Messages

106

What I'm Reading / Re: Michael Stanley, the Kubu books

« on: November 25, 2020, 01:59:46 am »

I read and reviewed the most recent book published, which is a prequel to the series. It goes back to the first day Kubu was on the job. I really quite enjoyed that book.

I have book 1, A CARRION DEATH, which I haven't read yet. I think I have DEADLY HARVEST but I don't have DYING TO LIVE. There are also two books of Kubu short stories but they are only available for digital devices, which I don't have.

107

What I'm Reading / Michael Stanley, the Kubu books

« on: November 23, 2020, 04:29:56 pm »

I'm halfway through reading my second Kubu book by Michael Stanley (
A DEATH IN THE FAMILY. It's not the second book in the series, just the second I've read. (I read FACETS OF DEATH first.) I have at least one more in my to-be-read pile, maybe two.

From the website: http://michaelstanleybooks.com/

Michael Stanley is the writing team of Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip.

Both are retired professors who have worked in academia and business. Sears is a mathematician, specializing in geological remote sensing. Trollip is an educational psychologist, specializing in the application of computers to teaching and learning, and a pilot. They were both born in South Africa.

108

What I'm Reading / Re: MURDER AT THE PALACE by Margaret Dumas

« on: November 23, 2020, 03:59:18 pm »

I've read all three books in the series. Sadly, I'm not sure there will be any more books. The author's Facebook page hasn't been updated in a long time, there's been no activity on her website and I'm pretty sure I remember a book friend who is far more knowledgeable than me told me that she was one of the authors that got dropped by the publisher putting out this series.

It's too bad because this is just a brilliantly fun series.

Oh no! That makes me really sad. "Brilliantly fun" is a perfect description of this series. And, boy, did I ever need a fun series right now!

109

Welcome and General Discussion / Re: Sherlock Holmes Pastiches

« on: November 23, 2020, 03:57:46 pm »

I don't see Barnes and Noble ever selling used books. And I don't think that would be a good idea for them anyway.

But I do wish they'd do a better job of keeping stuff in stock. I've gone looking for a number of books to start reading when I discover a new-to-me author and they rarely have the first book in the series available on the shelf.

I have the Sherry Thomas books on my want list as well.

I don't think B&N will, either, but I love it when stores - like Powells in Portland, and like Bookends & Beginnings in the Chicago area - sell both new and used books.

110

What I'm Reading / MURDER AT THE PALACE by Margaret Dumas

« on: November 22, 2020, 02:54:37 am »

I'm so happy I discovered this series. It is so much fun if you happen to be an old movie buff, which I am - although not to the degree of the characters that inhabit this series. I flew through this book and am eagerly awaiting the arrival of Book 2. I think there are only 3 in the series so far. I hope Margaret Dumas is a fast writer!

I have a stack of books vying for my attention, not sure what I'll dig into next. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

111

Welcome and General Discussion / Re: Sherlock Holmes Pastiches

« on: November 22, 2020, 02:51:06 am »

I know that there is no shortage of non-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes stories on the bookshelves these days. Do you have any particular favorites?

I've always loved the Laurie R. King stories that focus on Mary Russell and an older Sherlock. But there's so many series that it is impossible to keep up with everything.

I know that Nicholas Meyer has written a couple of books in this particular field. I've heard they are pretty good but haven't gotten a chance to read them yet. Leonard Goldberg has a Daughter of Sherlock Holmes series that is doing well. I recently reviewed one.

Yesterday I picked up a couple of books by James Lovegrove. He's written a number of books but SHERLOCK HOLMES & THE CHRISTMAS DEMON came out in paperback recently while SHERLOCK HOLMES & THE BEAST OF THE STAPLETONS came out in hardcover. I got both of them and I'm going to look forward to reading them.

My local comic shop has been getting prose novels in recently and there's another Sherlock Book that came in last week by Sam Siciliano that seems pretty interesting. I put that on hold for next week.

I've noticed that the local B&N's shelves for all these Holmesian books are seemingly all filed with the Doyle books, regardless of author alphabetical order.  I can't imagine the hell that must play for people that don't know that in advance.

-------------------------------------

I've read several of the Mary Russell books and liked them a lot. I have more in my waiting to be read pile, along with a couple of Sherry Thomas' Lady Sherlock books: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/series/LSS/the-lady-sherlock-series

It drives me crazy when B&N does things like that. It also disappoints me when they have such a limited selection of mystery authors. I wish they would sell both new and used books. It worries me when they don't stay near the top of their game. I would really hate to see them go out of business.

112

What I'm Reading / MIDWINTER MURDER, a short story collection by Agatha Christie

« on: November 14, 2020, 05:30:03 pm »

I'm always looking for books by or about Agatha Christie, so I was excited to see a new release called MIDWINTER MURDER. It's a collection of short stories and one of them was a first U.S. release. I just finished reading it. As it turns out, I'd read them all before - even the "new" one, which was in a book I bought while living in the U.K. But still, I hadn't re-read most of them in a long time, and it was fun to read them on a chilly, wintery day.

I have a stack of books I want to read - I just started Elly Griffiths' A DYING FALL. A friend recommended Sharon Fiffer's HOLLYWOOD STUFF and I'll probably read that next. Not sure, though...

113

What I'm Reading / Re: My latest read is...

« on: November 14, 2020, 05:23:13 pm »

Had a great week of reading thusfar - started with CONSOLATION, the new one from Garry Disher, on the weekend. Then read THE SURVIVORS by Jane Harper (out in USA early 2021) then today and yesterday read STILL LIFE by Val McDermid

Thanks for sharing, Kiwi! Garry Disher is new to me but I've read books by Jane Harper and Val McDermid. I haven't read the books you mentioned, though.

114

What I'm Writing / Re: Sale Alerts

« on: November 11, 2020, 03:40:55 pm »

https://www.facebook.com/messenger_media?thread_id=100000343201895&attachment_id=696449211005209&message_id=mid.%24cAABa82cA2SV76ZtXzl1uFYMHh__v

115

What I'm Reading / Re: A DECLINE IN PROPHETS by Sulari Gentill

« on: November 11, 2020, 03:20:56 pm »

I broke down and bought a new copy of the first book in this series. It was originally published as A FEW RIGHT THINKING MEN by Poison Pen Press. The edition I have is entitled A HOUSE DIVIDED and is published by Sourcebooks. There is an introduction by the fabulous Rhys Bowen. Whichever version you find, it's the first book in her Rowland Sinclair series.

I did a sort of "eeny meenie miney mo" to pick my current read. I'm really enjoying this series. It was serendipity that I found the first book I read by this author in a used book store. I've been to several since then and haven't found anything by Sulari Gentill - not in this series or her others.

116

Welcome and General Discussion / Re: Mark your calendars - Agatha Christie's 130th Birthday on Sept. 15!

« on: November 08, 2020, 02:20:57 pm »

This is interesting:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-54806021

117

What I'm Reading / Re: Lovejoy books by Jonathan Gash

« on: November 08, 2020, 01:29:56 pm »

I don't often come across Lovejoy books in bookstores, new OR used. It just breaks my heart when bookstores go out of business. Back when Borders was still around, my husband and I used to make regular visits to Ann Arbor, MI because there were so many fabulous bookstores there. Shortly before we moved to Chicago, we made another visit there, and were devastated to find some of our favorite stores had closed.

The killer happened just weeks before we moved, when we had too much going on to manage a final visit. That was when Aunt Agatha's closed. The last day they were open, everything left in the store was FREE. We already gave away 1500 books before we moved, and brought more than 70 cartons of books with us. But, believe me, I would have made room for more!

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/2018/08/24/aunt-agathas-mystery-bookshop-closing-ann-arbor/1073037002/

Back to Lovejoy. Here is a list of the Lovejoy books: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovejoy_(novel_series)

The other one I picked up is MOONSPENDER. I don't remember reading either of these, but I have read a lot of the books in this series already. My mom had most - if not all - of them, and I read everything she had. I occasionally came across early editions in the library, too. (This year's library sale was cancelled because of coronavirus. I sure hope it's back next year!)

118

What I'm Reading / Re: My latest read is...

« on: November 08, 2020, 01:16:44 pm »

I finished reading THE PINT OF NO RETURN today. It's the 2nd book in Ellie Alexander's Sloane Krause mystery series. And I really did enjoy it. You can check out my full thoughts on this one via my Goodreads review.

Okay, I'm intrigued! I'm not a big beer drinker, but I lived in Cincinnati for almost 20 years and went to Oktoberfest in Covington, KY several times. Thanks for the recommendation - I'll check these out.

119

What I'm Reading / Lovejoy books by Jonathan Gash

« on: November 08, 2020, 02:59:37 am »

My mother was a huge fan of antiques AND of Jonathan Gash's Lovejoy, an antiques "divvy" who starred in a number of mysteries and a series of TV shows. I think I've seen all the TV shows and I've read a lot of the books. I came across a couple of these books in a used book store last week, and I'm currently reading one that is new to me. It's called THE TEN WORD GAME. So far it's good, but I've been hooked on the election counts for several days and have hardly read at all. I'm now about halfway through it. I've got a couple more books I'm eager to read so I hope to finish this one tomorrow.

What are you all reading?

120

Welcome and General Discussion / Re: Mystery Movies for Self-Quarantine

« on: November 04, 2020, 04:39:44 pm »

https://bookriot.com/eerie-best-of-2020-and-more-must-read-mystery-and-thrillers/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Unusual%20Suspects&utm_term=BookRiot_UnusualSuspects