Tartan Noir
Ian Rankin: Knots and Crosses
Blurb: ‘And in Edinburgh of all places. I mean, you never think of that sort of thing happening in Edinburgh, do you …?’ ‘ That sort of thing’ is the brutal abduction and murder of two young girls. And now a third is missing, presumably gone to the same sad end. Detective Sergeant John Rebus, […]
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May 2021 Reading Recap
Still a lot of work on the back end of the blog, including on my “featured authors” pages (see the right column on the main Literature page and the introduction of my April 2021 recap post). So, contrary to plans, still no new posts in my alphabet blogging series in May. However, the time-consuming back end […]
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Ann Cleeves: Red Bones
Ann Cleeves’s Shetland series became a “go-to” series for me, whenever I am looking for a profoundly atmospheric (preferably Scottish) setting, with its very first book, Raven Black. Needless to say, I’m also a huge fan of the TV series starring Douglas Henshall as the series’s protagonist, Jimmy Perez; never mind that in the books […]
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Val McDermid: Still Life
After Ann Cleeves’s Red Bones, another May 2021 armchair visit to Scotland; though this time to Edinburgh — with brief but significant excursions to the English Midlands, Ireland and Paris, that is. (France yet again, too — after I had already read Agatha Christie’s Mystery of the Blue Train, Georges Simenon’s Maigret’s Holiday, and Arthur […]
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Favorite Rainy Day Reads
24 Festive Tasks: Door 5 – Bon Om Touk, Bonus Task: List / tell us about your favorite rainy day reads. I suppose it only takes one look at my list of read books this year to determine my favorite rainy day books, as 2020 was essentially one extended rainy day: Golden Age mysteries and […]
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Ian Rankin: A Song for the Dark Times
24 Festive Tasks: Door 5 – Bon Om Touk, Book: Read a book that has the moon, or an ocean, river, lake, or other body of water (larger than a puddle) on the cover, read a manga, or read a book set anywhere in Asia. As my book for this square, I’m claiming Ian […]
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Snakes and Ladders, 2020 Edition – TA’s Master Tracking Post: DONE!
Tracking courtesy of Charlie and Sunny, as always, of course! SPACES AND DICE ROLLS 1. Author is a woman — Patricia Wentworth: Pilgrim’s Rest (finished April 1, 2020) 2. Genre: mystery 3. Set in the twentieth century 4. Published in 2019 5. Published in 2018 6. Title has a color word in it 7. Author’s last […]
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Val McDermid: Broken Ground
So what happened at the end there, Val? Why that infernal rush? Did you suddenly become aware that you were on your way towards producing a minor brick, or did your publisher tell you to cut it short? There we were, sailing nicely along in the usual 4-stars-or-higher bracket into which this series typically falls […]
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Please pick my final Snakes & Ladders book! — UPDATED: Decision time.
Looks like we have a winner! So, Val McDermid’s fifth Karen Pirie book it is … I am really glad that every book I listed collected votes, though (and it was a close race between the two top contenders for quite a while) — needless to say, I intend to get to all of […]
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Please pick my final Snakes & Ladders book!
NOTE: Clicking on the image will take you to the actual poll. To avoid double counting, please use only the polling site to vote (i.e., don’t also tell me in your comments which books you’re voting for). Thank you! To see the results, click HERE. Original post: ThemisAthena.booklikes.com/post/2321902/please-pick-my-final-snakes-ladders-book
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Ann Cleeves: White Nights
24 Festive Tasks: Door 12 – St. Andrew’s Day, Book: Read a book set in Scotland. Rather easy choice, this one … And notwithstanding the fact that there’s a fairly obvious giveaway to the “who” very early on — and I’m beginning to clue in on Cleeves’s approach in terms of construction, writerly perspective and […]
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Six Favorite Scottish Writers
24 Festive Tasks: Door 12 – St. Andrew’s Day, Task 1: Tell us: Who is your favorite Scottish (or Scots-born / -descendant) writer? Six favorite Scottish writers: Arthur Conan Doyle: Elementary. Robert Louis Stevenson: For Kidnapped alone — though his Edinburgh Picturesque Notes, even 150 years after their first publication, remain one of the […]
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My Rainy Day Reads
24 Festive Tasks: Door 5 – Bon Om Touk, Task 1: List / tell us about your favorite rainy day reads. Any- and everything that — with or without a mug of hot tea and some chocolate or other snacks — makes me feel all warm and comfortable (while still engaging my brain cells, […]
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Bingo Call: 10/31/19 – Genre: Suspense
Reblogged from: Moonlight Murder Last Call! Bingo is officially over. Genre: Suspense: anything that fits into the suspense genre. Book list linked here. Original post: http://moonlightreader.booklikes.com/post/1942289/bingo-call-10-31-19
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Halloween Bingo: Book Selections – UPDATED
Like virtually all of my book consumption this year, my Halloween Bingo books are more or less necessarily going to have to be primarily audiobooks. So I had a look at my Audible and CD collections what might fit the bill for my card, and here’s what I’ve come up with (mostly new-to-me books but […]
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Halloween Bingo 2019: Tracking Post — Blackout! (And bingos Nos. 12 and 13.)
Many thanks to Moonlight Reader and Obsidian Blue for hosting this game for the fourth year in a row, bigger and better than ever before! Witih today’s call, I’ve blacked out my card, in addition to collecting my final bingos (nos. 12 and 13). Somewhat to my surprise, after completing my books for my […]
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Bingo Call: 10/30/2019 – Murder Most Foul
Reblogged from: Obsidian Blue Murder Most Foul: any murder mystery. Book list linked here. Original post: ThemisAthena.booklikes.com/post/1980295/bingo-call-10-30-2019
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Bingo Call: 10/26/2019 – Terror in a Small Town
Reblogged from: Obsidian Blue Terror in a Small Town: any horror book where the action primarily occurs in a small town or village. Examples would include: Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury, It by Stephen King. Book list linked here. Horror square. (But mysteries & suspense featuring terror / horrific events may […]
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Bingo Call: 10/22/2019 – Grave or Graveyard
Reblogged from: Obsidian Blue Grave or Graveyard: Books that have a grave or graveyard on their covers, in their titles, or any book primarily set in a graveyard. Book list linked here. Non-genre-specific square. Original post: ThemisAthena.booklikes.com/post/1974989/bingo-call-10-22-2019
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Bingo call: 10/21/19 – Serial / Spree Killer
Reblogged from: Moonlight Murder Serial/Spree Killer: a sub-genre of crime fiction that involves the detection of serial or spree killers. Book list linked here. Original post: ThemisAthena.booklikes.com/post/1974141/bingo-call-10-21-19
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