Favorites- Thrillers

Next up on my favorites tour? Thrillers. I have to admit that I’ve read about a million of these in my life, and rarely do I find one that I don’t like. However, there are also a lot that I liked but couldn’t tell you right now what they were about, or what the plot was, so obviously they haven’t stuck with me. In no particular order, following are the ones that did:

1. 

1st to Die, by James Patterson- I can’t praise this book enough. James Patterson, before he became an author that churns out a book a second (or something like that), was a really impressive writer. 1st to Die is the first in the women’s murder club series, which revolves around Detective Lindsay Boxer and her friends: Claire Washburn, the city coroner, Cindy Thomas, a reporter, and Jill Bernhardt, the assistant district attorney, who work together to solve serial murder cases. In this book, someone is killing newlyweds. Alternating between Lindsay and the murderer’s perspectives, 1st to Die is an extremely captivating thriller with a personable side, thanks to the extremely well written characters. As of now, Patterson is on his 10th in this series, but has since picked up a co-writer, and has lost what I find to be significant quality in the books. I highly recommend the first three at the very least. Honorable mentions from James Patterson include: the first few Alex Cross books, Beach Road, and the more recent Michael Bennett series. In my opinion, his writing has gone significantly downhill in the past few years (most likely with the addition of co-writers that I suspect are really just writing books based on his ideas), but most of his early novels are equally as engrossing as this one.

2. 

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl who Played with Fire, by Stieg Larsson- I’m sure everyone has heard enough about these books without me needing to explain the back story, but for those living under a rock the past few years, these books were written by a Swedish author that has since died, and have provided the story for a few excellent Swedish films (possibly the only foreign films I genuinely enjoy), and an upcoming American remake. Lisabeth Salander is the girl in the title, who is easily one of the most interesting characters in any book I have ever read. Secretive and dangerous, Lisabeth helps Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist, to discover what has happened to the niece of a very wealthy man in Dragon Tattoo. Admittedly, Blomkvist is the one to play a larger role in this book. Played with Fire is the sequel, and is definitely the better read, where Lisabeth is falsely accused of murder, which she frantically tries to solve throughout the book. The third book is not very good at all, so once again I am recommending only the first two books of a trilogy. In my opinion, the third book is much too wordy, boring, and should have been better edited after the death of the author.

3. 

The Firm, by John Grisham- This is another one that I’m sure almost everyone has heard of, however it was one of the first thrillers that I read and loved. Since then I have read nearly everything by John Grisham, with varying degrees of enjoyment. The Firm is my favorite. Mitch McDeere is a lawyer at a very lucrative job in a law firm, when he realizes that there is something definitely wrong with the company he is working for. From then on, it becomes a constant struggle between being set for life, doing the right thing, and trying to stay alive.

4. 

Shutter Island, by Dennis Lehane- Another book made into a popular movie. The main character, Teddy Daniels, and his partner are called to Shutter Island, a hospital for the criminally insane, to investigate the disappearance of a patient. Ridiculously creepy and nonetheless a major page turner, all things are not what they seem, as we are lead through Teddy’s life and back story while he investigates the disappearance. Lehane is also the author of Mystic River and Gone, Baby, Gone, equally excellent thrillers that have since been made into movies.

5. 

The Andromeda Strain, by Michael Crichton- though I never really got into most of Crichton’s more popular books (Jurassic Park, Congo, etc), Andromeda Strain is one that has really stuck with me since I read it in high school. The book revolves around a threat to humankind in the form of a biophysical strain of a virus/bacteria. Apparently I need to do a reread soon, because that about covers what I remember of it! Just trust me on this, one thing that I do remember is that it was riveting!

Honorable mentions: Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, David Baldacci’s Camel Club series, and everything I’ve ever read from Harlan Coben.