Richard Mann's Reading List for 1998 (Partial)
| No. | Date | Author | Title | Rating | Comments |
| 1 | 5/21/98 | Westlake, Donald | What's the Worst that Could Happen? | 95 | Massively funny Dortmunder novel (#9). One of the best of the year. A rich householder catches John D. red-handed and steals his ring. Outraged, Dortmunder goes to incredible lengths to get his ring back. A great story. |
| 2 | 7/10/98 | King, Laurie R. | A Grave Talent | 95 | The best of the year. A gripping story where you really care about the characters, who are truly remarkable people. I was transfixed and rapturous as I read this. Whew! This is the first in the Kate Martinelli series. |
| 3 | 7/12/98 | Iovakou, Judy & ? | So Dear to Wicked Men | 70 | Greek restaurateur in the South and wife. Fairly amusing, not overly caught up in the glory of gourmet cooking. |
| 4 | 7/15/98 | Healy, Jonathan | So Like Sleep | 78 | John Francis Cuddy #3. Moderately strong story involving psychiatrists and manufactured memories. Clever, satisfying. |
| 5 | 7/21/98 | King, Laurie R. | A Monstrous Regiment of Women | 81 | Mary Russell #2. A Sherlock Holmes story. Fascinating ratiocination, a delightful relationship between Holmes and his young protégé. One of my favorite series. |
| 6 | 7/25/98 | Emerson, Earl | The Million-Dollar Tattoo | 84 | Thomas Black #9. A fine story, starting out a little on the fantastic side (UFOs, etc.) but ending in a solid earthly conclusion. |
| 7 | 7/28/98 | Fowler, Earlene | Kansas Troubles | 85 | Benni Harper #3. Excellent story. Benni and Gabe visit his home in Derby, KS, encountering his family, his history, and, of course, a murder involving his old buddies. Ms. Fowler has really hit her stride with this one. |
| 8 | 7/31/98 | King, Laurie R. | A Letter of Mary | 84 | Mary Russell #3. Even better than #2. I love this series. |
| 9 | 8/2/98 | Womack, Steven | Murder Manual | 76 | Harry Denton #5, set in Memphis. I found Harry's overwhelming personal problems in this one a bit too discouraging. I hope this excellent series regains its momentum in the next outing. |
| 10 | 8/4/98 | Churchill, Jill | Fear of Frying | 78 | Jane Jeffreys #9. Another mildly funny outing for Jane and her friends. Nothing to get excited about, but definitely worth reading. |
| 11 | 8/15/98 | Churchill, Jill | War and Peas | 78 | Jane Jeffreys #8. She's having a little trouble coming up with credible plots to match her clever titles, but she pulls it off again, this time with a legume museum and civil war re-enactors. Amazing. |
| 12 | 8/15/98 | Richman, Phyllis | The Butter Did It | 68 | About chefs and food critics. Good writing. The gourmet world wears a bit at times, but overall this was a fun book. |
| 13 | 8/25/98 | King, Laurie R. | To Die a Fool | 94 | Kate Martinelli #2. An amazing story involving truly unique characters in an unimaginable situation. I really care for these people. A great book. |
| 14 | Sep-98 | Burke, Jan | Remember Me, Irene | 83 | Irene Kelly #4. Excellent story, great writing, wonderfully creative plot with lots of interest and new situations. Great continuation of a good series. |
| 15 | Sep-98 | Fitzwater, Judy | Dying to Get Published | 72 | Fun new series. Promising debut. Heroine is funny and engaging. The story is a bit far-fetched, but what the heck… |
| 16 | Sep-98 | Francis, Dick | Field of Thirteen | 78 | I'm usually disappointed with mystery short stories. Not this time. The master does short every bit as well as he does long. |
| 17 | Sep-98 | Henry, Sue | Death Takes Passage | 71 | Alex Jensen series #4. A murder takes place on a cruise ship re-enacting a famous gold-rush cruise down the Inside Passage. A bit strained, but OK. |
| 18 | Sep-98 | Westlake, Donald | Baby, Would I Lie? | 74 | Fun caper novel of Branson, MO. A legendary country singer accused of murder and a National Observer-style tabloid covers the trial. Funny but sinister. |
| 19 | Oct-98 | Bernhardt, William | Blind Justice | 60 | Second in the long Ben Kincaid lawyer series. I read 200 of the 300 pages and quit. The writing is polished and competent, but somehow I just didn't care what happened. (I gave it up when they got to the dramatic, going-for-the-throat courtroom scene. I guess I'm not much for legal posturing.) |
| 20 | Oct-98 | Fowler, Earlene | Goose in the Pond | 78 | Benni Harper #4. I don't remember the plot! But I liked it. |
| 21 | Oct-98 | Emerson, Earl | Deception Pass | 78 | Excellent continuation of the Thomas Black series (#10). Emerson is never weak. Creative new situation, clever solution. |
| 22 | Oct-98 | Lippmann, Laura | Baltimore Blues | 74 | Tess Monaghan #1. Fun new character with some witty moments. Nice Baltimaore atmosphere and lots about rowing. Story is well-plotted and believable, but it takes a while before the characters drop their cardboard facades. |
| 23 | Oct-98 | McCrumb, Sharyn | She Walks These Hills | 79 | Spencer Arrowood #3. Excellent Appalachian atmosphere, realistic small-town feel, wonderful story-telling. Slight fantasy element ( a "woo-woo" book). This book won multiple awards. |
| 24 | Oct-98 | Parker, Robert B. | Small Vices | 75 | Tape, unabridged. Spenser 1997 (#24). We're getting Parker back to his normal good writing. A long story with lots of pain. Spenser is shot nearly to death and we live through his long recovery/rehab. |
| 25 | Oct-98 | Westlake, Donald | Smoke | 77 | Wow. Fanciful caper novel wherein a small-time burglar is accidentally turned invisible. Westlake thinks of the funnest details--how it would be to take a shower and wash your face with transparent eyelids, can you see undigested food, etc. Plenty of fun here. |
| 26 | Nov-98 | L'Amour, Louis | Sackett's Land | 70 | Unabridged tape. First of the Sackett novels bring Barnabas Sackett, a contemporary of Shakespeare from England to the New World. Sometimes exciting, always interesting , but not as vital a page-turner as most L'Amours. |
| 27 | Nov-98 | Lanier, Virginia | Death in Bloodhound Red | 82 | Jo Beth Siddons #1. Wow. Extremely interesting, well-written, compelling story. Lotsa details about bloodhounds. Fascinating. Flaws: over-long, too many incidents not contributing directly to main plot--but I loved it! |
| 28 | Dec-98 | Parker, Robert B. | Sudden Mischief | 78 | Spenser #25, 1998. Finally Parker is back in form. Recently, I read one or two where the whole story was nothing but too-clever monsyllabic banter between Hawk and Spenser. This was back to his wonderful narrative flow with a good story line. |
| 29 | 12/1/98 | Thomas, Ross | Briarpatch | 70 | Edgar Award Winner for 1985. Well told intrigue/murder story with CIA people and Senators involved. I don't really enjoy Ross Thomas books--his protagonists are not nice people. |
| 30 | 12/8/98 | Parker, Robert B. | Night Passage | 80 | A new series: Jesse Stone #1. I was transfixed. I don't really like the characters, but the story grabs you and doesn't let go. He makes a drunk cop someone we care about. I LIKE this book. |
| 31 | 12/10/98 | Healy, Jonathan | Swan Dive | 72 | A workmanlike minor novel in the Cuddy series (#4). I hope he gets more power into the next one. |
Would you like to see similar information on my 1999 reading? Click here for 1999's Reading List.
Last Updated on 5/6/99 by Richard Mann
Email: mannr@owatc.tec.ut.us
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