--------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 244 MYSTERY Ref: DBY00019 Date: 07/25/96 From: HELEN FLEISCHER Time: 10:42am \/To: DEBBIE SHANKER (Read 3 times) Subj: Summer reading DS> s. The only other author that does a supurb job in that genre is DS> Aaron Elkins and I'm pretty sure he came along long before Cornwell. DS> His "Icy Clutches" and "Queens Arms" give the reader an excellent DS> look at pathology without too much gore. Elkins has been a favorite of mine for several years, which is why I even looked at the Cornwell book. Current read is Disposing of Henry by Roger Bax (a pseudonym of Andrew Garve). It's an old UK paperback with delightful ads on the back cover and inside front cover and absolutely no publication date. Hard to imagine a time when diamond rings sold for so little, even if they are small stones. Gives a real understanding to the reasons the characters think certain sums are a vast fortune. ... I tried to contain myself, but I escaped. * Q-Blue 1.0 * Helen Fleischer is helen@mbbs.com in Fairland, MD --- GEcho/2-PCB/2 * Origin: * MetroNet * Columbia, MD * (410) 720-5506 * (1:261/1137) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 244 MYSTERY Ref: DBY00020 Date: 07/25/96 From: HELEN FLEISCHER Time: 12:19pm \/To: BERT QUILLIN (Read 3 times) Subj: Preferred Authors Bert: BQ> Well, this statement proves something. My wife and I are not the BQ> only ones that don't care for Patricia Cornwell. Have sort of held BQ> back on my opinion regarding this author as it is uncomfortable to BQ> be a majority of one. Now I don't have to be concerned about that BQ> anymore. I think there are a few of us. ;) BQ> If you are interested in someone who writes a bit out of the BQ> ordinary, but will hold your attention without any problem, try BQ> Arthur Upfield. He is an old timer, much in the vein of Nevil Shute, BQ> although, possibly a bit more interesting. His "White Savage" would BQ> be a good one to start with. Thanks. I've managed to collect all but 2 of Upfield's books. He's a real favorite. If you need a complete list of his works, let me know. I don't say I've read them all, because I have one still set aside on my to-read shelf. Somehow I hate the idea that when I've read it, there are no more. That is unless I find those two very elusive early ones. The first one I read was Mr. Jelly's Business, when a librarian recommended Upfield to me. Golly, that has to be over 12 years ago! I've never read Nevil Shute. Is he as good as Upfield? ... "Look at the weaver, looming in the corner!" * Q-Blue 1.0 * Helen Fleischer is helen@mbbs.com in Fairland, MD --- GEcho/2-PCB/2 * Origin: * MetroNet * Columbia, MD * (410) 720-5506 * (1:261/1137) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 244 MYSTERY Ref: DBY00021 Date: 07/25/96 From: HELEN FLEISCHER Time: 12:19pm \/To: ROBERT WHITE (Read 3 times) Subj: Summer reading RW> The latest book by Minette Walters 'The Dark Room' uses this RW> technique to pin down the date, if not the time, of a homicide. The RW> book is quite good, she specializes in kind of pschological twists RW> and plots. My emotions and feelings about the main character flipped RW> over and over. The ending was a bit too abrupt after all the feints RW> and bluffs in the rest of the plot, but a good satisfying read. Sounds worth looking for. Thanks. RW> I just finished Laurence Shames first mystery, or at least I think RW> it is his first one. He worte or co-authored books before this one, RW> but I don't think they were mysteries. Anyway it is call 'Florida RW> Straight' and is a great book. Lots of good characters, and local RW> color of Key West and NY. Not much violence in his books, lots of RW> good dialog and plotting. That's what I like in a book. RW> Next in my pile is the latest Charles Paris book by Simon Brett. It Haven't read any of that series, though I've enjoyed the Mrs. Pargeter series. RW> ever so slowly. If you read and like Tony Hillerman, you will almost RW> certainly like Straley. Hillerman gets a lot more caught up in the N RW> avaho culture and mysticism, and Straley shows us life on the edge RW> of another frontier - in Alaska. A lot of similarities in how the RW> two authors intertwine the natural world, the spirit world, and RW> human frailties. My, you are adding to my shopping list alarmingly! ;) RW> BTW, has Belle Bijou been posting on here lately? I've been absent Haven't seen her, but my memory for names whizzing by on the screen is abominable. Happy reading. ... "...people who have no vices have very few virtues." -- A. Lincoln * Q-Blue 1.0 * Helen Fleischer is helen@mbbs.com in Fairland, MD --- GEcho/2-PCB/2 * Origin: * MetroNet * Columbia, MD * (410) 720-5506 * (1:261/1137) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 244 MYSTERY Ref: DBY00022 Date: 07/25/96 From: HELEN FLEISCHER Time: 12:19pm \/To: SUZZE TIERNAN (Read 3 times) Subj: Private Library ST> The few that I have read were very good. I like her "other series ST> (brain dead can't think of the name) better than the Maggody one. I think you mean the Claire Malloy series. Then of course there are the two Theo Bloomer books under her maiden name, Joan Hadley. ... Do I need a boat shuttle to weave my way through the Internet? * Q-Blue 1.0 * Helen Fleischer is helen@mbbs.com in Fairland, MD --- GEcho/2-PCB/2 * Origin: * MetroNet * Columbia, MD * (410) 720-5506 * (1:261/1137) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 244 MYSTERY Ref: DBY00023 Date: 07/26/96 From: BELLE BIJOU Time: 01:00am \/To: ROBERT WHITE (Read 3 times) Subj: Summer reading I'd like to say to , Robert White (1:134/40) who said: >BTW, has Belle Bijou been posting on here lately? I've been absent for a >couple of months, due to a lot of backlogged work, and then a delightful >hard >drive crash that left me limping along with minimal installs of the >programs >that I need for work jammed on a tiny 20mb HD with a few bad sectors. >(How's >that for a run-on sentence?) I'm still waiting to hear from Maxtor re: >what >they will do about my crashed 1.2gb drive, unfortunately there were some >directories on the drive that I hadn't backed up in a long time and that >data >is gone forever. I'm starting to look at the various options of tape and >removable HDs as a better way of backing up than 100+ diskettes. Yes, and have been wondering what happened to YOU! Glad you are back. It's way too late at night for much of a message, but I must tell you that I just finished James Lee Burke's latest - CADILLAC JUKEBOX - and just loved it! Actually, I had a whole list of recent reads a couple of weeks ago - also enjoyed the MInette Walters - and I dig through them and see if there is anything you might enjoy. --- msged 2.05 * Origin: 1:109/253 Dinah's Scrabblemania (1:109/253) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 244 MYSTERY Ref: DBY00024 Date: 07/25/96 From: PATRICIA FERRARA Time: 07:05pm \/To: HELEN FLEISCHER (Read 3 times) Subj: Summer reading -=> Quoting HELEN FLEISCHER to Patricia Ferrara <=- HF> School science was never as interesting to me as it should have been. HF> I remember devouring Scientific American in the 7th grade, then falling HF> asleep in science class. I hated science in school, with the exception of a couple of chapters in physical science in high school, so I know what you mean. PF> So, have you read any of Stout's/Goldsborough's Nero Wolfe PF> series? There's much more of a focus on character study PF> and lots less on the murder itself. Is that what you PF> prefer? HF> Yes indeed; to both questions. Then you can probably related to how excited I was to find two of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe books at the Friends of the Library sale for fifty cents each. Hardcover. Used, of course, but great condition. And I hadn't read either of them! :) Patsy --- Blue Wave/DOS v2.30 * Origin: Orion's Sword | Bush, LA | (504) 867-9701 | V.* (1:3828/1) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 244 MYSTERY Ref: DBY00025 Date: 07/26/96 From: DEBBIE SHANKER Time: 07:36am \/To: SUSAN BULLA (Read 3 times) Subj: Summer reading > DS> I liked the Cornwells a lot. They reminded me of the TV show Quincy, > which we > DS> still watch on reruns. It was one of the few times a mystery novel took > that > DS> sort of approach although the overall quality of the novels hemselves > have gone downhill. > Agreed. Are you old enough to remember Quincy's precursor, > "Diagnosis Unknown"? Don't remember that one, although I'm old enough to remember most of the early TV shows . I wish there were more series (TV or books) which revolve around forensics. My husband and I took an adult ed class a few years back on forensics..it was definitely for mystery buffs as opposed to professionals, but it was lots of fun and we did pick up lots of tidbits which I try to recall while reading whodunits. Last night I started "Level 4, virus hunters of the CDC" by McCormick and Fisher-Hoch. They were involved with the "hot zone" at the CDC, as well as working with Lassa fever and Ebola. It's classified as a biography (which I usually don't read) but the chapter headings looked like a gourmet menu of the exotic diseases of the world so figured I'd give it a try. <<< Debbie >>> --- GEcho 1.00 * Origin: chocolate, Chocolate, CHOCOLATE: Roch, NY (1:2613/321.1) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 244 MYSTERY Ref: DBY00026 Date: 07/26/96 From: BERT QUILLIN Time: 07:14am \/To: HELEN FLEISCHER (Read 3 times) Subj: Preferred Authors -=> Quoting Helen Fleischer to Bert Quillin <=- BQ> If you are interested in someone who writes a bit out of the BQ> ordinary, but will hold your attention without any problem, try BQ> Arthur Upfield. He is an old timer, much in the vein of Nevil Shute, BQ> although, possibly a bit more interesting. His "White Savage" would BQ> be a good one to start with. HF> Thanks. I've managed to collect all but 2 of Upfield's books. He's a HF> real favorite. If you need a complete list of his works, let me know. Helen: I forgot you were the one that sent me a message several weeks ago regarding Arthur Upfield and his books. Later, you sent me a list of his writings, for which I am grateful. Thought your name sounded familiar, so went into my capture file and brought past messages up by search where your prior correspondence was discovered. HF> I've never read Nevil Shute. Is he as good as Upfield? For many years, Nevil Shute was sort of a legend. He was even older than Upfield. He was an Englishman who spent considerable time in Australia as well as other parts of the world. His wanderings included journeys into the Pacific Northwest as it used to be. His works are principally centered around areas where he spent considerable time. The subjects are varied and include fictional accounts of actions during WWII. He was quite a romantic so his entries into the field of human emotions was quite touching. No sex, thank goodness. We get enough of that on the tube and in the so called romance novels. He writes a bit like Upfield and I would imagine they were probably friends of a sort sometime and somewhere during their lives. Shute's books need not be read in sequence as they mostly involve separate people. Some of his stories were made into films, including "On the Beach", the last days of this world as we know it after the bomb went astray. Where "On the Beach" was not one of my favorites, it is well worth reading. At the time it was published, not long before Shute died, it was a huge success with much publicity and fanfare. Regards, Bert ___ Blue Wave/DOS v2.30 --- WILDMAIL!/WC v4.12 * Origin: COM-DAT BBS (1:105/314.0) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 244 MYSTERY Ref: DBY00027 Date: 07/26/96 From: MAUREEN GOLDMAN Time: 11:25am \/To: SUSAN BULLA (Read 3 times) Subj: Summer reading On (24 Jul 96) Susan Bulla wrote to Debbie Shanker... SB> Agreed. Are you old enough to remember Quincy's precursor, SB> "Diagnosis Unknown"? Isn't there a current TV series with that title? With Dick Van Dyke and his son ... or some attractive family member, at any rate. ... I should have quit while I was not as far behind. --- PPoint 2.00 * Origin: Point of No Deposit, No Return (1:153/404.11) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 244 MYSTERY Ref: DBY00028 Date: 07/26/96 From: DELORES E ROWE Time: 03:04pm \/To: PATRICIA FERRARA (Read 3 times) Subj: Re: Cornwell -=> On 07-24-96 18:19, Patricia Ferrara said something about Cornwell to Maureen Goldman....... PF> exception, not the rule. Out of almost twenty people PF> that I personally know who have read her books, I've PF> heard that reaction from one person. You make it two. PF> There's no denying that the victims often die horrible deaths. PF> To me, that doesn't seem to be the focus of the books, though. PF> The emphasis is on the tremendous scientific effort behind PF> stopping the sadistic criminal. That aspect fascinates me and PF> somehow it also gives me peace of mind where Mary Higgins PF> Clark's books tend to leave me feeling frightened. Maybe it's PF> because in books like MHC's, too much depends on luck? I don't PF> know... I agree with you, Patricia...I love Cornwell's books, and I too believe that it's the forensic science and psychological profiles that they build up, that I find so engrossing. It's the logic...and luck...that they use to apprehend the criminal that I find so fascinating. Personally speaking, I don't find any of the murders portrayed in her books to be any more sadistic or gory than those we read about every day in the newspaper.:( I also happen to a big fan of MHC, and she definately has a way of making reality spine chilling! :) ttys der ... ....Why do they put expiration dates on sour cream? ___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.12 --- TriToss (tm) Professional 10.0 - #189 * Origin: TMK BBS - 509.886.7607 - mystique@nwinternet.com (1:344/115.0)