Some books I've read lately:
Finished the first popular book about brain science. It was okay.
Finished my first Chelsea Cain about the psycho killer, “Sweetheart”. I’m not sure I’ll read the second. In the procedural issues, too many professionals doing stupid things and the psycho doing everything perfectly. I mistakenly did this book first. I should have done “Heartsick” first. Warning: the book is on the gruesome side.
I think Chelsea missed the right genre for her. At times, she’s funny. I think she’d do better with a book like Janet Evanovich writes about Stephanie Plum.
For the next book I turned to someone I trust: Jonathon Kellerman and his book “Deception”. I liked this book a lot. I like how the investigation proceeded – somewhat linear unfolding without any tricks or coincidences. I like Kellerman’s dialog.
What he really does well is capture the amorality of today’s youth. This was illustrated and became iconic years ago when a teenage boy killed his girlfriend and dumped her body in the hills. Kids from his high school kept going up to visit the body but no one contacted the cops. The kids name was Broussard and was the first case of a teen being tried as adult in California. The story inspired a movie called “River’s Edge” by a college student who wrote the story for one of his classes. Kellerman’s dialog of young girls who are intellectually and morally vacant is riveting and haunting.
Next up, one of my favorite authors: John Sandford and another of his Virgil Flowers books “Bad Blood”. Sandford’s main series is about a detective Davenport. He decided to create a second series with a new detective Virgil Flowers. I’ve never been disappointed in Sandford’s books. This book jumps into the soft-under belly of the Midwest as he uncovers an old religious cult that has murdered to cover up child sexual abuse. If pedophilia is tough to take, skip this book. What I like about the book is how the villains attempt to justify what they’ve done. And the victims know they’re victims.
One thing that “Bad Blood” and “Deception” both had in common is the integration of social networks into the story. What would have Chandler made of Facebook?
My last book is “American Creation” by Joseph Ellis (he of “Founding Brothers”). The book focuses on several of the defining events of the founding of this country including the creation of the Declaration of Independence, Valley Forge, creation of the Constitution, Jefferson & Madison’s creation of the opposition party, Louisiana Purchase, and an early Indian Treaty. The stories illustrate the messiness of history and of our founders in contrast to the sanitized, softened stories we’re brought up with. I like Ellis’s historical work. If you’re interested in early American history, this is a good read.
Finished the first popular book about brain science. It was okay.
Finished my first Chelsea Cain about the psycho killer, “Sweetheart”. I’m not sure I’ll read the second. In the procedural issues, too many professionals doing stupid things and the psycho doing everything perfectly. I mistakenly did this book first. I should have done “Heartsick” first. Warning: the book is on the gruesome side.
I think Chelsea missed the right genre for her. At times, she’s funny. I think she’d do better with a book like Janet Evanovich writes about Stephanie Plum.
For the next book I turned to someone I trust: Jonathon Kellerman and his book “Deception”. I liked this book a lot. I like how the investigation proceeded – somewhat linear unfolding without any tricks or coincidences. I like Kellerman’s dialog.
What he really does well is capture the amorality of today’s youth. This was illustrated and became iconic years ago when a teenage boy killed his girlfriend and dumped her body in the hills. Kids from his high school kept going up to visit the body but no one contacted the cops. The kids name was Broussard and was the first case of a teen being tried as adult in California. The story inspired a movie called “River’s Edge” by a college student who wrote the story for one of his classes. Kellerman’s dialog of young girls who are intellectually and morally vacant is riveting and haunting.
Next up, one of my favorite authors: John Sandford and another of his Virgil Flowers books “Bad Blood”. Sandford’s main series is about a detective Davenport. He decided to create a second series with a new detective Virgil Flowers. I’ve never been disappointed in Sandford’s books. This book jumps into the soft-under belly of the Midwest as he uncovers an old religious cult that has murdered to cover up child sexual abuse. If pedophilia is tough to take, skip this book. What I like about the book is how the villains attempt to justify what they’ve done. And the victims know they’re victims.
One thing that “Bad Blood” and “Deception” both had in common is the integration of social networks into the story. What would have Chandler made of Facebook?
My last book is “American Creation” by Joseph Ellis (he of “Founding Brothers”). The book focuses on several of the defining events of the founding of this country including the creation of the Declaration of Independence, Valley Forge, creation of the Constitution, Jefferson & Madison’s creation of the opposition party, Louisiana Purchase, and an early Indian Treaty. The stories illustrate the messiness of history and of our founders in contrast to the sanitized, softened stories we’re brought up with. I like Ellis’s historical work. If you’re interested in early American history, this is a good read.
