Mystery Book Discussion Group
Bring your lunch and join us the third Tuesday of the month from noon to 1 in the conference room on the second floor of the Main Library, at 361 Washington Street.
Copies of the book to be discussed will be available at the front desk 4 weeks before the meeting.
If you have any questions, please contact reference librarian Liz Mellett at (617) 730-2369 or via email. NEW: the group's book list.
Nancy Pickard, The Scent of Rain and Lightning
Feb 21, 2012 Conference Room, Main Library
“Until she was twenty-six, Jody Linder felt suspicious of happiness.” The quiet town of Rose, Kansas is stunned by the news that convicted killer Billy Crosby has been released and is coming home. No one is more horrified than English teacher Jody Linder, who had grown up believing Crosby had murdered her parents. This cold case mystery, a Kansas Notable Book in 2011, was nominated for an Agatha and a Macavity.
Zoë Ferraris, Finding Nouf
Mar 20, 2012 Conference Room, Main Library
“Before the sun set that evening, Nayir filled his canteen, tucked a prayer rug beneath his arm, and climbed the south-facing dune near the camp.” When sixteen-year-old Nouf goes missing, desert guide Nayir al-Sharqi is asked to lead the search. The discovery of her body ten days later presents him with a mystery. How did she drown in the desert, and why is her family so disinterested? This fine series debut is set in contemporary Saudi Arabia and features a devout Muslim sleuth. It won a 2008 Los Angeles Book Prize for First Fiction, and was nominated for a California Book Award and a Macavity.
Jill McGown, Unlucky for Some
Apr 17, 2012 Conference Room, Main Library
Bingo player Wilma Fenton is killed while walking home with a purse filled with her winnings – and the murderer leaves the money neatly fanned out across her body. Chief Inspectors Lloyd and Hill are faced with a fascinating puzzle in their thirteenth outing together. McGown was chosen by The Times (London) as one of the twentieth century’s “100 Masters of Crime”.
Ken Bruen, The Killing of the Tinkers
May 15, 2012 Conference Room, Main Library
“The boy is back in town”. Disgraced ex-cop Jack Taylor returns home to Galway with a leather coat and a coke habit. When a Gypsy asks him to look into the murders of young men of his clan he agrees, even though he suspects no good will come of looking into something the police have refused to investigate. This novel, described by the Boston Herald as “a dark heart-stopper”, won the Macavity Award for Best Mystery Novel in 2005.
Cara Black, Murder in the Marais
Jun 26, 2012 Conference Room, Main Library
Parisian P.I. Aimée Leduc has sworn to avoid criminal cases because her father, a police detective, was killed in the line of duty. When she agrees to a top secret decoding job for a man who knew her father she doesn’t expect trouble – until she finds an old woman dead, with a swastika carved on her forehead. This atmospheric first mystery was nominated for an Anthony Award.