What we're reading, the MTS edition

I've just started 'The Treatment' by Mo Hayder, based on a friend's recommendation. Finding it a bit of a struggle though I must say. There's something that's just not catching me.

MarkEsq said:

So get this, I was on a panel with him last weekend and he freely admitted that the deaths were incidental to the story, not essential to it. He called the murders 'Macguffins,' which I thought interesting because it was basically him saying the book wasn't MTS. One of the other panel members, jokingly, said he should give back his Edgar award since the book's not really in the genre.

All done in good humor, with lots of laughs, but thinking about the book now (and I LOVED it), I can see what he means. (Also, he's a very, very nice man.)

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Mark, all quite true! I started the book thinking it was solidly in the MTS genre but somewhere along the way realized it only kinda-sorta was but found the whole story very compelling and very well done. (I love his way with words.)

And yes, he is a very nice man.

Just finished Those Who Wish Me Dead by Michael Koryta. I enjoyed Koryta’s private investigator series some years ago; his newest thriller, Those Who Wish Me Dead, absolutely floored me. After witnessing a murder, a teen boy is chased by an odd pair of relentless killers. The pursuit concludes in the Montana wilderness during a massive forest fire, testing the boy’s spirit and newfound outdoor survival skills. Brilliant writing and storytelling.

pdichellis said:

Just finished Those Who Wish Me Dead by Michael Koryta. I enjoyed Koryta’s private investigator series some years ago; his newest thriller, Those Who Wish Me Dead, absolutely floored me. After witnessing a murder, a teen boy is chased by an odd pair of relentless killers. The pursuit concludes in the Montana wilderness during a massive forest fire, testing the boy’s spirit and newfound outdoor survival skills. Brilliant writing and storytelling.

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Peter, thanks for the recommendation. I've just checked this out as an e-book from my library.

I've been reading Stuart Neville lately, Ghosts of Belfast, Collusion, and now Stolen Souls. (I read Ratlines earlier this year and liked it, especially the MC.) Really nice sense of setting (Northern Ireland) and very vivid characters.

Currently in the middle of Land of Shadows by Rachel Howzell Hall. A black female cop investigating a murder in LA and the main suspect may have been involved in the disappearance of her only sister years ago. The pacing is a little off but I'm still turning the pages so that's a good sign.

I recently read this


It was a nice read, and also nice to read something from a new author. It felt authentic, and had some surprising turns, and it held my interest all the way to the end.

pdichellis said:

Just finished Those Who Wish Me Dead by Michael Koryta. I enjoyed Koryta’s private investigator series some years ago; his newest thriller, Those Who Wish Me Dead, absolutely floored me. After witnessing a murder, a teen boy is chased by an odd pair of relentless killers. The pursuit concludes in the Montana wilderness during a massive forest fire, testing the boy’s spirit and newfound outdoor survival skills. Brilliant writing and storytelling.

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Peter, I just finished this book (my first Michael Koryta read) and really loved it! The writing was beautiful, the story gripping, and the characters very well done. Got it as an e-loan from my library but liked it so much that I also purchased it to be able to re-read at will.

Thanks for the recommendation!

Threads like this are what makes me glad that I found AW! I can't wait to really pour over all the great recommendations.

FWIW, I like David Baldacci novels, they're very mainstream, a great read while traveling or just wanting some lighter entertainment. Also it was a kick when his characters left Syria almost the exact way I entered, though I used a smaller port town on the Greece to Turkey leg of the trip, and they didn't have a little misunderstanding with a Turkish official that resulted in a gun being aimed at their heads.

The point of that is, I figure if he did that much research on an obscure part of the book, one which few people would ever be able to call him out if he got it wrong, that it would be likely that the rest of his books were also well researched and thought out.

vagough said:

Peter, I just finished this book (my first Michael Koryta read) and really loved it! The writing was beautiful, the story gripping, and the characters very well done. Got it as an e-loan from my library but liked it so much that I also purchased it to be able to re-read at will.

Thanks for the recommendation!

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You're very welcome. I loved the book and am glad to hear you did too. Koryta has written such a range of M/T/S, everything from private eye to practically horror. This was definitely my favorite from him.

Best wishes,
Peter

Callegro said:

FWIW, I like David Baldacci novels, they're very mainstream, a great read while traveling or just wanting some lighter entertainment.

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Well, if you like Baldacci, here's a respected mystery seller recommending similar books/authors. (And please forgive the BSP, I'm genuinely trying to be helpful. )

I just finished Runner by Patrick Lee. Mix Firestarter by Stephen King and any Jack Reacher novel by Lee Child, you got it. I couldn't put it down. Being always around scientists since a child, I can say it was well researched. I asked and they agreed. I can't wait to read another of his Sam Dryden books.

Over the past month, I've read Michael Koryta's Lincoln Perry series: Tonight I Said Goodbye, Sorrow's Anthem, A Welcome Grave, and The Silent Hour, and very much liked them all. (Peter, you're the one who hooked me on Koryta!)

And today I finished reading The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, which I thought was terrific (though admittedly not everyone agrees). It has an unreliable narrator; three interwoven first-person POVs, one starting at a different time than the other two; a brutally honest portrayal of alcoholism; and a great twist at the end.

Val McDermid's Cross and Burn, a Tony Hill & Carrol Jordan novel.

James W Hall's Mean High Tide.

And just finishing Harlan Coben's Darkest Fear.

vagough said:

Over the past month, I've read Michael Koryta's Lincoln Perry series: Tonight I Said Goodbye, Sorrow's Anthem, A Welcome Grave, and The Silent Hour, and very much liked them all. (Peter, you're the one who hooked me on Koryta!)

And today I finished reading The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, which I thought was terrific (though admittedly not everyone agrees). It has an unreliable narrator; three interwoven first-person POVs, one starting at a different time than the other two; a brutally honest portrayal of alcoholism; and a great twist at the end.

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I enjoyed the Lincoln Perry books and wish Koryta would write more in the series. (Though it's tough to complain about what he wrote instead.) The Girl on the Train is on my TBR. I've heard great (Hitchcock-type) things about it.

Best wishes,
Peter

Reading "The Talented Mr. Ripley." Halfway in, first murder. Probably couldn't get published today. But brilliant so far, simply brilliant. Unreliable narrator.

Fallen Karin Slaughter

Nearly finished with Cross and Burn, Val McDermid..

Just finished The Big Sleep. Oh, crikey. That's a high bar.

About halfway through the new Rebus (+ Fox), 'Saints of the Shadow Bible'. Ian Rankin's produced a cracking good read. So far it's better than the last one, 'Standing in Another Man's Grave'. I felt a bit let down by the ending of that.

Neegh said:

Fallen Karin Slaughter

Nearly finished with Cross and Burn, Val McDermid..

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Neegh, I've read all of Karin Slaughter's books so far (though am still waiting on my library e-copy of Cop Town). I liked the Will Trent series better than the Grant County one, though both were good.

Have read The girl on the train and Before I go to sleep in recent weeks.

Exellent!

Dead Rich by Katia Lief. Loved it!

I just read "Howling Mountain Blues" by Ricky Bush. http://www.barkingrainpress.org/dd-product/howling-mountain-blues/
Great fun. Even includes a golf cart chase.

180 pages into Freedom by Jonathan Franzen. Very strong writing. But I find the characters entirely disappointing. 370 pages to go. Maybe.

Purchased this morning (Public Library sale - two hardcovers, in fine condition, for a dollar!):

Hundred-Dollar Baby, a Spenser Novel. Robert B. Parker. I didn't care for his later efforts - felt like he lacked effort - but absence has indeed made the heart grow fonder. I'll read it this afternoon while making a pot of chicken soup.

The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje. This one will be spread over several reading sessions next week, and likely the week after. To be savored. 20, 30 pages at a time.