MobileRead May 2015 Book Club Nominations

[Merischino]

I'd like to third the Liquidator. Sounds like a fun read.

[caleb72]

I would like to nominate A Drink Before the War by Dennis Lehane.

Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro are tough private investigators who know the blue-collar neighbourhoods and ghettos of Boston's Dorchester section as only natives can. Working out of an old church belfry, Kenzie and Gennaro take on a seemingly simple assignment for a prominent politician: to uncover the whereabouts of Jenna Angeline, a black cleaning woman who has allegedly stolen confidential Statehouse documents.
But finding Jenna proves easy compared to staying alive. The investigation escalates, uncovering a web of corruption extending from bombed-out ghetto streets to the highest levels of state government.

With slick, hip dialogue and a lyrical narrative pocked by explosions of violence, A Drink Before the War confronts a city in which institutionalized bigotry and corruption are often the norm, and the true nature of 'racial incidents' is rarely clear. Dennis Lehane's remarkable debut is at once a pulsating crime thriller and a mirror of our world, one in which the worst human horrors are found closest to home, and the most vicious obscenities are committed in the name of love.

Amazon (US): Link
Amazon (UK): Link
Kobo: Link
B&N (US): Link
Google Play (AU): Link

[HomeInMyShoes]

I'll second A Drink Before the War.

Lehane has been on my list of potential reads for a while.

[issybird]

I don't intend to criticize a particular nomination on its merits, but I could wish for fewer repeat authors among the selections. Already this year, Wharton and Steinbeck are repeats and Lehane would be a third; that is, half the selections so far have been repeat authors and Lehane would bump that up to 60%.

There are so many books and authors; I like to think of the book club choices as expanding horizons and not just as retreads.

[HomeInMyShoes]

I had forgotten that the bookclub had done Shutter Island. I agree with broadening the horizons.

[Synamon]

I'll nominate another. After reading this one a few years ago I was compelled find and read his other three books, which are also excellent.

The King of Lies by John Hart.

Originally Posted by Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Hart's stunning debut, an exceptionally deep and complex mystery thriller, compares favorably to the best of Scott Turow. Jackson Workman Pickens, whom most people call "Work," is a struggling North Carolina criminal defense attorney. Work has wrestled with inner demons for most of his life, especially after the death of his mother and the disappearance of his wealthy father, Ezra Pickens, a highly successful lawyer who took him into his practice. Trapped in a loveless marriage and haunted by poor emotional choices and his sister's psychological trauma, Work finds himself under suspicion when his father's corpse surfaces more than a year after Ezra was last seen alive. Work's quest for the truth behind his father's demise opens old wounds and forces him to face the consequences of his own decisions. Few readers will be able to resist devouring this tour-de-force in one or two sittings—or clamoring for more John Hart.

[CRussel]

Hmmm. Most of these seem to be more mystery than thriller, so I think I'll go ahead and nominate a pure thriller: Vanishing Act, by Thomas Perry. This is the first in the Jane Whitefield series and an absolute can't put down thriller.

Amazon Description: Jane Whitefield is a Native American guide who leads people out of the wilderness--not the tree-filled variety but the kind created by enemies who want you dead. She is in the one-woman business of helping the desperate disappear. Thanks to her membership in the Wolf Clan of the Seneca tribe, she can fool any pursuer, cover any trail, and then provide her clients with new identities, complete with authentic paperwork. Jane knows all the tricks, ancient and modern; in fact, she has invented several of them herself.
So she is only mildly surprised to find an intruder waiting for her when she returns home one day. An ex-cop suspected of embezzling, John Felker wants Jane to do for him what she did for his buddy Harry Kemple: make him vanish. But as Jane opens a door out of the world for Felker, she walks into a trap that will take all her heritage and cunning to escape....

Amazon US: $5.99
Audible : WhisperSync: $3.99
Kobo US: $8.99

[HomeInMyShoes]

I'll second Vanishing Act.

[Dazrin]

I will third Vanishing Act.

[JSWolf]

I shall third A Drink Before the War.

[Merischino]

I'd like to recommend Hugh Laurie's The Gun Seller.

Hugh Laurie concocts an uproarious cocktail of comic zingers and over-the-top action in this "ripping spoof of the spy genre" (Vanity Fair) -- the irresistible tale of a former Scots Guard-turned-hired gun, a freelance soldier of fortune who also happens to be one heck of a nice guy. Cold-blooded murder just isn't Thomas Lang's cup of tea. Offered a bundle to assassinate an American industrialist, he opts to warn the intended victim instead -- a good deed that soon takes a bad turn. Quicker than he can down a shot of his favorite whiskey, Lang is bashing heads with a Buddha statue, matching wits with evil billionaires, and putting his life (among other things) in the hands of a bevy of femmes fatales. Up against rogue CIA agents, wannabe terrorists, and an arms dealer looking to make a high-tech killing, Lang's out to save the leggy lady he has come to love...and prevent an international bloodbath to boot.

Amazon US $12.89
Audible: $24.47
Kobo US $11.99

[HomeInMyShoes]

I will third The Gun Seller. I love House and this has certainly grabbed my interest. A lot of me is wondering if it is going to be wonderful, terrible, or wonderfully terrible. I'm hoping the last one because I think I could enjoy that.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

I will third The Gun Seller. I love House and this has certainly grabbed my interest. A lot of me is wondering if it is going to be wonderful, terrible, or wonderfully terrible. I'm hoping the last one because I think I could enjoy that.

Okay, you can third it, and I'll second it. Will that work?

[HomeInMyShoes]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Okay, you can third it, and I'll second it. Will that work?

Lol. Can someone pass me another cup of coffee?

[WT Sharpe]

Cream &/or sugar?