tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post6071513951242741175..comments2024-03-18T13:01:10.621-07:00Comments on Bitter Tea and Mystery: Brothers Keepers: Donald E. WestlakeTracyKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-58247123013158755222017-11-22T22:40:03.079-08:002017-11-22T22:40:03.079-08:00You are very welcome, Nancy.You are very welcome, Nancy.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-11133244770691805962017-11-22T10:59:05.419-08:002017-11-22T10:59:05.419-08:00Wonderful! Many, many thanks!Wonderful! Many, many thanks!NancyElinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15021569006682648126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-15326294088292097102017-11-20T12:58:24.021-08:002017-11-20T12:58:24.021-08:00I do have some suggestions, Nancy. Some are not st...I do have some suggestions, Nancy. Some are not strictly Xmas themed but set at Christmas. Many of them are older books. My favorites are: <br />Not a Creature was Stirring by Jane Haddam<br />An English Murder by Cyril Hare<br />Murder at the Old Vicarage by Jill McGown<br />Banking on Death by Emma Lathen<br />Landed Gently by Alan Hunter <br />Envious Casca by Georgette Heyer<br />Winter Ground by Catriona McPherson (Scotland)<br />Rest You Merry by Charlotte MacLeod<br />A Stillness in Bethlehem by Jane Haddam<br />Cold Mourning by Brenda Chapman (Canada)<br />Thou Shell of Death by Nicholas Blake<br />Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie<br />The Holiday Murders by Robert Gott (Australian)<br />This last one is not a mystery but very good:<br />Mr. Ive's Christmas by Oscar Hijuelos<br />TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-20944513967304910692017-11-20T08:00:43.658-08:002017-11-20T08:00:43.658-08:00This sounds wonderful.
I'm joining a Mystery r...This sounds wonderful.<br />I'm joining a Mystery reading challenge (yes, I really am!)<br />and need a book with a Xmas theme. I know you must have a few on your list! Suggestions?NancyElinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15021569006682648126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-69178829996877176552017-11-16T21:02:26.555-08:002017-11-16T21:02:26.555-08:00It is a fun one, Col. I hope you have it too, or r...It is a fun one, Col. I hope you have it too, or run into a copy someday.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-30860147772597442752017-11-16T07:26:21.379-08:002017-11-16T07:26:21.379-08:00Not sure if I have this one or not. It doesn't...Not sure if I have this one or not. It doesn't ring any bells. I hope I have!col2910https://www.blogger.com/profile/06422138069939709043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-67388110094954429542017-11-11T10:34:39.572-08:002017-11-11T10:34:39.572-08:00Ok, Chris, you have me very curious now and I will...Ok, Chris, you have me very curious now and I will find a copy of Two Much. I agree, Brothers Keepers is not cute and cuddly, and that is why I like it. TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-55474302765691948752017-11-11T05:14:34.511-08:002017-11-11T05:14:34.511-08:00Two Much has been evailable for years (because it ...Two Much has been evailable for years (because it got two film adaptations, both of which are terrible). It is, in its own perverse way, a very moral book. Moral the way Petronius is moral. <br /><br />Brothers Keepers isn't so cute and cuddly either, if you look close. But it's about somebody who comes to a better understanding of who he is, and Two Much is about somebody who hopelssly confuses his understanding of who he is. That's the morality of Westlake. Know Thyself. Or pay the price. <br /><br />Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00271250698430923736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-69738106888690098922017-11-10T21:05:48.889-08:002017-11-10T21:05:48.889-08:00Thanks for reminding me about the books that Hard ...Thanks for reminding me about the books that Hard Case Crime is releasing. I had forgotten about those. Help I am Being Held Prisoner sounds good, but Two Much! might be too much for me. TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-23854627411238298192017-11-10T16:55:04.473-08:002017-11-10T16:55:04.473-08:00A lot of people don't know he wrote anything b...A lot of people don't know he wrote anything but humor. He wrote under multiple names, in multiple veins. Always the same underlying voice, but he could change it up a lot. In some ways, you could say he had several different writing careers going on at once, for much of his life.<br /><br />Brothers Keepers, along with the equally funny and poignant Help I Am Being Held Prisoner is being reprinted by Hard Case Crime. Two of his best books, they really should not have been out of print so long. <br /><br />If you want a much darker strain of comedy, try Two Much!, which came out the same year as Brothers Keepers. <br /><br />Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00271250698430923736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-8520738520158751492017-11-10T14:17:17.417-08:002017-11-10T14:17:17.417-08:00Based on stories I have read, Mathew, Westlake sta...Based on stories I have read, Mathew, Westlake started this book out as a crime novel but decided he could not make the characters be criminals. It is lots of fun.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-19382544365211114802017-11-10T11:49:01.092-08:002017-11-10T11:49:01.092-08:00Didn't know Westlake wrote humor, Tracy, but t...Didn't know Westlake wrote humor, Tracy, but then I've read only a couple of his crime novels. Another one on the list!Mathew Pausthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06157135006791553019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-52287639432332201852017-11-10T10:12:08.035-08:002017-11-10T10:12:08.035-08:00If you ever get a chance, Sergio, give it a try. I...If you ever get a chance, Sergio, give it a try. I think you would like it, and if not, I would want to hear your criticisms.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-43555187040580686692017-11-10T01:33:56.413-08:002017-11-10T01:33:56.413-08:00Not read this one but I usually like Westlake (in ...Not read this one but I usually like Westlake (in his various guises) a lot - thanks Tracy :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-10073443315323908452017-11-09T22:16:13.658-08:002017-11-09T22:16:13.658-08:00I agree, this might be the perfect Westlake book f...I agree, this might be the perfect Westlake book for you, Moira. TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-86631611212883564642017-11-09T14:55:39.844-08:002017-11-09T14:55:39.844-08:00I love the sound of this! I haven't read much ...I love the sound of this! I haven't read much by this author, even though I know he's very popular with a lot of people. sounds like this could be my way in.Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-54773920239167357312017-11-09T12:05:59.797-08:002017-11-09T12:05:59.797-08:00Margot: I did not even notice that this was not re...Margot: I did not even notice that this was not really a crime fiction book until I finished it, and started reading other reviews. I don't know how close to reality the depiction of life in the order is, but it seemed realistic to me.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-69815723896656190572017-11-09T12:03:20.262-08:002017-11-09T12:03:20.262-08:00I would recommend any of Donald E. Westlake's ...I would recommend any of Donald E. Westlake's humorous mysteries, Peggy. He also writes some darker novels and although I like anything he writes (so far), many people don't.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-12523370990514165792017-11-09T08:45:13.579-08:002017-11-09T08:45:13.579-08:00This does sound good, Tracy. I'm more familiar...This does sound good, Tracy. I'm more familiar with Westlake's crime fiction than I am with his other fiction, but I can see how this would be really appealing. It's interesting to look 'behind the scenes' at the monks' lifestyles.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-67477330660709343222017-11-09T06:53:00.623-08:002017-11-09T06:53:00.623-08:00Dog gone it, I just passed up Donald E. Westlake b...Dog gone it, I just passed up Donald E. Westlake books at Wonder Books back in Maryland while at my sons! They had a nice selection of them. I’ve never read any. Next trip to his house in Dec. I’ll get a couple if their still there.Peggyhttp://www.peggysporchsite.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com