Read more about the article FRiction FRiday: Imagine having a 007 license!
Mystery-Thriller-Suspense Fiction

FRiction FRiday: Imagine having a 007 license!

Welcome to our first Fiction Friday. I’m excited to start spilling my guts about the great reads in the mystery-suspense-thriller genre. I previewed this new series earlier this week, so I don’t need to repeat it … other than to remind you that I intend to roust your senses, pillage your serenity and stimulate your discovery of the good, the bad and the only genre where a ranch breakfast is a steel metal jacket dipped in cordite. We’ll end up with a rogue’s gallery of unaccountable tough guys, a few cerebral types and some shameless sidekicks. Mostly, we’ll just take a break and have some fun.

For now, we’ll set aside any analysis of what is mystery … vs. suspense … vs. thriller. There are many who have tried to tease these apart … but for us … for now … it’s a distinction without a difference. Let’s just find some great stuff to read.

First, take a look at the bookshelf widget in the right banner, compliments of Shelfari. I’ll update it each week with books I’ve read, am reading or am savoring … I’ll tell you which each time … and you can mouse over each one to get a little more information about it. Cool, huh? This week it includes books I’ve recently read and you can’t go wrong with any of them. I’ve covered a few here but can only begin to make a dent in the list. (No affiliate links included.)

Blue Heaven, C.J. Box: 2009 Edgar Award for Best Novel

I finally got around to reading C.J. Box, Blue Heaven, the 2009 Edgar Award winner for Best Novel of the Year, awarded annually by the Mystery Writers of America. It’s a prestigious award in this genre, with a Hall of Fame cast. (more…)

Continue ReadingFRiction FRiday: Imagine having a 007 license!
Read more about the article We’re going rogue…. every FRiction FRiday!
Mystery-Thriller-Suspense Fiction

We’re going rogue…. every FRiction FRiday!

Get ready for this Friday … because we’re going rogue! I intend to roust your senses, pillage your serenity and stimulate your discovery of the good, the bad and the only fiction genre where a ranch breakfast is a steel metal jacket dipped in cordite. We’re going to mix it up … every FRiction FRiday … and talk about the books which fill the suspense – thriller – mystery genre. They sire rabid fans and beget a rogue’s gallery of unaccountable tough guys, a few cerebral types and shameless sidekicks. That’s going to be part of FRiction FRiday … every Friday … starting in just a few days!

Don’t you love the Mystery-Thriller-Suspense genre?

Several years ago, I started a blog called Bookmarks about books I’ve read in the Mystery-Thriller-Suspense genre. I stopped after about 6 months … not because I don’t love those books and stopped reading them … not by a long shot … but because I got too distracted from my primary business pursuits. Lame, maybe, but there it is. I still get a regular urge to write a FanView piece (that’s a “fan review” in my parlance”) … not a literary review but what a fan of this genre would care about a particular character, story or author. Yes, the literary quality is important, but hey, this isn’t English class.

They’re too interesting or fun to be literary?

Good thing, too, because many English teachers, and most members of the noble literati, hold their nose when discussing our favorite genre. “They aren’t literary enough,” whatever that means … or “they’re too interesting or fun to be taken seriously”. Love that one.
(more…)

Continue ReadingWe’re going rogue…. every FRiction FRiday!