"I Love This Author ..."
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Pat Conroy and Greg Iles
Both of these authors have a wonderful command of the English language.
Pat Conroy has written "Price of Tides," "The Citadel" and several others. His amazing experience as a teacher on a rural island in South Carolina, "The River is Wide," was made into a movie. Conroy's stories are about real-life experiences, Southern life, and growing up in a military family that is somewhat dysfunctional. The stories are entirely engrossing.
Greg Iles has written "The Quiet Game," "The Turning Angel," "True Evil" and many others.
Iles' books are mystery/legal thrillers with lots of subplots. You might have to reach for your dictionary occasionally. Some of the books take place in the deep South and give the reader a deeper understanding of today's issues and culture in that region.
— Mickey
Charles Todd
For years, I have been a big fan of the Ian Rutledge series written by Charles Todd. Set in post World War I era, the series is steeped in the atmosphere of Britain during this time. More importantly, the series looks at a brilliant Scotland Yard detective who is still shell shocked from his time during the Great War. Todd has kept the high standards in this series since it began with A Test of Wills in 1997. So I am quite interested to learn that Todd will be launching a new series with A Duty to the Dead (due out in August from HarperCollins). A Duty to the Dead will continue Todd’s look at the horrors of Word War I, this time through the eyes of Bess Crawford, a battlefield nurse. Todd is one of the handful of authors who have used the WWI background as a way of looking at society, survivors’ guilt and Britain during the first part of the 20th century.Todd wrote one previous standalone, The Murder Stone, about a young heiress in 1916 who returns to the rural estate where her powerful and beloved grandfather is dying of a stroke.Todd, the writing name for mother and son Charles and Caroline Todd, has made my annual list of the best mysteries for several years. Judging just from previous history, I think that readers will embrace Bess Crawford as they have Ian Rutledge. While some authors will write only one series — and carry it on for decades — I’m always enthusiastic when an author tries something new, especially when they return to their regular series. Sometimes it seems as if the author returns that regular series a little fresher, having had a nice and sometimes much needed vacation from their regular characters.
James Patterson, Janet Evanovich,
Dean Koontz and Iris Johansen.
I love crime/murder mystery novels. All of these authors provide that, and Janet Evanovich provides a comedic look on crime solving with her Stephanie Plum novels. James Patterson's Alex Cross series is amazing, and even his series Maximum Ride, which is written for a younger audience, is really good. Dean Koontz novels are really able to freak you out, even though a lot of them follow a similar plot line. I still love every book I've read by him. And Iris Johansen has a lot of strong female characters in her books, with some really interesting story lines.
— Jessica
John Lescroart
If I had a choice, I'd love to live in San Francisco. But since that's not possible, enjoying a good John Lescroart novel is tne next best thing to being there. He has a series of "Dismas Hardy" novels set in SF. Hardy is a cop-turned-bartender-turned-district-attorney-turned-defense-lawyer. You can read the books in any order, but if I were new to Lescroart, I'd start with his first one, "Dead Irish" and follow Hardy's personal life in chronicological order. The books are populated with a recurring cast of characters including his cop best friend Abe Glitsky, his ex and current wife, his bar owner brother-in-law, and an interesting assortment of lawyers and criminals to keep you turning pages. These are law-based, crime mysteries that allow you to immerse yourself in San Francisco as you read them.
— Sandi
Meg Cabot
Meg Cabot is awesome at writing great stories that her readers can get sucked into. Plus, she writes series of books which help keep you involved in the stories for multiple books.
— Amanda
Michael Connelly
I'm a mystery and adventure buff. Now i'm reading "Scarecrow" by Michael Connelly. Here are the other authors I like, and I try to read the latest books they write: James Patterson, Clive Cussler, David Baldacci. Steve Martini, Jeffrey Archer and Daniel Silva.
— Jeff
Janet Evanovich
Stephanie Plum is a recurring character in the Janet Evanovich's numbered novels, beginning with "One for the Money" and "Two for the Dough." She's up to "Finger-Licking Fifteen." These books are laugh-out-loud funny. In fact, you're sure to get stares if reading this book with someone else in the room. The lead character Stephanie Plum is a hapless bounty hunter working for her sleaze ball cousin Vinnie in the Trenton, NJ, suburbs. Helping her track and capture bail skippers are former "ho" Lula, vice cop boyfriend Joe Morelli, hot and sexy mystery man Ranger, and a pistol-packing Grandma.
— Lee
