I was introduced to Dame (Edith) Ngaio Marsh 19 years ago during my first Christmas in the Mystery Book Club at Manchester Library. The book was appropriately, Tied Up in Tinsel, the 27th book in Marsh’s Detective Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn series. Her first book was in 1934 and her last, the year of her death, was in 1982. Alleyn presents as a British “gentleman detective” – schooled at Eton, … Continue reading
Short Stories by Kate Flora It’s the Holidays and Kate Flora invites you to read her four Christmas short stories. If you read nothing else on this page, I hope you will find time to read one of them as they are all feel-good crime fiction stories. Just what the doctor ordered for me, anyway, as the world does seem darker than any of my preceding 76 Christmases. Free for … Continue reading
“British” – The story takes place in the United Kingdom of Great Britain with British law enforcement officers (LEOs). It can be written by writers that live inside or outside of the UK. “Police Procedural” – It is a sub-genre of crime fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of police officers, police detectives, or law enforcement agencies as the protagonists, as contrasted with other genres that focus on non-police investigators … Continue reading
There are no spoilers for the top part of this post – the beginning of this post is only a repeat of the information provided about the book that was provided at the start of the month, before the meeting. But….. Near the bottom of the page, there is a place for our participants to leave comments about the book, and spoilers will likely be included. Don’t scroll down to the comments area, until you … Continue reading
Bruce Robert Coffin was our guest author at our regular monthly meeting on Friday, June 30, 2023. We read the first book in his series of four police procedurals – Among the Shadows. It was generally well-liked by the group as indicated by the fact that at least 8 participants (of 12 reporting back) said something about wanting to read another in the series. Compared to the group’s feeling about … Continue reading
The first book in Paul Doiron‘s excellent mystery series featuring Maine Game Warden Mike Bowditch was used as a class text in a sophomore English class at Dexter Regional High School in Dexter, Maine. Then the teacher and school librarian invited Mr. Doiron to speak to the students and answer questions about the book and writing in general. I say, “Three Cheers” to the teachers who chose the book and … Continue reading
A steadfast group of mystery book fans in our book club read all 17 of the existing Inspector Gamache books. This is not the only indication of the popularity of Louise Penny and her famous book series set in the fictional town of Three Pines, Quebec. Last year’s book, The Madness of Crowds, was at the top of the NY Times best selling hardcover fiction list for 5 weeks straight. … Continue reading
Here is some information for my fellow Bosch fans: 2022 is a great year for Michael Connelly fans! Both The Lincoln Lawyer and Bosch are getting new series adaptations. Of course, this isn’t the first time Michael Connelly’s works have been adapted for film or television! Here’s a quick and easy guide to every Michael Connelly film adaptation so that you can make sure you don’t miss out on a single one of them. … Continue reading
The Manchester Public Library Mystery Book Lovers Club met today and discussed Open Season by Mayor Archer. Open Season (1988) is Mayor’s first book in his Joe Gunther series based in Brattleboro, VT. Since then Mayor has completed 23 Gunther stories. Apparently it’s open season for the former members of a jury that served on the murder trial of Kimberly Harris several years ago. One is shot and killed, another … Continue reading
LET'S PLAY CLUE: Was it MBC Leader Dick Goutal, in the garden, using the poisonous plant, Black Henbane?
