Book club favorite title 2012--

During an earlier book club session this year, I asked those present which book selection for the past year was their favorite.

I was curious which title stuck with them and decided it would be good to get a consensus of the best liked mystery novel.  I didn't know quite what to expect among the various books we read (and some prodding was needed to remember them all).


Mark de Castrique
(photo by blogger)

As I recall, I asked for written responses on paper slips and the runaway favorite--after some brief discussion--was Mark de Castrique's  The 13th Target.  It was his newest book, published earlier in the year.  The book follows  Russell Mullins, a former Secret agent now working bodyguard assignments for a private security company. His currently assigned client is found dead and he is convinced the matter deserves further investigation than the police's conclusion of a suicide.  Matters compound for Mullins with a murder and tracking a suspicious money trial from the Federal Reserve.

The book club also benefited from a visit from this local author who was the guest for the November book club session.  Those in attendance found him a pleasant, affable guest.

Book club discusses "These Dark Things"

 The book club's September selection was Jan Merete Weiss' Italian mystery These Dark Things.  The book cover says at the bottom under the title: introducing the Captain Natalia Monte series set in Naples.   

Jan Merete Weiss
(photo from Google) 

An ancient practice of praying over skeletons in the city's crypts,  performed by the Jesuits centuries ago, is still continued some parishioners today with the assistance of those faithful who go to wash  the bones of loved ones as an act of sanctification.  One such "bone washer" goes about this unique duty when she discovers a young woman in the crypts--a recent murder victim.  Enter Captain Monte and her partner Sergeant Pino Loriano into a case where the murder investigation and suspects range from the academic, the clerical and the local organized crime (or the "Camorra").  

And set in Naples, the book pulls back the cover to show an old world city that does not take too many steps away from its past.   

Comments about the novel included the following: 

• so many shires are located throughout the city
• one said the use of inserting Italian language and phrases broke up one's concentration to understand the story (if you didn't know the language) but another thought the book did a good job of sharing Italian language and translations 
• Natalia has an interesting set of dilemmas at the end of the book 
• the book's writing was choppy
• the book's title can have multiple meanings with the darkness of the hearts of  people involved in the story and even how the bones of skeleton turn dark after a period of time
• the book didn't grab the attention of one book club attendee
• a map of Naples would have helped the reader.

Getting it the crime novel right--

While reading books for the book club and having our book club discussions, I find myself either flipping to the back or the front of the book to check on the "Acknowledgements."  I'm curious how the writer gets to develop "the voice" for the novel to give an authentic sense of place or the right dialogue.  I guess you'd have to have the assistance or support of those who either work in the field or had worked in law enforcement--for mysteries in this case.  Of course, that is not the same in every case (listed in print, anyway) but I look for it.



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That might even become a discussion point during the book club sessions to see whom the author credits in acknowledgements.  Does it appear to be a back bone for what is in print or a deficient that more help is needed? 

As it goes, a number of us carefully watch television to follow crime on the news, serialized dramas and some news magazine shows.  Though it's not that these readers and TV watchers want to join law enforcement to live out the printed page or screen, there are questions about what crime investigation is actually like.  And enter the writer to build that bridge.

So what's out there for the writer who might want help to write realistically about police crime investigations?  A former policeman has offered and an answer in the creation of a new company.  Crime Writers Consultants created by Sgt. Derek Pacifico offers writers help through consultations or a two-day writing program.  Pacifico had retired from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department in Southern California after working nearly 6 years in homicide and handling roughly 200 murder investigations.

When I heard about this on public radio, I thought "aha!"  How many writers work this hard to try to get it from the horse's mouth (so to speak).  I just wonder about that attention to detail.

Book club discusses "The Snowman"

The book club's July selection was Norway's crime writer Jo Nesbø's The Snowman. It is the seventh in the series featuring Oslo police Inspector Harry Hole.  A trained expert serial killers, Hole receives a letter telling of the arrival of a "snowman" with the first season's snow and the threat of death. In closing, the letter makes mention of a deceased serial killer Hole had investigated.

Jo Nesbø
(photo from author's website)

The threat turns real as one missing woman has a snowman placed at her home with her scarf around its neck.  Later, her part of her dismembered body is bizarrely attached to the snowman and the police investigation turns to homicide and the exploration of a trail of murders which form the ritual of a killer.  A new partner, Katrine Bratt, joins Harry and he assembles a small detective team for a case which can burn him professionally if anyone missteps.

   

Borrowing from the noir tradition, Nesbø's Hole is a recovering alcoholic with an uneven personal life.  His long-time girl friend broke off the relationship because of his devotion to the job and he works in a stressful and troubled environment.  Despite it all, including physical scars here and there, Hole is committed and determined to see his cases through.

One book club attendee had read Nesbø's work before.  The comments about The Snowman included the following:

• the story shows good detective work
• the detectives thought outside the box with the investigation
• noticed the people in the community are "more inward and protective," not inclined to shard feelings and also very conscious about their image
• good benefits may come from a small(er) team of investigating detectives on a case (as Harry requests and receives in the book) 
• "hard time reading it" and "kept putting it down"
• hated the "eerie, creepy, weird" elements of the story
• "dark and stupid" 
• Harry drinks a lot--common for detectives in mystery stories. 

And in a move that doesn't happen often, two different attendees read passages from the book which they liked.

The author's website notes this novel won "Norwegian Booksellers’ Prize 2007 for Best Novel of the Year and with The Norwegian Book Club Prize (Den norske leserprisen) 2007 for Best Novel of the Year."

The "Harry Hole" story is expected to receive a big screen treatment as famed Hollywood director Martin Scorsese is reportedly set to direct a movie based on The Snowman .

Book club discusses "The Last Child"

The book club selection for May was John Hart's third published novel, The Last Child.  The award-winning North Carolina writer uses the state again as a backdrop for crimes, mystery and family discord in the story of a missing child.


John Hart (picture from his website)

 The book focuses on 13-year-old Johnny Merrimon whose missing twin sister, Alyssa, consumes his thoughts and goals.  She suddenly disappears one day and he works relentlessly to find her. 

Convinced that he can do what his family and the police could not, Johnny fearlessly strikes out on his own.  His mother, Katherine is nearly an emotional wreck after his father quietly disappears leaving the two alone and the local detective, Clyde Hunt in charge of the investigation, is concerned but cannot find Alyssa.  That leaves Johnny and a reluctant but faithful friend Jack to travel on the road into an unknown and dangerous environment with criminals, peril and another missing child case.

Comments from the book club included:

• the novel "pulled me in."
• liked the characters and the (plot) twists
• "liked the puzzle and the solution but not the writing."
• "writing didn't flow"
•  Detective Hunt seemed too good to be true
•  a drug abuse element of the story seemed far-fetched
• liked book jacket cover with the silhouette of a boy walking a bike 

The Last Child was the 2010 best novel winner for the Edgar Award.

Book club discusses "The Janus Stone"

In April, the book club selection was the second of the "Ruth Galloway" British mystery series The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths.  Ruth is a forensic archaeologist and college educator.  She is called upon to assist the police when a child's headless skeleton is unearthed while an old mansion is razed.  Located beneath a doorway, the skeleton rested in a building that served as a Catholic orphanage years ago.  

Elly Griffiths
(googled photo)

The detective in charge of the investigation is a gruff Harry Nelson working with the horizontally challenged Ruth again for a second time.  Despite his demeanor, the two develop a bond of respect and even friendship

This case may have several possibilities as the body might be very old from the Roman-era times--related to a nearby archaeological dig--or much more recent with a story of two missing children 40 years ago.

Ruth pursues the matter with a firm determination but is hampered along the way: she is encountering credible threats to her life and she is mum about her being newly-pregnant.

Comments from the book club members included:

• bones in good preservation can offer many layers of investigation in the field of archaeology 
• the novel covers periods of British history with its archaeological digs
• although the second in the series, a recap would be helpful (and in general for series) 
• Ruth is a non-traditional lead character of a series being an over-weight person
• has the writer decided and planned well ahead for the series how to handle the implications of Ruth's unplanned pregnancy (?)
• a few read the first book of the series The Crossing Places and one read the third book of the series The House at Seas End
• good mystery book.

  

Book club discusses "Snow Angel" [July]

As the year is winding up, it is time to finish up certain matters and one for me is recapping book club discussions I missed earlier here.

One summer selection this year did often up a chill as we read James Thompson's debut thriller Snow Angels. Here's a copy of the same pix Thompson has on his website. Set in Lapland, Finland during the Christmas holiday season, the police are set upon an investigation of a gruesome murder of a Somali immigrant. The victim, Sufia Elmi, is an actress with a modestly-successful series of movies behind her and is staying in the area under the generous assistance of a private benefactor.

Then abruptly, she is violently murdered and left in an outdoor location with a racial epithet carved in her flesh.

The resourceful Inspector Kari Vaara is charge of the investigation and he has a challenging time with the apparent appearance of a hate crime and devoting attention to his pregnant American-born wife. A few of our observations of the book during our discussion included the following:

• the writer does an affective job setting mood with the despondent nature of some Finnish people and how it can show up through heavy drinking (along those lines, one attendee mentioned how in a social setting that some from that part of the world would seemingly only perk up after some drinking although another person wondered if the "Finns" were displeased by the author's overall characterization of them--writer James Thompson is a native American but lives in Finland's capital of Helsinki)
• the constant cold weather and type of community that results of such led to discussions about coping with colder temps in some parts of the U.S. where others had lived
• the book was well-received for good writing and a good mystery with a ending perhaps strangely fitting for the novel (while another take is that the ending feels rushed in relation to the story)
• Inspector Vaara takes a jack-of-all trades persona at work as a supervisor, detective and crime scene investigator (complete with equipment he conveniently stores in his car)--sometimes the job requires all those tasks
• the novel does have an additional element of conflict--should Vaara get outside help to run the case especially when an ex-wife becomes involved
• the book's title has a partially sharp ring as the Sufia's mother once appears to talk to her deceased daughter and gestures to the sky saying [in part] "...my angel..."

Writer James Thompson wrote the library's website (cmlibrary.org) a short message when he read the book club was using his book and I emailed him on behalf of the book club but signals got crossed, I guess, and I didn't hear from him. According to his website, a sequel to Snow Angels is coming entitled Dead of Winter.

Book club discusses "Neptune Avenue" [June]

In June, the book club discussed the third "Jack Leightner crime novel" published last year entitled Neptune Avenue by Gabriel Cohen. Leightner is a veteran Brooklyn South homicide detective who catches the case of a young woman found dead in an abandoned row house with his new, young detective partner. It appears to be a suicide from the initial inspection.

Leightner, however, looks harder and knows otherwise.

The resulting case requires its share of police legwork but Leightner becomes quietly distracted as he learns of the death of a likable Russian acquaintance and attempts to investigate that death and comfort his friend's widow. And unexpectedly--his professional work takes a back seat to his personal interests and desires.

The detective character and the writer are a bi product of the Brooklyn neighborhoods as Cohen writes with an understanding and appreciation for the ethnically diverse communities ranging from Brooklyn Heights to Coney Island.

The book was well-received with comments during the book club including:

• it is a surprise how Leightner comes to ignore his professional case to look into the investigation of his friend's death
• the two concurrent cases though give the novel a quick pace of storytelling
  
• the detailed focus on the Russian based community in the novel was appreciated
• perhaps two (or so) incidents or descriptions of the neighborhood made one curious of when the book was written or when the story actually occurred
• one person who read the first book of the series, Red Hook, noted that Leightner gets different partners on-the-job due to his special detective rank
  
• Jack's attraction to his friend's widow, Eugenia, turns to into a surprisingly quick romance [one view]
• the map in front of the book was useful and one attendee (who grew up in the area) talked briefly about her childhood in Brooklyn.
  

The author photograph comes his website.

Book club discusses "Her Royal Spyness" [May]

The book club selection back in May was Rhys Bowen's debut series with a new character Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie. This young "minor royal"--as she refers to her spot on the line of royalty--is 21-years-old and determined to create fresh start for herself without relying on a preselected husband to support her. So, she quietly looks for a job, in London leaving Scotland without her previously steady allowance.

Here is a color version of the author photo that you would find in a copy of this title.

The results are basis for the book as "Georgie" (to her friends) oddly--and secretively--settles in employment as a maid only then to turn amateur detective as she becomes determined to investigate the murder of a man found in a family home and leading to her brother, Binky, as the suspected murder. And, in the meanwhile, Georgie is asked by the queen to spy on her son and his new romantic interest. This book also is the first of a series.

Observations from the book club included:

• the book title doesn't bear any genuine relation to the murder and mystery (though it does set the stage for this new series)
• the book focuses on the queen although the king (King George V) was alive then
• the story actually demonstrates the problems that "minor" royals might have encountered in their lives
• one commented that the book was well-edited
• one commented that she figured out the mystery before finishing the story
• it was suggested the book could become a good TV series.
  

A Favorite Branch Library Closes--

This past weekend I visited a small branch library near where I work to help (along with staff and the public) bid a fond adieu (here's a story from the local paper). Carmel branch library was a nice, little aging library loved by the locals for its convenience and staff. It has closed and I'll direct you to the library system's home page to read why and about the funding shortfall for the area public library system (it is quite a story...).

Carmel is also a library I visited years ago when I began planning to develop a mystery book club at my library and I took some time to visit the mystery book club there. I had not hosted a book club before and I was eager for ideas and a closer look at the dynamics of hosting a book club. Well, you have to get people involved--keep the ideas flowing (for titles and topics) and energy going for chatting.

It was a fun sesson from what I remember as the group was led by library patrons with a theme for each book club (i.e. settings in cold places, etc--you select your own title to read). That certainly was a way to open the the session to range of titles and personal favorites for each to discuss in a round-the-table manner. I liked that approach but wanted to have a book list to present to those coming (or considering attending).

I do not know how long the book club kept meeting after my visits (two, I guess), but I would said my long-time work with my book club certainly spring-boarded from their efforts.

Writing a good mystery...!

Following a recent book club, one attendee asked me if perhaps it seems our group is more harsh in our criticism of books than others. This came after another book discussion of book which took its share of lumps courtesy of our pointed opinions.

Sometimes I think we stick it rather hard with our critiques of the monthly mysteries but there is no true reason to meet and to gloss over a disappointing read. And we should share our opinions, some might have a completely different take on a book or an issue in it and the group as a whole benefits from that insight.

So, to get back to the question, I said I can't compare this book club to others as I only attend the one. However, another person who heard the question said she attends two other book clubs and remarked that "no" our book club is not any more harsher than those in critiques and comments.

Some common complaints include a mystery book with a minor mystery theme, a story which has trouble with continuality within the novel (or a book series), and a disappointing sense of atmosphere in the story whereas the novel could appear to take place anywhere and not where its set.

Of course there are formulas to making a successful mystery story and those formulas get slifted to degrees to mix it up and to keep things fresh. Mystery fiction can have the most unlikeliest of detectives and stories taking place half way around the world--the readers just want a worthy (if not just reasonable) and worthwhile effort for their reading investment.

So what is said at your book club?

Remember that book we (the book club) read about--

Do you remember when? Well, sometimes you just don't and that's why I'm writing about a growingly frequent situation in our book club sessions.

The question comes up about a book read earlier--a month ago, several months ago or even years ago now (think of how long you have been meeting as a book club)--and you have a pregnant pause trying to remember the book.

That happened last time when as we discussed our new book set in Beijing , China this month and one attendee mentioned another book set in China we had read. I could not remember the title--nor anyone else for that matter--but I did finally remember the author's name, Peter May, and mentioned it.

Checking later, I found that the book we read was The Firemaker by May and it was the first of his "China thriller" series (he has another series too). The book club read that book back in October 2007.

I'm guessing for the future I ought to keep with me a copy of the book list of the book club going forward during the book club sessions. I suppose it would give us at least a fightin' chance when remembering book titles...

Book club discusses "Cold in Hand" [November]

In November, the book club had the interesting project of reading and discussing a book that was identified as being the last book of a series featuring an English police detective. Writer John Harvey created Charlie Resnick a number of years ago and his first novel to be published in 1989 was Lonely Hearts. Here is a googled recent photo of Harvey.

In 2008, Cold in Hand was released with DI Resnick preparing to end his police career with retirement when a case with personal ties pulls him into a major investigation. A shooting and murder involving rival gangs takes place when DI Lynn Kellogg--Resnick's live-in girl-friend--plunges into the fray to settle things down without success. The murdered person, a young woman named Kelly Brent, has a vocal critic of the police in her father, Howard of the circumstances leading to that death. And yet, Howard, due to his shadowy activities draws the interest of the police in his daughter's death.

The high profile murder case for Resnick and Kellogg is only part of the professional issues they encounter as another murder case Kellogg has handled resurfaces with an interdepartmental investigation and tints of police corruption.

The book was well-received and here are a few observations:

• the novel caught some of us off guard with a sudden murder nearly midway in the story of an important character
• the murder investigation of Kelly focuses in one direction and--oddly--doesn't look at the gang fight for suspects
• the author plays with the reader's attitude towards Howard Brett as he is an angry parent after the death of a child but also pictured as an angry militant black man
• when a major character is introduced midway through the story, Harvey uses a telling example of personal judgment to represent her character early on
• the novel is well-written to share character background and scenes of threat and menace.

In closing, I looked to find a library music CD with singer Bessie Smith performing "Cold in Hand Blues" (hence, the book title) but I could not check it in time for the book club. So, I settled for the available Bessie Smith music CD I could check out and played it before the book club started.

New Year Resolution Suggestion--

My local daily newspaper had a syndicated guest column recently with a suggestion for a slightly different new year's resolution--join or start a book club. A little different, huh? Maybe--maybe not.

Anyway, St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times columnist Robyn Blumner wrote such an article punctuated with rules for a successful book club (check for "Join a book club to open your mind" Dec. 17th).

I appreciated Blumner's analytical take on book clubs and want to borrow her third suggestion to "let each member pick a book as opposed to making a consensus list." That sounds like a good approach to shift book club leadership dynamics around the group.

My book club has used a consensus model for years--primarily the selections which get the most votes from the group and that has been an acceptable diplomatic treatment for book titles. But I think we can make Rule #3 an option to explore.

And participants can count this down to stretching their reading palette.

Book Club discusses "The Body in the Record Room" [September]

Unexpectedly, I got behind with book club comments about our selections so I'm catching up now. The September selection was The Body in the Record Room by Joe Barone. Set in 1954 at a Missouri mental hospital, an assertive patient discovers a body in the facility's record room and begins his own investigation of the death.


Here's a photo of author Barone from his blog under "Crimeplace: a place for readers and writers of crime fiction to meet." At this point, he appears to participate in blogs instead of having a website.


With the assistance of a fellow patient and an outside contact, the patient actually makes strides in this endeavour without outwardly upsetting established practices. And the patient does have a name--he goes by "Roy Rogers" after his idol, the cowboy movie star.


The book club had a very good discussion about the novel and it covered a range of topics. Mainly though, the book takes a major turn in the storyline which is only slyly hinted in book descriptions and reviews. That being the case, I'll keep that big plot line quiet here too.


Otherwise, our comments include the following:

• the novel has its share of bad acts by characters but the author plays fair by finding fault all around


• Roy has genuine mental issues but he is able to keep them at bay while focused on his investigations


• Roy also has a unique ability to move around the grounds with the ease of being undetected and getting the trust of necessary allies


• the manner which the town hosting this mental facility appears to benefit from the operation but isolates it.

As I recall, we all found the book a worthwhile read.

Book Club discusses "Stranger Room"

[This post was started in May but got delayed.] In May, the book club had a great surprise for its book discussion session as it was joined by writer Frederick Ramsay, the author of Stranger Room our book selection for the month. And the meeting was quite different for us as Ramsay joined by conference call from his home in Arizona. This is the first time we've hosted a guest author by phone.

Thankfully, everything went very well--handling the conference call with our phones, etc.-- and I believe we talked for about 40 minutes or so. Here's an author photography from the his website. Also, Ramsay contacted the group about speaking to us as he happened to google his name and found that we had his book scheduled for May. I was never more surprised then when I actually received that first call from Mr. Ramsay.

Ramsay is the author of the "Ike Schwartz mystery" series and Stranger Room (published last year) is his newest until Choker hit the book stores and library shelves just recently. Schwartz is the sheriff in a fictional rural Virginia mountain community which is his actual hometown. Following a stint in the CIA, Schwartz is back in Picketsville, Va., and works to shape up a badly-managed sheriff's department.

In Stranger Room, the death of a traveler to the town nearly mirrors the unexplained death of another in same building--now a possible historical local attraction--and to solve the crime will take a long trip back almost 150 years before the Civil War.

Also, as I wrote earlier the conservation went on for nearly most our time and here are some of the things our guest author shared:

• he is "retired and writing for fun" with the typical goal of writing a novel within three months by producing a chapter a day


• as Ramsay started his writing career, his wife assisted him by typing his work but not these days as she is a full-time student


• he says he hates research when writing novels and says he'll fake some matters and "make things up"


• "it is hard to edit your own stuff" and you have to recognize the book's story needs to move along


• as books make a profit, the book publishers will ask for more books


• on the disappointing side, "people aren't buying books, especially young people" (for instance, at book signings the attendees appear to be 45-years-old and older)


• when writing, "the hardest challenge is to make each book better and to not repeat" a story


• while writing this series, Ramsay says he develops the characters one book at a time and doesn't plan ahead where the characters should "wind up"


• when asked about having input on book covers, he said it depends but his suggestions were used for what to show for Stranger Room cover.

Ramsay definitely won us over after we finished our discussion with his healthy dose of wit, clear-thinking judgment and good prose. Again, (as I said that night) thanks for calling and your time, Frederick Ramsay.

The "Booklists" are complete--

After flipping through old printouts of book club material going back several years, I believe I have compiled my final list of book club selections. That is, I have listed on the blog's sidebars (to the left) the entire list of books the book club has read over the years. The book club started in November 2001 with an initial meeting and, luckily, has been going steadily since then with monthly sessions.

Unfortunately, I have missed a date or two in 2002 and 2003 but I'm a little impressed as I look at all the titles read, including a true crime book early on (Mississippi Mud: Southern Justice and the Dixie Mafia by Edward Humes) and award winners like the first book selection (Edgar winner, The Bottoms by Joe R. Lansdale).

And as I wrote in a recent post, the book club would regularly have "open dates" without assigned titles for the entire group and I didn't list each one for the book lists. So, looking back, I'm surprised how the time has flew by--it has been fun.

Open Book Club Date--

Last week, the book club had one of its "open dates" for a meeting without any assigned book title. It is as I say, a session to select your own title and to come to discuss it for the group.

It can be a good way to mix things up, to read and discuss a title you'd personally like to share, to select something offbeat and to get a greater variety of books included in the book club.

The mystery books we discussed were as follows:

• The September Society by Charles Finch--a follow-up to the British mystery with freelance detective Charles Lenox [the book club read and discussed the author's first book the previous month]


• Choker by Frederick Ramsay--the newest book in the series with Sheriff Ike Schwartz in rural Virgina [the book club read and discussed the author's previous book The Stranger Room for the May book club and a previously delayed post will cover the book discussion]


• The Trail of the Wild Rose by Anthony Eglin--the next book in the series with retired botany professor (and amateur sleuth) Lawrence Kingston


• Walla Walla Suite by Anne Argula--the second book to feature Quinn an ex-cop, now a private investigator in Seattle


• The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl--this historical fiction debut tells of the pursuit of a serial killer in Boston following the end of the Civil War by a literary club which is matching the deaths to its translation of Dante's Inferno for the American public.
  

Book Club discusses "A Beautiful Blue Death"

Last month the book club discussed a title set during the infancy of the Scotland Yard with Charles Finch's A Beautiful Blue Death. This mystery is the first of a series to feature a well-to-do, freelance detective of the 1860s named Charles Lenox. The book was published in 2007 and here's a pix of Finch from his website.

The book jacket dubs this book as "equal parts Sherlock Holmes, Gosford Park, and P. G. Wodenhouse" and it appears to have its aims well placed.

In the story, Charles takes an assignment from his close friend, Lady Jane, to investigate the death of servant Prudence Smith--a former employee of Lady Jane--when it appears she has committed suicide. His investigation, though, leads him another direction to suspect that Smith was murdered by a unique poison. As Charles continues, he enlists the help of resourceful allies while bypassing Scotland Yard (mostly) and endearing himself to Lady Jane.

Now, as I recall, the group as a whole liked the book. Responses to the book included:

• the story was the type of mystery one attendee really enjoyed reading


• Charles and Lady Jane's relationship although close, it could be the same as if between a gay man and straight woman (one take)


• Charles led a very relaxed, pampered life as a Victorian gentleman and would be very ill-suited to work as a detective on a full-time basis


• Charles enlists his valet Graham to assist with the investigation and the two men share a relationship which occasionally crosses class lines--very unlikely it was suggested


• a filmed version of this novel could be a good period piece but would drag along otherwise


• how Charles managed to be independently wealthy without an apparent livelihood was curious


• the story almost takes a long tangent of political discourse during the period when the novel veers back to the central story (the author does have a background in politics)

One attendee also had a copy of the next book in the series The September Society that night.

Book Club discusses "The Good Thief's Guide to Paris"

This month the book club read and discussed Chris Ewan's The Good Thief's Guide to Paris [a mystery]. The second of a new series--the first is The Good Thief's Guide to Amsterdam--continues the escapades of mystery writer and professional thief Charlie Howard. Here's a googled photo of writer Ewan.

The fictional roving Englishman Howard is on a book tour in France when he boldly takes a challenge to show how to break into an apartment. Rather, he takes the challenge after drinking too much wine with a new acquaintance.

Charlie pulls it off and soon he approached to break in the same apartment again--this time, to steal an oil painting. OK--Charlie is in his element--but things spin out of control when he discovers a dead body in his living room and he concludes he can't go to the police about the crime. Against the odds, he tries to clear his name while sinking deeper into art thefts.

The book was well-liked. Here are a few quick observations:

• Charlie enjoys success as a thief by working within a certain range of risk
  

• Charlie's books enjoy moderate success but it's suggested he has yet to reach his potential as a writer


• one book clubber said the writing on occasion seemed to awkward in the novel (the phrasing of sentences) while another said for English writers the sentences appear typical


• the novel takes the proper tone of not taking the story too seriously.

Fun note: with Ewan's next book, Charlie Howard will come stateside for a story set in Las Vegas.