Sue Grafton’s Alphabet Series
Sue Grafton
The other day, my dad said “This Grafton woman has another book on the NYTimes bestseller list. She’s up to V. I wonder if they’re any good. You should read one and find out.” And I did. And they were. Very, very good. But then again, she IS on the NYTimes bestseller list and has been published from A is for Alibi right up to V is for Vendetta.
Grafton has that rare gift in that she can write a series around one character without them, or the plots, becoming stale. Her P.I. Kinsey Milhone is funny, independent, stubborn and rich with personal quirks that make her thoroughly likeable. Despite having a set group of friends and neighbors that appear in every book, Milhone’s cases, and her...
Nightside Series
Simon R. Green
Green’s Nightside series is the perfect read for Neil Gaiman and Jim Butcher fans waiting for their next fix. The first title, Something from the Nightside, does tend to feel heavily derivative of of Gaiman’s Neverwhere and Butcher’s Dresden Files in places. However, there are definitely some unique quirks thrown in for texture and variety. Subsequent books, featuring the gumshoe John Taylor and his girlfriend Suzie Shooter (aka Oh God It’s Her), are increasingly imaginative and exciting. Green pulls his characters from mythology, science fiction, history and his own nightmarish imagination. His hidden London, the Nightside, is as richly imagined and varied as any Tolkein city. A creative, addictive and excellent...
Catch Me If You Can
Frank W. Abagnale
The movie version of Catch Me If You Can is exciting and fast-paced, with plenty of Hollywood glitz that adds a glossy veneer, making many of Frank Abagnale’s exploits seem fake and overblown. While enjoyable, the movie doesn’t begin to compare to Abagnale’s descriptions of his short but highly lucrative life of crime. With a wickedly quick mind, Abagnale kept one step ahead of the FBI by continually changing his strategy and learning new cons. While almost all were based on cashing phony checks, the complexity schemes grew by leaps and bounds. Many of his earlier attempts at passing bad checks would, and should have been, caught. However, like “Clark Rockefeller” Abagnale also understood the importance of...
The Man in the Rockefeller Suit
Mark Seal
“The bigger the lie, the more it will be believed.” – paraphrased from Joseph Goebbels
There is something simply unbelievable in the stories of serial imposters like Frank Abaganle and “Clark Rockefeller”. How, you ask yourself, could so many people possibly believe such twaddle? And yet they do. Far above the class of metal-siding salesmen, these world-class liars create entire personas for themselves. Their tightly woven stories, embellished with the most garish and outrageous of stories, are costumed and acted day and night. The mask never slips. When someone gets too close, another mask is made in its place. While most imposters create their new selves to acquire wealth and power, in the case of German...
Raven Black
Ann Cleeves
The first in her Shetland Island thrillers, Cleeves’ story is dark and gripping. The isolation, small-town atmosphere and like of privacy on the tiny island add to the tense atmosphere and ominous air. Suspicion over the death of two local girls bounces from one resident to the other, though always circling to the grinning old man in the dilapidated house. A book as much about psychology and personality as it is about murder. Wonderful.
Star Island
Carl Hiaasen
Hiaasen’s newest title, Star Island, is by far my favorite since Skinny Dip. Using the trite and oft-seen story of a starlet going off the rails, Hiaasen drags Cherry Pye, a mediocre singer filled with blind ambition, had her double Ann, into the psychotic world of The Captain’s Florida. Never one to disappoint, Hiaasen’s characters careen widely from one-near miss to another. The bad get theirs in the end and the good get a nasty vindication. Cheaper than drugs and just as shiny and confusing.