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Reply To: Major reading slump

Tammy Wasserman — Sat, 06 Jan 2024 22:22:27 +0000

I really enjoyed Killers of a Certain Age.
A group of 4 women assassins (who worked for a clandestine agency ridding the world of terrible people for 40 yrs) decides to retire. But they find themselves targets and need to find out why. It was a much deeper and complicated plot than I expected!

Reply To: Major reading slump

Jan — Sun, 26 Nov 2023 20:51:09 +0000

The Echo of Old Books, The Lost Manuscript, The Thursday Murder Club, Broken Girls, The Book of Cold Cases, The Last Tale of the Flower Bride, What’s Done in Darkness, Carmilla, The Lost Melody, When We Were Bright and Beautiful and Darling Girl.

Several are Christian (The Lost Manuscript, The Lost Melody) or at least have some Christian leanings. Carmilla is the first vampirism tale and precedes Dracula. There is a sapphic element to it as well, but does read like an OG fairy tale. Darling Girl is a Peter Pan retelling and I found it quite captivating. Broken Girls and The Book of Cold Cases both have supernatural elements in them and are written by the same author. What’s Done in the Dark and When We Were Bright and Beautiful are both family secrets and past trauma. Both have significant trigger warnings in case the subject matter is problematic. The Echo of Lost Books and The Thursday Murder Club are both cozy mysteries, The Thursday Murder Club is a cozy murder mystery.

Darling Girl, Broken Girls and When We Were Bright and Beautiful were instrumental in breaking my own reading slump.

On a side note, the audiobook for Remarkably Bright Creatures is narrated by a very lovely, charming pair of individuals. I fell in love with the characters and story in part because of the male narrator.

Good luck and happy reading.

Reply To: Major reading slump

Heather Wescott — Thu, 27 Jul 2023 19:49:56 +0000

I know someone mentioned Tana French above and I’d second that recommendation – I really loved her Dublin Murder Squad series (you don’t have to read them in order). I would also recommend William Kent Krueger’s Cork O’Connor series (the first one is Iron Lake) – I’ve read all of them and really enjoy them. His standalone books are wonderful too, but they’re not murder mysteries so might not be what you’re looking for right now. I have been enjoying Louise Penny’s Armand Gamache series (up to book 8 right now). I also really liked Anthony Horowitz’s Magpie Murders (it kind of has a Knives Out feel, great homage to Agatha Christie style mysteries).

Reply To: Major reading slump

Karen Greenberg — Fri, 07 Jul 2023 12:33:31 +0000

I really enjoyed The Housemaid by Freida McFadden. It kept me reading way too late into the night. I think it is definitely a slump-buster.

Reply To: Major reading slump

Kris Ingra — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 18:13:23 +0000

The Witch Elm by Tanya French as well as her The Searcher. So well crafted. I thought Louise Penny was great until I read Tanya French.

Reply To: Major reading slump

Kate — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 16:08:59 +0000

I really like the Rizzoli and Isles series by Tess Gerritsen. When I need a break from heavier reads I tend to like murder mysteries (I know, it seems a little strange to consider that a “light read”). Also, when I was kind of struggling to get going with reading again a few years ago I found this series and read every book within a few months. Hope you find something!

Reply To: Major reading slump

Patty Carroll — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 16:05:51 +0000

I just finished The Nothing Man by Catherine Ryan Howard. It was an original approach to the crime/thriller genre that I really enjoyed. I there are two perspectives. The first is that of the Nothing Man himself, a serial rapist/killer. The second is the sole survivor of his final attack, who tells her story in a book she has written about him. We get her POV as he reads her book! It’s cool! The reader is put right between the protagonist and the antagonist! And the predator becomes the prey!

Reply To: Hiking memoirs

Shelli Truax — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 06:11:55 +0000

Walking to Listen by Andrew Forsthoefel

Reply To: 2023 Summer Thrillers

Tami Hinshaw — Sat, 01 Jul 2023 16:55:51 +0000

I read “Carolina Moonset by Matt Goldman. It was a good mystery, as well as a sweet novel.

Reply To: Major reading slump

Tami Hinshaw — Sat, 01 Jul 2023 16:54:08 +0000

If you like Stephen King, and haven’t read it, try “The Green Mile”. Not as long as many of his books, was originally published as a 6 part serial novel. Also, there is an excellent movie. It may not be a thriller, but is amazing. One of my favorite Stephen King books.