nomadreader

The backstory: Michael Connelly is my favorite mystery writer. I've read all thirty-six of his novels (so far), and I read through most of those in 2014 when I was pregnant with Hawthorne. The basics: Fair Warning brings back journalist Jack McEvoy, whom we haven't seen in more than ten years (in The Scarecrow ). He finds himself a suspect when a woman he had a one-night stand with is murdered. He takes on the story as a reporter. My thoughts: Connelly started has a newspaper reporter, and he uses this opportunity to showcase how the profession has changed since we last saw Jack McEvoy: "I was proud of what we had accomplished and proud to call myself a journalist in a time when the profession was constantly under attack." Connelly has written most of his novels featuring LAPD detective Harry Bosch, but his two other series ( The Lincoln Lawyer --Mickey Haller and this one, featuring McEvoy) have always featured mysteries that couldn't or wouldn't be ...

The basics:  Blessed are the Dead  is the debut mystery for Kristi Belcamino. It introduces San Francisco crime reporter Gabriella Giovanni. It was nominated for the Anthony Award for Best First Novel in 2015. My thoughts:  I majored in journalism in college, and I'm drawn to books written about journalists (despite, or perhaps because I have zero professional interest in every working as a reporter.) Still, lines like these remind me of why I pursued the field in college: "I try not to eavesdrop, but hey, it's what reporters do. We are natural observers of everyone and everything around us." I think the same is true for novelists, and Belcamino's observations were wonderful in this novel. I also like mysteries, so a contemporary mystery with a fantastically flawed heroine who happens to be a crime reporter, and is also written by a crime reporter? It sounds perfect. I bought this book for my Kindle as soon as I saw the 2015 Anthony Award nominees. I have no i...

The basics:   "Kim Lord is an avant-garde figure, feminist icon, and agent provocateur in the L.A. art scene. Her groundbreaking new exhibition, Still Lives, features portraits in which she depicts herself as famous, murdered women—the Black Dahlia, Chandra Levy, Nicole Brown Simpson, among many others—and the works are as compelling as they are disturbing, implicating a culture that is too accustomed to violence against women. As the city's richest art patrons pour into the Rocque Museum's opening night, all the staff, including editor Maggie Richter, hope the event will be enough to save the historic institution's flailing finances. Except that Kim Lord never shows up to her own gala."--publisher My thoughts: I am perhaps the perfect audience for this novel: it's a mystery, but it's also a thoughtful examination of the contemporary Los Angeles art world, the role of women in art (as artist and subject), and how we view violence against women. I would ...

Dear Barry Eisler, Last year I read Livia Lone , the first in your new series about the badass titular character. It was my favorite mystery of 2017 . I knew I wanted to start the rest of your backlist from the beginning, and I couldn't resist waiting to read your first mystery, renamed A Clean Kill in Tokyo , while I traveled through Tokyo earlier this month, as I love to read books set where I'm traveling. I started A Clean Kill in Tokyo  around 4:30 in the morning in Des Moines. I expected it would keep me company as I flew first to Chicago, then Tokyo, and finally to my final destination of Bangkok, where, incidentally, Livia Lone spent some time. From the opening scenes (and the opening kill) of A Clean Kill in Tokyo , I knew I was in for a thrilling read. This book is relentless. As I read, I was impressed at how you balanced the pacing, character development, and setting. Tokyo (and to a large extent, Japan as a whole), is a character in this novel. As I read, I le...

(this post contains some spoilers, both of this book and the rest of the series) There is so much to like about this book: 1. That cover is stunning. 2. The premise, a tv documentary working to solve cold cases by interviewing everyone involved, including the suspects, is great. I would definitely watch "Under Suspicion" if it were real. Reading the books is like watching the show, but we also get the behind-the-scenes action. 3. Laurie's dad is really great. 4. This novel is set at the Met Costume Ball. That's fun. And it inspired a really funny conversation with my friend Leslie, where we guessed what the conversation was like between Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke. It went something like this: "Who is the most glamorous celebrity you can think of who would attend the Costume Ball?" MHC: "Barbra Streisand!" AB: "Definitely Beyonce." 5. It's a fun, entertaining read. but... There is so much not to like about this ...

The backstory: The Chalk Man  is the debut psychological thriller from British author C.J. Tudor. The basics: Told in dual narratives in 1986, when Eddie and his friends discover the dismembered body of a young girl in the woods, and 2016, when Eddie and his friends each receive a cryptic chalk drawing in the mail. My thoughts: I didn't order The Chalk Man  as my December Book of the month, but judge Kristin Iverson's blurb did make me immediately start the egalley I had on my Kindle. This mystery wasn't even on my radar, and I'm so glad she convinced me to read this one. (Want to try Book of the Month? I'd love it if you use my referral link !) The Chalk Man  is a crime novel, but it doesn't necessarily read like one, as the crime is only part of the story. To be sure, there is a body discovered, and her head remains missing (how eerie is that?), but part of the benefit of the two timelines is the very ordinariness of life that infuses this story too. The...

In a year when I often wanted to tune out reality and current events, I found myself reading a lot of mysteries and thrillers. Although arguably depressing in their own right, mysteries have a way of transporting me when I read. Even when I end up rating a book 4 stars or less, I often quite enjoy the time I spend reading the book, even moreso than some books that end awesomely but are somewhat slow to get through. I find when I read mysteries, I find more minutes in the day to read. As I made this list and ranked it, I realized rankings these books by my ratings (4, 4.5, or 5 stars) wasn't the right way to go. Ratings are highly subjective and imperfect, but I recommend all of these, for a variety of reasons. Here are my seven favorites,with a three-way tie for first place!) (As always, clicking the book covers will take you to Amazon.) 7. Final Girls  by Riley Sager The premise of this one is bleak but fascinating. It centers on Quincy Carpenter, a young woman who ten years ...

The basics: When Reconsidered, a podcast examining the murder of Charles Buhrman, becomes a huge hit, it sends many lives into chaos, including his daughter, Josie, who has done all she can to distance herself from the family after his murder. My thoughts: Although I didn't love it as much as some people, I was caught up in the podcast Serial several years ago. That podcast inspired the fictional podcast in this novel. Josie narrates this novel, but her narration is intermixed with podcast transcripts, Reddit forums, and Tweets. As a narrator, Josie is frustrating at times. She's not necessarily unreliable, but she doesn't share all she knows (and to do so would ruin much of the suspense.) As a reader, I know I see situations differently when I'm reading a book and looking for clues than I would if it were my life, but it can still be a frustrating experience. I knew very little about this novel going into it, and I think that's best. As we learn more about Jos...

The backstory: Michael Connelly is my favorite mystery writer. I've read and reviewed all of his books . The basics: The Late Show  is the first in a new series featuring Los Angeles detective Renee Ballard. "They worked the midnight shift, the late show, moving from case to case, called to any scene where a detective was needed to take initial reports or sign off on suicides. But they kept no cases. They wrote up the initial reports and turned the cases over to the appropriate investigative units in the morning." My thoughts: One of the (many, many) things I love about Connelly's novels are that they pass in real time. Harry Bosch, the series of his I love the most, was born in 1950. The first mystery featuring Harry, The Black Echo , came out in 1992. I've wondered how and when Connelly will end that series, and what might come next. The Late Show  attempts to answer that question. As a character, Renee Ballard thinks and acts a lot like Harry Bosch in her ...

The backstory: Deadfall  is the 19th mystery featuring Alexandra Cooper. I've read them all and reviewed a lot of them . The basics: Killer Look  ended with quite a cliffhanger, and Deadfall  picks up right where it left off, so spoilers of Killer Look  abound in this review. My thoughts: Over the years I've criticized Linda Fairstein a bit for how little things change in this series. There's comfort in that, sure, but as someone who has been reading this series for fourteen years, I would love to see more time pass in Alex's life. Fairstein upped the ante with the ending of Killer Look --the murder of Manhattan District Attorney Paul Battaglia. Battaglia's demise had been coming for a few books, but the surprise at the end of Killer Look  was a great one. Deadfall  seeks to solve his murder. As always, one New York City landmark serves as the focus of the book. In Deadfall , it's the Bronx Zoo. Fairstein infuses current issues about illegal animal tr...

  A brief timeline of my relationship with Casey Duncan: Summer 2016: I keep reading and hearing about City of the Lost , the first in a new mystery series set in Canada featuring a woman named Casey Duncan. I should read that. It sounds really good. September 2016: Oh, right, City of the Lost . Let me check that out from the library. October 2016: [receives an early copy of A Darkness Absolute ] Wait, the second Casey Duncan novel comes out in February? I should really read City of the Lost. [reads City of the Lost. ] I should really write a review of City of the Lost  before I start A Darkness Absolute . [Decides the temptation to pick up A Darkness Absolute  is too strong.] [Reads A Darkness Absolute .] [Tells Mr. Nomadreader to buy  City of the Lost  for his mom's birthday.] I should write my review of A Darkness Absolute  even though it doesn't publish until February. March 2017: It's March already? Should I just wait until the t...

The backstory:   Moral Defense  is the second legal mystery in Marcia Clark's series featuring Samantha Brinkman, a Los Angeles defense attorney. I loved the first, Blood Defense ( my review .) I also loved Clark's first series, featuring Los Angeles prosecutor Rachel Knight . The basics: Blood Defense  ended with a lot of information, and Moral Defense picks up those storylines, while featuring the murder of a father and brother, and the attempted murder of the mother. Samantha is serving as the legal advocate for Cassie, the daughter who was not harmed in the crime. My thoughts: Moral Defense  features three  storylines, each one involving a different client. Two are holdovers from the first book, while Cassie's story is new and is the primary plot. The central mystery is who killed Cassie's family. All three storylines were interesting, and Clark is so good at incorporating expected and unexpected twists. I found myself somewhat let down by the Cassie ...

This year, Mr. Nomadreader and I are starting a new tradition for our family: we hope to visit one new country each year with Hawthorne. Our family is complete, and I'm excited to be starting a new family tradition. Hawthorne will be two and a half next month (!), and we're ready to start showing him the world. Our first destination: Amsterdam, this spring. While we've been studying the guidebooks and planning our days, I've also been busy making lists of fiction I want to read that is set in Amsterdam, both past and present. I've been intrigued by Chris Ewan's The Good Thief series, as each one is set in a different city, but our trip made me pick up his first in the series, The Good Thief's Guide to Amsterdam.  The titular good thief is Charlie Howard, a novelist who writes books about a globetrotting thief named Faulks. He also secretly works as a thief himself. There is a lot going on in this novel. In its opening pages, Charlie gets an intriguing of...

The backstory: Michael Connelly is my favorite mystery writer. I've read and reviewed all twenty-eight (and now twenty-nine) books. The basics: Harry is once again out of the LAPD and working as a private investigator. The case: discover if a very rich and powerful old man fathered a child in his youth and has an heir. At the same time, Harry is working as a volunteer detective for tiny San Fernando PD, where he's putting together pieces of what appear to be a number of crimes committed by the same perpetrator. My thoughts: When I first started reading Michael Connelly, I loved that time passed between his books in real time. Each time we see Harry Bosch, he's a year or two older. But the first Bosch book came out in 1992. It's now 2016, and part of my brain knows Harry Bosch can't live and work forever. Until then, however, I eagerly await and savor each new installment. This one certainly does not disappoint. In all the roles Bosch has served in over the ye...

The backstory: Killer Look is the eighteenth mystery in Linda Fairstein's Alexandra Cooper series. I've read them all and reviewed a lot them . The basics: Each Alexandra Cooper novel offers some piece of New York to serve as a backdrop. In Killer Look , it's New York Fashion Week. The hook is the apparent suicide (and possible murder) of a very high profile fashion designer. My thoughts: Fairstein has been ending the most recent novels with wonderful (or terrible, given we have to wait a year for the next installment!) cliffhangers, and   as with novels past, Killer Look  opens very soon after the events of the last novel, Devil's Bridge . Alex is not yet back at work, which is a big difference from the rest of the series. Naturally, she still finds a way to help Mike and Mercer with this case. I won't say I necessarily missed the courtroom element of this case, but I did miss seeing Alex in her element. Given the events of the last book (vague spoilers), she...

The backstory: I thoroughly enjoyed Marcia Clark's prior mystery series, featuring Los Angeles prosecutor Rachel Knight: Guilt by Association , Guilt by Degrees , Killer Ambition , and The Competition . Blood Defense  is the first in a new series featuring Los Angeles defense attorney Samantha Brinkman. (It also signals a change in publishers for Clark.) And yes, as her Twitter handle says , she's that Marcia Clark, who is still most famous for prosecuting O.J. Simpson for murder. The basics: Blood Defense  introduces Samantha Brinkman, a defense attorney struggling to make a name for herself. She appears as a defense expert frequently on a new talk show, but her office is in the heart of gang territory, and she lacks high profile, paying clients. That changes when she takes the case of Dale, an LAPD detective charged in the double homicide of Chloe, a starlet and his girlfriend, and Paige, Chloe's roommate. My thoughts: The mystery at the heart of this novel is who kil...

The backstory: The Last Good Girl  is the fifth title in Allison Leotta's mystery series featuring D.C. D.A. Anna Curtis. This series is one of my favorites: starting with her debut mystery  Law of Attraction , continuing with the e-short story  Ten Rules for a Call Girl ,  and the novels  Discretion ,   Speak of the Devil , and A Good Killing . The basics:  "Emily, a [first-year student] at a Michigan university, has gone missing. She was last seen leaving a bar near Sigma Pi, the prestigious and secretive fraternity known on campus as “the rape factory.” The main suspect is Dylan Brooks, the son of one of the most powerful politicians in the state. But so far the only clues are pieced-together surveillance footage of Emily leaving the bar that night…and Dylan running down the street after her." My thoughts: Leotta jumps into the campus sexual assault crisis in a major way with The Last Good Girl. If you've read Missoula  ( my review ) or ...

narrated by Graham Halstead and Julia Whelan The basics:  The first in a new young adult trilogy, A Study in Charlotte  follows Charlotte Holmes, a descendant of Sherlock Holmes, and Jamie Watson, a descendant of Dr. Watson, as students at a Connecticut boarding school. My thoughts: I typically file Sherlock Holmes under the "things I simply don't really like--but people with similar taste always seem to love." And I haven't read a young adult novel in several years. So what made me pick up a young adult Sherlock Holmes-inspired mystery? Brittany Cavallaro's Twitter bio . Despite not really caring for most adaptations or appropriations of Sherlock Holmes I've encountered, I really like the smart ways Cavallaro uses Holmes. Most importantly, she makes Holmes and Watson real people. Sometimes I have to remind myself my favorite characters aren't real people, and after so many years and iterations, doesn't it seem like Holmes and Watson were  real? ...

The backstory: All Dressed in White  is the second in the Under Suspicion series, following The Cinderella Murder . The series follows Under Suspicion, a television news special focused on unsolved cold cases. The basics: The cold case at the center of All Dressed in White follows the disappearance of Amanda White on the night before her wedding day. Did she run away or did something terrible happen? Laurie and her crew reunite the entire wedding party, plus Amanda's now divorced parents, at the same hotel in Palm Beach, Florida. My thoughts: While I loved the concept of The Cinderella Murder  and enjoyed reading it, I was disappointed with the resolution but curious to read the next book. I both enjoyed the reading experience of All Dressed in White  more, but it's also a better mystery. There's a cozy element to this book, in that I never felt like anyone was in danger, even knowing that a killer might be among the group. Still, the mystery in this book is what ...

The backstory: Michael Connelly is my favorite mystery writer. Last year, I read all twenty-seven of his novels. I was thrilled to finally have a new one to read. The basics: The Crossing features both of Connelly's long-running main characters: now retired LAPD detective Harry Bosch and his half-brother, criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller. When Haller's client is charged with the brutal murder of a woman, he suspects a set-up and manages to convince Bosch to solve the case as he would if he were still a homicide detective. My thoughts:  The titular crossing is meaningful on two levels. First, it comes from a piece of dialogue between Bosch and Haller: "What's the biggest problem with the prosecution's case?"  "Right now?"  "Based on what you read."  Bosch took a drink while he thought of an answer and composed it properly. "The crossing."  "Meaning?"  "Motive and opportunity." The cross...