New Leaf Nominations for March 2019 • Murder, They Wrote: Deadly Pursuits

[gmw]

Originally Posted by stuartjmz

No. It's not going to win, but I don't have any others I feel like nominating, and it may catch someone's eye enough to prompt a paper purchase, so if it not in breach of the rules, I'm happy for it to stay visible here.

I am interested in the book, but it will probably remain on my Kobo wish list until it comes down in price. Strange how the 4th of the series (Crimson City) is so inexpensive in comparison (at the moment at least, I suppose it may not stay that way).

Originally Posted by gmw

I am interested in the book, but it will probably remain on my Kobo wish list until it comes down in price. Strange how the 4th of the series (Crimson City) is so inexpensive in comparison (at the moment at least, I suppose it may not stay that way).

It's probably Hachette India. Madhu's no longer with them, but over the years she and I have been in touch, she's had a lot to say about Hachette,none of it good. They seem to have been actively obstructionist when it came to making her books available. For one of the books in the series the only way I was able to read it was when she personally sent me a PDF of the publisher's draft she'd received.

[issybird]

I'll second Come, Tell Me How You Live.

[Bookworm_Girl]

I nominate Except the Dying by Maureen Jennings set in Toronto in the winter of 1895. It is the first book in the Murdoch Mysteries series. The books are supposed to be grittier than the Canadian TV series which is based upon the novels (one my favorite TV shows - highly recommend!). This book was a Barry Award Nominee for Best First Novel (1998) and Anthony Award Nominee for Best First Novel (1998) when it was published. Available as an ebook internationally and also at Overdrive to borrow.

From Amazon:

Turn-of-the-century Toronto makes an evocative setting for murder in Except the Dying, a skillful first novel that is interesting both for its historical accuracy and its fully realized characters. The plot concerns the murder of a young housemaid, discovered naked in a snowy lane, and the cast of suspects spans the social strata. Yet it is William Murdoch, the detective in charge of the case, who breathes life into what might otherwise have been a conventional murder mystery. As he pursues his quest for justice, Murdoch also mourns the death of his fiancée; his manner of doing both reveals a compassionate, principled man

[CRussel]

I'll second Except the Dying. I'm not a fan of the series, but I hope the book is better.

[Bookworm_Girl]

Well, it's Canada's highest-rated scripted TV series and broadcast in over 100 countries so I'm not the only one in the world who likes it. Whereas the TV series has its quirky characters and humorous moments, the book series is supposed to be darker and grittier. It's like a Victorian-era CSI.

Detective Murdoch is inspired by a real historical person, John Wilson Murray. He was appointed Ontario's first full-time “government Detective Officer” in 1875. He used (at the time uncommon) scientific techniques to solve his cases such as fingerprinting and blood trace analysis.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wilson_Murray

[Dazrin]

I'm debating on my third nomination but I will third Come, Tell Me How You Lived for now.

[Catlady]

I'm making one more nomination: Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane, the source of another Martin Scorsese film.

U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels has come to Shutter Island, home of Ashecliffe Hospital for the Criminally Insane, to find an escaped murderer named Rachel Solando.

As a killer hurricane bears down on the island, the investigation deepens and the questions mount. How has a barefoot woman escaped from a locked room? Who is leaving them clues in the form of cryptic codes? And what really goes on in Ward C?

The closer Teddy gets to the truth, the more elusive it becomes. And the more he begins to believe that he may never leave Shutter Island. Because someone is trying to drive him insane...

The basis for the blockbuster motion picture directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Shutter Island by New York Times bestselling author Dennis Lehane is a gripping and atmospheric psychological thriller where nothing is quite what it seems. The New York Times calls Shutter Island, "Startlingly original." The Washington Post raves, "Brilliantly conceived and executed." A masterwork of suspense and surprise from the author of Mystic River and Gone, Baby, Gone, Shutter Island carries the reader into a nightmare world of madness, mind control, and CIA Cold War paranoia and is unlike anything you've ever read before.

Amazon US, $9.99
Kobo US, $9.99

Available in all relevant countries.

Available to borrow from Overdrive (e-book and audiobook), Scribd (e-book and audiobook), Hoopla (audiobook), and RB Digital (audiobook).

[bfisher]

I'll third Except the Dying.

[issybird]

I've decided to throw something different into the mix and it's in the public domain, hence free.

The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1870) by Charles Dickens was famously unfinished at his death; it's even thought that his public readings from the book contributed to his demise. Well worth reading in its own right, it's a shorter road to Dicken than some of his doorstoppers and part of the fun is speculating on various solutions to the mystery.

Though the novel is named after the character Edwin Drood, it focuses more on Drood's uncle, John Jasper, a precentor, choirmaster and opium addict, who is in love with his pupil, Rosa Bud. Miss Bud, Edwin Drood's fiancée, has also caught the eye of the high-spirited and hot-tempered Neville Landless. Landless and Edwin Drood take an instant dislike to one another. Later Drood disappears

Dickens' last novel is a mystery built around a presumed crime - the murder of a nephew by his uncle. Dickens died before completing the story, leaving the mystery unsolved and encouraging successive generations of readers to turn detective. Beyond the preoccupying fact of this intriguing crime, however, the novel also offers readers a characteristically Dickensian mix of the fantastical world of the imagination and a vibrantly journalistic depiction of gritty reality.

300 pp.

[CRussel]

I'll use my last ticket to second Edwin Drood. And to note that there are 5 Audible versions of the book, though I haven't spent the time yet to decide which one I'll opt for.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by Bookworm_Girl

Well, it's Canada's highest-rated scripted TV series and broadcast in over 100 countries so I'm not the only one in the world who likes it. Whereas the TV series has its quirky characters and humorous moments, the book series is supposed to be darker and grittier. It's like a Victorian-era CSI.

Yes, I'm well aware it's a big hit. And I suspect the episodes are fine in their content, but there's something about the production values (lighting, colours, cleanliness, etc.) that just doesn't ring true to the era, IMO. It's a problem seen in more than one Canadian production, unfortunately. We tried watching it when it first released, and just couldn't get into it. Though I'm quite glad that it's such a hit.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by CRussel

I'll use my last ticket to second Edwin Drood. And to note that there are 5 Audible versions of the book, though I haven't spent the time yet to decide which one I'll opt for.

Thanks for the heads up. I took a look at Audible and there's also this: An Introduction by David Timson to The Mystery of Edwin Drood read by Neville Jason, 32 mins and it's free, so I went ahead and "purchased" that; I'll consider the audio versions of the book later.

I'll also second Edwin Drood - I've avoided Dickens my whole life, this one will be a good place to start.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by issybird

Thanks for the heads up. I took a look at Audible and there's also this: An Introduction by David Timson to The Mystery of Edwin Drood read by Neville Jason, 32 mins and it's free, so I went ahead and "purchased" that; I'll consider the audio versions of the book later.

Yes, I saw that, and will be purchasing myself. I suspect it's only free for active members.

Any thoughts on the audio versions? None of the narrators jumped out at me, either as good or bad.