[Synamon]

My summer reads so far (some have been mentioned elsewhere on the forum, but I'll list them here for completeness):

Disgrace by Jussi Adler-Olsen, second in the Department Q series. Karl and Assad are back, this time with an unwanted assistant and a case that exposes some seriously depraved killers.

I read the rest of the Rabbi Small series (7 books in all) by Harry Kemelman. The mystery component of these books is secondary to the fascinating glimpse into a small fictional Jewish community and their unflappable rabbi.

XO by Jeffrey Deaver, the most recent in his Katherine Dance series. Fame and stalkers are the theme in this one. Plenty of suspects and a few twists and turns to stretch out the story, but Dance single-handedly figuring everything out was even more of a stretch.

Reliquary by Douglas & Child, second in the Alan Pendergast series. Many of the characters from the first book were back and this time the creepy setting was underneath the city. Kind of a urban Raiders of the Lost Ark feel to this series, fun adventure that doesn't stand up to much scrutiny.

Longitude by Dava Sobel. Very approachable non-fiction about the challenges the great minds of the day faced trying to come up with a reliable method of determining longitude at sea. Nowadays GPS helps us find our lost phone, back then men died when they got lost.

Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann, for the Literary bookclub. Generational epic of a family's decline.

The Litigators by John Grisham. The usual: evil companies, greed, young lawyer makes good, this time with a dash of ambulance chasing.

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith, aka JK Rowling. A well done modern take on the standard private eye story, with a healthy dose of scorn for the lifestyles of the rich and famous. The detective and his secretary were very likeable, sort of a Perry Mason / Della Street vibe there.