What we're reading, the MTS edition

pdichellis

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Sadly, here’s a post about MTS books I didn’t read, but maybe should have.

The Wall St. Journal’s mystery books columnist just announced his top ten books of 2013. The list is a good mix of international, U.S., historical, you name it. (For more info, see the Google search words below.)

Presented alphabetically by author, the columnist's choices were:

(Drum roll goes here.)

Holy Orders by Benjamin Black
Seven for a Secret, Lyndsay Faye
The Dinosaur Feather, S.J. Gazan
Kinsey and Me, Sue Grafton
The Rage, Gene Kerrigan
Gods and Beasts, Denise Mina
Evil and the Mask, Fuminori Nakamura
Under Tower Peak, Bart Paul
The Colini Case, Ferdinand von Schirach
Enigma of China, Qiu Xiaolong

For a free link to the article, Google: wall st journal best mysteries 2013

Best wishes,
Peter DiChellis
 

vagough

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Thanks, Peter. You're not alone -- I haven't read a single one of these, either, but they're going on the 2014 reading list (for getting at the library, that is).
 

gdossetto

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Have to second the excellent Maltese Falcon. Read that and Chandler's The Big Sleep consecutively. Thought Hammett was much better.
 

heyjude

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I've read a bunch of stuff that was decent, but I just finished and really loved The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty. It's not MTS, per se, but there's plenty of suspense. Great book.
 

Helix

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I've just finished reading The Honey Guide by Richard Crompton (set in Nairobi with a Maasai detective) and the first of the Callan books, A Magnum for Schneider by James Mitchell.

Am currently reading John Safran's true crime book Murder in Mississippi.

Am about to start My Island Homicide (Catherine Titasey), which is set on Thursday Island in the Torres Strait.
 

Maxx B

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I just finished Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs. Overall I liked it, but I did find myself shouting at the MC for being stupid on occasions. Most often when dealing with moments of suspense when as an intelligent woman, she acted like a hollywood cliche damsel in distress. Her inability to phone 911 annoyed me the most :)

I've also just finished The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter. A slow starter, which if it wasn't written by Pratchett I might have dumped around chapter four. It did pick up slowly and left the story right in the middle of the action. Book two in the series, The Long War, is now waiting for me in the Library.

I've just started, You Deserve Nothing by Alexander Maksik. The writing style is good but I feel I've guessed the MCs downfall / conflict already. If it is what I think it might be, I doubt I'll bother with it despite his simple but effective descriptions.
 

vagough

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Just started reading The Poet, by Michael Connelly, and am about 15% along. Pretty good so far!

Finished The Realm of Last Chances last week (different genre) and am still mulling it over.

I'm trying to keep my books read/in progress posted on Goodreads, as much for myself as for others. Anyone else on GR?
 

heyjude

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I've just finished reading The Honey Guide by Richard Crompton (set in Nairobi with a Maasai detective) and the first of the Callan books, A Magnum for Schneider by James Mitchell.

Am currently reading John Safran's true crime book Murder in Mississippi.

Am about to start My Island Homicide (Catherine Titasey), which is set on Thursday Island in the Torres Strait.

Gah! You can't just tell us you're reading them! How are they? I'd be fascinated by a book set in Nairobi. Is it any good?

Anyone else on GR?

:hi: I don't really do much but add books and occasionally make fun of my mom's reading taste...
 

Helix

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Gah! You can't just tell us you're reading them! How are they? I'd be fascinated by a book set in Nairobi. Is it any good?

It is. The plot is a bit more convoluted than necessary, I think, given the richness of the setting. The story occurs during the time of the Kenyan elections with all sorts of political shenanigans and exploitation of cultural and social friction between Maasai, Luo and Kikuyu people going on in the background.

The Callan book is dated, of course (it was written in the late 60s) but that doesn't detract from the story. I believe it's based on the original screenplay for the first episode of 'Callan'. It's difficult to think of anyone other than Edward Woodward in the lead role and Russell Hunter playing his sidekick, Lonely.

John Safran's book is about the murder of a white supremacist. Safran is an Australian known for...well...I'm not sure how you'd describe his work. Social commentary, I suppose. I like some of his stuff, other bits make me squirm, but he is always thought-provoking. He'd made a documentary some time ago about the fellow who ended up being murdered, so he thought he would find out more about the story. I'm finding it really interesting.
 

Creative Ghost

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I've been reading the Gabriel Allon series by Daniel Silva. Spy thrillers with an Israeli assassin as the protagonist. Surprisingly good.
 

muse

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Almost finished reading Breakdown by Sara Paretsky

She's great with characters and dialogue, but I'm not sure I'm as enamored over the plot.
 

Drainland

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I'm reading 'Jar City' by Arnaldur Indridason. It's great.
 

pdichellis

Murder! You want fries with that?
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I just started The Shortcut Man, the first book of a series by p.g. sturges (yeah, all lower case).

So far, it’s an intriguing premise -- a ‘fixer’ who helps good people when bad people take advantage, usually by beating up the bad people -- and a cool voice, a hardboiled but rounded first person POV, which the author plays with for humor.

I found the book via Michael Connelly recommending it in a roundtable author interview. (Technically, he recommended it for President Obama, but I figured what the heck.)

The outstanding roundtable also included short story great George Saunders, insightful novelist Terry McMillian, and former reporter and best-selling non-fiction guru Rick Atkinson. The video runs about 20 minutes.

Best wishes,
Peter DiChellis
 

Helix

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Just started The Impossible Dead by Ian Rankin. It's a Malcolm Fox novel, not a Rebus one. Am enjoying it so far, although Fox is not drawn as strongly as Rebus.
 

pdichellis

Murder! You want fries with that?
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Now reading Southside, a first novel by Michael Krikorian. The author is a veteran reporter who covers street gangs for the Los Angeles Times. The story is about an investigative reporter (the MC) who gets shot covering LA gangs.

So far, so good. A riveting read from a guy who’s been there.

Best wishes,
Peter DiChellis
 

Flipper_Dipper

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I've just finished Fear Nothing - Lisa Gardner. She is honestly one of my favorite authors and the absolute master of books you can't put down!
 

sheadakota

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I am reading The Gods of Guilt by Michael Connelly. I LOVE his Bosch series but his Mickey Haller stuff? Not so much.I just have a hard time getting behind a MC who is as unscrupulous as Mickey. I really hate him. But I love Connelly, what a dilemma.
 

vagough

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I am reading The Gods of Guilt by Michael Connelly. I LOVE his Bosch series but his Mickey Haller stuff? Not so much.I just have a hard time getting behind a MC who is as unscrupulous as Mickey. I really hate him. But I love Connelly, what a dilemma.

Interesting, SD -- I had a hard time getting into The Lincoln Lawyer and never did finish it. But I like his other characters. Just read The Scarecrow and liked it very much.
 

sheadakota

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Connelly is in my opinion one of the best writers out there. The character he created in Bosch, was complex, dark and riveting. But Mickey Haller? The writing is fantastic, but I can't get behind the character. He puts money above all else, even his family. I'll finish the book, but I hope Connelly writes more Bosch.
 

pdichellis

Murder! You want fries with that?
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Connelly is in my opinion one of the best writers out there . . . I hope Connelly writes more Bosch.

Definitely. I enjoy all his series and characters. (Haller too!) If Connelly wrote it, I want to read it.

It's tough to tell what's going to happen with the Bosch series because the character aged in real time, and is now in his sixties, approaching retirement. Connelly has made clear that Bosch will retire from LAPD within a couple more books, but has recently hinted that after retirement Bosch might become a private investigator. Stay tuned!

Best wishes,
Peter DiChellis