This Month's Selection: Our Lady of Immaculate Deception by Nancy Martin

Mystery Readers Book Club

Wed., June 24, 2 p.m.

Our Lady of Immaculate Deception

by Nancy Martin

Big truck, big dog, big hair. Bad attitude.

Roxy Abruzzo, bestseller Nancy Martin’s latest creation, is a loud-mouthed, sexy, independent-minded niece of a Pittsburgh Mafia boss trying to go (mostly) straight. She’d like to stay completely out of her uncle Carmine’s shady business dealings, though he's trying to reel her in. She'd like to concentrate on the architectural salvage business she runs mostly on the up and up for a tidy profit. She'd like to keep her rebellious teenage daughter on the straight and narrow. But Roxy knows where all the good intentions in the world usually lead, and when she can’t help herself from tucking away an ancient Greek statue that's not really hers, she pays for it by getting caught up in the chaos surrounding the sordid murder of the statue’s former owner, heir to a billion-dollar Pittsburgh steel fortune.

Of course, she has plenty of help getting in and out of trouble, including her sidekick “Nooch” Santonucci, too dumb to say no to whatever Roxy wants to do and strong enough to do it; her widowed aunt Loretta, a lawyer whose big hair and short skirts are as big a help to her in court as her brains; and Patrick Flynn, ex-marine, professional chef, and former high school flame, fresh from Afghanistan to torture Roxy, just like old times.

Please comment here or on the discussion post after our meeting if you'd like to be part of our virtual group. We'd love to hear your thoughts on this book by very popular author Nancy Martin! It's a fun one to end our first year of our Mystery Readers Book Club, where we've been reading first books in series.

What We Thought: Rogue Island by Bruce DeSilva

Mystery Reader

May 2015

Rogue Island

by Bruce DeSilva

The mean streets of the Mount Hope section of Providence, Rhode Island evoke a strong sense of place. Readers easily visualized the apartments and businesses of the area. The description of the fires and deadly results of the arsonist deeds affected our readers. Book club members like a good mystery and gritty characters but draw the line on the murder of children and attacks on fire fighters. 

Liam Mulligan, investigative reporter, uses his sarcasm and dark view of everything to write stories that accurately represent his neighborhood and the politics of it along with a criminal element that invades Rhode Island society. Sometimes Mulligan must cross the line to save his friends and keep himself out of trouble. He usually succeeds but there are exceptions.

Although the story is compelling with danger around every corner, readers appreciated the lighter touches of the editor’s insistence on a dog story which turned out to be just as lame as Mulligan had said. Most of the female characters were likeable in their own quirky ways, but everyone had it in for Dorcas, the not yet divorced ex-wife. The nicknames Mulligan gave everyone helped readers keep track of the characters, “Thanks-Dad”.

All agreed that the book ended abruptly and left some loose ends that needed tidying. Perhaps relationships will be dealt with in DeSilva’s second book, Cliff Walk. Readers were surprised that drinking was more emphasized than smoking considering the newspaper culture of hard drinking and hard living. The group ended the discussion with an endorsement of the positive side of Rhode Island and its cultural advantages.

This Month's Selection: Rogue Island by Bruce DeSilva

Mystery Readers

 

Rogue Island

 

by Bruce DeSilva

 

Wednesday, May 20, 2 p.m.

 

Edgar Award Finalist for Best First Novel

 

Liam Mulligan is as old school as a newspaper man gets. His beat is Providence, Rhode Island, and he knows every street and alley.

He knows the priests and prostitutes, the cops and street thugs. He knows the mobsters and the politicians—who are pretty much one and the same.

Someone is systematically burning down the neighborhood Mulligan grew up in; people he knows and loves are perishing in the flames, and the public is on the verge of panic. With the whole city of Providence on his back, Mulligan must weed through a wildly colorful array of characters to find the truth.

What We Thought: Dog on It by Spencer Quinn

Mystery Readers

Wed., April 22

 

Dog On It

by Spencer Quinn

Dog on It is a humorous mystery told entirely from the point of view of Chet the Jet, canine partner of human P.I. Bernie, owner of the Little Detective Agency.

Readers laughed throughout their discussion of the book and agreed that it was a delightful change of pace from the darker mysteries preceding it in our book club. Everyone was all smiles talking about their favorite part of the book. Everyone had a different story to tell and all were equally funny. Readers appreciated the doggy details and agreed that the story was true to Chet’s nature. They noted Chet characteristically losing his attention during the pursuit of his investigations. He did eventually get back on track although it sometimes took a circuitous route to get there. Chet’s good judge of character saved him from some dangerous characters and bad situations. His point of view provided interest to the story when Bernie missed some of the action.

This was a difficult book to discuss because it is a light mystery, but readers did a great job talking about the characters and their influence in the story. They didn’t leave out Chet’s animal buddies and neighbors. All were particularly interested in the mysterious she-bark of the canyon, whom Chet may have an adventure with at the conclusion of the book.

Chet is just a regular dog (who has his own Facebook page and his own blog and thinks he is a superhero). Bernie thinks he is the perfect partner.

“The cat saw me at once, of course, and every hair on his body stood straight up, and he made a sound like a mountain lion’s roar but much tinier. That’s all cats are -- midget lions. I’m nobody’s midget, baby.”  Chet the Jet.

The books in the Chet and Bernie series so far:

1. Dog on It

2. Thereby Hangs a Tail

3. To Fetch a Thief

4. The Dog Who Knew Too Much

5. A Fistful of Collars

6. The Sound and the Furry

7. Paw and Order

8. Scents and Sensibility (coming July 14)

This Month's Selection: Dog On It by Spencer Quinn

Mystery Readers

Wed., April 22, 2 p.m.

Dog On It

by Spencer Quinn

The first book of the New York Times-bestselling Chet and Bernie mystery series, an “enchanting one-of-a-kind novel” (Stephen King) that is “nothing short of masterful” (Los Angeles Times)

Chet, the wise and lovable canine narrator of Dog on It, and Bernie, a down-on-his-luck private investigator, are quick to take a new case involving a frantic mother searching for her teenage daughter. This well-behaved and gifted student may or may not have been kidnapped, but she has definitely gotten mixed up with some very unsavory characters. With Chet’s highly trained nose leading the way, their hunt for clues takes them into the desert to biker bars and other exotic locales—until the bad guys try to turn the tables and the resourceful duo lands in the paws of peril. Spencer Quinn’s irresistible mystery kicks off a delightful new series that will have readers panting for more.

What We Thought: Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo

Mystery Readers

Tuesday, March 18, 1 p.m.

Sworn to Silence

by Linda Castillo

Sworn to Silence is a fast-paced thriller with detailed descriptions of life among the Amish and English residents in rural Ohio.  Readers agreed that the book kept their interest and was a page turner. The characters and incidents in characters’ past that motivated their present situations were believable.

A few experienced mystery genre readers solved the identity of the serial killer early on. Most readers were waylaid by the author’s red herrings. But all were satisfied with the story despite the graphic and disturbing nature of the crimes.

The character of Kate, the Chief of Police, and how she went about her job were very interesting. She was well liked and respected by her police force which included Mona Kurtz, third-shift dispatcher by choice, and officers Pickles and Glock. Kate’s story about her experience of a terrible crime a young girl and the aftermath touched everyone. Readers wondered about Kate and whether there would have been a different resolution if she had not been raised in the Amish religion.

Agent John Tomasetti from the Ohio Board of Criminal Identification and Investigation was not portrayed sympathetically at first, but as his story was revealed readers began to understand him and his relationship with Kate.  When the identity of the psychopathic serial killer was revealed, the story came to a satisfying conclusion.

This book prompted a lot of discussion about the subject of blaming women victims for their crime. Members were passionate when they spoke about how real crimes were reported by the news media. The snowy and cold setting perfectly reflected our February and early March Massachusetts weather, which added extra chills for Holmes Mystery Book Club readers.

Sworn to Silence was a favorite among all the books the club has read this year! Have you read it? Please add your voice to the discussion in the comments! We'd love to hear your thoughts!

This Month's Selection: Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo

Mystery Readers

Tuesday, March 18, 1 p.m.

Sworn to Silence

by Linda Castillo

Sworn to Silence is the first book in Linda Castillo’s New York Times-bestselling Kate Burkholder series.

Some secrets are too terrible to reveal. Some crimes are too unspeakable to solve. . . .

In Painters Mill, Ohio, the Amish and “English” residents have lived side by side for two centuries. But sixteen years ago, a series of brutal murders shattered the peaceful farming community. A young Amish girl named Kate Burkholder survived the terror of the Slaughterhouse Killer . . . but ultimately decided to leave her community.

A wealth of experience later, Kate has been asked to return to Painters Mill as chief of police. Her Amish roots and big-city law enforcement background make her the perfect candidate. She’s certain she’s come to terms with her past—until the first body is discovered in a snowy field.

Have you read Sworn to Silence? If so, please share your thoughts in the comments! If not, why not pick up a copy and read it along with us and share your thoughts in the discussion post after the face-to-face meeting????

We'd love to hear from you!