Blogathon 2010: Last Hurrah
Aug. 1st, 2010 05:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
First of all, I wanted to thank my sponsors - y'all gave over $125 dollars to the Nature Conservancy, which is three times what I raised last year. Thank you!
Second of all, a few last mysteries for your interest, amusement, or mockery:
QUAKER SILENCE by Irene Allen. Murder among modern-day Boston Quakers. Very obviously a first-book-ever-written, with all the flaws that implies.
THE CROSSING PLACE by Elly Griffiths. Kidnapping and murder on an English Saltmarsh. More interested in messy personal relationships than it really is in the mystery. Worse, heroine goes from 'no kids, any kids would be a cat replacement' to 'YAY I'M PREGNANT YAY MOTHERHOOD' with insufficient inbetweening, just a Sudden Realization at the climax of the book. Bah.
THE COLD LIGHT OF MOURNING, by Elizabeth J. Duncan. Murder in a small Welsh village. Despite the writer's best attempts at a red herring, I picked out the murderer immediately, which rather killed the fun of it.
THE BERYLLIUM MURDER, by Camille Minichino. Murder in a Berkeley physics lab. Detective is a retired physicist, so props for that, and it's not badly written. Just didn't ring my chimes.
HELEN HATH NO FURY, by Gillian Roberts. Murder in a Philadelphia book club. Likewise good of its kind, but for some reason didn't resonate with me.
VILLAGE AFFAIRS, by Cassandra Chan. Murder in the English Cotswolds. Wants very badly to be next Peter Wimsey, but fails due to acute lack of understanding of what makes Wimsey attractive.
IN DUBLIN'S FAIR CITY, by Rhys Bowen. Murder on an ocean liner, en route from New York to Dublin. All books set primarily in early 20th century Ireland must have, as their major plot, Irish rebels fighting the bad nasty British. This is apparently a law.
HOUNDED TO DEATH, by Laurie Berenson. Murder at a symposium for dog show judges (at a resort in the Poconos, no less). Very good.
FILM STRIP, by Nancy Bartholomew. Murder at a strip club. And the detective is a stripper herself. Leans toward the PI/'mean streets'/mafia subplot sort of tone.
MARK OF THE LION, by Susan Arruda. "In 1919, when most woman only dream of adventure, Jade del Cameron lives it." Murder in Nairobi. Surprisingly enjoyable and non-Mary-Sue-ish, although I'm not sure about its attitude toward colonialism and associated issues.
Still little if any brain capacity, despite sleeping half the day. Am holding out from going back to bed until a slightly more reasonable hour, though, or I'll be waking up at 3 AM with my sleep schedule utterly wonked. Wheeeee.
Second of all, a few last mysteries for your interest, amusement, or mockery:
QUAKER SILENCE by Irene Allen. Murder among modern-day Boston Quakers. Very obviously a first-book-ever-written, with all the flaws that implies.
THE CROSSING PLACE by Elly Griffiths. Kidnapping and murder on an English Saltmarsh. More interested in messy personal relationships than it really is in the mystery. Worse, heroine goes from 'no kids, any kids would be a cat replacement' to 'YAY I'M PREGNANT YAY MOTHERHOOD' with insufficient inbetweening, just a Sudden Realization at the climax of the book. Bah.
THE COLD LIGHT OF MOURNING, by Elizabeth J. Duncan. Murder in a small Welsh village. Despite the writer's best attempts at a red herring, I picked out the murderer immediately, which rather killed the fun of it.
THE BERYLLIUM MURDER, by Camille Minichino. Murder in a Berkeley physics lab. Detective is a retired physicist, so props for that, and it's not badly written. Just didn't ring my chimes.
HELEN HATH NO FURY, by Gillian Roberts. Murder in a Philadelphia book club. Likewise good of its kind, but for some reason didn't resonate with me.
VILLAGE AFFAIRS, by Cassandra Chan. Murder in the English Cotswolds. Wants very badly to be next Peter Wimsey, but fails due to acute lack of understanding of what makes Wimsey attractive.
IN DUBLIN'S FAIR CITY, by Rhys Bowen. Murder on an ocean liner, en route from New York to Dublin. All books set primarily in early 20th century Ireland must have, as their major plot, Irish rebels fighting the bad nasty British. This is apparently a law.
HOUNDED TO DEATH, by Laurie Berenson. Murder at a symposium for dog show judges (at a resort in the Poconos, no less). Very good.
FILM STRIP, by Nancy Bartholomew. Murder at a strip club. And the detective is a stripper herself. Leans toward the PI/'mean streets'/mafia subplot sort of tone.
MARK OF THE LION, by Susan Arruda. "In 1919, when most woman only dream of adventure, Jade del Cameron lives it." Murder in Nairobi. Surprisingly enjoyable and non-Mary-Sue-ish, although I'm not sure about its attitude toward colonialism and associated issues.
Still little if any brain capacity, despite sleeping half the day. Am holding out from going back to bed until a slightly more reasonable hour, though, or I'll be waking up at 3 AM with my sleep schedule utterly wonked. Wheeeee.