Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends discussion

I'm heading to Avenue Q tonight, so I won;t finish the older Pelecanos I am working at, but I want to star the week with the new Kortya from the big Borders sale today. If any of you are Scrubs fans, the episode "My Musical" was done by the Avenue Q folks, and the woman who heard singing in her head is the star of Avenue Q.

The Hunted: Brian Haig
My first impression of the book was that it took a while to get going, and the events went beyond waht I would normally accept as plausible fiction. Then I found out that it was based on the truth. The last couple hundred pages kept me up reading. (B+)

Rough Country: John Sanford
Virgil Flowers was one of the better things that John Sanford has added to literature. I understand that Lucas Davenport was getting older and settled, and he needed the young blood, but Virgil was a shot in the arm to the whole Sanford collection.
So here, we have murders set among a collection of lesbians. Given Sanford's (almost) obsession with sex, he has ample material to work with while Flowers treis to unravel the mystery. (A-)

The Night Monster, James Swain
Featuring his new character, Andy Carpenter, with a guest appearance by Tony Valentine, his earlier creation. He has learned some morphing Carpenter into a more flawed character, in the image of Harry Bosch in The Concrete Blond. Carpenter's obsession is finding missing and abducted children, and he gets a crack at a case that has haunted him for 18 years. The action and suspense work, and for Carpenter, things manage to get much worse before they get any better. (B+)

Heart of the Assassin: Robert Ferrigno
I was hoping there would be a clean ending to this series, and Ferrigno would get back to his quirky mysteries. He still could get back to the mysteries, but the ending was open enough that the alternate history of a fractured USA could continue.
The premise is an America that has broken down to primarily Muslim and Christian societies, neither of them really strong enough to stand on their own against the rest of the world. The hero is a talented assassin who works to make the country a better place for all again against a backdrop of political and religious intrigue. (B)

9 Dragons: Michael Connelly
A Harry Bosch book, and apparently also, a reason t take a vacation in Hong Kong. There was heavy foreshadowing for this book at Connelly's talk in Boiston, so I had the backstory figured out pretty quickly. The main actual mystery I never would have gotten, as too much coincidence was involved. I'm a bit dissapointed. Harry used to be idiosyncratic, now he is more irritating (note to all: I am idiosyncratic). He also managed to mention the other "brands" with McElvoy getting mentioned and Haller visiting. (B)

The Professional: Robert B Parker
Nothing new to report here. Spenser is witty, Susan is there, and a supporting cast of characters keeps up the interest and the humor. (B)

Locked In: Marsha Muller
Now I have read through the entire McCone series, something I did not think possible when I started with 20 books already written. This was a different and interesting boo, written from the standpoint of just about everybody in the agency, as Sharon was laid up with a bullet in her brain. As always, the mystery was complex and multifaceted, and in this case, the different mysteries were quite interlocking. (B)

Spartan Gold: Clive Cussler
Another co-written book, and a new series featuring a husband-wife team of adventurers. In typical Cussler fashion, they end each chapter with a cliff hanger, so much so that it is hard to tell that the book is reaching a climax. This book in particular gives a nod to DaVinci and the like by having our adventurers search the world to solve a riddle that comes to them in pieces on ancient artifacts. As always, if you are a Cussler fan, this will be just fine. If you are not, don't bother starting here. (B)

The Ever Running Man: Marsha Muller
Muller is back on track, with a killer targeting her husband's business and additional stress between the two of them (and assorted other characters). McCone is hired to find the killer before more damage is done. I might be on a McCone-a-thon this month, with a chance to read the rest of this series while a friend is in Florida. The problem is that other people also have their eyes on this stack. (B+)

Burn Out: Marsha Muller
Muller periodically has McCone at the end of her rope, questioning everything, and bring us along on a life change that will alter where the series goes. This is one of those, and of course, a mystery goes along with it. While not a bad tale, she has overused one particular device, so that I was not surprised by what should have ben the shock of the book. It was a shock the first time, a surprise the second, and I yawned on the third. (B)

Immoral: Brian Freeman
A first book, fairly nicely done mystery spread over several years, and with a bit of a legal thriller built in. Maybe a bit too much coincidence at times, but enough of an effort to male the author interesting (B)

The Last Ember: Daniel Levin
Another book written on the model of The Davinci Code, done between Rome and Jerusalem. (B-)

The Big Bounce: Elmore Leonard
A few fairly low life types wander around chatting, fighting, and generally creating mischief. I didn't see the point. (C)

I feel I deserve extra credit for avoiding the use of the word "sucked" no matter how much it might have applied.

Barry wrote: "I feel I deserve extra credit for avoiding the use of the word "sucked" no matter how much it might have applied."
lol. 1 extra point.
have fun at avenue q. my son saw it last night and said it was great. of course the $5 ticket (special price for conn students) probably was part of his happiness.

We must be on a similar wave length, Barry, since I also finished The Hunted and Immoral this month. My responses were very much like yours. I will read more Freeman books and the truth behind the story of The Hunted made it that much more thrilling.

>>The Big Bounce: Elmore Leonard
A few fairly low life types wander around chatting, fighting, and generally creating mischief. I didn't see the point. (C)<<

I think I may have liked just a bit more than you but not much. The Big Bounce along with Split Images have been my least favorite books of the eleven I have read by Elmore Leonard

Barry:
Great month! I have Locked in in the tbr pile near the top. I look forward to it as I have each of the McCone books, a favorite series.

Barry wrote: "Locked In: Marsha Muller
Now I have read through the entire McCone series, something I did not think possible when I started with 20 books already written. This was a different and interesting boo, written from the standpoint of just about everybody in the agency, as Sharon was laid up with a bullet in her brain. As always, the mystery was complex and multifaceted, and in this case, the different mysteries were quite interlocking. (B) "

Was a good month for Spenser on the board, as it looks like about 4 of us read THE PROFESSIONAL this month. I definitely mus move IMMORAL up in The Pile!

"I feel I deserve extra credit for avoiding the use of the word "sucked" no matter how much it might have applied."

Well done Barry...extra cookies for you.