The Dexter Series
Jeff Lindsay
I don’t really want to like the Dexter series, but then have a nasty habit of being quite good. Damn them. Now also a popular tv show, Lindsay follows the life of the mild-mannered blood-spatter analyst Dexter – forensics expert by day, sociopathic killer by night. The series follows Dex as he aids his foster-sister Deborah ( a Miami police detective) in solving bizarre and nasty crimes. His “disguise” of a girlfriend with children, social chitchat, faked smiles and boxes of donuts for the rest of the department fool many, but not all. Witty, devious, gory and always satisfying.
In the Courts of the Sun
Brian D’amato
By far the best book I’ve read in months, D’amato creates a fantastic near-future and recreates the lost Maya civilizations. As 2012 nears, the end of the Maya calendar, a large-scale disaster strikes. The disaster, followed by the end of civilization, are both predicted in a Maya codex. Jed DeLanda, a Maya descendant and expert in the future-fortelling Game, becomes involved with a conglomeration of groups interested in stopping the end-time. In short order, DeLanda finds the rich and powerful powers-that-be have the ability to send a copy of his mind back in time, with the hope that he can find out what the final disaster is and avert...
Murder at Graverly Manor
Daniel Edward Craig
By far the best mystery I’ve read in months, Murder at Gravely Manor is creepy and gripping. Former hotel manager Trevor Lambert decides that his life-long ambition is to own a B&B, despite never having mentioned this ambition previously. When he finds that he eccentric Lady Gravely is going to sell her historic B&B, perhaps at a steal, he enters into a bizarre month of training. Lady Graverly careens from one personality pole to the other. At times she dotes on Lambert – at other times threatens and berates him. The rest of the staff leave, one after the other, leaving Lambert alone with a women he is increasingly sure...
Still Life with Crows
Still Life with Crows – Lincoln Child and Michael Preston
I realized that this book is fast becoming a favorite as I have read it 3 times in the last year and a half. While the main character, Agent Pendergast, is part of an ongoing series it is not necessary to have read any of the other titles. Stepping out of the plot line narrative, Pendergast has a “vacation ” in the desolate Kansas farmlands. A small farming town is rocked by a series of serial-killer type murders, each more bizarre than the last. Located 20 miles from the next nearest town, the close-knit citizens of this tiny town slowly come to realize that killer most be local. Child and Preston create some really well fleshed-out and believable characters, including a...
The Loch
Steve Alten
Perfect summer read? Let’s see here:
Creepy cover with short, punchy title in large, raised letters? Check.
Wronged hero trying to right his life? Check
Snarky nemesis for said wronged hero? Check
Loyal sidekick/best friend? Check
Gorgeous dame to win in the end? Check
Fantastic prehistoric creature wrecking havoc? Check
Lottsa Crichton-esque psuedo-science so you don’t feel like you’re reading complete schlock? Check
Mangled corpses found left and right (gasp!)- Check
A bunch of Knights Templar thrown in, just in case you were getting bored? Check.
Lemonade, sunglasses, hammock? Check.
When you finish cruising through The Loch, you may want to check out Alten’s first book - Meg – reviewed by...
The Cabinet of Curiosities
Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
This is an all-time favorite of mine. We first got this as an audiobook for a car trip. My husband and I found ourselves in a fast-darkening parking lots, listening to “just one more bit.” Engrossing, tense, fascinating – a true all-nighter.