Novels/Books I am reading or read and ones you are currently reading/read...

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Read Grisham's latest book, "The Judge's List" , and it is a really good psychological, legal thriller.

It's based around a sitting judge who masquerades as a sadistic psychopathic killer in his off time. He only kills people who have done him wrong ; for example he kills one guy for not hiring him as a junior partner in his law firm after hiring all the other interns. Another person ( a woman) he kills for spreading the rumor that he could not sexually perform during fraternity days and he was the laughing stock on campus.

His method of killing is pretty gruesome. Grisham spares no details when he does these terrible deeds . ( a little too much for my taste to be honest)

But I give it a solid B+ for suspense and action.
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  • I'd give The Judges LIst an A- - same for The Whistler that was the first book in that series.



    I like gruesome
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    • Yeah ,The Whistler I read right before. It was really good as well. Love the main character Lacy Stolz
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  • Sounds like a book adaptation of American Psycho, but he killed for the sport of it and the revenge thing.

    And they did do a second one, but from what l heard it wasn't very good.
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    • Uff yes, American Psycho That's what I immediately thought too
  • His last book that I read was Sycamore Row which was published in 2013. It was also a decent legal thriller novel which is something he's very good at writing.

    I think that I need to read "A Time to Kill" all over again. I need to relive everything all over again.
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  • Just finished "The Store" by James Patterson.

    Very entertaining and a breeze to finish real quick as it is only 259 pages.

    It was a futuristic storyline about a couple and their two kids who move from New York City to New Berg, Nebraska where "the Store" is headquartered.

    I won't spoil it too much but the actual store in the book is like Big Brother. It knows everything about the people who work for it 'and it dominates their lives in ways that are too numerous to mention here. It's literally starting to take over the World. ( Maybe a parallel or metaphor to Amazon lol)

    Anyway, I give it a 9 out of 10 for a good quick and thrilling read.
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  • I am fixing to try some Dean Koontz novels. Never have before.

    Anyone like him and have any recommendations on his books ??
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    • I can only recommend one: "Lightning".

      It was the first time I encountered him and I was hooked and mesmerized from the first sentence all the way to the end.

      I started trying his other books and just couldn't get into them. They just didn't have for me what "Lightning" had.
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  • Love Koontz - if you like humor, try the 'Odd Thomas" series..I laughed out loud.

    Koontz and King (and perhaps Straub) can write horror fantasy and make me almost believe it.


    Another one you'd like is Jonathan Kellerman.
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  • Just finished James Patterson's " The Shadow". I am not much of a super hero junkie but I have to admit this kept my attention in such a refreshing way. Good character development.

    It has all the evil villains and heroes you could hope for in a fictional novel.

    I also give it a 9 out of 10 stars. Very clever book.

    Now on to Koontz
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  • Just getting into Dean Koontz's, "Mr. Murder".
    All I will say is that his villain is very,very evil in this story.

    Uhmmm... right up your alley, Kay
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  • Wow, it took me awhile to finish Mr. Murder. It was pretty good. But not one of the better ones I've read. Got a little too fantastical for me.

    I give it a 7 out of 10 stars

    I'll be starting James Patterson's The Warning when we take a 4 day excursion to the beach today
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    • Just finished it. The Warning was okay. Another one that was a little too futuristic/fantasy for me. Deals with a nuclear plant and a supercomputer that takes on the role as super human.

      I also give it a 7 out 10 stars
  • Patterson's best IMO is the Alex Cross series and the Michael Bennett series.

    Kellerman has the Alex Delaware series that's really good.

    Catherine Coulter "Brit in the FBI" series.


    My d-in-law just started Grisham's "Boys from Biloxi" over the weekend.
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    • Love Michael Bennet series. Read all them. And I read one Alex Cross book, really good.

      I want that "Boys from Biloxi". Asked my Mom to get it for me for Christmas
  • There's a new Patterson book that came out today titled The Perfect Assassin: A Doc Savage Thriller

    I'm a big Doc Savage fan, so I may buy it.
  • I'm finishing up the new John Sandford Lucas Davenport novel. I don't know that I can honestly recommend to new readers anything Sandford has written in the past 10-15 years. I continue to read them because Davenport is like a friend.

    I'm going to read the new Jack Reacher on vacation starting tomorrow, followed by John Hiatt's autobiography.
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    • Jack Reacher On Vacation is a terrible title.
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  • The latest Jack Reacher is one of the best IMO....and I forgot Sandford but have not missed reading one yet!
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    • The first 6 or 7 Lucas Davenport novels were pretty good. The serial killers had personality. They were serial killers akin to Gacey, Ramirez, and Bundy. They were fascinating. After that, the stories revolved less around serial killers and became more police procedural (like W.E.B Griffith's Matt Payne series). The books became dull. Even Davenport has become dull, but he's a friend. The books are nice for a 300 page visit.
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  • I love reading eerie stuff and just watching police procedural on TV. I don't think I could have the patience to actually read a police procedural.

    Actually reading a Dickens right now, "Bleak House" lol. haven't read Dickens since I was in college in the 80s. Can't wait to get to the spontaneous combustion scene.

    but because its overarching subject matter is The Law, it's giving me a big picture perspective for how to handle the over arching "location" or "subject matter" for a novel, and helped me realize that the overarching location/subject matter for the 1940s/50s eerie novel I am writing is "mental illness in America".

    ( it's a great story with interesting characters too. )

    Love those of you who posted your love for certain characters.
  • I agree - a couple were a bit too much procedural and 'thinking through'....but the latest one (last month) was very good! Davenport and Flowers are like old friends I catch up with once a year or so.
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    • I'll finish that one tonight. So far, it's okay. We'll see how it ends.
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  • Just got back from Half Priced books a little bit ago. Purchased two books. One is Patterson's Criss Cross and just reading just 2 chapters I know Iam going to like this. The other one is Midnight Club which I will read after Criss Cross.
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  • I have been a fan of James Patterson for years. Just finished reading "22 Seconds" and have to give it a
    10. In fact I could give it a 10+.

    Also another one if you like thrillers and murder mystery. "The Mad, Mad Murders of Marigold Way" Author Raymond Benson.

    Spoiler Alert! An ending you will not see until the last couple of pages. What ever you do don't cheat and turn to the end.

    Enjoy!

    Ken
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    • What was so good about "22 Seconds"?

      Don't want you to give away the ending but Is Marigold Way a street or person's name?
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  • "22 seconds" is one of Patterson's 'women's murder club' books - no way you could explain it without going through the whole plot.

    I haven't read one of that series I didn't like yet.


    NYPD Red #7 comes out tomorrow - have it pre-ordered so looking forward to it.
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  • Grisham's newest "The Boys from Biloxi " started off kind of slow and too many characters and situations to keep up with but after the middle of it definitely becoming better and better and more interesting with each page I read.
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    • Just read that a couple of weeks ago. Give it a 9 and your right it gets better and better.
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  • Boys from Biloxi is next on my list.....glad you mentioned it. My d-in-law bought it some time ago and tried to read it twice and both times 'just couldn't get into it'....so my turn next.


    I'll stick with it or speed read through to the good part.
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  • George Orwell's 1984 is on my short list!

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    • Dan Riffle is on my short list.
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  • If you have a Kindle - here's a deal for you today....


    https://www.amazon.com/Odd-Thomas-No...ort_d_email-20


    (not an affiliate)


    One of the funniest book series I've read in years - this is the first in the series and it made me laugh out loud often...it's off the wall and I LOVED this series.
    Today the kindle version is on sale for 1.99....
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  • Robert got a hell of a book for you.
    Author: Steve Alten
    Title: The Shell Game

    It will get you to thinking (if your hitting the tequila, maybe not so much)

    Page turner from the get go.
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    • Wanted to reach out to my Warrior friends and ask who are some of the drama/thriller/mystery novelists you highly recommend ?? ( could be compared to the likings of a Patterson or Grisham)
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  • Kellerman (Alex Delaware series), C.J. Box (the Joe Pickett series), Harlan Coben (anything)...


    Catherine Coulter (Brit in the FBI series)...anything by Sandford, anything by Childs, Greg Iles....and on and on and on...
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  • Haven't read a novel in I don't know how long...

    but back in my late teens and 20s, I think I read every Harold Robbins book there was.

    I thought he was one of the most interesting authors ever...

    He owned a home in Beverly Hills, villas in the South of France and Mexico, a yacht on the Mediterranean -- and ended up in a wheelchair, nearly penniless. He threw some of the most star-studded parties -- and orgies -- Hollywood had ever seen, their invites sought like a winning lottery ticket. He lived a life so big that two of his three wives wrote memoirs about what it was like to be along for the ride.

    And yet, 17 years after his death at age 81, Robbins has been largely forgotten. If he is remembered at all, it is a cautionary tale: the man who amassed a $50 million fortune and burned through it all in a haze of sex, drugs and louche living. "I don't want to finish up like Harold Robbins," Stephen King once said. "That's my nightmare"

    I thought they were some of the best books ever, but that's just my opinion.

    Edit: If I recall correctly after all these years, one of my favorites he wrote was 'the carpetbaggers'
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    • Robbins wrote books, well written as they were, on Hollywood drama's and trashy lifestyles of the rich and famous. He chose also to live the lifestyle of his subject matter it would seem. Books like that are of their day and not timeless.

      The only books that will persevere are most likely the holy ones. Although, it would be interesting to see if stuff like the Harry Potter series would still be in print and read, 50 years hence.


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    • Literally just finished James Patterson's " Juror #3".

      It wasn't necessarily a 'edge of your seat' type novel. But was just masterful storytelling at its best.

      Solid 8 out of 10 stars
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  • I read several of his books way back when. Carpetbagger was one of them.

    There isn't a day goes by that I don't read a novel. I love to read and have done so since 1949 when I was in the first grade.

    Enjoy your next read.

    Ken
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    • Just started ' The Quickie' by James Patterson. It's about infidelity and crime. So far so good
    • That's quite impressive, Ken !! 1949, wow that's a lot of living in between there
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    • I resisted using a Kindle for quite some time - claiming I preferred 'physical' books. Then I tried my kindle and never went back.


      I have a new action series I am in the process of consuming....not sure how I've missed this author along my way through hundreds of books... but...


      Marc Cameron has the "Arliss Cutter" series and I'm hooked. These are what I call "action mysteries" but the books are fast paced and I don't lose interest. Start with "Open Carry" or "Cold Snap".



      I cannot imagine not reading fiction - if your mind is engaged in imagining...how could you be wasting time?
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    • Ken - take another look and reconsider that option.


      I was a holdout - 'love' print books - but one unanticipated bonus is that if I go to sleep while reading laying down, dropping the kindle on my face is much better than a full size book....I've been known to have that happen....


      For $10-11 a month you can belong to Kindle Unlimited - and read thousands of free ebooks....many of them by top authors. Join BookBub mailing list and they send lists of new and popular kindle books....and every list has several books that are totally free to download and read. List also offers a LOT of books on a short term 7-10 sale for .99 or so. I buy a lot of books but I also utilize Kindle Unlimited and the lists, too. I read 5-10 books a week. I'm a fast reader but I also have time to spend reading now that I didn't always have when I was younger.



      One couple I know read multiple book a months each and ALL are from their public library - borrowed to their Kindle. Have you tried that? Works easy and you have 3 weeks to read before the library 'takes back' the book. You can get 'new' books to read without leaving home.



      Where else but with Kindle could you have so much entertainment for $11 a month....or for free???
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    • That forum delay kicking in again?


      I have the Kindle Paperwhite rather than the one with more functions...I don't put apps on it and use it for nothing but reading. I have about 3000 kindle books at this time - 1500 on the kindle and the other half I've removed the kindle download so those are only on my online acct.



      The worst thing I've had happen was I gathered up a load of sheets from my bed and tossed them into the washer....and a short while later realized my Kindle was in the washer, too. Not good, had to get a new kindle. Now instead of the classic brown/black leather cover that looks a like book...I have a tooled bright blue leather cover that is easy to spot.
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    • Started and finished James Patterson's True Crime Thriller "Murder of Innocence" in less than 3 days. Which is a record for me but could not put it down ( it was 297 pages long)

      Patterson really knows how to take actual facts of a crime case and weave a compelling story about it. Just amazing.
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    • Seven days later - and I'm halfway through the last (or at least latest) book in the Arliss Cutter series by Marc Cameron. I've slipped in a couple other books along the way to take a break from the 'action' books for a day.


      I like Patterson's style with the short chapters - keeps things moving quickly.
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    • Where to find a BOOK??? Seriously?



      Library (free) - bookstore or Amazon (not free)
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    • For the first time in my Life, I finally started and finished a novel at the beach. Took me about 6 days.

      The book was John Grisham's latest, The Exchange.

      It was a continuation to The Firm with the same main characters.

      It was pretty good but The Firm was better. It could have been more compelling. But nonetheless a good read.

      I give it a solid 8.5 stars !!!
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    • Just finished "Eruption" last night. It's a new release started by Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park) before his death. Crichton's widow chose James Patterson to finish the book and he did a great job with it.
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    • I'd send you my copy - but it's on my kindle...so....can't.
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    • Yeah - ^ what he said


      I can do it, too!
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  • I love reading and could do it very well from a very early age.

    When I was a teenager, I loved action books. My favorite is the Mack Bolan Executioner series. And there were some other spy/action ones I enjoyed too.

    Fast forward many years and I haven't read a piece of fiction in said many years. Lately I've gotten a hankering to go back. My first thought was to pick up some Mack Bolan or Tom Clancy type books. But I keep putting it off.

    I kind of feel that I'm a grown man with serious responsibilities and somehow wasting time on fiction isn't what I need to be focusing on. On the other hand, getting caught up in a good fiction book and not my typical non-fiction books may do wonders in helping with my creativity or just being able to focus better on work.

    One of the things that has gotten screwed up in all that is I love physical books, but I've been mostly forced to go digital for the last few years due to living overseas. Maybe I ought to buy something the next time I make an Amazon order or maybe I need to adjust more to the digital book world.

    Mark
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  • I received a Kindle tablet as a gift a few years ago and I loved it. It seemed much easier to read on my Kindle vs. my computer. I downloaded the phone desktop app as well. I even enjoyed reading from the desktop app compared to my previous experiences.

    Then, I ran out of space. I carried my Kindle everywhere so I could read in my spare time. I also put a few necessary business apps on it so I could keep track of business stuff from one device. But I quickly found out the space wasn't enough. I could move my books to a SD card but not my apps. Also the apps were not the most current compared to the same Android apps because Amazon had not approved them.

    So, it quickly lost much of its advantages. I've considered not putting any apps on it and just using my phone but then I could read books on my phone with the app so why carry around a Kindle too?

    I considered buying one with more memory several times but the outdated apps is a big issue for me.

    So, now I just use the Kindle app. Not the same as a Kindle and perhaps not even the best ebook reading software but it's okay.

    Mark
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  • I swear they are listening to us.

    Two days ago I wrote
    I haven't said that or talked about that to anyone. Except here.

    Today I saw something in my Google feed with this title

    Cue Twilight Zone music.

    Mark
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  • i mostly read webnovel/lightnovel when i have the time
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  • I haven't read The Judge's list yet but as I was reading your thread, the story was quiet amazing so please recommend to me where I can read this book online or if I have to but this book.
    Thankyou.
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  • In my case i dont like spending a lot of time reading big books who takes a lot of time like novels ,romans etc
    I prefer instead to read self help ,psichology ,business ,seduction etc
    I dont say reading novels its bad but at my age i prefer something else that expand my knowledge
  • I'm currently reading, "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill and it's as sweet the tenth time around as it was the first time!

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    Novels/Books I am reading or read and ones you are currently reading/read...

    Read Grisham's latest book, "The Judge's List" , and it is a really good psychological, legal thriller. It's based around a sitting judge who masquerades as a sadistic psychopathic killer in his off time. He only kills people who have done him wrong ; for example he kills one guy for not hiring him as a junior partner in his law firm after hiring all the other interns. Another person ( a woman) he kills for spreading the rumor that he could not sexually perform during fraternity days and he was the laughing stock on campus.