Saturday, July 23, 2022

Stop, You're Killing Me! Website Review

As the site administrators state in their banner, 

Stop, You're Killing Me! is a website to die for...if you love mysteries!


It is a resource for lovers of mystery, crime, thriller, spy, and suspense books.


Image of a crime scene


A Mystery Book Website


The Stop, You're Killing Me! name is perfect for fans of the mystery/suspense genre.  It is a list filled with over 5,500 authors, each with a page having a chronological list of their books.  Over 66,000 titles are listed on this site, both series (6,600) and non-series. 


There are two sets of the alphabet at the top of the page – one for authors and one for characters – each with a clickable link.  Say you are interested in books by John Sandford (one of my favorite authors!). Click on the 'S' in the authors alphabet and it brings up all the authors whose last name begins with 'S'. Scroll down that page to find 'John Sandford', then click on that link.  Now you have a page of all the books written by Sandford, divided by series and then non-series.


Each section in a series is preceded by a description of the main character. (Ex: Lucas Davenport, police detective and war games designer in Minneapolis, Minnesota) 


Under the character description, you will find a list of every book in that series ~ the title followed by the date published, should you wish to begin with book one in the series and read them in order.  Each title has a clickable link which takes you to an Amazon page where you can read a description of the story (and/or purchase the book). The administrators of the site use these links to Amazon as a way of financing their website and because just about any book on the list is available there. 


Conversely, say you know the name of a story character (Lucas Davenport), but you cannot remember the name of the author. Use the 'character alphabet', click on 'D' for Davenport, again scroll down the list, click on the name and it will take you to the same page with a list of books starring Lucas Davenport. 


At the top of each author page is also the name of the author, DOB, and link to his/her Author Website. Interesting facts are also included at times; for instance under John Sandford's name at the top of his page is the name John Camp, which is Sandford's real name. 


Image of a sleuth investigating a crime
Image Source: Pixabay
Mystery lovers who are searching for a new or favorite author or character have several other ways they can search this website. Down the left-hand side of the page is a box with more links for searches. Do you really love stories that take place in Australia? There is a Location Index by country which denotes the location of the stories' character's home base.  


Ex: Jean Bedford (author)

  • Anna Southwood: private enquiry agent in Sydney, Australia


Then, should you want even more information, you can click on the character's link and it will take you to the author's page and list all the books starring that character. 


Another fascinating way to search, depending upon your interest in this genre, is by the Genre Index. What! You say! It's a mystery book site; isn't THAT the Genre?


Actually, there are various forms to this genre. Under the Genre Index you can find books in the Cozy Mysteries field. There are stories based around Holidays. There are books listed from Humorous Mysteries to Romantic Suspense to Psychological Suspense to Police Procedural to Thrillers. You can even find books in the Science Fiction & Fantasy area and also True Crime stories. There is a field and a subject for just about anyone. 


And that is just a few of the many categories in the mystery field on this website.  Look here for the Stop, You're Killing Me website and check out all the information it offers. 


History of SYKM


The site was originally begun by Bonny Brown in 1998. She wanted to create a resource for anyone who loves a good mystery.  When Bonny had to leave due to illness, the website was taken over in 2006 – and is maintained to this day – by Mystery lovers and readers Lucinda Surber and Stan Ulrich. They put out two newsletters each month – on the first and on the fifteenth - with the latest updates to new books released in hardcover, paperback, e-books, audio books and Large Print.  One newsletter per month will also list books selected for one of the many awards this genre gives out. Another feature of a newsletter lists some new books Lucinda and Stan are currently reading, with a synopsis of each book. 


*Note: I enjoy the way each newsletter ends with a note from the website administrators: 

You made it to the end — go find a book to read! 


Summary


I absolutely LOVE this website and use it several times a month. I also look forward with great anticipation to the bi-monthly newsletters to keep track of new books coming out by my favorite authors. Sometimes I use the site simply to look up a mystery author I've recently discovered to see a list of other books by the same author or about the same character I've enjoyed getting to know. (I DO love mystery series). 


I've been a fan of the SYKM website for more than 15 years. I even keep a notebook of author's pages I print off from the site, listing all the books by my favorite authors (filed alphabetically) which I add to regularly and mark 'own' or 'read' after each title.  I would miss so many good 'Reads' in mysteries without this wonderful website. 


Sherlock Holmes book image with a magnifying glass
Source: Pixabay

So if you love mysteries like I do and are looking for a new book to read, or want a list of all books by a favorite author, Stop You're Killing Me! (SYKM) is the site for you! 


For Reviews of many mystery books read by our contributors, check out: ReviewThisReviews:Mystery Books


*Stop, You're Killing Me Website Review written by Wednesday Elf, who reads mysteries all the time! 


Links:



*For Your Reading Pleasure, here is a Selection of the Most Recent Best Sellers in Mystery Books on Amazon









Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”


16 comments:

  1. Ms Elf !!! Thank you for this information. I get so tired of trying to find books to read. I get in a reading funk and then searching Amazon or the online library site gets tiresome because there is so much to choose from. This seems like the perfect way to narrow down my searches, especially when I'm in the mood for psychological suspense (usually my favorite genre). I can't wait to take time to check out SYKM !

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    1. It's a wonderful resource for finding new (and older) books by favorite authors in the mystery/suspense genre, Dawn Rae. I think you'll find it as helpful as I do.

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  2. Wow! what an amazing site for someone who loves mystery, suspense, and thrillers. This site is so detailed it would be hard not to find something you like. Thanks for the recommendation Pat.

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    1. You're welcome, Sam. I think it's a great resource site for mystery book lovers.

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  3. This sounds wonderful. I will definitely check out this site. Thanks for all the great information.

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    1. I LOVE all the information and all the ways to search, Mary Beth. It's my Go-To resource site for mysteries.

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  4. Sounds like a wonderful resource and an well organized website for mystery book lovers. It is pretty cool that you can search by location of the story, as well as authors or character. Totally awesome!

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    1. The location index is fabulous, Mouse. I love finding books in a favorite city, state or country.

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  5. Oh, my, Elf—what a fabulous resource! While thrillers aren’t my style, I do enjoy other, less scary subsets of the mystery genre and I know I will get a lot of use out of this website. What a brilliant and well executed concept! Thanks so much for sharing it with us and for doing such a good job of highlighting its multifaceted searching and browsing/filtering features.

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    1. It's the best resource site ever, Margaret. Thanks for your visit.

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  6. Wow, what a fantastic concept for a website! Now that was thinking and feeling a need and providing a service all in one - I have a friend who likes mysteries, I'll be sure to pass it along to her!

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    1. It's a resource site that is invaluable to anyone who loves mysteries.

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  7. Oh I will have to bookmark this website for sure. This is one of my favorite genres of reading material and I have several authors that I love. It will make finding that next book so much easier! Thanks!

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    1. Love all the information about each author, including a link to an author's website for even MORE information. I DO love information... LOL.

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  8. This sounds like a fantastic and comprehensive resource for anyone who loves mystery and suspense, crime and spy and thriller books. Love all the different ways to search! A really great find for anyone who likes the mystery genre.

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  9. When I first became a fan of Stop, You're Killing Me, Raintree Annie, I didn't realize how much fun all the ways to search were. I used to use it just to see if there were new books by favorite authors, or to find a list of books by a newly discovered author. But now I also have fun just browsing the site by all the 'searchables'. :-)

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