Michael Connolly - The Wrong Side of Goodbye
Harry Bosch investigates two mysteries. Micky Haller (Lincoln Lawyer) makes an appearance. Vintage Connolly/Bosch.
Carl Hiassen - Razor Girl
Zany premise and the usual collection of
off-beat characters romp through the tale.
Protagonist tries to thwart engaged homeowners from building on next
door lot. Razor girl conman has scam that strains credibility. Fun Florida read.
Peter May - The Lewis Man
Second in the Finn trilogy
about mysteries on the Isle of Lewis in Outer Hebrides (Scotland)
A bog body is found and a
mystery is opened.
Third in the Lewis trilogy. A body is found in a drained Loch. Finn Macleod is back home and investigates
Peter May -- The Critic and Black Light Blue
Enzo series. Set in France. Good reads With rich local details and good writing..
Fredrik Backman, --A Man Called Ove A novel, also a movie (Swedish) with English
subtitles. Enjoyed the book and then saw
the movie. Both very worthwhile reading,
Especially if you know any Swedes.
Erik Larson – In the Garden of Beasts
Nonfiction. A new American Ambassador to Germany and his
family find adventure in Berlin. Set in
1933, the same year Hitler is named Chancellor.
We know how it all turns out
but the story of how they saw it is gripping.
Phillip Kerr – A Man without Breath
Berlin, March, 1943. Bernie Gunther (A Quiet Flame) is dispatched (reluctantly) to Smolensk Russia, Looking for evidence of War crimes. There is evidence of a massacre of Polish Officers who were prisoners.
Peter Heller – Celine. Celine --a most unexpected PI grandmother. searches for the father of a man who was reportedly killed in a bear attack. Heller authored Dog stars and The Painter
I am currently into the intriguing Never Let Me Go and plan to be at Wednesday's meeting, See you then.
Dennis Noonan
I find Michael Connolly's books very entertaining and among the best in that whole overly prolific detective writing crowd (Harlan Coben I also enjoy). Bosch and Haller are both great characters and the Amazon (?) series Bosch is excellent. Peter May's Hebrides trilogy is terrific and should be read in sequence. I've never read the Enzo books. "In the Garden of Beasts" had the greatest impact on me of the Larson books I've read. The dilemma of our ambassador—an outstanding, humane man operating in the midst of all sorts of contending agendas and
ReplyDeleteliaison to monsters—is compelling from a historical and humane point of view. And Phillip Kerr is always great, So I ratify those books of Dennis I've read. I was a solid thumbs up on Dog Stars so I hope to get to Celine at some point.
Some recent good summer reading I've just read: LeCarre's "Russia House" which is not one of his best because it starts very slow and overdoes his "cute" spy talk which was somewhat evident even in Tinker, Tailor, viz., "So be a nice little playmates...All my lovely boys (Tinker Tailor)..." Once it gets going, however, the main characters emerge as interesting and the twists and turns compelling. Worth plugging through the first 100 pages or so.
A very good crime thriller by an author I'd never read before is "The Second Life of Nick Mason" by Steve Hamilton. The action is non-stop, the protagonist faces some seemingly impossible dilemmas, and the characters are well-drawn, with tough, believable dialog. Very good.
On the higher end side, Gregory David Roberts caused a sensation with "Shantaram" which I read and believe is up there as one of the masterworks of novel-dom. As the coterie of friends and family who read it expands, that opinion is always ratified. His sequel, Mountain Shadow, is basically a continuation and every bit as good. He's a magnificent writer, takes his time with big ideas, has deep, deep experience of India and the gangster culture there—both books are extraordinary and must be read in order.
Anybody who reads the blog, even if time is short, just throw in a few words. It would be really cool to hear what everyone's reading during our hiatus.
Bart
Thanks Bart for positive comments and new ideas. I posted some thoughts on "Never let me go" above and welcome others' opinions, especially those that disagree.
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