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Tag Archives: mysteries
Just Desserts, March 30, 2017: Hard Case Crimes
Participants in the Just Desserts Mystery Discussion Group share their opinions about various books published by Hard Case Crime.
Reading Recommendations from Just Desserts members – February 2017
At the February 23rd, 2017 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 all 14 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 February 2017:
- A Murder Announced by Agatha Christie – past author selection for Just Desserts
- The Closers by Michael Connelly – past author selection for Just Desserts
- Night of the White Buffalo by Margaret Coel – past author selection for Just Desserts
- Order to Kill by Vince Flynn
- Hide and Seek by M.J. Arlidge
- Terminal City by Linda Fairstein – past author selection for Just Desserts
- The Girl in the Spider’s Web by David Lagercrantz
- The Ex by Alafair Burke – past author selection for Just Desserts
- Among the Wicked by Linda Castillo – past author selection for Just Desserts
- a recent release by Michael Koryta (unknown title)
- The Great Reckoning by Louise Penny – past author selection for Just Desserts
- The Winter People and Night Sister, both by Jennifer McMahon
- The Case of the Velvet Claws, Erle Stanley Gardner’s very first mystery
- Reckless Creed by Alex Kava – sequel to what we discussed this month at Just Desserts
- The Sleeping Beauty Killer by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke – past author selection for Just Desserts
- The Cat Sitter and the Canary by Blaize Clement
- Escape Clause by John Sandford – past author selection for Just Desserts
- Jackpot Blood by Jimmy Fox
- The Old Man (and others ) by Thomas Perry
- Home (on CD) by Harlan Coben (two reading this) – past author selection for Just Desserts
- Warhawk by James Rollins
- Protesis by Andreu Martin
- Buried Secrets by Joseph Finder
- The Wrong Side of Goodbye by Michael Connelly – a past title/author selection for Just Desserts
- Summit Lake by Charlie Donlea
And here were some non-mystery titles some group members also recommended in February 2017:
- Redemption at Hacksaw Ridge by Booton Herndon
- The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (two members reading this)
- Star Trek: The Classic Episodes (novelizations) by James Blish
- The Christmas of the Phonograph Records by Mari Sandoz
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
- Human Acts by Han Kang
What mysteries have you been reading lately that you’d recommend?
Reading List from Just Desserts “Anthology” meeting – January 2017
At the January 26th, 2017 meeting of the Just Desserts mystery fiction discussion group, the theme of the monthly meeting was “Mystery Anthologies and Short Story Collections”. First, we had a round robin in which each attendee shared comments about whichever Anthology or Collection they had read for the month, then we had a second round robin in which all 15 attendees were able to share recommendations of other books they’ve been reading recently.
Here were the Anthologies/Collections read by group members specifically for the January 2017 meeting:
- FaceOff, edited by David Baldacci
- In Sunlight and in Shadow, edited by Lawrence Block
- The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries, edited by Otto Penzler
- Killer Year, edited by Lee Child
- Big Foot Stole My Wife, by Joan Hess writing as Joan Hadley
- Books to Die For, edited by John Connolly
- The Mistletoe Murder, posthumous collection by P.D. James
- A Treasury of Great Mysteries, edited by Howard Haycraft and John Beecroft
- Manhattan Mayhem, edited by Mary Higgins Clark
- BookShots
- The Best American Mystery Stories – 2015 edition, edited by James Patterson
- The Nine Mile Walk, collection by Harry Kemelman
- Ellery Queen’s Anthology, Spring/Summer 1976 Vol. 31
- Into the Mummy’s Tomb, edited by John Richard Stephens
- Creature Cozies, edited by Jill M. Morgan
Here’s the list of mystery books recommended by Just Desserts members in January 2017:
- The Associates of Sherlock Holmes, edited by George Mann
- Echoes of Sherlock Holmes, edited by Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger
- The Whistler by John Grisham
- The Innocent by Taylor Stevens
- Memory Man by David Baldacci – a past title/author selection for Just Desserts
- Night School by Lee Child – past author selection for Just Desserts [multiple readers this month!]
- Escape Clause by John Sandford – a past title/author selection for Just Desserts
- A Free Man of Color by Barbara Hambly – a past title/author selection for Just Desserts
- Double Shot by Diane Mott Davidson – a past title/author selection for Just Desserts
- Insidious and Nemesis, both by Catherine Coulter
- The Velvet Claw, Erle Stanely Gardner’s very first mystery
- The Wrong Side of Goodbye by Michael Connelly – a past title/author selection for Just Desserts
- Chaos, and others by Patricia Cornwell – a past title/author selection for Just Desserts
- Written Off by E.J. Copperman
- A Rule Against Murder and A Great Reckoning (both on audio) by Louise Penny
- The Agatha Christie Book Club by C.A. Larmer
- The Xibalba Murders and others by Lyn Hamilton
- Killer Smile by Lisa Scottoline – a past author selection for Just Desserts
- My Italian Bulldozer (on audio) by Alexander McCall-Smith – a past author selection for Just Desserts
And here were some non-mystery titles some group members recommended in January 2017:
- I’ll Take You There by Wally Lamb
- The Sleepwalker by Chris Bohjalian
- The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
- The Sword of Shannara and The Elfstones of Shannara by Terry Brooks
- The Princess Diarist (on audio) by Carrie Fisher
What mysteries have you been reading lately that you’d recommend?
Patricia Cornwell’s “Cruel & Unusual”
When the Just Desserts mystery fiction discussion group met on October 27th, 2016, 23 of us enjoyed discussing Cruel & Unusual, a 1993 entry (#4) in the long-running Kay Scarpetta series by Patricia Cornwell. Whether or not you attended the actual meeting, you are welcome to share your own thoughts and opinions about Cruel & Unusual and the Kay Scarpetta 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 Cruel & Unusual and the Kay Scarpetta series by Patricia Cornwell?
September 2016 reading recommendations from Just Desserts members
At the September 29th, 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 September 2016:
- McKee of Centre Street by Helen Reilly
- House of Secrets by ???
- Courting Trouble by Lisa Scottoline — past author selection for Just Desserts
- Hardwired by Sally Chapman
- Winter Prey and Extreme Prey by John Sandford – past author selection for Just Desserts
- Bone Deep by Randy Wayne White – past author selection for Just Desserts
- Tall Tail by Rita Mae Brown – past author selection for Just Desserts
- As Time Goes By by Mary Higgins Clark – past author selection for Just Desserts
- Grace Sees Red by Julie Hyzy – past author selection for Just Desserts
- The Widow-Maker and Massacre Pond by Paul Doiron
- Acorn TV streaming subscription – lots of classic and contemporary British TV mysteries
- The Obsession (and others) by Nora Roberts
- Crowned and Dangerous and Malice at the Palace by Rhys Bowen
- Insidious by Catherine Coulter (several reading this)
- Bedford Square by Anne Perry – past author selection for Just Desserts
- Feast Day of Fools and The Jealous Kind by James Lee Burke – past author selection for Just Desserts
- Off the Grid by C.J. Box – past author selection for Just Desserts
- The Highwayman (novella) by Craig Johnson – past author selection for Just Desserts
- The Readaholics and the Gothic Gala by Laura Diselverio
- Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris
- Downfall by J.A. Jance – past author selection for Just Desserts
- Dead Joker by Anne Holt
- A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny – past author selection for Just Desserts (several reading this)
- The Night Bell by Inger Ash Wolfe
- The Murder at the Vicarage and Remember Death by Agatha Christie – past author selection for Just Desserts
- A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny – past author selection for Just Desserts
- My Sister’s Grave by Robert Dugoni
- Internship in Murder by Donald Bain, based on the works of Margaret Truman – past author selection for Just Desserts
- The Adventures of Ellery Queen, starring Jim Hutton, on DVD
- Fool Me Once, The Innocent and Home, all by Harlan Coben – past author selection for Just Desserts
- Redemption Road and The Last Child by John Hart
- Any Minute Now by Erik Van Lustbader
- Those Who Wish Me Dead by Michael Koryta
- Guilty Minds by Joseph Finder
- Naked in Death by J.D. Robb – this month’s selected author for Just Desserts
- Bitter Medicine by Sara Paretsky – past author selection for Just Desserts
- The first three Kinsey Milhone novels (A is for Alibi, B is for Burglar, and C is for Corpse) by Sue Grafton – past author selection for Just Desserts
- Death on a High Floor by Charles Rosenberg
- In a Dry Season by Peter Robinson – past author selection for Just Desserts
- Cemetery Girl #2: Inheritance, 2nd in a graphic novel mystery trilogy, by Charlaine Harris, Christopher Golden and Don Kramer
And here were some non-mystery titles some group members recommended in August 2015:
- Belgravia by Julian Fellowes (from a Man Booker Prize booktalk)
- Work Like Any Other by Virginia Reeves (from a Man Booker Prize booktalk)
- Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh (from a Man Booker Prize booktalk)
- My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout (from a Man Booker Prize booktalk)
- The North Water by Ian McGuire (from a Man Booker Prize booktalk)
- Bettyville by George Hodgman – a 2016 One Book – One Lincoln finalist
- The Last Hundred Years trilogy (Some Luck, Early Warning, Golden Age) by Jane Smiley
What mysteries have you been reading lately that you’d recommend?