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.
You’ve got FRemail!
I recommend these books every time there is a quarterly book thread. I love them! Still Life with Crows is my favorite. I have it on audiobook from Audible.com and Rene Auberjonois is a fabulous narrator. His voice for Pendergast is so dead on. When I read their books, his voice is the one I hear in my head for Pendergast.
Douglas Preston also wrote a book called, The Monster of Venice. It's a true crime book about unsolved serial killings in Florance, Italy. It's fantastic, as well.
Yes.
Interesting. Tell us a little about yourself, if you don’t mind. Your brief description on your blog piques my curiosity.
What would you like to know?
Why the pseudonyms on your blog?
Why not? The pseudonym fit the story. I didn’t care to put my own name on a book.
No, I meant why those particular pseudonyms?
bfl
Thanks! I am an avid reader and love mystery, crime scene, classics, and spy novels. I was into Patricia cornwell for a time, but the language is a turn off. It continues to grow worse and more coarse. Yuck!
Thanks for the list of books by title and author!
Got it. It’s on my shelf now.
Got it. It’s now in the stack.
I'd love to see him and Vic Mackey of the Shield team up :)
Just finished the Dean Koontz book about the Golden Retrievers. Great read.
I would love that, too, but I can’t imagine any actor that I know of doing him justice.
I told my mom about the Newt Gingrich books you recommended above and she’s going to get them for my dad for Christmas. He’s a Civil War buff and I was shocked that he hasn’t read them yet.
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