Crime Fiction Recommendations - Page 8

GA Russell · 09-18-2010, 09:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

...and certainly an era where being called an immigrant was not yet pejorative...

SP, I'm a proud American, but I don't think there has ever been a time since 1776 when being called an immigrant was not a pejorative.

M. R. Mathias · 09-21-2010, 06:38 PM

I love Michael Connelly even Chasing the Dime and that Caper novel about Vegas(The title eludes me), but I also like Robert Crais. Joe Pike and Elvis Cole are a riot.

GA Russell · 09-21-2010, 06:46 PM

MR, Robert Crais is on my short list of people to get to.

SensualPoet · 09-22-2010, 10:37 PM

Thanks, M. R. Mathias for the Michael Connelly suggestion. Several of his titles are available at Kobobooks and Amazon -- although, oddly, Chasing the Dime is at Kobo but not Amazon.

Kobo also has the Omnibus Harry Bosch Vol 1: Black Echo, Black Ice, Concrete Blonde in Canada; Amazon sells it in the US but not Canada.

captkjaneway · 09-23-2010, 11:42 AM

Ooo so many goodies on this thread already.....my favs include:
- John Connolly
- Val McDermid
- Stuart McBride
- Peter Robinson
- Colin Dexter
- Iain Rankin
- Tess Geritsen
- Karin Slaughter
- Michael Marshall
- R D Wingfield (Frost)

I also love Agatha Christie's Poirot and Marple

Moe The Cat · 09-25-2010, 11:10 PM

James Ellroy. His "L. A. Quartet" is good, although only the first volume, The Black Dahlia, is available as an ebook.

GA Russell · 09-26-2010, 01:41 AM

Moe, I met James Ellroy at a book signing. He signed his new White Jazz, which I gave to my brother-in-law for a Christmas present.

Moe The Cat · 09-26-2010, 09:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GA Russell

Moe, I met James Ellroy at a book signing. He signed his new White Jazz, which I gave to my brother-in-law for a Christmas present.

Lucky brother-in-law! Plus, of course, he's married to your wonderful sister ...

GA Russell · 09-26-2010, 01:11 PM

LOL! My sister and I aren't getting along at the moment!

SensualPoet · 09-26-2010, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moe The Cat

James Ellroy. His "L. A. Quartet" is good, although only the first volume, The Black Dahlia, is available as an ebook.

Unfortunately, however, not in Canada from Amazon. It is available from Kobo, however.

SensualPoet · 09-26-2010, 11:05 PM

John Moss has written a cracker of a police procedural mystery, Grave Doubts; it can be found as an ebook at kobobooks and amazon. This is one of several "Castle Street Mystery" titles from Canadian publisher Dundurn Press. At under $8, it's a bargain.

Late on a wintry night, Toronto homocide detectives Miranda Quin and David Morgan are called to a Hoggs Hollow home in a ritzy suburb, with pioneer roots, where two decapitated mumified bodies have been found dressed in 1850s period clothing. Greeted by fellow police officer Rachel Naismith already on the scene, they are quickly joined by Royal Ontario Museum expert Shelagh Hubbard who, with a colleague, examine the remains for authenticity. In short order, the heads themselves are retrieved from a laundry chute. The bodies were found in a lovers embrace; the heads apparently kissing in the other "room". But all is not as it appears to be: the murders are, in fact, recent and the whole grisy scene has been staged. Enter Alexander Pope, an Ontario pioneer era reconstruction expert, and, as the scene changes to a small community north of Toronto, local turban wearing constabularly Peter Singh enters the drama as well.

Author Moss knows his art history, and displays a fine love of Toronto and local cottage country -- Georgian Bay and environs -- where a good deal of the action takes place. He creates strong characters and delivers motivation, and empathy, for the good guys and the villains, as well as delivering some fine twists and terrific episodes of suspense. This is the second of two Quin and Morgan tales; the first is Still Waters. Plus: Moss apparently has three more titles in the pipe including the upcoming Dead Reckoning.

Highly recommended.

SensualPoet · 10-09-2010, 04:48 PM

I tend to like indie authors out of principle and I think that's one reason I sampled Albert Simon's Henry Wright murder series. The first book, For Sale in Palm Springs, is available free at kobobooks, smashwords, and at a very reasonable 99¢ from Amazon. The series concerns Henry Wright, a retired police chief from Eagle River, Wisconsin who is also recently widowed. He's relocated to Palm Springs where bodies continually turn up in his path.

A real estate agent, Rex Thornbird, is murdered in the opening pages, left in a bloody mess in the kitchen of a 1950s home he has listed. Given this is Palm Springs, celebrities and gay themes recur: Henry's housemate, Charles, is a retired school teacher; Henry's love interest, the office manager who worked for Rex, assumes Henry is gay; and an "underworld" of gay activities provides further background spice. But this isn't a gay novel: it's an old fashioned who dunnit that's set in Palm Springs.

The drawbacks are stylistic: Simon does not write graciously -- he writes technically. By this I mean, the story is told as if perched on Henry's shoulder and every thing he does is described: Henry did this, then that, then that, then this. Little of these actions move the story along and character development is limited. I did find myself impatient for the story be over; this is not what I'd call "a good read" -- something that drags you in and keeps the fires burning to the end.

Still, it's got its moments and if you live in or have visited Palm Springs, it's probably more atmospheric since you'll be able to pinpoint every location thanks to Simon's technical approach. Perhaps Simon's style has grown richer as his experience grew with the series?

SensualPoet · 10-17-2010, 05:24 PM

There was discussion elsewhere at MR about Michael Connelly and his Harry Bosch series .... I notice 24 ePub books of his at the Toronto Public Library powered by Overdrive. I imagine many libraries with access Overdrive have a good selection of these.

Which are your favourites?

GA Russell · 10-17-2010, 05:29 PM

Speaking of Connelly and Bosch, I've only read one, The Concrete Blonde, and truth be told I didn't think that it was special. So many have such a high opinion of that series, I'm guessing that there are others I would like more.

So I too would be interested in suggestions.

SensualPoet · 10-17-2010, 05:45 PM

My latest read was The Saltmarsh Murders by Gladys Mitchell, an author -- incredibly -- I did not know before. Mitchell began her mystery writing career in 1929 and is pretty much a contemporary of Agatha Christie. Her heroine ... through 66 novels! ... is Beatrice Adela Lestrange Bradley, or "Mrs Bradley" as she is referred to in this early outing, first published in 1932.

Random House Vintage has reissued a half dozen of the (mostly) early titles. This one bears the tagline: "A quick-witted, clever mystery from the Golden Age of crime writing" and that sums it up nicely. It is quaint in some ways, but also unexpectedly funny in other places. There are vicars, and pubs, and secret passages ... and murder. Like a number of Christie novels, this one has a fairly long lead in of facts and characters before the story really starts to take off. So prepare yourself for a leisurely entrée into the world of Saltmarsh, as narrated by the young deacon, Noel Wells, and the surprising characters that inhabit this town.

Available at kobo, amazon and possibly your local library (which is where I found a copy!).

09-22-2010, 10:37 PM	#109
SensualPoet Wizard Posts: 2,302 Karma: 2607151 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kindle Paperwhite, Asus ZenPad 3, Kobo Glo	Thanks, M. R. Mathias for the Michael Connelly suggestion. Several of his titles are available at Kobobooks and Amazon -- although, oddly, Chasing the Dime is at Kobo but not Amazon. Kobo also has the Omnibus Harry Bosch Vol 1: Black Echo, Black Ice, Concrete Blonde in Canada; Amazon sells it in the US but not Canada. Last edited by SensualPoet; 09-22-2010 at 10:41 PM. Reason: added Omnibus

09-26-2010, 11:05 PM	#116
SensualPoet Wizard Posts: 2,302 Karma: 2607151 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kindle Paperwhite, Asus ZenPad 3, Kobo Glo	John Moss has written a cracker of a police procedural mystery, Grave Doubts; it can be found as an ebook at kobobooks and amazon. This is one of several "Castle Street Mystery" titles from Canadian publisher Dundurn Press. At under $8, it's a bargain. Late on a wintry night, Toronto homocide detectives Miranda Quin and David Morgan are called to a Hoggs Hollow home in a ritzy suburb, with pioneer roots, where two decapitated mumified bodies have been found dressed in 1850s period clothing. Greeted by fellow police officer Rachel Naismith already on the scene, they are quickly joined by Royal Ontario Museum expert Shelagh Hubbard who, with a colleague, examine the remains for authenticity. In short order, the heads themselves are retrieved from a laundry chute. The bodies were found in a lovers embrace; the heads apparently kissing in the other "room". But all is not as it appears to be: the murders are, in fact, recent and the whole grisy scene has been staged. Enter Alexander Pope, an Ontario pioneer era reconstruction expert, and, as the scene changes to a small community north of Toronto, local turban wearing constabularly Peter Singh enters the drama as well. Author Moss knows his art history, and displays a fine love of Toronto and local cottage country -- Georgian Bay and environs -- where a good deal of the action takes place. He creates strong characters and delivers motivation, and empathy, for the good guys and the villains, as well as delivering some fine twists and terrific episodes of suspense. This is the second of two Quin and Morgan tales; the first is Still Waters. Plus: Moss apparently has three more titles in the pipe including the upcoming Dead Reckoning. Highly recommended. Last edited by SensualPoet; 09-26-2010 at 11:10 PM.

10-09-2010, 04:48 PM	#117
SensualPoet Wizard Posts: 2,302 Karma: 2607151 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kindle Paperwhite, Asus ZenPad 3, Kobo Glo	I tend to like indie authors out of principle and I think that's one reason I sampled Albert Simon's Henry Wright murder series. The first book, For Sale in Palm Springs, is available free at kobobooks, smashwords, and at a very reasonable 99¢ from Amazon. The series concerns Henry Wright, a retired police chief from Eagle River, Wisconsin who is also recently widowed. He's relocated to Palm Springs where bodies continually turn up in his path. A real estate agent, Rex Thornbird, is murdered in the opening pages, left in a bloody mess in the kitchen of a 1950s home he has listed. Given this is Palm Springs, celebrities and gay themes recur: Henry's housemate, Charles, is a retired school teacher; Henry's love interest, the office manager who worked for Rex, assumes Henry is gay; and an "underworld" of gay activities provides further background spice. But this isn't a gay novel: it's an old fashioned who dunnit that's set in Palm Springs. The drawbacks are stylistic: Simon does not write graciously -- he writes technically. By this I mean, the story is told as if perched on Henry's shoulder and every thing he does is described: Henry did this, then that, then that, then this. Little of these actions move the story along and character development is limited. I did find myself impatient for the story be over; this is not what I'd call "a good read" -- something that drags you in and keeps the fires burning to the end. Still, it's got its moments and if you live in or have visited Palm Springs, it's probably more atmospheric since you'll be able to pinpoint every location thanks to Simon's technical approach. Perhaps Simon's style has grown richer as his experience grew with the series? Last edited by SensualPoet; 10-09-2010 at 05:02 PM. Reason: add free link to smashwords

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
MR crime/mysteries recommendations sought	GA Russell	Reading Recommendations	17	10-31-2011 12:15 PM
Award-winning short crime fiction - Nowhere To Go	Iain Rowan	Self-Promotions by Authors and Publishers	3	05-31-2011 02:02 PM

09-21-2010, 06:38 PM	#107
M. R. Mathias Banned Posts: 111 Karma: 80 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: New Orleans Device: Kindle k3, PC	I love Michael Connelly even Chasing the Dime and that Caper novel about Vegas(The title eludes me), but I also like Robert Crais. Joe Pike and Elvis Cole are a riot.

09-21-2010, 06:46 PM	#108
GA Russell Montreal wins Grey Cup! Posts: 7,583 Karma: 31484197 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Device: Paperwhite, Kindles 10 & 4 and jetBook Lite	MR, Robert Crais is on my short list of people to get to.

09-23-2010, 11:42 AM	#110
captkjaneway Cockney Sci-Fi Geek! Posts: 472 Karma: 1463094 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Wan Chai, Hong Kong Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Samsung Tab S 8.4", Samsung S6 Edge	Ooo so many goodies on this thread already.....my favs include: - John Connolly - Val McDermid - Stuart McBride - Peter Robinson - Colin Dexter - Iain Rankin - Tess Geritsen - Karin Slaughter - Michael Marshall - R D Wingfield (Frost) I also love Agatha Christie's Poirot and Marple

09-25-2010, 11:10 PM	#111
Moe The Cat Bear Melt Posts: 919 Karma: 5433051 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Toronto Device: Google Pixel 6, Moto G9 Power (both with Fbreader) & Kindle PW2	James Ellroy. His "L. A. Quartet" is good, although only the first volume, The Black Dahlia, is available as an ebook.

09-26-2010, 01:41 AM	#112
GA Russell Montreal wins Grey Cup! Posts: 7,583 Karma: 31484197 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Device: Paperwhite, Kindles 10 & 4 and jetBook Lite	Moe, I met James Ellroy at a book signing. He signed his new White Jazz, which I gave to my brother-in-law for a Christmas present.

09-26-2010, 01:11 PM	#114
GA Russell Montreal wins Grey Cup! Posts: 7,583 Karma: 31484197 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Device: Paperwhite, Kindles 10 & 4 and jetBook Lite	LOL! My sister and I aren't getting along at the moment!

10-17-2010, 05:24 PM	#118
SensualPoet Wizard Posts: 2,302 Karma: 2607151 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kindle Paperwhite, Asus ZenPad 3, Kobo Glo	There was discussion elsewhere at MR about Michael Connelly and his Harry Bosch series .... I notice 24 ePub books of his at the Toronto Public Library powered by Overdrive. I imagine many libraries with access Overdrive have a good selection of these. Which are your favourites?

10-17-2010, 05:29 PM	#119
GA Russell Montreal wins Grey Cup! Posts: 7,583 Karma: 31484197 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Device: Paperwhite, Kindles 10 & 4 and jetBook Lite	Speaking of Connelly and Bosch, I've only read one, The Concrete Blonde, and truth be told I didn't think that it was special. So many have such a high opinion of that series, I'm guessing that there are others I would like more. So I too would be interested in suggestions.

10-17-2010, 05:45 PM	#120
SensualPoet Wizard Posts: 2,302 Karma: 2607151 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kindle Paperwhite, Asus ZenPad 3, Kobo Glo	My latest read was The Saltmarsh Murders by Gladys Mitchell, an author -- incredibly -- I did not know before. Mitchell began her mystery writing career in 1929 and is pretty much a contemporary of Agatha Christie. Her heroine ... through 66 novels! ... is Beatrice Adela Lestrange Bradley, or "Mrs Bradley" as she is referred to in this early outing, first published in 1932. Random House Vintage has reissued a half dozen of the (mostly) early titles. This one bears the tagline: "A quick-witted, clever mystery from the Golden Age of crime writing" and that sums it up nicely. It is quaint in some ways, but also unexpectedly funny in other places. There are vicars, and pubs, and secret passages ... and murder. Like a number of Christie novels, this one has a fairly long lead in of facts and characters before the story really starts to take off. So prepare yourself for a leisurely entrée into the world of Saltmarsh, as narrated by the young deacon, Noel Wells, and the surprising characters that inhabit this town. Available at kobo, amazon and possibly your local library (which is where I found a copy!).

Advert

Advert