There are few joys as great as discovering a new author and then discovering they have three or four books you can make your way through. In the past couple of weeks - I have discovered two new authors.
The first, Tana French, came about because I realized that I had not read her acclaimed Edgar-nominated mystery In the Woods. Correcting that mistake was fantastic: French writes with a dark complexity that gives her book real depth. The story, about a haunted detective who must confront his past in order to solve a brutal slaying, is pitch perfect. Yes, it drags slightly in the middle but, then I hit the ending.
At one point I thought I had figured some of it out. Then French dropped a twist that tore the bottom completely out from under me. Staggering is the appropriate word. I eagerly await my chance to read the next two in her series: The Likeness / Faithful Places.
Additionally...I had the chance to check out a brilliant new TV series, AMC's The Killing. While reading a recap, a writer suggested trying out some of the nordic mysteries on which the show is based. His suggestion? Jo Nesbo, arguably the greatest Norweigan crime writer of all time. I picked up his first Harry Hole mystery Redbreast. Not only does this book tie together the dark past of Norway during WW2, but it has a rip-roaring, cannot put it down mystery. I look forward to tearing through the next several in Nesbo's award winning series.
Summer cannot come fast enough - I need beach reading time, ASAP.
