Just Desserts #100 – The Reading List

Wednesday, 06 April 2016 12:11

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The March 31^st, 2016 meeting of the Just Desserts mystery fiction discussion group was the 100^th meeting of the group. To celebrate this milestone, we held a super-sized meeting, at the Walt Branch Library instead of the South Branch Library. Lincoln Journal Star reporter/columnist Cindy Lange-Kubick also did an article about the group two days before the meeting, featuring interview quotes from several group members – this article led to a total of 47 mystery fans joining us for this particular gathering.

Rather than all reading the same book for discussion, the theme of meeting #100 was “All Time Favorites” – participants/attendees were encouraged to share a few comments about what their all-time favorite mystery novel or short story collection was, and why. Of the 47 attendees, 45 spoke out, either about a specific favorite title, or simply identifying some of their favorite mystery authors. The meeting was recording on audio for release as a podcast (eventually), but in the meantime, here is the list of titles/authors that were mentioned as favorites during this meeting.

• Scott – The mystery reference books of Jim Huang, including They Died in Vain, Mystery Muses, and 100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century
• Erin – North by Northanger and others in the Mr. and Mrs. Darcy mystery series by Carrie Bebris
• Don – The Killing Kind by John Connelly
• Carolyn – The Yellow House Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner
• Julie – The Draining Lake by Arnaldur Indridason
• Melba – A Free Man of Color by Barbara Hambly
• Linda – The #1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall-Smith
• Marlene – The works of Robert B. Parker, particularly the Spenser novels
• Mary – To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, also the Perry Mason novels of Earl Stanley Gardner
• Sarah – no favorites, I’m a “new reader” but you’re all inspiring me to read more
• Mary – The works of David Baldacci, particularly the four books of the Camel Club series (so far)
• Gary – The Guido Brunetti series by Donna Leon
• Vera – The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny; also the Harry Bosch mysteries of Michael Connelly
• Susan – The Last Coyote, a Harry Bosch novel by Michael Connelly
• Jodi – The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian; also the Dublin Murder Squad novels of Tana French
• Joan – Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier
• Jane – no specific title, but is a Goodrich teacher and shared a story about kids and the value of reading
• Ellen – The Seville Communion by Arturo Perez Reverte; also the works of Annette Meyers by herself, and partnered with her husband as Maan Meyers
• Barbara – Catherine Coulter’s FBI series, or, frankly, whatever I’m reading at the time
• Jo Ann – The Nancy Drew mystery series by Carolyn Keene
• Phyllis – Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier
• Ladena – One False Move and others by Nebraska author Alex Kava
• Vicki – various, including the works of Sue Grafton, Erica Spindler, and others; also grew up on the Trixie Belden series (written by various authors)
• Greta – The General’s Daughter by Nelson DeMille; also the works of Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie
• Kay – no specific titles, but enjoys sharing mysteries with her son
• Judy – The works of Sue Grafton and Nevada Barr, particularly Barr’s Hard Truth, set in Rocky Mountain National Park; also The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown
• Marcia – women authors, particularly Marcia Muller, Jodi Picoult and many more
• Rayma – A Judgment in Stone and The Tree of Hands, both by favorite author Ruth Rendell
• Tracy – The Three Investigators series from the 1960s-1970s
• Christy – The Joe Gunther mystery series by Archer Mayor
• Mary Lou – The works of Michael Connelly, David Baldacci and Sue Grafton
• Tracy – voracious reader of various authors, including Agatha Christie, Lee Child, Douglas Preston, Clive Cussler and J.D. Robb
• Paula – started as only a cozy reader, now tries a lot more – one favorite is Hell is Empty by Craig Johnson
• Jennie – The Charlie Moon series by the late James Doss
• Ann – Defending Jacob by William Landay
• Cat/Kat – various authors, including the works of Deborah Crombie, Jonathan Kellerman, Martha Grimes, Dick Francis, Ed McBain, and the audiobook adaptations of the Sue Grafton novels
• Suzy – Death Comes as the End by Agatha Christie
• Brandon – The works of Robert Crais and Laurie King
• LaJean – The works of Sue Grafton and John Grisham
• Patty – Kill Me by Stephen White
• Dave – Find Her by Lisa Gardner
• Gene – The works of Sue Grafton and Brian Freeman
• Sally – The Nancy Drew series by Carolyn Keene; the works of Agatha Christie; Patricia Wentworth, John D. MacDonald, Faye Kellerman and Nebraska author Joy Casto, particularly her Hell or High Water
• Charlotte – Cat of Many Tails, the 20^th Ellery Queen novel by Ellery Queen
• Cathy – The works of Tony Hillerman; also the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters, particularly The Last Camel Died at Noon; and Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey

We hope you’ll join us again, back at South Branch Library, on Thursday, April 28^th at 6:30 p.m., for a discussion of Jo Nesbo’s The Redeemer.

What mysteries have you been reading lately?