Author Topic: My latest read is...  (Read 186503 times)

JRob

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My latest read is...
« on: June 11, 2019, 07:28:42 pm »
I'm currently working on a re-read of the Eva Gates mystery Reading Up A Storm. It's the third book in her Lighthouse Library series.

I don't typically get to do a lot of re-reading but I joined the mystery book club at my local library and this is the book of the month. I'm about 2/3 of the way through it and I still like it. I wasn't overly fond of the first two books in the series but this book is where I felt the main character FINALLY stopped being such a doormat.

I've got the fourth book in the series but haven't gotten around to reading that one yet.

Kate Stine, Editor

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Re: My latest read is...THE WAREHOUSE by Rob Hart
« Reply #1 on: June 12, 2019, 12:48:52 pm »
I’ve just finished reading Rob Hart’s THE WAREHOUSE (Crown, August 2019). If you’ve ever wondered uneasily where all this Amazon-taking-over-the-economy is headed, this is the book for you. Hart’s detailed world building is chillingly plausible as he posits a dystopian climate-ravaged future in which Cloud, a gargantuan corporation, offers all one’s needs: “A bed, a roof, and a job for life.”  I found this a compelling, if dismaying, portrait of our possible future. Good tension throughout, interesting characters. The ending was a bit rushed but still effective. This is a novel of ideas and I think it will provide you with plenty of food for thought.

JRob

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #2 on: June 12, 2019, 05:18:18 pm »
Kate, I'll add it to my list. I think I saw something similar in a recent Doctor Who episode.

jgazis

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #3 on: June 12, 2019, 06:30:10 pm »
Last book finished: Cyrano de BergeracCurrently reading: OutlanderLooking forward to: Poulets Grillés (The Awkward Squad) - I reviewed the sequel in English, and enjoyed it a lot, so I ordered the series opener in the original French; also Good Omens - really enjoyed the new streaming miniseries!
Read my reviews in Mystery Scene: https://www.mysteryscenemag.com/search?q=gazis

Kate Stine, Editor

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #4 on: June 19, 2019, 10:58:08 am »
I just finished reading Laura Lippman's LADY IN THE LAKE (July, 2019). The quality of the writing is just swoon-worthy. It's a tale of two women in 1960s Baltimore:Cleo Sherwood, a poor young black woman, and Maddie Schwartz, a well-to-do but frustrated suburban wife. The shifting viewpoints come from a variety of characters as well as these two, giving the book a kaleidoscopic quality that brilliantly evokes a time and a place. Lippman beautifully organizes a complex story -- her concerns are much broader than who died and how -- and the emotional payoff at the end is just brilliant. Lippman is one of the best writers in the genre and I can't recommend this highly enough.

JRob

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #5 on: June 19, 2019, 04:11:46 pm »
I just picked up Kate Carlisle's Homicide in Hardcover from the local library as it is the selection of the month for the library's mystery book club. I'm just diving into it so I'm looking forward to seeing how it is since it has been a series I've been wanting to try out.

Brian

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #6 on: June 20, 2019, 10:26:07 am »
I just finished The Chain by Adrian McKinty.

I really liked his first few books, featuring Sean Duffy as a police officer in Northern Ireland in the 80's. Excellent in every way.

The Chain is his "American thriller" -- his description. It's got an interesting concept -- Rachel's daughter is kidnapped, and to get her back she has to kidnap someone else's child -- but I found many sections implausible.


TeriD

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #7 on: June 20, 2019, 12:27:59 pm »
I'm just getting started on William Kent Krueger's "This Tender Land." (Out Sept. 2019) I've never actually read Krueger before, though I've only ever heard the very best things about both his standalones and his Cork O'Connor books. I'm just a few pages in, but the writing is quite beautiful. I can see already why people care so much for his work.

If you are already a fan, I'd be curious to hear from you about why you love Krueger's books. Please share!

JRob

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #8 on: June 20, 2019, 01:17:28 pm »
I just finished The Chain by Adrian McKinty.

I really liked his first few books, featuring Sean Duffy as a police officer in Northern Ireland in the 80's. Excellent in every way.

The Chain is his "American thriller" -- his description. It's got an interesting concept -- Rachel's daughter is kidnapped, and to get her back she has to kidnap someone else's child -- but I found many sections implausible.

So this isn't a Sean Duffy book? I really liked Police at the Station and They Don't Look Friendly Duffy novel (reviewed for MS!).

JRob

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #9 on: June 20, 2019, 01:18:23 pm »
I'm just getting started on William Kent Krueger's "This Tender Land." (Out Sept. 2019) I've never actually read Krueger before, though I've only ever heard the very best things about both his standalones and his Cork O'Connor books. I'm just a few pages in, but the writing is quite beautiful. I can see already why people care so much for his work.

If you are already a fan, I'd be curious to hear from you about why you love Krueger's books. Please share!

Teri,

Sadly, while I do own the first two Cork O'Connor books, I have yet to get around to reading them. If I ever do, I'm sure I'll get back to you on what I thought of them.

Rosetta Oracle

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #10 on: June 20, 2019, 03:56:44 pm »
American Homemaker by John Kaine — Interesting cast of characters and quite good pacing.

Brian

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #11 on: June 21, 2019, 01:50:43 pm »
I just finished The Chain by Adrian McKinty.

I really liked his first few books, featuring Sean Duffy as a police officer in Northern Ireland in the 80's. Excellent in every way.

The Chain is his "American thriller" -- his description. It's got an interesting concept -- Rachel's daughter is kidnapped, and to get her back she has to kidnap someone else's child -- but I found many sections implausible.

So this isn't a Sean Duffy book? I really liked Police at the Station and They Don't Look Friendly Duffy novel (reviewed for MS!).

No, it's not a Duffy. I talked to him a couple of weeks ago and it sounded like he's put Duffy behind him.

JRob

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #12 on: June 21, 2019, 04:17:56 pm »

No, it's not a Duffy. I talked to him a couple of weeks ago and it sounded like he's put Duffy behind him.

I see. That's a bummer. But thanks for telling me.

Ben Boulden

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #13 on: June 23, 2019, 06:06:27 am »
I've been on a Lionel White kick the last few weeks. I started with his classic novel The Killing, which is so much better than the Stanley Kubrick film, and finished (a few nights ago) his underrated Coffin for a Hood. In between, I read A Death at Sea and Operation: Murder. A Death at Sea is the weakest of the four, and the most surprising, aside from The Killing's marvelous ironic and very noir ending, was the climactic scene in Operation: Murder.

Now, I'm on to the current issue of Alfred Hitchcock magazine.

Kate Stine, Editor

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #14 on: June 23, 2019, 06:33:32 pm »
I've been dipping into DREYER'S ENGLISH: AN UTTERLY CORRECT GUIDE TO CLARITY AND STYLE by Benjamin Dreyer, the copy chief of Random House. This is a truly delightful guide to writing that entertains just as much as it informs. I found myself laughing out loud in a diner while reading this book. "Only godless savages eschew the series comma," Dreyer notes. (He's right about that!) This would be a great gift for a high school graduate going off to college or for anyone who cares about good writing.
« Last Edit: June 23, 2019, 06:35:39 pm by Kate Stine, Editor »