Mysteries/Thrillers

[Deleted]

twodollars said:

I just finished Twelve Sharp and loved it. I was thrilled Stephanie's sister wasn't in it. She is the only character in the Plum universe I don't like.

Grandma, Lula and Sally were a blast as usual.

I am two chapter away from finishing and have been cracking up for two hours after reading about rock star Grandma Mazur. The part where she is all in leather, stepping on ducks (which normally grosses me out) and doing the Mick Jagger strut is beyond hysterical. I would love Janet to do a series where Grandma and Lula become roommates and bounty hunting partners.

[twodollars]

The whole rock star sub-plot is a scream. I didn't think she'd be able to top Lula, Sally, Grandma and Stephanie's trip to Altantic City, but she did.

I would love Janet to do a series where Grandma and Lula become roommates and bounty hunting partners.

That would be the funniest series ever!

[Deleted]

Carolinean, I got hold of the first Kate Ross book, "Cut to the Quick" and have started reading it. I really like it so far--you were right, it's just my type of book--so, thanks for the recommendation. I'm definitely getting my hands on the rest of her books, as well.

I've been reading more of Rhys Bowen mysteries, and I'm liking them more and more. The Molly Murphy ones are sort of a turn of the century Stephanie Plum (well, less sexed up and more mild profanities) and I'm starting her Evan Constable series, too.

[kafka]

I read a lot of spy/espionage books and recently finished a book by an author I haven't come across before. Brian Haig's The President's Assassin. After the first 20 pages, it sucked me in to the point that I read it in one day, even staying up to 5 a.m. to finish it.

It wasn't anywhere close to the category of my favorite spy/military/espionage suspense thrillers but it was much better than I'd expected. Much, much better. Mostly because the main character was hysterically snarky, sardonic and wise-cracking, but also because he suckers you in with the fast pace of action and a lot of psychological analysis.

About the plot: To quote one of the online descriptions of the book, "The novel opens on a powerful note with the discovery in a posh suburban Virginia house of six bullet-ridden bodies, including that of the White House chief of staff. Could there be a connection between this massacre and the $100 million bounty someone has put on the head of the U.S. president?"

The book has a lot of insight into the bureacratic balance of power in inter-agency conflicts (from the CIA to FBI to the Secret Service to Homeland Security) and the thinking of today's intelligence departments. And that's because the author is the son of Alexander Haig, former Sec'y of State. He is also a former Special Assistant to the Joint Chiefs, a Washington insider and a long time analyst on the political/military/intelligence field.

Having finished that (and 3 Chick Lit books), I'm now onto Map of Bones by James Rollins. It's like Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, meets Scientists, Archaelogists and Clive Cussler, with a dash of Robert Ludlum. I'm one of the few people who didn't mind Dan Brown's writing style because I enjoyed the historical aspect of things (it's a novel, people. It's not supposed to be Camus!), but this one is much better than The Da Vinci Code.

From one reviewer:

This novel about an ancient secret society and the race to find priceless antiquities is sure to be compared to Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, but, in every way, it's a much better book. Where Brown's best-seller was predictable despite its compelling premise, this tale is clever and suspenseful. Where Code featured ropey dialogue and assembly-line characters, this one offers (mostly) real people engaging in (mostly) real discourse. Like Brown, Rollins makes the most of a moderately implausible premise, this one requiring that the reader accept the literal truth of a certain allegorical aspect of the Bible. But, as both books prove, a thriller can be as implausible as it likes as long as it is entertainingly developed. Fans of The Da Vinci Code will obviously want to read Map of Bones, but even those who found Brown's opus unpalatable will thoroughly enjoy the taste of this one.

From Publisher's Weekly:

A mysterious biblical object, nefarious Vatican spies and a deadly centuries-old religious cabal—sound familiar? Sacramento veterinarian Rollins offers more Da Vinci Code–style thrills for the seriously addicted. In this seventh outing, hooded men invade midnight mass at the Cologne Cathedral and slaughter almost everyone present, then break open a gold sarcophagus and steal... the bones of the Three Wise Men. Grayson Pierce, top agent in the Department of Defense's covert Sigma Force, takes a team to Rome, joins up with love-interest Rachel Verona, a carabinieri corps lieutenant, and her Vatican official uncle, Vigot. It seems that the Dragon Court, a medieval alchemical cult-cell that still operates within the Catholic Church, is to blame, and it also seems that the bones of the Magi aren't really bones, but the highly reactive Monatomic gold that the group plans to use to accomplish its ultimate goal—Armegeddon. Rollins has few peers in the research department, which makes the historical material fascinating, and he keeps the dialogue believably colloquial and the incidental elements motivated—and plausible for at least short stretches. Clumsy romance is mostly overcome by lots of action. Dan Brown-ers looking for methadone will add to Rollins's usual solid numbers.

I'm almost done with the book and I have to say, it's thoroughly entrancing. Everything from Charlemagne to Alexander the Great, from the Gnostic codexes and the "Doubting Thomas" Apostle, to the Seven Wonders of the World, the latest in superconductor theory and chemical analysis, to the Papal Schism in the 13th century, the Black Popes and the alchemical tradition.

Very fun.

[sleepy]

Ooh, Map of Bones is going on my To Read list right now!

[kafka]

sleepy said:

Ooh, Map of Bones is going on my To Read list right now!

Let me know what you think. I have an admittedly huge bias towards anything that involves not only history, but revionist interpretations of history, alternative theory and secret societies. When you combine that with the DoD version of the Delta Force, I'm bound to be slightly entranced.

That said, it's really interesting because some of the very underlying theories are quite reputable. Like the political fall-out from the papal schism which led to the "true" Pope being in Avignon, not to mention the well-documented issues regarding a more Gnostic version of the faith. The overall story is utterly unbelievable but, somehow, in it's smaller, historical details, it's *less* unbelievable than Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code. Maybe that's a question of degree, like whether one believes more in the Yeti or the fact that Stonehenge was used for some weird purpose, but whatever the issue, once you start reading, one gets quite suckered into it. Well, once you get past the initial Anthrax situation of the opening 15 pages.

Believable? No. But somewhere along the historical discussion about the Charlemagne, the Apostle Thomas, the version of the biblical text, or just basic chemical, superconductor theory, you get sucked in. And, I'm slighly ashamed to admit it, I was Rollin's slave the minute he mentioned the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, and got into ancient Egyptian history.

All that, plus catacombs, who or what were the Three Magi (and were there really just THREE wise men?), the Library of Alexandria, Alexander the Great, his questionable parentage, the murder of his father, the Lighthouse of Alexandria and multi-layered interpretations of early Christian symbols, right down to "Domine, quo vadis"....

As I said before, I'm entranced. Even if a story is highly questionable on a logical basis, the ability to juggle a lot of really ancient historical facts (and this author is known for his historical research), and present a coherent, semi-plausible alternative theory of history, well, that just intrigues me and suckers me in. It's a fun escape, and this book is one very big escape into alternative explanations of religion and political medieval history.

I'm babbling but that's because I'm stymied at being to able to express why this book is such great historical escapism, without giving anything away.

[biondetta]

Kafka, I'm a sucker for that kind of book, too, which is probably why I also enjoyed Map of Bones as much as I did. I don't mind suspending belief, as long as the story is told half-way well and the action and characters are entertaining. If a book involves religion, spies, action and ancient mysteries and history, I'm bound to give it a shot. It's like crack for me. I just finished rereading Daniel Easterman's Brotherhood of the Tomb, which combines intelligence agents, secret religious organizations and the Vatican. Good stuff!

[kafka]

biondetta said:

It's like crack for me.

That is a perfect description. Because it really *is* like crack for me too.

I think I've read Daniel Easterman's book but I'm not sure. I know I've read *some* of his stuff, although I couldn't tell you what at this point (all these suspense books blur together after a while) but Brotherhood of the Tomb sounds like a very familiar title. And I don't *think* I'm confusing it with David Morrell's Brotherhood series either. (BTW, Brotherhood of the Rose is a great book, even though it's not Vatican related. All of Morrell's early stuff is worth a look.) Anyway, if Easterman's book is the one I think it is, it was very enjoyable indeed.

Have you read Lewis Purdue's Daughter of God? It might be up your alley. One of my all-time favorite books in the Vatican intrigue genre is Thomas Gifford's The Assassini. It may be out of print by now but you'll probably be able to find it in your library. It's absolutely rivetting and chock full of inside knowledge about how the Vatican operates, including their intelligence agency. Thomas Gifford is very well respected in the overall suspense genre and his old book, "The Wind Chill Factor" was considered to be an early classic of sorts. He's not well known like Frederick Forsythe but "The Assassini" was as good as any Forsythe book. And coming from me, who worships Forsythe's toenails, that's high praise indeed.

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I love the whole spectrum of mystery/thrillers, from talking cats and quilting circles to hard boiled to spy thrillers to serial killers. I've recently gotten into John Sandford's Prey series, which I really like--I'm currently reading Hidden Prey, about a rogue band of still-functioning Soviet-era Russian spies in Northern Minnesota. Any other recommendations for books like these? I guess they'd be police procedurals, sort of? I like the Rebus series, the Lloyd/Hill series by Deborah Crombie, and Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch, but I never quite warmed to the men of the 87th (?) precinct.

Speaking of Michael Connelly, I recently finished The Lincoln Lawyer, which I thought was very good. I hope there will be more Connelly books with Mickey Haller. He's a really interesting character.

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fernbeau said:

I love the whole spectrum of mystery/thrillers, from talking cats and quilting circles to hard boiled to spy thrillers to serial killers. I've recently gotten into John Sandford's Prey series, which I really like--I'm currently reading Hidden Prey, about a rogue band of still-functioning Soviet-era Russian spies in Northern Minnesota. Any other recommendations for books like these?

A few thoughts:

Kathy Reichs - I adore her Temperance Brennan books (yes, they are the basis for the TV show Bones - I can't comment on how the two relate, because I refuse to watch the show because I'd nitpick it to death.)

John Farrow -"his" two novels (Farrow is a pseudonym for Trevor Ferguson, who publishes non-genre/literary fiction under his own name) are fabulous, but pretty much out of print. Check out used bookstores, because they really are worth the search.

Stephen Booth - British author of a double-protagonist police procedural series. The first book (Black Dog) is slow going at first, but picks up about halfway through the book.

Carol O'Connell - one of the most unsympathetic yet interesting protagonists I've ever come across. I read the first book (Mallory's Oracle) and HATED it. I have no clue why I bought the second (my guess is desperation), but I loved it.