Book Post

Its been ages since I did a post on books - have been pretty busy of late, hopefully only until the end of 2007. Anyway, here's some of the stuff that I have been reading of late:

Andrew Vachss: The inept website notwithstanding, here is a fine author who would be a dead-sure certainty for those who like the work of Michael Connelly. I am still in the process of completing the Burke series, but there is no doubt in my mind that here is an author whose books I want to buy and read repeatedly. Burke (the word burke is slang for 'killing silently/without leaving evidence', as an audio clip on the website informs you) comes with a deeply scarred past, and today he lives only for his family - and to protect abused children. Each of the novels opens up only a tiny bit of Burke, merely hinting at the rest ever so tantalizingly. Vachss puts it best:

I intended the book as a Trojan horse. A crime novel that pulls the reader into the story at the same time it delivers a steady diet of hardcore reality... Even the name "Burke" is part of that. The infamously homicidal partnership of Burke and Hare began as a graverobbing enterprise. In the early part of the nineteenth century, the duo supplied the local medical school with fresh cadavers. When they finally emptied the graveyard, they began to create their own "product," by opening a hotel. Very few guests checked out. Because they could not present a corpse with fresh wounds to the medical school, Burke became so adept at killing without leaving marks that, to this day, the phrase "to Burke" means just that.

Sandra Dallas: I have read just one novel of hers, 'Tallgrass', which suffers from a definite Atticus Finch hangover, but is an engrossing read nevertheless. I plan to read more from this author, will keep you posted when I do.

David Ellis: Since Grisham seems to have given up on legal thrillers in the hopes of becoming a more serious writer nowadays, and I have exhausted the likes of Steve Martini, Scott Turow and Brian O'Shaugnessy long ago, I had to really search for a new author. I appear to have found a good one in David Ellis. His 'Line of Vision' is as good a thriller as anything else you have read, and his 'Jury of One' is on my bookshelf right now.

Cody MacFayden: I know I wrote about this author before, but I find myself wishing for another novel featuring Smoky Barrett, despite 'Face of Death' not being a patch on the first installment of the series 'Shadow Man'. Smoky Barrett (whoa, what a name!!) is, I imagine, what Clarice Starling would have been if she had never been touched by Hannibal Lecter.

Richard North Patterson: He falls under the category of authors I had mentioned earlier, who seem to have given up gritty courthouse dramas for a 'higher calling'. Well, if it results in novels like 'Exile', I can only be thankful. This giant of a book deals with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in an unbiased manner, and is often an eye-opener (at least for me). Most of all, this book espouses the adage 'One man's revolutionary is another's terrorist' in a pretty convincing manner.

Chris Bohjalian: Am currently reading 'Midwives', my first book by the author. It certainly is an interesting read so far, and the author promises to be another whose collection of books I just have to read.

Monsters, Inc

Nah, this is not a review of the film. Its more like an attempt to take a look at the various morbid books about killers I have enjoyed. Its one of my favorite genres, actually - the sort of books where an FBI team/sleuth and one or more serial killers play mind-games with one another.

Think serial-killer, and one of the most common images that comes to my mind is Hannibal Lecter. The author, Thomas Harris, has written 5 books in 30 years, 4 of them about Lecter - talk about obsession! Though I didn't enjoy the latest one all that much, 'Red Dragon', 'Silence of the Lambs' and 'Hannibal' pretty much make up for anything he may (not) write in the future. Hopkins has pretty much personified the role (and Kamal did a pretty good take on Lecter in 'Abhay' too), so I'd love to see what young Ulliel does to the character in the latest sequel.

Dennis Lehane is one of those authors whose books I regularly wait for. IMO its only a matter of time before he develops the sort of following, say, a Michael Connelly has. 'Gone, Baby Gone' was his first book that I read, and it just blew me away. Ever since, I have been an ardent fan. His investigators, Patrick and Angela, are great, great characters (his other books like 'Mystic River' are pretty awesome too). I just can't wait to get my hands on his next book.

Connelly, of course, can be depended upon to provide an enthralling read most of the time. In Harry Bosch and Terry McCaleb, Connelly has a set of great personalities to weave his tales with, and he seldom disappoints. I really have to thank my friend for introducing me to Connelly (I still consider 'The Poet' one of the best thrillers I have read); she seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth ever since her marriage, though.

The Agent Pendergast series by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child is not morbid, but the character itself is so enigmatic that the first few books (especially 'Still Life With Crows') great reads. Pendergast is obviously modeled upon Holmes, but he has a few additional quirks of his own that make him pretty endearing.

Cody McFayden has a great first book to his credit - heck, he got even a morbid veteran like me hooked. Agent Smoky Barrett - even the name has a peculiar ring to it, doesn't it - is as flawed a character is as they come. I mean, she's an ex-FBI agent who's been raped, and what's more (worse), has had her daughter raped in front of her. Her trauma and recovery, even without the cat-n-mouse hunt, makes 'Shadow Man' a great read.

I've grown weary of the Lincoln Rhyme series by Jeffrey Deaver. However, there's no denying that some of his books - especially 'The Bone Collector' and 'The Vanished Man' - are compelling reads. 'The Devil's Teardrop' is not a Rhyme novel, but its a terrific book too - about tracking down a criminal through handwriting analysis.

For the more discerning reader, I strongly recommend 'We Need to Talk About Kevin' by Lionel Shriver. Its a repelling, neverthless strangely fascinating book, as you try to unravel the motivation of a schoolboy to commit mass murder. The book is structured in the form of letters from Kevin's mom, who loathes him, to his dad, who dotes on him. Its a pretty long book, but a great book.