M Y S T E R Y P L A C E S . N E T
mystery novels with a sense of place


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This site now includes 345 authors, 64 countries and multi-country regions, 45 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia.

Featured Authors
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Read and Recommended
For a few months, I had time to note specific books that I read and recommended. I had to stop for lack of time. If time is available, this section will resume.
2010: Jan|Feb|Mar
2009: Jan-Feb|March|Apr|May|Jun|Jul|Aug|Sep|Oct|Nov|Dec
2008: Jul-Dec

Read & Recommended 2010: Jan | Feb | Mar
2009: Jan-Feb | Mar|Apr | May|Jun | Jul | Aug|Sep|Oct|Nov | Dec
2008: Jul-Dec

May 1 - Michael Connelly's latest Los Angeles novel The Brass Verdict, is his usual top-quality writing. It features both his new character, lawyer Mickey Haller and his iconic LAPD detective, Harry Bosch. Also worth noting are Stephen Greenleaf's Blood Type, featuring his PI John Marshall Tanner in early 1990s San Francisco, and John Billheimer's Dismal Mountain, one of an intriguing series featuring transportation expert Owen Allison and a mix of murder and corruption in small-town West Virginia.

April 19 - Nemesis, the latest Jo Nesbø book featuring Oslo detective Harry Hole, came in to my local library recently, and I just finished reading it yesterday. It's the best of the three I've read so far. As with the others in the series, the plot twists may be a bit over the top, but Nesbø helps make you willing to suspend disbelief.

Also read recently, with new takes on widely scattered U.S. locations: The Devils of Bakersfield, by John Shannon, in which his Los Angeles detecctive encounters right-wing religious fanaticism and the history of Bakersfield, California; Norman Green's The Angel of Montague Street, mobbed-up Brooklyn-noir; and Randy Wayne White's latest Doc Ford thriller Dead Silence, with fast-paced suspense ranging from Sanibel, Florida to Long Island, New York.

April 11 - Among books I've read so far this month only A Grave in Gaza by Matt Beynon Rees really stands out,for a 5-star Library Thing rating. The others are also good reads, and I like the authors, but The Marvelous Boy by Peter Corris and Night and Day by Robert Parker are predictable fare for those who know these authors. Henry Chang's Year of the Dog is interesting for its Chinatown setting, but not quite as good, in my opinion, as his earlier Chinatown Beat.

More about these Authors

John Billheimer on Amazon UK | Bookmooch | Wikipedia
Henry Chang on Amazon UK | Bookmooch | Wikipedia
Michael Connelly on Amazon UK | Bookmooch | Wikipedia
Peter Corris on Amazon UK | Bookmooch | Wikipedia
Norman Green on Amazon UK | Bookmooch | Wikipedia
Stephen Greenleaf on Amazon UK | Bookmooch | Wikipedia
Jo Nesbo on Amazon UK | Bookmooch | Wikipedia
Robert B. Parker on Amazon UK | Bookmooch | Wikipedia
Matt Beynon Rees on Amazon UK | Bookmooch | Wikipedia
John Shannon on Amazon UK | Bookmooch | Wikipedia
Randy Wayne White on Amazon UK | Bookmooch | Wikipedia