Summer fiction you might have missed
There's such incredible amount of quirky, fun interesting reads in fiction this summer that it's hard to keep up. We all know the bestselling books like ”Finger Lickin' Fifteen” by Janet Evanovich or ”Swimsuit” by James Patterson. However, some of my personal favorites from this summer are a little less well-known.
A couple of great thrillers out are “The Likeness” by Tana French and “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” by Stieg Larsson. “The Likeness” is a follow up to Tana French's Edgar Award-winning debut “In The Woods”. The book follows Cassie Maddox, a young, brilliant detective who gets called to a grisly crime scene. The victim of the scene is a young woman who looks remarkably like Cassie. Her identification reads "Alexandra Madison," an alias Cassie once used. It is a great literary mystery. If you like P.D. James, Elizabeth George, or Minnette Walters, you'll love Tana French.
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” is also a fast-paced read and the first in a trilogy. The story is about an enterprising journalist who joins forces with a young, enigmatic, tattooed hacker to investigate the disappearance of one of Sweden's wealthiest women. Mystery and Thriller buyer Deanna Parsi says, "written in a spare Scandinavian style, this novel is full of intriguing characters and the best of all puzzles — the locked room mystery — though in this case the proverbial locked room is a small island in Sweden and the title character is absolutely nothing like Miss Marple! I loved this book - it is a rich mystery that tells a tale of family, grief, and secrets and was absolutely impossible to put down!" Larsson was an international publishing phenomenon who tragically passed away after completing the series. The newest title in the trilogy, “The Girl Who Played with Fire”, will be out in hardcover on July 28. Michiko Kakutani from The New York Times published the first review last week. It is great. She was a big fan of Dragon Tattoo. I’ve just gotten started on it and the hook is fantastic.
I read a little bit of a lot of books and sometimes just need a break from the serious. My biggest guilty pleasure thus far has to be the complete boxed set of the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris. She is the heroine at the center of the ultra-hot HBO series “True Blood.” If you like Stephenie Meyer or Christine Feehan, or are just looking for a lighthearted read, I recommend the Harris novels. The HBO series is in its second season and is equally as fun. ”True Blood” Season 1 is out on DVD now if you want to catch up.
Comments
Kathryn Popoff
Sun, Jul 26, 2009 : 9:14 p.m.
I do have more recommendations. One of my favorite reads this summer was The Help by Kathryn Stackett. The book is set in the early 1960s in Jackson, MI. The main character is a young woman who returns home after graduating from Ole Miss. She is independent, self confident and sees the world from a totally new perspective than when she left four years earlier. All of her friends are living that idealistic lifestyle- marrying "right," starting a family, junior league meetings and assuming your place in society. This is all happening at the same time as civil rights is starting to gain momentum. The woman is an aspiring author and she begins to interview the "help", the african-american women who work in the homes of her friends. It is very well written and one of my personal favorites of the summer. I also recommend the Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. The book is set in 1920's Barcelona. It is a wonderful piece of historical fiction. I was a big fan of his previous book as well, Shadow of the Wind. On the non-fiction front I recommend a book entitled Shopclass as Soulcraft. The book explores how society generally defines success with those holding white collar jobs. However, a plumber can make $80/hour. So why is that not always considered the same level of success as a white collar job? It is a quick read that will have you questioning your own definitions of success. Keep watching my blog for more recommendations. I will be recommending across all genres and subjects. Thanks for your inquiry.
Melissa LR Handa
Thu, Jul 23, 2009 : 8:56 a.m.
Hey Kathryn! Do you have any suggestions that don't fall into the detective/ mystery genre of books? I am always looking for new reading materials but despise this particular literary genre as a whole. I would love to hear some more of your recommendations!