2011 crime/mystery/spies et.al. thread

due to popular demand, here is the place to discuss what we are reading in the crime, mystery, spies (actually that wasn't in demand.. I just added it on my own) genre.

I'll go first... here's what I'm currently reading

Flesh and Bone by Jefferson Bass; second in the Body Farm series, co-authored by Dr. Bill Bass, founder of the body farm at the University of Tennessee; and Jon Jefferson, journalist and science writer. I enjoyed the first book quite a lot... thus have picked up this one.

Hit Man by Lawrence Block; loved the Bernie Rhodenbarr books (at least til they got silly towards the end), and Matthew Scudder and Eight Million Ways to Die ranks near the top of my all time favorite hard-boiled detective list. Looking forward to this series.. introduced to me via the novella Keller in Dallas.

Thanks for adding spies to this category - I'm gearing up to read Smiley's People soon, the last book in the Karla trilogy. Because I'm a big Smiley fan, I really hope that this ends by him catching up with Karla, but I doubt le Carre would write that happy an ending. We'll see.

Finished two books in the last long weekend About Face by Donna Leon (#18 in the Brunetti series) and U is for Undertow by Sue Grafton (#21 in the Alphabet mysteries).

More comments when I get around to writing the reviews later this week but overall - expected quality (if a bit wavering for both...), a bit nostalgic... there is a reason why I still read both series (and for the Alphabet ones I had read every single one of them; I still have to pick up a few of the Brunetti ones -- and I might as well use the opportunity to reread some of the ones I had read long ago).

Speaking of spy tales, though I read it near the end of 2010, Mitch Silver's In Secret Service might be something to read with the movie The King's Speech now playing in theaters. Silver's book is set up as if it is a manuscript written by Ian Fleming being read by the daughter (granddaughter?) of a man who was his driver on a mission to steal/retrieve a document of great importance to concealing the involvement of King Edward VIII (Duke of Windsor) with Hitler.
I think what struck me most was the portrayal of Mrs. Simpson. In my mind, it had always been so romantic, i.e., him abdicating the throne for love, yadda yadda. I listened to the audio book and it was quite compelling to listen to the (Silver's) tale unfold. The parallel plot to the history told in the manuscript is of the daughter/granddaughter being followed/attacked by several characters and the mystery of who is the good/bad guys, of course. Oh, yes, Silver manages to tie Princess Diana's death into the plot as well.

Thanks for setting this thread up, kcs!

As I've said elsewhere, I'm reading Started Early, Took my Dog. If you've never read Kate Atkinson's Jackson Brodie series, what are you waiting for? They're simply marvellous. This morning, I was in tears at the start of a paragraph, but laughing by the end. How does she manage to do this??

It's the usual cast of gazillions, with Brodie in the middle of it all. I can see where some of it might be going, but Atkinson does often surprise me, so I'm not expecting it to go anywhere in particular. But I know it'll all be tied up neatly at the end, if not necessarily happily.

I'm rushing through it, both because it's due back at the library this weekend (time got away from me, rather), and because I can't bear to not be reading it, and cramming that delicious plot into my brain as fast as I can.

#2> Yet to read any Le Carre! I think we've had this discussion before, but where should I start with the Smiley/Karla series? They seem to overlap a bit, and I got all confused.

#3> Oh, I've read most of the "alphabet" series. They're good fun. I think I've got T is for Trespass somewhere, but I'm not sure if I've even read S is for Silence yet! I'm a bit erratic on that series, I'm not even bothering to read them in order, although I think I should bother a bit more with these later books, where there is more of a story arc.

>5 wookiebender:

The Kinsey books: especially since she found her family - not reading in order may get you a bit lost (and the later books contain spoilers for the earlier ones...)

And read some le Carre. Seriously. The guy knows how to write. The Karla books are part of the bigger series (#5-7) and even if they can be read alone, I would not read them outside of the big series. If nothing else, one of the earlier books is probably his best The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. If you want the actual beginning, pickup Call for the Dead. But if you decide to go just for the trilogy, the first one is Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy -- and honestly it is good enough start as well. If you want something that is not part of a series, The Tailor of Panama and The Constant Gardener are really good. I liked A Most Wanted Man a lot but I am used to his style and I a bit worried if a new reader will actually like it.

Thinking on that again... maybe the Panama, The Gardener or the Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy are the most new read friendly - I love the earlier ones but they might sound a bit dated to someone that is not familiar with him...

Guess I should have mentioned that I am a le Carre fan ;)

>6 AnnieMod:, thanks, the library's got Call for the Dead, so I'll rustle that one up one day soon. And I've got several of his other books on my bookcrossing shelves - I'll be sure to read them in order, however! (Which is why I think they're still on my bookcrossing shelves, waiting for me to work out the order...)

The LT series is correct actually - so you can use that for the order.
If you need an orded for the non-series works, http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/l/john-le-carre/ has them in publication order although it does not really matter. :)

John LeCarre is my dad's favorite author; I read a couple of stories years ago and remember not being favorably impressed. IIRC my complaint was that I couldn't keep the characters straight and couldn't figure out who was double-crossing who... the enthusiasm displayed here is tempting me to give his books another go...

on another (flash of insight) note, I recently downloaded Operation Mincemeat from audible to listen to on the drive to and from school (about an hour a day). As I was poking around Netflix, I came across the movie The Man Who Never Was, a 1956 movie starring Clifton Webb and Gloria Grahame, which depicts the events of Operation Mincemeat.

Anywayyyyyy, my dad is a big fan of espionage stories set in Europe and as I remember it, Greece and Italy. I always wondered where I got my middle name.... Clifton. My mother told me it was from my paternal grandfather... but his name was Clifford, which doesn't make any sense. I'll have to ask (and will likely receive the standard disavowal of any remembrance or knowledge) but I'm betting that it might stem from my father's admiration of that movie...

even if not true, it makes a good story. ;-)

I'm about halfway through an interesting mystery/military fiction novel by James R. Benn called Billy Boyle: A World War II Mystery. Set in London during the early days of the United States entry into the war.. Boyle is attached to Eisenhower's staff and works as a troubleshooter solving crimes (in this case a murder of a Norwegian politician) set against the backdrop of events in WWII.

#8> Thanks, AnnieMod. I think the problem is that John Le Carre's books seem to be in several series! I always get confused...

Have started Raymond Chandler's Farewell, My Lovely. Enjoying it. (It's due back at the library this weekend. Story of my (reading) life!)

>11 wookiebender:

It's actually 1 series (and inside of it there are 3 books that form their own series). And he has non-series ones. :)
Anyway - good luck if you decide to give him a chance.

Chandler is usually amusing and Farewell is pretty good. :)

#12> Ahah! It all makes sense now! Thanks!

I do like Chandler as well, although I haven't read much "hardboiled" crime fiction for years. Got back into it last year when my Secret Santa gave me The Lady in the Lake, and Farewell, My Lovely was a serendipitous library find.

I just got The Black Lizard Big Book of Black Mask Stories and The Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps in the mail.

Needless to say, I am planning quite a lot of hours with fun with those :) And in case it is not clear - I really love the old pulp stories... :)

Finished Farewell, My Lovely - as usual with hardboiled detective stories, I'm quite lost with the plot. Marlowe seems to be able to tease all sorts of nuances from monosyllabic bad guys, even while being knocked unconscious on a regular basis. (Ow.) How does he manage it?? But it all came together nicely in the end, Marlowe explained it all to me, and I did have fun reading it, regardless of my plot confusion.

Had a Very Annoying Day at work yesterday, so bought myself the new Thursday Next book on the way home, One of Our Thursdays Is Missing. Good silly fun and lots of chortles, as I expect from Thursday.

I'm behind on my reviews (been ridiculously busy/tired lately), but the reading continues apace. Now reading The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and enjoying it. Irene Adler is brilliant.

I started Smiley's People on Friday - it is one of those books that I don't want to stop reading. All Smiley, all the time (so far, at least).

Alan Furst's first novel Your Day in the Barrel is NOT a spy story, but DOES involve the CIA... (and of course Furst is well known for his Night Soldiers series of spy novels set against and around WW II).

and honestly, is not a very good book...

I saw some Furst novels second hand the other day, but resisted. I've heard good things about his spy stuff, and only resisted because I already had a couple of Wodehouse books in my hot little hands. Maybe they'll still be there when I go back...

Having a self-imposed "trashy fun" reading month, after a couple of bookgroup reads that were serious and took far longer than they should have. (Well, one did. The other one was quite excellent.)

Read the second Jack Taylor mystery by Ken Bruen, The Killing of the Tinkers and am now chortling happily through Agatha Christie's The Seven Dials Mystery.

Currently reading Richard Castle's Heat Wave. Yep, a book "written" by a fictional character. If you think about it too hard, your brain will melt and drip out your ears. (It's a book, written by a fictional TV author, based on other characters in the TV show. I keep on thinking "oh, that's just like Beckett!" and then realising that Beckett isn't really real.)

Took a while to get into, because of the whole comparing it to the TV show so much, and I also just don't read slickly written American police procedurals. But I'm into the swing of it now, and looking forward to the resolution. (And also to catching up on my backlog of "Castle" episodes to watch!)

And it's got one rather steamy sex scene, which gives me the giggles whenever I think of how Beckett took it. (Yes, there I am again, considering TV characters real people!)

Continuing on the crime spree, this time with Cover Her Face, the first Adam Dalgeish mystery by P.D. James.

And got through that in record time (hurrah for sick days), and am going to next start The Various Haunts of Men by Susan Hill. (Yes, still on the crime spree.)

And the crime spree continues! You'd think I'd be sick of it by now, but there's enough variety to keep me interested. So far. Maybe the next read will be in a different genre. :)

Loved The Various Haunts of Men, although the ending seemed to be lacking something (or I was lacking something, stupid headcold has whammied my brain this week).

So, with headcold in full swing, I moved on to Amelia Peabody in The Snake, the Crocodile and the Dog which was excellent fun, and didn't need so many brains. :)

And now I'm reading A Very Private Gentleman which is not really a crime genre novel, but I have a feeling it's going to have a fairly high body count by some stage...

Been a while between crime novels (I borrowed too much Serious Literature from the library and have been working my way through that in order to avoid late fines), but I've just started Ken Bruen's The Magdalen Martyrs, the third of the Jack Taylor mysteries. Great noir crime series, very readable.

This morning I picked up Tainted Blood (aka Jar City) by Arnaldur Indriðason. It's gritty crime, which I do like, and is obviously a good choice for me today because I got through the first 40 pages on what is usually a commute that doesn't lend itself to solid reading. (One long walk to the kids' school, one short train trip, one middling bus trip.)

I've been meaning to read this one for simply ages, and am glad I'm finally getting around to it!

I'm a bit all over the place at the moment with my reading (lack of sleep, end of term exhaustion with the kids, end of year exhaustion with me), so keep on picking up books, reading a chapter and then getting distracted by something else.

Current distraction is Donna Leon's Death at La Fenice, which I do hope I continue with...