#33: Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky

Alien ships touch down on Earth and depart without making contact, but leave a swath of the planet bizarrely transformed, and littered with unusual objects; now adventurers knows as Stalkers root through this strange zone at their own peril in the Strugatsky Brothers' Roadside Picnic.

This definitive Russian sci-fi novel was later made into the classic Soviet film Stalker by Andrei Tarkovsky, and both are rewarding in their own ways.  I was not as familiar with the Strugatsky Brothers as, say, Stanislaw Lem, and was glad a friend tipped me off to this novel.

Roadside Picnic is a very thought-provoking sci-fi outing for those who prefer more cerebral science fiction with no easy answers.

I bought this with an Amazon gift card from my birthday and read it quickly.

#32: The Second Deadly Sin by Asa Larsson

A young boy is the sole survivor of what turns out to be a long, connected series of murders, and it's up to the dogged prosecutors and police (including one clever police dog) of the Uppsala law enforcement community to figure out what's going on in Asa Larsson's The Second Deadly Sin.

I am a big fan of Larsson's novels, set in rural Sweden and featuring lawyer Rebecka Martinsson, whose psyche is a little fragile after all that has transpired in her previous adventures.

Larsson writes rich, interesting characters, and depicts vibrant slices of life from her own homeland.  This sometimes stands in stark contrast to the violence and terror that bursts from the pages at unexpected intervals.

These are very solid mysteries, and recommended for those who want a change of venue in their stories.

I checked this out from the Morrisson-Reeves Public Library and read it quickly.

#31: Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

A disturbed young man plows into a line of people waiting on a job fair, and a dogged detective never catches him before heading into retirement; but when the young man begins to intrude in the retiree's life, he gets a second chance in Stephen King's Mr. Mercedes.

King has been poking around in the mystery world lately, and I have been enjoying his new direction.  Unlike some of his other recent thriller attempts, like Joyland, this one contains no supernatural elements at all (perceived or real) and is probably closer styled to a summer blockbuster.

Although I thought some of the characterizations ran hot and cold, the story rockets on a relentless pace, with plenty of suspense and a nerve-racking conclusion that would play well on the big screen.

I think King's fans will enjoy this change of pace, as well as general mystery readers.

I listened to a very good audio book version on loan from the Morrisson-Reeves Public Library in Richmond, Indiana.

#30: Pietr the Latvian by Georges Simenon

Stalwart Inspector Maigret of the Paris police doggedly hunts Pietr the Latvian, a well-known villain with a knack for slipping out of the grasp of the law, in Georges Simenon's Pietr the Latvian.

This is the first Maigret novel, from 1930, now in re-release from Penguin Books.

Simenon wrote tons of these Maigret novels, and I had never dipped a toe into them until now, thinking this might be a good place to start.  It is a good solid mystery, with load of colorful details about life on the shabby side of the Parisian world, and was interesting enough for me to seek out another one.

I borrowed this from the Morrisson-Reeves Public Library and read it quickly.

#29: Really the Blues by Joseph Koenig

A jazz musician flees New Orleans under mysterious circumstances, and makes the mistake of landing in Paris during the Nazi Occupation in Joseph Koenig's wartime thriller Really the Blues.

Koenig has been an elusive figure in publishing, having written several different kinds of novels before seemingly disappearing for almost twenty years, emerging in 2012 with a very good hard-boiled noir, False Negative, which first got me interested in the author.

Now there's Really the Blues, where our reluctant protagonist would prefer to keep playing his music, but the Resistance, in various forms, keeps crossing his path, with the Nazis dead on their heels.  This is a very solid, engaging thriller that will have appeal to all kinds of readers.

Pegasus Books sent me this out of the blue, and I was glad they did.  I read it quickly and passed it on to another mystery fan.

#28: All You Need is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka

A lowly soldier is killed during a relentless alien invasion, on only his first day of combat; but somehow is forced to relive that day over and over until he gets better (with the help of a solider called "Full Metal Bitch") or keeps dying in Hiroshi Sakurazaka's All You Need is Kill.

This sci-fi novel is a whacked-out combo of Groundhog Day, Starship Troopers, and a dozen Japanese anime series, written in a terse, kinetic style that makes this a quick read.  The author is obviously a loving fan of all of the above and then some and doesn't take anything too seriously.

This novel later became the Tom Cruise movie Edge of Tomorrow, a much more vanilla version of the original novel.

I found this at a WalMart while waiting for a tire change and read half of it in one swoop.  A change of pace for sci-fi fans.

#27: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

A man returns to his childhood home, and suddenly begins to remember an amazing adventure he had with three magical women that lived next door in Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

After writing the definitive comic book series The Sandman Gaiman has become a popular fantasy writer in his own right.  This one definitely harkens back to childhood tales, to me especially influenced by A Wrinkle in Time.  I think it could be enjoyed by young adults, if certain scenes go over their heads.

But it is great for adults, especially those nostalgic for those stories, now infused with adult melancholy and regret.  There are equal measures of terror and whimsy that make it an interesting read.

I listened to this on audiobook, read by the author, an especially rewarding way to enjoy this book.  Recommended.

#26: The Son by Jo Nesbo

The son of a rogue cop ends up in prison, strung out on heroin supplied through a mysterious source; but when he figures out his dad might have been framed, the machinery of revenge (beginning with a prison breakout) begins to run in Jo Nesbo's superior crime novel The Son.

For those in a post-Dragon Tattoo malaise,  I can't recommend anyone more than Jo Nesbo.  His Harry Hole novels, about a flawed police detective in Oslo, are all top-flight thrillers accessible to audiences foreign and domestic.

This is a stand-alone story but the equal of his other work, told at a breakneck pace and featuring nothing but flawed characters, on both sides of the law, throughout.

I got this from the Morrisson-Reeves Public Library and read it quickly.  Recommended for thriller fans.

#25: Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

A series of child murders strike a small town, and a troubled reporter--who fled the town years ago--returns to cover the story, and pick at old family wounds, in Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects.

With the runaway success of Gone Girl, Flynn's earlier novels are getting another look.  Although this shares some thematic similarities--unreliable journalism, small-town secrets, returning to a place you never wanted to see again, and so on--Sharp Objects is a much more gothic-flavored story, right down to the creepy old mansion and the weird siblings.

The storytelling is much more straightforward (whereas Gone Girl double-backed and triple-backed on itself) but is just about as unsettling as more truths about the reporter's childhood come to light, and how that childhood could be connected to what is happening now is revealed.

I listened to a good audiobook version on loan from the Morrisson-Reeves Public Library in Richmond, Indiana and am eager to seek out the rest of Flynn's writing.

#24: World of Trouble by Ben H. Winters

As a meteor closes in on Earth, intent on bringing humanity to its end, a former policeman and quasi-private eye searches the pre-Apocalypse for his missing sister in World of Trouble, the third chapter of The Last Policeman trilogy by Ben H. Winters.

This is a great genre-bending series of novels, with satisfying mysteries threaded into a generally downbeat end-of-world scenario.  Overall this is a good series for fans of both apocalyptic stories as well as private eye tales, although this one relies pretty heavily on readers having completed the first two novels. 

Winters is handy with reference points from both sci-fi and mystery genres; sort of a Philip Marlowe, as protagonist in On the Beach.

Although the optimistic, such as myself, sees a narrow window for a fourth book--and I do mean a narrow window--this seems to be the end of a good storyline.  I am eager to see where Winters goes next with his writing.

I pre-ordered this on Amazon and read it quickly, eager to share with like-minded friends.

#23: Blaze of Glory by Ben Bridges

On his last day in office, an aging sheriff ends up with a handful of trouble in Ben Bridges' Blaze of Glory.  Soon there are old scores to settle as well, even as the townspeople believe their town has become too sleepy for a full-time sheriff.


I enjoy Bridges' writing as part of the "Piccadilly Cowboys," a group of British writers who write American-style westerns.  I have read several of Bridges' novels and have found them all to be sturdy, enjoyable outings.

His Piccadilly Publishing line of both classic reprints and contemporary writing is worthwhile to Western fans.

I got this cheaply for my beloved Kindle and read it quickly.

#22: Actors Anonymous by James Franco

A collection of maybe-autobiographical, semi-autobiographical, and probably-fictional short stories from actor/director James Franco has slices of L.A. life as well as insights into the world of acting, with various results.

I listened to this read by the author on audio book, and I would recommend that format if someone was interested in reading this as I believe it added value.  Still, the reader's mileage will vary, depending on your interest in Franco and his life.

Some of his writing and storytelling is quite interesting, but to me, some of it had the whiff of an insulated millionaire celebrity who an editor should have said no to sometimes.

Still worth reading for those interested in celebrity life.

#21: The Judah Lion Contract by Philip Atlee

Joe Gall, the Nullifier, swings into action to rescue an African dictator with hedonistic tastes from his own demise in Philip Atlee's The Judah Lion Contract.

Atlee's Joe Gall series, from the 60s and 70s, come from a less politically correct time, but are often enjoyable if you understand those parameters.  This one is a bit of a boozy romp as Gall and his wayward charge have to flee the dictator's overthrow and head across Africa, various factions at their heels.

An interesting counterpoint to Fleming and Aarons if looked at from the proper perspective, and enjoyable for those who like 60s spy stories.

#20: Wyoming Manhunt by Allan Vaughan Ellston

A sheriff and his able deputy hunt a killer hiding under another name in Allan Vaughan Ellston's Wyoming Manhunt.

Sturdy Western reads a bit more like a mystery with old west overtones, a surprise when I picked this up for less than a dollar to take it on a camping trip, almost sight unseen.

Ellston weaves a lot of threads, from multiple storylines and viewpoints, to the expected conclusion of a furious gunfight at a ranch headquarters.  Nicely done throughout.

I read this in a single day and would recommend it to casual Western readers.

#19: Ambush Basin by Gordo Roberts

The death of a ranch patriarch, from a bullet in the back, sets off a range war in Gordo Roberts' Ambush Basin.

I had never heard of Gordo Roberts, but picked this up for pocket change to read on a camping trip, and I finished it in a single day.

This is a burly, above-average oater, with a lot of familiar characters (a laconic ranch hand, the rancher's daughter, snake-eyed villains) helped along by an action-packed script and colorful descriptions of the land and times.

Good for fans of Westerns.

#18: Chinatown Assassin by J.R. Roberts

The wandering gunslinger called The Gunsmith sees a murder in San Francisco that reminds him of a vicious killing he saw in Dodge City years before; and soon others are making The Gunsmith part of that connection in J.R. Roberts' Chinatown Assassin.

This is part of a long, long series of "Adult Westerns" written by Robert J. Randisi, number 180 out of hundreds more.  I nabbed this, with a few others, from a rummage sale because I have always been interested in Randisi's writing under his own name.

However, I believe these have come out monthly, for years, so you sort of get what you expect; a standard western, with some R-rated scenes mixed in.  I did, however, like this more than the first one I read, several hundred down the line from this.

I read this in a single day on a camping trip, and would recommend it for those settings.

#17: Mapuche by Caryl Ferey

In Argentina, a private eye and an artist (the Mapuche of the title, an indigenous person of Argentina) begin to look into the murder of a transvestite prostitute, but quickly find themselves immersed in the dark history of Argentinian politics in Caryl Ferey's grisly thriller from the World Noir line.

Mapuche is a rocketing thriller, with additional intrigue for anyone interested in the history and politics of Argentina and South America, or in political thrillers in general.  I found out to be a good read and a window into a culture I was not familiar with. 

However, Mapuche comes with a warning for readers with a gentle constitution; there is a lot of gruesome torture, murder, and rape throughout, and thus can only be recommended to more mature readers.  Worthwhile to those of a receptive mindset.

#16: The Master of Knots by Massimo Carlotto

The Alligator, an Italian sort-of criminal turned sort-of detective, and his knockaround pals try to help a client who is  involved in murderous games with an S&M group in Massimo Carlotto's The Master of Knots.

The author has had a colorful life of his own, and some of it has obviously seeped into his writing.  In this, the second novel I have read in this series, he and his old-school pals find themselves shocked at the world they uncover, including the sinister criminal of the title.  The reader too may be shocked by some of the plot developments, not for all tastes.

But center to the story is the relationships between the three detective friends.  My favorite character is Rossini, an aging, genteel strongarm with his own curious code of honor.  I could very easily see Rossini based on the Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni (as seen in Big Deal on Madonna Street).  Their scenes are veined with humor.

Carlotto's world is full of dishonorable lawyers, crooked cops, and gangsters with hearts of gold.  I enjoy visiting this world, through the World Noir line.

#15: Total Chaos by Jean-Claude Izzo

Three guy friends, and the girl they all love, grow up poor in Marseilles; one guy becomes an average cop, and the other two guys become average criminals.  But when murder tears the group apart, the average cop becomes an avenging angel in Jean-Claude Izzo's Total Chaos.

The World Noir line of novels has largely focused on what is called "Mediterranean Noir," and the father of this movement is often pointed out to be Jean-Claude Izzo, so after enjoying several of these novels I sought him out myself.

Izzo's Total Chaos is an exceptional noir, and not only a good representative of the genre but a great novel in its own right.  It is dark and fatalistic, but also darkly humorous and crackling with energy.  Izzo tries to make Marseilles a character the way others have tried to make L.A. or New York characters in their own detective novels, and it adds to the flavor.

I highly recommend Total Chaos and think I can argue it as one of the best noirs of the second half of the twentieth century.

#14: Doctor Who: A History by Alan Kistler

I used to read Terrance Dicks Doctor Who paperbacks in the 70s without ever having seen the program, yet still enjoyed them; so I was pleased to find out, when I moved to Wisconsin in the late 80s, that Doctor Who was shown on PBS Sunday afternoons. 

The first I saw of the series was Tom Baker and The Keys of Time storyline, which was an awful good place to start.  I have been a fan ever since.

That made me eager to read Doctor Who: A History by Alan Kistler, a guy who is a bigger fan of Doctor Who than me.  This nonfiction account of the first 50 years of the program has a lot of interesting stories and sidebars for the more serious fans of the program, but is a good primer for new viewers.

I listened to this on audiobook, read by the author, and enjoyed it immensely.  Recommended for fans of the current and classic programs.

#13: The Magician by J.R. Roberts

Clint Adams, an Old West gunslinger called the Gunsmith, mixes it up with a traveling circus under the thrall of a mysterious magician in The Magician by J.R. Roberts.

The Gunsmith is a very long-running series of "Adult Westerns" written by J.R. Roberts, the pseudonym of author Robert J. Randisi, an author whose work I enjoy. 

I believe Randisi has written one of these a month for several decades, and this one is somewhere around 150-something, so you sort of know what you're getting if you've read many of these.  It's a standard enough western with some mild sex scenes mixed in, overall just an okay affair.

I found a few of these at a flea market and thought I would try one and read it very quickly.  Your mileage may vary.

#12: Trap for Cinderella by Sebastien Japrisot

Two French girls, one wild and outgoing and one a follower, are caught up in a house fire, with one survivor; but which one, and why? 

Mix in a mysterious nanny and some creepy boyfriends and Trap for Cinderella is a solid French noir with an ending that isn't fully revealed until the final sentences.

I had heard of this classic noir of the early 1960s but had never seen a copy until I found one while wandering along the South Bank in London a few summers ago.  I had this one salted away for a rainy day and was sorry I waited so long.

The author, Sébastien Japrisot, is apparently well-known in France but not known as much here.  I will definitely look for more from his bibliography.

#11: The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

Two teens in a support group for kids with terminal cancer start a relationship with a certain end in John Green's The Fault In Our Stars.

I was interested in this novel because of the buzz surrounding it as well as that it takes place in Indianapolis, where the author lives.  I also enjoyed an earlier young adult novel of Green's, Will Grayson Will Grayson.

Definitely produces sniffles, but also has some funny moments, and interesting characters.  A trip to the home of Anne Frank is curious, but of interest.  Really for teens and above, as there is enough sophistication to keep older readers interested but too much for young readers.

I listened to a very good audiobook reading by Kate Rudd, that I checked out from the Morrisson-Reeves Public Library in Richmond, Indiana.

#10: Summertime, All The Cats Are Bored by Philippe Georget

A cop, out of steam in his career and in his marriage, finds himself galvanized to find an abducted tourist as the disturbed kidnapper continues a cat-and-mouse game in Philippe Georget's Summertime, All The Cats Are Bored.

Georget's first novel comes from the World Noir line, quickly becoming one of my favorite imprints with (mostly) hardboiled noir from around the world.

This novel takes place in the French Mediterranean town of Perpignan, and in addition to a solid mystery interested me in someday visiting this area.

For mystery readers looking for a change of pace, this novel has a decidedly European flavor, both in its dealings with police life as well as marriage.

I continue to be very satisfied with the World Noir line and will also look for Georget's next book.

#9: Black Skies by Arnaldur Indridason

Dogged but unremarkable Icelandic cop Sigurdur Óli reluctantly tries to help a friend being blackmailed with explicit photos, but quickly gets involved in a complex, murderous scheme in Arnaldur Indridason's Black Skies.

 I am a huge fan of Indridason's police procedurals featuring flawed but insightful detective Erlendur (the first translated into English was Jar City) but this novel features a supporting character from the earlier novels, one of Erlendur's colleagues.  It is a change of pace in tone (including some lighter subplots), but still features much of Indridason's very solid storytelling.

I am always on the lookout for more of Indridason's writing.  This one I checked out from the Morrisson-Reeves Public Library in Richmond, Indiana and read quickly.