When I was teaching full time I did not allow myself to read anything but great fiction, or useful fiction: I had an obligation to my students to seek out important literature, to be a guide to what is good & great in literature. Now that I am retired I am allowing myself to read what my wife, the Brit, calls “go-on” books -- what we call page turners.
For some reason that means detective fiction, who-done-its, or how they did it. I am now about to recommend to all of you some thrillers, or detective stories.
Top of my current list is Michael Connelly. Connelly is a fairly famous name, so be sure it is Michael Connelly & not another writer with the last name of Connelly. I’ve only read two of his books so far but he has written well over a dozen. I began with a book written in his middle period: The Poet. The book receives my highest recommendation. It is a real page turner. So is the second book I read by him: Black Echo. I could list a dozen books by him, but the titles are not memorable, so let me repeat his name; Michael Connelly.
The second writer I’d like to recommend has a slightly more unusual name: Ian Rankin. He is British which give his books a different flavoring, one that might put you off or one that might interest you: his local is England & Scotland, some of his words are unusual, not in our American vocabulary. Like Michael Connelly, he has written well over a dozen books. The first of his books, Knots & Crosses is absolutely excellent. The second of his books, Hide & Seek, I liked a lot less, but his third Tooth & Nail which was once titled Wolfman is also excellent: it is about a killer who bites & mutilates his (or her -- read the book) victims. Once again, you wont remember titles, but the last name is Rankin and the first name is Ian.
The next two writers are jokey writers: yes they are mystery, thriller writers, but true fans of mystery novels would scoff at them: these two writers are more interested in eliciting a laugh than in puzzling the reader. Carl Hiasen is quite famous, although many of you may not have heard of him. He writes over the top, truly exaggerated books about Florida. At first I thought he was really lightweight: so outrageous that I wondered why even bothered reading his books. But I think I’ve read every single book he’s written. I find him fun, flaky: I hate finishing a book written by him: he has kept me entertained the whole time I’ve been reading. Again, his name: Carl Hiasen.
The next writer is less well known, less prone to outrageous exaggeration, but there is a comic-book quality to his characters: his characters are larger than life. His book features an almost unbelievably good guy detective, and his sidekick has powers that are almost super human: this man is unbelievably strong & versed in all of the martial arts. The added pleasure of this writer -- Harlan Coben, is that his early novels are all set in the world of sports: football, basketball, tennis.
I hope you have a writing instrument handy. Here again are the writers I would recommend for fun reading: Michael Connelly, Ian Rankin, Carl Hiasen & Harlan Coben. Read & Enjoy.
Copyright © 2004 Henry Morgenstein