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| The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Loads of Nordic charm and style and a real page turner too. I read it in a day. Not your typical thriller, partly because of the setting, and also partly because of the 'otherness ' of the characters. You can tell the author fell in love with the leading lady he created, and the sex scenes, well you get the feeling he enjoyed writing them too!
This makes the grade on several levels - setting, style, pace, interest, mystery - and you really want to know whodunnit at the end. You will definitely get to the end of this book - and very probably be tempted to order the next, The Girl Who Played with Fire - I don't want to put you off - but it isn't quite as good! Dragon Tattoo, however, is an excellent holiday read. Definitely one for men and women. |
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| A Quiet Vendetta by R J Ellory
I first came across this author as a Richard and Judy recommend for his book A Quiet Belief in Angels - which was very good - but not quite as good as this one which I think is his best. Yes, after reading one of his books I have gone on to read them all, so I think you can take it - I think he is very good.
A Quiet Vendetta is both a page turner and very beautifully written. I found myself torn between wanting to race on to get on with the story and wanting to re-read parts because they caught something so meaningful about the day to day lives we lead.
You will be exhausted by this book because you will not be able to stop reading. It makes your heart beat faster. It's about love, acceptance, passion, denial - unputdownable. Again - a men and women book. |
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| The Power of the Dog by Don Winslow
The story of the Mexican drugs trade into the States from the 70's onwards but not in a dry historical way, by giving you a real feel and understanding of the characters. Absolutely riveting. It has Mexican drug cartels, Italian and Irish Mafia, veteran DEA and CIA agents, hookers and priests, communist guerrillas and high-level government cover-ups - everything is there. Another great read by Winslow is California Fire and Life California Fire and Life .
He really gets inside the characters' heads and you end up rooting for some of them and wishing the demise of others. Unputdownable. Guaranteed top holiday read. |
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| Agent Zigzag by Ben McIntrye
An unbelievable but true story of an English conman recruited to the intelligence services during the way who acts as a double, triple and quadruple agent. No-one seems to know whether they should trust him but he ends up winning decorations both for the Allies and the Germans. The story opens with him jumping out of the window of a hotel British police to avoid the debts he has left all around him on the Isle of Man and then managing to get off the island and go on the run.
Very exciting - you just can't believe he will get away with what he does, but he does. A charming and fascinating rogue. You will love this. I'm afraid I have to say this again - unputdownable. |
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| Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
OK – you have probably read this already – but if not – it’s definitely in my top five of recent years. Sounds like sci-fi but doesn't read like it. The story of a guy who has a genetic malfunction which means he is occasionally taken forward or backwards in his life - usually when he's stressed - and when he lands back on earth he does so naked (which can lead to a few problems).
The story charts the course of his relationship with his wife - and how his coming and going affects them - raising all kinds of questions in my mind - would we have fallen in love if we'd met at a different time, how would it affect us and the way we lived our lives if we knew what was going to happen to us. Which all sounds very serious - but it is a book of love, loss, regret, beauty, joy and is unputdownable. Maybe you have to persevere for the first 50 pages to really get into it - but once you do - just hope for an understanding family because you will be glued to it. |
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| Miss Smilla's
Feeling for Snow - Peter Hoeg
Captivating snow bound murder-mystery. The heroine is
fascinating and again it is a non-stop read.
Her next-door
neighbour's 6 year old child dies falling out of a window but as Miss
Smilla knows snow she sees that the child was trying to get in, not
out. She starts asking questions and the book really takes
off. It is nail biting stuff and absolutely fascinating. You will be
sitting on the edge of your seat because the suspense is so intense - you
so want her not to get caught but...... This is so much better than the film - you will definitely love it.
You may also like Kolymski Heights (see below) |
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| Brightness Falls by Jay McInnery
Love and loss - spot a recurring them here? Beautifully written account of a couple meeting, marrying and then falling apart. Some see it as a pretty good stab at the Great American Novel. So different from Bright Lights Big City you wouldn't think it could be the same author.
Moving, fun and beautiful. |
| The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Again – you probably already have this. This novel runs Time Traveller close for second spot in my affections. The book covers a yoiung biy growing up and his dedication to finding out why the author Caraz has disappeared and why all his books are being destroyed. It turns into a rite of passage, discovery of love (and yes, of course, loss), intrigue, mystery, danger and such compelling side stories.
It is set in Barcelona - which is lovingly described. The characters are engaging and vivid and the writing is beautiful. No matter how exciting the book is - and it is truly wonderful - I found myself deliberately reading slowly towards the end because I just didn't want to finish it. I spotted another holidaymaker reading it in German - and I had to go up to her to talk about it even though I don't speak German - that's how much you get to love it. And yes, "is gut!" |
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| The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
This was recommended to me and I was reluctant to read it because I thought it'd be a kind of travelogue of Afghanistan. True - I did end up learning a bit about the culture, people and history - but what a story! So engaging and ranging across 60 years this again is a book that will lead you to question what is important, the family ties that bind us, loyalty, love, and the decisions we make. Engaging enough to be read in a single sitting. I didn't expect to like it but I loved it.
I didn't enjoy a Thousand Splendid Suns as much - it was OK but a bit bleak. The Kite Runner - well if you haven't read it yet, you should. |
| Girflriend in a Coma by Douglas Coupland
Wow - what a story! What a great idea. 1979 and an 18 year old girl falls into a coma which lasts 17 years. When she wakes up she sees her friends and what they have become - and sees it all through the optimistic and fun eyes of an 18 year old. She sees how everyone is now so busy and crazy on gadgets that they have forgotten the dreams and time they had for other things when they were younger.
Have they done the things they wanted to do or has time drifted and their dreams with it? And what has she seen on the other side? Add to this that she was pregnant when she fell into a coma and was delivered of a daughter and you have quite a few questions going on. How she relates to the daughter who is now as old as she was when she went into a coma so she feels more like a sister than a daughter.
The 'other side' then comes into play in the second half of the book. It's funny and sad and maybe ultimately optimistic. Certainly thought-provoking and an incredible read. I read all hos other books and this is definitely my fave. |
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| Temple
by Matthew Reilly
100% page turner. Set in the modern day but ties in with a
secret from the days of the Conquistadors. Action, history, intrigue
this is truly unputdownable.
Also try Ice Station by the same author
but ignore the rest as they've done what they did with Grisham (publishing
his earlier stuff that they had previously turned down!). And in fact he hasn't written anything since to match these but here the twin track stories of the conquistadors and modern day make for a fascinating and fast paced read.
Unbelievable? Yes. Unrealsitic? Umm, yes. Unputdownable? Yes again. OK - it is at the trashy end of the scope but it is so much fun. Really, naughty but nice.
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Duende
by Jason Webster
A year spent in search of 'duende' - the spiritual state that the best flamenco engenders.
The author travels from struggling with guitar lessons to forming part of a travelling gypsy flamenco troupe. I know he had the lessons because my brother also had lessons from his guitar teacher who I think gave him some of the stories (but no credit, no sour grapes there then).
Sure you can see how Webster romaticises his own journey, spiritual and geographical and maybe waxes a little too lyrical - but for all that it's a decent insight into a world most of us know just through tacky Hotel floorshows. I liked it. |
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Kolymsky
Heights by Lionel Davidson
You will have to buy this 'used' because it is out of print - amazing because it is such a fantastic read. Absolutely rivetting and well worth getting hold of - click on the left and you can probably pick it up for £2.76 inc p&p.
A super intelligent breathtakingly exciting thriller. The hero
receives a cryptic message from a person he believed to be dead and sets
off to find him. This takes him onto a tramping steamer where the
crew try to get him, into a "closed" Russian Port where he takes
on a new identity and when he gets the info he needs his flight is
gripping.
The best thriller I have ever read. |
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The Luxury of
Exile by Louis Buss
Alright - I confess - this is my favourite novel of all time.
Why? It's a story of love and loss and moments that just come alive
and live with you forever. The story of a 40 something Antiques
Dealer whose wife leaves him prompting him to go on an odyssey to find
Byron's Diary in Naples - but really the journey is about finding out what
life is about, what's important to you, feeling all the sensation and
beauty that life can bring. It's a great read but leaves you with so
much more.
Again - out of print but do track ti down - you will be happy you did and amazed it is out of print. |
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The New
Confessions by William Boyd
Is the "autobiography" of John James Todd which takes you
through the whole of the 20th Century from the 1st world war, the glamour
and grime of Hollywood, inter-war Berlin and so much more.
Of
course the main character never existed but after reading this book you
won't be able to believe that. An uplifting book - when you turn the
last page you really will be sad! And then you will buy Any Human Heart - which is nearly as good, and then anything else Boyd has written. I especially recommend his short stories.
The New Confessions is outrageous, extraordinary, hilarious and heartbreaking. |
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Sacred Hunger by
Barry Unsworth
Tracing the history of a Slave Ship in the 18th Century and the lives of
two very different brothers, one who owns it and one who ends up working
on it. It's like Roots but
better. Heart rendingly sad and beautiful too. This is a book
that is truly extraordinary. It won the Booker Prize and is readable
too!
I know I know - it sounds a bnit heavy to take on holiday - it isn't. It is easy to read and really moving.
Your life will be better for reading this and again, you will
not be able to put it down. |
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Couples by John
Updike
Couples is a collection of short stories about 30 something
couples who go through having kids, being friends and eventually having
affairs. It's all about the danger, excitement (and usually disaster
too) that goes with wife swapping.
Beautifully written and
captivating - after reading this you will be a confirmed Updike fan and
then it's time to move on to the "Rabbit" novels - which is the
best sequence of novels I have ever read - but Couples will start you off
nicely - it's a great read for men and women - especially if you are in
the 30 something age group.
If you have never tried Updike this is a good place to start and you will love it. |
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The Blue Noon
by Robert Ryan
This is a bit like Agent Zigzag but fictional. Very very engaging.
Harry Cole is a con man living high on the hog in wartime France until he comes to the attention of MI6. He soon finds he is dealing with ruthless forces and has to carry on his schemes and cons, but for the greater good.
Can he really do what he does best for altruistic reasons? Humour, intrigue, passion and a racing storyline set this book apart from the present crop of WW2 books. Also recommended by the same author is Early One Morning. |
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Driving Over Lemons by Chris Stewart
Ex-Genesis drummer drops out and moves to Andalucia to a run-down farm - does it up, meets the locals, gets exasperated with the builders, sound familiar?
Well, it is a little 'Toujours Andalucia', but maybe a bit earthier than Mayle's book and you do end up liking the guy. How could he move to such a run-down house with child in tow? He's made of sterner stuff than me. Not an extraordinary read but interesting if you like Spain. |
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Sophie's Choice
by William Styron
A heartbreakingly beautiful, sad, moving, life-affirming book that is
also impossible to put down. Set in Coney Island in the Fifties it
is the story of a Mother coming to terms with an impossible choice and
about her search for love and happiness.
I can't tell you the story as it
would ruin it but this is really a most fantastic book. Awful film
of it, but a great great book. I loved it - it's a
must! |
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Tales of the
City - Armistead Maupin
If you haven't read any of these books (he wrote 6 of them) then you
really have a treat in front of you.
Set in San Francisco in the
80's it tells the story of the residents of Barbary House - a shared House
on the Hill. Funny, light. moving you zoom through the pages and
will read one after the other in the series - honestly these are lovely
books.
His later books are a bit cloying but this stays on the right side and if you read one you will read all six. |
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Resurrection
Day by Brendan du Bois
Out of print but that means you can pick it up for 1p plus postage by clicking left.
It's the 1990s and much of North America is a nuclear wasteland after
Kennedy's disastrous handling of the Bay of Pigs and the resultant Nuclear
War in which he was killed.
Yes this is a What If book and it is also a
thriller and is a fantastic read (I know I always say that). Who is
the Underground Group who proclaim Kennedy Lives? Why will the new
authoritarian US Government not let people into devastated New
Jersey. All these questions and more are answered in this tremendous
novel. |
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The Mysteries
of Pittsburgh by Michael Chabon
Beautiful writing about the years after adolescence but before career
- you know when I mean. Also about discovering love, understanding
relationships and putting things in their place. And about when the
biggest worry you had was how to deal with a hangover and wondering who
was in bed next to you in the morning. It is light and beautiful - kind
of like Catcher in the Rye but on acid and with a lighter more fun touch.
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