BookJumper Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 I've got no idea what to get my LibraryThing Secret Santa person, as their reading tastes are so far removed from my own! I know a lot of you on these here forums enjoy the same type of thing she does, so here goes (in her own words): "I love reading a good mystery! I am into serial killers and anything that freaks people out. I also like your average story, just as long as it doesn't involve too much thinking or pondering about things: I already did that in college, now I read for fun." Halp? I am thanking you anticipatedly . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 Serial Killers? 'Darkly Dreaming Dexter' by Jeff Lindsay [first in a series] 'The Hundredth Man' by Jack Kerley (I'm halfway through this one right now, and loving it!) [me thinks this forms part of a series too] 'The Mermaid's Singing' Val McDermid [start of a series] Jeffrey Deaver - any of his stand alone novels I can recommend, or he additionally has his series featuring Lincoln Rhyme that starts with 'The Bone Collector' CatWoman will be a good source of suggestions here BJ - she has recommended new authors to me in this genre more than once! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 (edited) Well well well! I'm sure you're going to get loads of recommendations Is there a way you can check if that person has already read the books we're recommending? I guess that's fairly simple on LT? I would recommend Chelsea Cain's Heartsick, probably the first crime thriller about a female serial killer I've ever come across. Here's something about the book on amazon: Chelsea Cain steps into a crowded, blood-soaked genre with Heartsick, a riveting, character-driven novel about a damaged cop and his obsession with the serial killer who...let him live. Gretchen Lowell tortured Detective Archie Sheridan for ten days, then inexplicably let him go and turned herself in. Cain turns the (nearly played out) Starling/Lecter relationship on its ear: Sheridan must face down his would-be killer to help hunt down another. What sets this disturbing novel apart from the rest is its bruised, haunted heart in the form of Detective Sheridan, a bewildered survivor trying to catch a killer and save himself. --Daphne Durham My other recommendation is Karin Slaughter's Blindsighted, a very gripping read and an amazing start to a thrilling series. I was hooked after the first chapter! I couldn't find a review good enough to please me and because I'm too lazy to write my own, I'm hoping that this'll do and I'm quite sure others will back me up on this choice Third nominee is Jeffery Deaver's A Bone Collector. Jeffery Deaver is the best of the best, you can never guess what's coming next and the twists and turns keep on coming! I think Deaver's books are maybe not as easy to read as for example Chelsea Cain's, but they are so gripping that you cannot put the book down. A bit more scientific and needs a bit more thinking but very readable anyway! I have also a wild card to suggest: Ann Rule's The Stranger Beside Me. I chose this as a wild card because it's a true crime story about Ted Bundy and I'm not sure if your LT Secret Santa person enjoyes reading nonfiction true crime. But the book is really excellent, because Ann Rule is a great true crime writer and she has a personal interest in the story: she used to work with Ted Bundy herself, without knowing that all the while he was committing his heinous crimes. So she has a unique insight to the whole story. It's a really horrid book, yet very readable and enjoyable. Can one say enjoyable in these circumstances? Edited December 7, 2009 by frankie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted December 7, 2009 Author Share Posted December 7, 2009 Oooh, thank you Frankie, I'll peruse your recommendations further indeed I can check whether my SantaThing person has a specific book via the very helpful Search feature, which is just as well as she's (literally) got thousands so scrolling through them manually would have been... interesting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 Oooh, thank you Frankie, I'll peruse your recommendations further indeed I can check whether my SantaThing person has a specific book via the very helpful Search feature, which is just as well as she's (literally) got thousands so scrolling through them manually would have been... interesting! What an ... interesting choice of words Very politically correct and polite! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catwoman Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 It is always hard to find a book for someone when you are not a reader of that genre yourself. I would find it impossible to find a book for someone when their love is for Chick-flick! Umm some books to recommend.. Ummm. As already mentioned. Blindsighted by Karin Slaughter. (Start of a series) The Hundredth Man by Jack Kerley (Start of a series) Fear Itself by Jonathan Nasaw Richard Montinari Thats all I can think of right now. As Chrissy suggested Jeff Lindsay and the Dexter series, but I will say that if she is a gore fiend, she will like the book, but it does not go into much detail, and if she loves the forensic side, like in books by Cornwell or reich, she may not enjoy the book as much as some others. I hope this may help a little. CW P.S - Oh and chrissy, thank you for the complement, and again I am sooo glad you liked the books I have recommended to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted December 7, 2009 Author Share Posted December 7, 2009 Thank you Chrissy and CW for your suggestions, they are currently being investigated (my, how apt) ! It is always hard to find a book for someone when you are not a reader of that genre yourself. I would find it impossible to find a book for someone when their love is for Chick-flick! Precisely. I don't like mysteries except on telly (unless they're literary and even then the writing needs to be exceptional, i.e. my beloved Jasper Fforde), I don't want to be freaked out thank you very much, and that of making me think is an absolute requirement in a book for me 'cos I'm philosophical like that it's like LibraryThing conspired to get people's cogs turning this year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 Karin Slaughter? How could I have forgotten her? And Mr Nasaw himself? Oh dear, where is my head at the moment? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catwoman Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 Maybe they are together? It took me ages to think of those names, I even scratched my head! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave165 Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 As previously recommended by Chrissy I would also heartily recommend JA or Jack Kerley. Also for a British author you could try Stuart MacBride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 Also for a British author you could try Stuart MacBride. That's exactly who I was going to recommend. Start with Cold Granite - excellent stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted December 7, 2009 Author Share Posted December 7, 2009 This is not easy she wants hardbacks but most of the titles mentioned are out of print in hardback and have gone straight to mass market skipping trade paperback, which I'm guessing would be the second best option; the only ones I've found new and on budget (I cannot spend over $25 altogether) are Montanari's The Devil's Garden and Lindsay's Dexter by Design - can the Dexter books be read out of order, anyone ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 I think not! Sorry, but I believe the stories progress in a certain way (I've only read number 1 so this is me guessing here). Ooh, thought of another author that might be worth looking into....Lisa Gardner. Here's a possibility from Amazon. It's not a hardback, but I'm fairly sure it's a large (as in tall) paperback, but it contains three complete novels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted December 7, 2009 Author Share Posted December 7, 2009 (edited) The Gardner book(s) look good but none of the accepted sellers (Amazon.com, The Book Table, Powell's and Harvard Book Store) have it; they also don't have the Montanari Book in hardback - I'd got it into my head I could use The Book Depository but I was wrong... wah! Edited December 7, 2009 by BookJumper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 I definitely wouldn't recommend reading the Dexter books out of the order in which they're supposed to be read, sorry I checked my recommendations and Chelsea Cain's Heartsick can be found as a hardback on play.com. That doesn't help though if you don't it's the book for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted December 7, 2009 Author Share Posted December 7, 2009 (edited) Alas Frankie I'm only allowed to select books available from Amazon.com, The Book Table, Powell's and Harvard Book Store, so books being available on Play.com doesn't make them a viable option she also already has Heartsick...! Thanks, though. I've solved book 1 with a collection of three complete Koontz novels, she likes the author but has none of these; I'm still stuck for book 2 though and the fact that I can't spend over $14 now doesn't help. I could get her a single book for Edited December 7, 2009 by BookJumper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 'Say Goodbye' is very creepy, very good and does work OK as a stand alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Landsman Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets by David Simon (writer of The Wire) has to be one of the most engaging and funny crime books every written. It meshes harrowing scenes with hilarious police humour - sometimes in the same paragraph! Anybody who has a remote interest in crime literature will love this book without a doubt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted December 7, 2009 Author Share Posted December 7, 2009 'Say Goodbye' is very creepy, very good and does work OK as a stand alone.Wahey, result thanks for pacifying my soul, Chrissy . I'm just over $6 under budget though and it's irking me there's no way I can get another hardback for that price but if I get her a paperback to make up for the unspent allowance it might vex her collector's instincts... thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausonius Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 I've got no idea what to get my LibraryThing Secret Santa person, as their reading tastes are so far removed from my own! I know a lot of you on these here forums enjoy the same type of thing she does, so here goes (in her own words): "I love reading a good mystery! I am into serial killers and anything that freaks people out. I also like your average story, just as long as it doesn't involve too much thinking or pondering about things: I already did that in college, now I read for fun." Halp? I am thanking you anticipatedly . The curiously named Why Begins With W deals with a serial killer (maybe - the police think it is a murder/suicide) in a high school. Check out how freaky the cover is: Available from Amazon. There is also a website: www.TimeCapsuleMurders.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted December 7, 2009 Author Share Posted December 7, 2009 Cheers for your suggestion Ausonius but after much painstaking research, I have already found two suitable books; I only have around $6 left to spend and need to figure out whether it is best to use that to buy a paperback even though the recipient prefers hardbacks or just leave it unspent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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