2021.06.28 Meeting Notes

You should be well into reading our next book: Confessions on the 7:45 by Lisa Unger. Sadly, we are NOT reading the Emergency book that BookMovement keeps sending us. You are welcome to read that one too, but we won’t be discussing it.
REMEMBER: The July 26 meeting will be IN PERSON at the Lone Tree Library and starts at 6 PM (our new start time). Everyone pray to the web gods that we will be able to connect with our remote members for the meeting.
In June we met via Zoom to discuss Michael Connelly’s Fair Warning. This was a Jack McEvoy book and since I am on the final season of Bosch, I was glad that the book wasn’t one of his. I can only handle so much Bosch at a time.
The scores for the book were mostly upper middle, as I call them (the 6-8 range). We had one 5, three 6s, six 7s, three 8s, and one 9.
The positive comments related to liking the whole DNA plotline. It was creepy and real and Connelly gave us enough information without too much (I think we compared this to Scott Turow’s The Last Trial and how much info we got about the scam they were running with the medication to keep people alive). McEvoy was relatable, yet imperfect. The book flowed and was captivating, we liked the build up to the end. One reader thought that Rachel could have her own series too. 
One of the main criticisms was that we didn’t know anything about the murderer. We never found out why he was the way he was, or anything about his background. He was this weirdly anonymous person who we heard from throughout the book (since he had his own chapters) but he remained a mystery. When authors do that, it’s sometimes because that person will be in the next book, but since our killer clearly died in the end, that can’t be the case. It was disappointing to not know more about this important character. 
I feel the need to point out that Jeff, who is a big Connelly fan, said this was the worst Connelly book he’s read. But he still gave it a 6. So clearly the worst Connelly book is still better than a lot of books out there. He also pointed out that he didn’t like Jack, Rachel wasn’t used well, and as I stated in the previous paragraph, we didn’t find out about the Shrike.
It was interesting that Connelly interviewed the real-life guy he used as McEvoy’s boss (and mentioned he sat on the Board) because since the book was published, the company has closed. Apparently they had a lawsuit relating to discrimination and just folded. 
We all took a vote on our favorite Michael Connelly character (Bosch, Haller, McEvoy, Ballard). The clear winner was Bosch, but Mickey Haller was next, followed by a tie for Ballard and McEvoy for 3rd place. 
We ended the meeting by asking what everyone was reading/watching – since we always want recommendations.
* Gail was reading The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
* Sharon L. was reading The Invisible Life of Addy LaRue by V.E. Schwab
* Nicole was reading
** The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz
** The Maidens by Alex Michaelides
** The Power Couple by Alex Berenson
* Ann was reading Northern Spy by Flynn Berry
And for those of you who follow our WWHR (What Would Heather Read) suggestions, according to Goodreads, she gave The Minders by John Marrs a 5-star rating. It's got a bit of a sci-fi flair for those of you who like sci-fi. 
If you want to know what ratings were given to the rest of the books above, friend them on Goodreads to see. If you don’t use Goodreads, it’s a great way to log your books and give them scores. You can friend all of the Crime & Beyond members who use it so you can see what they’re reading and if they liked it. 
We also have a private Facebook group, if you’re not part of the group, friend me and I will accept and invite you.
See you in person on July 26 at 6 pm!
Kerry