The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group discussion

Sorry for the delay in setting up the thread but I completely forgot I signed up for this challenge. I'm sure everyone could relate to this since it is so easy to loose track of things around here :P
Anyway, lucky for me, I read some of the books that fit the criteria. These will be the ones in bold. Here's the list of the books I will be reading for the challenge-

1) 1914-1924: The Man Who Knew Too Much by G.K. Chesterton(1922)

2) 1925-1934: The Benson Murder Case by S.S Van Dine (1926)

3) 1935-1944: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie(1939)

4) 1945-1954: Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith(1950)

5) 1955-1964: The Spy Who Came In From The Cold by John Le Carre(1963)

6) 1965-1974: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote(1966)

7) 1975-1984: A is for Alibi by Sue Grafton (1982)

8) 1985-1994: Perfume: the story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind(1985)

9) 1995-2004: A Painted House by John Grisham(2001)

10) 2004-2014: Fractured by Karin Slaughter(2008)

Here are the links to my reviews :)

2) 1925-1934: The Benson Murder Case by S.S Van Dine (1926)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

3) 1935-1944: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie(1939)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

4) 1945-1954: Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith(1950)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

6) 1965-1974: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote(1966)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

8) 1985-1994: Perfume: the story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind(1985)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

9) 1995-2004: A Painted House by John Grisham(2001)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

10) 2004-2014: Fractured by Karin Slaughter(2008)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Great list of books. I'll probably be reading a few of these myself - they look all so great.

I AGREE.

Thanks Helena :)
Maybe we can buddy read some of the books that you like?

And thank you, Skye :)

I have copied and pasted your wonderful list into an e-mail and sent it to myself.

Haha, that's quite a compliment there, Skye! Think I might just be started floating in the air :D :P
I'd still like to make a few changes to this one though. Since I'd like to try a new author for every decade.

Anyway, I highly recommend Perfume. That book was quite an experience! Might be a little offbeat in the middle but somehow still manages to enthrall :)

It's a very comprehensive list and one that boasts MANY writers ( to my chagrin) I have NOT read. Perfume?

I like Off beat; and I truly believe that term can PULL in a reader

Thank you :)
This will be my first time with some of these authors too but I've heard very highly of them all. Specially Patricia Highsmith. Her Ripley series is known for it's darkness!

Sorry, I am on phone so I cannot send you a link right now but Perfume is a crime thriller by Patrick Suskind- check it out if you want. You can see my review too (the link is posted above).

In that case, its sure to capture you then :)

I've heard a lot of good things about Perfume but I've never got round to reading it. It does sound like a great book though.

I love Patricia Highsmith and I've read a few of her books (Strangers on a train i remember really enjoyed though that's about all I remember about it lol) but strangely I've never read the Ripley series which is probably what she's best known for. I really must read those some day.

It is. The plot was really interesting. It's very different from the other books I read. Very enthralling. And I specially loved the end!

That series was how I came across her. I've heard great things about it too. Looking forward to reading it!

Good news. Found my copy of Strangers on a Train. I'll read it now as well - it'll be nice to see if I'll like it as much a second time round.

Great! Welcome aboard! I'm only through the first chapter still. I didn't get much time to read. Will get some done tonight. It'll be fun to know if you did.

I haven't even finished the first chapter yet lol. I do plan on reading a bit before going to bed though.

LOL, don't worry I haven't progressed either. Still on the first chapter. I will start again in about 20mins.

It's taking me a while to read it cos two books I'd been meaning to read for a while arrived in the mail so I had to deal with them first :lol: I'm about 6 chapters in or so.

It's taking time for me too. I think I found the first 3-4 chapters a little mundane so it kinda slowed me down, lol. And since my copy is a PDF I can only read when I sit on my laptop :P
I'm 11 chapters in.

I also made some changes to the list. Go through it if you feel like :)

Hadn't noticed the changes before. You added in the Ruth Rendell right? Gotta say I am not a huuuge fan of her books. I know she's considered one of the best but I must have been unlikely with the ones I read (3 so far) cos I wasn't that impressed. (I thought one of them was pretty great but then I really disliked the latest one I read). Still I should give it another chance.

I made the changes just now. I couldn't sleep so I though I'll get this over with, lol.
Yeah? Well, TBH, I haven't heard much of her, just read her name here and there in the threads. However, I wanted to try an author I've never tried before for every decade, so. Thanks for the heads up, though :)
What books have you read?

I really want to give her another chance cos she has so many fans...

I read From Doon Till Death, Some lie and some die and Shake Hands forever. I really disliked that second ones. The others were enjoyable but they didn't wow me or anything.

I saw your ratings. I could deduce you didn't like her all that much. Her Inspector Wexford series is on my TBR too. I wanted to do one of those but then someone told me about A Judgement in Stone. It is considered to be one of her finest psychological works. The plot didn't impress me much but the little piece of information really did.

Let's hope this one turns out better than the rest of your experience!

Lol yeah I wasn't very kind with my ratings. I may revise them later cos I may have been overly harsh cos I had such high expectations. I still do plan on giving them another chance. Never heard of Judgement in Stone!

If you do like it let me know so that I know of one that's good to check out.

LOL, clearly :P
I'd like to read From Doon With Death too. It's the first in the series if I'm not wrong? Tell me if you plan on starting it again soon, I might join you :)

Sure, I'll let ya know :)
How about Strangers on a Train? How're you liking it so far?

That one wasn't that bad actually. It was the one I gave the worst rating to that I really disliked and I think it skewed my view of everything lol

I'm liking it, but it's kind of a slow read. I don't think I can blame the quality of it on that though - I just think cos I can still remember some of the story slightly clearly (and the ending very clearly) it makes it harder to get into the book cos I haven't got that need to know what happens. I'm only about half way through or so. How are you liking it=

That made no real sens- wasn't bad but i disliked coz it skewed my view of things. lol!

Oh yeah, I forgot you've read it! I'm on chapter 14, I agree, it's slow. But on my part, I'm not getting into it because I find do many things that are just.. easy! Too easy, in fact! I mean how easily he found her and the murder? So utterly undramatic! There hasn't been any thrill yet :\
But, just say yes or no- does it get better? Is it as good as I've heard it to be? Because I have so many expectations of the author and I'd be utterly disappointed if it doesn't! Also, I need some motivation to not feel disappointed yet, lol

To be honest I can't remember. I read it when I was about 13-14 or so and I remember really enjoying it so I guess it must get better (cos if I liked it based on what I've read so far then I used to have terrible taste lol).

LOL. Well if that does turn out to be true, I'll know I shouldn't trust your judgement.

Lol I really hope it turns out better cos I am really confused as to why I enjoyed it the first time round. I mean I know it was almost ten years ago, but I like to think I had some taste in books back then.

Haha, let's find out about that!

Well as it turns out, your taste in books wasn't that bad after all!
After almost 3 weeks, I'll finally finish the book tonight and it has gotten better (thank god!). I won't call it a psychological thriller but it was a psychological, crime novel alright.

Bruno is so messed up and Guy is completely screwed! But I like Bruno. And Gerrard too. He's kind of a genius to have guessed it spot on. I can't wait to see how he proves his theories!

Good it turned out good in the end lol. I knew I couldn't have had that much bad taste back then.

Bruno is a REALLY messed up character. He's so weird. I can help but feel that to him his actions are all justified and that he hasn't really done anything wrong. He just seems to be different from normal.

Lol yeah! Now I'll feel a little better taking your word for a book :P
Kidding!

Well (view spoiler)[ Bruno just died (hide spoiler)].
And I wasn't thrilled or anything! Why are such scenes in the book so utterly undramatic? -_-

But no denying the fact that it has gotten better than it was in the initial stages. I don't think I'll give that to Bruno. He looks like a crazy sociopath to me but he knows what he's doing. Infact, if you ask me, he was as normal as clever! It must've taken a lot of planning to go about things the way he did and above all, he was so bloody manipulative!! The way he could talk people into doing what he wants or saying what he wants to hear.. Smart! I was quite impressed by the way he talked Anne into inviting him to sail.

And if that wasn't enough, he's (view spoiler)[ gay!! (hide spoiler)] ! OMG, lol!

Finished Strangers on a Train today. The link to my review is posted in message #2.

I see that you've chosen A Painted House for the 1995-2004 decade. It is one of my favorite books. I've read plenty of Grisham's legal thrillers and they are okay, but of course this one is not in that genre. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

I've heard this stands out off of all his books! Good to hear you liked it, Laurie. I've already ordered this one. I look forward to it too :)

Finished reading A Painted House by John Grisham. Review link in message #2.

Ishita wrote: "Finished reading A Painted House by John Grisham. Review link in message #2."

Glad to see you liked it. My favorite part is when the cousin from Detroit visits with his wife. My husband and I still laugh about the shit snake at the outhouse.

Haha, oh that was a fun part! I had a good laugh about it too. Luke is a funny little boy, really. Specially when I start to feel a little sorry for him. Soon as he reaches that point, he blurts out something that cracks me up!
I also enjoyed the part where he and his mother have a laugh about him watching the baby being born. I liked the mother!

Completed The Benson Murder Case. Brilliant book, brilliant writing. Review in post #2.