Mysteries/Thrillers

[Deleted]

I hear you. I have been pretty bored with the whole Ranger or Morelli issue for a while. I just think the other characters are so interesting I can't give them up. Shoot, she could ditch Steph entirely but leave Grandma, Lula, Sally Sweet, Vinnie and the others and I would be fine.

I will say that the Lean Mean 13 sounds like it will be pretty funny.

[bossyboots]

Oh who am I kidding. I'm totally going to read Lean Mean 13 if only for Lula and her awesome outfits.

[Deleted]

I'd love to read a Ranger spin-off series. I love the Plum series, and I'll probably keep reading them (each book only take a few hours, it's not exactly deep thought-provoking stuff). I just don't know why after so long at being a bounty hunter Stephanie's still such a fuck up. I know it's funny and the books are supposed to be light, but Stephanie's an idiot, yet things just fall into place for her and she's got two hot guys she has to decide between? Wow, I just looked way too deeply into that.

I'd like to second the Robicheaux love.

[forever1267]

When it came out 10ish years ago, I could. not. put down Scott Smith's A Simple Plan. The movie was very good, but the horrifying ending of the book was slam-bang terrific.

I see he (finally) has a new book out called The Ruins about a group of people who find some mysterious caves in Mexico. Has anyone read it or can anyone recommend it?

[beetlemier]

forever1267 said:

When it came out 10ish years ago, I could. not. put down Scott Smith's A Simple Plan. The movie was very good, but the horrifying ending of the book was slam-bang terrific.

I see he (finally) has a new book out called The Ruins about a group of people who find some mysterious caves in Mexico. Has anyone read it or can anyone recommend it?

I never read A Simple Plan, so I don't know if The Ruins is indicative of Scott Smith's writing style, but I was bored to tears by it. I picked it up due to Stephen King pimping it all over the place and I couldn't wait for it be over. There were so many plot holes and unanswered questions that I was actually pissed that I took the time to finish it. There are some horrifying scenes though, so maybe it was just me. But the reference you made to the caves reminded me to tell you that it really doesn't involve caves much at all. The location is on a hill, so if you're looking for a good "lost in caves with monsters" tale, it's not to be found in The Ruins.

But if you do read it, I would be very interested to hear your take, because it's received great reviews and I've been wondering if it's just me.

[forever1267]

I read the first few chapters in Borders and was only able to put it down because of the hardback cover price. I keep looking for it to be on sale. I might have to bite the bullet.

I, again, thought A Simple Plan was an absolutely brilliant, and all too possible, thriller. I mean, what would you do if $350,000 fell in to your hands, and it's possible, maybe, that no one will ever know... maybe.

[Auroranorth]

My modern faves in the mystery department are Nancy Atherton, Dorothy Simpson, J.A. Jance, Dana Stabenow, Margaret Maron and Earlene Fowler.

Atherton does cozy mysteries with an American in modern England, normally involving older issues that never got solved. Her lead character is interesting and the books have great food- I'm always hungry at the end. Simpson is British and has a good police procedural series set in Kent with interesting stories (though she needs to quit using incest as a plot point because she's done it before.) Jance is the Seattle version of Simpson. Stabenow is an Alaskan author and her writing smells like home. Maron is just Southern and frequently giggle-inducing. Fowler does a California/Southern blend that's fun with quilting, and I want to steal her lead character's husband.

Older authors- Agatha Christie, Josephine Tey, Patricia Wentworth, Dorothy L. Sayers.

[Daisy Pusher]

auroranorth said:

Atherton does cozy mysteries with an American in modern England, normally involving older issues that never got solved. Her lead character is interesting and the books have great food- I'm always hungry at the end.

I really need to check Nancy Atherton out. Culinary mysteries are so much fun. In law school, I was intoduced to the late Virginia Rich's wonderful Mrs. Potter mysteries. Her wonderful descriptions of biscuits and seafood stews and Portuguese bread inspired me to become more interested in food culture in general. Although it did my waistline no favors.

Okay, now I'm hungry.

[Auroranorth]

Atherton always has a dessert recipe in the back of her books. I'd also recommend Katherine Hall Page, whose series features a caterer as her heroine and the later books have recipes.

[Daisy Pusher]

auroranorth said:

Atherton always has a dessert recipe in the back of her books. I'd also recommend Katherine Hall Page, whose series features a caterer as her heroine and the later books have recipes.

Oooh, thanks. On my next library trip I'll look for them both.

I was thinking about my favorite mystery/thriller writers, and I realized that with the exception of Agatha Christie and Ruth Rendell, most of my favorites series are all heavy on the comedy, too.

Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone books. I own each one. I don't care if you want to call me middlebrow. Kinsey's awesome. I like it when she's all cranky.

Michael Kahn's Rachel Gold series. It's interesting to see a male author write from the perspective of a female protagonist. Kahn is a trial lawyer, so it's usually at least several years between books, which is a shame, but OTOH it helps keep the quality controlled. Plus they are set in St. Louis, where my grandparents used to live and I used to summer there, so it's got references to places and things I have a level of familiarity with.

Joan Hess. Now for years I was a huge fan of both the Claire Malloy series as well as the Maggody series. But now it seems like the Maggody books are all the same. Really, how many times can we watch Brother Verber get greasily aroused by the thought of the mayor's wife.

I used to love Patricia Cornwell, too, but after Black Notice I gave up. I agree with everything you guys have pointed out. Too bad, Seems as though the more the lid came off Cornwell's crazy box, the worse her writing got.