Author Topic: My latest read is...  (Read 189349 times)

Becke Davis

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #210 on: August 29, 2020, 05:21:01 pm »
My daughter lent me a book she just finished, THE LAST FLIGHT by Julie Clark. She gave it rave reviews so I dug in as soon as I finished the Donald Westlake book I'd been reading. I started in around lunchtime today and I'm more than halfway through it. I highly recommend this book: https://www.amazon.com/Last-Flight-Novel-Julie-Clark/dp/1728215722

Becke Davis

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #211 on: August 30, 2020, 02:57:15 pm »
My daughter lent me a book she just finished, THE LAST FLIGHT by Julie Clark. She gave it rave reviews so I dug in as soon as I finished the Donald Westlake book I'd been reading. I started in around lunchtime today and I'm more than halfway through it. I highly recommend this book: https://www.amazon.com/Last-Flight-Novel-Julie-Clark/dp/1728215722

Wow, this book was soooo good! The author saved up a couple of great twists for the last 50 pages or so. Awesome!

Becke Davis

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #212 on: September 06, 2020, 12:57:07 am »
I just finished a Michael Gilbert book called ANYTHING FOR A QUIET LIFE, published in 1990. This is going to sound dumb, but when I first started reading it I wasn't sure if it was a single book or a collection of short stories. The same characters were featured but it seemed disconnected. Well, it really was short stories. My copy was apparently missing a sub-title shown in other editions. Here's what Wikipedia has to say about it:

"Anything for a Quiet Life and Other New Mystery Stories is a collection of nine short stories by the British writer Michael Gilbert published in the United Kingdom by Hodder and Stoughton in 1990 and in the United States by Carroll & Graf the same year. Gilbert, who was appointed CBE in 1980, was a founder-member of the British Crime Writers' Association. The Mystery Writers of America named him a Grand Master in 1988[1] and in 1990 he was presented Bouchercon's Lifetime Achievement Award.[2]

All nine stories had previously appeared in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. All of them take place in a fictional English coastal town called Shackleton-on-Sea that is situated in the south of England not far from Brighton and Hove. In spite of Gilbert's usual low-key urbanity in his style, a number of them have an unexpected grimness about them. "Michael was an exceptionally fine storyteller, but he's hard to classify," said one of his British publishers after his death. "He's not a hard-boiled writer in the classic sense, but there is a hard edge to him, a feeling within his work that not all of society is rational, that virtue is not always rewarded.".[3]"

Becke Davis

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #213 on: September 06, 2020, 01:25:09 am »
I forgot to say that I liked the Michael Gilbert story collection a lot. In one story there was a character named Claire Easterbrook. Agatha Christie has a novel featuring a character named Mark Easterbrook. I wondered if that could have been a shout-out to her. Also, Gilbert has a couple of well known characters, Calder and Behrens, as well as a dog called Rasselas. In the book mentioned above, Mr. Calder appears in one of the stories without introduction. I really like those characters and hoped to find more of them. Jonas Pickett, the protagonist in the collection, is what he calls a "retreating solicitor" as opposed to a retiring one. He has given up his London practice and moved to Shackleton-on-Sea, looking forward to a quiet life.

I'm now in the mood for more of Michael Gilbert. I know I have some on my keeper shelves, so the next ones will probably be re-reads unless I strike it lucky at the thrift shop.

Look what I found online: https://www.mysteryscenemag.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2213:a-tribute-to-michael-gilbert-1912-2006&catid=38:profile&Itemid=191

In the meantime, the new Louise Penny has arrived but I decided to save it for the short getaway my husband and I are going on later in the week. So now I'm reading a book recommended by my fellow book-lover, Susan Stokes.




JRob

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #214 on: September 09, 2020, 04:00:10 pm »
I finished reading the Paige Shelton cozy mystery LOST BOOKS AND OLD BONES. You can check out my review HERE!

The book also included a bonus story called A CHRISTMAS TARTAN which was originally published as an ebook novella. It is set before LOST BOOKS AND OLD BONES. It's listed as Scottish Bookshop Mystery Book 2.5 on Goodreads in case you want to read things in "order". You can read my review of the short story HERE!

Meanwhile, I've received two new books for potential reviews for the magazine in the last couple of days. Going by the synopsis on the back of the advance copies both seem pretty interesting so I'm looking forward to checking them out.

Becke Davis

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #215 on: September 10, 2020, 12:48:15 am »
I finished reading the Paige Shelton cozy mystery LOST BOOKS AND OLD BONES. You can check out my review HERE!

The book also included a bonus story called A CHRISTMAS TARTAN which was originally published as an ebook novella. It is set before LOST BOOKS AND OLD BONES. It's listed as Scottish Bookshop Mystery Book 2.5 on Goodreads in case you want to read things in "order". You can read my review of the short story HERE!

Meanwhile, I've received two new books for potential reviews for the magazine in the last couple of days. Going by the synopsis on the back of the advance copies both seem pretty interesting so I'm looking forward to checking them out.

Woo-hoo! I just got LOST BOOKS AND OLD BONES about a week ago! I'll go check out your review - I'm eager to read the new Louise Penny book but this one is at the top of my pile, too!

Becke Davis

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #216 on: September 16, 2020, 03:39:02 pm »
I was in the mood for a quick read last night so I chose Nancy Warren's Vampire Knitting Club, volume 4. I like this series a lot. The vampires are a friendly lot, and in this book they are speed-knitting super-sized Christmas stockings for a holiday fair. The main mystery plot is interesting and it kept me reading until I reached the end, and even then I kept going through the excerpt for book 5.



I have several books I'm eager to read but this time I want something a little longer - Louise Penny it is!

Becke Davis

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #217 on: September 20, 2020, 01:29:32 am »
Today's book is by an author who is new to me. This is the first book in a series, but the author has written lots of books and this is only one of her series. I love the covers, and so far I'm enjoying the book, too!

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/44033665-deadhead-and-buried


JRob

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #218 on: September 20, 2020, 06:55:55 am »
I'm working on a book by debut author Elizabeth Breck. It's called ANONYMOUS and its about a female private investigator in San Diego. I'm going to hopefully be writing a review of it for the magazine.

Becke Davis

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #219 on: September 20, 2020, 05:28:33 pm »
I'm working on a book by debut author Elizabeth Breck. It's called ANONYMOUS and its about a female private investigator in San Diego. I'm going to hopefully be writing a review of it for the magazine.

I'll be interested to read your review. I've heard good things about this - can't remember where I came across it, though. Probably from one of my friends who receives advanced copies.

Becke Davis

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #220 on: September 23, 2020, 12:35:13 am »
Every so often, for a change of pace, I read something that is not a mystery. Today I received a book I had preordered probably a year ago, maybe more. It was worth the wait! If you've never read Allie Brosh, check out her two books. They are the perfect books for the crazy times we live in.

https://www.npr.org/2020/09/22/915685128/theres-no-convenient-structure-to-life-says-allie-brosh

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BSB2AE4/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

https://www.amazon.com/Untitled-AB-Be-Confirmed-Gallery/dp/1982156945/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1600846478&sr=1-1

JRob

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #221 on: September 23, 2020, 03:57:20 am »
When I don't read a mystery, I'm usually reading a Star Trek or Firefly novel.

Becke Davis

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #222 on: September 24, 2020, 04:46:57 pm »
When I don't read a mystery, I'm usually reading a Star Trek or Firefly novel.

I've seen all the Star Trek movies but haven't read the novels. I didn't realize there were any Firefly novels. I'll have to check those out!

JRob

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #223 on: September 24, 2020, 06:28:48 pm »
When I don't read a mystery, I'm usually reading a Star Trek or Firefly novel.

I've seen all the Star Trek movies but haven't read the novels. I didn't realize there were any Firefly novels. I'll have to check those out!

The Star Trek novels set BEFORE the various series ended are hit and miss. Some are good, some are bad and a sense of continuity is lacking. But the books that are set AFTER the end of the various TV shows were much tighter controlled to keep with the established continuity and then expanded upon. They are generally much better stories.

As for the Firefly novels, they have published 3 so far with a fourth one coming out next month. I've only read the first one (which was really good) and I have the other two. They are set after the TV series but before the movie Serenity.

Becke Davis

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #224 on: September 25, 2020, 03:58:30 pm »
I'm really enjoying this series - it includes vampires who are adept at knitting and crochet and Lucy, the owner of a yarn store who is unable to master knitting or crochet. Since inheriting the yarn store, Lucy has been deluged with discoveries. As if sharing her home with a nest of vampires wasn't enough, she has also learned that she comes from a long line of witches. Despite assurances that she will one day be a witch of great power, her first steps have only demonstrated a propensity for chaos.

In this volume, a production of Shakespeare's A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM becomes tangled up in well-intentioned matchmaking and an out-of-control love potion.

« Last Edit: September 25, 2020, 04:01:42 pm by Becke Davis »