Reading Recommendations from Just Desserts members – March 2023

Friday, 31 March 2023 17:48

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Hey, mystery fans! Looking for something good to read?

At the March 2023 Just Desserts meeting, 15 group members participated in our discussion of the genre cross-over trend of mysteries in a science fiction or fantasy setting.

Following the “assigned reading” portion of the meeting, we held our monthly round robin in which group members shared recommendations of what other books they’ve been reading recently, with an emphasis on mysteries/suspense/thrillers. We continued a new policy this month that began in February, to make sure everyone got a turn in the Round Robin – everyone could share a single title during their verbal recommendations, but could share additional titles on a paper form – ALL titles recommended are shared below, but those that were specifically talked about in the Round Robin have an * next to them.

Here’s the list of mystery, thriller and suspense books recommended by Just Desserts members in March 2023:

• Blood Orange by Susan Wittig Albert – past author selection for Just Desserts
• Desert Star by Michael Connelly) – past author selection for Just Desserts
• The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager *
• A Caribbean Mystery and Three Act Tragedy by Agatha Christie – past author selection for Just Desserts
• Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch – also read for this month’s discussion
  
• A Dangerous Business by Jane Smiley
• Three Hours in Paris by Cara Black
• The Enigma of Room 622 by Joel Dicker *
• One of the Girls by Lucy Clarke
• The Lying Game by Ruth Ware – past author selection for Just Desserts
• Murder at an Irish Wedding by Carlene O’Conner
• The Quinn Colson series by Ace Atkins
• The 6:20 Man (two readers), the Atlee Pine series and Zero Day by David Baldacci – past author selection for Just Desserts
• The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn
• The Samaritan by Mason Cross
• The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov – also read for this month’s discussion
• An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good by Helen Tursten
• Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson *
• Places in the Darkness by Chris Brookmyre – also read for this month’s discussion
• Secrets of the Nile by Tasha Alexander *
• The Retreat by Sarah Pearse
• The Reunion by Guillaume Musso
• Unnatural History by Jonathan Kellerman – past author selection for Just Desserts
• Dashing Through the Snowbirds by Donna Andrews – past author selection for Just Desserts
• The Girl From Widow Hills by Megan Miranda *
• What Lies in the Woods by Katie Alice Marshall
• A Stranger in the House by Shari Lapena
• The Road to Gandolfo by Robert Ludlum
• Extreme Measures and Act of Treason by Vince Flynn
• The Scholar by Dervla McTiernan
• A Curious Beginning by ???
• Acqua Alta by Donna Leon – past author selection for Just Desserts
• Because I Could Not Stop For Death by Amanda Flower *
• Third to Die by Allison Brennan *
• The Cabinet of Dr. Leng by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
• Loyalty by Lisa Scottoline – past author selection for Just Desserts
• Judas 62 by Charles Cummins

And here were some non-mystery titles some group members also recommended in March 2023:

• A Spindle Splintered and A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow *
• Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini
• Circe by Madeline Miller
• The Betrayal of Anne Frank by Rosemary Sullivan
• The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult
• The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
• The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray *
• Beach Read by Emily Henry
• The Mercy Thompson Urban Fantasy series by Patricia Briggs
• The Hollows Urban Fantasy series by Kim Harrison *
• The Kate Daniels Urban Fantasy series by Ilona Andrews
• The Jane Yellowrock Urban Fantasy series by Faith Hunter
• The Incryptid Urban Fantasy series by Seanan McGuire
• Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
• It Ends With Us, It Starts With Us and Verity all by Colleen Hoover
• How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix
• Noor by Nnedi Okorafor

What mysteries have you been reading lately that you’d recommend?