That’s at the Manchester Public Library in Manchester-by-the-Sea,Massachusetts, USA
Natives call it MBTS or mostly just “Manchester.”
[This page was last updated on 3/4/26]
ON THIS PAGE: (1) Our Reading List & Meeting Dates (2) Getting Started With the Club (3) About Our Mystery Book Club
(1) Our Reading List & Meeting Dates – Check the table below
NOTE 1: In the table below, the current book to be reading is highlighted in yellow.
NOTE 2: “Meet Day” [in the table below] is almost always the last Friday of the month. (The 3 exceptions* –noted in red below– for October, November, and December are due to Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas and thus the date is the Friday before the last Friday.)
NOTE 3: Click on a Book Title link to learn more about it.
NOTE 4: Click on the Author link for a bio about the author. (Usually -ideally- it is the author’s website. If the author does not have one, or does not have a sufficient page, the link will take you to Wikipedia if it has at least a little information.)
NOTE 5: Click on the Stop You’re Killing Me (SYKM) Website link to see all the books the author has written grouped by series, in published order. (And more goodies.)
| Meet Day | Book Title [+ Extra Helps] | Author | SYKM Website |
| Aug 29 | A Calamity of Souls | David Baldacci | Baldacci |
| Sep 26 | The Violin Conspiracy Music that inspired Brendan and book? (Listed on Spotify.) | Brendan Slocum | Slocum |
| Oct 24* | The Keeper of Lost Causes | Jussi Adler-Olsen | Adler-Olsen |
| Nov 21* | The Paris Express | Emma Donoghue | Donoghue |
| Dec 19* | The Woman in the Library | Sulari Gentill | Gentill |
| ! 2026 ! Jan 30 | All the Colors of the Dark | Chris Whitaker | Whitaker |
| Feb 27 | Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone — (Video interview) | Benjamin Stevenson | Stevenson |
| Meet Day | Book Title [+ Extra Helps] | Author | SYKM Website |
| Mar 27 | The Oligarch’s Daughter Bonus articles on Joe’s favorite books, problems facing mystery/thriller authors, and more fun stuff | Joseph Finder | Finder |
| Apr 24 | Nightshade (Catalina setting) | Michael Connelly | Connelly |
| May 29 | Here One Moment | Liane Moriarty | Moriarty |
| Jun 26 | The Talented Mr. Ripley | Patricia Highsmith | Highsmith |
| July 31 | The God of the Woods | Liz Moore | Moore |
| Aug 28 | The Cutting Season | Attica Locke | Locke |
NOTE 6: If you want links to a printable list of books & dates for the current “reading year,” or a simple quick-look link for your cell phone, or evaluation sheets with the books listed at the top: click here or the “Reader Resources” menu tab above.
NOTE 7: Pro tip for more searching for in depth author information.
1) Go to: YouTube.com
2) Use the YouTube Search Box and enter the author’s full name with quote marks and then add these two words: author interview. Then press the search button (magnifying glass icon). You might get many or few video interviews, depending on the popularity of the author (along with unrelated videos of other junk). EXAMPLE:
(2) Getting started with the club.
We’d love to have you come to most of our meetings. But it’s great to have occasional participants, too, so come if you are vacationing here, or, if you are often hindered by work or other obligations, come when can — just read the book before coming, that’s it!
Maddy, our leader, will have questions to keep a fun discussion going. But please bring your own questions too, or favorite quotes from the book, or your readiness to jump in with a different opinion. It’s actually more fun if we don’t all agree about how good the book is.
a) Keep up with what is happening (Get on our List):
Our normal meeting location is “live” inside the library AND via Zoom (Hybrid Meeting). BUT be sure to subscribe to our meeting notices to receive Zoom links, notice of summertime outdoors meetings, special events, and other club news.
b) Get a copy of this month’s book:
c) About the book evaluation score:
At the end of the meeting, we ask each Reader to “grade” or “rate” the book. Grades range between 50 (an F–) and 100 (an A++); both of those extremes are rarely used. Let the following be your guide:
THE BOOK GRADING FORM: As an aid for grading a book, we have an evaluation form that can be helpful, but using it is optional. To learn more about the grading form and how to get a copy, CLICK HERE, or ask Maddy or another member for help.
d) Other Club Resources:
In addition to a list of all the books for this Reading Year (Sep thru Aug), there are many “tools” (websites and lists) that can help you find the type of Crime Fiction Book that you would most enjoy. Or help you find new types of characters, plots, or genres. All located under the menu tab above, “Reader Resources.“
(3) About Our Mystery Book Club
DO YOU LIKE MYSTERY BOOKS? We welcome your participation with us. Our monthly Friday meetings focus on the mystery book of the month. The group helps to create the annual reading list each June. (Click to see this year’s book list.) When we gather, we enjoy each other and the varying views that each person shares, recognizing that there are many genres and tastes in mystery books, crime books, thrillers, etc. It’s just fun!
WANT MORE TO READ AND DISCUSS, MORE THAN ONE BOOK A MONTH? In addition to our regular end of the month meeting, we often have one or more “sub-groups” that are ongoing, reading through a series of books by one author.
AND THERE’S MORE! As we like to say, “We are more than a book club.” For example:
- Authors as a guest for Q&A, most recently– Bruce Robert Coffin in June of 2023 and Daniel Palmer in November 2022,
- A recent Gloucester Harbor cruise on the Ardelle.
- For about ten years, an annual June backyard picnic,
- Field trip to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (it started with a book we read in which the museum’s famous heist was featured),
- Two Spenser Tours of Boston based on the Robert Parker books,
- Outings to movies like – Mr Holmes, Murder on the Orient Express, and Knives Out.
- Field trip to the Poe Statue in Boston,
- Lunch at the Agawam Diner,
- A Transcendental Murder mystery book field trip to Concord, MA.
- Frequent local restaurant luncheons following the regular book club meeting
- No agenda Zoom Lunch hour socials – a fill-in idea during the Pandemic
A few pictures from a recent meeting (8/30/24) during “announcements” part of the meeting. Thanks to Audrey Carmen (Library Staff)….
A few pictures from an early summer meeting (6/26/24) during “announcements” part of the meeting. Thanks to Carol McKenna….
Our special speaker for Nov 18, 2022: D.J. Palmer – author of various kinds of thrillers (5th from left)
Our club outing on Gloucester Harbor Tours’ Lighthouse Cruise – Saturday August 20, 2022: below – Selena and Mike seated (picture by Leslie)
Our club outing on Gloucester Harbor on the Schooner Ardelle charter – August 25, 2021: below
