The Perfect Murder, David Lehman
20th C. Crime Fiction, Lee Horsley
Detective Fiction, Charles J. Rzepka
Library Notables, may want to own
The Fine Art of Murder, Gorman, Greenberg, Segriff, Breen
Unsure
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Summer 08 Reads
Deaver, Jeffrey Blue Nowhere - identity theft, social engineering, murder, CA good read, won't teach but better than Leonard Chang
Mosley, Walter Cinnamon - listened to on tape in car over two weeks, setting LA, SF, '60's , great plot, dialogue, characters, lots of sex, maybe teach with R rating warning
Boyle, TC Friend of Earth, eco-future story, Michael Jackson-like character, weird story that gets better as it goes along, Sierra the tree sitter, father Ty, eco-crazy like Earth First type, not a mystery but filled with law-breakers
!!!King, Laurie, The Art of Detection, Kate Martinelli, lesbian SF cop, investigates murder of memeber of a Sherlock Holmes club. Clever, strong characters and setting, especially Marin Headlands. Could teach in mystery course.
!!!Russell, Kurt, Shell Games, first in a new series featuring John Marquez, a Fish & Game law enforcer, who solves a murder involving abalone poachers & drugs. Kind of involved, but good to read and teach.
Gordon, Nadia, Sharpshooter, I was so excited to read this murder mystery about a foodie in the Napa valley (sharpshooter is both killer with a gun and an insect). Unfortunately written in chick-lit dialogue. Really too bad.
Revoyr, Nina. Southland. Another one I was excited to read, but didn't even finish. A good idea for a story: gay, Japanese law student discovers family past during and post Watts riots in '65. Too many layers, gratuitous sex.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Testing the Blog
Dr. Koory wants to help former students continue the conversation regarding all related to the mystery novel. I want to join this group, too, as I'm already feeling the need to discuss my latest finds and reads! Will a simple blog serve this purpose?
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Books read
Date: Jan 5, 2008
Source: Library
Role: possible selections for my ca mys. course
Contact or Biblio: A is for Alibi Sue Grafton , Big Hello and the Long Good-Bye Peter Gessner, A Credible Threat Janet Dawson, Over the Shoulder Leonard Chang, Over the Edge Susan Dunlap, Vanishing Point Marcia Muller.
Notes: (Grafton)I like Kinsey Millhone, she's brave and flawed, has a hot affair w/suspect and she's sorry as he's the bad guy in the end;. (Dawson)Jeri Howard, a Berkeley-based PI investigates ex-hushand's daughter's harrassement and then house bombing. (Dunlap)Jill Smith another likable female, a real Berkeley cop, so different from Milhone and Howard, PIs. She, too, is flawed, certainly in her eating habits, but she has better taste in men than Millhone. Smith has an enviable relationship w/a hot, handsome doctor who travels just enough, so she can live her own life. (Muller) Sharon McCone, another likable, strong PI, finally married to long-time love Hy Ripinsky. A pilot, too, McCone has a business in SF and in this case is asked to find a woman who has been missing for 22 years.
But which one would I choose to teach? What is my favorite, and why?
Insight to Note: All the characters/authors/stories I like have female protagonists. The two contemporay male authors with male protagonists, I did not like. Chang and his character were of the soft-boiled type and Gessner's writing is overdone, self-conscience. However, I'm do enjoy the more hard-boiled male detectives: Lew Archer, Hercule Pirot, Sam Spade. I do, however, like Elvis Cole. This is getting to be more complex and confusing than learning the characters and relationships in any Greek mythology!!
Action: Need to choose a favorite female and be able to articulate why??????
Source: Library
Role: possible selections for my ca mys. course
Contact or Biblio: A is for Alibi Sue Grafton , Big Hello and the Long Good-Bye Peter Gessner, A Credible Threat Janet Dawson, Over the Shoulder Leonard Chang, Over the Edge Susan Dunlap, Vanishing Point Marcia Muller.
Notes: (Grafton)I like Kinsey Millhone, she's brave and flawed, has a hot affair w/suspect and she's sorry as he's the bad guy in the end;. (Dawson)Jeri Howard, a Berkeley-based PI investigates ex-hushand's daughter's harrassement and then house bombing. (Dunlap)Jill Smith another likable female, a real Berkeley cop, so different from Milhone and Howard, PIs. She, too, is flawed, certainly in her eating habits, but she has better taste in men than Millhone. Smith has an enviable relationship w/a hot, handsome doctor who travels just enough, so she can live her own life. (Muller) Sharon McCone, another likable, strong PI, finally married to long-time love Hy Ripinsky. A pilot, too, McCone has a business in SF and in this case is asked to find a woman who has been missing for 22 years.
But which one would I choose to teach? What is my favorite, and why?
Insight to Note: All the characters/authors/stories I like have female protagonists. The two contemporay male authors with male protagonists, I did not like. Chang and his character were of the soft-boiled type and Gessner's writing is overdone, self-conscience. However, I'm do enjoy the more hard-boiled male detectives: Lew Archer, Hercule Pirot, Sam Spade. I do, however, like Elvis Cole. This is getting to be more complex and confusing than learning the characters and relationships in any Greek mythology!!
Action: Need to choose a favorite female and be able to articulate why??????
Margaret Millar
Date: Jan. 5, 2008
Source: CC Library
Role: na
Contact: Margaret Millar, Beast in View, Banshee, The Listening Walls
Notes: found books on library website
Action: sent husband out to pick up books. I'm most interested in Listening Walls for its class issue (Mexican maid/ rich white Santa Barbara type). Will start to read this evening
New Leads:
Source: CC Library
Role: na
Contact: Margaret Millar, Beast in View, Banshee, The Listening Walls
Notes: found books on library website
Action: sent husband out to pick up books. I'm most interested in Listening Walls for its class issue (Mexican maid/ rich white Santa Barbara type). Will start to read this evening
New Leads:
New Leads
Date: Jan. 5, 200i
Source: Sonoma State, California Ethnic Lit
Role of Person: or Medium Course reading
"California's Literary Landscape" by Gerald W. Haslam
Contact or Biblio Data Ca mystery writer Fredrick Zackel
Notes: Never heard of this writer, did internet search and discovered he was a protage of Ross MacDonald. He wrote two novels, Cocaine and Blue Eyes and Cinderlla ??? I was able to read the first chapter of Cocaine and Blue Eyes on the website: thrillingdetective.com. I loved it! Strong, realistic characters, set in northern CA logging area, opens at a truck stop. I want to read this book.
Action searched for book in library, no where to be found in Contra Costa. I can order from Amazon but I'm getting worried about time to include in my project. I think the book would be a good representation from the 70's and drug culture with a murder mystery
Kew Leads I read a bio about Zackel, learned that he met Ross MacDonald (aka Ken Millar - I didn't know that!!!) and MacDonald's wife, Margaret Millar, a feminist mystery writer w/fictional Santa Barabara settings in the 40's, 50's, 60's. She even won a Edgar Award for Beast in View (1955) and wrote two other runner ups.
Source: Sonoma State, California Ethnic Lit
Role of Person: or Medium Course reading
"California's Literary Landscape" by Gerald W. Haslam
Contact or Biblio Data Ca mystery writer Fredrick Zackel
Notes: Never heard of this writer, did internet search and discovered he was a protage of Ross MacDonald. He wrote two novels, Cocaine and Blue Eyes and Cinderlla ??? I was able to read the first chapter of Cocaine and Blue Eyes on the website: thrillingdetective.com. I loved it! Strong, realistic characters, set in northern CA logging area, opens at a truck stop. I want to read this book.
Action searched for book in library, no where to be found in Contra Costa. I can order from Amazon but I'm getting worried about time to include in my project. I think the book would be a good representation from the 70's and drug culture with a murder mystery
Kew Leads I read a bio about Zackel, learned that he met Ross MacDonald (aka Ken Millar - I didn't know that!!!) and MacDonald's wife, Margaret Millar, a feminist mystery writer w/fictional Santa Barabara settings in the 40's, 50's, 60's. She even won a Edgar Award for Beast in View (1955) and wrote two other runner ups.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Another Novel
Date: Jan. 1, 2008
Source: Public Library Search
Role of Person or Medium: na
Contact or Bibliographic Info: Death Goes on Retreat by Sister Carol Anne O'Marie
Notes: A fun read and well written. The description of setting and scenes is epcecially good. Set in the Santa Cruz mountains, the story has moments where I could actually hear the wind in the Redwood trees, the crunch of the gravel in the parking lot. A good representation of a CA cozy...if such a sub-genre exists.
Source: Public Library Search
Role of Person or Medium: na
Contact or Bibliographic Info: Death Goes on Retreat by Sister Carol Anne O'Marie
Notes: A fun read and well written. The description of setting and scenes is epcecially good. Set in the Santa Cruz mountains, the story has moments where I could actually hear the wind in the Redwood trees, the crunch of the gravel in the parking lot. A good representation of a CA cozy...if such a sub-genre exists.
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