Philip Kerr - The Authors List

Philip Kerr. I've read 14 of his historical thrillers and originally overlooked him when I was putting together my Authors List. All of the novels of his that I've read have been part of his Bernie Gunther series. They are all set in Germany during the 1930's, the Second World War and the Cold War.

His first three books written between 1989-1991 were later published together in a trilogy titled Berlin Noir in 1993. That is how I read them during the summer of 2010. Then I read the rest of the books over the next few years. The last book of his I read was his last Bernie Gunther in 2019 published a year after he sadly passed away at 62. 

Philip Kerr novels I've read:

• March Violets, 1989 - Jun 2010
• The Pale Criminal, 1990 - Jul 2010
• A German Requiem, 1991 - Aug 2010
• The One From The Other, 2006 - Jan 2011
• A Quiet Flame, 2008 - May 2011
• If The Dead Rise Not, 2009 - Jun 2011
• Field Gray, 2010 - Sep 2011
• Prague Fatale, 2011 - Jul 2012
• A Man Without Breadth, 2013 - May 2014
• The Lady From Zagreb, 2015 - Jul 2015
• The Other Side Of Silence, 2016 - Jun 2016
• Prussian Blue, 2017 - Apr 2018
• Greeks Bearing Gifts, 2018 - Sep 2018
• Metropolis, 2019 - Jun 2019

Upon A Dark Night - A Novel

Upon a Dark Night by Pete Lovesey, 1997. I just finished my fifth crime mystery novel in his Peter Diamond detective series that takes place in Bath, England. A lot of plot twist in this one and some interesting police procedure detective work. It was a quick read and I've been enjoying this series of novels with Detective Diamond as the chief of the murder squad in the fascinating city of Bath.

Lovesey has written 22 novels in this series and I'm looking forward to reading more.

Adrian McKinty - The Authors List

Adrian McKinty. Now we're on to a Northern Irish writer of crime novels. Most of the 8 books of his that I've read were part of the detective Sean Duffy series that takes place in Belfast during The Troubles. 

I have really enjoyed the 7 novels of the Sean Duffy detective series and also the one standalone novel The Chain. The last book I read was about a year ago and I'm looking forward to his new one in the series.

Adrian McKinty books I've read:

• The Cold Cold Ground, 2012 - Feb 2021
• I Hear The Sirens In The Street, 2013 - Mar 2021
• The Chain, 2019 - May 2021
• In The Morning I'll Be Gone, 2014 - Aug 2021
• Gun Street Girl, 2015 - Nov 2021
• Rain Dogs, 2016 - Feb 2022
• Police At The Station and They Don't Look Friendly, 2017 - Mar 2023
• The Detective Up Late, 2023 -  Feb 2025

A Windy Night... and Day

Becky and I both woke up several times overnight because of the very high winds. I should also say the very noisy high winds. It sounded like some of the neighbor's trash containers were blowing around. I had mine put away close to the porch and one up against the shed door to keep it from blowing open which sometimes happens. It didn't happen last night. I went outside this morning to check on things. Some small branches came down in the backyard but nothing serious. I'm also going to put some bungy cords on the air conditioner cover to keep it from flapping in the wind which can be somewhat noisy.

Yesterday we had both some snow and rain during one particular hour which I wrote about here.

So today it will be cloudy all day but no rain or snow until tomorrow morning. It will be windy again tomorrow too. It looks like it will be a mixed weather week coming up just like it was a mixed weather time over the past couple of weeks. Looking forward to some real nice spring weather.

A Snow Rain Hour

Earlier today we had some strange weather. Within an hour around noontime we had snow that covered everything, some sunshine, then a lot of rain that got rid of all the snow. March in Buffalo.

I also saw the first robin in our yard during that snow. The other robins we've seen this spring have been on our walks.

Martin Walker - The Authors List

Martin Walker is next on my Authors List at 8 of his novels I've read. He is a writer and former journalist from Scotland who writes crime detective novels that take place in a rural village in France. The books are always an interesting blend of police procedure, restaurant cooking, wine tastings, current events and local history.

All 8 of his novels I've read are part of the Bruno, Chief of Police series of which there are 18 novels so I still have a way to go.

The Martin Walker books I've read:

• Bruno, Chief of Police, 2008 - Nov 2022
• The Dark Vineyard, 2009 - Dec 2022
• Black Diamond, 2010 - Feb 2023
• The Crowded Grave, 2011 - Mar 2023
• The Devil's Cave, 2012 - Jun 2023
• The Resistance Man, 2013 - Jan 2024
• The Children Return, 2014 - Jan 2025
• The Patriarch, 2015 - Jul 2025

Guinness at Coles

Becky and I went over to Coles tonight for dinner. They always have some St. Patrick's Day specials in March which we enjoy so we thought we would get over there before the rush this weekend. St. Patrick's Day is next Tuesday which means this weekend is the crazy time with the parade and all. We also have reservations next Thursday at Miras across the street so tonight it was.

I had their always wonderful Guinness Beef Stew dinner along with a couple of Guinness Stout drafts. Becky had one of their regular nice sandwiches. 

The bar was busy as usual on a Thursday night and there was a party upstairs. The place was highly decorated Irish style and tomorrow night there were promoting their annual Irish Blessing of the Kegs night at 7 pm. That was another reason we decided to go there tonight rather than tomorrow.

We had a great time as usual.

Larry McMurtry - The Authors List

Larry McMurtry is next on my Authors List with 9 books of his that I've read. I started out with Lonesome Dove in 1985 but it would be another ten years before I read another one of his novels. I finished reading the four novel Lonesome Dove series as each book came out. Then I went on with the Berrybender series of four books. There are a few other of his books I'm interested in checking out.

I really liked watching the Lonesome Dove television series. I also liked a couple of films made from his early novels... The Last Picture Show, Hud (Horseman, Pass By) and Terms of Endearment. 

Larry McMurtry books I've read:

• Lonesome Dove, 1985 - Jun 1985
• Streets of Laredo, 1993 - Dec 1995
• Dead Man's Walk, 1995 - Jul 1996
• Comanche Moon, 1997 - Apr 1998
• Boone's Lick, 2001 - May 2001
• Sin Killer, 2002 - Jan 2003
• The Wandering Hill, 2003 - Jul 2003
• By Sorrow's River, 2003 - Dec 2005
• Folly and Glory, 2004 - Feb 2006

Tom Clancy - The Authors List

Tom Clancy. Another writer on my Authors List with 10 books that I've read. The first one was Patriot Games I read in 1990 after seeing the Hunt For Red October movie. During 1990 I also read two other political thriller novels including Red Storm Rising and The Hunt For Red October. I would read a few more throughout the decade and the last book I read was a disappointment in 2002. No more since then. 

I did enjoy reading his books in the 1990's, 

Tom Clancy books I've read:

• Patriot Games, 1987 - Jan 1990
• Red Storm Rising, 1986 - May 1990
• The Hunt For Red October, 1984 - Aug 1990
• The Cardinal of the Kremlin, 1988 - Jun 1994
• Clear and Present Danger, 1989 - Sep 1994
• The Sum of All Fears, 1991 - Mar 1995
• Without Remorse, 1993 - Sep 1995
• Debt of Honor, 1994 - Nov 1999
• Executive Orders, 1996 - Dec 1999
• The Bear and The Dragon, 2000 - Aug 2002

Brother Jack McDuff - Kitchen Listening

Brother Jack McDuff has always been one of my favorite jazz musicians. I especially loved his soul jazz organ music from the early 1960's. It was wonderful listening to him playing on several of his albums from that time period today. I especially loved that two of them also featured the amazing jazz guitarist Grant Green too.

I got a lot more of his albums to play later too.

Today's albums:

• Brother Jack, 1960 - with Bill Jennings
• The Honeydripper, 1961 - with Grant Green
• Goodnight It's Time To Go, 1961 - with Grant Green
• Brother Jack Meets The Boss, 1962 - with Gene Ammons