of the good things about that label.

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    1. Hallie, thanks for the recommendation. That is a new to me author and I will look for this novel at my library.

      Diana

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  24. Always a fav for me. What am I reading? Well tonight the Portland Stage is presenting Crime Writers of Maine. Of course we're going. It can take me some time to get with the program, but I did. Of course I need to read these authors. Yes, I can't count the number of times I have read and reread Julia's great series. Right now I'm reading them backwards order, not from the back of the book! So I've been reading Paul Dorien ever since I discovered Maine Crime Writers, as well as Gerry Boyle. However there were two new ones; Brenda Buchanan and Richard Cass. Don't you love Kindle, and I'm sure Jeff Bezos loves us. Both stories are set in different time periods from the present. I read the last of Brenda's books, Quick Pivot. I really enjoyed the story but I did get the villain early on, not by clues but instinctively, I won't say more and spoil it. I'm powering through Richard's first Elder Darrow mystery. Hope to finish it by the start of the program tonight. Question - what's the answer to not getting an signed Kindle copy.
    As for what else, I just reread Amor Towle's, A Gentleman in Moscow, and enjoyed it as much as first time around.im also half through John LeCarre's latest but have put it aside. I find I must be in a certain mood to read it as with Ian Rankin's Westwind which he started in the '80's, didn't sell. He has given it another go over and here it is. So if your first or early books don't get an audience, try, try again - later. I am sad that there is a feeling that Sayers is out of date. I must own up to loving her books which I first read when I was 15. Still rereading, and reading along with Allingham etc. Ruth Reichl, what a writer, though I didn't love Delicious as much as I love her memoirs. JD Robb Death series. I find there is one story in each, along with fashion, sex and violence not to mention redemption repeat. I would take it to the beach. Oh happy reading everyone. Those of us in NE and neighbors have plenty of excuses to read, read, read. Don't let the seed catalogues get in the way.

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    1. Don't you just adore A Gentleman in Moscow?! One of the very best books ever. I had to chime in on J. D. Robb. Having come late to this series and binge-reading a large chunk all at once, I think the character Eve as written by J. D. Robb/Nora Roberts could serve as a master class for character development for writers. Her growth happens slowly and could possibly go unnoticed if a person read book #1 and then picked up book #50, but the growth is there and exceptionally well done.

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    2. Yes, yes, on Gentleman in Moscow. I cant' quite figure out what made it so good, except that it is not like anything else, but I enjoyed every page.

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  25. I had knee surgery last week and I had such plans for all the things I was going to read and watch while I was recuperating. Well, so far I've read half of Jenn's Buried to the Brim, and that is it. Best laid plans and all that... But I must say that Jenn's London, corgis, and hats makes for great recovery reading!!

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    1. Deborah, wishing you a speedy recovery from your knee surgery. I pre-ordered Jenn's Buried to the Brim from the poisoned pen bookstore.

      Diana

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  26. Many wonderful books for me to add to my reading list, Jungle Reds!

    Right now I am doing a buddy read of Leaving Everything Most Loved Behind by Jacqueline Winspear. I am participating in several book clubs this month. For Reese's Book Club, I am reading The Scent Keeper by Erica Bautigamer (sp?) . For the Nancy Drew Book Club, we are reading The Secret of the Old Clock.

    Planning to do another buddy read of a gifted book. A friend and I both received Advanced Copies of Fast Girls by Elise Hooper. We love reading Historical Fiction.

    Hoping to finish In the Midst of Winter by Isabel Allende before Spring.

    Hoping to finish Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte in February. I try to read at least one Classics novel each month.

    Rhys, I am first in line for your new Angels book at the library. And Jenn, I pre-ordered your book and am looking forward to reading it.

    Lucy, when does your new Hayley Snow novel launch?

    Diana

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  27. p.s. Lucy, when I travel by plane, I bring old favorite books or current favorites that I know are NOT on bestseller lists, meaning these books will not be sold at the airport shops.

    Diana

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  28. I was on a a panel at Bouchercon with Tracy Clark, which inspired me to read her books. I started with the current one, Borrowed Time, and will certainly go back to the first in the series and wait for the next.
    Cassie Raines is a PI, former cop, trying to make a career and support herself in Chicago. She tells her own story, and she is a smart, funny, loyal, impulsive narrator. You’d like her for a friend and I liked her for a story teller.
    Great secondary characters, an unusual crime, and all in all, very recommended.

    I’m a little way Into Dreamland, by Nancy Bilyeau, which is about - wait for it! - Coney Island when it was a posh resort. Seriously. With elegant hotels where wealthy families spent a summer vacation. Turn of the last century New York.
    Loving it.

    Also waiting on my bedside table calling my name is, ahem, Rhys Bowens Love and Death Among the Cheetahs. Lady Georgie never fails to entertain, bless her
    Strong Poison does not hold up? Oh, dear. Havent' read it in a long time. Have re-read Gaudy Night and Busman's Honeymoon, though. Dated of course, but I enjoy them anyway. A picutre of their time, and intelligent and witty IMHO. There's a lovely cameo appearance by Peter in Regiment of Women by Laurie R. King.

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  29. A couple of my recent reads have already been mentioned, Paula Munier's Blind Search and J.D.Robb's GOlden in Death. I also read When You See Me by Lisa Gardner and No Fixed Line by Dana Stabenow. My reading goals for the year are to get caught up on Louise Penny's books (finished The Long Way Home yesterday) and read Elly Griffith's Ruth Galloway series (two down, many more to go) and Jenn's hat shop series (read the first one, as I have to start at the beginning of a series). On the nonfiction side, I'm halfway through A Very Stable Genius by two Washington Post reporters. I can only read a chapter or so at a time since, well, it makes me sad and I'll leave the politics out of this.

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  30. Julia, thank you so much for highlight Paula Munier's books ("me but with dogs"), loved them and can't wait for the next one!

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  31. I'm a bit late to the party today, but because I am reading Reds, I need to tell everyone. And before I forget, thank you all for your great suggestions. I haven't read Sy Fy in a long time, so I'll save that for later this year. Reds first.

    In January I read 5 Her Royal Spyness books and am beginning Heirs and Graces. So happy, so happy, so happy! I'll probably read all of these again.
    Also read To Darkness and to Death, All Mortal Flesh and I Shall Not Want. Thanks Julia for creating such compelling characters and super stories. (BTW, did you say you haven't written sex scenes? I beg to differ with you. Whew!) Just about to begin reading One Was A Soldier.
    I also read Michael Connelly's Two Kinds of Truth and have two of his books out of the library, The Late Show and Void Moon. I've been reading through the Bosch and Lincoln Lawyer books steadily since last year.
    Also in January, I read Peter Robinson's A Necessary End. That is another series I began to read last year.) The next book in that series, The Hanging Valley is also sitting here.
    James Ziskin's Turn to Stone is going on a little weekend trip with me very soon. I love the character Ellie Stone.
    Ian Rankin's first book, Knots and Crosses is in the pile. I need to read and return it to the library, but I've been putting it off in favor of reading Reds!
    Let me not forget, Roberta/Lucy, in January, I read books 4, 5 and 6 of the Key West Mysteries. Death on the Menu is waiting for me to pick it up tomorrow.
    February reading is on track, and January was a terrific month, especially my mid-month trip to Florida. I brought 4 books for a 5 day visit, and read 3 of them. Airports, airplanes, yep, I'm not bored!
    So, sending love to all of you Reds. Deborah, my very first Jungle Red author, feel wonderful soon!

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  32. Wow! There were three comments when I briefly scan this before dragging myself to bed. When I dropped in before going work I think there was about 30 and now at 6pm California time, there are 74 comments. I think we all like to read and share our discoveries with others. I'm currently reading Vicki Delany's Sherlock series. My TBR pile is dangerously high, I've had to put myself on a moratorium for a month or so. I even avoided the warehouse sale of the local indy store, which is extremely difficult. Next on my pile is The Deadly Feast and The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister. Okay, keeping it short because I want to read what you all are reading. Bye!

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  33. Before I had even finished reading Lucy's intro, I ordered Born a Crime on Audible (but first I'll finish Ask Again, yes by Mary Beth Keane. My hold-in-my-hands read now is Deborah Crombie's A Bitter Feast. Deborah signed it for me at Bouchercon, and I am in such deft hands as I bask in the Cotswold story. (My husband and I are hiking the Cotswold Way in May, so Deborah is paving the way.) Thanks all for your recommendations. sarajohnsonauthor.com

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  34. I’m in Key West for a month and brought a stockpile of ARCs with me to work through. So far I’ve finished Black Ascot, Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk, Women in Sunlight and am currently reading The Binding by Bridget Collins. Plus Rhys’s new release is waiting on my Kindle!

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