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Topic: December Mysteries we are Reading

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Alice J. (ASJ) - ,
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Subject: December Mysteries we are Reading
Date Posted: 12/1/2017 9:57 PM ET
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What is everyone reading for mysterys in December

I just finished The Detecting Duchess (Victorian Bookshop, Bk 5)  by Kate Parker. cozy historical set in 1897 England

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Date Posted: 12/3/2017 6:25 PM ET
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Catching up with A Season of Fear (Cab Bolton, Bk 2) :: Brian Freeman

I really enjoy his books.

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Date Posted: 12/4/2017 9:25 PM ET
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Went to the doctor today because I've been having a lot of back pain. Was okay in August and early September. Maybe I did something in the process of packing for the move, because I was having problems even before I left Phoenix. Loading four crates of dogs in and out of the car for several days certaining didn't help. Doctor gave me scrips for tramadol and a muscle relaxer to take at bedtime. I really don't like tramadol. Makes me feel like I'm back on oxycodone, but still with some residual pain. Never felt like this with hydrocodone. After I left the doctor's office went to the local hospital to have x-rays, which apparently are required before the doctor can order an MRI. Based on symptoms, he thinks the problem might be just pressure on a disc, or it might be a compression fracture of one or more vertebrae. Given that I've lost over an inch and a half, I don't think that's out of the question. Have another appointment with him in two weeks, unless he calls me sooner.

Still working my way through Without Mercy in the Body Farm series. This one has me a little ticked off. The plot involves a hate crime, though not what you might initially think. Miranda, who has been Dr Brockton's lab assistant for years while she continues her education says, "I do have white guilt, and I should have white guilt. My whole life has been one whole exercise in white privilege." Feeling sorry for those less fortunate, okay. But the very idea of feeling guilt for being blessed is, IMHO, just wrong. We don't know much about Miranda's back story. Maybe she came from a wealthy family that owned slaves four or five generations ago. If so, that's still no reason for her to feel guilt. We're not responsible for the sins of our forebears. If she's like the average student, she's been paying for her education with grants and loans, maybe some small scholarships. No guilt there. The cost of attending UT is about $29k/year whether undergraduate or postgrad. As a lab technician, she's probably earning about $35k, although less when she started working four or five years ago. She couldn't get the lab tech job until she finished her bachelor's degree, so she likely has some debt hanging over her head. And you certainly don't earn a doctorate without a lot of hard work. Once she's got her doctorate, her starting salary will likely be under $60k. Even top paid forensic anthropologists only make about $90k, as do tenured professors. And getting tenure takes years. Really don't see what she has to feel guilty about. Okay. I'm done with my little rant.

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Date Posted: 12/7/2017 2:21 PM ET
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The Mountains Have a Secret by Arthur W Upfield. I'm about half way in the book. Plenty of suspects. No leading candidates.

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Alice J. (ASJ) - ,
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Date Posted: 12/8/2017 7:21 PM ET
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The Edge of Dreams by Rhys Bowen. Love this series one of my all time favorites

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Date Posted: 12/17/2017 9:19 AM ET
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I just finished Death Comes to School by Catherine Lloyd (Kurland St. Mary Mystery #5) and loved it. This one deals with poison pen letters and death of the unlikeable school teacher. Lucy and the Major are also dealing with trouble in their marriage. Well written and nice little mystery.

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Alice J. (ASJ) - ,
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Date Posted: 12/17/2017 9:23 AM ET
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Sounds good Mary.

I am in one of the goodreads cozy forum and the author of the month is Cathy Ace. I am going to read The Corpse with the Silver Tongue by Cathy Ace. 

I will start it later today. 

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Date Posted: 12/18/2017 4:50 PM ET
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Tonight I'll be finishing The Bone Box by Faye Kellerman in the Peter & Rina Decker series. Serial killings in a small college town in upstate New York. Rina's taking more of a part in the investigation, and Peter also consults with his former LA subordinates, one a sergeant in Ventura, CA, and the other a P.I. His foster son's father, Chris Donatti, also makes an appearance. The latter was probably the most interesting character the author created in this series. 

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Date Posted: 12/19/2017 9:22 PM ET
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I am on the book in the 'Down South Cafe' mystery series by Gayle Leeson, "Honey Baked Homicide."  Love this series.  Gayle Leeson writes under the names Amanda Lee, (Embroidery Series) and Gayle Trent (Daphne Martin Series.)  I next will be reading 'Final Tap' the Living History series. I've read the first book,  "The Final Reveille,"  by Amanda Flower.  I need to catch up my reading list!

Mary, I hope you feel better soon!



Last Edited on: 12/19/17 9:23 PM ET - Total times edited: 1
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Date Posted: 12/21/2017 4:40 PM ET
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I'm reading Judas Sheep by Stuart Pawson. It's third in the Charlie Priest series. Murder and kidnapping with a twist. I really enjoy the humor.

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Date Posted: 12/23/2017 5:11 PM ET
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Hope you're feeling better soon, Mary.

I read The Christmas Room by Catherine Anderson. Fire and Ice (A Beaumont and Brady Mystery) by J.A. Jance. I'll start reading Don't Let Go by Harlan Coben tonight.

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Date Posted: 12/26/2017 3:48 PM ET
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I just finished reading the first of a new cozy series,  "Kale to the Queen" by Nell Hampton.  The main character, a chef from Chicago, has landed a job at Kensington Palace as chef to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their two children.  I liked it enough to want to read the next book.  Of course the MC hits the ground running creating mayhem as she tries to find the murderer of one of her sous chefs.  It seemed pretty formulmatic to me, like an author writing a "fill in the blanks" on some sort of check off list for writers.  I did not figure out the killer until the last scene. In fact the killer was so well hidden I never suspected at all.  .

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Date Posted: 12/26/2017 4:42 PM ET
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The Continental Op by Dashiell Hammett. short stories. There is not much embroidery with the shortness of the stories. The crime happens quickly and the solution happens fairly soon thereafter. The setting is in the 1920's which is about when they were written. The longest story is about 53 pp and the shortest is 26pp. Enjoying so far. There are 7 stories total. I have a couple left to go. One nice thing you can read an entire story at one sitting with no problem. 



Last Edited on: 12/27/17 7:48 AM ET - Total times edited: 1
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Alice J. (ASJ) - ,
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Date Posted: 12/26/2017 5:53 PM ET
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I am reading Murder at President's Door by Elliott Roosevelt

I like this series a lot set in 1933 White House. This is the last book of the series written by a ghost writer after Mr. Roosevelt's death. I am oftern dubious about books written by ghost writers. 

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Date Posted: 12/29/2017 4:52 PM ET
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I have read that series too, Alice, and liked it.  That was several years ago now, I think.

Just saw on Fox News that Sue Grafton passed away today at age 77. She had apparently been fighting cancer for a couple of years.  Speaking of ghost writers, Alice, she told her family she did not want anyone to continue on her series, so the alphabet ends at V.



Last Edited on: 12/29/17 4:55 PM ET - Total times edited: 1
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Date Posted: 12/29/2017 5:55 PM ET
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I'm reading Dressed to Die, 3rd in the Lindsay Chamberlain series by Beverly Connor. Archaeology lecturer Lindsay is asked to see if she can find a body perhaps buried somewhere on several acres of land. She finds the body fairly quickly by reading clues in topography and vegetation. Lindsay is also a forensic anthropologist and can see from the skeletal remains that the woman was murdered. Some family members want her to investigate, although that's not her job and her previous investigations have proved dangerous. Nevertheless, she's curious. Things get complicated when her half brother whom she hasn't seen in years shows up with some crates of artifcacts that were found in a kudzu covered shed on her deceased grandfather's property.