Blog Posts by Subject: Mysteries, Crime, Thrillers

Welcome to the January edition of the Readers Den!

Sherlock Holmes is back and better than ever with the Arthur Conan Doyle Estate's authorization of the novel The House of Silk: A Sherlock Holmes Novel by Anthony Horowitz. This month we will discuss the House of Silk and its similarities/differences to the original series and the spirit of our favorite sophisticated sleuth.

The Bailey Weggins mystery series by author Kate White is a cross between Nancy Drew, Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City, and occasionally, the cutthroat office politics from Lauren Weisburger’s The Devil Wears Prada. Like NBC’s Castle and the aforementioned Bradshaw character, Bailey is a writer for a fashion magazine called Gloss.

Anya Balanchine lives in a world where chocolate is illegal, water is scarce and New York City is a ghost of what it once was. Central Park is no longer a park. The Metropolitan Museum is a night club.

If you have an affinity for things that go bump in the night, then the TeenLIVE event with Darren Shan on November 12, 2010 was right up your blood-curdling alley. Have no fear (pun definitely intended) if you missed out on Shan’s edge-of-your-seat reading of Lord Loss and Birth of A Killer, because you can watch it here.

Thank you for joining us this month in the Reader’s Den. I hope you enjoyed the first book in the Maisie Dobbs series. Birds of a Feather and Pardonable Lies are the next two books in the series. 

Here are a few suggestions if you want to read other novels set in World War I or the post-war period, or if you want to find more information about World War I and some of the issues addressed in Maisie Dobbs:

Damien W. Echols, 36, Jason Baldwin, 34, and Jessie Misskelley Jr., 36, known as "the West Memphis Three" were released from prison Friday morning after spending 18 years behind bars. Their trials and convictions have been under scrutiny, many people believing the three to be innocent. Brush up on your knowledge of this historical case with the following materials available through NYPL:

Welcome to week three of the book discussion of Maisie Dobbs. I hope you are enjoying getting to know Maisie and her family, friends and colleagues. Perhaps you are nearly finished reading the novel. I promise not to spoil the ending. 

Welcome to week two of the Maisie Dobbs book discussion. Have you introduced yourself to Maisie yet? She is a singular character — somewhat aloof — but I think that is because she is shy. The process of moving from in-between maid to Cambridge student meant she was constantly going between two worlds without fitting into either one. Gender and class issues were involved. A woman aspiring to a university education was still unusual at that time.

Elodie comes to the town of Two Castles with one goal: to become a mansioner. Her greatest hope, her only actual plan upon arriving in town, is to apprentice herself to a mansioner that she might become an accomplished performer in her own right.

When Elodie’s hope is dashed she is forced to look for another plan or starve in Two Castles with none of her family at home even knowing about her plight.

Help comes in the unusual form of a dragon named Meenore.

Welcome to the August edition of the Reader's Den. The month of August fairly screams "beach read!" There's nothing like a good mystery to banish the workday world from your vacationing brain while you are relaxing on the beach.

In his essay “King Weirdo,” anthologized in the collection Now Dig This, the American humorist Terry Southern writes about his first encounter with Edgar Allan Poe’s only novel, The Narrative of A. Gordon Pym.

Thank you for joining this month’s Reader’s Den featuring Incarceron by Catherine Fisher. Although the month is over, feel free to return to this post to continue to discuss and comment on the novel.

If you enjoyed Incarceron you might also enjoy the titles below:

I hope all of you enjoyed Incarceron by Catherine Fisher this month as much as I did.

Feel free to share your favorite moments, characters, or whatever below.

Here are some discussion questions to sink your teeth into:

Incarceron was originally published in Great Britain in 2007 before coming to US readers three years later in 2010. The Times also selected Incarceron as its book of the year. In 2007 Incarceron was also selected as a finalist in the YA Science Fiction and Fantasy category of the Cybils—a book award given each year by book bloggers.

Greetings and welcome to the May installment of The Reader's Den.

This month we'll be reading Incarceron (2010) by Catherine Fisher.

He is instantly recognizable, even to people who have never read any of the novels and stories written about him.  He uses his powers of deductive reasoning better than almost anyone.  He never actually said, "Elementary, my dear Watson" except in the movies.  And even though he's one of the most famous detectives the world has ever known, he never really existed.

Ellie leads a typical life for a 17 year old. She goes to class, hangs out with her best friend Kevin, and wonders about Mark, her mysterious (and good looking) classmate. She has a black belt in tae kwon do, and after a night of ill-advised drinking with Kevin, has also volunteered her time to staging fight scenes for a play at the local university. Even if the play is being directed by Kevin’s oldest friend Iris, who is annoyingly perfect and makes Ellie feel like an ugly, ungainly giant.

I get this crazy feeling. Every once in a while I get it. I get the feeling that this is the last time in history when the offbeats like me will have a chance to live free in the nooks and crannies of the huge and rigid structure of an increasingly codified society. Fifty years from now I would be hunted down in the street. They would drill little holes in my skull and make me sensible and reliable and adjusted.   [The Quick Red Fox, 1964]

Benny Imura needs a job. He’s 15 years old and his rations are going to be cut in half if he doesn’t start contributing to society. Benny isn’t picky. Any job will do as long as it requires minimal effort and doesn’t involve working with his annoying, boring, and completely irritating older brother Tom.