tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post8324972041685724898..comments2024-03-28T22:42:54.810-07:00Comments on Bitter Tea and Mystery: Murder: Parnell HallTracyKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-710295961803406772021-09-29T13:12:39.281-07:002021-09-29T13:12:39.281-07:00Col, it is nice to be reminded of another fan of P...Col, it is nice to be reminded of another fan of Parnell Hall's Stanley Hastings series. Glen is still enjoying them and we look for ones that he is missing from time to time. They don't usually have hardback copies of them at the book sale, which is what Glen wants.<br /><br />We did have fun visiting the book sale this year and I bought too many books, as usual.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-50367569448678673022021-09-29T13:09:38.506-07:002021-09-29T13:09:38.506-07:00Sam, there are many good things about having more ...Sam, there are many good things about having more access to communication nowadays, but I had seeing people staring at their phones all the time. Still I must move forward with the times.<br /><br />But I would still rather read about life before 2000 than afterward, given a choice. I enjoy reading about policemen who resist the use of computers in solving crimes (as in Bill Crider's Sheriff Dan Rhodes series), even though I know how much those improvements have helped in crime solving.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-46399079496685502682021-09-29T12:14:21.190-07:002021-09-29T12:14:21.190-07:00I loved the first when I read it years ago, Tracy....I loved the first when I read it years ago, Tracy. I was steered towards it by your husband, so I owe him my gratitude. I must try and read more in the series soon.col2910https://www.blogger.com/profile/06422138069939709043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-40099245299572515462021-09-29T12:09:36.784-07:002021-09-29T12:09:36.784-07:00I'm like you in that I enjoy those "dated...I'm like you in that I enjoy those "dated novels" from the seventies and eighties. They remind me of just how different a world we lived in just three decades ago; it still amazes me how quickly everything changed. My grandkids don't have a clue as to what it was like to communicate in those days...looking for pay phones, finding them out of order, someone hogging them, feeling unsafe while using them. Yeah, those were the good old days.Sam https://www.blogger.com/profile/17448913705757509608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-7094498716399924302021-09-28T15:25:06.764-07:002021-09-28T15:25:06.764-07:00Katrina, I am glad you can try some of his books, ...Katrina, I am glad you can try some of his books, and hope you like them. I do enjoy them a lot.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-43525779268599494062021-09-28T15:20:15.889-07:002021-09-28T15:20:15.889-07:00Amazingly my local library has a couple of his boo...Amazingly my local library has a couple of his books, I had never heard of him. I'll definitely give him a go.Katrinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18138715309807238198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-82295273974244460402021-09-28T14:20:05.452-07:002021-09-28T14:20:05.452-07:00Rick, I have heard that Parnell Hall was a very ni...Rick, I have heard that Parnell Hall was a very nice man, and creative and funny. I remember that Yvette Banek at her blog, In So Many Words, talked about how much she liked this series. I can understand why they would not appeal to you and some other readers, though.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-17653984061417594302021-09-28T14:13:49.138-07:002021-09-28T14:13:49.138-07:00Margot, I dithered over describing this novel and ...Margot, I dithered over describing this novel and the series as somewhat cozy, but the series has been described as hardboiled, which I think is going a bit too far. It is somewhere in the middle, and I like that.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-8225370808299085192021-09-28T14:12:07.177-07:002021-09-28T14:12:07.177-07:00Patti, I have never liked the idea that people hav...Patti, I have never liked the idea that people have to be tied to their phones, always available to whoever wants to call. In the work world, I see that as a very bad thing, basically people end up on call all day long. So when I am reading I like to read about situations where technology, and especially cell phones, are not ever present.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-1382168302135778242021-09-28T14:07:01.210-07:002021-09-28T14:07:01.210-07:00Constance, there are a lot of series written (or a...Constance, there are a lot of series written (or at least started) in the 1980s and 90s that I enjoy a lot. (Also vintage mysteries, but that is another subject.) Technology is nice and I worked in IT before I retired, but I don't like it in books at all.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-78277035892099503132021-09-28T09:48:53.133-07:002021-09-28T09:48:53.133-07:00Parnell Hall is a very nice, very funny man, and a...Parnell Hall is a very nice, very funny man, and a pretty good writer, but after trying the first two in the series, I donated them and never went back. They just didn't seem like "real" mysteries to me, whereas I loved Chandler and Christie.Rick Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07978136287154214297noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-85435834931599929412021-09-28T08:50:09.314-07:002021-09-28T08:50:09.314-07:00I'm with you, Tracy, when it comes to wit in a...I'm with you, Tracy, when it comes to wit in a novel. I prefer it to be subtle. Otherwise (well, for me, at least) it distracts from the main plot. The context for these stories is interesting, and I like the fact that it doesn't get explicit or graphic. Glad you enjoyed this.Margot Kinberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08599589137890528065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-79336884178076348152021-09-28T05:33:13.948-07:002021-09-28T05:33:13.948-07:00Yes, more and more the use of technology is a bore...Yes, more and more the use of technology is a bore. It calls too much attention to itself. If I were to write another novel, I would probably set it around this time period. It seems so restful now. pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-31240641751083844532021-09-27T21:14:15.626-07:002021-09-27T21:14:15.626-07:00I've never tried this series but I agree with ...I've never tried this series but I agree with you that the lack of technology is part of the appeal. In some book I was reading the other day, the protagonist had 3% left on his cell phone battery and used the phone to trick the bad guys into shooting it instead of him. While part of me related to the situation, it also distracted me from the action.CLMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03595294217111602231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-16196971627000347892021-09-27T19:01:22.430-07:002021-09-27T19:01:22.430-07:00Cath, the series may not be for everyone, but I ca...Cath, the series may not be for everyone, but I can say for sure that they are worth a try. Don't know how easy they are to find. The author wrote another series about a lawyer (not humorous, I think) and also one called the Puzzle Lady series .... that I know little about.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-61268723897196415452021-09-27T14:55:16.564-07:002021-09-27T14:55:16.564-07:00Another completely new to me series... I have not ...Another completely new to me series... I have not even 'heard' of the author let alone the books. And they sound excellent so I'll look them up. Cathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06371069000185280668noreply@blogger.com