Tag Archives: booklist
Just Desserts – Series Share 2022 Results

Hey, mystery fans! Looking for something good to read?
At the May 26th, 2022 Just Desserts meeting that took place in person at the Bennett Martin Public Library, 14 members participated in our 10th annual “Series Share” discussion, in which attendees were encouraged to read the first or second volume in any new mystery/thriller/suspense series that’s started within the past few years, and share their thoughts in a “round-robin” format; two more group members shared their selections via e-mail. Here’s a list of the novels/series that were mentioned by group members. We asked all attendees to also give a “Thumbs Up” or “Thumbs Down” for whatever series they sampled – and all participants this month gave a “Thumbs Up” to whatever they read:
- The Pentecost & Parker series by Stephen Spotswood, including the first two volumes Fortune Favors the Dead, and Murder Under Her Skin
- The Frankie Elkin series by Lisa Gardner, starting with Before She Disappeared and A Step Too Far – past author selection for Just Desserts
- The Secret Scone and Book Society mystery series by Ellery Adams, starting with The Secret Scone and Book Society and The Vanishing Type
- The Roxanne Weary series by Kristen Lepionka, starting with The Last Place You Look, What You Want to See, The Stories You Tell and Once You Go This Far
- The Colter Shaw mystery series by Jeffery Deaver, staring with The Never Game and The Goodbye Man – past author selection for Just Desserts
- The Goddess of Green Street series by Kate Collins, starting with Statue of Limitations
- The Riley Fisher series by Erin Young, starting with The Fields (two readers chose this series)
- The Korner and Werner series by Katrine Engberg, the reader actually read #3, The Harbor.
- The Perveen Mistry series by Sujata Massey, starting with The Widows of Malabar Hill, The Satapur Moonstone, and The Bombay Prince
- The Laetitia Rodd series by Kate Saunders, in this case #3 The Mystery of the Sorrowful Maiden – past author selection for Just Desserts
- The Eye of Isis series by Dana Stabenow, starting with Death of an Eye – past author selection for Just Desserts
- The Alex Carter series by Alice Henderson, starting with A Solitude of Wolverines and A Blizzard of Polar Bears
- The Recovery Agent series by Janet Evanovich, starting with The Recovery Agent – past author selection for Just Desserts
- The Verifiers series by Jane Pek, starting with The Verifiers
Our main discussion took up so much time, we didn’t have time left for our traditional “Round Robin” of whatever else the group members have been reading. But a few readers tossed out four things they really wanted to mention.
Here’s a short list of mystery, thriller and suspense books recommended by Just Desserts members in May 2021:
What mysteries have you been reading lately that you’d recommend?
Reading Recommendations from Just Desserts members – April 2022
Hey, mystery fans! Looking for something good to read?
At the April 2022 Just Desserts meeting, 16 group members participated in our discussion of The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz.
Following the “assigned reading” portion of the meeting, we held our monthly round robin in which all 16 attendees were able to share recommendations of what other books they’ve been reading recently, with an emphasis on mysteries/suspense/thrillers.
Here’s the list of mystery, thriller and suspense books recommended by Just Desserts members in April 2022:
And here were some non-mystery titles some group members also recommended in April 2022:
What mysteries have you been reading lately that you’d recommend?
Reading Recommendations from Just Desserts members – August 2021
Hey, mystery fans! Looking for something good to read?
At the August 2021 Just Desserts meeting that took place in-person at the Bennett Martin Public Library, 13 group members participated in a discussion of Chris Bohjalian’s The Red Lotus. Following that discussion, we held our monthly round robin in which all 13 attendees were able to share recommendations of what other books they’ve been reading recently.
Here’s the list of mystery, thriller and suspense books recommended by Just Desserts members in August 2021:
And here were some non-mystery titles some group members also recommended in August 2021:
What mysteries have you been reading lately that you’d recommend?
Reading Recommendations from Just Desserts Members – June 2021
Hey, mystery fans! Looking for something good to read?
At the June 2021 Just Desserts meeting that took place online using Zoom meeting software, 10 members participated in a discussion of Michael Connelly’s “Fair Warning”. Following that discussion, we held our monthly round robin in which all 14 attendees were able to share recommendations of what other books they’ve been reading recently.
Here’s the list of mystery, thriller and suspense books recommended by Just Desserts members in June 2021:
And here were some non-mystery titles some group members also recommended in June 2020:
What mysteries have you been reading lately that you’d recommend?
Just Desserts – Series Share 2021 Results

At the May 2021 Just Desserts meeting that took place online using Zoom meeting software, 14 members participated in our annual “Series Share” discussion, in which attendees were encouraged to read the first or second volume in a new series that’s started within the past few years, and share their thoughts in a “round-robin” format, and three more group members shared their selections via e-mail. Here’s a list of the novels/series that were mentioned by group members. We asked all attendees to also give a “Thumbs Up” or “Thumbs Down” for whatever series they sampled – all participants this month gave a “Thumbs Up” to whatever they read – with only one “so-so” rating (mentioned below):
- The Mercy Carr series by Paula Munier, including the first three volumes A Borrowing of Bones, Blood Search and The Hiding Place
- The Lady Sherlock series by Sherry Thomas, starting with A Study in Scarlet Women
- The Heathcliff Lennox mystery series by Karen Baugh Menhuin, starting with Murder at Melrose Court (actually four different group members all read this!)
- The Thursday Murder Club series by Richard Orman, starting with The Thursday Murder Club (two group members read this!)
- The World’s End Bureau Victorian Mysteries series by Alys Clare, starting with The Woman Who Spoke to Spirits
- The Vera Stanhope mystery series by Ann Cleeves, in this case #4 Silent Voices – past author selection for Just Desserts
- The Charlotte Holmes YA series by Brittany Cavallero, starting with the first two, A Study in Charlotte and The Last of August (this reader preferred them as audiobooks)
- The Pelican Harbor series by Coleen Coble, starting with One Little Lie (this was the only so-so recommendation of the evening!)
- The Robin Lockwood series by Philip Margolin, starting with The Third Victim, Perfect Alibi and A Reasonable Doubt
- The Mobile Response Team series by Allison Brennan, starting with Third to Die
- The Bree Taggert series by Melinda Leigh, in this case #2 See Her Die – past author selection for Just Desserts
- The Jane Wunderly series by Erica Ruth Neubauer, starting with the first two, Murder at the Mena House and Murder at Wedgefield (which this reader preferred as an audiobook)
- The Home to Ireland series by Carlene O’Conner, starting with Murder in Galway
- The new series of Harlem-set mysteries by Karla F.C. Holloway, starting with A Death in Harlem, and Gone Missing in Harlem
- The Queen Elizabeth II series by S.J. Bennett, starting with The Windsor Knot
- The Heather Wells series by Meg Cabot, starting with the first three Size 12 is Not Fat, Size 14 is Not Fat Either, and Big Bones
- The Aloysius Archer series by David Baldacci, starting with One Good Deed
What new mystery series that started in the past 2-3 years have you sampled lately that you’d recommend?