Reading Recommendations

Gone for Good by Harlan Coben (really, any of his stand alones).

The Monkey's Raincoat by Robert Crais (the first in the Elvis Cole series).

The Jessie Stone novels by Robert B. Parker.

Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned by Walter Mosely.

The "Alphabet" series by Sue Grafton. The first book is A is for Alibi.

Any of Nevada Barr's "park ranger" books. I especially liked Deep South.

If you are interested in writing and writers, I recommend three books.

On Writing by Stephen King. By far the best book on writing I've ever read. King demonstrates how he applied his life experiences to horror fiction and includes a great section on the actual craft of writing.

The other two are Speaking of Murder, volumes I and II. These books are loaded with interviews with mystery and suspense writers and are an amazing resource. You get to see how different writers work, what influenced their development as writers, how they are motivated, and their views on the world of publishing. It is fascinating stuff.

My final recommendation today is a memoir. I Want To Thank My Brain for Remembering Me recounts columnist Jimmy Breslin's surgery to repair an anneurism, and discusses his history as a columnist. Great reading.