I enjoy steak as much as anyone, but if no one is looking, I’ll take a good hamburger over a great steak 10 times out of 10. It’s a part of being the relentlessly low brow dude that I am. My taste in literature is similar. I have a deal with myself; every other book I read is for fun, alternating with more elevated selections. Since I decide what qualifies as “elevated” a neutral referee might score it 60-40 for the fun books. Fun books can take many forms but I love the mystery/thriller genre above all – this is my literary hamburger. I don’t really know how to review books, but below is a list of some of my current favorites. Feel free to offer your own selections:
1. Lee Child, the Reacher books. Child was an English television writer before moving to New York. He’s about to publish his 14th Jack Reacher book. Reacher is a former Army Major who served as an investigator for 15 years before retiring early from the peacetime Army. Now he wanders the country wearing the clothes on his back, a toothbrush in his pocket. He has an ATM card, but no credit cards, no cell phone, no car, no other possessions of any kind. When his clothes get dirty he buys a new set and throws the old ones away. He’s kind of a modern day Kung Fu. Reacher is 6’6,” weighs 250 and has little sympathy for people who need a beating. He may also be the most logical thinker ever in print. Child’s plots are inventive and complex. He publishes a new hardback every year and last year’s comes out in paperback around the same time. I just finished it: Gone Tomorrow. It did not disappoint.
2. Michael Connelly, a former newspaper crime reporter, is unusual in that he has two lead characters. Mickey Haller is a lawyer in LA. He doesn’t like working in an office so he has 2-3 identical Lincoln Town cars outfitted as mobile offices. Harry Bosch is an LA police detective who Connelly intentionally paints as beige as possible, and yet he fascinates. The Brass Verdict features both Haller and Bosch and is a top pick.
3. Stieg Larsson was a Swedish journalist. He delivered three full books to his publisher, the only books he ever wrote, and then dropped dead of a heart attack at 50 before any of them saw print. The first two, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played with Fire were both international best sellers. The third book is due out soon. He offers an unusual protagonist in Lisbeth Salander, a 5-foot-nothing, 95 pound, anti-social, computer-hacker, tattooed and pierced-up waif who may, or may not also be a sociopath. International settings and innovative plots make these books a lot of fun.
4. Randy Wayne White I know little about, except that he was a full time fishing guide before becoming a writer. He has no web site. His character is Doc Ford, a marine biologist who lives in his combination house and lab on an island in Florida where he collects marine specimens for clients. (Does this sound at all familiar to you Steinbeck fans?) Doc has a scientist’s mind and a mysterious history that seems to have involved hurting people (Navy Seal maybe?). The setting are unusual, which leads to interesting plots. Captiva is a good place to start.
I plan to read more from George Pelecanos, author of The Night Gardener. He is a very tough and gritty writer; this is inner city crime as I suspect it really is and not for sensitive types. Pelecanos has been a contributing writer for the HBO series, The Wire.
I loved P. D. James’ Devices and Desires, the only one of her 20 books I’ve read. Ms. James is an Englishwoman of a certain age, but she doesn’t shy away from the rough side of life; these aren’t mysteries for girlies. That said, she might reasonably be called “the thinking man’s thrillerist.” (I think I just made that word up.) There is a literary quality to her work you don’t often find amidst the guns and the bodies. I’ll be reading more from James too.
Finally, if you’ve never read Robert Ludlum, you can’t go wrong with the Bourne books. Now I’m talking about the books Ludlum wrote before he died in 2001. His publisher keeps putting out books under his name but I don’t read them.
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7 comments:
I’ve always loved reading Robert Ludlum. All spy & espionage books are great!
I’ve been reading what I call the desert books between more serious.
First was Dominick Dunne “Too Much Money”, (having met some of the people he writes about made it more enjoyable).
Then to “The Big Short” by Michael Lewis. (Learning that the exec’s didn’t know what the products were that they were selling made me feel less dumb.)
“When I Stop Talking You’ll Know I’m Dead” by producer Jerry Weintraub was a fun read as well. He has had a very interesting life. Great stories!
Not on any best seller is “Practical Electricity”, by Paul Rosenberg. Unless you want to know about the topic no need to read….but it’s my serious time. This could take awhile.
Totally in agreement about Michael Connelly, and I particularly like Harry Bosch. For some reason I really identify with him, despite the fact that our lives seem to have nothing in common.
The Doc Ford series I enjoyed for a while, but I think that they were getting a little to far out after about the 3rd one - relying too much on that mysterious past.
As for my own recommendations, Lawrence Block is my latest favorite. He has series going on about a handful of different characters and is highly prolific. My favorites are those featuring Matt Scudder, Keller, and Bernie Rohdenbar (sp.?), none of whom are all good or bad. Scudder is a detective, Keller is a hit man and Bernie is a burglar.
My other recommendation is in a totally different genre: the sea stories of Patrick O'Brian. The movie Master and Commander was based on them. I've read the entire series twice and plan to do it again soon. Do them in order as it becomes like one gigantic novel. You can read them separately, but don't. And read at least 3 before you decide whether to go on with the series.
I've picked up a few good tips from you here db, and plan to hit the library next week.
You'll really enjoy Pelecanos' series on P.I. Derek Strange. Read "Hard Revolution." He's also writing episodes for HBO's "Pacific" and "Treme" (nice to see a show not about lawyers, doctors or cops for a change).
Another good read is Laurie King's books on Sherlock Holmes and his new partner in crime-solving, Mary Cunningham.
Thanks for the recommendation on Randy White.
Steig's 3rd book is out! I have it..must read soon.
D'Blank turned me on to Michael Connelly. Particularly like The Lincoln Lawyer and Echo Park.
I really liked Pillars of Earth and World Without End by Ken Follett. They are both a committment as they weigh in at 1,000 pages each but worth the effort. Nothing like 12th, 13th and 14th century England to while away a summer. Especially when you throw in the Plague.
Former Washington Post movie critic Stephen Hunter also writes good books. Check out Hot Springs, Dirty White Boys and Havana.
We are on the same track. I have read many of Micheal Connelly's books and am actually friends with his sister, who lives in CO. I met him when he was here on a book tour for The Scarecrow. Great read.
And I too have read Steig Larsen, and am anxiously awaiting his final book. Very dark but can't put it down. I lucked out when looking for a movie and found the Swedish production of "Girl with the Dragon Tratoo" playing at the International Film Festival at CU. Wow, they really brought the book alive and the characters were right on. Hollywood is going to have a hard time beating this version. The place was packed as this trilogy is the "Harry Potter" for adults.
I love all kinds of genre, including war romance novels. Hard to believe those two words go together in the same sentence.
you mean like "Winds of War" and "War and Remembrance?" Two of my favorites.
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