What are you reading now?

I'm enjoying Reginald Hill's Dialogues of the Dead. Just when I think I might know who-dun-it there's another twist to the story to disabuse me of my hypothesis.

I confess that I have gone American at the moment with one of Jodi Picoult's books, Nineteen Minutes which I am not enjoying.

Then it will be back to Inspector Rutledge and The Red Door.

I was disappointed with Dialogues of the Dead. I thought there was too much emphasis on the literary angle and not enough on the plot and procedures.

I've recently found Kate Atkinson and enjoyed When will there be good news?. Strangely, my local public library keeps Atkinson in the fiction, not in the mystery section.

I'm not half way through Dialogues of the Dead, and I do see what you mean, VivienneR. I'm still enjoying it though. I don't think I've read any of Kate Atkinson's books.... Another author for my TBR list.

A weekend at Blenheim by J. p. Morrissey

Recently finished Borderlands by Brian McGilloway - not bad for a first novel. I liked it well enough that I'll read the next in the series.

Just got an Amazon UK order in A Capital Crime by Laura Wilson, Blacklands by Belinda Bauer, Bleeding Heart Square by Andrew Taylor, Blood Count by Robert Goddard, and The Devil's Edge by Stephen Booth.

I'm starting with the first Inspector Dalgliesh mystery, Cover Her Face.

>8 mstrust:

Have fun :)

> 9 Thanks, I'm hoping to read several in this series this month.
I'm also reading the second from Tana French, The Likeness.

Has anyone here read The Woodcutter by Reginald Hill? I'm only up to page 37, but am wondering if I shall make it through the next, approximate, 500 pages.

I didn't realise it was a Reginald Hill without Dalziel and Pascoe and am a bit disappointed about that.

Finished Christine Falls which was... let's say interesting. I will be writing a review this weekend -- it is not a bad book but it has its quirks

>12 AnnieMod: Ha!

I look forward to your review of Christine Falls. I'm ambivalent about this writer.

>13 Thrin:

:) He is not the usual Irish crime writer, is he? :)

So far this year I've read a few oldies on the Kindle, a couple of Celia Fremlins (I am searching for her books) and another Dame Gladys.

The House of the Arrow by A. E. W. Mason
Some Must Watch by Ethel Lina White
The Witness for the Defence by A. E. W. Mason
The Red House Mystery by A. A. Milne
Come Away, Death by Gladys Mitchell
Listening in the Dusk by Celia Fremlin
Dangerous Thoughts by Celia Fremlin
The Accomplice by Elizabeth Ironside

Very pleased to see the reappearance of this group.

I am reading a very dreary book. A Market for Murder by Rebecca Tope about a funeral director who dabbles in crime.

I am enjoying it so little that I am finding jobs to do which I have put off for years. I have a small French Polishing job, put off for about 20 years, to do tomorrow and then I might be forced to get my car serviced.

Edited to try to force the touchstones but it didn't work this time. Sorry ...

It would be easier to just not finish the book but it is on my e-reader and it prefers me to work through to the last page.

I don't know if this will come through alright, but I find many mysteries at
www.stopyourekillingme.com

I'm currently reading: The Sherlockian A Novel by Graham Moore

I don't know if this will come through alright, but I find many mysteries at
www.stopyourekillingme.com

I'm currently reading: The Sherlockian A Novel by Graham Moore

I've been reading a bunch of Anthony Berkeley books over the last week or so.

Fleshmarket Close by Ian Rankin is yet another 'Rebus' novel that doesn't disappoint.
I always enjoy this author's humour, his interesting evocation of Edinburgh and his sly attempts to sabotage the more iniquitous treatment by a society of its less powerful citizens (or in this case would-be citizens).

I wish he had not folded up the Rebus series...

Has anyone read Justin Cole? His first was the Amateur Historian and the one I am reading now is Felicity's Gate. They are set in Yorkshire but I have just started this book so we will see.

Bleeding Heart Square by Andrew Taylor

I am currently reading Pamela: or Virtue Rewarded by Samuel Richardson. published in 1760 it would have to be the first ever bodice ripper.

In the light of today's morality it makes interesting reading.

Just finished In Accordance with the Evidence, which is on Barzun and Taylor's list of classic crime novels, and Too Many Cousins which was first published in 1946.

Both recommended.

I'm reading another of Ken Bruen's novels The Magdalen Martyrs featuring Jack Taylor who is still struggling with his alcohol and drug addictions. Still.... struggling. I'm afraid his 'struggling' might become my 'struggling' with this book. Such a good writer though; I've no doubt I'll enjoy the tale to the bitter end, and it's quite possible the end will be bitter.

A real page-turner. I stayed awake well past my bed-time to finish it. You like 'noir'? This is a good one: The Magdalen Martyrs is a bleak tale and a gripping one. The characters are brought to life by Ken Bruen's sharp observations of Galway and its low-life. Excellent sense of place and of moral ambiguity. The Irish are good haters.

Reading Oscar Wilde and the vampire murders by Gyles Brandreth. Love the darkness of Ken Bruens Jack Taylor and his writing style. One of my all time favorites.

Recently finished reading Faithful Place. For whatever reason, I start off loving her books, and then get bored 3/4ths of the way through. Am currently reading The Guards by Ken Bruen. I'm only 25 pages in but so far it's just ok.

Cover Her Face is P.D. James's first 'murder mystery' featuring Inspector Adam Dalgliesh. It's set in early 1960s England (when the book was first published) and the self-righteous, and hypocritical, moral attitudes of much of English society at the time as portrayed in this novel are quite shocking..... Accurate though: I was there. The author's fairly consistently negative descriptions of the 'lower orders' disgusted me too (not that the middle class characters escaped entirely unscathed).

Interesting to see how P.D. James's work developed from Cover Her Face.

>8 mstrust: mstrust...... I see you were reading this book too. What did you think of it?

>30 Thrin: Thrin

I thought it set Dalgliesh up well for the following books. He is introduced as an introspective young man who has experienced a tragedy.
For any writer this would be a good mystery, but especially as a first novel, it was very good. I wasn't shocked by the attitude towards the servant, as that was kinda the social norm. I didn't like her either; she was rotten.

>31 mstrust: mstrust

I agree that Cover Her Face is a very good first novel. I hadn't thought about whether or not I liked any of the characters, but I don't think any of them appealed to me much! Glad I read the book though, and I'd quite like to go back and re-read P.D.James's later works to pay more attention to the Dalgliesh character's development. It's been a long time since I read the others.

(Love your profile pic by the way!)

>32 Thrin: Thrin I'm slowly working my way through what I have of James' books, which is only about a dozen.

The pic was on Halloween, and because I was in Vegas, people were unsure if it was a costume or not. The "pregnancy" was a pillow.

I am reading through Mark Billingham's series these days - up to #4 (The Burning Girl at the moment.

I quite enjoy it even if Thorne is getting on my nerves occasionally.

And I need to write some reviews - not only for these.

Couldn't summon enough interest in the characters or the 'cases' to finish Case Histories by Kate Atkinson.

Reading Murder in the Moor by Thomas Kindon. Vintage 1929.

This weekend I've read 2, both with WWII central to their stories:
Stratton's War by Laura Wilson and The House at Sea's End by Elly Griffiths. I've read one or two of Wilson's before and enjoyed them but Griffiths' work is new to me. I'm definitely going to read the first two in her series (the Ruth Galloway series) now.

I'm on chapter 3 of Partners In Crime, the second Tommy and Tuppence mystery by Christie.

When at the library, I looked for authors that were new to me. I found Jigsaw Guilt by Jeffrey Ashford and Death on Widow's Walk by Lesley Grant-Adamson. I'm not so satisfied now that I've looked up the opinion of others on LT. Would anyone here have anything to offer? Meanwhile, I'll finish my Christie - Cards on the Table that I read too long ago to remember details.

BTW The touchstone for Grant-Adamson's book goes to the title Patterns in the Dust and the same if I go from the author page. Are there two titles for this work?

edited to correct punctuation

I think Dialogues of the Dead is a brilliant book. I certainly didn't guess.

I'm currently reading The Lock Artist for our Mystery Lovers Book Club.

I just read The Break by Minette Walters. I've read several of her books befor and enjoyed most of them, but this one was a disappointment. The story was a tad Harlequin romance-ish for my taste (with a bit of graphic sexual language tossed in).

I have just finished reading Master of Souls by Peter Tremayne.

I enjoy the books but find the Irish names and titles a bit difficult to get my head around

I'm reading my LT early review win The Fatal Touch by Conor Fitzgerald and I'm really enjoying it so far. The details about art forgeries is fascinating.

I read an old novel wich is more a psychological thriller than an ordinary crime nove - but it is very good and unputdownable!

The Wishing Game

I am reading Suicide Excepted by Cyril Hare - originally published by Faber & Faber, London England in 1939. Setting is an English Mansion converted to Hotel in the English Countryside. This is my first encounter with the writings of Cyril Hare. I am not disappointed!

I am reading Dissolution by C. J. Sansom. Glad it's the start of a series.

Seawerth, I'm also a fan of Cyril Hare's urbane British mysteries. It's so good when you find a Golden Age writer you haven't read. Enjoy.

The Dead of Winter by Rennie Airth. Apparently this is the 3rd book of the series, which I didn't realize when I got it from the library. Although there are references to things that happened in the past, it does not hamper my enjoyment of the book, which stands on its own.

I've fallen in love. Today I'll finish the 13th E. X. Ferrars title I've been able to find on PaperBackSwap, and I have four more coming to me in the mail. She is so easy to read (but not shallow), her plots are excellent, and I really like the way she has her characters solve the murders after thinking through every which way about WhoDunIt. Fortunately, she was prolific, so there are MORE of them!!

E.X. Ferrars is one of my faves, too.

I just finished A Question of Blood by Ian Rankin and I really enjoyed it. I have a hard time getting into crime novels, but Rebus always drags me in. I think in part it's because of Rankin's love of Edinburgh, which is one of my favourite places in the world! So reading is like going on the creepiest tour of the city possible. Always good fun. I am also finish up Soldier, Tinker, Tailor, Spy by John Le Carré which I enjoyed, but I don't think I'll try spy novels again. My father is a voracious reader of spy thrillers, but I can't seem to get into the genre.

Dancing with Demons by Peter Tremayne set in 7th Century Ireland.

Oh, another Ferrars fan! Please tell me some of your favorite titles. I'm liking Andrew Basnet.

Speeding through Revelation by C. J. Sansom. Religious turmoil in Tudor England. Highly recommended.

My favorite E.X. Ferrars are the ones with Virginia Freer and her semi-detached husband Felix. Wikipedia has a list.

Thanks for the tip about Wikipedia. I just finished A Choice of Evils, about to begin The Sleeping Dogs.

Or you can always use the list in LT: http://www.librarything.com/series/Virginia+and+Felix+Freer ;)

Gosh, I looked for that but didn't find it.

Ditto and thanks.

Recently completed Denise Mina's The End of the Wasp Season. It's well-paced and nicely written, with a plausible plot, some sympathetic and believable characters, and good dialog. This is the first novel by Mina that I've read, and I'm now looking forward to reading others.

Comment for AnnieMod: I read CF and enjoyed it, then read the next two in Black's Quirke series and was disappointed - and I don't plan to read #4. Several critics didn't agree with me, but I suspect there was a bit of halo effect from his Booker.

Maneekuhi

Reading an ARC of Blue Monday by Nicci French which is the 1st book of a new series by this author.

I just finished Ian Rankin's The Impossible Dead, which is the sequel to his The Complaints. The Impossible Dead, again featuring Malcolm Fox, is a great read and also interesting in terms of recent Scottish history. Highly recommended!

just finished The Devil was Handsome by Maurice Procter

I just finished Started Early, Took my Dog by Kate Atkinson.

Just completed Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James

#66

Ted, I'd be interested in your opinion of Death Comes to Pemberley. P D James is a favourite author but I tend to steer clear of derivative books and so far I haven't felt moved to read this one.

Ended up reading Brat Farrar in the last days. The bad news is that I liked it as much as I liked The Franchise Affair so now I just need to read all her other books...

Just began Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn. Interesting so far.

re # 67 I didn't dislike it, but I didn't love it either. Disappointing if you're a Jane Austen fan, I would think, especially as Elizabeth Darcy is not an interesting character at all in this novel. Not a superb mystery story either, if you are a P.D. James fan, which I am. However, I hope that I am as "with it" as PD James is, at age 92, which is why I felt somewhat obliged to read this, if only to pay homage to PD James.

I just finished Chill Factor by Stuart Pawson

I wish there were a way to have all these avid mystery readers here tag books as "certified as supernatural/paranormal free". I consider this "cheating". Or as one of my friends is fond of quoting, "You are the detectives. Go and detect." I'll be reading along and wondering who dun it and suddenly we're having "feelings" or looking at crystal balls or talking to ghosts. Bleh. So anyone got a certifiable favorite author?

Absolutely agree, Dragonfly.

To start:
C. J. Sansom
Kate Atkinson

Thank you. I've not read either of those authors and I see my library has books by both of them. Also noticed one of the Atkinson's was tagged Yorkshire. Since I found that some of my ancestors came from there, I've been looking for books set there to give me a feel for the landscape.

Reading Before the Poison by Peter Robinson This is a stand alone and not part of his Banks series.

I just read A Room Full of Bones by Elly Griffiths. I really like this series and love Ruth Galloway!

#67 & #70

I received Death Comes to Pemberly by P.D. James for Christmas and have been struggling through it. I have always enjoyed the rest of her novels and have had no trouble reading them, but for some reason, I really did not enjoy this one. Perhaps if I were a little more of a Jane Austen fan, although I did enjoy Pride and Prejudice.

I thought the mystery was well thought out and would have enjoyed the book more if it had just concentrated on the mystery. I just did not enjoy all of the "day-to-day" of the Darcy household.

I was a little skeptical about whether I would enjoy this book, but I really love P.D. James - I'm hoping that this will not be her last novel. I'd really like to see one more Dagliesh.

I just finished One Good Turn: A Jolly Murder Mystery by Kate Atkinson. I really enjoy her writing.

I am reading The Mystery of Dr. Fu Manchu by Sax Rohmer This is the first in the series but, not the first one I have read. I love these Fu Manchu mysteries! I have this one on my Nook which is great because there are a fair number of words I need to look up the definitions for.

Just read The Betrayal of Trust by Susan Hill. I like her work.

Just finished another of Susan Hill's novels- The Various Haunts of Men, which I'm now sure I've read before, but I enjoyed it anyway.

Reading The Unseen by Katherine Webb.

I'm re-reading An Unsuitable Job for a Woman- P.D. James.

Just finished Silent Scream by Lynda La Plante. A so-so read.

I picked it up as a random read and found it a great story. Not your usual crime thriller but a tale of revenge which keeps going right to the end and a satisfactory conclusion. Worth persevering with.

I just finished Little Girl Lost by Brian McGilloway. I really like this author's work.

Just finished "The Yard" by Alex Grecian

Just read my 1st Anne Perry novel: The Silent Cry

Had to just keep reading until I finished it: Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes. A really good read.

Today I read Bleed a River Deep by Brian McGilloway. I really like this series.

Just finished The Pure in Heart by Susan Hill

Read Master of the Moor by Ruth Rendell. A bit of a disappointment as I usually love her work, but I didn't find this one at all enthralling...

I'm just about to start Divorcing Jack by Colin Bateman. This will be another Northern Ireland setting for my Endless Europe challenge and my first Bateman.

My latest read is partly crime fiction, but also much more than that. Afterwards by Rosamund Lupton.

Divorcing Jack by Colin Bateman can only be described as grisly, profane, filled with Northern Ireland dark humour, and best of all - highly entertaining. I recommend it strongly.

I'm on my first Lovejoy- The Gondola Scam.

Where the bodies are buried by Christopher Brookmyre. Irish police procedural. Apparently all his other works are humorous but this is a more traditional procedural. I think I may try his humorous ones after this, he's a good writer.

I am reading The Confession by Charles Todd. I won't say that it is one of their best books but it is a nice easy read. Not as much of Hamish in this one; I hope that he is not being phased out as he is undoubtedly my favourite character in the series.

Edited to try to get the touchstones to work for Charles Todd.

A real dud: A Charitable Body by Robert Barnard

Second book by Denise Mina that I've read this year: The End of the Wasp Season.

Other Paths to Glory by Anthony Price

I'm reading an eARC of Peter F. Hamilton's Great North Road. While Hamilton is considered to be a science fiction author, he quite often has a far-future murder mystery to solve in his books, so I recommend him to this group for a taste of something a little different from the norm.

Reading A room full of bones by Elly Griffiths, this is her fourth in the Ruth Galloway series.

Just finished Cop to Corpse by Peter Lovesey. A good read.

This one was a grim read: The Ghosts of Belfast by Stuart Neville

For once I am not reading a crime novel but - *shock horror* - actually reading non-fiction.

I am reading The Spanish Ambassador's Suitcase and giggling all the way.

Reading Watching the Dark by Peter Robisnon

>108 Beamis12: Me too! And I'm really enjoying it.

Love Reginald Hill

I agree. I'm currently reading Peter Lovesey's The Last Detective, the first Peter Diamond book. Loving it so far!

And - admittedly this is not Irish or English - but I really loved The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters. Pre-apocalyptic, funny, thought-provoking, interesting characters, and a great mystery. I urge you to read it and I think you will thank me!

What is the point of this- it is neither Irish or British.

>112 DowntownLibrarian:

So are a lot of US and Scandinavian mysteries (for example) and they are discussed in the Mystery/Crime group... Most members here are also monitoring the more generic groups... but this one is for a very specific subset and adding books that don't belong (and sometimes a US author can write a British style mystery and these might belong here... but that one has nothing British in it)...

FYI-there is a more current thread for this group, discussing 2013 reads...