Joyce's mystery and fiction book reviews with some non-fiction too!

If it has a *, I have read it.  What about you? There are just so many on the list that I have yet to read.

*Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Jaws by Peter Benchley

Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay

Hannibal by Thomas Harris

Psycho by Robert Bloch

A Time to Kill by John Grisham

Prior Bad Acts by Tami Hoag

Black Water Rising by Attica Locke

*Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

Basic Black with Pearls by Helen Weinzweig

The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena

Soulmates by Jessica Grose

Monkey Beach by Eden Robinson

Shelter by Jung Yun

Girl Missing by Tess Gerritsen

The Body Farm by Patricia Cornwell

Coma by Robin Cook

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy

Wild at Heart by Barry Gifford

The Dinner by Herman Koch

Church of Marvels by Leslie Parry

The Girls by Emma Cline

At Night We Walk in Circles by Daniel Alarcón

The MaddAddam Trilogy by Margaret Atwood

The Conformist by Alberto Moravia

High Rise by J.G. Ballard

Generation Loss by Elizabeth Hand

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Are there books that you wish were here? 

A * indicates that I read the book.  Which ones have you read?

Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley

*An Unsuitable Job for a Woman by P.D. James

Six Four by Hideo Yokoyama

First to Die by James Patterson

*Report for Murder by Val McDermid

Assumption by Percival Everett

American Tabloid by James Ellroy

Last Days by Brian Evenson

Dare Me by Megan Abbott

Pop.1280 by Jim Thompson

The Caveman’s Valentine by George Dawes Green

Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith

Nineteen Seventy-four by David Peace

Drive by James Sallis

The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

The Martian by Andy Weir

Rant by Chuck Palahniuk

The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike

Pattern of Recognition by William Gibson

The Eight by Katherine Neville

The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert L. Stevenson

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

It by Stephen King

This is the perfect gift book for riders and those who love horses. Some of you out there may well want to make this book a gift to yourself.   Many disciplines including dressage, show jumping, polo, carriage driving, eventing, and others are described in this lush book.  The importance of the bond between horse and rider is emphasized with the author describing horses as animals who are eager to please.  The reader can dip in and out of the book, reading about the horse encounters they most love or they can learn about new disciplines and sports.  The photographs throughout are stunning.  Highly recommended for horse folk! Many thanks to NetGalley and Quarto for this one.

The Lord Peter Wimsey series is one of the glories of the golden age of mystery writing.  While this is not my favorite of the series, it is still worth a read.  This one follows Harriet Vane, an important character in the series.

I think that I may have already blogged on this one.  It is good women’s fiction, light and entertaining.

*Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John LeCarre

*The Hounds of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle

The Expendable Man by Dorothy B. Hughes

*And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

The Night of the Hunter by Davis Grubb

Double Indemnity by James M. Cain

A Rage in Harlem by Chester Himes

Fatale by Jean-Patrick Manchette

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson

*The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown

The Other Lady Vanishes by Amanda Quick

Orient Express by Graham Greene

Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett

Y is for Yesterday by Sue Grafton

The Secret History of Las Vegas by Chris Abani

He Died With His Eyes Open by Derek Raymond

Killing Floor by Lee Child

The Alienist by Caleb Carr

The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy

Out by Natsuo Kirino

Tell No One By Harlan Coban

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Zafan

The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John LeCarre

206 Bones by Kathy Reichs

Okay, so this is the first 50 or so.  If people out there are interested, I will type out the rest so let me know.

Here are the books that were chosen by Signature: I am starring the ones that I have read.  Which have you read?  Which do you recommend?

Those Bones Are Not My Child by Toni Cade Bambara

The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells

*The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammet

*Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

The Talented Mr. Ripley/Ripley Under Ground/Ripley’s Game by Patricia Highsmith

*In the Woods by Tana French

The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John le Carre

Double Indemnity by James M. Cain

The Shining by Stephen King

A Time to Kill by John Grisham

The Annotated Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

Enduring Love by Scott Spencer

The Widow by Fiona Barton

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey

The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris

Strangers by Dean Koontz

Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith

Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

*Before I Go to Sleep by S. J. Watson

Dead Letters by Cait Dolan-Leach

Payment in Blood was the second in the Inspector Lynley series, following A Great Deliverance.   I read this the year it came out, which I think was in the late 80s.  This is a  traditional mystery and one that I enjoyed very much.  The reader gets to know Lynley and his Sergeant Barbara Havers, along with Helen, all of whom are characters with recurring roles in the series.  I highly recommend this one.  I have thought about re-reading it for years.

From Library Journal

This is a charming and delightful book!  The illustrations are adorable and the rhyming text makes for a perfect read-aloud.  This is also a counting book which offers even more fun to young listeners.  There are children, a dog, adventures and a cold, snowy day.  Perfect!  Highly recommended!

On Sale Today for $1.99 for the e-book version.

At first, I had avoided reading this book because of a huge spoiler that deterred me.  I am so glad that I eventually decided to change my mind.  The Frank is Frank Lloyd Wright, the renowned architect.  Think Falling Water among other places.

This historical novel takes place when FLW was a young man.  It tells the story of his first and second marriages in an involving and engaging way.  You might not always like Frank Lloyd Wright when you read this novel but I think that you will find him to be intriguing.  I very much enjoyed getting to know Mamah Borthwick Chaney, a Chicago society matron.  I will let you learn who she was for yourself.  Spoiler alert…The story has some very real tragedy but is well worth the read.

Highly recommended. 5 ***** out of 5.

A Blurb:
“It takes great courage to write a novel about historical people, and in particular to give voice to someone as mythic as Frank Lloyd Wright. This beautifully written novel about Mamah Cheney and Frank Lloyd Wright’s love affair is vivid and intelligent, unsentimental and compassionate.”
——Jane Hamilton

Uneasy Lies the Crown follows last year’s excellent, A Death in St. Petersburg.  This time, Lady Emily and Colin are trying to keep the (very) new king safe from possible threats.  There have been several murders with each corpse dressed as an historical king.  Is this meant as a direct threat to Bertie or is there something else going on?

In tandem with this plot is a story set in the 1400s.  This is the tale of a brave knight who fights for his king and his relationship with his wife.  This earlier historical tale is connected with Colin’s ancestors.

This book will be welcomed by those who read each book by Tasha Alexander as it comes out.  That having been said, I thought that last year’s entry was stronger.  I look forward to seeing what comes next. Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur books.

#UneasyLiesTheCrown #NetGalley