My FACEBOOK Essential Mystery/Thriller List

There have been lots of reading lists going around Facebook, so I decided to post my own:

How many mystery/thriller authors have you read?

Instructions: Look at the list and put an ‘x’ after those AUTHORS that you’ve read. (Included are some of the titles that they are known for.)

50. Edgar Allan Poe (Murders of the Rue Morgue, Tell-Tale Heart) – X
49. Wilkie Collins (The Woman in White, The Moonstone) – X
48. Arthur Conan Doyle (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Hound of the Baskervilles)- X
47. Agatha Christie(The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, And Then There Were None)- X
46. Daphne Du Maurier (Rebecca)
45. Rext Stout – (The League of Frightened Men)
44. Dashiell Hammett (Maltese Falcon, The Thin Man) – X
43. Raymond Chandler (The Big Sleep, The Long Goodbye)- X
42. James M. Cain (Double Indemnity, Postman Always Rings Twice)
41. Patricia Highsmith (The Talented Mr. Ripley) – X
40. Ross Macdonald (The Chill)
39. James Crumley (The Last Good Kiss)- X
38. John D. MacDonald (The Deep Blue Good-by)- X
37. Robert B. Parker (Looking for Rachel Wallace, The Godwulf Manuscript)- X
36. Carl Hiaasen (Tourist Season, Skinny Dip) – X
35. Elmore Leonard (Get Shorty)
34. Ed McBain (Saidie When She Died)
33. Sue Grafton (A is for Alibi)- X
32. Janet Evanovich (One for the Money)- X
31. Laura Lippman (Baltimore Blues, What the Dead Know)- X
30. Sara Paretsky (Deadlock)
29. Lawrence Block (When the Sacred Ginmill Closes)- X
28. James Lee Burke (Black Cherry Blues)- X
27. James Ellroy (Black Dahlia, L.A. Confidential)
26. Walter Mosley (Devil in a Blue Dress)- X
25. Donald E. Westlake (The Hot Rock)
24. Scott Turrow (Presumed Innocent)- X
23. John Grisham (The Firm, A Time to Kill)- X
22. Tony Hillerman (A Thief of Time)- X
21. John Sandford (Hidden Prey)
20. Jeffrey Deaver (The Bone Collector)- X
19. Tom Clancy (The Hunt for Red October)- X
18. John le Carre (The Spy Who Came in from the Cold)
17. Daniel Silva (The Confessor)
16. Nelson DeMille (Night Fall) – X
15. Joseph Finder (Paranoia. High Crimes) – X
14. Barry Eisler (Rain Fall)- X
13. Lee Child (The Killing Floor)- X
12. P.D. James (Unsuitable Job for a Woman)- X
11. Peter Robinson (In a Dry Season)- X
10. Ian Rankin (Resurrection Men)
9. Val McDermid (A Place of Execution) – X
8. Laurie King (The Beekeeper’s Apprentice) – X
7. Harlan Coben (Tell No One) – X
6. Robert Crais (L.A. Requiem, The Watchman) – X
5. Michael Connelly (Blood Work, Echo Park) – X
4. George Pelecanos (Right as Rain) – X
3. Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone) – X
2. John Hart (Down River) – X
1. C.J. Sansom (Dissolution, Sovereign) – X

Knowing the audience, I listed some popular fiction authors too.  But I draw the line at putting rubbish, like James Patterson or Patricia Cornwell, on the list.  (Yeah, I couldn’t resist putting the last two, they’ve become my favorite authors.)

10 GREAT CHARACTERS I’D LOVE TO MEET

Continuing the theme of “Character is King,” I thought I might post a list of my favorite characters, but with a twist.  What characters totally enthrall you?  What characters would you love to meet?  With each new adventure, I spend so much time with these fictional characters that I feel like I truly know them.  They fascinate me and captivate me.

10. Mary Russell (Laurie King) – As Sherlock Holmes’ equal, I’d love a lesson in chess over tea.

9. Cork O’Connor (William Kent Krueger) – Staying at his cabin in Minnesota, hanging out at his hotdog stand, and meeting his daughters would be a real treat.

8. Alex McKnight (Steve Hamilton) – A tour of Paradise on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula with Alex as a guide would be great.  Then we could go to the Glasgow Inn for some Molson.

7. Patrick Kenzie (Dennis Lehane) – I’d love to have a beer with Patrick in a Boston pub and have him tell me about his latest investigation.  Maybe he would introduce me to Bubba…  On second thought, maybe I don’t want to ever meet Bubba.

6. John Rain (Barry Eisler) – I’d love for Rain to teach me Jujutsu and then go to Tokyo’s best jazz club to hear Midori play the piano.

5. Mickey Haller (Michael Connelly) – Wouldn’t it be great to talk trial strategy with Mickey?  I’d volunteer my services for free, just to see him prepare a case.

4. Joe Pitt (Charlie Huston) – Hopefully, when I meet him, he won’t be in a bad mood. (I know that’s not likely.)  I also hope that he’s fed the Vyrus and he’s not thirsty.

3. Jack Reacher (Lee Child) – It would be a pleasure just to shake those huge hands of his.  He’s definitely someone I’d want around when I’m being mugged or kidnapped.

2. Joe Pike (Robert Crais) – Yes, I’d rather meet Pike than Elvis Cole.  Wouldn’t want to play Hide-and-Seek with Pike though.  No, I’d just like him to show me his gun collection.

1. Matthew Shardlake (C.J. Sansom) – I’d love to have a pint with Master Shardlake more than anyone else on the list, even if it is in a 16th century Tudor alehouse.

Who are your favorite characters?  Comment below and create your own top ten list of characters you’d like to meet.  I’m interested to read why you’d want to meet your favorite characters in real life.

My Favorite Mysteries & Thrillers

I’ve added a new page to this blog: “Favorite Mysteries & Thrillers“.  Now, there are plenty of excellent, five-star books out there, with great characters, plot, and outstanding writing.  However, character is king.  These books are my favorites because I loved the characters.  These books also represent what I look for when I make choices to read other books.

Here’s a sneak peak:

MYSTERIES

Hard-Boiled

The Great Outdoors

Cozies

THRILLERS

Legal Thrillers

REVIEW: Envy the Night by Michael Koryta

After three successful P.I. novels featuring Lincoln Perry, Michael Koryta has written a stand-alone thriller that is superior to them all.  Koryta first arrived on the crime scene as the new kid on the block.  He was 21 when he penned the outstanding TONIGHT I SAID GOODBYE, which made him the youngest winner of the St. Martin’s Press annual private-eye contest.  Koryta then wrote two more Lincoln Perry novels: SORROW’S ANTHEM and A WELCOME GRAVE.  The last one was nominated for the 2008 Shamus Award, but neither really matched the careful plotting of the first novel.  Nevertheless, ENVY THE NIGHT breaks new ground for Koryta and I hope, gives us a glimpse of what is in store for future novels.

This page-turner starts with an enigmatic phone call, which puts Frank Temple III on the road to rural Wisconsin and on a collision course with his past.  When he was sixteen, he discovered that his father was a hit man.  All Frank knew was that he was a good father and he died because of an associate tipped off the F.B.I.  Now, after a seven-year exile, that man is traveling back to the Wisconsin, and Frank vowed that he would never let that happen.  However, Frank’s plans of retribution are put on hold after a car accident unwittingly involves Nora Stafford, the young owner of a body shop.  Headed in the same direction as Frank, two hit men from Miami decide that she knows too much.

Koryta artfully explores a legacy of violence and whether Frank can resist being turned “into a gun.”  Packed with action and sharp dialogue, ENVY THE NIGHT is thrilling ride.  At every turn, Koryta keeps the story moving with unexpected twists.  Mesmerized by the outstanding characterization of Frank and Nora and the tense action sequences, I read ENVY THE NIGHT in just two days.  This story is a real winner.