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Tag Archives: just desserts
Reading Recommendations from Just Desserts members – February 2017
At the February 23rd, 2017 meeting of the Just Desserts mystery fiction discussion group, following the discussion of the assigned book of the month, we had a round robin in which all 14 attendees were able to share recommendations of other books they’ve been reading recently.
Here’s the list of mystery books recommended by Just Desserts members in February 2017:
- A Murder Announced by Agatha Christie – past author selection for Just Desserts
- The Closers by Michael Connelly – past author selection for Just Desserts
- Night of the White Buffalo by Margaret Coel – past author selection for Just Desserts
- Order to Kill by Vince Flynn
- Hide and Seek by M.J. Arlidge
- Terminal City by Linda Fairstein – past author selection for Just Desserts
- The Girl in the Spider’s Web by David Lagercrantz
- The Ex by Alafair Burke – past author selection for Just Desserts
- Among the Wicked by Linda Castillo – past author selection for Just Desserts
- a recent release by Michael Koryta (unknown title)
- The Great Reckoning by Louise Penny – past author selection for Just Desserts
- The Winter People and Night Sister, both by Jennifer McMahon
- The Case of the Velvet Claws, Erle Stanley Gardner’s very first mystery
- Reckless Creed by Alex Kava – sequel to what we discussed this month at Just Desserts
- The Sleeping Beauty Killer by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke – past author selection for Just Desserts
- The Cat Sitter and the Canary by Blaize Clement
- Escape Clause by John Sandford – past author selection for Just Desserts
- Jackpot Blood by Jimmy Fox
- The Old Man (and others ) by Thomas Perry
- Home (on CD) by Harlan Coben (two reading this) – past author selection for Just Desserts
- Warhawk by James Rollins
- Protesis by Andreu Martin
- Buried Secrets by Joseph Finder
- The Wrong Side of Goodbye by Michael Connelly – a past title/author selection for Just Desserts
- Summit Lake by Charlie Donlea
And here were some non-mystery titles some group members also recommended in February 2017:
- Redemption at Hacksaw Ridge by Booton Herndon
- The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (two members reading this)
- Star Trek: The Classic Episodes (novelizations) by James Blish
- The Christmas of the Phonograph Records by Mari Sandoz
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
- Human Acts by Han Kang
What mysteries have you been reading lately that you’d recommend?
Alex Kava’s “Breaking Creed”
When the Just Desserts mystery fiction discussion group met on February 23rd, 2017, 14 of us enjoyed discussing Breaking Creed, the 2015 debut novel in the new Ryder Creed series by Omaha, NE author Alex Kava. Whether or not you attended the actual meeting, you are welcome to share your own thoughts and opinions about Breaking Creed and the Ryder Creed series, in a reply comment to this blog post, below.
For additional reminders about upcoming Just Desserts meetings and/or other announcements of interest to mystery fans, don’t forget to sign up for the Just Desserts e-mail list. Or, if you’re logged into your account on Facebook, you can visit the Events page for the Lincoln City Libraries, and mark whether or not you plan to attend upcoming sessions of Just Desserts – this is a great way for you to help us promote this engaging discussion group! Our selections for future meetings are usually posted there months in advance.
What do you think of Breaking Creed and the Ryder Creed series by Alex Kava?
Reading List from Just Desserts “Anthology” meeting – January 2017
At the January 26th, 2017 meeting of the Just Desserts mystery fiction discussion group, the theme of the monthly meeting was “Mystery Anthologies and Short Story Collections”. First, we had a round robin in which each attendee shared comments about whichever Anthology or Collection they had read for the month, then we had a second round robin in which all 15 attendees were able to share recommendations of other books they’ve been reading recently.
Here were the Anthologies/Collections read by group members specifically for the January 2017 meeting:
- FaceOff, edited by David Baldacci
- In Sunlight and in Shadow, edited by Lawrence Block
- The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries, edited by Otto Penzler
- Killer Year, edited by Lee Child
- Big Foot Stole My Wife, by Joan Hess writing as Joan Hadley
- Books to Die For, edited by John Connolly
- The Mistletoe Murder, posthumous collection by P.D. James
- A Treasury of Great Mysteries, edited by Howard Haycraft and John Beecroft
- Manhattan Mayhem, edited by Mary Higgins Clark
- BookShots
- The Best American Mystery Stories – 2015 edition, edited by James Patterson
- The Nine Mile Walk, collection by Harry Kemelman
- Ellery Queen’s Anthology, Spring/Summer 1976 Vol. 31
- Into the Mummy’s Tomb, edited by John Richard Stephens
- Creature Cozies, edited by Jill M. Morgan
Here’s the list of mystery books recommended by Just Desserts members in January 2017:
- The Associates of Sherlock Holmes, edited by George Mann
- Echoes of Sherlock Holmes, edited by Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger
- The Whistler by John Grisham
- The Innocent by Taylor Stevens
- Memory Man by David Baldacci – a past title/author selection for Just Desserts
- Night School by Lee Child – past author selection for Just Desserts [multiple readers this month!]
- Escape Clause by John Sandford – a past title/author selection for Just Desserts
- A Free Man of Color by Barbara Hambly – a past title/author selection for Just Desserts
- Double Shot by Diane Mott Davidson – a past title/author selection for Just Desserts
- Insidious and Nemesis, both by Catherine Coulter
- The Velvet Claw, Erle Stanely Gardner’s very first mystery
- The Wrong Side of Goodbye by Michael Connelly – a past title/author selection for Just Desserts
- Chaos, and others by Patricia Cornwell – a past title/author selection for Just Desserts
- Written Off by E.J. Copperman
- A Rule Against Murder and A Great Reckoning (both on audio) by Louise Penny
- The Agatha Christie Book Club by C.A. Larmer
- The Xibalba Murders and others by Lyn Hamilton
- Killer Smile by Lisa Scottoline – a past author selection for Just Desserts
- My Italian Bulldozer (on audio) by Alexander McCall-Smith – a past author selection for Just Desserts
And here were some non-mystery titles some group members recommended in January 2017:
- I’ll Take You There by Wally Lamb
- The Sleepwalker by Chris Bohjalian
- The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
- The Sword of Shannara and The Elfstones of Shannara by Terry Brooks
- The Princess Diarist (on audio) by Carrie Fisher
What mysteries have you been reading lately that you’d recommend?
Your Just Desserts hiatus reading assignment – 2016: The Gideon Oliver series
During the Nov/Dec 2016 hiatus between meetings of the Just Desserts mystery fiction discussion group, we encourage regular attendees to continue to participate as a group…but in a virtual way. While we may not have an actual meeting scheduled during these two months, this blog is available to keep everyone active with their mystery reading and discussions.
Our “hiatus assignment” for 2016 is the “Professor Gideon Oliver” series by author Aaron Elkins. Comprised of eighteen volumes (so far), published between 1982’s first volume (Fellowship of Fear), and 2016’s latest volume (Switcheroo). Aaron Elkins began writing the first novel in the Gideon Oliver series in 1978, and has been steadily putting out books by himself, or in collaboration with his mystery-writing wife, Charlotte Elkins, ever since.
For those who are unfamiliar with Gideon Oliver, here’s a general overview of the series: Professor Gideon Oliver is a forensic anthropologist, whose expertise (especially in ancient human cultures) frequently allows him to assist in various investigations. Together with his wife, Julie, Gideon Oliver travels the world to various historical dig sites, stumbling across murder mysteries in many international settings.
Catalog Links: The libraries own all 18 novels in the Gideon Oliver series, starting with “Fellowship of Fear” (1982) through “Switcheroo” (2016) — although there are only limited numbers of copies of each title — anywhere from a single copy to as many as 4 of some of the older entries. Although none of the Gideon Oliver series is available in audiobook or Large Type editions, it does appear that all of them are available as eBooks through the libraries Hoopla digital content service!
In 1989, when the ABC television network had revived the concept of a “mystery movie night” with rotating sleuths, including Columbo, Kojak and B.L. Stryker, Gideon Oliver was one of their stable of mystery solvers. Louis Gossett Jr. played the anthropologist in 5 two-hour tv-movies. Those have not been released on DVD, but can be found on various online streaming sites.
Discuss the Professor Gideon Oliver series by Aaron Elkins on the Just Desserts Blog!
Handout with plots of all 18 Gideon Oliver novels — distributed at the October 2016 Just Desserts meeting.
Here’s the official Elkins website:
We look forward to seeing your comments here over the course of the next two months!
So…here’s your question:
Which of the “Gideon Oliver” novels did you read, and what was your opinion?
Patricia Cornwell’s “Cruel & Unusual”
When the Just Desserts mystery fiction discussion group met on October 27th, 2016, 23 of us enjoyed discussing Cruel & Unusual, a 1993 entry (#4) in the long-running Kay Scarpetta series by Patricia Cornwell. Whether or not you attended the actual meeting, you are welcome to share your own thoughts and opinions about Cruel & Unusual and the Kay Scarpetta series, in a reply comment to this blog post, below.
For additional reminders about upcoming Just Desserts meetings and/or other announcements of interest to mystery fans, don’t forget to sign up for the Just Desserts e-mail list. Or, if you’re logged into your account on Facebook, you can visit the Events page for the Lincoln City Libraries, and mark whether or not you plan to attend upcoming sessions of Just Desserts – this is a great way for you to help us promote this engaging discussion group! Our selections for future meetings are usually posted there months in advance.
What do you think of Cruel & Unusual and the Kay Scarpetta series by Patricia Cornwell?