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Tag Archives: mystery
Farthing / Jo Walton
31 July 2008 – 10:21 am
In the mystery genre, I generally lean toward police procedurals or hard-boiled crime fiction. I’m not so much a fan of cozies. But I do quite like this cozy. And that’s even with another strike against it as far as my tastes go. I generally don’t like books about British stiffs, particularly blue bloods. My eyes glaze over whenever the subject turns to English nobility. I actually have a similar reaction to the antebellum South as well. But, as I said, I liked this book. (…)
A Case of Two Cities / Qiu Xiaolong (The Sunday Salon)
27 July 2008 – 3:47 pm
It’s been a month or so since I’ve gotten any Sunday Salon reading in, what with trips to Seattle for Independence Day and my birthday and other distractions. Today was a lazy day on the couch, sipping tea and reading Qiu Xiaolong’s A Case of Two Cities. Unfortunately this has not been an enjoyable read.
My memories, somewhat faded, of the first books in the Inspector Chen series were of solid mystery writing set in a different culture. (…)
The Talented Mr. Ripley / Patricia Highsmith
28 June 2008 – 11:32 pm
Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley was a difficult book for me to read. Not because it was bad, or because it was convoluted or anything negative really. I have a gut reaction to lying that I can’t turn off. Sitcoms on television based on one character telling a lie, and then trying to maintain the lie throughout the episode, those episodes bother me. I can’t watch them. Tom Riply does something like that in this book. (…)
Eighty Million Eyes / Ed McBain
28 April 2008 – 11:18 pm
This is the 21st book in the 87th Precinct series of police procedurals by Ed McBain. I really liked it. There are two cases in the book: an assault on a girl by a stalker investigated by Bert Kling, and the murder of the host of a variety show on live television investigated by Steve Carella and Meyer Meyer (what a name!). In neither case are there the typical hysterical movie cop types of things going on. Just plain methodical police work. (…)
Vanishing Ladies / Ed McBain
30 March 2008 – 9:02 pm
For today’s Sunday Salon, I am participating under the weather. Both figuratively and literally. I’m not feeling so hot, and Western Washington saw a bit of late winter weather the last few days. The snow ain’t really staying around, but it’s quite chilly and definitely very wet. Hence, I read curled up on the couch with some tea.
Before I delve into my reading though, I want to plug Wordsy, a Digg clone for people who love books. (…)
Uncivil Seasons / Michael Malone
7 January 2008 – 3:15 am
Sourcebooks Landmark isn’t an imprint I would normally turn to for a good mystery, but indeed Michael Malone’s mystery set in North Carolina is very good.
Justin Savile is a member of one of the more powerful families in Hillston, North Carolina, the Dollards. He’s not exactly the black sheep, but he hasn’t exactly turned out quite like the family intended him to. (…)
Right As Rain / George P. Pelecanos
14 October 2007 – 3:16 am
This was a pretty decent read. Derek Strange is an older black man in D.C. who runs a private investigator business. Terry Quinn is a former cop, now working in a used bookstore and record shop. Some time before the start of the story, Quinn happened on a black man holding a gun to a white man in the street. Quinn shot him. Turned out the black man, Chris Wilson, was an off-duty police officer. (…)
Gorky Park / Martin Cruz Smith
18 August 2007 – 11:14 am
It’s been a long time since I’ve read what one would call a page-turner. Generally, they are too ephemeral for me to like much. Tastes great but leaves you hungry. Gorky Park bucks the trend. Martin Cruz Smith’s pace is fast and smooth, keeping a little bit of action going everywhere, revealing just a bit of the story at a time. Unlike many others, the end doesn’t really come amid a crescendo of plot twists. (…)
The Vengeful Virgin / Gil Brewer
10 July 2007 – 11:16 pm
Until Bookgasm posted a quick review of this book, I’d never noticed Hard Case Crime. Shelved a few books with the distinctive yellow ribbon on the cover, including one by Stephen King, but they all passed under the radar. But with a cover and title like these (and Hard Case Crime has lots of covers like these), any American male with a pulse is going to sit up and take notice. So I ordered a copy.
Sad to say the book doesn’t live up to my expectations. (…)
The Coroner’s Lunch / Colin Cotterill
9 July 2007 – 9:24 pm
I’ve had mixed reactions to the slew of Soho Crime books I picked up a couple of years ago. Today I finished the last of that bunch, and this one is a positive review. It’s set in Laos shortly after the communists took control in the mid-1970s. The detective is Dr. Siri Paiboun, the country’s head (and probably only) coroner. He has no training in forensics, just some books left over when the previous coroner fled the country. He has little equipment. (…)
