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Post by Zos on Mar 14, 2023 12:11:31 GMT
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Post by theravenking on Mar 15, 2023 20:38:32 GMT
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Post by Nalkarj on Mar 15, 2023 22:50:19 GMT
I just finished Ross Macdonald’s The Chill (1964). I’m not sure I can add much to the plaudits Macdonald—a pen name for Kenneth Millar, the husband of fellow mystery/suspense writer Margaret Millar—has received over the years, but I’ll try. He’s good. Really, really good. In high school I read some Macdonald, including The Chill, and liked his work then, but I’m not sure I was ready for it. What struck me on reading it this time is how close the Millars were as writers. Not only were they interested in many of the same things (broken families and psychological distress, usually of the abnormal variety), but also their writing styles and plotting structures are close. The Chill reminded me a great deal of Margaret Millar’s A Stranger in My Grave, particularly in how the plot begins with one occurrence, charges into a wilderness of distorting mirrors, and then ends with a return to the inciting incident, coupled with a devastating final twist. (Millar’s How Like an Angel, by comparison, is better than A Stranger in My Grave but relatively more conventionally plotted, if equally devastating in the end.) One of the many things that make The Chill so good is how clearly Macdonald leads the reader through the middle section’s wilderness. My main criticism of Stranger was how “the middle of the book is taken up with too much emphasis on side characters’ stories.” The Chill is similar, but Macdonald somehow keeps the reader clearheaded on how one plot thread flows from another plot thread, of why hero Lew Archer is following this lead or interviewing this character. Clarity, as ever, is vital in mystery stories. The final twist is masterly—warped and disturbing (to degrees that I didn’t realize in high school) and perfect for this story. And it’s beautifully clued, to boot. Like his wife, Macdonald holds back the truth until the bitter end—here it’s on the second-to-last page. That both he and she were able to do that, and make their twists seem inevitable, is remarkable. And the writing! This is prose to be savored, all the way to the last word. Some passages that stuck out to me:I could easily throw in a dozen more quotes. One more thing. After reading the book, I read this good piece on Macdonald/Millar from the Winnipeg Free Press, noting the Canadian connection (both Millars were originally from Ontario). The writer, Alison Gillmor, offers this insightful commentary on both Macdonald and the mystery genre:What she said!
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Post by politicidal on Mar 16, 2023 16:38:00 GMT
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Post by Marv on Mar 17, 2023 0:26:36 GMT
Just finished the third Parker novel, The Outfit. About to start the 4th, The Mourner. After that I may change it up. I’m starting to slow on the Parker novels a bit and I don’t want to burn out on them.
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Post by SuperDevilDoctor on Mar 17, 2023 1:22:52 GMT
Italy's underwater commandos of WWII... These guys had balls of steel.
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Post by DanaShelbyChancey on Mar 24, 2023 12:51:16 GMT
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Post by theravenking on Mar 24, 2023 15:31:37 GMT
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Post by gspdude on Mar 25, 2023 1:14:44 GMT
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Post by thekindercarebear on Apr 10, 2023 21:14:05 GMT
The House at the End of the World - Dean Koontz It was kind of light reading for a Koontz book but still enjoyable.
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Post by SuperDevilDoctor on Apr 10, 2023 22:01:31 GMT
Focuses on the impact of the Napoleonic Wars (1803-15) on the entire planet -- not just Europe.
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Post by CrepedCrusader on Apr 11, 2023 3:16:47 GMT
The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens
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Post by novastar6 on Apr 11, 2023 22:20:15 GMT
Thirteen Women by Tiffany Thayers, VERY different from the 1932 movie, VERY interesting.
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Post by novastar6 on Apr 11, 2023 22:20:33 GMT
Finished "Far from true" and now starting "the 23" by Linwood Barclay. The last of the Promise Falls trilogy.
I just started his 'Fear the Worst'.
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Post by novastar6 on Apr 11, 2023 22:20:48 GMT
Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell (2005)
Title sounds interesting, is it any good?
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Post by moviebuffbrad on Apr 12, 2023 16:30:28 GMT
Perchance to a Dram, a Nightmare on Elm Street book from Black Flame.
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Post by mikef6 on Apr 12, 2023 17:25:48 GMT
Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell (2005)
Title sounds interesting, is it any good?
It is quite wonderful. This was the first by Vowell which she followed with other historical books with the same format. She wittily narrates a thoroughly researched incident and then visit the site as it is today. "Assassination Vacation" is coverage of all the Presidential assassinations and attempts. I can now tell you who killed Presidents Garfield and McKinley. How many can boast that. Her books are easy to devour one after the other. As the saying goes, entertaining as well as educational.
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mmexis
Sophomore
@mmexis
Posts: 861
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Post by mmexis on Apr 13, 2023 5:31:23 GMT
Finished "Far from true" and now starting "the 23" by Linwood Barclay. The last of the Promise Falls trilogy.
I just started his 'Fear the Worst'.
Isn't that his first book? Read it years ago. Don't read mysteries, but I read him and Kathy Reichs.
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Post by novastar6 on Apr 13, 2023 5:49:35 GMT
I just started his 'Fear the Worst'.
Isn't that his first book? Read it years ago. Don't read mysteries, but I read him and Kathy Reichs.
I have no idea. I read his book, Bad Move, years ago, it was hilarious, I've bought a couple other of his books since but never got around to reading them.
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Post by Raimo47 on Apr 18, 2023 21:25:30 GMT
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