You're right hagatha, it was very gruesome. This time I decided to go with something a little easier to read, "One last breath" by Lisa Jackson. So far it's not too bad.

Frozen Ground is on our watch list, but reviews of the book put me off although we have no problem with gruesome violence and gore (and recently enjoyed The Bundy Tapes on Netflix). On the whole we prefer reading fictional accounts and watching some of the better true stories (which may or may not say something about twisted psyche on our part...)

However, elsewhere in the spectrum, I have just started The Beekeeper's Apprentice recommended by copper earlier on this thread (the first of a series in which a young girl meets a retired Sherlock Holmes, and each recognises a comparable spirit and intellect): charming and most enjoyable!

Lex, that is a fun series. I'm reading the most recent release in that series, Castle Shade. Enjoy

Just discovered this thread and did not read all the comments, but I am wondering, does anyone read non-fiction? That is what I read, mostly. I just finished reading, "The Road to Oxiana" by Robert Byron, all about his harrowing 11-month exploration of Central Asia: Iran (then still called Persia), Afghanistan, Turkey and Iraq. Amazing adventures, narrow escapes, intriguing cultural contact, history, archaeology. Prior to that, I read "Desert Queen," by Janet Wallach, about the life of Gertrude Bell of England. She broke away from the Victorian Era constraints on women, taught herself Arabic and went off exploring alone in Egypt, Arabia and the surrounding regions. She was respected by those Arab cultures because she learned their language and customs. She became an ally of T. E. Lawrence during the war and served on the panel that set the boundaries for all the central Asian countries after WWII ended.

I also like reading about science of any kind, astronomy, history, archaeology, physics, the animal kingdom, etc. I love Richard Dawkins' and Jared Diamonds' work, as well as Brian Greene and anything by Harold Bloom.

I don't read a lot of fiction, but do enjoy some of the English and Swedish writers of mystery/police drama. I enjoy the Vera novels based in Scotland. I like the Elly Griffiths novels set in England that feature a strong woman character, but Griffith's novels are highly predictable. I like the writer Peter Robinson, whose oeuvre is huge.

Hello Reenie, and welcome to the thread! Most of the books mentioned in posts so far are fiction, but I have recently mentioned Horatio Clare, an interesting travel writer with a twist, and I have just embarked on Colin Thubron, another excellent travel writer who has just published the River Amur, and I see also wrote a foreword to the Penguin Classic edition of the Road to Oxiana (which is now on my list, so thank you for that suggestion).

As you say Peter Robinson is prolific as well as enjoyable.

There were a couple of writers of crime thrillers which I mentioned in an earlier post and which may be of interest to you, so I repeat below an extract from that:

I have also found some quite interesting new British writers of detective fiction, in particular M W Craven writing about Washington Poe set mainly in the Lake District and Damien Boyd with D I Dixon in Somerset, also a couple of books by Allan Martin about Angus Blue set in Islay and Jura (with natural digressions into local history and of course the distilleries).

Thanks, Lex. I have made a note of your suggestions. I also read some of the previous comments on books and see there are plenty of Inspector Gamache fans. I loved that series and read them all. I am fond of a good detecting novel without the gimmicks and unrealistic events so often used to compensate for a weak story. Elizabeth George's books, with Inspector Lynley, are complex and psychologically sound, for example. The only thing I won't read is horror (brutality, abuse or stories with psycho/torturers) as the prime driver of the story.

Reenie, Desert Queen is "on my list" as it sounds like something I'd enjoy

Courtesy of the marketing efforts of Amazon I have just stumbled upon something new and probably ideal for gamers, Rabbits (play the game if you dare) by Terry Miles: the kindle free sample really hooked me and made me think of the sort of mental contortions needed for some of the books by Blake Crouch or Adrian Tchaikovsky...

https://unseenlibrary.com/2021/06/15/quick-review-rabbits-by-terry-miles/
https://geekdad.com/2021/06/rabbits-by-terry-miles-a-book-review/
https://thoroughlymodernreviewer.com/2021/06/08/rabbits-terry-miles-review/

Rabbits sounds like something I might like, Lex, but I woud probably miss many of the references, especially to newer movies. I may give it a try anyway.

Reenie,
I read Desert Queen a while ago. Gertrude Bell was a neat lady. I also saw the excellent play A Museum in Bagdad performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company in Jan. of 2020. This is a description from the RSC website:
"In 1926, the nation of Iraq is in its infancy, and British archaeologist Gertrude Bell is founding a museum in Baghdad. In 2006, Ghalia Hussein is attempting to reopen the museum after looting during the war.
Decades apart, these two women share the same goals: to create a fresh sense of unity and nationhood, to make the world anew through the museum and its treasures. But in such unstable times, questions remain. Who is the museum for? Whose culture are we preserving? And why does it matter when people are dying?"

I read about one non-fiction book for every 8 or 9 fiction ones. In my to-read pile right now are World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Diagnosis: Solving the Most Baffling Medical Mysteries by Lisa Sanders, and 'Tis by Frank McCourt. I also read quite a few periodicals and especially enjoy Archaeology, Scientific American, Science News, and Lapham's Quarterly.

Right now I'm reading the Detective's Daughter mystery series by Lesley Thomson. Her main character is Stella Darnell, the owner of a successful cleaning business, who starts out solving cases that her father didn't manage to finish before he died. Thomson's strength is in her character development, which makes for some slow spots at times. However, I just finished The House with No Rooms, which has some real nail-biting moments, and I like the characters very much as the author reveals more about them in each book.

Reenie, one of the standout non-fiction books I've read is The Secret Voyage of Sir Francis Drake, by Samuel Bawlf. It posits, with lots of evidence, that Drake actually traveled all the way up up the West coast of North America on a Secret mission for the Queen.

Very much worth a read.

Finished The Hail Mary Project - great fun SF - now trying Offspring by Jack Ketchum for some gory horror!

Next up will probably be Andrew Mayne: I had previously read and enjoyed The Naturalist but he has written a couple of sequels and a couple of other short series which all look promising - all about offbeat investigators.

Right now I'm in the middle of "Robert Galbraith's" fourth novel in the Cormoran Strike series. The plots move slowly, but JK sure can turn a phrase, and I fid the series very entertaining.

I thought the TV show Strike based on the books was very very good, but to be honest I have not read the books.

It would be nice to have someones opinion, who has read the books and seen the show, to see which was better?

For what it's worth, on the whole I thought that the books were preferable, although I have not read the latest one.

World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil is a lovely book. It's bits and pieces of stories of her family interwoven with the natural world and animal behavior. She has a wonderful way with words. It's not a long book but a very satisfying one.

LadyK that book sounds lovely: I have just read the free kindle sample but it have then ordered it in hardback.

Thanks for the recommendation!

You're welcome, Lex. I hope you enjoy it.

Just finished Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk and thoroughly enjoyed it.
It isn't nearly as grim as the title might suggest. It has an off-beat noir tone and some unusual characters.

I am glad to hear an opinion about this series of Rowling's. I wondered what the books are like.

That book title certainly gets my attention, flotsam. Good to know about it.

It did me too Marian which is what piqued my initial interest.
The main character is a fan of William Blake, which is where the title comes from.

Marian, as I said, the books are very slow-moving, but well written -- all of that initial criticism about JK Rowling's writing abilities back in the 00's now seems like sour grapes, in retrospect -- and the two main characters are compelling. I'm thoroughly enjoying them.

William Blake, eh? Very interesting.

And I will have to give the Cormoran Strike series a try.

Now on the second of Andrew Mayne's Jessica Blackwood tales - great fun if a bit too daft in places: a former magician brings her skills to her work as an FBI investigator... and is the supernatural somehow involved...?

Lex, that sounds like it might be a lot of fun!

I have just been introduced by Amazon's marketing machine to Claire North, and in particular The End of the Day which seems to be a bit of a modern day take on Terry Pratchett characters such as Death and his apprentice (but none the worse for that) and Notes From The Burning Age, a potentially interesting science fiction/fantasy tale.

So far I have only read the Kindle samples, which tempt me towards a purchase: has anyone else here read these, and if so what did you think of them?