Hellhound on His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the International Manhunt for His Assassin by Hampton Sides (2010): Hellhound is a fast-paced, detailed account of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination. Author Hampton Sides provides excellent character sketches of the major and minor players in this tragic event and offers up an absorbing history of Memphis.
Cold, Cold Ground by Adrian McKinty (2012): A serial killer is on the loose in Northern Ireland during “The Troubles” of the 1980s. Detective Sean Duffy has been assigned to the case. Will he get his man? Duffy is a fascinating character who readers will be eager to follow throughout this new series. Outstanding sense of time and place. Thinking of my own "reader profile," I read nonfiction and fiction. I tend to lean toward a gritty tone and flawed characters. I also like to learn new things while I read and setting and character are also extremely important.
For the part 3 of this assignment, I chose Sandy Lombardo's blog and tried Novelist (via the Polaris "Suggestions" function) for one title and Library Thing for the second title. Then looking at the appeal factors she mentioned, I chose two titles she may enjoy.
Since you liked Hellhound on His Trail, you might also like The Last Lincoln Conspirator: John Surratt's Flight from the Gallows by Andrew C. A. Jampoler. It's another compelling historical true crime story that follows a man who commits a political crime, flees and is captured. Descriptive period detail lends authenticity, as do excerpts from the transcripts of his trial in this expertly written study.
ReplyDeleteSimilar to The Cold, Cold Ground, you might enjoy reading Nineteen Seventy-Four by David Peace. A gritty and gruesome fast-paced story imbued with a strong sense of place, a burned-out reporter in Yorkshire discovers that a typical missing girl story hides something quite different when the girl's body is found--with a pair of swans' wings sewn to her back. Intricately plotted and disturbing, this might just be your cup of tea!
No way! I was going to suggest one of the Red Riding mysteries too - although I think you may have read them already.
ReplyDeleteZeke, I am on a big graphic novels trip, and I thought I'd suggest a couple of noir g/n thrillers that you might enjoy.
Brian Michael Bendis based Torso on a true story. Serial killer stories are either written from the perspective of the killer and/or victims, in which case they're horror - or the investigator(s) in which case they're detective stories. Torso is the latter.
And yeah ok they're pulpy, but Richard Stark's Parker graphic novels are stylish and entertaining, dimly lit and gruffly monochromatic. They're an evening's entertainment anyway.
best,
:paula
If you love flawed characters and a fast pace, I recommend "Suspect" by Robert Crais. LAPD cop Scott James just wanted to find a restaurant that served ramen noodles. Instead, he and his partner witness an execution and take fire from a gang of professionals. Haunted by the memory of his partner's death, Scott is determined to catch the killers. Half-way around the world, Maggie, a German Sheppard assigned to a Marine platoon in Afganistan, can't save her partner Pete from a suicide bomber. Both are wounded and struggling. Can they save one another and catch the bad guys? Find out. Read "Suspect" by Robert Crais. Let me know if you enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteIf you find the Irish Troubles interesting, "Mr. Churchill's Secretary" by Susan Elia MacNeal will be your cup of tea. Don't be fooled - this is no cozy. London 1940. Maggie Hope has arrived to settle her grandmother's estate and decides to stay. Even though she's a Phi Beta Kappa mathematician, her key will not unlock the door to jobs held only by men. However, her remarkable gifts for code breaking serve the British government well, as they search for IRA terrorists planning the destruction of 3 major London landmarks, even as the Nazi bombs reign on the city. This is also recommended since you've read some historical WWI fiction with GLBT interest. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteIf you're in the mood for more like Hellhound, try either Portrait of a Killer by Patricia Cornwell or Libra by Dan DeLillo. The former is a non-fiction account of the Jack the Ripper mystery, with mystery-writer Cornwell using research and insight into the criminal mind to come up with her candidate for "Jack"'s identity. Novelist gives the book 5 stars. Libra is a novel, or docu-drama--heavily based on facts, of Lee Harvey Oswald's role in the Kennedy assassination. Gritty, compelling and richly-detailed, it leaves you feeling creepy but enthralled.
ReplyDeleteIf, on the other hand, you're more in the mood for a mystery, try Raven Black by Ann Cleeves (*not* the 4th wife of Henry the VIII). The plot is a solid mystery, though perhaps not quite as gritty as Cold, Cold Ground. What really makes this book (the first in a series) stand out, though, is the setting. It takes place on Shetland--the remote island north of Scotland. It's a relatively inaccessibly place with a unique culture--a blend of British and Scandinavian--which is fascinatingly depicted, without losing any of the pace that makes for a good mystery novel.
Hi Zeke----I think that you would like to read The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker. It has elements of magical realism and historical fiction.....Pat
ReplyDeleteHi Zeke –
ReplyDeleteJust back from maternity leave and try to catch up on Be More Bookish. Since you liked Hellhound on His Trail, I think that you would enjoy Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard or Manhunt by James Swanson. Destiny of the Republic is a fascinating, detailed – yet accessible account of James Garfield’s rise from abject poverty to be president of the United States and then the assassination attempt by a deranged man who was seeking an appointment to office. Garfield survived the assassination attempt but ultimately not the treatment of his wound by the incompetent Dr. Doctor Bliss (of “ignorance is Bliss” fame), even as Alexander Graham Bell raced to develop a metal detector to help locate and remove the bullet. Manhunt is a thrill ride of narrative nonfiction of the search for Lincoln’s assassins and conspirators.
Based on your liking The Cold Cold Ground, and liking flawed characters, an emphasis on character and setting, and learning new things I highly recommend the Billy Boyle series by James Benn. Billy Boyle is a hothead, smartass, Boston detective - a second generation cop and second generation Irish immigrant. He enlisted into the Army to avoid draft and similar to his rapid promotion in Boston he uses family connections to get onto the staff of one his mother’s distant relatives thinking it will keep him stateside. Unfortunately the relative is General Dwight D. Eisenhower and Billy is off overseas. Billy becomes an investigator for his Uncle Ike and each mystery also deals with an interesting element of World War II, like the importance of the newly developed drug penicillin to the war effort, or the role of the Vatican, or the effect and pressure of segregation. Benn is a former librarian and must enjoy researching these books because he really brings the WWII setting to life and fills each book fascinating details yet it never feels out of place within the framework of the mystery.