Crime, Thrillers, Horror and Mystery Recommendations

[stanley]

I'm not a fan of the genre, but I did enjoy Martin Walker's murder mystery, "Bruno, Chief of Police." Bruno is the one man entire police force of St. Denis, a picturesque little town on the Verzeve river situated near limestone cliffs full of ancient paintings and engravings that draw art lovers and scholars from all over the world. If St. Denis is a portrait of the most beautiful aspects of modern rural France, then Walker is the master painter. In vivid language he gives the reader a strong sense of being right there, of driving the winding roads along the river, of rubbing elbows in the traditional country market with all manner of likable, spontaneous and sometimes eccentric village types, of viewing by flashlight awesome depictions of bison and huge mammoths over twenty thousand years old. And then , of course , there is the food: wonderful cheeses, truffles and meats, fine wines from local grapes and delicious breads from village bakeries. Walker creates the experience of life in St. Denis with a wealth of detail that, though meticulous, is never tedious, and that never impedes the pace of the narrative.
Our hero, Bruno, decorated veteran of the Bosnian conflict, is entirely likable for his modest charm, his considerable gifts as amateur chef and vintner and his smooth, natural and always gentlemanly ways with seductive, accomplished women. He is above all fierce protector of St. Denis, his adopted home town, and skillful advocate for its for its traditional ways in the face of encroaching French bureaucracy. He is mentor of for the local youth as tennis coach and rugby team supporter. Bruno is more however than a provincial boy scout.
When a reclusive local Arab, a decorated hero of the second world war, is brutally murdered and left with a swastika carved into his chest, Bruno shows all the skills of tenacious, tech savvy, modern sleuth in solving the case. Cell phone to his ear and computer at his fingertips, Bruno deploys the latest in data search and retrieval to probe for records more than seventy years old. The history he uncovers of individuals of interest during the Nazi occupation is dark indeed. It's a story of bitter factionalism, betrayal, war atrocities, and all the grudges and vendettas spawned in the French resistance. All in all the novel is both a vivid tour of the life and times of a small French town steeped in history and an engaging puzzle of intrigue that satisfies as much by its journey toward resolution as by resolution itself.

[VictoriaR]

I love Robert Crais' thrillers: the first is The Monkey's Raincoat. His detective, Elvis Cole, is a very funny guy with unsuspected depths, who can't pass up helping the unfortunate. In the first book it's a family of three children whose father has disappeared, and they can't go to the police as the mob is involved. If you read one you will be hooked.

[Itsme44880]

Have anyone read something so intense that you couldn't put it down? If so, what was it? Always looking for a good spine tingler.

[Carrie R]

Have anyone read something so intense that you couldn't put it down? If so, what was it? Always looking for a good spine tingler.

I just posted in another thread about The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson. Loved this book. It's about a man who meets a woman in an airport who offers to help him kill his wife. A Strangers on a Train sort of thing. I could not put it down. Great psychological thriller.

[VictoriaR]

I just read a book called Mean Martin Manning by Scott Stein. It's one of the best, most entertaining books I've read in a while. It's about a man who just wants to be alone, but the government forces him into a "rehabilitation" program because he's living a supposedly unhealthy lifestyle. Manning has to find a way to escape, as he is constantly surrounded by guards. When he does, he's all about revenge.

This book is very comedic, but it's also very thrilling. I recommend it to EVERYONE.

On Amazon, it's $76.02. Really must be good.

[ReyElden9817]

The Woods by Harlan Coben is a good story

[Mike_Lang]

I love Robert Crais' thrillers: the first is The Monkey's Raincoat. His detective, Elvis Cole, is a very funny guy with unsuspected depths, who can't pass up helping the unfortunate. In the first book it's a family of three children whose father has disappeared, and they can't go to the police as the mob is involved. If you read one you will be hooked.

Someone in one of my book clubs just recommended The Monkey's Raincoat to me a week or so ago. I didn't realize it was part of a series.

[Valerie]

Testament by David Morrell
Testament is an action thriller book. The first edition was published in 1975. According to Mr. Morrell’s note in Introduction in 1991, the title is an allusion to the Bible – in particular the Old Testament Book of Job. The main character, Reuben Bourne has similar suffering to Job’s. He looses his infant son, small daughter, and his wife. His moral principles abort him to do the vengeance to his enemy’s family. It’s so unfair to see the bad guy playing tender father and husband meanwhile he destroys other family. Although personally, I am disappointed in ending because the main character was too forgiving but it’s a good book with well-written one. If you’re looking for an action thriller with small number of characters, then you might want to give this book a try.

-- 05 Dec 2015, 18:28 --

[quote="sheaman"]Murder on the Orient Express is a great mystery book to pick up if you're looking for a good read. It's part of Agitha Chrisie's Poroit series, so if you've never really been into AC you may not like it.

The basic idea of the story is that someone has been murdered on a train that is stuck in the snow. Poroit--a professional detective--happens to be stuck on this train as well.One of the passengers is the murderer.



Murder on the Orient Express, a Hercule Poirot Mystery, Agatha Christie
Not [i]one of the passenger is the murder [/i]but 12 out of 13 passengers are murderer. They punished Rachett aka Cassetti.

-- 05 Dec 2015, 18:35 --

[quote="Valerie"]Testament by David Morrell
Testament is an action thriller book. The first edition was published in 1975. According to Mr. Morrell’s note in Introduction in 1991, the title is an allusion to the Bible – in particular the Old Testament Book of Job. The main character, Reuben Bourne has similar suffering to Job’s. He looses his infant son, small daughter, and his wife. His moral principles abort him to do the vengeance to his enemy’s family. It’s so unfair to see the bad guy playing tender father and husband meanwhile he destroys other family. Although personally, I am disappointed in ending because the main character was too forgiving but it’s a good book with well-written one. If you’re looking for an action thriller with small number of characters, then you might want to give this book a try.

-- 05 Dec 2015, 18:28 --

[Kierst]

I love crime, thriller, horror, mystery, suspense books and have been having a difficult time finding a really good one lately. Just perusing the board for suggestions!

[actorcool]

Scott,

Definitely check out Sphere by Michael Crichton. Read that with a flashlight in a dark room at your own discretion.

[sound_readerrev]

I Hunt Killers series by Barry Lyga.

[AngelaMarie1960]

An evil mind by Chris Carter is BEYOND brilliant. I absolutely loved this book. I plan to read all this authors books.

[jerry758]

I'm a big fan of Crais' books. The early ones, including The Monkey's Raincoat to about Free Fall, are a wonderful admixture of plot, character, and humor. They are my favorites. The series gets progressively more dark after the early books. The plots are still very good and Elvis Cole is a strong character, but you have to like a lot of violence in a darker world to appreciate the later entries in the series. If you like the darker Crais novels, you should also enjoy Michael Connelly (his Henry Bosch series), Walter Mosley (his Easy Rawlins series), and Richard Barre.

[Teresa50]

I have just finished reading The Ice Twins by S K Tremayne. If you like dark, twisted psychological thrillers this is a must read. I could not put it down.

On the other hand, if you like a vein of subtle humour running through your crime fiction try any of the Falco novels by Lindsey Davis

[Katniss]

I recomend the Hunger Games
TOTALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!