What are you currently reading?

[QualityBookReviews]

An open discussion on what everyone is currently reading. Make recommendations to others, discuss what is new, hot, bestsellers, anything and everything related to books and the authors.

[Suzanne]

I've just finished Reed Farrell Coleman's WALKING THE PERFECT SQUARE and am looking forward to the following Moe Prager cases.

Now I'm in the middle of Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo's MURDER AT THE SAVOY. I'm re-reading this series with much pleasure. The peculiar thing is that an Introduction describes the authors as having too socialist a perspective. I can't see that. You wouldn't expect big-city policeman to have a sanguine view of society, would you?

The first time I read the series, I had difficulty remembering the policemen who worked for Beck. I wrote a short paragraph describing each of them as a ready reference.

Next up is Olen Steinhauer's second book THE CONFESSION.

[I. J. Parker]

I could never find much socialist propaganda myself. It seems to me that Henning Mankell trails off into social commentary much more often. I think someone took exception to their politics.

[Karen from AustCrime]

I should be reading The Surrogate by Tania Carver for a discussion on the Murder & Mayhem list - and I am, but I'm also very distracted by Terry Pratchett's Unseen Academicals. Foot-the-ball needs some Discworld treatment.

[Jaden Terrell]

I'm currently reading Boundary Waters by William Kent Kreuger. Then I plan to read the rest of his before I move on to Robert Crais's new book, The First Rule. Kreuger does a masterful job of balancing depth of character, vivid description, Objibwe culture, and tension-filled plots. And, of course, I love anything by Crais. I heart Joe Pike.

I also can't resist picking up Tim Hallinan's incredible Bangkok mystery, Breathing Water just to re-read my favorite bits. This was my favorite read of 2009, and I keep coming back to it because I loved it so much. I can't afford to keep doing this, because my TBR stack is growing and growing. After Robert Crais is Jeffery Deaver's latest. (By the way, Deaver also has a terrific anthology of short stories. It's called Twisted.)

[Juri Nummelin]

Don Tracy's ultrahardboiled and somewhat proletarian Criss-Cross from 1936, basis for two films, Robert Siodmaks' of the same name and Steven Soderbergh's The Underneath.

[KD Easley]

Right now, Snake Dreams by James D Doss. Was in the middle of U is for Undertow, but had to stop when my James Doss books arrived in the mail. Kinsey will just have to wait for me.

[I. J. Parker]

Graham Ison, WHIPLASH. I've been trying to like this writer but it's impossible. In this case, I knew the plot a few pages in and kept reading to see what the twist would be. Alas, no twist, just a dreary and longwinded explanation nobody needed. In addition, an interesting point: if the protagonist is so severely flawed that any reader has a hard time identifying with him, don't tell the story in his first person point of view.

[Sue Harding]

Just finishing Andrew Grant's "Even" - and about to embark on Peter James' "Dead Simple"

[Joy Calderwood]

Finished Marcia Muller's THE SHAPE OF DREAD and TROPHIES AND DEAD THINGS, about to start WHERE ECHOES LIVE.

[doug anderson]

Just finished Box 21, by Roslund-Hellstrom. Very gripping, wise, scary by turns.

[Karen from AustCrime]

Just finished the third book in the DS Stevie Hooper series by Felicity Young - Take Out, now I'm reading the third book in Katherine Howell's series Cold Justice. Interesting comparison point.

[Jacqui Horwood]

Karen - what did you think of Felicity Young's latest - I enjoyed the first two and would like to read this one. I'm reading Katherine Howell's as well and enjoying it.