10 Riveting Reads - CRIME/THRILLER

Here's the first in a new series I'm starting, called 10 Riveting Reads. I'm going to try and publish an entry whenever I can, and it'll be organized by genre. Basically, they'll just be 10 great books in a certain genre. That's it. Today's genre? Crime and thrillers. Good stuff. Read and enjoy!

- American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis: Wowzers. We're really starting out strong here, aren't we? Well, we better get to it. American Psycho is a gnarly read, full of some of the most grotesque descriptions of torture and murder I've ever read, but it's (somehow) a classic. Ellis does an excellent job fleshing out (pun intended) his protagonist - the vicious and self-obsessed Patrick Bateman. And while this is far from a "fun" read, it's imbued with a pretty scorching indictment of 80's pop culture, and the ending is simply divine. It's a sinister satire, alright. One of the best.

- In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O'Brien: In the days before Gone Girl, this 1994 missing-person thriller was less of a murder mystery, and more of an intense character study. It focuses on a man whose wife disappears, and the book not only plumbs the depths of his war-addled psyche, but also gives several different firsthand accounts of what may have happened to the victim (if, indeed, she even is one). The prose is immaculate, and the concept is very intriguing. Trust me - it's well worth your time and attention.

- Monster by Walter Dean Myers: I read this book for the first time in the 7th grade, and have reread it another 3 times since. Myers has a knack for writing realistic characters, and here, we watch as 16-year-old Steve Harmon stands trial for murder. And while the characterization is spectacular, the best part of this book is its inventive storytelling: bouncing back and forth between Harmon's journal entries while in prison, and also a screenplay he's writing about his experiences. This juxtaposition is fascinating, and really offers some wonderful insight into the mind of this character, and of a disenfranchised urban upbringing. Check this one out.

- Mr. Mercedes / Finders Keepers / End of Watch (the Bill Hodges trilogy) by Stephen King: Man oh man, is this a terrific trilogy. It starts wandering into some pretty wacky stuff in the third installment (End of Watch, while good, is easily my least favorite entry in the series), but this gritty crime saga follows Det. Bill Hodges on his quest to hunt down the bad guys, each one more fiendish than the last. The first is about a lunatic who mows down a crowd of people at a job fair. The second centers on a failed intellectual on a murderous prowl for lost manuscripts. And the third is...well, it just is. This is King at his quickest and most cunning, delivering a bare-bones narrative with a host of fascinating characters. All in all, this trilogy stands with It, Hearts in Atlantis, and 11/22/63 as some of King's strongest outings. Of the 3, my favorite is Finders Keepers, which really crackles, and has one of the most evocative climaxes to a King novel I've ever read.

- Red Dragon by Thomas Harris: Although too many folks ignore this book in favor of its much more successful sequel (The Silence of the Lambs), and many others remember it as a decent horror-blockbuster starring Edward Norton, this original novel from 1981 is terrific. It's a book that I read over a decade ago, and can still recall specific scenes like I read them yesterday. The characters are marvelous, particularly the horrific "Tooth Fairy" killer. Clocking in at almost 500 pages, you might think this would be a chore to get through. But believe me: these are 500 of the quickest-paced pages you'll ever read. It's a great summer-on-the-beach book, with a third act twist that makes it truly fantastic. And while the sequels and adaptations are okay, this original horror-thriller is the best.

- Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn: "My sweater was new, stinging red and ugly." So begins Gillian Flynn's wicked debut novel about murdered children and self-mutilation. Like its name suggests, this is a book you should handle with care. Its prose is coiled and jagged, like razor wire, and will absolutely cut you if you're not paying close enough attention. Honestly, her other two novels are also great - Dark Places and Gone Girl are practically required reading now that Flynn's star is on the rise - but Sharp Objects might be her most impressive outing so far. Fresh, fearless, and embarrassingly addictive. Of all the books you'll find here, this is the one that is the most realistically crafted and expertly delivered. For fans of the genre, it's a must-read.

- Starr Bright Will be With You Soon by Joyce Carol Oates, writing as Rosamond Smith: Goodness gracious. Leave it to Joyce Carol Oates to pen one of the heaviest, craziest thrillers of the last thirty years. I mean, this thing is rough. She's one of our best living novelists (read Little Bird of Heaven if you don't believe me), and with this one, she makes full use of her many trademark talents: unreliable characters, unsettling social commentary, and voracious violence. It's a bit of a slow-starter, and the first twenty pages will take some settling into, but once you're in the thick of it? Don't expect to put this sucker down. This is literary fiction with a commercial bent, so be ready for big moments and even bigger ideas.

- To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee: I mean, honestly, I'm not even going to really write about this one. It's a classic, and should be essential reading to every human being on the planet. Yes, the film adaptation is terrific too, but you need to devote some time to chew through this literary marvel. It's definitely in my top ten all-time favorites, and it's undoubtedly one of the best books ever written. So...yeah. It's pretty darn important. Read this, then check out the movie, and then end by reading the sequel Go Set A Watchman - it's not as good as the original, but it's still mighty impressive and thematically resonant. So, in summary? READ. THIS. BOOK.