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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 18, 2018 15:47:05 GMT
It appears we don't have a thread on this general topic, so I'll go through & link threads on specific authors or genres which fit into the detective label. In the meantime, I came across this excellent article on Josephine Tey. I read her @45 years ago, but am now eager to read her anew. crimereads.com/josephine-tey-a-crime-readers-guide-to-the-classics/
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 18, 2018 16:00:14 GMT
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Post by whatagain on Aug 18, 2018 21:07:30 GMT
I love Donna Leon.
cJ Samson is for me a must. Master shardlake investigated sometimes for the queen in the UK of 17th century.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 18, 2018 22:08:44 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 18, 2018 23:16:45 GMT
The saintly Bixa has combed through ten pages of the "What is everyone here reading?" thread looking for recommendations or otherwise of crime/detective/mystery novels. Only forty-nine pages to go! I'm preparing for a trip to Rome be re-reading some funny detective stories set in Rome, 71 A D by Lindsey Davis. As to what I'm reading ............ I'm still on The Scarecrow and definitely think Michael Connelly is taking his Jack McEvoy character into interesting directions. It's also good to see that an author who created an immensely popular character and series (the Harry Bosch novels) is keeping that character alive peripherally in a new series, rather than churning out pedestrian additions to the Bosch series. I see on michaelconnelly.com that a new Harry Bosch novel will be released in the US on October 13. Be still, my heart! To be honest, I avoided Connelly for a long time because of my prejudice against authors who write "too many" books. However, once I gave him a first chance I was hooked and he's never disappointed. I am re-reading a collection of Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey stories. was thrilled to find the new Lee Child book, Gone Tomorrow, at the library. I am a huge fan of this author, who delivers suspense, interesting facts, and a fascinating lead character is very well written prose. If you haven't read him, I suggest starting with the first in the series. I finished the latest Lee Child with a feeling of mild disappointment. He writes so well, the suspense is so good, his main character is interesting, but ........... I dunno, the plot was just too far-fetched somehow, plus he brought in torture, and I didn't have that feeling of satisfaction I usually have after one of his books. In anticipation of my trip to Miami in a couple of weeks I have begun reading Peter Matthiessen's "Killing Mr. Watson",part 1 of a trilogy about murder and intrigue in the Everglades. He's such a fabulous writer and his intimate knowledge of the environs is a real plus. Has anyone read any of Elizabeth George's detective stories? I find them very good. Locked Rooms. I'm a big fan of Laurie R. King and this series just keeps getting better. The plots and character development are always complete enough that you feel you're getting real reading value from her books. (try Folly -- quite different from the Russell & Holmes books) I finished a wonderful book yesterday -- A Reliable Wife, by Robert Goolrick. I strongly recommend against reading the reviews, as so many of them give away important bits of the plot. Rather than "plot twists", Goolrick leads us to revelatory glimpses after strongly building a different point of view. The setting of the book -- 1907, winter in Wisconsin -- works beautifully with the author's lush yet controlled prose. You feel you're standing in a room white with the glare of snow through the windows, and as you're led into the minds of the protagonists, their thoughts seem to tumble silently through a gray afternoon into a sparkling drift of character development. Yes, he does skirt the limits of gothic or even bodice-ripper conventions at times, but so sure-handedly that it's sheer enjoyment. Anyone who appreciates excellent, rhythmic prose combined with a strong, on-going plot will love this book.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 19, 2018 4:15:56 GMT
More, god help me. This is through page 33 of the reading thread: I've just finished Grave Goods by Ariana Franklin. A medieval murder mystery. I am an absolute sucker for medieval murder mysteries. This one is actually the third in the series so now I have to hunt down the first two. I am an absolute sucker for medieval murder mysteries. I love reading about that period, and it's not always easy to find good mysteries set in medieval times. I think you'd really enjoy The White Cutter <-- click. I don't agree with the assessments in the link, undoubtedly 'cause I'm so much smarter than those reviewers. If you like medieval murder mysteries, there are all the books by Ellis Peters, with her hero Brother Cadfael. And some non-medieval but rather 16th century mysteries I read recently are by C.J. Sansom. They take place in the early years of when Heny VIII disestablished the monasteries. His hero is a lawyer. Very good and well written. They are the Shardlake books in this link: www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/s/c-j-sansom/On holiday I read another book by Philip Kerr If The Dead Rise Not, in his series of stories about his Berlin detective Bernie Gunther, set in the 1930s and on from there. I like them a lot, and having been to Berlin again 2 weeks ago, I like to recognize a few names of streets. I found a book at the library the other day -- a German book translated into French. Original title Der nasse Fisch, which means The Wet Fish. Author is Volker Kutscher. I took it because it's set in 1929 Berlin and it's a detective story. The background is Communist riots on May 1, and a policeman who has just been transferred to Berlin, in full Weimar period but with the Nazis becoming more popular. Since it's a period I find very interesting, and also enjoy Phillip Kerr's books about 1930s (and later) Berlin, I thought I would like it. Pretty good so far -- I have read about 130 pages. The Swan Thieves, Elizabeth Kostova. Although, I’m only a few pages in, I like it. An artist has brutally attacked a painting in the National Gallery of Art and is now in a Psychiatric ward, stubbornly silent. His psychiatrist is also a painter. Patiently, he is hoping that his client will speak. Thus far, no. He will only sketch or paint. The only clue is a bundle of old letters, written in Paris in the late 19th century. 'm a little embarrassed about what I'm reading, but what the heck. I'm allowed some mental junk food. The book is Dog On It and is a mystery story told from the point of view of the private eye's dog. [img src="//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/embarrassed.png" alt=" " class="smile"] I am thoroughly enjoying it! www.amazon.com/Dog-Spencer-Quinn/dp/1436198380I fancied some light reading so I brought home 'The Postcard Killers" by James Patterson from the local library. I thought he was a popular author, boy, what a load of rubbish, the guy cannot even string two sentences together. I did give it a chance and read it for an hour before giving it away. Its my first and last book by him.... [input type="checkbox" class="ui-manager-checkbox"] Post by joanne28 on [abbr class="o-timestamp time" data-timestamp="1303912727000" title="Wed Apr 27 2011 08:58:47 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)"]Apr 27, 2011 at 8:58am[/abbr] I've been steadily munching through the entire canon of the Brother Cadfael mysteries. I'm nearly finished no. 18. I started this because I had a visit planned to Shrewsbury, where most of the books are set. I did get through 10 or 11 before we got there so I decided I might as well finish them off. I really enjoy these - they fall into the genre of 'after dinner books", much like after dinner mints - a pleasant little taste but not too filling. Perfect for relaxation. I just started "This Body of Death" by Elizabeth George. I usually like her books, which is why I bought this one. I don't really like the different narratives/threads at the beginning here though. Of course, they will all come together but for now I find it a bit distracting. I probably need to give Elizabeth George another try. For whatever reason, I find her books dense in a way that doesn't work for me. [input type="checkbox" class="ui-manager-checkbox"] Post by bjd on [abbr data-timestamp="1305184460000" class="o-timestamp time" title="Thu May 12 2011 02:14:20 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)"]May 12, 2011 at 2:14am[/abbr] Bixa, I think it's the "density" of Elizabeth George's books that I like -- she actually develops her characters so the books are not just detective stories. Indeed, it all came together shortly before the end. I also recently read Sara Paretsky's Body Work. Paretsky is not my favorite mystery writer, but she usually delivers a good read. She does seem to be foisting her character's young cousin on us, though, an annoying Skipper to V.I.'s astringent Barbie. There was also a plot hole in the book you could drive a Buick through. I also recently read Sara Paretsky's Body Work. Paretsky is not my favorite mystery writer, but she usually delivers a good read. She does seem to be foisting her character's young cousin on us, though, an annoying Skipper to V.I.'s astringent Barbie. There was also a plot hole in the book you could drive a Buick through. Before that I read True Story, by Michael Finkel. A major problem I've found with true crime stories is that so often they're written by terrible writers. Not so in this case. Michael Finkel is a real writer who was involved with the crime he covers in a bizarre way -- the accused, whom he didn't know, had stolen Finkel's identity. I couldn't put this book down. I just finished one of Philip Kerr's books in the Bernie Gunther series. This one The One from the Other (I think, since I read it in French) takes place in 1949. Good book. It does not paint a very flattering picture of US (and particularly CIA) and Vatican actions with Nazi war criminals, nor of the W German government under Adenauer. I have just finished Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn and this was much better than I expected ,one of the best books I have read in the last few months. One for those who like psychological thriller types and plot twists. I am now definitely going to read her other two books.
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Post by questa on Aug 19, 2018 6:06:09 GMT
Anglo-Australian writer, Arthur Upfield created a very different sleuth called Boney. His mother was Aboriginal and father a white outback worker. He is adopted, given the name Napoleon Bonaparte, grows up with skills of both worlds, uni, becomes detective in the outback.
Upfield writes simply, each story is set in a different part of Oz, all top researched. The environment is like a character in the story. He treads a fine line with input from both cultures. IIRC he wrote about 30 books, set in the 30-40s.
A TV series was made in the 70s. There is talk of another one as a new generation is discovering these stories. Has anyone here read any of his books?
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Post by bjd on Aug 19, 2018 6:56:36 GMT
I have read several of Upfield"s books. More for the local colour than for the plot development.
Looking back through Bixa's posts, it looks as though I read a lot of detective stories! I like Donna Leon too -- I have read lots of them. I believe I like them because I enjoy reading books set in places a bit "exotic" to me. Keeping with those, I recently enjoyed books set in Athens in the very contemporary financial crisis, as well as one in Istanbul. The author is Petros Makaris.
I also read a couple of Elizabeth Peters' books set at the end of 19th century about a woman called Amelia Peabody who goes to Egypt and gets involved in archaeology. Okay, more for the picturesque language than for the story itself.
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Post by patricklondon on Aug 19, 2018 10:04:58 GMT
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Post by breeze on Aug 19, 2018 12:55:47 GMT
Thanks for doing this, bixa. I'm picking up some ideas here to add to our long list.
Questa, I love the Boney series. There aren't many books I can read again with pleasure the way I can this series. Upfield's prose is pretty clunky, and some of the attitudes are uncomfortable to a present-day reader, but that doesn't put me off since he creates such vivid characters. And you are so right that the environment is a character. His knowledge of so many different parts of Australia is impressive. I once spent an afternoon in the Library of Congress reading his autobiography but I don't recall learning from that book where this vast knowledge came from.
Bjd, we are Donna Leon fans too and the fact that she casts a jaundiced eye on Venice and Italy doesn't bother me at all; I consider it a plus.
Sarah Shaber is writing a quiet but enjoyable series set in Washington DC during World War II about an intelligent young woman with a lowly job in a government office.
Sujata Massey writes about a lawyer in Bombay in the 1920s. I was going to say "the 20s" but pretty soon that will take on new meaning.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 19, 2018 15:05:51 GMT
Anglo-Australian writer, Arthur Upfield created a very different sleuth called Boney. His mother was Aboriginal and father a white outback worker. He is adopted, given the name Napoleon Bonaparte, grows up with skills of both worlds, uni, becomes detective in the outback. Upfield writes simply, each story is set in a different part of Oz, all top researched. The environment is like a character in the story. He treads a fine line with input from both cultures. IIRC he wrote about 30 books, set in the 30-40s. I have read several of Upfield"s books. More for the local colour than for the plot development. Questa, I love the Boney series. There aren't many books I can read again with pleasure the way I can this series. Upfield's prose is pretty clunky, and some of the attitudes are uncomfortable to a present-day reader, but that doesn't put me off since he creates such vivid characters. And you are so right that the environment is a character. His knowledge of so many different parts of Australia is impressive. One I picked up for a trip abroad was in the Sister Fidelma series by Peter Tremayne, set in the period of Celtic to Anglo-Saxon transition in England, in this case Sister Fidelma investigating murderous shenanigans at the Synod of Whitby (where Rome won out over the Celtic church). Sarah Shaber is writing a quiet but enjoyable series set in Washington DC during World War II about an intelligent young woman with a lowly job in a government office. Sujata Massey writes about a lawyer in Bombay in the 1920s. I was going to say "the 20s" but pretty soon that will take on new meaning. I like Donna Leon too -- I have read lots of them. I believe I like them because I enjoy reading books set in places a bit "exotic" to me. Keeping with those, I recently enjoyed books set in Athens in the very contemporary financial crisis, as well as one in Istanbul. The author is Petros Makaris. I also read a couple of Elizabeth Peters' books set at the end of 19th century about a woman called Amelia Peabody who goes to Egypt and gets involved in archaeology. Okay, more for the picturesque language than for the story itself. Bjd, we are Donna Leon fans too and the fact that she casts a jaundiced eye on Venice and Italy doesn't bother me at all; I consider it a plus. Well! I am certainly learning some great new information today! Somehow I completely missed knowing about Upfield, as I surely would have read one of his books had it come my way. Seeing the roots of Upfield's series made me think of Tony Hillerman. Either I missed any reference to Hillerman in the Reading thread or, by some bizarre fluke he has never been mentioned on anyport. From a Publisher's Weekly blurb: ... Tony Hillerman, one of America's best loved mystery writers, produced 18 novels grounded in the Native American cultures of the desert Southwest. The ... landscape of the Four Corners region of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado was essential to the plots and atmosphere of Hillerman's booksHillerman not only did not offend the native Americans he wrote about, he was appreciated by them: Of all the honors and awards he received, however, Hillerman cherished most the fact that he was named an honorary member of the Navajo Nation and that he received the Navajo Tribe’s Special Friend Award. Such acceptance by the Navajo people confirmed that Hillerman’s treatment of Native American cultural material is accurate enough and sensitively handled, sourceAlso: Hillerman gave and received from Navajo NationAnd the Wikipedia entry yielded this: Hillerman repeatedly acknowledged his debt to an earlier series of mystery novels written by the British-born Australian author Arthur W. Upfield and set among tribal aborigines in remote desert regions of tropical and subtropical Australia. The Upfield novels began to be published in 1928 and featured a half-European, half-aboriginal Australian hero, Detective-inspector Napoleon (Bony) Bonaparte. Bony worked with deep understanding of tribal traditions. The character was based on the achievements of an aborigine known as Tracker Leon, whom Upfield had met during his years in the Australian bush. Hillerman discussed his debt to Upfield in many interviews and in his introduction to the posthumous 1984 reprint of Upfield's A Royal Abduction. In the introduction, he described the appeal of the descriptions in Upfield's crime novels. It was descriptions both of the harsh outback areas and of "the people who somehow survived upon them" that lured him. "When my own Jim Chee of the Navajo Tribal Police unravels a mystery because he understands the ways of his people, when he reads the signs in the sandy bottom of a reservation arroyo, he is walking in the tracks Bony made 50 years ago."I guess I need to give Donna Leon another chance. I tried reading one of her books years ago and it kicked off with an exhaustive description of making espresso, a description so long and tedious that I gave up on the book & the author. Patrick, I'd never heard of Peter Tremayne nor of the Sister Fidelma series, which would be as meat and drink to me, so thanks. I looked up the author and he is extremely impressive in all kinds of ways. Breeze, the Sarah Shaber books do sound enjoyable and different. I've heard of Massey's lawyers, but haven't read any of the books. Bjd, are the Petros Makaris mysteries? Your comment on the Elizabeth Peters Egyptian series sort of smacks of damning with faint praise. True?
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 19, 2018 16:22:15 GMT
Continuing to scroll through the Reading thread, I see that many of us enjoy or enjoyed the Dorothy Sayers books, in case anyone wants to expound on them here. Ditto Josephine Tey, who kicks off this thread. Incidentally, I've changed the name of the thread to Mystery novels, as it seems more inclusive than Detective novels. Certain mystery authors are repeatedly mentioned in the Reading thread, Fred Vargas for one. There is a link to the Fred Vargas thread in reply #1 above. About Vargas, Casimira said I'm halfway through Fred Vargas's Seeking Whom He May Devour. I am enthralled with her writing, both chilling and creepy at the same time ... Bjd offered Some of the books take place in Paris, others in various areas of France.There are quite a few sans critique mentions of mystery writers & their series, such as Nevada Barr & her Anna Pigeon books set in various national parks of the US. I quite enjoyed most of those. There is also Randy Wayne White, whose usually amusing mysteries are set in Florida. Robert Crais, a Louisianian whose novels take place in Los Angeles is great. His characters Elvis Cole and Joe Pike are well fleshed out and lovable. Here are the mystery novel fruits of pp. 34 through 43 of the "What is everyone here reading" orchard ~ I'm reading a detective story by Donna Leon, Suffer the Little Children. Leon is an American who has lived in Venice for years and her books are set there. I like her books because they give a different picture of the place than what we usually imagine, a place where people actually live and work. I'm enjoying a Russian murder/mystery The Winter Queen by Boris Akunin. It's quite good. Somewhat reminiscent of Allen Furst. I just read Philip Kerr's latest book The Man Without Breath. I really enjoy all his books -- set in Germany in the 1930s, then later as well, depending on where the lead character's (former Berlin policeman Bernie Gunther) adventures take him. The latest is set in occupied USSR, around Smolensk in 1943, where the Germans have found mass graves of Polish officers and want to make a propaganda coup against the Soviets. I picked up a German thriller while on holiday, to try to keep my hand in at the language - Der Trümmermörder by Cay Rademacher (lit. The Rubble Murderer, though a snappier title might be Murder in the Ruins), a police procedural set in Hamburg under the British occupation in the dreadful winter of 1947. A bit slow, perhaps (or maybe that's my reading), but I can just imagine a TV adaptation to fit BBC4's Saturday evening slot for subtitled crime/cop series. I reread a Harlen Coben novel that I forgot that I had already read, but once I started recognizing a few details, I just kept going because his plots are so preposterous that they end up surpising me even when I thought I knew whas was going to happen. I'm reading Gore Vidal's Palimpsest -- part way through he mentions writing a few books as Edgar Box, so I went and took one (the only one) from the library. Interesting how his detective novel is based so much on the kind of people he met in real life. I've just started What the Dead Know, by Laura Lippman and it's obvious why this detective story writer gets such good reviews on her writing. I have read (and even own) most of his Bernie Gunther books. They are really good, well researched and well written. ... Kerr's books are not spy stories. His main character is a policeman, and later a private detective, in 1930s Berlin. The books follow his path through the 1940s and even the 1950s, often with flashbacks to the war, but to Vienna, Argentina, Cuba. Very well written, as I said. There are some politics -- obviously anti-Nazi, but also anti-CIA in the later books. Strange Bodies by Marcel Theroux. There's no way I can summarize it to make it sound attractive, so please let me quote blurbs: "A dizzying novel of deception and metempsychosis..:" " ...speculative journey that poses questions about identity, authenticity, and what it means to be truly human." "The unfolding of the narrative is genuinely eerie, but the richness of allusion and elegance of design make Strange Bodies as much an inquiry into language and identity as a high-concept literary thriller." www.theguardian.com/books/2013/may/24/strange-bodies-marcel-theroux-review
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Post by bjd on Aug 19, 2018 19:49:45 GMT
Yes, Bixa. Petros Makaris writes mysteries. His main character is a policeman in Athens, but the contemporary setting means that for anyone who is even vaguely aware of Greece's economic crisis of the past few years, the rise of the far-right, Albanian illegal immigration, corruption and tax evasion, etc the books are extremely interesting.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 19, 2018 20:05:37 GMT
Yes, that does sound like not only interesting, but rather necessary reading. Thanks!
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 20, 2018 3:26:00 GMT
This is it -- the last of the quotes about mystery books from the "What is everybody here reading" thread. (pp. 44 through 59) Mystery books were mentioned more times than this list would indicate, but I only quoted comments that included some kind of capsule review. Let's just hope that people henceforth choose to put their mystery/detective/crime reading information in this thread, as it might make it easier when we're browsing for recommendations. I agree that Maigrets are atmospheric, rather than who-dun-its. They always used to draw me in, even though I missed the element of pitting your wits against the author. But for one reason, I wish people planning to join the police would read a few Maigrets. Maigret was quite clear that his job was only to figure out who’d committed the crime and bring them in. Judgment and punishment were not part of his job. As far as I remember, he never stepped across that line. This is a mark of what a slow thinker I am--I remember that Maigret and his detectives always sent out for a platter of sandwiches, but I only realized recently that these were not club sandwiches or tuna on toast. The Woman in White gripped me from beginning to end. I remember spending a weekend reading it, not wanting to do anything else, and that's rare for me. As I was reading, my husband asked me to give him a running commentary and I said it was impossible. Too many details and an intricate, constantly advancing plot. They don't write 'em like that anymore. I wish they did. I just finished 'secret place' from Tana French. www.goodreads.com/book/show/20821043-the-secret-placeI liked it - took place in a scottish high end school for young girls. All think I know next to nothing about, inc the way teenagers speak ... english ... in Scotland. The plot was nice. All in all, quite different from a classical murder investigation, which was why I liked it. Yes, Bixa. I really like Kerr's books, but then, I like history and that period around WW2 (one of the reasons I enjoyed many of the Alan Furst books). Kerr's style is quite different -- his hero is a Berlin policeman/detective who ends up in the SD during the war, but retains a sense of humanity and humour. Not that the books are funny, but I enjoy his cynical remarks. They are also well documented, I think. Here is an interview with Kerr from a few years ago: www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/9025756/Philip-Kerr-Interview.htmlIt's a good idea to start with the first books (Berlin trilogy) because although they can be read as stand-alones, there is an evolution over time. For the Perry books, I guess you mean the Thomas & Charlotte Pitt books that you don't like as well? I have only read 2 of the Monk/Hester books, but indeed, I think the characters are a bit more interesting, especially Hester. Has anyone read any of the Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich? They are very funny, with some violent parts as Ms Plum falls into all sorts of troubles in her job as bounty hunter. She has 2 gorgeous men in tow and a family/neighbourhood filled with crazy characters. The series starts with 'One for the money', 'Two for the Dough' and I believe she is up to 18 now. Fast paced, can't put down, light reading for holidays...and hilarious. I also just read the latest book by Donna Leon, an American who has lived in Venice for many years and writes detective stories whose main character is a policeman called Brunetti, as well as a book by a Greek writer, Markaris, whose policeman is confronted in his daily life with the current austerity policies, rise of the far right. Both to be recommended for those who like detective stories but also want a look at a wider background to the characters' lives and times. While we are confessing, I must admit that I prefer crime novels by British (English or Scottish) authors. I have read some older American books that I liked a lot: Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler type, but many of the recent ones are so gruesome that I give up in disgust when they start describing things in detail. James Ellroy comes to mind. And I have totally given up on Nordic noir -- just more of the same, every single time, no matter which Scandinavian country they come from. Is it the climate? All those dark winter days? ... There is also a series of books that take place in Shanghai that I like. The author is Chinese but lives in the States -- probably because he mentions corruption and political influence quite a lot. His character is Inspector Chen. And despite my reading almost all my library books in French, I am not very keen on French crime writers. Just not that good. I'm a big fan of the Hieronymus Bosch series by Michael Connelly and the alphabet books of Sue Grafton, just in terms of solid entertainment and affection for the protagonists. Ditto the Wallender books of Henning Mankell. Donna Leon is a favorite of mine because her writing acknowledges Italy's corruption and misgovernment, which injects a dose of reality into Brunetti's somewhat low-key policing and his family life. I get the impression that US readers who love Italy are put off by that, preferring a more idealized view of Italy. There's a lot of online enthusiasm for Martin Walker's mystery series set in the Dordogne. He's found a formula that includes strong sexy women, wine, food, horses and dogs, and local color. Occasionally the author fits in some crime-solving but that's never a priority. I'm a mystery fan and this approach annoys me. I like mysteries which adhere to the rules from the Golden Age of mystery writing, but not many authors follow them any more. I have just read 3 old Ngaio Marsh detective stories in a row. The one I just finished takes place in 1938 or so. Things were so different -- even policemen had to go and look for telephones that passed through an operator in small towns. I have finally begun reading Peter Matthiessen’s KILLING MR. WATSON, which my dearly departed MIL highly recommended. Among the things we inherited were TWO copies of this book. I left the hardcover copy in the Florida house for renters to enjoy, and brought the trade paperback copy on the plane. It has a lot of historical information about Ft. Myers and points south along the Florida gulf coast, and speculates on the events surrounding the actual death of an actual character named Watson around the turn of the century. Each chapter is told by another person in Watson’s sphere. I read a few pages a day at bedtime, and savor it for the next 24 hours. I like Philip Kerr's books too, Casi! All the Bernie Gunther ones are great. He has kept the set going much better than Alan Furst. In fact, they are all stand-alone, but it's good to read them in order of publication, even though they are not chronological. I guess as they got popular, Kerr went back in time to fill in some background. I reread with glee and delight various parts of Killing Mr. Watson. . the prose . .a real Florida book. I envy Casi's mother's contact with a man who was a genius writer. In the Berlin Noir category, I've just finished the first two books of Volker Kutscher's Gereon Rath/Berlin Babylon series which according to Welt.de will go to nine books. What disappointment! They are not good books. The pacing is just plain off with too many unnecessary details that a Philip Kerr editor would have caught. Sadly too, I bought the next three in German before I finished these. When they arrived from Amazon.de I was thunderstruck by their size . . . 500 plus pages. No good Krimi should be that long. I wonder if I'll even bother reading them. I enjoyed Philip Kerr's Gunther books, too; I've been getting in my language practice over the years with Cay Rademacher, who wrote a series of detective stories set in immediately postwar Hamburg, and then switched to a series set in the contemporary south of France. Currently on "Tödliche Camargue". They're rather in the same territory (if a different part of the south of France) as Martin Walker's Bruno series. There is another Belgian writer that I have read: Peter Aspe. Writes detective stories based in Bruges (I think). I read a couple from the library but gave up. I couldn't decide whether they were really badly written or whether the translations from Flemish were terrible. I like to read detective stories set in places I don't know so was quite pleased to find a book set in Mongolia at the library. In fact, the author Ian Manook is a Frenchman called Patrick Manoukian, but the book is pretty good. The name, Yeruldelgger, is the name of the main character, a policeman in Ulan Baator who is not corrupt and hence in trouble with corrupt police and wealthy men who are selling the country out to Korean and Chinese businessmen. Some information about yurts and Mongolian traditions but not overly so. Some gruesome deaths too but it's still a pretty good read.
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Post by lugg on Aug 20, 2018 11:39:55 GMT
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Post by questa on Aug 20, 2018 13:59:29 GMT
lugg, Does anyone die from drinking fermented mares' milk? I thought I was going to !
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 20, 2018 16:43:05 GMT
Tout away, Lugg! It looks as though it's going to be a good series.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 9, 2018 21:58:56 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 3, 2021 23:40:14 GMT
I haven't been in the mood for a mystery for a good while, but am now reading one that is quite absorbing. This is one of those books that I think of as "slow", but in a good way. There is little suspense built into it, more world-building and getting to know the character. I suspect that's because it's the first in a series and, because it's set in 1835 in Pennsylvania, that's all right with me. I'm nearing the end and can say I definitely would read another book by this author. www.simonandschuster.com/books/A-Stranger-Here-Below/Charles-Fergus/Gideon-Stoltz-Mystery-Series/9781951627447#
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Post by htmb on Mar 4, 2021 0:11:29 GMT
Looking at the description, it sounds like the part of PA where my maternal grandmother’s ancestors lived for three hundred years or more. I assume “Adamant” and “Colerain County” are fictional.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 4, 2021 0:25:29 GMT
Oh, that is interesting! One of the themes of the book is that the protagonist is "Pennsylvania Dutch", i.e. of German descent, and rather despised because of it. He leaves his people and winds up marrying a girl in the area where he becomes sheriff. The townspeople resent his elevation to sheriff and mock his accent. (None of this is a spoiler -- it's right at the start of the book.) Here is the little map at the front of the book so you can see if you can pinpoint the area ~
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Post by htmb on Mar 4, 2021 0:53:55 GMT
I’ll have to study it a bit. My mother was born and raised in Muncy, but I don’t think there are actual Muncy Mountains. I’m guessing the author took names of local places and then created his own fictional map, but it does look like the general area where my relatives lived. I’ll download a sample and see if the book appeals to me. Glad you mentioned it, Bixa. Thanks.
Edited to add: my three younger siblings are from Pennsylvania Dutch stock on their dad’s side.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 4, 2021 4:29:59 GMT
You know I can't let a googling opportunity go by. I googled "muncy mountains" and got Muncy this, that, & the other! hitsThis is the best one ~ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bald_Eagle_Mountain ~ because Bald Eagle Mountain was "once known locally as Muncy Mountain".
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Post by htmb on Mar 4, 2021 4:56:47 GMT
And if you Google Seven Mountains you’ll find lots of this, that and the other, too. I bought the book. Will let you know when I’m finished. I have plenty of relatives I can always consult if questions about locations arise.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 4, 2021 6:18:58 GMT
I didn't go that far. It's kind of exciting to know that the locale is real.
If you look in the front of the book you'll see that the author has written several books on natural history, among other topics. To me, one of the best things about the novel is how rich it is in homely and practical historical facts. Based on his non-fiction books, he must be quite a researcher, which must be why the novel seems so real.
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Post by bjd on Mar 5, 2021 11:59:15 GMT
I'm just finishing a book by Peter May -- a Scot who lives in southern France. He wrote a trilogy set in the islands off the western coast of Scotland, plus some books set in France as well as a series set in China. The one I'm reading is called Freeze Frame and is set on the Ile de Groix, off the Brittany coast.
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Post by htmb on Mar 9, 2021 1:23:37 GMT
You know I can't let a googling opportunity go by. I googled "muncy mountains" and got Muncy this, that, & the other! hitsThis is the best one ~ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bald_Eagle_Mountain ~ because Bald Eagle Mountain was "once known locally as Muncy Mountain". Bald Eagle Mountain makes a lot of sense when it comes to the location of the area where this story takes place. I waited until after I’d finished the book to look at your link, and in my mind I was seeing an area around State College and Lewistown. Bald Eagle Mountain is north of those towns and is in Lycoming County where most of my grandmother’s family has lived for 400 years. I’m not sure how familiar you are with this part of Pennsylvania, Bixa, but it’s still very rural and I can’t imagine the basic countryside has changed much over the years since this story took place. Yes, there are modern roads, electricity, etc, but there’s lots of wild, protected forestland, too. While he was certainly not German, reading this book gives me a better idea of what it must have been like for my maternal grandfather to have been literally dropped into this area about 80 years after this story takes place. He could neither read nor write, and spoke no English. At the age of 16, he took a boat from Naples, Italy to New York City and worked in the train yards on the lower west side of Manhattan for a few years while living with cousins. One day, after receiving his pay, my grandfather was jumped by some ruffians who tried to steal his money. My grandfather fought with them and then hopped on a freight train heading out of the yards. He was so concerned he’d gravely injured one of the men, he stayed on the train for miles until it finally slowed down to cross the western branch of the Susquehanna River at Montgomery, PA. From there he walked into town and found work with the local railroad company. He eventually met my grandmother and the rest is a long, convoluted story. He was one of the only Italians living in the area - if not the only one - and my grandmother did her best to train him out of his Italian ways as she tried to “fit in.” A very creative and inventive man, my grandfather taught himself how to play several instruments and performed at local venues. He also learned leatherworkimg and eventually opened a shoe repair business. I enjoyed the book, finding it interesting, well written and suspenseful.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 9, 2021 3:22:49 GMT
Absolutely fascinating, Htmb!
I can imagine that your grandfather must have been mocked in the same way Gideon was mocked in the book, with people thinking his lack of English meant he was stupid. There may been some negative stereotyping as well, with some seeing your grandfather as the Italian persona played by Chico Marx.
It is amazing how he rose above all of that and developed his natural talents plus learned a trade. It is humbling to think how far some of our forebearers went without having any of the advantages we take for granted.
I think it's wonderful that you have so much history of your grandparents. You could certainly fashion your own "stranger here below" novel of out that material!
I've never been in Pennsylvania to actually be there, since I can't count driving though it on I-95 once. I absolutely love knowing that parts of it have not been "improved" out of existence and that you have seen those parts.
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Post by htmb on Mar 9, 2021 3:41:14 GMT
Thanks for mentioning this book. It was a real gem of a find. I think I might be related to some of Gideon’s in-laws on my non-Italian quarter.
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