Most of us enjoyed Dog on It and appreciated being in the head of a dog. (As a cat person, perhaps I had more trouble with this one!) Good humor and an actual plot that we could follow.

Case Histories had a nice voice, but some of us got lost in the multitude of characters. We really liked the main character, though. Jackson was hysterical whether he was dealing with a house fire or being kind to Binky, the cat lady who hired Jackson to find her black cats that started going missing ....

Brodsky's tale was a run romp through Thailand. We appreciated the humor and the unusual characters. For those who had traveled to Thailand, the book provided a chance to relive happy travel memories. For others it served as a reminder that Thailand is only a few flights away.
However, as a writing instructor, I will point out the lack of editing was annoying. Commas were misplaced or not placed, and the formatting was not always uniform. Those are easy fixes, however, perhaps for a future addition.

Peter N. Walker (pen name Nicholas Rhea) was an inspector for the North Yorkshire Police. In this first volume, he recounts vignettes adapted from true-life experiences. This book launched a set of 35 more! It also launched a series that can be seen on BritBox called Heartland. Although we appreciated the visit to this tranquil world, we generally appreciate longer stories. 

Third Thursday of the Month: 6:30-8pm AZ time

Like mysteries? Then come join us!

While we hope to return to the library soon, in the meantime we'll continue to zoom our meetings:
https://arizona.zoom.us/j/670502630
 

January 21: Rhea, Nicholas. Constable on the Hill. (1st in series) (1979)

February 18: Kelly, Sophie. The Cats Came Back. (2018)

March 18: Michaelides, Alex. The Silent Patient. Complex thriller. (2019)

April 15: Brodsky, Zach. ​The Mysterious Case of the Missing Tuk-Tuk. 1st of 3. (2019)

May 20: Quinn, Spencer, Dog On It. (2009)

June 17:Atkinson, Kate. Case Histories. (2007)

July 15: Cavanaugh, Steve. Thirteen. (2020)

August 19: Fforde, Jasper. Lost in a Good Book.  (2004)

September 16: Swanson, Peter. Rules for Perfect Murders (2020)

October 21: Walker, Martin. Fatal Pursuit. (2016)

November 18: Grant, Michael The Artful Assassin (2020)

​December 16: Spencer-Fleming, Julia. Hid from Our Eyes (PB 4/21)
 
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Tonight's book was a breezy romp on a cruise ship with a murderer or two, a victim or two, and a wild animal. We appreciated Thomas' humor and the breezy read. We might have heard about the Balenciaga bag too often, but we were astonished to Google the brand and find out that those purses are expensive! No wonder protagonist Cyd Redondo hangs onto hers so tightly!

The novel has good humor throughout, For example, on p. 33: “I looked through [the helicopter] door at the water below and reminded myself that in eight seasons, Thomas Magnum, P.I., had never fallen out.”  

Cyd is a fun protagonist, and Thomas whisks her through one adventure after another until the story strands finally come together.

Here's what we're reading for 2020!

We meet on the Third Thursday of the month, 6:30-7:45pm.  Please join us!

Here's our zoom url! https://arizona.zoom.us/j/670502630


We WERE meeting at the Martha Cooper Library, 1377 N. Catalina Ave. Hopefully we'll get back there soon!


​1/16 Charlaine Harris Dead Until Dark (humorous vampire mystery)

2/20 Leslie Budewitz Assault and Pepper (cozy, first in a series)

3/19 Ruth Ware The Woman in Cabin 10 (twisty British cruise mystery)

4/16 Felix Francis Crisis (horse racing theme by Dick Francis’ son—he’s written 19 books in the franchise)

5/21 Craig Johnson An Obvious Fact (Western procedural)

6/18 Amanda Quick The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1930s Hollywood)

7/16 J.A. Jance Field of Bones (Sheriff Joanna Brady mystery)

8/20 Joe Ide IQ (East Long Beach detective)

9/17 Ragnar Johnasson The Darkness (atmospheric thriller)

10/15 Tarquin Hall The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing (humorous mystery set in India)

11/19 Lou Berney November Road (thriller love story set against the JFK assassination)—it’s won lots of awards this year)

​12/17 Wendall Thomas Drowned Under (zany travel-themed mystery)

I think we've all appreciated having very different views! Here's what I thought about The Darkness.

Ragnar Jónasson’s The Darkness (2015) was an interesting read. The author is a busy lawyer, but he makes time for writing too. I heard him speak at the International Agatha Christie conference in 2017. He’s translated several of Christie’s works into Icelandic, but now he’s a famous author in his own right. This novel is part thriller, part police procedural. I could easily relate to the protagonist, who is finding difficulties with the younger members of the police squad. She doesn’t want to retire, but she has no choice because she's being forced out by a younger, know-it-all boss. In order to go out with a bang, she wants to complete one last case, but she doesn’t realize what a challenge she’s chosen for herself . . . .



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