Posted on 12/02/2008 4:04:58 AM PST by LS
A few weeks ago I suggested a few non-fiction books that were good reads. Here are some of my suggestions for fiction:
Caleb Carr, The Alienist. Carr is trained in history, and this long, but involved, mystery involves a 19th century serial killer in which the detective is just beginning to use some of the forensic tools available to us today. In the process, he encounters Teddy Roosevelt, Jacob Riis, and J. P. Morgan among others. Each has more than a cameo.
The Civil War trilogy by Newt Gingrich and Bill Fortschen, Gettysburg, Grant Comes East, and Never Call Retreat. Rarely do I read a book more than once, but this trilogy---a "counterfactual" beginning with the Confederacy winning at Gettysburg---is so rich with historical and biographical detail that the characters remain fresh even when you know the story. Gingrich and Fortschen weave a brilliant "what if" story of Union defeat and resurgence. (And some idiot editors didn't know that it was a counter-factual: one said, "These guys don't even know who won!")
Nelson DeMille---any. One of my favorite authors, DeMille has the ability to take an ordinary conversation and make it last for several pages, all the while absorbing your attention. Whether it's the detective in Nightfall and Wildfire or the cynical John Sutter in The Gold Coast or The Gate House, DeMille is a rare storyteller who can entertain without constant action.
Vince Flynn---any. Flynn is the antithesis of DeMille: his Mitch Rapp character is involved in non-stop action. A combination of Vic Mackey and Jack Bauer, Rapp protects us first, then fends off the government investigators later.
Tom Wolfe: I Am Charlotte Simmons or A Man In Full. Another of America's excellent storytellers, Wolfe's Charlotte Simmons is a must read for any parent sending his or her kid off to college. A Man in Full deals with wealth, power, and celebrity status in Atlanta. For someone of Wolfe's social class, he has deep insight into America's black culture and the "yout." His Bonfire of the Vanities remains a classic (forget the idiotic movie adaptation of this great book).
Finally, any of the books by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, such as The Cabinet of the Curiosities or The Book of the Dead are terrific. Preston and Child have created an FBI agent named Pendergast who is simply one of the most captivating heroes in literature, a man whose strange tastes and lifestyle are exceeded only by his lack of brawn and reluctance to use brute force---a Sherlock Holmsian American character.
Bill Pullam might be ok. But it would have to be someone really different. Gary Oldham?
Oooo...Gary Oldham is a good choice I hadn’t thought of.
If anyone is into Christian fiction, Colleen Coble and Dee Henderson are very good. There are also some series about the war in the middle East that are good - Don Brown has the Navy Justice series; Chuck Holton is another.
Whenever I want to check on the order, etc of an author’s books, I go to http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/
Good tip.
He plays a lot of vampires, so that kind of fits (I see Pendergast as nearly a vampire!). Perhaps Edward Norton, though not imposing enough. OOhhh. I got it! Keith Carradine. He played an FBI agent on “Dexter.” A tad old, but tall enough, can be sophisticated enough,
Ok, “Still Life With Crows” was exceptional. Reading “Monster of Florence” now. OK, though not the pulse-bending mystery that the Pendergast books are.
Gotta say, on the advice of a Freeper, I”m working on “Prayers of the Assassin,” and am finding it tough sledding. “The Monster of Florence” is pretty good, though nothing like the Preston/Child murder mysteries.
I discovered the mystery series by P.J. Parrish a few months ago. They are absolutely fabulous. Everyone I know who has read them is hooked. Be sure to start with the first one and go in order. The author’s bio will completely surprise you. Dark of The Moon is the title of the first book.
No, but the story is so bizarre that it kept me reading. If it were fiction, no one would believe it.
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