MYSTERIES in PARADISE: July 2011

31 July 2011

Sunday Salon: Sun 30 July 2011 - how time flies

Surely it can't be the end of July already!
How's your reading going? Are you on target?
I'm on my 98th book for the year, so well on the way to my target of 142+

The new meme: Crime Fiction on a EuroPass will begin on 1 August (tomorrow).
It will continue for 12 weeks and will give recommendations for crime fiction reading in 12 European destinations. Please consider joining in.

This week I ran a poll linked to the post My local library is important to me
The poll asked whether people used their local library, and approximately 1 in 4 said they never use it, while 1 in 3 gets most or all of their books from there.

Recently reviewed library books

Do you e-read?
This week's poll asks if you e-read, that is, whether you read books on any form of e-reader. e.g. a dedicated one like a Kindle or Sony e-reader or whether you use a multi-functional device like an iPad or iPhone a perhaps a computer. Or whether you've still not succumbed. I'll compare the results to those from earlier polls.

Do read Agatha Christie?
If so you will be interested in Plans to celebrate Agatha Christie's birthday and the invitation to you to participate.

Other blog posts this week

News & Headlines

TBRN (to Be Read Next)

next Australian - BEREFT, Chris Womersley
next from library: THE GOLDEN MILE TO MURDER, Sally Spencer
next on Kindle - BLUE MONDAY, Nicci French
now on audio - STILL MIDNIGHT, Denise Mina
next Agatha Christie: EVIL UNDER THE SUN

Fair Dinkum Crime (Australian Crime Fiction)

30 July 2011

Review: SAGEBRUSH KILL, Ivan Brady

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 296 KB
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Dark Raptor Press (July 19, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B005DLKU4M
Source: copy supplied for review (Kindle) by Publisher
Excerpts: publisher's site

Product description (Amazon)

Out in the world, it's 1999. Ex-Marine Aaron McCaan is hired to research land claims in the Mojave. But the desert world is timeless. Cultures clash here as they always have. This time, though, a dead Indian walks out alive, and his appearance puts McCaan in the crosshairs.

My take:

Aaron McCaan wakes up in hospital puzzled about why someone has tried to kill him by shooting him when he was pulled up at traffic lights. He knows it must have something to do with the fact that he found the body of an Indian at Biscuit Lake in the Mojave desert. Aaron is from Sacramento. He was trained as an anthropologist and is currently employed as a research specialist for California State Senator Larry Hughes, who has hired him to research possible land claims on Biscuit Lake. The fact that the dead Indian sported a Marine's tattoo also made the find interesting from the point of view of one of his own projects, a book about Indian veterans.

The dead Indian is well known to locals as Indian Bill, a Marine who served for three years, much of it as P.O.W. In Vietnam, and who came back determined to get back to his roots, and live the old life. So why would anybody want to murder him?

SAGEBRUSH KILL is a very readable short novel. I liked the character Aaron McCaan, the insight into the destruction of Indian tribal life, and the concept of "alien [cultural] life" that Bill had been forced into. I thought maybe the plot became a little too complex, forcing me to do a few mental gymnastics to get the stories all sorted in my head. I thought also the complexities, aimed at putting the novel's themes on a bigger stage, had forced the author to paint himself into a couple of corners from which he extracted himself with difficulty. Nevertheless it feels like a good start to a series and the ending certainly seems to promise that.

My rating: 3.8

SAGEBRUSH KILL is the first e-book available from re-launched Raptor Press and it is from a new-to-me author.

About the author

Ivan Brady is Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus and previous Chair of Anthropology at the State University of New York at Oswego. He is an avid outdoorsman and photographer. He grew up in and around the Mojave Desert, spent years among the Pacific Islanders and Native American tribes of the Southwest, and has authored dozens of scholarly works. His poetry has appeared in a wide variety of anthologies, magazines, and journals in several disciplines. Sagebrush Kill is his first novel but he is hard at work on the Aaron McCaan series, including the forthcoming sequel, Ritual Overkill. For further information, please visit: www.IvanBrady.com

29 July 2011

Win a set of the 2011 Ngaio Marsh Award longlisted novels!

Thanks to Craig Sisterson at Crime Watch, crime fiction readers around the world now have the chance to go into the draw to win a full set of all EIGHT crime, mystery, and thriller novels longlisted for the upcoming 2011 Ngaio Marsh Award.

You can enter the prize draw simply by emailing a photo of yourself reading any New Zealand crime, mystery, or thriller title – contemporary or from days gone by – to ngaiomarshaward at gmail dot com.
The book in your picture doesn’t have to be set in New Zealand, as long as the author is associated with New Zealand (lives in New Zealand, was born or grew up in New Zealand, etc). You have until 18 August to get your entry in.

For more information click HERE. This is quite a unique opportunity to learn more about Kiwi crime fiction which is not always available outside New Zealand.
The finalists for the 2011 Award will be announced today (NZT)!

The 2011 Ngaio Marsh Award will be presented on 21 August in Christchurch, at the conclusion of the “Setting the Stage for Murder” event, which will feature the finalists, along with visiting international crime writers Tess Gerritsen and John Hart.
The eight novels on the longlist (and in the picture above) are:

BLOOD MEN by Paul Cleave
CAPTURED by Neil Cross
THE CRIME OF HUEY DUNSTAN by James McNeish
DEATH IN THE KINGDOM by Andrew Grant
THE FALLEN by Ben Sanders
HUNTING BLIND by Paddy Richardson
SLAUGHTER FALLS by Alix Bosco
SURRENDER by Donna Malane

Here is a photo of me reading one of last year's Ngaio Marsh Award short list, CUT & RUN by Alix Bosco.

28 July 2011

Review: DELIVER US FROM EVIL, Peter Turnbull

A Hennessey and Yellech Mystery - #20
Severn House 2010
ISBN 978-0-7278-6892-3
187 pages
Source: my local library

Publisher's blurb
When a woman's body is found frozen on a bench one winter's morning, it looks like a simple case of death by misadventure. On closer inspection, however, marks on her neck - and a piece of paper hidden inside her shoe - point towards foul play. But as Hennessey and Yellich investigate, they discover that the victim may not have been all she seemed . . .

My Take

To me DELIVER US FROM EVIL felt a bit low key as a police procedural but then it is #20 in a series that has been running since 1999 and I guess there is a lot of back story that regular followers would not need.

The investigation into the death of Stanley Hemming's middle aged wife Edith, for she is the one found frozen on the bench by a Yorkshire canal, takes members of the investigative team to Canada where frozen bodies it seems happen a lot. Stanley Hemmings knew his wife of 18 months was Canadienne but very little else about her. Edith had been a very "private" person. But someone had hated her enough to tie her up and then strangle her. The powers of observation of members of the public is tested when the police come knocking. It makes you wonder how much you would be able to recall weeks or months later about an incident or person who had seemed quite ordinary. On the other hand when a person's memories are bad, then a lot of detail will stick.

This was a quick and satisfying read. The main characters of the investigative team are interesting and well drawn. Other reviews have commented on the sinister twists, Yorkshire setting, and interplay in the detective team that characterises Turnbull's series. I'm certainly open to reading another.

My rating: 4.4

Other reviews to check:

Books to the Ceiling: Roberta says that Turnbull's Hennessy and Yellich series "occupy a special place in my personal mystery pantheon."
Kirkus Reviews
Good Reads

About the author
Peter Turnbull is a well-established British author with nearly 40 novels to his credit, with the first published in 1981.

27 July 2011

Plans to celebrate Agatha Christie's birthday

If you are an Agatha Christie enthusiast and a blogger you will probably like to participate in an online event on September 15.

Check the details released today on the Agatha Christie Blog Carnival and spread the word.

26 July 2011

Review: THE MESSENGER OF ATHENS, Anne Zouroudi

Bloomsbury Publishing 2007
ISBN 978-0-7475-9275-4
274 pages
Source: my local library
Shortlisted for itv3 Crime Thriller Awards

Publisher's blurb:
When the battered body of a young woman is discovered on a remote Greek island, the local police are quick to dismiss her death as an accident. Then a stranger arrives, uninvited, from Athens, announcing his intention to investigate further. His methods are unorthodox, and he brings his own mystery into the web of dark secrets and lies. Who has sent him, on whose authority is he acting, and how does he know of dramas played out decades ago?

My take:

The fat man stepped over his holdall and crossed the room to stand before the overladen desk. He held out his hand. His manicured fingernails were filed square, whitened at the tips and buffed almost opaque. 'My name,' he said, 'is Hermes Diaktoros. I have been sent from Athens to help you in your investigation into the death of Irini Asimakopoulos.' .....

For a few moments the fat man hid his mouth behind his hand and looked at Nikos, assessing, considering. 'I wonder,' he said, finally. Are you the kind of man who can be trusted with another man's secrets?'

I'd seen the author Anne Zouroudi recommended a number of times and I'm only sorry I haven't got around to reading this, the first in the series, earlier. I certainly want to read more.

Although he never claims it himself, everyone, including Chief of Police Zafiridis, assumes at first that Hermes has come from the metropolitan police. In fact all he ever says is that he has been sent by a higher authority.

Everyone on the island accepts that Irini Asimakopoulos committed suicide, but the fat man points out that there should have been an autopsy, and that other questions like why she would have committed suicide also need to be answered.
So the main part of the book explores the events that led up to Irini's death.

Anne Zouroudi breaks a few rules with the structure of this book by presenting the information from a number of points of view. Sometimes the reader is not directly told who is speaking but has to work it out from what is being said and the context in which it is being said.

In the long run the fat man achieves justice for Irini, but not the sort of justice we might have expected. In addition he takes care of a few other problems that the villagers have.

In the figure of Hermes Diaktoros I was reminded strongly of Agatha Christie's Mr Harley Quin. In some places Zouroudi's style reminded me of Georges Simenon. I think the similarity mainly lies in the focus on creating atmosphere.

My rating: 4.5

Other reviews to check

BooksPlease

Anne Zouroudi's website

The website tells us "Anne conceived The Mysteries of the Greek Detective as a series of seven novels, each based on one of the Deadly Sins. Designed to appeal to fans of well-written mysteries, the books combine highly original plots and engaging characters in vividly-drawn and atmospheric settings."

I won't tell you which of the 7 Deadly Sins I think THE MESSENGER OF ATHENS explores. You will find out that for yourself if you read it.

Hermes Diaktoros (from Fantastic Fiction)
1. The Messenger of Athens (2007)
2. The Taint of Midas (2008)
3. The Doctor of Thessaly (2009)
4. The Lady of Sorrows (2010)
5. The Whispers of Nemesis (2011)

Do You Count?

I have a number of counters running on my blog that do a variety of things.
You will see them mainly in the right hand side bar, but I also have Sitemeter and the big counter up along the top. I've always thought the big counter gives an inflated number, counting every twitch on the keyboard.

Probably the most reliable counter is the Clustr Map which counts unique visitors

The one I have been watching over the last month since I installed it is the Flag Counter which keeps track of individual countries as well as unique visitors. I think the "unique visitor" count may re-set each day.

I can't work out what the synergy is between the graphic above and the small one that appears on the home page of my blog though.

All my graphics counters do show how universal the love of crime fiction is.

Best Crime Fiction Reads 2011 - so far - the full list

This is the final of my posts collating the suggestions that came in as a result of my Mid-Way Report post.
People were able to list titles regardless of when they were published

17 participants have suggested over 140 individual titles.
On Saturday I listed titles that were mentioned more than once.
Yesterday I listed authors mentioned more than once.
Today is the full list with duplicate titles removed.

I have marked Australian authors with *** if you are looking for some.

A BEAUTIFUL PLACE TO DIE, Malla Nunn ***
A COLD KISS, John Rector
A LILY OF THE FIELD, John Lawton
A STONE OF THE HEART, John Brady
A THOUSAND CUTS aka RUPTURE, Simon Lelic
AN AUTHOR BITES THE DUST, Arthur W Upfield ***
AN UNCERTAIN PLACE, Fred Vargas
AND THEN THERE WERE NONE, Agatha Christie
BAD INTENTIONS, Karin Fossum
BENEATH THE SKIN, Nicci French
BLACKLANDS, Belinda Bauer
BLANCO NOCTURNO, Ricardo Piglia
BLOOD OF THE WICKED, Leighton Gage
BLOOD OVER BADGE, Wayne Farquhar
BOUND, Vanda Symon (New Zealand author)
BOX 21, Anders Roslund & Borge Hellstron
BURY YOUR DEAD, Louise Penny
CAUGHT STEALING, Charlie Huston
CHARLEY'S WEB, Joy Fielding
COLD JUSTICE, Katherine Howell ***
COP HATER, Ed McBain
CORDIALLY INVITED TO MEET DEATH, Rex Stout
CROOKED LETTER, CROOKED LETTER, Tom Franklin
CROSSING, Andrew Xia Fukua
CROSSING PLACES, Elly Griffiths
CUCKOO, Julia Crouch
DANCERS IN MORNING, Margery Allingham
DAWN PATROL, Don Winslow
DEAD TOMORROW, Peter James
DEATH IN THE GARDEN, Elizabeth Ironside
DEATH MASK, Kathryn Fox ***
DEATH ON A GALICIAN SHORE, Domingo Villar
DEVIL RED, Joe Lansdale
DEVIL'S PEAK, Deon Meyer (South African author)
DIAMOND DOVE, Adrian Hyland ***
DRAWING CONCLUSIONS, Donna Leon
ECHOES FROM THE DEAD, Johan Theorin
EXILE, Denise Mina
EXIT LINES, Reginald Hill
FAITHFUL PLACE, Tana French
FALL OF THE GIANTS, Ken Follett
FIELD GREY, Philip Kerr
FROZEN MOMENT, Camilla Ceder.
GENTLY DOES IT, Alan Hunter
GHOST MOUNTAIN BOYS, James Campbell
HARBOUR, John Ajvide Lindqvist
HEARTSICK, Chelsea Cain
I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER AND MR. MONSTER, Dan Wells
I'LL WALK ALONE, Mary Higgins Clark
INTIMATE KILL, Margaret Yorke
INTUITION, Allegra Goodman
KILLER, Stephen Carpenter
LASTING DAMAGE, Sophie Hannah
LIQUID FEAR, Scott Nicholson
LIVE WIRE, Harlan Coben
MERCY aka KEEPER OF LOST CAUSES, Jussi Adler-Olsen
MISTRESS IN THE ART OF DEATH, Ariana Franklin
NEMESIS, Jo Nesbo
NEVER SAY DIE, Tess Gerritsen
NEVER TELL A LIE, Hallie Ephron
NO-ONE LOVES A POLICEMAN, Guillermo Orsi
OPEN SEASON, C. J. Box
PRIEST, Ken Bruen
QUEEN OF THE FLOWERS, Kerry Greenwood ***
REBUS’S SCOTLAND, Ian Rankin
RED WOLF, Liza Marklund
REDBACK, Lindy Cameron ***
REVELATIONS, Laurel Dewey
ROSEANNA, Sjowall/Wahloo
SECRET DEAD MEN, Diane Swierczynski
SHARK MUSIC, Carol O'Connell
SHROUD OF DARKNESS, E. C. R. Lorac
SILENT VOICES, Ann Cleeves
SO CLOSE THE HAND OF DEATH, J.T. Ellison
SOMEONE ELSE'S SON, Sam Hayes
STARTED EARLY, TOOK MY DOG, Kate Atkinson
STORM SURGE, J D Rhoades
TEN LITTLE HERRINGS, L. C. Tyler
THE ART OF DROWNING, Frances Fyfield
THE BLOOD SPILT, Åsa Larsson
THE BRUSH OFF, Shane Maloney ***
THE BRUTAL TELLING, Louise Penny
THE CASE OF THE LAME CANARY, Erle Stanley Gardner
THE CHEMISTRY OF DEATH, Simon Beckett
THE CHINESE ORANGE MYSTERY, Ellery Queen
THE COLD KISS, John Rector
THE DEPUTY, Victor Gischler
THE DIVINER'S TALE, Bradford Morrow
THE DOORBELL RANG, Rex Stout
THE EMPANADA AFFAIR, Jerrold & Elaine Last
THE FIFTH WITNESS, Michael Connelly
THE GIRL IN THE GREEN RAINCOAT, Laura Lippmann
THE GIRL NEXT DOOR, Patricia MacDonald
THE GIRL WHO DISAPPEARED TWICE, Andrea Kane
THE HANGING WOOD, Martin Edwards
THE KILLER INSIDE ME, Jim Thompson
THE LAKE EFFECT, Les Roberts
THE LEAVENWORTH CASE, Anna Katharine Green
THE LEOPARD, Jo Nesbo
THE LOCK ARTIST, Steve Hamilton
THE MAIN, Trevanian
THE MAN ON THE BALCONY, Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö
THE RAGE, Gene Kerrigan
THE REDEEMER, Jo Nesbo
THE REVERSAL, Michael Connelly
THE RULE BOOK, Rob Kitchin
THE SILENT WORLD OF NICHOLAS QUINN, Colin Dexter
THE SNOWMAN, Jo Nesbo
THE STABBING IN THE STABLES, Simon Brett
THE STONECUTTER, Camilla Lackberg
THE SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE, Alan Bradley
THE THIRD RAIL, Michael Harvey
THE TROUBLED MAN, Henning Mankell
THE TWO DEATHS OF DANIEL HAYES, Marcus Sakey
THE WINGS OF THE SPHINX, Andrea Camilleri
THE WOODCUTTER, Reginald Hill
THE WRECKAGE, Michael Robotham ***
TURN OF MIND, Alice LaPlante
VICTORIAN TALES OF MYSTERY & DETECTION, Michael Cox, ed.
WATER-BLUE EYES, Domingo Villar
WHAT ALICE KNEW: A MOST CURIOUS TALE OF HENRY JAMES & JACK THE RIPPER, Paula Marantz Cohen
WHAT WAS LOST, Catherine O’Flynn
WHISPERS AND LIES, Joy Fielding
WHISTLEBLOWER, Tess Gerritsen
WHOSE BODY?, Dorothy L Sayers
WINTERLAND, Alan Glynn
WYCLIFFE AND THE LAST RITES, W J Burley
YOURS UNTIL DEATH, Gunnar Staalesen

25 July 2011

July edition of the Agatha Christie Blog Carnival

The July edition of the Agatha Christie Blog Carnival is available here
Many thanks to the 10 contributors who have provided 16 blog posts for you to visit.

Features include

a travel article written when Roberta visited Torquay and Greenway
book reviews:
ENDLESS NIGHT,
FIVE LITTLE PIGS,
ELEPHANTS CAN REMEMBER,
MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS
ONE TWO BUCKLE MY SHOE
THE BODY IN THE LIBRARY
MISS MARPLE SHORT STORIES
THE POSTERN OF FATE
MISS MARPLE'S FINAL CASES
NEMESIS
one blogger who is collecting photos where "Miss Marple may appear"
a look at what you can now do on the "official" Agatha Christie site in locating sites where novels were set. Put yourself on the map of Agatha Christie fans.
And a short story you may not have read.

Find out more about the Agatha Christie Reading Challenge and the accompanying Blog Carnival here.

Best Crime Fiction Reads 2011 - so far - authors with multiple mentions

This is the second of my posts collating the suggestions that came in as a result of my Mid-Way Report post.
People were able to list titles regardless of when they were published

17 participants have suggested over 140 individual titles.
On Saturday I listed titles that were mentioned more than once.
Today's list consists of the authors that were mentioned more than once.
There aren't as many of them as I had expected.

The standout author was Jo Nesbo with 4 books listed:

THE LEOPARD
THE REDEEMER
NEMESIS
THE SNOWMAN

Here are the other authors mentioned twice:

Domingo Villar:
DEATH ON A GALICIAN SHORE
WATER-BLUE EYES
Joy Fielding:
CHARLEY'S WEB
WHISPERS AND LIES
Louise Penny:
BURY YOUR DEAD
THE BRUTAL TELLING
Michael Connelly:
THE REVERSAL
THE FIFTH WITNESS
Reginald Hill:
EXIT LINES
THE WOODCUTTER
Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö
ROSEANNA
THE MAN ON THE BALCONY
Tess Gerritsen
NEVER SAY DIE
THE WHISTLE BLOWER

Tomorrow I will publish the full list in alphabetical order of title.

24 July 2011

Sunday Salon: 24 July 2011 - support your local library

Just when I thought I was managing to blog a bit less than I have been in the past, certainly less than I did last year, then this week there seemed to be a lot to post about.

This week I posted four summary posts for the 26 weeks of the Crime Fiction Alphabet
You will find there lots of genuine recommendations for your crime fiction reading.

Yesterday I began putting up the lists for Best Crime Fiction Reads 2011 - so far - Titles with multiple mentions.
Tomorrow I will list the authors who were mentioned more than once and then, later in the week, I'll publish the full list of over 130 recommendations.

How often do you borrow from your local library? Mine is very supportive for crime fiction readers, but really for all readers including children.
I have a poll running on my blog that you might like to participate in.
See my post: My local library is important to me

The new meme: Crime Fiction on a EuroPass will begin on 1 August.
It will continue for 12 weeks and will give recommendations for crime fiction reading in 12 European destinations. Please consider joining in.

Other posts in the last week:

News & Headlines

TBRN (To Be Read Next)

next from library: THE MESSENGER OF ATHENS, Anne Zouroudi
next on Kindle - BLUE MONDAY, Nicci French
now on audio - STILL MIDNIGHT, Denise Mina
next Agatha Christie: EVIL UNDER THE SUN

Review: THE FAMILY, Martina Cole - audio book

ABRIDGED
Narrated by Nicola Duffett
Originally published 2010
Released on Audible.com May 2011
Publisher: Headline Digital
Length: 5 hours
Source: a gift - another one picked up at CrimeFest 2011. A publisher donation I think.

Publisher's Blurb

Phillip Murphy is a family man. He worships his old mum; he takes care of his siblings who help run his business empire; he dotes on his two young sons who will one day take over. And then there's his wife and saviour, Christine, whom he loves with a vengeance. To Phillip Murphy, family is everything.
Christine has always understood this about her husband. But there is another side to Phillip, and it's a side he never wanted his wife to see. Though even if she did, could she do anything but stand by him? Because Phillip has rules, and he expects loyalty from his nearest and dearest. Once you're in the family, you're in it for life.

My take

When Christina Booth falls in love with Phillip Murphy she has no idea what she is letting herself in for. Her mother is horrified that Christina wants to ally herself with a criminal family but Christina sees it as a way to escape. And before long she is part of "the family", pregnant at 16, and trapped just like Phillip's mother Veronica before her.

THE FAMILY is a very black book, hard and gritty, unusual because it is written from the point of view of an insider in a criminal family. Most books I read are written from the point of view of a detective or an investigator, looking at a criminal family from outside. Newcomers to the Murphy family like Christine tend to see how united it is, and to mistake its bonhomie for healthy togetherness. They don't at first realise that a veneer hides brutality and corruption. Even members of the family not cut out for the criminal life can't escape. And newcomers like Christine's parents Ted and Eileen Booth get sucked in by what the family can offer them. And once in, it is too late. Christine is making the same mistake her mother in law Veronica did before her and her daughter in law will make in her turn.

Nicola Duffet does an excellent job of the narration with terrific variety in the voices she uses.

The structure of the novel is unusual as it comes a full circle, starting with a prologue in current times and then going back to the beginning to explain how Christine had got to this point. In fact, after the CDs were finished we listened to the prologue again.

My rating: 4.5

Another review to check - do check it. It is very unusual.

The Guardian UK

About the author

Martina Cole has been publishing since 1992, and has 17 books under her belt. - see the list on Fantastic Fiction.
BCA Crime Thriller of the Year Best Novel winner (2006) : THE TAKE
Sainsbury's Popular Fiction Award Best Novel nominee (2007) : CLOSE

Some books with extracts including THE FAMILY.
Dangerous Lady website.

My local library is important to me

I have a terrific relationship with my local library.
I love it because they have such a good service and I always have library books on my home shelves. They have a terrific online reservation system. If I couldn't buy books or get them in any other way, my library would more than cover my needs.

We are lucky enough to have a recently expanded and renovated library too.

and inside it is just as good. Here is the children's section, which includes a Toy Library.

Here are the library books I've read recently:

Part of the secret of the wonderful service is that my library, Campbelltown, is part of a network of 7 libraries that share resources, and their joint catalogue often has multiple copies of the books I'm searching for. In addition, reservations are without charge, and I can keep my books for 1 month,

What about you?
Do you belong to a library? How often do you use it?
In the right hand column I have a poll running this week where you can tell me if you are a library borrower or not. Do also leave a comment about your experiences.

See Vanda's experience

23 July 2011

Best Crime Fiction Reads 2011 - so far - Titles with multiple mentions

I've begun collating the suggestions that came in as a result of my Mid-Way Report post.
People were able to list titles regardless of when they were published

17 participants have suggested over 140 individual titles.
Today's list consists of the titles that were mentioned more than once.
An interesting feature is that so many of them are translated books.

AN UNCERTAIN PLACE, Fred Vargas - 4
CROOKED LETTER, CROOKED LETTER, Tom Franklin - 4
THE LEOPARD, Jo Nesbo - 4
MERCY aka KEEPER OF LOST CAUSES, Jussi Adler-Olsen - 3
THE WINGS OF THE SPHINX, Andrea Camilleri - 3
BURY YOUR DEAD, Louise Penny - 3
COLD JUSTICE, Katherine Howell - 2
DRAWING CONCLUSIONS, Donna Leon - 2
MISTRESS IN THE ART OF DEATH, Ariana Franklin - 2
DEAD TOMORROW, Peter James - 2
THE BRUTAL TELLING, Louise Penny -2
THE SNOWMAN, Jo Nesbo - 2
THE TROUBLED MAN, Henning Mankell - 2
A THOUSAND CUTS aka RUPTURE, Simon Lelic - 2
THE RAGE, Gene Kerrigan - 2
A COLD KISS, John Rector -2

Many thanks to Marce, Margaret, Maxine, Cat, Bernadette, Bev, Rob, Stacybuckeye, Margot, Vicki, Jose Ignacio, Norman, Kathyd, Arthur, Rhu and Cynthia for participating.

You might like to check these posts out. Most of them are linked to reviews of the novels.

Blogs to check

On Monday I will post a list of authors with more than one title listed and then on Tuesday the full list of titles.

I hope all these lists help you in your search for good crime fiction redaing.

22 July 2011

Review: VILLAIN, Shuichi Yoshida

Harvill Secker 2010
first published in Japan as AKUNIN in 2007
translated from Japanese into English by Philip Gabriel 2010
ISBN 978-1-846-55268-0
295 pages
Source: my local library

Publisher's blurb (Random House Australia)

A young insurance saleswoman is found strangled at Mitsuse Pass. Her family and friends are shocked and terrified. The pass—which tunnels through a mountainous region of southern Japan—has an eerie history: a hideout for robbers, murderers, and ghostly creatures lurking at night.

Soon afterward, a young construction worker becomes the primary suspect (this is rather inaccurate). As the investigation unfolds, the events leading up to the murder come darkly into focus, revealing a troubled cast of characters: the victim, Yoshino, a woman much too eager for acceptance; the suspect, Yuichi, a car enthusiast misunderstood by everyone around him; the victim’s middle-aged father, a barber disappointed with his life; and the suspect’s aging grandmother, who survived the starvation of postwar Japan only to be tormented by local gangsters. And, finally, there is desperate Mitsuyo, the lonely woman who finds Yuichi online and makes the big mistake of falling for him.

A stunningly dark thriller and a tapestry of noir, Villain is the English-language debut for Shuichi Yoshida, one of Japan’s most acclaimed and accomplished writers. From desolate seaside towns and lighthouses to love hotels and online chat rooms, Villain reveals the inner lives of men and women who all have something to hide. Part police procedural, part gritty realism, Villain is a coolly seductive story of loneliness and alienation in the southernmost reaches of Japan.

Read an excerpt

My take

One of the interesting things about this novel is its structure. The murder of a young woman, or rather her relationships with a variety of people, is seen from a number of points of view. She has been lying to her friends about her "boyfriend" and consequently the police investigation begins in what appears to the reader to be entirely the wrong direction. The police begin using resources to track down the wrong person, or, wait, is he..?

Many of the victim's friends have secrets from their other friends, even from their families. The lies they tell stem from the desire to be seen by others has better than they actually are, or from shame about the activities they participate in. The problem comes when they begin to believe their own lies, or when others believe or act on them.

I found the chapter headings fascinating, and while they indicate the structure of the novel, the focus of each chapter is not just one person.

Who did she want to see?
Who did he want to see?
Who did she happen to meet?
Who did he happen to meet?
The villain I met.

This murder mystery gives Western readers a chance to penetrate modern Japanese culture. As many other reviews point out, in many ways it is a tale about dysfunctionality and alienation, at the same time as indicating the ripple effect in society of what was in many ways an unpremeditated crime. The author also explores the impact of chance events and spur-of-the-moment decisions.

The cultural overtones that permeate a translated novel, particularly one like VILLAIN, can be very strong, meaning that the reader is constantly aware that setting is "different" to the one that they normally "inhabit". This is the second translated Japanese novel that I have read this year. The other was THE DEVOTION OF SUSPECT X by Keigo Higashino reviewed here. In that one too I was acutely aware of cultural differences. That's what makes translated crime fiction so valuable to Western readers.

My rating: 4.5

Other reviews to check:

Reactions to Reading

Author Biography:
Shuichi Yoshida was born in Nagasaki, Japan, in 1968. He is the author of numerous books and has won many Japanese literary awards, including the Akutayawa Prize for Park Life, and the prestigious Osaragi Jiro Prize and the Mainichi Publishing Culture Award, both of which he received for Villain. Several of his stories have been adapted for Japanese television, and a film based on Villain is due to be released in 2010 in Japan as Akunin. Yoshida lives in Tokyo.

Looking for another Japanese crime fiction novel?
What about CROSSFire by Miyuki Miyabe or GROTESQUE by Natsuo Kirino?

21 July 2011

Forgotten Book: X.Y. Z. A Detective Story, Anna Katherine Green

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 70 KB
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B004TPT4AE
Source: I acquired it ($0.00)
Published 1883

Story outline

The detective who is the central character, employed by the United States Government, is hot on the trail of some counterfeiters when he discovers that a Massachusetts post office is being used by a gang to drop instructions in envelopes addressed to X. Y. Z.

Here is the "hook".

Sometimes in the course of his experience, a detective, while engaged in ferreting out the mystery of one crime, runs inadvertently upon the clue to another. But rarely has this been done in a manner more unexpected or with attendant circumstances of greater interest than in the instance I am now about to relate.

The gang have established a pattern in picking up the letters and so the detective's curiosity is piqued when a young man arrives at the "wrong time" and asks for X.Y.Z's correspondence. When the new arrival collects the letters he hands all but the last one back to the postmaster saying they are not for him. The detective decides to follow him and observes a murder.

My take

X. Y. Z. A DETECTIVE STORY is one of a number of Anna Katherina Green novels and novellas available free for Kindle from Amazon.
My attention was drawn to it recently by Margaret@BooksPlease in the Crime Fiction Alphabet for Letter X.

As Margaret says in her mini-review "It’s written in a somewhat formal and stilted style, and is melodramatic" but even so it is interesting to note how much it seems to have in common with writers like Edgar Allan Poe and Wilkie Collins, at the same time realising that the writer is a woman.

Wikipedia says this of her: Anna Katharine Green (November 11, 1846 – April 11, 1935) was an American poet and novelist. She was one of the first writers of detective fiction in America and distinguished herself by writing well plotted, legally accurate stories.
She apparently wrote about 40 stories, including The Leavenworth Case (1878), praised by Wilkie Collins, and the hit of the year.

X.Y. Z is really a novella or an extended short story and takes almost no time to read.

It is one of a number of Green's books available from Gutenberg Project if you are looking for something other than an .azw file. Click here for a full list of books.

My rating: 3.6

Crime Fiction Alphabet: the summary U - Z

This year's edition of the Crime Fiction Alphabet is now completed and this week I've published four summary posts. Many thanks to all the participants!

By Friday of each week participants had to write a blog post about crime fiction related to the letter of the week which was displayed each Monday.
[Those who intended to participate regularly signed up here.]

Their post had to be related to either the first letter of a book's title, the first letter of an author's first name, or the first letter of the author's surname. There was lots of choice: a review, or a bio of an author, so long as it fitted the rules somehow. Sometimes participants interpreted the rules very laterally, particularly with "difficult" letters.

We used Mr Linky to display participants' posts, and in most weeks there were 12 to 16 participants.

Below are the Mr Linky links for U-Z. The summary list for the 26 weeks: Crime Fiction Alphabet
Already published

Letter U

1. Mysteries and More ("U" is for Arthur Upfield
2. Margaret@BooksPlease - Nicola Upson
3. Confessions of a Mystery Novelist - Unseen by Nancy Bush
4. The Game's Afoot - U is for Unamuno, Miguel de Unamuno

5. Bev@My Reader's Block (Arthur W Upfield)
6. U is for 3 books by Marie Jungstedt (kerrie)
7. Yvette @ in so many words...
8. Tipping My Fedora: U is for UNNATURAL DEATH by Dorothy L Sayers

9. Mystery Bookshelf (Lisa Unger)
10. FleurFisher (U is for Unburied)

Letter V

1. Confessions of a Mystery Novelist - The Visitant by K. O. Gear and W. M. Gear
2. Mysteries and More (Voodoo River by Robert Crais)
3. Margaret@BooksPlease - Val McDermid:Cleanskin
4. The Game's Afoot - V is for Villar, Domingo Villar

5. Bernadette - V is for Victoria (the bit of Australia not the Queen)
6. Tipping My Fedora: V is for THE VIKING FUNERAL by Stephen J. Cannell
7. MiP: V is for Vargas
8. Bev@My Reader's Block (Voyage into Violence)

9. Tipping My Fedora: V is for SOLOMON'S VINEYARD by Jonathan Latimer
10. Yvette@ in so many words...V is for VERSE OF THE VAMPYRE
11. Violette (Brenda Rickman Vantrease)
12. Crime Watch - V is for Vanda

Letter W

1. Confessions of a Mystery Novelist - What Bloody Man is That? by Simon Brett
2. Mysteries and More ("W" is for Who is Inger Ash Wolfe?)
3. Craig - W is for THE WINDSOR CONSPIRACY by Kiwi/Aussie author Mike Ponder
4. Margaret@BooksPlease - The Blood Detective by Dan Waddell
5. The Game's Afoot - W is for Wahlöö, Per Wahlöö

6. Bernadette - W is for Walking the Dog
7. MiP- THE WRECKAGE, Michael Robotham
8. FleurFisher (W is for Written in Blood)
9. ISOT Classic Mystery - The Worm of Death by Nicholas Blake
10. Dorte: W is for the Whole Wide World

11. Tipping My Fedora: W is for WOBBLE TO DEATH by Peter Lovesey
12. Mystery Bookshelf (Heather Webber)
13. Bev@My Reader's Block (Patricia Wentworth)
14. Yvette @ in so many words...Letter W is for THE WOLVES OF WILLOUGHBY CHASE

Letter X

1. Confessions of a Mystery Novelist - X is for Xenophobia
2. Bev@My Reader's Block (Ye Xin)
3. Mysteries and More ("X" is for Qui Xiaolong)
4. Margaret@BooksPlease - X is for X, Y, Z by Anna Katherine Green
5. Crime Watch - X is for (IN) XTREMIS by David McGill
6. The Game's Afoot - X is for Xiaolong

7. Dorte: X is for XL
8. MiP - Suspect X
9. FleurFisher (The Expendable Man)
10. Mystery Bookshelf (Xiu Xinran)
11. Mysteries and More ("X" is for Xiaolong's Death of a Red Heroine
12. Yvette @ in so many words - X is for Xenobiotic

13. Mysteries and More ("X" is for Qui Xiaolong's A Case for Two Cities
14. Tipping My Fedora: X is for X v. REX by Philip MacDonald
15. ISOT Classic Mystery - The Tragedy of X by Barnaby Ross
16. Confessions of a Mystery Novelist - Speak For the Dead by Margaret Yorke
17. Violette@Mystery Bookshelf (Suzanne Young)

Letter Y

1. Tipping My Fedora: Y is for … YOU’D BETTER BELIEVE IT by Bill Jame
2. Bev@My Reader's Block (Joyce Yarrow)
3. Margaret@BooksPlease - Margaret Yorke, Intimate Kill
4. The Game's Afoot - Y is for Yrsa, Yrsa Sigurðardóttir

5. Confessions of a Mystery Novelist - Speak For the Dead by Margaret Yorke
6. Crime Watch - Y is for Yvonne E. Walus's MURDER @ PLAY
7. Mysteries and More (Bone Valley by Claire Matturro)
8. FleurFisher ( Y is for You are a Gongedip !)

9. Crime Watch - Forever young or aging (un)gracefully
10. MiP - Y is for Australian author Felicity Young
11. Dorte: Y is for Youngsters

Letter Z

1. Confessions of a Mystery Novelist - Z is for Ziti and Other Delicious Food
2. The Game's Afoot - Z is for Zeltserman, Dave Zeltsermanttir
3. Bev@My Reader's Block (Carlos Ruiz Zafón)
4. Mysteries and More ("Z" is for Mark Zuehlke)
5. Margaret@BooksPlease - Z is for Zouroudi

6. Crime Watch - Z is for Zirk Van Den Berg's NOBODY DIES
7. FleurFisher - Z is for Zouroudi
8. Bernadette - Z is for Zeitgeist
9. Dorte: Z is for Zed Alley # 1
10. Tipping My Fedora: Z is for Michael Bar-Zohar's THE THIRD TRUTH

11. MiP - ASHES TO WATER, Irene Ziegler
12. Yvette - Letter Z is for ZUGZWANG
13. Tipping My Fedora: Z is for Fred Zackel's COCAINE AND BLUE EYES

20 July 2011

Review: THE DARK VINEYARD, Martin Walker

Publisher: Quercus, 2009
ISBN 978-1-84724-915-9
309 pages
Source: my local library

Publisher's Blurb (from Fantastic Fiction)
Benoît (Bruno) Courrèges - devoted friend, cuisinier extraordinaire and the town's only municipal policeman - rushes to the scene when a research station for genetically modified crops is burned down outside Saint-Denis. Bruno immediately suspects a group of fervent environmentalists who live nearby, but the fire is only the first in a string of mysteries centering on the region's fertile soil.

Then a bevy of winemakers descends on Saint-Denis, competing for its land and spurring resentment among the villagers. Romances blossom. Hearts are broken. Some of the sensual pleasures of the town - a dinner of a truffle omelette and grilled bécasses, a community grape-crushing - provide an opportunity for both warm friendship and bitter hostilities to form. The town's rivals - Max, an environmentalist who hopes to make organic wine; Jacqueline, a flirtatious, newly arrived Québécoise; and Fernando, the heir to an American wine fortune - act increasingly erratically. Events grow ever darker, culminating in two suspicious deaths, and Bruno finds that the problems of the present are never far from those of the past.

My take

I very much regret that I haven't read the first in this series, BRUNO CHIEF OF POLICE. I'm going to remedy that as quickly as possible. Fortunately my library has a copy.

Just recently we've spent hours each night watching television coverage of the Tour de France and consequently my reading of THE DARK VINEYARD has gone rather slowly. But I don't think that has been a bad thing as it really is a book to savour. It goes much deeper than crime fiction. In fact at times crime takes a back seat as Bruno does all the other things that it seems the lone policeman in a small French town must take care of - attending to the Mayor's wishes, being a fire fighter, a rugby coach, arranging funerals, and keeping the peace in general.

When the deaths come, about half way through the book, it is a bit of a shock, and I was beginning to wonder whether anything was going to happen, more than the arson attack on the research station which occurs right at the beginning.

The setting is rich with characters and local customs and struck me as having considerable similarity to Louise Penny's village of Three Pines, except that Bruno is an insider and has a lot more local knowledge and acceptance than Penny's Inspector Gamache has. The canvas of Bruno's town of St. Denis seems heavily populated with vibrant and cosmopolitan characters. Bruno himself is happy living there, in a house he has built, although his recent friend Isabelle has moved to Paris and is trying to tempt Bruno into moving too.

The book deals thoughtfully with other issues too - genetically modified crops, multinational companies seeking to expand at the expense of local industries, the role of local governments in providing for their residents, the importance of keeping traditions alive.

You'll see from the tags I am using that I have decided I can call THE DARK VINEYARD a cozy although of course it is also a police procedural.

My rating: 4.6

Other reviews to check

Books to the Ceiling

Bruno, Chief of Police
1. Bruno, Chief of Police (2008)
2. The Dark Vineyard (2009)
3. Black Diamond (2010)
4. The Crowded Grave (2011)

There's a lot of interesting background about Bruno and the Perigord region on his site: Bruno, Chief of Police including a blog

ACRC Update - 20 July 2011

My intent in the Agatha Christie Reading Challenge is to read her books in order, so that I can get some idea of what she is doing, problems she is attempting to solve, and her development as a writer. If you look at some of my reviews you will see that I have been able to undertake some of this reflection.

Currently I am managing about a book a month.
.
I've read 29 books and 11 collections of short stories.

Read & reviewed so far

1920, THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLES
1922, THE SECRET ADVERSARY
1923, THE MURDER ON THE LINKS
1924, THE MAN IN THE BROWN SUIT
1924, Poirot Investigates (short stories: eleven in the UK, fourteen in the US)
1925, THE SECRET OF CHIMNEYS
1926, THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD
1927, THE BIG FOUR
1928, THE MYSTERY OF THE BLUE TRAIN
1929, THE SEVEN DIALS MYSTERY
1929, Partners in Crime (fifteen short stories; featuring Tommy and Tuppence)
1930, THE MURDER AT THE VICARAGE
1930, The Mysterious Mr. Quin (twelve short stories; introducing Mr. Harley Quin)
1931, THE SITTAFORD MYSTERY (aka MURDER AT HAZELMOOR)
1932, PERIL AT END HOUSE
1932 The Thirteen Problems (thirteen short stories; featuring Miss Marple, also known as The Tuesday Club Murders in the US)
1933, LORD EDGEWARE DIES (aka THIRTEEN AT DINNER)
1934, MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS (aka MURDER IN THE CALAIS COACH)
1934, WHY DIDN'T THEY ASK EVANS? (aka THE BOOMERANG CLUE)
1991, Problem at Pollensa Bay publ. 1991 (Two of them feature Hercule Poirot, two Mr. Satterthwaite and Mr. Harley Quin, and two Mr Parker Pyne.)
1935, THREE ACT TRAGEDY (aka MURDER IN THREE ACTS)- Hercule Poirot and Mr Satterthwaite.
1933, The Hound of Death - 12 short stories, UK only
1934, Parker Pyne Investigates - 12 stories introducing Parker Pyne and Ariadne Oliver
1934, The Listerdale Mystery - 12 short stories, UK only
1935, DEATH IN THE CLOUDS (aka DEATH IN THE AIR) - Hercule Poirot
1936, THE A.B.C. MURDERS (aka THE ALPHABET MURDERS) - Hercule Poirot
1947, The Labours of Hercules - Hercule Poirot - 12 short stories
1966, THE THIRD GIRL - Hercule Poirot and Ariadne Oliver
1997, Miss Marple: complete short stories - Miss Marple - 20 short stories
1997, While the Light Lasts - 9 short stories - incl. 2 Hercule Poirot
1936, MURDER IN MESOPOTAMIA - Hercule Poirot
1936, CARDS ON THE TABLE - Hercule Poirot, Superintendent Battle, Colonel Race, Ariadne Oliver
1938, HERCULE POIROT'S CHRISTMAS (aka MURDER FOR CHRISTMAS, aka A HOLIDAY FOR MURDER) - Hercule Poirot
1937, DUMB WITNESS (aka POIROT LOSES A CLIENT)
1937, DEATH ON THE NILE - Hercule Poirot, Colonel Race
1938, APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH - Hercule Poirot, Colonel Carbury
1939, MURDER IS EASY (aka EASY TO KILL) - Superintendent Battle
1939, TEN LITTLE NIGGERS (aka AND THEN THERE WERE NONE; also TEN LITTLE INDIANS)
1940, SAD CYPRESS
1940, ONE, TWO, BUCKLE MY SHOE (aka AN OVERDOSE OF DEATH; also THE PATRIOTIC MURDERS)

Reading schedule
1941, EVIL UNDER THE SUN
1941, N or M?
1942, THE BODY IN THE LIBRARY
1942, FIVE LITTLE PIGS (aka MURDER IN RETROSPECT)
1942, THE MOVING FINGER (aka THE CASE OF THE MOVING FINGER)
1944, TOWARDS ZERO
1944, DEATH COMES AS THE END

Check the opening blog post of the Agatha Christie Reading Challenge here.
If you'd like to join the Agatha Christie Reading Challenge click here.

I am using the list at Wikipedia of novels and collections of short stories. I will interlace the short story collections into the list where I can, but may have to read them out of order. I have decided on a method for reporting on the short stories. Here is my latest short story update.

Please feel free to join in my challenge, comment on my reviews etc.

I have set up a block over in the right hand column called Agatha Christie Reading Challenge (with the same logo as this post) where I am listing the books I'm currently reading and those I've finished.
The challenge is called ACRC so each review will be preceded by those letters.

If you want to follow my progress through your RSS reader, then the RSS URL is
http://www2.blogger.com/feeds/8273911883856580200/posts/default/-/Agatha%20Christie%20Challenge
Just save that in your bookmarks or RSS reader and you will be notified when I have written a new post.
Alternatively you could subscribe to the feed through FeedMyInbox. Just copy the RSS URL, click on the FeedMyInbox link and paste the URL in there.
You will need to confirm your subscription by email.

Contribute your blog postings about any Agatha Christie novels to the monthly carnival. Make an agreement with yourself that whenever you complete reading an Aggie you will write a blog posting about it and then submit the posting to the carnival.
If you are participating in the Agatha Christie Reading Challenge then write updates like this one and submit them to the Carnival. Let us know what progress you are making.

Crime Fiction Alphabet: the summary N - T

This year's edition of the Crime Fiction Alphabet is now completed and this week I'll publish four summary posts .

By Friday of each week participants had to write a blog post about crime fiction related to the letter of the week which was displayed each Monday.
[Those who intended to participate regularly signed up here.]

Their post had to be related to either the first letter of a book's title, the first letter of an author's first name, or the first letter of the author's surname. There was lots of choice: a review, or a bio of an author, so long as it fitted the rules somehow. Sometimes participants interpreted the rules very laterally, particularly with "difficult" letters.

We used Mr Linky to display participants' posts, and in most weeks there were 12 to 16 participants.

Below are the Mr Linky links for N-T. The summary list for the 26 weeks: Crime Fiction Alphabet
Already published

Letter N

1. Confessions of a Mystery Novelist - The Nine Tailors by Dorothy Sayers
2. Margaret@BooksPlease - a number of Ns
3. Fleur Fisher (N is for Not to be Taken)
4. Bernadette - N is for New Zealand
5. Tipping My Fedora: N is for NINE TIMES NINE by Anthony Boucher
6. Mystery Bookshelf (Julia Navarro)

7. Yvette - N is for Nero Wolfe
8. gautami tripathy--N or M? by Agatha Christie
9. Crime Watch (Craig) - N is for Neil Giles' A CASE OF IMMUNITY
10. MiP-N or M?
11. Mysteries and More (Red Square by Edward Topol and Fridrikh Neznansky)
12. The Game's Afoot - N is for Nesbo, Jo Nesbo

13. Dorte: N is for Niels and for Nerds
14. Tipping My Fedora: N is for Now You See It (1995) by Richard Matheson
15. ISOT Classic Mystery - The Nine Wrong Answers by John Dickson Carr
16. Bev@My Readers Block (Simon Nash)

Letter O

1. Confessions of a Mystery Novelist - Outbreak by Robin Cook
2. Bernadette - O is for Old People
3. Bev@My Reader's Block (Anthony Oliver)
4. Margaret@BooksPlease - One Good Turn
5. FleurFisher (O is for Other)

6. Dorte: O is for Order
7. gautami tripathy--One, Two, Buckle my Shoe by Agatha Christie
8. The Game's Afoot - O is for Orsi, Guillermo Orsi
9. Mysteries and More (One Fearful Yellow Eye by John D. MacDonald
10. O is for OVERKILL by Vanda Symon (Crime Watch)

11. Tipping My Fedora: O for OBELISTS AT SEA by C. Daly King
12. Mystery Bookshelf (Sister Carol Anne O'Marie)
13. MiP-ORIGINAL FACE, Nicholas Jose
14. ISOT Classic Mystery - On The Wrong Track by Steve Hockensmith
15. Tipping My Fedora - O is for ORIGIN OF EVIL by Ellery Queen

Letter P

1. Fleur Fisher (P is for Potts)
2. Confessions of a Mystery Novelist: Poirot Loses a Client by Agatha Christie
3. Tipping My Fedora: P is for PIGEON ENGLISH by Stephen Kelman
4. Bernadette - P is for Politicians
5. Bev@My Reader's Block (Caro Peacock)
6. Margaret@BooksPlease - The Private Patient by P D James

7. The Game's Afoot - P is for Padura, Leonardo Padura
8. Crime Watch: Prescription for Danger
9. ISOT Classic Mystery - The Punch and Judy Murders by Carter Dickson
10. Yvette (P is for Poirot)
11. MiP: P is for PRIME CUT, Alan Carter
12. Dorte: P is for Prison

13. Tipping My Fedora: P is for PUZZLE FOR PLAYERS by Patrick Quentin
14. Mysteries and More ("P" is for Louise Penny)
15. raidergirl3(Louise Penny)
16. Mystery Bookshelf(Richard North Patterson)
17. Tipping My Fedora: P is for Polygamy and Poodle Springs