J. D. Robb is the pen name of Nora Roberts. I'm in the middle of the third book, Immortal in Death, right now. These suspenseful murder mysteries have future tech and transportation, robots, and off-planet locations. The characters are developed well, and there are dollops of steamy romance scattered throughout. The series started out as a trilogy, but evidently fans demanded much more. I'm enjoying them very much so far.

Edit: That 17th century utopian story is very interesting, Lex.

hagatha - you might have solved a problem for me. Read a series of books a few years back about (2?) Glasgow gangs and a private eye, but forgot who the author was. Was one of the gangland heavies called Twinkletoes?

Rog

Rog, I think you might enjoy the Skelf family series by Doug Johnstone (which I have mentioned previously) if you haven't already tried those - plenty of macabre humour involved https://www.goodreads.com/series/279716-the-skelfs

Best read in order, with the fifth instalment out the day after tomorrow.

I just read A Death at the Party by Amy Stuart, an author I hadn't read before. The author pulls the reader in by revealing the death right away, and then goes to the more mundane arrangements of preparing for the party. It seems a bit slow, until it isn't. The twists are very good.

I just finished "Guilt" so all the talk about J D Robb will have me starting "Celebrity in Death" tomorrow. I believe it is #34 in the series.

I finished Robb's 5th Eve Dallas book, Ceremony in Death, which was a bit gruesome in parts but still a good mystery. Then I decided to dig into other books in my "read me" pile.

In Still Life by Val McDermid, the latest in her Karen Pirie series, the detective deals with a cold case concerning a skeleton found in a garaged vehicle by a woman who was clearing out her dead sister's home, and another warmer case of a dead body caught in a fisherman's net. Aside from some Scots terminology that I didn't recognize, I've enjoyed this series very much.

I also read the 30th anniversary edition of Myst: The Book of Atrus by Rand & Robyn Miller with David Wingrove. I have the original book, which I read years ago, but there are supposed to be some changes made to the newer edition. Since I had forgotten much about the story, I didn't recognize any specific changes, but I plan to compare sections that weren't familiar at all.

Right now I have my nose in Owen King's The Curator. I wasn't sure what to expect but am liking it so far. Against the backdrop of a city whose underclass just ousted the rulers, it's a personal story of a woman - an ex-maid - who becomes curator of one of the city's museums. She seems to have secrets that are just barely hinted at so far. I'm curious to see where it all leads.

Am working my way through the Silo trilogy on the strength of the tv series. Am about half way through (according to kindle) and am certainly enjoying it.
I confess to not knowing of it or a thing about it prior to its tv debut, despite the short story that started it being written in 2011.

Something else heart warming from Doug Johnstone I have just enjoyed reading, sort of ET meets Childhood's End in Scotland with an interesting cast of character and quite a bit of tongue in cheek (take note Rog)! https://jenmedsbookreviews.com/2023/03/15/the-space-between-us-by-doug-johnstone/

I just ordered the Doug Johnstone book you mentioned above, Lex, and a couple of his Skelf family books as well. He is a new author for me.

Stephen King's Holly was a good read, and then I spent some wonderful time reading The Callahan Chronicles, which contains Robinson's first 3 books in the Callahan's Crosstime Saloon series. I had read and loved the first one separately already, and the next 2 didn't disappoint. I have several more to read, but I'm rationing them because I don't want them to end.

I also had great fun reading Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer. The characters made me laugh, especially the heroine and the villian, and there's a dragon and magic and a not-so-good king. The only problem is that it's set up for a sequel. (Have I mentioned how much I hate cliff hangers?) Let's hope this book sells well! I want the story to continue asap, please!

I just started Burn Box by Bobby Adair. I've read all his zombie apocalypse books and loved them. This one is an apocalypse book, but the end of humanity is being caused by rogue actors using open source CRISPR code to mutate disease genes. Some are no more than some teenager with zits in a basement. It is kind of tying in with all the new concerns about AI right now. Pretty fascinating so far. The CRISPR acronym stands for a technology that research scientists use to selectively modify the DNA of living organisms. Among other things, it is being used successfully in some cancer research. This book is about how it can all go wrong in the wrong hands.

I finished my long Victorian novel of East Lynne and am now reading The Dead Secret by Wilkie Collins. Collins was a friend of Dickens and his most famous works are The Moonstone and The Woman in White, both of which I have already read, and The Woman in White I have read twice so far - both are very engrossing mysteries. I am enjoying the Dead Secret.

I'm reading The Tide Between us by Olive Collins. One of those I can't put down. From the Amazon description...

Inspired by the real story of 2,000 Irish children deported to Jamaica and the statistics that 25% of Jamaican citizens claim Irish ancestry. The Tide Between Us is a powerful novel documenting true historical events and the resilience of the human spirit. 1821: Among the thousands of Irish deportees to the Caribbean British Colonies is a 10 year old Irish boy, Art O’Neill. As an Indentured Servant on a sugar plantation in Jamaica, Art gradually acclimatises to the exotic country and the unfamiliar customs of the African slaves.When the new heirs to the plantation arrive from Ireland they resurrect the ghosts of brutal injustices against Art. He bides his time and hides his abhorrence from his new master by channelling his energy into his work. During those years he prospers, he acquires land, he sees his coloured children freed after emancipation as he takes us on a multi-generational historical saga. Eventually Art is promised seven gold coins for seven decades of service. He doubts his master will part with the coins. The morning Art sets out to claim his gratuity, he ignores his sense of foreboding that he may not return home alive. Ireland 1991: One hundred years later a skeleton is discovered beneath a fallen tree on the grounds of Lugdale Estate. By its side is a gold coin minted in 1870. Yseult, the owner of the estate, watches as events unfold, fearful of the long-buried truths that may emerge about her family’s past and its links to the slave trade.

Marian, I love Wilkie Collins. I've read a few of his books. My first exposure to Collins was the Classics Comics version of The Moonstone.

I'm reading The First Law Trilogy (Joe Abernathy) right now. Excellent series.

Hagatha, great to find another appreciative reader of Wilkie Collins. I am interested in all the novels that he wrote. The Dead Secret will be #5 for me.

I finished the Silo trilogy and while it was probably longer than it needed to be I enjoyed it through to the end. It will be interesting to see how the tv series moves it forward.
Have read some things in between (the two Teixcalaan novels by Arkady Martine stand out) but am currently re-reading Perdido Street Station by China Mieville. It was his first novel, and I read it when it first came out more than 20 years ago, and remember it as stuffed with enough ideas for numerous novels. I liked it a lot, and bought a hardback copy as a result, and it has sat on the shelf ever since.
I have always wondered how I would feel if I re-read novels I consider to be favourites, especially when there has been a lot of time in between. I have decided to find out

Flotsam, it is an interesting experience to reread a book many years later, as I find that in the intervening period of time I have changed, and thus what I get out of it often changes as well. Someone once said that Hamlet read at 20 years of age is one play, read at 40 years of age is another, and that at 60 years of age, yet another.

I love to reread favorites. About two-thirds of the books I read this past year were new to me and one-third were rereads.

I often re-read books. I've noticed that the older Sci-fi doesn't hold up for me, necessarily. The Riverworld series was a fave back in the day but on re-reading it a few years ago I found it insufferable and badly written. On the other hand, Theodore Sturgeon's stories are mostly just as good as they were 50 years ago.

I'll re-read anything by Ian Banks or Ian M. Banks. I've re-read the Robin Hobb Farseer books at least three times.

I think that was what I was most worried about Marian. I certainly am not the same person I was 20 years ago, so how will that impact how I relate to the novel? I am both keen and not-keen to find out
And thanks for the heads-up hagatha. I really liked the first Riverworld (not so much the others) so won't re-read that.

Last night I finished the 3rd. book in the D.I. James Walker series called "Winter Killer" by Alex Pine, it was just as good as the first two, then my Kindle notified me of a new download. I pre-ordered the book months ago which was due today, so I was wondering why it was already downloaded, then I looked at my clock on my night stand & it was one A.M. oh, it is tomorrow LOL. The book is by Patricia Gibney & she's an Irish author. The books are the D.I. Lottie Parker series, the newest is called Altar Girls & is the 13th. book in the series. I couldn't help myself, I finished 5 chapters before forcing myself to put the kindle down & go to sleep a little after 2 a.m. It is quite a page turner.

Judith, I understand not being able to stop reading until the wee hours. Yesterday afternoon I made the mistake of starting Doug Johnstone's first Skelf mystery, A Dark Matter, and it grabbed me and wouldn't let go until I finished it at 4:15 AM this morning. It has interesting characters and tons of plot twists that kept me wanting just one more chapter. I can't wait to start his next book in the series, The Big Chill.

The Tide Between Us about the Irish slaves in Jamaica was like that. The chapters were fairly short and it was... just one more, just one more until it was 1 am!

LadyK glad to see someone else grabbed by Doug Johnstone.

I have downloaded the kindle sample of the Olive Collins book and I see that I already have the first Alex Pine DI Walker mystery although I have yet to read it...

Ian Rankin is always known as the author of the Rebus series which have never hooked me, but I am greatly enjoying a standalone thriller by him, Witch Hunt.

Also stumbled across a new and interesting thriller writer Will Dean through what I think may be one of his earlier books First Born - very twisty!

I have about 50 pages left in the 3rd Skelf novel, The Great Silence, which I should finish it tonight. I'm rooting for those women to finally find some peace in their lives. They deserve it! After this one, I have The Space Between Us lined up. I'm anxious to see how Johnstone does with a sci-fi theme.

The Drop by Dennis Lehane.

I will give that a try oldbroad: I thought it was a film title based on a Dennis Lehane short story called Animal Rescue, which is available free online
https://www.e-reading.life/chapter.php/127154/5/dennis-lehane-boston-noir.html