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Tag Archives: mystery

Join the discussion on the “Flavia de Luce” series by Alan Bradley

The Just Desserts mystery fiction discussion group held its latest monthly meeting on March 28, 2024. 11 Attendees discussed the first six in the “Flavia de Luce” series by Canadian author Alan Bradley and four who weren’t able to attend shared their opinions via e-mail or text. Attendees were encourage to have read any of the first six in this ongoing series. If you have read any of the “Flavia de Luce” novels, and would like to contribute your own comments about it/them, please do so as a reply comment to this blog post, below.

Flavia de Luce titles read or listened to by group members for this discussion included: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (6 readers), The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag (1 reader, as audiobook), Red Herring Without Mustard (4 readers, 1 as audiobook), I Am Half Sick of Shadows (1 reader), Speaking From Among the Bones (1 reader) and The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches (no readers). Opinions about this series (and characters) varied — about 2/3 of the group enjoyed what they’d read and would read more in the series, while the other 1/3 were not fans and would not read more — several group members have already read multiple Bradley titles.

For additional reminders about upcoming Just Desserts meetings (once they resume) and/or other announcements of interest to mystery fans, don’t forget to sign up for the Just Desserts e-mail list. Or, once in-person meetings are possible again, 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!

So…What do you think of the “Flavia de Luce” series by Alan Bradley? Which have you read?

The following handout was prepared for the members of Just Desserts: The Flavia de Luce series by Alan Bradley (through 2024).

Just Desserts will return next on April 25, 2024, with a discussion of both Suspect and The Promise by Robert Crais, two novels featuring officer Scott James and Maggie the bomb-sniffing dog.

 

Reading Recommendations from Just Desserts members – February 2024

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

At the February 2024 Just Desserts meeting, 10 attending group members and guests participated in a discussion of suspense novel The Only One Left by Riley Sager.

Following the “assigned reading” portion of the meeting, we held our monthly round robin in which attendees 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 2023, to make sure everyone got a turn in the Round Robin – everyone could share a single title during their verbal recommendations (actually we allowed two this month), but could then share additional titles on a paper form – ALL titles recommended are shown below. The titles marked by an * are those specifically mentioned verbally during the Round Robin. Two members who weren’t able to attend sent in their “recent reads” by e-mail, to be included in this list.

Here’s the list of mystery, thriller and suspense books recommended by Just Desserts members in February 2024:

And here were some non-mystery titles some group members also recommended in February 2024:

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

Join the discussion on Riley Sager’s “The Only One Left”

At the Just Desserts mystery fiction discussion group meeting on February 29, 2024, the 10 attendees discussed the The Only One Left, a 2023 bestseller by Riley Sager. The entire group enjoyed the book and appreciated the introduction to Sager’s works and some looked forward to reading more by this author. But most members also had issues with the twits and revelations in the final few pages. If you have read The Only One Left, and would like to contribute your comments about it, please do so as 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 you can watch for possible Just Desserts event pages on the Facebook 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!

So…What do you think of The Only One Left?

The following handout was prepared for the members of The Works of Riley Sager (through 2024).

Just Desserts will return on March 28, 2024, with a discussion of the first six books in the Flavia de Luce by British author Alan Bradley.

 

Reading Recommendations from Just Desserts members – January 2024

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

At the January 2024 Just Desserts meeting, 15 group members and guests participated in a discussion of the life and works of American suspense writer Allison Brennan.

Following the “assigned reading” portion of the meeting, we held our monthly round robin in which attendees 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 2023, 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. The titles marked by an * are those specifically mentioned verbally during the Round Robin.

Here’s the list of mystery, thriller and suspense books recommended by Just Desserts members in January 2024:

And here were some non-mystery titles some group members also recommended in January 2024:

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

Join the Just Desserts discussion on the works of Allison Brennan – January 2024

The Just Desserts mystery fiction discussion group held its first monthly meeting of the year on January 25, 2024. 15 Attendees discussed the Works to-date by American mystery/suspense/thriller author Allison Brennan, with participants having read several different selections by this author. If you have read any of Brennan’s mystery novels, and would like to contribute your comments about it/them, please do so as a reply comment to this blog post, below.

Allison Brennan titles read or listened to by group members for this discussion included: Third to Die (Quinn & Costa series, 4 readers), The Prey (1 reader), The Wrong Victim (Quinn & Costa series, 2 readers), Don’t Open the Door (Regan Merritt series, 2 readers – 1 on audio), The Sorority Murder (Regan Merritt series, 3 readers), North of Nowhere (stand-alone novel, 2 readers), Kiss Me, Kill Me (Lucy Kincaid series, 1 reader), and Tell No Lies (Quinn & Costa series, 1 reader on audio). Opinions about Allison Brennan’s works were almost uniformly positive — 13 of 14 who read a Brennan book enjoyed it and would definitely read more by this author — several group members have already read multiple Brennan titles.

For additional reminders about upcoming Just Desserts meetings (once they resume) and/or other announcements of interest to mystery fans, don’t forget to sign up for the Just Desserts e-mail list. Or, once in-person meetings are possible again, 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!

So…What do you think of the works of Allison Brennan? Which have you read?

The following handout was prepared for the members of Just Desserts: The Works of Allison Brennan (through 2023).

Just Desserts will return on February 29, 2024, with a discussion of the psychological suspense novel The Only One Left by Riley Sager.