My reading over the last several weeks has included some very
popular genre material, probably well known to most on the
list, as well as a few related things. I've just started
"Fright".
"The Two-Minute Rule" by Robert Crais - the best, I think, of
the 4 or 5 Crais novels I've read. I really liked the
beginning of the book, with the protagonist getting out of
jail only to find out that his estranged son has just been
killed. The situation is presented fairly realistically.
Eventually the story turns into a pretty conventional crime
story, entertaining enough.
"The Fallen" by T. Jefferson Parker - the first thing I've
read by this popular writer. Entertaining and I think
intelligent. The protagonist's "synesthesia" is an odd
gimmick. I'll probably try more of Parker's stuff.
"The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner. A classic, of
course, somewhat difficult but worth it. Certainly dark
enough for noir, though it probably belongs in a different
genre.
"Ways of Escape" - Graham Greene. Memoir based on
introductions written to a collected edition of his novels as
well as journal entries and other material. Uneven but
frequently fascinating. I've been reading Greene's novels and
this is great background as well.
"Secret Prey" by John Sandford. I've read several in this
long, successful series; this is the best I've encountered. I
think I actually enjoyed it more than the Crais or the
Parker.
"One Last Breath" by Stephen Booth. 5th in a series of
British regional police procedurals, set in the Peak District
of Derbyshire, England. There are some noirish elements,
unhappy disturbed people trapped by circumstances driven to
crime, etc. I liked the odd little group of male characters
at the centre of the story. Booth's books tend to be fairly
slow moving and have some one-dimensional secondary
characters, but I find them quite easy to get into.
"The Museum of Dr. Moses" by Joyce Carol Oates. Recent
"mystery and suspense" stories, most of them dark and very
well written. There is an excellent long boxing story.
"Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light" by Patrick
McGilligan" - long, interesting and seemingly judicious;
better, I think, than the other Hitchcock bio I've read, "The
Dark Side of Genius" by Donald Spoto.
Stephen
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