 |
Tag Archives: book group
Reading Recommendations from Just Desserts members – April 2016
Hey, mystery fans! Looking for something good to read?
At the April 28th Just Desserts meeting last night, after discussing our monthly “assigned” book, we did a round robin at the table, asking attendees to share what mysteries they’d been reading lately that they felt they could recommend. Here’s a list of the novels or authors that were hot last month with this mystery-savvy crowd:
Mysteries
- The works of Lee Child [Past author selection for Just Desserts]
- The works of Sue Grafton (several people reading) [Past author selection for Just Desserts]
- The Charlie Moon series by James Doss [Past author selection for Just Desserts]
- The Devil’s Star by Jo Nesbo
- The Doll’s House and others by M.J. Aldridge
- Vertigo 42 by Martha Grimes
- Firewall by Henning Mankell
- The Bishop’s Wife by Mette Ivie Harrison
- Her Royal Spyness, In Dublin’s Fair City and Tell Me, Pretty Maiden by Rhys Bowen
- Hour Game by David Baldacci [Past author selection for Just Desserts]
- A Comedy of Heirs and The Blood Ballad by Rett MacPherson
- Make Me by Lee Child (didn’t recommend) [Past author selection for Just Desserts]
- Off the Trail by C.J. Box [Past author selection for Just Desserts]
- The Firemaker by Peter May (highly recommended)
- Clawback by J.A. Jance [Past author selection for Just Desserts]
- Breakdown by Jonathan Kellerman [Past author selection for Just Desserts]
- The Considerate Killer by Lene Kaaberbol
- The Ghosts of Belfast by Stuart Neville
- The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry
- Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben (several people reading) [Past author selection for Just Desserts]
- The Girl She Left Behind by Sarah Graves [Past author selection for Just Desserts]
- The Wedding Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke (several people reading) [Past author selection for Just Desserts]
- Sweet Pepper Hero by J.J. Cook
- Wet Grave by Barbara Hambly [Past author selection for Just Desserts]
- Dead Letters: An Anthology of the Undelivered, the Missing, the Returned edited by Nina Allen [813.08 Dea]
- The Steel Kiss by Jeffery Deaver [Past author selection for Just Desserts]
- Switcheroo by Aaron Elkins (not curently in library)
- The Colorado Kid by Stephen King
- The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
- Treachery at Lancaster Gate by Anne Perry [Past author selection for Just Desserts]
- Retribution by Val McDermid
- The Lovers by John Connelly
- The FBI series of Catherine Coulter
- Three Graves Full by Jamie Mason
Non-Mysteries
- The Boys in the Boat by Daniel Brown [797.123 Bro] (several people reading)
- The Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton
- Shanks to Shakers: Reflections of the Missouri State Penitentiary by Mark S. Schreiber (not in library)
- The Heroines of Mercy Street: The Real Nurses of the Civil War by Pamela Toler [973.775 Tol]
So, what mysteries have you been reading that you’d recommend?
Jo Nesbø’s “The Redeemer”
When the Just Desserts mystery fiction discussion group met on April 28th, 2016, 22 of us enjoyed discussing The Redeemer, a 2009 entry in Norwegian author Jo Nesbø’s hugely popular “Harry Hole” series. Whether or not you attended the actual meeting, you are welcome to share your own thoughts and opinions about The Redeemer, or the rest of this series, in a reply comment to this blog post, below.
For additional reminders about upcoming Just Desserts meetings and/or other announcements of interest to mystery fans, don’t forget to sign up for the Just Desserts e-mail list. Or, if you’re logged into your account on Facebook, you can visit the Events page for the Lincoln City Libraries, and mark whether or not you plan to attend upcoming sessions of Just Desserts – this is a great way for you to help us promote this engaging discussion group! Our selections for future meetings are usually posted there months in advance.
What do you think of The Redeemer and the “Harry Hole” mystery/thriller series by Jo Nesbø?
Just Desserts will be having our annual “Series Share” meeting in May, specifically May 26th! Participants are encouraged to read the first or second volume in any NEW mystery series that has premiered in the past 2 to 3 years, and be prepared to briefly describe the set-up, tone, writing style, and your overall opinion about this new series to the other group members.
We hope to see you then!
Reading Recommendations from Just Desserts members – February 2016
At the February 25th, 2016 meeting of the Just Desserts mystery fiction discussion group, following the discussion of the assigned book of the month, we had a round robin in which attendees were able to share recommendations of other books they’ve been reading recently.
Here’s the list of mystery books recommended by Just Desserts members in January 2016:
- The works of Tana French – past selected author for the Just Desserts group
- Are You Watching Me by Sinead Crowley
- Blue by ???
- Career Evil by Robert Galbraith (a.k.a. J.K. Rowling) [More than one group member was reading this]
- After the Storm by Linda Castillo – past selected author for the Just Desserts group
- Bury the Lead by David Rosenfeldt
- The Devil Wins (a Jesse Stone novel continuing Robert B. Parker’s series) by Reed Farrell Coleman
- The DVD series Midsomer Murders
- Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter
- The early volumes (A, B, C, D…) in the Kinsey Milhone series by Sue Grafton – past selected author for the Just Desserts group
- The Bitter Season by Tami Hoag
- The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie – past selected author for the Just Desserts group
- Various volumes in the Phryne Fisher novel series by Kerry Greenwood – past selected author for the Just Desserts group
- In Like Flynn by Rhys Bowen
- Degrees of Separation by Sue Henry
- Various volumes in the Doc Ford series by Randy Wayne White – past selected author for the Just Desserts group
- The Chocolate Falcon Fraud by JoAnna Carl
- Some Like it Hawk by Donna Andrews
- Rogue Lawyer by John Grisham
- A Banquet of Consequences by Elizabeth George – past selected author for the Just Desserts group
- How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny – past selected author for the Just Desserts group
- NYPD Red and NYPD Red 2 by John Patterson – past selected author for the Just Desserts group
- Finder by Lisa Gardner – past selected author for the Just Desserts group
- A Place of Execution by Val McDermid
- Too Soon Dead – an Alexander Brass novel by Michael Kurland (not currently in the libraries)
And here were some non-mystery titles some group members recommended in August 2015:
- The Stand by Stephen King
- The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson
- The Karla Trilogy (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, The Honorable Schoolboy, Smiley’s People) by John Le Carre
- John Le Carre: The Biography by Adam Sisman
- The Art of Racing in the Rain (on CD) by Garth Stein
- The Reef by Nora Roberts
- Leonard: My Fifty Year Friendship With a Remarkable Man by William Shatner
And here were some additional titles sent in by e-mail after the meeting concluded:
- The Final Murder by Anne Holt
- Unstoppable: Harnessing Science to Change the World (on CD) by Bill Nye
What mysteries have you been reading lately that you’d recommend?
John Sandford’s “Field of Prey”
When the Just Desserts mystery fiction discussion group met on February 25th, 2016, 20 of us enjoyed discussing Field of Prey, a recent (2014) entry in John Sandford’s hugely popular “Lucas Davenport” series. Whether or not you attended the actual meeting, you are welcome to share your own thoughts and opinions about Field of Prey, or the rest of this series, in a reply comment to this blog post, below.
For additional reminders about upcoming Just Desserts meetings and/or other announcements of interest to mystery fans, don’t forget to sign up for the Just Desserts e-mail list. Or, if you’re logged into your account on Facebook, you can visit the Events page for the Lincoln City Libraries, and mark whether or not you plan to attend upcoming sessions of Just Desserts – this is a great way for you to help us promote this engaging discussion group! Our selections for future meetings are usually posted there months in advance.
What do you think of Field of Prey and the “Lucas Davenport” mystery/thriller series by John Sandford?
Just Desserts will be celebrating our 100th meeting on March 31st, 2016 — with a special “super-sized” meeting at the Walt Branch Library (one time only). All attendees will be asked to share some comments about their all-time favorite mystery novel or short-story collection. There will be door prizes and a trivia contest! We hope you’ll join us!
We hope to see you then!
Susan Elia MacNeal’s “Maggie Hope” Series
When the Just Desserts mystery fiction discussion group met on January 28th, 2016, 22 of us enjoyed discussing the first five volumes in the “Maggie Hope” series by Susan Elia MacNeal, beginning with Mr. Churchill’s Secretary (2012). Whether or not you attended the actual meeting, you are welcome to share your own thoughts and opinions about these novels in a reply comment to this blog post, below.
For additional reminders about upcoming Just Desserts meetings and/or other announcements of interest to mystery fans, don’t forget to sign up for the Just Desserts e-mail list. Or, if you’re logged into your account on Facebook, you can visit the Events page for the Lincoln City Libraries, and mark whether or not you plan to attend upcoming sessions of Just Desserts – this is a great way for you to help us promote this engaging discussion group! Our selections for future meetings are usually posted there months in advance.
What do you think of the “Maggie Hope” mystery series by Susan Elia MacNeal?
The Just Desserts mystery fiction discussion group will be discussing John Sandford’s Field of Prey at our next meeting on February 25th, 2016, 6:30 p.m. at the South Branch Library!
Just Desserts will be celebrating our 100th meeting on March 31st, 2016 — with a special “super-sized” meeting at the Walt Branch Library (one time only). All attendees will be asked to share some comments about their all-time favorite mystery novel or short-story collection. We hope you’ll join us!
We hope to see you then!