Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends discussion

Had a bit of an up and down month reading wise (a couple of my favorite authors let me down) and have managed to catch a cold just when I have to start working six days a week. Here are my February reads:

Top Read

Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster
Jon Krakauer
Jon Krakauer was asked by his editors at Outside Magazine to go on an Everest expedition and report on the growing commercialization and lowering of standards of the climbers but got much more than he expected. I thought this was a very well done and fair account of the entire tragedy. I also learned a lot about high altitude mountain climbing though I still do not really understand the mentality of having to make the summit no matter what the cost. I listened to the audio version which was read by Philip Franklin

Good Reads

SnapshotSnapshot
Garry Disher
A solid third entry in this police procedural series set in Australia. I really like the characters in this series, even supporting players are very well fleshed out. Not a lot of action, just dogged police work, makes the plot seem realistic even when the bodies start to pile up.

Hoodwink
Bill Pronzini
The Nameless Detective is asked by a former pulp fiction writer of mysteries to attend a convention that is taking place in San Fransisco so he can look into a series of extortion notes that some attendees have received that hint at plagiarism. A quick, entertaining private eye read that weaves information about the pulp fiction world into the plot seamlessly.

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
N.K. Jemisin
I thought the first part of this debut fantasy was really good. The first person narration really pulled me into the story and I soon became engrossed. The middle part though, did bog down a bit for me and I thought there was too much romance but a rousing ending made me want to seek out the next book in the trilogy. I listened to the audio version read by Casaundra Freeman and thought she did a fantastic job.

The Girl in the Green Raincoat
Laura Lippman
I always enjoy reading about Tess and Baltimore so was happy to see this finally published in book form since I had tried reading it when it was originally published on the New York Times website but found the format distracting. There was quite a bit of plot squeezed into 158 pages and I was surprised at how much character development was present too. I felt I really got to know some of the supporting characters in this series much better.

Hell Bent for Leather: Confessions of a Heavy Metal Addict
Seb Hunter
At a young age the author became obsessed with heavy metal music and this memoir recounts his quest for stardom in a band along with giving a primer on all aspects of metal.

OK Reads

The Yellow Admiral (Aubrey/Maturin Book 18) UNABRIDGED
Patrick O'Brian
Not one of the top-tier books in this series. Lots of the action was on land and much of the book consisted of Jack explaining various things to Stephen like the process of enclosing common areas for farming which was not exactly scintillating. While the narration by Simon Vance was OK I really missed Patrick Tull's way with the characters. The ending though made me think that the next book in the series will get back on track.

Death is a Cabaret
Deborah Morgan
An OK mystery set in the world of antiques. It passed the time but I am probably not going to go out of my way to pick up the next in the series. Listened to the audio version which was read by the very bland Reed McColm.

Neither Five Nor Three
Helen MacInnes
Not one of Helen MacInnes's best works. The premise, the infiltration of communists into various facets of post World War 2 New York City life, held promise but the delivery was so heavy-handed that it became a chore to read.

I really enjoyed Into Thin Air when I read it a few years ago. To me, it read like a novel.

Hope you feel better soon Sandi! Great reviews, and thanks for mentioning the Laura Lippman book - I need to add it to my list ;)

Feel better Sandi! Working all of those extra hours will wear you down and you need to keep up your strength for the run towards April 18th (funny that we get an extension this year from the 15th) I am reading The Girl in the Green Raincoat and enjoying the glimpse into the secondary characters too!

Sandi wrote: "Had a bit of an up and down month reading wise (a couple of my favorite authors let me down) and have managed to catch a cold just when I have to start working six days a week.
The Girl in the Green Raincoat
There was quite a bit of plot squeezed into 158 pages and I was surprised at how much character development was present too. I felt I really got to know some of the supporting characters in this series much better. "