I just got home from my mystery book group night and we had such a good talk. We read The Last Child by John Hart which generated a lot of discussion about parenting, drugs, kids in distress, etc. At first you would have thought everyone hated the book.

We pick it apart for the unbelievable coincidences, the inept police force and the superhero qualities the young protagonist seems to have but finally when we went around giving out personal ratings it seems that almost everyone actually loved it! We had a good laugh about that.

The story centers on a Johnny, a thirteen year old, who is on a personal crusade to find out what happened to his sister who went missing a year ago. His mother has all but fallen apart and is now mainly in a drug-induced haze to know much of what he is up to but there is one detective that won’t give up on finding Johnny’s sister.

I was very excited to read the book and think some parts worked well. I actually liked how the ending came out when we finally know what happened to Johnny’s sister but on the whole I did not like the book very much. I had a hard time feeling sympathy for the mom and I couldn’t believe all that Johnny accomplishes given he’s only thirteen. Like I said, most of the members in the group loved the book and it is a page turner and an Edgar winner so you may enjoy it.

Our upcoming selections include All Our Yesterday’s by Robert B. Parker, then The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson (which I’ve already read & loved), and followed by The Merry Misogynist by Colin Cotterill. I think I’m most excited by the Cotterill book as the mystery is set in Laos so that’ll be something a bit different for me.

Let me know if you’ve read a good mystery lately. I need to start thinking about books to nominate at our next meeting.

I’ve mentioned before that I don’t have a problem finishing a book and I don’t. However, it’s a bit harder for me to move on this time around because I’ve hit upon several books that I’m just not finding enjoyable and the more I see them sitting on my nightstand the less I want to return to them.

So tonight I’m setting them free. I’m removing the bookmarks and putting some back on the shelf for a later date and some are going to the donation bag. What to know which books I’m giving up on?

First is Murder in the Marais by Cara Black. This book has a wonderful setting, Paris. I could almost taste the croissants and imagine the investigator stepping into a cafe but Aimee Leduc is not an investigator who I could really warm up to. I hate to tell you exactly why because I would actually be spoiling part of the book but let’s just say I really question her judgement. Not all of my P.I.s have to be perfect, far from it but again, there was just something there I couldn’t quite get past.

This other choice is a hard one to give up on because I really think it’s a book I would like but not at this time and that’s Manservant and Maidservant. What makes this one hard for me to get into is that it’s mainly dialogue and when I’ve put it aside for a day or two it is a bit hard to get back into because you feel like you are stepping into an ongoing conversation.

Then there is Requiem for a Mezzo by Carola Dunn. This is such a charming and cozy mystery series but this third installment wasn’t working for me. I like the main character a lot, Daisy, but the cast of potential murderers come off a bit like caricatures at times. I don’t know if that’s because there are two foreigners and it seems their differences just stand out more or what. I think I’ll just move on to the next installment and pretend this one didn’t happen.

Finally, Alone With You by Marisa Silver which is a short story collection. I think I’ve realized that for short stories to work for me they have to feel almost like a novel. Here I found stories that didn’t seem to go anywhere and I couldn’t tie them together. In all fairness I only read three of the stories so maybe it would all come together for me at the end but I think I’ll put this one back on the shelf for now.

Now, my nightstand is clear and I can pick up a new book tonight. I’m excited. The only thing is, can I at least count all of these to count as one book toward my end of year totals? haha. What about you? Given up on any books recently?