We Mysterians, Readers with Stamina

For the month of February, One More Page Books’ Mystery/Suspense Book Club read Nelson DeMille’s The Charm School, a hefty 757 pages long! At our meeting, I had the nerve to bring up for discussion DeMille’s “Author’s Foreword” as well. Guess what? Everyone had read the foreword as well. In January we read Kate Morton’s The Forgotten Garden that comes in at a mere 548 pages! Yes, these books are long, especially since we meet the third Tuesday of each month which gives these readers about three weeks to get her read.

Lest you think we are a band of shut-ins with little to do but read, let me set you straight. We are busy folk, some work fulltime, most travel widely, all are well-read and have excellent comprehension and analysis skills. Their reading and recall of other mysteries and thrillers allows for comparing and contrasting of stories and writing styles. I am privileged to be their discussion leader, not that I have much to do. They argue, cajole, tease, adding to each others’ comments, in a passionate yet polite manner. All I need do is join their fray.

By this time, we know each others’ predilections. I love anything set during WWII, European theater. Another likes novels set in the USSR or its satellites, especially during the time of Stalin. One member stated he wanted a dead body on the first page, a dictum often disappointed. Tension sometimes arises between those who like mysteries and those who prefer suspense. Some have complained that certain books we’ve read don’t fit into either category like Dominic Smith’s The Last Painting of Sara Devos, more mainstream than genre, yet a terrific read. Some do not like too much gore. Some like their mystery mixed with fantasy, others like complicated spy thrillers.

Together we choose the books we will read. A member will say they really like a certain author. I look through Amazon and confer with Leila at One More Page Books. We want a book in paperback that the store can order. We assign certain books for certain months, saving dark snowy Scandinavian mysteries and those cannibal Stalinist books for brighter months.

Sometimes the member who chooses the book feels pressure because other members may not have liked the book. We can be an argumentative lot. “How old were you when you read and enjoyed this book?” was asked of a book with a dog narrator. The lady who chose this one is well-read with a terrific sense of humor; she took the criticism with aplomb. I smiled through my umbrage when my choice of Ruth Rendell’s Road Rage was roundly disparaged. Also when my favorite, Alan Furst, did not receive the appreciation he deserves. “This was okay, but I will never read anything by him again” was said.

Are there favorite authors among our discriminating gang? Yes. Martin Cruz Smith and his Gorky Park made us all fans, as did Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch. While we usually don’t read the same author twice, we make exceptions for authors we love.

We are not perfect. Like many readers today, we are guilty of reading literature of the past through the prism of today. An example of this is the way authors handle their female characters. When a man writes a woman, especially in a stereotypical way, he invites our scorn. DeMille’s novel got trashed for this as did David Gillingham’s City of Women, which I loved, regardless of his tropism.

What we have in common is the joy of reading. And our book group will get a break from thick tomes this month. We’re reading Denise Mina’s Gods and Beasts, slender at only 307 pages. Our group is not exclusive. Come join us on Tuesday night at 7:00 at One More Page Books for a lively discussion.