Book Club......Discussion

[coffee_freak]

ohhh yeah..Motor Mouth..I've seen that one

[Fljotsdale]

I ordered One for the Money from Amazon, and it is even now in the post. I should get it tomorrow.

[Fljotsdale]

Ok. I have now read One for the Money, by Janet Evanovitch.

And I'm not sure what to say about it!

Here is the blurb from the jacket:

"Stephanie Plum is down on her luck. She's lost her job, her car's on the brink of reposession, and her apartment fast becoming furniture-free.
Enter Cousin Vinnie, a low-life who runs a bail-bond company. If Stephanie can bring in vice cop turned outlaw Joe Morelli, she stands to pick up $10.000.
But tracking down a cop wanted for murder isn't easy...
And when Benito Ramirez, a prize-fighter with more menace than mentality, wants to be her friend Stephanie soon knows what it's like to be pursued. Unfortunately the best person to protect her just happens to be on the run..."

The book declares on the front cover: "One of the funniest and most enjoyable books .."

So: Is it?

Well, yes. Well, yes... It has it's moments, and quite a lot of them. But it also has a very dark theme running through it that sometimes makes you curl up inside in horror.
Of course, you know nothing REALLY horrendous is going to happen to Stephanie (though it does to other people)... she's the heroine, right? And she is the heroine of quite a few more books, so... but all the same... don't go into this book thinking it's all fun. It isn't. There is some solid, gritty, sordid nastiness in it, too.
And some of the most authentic sounding peripheral figures, too, such as Stephanie's mom, and Morelli's mom; it's pity they are only bit-parts. I'd like to be a fly on the wall and watch 'em a bit more...

Oh, and Stephanie isn't a teen. She's 30. Nice age for a heroine.

Did I enjoy reading it? Yes, I did.
Will I read any more Stephanie Plum books? Yes, I will.
Did it make me laugh? No. But it made me smile quite often.
Did I like Stephanie Plum? Yes, I did. And quite a few of the other people in there with her. Including Joe Morelli.

Do I recommend it? Oh, yes!

[Busy_B]

I'm glad you liked One for the Money. It's been quite a while since I've read that one, but her family definitely comes into each story. I think the mother and grandmother characters really develop throughout the series. Later on, she also brings in Stephanie's sister and 2 nieces.

[Helenaz0]

I have enjoyed all of Martina Cole's books. I am impatiently waiting until christmas for the newest one as hubby always has to get me a book for christmas.
Her books are absolutely fabulous and I always find they end way to soon as I just want them to go on forever lol.

Highly recommended author IMO

[Fljotsdale]

I'm glad you liked One for the Money. It's been quite a while since I've read that one, but her family definitely comes into each story. I think the mother and grandmother characters really develop throughout the series. Later on, she also brings in Stephanie's sister and 2 nieces.

Yeah, I did. And I have you and coffee_freak to thank for putting me onto this series. Thank you!

[Fljotsdale]

I have enjoyed all of Martina Cole's books. I am impatiently waiting until christmas for the newest one as hubby always has to get me a book for christmas.
Her books are absolutely fabulous and I always find they end way to soon as I just want them to go on forever lol.

Highly recommended author IMO

Helen, why not post a review of one of her books in the other book thread, so we get some idea of what the book is like, what sort of book - crime, romance, fantasy, humour, whatever - so we can get some idea of whether we'd like to read Martina Cole ourselves? I'd be very pleased to get some idea, personally.

[jenele]

My sister works in a library so she is always telling me about good finds. I love Martha Grimes, Elisabeth Peters,and Ellis Peters. I enjoyed Tracy Chevalier"s The Girl With the Pearl Earing .My grandparents were from (Haarlem and Amsterdam). Every time i see Mabels avatar i think of this book.

[Fljotsdale]

My sister works in a library so she is always telling me about good finds. I love Martha Grimes, Elisabeth Peters,and Ellis Peters. I enjoyed Tracy Chevalier"s The Girl With the Pearl Earing .My grandparents were from (Haarlem and Amsterdam). Every time i see Mabels avatar i think of this book.

Ellis Peters is one of my favourites, too. Just gotta love Cadfael! Why not write a review of one of your favourite books in the other book thread? Then we can discuss it in here!

[mags]

....and if you enjoy Heyer, as I do, I think you will like Ashley .....

FD, We have similar tastes - I love Georgette Heyer, and I also used to like LC too.

Might have to try this author.

[Fljotsdale]

Oh, do, mags! I'm not a reader of 'romance' novels, apart from Heyer's, and only hers because they are amusing and I like the recreation of Regency England.
Trisha Ashley has the humour, too, and a very light touch with some real problems we all face. You can recognise yourself in her characters, and laugh with then, not AT them, because you understand. I think she is a VERY good writer, very readable, hard to stop reading, and I feel regretful at coming to the end!
I'm looking for her next book...

[Midge]

I have enjoyed all of Martina Cole's books. I am impatiently waiting until christmas for the newest one as hubby always has to get me a book for christmas.
Her books are absolutely fabulous and I always find they end way to soon as I just want them to go on forever lol.

Highly recommended author IMO

Yes, I agree, she is a fabulous author. Mandasue Heller is in the same vein and extremely good too.

[Busy_B]

I've just started a book by Monica Ferris. I will do a review when I finish it, but I just wanted to let you know about her. She writes a mystery series titled Needlecraft Mysteries. The series is about a woman who owns a needlework shop. There's also one free needlework (xs, knitting, crochet, etc) in each book. From the reviews, they've said that the mysteries are pretty easy to figure out but that the characters are well thought out. Just thought I'd give it a try. I read the first chapter last night and thought of Mabel--they were talking about Marinda (sp?) threads.

[Mabel Figworthy]

Oooh, a new thread I haven't heard of -- always welcome! Must look into these mysteries, they sound like a very interesting idea

[Busy_B]

Oooh, a new thread I haven't heard of -- always welcome! Must look into these mysteries, they sound like a very interesting idea

No, I just can't spell! They were talking about Madeira silks.

[Mabel Figworthy]

[Fljotsdale]

Just finished reading The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (whom I discovered to be a brother of the romantic novelist Katie Fforde) as recommended by Mabel.

It was a most enjoyable novel! I have to say I have some criticisms: I mentally rewrote a whole passage, and found myself doing a fair bit of mental editing; BUT despite that it held my attention for the whole 3 days it took me to read it (no, I'm not a slow reader, it's just I have other things to do as well, like stitching and playing computer games and a modicum of housework )
I loved the literary knowledge of the writer, I loved the way he used shipping areas as some character names, and I especially loved the name Braxton Hicks (false labour contractions, in case you are not a parent!). The heroine - Thursday Next (gotta love that name!) - is no spring chicken, being in her later 30s, is a tough cookie and knows where her towel is (as it were). Her father has a face that can stop a clock - literally!
There is an amusing amoral ruthless murdering evil guy, and an unamusing amoral ruthless murdering evil guy, who passes for a businessman, and an ex-boy friend called Landen Parke-Laine Also a brilliant uncle and his crazy, workable inventions, and some interesting bugs and guns...

I loved this book, and shall buy his others in the series without the least hesitation.

[Alexanie]

I'm actually reading a Ellis Peters book at the moment. It's called "The Heaven Tree". I like it a lot. I've tarted to read Jasper Ffordes' "The Well of Lost Plots" several years ago, only to find out that you have to start with "The Eyre Affaire" but didn't manage so far. There are some many books lying beneath my bed

[Fljotsdale]

Yeah, I have a lot in my 'to read' pile, as well. It's finding the time and inclination to read 'em... Some of 'em I've had so long that I probably never will. Especially the 'required' literature from University... (And, no. I didn't read 'em all at the time! Though I did read and enjoy a lot of stuff I wouldn't otherwise have read, like Shakespeare, Milton, Johnston, Marvell, et al. Well... when I say 'enjoy', I mean I ploughed through 'em, enjoying bits at the time and much more in retrospect! )

I'm currently reading Fforde's 'Lost in a Good Book', which is the second in the series. I don't think the books are everyone's cup of tea - they are totally dotty, not the best-written books I've ever read, but I find 'em a fun, relaxing read.

I like Ellis Peters, too. But I've mostly read her Cadfael novels, and only a couple of her others.

[Mabel Figworthy]

I read the Heaven Tree Trilogy some years ago, having started with her Cadfael boks and some of her other mystery/detective novels.

The Heaven Tree was engrossing and gave such a vivid picture of the period, but I also found it at times too graphic in its details, especially a scene where one of the main characters is about to be tortured and burnt at the stake for heresy. Perhaps I was being squeamish, or ostrich-like, and I know some of the torturers probably did find a sadistic pleasure in devising the most horrendous tortures, but I found the way this character discussed it a bit too much for my taste. Having said that, I did enjoy much of the descriptions and character interactions tremendously!