Author Topic: Favorite Female Mystery/Thriller/Suspense Writers (Read 21944 times) Tweet

Atunah · « **Reply #200 on:** January 19, 2020, 12:47:07 pm »

Yep, I usually download the library loans to 3 kindles. And sometimes to my phone if I have to sit for a few minutes at the dentist. I too have to play the wifi off game at times.

I hope you like the Lynley crebel. It can get somewhat gritty. On a emotional level as some of the crimes are intense. But I like some grit. And those books are long. Like 700 pages long.

Glad you found them in library at least. That is how I read them. Older books like that shouldn't still be that high.

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Ann in Arlington · « **Reply #201 on:** January 19, 2020, 06:52:59 pm »

Quote from: crebel on January 19, 2020, 12:29:13 pm

Excellent! Thanks, Ann. I'll send it to my mom's Kindle at the same time when I do borrow it. I did know about keeping wireless off to retain the book if you aren't done reading when the borrow is set to expire.

Be careful, though, if you have your kindles set to automatically sync. If you're both reading it at the same time you can easily get your relative places in the book mixed up. But I don't think you can turn of syncing for just the one book. BUT if you leave wireless off on one device it won't be a problem.

crebel · « **Reply #202 on:** January 26, 2020, 11:25:15 am »

One of our favorites from the PNR/UF thread is releasing the first book of a new series in April, but this series sounds more like mystery, maybe even trending toward cozy, so I decided to link it in this thread.

I hate the pre-order is listed at $14.99, but Darynda Jones is one I will pay $9.99 for if/when it drops to that. I've already recommended it at my library, so fingers crossed they pick it up.

Atunah · « **Reply #203 on:** January 26, 2020, 03:39:24 pm »

Ugh, its St. Martins press, part of MacMillan, which my libraries all are not buying any MacMillan titles until they change their one copy per library rule.

LDB · « **Reply #204 on:** January 27, 2020, 02:47:49 am »

Why would they set such a limit? I suppose their argument would be if they let the library have 4 copies they'll lose sales at the bookstores because people can borrow instead of buying but with only 1 copy people will buy rather than wait however long. I suppose it's an argument but don't see that much overlap or conflict really.

Ann in Arlington · « **Reply #205 on:** January 27, 2020, 04:29:12 am »

I believe McMillan's position is just as you said, LDB .... only one copy in the expectation that people will buy vs borrow. They do allow purchase of multiple copies after a certain period I believe, but I'm not sure if it's just "12 weeks" or whatever, or some period after it's not on the bestseller lists any more. I agree, though, borrowers and buyers are two very nearly mutually exclusive sets of people. At least as regards any given book.

As to the library, while I understand their position, to me it's like what my mother called "biting off your nose to spite your face". So not only can the library only have one copy, they're mad about that so they don't purchase ANY. How is that good for their patrons? I guess they're hoping their patrons will have a go at MacMillan ... but I suspect that most of them haven't a clue about any of the underlying issues. All they know is the book is/is not available.

They may also not be realizing that many of us have legitimate access to more than one library system. I have cards at 4, and could add 3 more if I wanted to go to the trouble. (I recognize this may not be the case in a more rural area.) If a book isn't carried at one of them, it's a pretty good chance it will be carried at one of the others. Either way, I don't mind a longer hold period as there's plenty else to read in the mean time. I can count on the thumbs of one hand the number of authors I buy rather than wait to borrow from the library.

In some cases that may mean I never read the book, or at least not for months or years later. And that's o.k. with me.

Atunah · « **Reply #206 on:** January 27, 2020, 06:17:52 am »

I recommended it to my 3 libraries. My local one has a banner on top that they will not buy MacMillan for the near future. I was still able to recommend. And I did the same at the other 2 libraries. Well, one I have to wait a few days as I only can recommend 2 a week and then have to wait. If I happen to get in line with the one copy at at least one library, I'll just wait.

Thing is, I use the library, but I also buy. I usually use library for stuff that is above 7-9.99 . This book is 14.99. If they'd put it up for 7.99, I would have pre-ordered it right then and there. I'd have thought about it a bit at 9.99. But at 14.99, I'll wait for the library loan, whenever that is. So they could have had a sale.

Ann in Arlington · « **Reply #207 on:** January 27, 2020, 06:21:00 am »

Yep. If they reduced ebook prices they'd get a lot more sales relative to borrows. I think they're still clinging to the idea that people will buy paper books. Which, of course, some will, but I see ebooks becoming more and more 'the thing' as the population ages and people see the value of not having to squint to read.

Andra · « **Reply #208 on:** January 28, 2020, 06:47:35 am »

I decided to vote with my wallet after Amazon had to let the publishers set prices and new books jumped up to $12-15. I won't buy them at that price (with very few exceptions). I can wait for the price to drop.
And they (publishers) are very mistaken if they think a higher digital price will drive folks who use e-readers to print books. I don't want any more print novels. Cookbooks? Yes. Coffee-table books? Yes.
At some point they will accept the inevitable and maybe we'll see $9.99 new books as the norm again.

Atunah · « **Reply #209 on:** January 28, 2020, 01:51:15 pm »

Not sure how we get the publishers to go back to the max $9.99 price. Whats frustrating is that what they charge oftentimes is too much for me for a new book, but they also keep the price high on series that have already been out for quite some time.

there are lots of series I am reading already. Harder to keep track now that fictfact is gone. What happens is that I have to put something on a back burner to wait for a price drop, if its not in the library, and if enough time passes I forget about it. Sometimes I forget about it for years. Heck, there are some I probably haven't remembered at all since I shelved them and would only jog my memory if I went on goodreads and browsed my 'read' shelf.

Funny how I have all these books to read, but if its one that is coming out and its that high, it turns into the book I REALLY would love to read. And it bugs me and bugs me. Even looking at my MOI. Nope, I want to read "that one". Sigh.

Ann in Arlington · « **Reply #210 on:** January 28, 2020, 02:49:55 pm »

So, what you're saying is that, because they're unreasonable on prices for books that have been out a while, chances are you'll NEVER buy it! Not now when it's too expensive, not later because the price never drops ... even when it is released in paperback.

Seems like a dumb business model to me.

I know what you mean, though, about wanting to read something specific and being frustrated because the price is so high. Fortunately, I have PLENTY to read and can always find something that will take my mind off the one I really want.

crebel · « **Reply #211 on:** January 28, 2020, 03:04:53 pm »

Quote from: Atunah on January 28, 2020, 01:51:15 pm

Not sure how we get the publishers to go back to the max $9.99 price. Whats frustrating is that what they charge oftentimes is too much for me for a new book, but they also keep the price high on series that have already been out for quite some time.

That's the part that makes me most crazy, books that have been out for years that never come down in Kindle price. I can not read paper books any more, I have to have that extra large font I can switch to on an e-reader. It does not matter if it has gone down to a "paperback" price in a brick and mortar store or if it's available for "free" at the library in paper, I can't read it.

I have scads of books on a "Continue this series" watch list. Some of them have been there 5-6 years and they've never dropped below $9.99. Many books already in my Mountain of Immortality are first in series books I bought on sale. I'll get around to reading them, but am less likely to continue at the now-pretty-standard $7.99, even self-published titles, because I still have 100s of books to read which I managed to buy when prices were more reasonable.

I acknowledge authors should be paid "fairly" for their work that provides my fleeting entertainment, but the steady initial price increases that never go down are frustrating me.

Ann responded while I was typing - what she said ...

crebel · « **Reply #212 on:** March 04, 2020, 11:32:10 am »

Has anyone read this Donna Fletcher Crow Monastery Mystery Murders series that starts with this?

I have no clue how it made it into my MOI in September 2018. I've been back through this thread and see no mention of this author anywhere. The entire series seems to be in KU or extremely low priced at .99 each.

I started reading the above last night and am about 30% in. The reason I ask if anyone else has read or recalls recommendations, is I am finding it very tedious so far and I'm trying to figure out if it is worth continuing. The book is well written, the female MC seems very likable and interesting, and I am usually drawn to contemporary mysteries/thrillers with religious/historical context in clue gathering. So far however, the historian she has teamed up with slogs on and on for pages and pages of historical detail which are mind-numbing to me at this point.

So I'm asking if anyone else knows this series and whether they continue in detailed information dumps or they level out at some point. I generally enjoy mysteries that go beyond "fluff" and make you think a little harder, so I can't quite figure out why this start is so annoying to me.

Ann in Arlington · « **Reply #213 on:** March 04, 2020, 06:04:10 pm »

Wow ... no, I have not seen that. And I don't already have it. Well, I do now, 'cause I just picked it up for a buck. I'll give it a try.

P.W.JORDAN · « **Reply #214 on:** June 29, 2020, 12:49:15 am »

Hey!
Agree with those who mentioned Tess Gerritsen, also I've been catching up on lockdown Val McDermid, Ann Cleeves (and the atm controversial- JK Rowling/ Robert Galbraith-STRIKE Series).
Have the Tana French Dublin Murders series on standby.

Phillip

Ann in Arlington · « **Reply #215 on:** August 18, 2020, 06:52:55 am »

I decided Louise Penny needed a thread of her own, so I started one:

New Gamache (by Louise Penny) out in a couple of weeks.

Ann in Arlington · « **Reply #216 on:** September 06, 2020, 04:23:20 am »

Crosspost (warning: Enabling in progress)

I found a new series that I think y'all will enjoy.

It's The Ravenwood Mysteries by Sabrina Flynn. I think it first came across my radar via a Facebook ad. I borrowed the first one through Prime reading back in May and read it yesterday. Definitely a find. As far as I can tell, they're all in KU.

The series is set in San Francisco around the turn of the 20th century; here's a link to my review on GoodReads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3532857781

And a link to the book on Amazon:

Ann in Arlington · « **Reply #217 on:** September 06, 2020, 04:31:13 am »

And here's another I liked as well: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3526089580

The series is Jo Larsen by Susan BcBride. I got it via Prime reading but it's in KU. It's set in a small town just outside of Dallas, TX, more or less present day -- the first book was written in 2016. At this time, there's just one other, written in 2018, and also in KU.

Amazon link:

Louise Bates · « **Reply #218 on:** September 30, 2020, 07:29:49 am »

I have a bookshelf full of Agatha Christie, Josephine Tey, Carola Dunn (Daisy Dalrymple as well as the Cornish mysteries), Patricia Wentworth, Dorothy Gilman, Margery Allingham, Ellis Peters (Brother Cadfael and Inspector Felse), and Dorothy L Sayers. I've also recently discovered Sally Goldenbaum's cozy mystery series "Seaside Knitters." I mostly started reading it because it was set on MA's North Shore, where I used to live, but I continued reading for the warm sense of community and friendship that comes through in the books. I definitely lean more heavily toward female mystery writers than to male!

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