Welcome to Litsy!

My April #roll100 picks (I already read number 2 earlier this year, I haven't already read it this month lol)
@PuddleJumper

I really liked the premise of the story and the writing was easy to read, but I was bored out of my gourd in the first 50 pages. The outcome was also extra obvious very early on with how the story was being told.

I think this is my second favorite Swanson book now, after The Kind Worth Killing.

4.0 ⭐️. Didn‘t live up to the hype I expected

OMG! Peter Swanson is now definitely one of my favorite authors! The book has a great storyline; it‘s kind of an homage to Agatha Christie. I really like the character Malcolm, the bookstore owner but..I really can‘t say much more or I‘ll spoil it for others. Please read the book and enjoy!

“From the hugely talented author of The Kind Worth Killing comes a chilling tale of psychological suspense and an homage to the thriller genre tailor-made for fans: the story of a bookseller who finds himself at the center of an FBI investigation because a very clever killer has started using his list of fiction‘s most ingenious murders.”

A bookseller finds himself at the center of an FBI investigation because someone is using his list of 8 perfect murders as their calling card. I liked the premise and that it‘s an homage to classic whodunnits, but in the end I was underwhelmed. It‘s slow and purposeful, but doesn‘t have a lot of tension. I didn‘t really connect with the writing style, and the characters were too underdeveloped for me to actually care. 3/5⭐️

I‘m never going to finish this if #Airedale doesn‘t stop “helping” me read.

The book was up to a nice start, and then the narrator brought up The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and I thought "Oh, this is gonna be good?"

Fifth book read for #scarathlon2022 #teamslaughter #scarathlondailyprompts #promptmaze #bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks #spookoween @TheSpineView #31by31 @Catsandbooks #pointsathon @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES #outstandingoctober @Andrew65

Another 4 books and 15 reading hours.

#scarathlon2022 #teamslaughter @Clwojick

#Scarathlon Photo challenge Day 10: Crime
#TeamMonsterMash #ScarathlonDailyPrompts @StayCurious

September #wrapup

After many years I finally concluded the Bunnicula series. I just loved Howard. I had no dnf‘s and I read some enjoyable graphic novels featuring Latin/Hispanic characters for Hispanic heritage month. Best of the month was The Blackbird Girls and Remarkably Bright Creatures.

I‘m using this one as my “E” but I love all of his books ❤️ #LetterE #Alphabetgame @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

"I do not have a critical mind for poems, but I react to them." MOOD.

Yes! This is what I was craving! Perfect for mystery thriller week.

“Why does everything need to be a list? What compels us to do that? It was something I‘d been doing ever since I became an obsessed reader…”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you, @Andrew65 for another great #20in4! I finished all of my planned books and read for over 20 hours. Looking forward to doing this again in April. 💙

I‘m down to these 4 books and then I‘ll have read all the books on my #BookSpinBingo card for March. 🍀

Despite everything, Swanson made me like the main character so I didn‘t like the ending. Which is bonkers and probably makes me slightly psychotic. But here we are. Swanson is quickly becoming an instant buy author for me. I did like Before She Knew Him better than this one but only because of the ending.

Listened to most of this on audio, and then realized that I had a signed ARC on my shelf! This was a clever thriller in which murders keep happening that are based on a list the MC, a mystery book shop owner, blogged about years earlier. #readmyowndamnbooks

An unreliable narrator and murders committed as an homage to eight murder mystery books…definitely an interesting read. The ending was sad to me, yet I don‘t want to ruin it for anyone. I have the UK edition hence the differing title.

This book was really fun and interesting to read. I loved all the references to older mystery books. There were a few twists along the way and I didn‘t guess the murderer so that was good. I enjoyed the main character, Mal, and his social awkwardness. He was a flawed character but you still root for him.

The weather was weird today — pretty windy. I wore a skort and short sleeved tee on my walk and wasn‘t cold; however, I wouldn‘t have been too warm if I‘d been wearing a long sleeved shirt and sweatpants. I‘m almost finished with this book — 2 more hours — and I‘m still not sure who did it. #audiowalk

I finished my first book of 2022 tonight! This one has been on my bookshelf for a while and I finally decided to dive into it. I can‘t believe I waited so long to read it because it kept me on the edge of my seat from the very beginning. There was a huge twist and I loved it!

This story of a bookstore owner who gets involved with the FBI and some murder cases because of a list he wrote detailing 8 fictional perfect murders is my new walking book. We got my husband outside for a walk; it was beautiful, if a little warm. #audiowalk

I enjoyed this book! It was a great short palette cleanser after listening to The Night Circus for 14 hours! I loved the way I learned about other mysteries and authors that read from before and others that were more obscure but there were many spoilers. The premise was good, it was a pretty basic plot which made it an easy listen. Not too many characters and everything was organized well. The ending was my favorite part of the book.

So I've been suspicious about Gwen since chapter 10. I'm 3 hours from finishing the audiobook and I'm certain I have it figured out.. Cannot wait to see if I am right!

So Malcolm is a book seller who once made a list of eight perfect murders in mystery novels and now an FBI agent is knocking on his door to solve cold cases that look eerily similar to his list. I remember the twist even if I read it in February but I don't want to spoil anything for anyone else. It was a fun if slow murder mystery read and I did enjoy Swanson's writing even if it has little staying power, and didn't stick with me long term.

Book 2 from the library. I think I‘m most excited to read this one, The Wife Upstairs has me a little nervous. I really don‘t want another Behind Closed Doors, the cruelty of that husband still haunts me to this day and I read that book 3+ years ago. #cumbiereads

This book was so different than others I have read and kept me from putting it down. I did guess some of the ending but I was still shocked with how it completely ended. Definitely one I would recommend. #Sept.1.21

I really enjoyed and got into this book right away. But then the middle really lost my interest. It had a solid ending, for the most part. But I don't know, it just was lacking something that I can't quite put my finger on. It was just alright. 3.5/5 stars

I hope this is a good one!!

An enjoyable murder mystery which incorporates other classic murder mysteries as part of the plot.

#TBR picks July/August
#CurrentlyReading #ReadingUpdate Mrs. Dalloway, Thorn birds, Hearts in Atlantis and Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.
4 other books waiting in the wings when I'm done with these 🙂

Reading a good book about murder that recommends other good books about murder … life doesn‘t get much better!

Just checking in to see how everyone is doing mid summer🏖
Haven't heard from some of you in awhile @Andrew65 @CaffeineAndCandy are you doing okay?

Make a great day everyone.

1. Amelia, read a story, forget title, about Amelia Earhart.
2. Loyalty, in stories and real life
Thx for tag @TheSpineView
#Two4Tuesday
I tag @JoeMo and @SW-T

Make a great day everyone 😊

Liked, didn‘t love. Malcolm is a mystery book store owner who wrote a blog called “8 Perfect Murders”. He gives the list of books that fit his criteria. Problem is that someone has been inspired to replicate these fictional murders in real life. Other problem is that Malcolm is a non- reliable narrator. Disappointing after reading “Before She Knew Him”

I quite enjoyed this and it's one of those bibliophile books, especially for murder mystery fans!
the ending kind of let me down because of how much of a stretch it seemed ...and without spoiling it, I will say after the 1st reveal. The 2nd, if we can call it that, was less so.
All in all I liked the concept of the unreliable narrator who admits unreliability calling into question his unreliability lol.

A bookish mystery full of references to classic noir novels. I was completely engrossed by the story, but even more than that, I loved all of the backlist books it referenced. I kept adding notes about other murder mysteries to check out. A bookstore owner is surprised when the FBI contacts him about a pattern in some local killings. Our unreliable narrator gives us answers slowly, which makes it all the more enthralling.

This was a slow mystery to me not a thriller or suspense like most of Swanson's books. There's eight murders based off a book store employees blog page review of the books. It felt like I was reading about book reviews more so than murders. But still a unique read. #BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

I actually really enjoyed this #audiobook! 🎧
Not sure why that surprised me, maybe that it brought me out of my funk a little and had me out for lots of walks (since that was when I listened) and had me just chilling, listening in the back yard with a well-deserved beverage after the sweltering walks! 🥵

Warning: the book was a little spoilery in its list of the 8 Perfect Murders in literature, but still an entertaining read.

#booksandbooze

Malcolm Kershaw, a co-owner of the Old Devils Bookstore once posted a list of perfect fictional murders on the store‘s blog. Now, according to an FBI agent, someone is replicating the list through actual murders.

This is an ok unreliable narrator mystery, but the bookstore theme is done to death (pun intended) through other lists of favorite (uninspired) reads and the death of one of those “customers from hell.” The cat was fun though.

⭐️⭐️⭐️🔥
3 regular stars with a little extra. It was a fun read! Great concept, fun twist that you start finding out about mid book or so and fun to watch it grow. Not usually a fan of unreliable narrators but it was done well here. It kept me focused so I am almost done with current blanket!

#mystery #knittingwhilereading #murder

I enjoyed this! A compelling mystery with an unreliable narrator. I enjoyed the connection to so many great crime/mystery books and writers, such as Agatha Christie. 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Currently reading!

I went into B&N to get Five Total Strangers and left with two more. The 50% sticker gets me all the time. I started a new shelf on #Goodreads called Impulse buys. That should fill up fast. 😄

I wanted to love this book, but I really didn‘t. Maybe it was because I have no knowledge or reference to the classic books mentioned throughout. I struggled to finish this book and really could not connect to any character. The ending fell very flat for me and was predictable.

This was a cool premise for crime/thriller readers with bookseller protagonist and murders to investigate, a naive young FBI agent. Who is trying to create the eight perfect murders? Kind of cool revisiting some familiar stories along the way.