Posted in Books, Charlotte's Picks, Crime fiction, Readers' advisory, Science fiction on July 2, 2008 | No Comments »
Who is this guy?
Ashraf al-Mansur (you can call him Raf) shows up in the middle of El Iskandryia with nothing but a passport that gives Immigration fits and the clothes he bought on the plane. Within 50 pages, the narration hints at a complicated history of institutions: Swiss boarding school, Chinese mafia, death row in [...]
Posted in Books, Crime fiction, Fast-paced, Neil's Picks, Science fiction, Thrillers on May 29, 2008 | No Comments »
I have seen the near future, and it isn’t pretty. It is, however, a lot of fun.
Set in 2018, in a Scotland that has recently joined the EU, Charles Stross’s Halting State is the story of a police woman, an auditor, and a gaming expert who are brought on the case when a bank is [...]
Posted in Barry's Picks, Books, Characters, Crime fiction, Food, Mysteries, Sense of place, Setting on May 20, 2008 | No Comments »
Crime fiction has taken a generally darker tone over the past decade, with stories featuring more realistic approaches to detection that reflect the violence of the initial crime and the often devastating impact of the crime on people’s lives. But readers whose tastes run more to Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers than to George [...]
Posted in Andrew's Picks, Books, Characters, Crime fiction, Mysteries, Nonfiction on March 28, 2008 | No Comments »
On this week’s Blogging for a Good Book, I’m posting about four authors who are coming to the Williamsburg Library Theatre on Monday, March 31. We’ll be having a relaxed conversation with Margaret Coel, David L. Robbins, and Jacqueline Winspear, led by Willetta L. Heising. The event starts at 7 pm in the Theatre [...]
Posted in Andrew's Picks, Announcements, Books, Crime fiction, Fast-paced, Mysteries, Sense of place, Subculture, Westerns on March 25, 2008 | No Comments »
On this week’s Blogging for a Good Book, I’m posting about four authors who are coming to the Williamsburg Library Theatre on Monday, March 31. We’ll be having a relaxed conversation with Margaret Coel, David L. Robbins, and Jacqueline Winspear, led by Willetta L. Heising. The event starts at 7 pm in the Theatre at [...]
Posted in Adventure, Andrew's Picks, Books, Crime fiction, High suspense, Historical fiction, Thrillers on March 24, 2008 | No Comments »
On this week’s Blogging for a Good Book, I’m posting about four authors who are coming to the Williamsburg Library Theatre on Monday, March 31. We’ll be having a relaxed conversation with Margaret Coel, David L. Robbins, and Jacqueline Winspear, led by Willetta L. Heising. The event starts at 7 pm in the [...]
Posted in Bluesocks' Picks, Books, Crime fiction, Fast-paced, Mysteries, Neil's Picks, Sense of place, Setting on March 18, 2008 | No Comments »
I’m probably not ever going to make it to Thailand. The majority of you who read this will never get there either. That’s what makes a book like Bangkok 8 so exciting to find.
Yes, it’s an exciting mystery with a good puzzle: Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep must solve the murder of an American marine by drug-crazed [...]
Posted in Bluesocks' Picks, Crime fiction, Jeanette's Picks, Mysteries, Thrillers on December 17, 2007 | No Comments »
Voices, by Icelandic author Arnulder Indridason, is a gritty, thriller/mystery that takes place during the Christmas season. Inspector Erlunder Sveinsson and his colleagues, Elinborg and Sigurdur Oli, are called to one of the largest hotels in Reykjavik, filled with international tourists come to celebrate the holiday in Iceland. The recently-fired doorman of twenty years, Gudlaurgur [...]
Posted in Barry's Picks, Books, Characters, Crime fiction, Historical fiction, Mysteries, Sense of place, Setting on September 28, 2007 | 1 Comment »
If you want to experience the hot, dusty atmosphere of the desert, without the concern of dying of thirst, you need to try Michael Pearce’s Mamur Zapt series, set in Egypt prior to WWI. Gareth Owen, the Mamur Zapt of the title, is sent to Cairo to investigate and solve political crises for the British [...]
Posted in Barry's Picks, Books, Characters, Crime fiction, Mysteries, Sense of place on September 27, 2007 | 1 Comment »
On the lighter side of international crime fiction, Iain Pears’s Jonathan Argyll series offers readers a view into the world of international art dealing. Pears knows the legitimate side of art selling, but is also conversant with the the more shady side of things, where deals are made and paintings quietly change hands with no [...]
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