Recordpub.com - One for the Books: Thrillers, Dark and Grisly

When selecting reading material, I avoid violence. And I abhor horror. But something in these two dark thrillers caught me, and I couldn't put the books down. Be warned: Both have adult language and situations, including some pretty grisly passages.

"Undone" comes from author Karin Slaughter, who has eight best-selling novels under her belt. This one opens as a couple celebrating their 40th anniversary hit a woman with their car. Emergency workers arriving on the scene discover that the victim's extensive injuries are not a result of the crash; the unconscious woman seems to have been tortured. Moving quickly into her life are medical people at the hospital and members of the police department, all of whom have had or begin to form interesting relationships with each other.

The crime is simply awful. I will not go into detail about it. But think of the Kay Scarpetta books of Patricia Cornwell and you'll have an inkling of some of the not-for-the-squeamish detailed physical descriptions.

Then there are the characters. They are fully developed, with complex back stories that make their reactions -- to the action and to each other -- interesting. I'm new to Karin Slaughter's work, but apparently she's brought along three characters from her previous novels and put them together here: a doctor whose police officer husband was killed in the line of duty, a pregnant police investigator who finds out her health isn't what it should be, and a police officer whose intelligence is often overlooked because he has a reading disorder. Then there are the not-so-nice police from another county, who cause animosity and complicate the crime-solving.

The book is really well written, which is what pulled me in. Slaughter completely involves the reader, letting us imagine and care about the characters. The plot starts off like a shot and doesn't let up for quite a while, and the action is intense, brutal, and downright scary. But there are levels to the action, with calm sections where I could catch my breath and get to know the characters better. Slaughter can even be funny; I laughed several times, as when one woman describes her lack of a healthy regimen: "I eat Pop-Tarts for breakfast, sometimes for dinner but usually with a Diet Coke. I never exercise. Ever. The only time I run is when I'm trying to make it to the bathroom before the commercial's over, and honest to God, since I got TiVo, I don't even do that anymore." And one of the investigators comes up with a new word: "investigoogling." I like it! I was a bit disappointed in the ending, and there were a couple of plot points that seemed out of order, misdirected, or too coincidental, but it was basically a book I didn't want to put down -- a kind of "The Silence of the Lambs" horror-thriller crossed with a traditional cop-partners crime mystery.

But "The Big Machine" by Victor LaValle is even harder to categorize. Pick a genre and it pretty much fits; it's a strange blending of mystery, thriller, horror, science fiction, fantasy, romance and spiritual allegory, with bits of social commentary on religion (nondenominational, not preachy), politics, race and class. But it works.

Ricky Rice is a 40-year-old drug addict who's working as a janitor in New York when he receives an envelope containing a one-way ticket to Vermont and a note that reads, "You made a promise in Cedar Rapids in 2002. Time to honor it." He drops his job and uses the ticket, beginning a journey that's both geographical and spiritual. In Vermont, he becomes part of a group called the "Unlikely Scholars," who are pretty much left on their own to figure out why they are there. They are all damaged people, and they seem to have a strange, supernatural bond, in that each has made some kind of promise. Later, the scene moves to the west coast and becomes an action-thriller, turning a bit gruesome in several passages.

Meanwhile, we learn about Ricky's back story involving the bizarre religious cult in which he grew up. His mother and father were missionaries of the cult, gone for much of the year, leaving the children to be raised by the other weird cult members.

The book offers quite a few inspirational or thought-provoking ideas, such as "The face of goodness may surprise you," "You can't predict the places where you'll encounter the unknowable," and this gem about prejudice: "Go and tell someone the worst thing about yourself. Cheated on a husband. Abused your child. Or, like in my case, that you've been addicted to heroin for half your life. Just tell them that and nothing else. You find that people come up with an entire history based on that one fact. They assume the worst about you."

The writing can be really nice, as when Ricky talks about his childhood and his father: "He used to hold me close, so close I could see the life behind his eyes, but his soul always scurried off to hide. I'd run my fingers across his cheeks as he read to me, thinking I could pluck at his spirit as easily as an eyelash." And it can be oddly funny: "Seeing America by bus is like touring the Louvre in a Porta Potti. And that's all that will ever need to be said about that."

At different points the book reminded me of "The Shack" by William P. Young, "Special Topics in Calamity Physics" by Marisha Pessl, "The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters" by Gordon Dahlquist, and "The Traveler" by John Twelve Hawks. LaValle is able to mix unlikely ingredients together and come up with a surprise concoction that makes me think he could be channeling a beat poet.

Finally, I must say, I have a problem with reviewers and marketers who give away too much of the plot. In the case of "Big Machine," the book's dust jacket reveals a plot point that is better left for the reader to discover, and professional reviewers on the Web revealed more than they needed to about the plot of "Undone." Be careful about reading such elements if you want to let a book surprise you.

Find book news and more online at www.recordpub.com; click "News" in the menu bar, then "Lifetimes," and find "One for the Books" or visit my blog at http://blogs.dixcdn.com/shine_a_light; write to Books@recordpub.com.

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BOOK NOTES, One for the Books Extra Online Exclusives:
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Check out my new blog on books, inspiration, fun and thought-provoking goodies! It’s called “Shine A Light!”

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For a list of authors currently making the media rounds, go to "More Books" at:

http://www.recordpub.com/news/article/4651229

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LOCAL BOOK CLUBS:

The Book Discussion Group at the Randolph Library meets the first Monday of the month, except August, at 6:30 p.m. in the Randolph Senior Center. The group is open to everyone, and new members are always welcome. The library will stock copies of the books each month. Call the library at 330-325-7003.

Pierce-Streetsboro Library’s Book Discussion Group meets regularly on the second Monday of each month at 6:45 p.m. in the library’s meeting room. New members are always welcome to attend and participate in the discussion. The library is located at 8990 Kirby Lane in Streetsboro, next to the administrative offices of the Streetsboro City Schools. For more information, call the library at 330-626-4458.

The Book Discussion Group at the Mogadore Branch of the Akron-Summit County Library, 144 S. Cleveland Ave., 330-628-9228, meets at 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays to discuss books.
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from Shelf Awareness: New Titles Out August 25:

Lighting Their Fires: Raising Extraordinary Children in a Mixed-up, Muddled-up, Shook-up World by Rafe Esquith
The Curse of the Good Girl: Raising Authentic Girls with Courage and Confidence by Rachel Simmons
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Christian Marketplace Bestsellers September 2009
-- Publishers Weekly, 8/25/2009

Hardcover
1. Love and Respect.
Emerson Eggerichs. Thomas Nelson.
2. Grace for the Moment, Morning and Evening Edition.
Max Lucado. Thomas Nelson.
3. Jesus Calling.
Sarah Young. Thomas Nelson.
4. What in the World Is Going On?
David Jeremiah. Thomas Nelson.
5. The Love Dare (imitation leather edition).
Stephen & Alex Kendrick. B&H.
6. Have a New Kid by Friday.
Kevin Leman. Revell/Baker.
7. Game Plan for Life.
Joe Gibbs. Tyndale House.
8. The Jesus You Can’t Ignore.
John MacArthur. Thomas Nelson.
9. Heaven.
Randy C. Alcorn. Tyndale House.
10. The Noticer.
Andy Andrews. Thomas Nelson.

Paperback
1. The Shack.
William P. Young. Windblown.
2. KJV Standard Lesson Commentary.
Standard Publishing.
3. The Love Dare.
Stephen & Alex Kendrick. B&H.
4. Crazy Love.
Francis Chan. David C. Cook.
5. Take Two.
Karen Kingsbury. Zondervan.
6. KJV Standard Lesson Commentary (large print).
Standard Publishing.
7. The Five Love Languages.
Gary Chapman. Moody.
8. Take One.
Karen Kingsbury. Zondervan.
9. Standard Lesson Commentary NIV.
Standard Publishing.
10. 90 Minutes in Heaven.
Don Piper. Baker.

Source: Evangelical Christian Publishers Association
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PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BEST-SELLERS
By The Associated Press

HARDCOVER FICTION
1. “South of Broad” by Pat Conroy (Nan A. Talese)
2. “The White Queen” by Philippa Gregory (Touchstone)
3. “Dreamfever” by Karen Marie Moning (Dell)
4. “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett (Putnam/Amy Einhorn)
5. “That Old Cape Magic: A Novel” by Richard Russo (Knopf)
6. “Star Wars: Fate Of The Jedi: Abyss” by Troy Denning (Del Rey)
7. “The Girl Who Played With Fire” by Stieg Larsson (Knopf)
8. “The Eleventh Victim” by Nancy Grace (Hyperion)
9. “Smash Cut” by Sandra Brown (Simon & Schuster)
10. “The Law of Nines” by Terry Goodkind (Putnam)
11. “Best Friends Forever” by Jennifer Weiner (Atria)
12. “Dead and Gone” by Charlaine Harris (Ace)
13. “Swimsuit” by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro (Little, Brown)
14. “Vanished” by Joseph Finder (St. Martins)
15. “A Princess of Landover” by Terry Brooks (Del Rey)

HARDCOVER NONFICTION
1. “Culture of Corruption: Culture of Corruption: Obama and His Team of Tax Cheats, Crooks, and Cronies” by Michelle Malkin (Regnery Publishing)
2. “Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume I” by Julia Child, Simone Beck, Louisette Bertholle (Knopf)
3. “In the President’s Secret Service: Behind the Scenes with Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect” by Ronald Kessler (Crown)
4. “Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment” by Steve Harvey (Amistad)
5. “Outliers: The Story of Success” by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown)
6. “Flat Belly Diet! Cookbook” by Liz Vaccariello with Cynthia Sass (Rodale)
7. “Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen” by Christopher McDougall (Knopf)
8. “Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto” by Mark R. Levin (Threshold Editions)
9. “Catastrophe” by Dick Morris, Eileen McGann (Harper)
10. “Zeitoun” by Dave Eggers (McSweeneys)
11. “The Last Lecture” by Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow (Hyperion)
12. “Master Your Metabolism: The 3 Diet Secrets to Naturally Balancing Your Hormones for a Hot and Healthy Body!” by Jillian Michaels and Mariska van Aalst (Crown)
13. “Flat Belly Diet” by Liz Vaccariello and Cynthia Sass (Rodale Books)
14. “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne (Atria)
15. “A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity” by Bill O’Reilly (Broadway)

MASS MARKET PAPERBACKS
1. “The Brass Verdict” by Michael Connelly (Grand Central)
2. “The Quickie” by James Patterson, Michael Ledwidge (Vision)
3. “Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein: Dead and Alive” by Dean Koontz (Bantam)
4. “My Life in France” by Julia Child, Alex Prud’Homme (Anchor)
5. “From Dead to Worse” by Charlaine Harris (Ace)
6. “Dead Until Dark” by Charlaine Harris (Ace)
7. “Club Dead” by Charlaine Harris (Ace)
8. “Smoke Screen” by Sandra Brown (Pocket)
9. “The Bodies Left Behind” by Jeffery Deaver (Pocket Star)
10. “My Sister’s Keeper” by Jodi Picoult (Pocket)
11. “Dead to the World” by Charlaine Harris (Ace)
12. “The Assassin” by Stephen Coonts (St. Martin’s)
13. “Dead as a Doornail” by Charlaine Harris (Ace)
14. “Living Dead in Dallas” by Charlaine Harris (Ace)
15. “Definitely Dead” by Charlaine Harris (Ace)

TRADE PAPERBACKS
1. “The Time Traveler’s Wife” by Audrey Niffenegger (Mariner Books)
2. “The Shack” by William P. Young (Windblown Media)
3. “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” by Stieg Larsson (Vintage)
4. “Glenn Beck’s Common Sense: The Case Against an Out-of-Control Government, Inspired by Thomas Paine” by Glenn Beck (Threshold Editions)
5. “The Weight of Silence” by Heather Gudenkauf (Mira)
6. “Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously” by Julie Powell (Back Bay Books)
7. “The Lucky One” by Nicholas Sparks (Grand Central Publishing)
8. “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (Dial)
9. “Olive Kitteredge” by Elizabeth Strout (Random House Trade Paperbacks)
10. “My Life in France” by Julia Child, Alex Prud’Homme, (Anchor)
11. “The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel” by Garth Stein (Harper)
12. “Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time” by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Penguin)
13. “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” by Jane Austin and Seth Grahame-Smith (Quirk Books)
14. “The Hour I First Believed” by Wally Lamb (Harper)
15. “The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power” by Jeff Sharlet (Harper Perennial)
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WALL STREET JOURNAL BEST-SELLERS
By The Associated Press

FICTION
1. “South of Broad” by Pat Conroy (Nan A. Talese)
2. “The White Queen” by Philippa Gregory (Touchstone)
3. “Dreamfever” by Karen Marie Moning (Dell)
4. “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett (Putnam/Amy Einhorn)
5. “Breaking Dawn” by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown for Young Readers)
6. “Star Wars: Fate Of The Jedi: Abyss” by Troy Denning (Del Rey)
7. “That Old Cape Magic: A Novel” by Richard Russo (Knopf)
8. “The Girl Who Played With Fire” by Stieg Larsson (Knopf)
9. “Eclipse” by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown and Company)
10. “The Eleventh Victim” by Nancy Grace (Hyperion)
11. “39 Clues: The Black Circle” by Patrick Carman (Scholastic Press)
12. “Smash Cut” by Sandra Brown (Simon & Schuster)
13. “Dead and Gone” by Charlaine Harris (Ace Hardcover)
14. “The Law of Nines” by Terry Goodkind (Putnam)
15. “Best Friends Forever” by Jennifer Weiner (Atria)

NONFICTION
1. “Culture of Corruption: Culture of Corruption: Obama and His Team of Tax Cheats, Crooks, and Cronies” by Michelle Malkin (Regnery Publishing)
2. “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, Simone Beck, and Sidonie Coryn (Alfred A. Knopf)
3. “In the President’s Secret Service: Behind the Scenes with Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect” by Ronald Kessler (Crown)
4. “Outliers: The Story of Success” by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown and Company)
5. “Flat Belly Diet! Cookbook” by Liz Vaccariello with Cynthia Sass (Rodale)
6. “StrengthsFinder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test from Gallup’s Now, Discover Your Strengths” by Tom Rath (Gallup Press)
7. “Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen” by Christopher McDougall (Knopf)
8. “Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment” by Steve Harvey (Amistad)
9. “Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto” by Mark R. Levin (Threshold Editions)
10. “The Last Lecture” by Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow (Hyperion)
11. “Flat Belly Diet” by Liz Vaccariello and Cynthia Sass (Rodale Books)
12. “Catastrophe” by Dick Morris, Eileen McGann (Harper)
13. “Zeitoun” by Dave Eggers (McSweeney’s)
14. “A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity” by Bill O’Reilly (Broadway)
15. “Master Your Metabolism: The 3 Diet Secrets to Naturally Balancing Your Hormones for a Hot and Healthy Body!” by Jillian Michaels and Mariska van Aalst (Crown)

The Wall Street Journal’s list reflects nationwide sales of hardcover books during the week ended last Saturday at more than 2,500 Barnes & Noble, B. Dalton, Bookland, Books-a-Million, Books & Co., Bookstar, Bookstop, Borders, Brentano’s, Coles, Coopersmith, Doubleday, Scribners and Waldenbooks stores, as well as sales from online retailers Amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.

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USAToday Best Sellers
By The Associated Press
Key: F-Fiction; NF-Nonfiction; H-Hardcover; P-Paperback

1. “The Time Traveler’s Wife” by Audrey Niffenegger (Mariner Books) (F-P)
2. “Eclipse” by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers) (F-H)
3. “New Moon” by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers) (F-P)
4. “South of Broad” by Pat Conroy (Nan A. Talese) (F-H)
5. “Breaking Dawn” by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers) (F-H)
6. “Twilight” by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers) (F-P)
7. “The Shack” by William P. Young (Windblown Media) (F-P)
8. “Glenn Beck’s Common Sense: The Case Against an Out-of-Control Government, Inspired by Thomas Paine” by Glenn Beck (Threshold Editions) (NF-P)
9. “The Lucky One” by Nicholas Sparks (Grand Central Publishing) (F-H)
10. “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” by Stieg Larsson (Vintage) (F-P)
11. “Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously” by Julie Powell (Back Bay Books) (NF-P)
12. “The White Queen” by Philippa Gregory (Touchstone) (F-H)
13. “My Life in France” by Julia Child, Alex Prud’Homme, (Anchor) (NF-P)
14. “The Quickie” by James Patterson, Michael Ledwidge (Vision) (F-P)
15. “Chosen to Die” by Lisa Jackson (Zebra) (F-P)
16. “Dreamfever” by Karen Marie Moning (Dell) (F-H)
17. “The Brass Verdict” by Michael Connelly (Grand Central Publishing) (F-P)
18. “Culture of Corruption: Culture of Corruption: Obama and His Team of Tax Cheats, Crooks, and Cronies” by Michelle Malkin (Regnery Publishing) (NF-H)
19. “My Sister’s Keeper: A Novel” by Jodi Picoult (Pocket) (F-P)
20. “The Weight of Silence” by Heather Gudenkauf (Mira) (F-P)
21. “Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein: Dead and Alive” by Dean Koontz (Bantam) (F-P)
22. “Dead Until Dark” by Charlaine Harris (Ace) (F-P)
23. “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett (Putnam/Amy Einhorn) (F-H)
24. “Smoke Screen: A Novel” by Sandra Brown (Pocket) (F-P)
25. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” by J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre (Arthur A. Levine Books) (F-P)
26. “Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume I” by Julia Child, Simone Beck, Louisette Bertholle (Knopf) (NF-H)
27. “Smash Cut” by Sandra Brown (Simon & Schuster)(F-H)
28. “The Girl Who Played With Fire” by Stieg Larsson (Knopf) (F-H)
29. “In the President’s Secret Service: Behind the Scenes with Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect” by Ronald Kessler (Crown) (NF-H)
30. “The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel” by Garth Stein (Harper) (F-P)
31. “Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time” by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Penguin) (NF-P)
32. “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (Dial) (F-P)
33. “The Bodies Left Behind” by Jeffery Deaver (Pocket Star) (F-P)
34. “That Old Cape Magic: A Novel” by Richard Russo (Knopf) (F-H)
35. “Living Dead in Dallas” by Charlaine Harris (Ace) (F-P)
36. “From Dead to Worse” by Charlaine Harris (Ace)(F-P)
37. “Wyoming Brides: Denim and Diamonds 1/4The Wyoming Kid” by Debbie Macomber (Mira) (F-P)
38. “Promises in Death” by J.D. Robb (Berkley) (F-P)
39. “Club Dead” by Charlaine Harris (Ace) (F-P)
40. “Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak (HarperTrophy) (F-P)
41. “Star Wars: Fate Of The Jedi: Abyss” by Troy Denning (Del Rey) (F-H)
42. “The Bridegroom” by Linda Lael Miller (HQN) (F-P)
43. “39 Clues: The Black Circle” by Patrick Carman (Scholastic Press) (F-H)
44. “Outliers: The Story of Success” by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown) (NF-H)
45. “Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1: The Lightning Thief” by Rick Riordan (Disney-Hyperion)(F-P)
46. “Dead to the World” by Charlaine Harris (Ace) (F-P)
47. “Barefoot: A Novel” by Elin Hilderbrand (Little, Brown) (F-P)
48. “Olive Kitteridge” by Elizabeth Strout (Random House) (F-P)
49. “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” by Jane Austin and Seth Grahame-Smith (Quirk Books) (F-P)
50. “Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment” by Steve Harvey (Amistad) (NF-H)

Reporting stores include: Amazon.com, B. Dalton Bookseller, Barnes & Noble.com, Barnes & Noble Inc., Books-A-Million and Bookland, Booksamillion.com, Borders Books & Music, Bookstar, Bookstop, Brentano’s, Davis Kidd Booksellers in Nashville, Jackson, Memphis, Tenn., Doubleday Book Shops, Hudson Booksellers, Joseph-Beth Booksellers (Lexington, Ky.; Cincinnati, Cleveland), Powell’s Books (Portland, Ore.), Powells.com, R.J. Julia Booksellers (Madison, Conn.), Schuler.
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Here are links to other recent One for the Books columns. More links are available on my blog at http://blogs.dixcdn.com/shine_a_light/one-for-the-books/

Celebrating Woodstock -- http://www.recordpub.com/news/article/4647537

A Potpourri of Fiction -- http://www.recordpub.com/news/article/4638792

Memorable Friendships -- http://www.recordpub.com/news/article/4634430

Three Fictional Visits to Africa -- http://www.recordpub.com/news/article/4625472

Surprising Adventures in the Lives of Monks -- http://www.recordpub.com/news/article/4616188

Mysteries for Summer Reading -- http://www.recordpub.com/news/article/4606477



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