This week we’ve been asked for our favorite reads from the past year.
by Dietrich
Here’s my list. They’re not all new releases, and not all fiction, but they’re all highly recommended.
The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy; Knopf, 2022. It’s his first since The Road — and wow, what a book. It takes one twist after another while centering around a salvage diver who’s being chased by feds; all the while he’s haunted by thoughts of the schizophrenic sister who killed herself.
Fairy Tale by Stephen King; Scribner, 2022. King’s in fine form spinning his own fairy tale about good versus evil. It takes place in an alternate world that only a master like King could create.
City on Fire by Don Winslow; William Morrow, 2022. The first in his new Danny Ryan trilogy. I’m a longtime Winslow fan, and this is one’s right up there with his best.
Like a Rolling Stone by Jann S. Wenner; Little, Brown and Co., 2022. The tell-all by the founder of Rolling Stone Magazine takes readers deep inside the music, culture, and politics of a generation.
Start Without Me by Gary Janetti; Henry Holt, 2022. Real life stories from a very funny writer. When I wasn’t laughing out loud, I was captured by Janetti’s wit throughout.
A Book of Days by Patti Smith, Random House, 2022. A visual book looking into the artist's life. Photos shot over a year, on and off the road, her travels around the world, her heroes, train stations, out of the way cafes, and a whole lot more.
Deacon King Kong by James McBride; Riverhead Books, 2020. Another awesome crime novel set in NYC in the mid-sixties. A powerful voice along with some great dialogue.
Dragon Teeth by Michael Crichton; Harper Collins, 2017. Set in the days of the Wild West, a pair of palaeontologists go head to head, sabotaging each other in what becomes known as the Bone Wars. If you’re a Crichton fan, you’ll love this one.
Star Island by Carl Hiaasen; Knopf, 2010. The sixth book in the Skink series. Skink’s the somewhat disturbed former governor of Florida; in this one he becomes a deer in the headlights of the celebrity fast lane. It’s pure Hiaasen gold.
Irish Thunder: The Hard Life & Times of Micky Ward by Bob Halloran; Lyons Press, 2007. A brilliant account of an underdog on a hard road to becoming a champ.
The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson; Penquin, 2006. The first in the Walt Longmire series, a tale of vengeance — one not to be missed by another great contemporary writer.
Down to the Dirt by Joel Thomas Hynes; Killick Press, 2004. One moment it shows a lot of heart, the next it hits as hard as a fist. A debut novel from a true Canadian talent.
Catch Me if You Can: The true story of a real fake by Frank W. Abignale; Mainstream, 2003. An unbelievable story that’s all true. Frank the con man poses as an Pan Am pilot, the supervising resident of a hospital, a college sociology professor, and he practices law without a license. Cashing over $2,5 million in forged cheques, he eluded the law of 26 foreign countries and all 50 states. What a ride.
The Man who Invented Florida by Randy Wayne White; St. Martin’s Press, 1993. It’s the third Doc Ford mystery, and this time around his crazy uncle discovers the Fountain of Youth, well, sort of. It’s a riot of fun in White’s twisted vision of southwest Florida.
To the writers and the readers here at Criminal Minds, I wish you all the very best over the holidays and for the coming year.
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The Get
Lenny Ovitz has plenty of secrets. He works for a volatile crime boss, is drowning in debt to the wrong people, and he’s certain his soon-to-be ex is aiming to screw him over. Somebody is going to have to get whacked.
Coming June 6th, 2023 from ECW Press.
Check it out now and preorder your copy here.
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