--------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 244 MYSTERY Ref: F2D00000 Date: 02/08/98 From: FRED RUNK Time: 05:06pm \/To: SUZZE TIERNAN (Read 0 times) Subj: Angel of Darkness -=>While in the White Hart, Suzze Tiernan explained to All that<=- ST> Another book I just finished is "Angel of Darkness" by Caleb Carr. If ST> you have not read his first book, "The Alienist" I highly recommend ST> it! It is an historical suspense, involving a serial killer in early ST> 1900's NYC, and the beginnings of such police procedures as profiling ST> and fingerprints. The Alienist is Dr. Kriezler, who tires to get into ST> the mind of the killer. "Angel of Darkness" involves the same people, ST> this time looking for a woman whom they believe has been killing young ST> children, including 2 of her own. Again, I highly recommend it. Thanks for the commentary. I read and thoroughly enjoyed THE ALIENIST and was wondering if this one was at the same level. FINISHED: Steven Saylor. CATALINA'S RIDDLE CR: Gardner Dozois, ed. YEAR'S GREATEST SCIENCE FICTION, 14th ed. 554/746 CR: Stephen King. Dark Tower IV: WIZARD AND GLASS, 246/668 Email: fredr@gci-net.com ... Hug: A roundabout way of expressing affection. ___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.20 --- Maximus/2 3.01 * Origin: DPSystem:4285 OS2-WARPED 520-290-8418 USR V.e+ (1:300/105) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 244 MYSTERY Ref: F2D00001 Date: 02/09/98 From: JEANE MOORE Time: 12:49am \/To: JAN MURPHY (Read 0 times) Subj: Miz Christie Jan Murphy wrote to Michael Labreck. > BTW - The reason why I picked up the echo is to see if there > are any > Agatha Christie readers out there; which I did ask, but > there aren't > many.... JM> I have read some Christie, but I didn't really care for her JM> books because they were too dry for my taste. I believe I've read all her books, although I don't remember reading any recently. I don't recall thinking they were dry; some were boring and some were silly and several were both. But by and large she had the knack of keeping one's attention; she was good at plotting and her characters, though often a bit stereotypical, were interesting. I thought her Miss Marple books were her best and most accessible. Poirot was fun but not quite human enough sometimes. I think she probably understood the dynamics of the house party as well as anyone else who ever wrote. Does anyone here remember her last couple of books and think, as I do, that she was losing it and they'd never have been published if she hadn't been who she was? I'm not talking about the ones she left to be published posthumously, and I don't remember the titles of the ones I am talking about, but I think one had "Elephant" in the title. (There's a clue!) Anyway, Michael, look up the ones she set in the Middle East, if you haven't read them, and the Miss Marples set in St. Mary Mead. JM> What about Josephine Tey, Ngaio Marsh, or Margery JM> Allingham, or the contemporary mysteries (i.e. not the Brother JM> Cadfaels) from Ellis Peters? Why not the Brother Cadfaels? They're by far Ellis Peters's best. An inexperienced mystery reader should certainly try on Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe books, and a young man should try Robert B. Parker, Philip Craig, and Robert Crais. I would also recommend Randy Wayne White, Geoffrey Norman, and Ross Thomas. Here's a quote I once copied from Robert Crais's INDIGO SLAM: "I was probably thirty seconds from being thrown in jail, but you always feel better when you tough off to a guy." I love it. jeane.moore@wizinfo.com ... I shot the SysOp, but I did not shoot the Mod-er-a-tor... ___ X Blue Wave/DOS v2.30 [NR] X --- Maximus 3.01 * Origin: Allegedly from WizInfo CBCS Minneapolis 612.721.8859 (1:282/2022) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 244 MYSTERY Ref: F2D00002 Date: 02/09/98 From: JEANE MOORE Time: 12:51am \/To: SUSAN BULLA (Read 0 times) Subj: Lie down with dogs Susan Bulla wrote to Jeane Moore. JM> For several months now I have been touting LIE DOWN JM> WITH DOGS by Jan Gleiter. SB> Thanks for sharing this new aithor with me! Happy to do so. Let us know whether you like her book. jeane.moore@wizinfo.com ... Make a cat float? Start with 2 scoops of ice cream... ___ X Blue Wave/DOS v2.30 [NR] X --- Maximus 3.01 * Origin: Allegedly from WizInfo CBCS Minneapolis 612.721.8859 (1:282/2022) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 244 MYSTERY Ref: F2E00000 Date: 02/09/98 From: STEVEN HORN Time: 12:46am \/To: FRED RUNK (Read 0 times) Subj: A Certain Justice On 07 Feb 98 at 21:42, Fred Runk (1:300/105) wrote to Steven Horn: FR> Sounds very interesting. I will be watching for it. You will like it. It has a certain edge to it. Take care, Steven Horn (shorn@yknet.yk.ca) Moderator, CAN_SYSLAW Co-Moderator, ALASKA_CHAT --- Msged 4.20 beta 2 * Origin: Yukon Mail, Whitehorse, Canada (1:3409/1) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 244 MYSTERY Ref: F2E00001 Date: 02/03/98 From: ROBERT WHITE Time: 06:06am \/To: JEANE MOORE (Read 0 times) Subj: Lie Down With Dogs -=> Quoting Jeane Moore to All <=- JM> For several months now I have been touting LIE DOWN WITH DOGS by Jan JM> Gleiter. (In fact I gave away four copies for Christmas.) It is a JM> witty, humorous, intelligent, and well-written story about two adults Hi Jeane, I think I saw this book in Chapters bookstore awhile back, but didn't buy it, looks like I should have! I'll certainly put it on my listing of books to be on the lookout for. I don't buy that many books new, mostly from the UBS, ut like you when I have a favorite author I like to try to support them with royalties. I've just finished a book by one of my favorite authors, Steve Martini. This book is called 'The Simeon Chamber' and is a departure from Martini's usual style of cutting courtroom drama. The main character is a lawyer, but it took me a while to get into the book. It didn't drag, but didn't grab me the way Martini's other books did. It is worth a read, but I stll like his series ith Paul Madriani as a prosecutor. The books remind me a lot of the Erle Stanley Gardner Perry Mason series that I grew up reading. Except for the switch from the defense to prosecutor's POV, a lot of the same plot elements are carried over. Off the top of my head, I think the order to read them in is Compelling Evidence' 'Prime Witness' 'Undue Influence' and 'The Judge'. Bob 8-{) --- Blue Wave/DOS v2.20 * Origin: TechTalk; Calgary, Alberta. V.34+ (403)209-2104 (1:134/40) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 244 MYSTERY Ref: F2E00002 Date: 02/03/98 From: ROBERT WHITE Time: 06:26am \/To: SUZZE TIERNAN (Read 0 times) Subj: Angel of Darkness -=> Quoting Suzze Tiernan to All <=- ST> Another book I just finished is "Angel of Darkness" by Caleb Carr. If ST> you have not read his first book, "The Alienist" I highly recommend Hi Suzze, I read 'The Alienist' about a year ago, and like you really liked it. I might have read it due to your recommendation for that matter. Glad to see he has continued in the same vein. I know you are not a fan of British mysteries, so I'll skip mentioning them o you and talk about some of the others I've read recently. 'New York Dead' by Stuart Woods didn't quite cut it with me. The characters were too stereotyped and the plot seemed like a bunch of plot cliches strung together, and I guessed who the killer was about 50 pages in. Have you (or anybody else) read other books by Woods? I'd like to know if this is his normal level of riting or if I picked the wrong book of his. 'The Butterfly Effect' by Eve Zaremba. The heroine in this series is a esbian PI, and definitely not another Kate Martinelli! More like Lauren Laurano if you have read any of Sandra Scoppetone's books. A lot of the plot is set in Japan, and the rest in Toronto, LA and Las Vegas, the lady certainly gets around. Pretty good plotting and story line, and interesting characters made this a decent read, but it felt to me like a first book not the 4th or 5th that Zaremba has written. I'll look for the first in this series and start there and see how the series grows. TTYL, Bob 8-{) --- Blue Wave/DOS v2.20 * Origin: TechTalk; Calgary, Alberta. V.34+ (403)209-2104 (1:134/40) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 244 MYSTERY Ref: F2E00003 Date: 02/03/98 From: ROBERT WHITE Time: 06:59am \/To: SUZZE TIERNAN (Read 0 times) Subj: Books -=> Quoting Suzze Tiernan to All <=- ST> Recently finished a paperback original by a first-time author, Anne ST> Grant. It is titled "Multiple Listing", and is about a killer who is ST> Am 80% finished with a book called "Exile Way" by Ann Woodward. It is ST> a mystery set in Ancient Japan. Someone doesn't want the current ST> Next, I plan on reading an ARC of "Shame" by Alan Russell, one of my ST> favorite authors. If you haven't read him, try "The Hotel Detective". All added to my BOLO listing. I also love Russell's 'Hotel Detective' series and glad to see he has written a new book. Is this part of the same series nd characters? Bob 8-{) --- Blue Wave/DOS v2.20 * Origin: TechTalk; Calgary, Alberta. V.34+ (403)209-2104 (1:134/40) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 244 MYSTERY Ref: F2E00004 Date: 02/03/98 From: ROBERT WHITE Time: 07:07am \/To: SUZZE TIERNAN (Read 0 times) Subj: Connelly -=> Quoting Suzze Tiernan to Jan Murphy <=- ST> Michael Connelly has a series, Harry Bosch (named after one of my ST> favorite artists) is the main character, a rouge cop in LA. There are ST> 5 books in the series; and yes I would read them in order, although I ST> am sure you don't have to. In fact our reading group read the third ST> one, "Concrete Blonde". He also has 2 stand alone books, the first was ST> "The Poet", an excellent book about a killer who leaves notes with ST> excerpts from Poe. I highly recommend it. And of course, Blood Work Hello again Suzze, I started 'The Poet' but couldn't get into the story, I don't remember xactly what put me off, but I put it aside and read something else and never got ack to it. Guess I should give it another try. 'Poet' and 'Blood Work' are both stand alone books outside the series with Harry Bosch? I didn't get far enough into 'Poet' to where the killer was leaving the notes, but that does sound like an interesting hook. I really liked Poe when I was growing up and read everything he wrote. Bob 8-{) --- Blue Wave/DOS v2.20 * Origin: TechTalk; Calgary, Alberta. V.34+ (403)209-2104 (1:134/40) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 244 MYSTERY Ref: F2E00005 Date: 02/03/98 From: ROBERT WHITE Time: 07:14am \/To: STEVEN HORN (Read 0 times) Subj: A Certain Justice -=> Quoting Fred Runk to Steven Horn <=- SH> I just finished P.D. James's A Certain Justice and SH> thoroughly enjoyed it. This lady does know her stuff! Hello Steven, She is a great writer with wonderful characters and intense plotting. James was in Calgary last fall on a promotional tour and gave a reading and short talk. It was interesting to hear her read and talk about how she writes. She outlines the story entirely before she starts the actual novel, that is probably why her books don't have illogical jumps in the plot or require complete suspensions of disbelief. But she also said that she surprises herself occasionally with the actual devolution of the plot when she is writing. An interesting lady and great books. Bob 8-{) --- Blue Wave/DOS v2.20 * Origin: TechTalk; Calgary, Alberta. V.34+ (403)209-2104 (1:134/40) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 244 MYSTERY Ref: F2F00000 Date: 02/10/98 From: SUSAN BULLA Time: 07:34pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: Poseidon's gold Just finished this fifth in the series of Marcus Didius Falco mysteries set in Rome in the time of Vespasian's rule. Our hero is a public informer who periodically undertakes missions, sometimes for the Emporer himself. The author is Lindsey Davis. I find this series' strengths to be its characters and dialog as opposed to plot. The repartee between Marcusa and his lady love (the daughter of a senator and much above his social reach) reminds me of "Moonlighting" (the cybil Sheppard/Bruce Willis series of a few years back) set in ancient Rome. If you're looking for light, entertaining reading set with a fine sense of setting, try one of these. The first in the series is "Silver Pigs." * JABBER v1.2 * I'm not tense . . . just terribly alert! --- InterEcho 1.19 * Origin: The Oasis BBS: (817) 613-9002 (1:130/716)