Tuesday To Die For

Had great fun with my mystery group tonight. Before actual book discussion we met up for dinner and a book exchange. I took a few books to exchange and came back with a bag full. I’ll tell you more about those in a minute.

Our book for discussion was The Lighthouse by P.D. James. In this Commander Adam Dalgliesh novel, the police are called out to Combe Island off the Cornish coast of England to investigate the death of one of their recent visitors, famous author Nathan Oliver.

The author was not well liked by many of the other visitors to the island so lots of suspects abound. What I particularly enjoyed about the book was how the author really conveys the feeling of how insular this island was. No cell phones allowed, food had to be brought in, etc. So given that it’s a private island it should be easy for the Commander (and the reader) to figure out who did the deed right?

I was certain it was one person but I was wrong. Looking back on it, it should have been evident that person couldn’t have done it but I had it all worked out. Ha.

This was a great mystery although there are some aspects of the Commander’s personal life which are mentioned that I didn’t know about as I’ve only read the first two in the series and this is the 13th. Still, P.D. James gives you just the right amount of background that you can jump in and not feel lost.

Now, you want to know which books I got in the exchange?

• The Night Ferry by Michael Robotham. Detective Alisha Barba hadn’t heard from her friend Cate in years, but when she receives a frantic letter pleading for help, she knows she must see her. “They want to take my baby,” Cate whispers to Alisha when they finally meet. Then, only hours later, Cate and her husband are fatally run down by a car. Sounds like a gripping thriller doesn’t it? Plus it takes place in London and Amsterdam so I’m already hooked.
• Shakespeare’s Christmas by Charlaine Harris. I’ve enjoyed some of her Sookie mysteries but didn’t like the Aurora Teagarden one I read much so let’s see what I think of this one, which is a part of her Lily Bard series.
• And Justice There Is None by Deborah Crombie. Here’s a series I really liked a lot but at my former mystery book group we used to have one member who would spoil a lot of books for us. I had been reading along in this series and one day this book group member starts telling me stuff about the upcoming books which she had already read. I was so annoyed. So I ended up putting this series aside until I didn’t feel all the spoilers were fresh in my mind anymore. I’m looking forward to catching up with Detective Kincaid and Sergeant Gemma James.
• A Likeness In Stone by Julia Wallis Martin. An entire house, long submerged in the dark waters of a reservoir, unearths a starting find: the corpse of Helena Warner, an Oxford college student who disappeared twenty years earlier. According to the book jacket this is in the tradition of Minette Walters and Ruth Rendell. Wow, two authors who I think write wonderful suspense-filled tales.
• Dust by Martha Grimes. I love the Richard Jury series and have been working my way up. Granted I’m only at number six and this number 21 but it’s good to have it on hand.
• Murder at Union Station by Margaret Truman. I’ve been meaning to try one of her mysteries which are set in D.C. and actually from what I gather none of the mysteries center on a particular detective.
• The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry. This one is actually an audio book. I haven’t had very good luck with audio books in the past but I’m excited to try again and especially with this book as it’s one that had been on my list for a while.

So now I’m going to come off of my book & sugar high (did I mention the pie?) and go relax with some of my ongoing reads.