Supper Sleuths, a mystery discussion group, meets every second Tuesday evening at 6:00pm to discuss mysteries of every genre and type. Feel free to bring your own snack or brown bag lunch with you to the meeting.

The next Supper Sleuths Discussion takes place June 12, 2012 at 6:00pm to 7:30pm in the Lecture Hall where the group will discuss any mystery.

This meeting is a Free Read. Feel free to read from your personal backlog, the new or older Mystery books in the library, or from our previous Supper Sleuths lists. (Please bear in mind that most of the catalog links for lists may not be working after we change our circulation system at the end of May. Please be patient..) Anything goes—just read a mystery!

Because we usually have a crowd for the free read, everyone will have five minutes to “review” one title. If you bring more than one title to the discussion; let me know, and if there is time you can mention it when everyone has talked about one book each.

REVIEWING STRATEGY
When preparing your “reviews,” think about how well the author creates the characters, the setting, the plot, and the tone of the book. Please give a very quick overview of the plot—one or two sentences. Leave the secondary plots out of the review unless they really matter. Do not disclose “spoilers”—the ending or some other integral facet of character development or plot. The rest of the “review” can be responses to how well the author does his or her job to craft this particular story. Describe what you enjoyed. Express what you did not enjoy. Has the author written a predictable plot or character? Did you laugh? Did you care? Was the story too violent? Was the violence or crime unnecessarily graphic? Is there romance? Would you read this author again? Is it part of a series? Should you read the series in order? Does this title/author remind you of any other authors you have read?

Schedule and more information on the Suppers Sleuths Web page.

The next gathering of Beebe Library’s book discussion group, Books By the Lake, is on September 19, 2012. The discussion of David McCullough’s John Adams (Nonfiction) begins at 7:30pm in the Lecture Hall.

There will be no June, July or August meeting.

While reading, please consider: How does McCullough share John Adams’s life with us? Do you trust his assessment of this man, and why do you or do you not?

Titles & Schedule for 2012-2013 will soon be on the web page.

The next gathering of Beebe Library’s book discussion group, Books By the Lake, will discuss David McCullough’s John Adams. This Pulitzer Prize-winning biography chronicles the life of America’s second president, including his youth, his career as a Massachusetts farmer and lawyer, his rivalry with Thomas Jefferson, and his influence on the birth of the United States. The book is also a story of romantic and familial love, some critics observed, sensitively portraying Adams’s passionate devotion to his strong-minded wife, Abigail, and the joy he took in being a father. Former U.S. defense secretary Caspar W. Weinberger, writing in Insight on the News, called the book “a labor of love and skill, assuring McCullough a prime position among our greatest historians. … There are few works of history or historical fiction that can match McCullough’s descriptions of the daily lives and the all too human motives, quarrels, ambitions and dissension that had to be reconciled and agreed to before our revolution could succeed.”

For a schedule of the 2012-2013 titles, please look on Books By the Lake’s web page

**Highly Recommended by readers

Arlington, Lucy. Buried in a Book: A Novel Idea; bk.1 Cozy new series.

Cavender, Chris. (aka Tim Myers) Pepperoni Pizza Can be Murder: A Pizza Lover’s Mystery.bk.2 Cozy.

Craig, Philip. **Gate of Ivory, Gate of Horn. Beowulf
—. A Beautiful Place to Die. 1st J.W. Jackson

**Faye, Lynsay. The Gods of Gotham. Historical.

Gardner, Lisa. Catch Me. Detective D.D. Warren; bk.6

George, Elizabeth. This Body of Death. Inspector Lynley; bk.16

Gerritsen, Tess. The Bone Garden. Not Rizzoil & Isles.

Highsmith, Patrica. Strangers on a Train. Classic Suspense–also excellent Hitchcock movie.

Hoag, Tami. Kill the Messenger.

James, P.D. Death Comes to Pemberley. Continues Austen’s Pride & Prejudice story

**Landay, William. Defending Jacob. Legal Suspense

Larsson, Stieg. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. Trilogy; bk.3

MacDonald, John D. The Deep Blue Good-By. 1st Travis McGee.

Maron, Margaret. Three Day Town. Judge Deborah Knott; bk.17 & Lt. Sigrid Harold.

Rendell, Ruth. Not in the Flesh. Chief Inspector Wexford series; bk. 22.

Truman, Margaret. Murder on Embassy Row; Capitol Crimes series; Bk.5

**Highly Recommended by readers

Arnaldur Indridason. Operation Napoleon. Standalone. Iceland–plane crash–surprising last line!

Baldacci, David. Zero Day. Political thriller.

Bazell, Josh. Beat the Reaper. Dr. Peter Brown; bk.1 (Thumbs Down!) Too much medical jargon & explanation–foul language abounds.

Flower, Amanda. Maid of Murder: An India Hayes Mystery; bk.1 Cozy–Agatha Award Nominee for Best First Novel. 2011

**French, Tana. Faithful Place. series, bk.3 Dysfunctional Irish family, vivid description of family, Irish wake & neighborhood. No subplots–just the past murder investigated.

Grafton, Sue. V is for Vengeance. Kinsey Millhone series; bk.22

**Hart, John. The Last Child. Dark but well-written and compelling. Literary mystery.

**Hill, Reginald. The Woodcutter. Stand-alone from creator of Dalziel & Pascoe series. Take-off on The Count of Monte Cristo with a very surprising twist at the end.

Kellerman, Faye. Gun Games: Rina Lazarus & Peter Decker; bk.22

**Kelly, Erin. The Poison Tree. Suspenseful plot-driven; 1st pov. unreliable narrator; foreboding twists–nice surprise–ending did not see coming. Setting: contemporary London. Present & past flashbacks. Not as literary but good match for Kate Atkinson & Tana French.

**Leon, Donna. Uniform Justice: Commissario Guido Brunetti; bk.12–Venice–excellent place, plotting, character–frustrating political roadblocks. First in series is Death at La Fenice.

Nesbo, Jo. The Leopard. Thumbs down–terrible surprise after his other books.

Rendell, Ruth. The Vault. Inspector Wexford that refers back to a standalone 1999 novel, Sight for Sore Eyes. Do not need to read Sight first.

Rotenberg, Robert. Old City Hall. bk.1 Canadian: lawyer turned cop–begins book with each chapter dedicated to a character; political correct satirical.

Truman, Margaret. Murder in the White House & Murder on Capitol Hill; Capitol Crimes series, Bks. 1 & 2; Excellent place–Washington, DC

Upson, Nicola. Two for Sorrow. Josephine Tey; bk.3 Historical. (Author explores the tension between fiction and historical accuracy with her fictional Josephine Tey character which was the pseudonym for Elizabeth MacIntosh)

**Watson, S.J. Before I Go to Sleep. 1st suspenseful with real surprise at the conclusion. Woman with amnesia. Also mentioned title with similar theme & suspense: Alice LaPlante’s Turn of Mind.

Welles, Orson. Mr. Arkadin. (Also film: Confidential Report)—novel written from movie script.

Also mentioned: Cole Alpaugh’s The Bear in the Muddy Tutu: A modern fable about lovable misfits, both animal and human, whose fates become intertwined in a ragtag circus troupe. Quirky, funny.
Stephen King’s 11/22/63–really long but very well done. Historical time travel.

**Highly Recommended by readers

Black, Cara. Murder on the Ile Saint-Louis Aimee LeDuc series; bk.7

Block, Lawrence. A Drop of the Hard Stuff. Matthew Scudder series; bk.17

Brandman, Michael. Robert B. Parker’s Killing the Blues. Jesse Stone series; bk.10.
First title is series written by Brandman based on Parker’s character.

Childs, Lee. The Affair. Jack Reacher series; bk.16
Reacher’s first case.

**Cotterill, Colin. Killed at the Whim of a Hat. Jimm Juree series; bk.1 Thailand
—.Slash and Burn. ?Final Dr. Siri Paiboun series; bk.8 Laos

DeMille, Nelson. Plum Island. John Corey series; bk. 1

Gerritsen, Tess. Body Double. Rizzoli & Isles series; bk.4

Grafton, Sue. V is for Vengeance. Kinsey Millhone series; bk.22

**Hart, John. The Last Child.

**Kaaberbol, Lene & Agnete Fris. The Boy in the Suitcase.
Denmark thriller being compared to Steig Larsson

MacDonald, Patricia. Stranger in the House.

**Mina, Denise. Still Midnight. Alex Morrow series, bk.1
—. The End of the Wasp Season.; bk.2
Glasgow, Scotland

**Perry, Douglas. Girls of Murder City: Fame. Lust and the Beautiful Killers Who Inspired Chicago. Non-Fiction.

Stevens, Taylor. The Informationist.
Billed as a thriller–Steig Larsson wannabe falls short

**Willett, Sabin. The Deal.
Boston law firm suspense

Special thanks to Beth Radcliffe for her hard work on this list.

Allingham, Margery. (Albert Campion; bk.8)

• Dancers in Mourning. (1937) Musical Comedy
  also found in The Crime and Mr. Campion (1937) NOTE: Readers question whether this has enough music in the plot to be on this list.

Anderson, J.R.L. (Piet Deventer; bk.2)

• Festival (1979) Rock Festival

Atkins, Ace. (Nick Travers)

1. Crossroad Blues (1998)
2. Leavin’ Trunk Blues (2000)
3. Dark End of the Street (2002)
4. Dirty South (2004)

Barnard, Robert.

• Death on the High C’s (1977) Opera
• Death and the Chaste Apprentice (1989) (Charlie Peace; bk.1) Opera NOTE: Readers question whether this has enough music in the plot to be on this list.

Bowen, Rhys. (Constable Evans; bk.3)

• Evanly Choirs (1999)

Cash, Dixie. (Domestic Equalizers; bk.7)

• I Can’t Make You Love Me, But I Can Make You Leave. (2011) Country Music

Charles, Paul. (Detective Inspector Christy Kennedy)

1. I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass (1997) Record Company
2. The Hissing of the Silent Lonely Room (2001) bk.3 American musician

Crispin, Edward. (Gervase Fen)

• Swan Song (1947) bk.4; Opera

Dill, Stuart. (Music Industry Thriller)

• Murder on Music Row (2011)

Duchin, Peter and John Morgan Wilson. (Philip Damon) Bandleader

1. Blue Moon (2002)
2. Good Morning, Heartache (2003)

Elias, Gerald. (Daniel Jacobus) Violin Teacher

1. Devil’s Trill (2009)
2. Danse Macabre (2010)
3. Death and the Maiden (2011)

Friedman, Kinky.

• Musical Chairs (1999) (Kinky Friedman; bk.5 Country Music)
• Roadkill (1997)(Kinky Friedman; bk.10 Willie Nelson)
• Blast from the Past (1998) (Kinky Friedman; bk.11 Prequel to Roadkill)

Fulmer, David. (Valentin St. Cyr; bk.1)

• Chasing the Devil’s Tail. (2001) Storyville, New Orleans

Grabien, Deborah. (J.P. Kincaid)

1. Rock and Roll Never Forgets (2008)
2. When My Guitar gently Weeps (2009)
3. London Calling (2010) Not in NOBLE
4. Graceland (2011)

Grabien, Deborah. (English Ballad Mysteries)

1. The Weaver and the Factory Maid (2003)
2. The Famous Flower of Serving Men (2004)
3. Matty groves (2005)
4. Cruel Sister (2006)
5. New Slain Knight (2007)

Hare, Cyril.

• When the Wind Blows (1950) Violinist

Hewson, David. (Daniel Forster)

• Lucifer’s Shadow (2004) Lost musical masterpiece

Klein, Daniel. (Elvis Presley)

1. Kill Me Tender (2000)
2. Blue Suede Clues (2002)
3. Viva Las Vengeance (2003)
4. Such Vicious Minds (2004) Not in NOBLE

Holmes, Rupert.

1. Swing (2005) Jazz Musician/1940 World’s Fair

Kellerman, Faye.

1. Gun Games (2011) (Decker/Lazarus series; bk.20) Musical Prodigy

Leon, Donna. (Guido Brunetti Mysteries; bk.1)

1. Death at La Fenice (1992) Opera

Peters, Ellis. (Inspector George Felse; bk.6)

• Black is the Colour of My True Love’s Heart (1967)

Moody, Bill. (Evan Horne)

• Solo Hand (1994)
• Death of a Tenor Man (1995)
• The Sound of the Trumpet (1996)
• Bird Lives! (1999)
• Looking for Chet Baker (2002)
• Shades of Blue (2008)
• Fade to Blue (2011) Not in NOBLE.

Ross, Kate. (Julian Kestral; bk.4)

• The Devil in Music (1997)Historical Mystery–Passion for Great Music

Saulnier, Beth. (Alex Bernier mysteries; bk.5)

• Ecstasy (2003) Rock Band

Slater, Harrison.

• Nightmusic (2002) Mozart’s diary

Stace, Wesley.

1. Charles Jessold, Considered as a Murderer (2011)

Sublett, Jesse. (Martin Fender)

1. The Rock Critic Murders (1989)
2. Tough Baby (1990)
3. Boiled in Concrete (1992) Not in NOBLE

Walpow, Nathan. (Joe Portugal mysteries; bk.3)

• One Last Hit (2003) Rock Band

Wilson, Eric P. (Aramis Black mysteries; bk.2)

• A Shred of Truth (2007) Country Music

With special thanks to Beth Radcliff & Janet Major for suggestions.

Aames, Avery. (Cheese Shop Mysteries)

• The Long Quiche Goodbye (2010)

Adler-Olsen, Jussi.

• The Keeper of Lost Causes (2011)

Arnaldur Indridason. (Reykjavik Murder Mysteries)

• Jar City (2005)

Box, C. J. (Joe Pickett)

• Open Season (2001)

Bradley, Alan. (Flavia de Luce)

• Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (2009)
  

Child, Lee. (Jack Reacher)

• Killing Floor (1997)
  

Clemens, Judy. (Stella Crown)

• Till the Cows Come Home (2004)

Connelly, Michael. (Harry Bosch)

• The Black Echo (1992)

Connolly, John. (Charlie Parker)

• Every Dead Thing (1999)

Davis, Krista. (Domestic Diva)

• Diva Runs Out of Thyme (2008)

Durham, Laura. (Annabelle Archer)

• Better Off Wed (2005) NOBLE

Finch, Charles. (Charles Lenox)

• Beautiful Blue Death (2007)

Freeman, Brian. (Jonathon Stride)

• Immoral (2005)

George, Elizabeth. (Inspector Lynley)

• Great Deliverance (1988)
  

Granger, Pip. (Rosie)

• Not All Tarts are Apple (2002) NOBLE

Hamilton, Steve. (Alex McKnight)

• Cold day in Paradise (1998)

Hart, Erin. (Nora Gavin)

• Haunted Ground (2003)

Hillerman, Tony. (Joe Leaphorn)

• Blessing Way (1990)

Judson, Daniel. (Declan MacManus)

• The Bone Orchard (2002) NOBLE

King, Jonathon. (Max Freeman)

• Blue Edge of Midnight
  

Kozak, Harley Jane. (Wollie Shelley)

• Dating Dead Men (2004)

Larsson, Steig. (Lisabeth Salander/Mikael Blomkvist)

• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2008)

Lindsay, Jeff. (Dexter)

• Darkly Dreaming Dexter
  

MacKinnon, Amy.

• Tethered (2008)

Maron, Margaret. (Deborah Knott)

• The Bootlegger’s Daughter (1992)

McEuen, Paul.

• Spiral (2011)

McMullen, Beth. (Sally Sin; bk.1).

• Original Sin: A Sally Sin Adventure (2011)

O’Connell, Carol. (Kathleen Mallory)

• Mallory’s Oracle (1994)
  

Parshall, Sandra. (Rachel Goddard)

• Heat of the Moon (2006)

Perry, Thomas. (Butcher’s Boy)

• The Butcher’s Boy
  

Pintoff, Stefanie. (Simon Ziele)

• In the shadow of Gotham (2009)

Raybourn, Deanna. (Lady Julia Grey)

• Silent in the Grave (2007)

Ryan, Hank Phillippi. (Charlotte McNally)

• Prime Time (2007)
  

Sefton, Maggie. (Knitting Mysteries)

• Knit One, Kill Two (2005)

Taylor, Sarah Stewart. (Sweeney St. George)

• O’ Artful Death (2003)

Tracy, P. J. (Monkeewrench)

• Monkeewrench (2003)

Wait, Lea. (Antique Print Mysteries)

• Shadows at the Fair (2002)

Wolfe, Inger Ash. (Hazel Micallef)

• The Calling (2008)

**Highly Recommended by readers

Arthurson, Wayne. Fall from Grace. Canadian debut. Journalist in Alberta.

Cain, Chelsea. Sweetheart. Archie & Gretchen bk.2

Camilleri, Andrea. The Terra-Cotta Dog.
Inspector Salvo Montalbano; bk. 2. Sicily.

Connelly, Michael. The Fifth Witness. Mickey Haller; bk. 5

Diehl, William. Primal Fear. Movie w/ Richard Gere.

Ephron, Hallie. Come and Find Me. SUSPENSE. Mixed reviews.

Fowler, Earlene. Spider Web. Benni Harper series; bk.15

**Gardner, Lisa. Love You More. D.D. Warren series; bk.5

Gilman, Dorothy. The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax. Pollifax series, bk.1
—Kaleidoscope. Madame Karitska; bk.2

**Spencer-Fleming, Julia. One Was a Soldier.
Clare Fergusson & Russ van Alstyne series; bk.7.
—-In the Bleak Midwinter. bk.1

Swann, Leonie. Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story.

Vonnegut, Norb. Gods of Greenwich. Financial thriller.

For our meeting in September, read–at least–The Burglar in the Closet … by Block and The Hot Rock by Westlake.  You many read as many other in these series as you wish.

Lawrence Block (Bernie Rhoderbarr)

1. Burglars Can’t Be Choosers (1977)
2. The Burglar in the Closet (1978)
3. The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling (1979)
4. The Burglar Who Studied Spinoza (1980)
5. The Burglar Who Painted like Mondrian (1983)
6. The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams (1994)
7. The Burglar Who Thought He Was Bogart (1995)
8. The Burglar in the Library (1997)
9. The Burglar in the Rye (1999)
10. The Burglar Who Dropped in on Elvis (1999) Out of Print/Hard to Find
11. The Burglar on the Prowl (2004)

Donald Westlake (Dortmunder)

Dortmunder
1. The Hot Rock (1970)
2. Bank Shot (1972) NOBLE
3. Jimmy the Kid (1974) NOBLE
4. Nobody’s Perfect (1977)
5. Why Me? (1983) NOBLE
6. Good Behaviour (1987)
7. Drowned Hopes (1990)
8. Don’t Ask (1993)
9. What’s the Worst That Could Happen? (1996)
10. Bad News (2001)
11. The Road to Ruin (2004)
12. Thieves’ Dozen (2004)
13. Watch Your Back! (2005)
14. What’s So Funny? (2007)
15. Get Real (2009)

 

Cain, Chelsea. Heartsick. (2008) Archie Sheridan series; bk.1

Child, Lee. Tripwire. (2000) Jack Reacher mysteries: bk. 3

Connolly, John. Bad Men. (2005)

Holton, Hugh. Violent Crimes. (1998) Larry Cole mysteries: bk. 4

Lindsay, Jeffry. Darkly Dreaming Dexter. (2004) Dexter mysteries: bk. 1

McBain, Ed. Mischief. (1993) 87th Precinct mysteries: bk. 45

Preston, Douglas and Lincoln Child. The Book of the Dead. (2006) Pendergast mysteries: bk. 7

Sandford, John. Night Prey. (1994) Lucas Davenport mysteries: bk.6

Source Material: Read On…Crime Fiction by Barry Trott, 2008, Libraries Unlimited, pp.62-64