Saturday, September 24, 2022

It's Time For a What We're Reading Check-in!

DEBORAH CROMBIE: It's been awhile since we've checked in on our favorite things–books!--and I have a surfeit of riches to share! Here's just a glimpse.



I started the month with Robert Galbraith's (aka JK Rowling) massive (1000 pages!) new Cormoran Strike novel, THE INK BLACK HEART. I love this series, and have them all in hardcover, but because of the length I bought it on Kindle. This did not turn out to be the best idea–as you can see, I ended up buying the hardcover, too. Sections of the book consist of two or three simultaneous online chats, and it was hard to follow in the digital format. On the plus side, I really enjoyed the book and once I had the hardcover I went back and worked my way through parts of the plot again, just to make sure I'd followed it all.


Then I dived into the new Ann Cleeves Vera novel, THE RISING TIDE, which I'd ordered from the UK, and it was as good as you would expect. I won't say anymore because, spoilers. Now I've started the new Richard Osman, THE BULLET THAT MISSED, which I'd been looking forward to for ages.


Waiting for me I have Laurie King's BACK TO THE GARDEN, Blair Fell's THE SIGN FOR HOME, an ARC of Francine Mathew's new Merry Folger Nantucket mystery, DEATH ON A WINTER STROLL, Ruby Tandoh's essays, EAT UP (fans of The Great British Baker will remember her as a finalist a few years ago,) and an ARC of Margaret Mizushima's new Timber Creek mystery, STANDING DEAD.


And as soon as I get to London, I'm buying the new Elly Griffiths Harbinder Kaur novel, BLEEDING HEART YARD, and Alan Rickman's diaries, MADLY, DEEPLY. I adored Rickman so this read will be bittersweet.



Now all I need is more time to read! What's on your have read/coming up list, fellow REDs?


LUCY BURDETTE: I just finished THE LAST DRESS FROM PARIS by Jade Beer. If you love reading about high fashion and Paris and a thwarted love story, this is for you! I also loved the new Ann Cleeves. I was looking at it this morning and thinking how sad I was that I’d have to wait another year for the next one! Very much enjoyed Kent Krueger’s newest Cork O’Connor book. Ditto on having to wait! And I am super excited about Ann Mah’s new book coming out Tuesday, JACQUELINE IN PARIS. You’ll hear more about that one next week…


HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: I adored BACK TO THE GARDEN! Not to be missed! And STANDING DEAD  is on the way. But you all,  I have also been absolutely blown away by three other books, too,  books recently. I mean, they are intimidatingly good. One is  MORE THAN YOU’LL EVER N-KNOW  by Katie Gutierrez. And WRONG PLACE WRONG TIME by Gillian McAllister. And ALL THAT IS MINE I CARRY WITH ME by William Landay. Reds and readers, these are the books of the year.  Truly. Life-changing, writing-changing –and explosively, rule-breakingly great. 


HALLIE EPHRON: I’m in the middle of BONES UNDER THE ICE, a debut novel from Mary Ann Miller, with a rookie female sheriff in Indiana.

And slowly reading THE LAST CONFESSIONS OF SYLVIA P. by Lee Kravetz. I met Lee when I was at Book Passage’s mystery writing conference - he’s one of their local writers and the book is a knockout–a “literary mystery.” The eponymous “Sylvia P.” is of course poet Sylvia Plath. So far the story is set at the McLean psychiatric hospital where she spent a lot of time as a patient, and which was the setting for my “Dr. Peter Zak” series mystery novels.


JENN McKINLAY: LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY by Bonnie Garmus is my fave book of 2022…so far. I even mentioned this book in our upcoming convo about characters. I also recently read NOSY PARKER by Lesley Crew and adored it - a coming of age story set in the late sixties Montreal. Wickedly funny. And I am currently reading an ARC of  Annabel Monaghan’s SAME TIME NEXT SUMMER and absolutely loving it!

 

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I wish I could show you a stack of books, but I'm at a conference and everything I brought with me to read is virtual - and also not yet out! I'm loving SONS AND BROTHERS by Kim Hays, the next Linder and Donatelli mystery set in Bern, Switzerland. (Kim has been a guest here, so you may recognize her name.) Next up: UNDER A VEILED MOON, the second in Karen Odden's new Inspector Corravan series, set in 1870s London. It's not out until October, but you can read the first in the series, DOWN A DARK RIVER, right now. 

 

About to check out from the library: LUCY BY THE SEA, by Maine's own Elizabeth Strout. I'm not even sure what it's about; I read her based on her reputation alone. I've never been disappointed in one of her books.


DEBS: I've been really looking forward to the Ann Mah book, too, and I'm so intrigued by all the other suggestions. So interesting where we overlap and where we don't, and I love that these suggestions push me in new directions!


READERS, what's standing out for you at the moment? And what are you especially looking forward to?



76 comments:

  1. ::sigh:: So many books waiting in my to-be-read pile . . . .

    I especially enjoyed the new In Death book, “Desperation in Death” by J.D. Robb . . . “What She Found” by Robert Dugoni . . . “Red Queen” by Juan Gomez-Jurado . . . “The Things We Do to Our Friends” by Heather Darwent . . . “You Will Know Vengeance” by W.A. Pepper . . . “Distant Thunder” by Stuart Woods . . . “Dead and Gondola” by Anne Claire . . . .

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    1. One of these days I'm going to read the In Death books!

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  2. Great suggestions! I read all the way through Land of 10,000 Thrills, the Bouchercon anthoology - highly recommend for a wide range of great short stories set in the Minnesota area (mine, "Forlorn Lake," was inspired by my decades of listening to Prairie Home Companion).

    I'm halfway through Lucy's A Dish to Die For and loving it. I have Back to the Garden on top of the stack, which also includes:
    Danger on the Atlantic by Erica Ruth Neubauer
    The Disinvited Guest by Carol Goodman
    Murder at Mallowan Hall by Colleen Cambridge

    And, since I was lucky enough to see Nina Totenberg interviewed in person this week by a fabulous young NHPR reporter, Hannah McCarthy, I have Dinners with Ruth. Can't wait!

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    1. thanks Edith! I will be interested in the Nina Totenberg too!

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    2. Yes, I'm interested in the Nina Totenberg book, too.

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    3. I'm looking forward to Nina Totenberg's book too.. I just saw an article criticizing her for not letting the world know that RBG was very sick. I disagree with that analysis. I don't think we could have headed off the disaster that came after her death.

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  3. I'm working my way through the Ink Black Heart, too, and going back and forth between the library's book and a Kindle edition. I imagine it will take me all month but I do love this series.

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    1. Glad to find someone else who loves this series. I never mind that they're long, or feel that they are unnecessarily padded. I found the premise of this one so interesting, too.

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    2. I adore the series, too. I've got the hardback sitting next to my bed and am about to start listening to the audio which just came up on my library queue. I understand the distress some feel about some of her public comments, but I HATE how there has been so little mention of this new release.

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  4. I brought back 23 books from Minneapolis Bouchercon so my TBR mountains continue to grow. From that pile, I am most looking for to reading GOING TO BEAUTIFUL by Anthony Bidulka (Saskatchewan author), DEVIL'S CHEW TOY by Rob Osler (a Quozy, a queer cozy), KILL ALL YOUR DARLINGS by David Bell. Also PLEASE JOIN US by Catherine McKenzie, a book I won while watching First Chapter Fun.

    The book I enjoyed reading the most in September is DISAPPEARED by Bonnar Spring. Two middle-aged American sisters take a dream trip to Morocco when one vanishes. The other sister makes a treacherous trip to remote Morocco to find her. Secrets, betrayal and a nail-biting escape from prison and soldiers.

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    1. Grace, I love Catherine McKenzie, I’ll have to get this one
      Danielle

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    2. 23 books, Grace!! You must be the record holder!

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    3. DEBS: Nah, 23 books from Bouchercon is an average haul (for me). My FB memory showed I brought back 43 books from the 2016 NOLA Bouchercon.

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  5. What was I thinking?! I am reading, at the same time, two doorstop (600+ pages) books—one, a novel and the other, an analysis of our most recent administration. The novel is Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark, a wonderful examination of friendship over the decades: the protagonists are more than 80 years old—smart, observant, complex. The other is The Divider by Peter Baker and Susan Glasser. Their sharp reporting and clear writing bring alive the story of the 2020 election and its consequences. Both books are riveting.

    For a change of pace, I dove into the shorter and funnier novel, The Boys by Katie Hafner. Not a mystery, exactly, but what a plot twist! I didn’t see it coming and laughed out loud when it did.

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  6. I love Martin Walker's books about Bruno, Chief of Police, set in the Dordogne region of France and recently read his two latest: BRUNO'S CHALLENGE, a book of vignettes and short stories, and TO KILL A TROUBADOUR, which has everything from how to cook a wild boar in a fire pit to hired assassins, Spanish nationalists, drones, and factoids about the old Occitan language. And basset hounds, Balzac and his son Robert the Bruce.

    Also: THE DROWNING SEA by Sarah Stewart Taylor, THE WEDDING PLOT by Paula Munier, and THE LOCKED ROOM by Elly Griffiths. Next up: Daniel Silva's latest Gabriel Allon thriller.

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    1. Me too on the Taylor and Munier books. So little time!

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    2. Margaret, I love Martin Walker's books, and had To Kill a Troubadour pre-ordered. I've also read The Drowning Sea, The Wedding Plot, and The Locked Room. We are definitely on the same reading page.

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    3. The Bruno books have me ready to buy a retirement home in the Dordogne.
      Lisa in Long Beach

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  7. I've read The Fragrance of Death by Leslie Karst, A Vacation to Die For by Lynn Cahoon, Seasoned with Murder by Catherine Bruns, and A Streetcar Named Murder by T.G. Herren (comes out in December).

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  8. I've gotten so many reading suggestions from this blog; there's not time for all of them! I'm currently finishing A ROYAL AFFAIR by Allison Montclair. What a delightful romp. I read PACHINKO by Min Jin Lee for book group--excellent sweeping novel. Last month's book group choice was THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER by Octavia Butler. Wonderful, but too close to today's reality. I'm through the first 4 Maisie Dobbs books and the first 5 Cork O'Connor books, with holds placed for next in series. I enjoyed Lucy's first Key West food critic book and will have the second one when my sis comes back from the beach. Next up, Hallie's YOU'LL NEVER KNOW DEAR and Blair Fell's THE SIGN FOR HOME.

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    1. Gillian B: Loved how the detectives knew something that most people did not know and used that knowledge to solve a mystery in A ROYAL AFFAIR.

      Abd I LOVE Maisie Dobbs! I reread all of the books every year while waiting for the new book in the series. I am going to reread the first book in the series beginning in November in par with the Rememberance Day and Veterans Day and Armistice Day.

      Diana

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    2. I LOVE the Allison Montclair books! And I was so fascinated by the premise of The Sign For Home that I had to buy it. I get in so much trouble on this blog!

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    3. I of course forgot the book we are reading for Spanish class--about half way through now: Como agua para chocolate. Crazy, magical, sad and funny. I love talking about it each week with my amigas.

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  9. Oh my, where to start.

    Just finished OHIO by Stephen Markley. It’s was a three buck bargain on Bookbub, and I can’t believe I missed it first time around. Check it out please. It’s sort of a literary mystery will a big wallop of an ending

    I’ve gone from that to the newst Thursday Murder Club, which doesn’t disappoint. Next in line is the new Elizabeth Strout, Lucy by the Sea. And then Less is Lost by Andre Sear Greer, that follows his excellent book, LESS.

    But maybe best of the best is The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell. Remember HAMNET? This one is about Lucrezia de Medici. Yes, that family. It’s as splendid as HAMNET was. If you can read just one book this year — other than the ones by the Reds natch — make it this one

    And yesterday’s news hit hard. How can there be a life with no more books by Hilary Mantel?
    I think I will begin by rereading WOLF HALL and then work my way thru the trilogy.
    RIP Hilary

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    1. I too was sad to hear about Hilary Mantel's passing. I loved the trilogy. It totally changed my view of Thomas Cromwell. I have also read a couple of her other novels. We lost a great writer.

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    2. I was so sad to hear this, too. I've been reading lots of great things about The Marriage Portrait.

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    3. There are two really good pieces on Hilary Mantel in today's New York Times.

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    4. Ann, thanks for the reminder about OHIO. I've had it on my TBR list I had kind of forgotten why.

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  10. What fun! I will come back and read all of your suggestions later. (It's almost Rosh Hashana and Irwin just injured his knee again so he will be no help at all picking up last minute stuff.)
    What a fun month I've had. My reading choices have been so delightful.

    - Dianne Freeman's A Lady's Guide to Etiquette and Murder and the next 3 books in that series. Yep. Just a joy!
    - Camilla Trinchieri's Tuscan Mysteries, A Bitter Taste of Murder. Not as playful but still fairly light with very good characters.
    - Allison Montclair's Sparks and Bainbridge series, The Right Sort of Man (book#1) and also A Royal Affair (book #2). The repartee exactly like a Cary Grant movie from that time, teasing and smart. Wonderful characters!
    - Susan Mallery's The Friendship List. Good.
    Best of all this month, I listened to Evie Dunmore's trilogy (so far, another book coming), League of Extraordinary Women. The narrator is superb! Beyond expectations wonderful! The stories about the fight for women's rights in late 19th Century England comes to life as each character plays out a role that illustrates the unfairness of laws and societal restraints. I listened to each one and may revisit them this winter. I cannot recommend them highly enough. Seriously, go to Audible and sample!
    Next up, Craig Johnson's The Cold Dish, Longmire book #1. Then William Kent Kruger's Iron Lake, also book #1, two series on my radar for a long time.


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    1. JUDY: You're in for a treat reading both Johnson and Krueger's books. I have to pick up my library hold for the latest Cork O'Connor book (FOX CREEK) this weekend.

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    2. FOX CREEK is all that you want it to be. And maybe more!

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    3. Judy, thanks so much for the Audible suggestions. I will check those out today.

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    4. Deb, I hope you love them! Grace, I am eager to jump into these series. But I have books on my shelf that I should read first. So many books...

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    5. Judy, I love Camilla Trinchiere's series. I got to interview her for Murder by the Book and she is an utter delight in person. I love her descriptions of Italy and FOOD.

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    6. Ah, Terry, she does have lots of food in her books. Makes you want to head to your favorite Italian restaurant! And the wine!

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  11. So many good books, so little time in the day!

    Jenn, I agree with you about Lessons in Chemistry! One of the best, most original, books I've read in a long time. I think Hank recommended The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid some time ago. Also a good read. I just finished Susanna Calkins's first in her Speakeasy series, Murder Knocks Twice. Can't wait to read the next.

    Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala won the Anthony for Best First, and it's very good, and about a culture I know little about, Filipino-Americans. There are intriguing recipes, too. A really quirky recent read was Palm Beach Finland, a murder mystery by Antti Tuomainen. Too crazy to pass, along with another madcap tale, The Accidental Further Adventures of the 100-Year old Man by Jonas Jonasson.

    I've been slowly working my way through the Ruth Galloway series by Elly Griffiths, as well as her Max Mephisto Brighton books. Not looking directly in the eye of Harbinder Kaur yet!

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    1. KAREN: I was so happy that Mia won both the Macavity and Anthony awards for best first mystery novel at the Minneapolis Bouchercon. I read her second book, HOMICIDE AND HALO-HALO this summer, and it's also a good read.

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    2. Loved the Accidental Further Adventures of the 100-year-old Man by Jonas Jonasson. Did you read THE GIRL WHO SAVED THE KING OF SWEDEN by the same writier? Loved that book too.

      Diana

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    3. No, Diana, I didn't, but will look for it. There is also a first book of the 100-Year Old Man. I didn't realize it until I was nearly finished with the Further Adventures.

      Grace, I look forward to more from her. Love the characters, so much.

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    4. Karen, the Harbinder Kaur books are terrific, and different.

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    5. Karen and Jenn, I loved Lessons in Chemistry. It is definitely one of my favorite books this year. I am listening to the Magic Men books and am in the middle of Now You See Them. Fantastic narrator here, too, James Langton.

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    6. Judy, she switched to a female narrator in the latest book. Her reasons were understandable, but no one should have replaced James Langton!

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    7. Karen, you are the winner of Michael Stanley's A DEADLY COVENANT! Email me with your address!

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  12. Shalom Reds and readers –
    ----------I am not sure how you guys get so much reading and writing done. I am a slow reader and these days, much of my reading is of audio books. This year, I completed my hardcover collection of the James/Kincaid canon. I decided to listen again to the series, starting with book 5, and working sequentially through novels. So far, I have found the audiobooks that I didn’t already have, were available from the Hoopla, a local free library cohort. The plots still were fresh to me, although I was able to better follow who was who among the characters.
    ----------In addition, I was able, this year, to make my way through THE WARMTH OF OTHER SUNS and THE 1619 PROJECT; both as audiobooks. In addition to Hoopla and Libby (another library app), I have found Chirp is a great resource for heavily discounted audiobooks. Although I have purchased some titles on Audible, mostly I find it too rich for my blood. On Chirp, I was able to buy MIRACLE AND WONDER, not a traditional book, but more like a series of interviews with Paul Simon. I was so entranced by it, that I purchased it as a gift to each of my two brothers.
    ----------Right now, I am almost at the end of Kristin Hannah’s THE FOUR WINDS, which I am reading for a local October book club. The club is local and connected to a program of our local YMCA.
    ----------On your recommendation, I purchased a copy of TROUBLED BLOOD by Robert Galbraith. It sits very impressively on a set of bookshelves that is in our foyer. It’s been a long time since I’ve read anything that impressive in size, but having missed the whole 25 years of Harry Potter, I guess, I should see what the fuss is about.
    ----------I have a Kindle edition of KILLING OF INNOCENTS on preorder, but I will probably buy the other formats when February rolls around. My TBR list on Goodreads and the copies of books yet to be read on my bookshelves and in my e-book and audiobook personal library is just insane. I should just start writing a will and bequeathing my library to my relations in the event of my death.

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    1. David, so glad you've enjoyed the Duncan and Gemma audio books. You might want to start the Galbraith books from the beginning, if you can find inexpensive copies in some format. While the mysteries are good, the series is very much about the character development, and about the relationship between Robin and Strike.

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  13. I just finished Ruth Ware's The It Girl, the first of her books I've read. I just loved it. Captivating.

    I'm #221 on the library loan list for Richard Osman's latest, but meanwhile, I've got book 5 of the Cormoran Strike books, to finish reading before I start on Ink Black Heart. So many books...

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  14. I am most looking forward to reading the new Ann Cleeves and the latest Louise Penny, which I think comes out in November. In any case, I have preordered it. Although even preordering Jenn's Fairy Tales Cupcake cookbook didn't help since I still don't have it and have no idea when it will show up. It will just be sweeter with the wait.

    I am now reading the sequel to Midnight Chicken, which was recommended here. It is called The Year of Miracles and some names from the first book have been changed. Both books are by Ella Risbridger.

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    1. I loved The Year of Miracles. She is a poet and I could just wallow in her writing. I have bought tickets (which include books) for my daughter and I to see Louise at an event in Dallas in November. So excited to see her!

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  15. So many good books read lately! They include: The Sweet Spot (ARC) by Amy Poeppel - love all of her books; Love on the Brain, another terrific STEM rom-com by Ali Hazelwood' Trish Esden's A Wealth of Deception (ARC) - second in a great new mystery series - The Art of the Decoy is the first; The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway (ARC) by AShley Schumacher - a YA book that I liked so much I just got one of the author's earlier books at the library; Nothing But the Truth by Holly James; The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston; Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult; The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie by Rachel Linden; Santa's Little Yelpers (ARC) by David Rosenfelt - how does he keep turning out such fun books; Out of the Clear Blue Sky by Kristan Higgins; The Matchmaker's Gift by Lynda Cohen Loigman; Iona Iverson's Rules of Commuting by Claire Pooley. The Ink Black Heart and Deanna Raybourn's Killers of a Certain Age are waiting for me at the library. I'm also looking forward to Richard Osman's The Bullet That Missed and Stephen King's Fairy Tale, along with Anthony Horowitz's The Twist of a Knife. I'm just finishing Pamela Terry's terrific When The Moon Turns Blue (ARC) and getting ready to start All That is Mine I Carry With Me (ARC) by William Landay.

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  16. Wow! So many good books from all of the Jungle Reds and the comments above!

    Just finished THE SWEET REMNANTS OF SUMMER by Alexander McCall Smith. The four stories about ? revenge ? though I forgot the exact title. I ordered that book from the Edinburgh Book Festival. And I am currently reading the new Ladies No.! Detective agency novel THE SONG OF COMFORTABLE CHAIRS (if I recall the correct title).

    And currently reading an ARC of Ellen Byron's new Vintage Cookbook mystery set in New Orleans. Loving this book so far!

    And my post about the upcoming cozy mystery by Ellery Adams just appeared this week. I set up the date for the publication. The novel will be launched next week ?

    I am posting the link to my book review:

    https://wonderwomanbookrevew.wordpress.com/2022/09/23/351/

    Diana

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  17. I’m slowly reading The Rising Tide, making it last. Just finished A Dinner To Die For. Since it’s banned books week I had to reread a lot of those. A library here in Michigan was on a news story about banned books and the librarians were wearing shirts I’m with the banned on them. I have preorders in for Louise Penny, Elly Griffiths, Deborah Crombie and others. And a lot of holds from the library, because that’s where I get most of my books.

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    1. I thought I would reread A Wrinkle in Time this week, to mark Banned Books Week, but didn't get to it.

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    2. Wait. A WRINKLE IN TIME is banned somewhere for some reason?! Our book group just read MERCURY PICTURES PRESENTS, which I loved, and IN LIFE WE ARE BRIEFLY GORGEOUS - I think that’s the right title - which is beautiful, poetic, and heartbreaking but also sexually graphic. I will search out Francine Matthew’s new mystery - I have really enjoyed that series. (Susan C Shea)

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    3. Susan, Francine's book is out in November and she'll be guesting on JRW. And, yes, A Wrinkle in Time has been banned many times over the years. Here's an interesting link: https://bannedbooks.library.cmu.edu/madeleine-lengle-a-wrinkle-in-time-draft/

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  18. Last October I sat down and reviewed my book buying habits. I was startled when I realized how much money I was spending on books per month, between print books and books for my Kindle. I decided not to buy any more books for the rest of the year, and to just get caught up on my mile high TBR pile. Then I decided to extend it on a monthly basis in the new year. I’ve purchased only one book, the latest Key West mystery, and everything else I’ve read is something I already owned or borrowed from the library, or received as a gift. I gratefully accept all gifts of books, even though I’m running out of space for them! I’m not even going to begin to list all the books that I am either currently reading or have just read. I’m reading a little bit more slowly these days, ever since my brother’s sudden death last fall. I just haven’t been able to get my concentration back. And more recently I lost my brother-in-law, also suddenly, and that has slowed me down again. I will definitely not run out of anything to read any time soon. These days I’m mostly rereading old favorites because I need comfort reading.

    Books by the JRW authors, and by friends of JRW, especially Edith Maxwell, are always on my TBR pile! Or my “just finished reading” pile!

    DebRo

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  19. I was intrigued by Craig Johnson's Hell and Back. I'm reviewing it today at Writers Who Kill and I'm still torn about the book itself. Well written, of course, and I'm a huge fan of the series, but I think the book may have benefited from a different narrator. I'm currently reading Lori Robbins Murder in First Position and Debra Bokur's The Fire Thief. Both are intriguing.

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  20. One of my favorite posts! I've read A Song of Comfortable Chairs by Alexander McCall Smith, Fox Creek by WKKrueger--always looking for additional series with strong characters and sense of place like his books. Also read Frances Mayes' latest A Place in the World, Finding the Meaning of Home. Started and will come back to An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us by Ed Yong. A reviewer said of this book "steeped in science but suffused with magic" and I agree.

    I also read Georgia O'Keeffe, A Life by Roxana Robinson. Extremely well-writen, the writing just kept me riveted. I picked up this book because I had just finished Light on Bone, a new mystery by Kathryn Lasky, who is known for her YA books. The protaganist of the story is Georgia O'Keeffe. I wasn't sure how I felt about the author's portrayal of the artist, so I read the biography to give myself a sense of the artist as a person. I would read a second mystery, if Lasky writes another, to see where she goes with this.

    Next up is Murder on the Vine, the latest Camilla Trinchieri mystery, and The Bullet That Missed. Waiting anxiously for A Killing of Innocents and A World of Curiosities--and Madly, Deeply--that cover is a killer--Alan Rickman! I'll be looking for Down A Dark River and taking notes on other suggestions here, as usual! Thanks, everyone!

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    1. Forgot to say, Flora as Anonymous, thanks, Blogger....

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    2. Flora, yes, that cover. Apparently he kept diaries throughout his career, and always meant them to be published. I am going to check out the Ed Yong book, it sounds fascinating.

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  21. I feel like an idiot. I have never read Alex Segura, and I picked up Silent City and Bouchercon. plunged into it and it's all it's cracked up to be.

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  22. I love sharing what we're all reading, although I don't need to add any more books to my list to finish by the end of the year. The first book I want to talk about is one that was recommended to me, a book not on any of my list, and a book that completely gobsmacked me. The Lioness by Chris Bohjalian is such a powerful book, easily one of my favorites of 2022 and of all my reading. Set in 1964, one of Hollywood's major stars, her new husband, and seven of her friends take a photo safari in Tanzania, the Serengeti. What could go wrong? Well, everything. It is somewhat graphic, but Bohjalian stops before gory. The trip of a lifetime becomes the nightmare of a lifetime.

    Other recent reads that I enjoyed are No Deal by J.D. Allen, Dark Night by Paige Shelton (I had to catch up in her Alaska Wild series so I can now read #4, Winter's End), and A Killing in Costumes by Zac Bissonnette (I won a hardback of this novel here on Jungle Reds). I'm currently reading Terry Shames' 9th Samuel Craddock book, Murder at the Jubilee Rally, out Oct. 4th.

    My "next reads" list is as spectacular as a list gets. I have several ARCs that I am finding hard to resist as I try to catch up on September books. Elly Griffiths' Bleeding Heart Yard, Louise Penny's A World of Curiosities, and Sara Driscoll's 7th FBI K-9 book, Still Waters. And, then there is the crush of September releases I'm trying to catch up with. They include Back to the Garden by Laurie R. King; Murder by the Book, edited by Martin Edwards; Marple, Twelve New Mysteries by Agatha Christie; Forsaken Country by Allen Eskens; The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman; Mother Daughter Traitor Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal; Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson; and Suspect by Scott Turow. I am waiting for some of these books to be delivered. I'm especially wondering about Laurie's book, as I ordered it from The Poisoned Pen, as it is signed, but it sill isn't here. Will call on Monday.

    And, the ones I desperately want to get to on my back list include The Many Daughters of Afong May by Jamie Ford, Hokuloa Road by Elizabeth Hand, The Bird Cage by Eve Chase, The Dark by Sharon Bolton, and A Harmless Lie by Sara Blaedel. Of course, there is Martin Edwards' tome A Life of Crime (700+ pages of the history of crime/mystery fiction) I am trying to look at from time to time.

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    1. Kathy, you are a trooper! What a list!!! That Atkinson sounds fabulous. Maybe I will add that to my "buy in London" list. I like to get the UK editions of British authors when I can.

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    2. Debs, I like to get the UK editions, too. I envy you being in London soon to go to the actual bookstores. I sometimes order through Book Depository and sometimes from Goldsboro Books. Sometimes, I'm lucky to have an author send me a copy.

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  23. Julia, you've made my day! I'm so happy you're enjoying my new book. Debs, I am also a huge Cormoran Strike fan, and I have bought INK BLACK HEART to listen to while I'm walking (that will be a lot of walking, won't it?), as soon as I finish listening to Laurie R. King's BACK TO THE GARDEN, which I'm loving. Many of you, dear Readers and Reds, have mentioned authors I love, including Martin Walker, Allen Eskins, and William Kent Kruger. So glad to hear recommendations of ARSENIC AND ADOBO--it's on my Books-to-Buy list. What I have just finished reading is a series of six books, none of them new and all of them outstanding, by Adrian McKinty, the SEAN DUFFY series (first one is called THE COLD COLD GROUND). They're set in Belfast at the height of the Troubles, but don't let that put you off. The hero is a policeman, a terrific character, and all the books are full of black humor. Oh, yes, and BLOOMSBURY GIRLS, by Natalie Jenner, was wonderful. Natalie is an author whom I first "met" on this blog, and I just finished her second book!

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    1. Kim, can't wait to read your new book! I'll be interested to see how the simultaneous online chats in THE INK BLACK HEART work in the audio version. I've read all the Sean Duffys, so good. And I'm so glad you loved Bloomsbury Girls!

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  24. I am here very late, but I know I sometimes pop into these posts much later to check out the books listed, so I'm still posting. I have to say, I don't remember the last time I added this many books to my TBR based on a "What We're Reading" post.

    Several that I have read recently or plan to in the near future have already been mentioned here. (I have to add that while I'm currently a book behind, I do love the Cormoran Strike series too!) A couple recent hits with me that I don't think have been mentioned include THE WOMAN IN THE LIBRARY by Sulari Gentill, PUNCH, PASTRIES AND POISON, the latest in Harper Lin's delightful Cape Bay Cafe series, NOTHING TO SEE HERE by Kevin Wilson, and THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME by Laura Dave.

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  25. I recently finished the last of Caimh McDonnell’s Dublin Triology. Not mysteries, just so much fun. Anyone who loved A Conspiracy of Dunces should appreciate Caimh McDonnell.
    Have to say I am struggling, listening to The Ink Black Heart, due to the Twitter/chat room side by side conversations. It just does not lend itself to a listening experience I love this series so I’ll go ahead and order a hard copy.
    I’m nearing the end of The Rising Tide. Ann Cleeves never disappoints. On deck Is The Bullet That Missed, but without Leslie Manville, sad to say. Her performances have added so much to the Audible versions of the series. Craig Johnson’s Hell And Back should be another good one. And Kate Atkinson’s Shrines of Gaiety comes out next week. It’s a good month!

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  26. With Mystery Scene magazine coming to an end after its next issue, I'm busy trying to read the two (out of 3) books that have shown up for me to review for said final issue. The first book is William Christie's THE DOUBLE AGENT. It's the sequel to A SINGLE SPY which was published 5 years ago and I reviewed it for Mystery Scene back then. That was the first book a pull quote of mine was ever used for blurb purposes.

    The other book is John Sandford's RIGHTEOUS PREY. At this point, I'm not sure I'm going to get the third book in time for the review deadline.

    I'm looking forward to reading these following books that I've picked up (two came from the library):

    MURDER IS NO PICNIC by Amy Pershing
    THE NEIGHBORHOOD by Matthew Betley
    LONG GONE by Joanna Schaffhausen
    FIELDS OF FIRE by Ryan Steck (aka The Real Book Spy)
    PORTRAIT OF AN UNKNOWN WOMAN by Daniel Silva
    FIRESTORM by Taylor Moore
    GONE FOR GOUDA by Korina Moss.

    Oh, and I'm looking forward to reading the LAND OF 10,000 THRILLS anthology from this year's Bouchercon which has an Edith Maxwell (and yes, I know there are other authors too) story in it.

    I'm still trying to get around to writing Goodreads reviews for 4 books that I've read but just haven't had the time to do the reviews yet. It's annoying the crap out of me, to say the least.

    Oh and I stopped by the library's used book sale today and got four books. Two I will read, one I've read through the library and now I have my own copy and one that is more of a keepsake kind of acquisition.

    Thank goodness I don't have kids, a wife or a life, right?

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    1. Oh, and I forgot to include Julia Henry's THE PLOT THICKETS as one I'm reading. And in good book news, the local library will be reviving the mystery book club next month. I'm co-chairing the club and the first book we're reading is Rhys Bowen's HER ROYAL SPYNESS!

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    2. Cool about the revival, Jay, and thanks for the shoutout about Land of 10000 Thrills.

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