T. Jefferson Parker
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T. Jefferson Parker
Anyone here familiar with this guy's work? I haven't read any of his books, but a close friend of mine strongly recommends him. After doing some reasearch, I saw that he won the Edgar Allen Poe award in 2002 for his mystery novel, Silent Joe. He's been writing mystery since his first novel in 1985 titled, Laguna Heat.
Any recommendations?
Any recommendations?
#2
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Hi Geofferson, I haven't read Parker's Silent Joe yet but I have read - and very much enjoyed - his Where Serpents Lie (approx. 550 pages in paperback but still a quick-read). I'd say go with either Where Serpents Lie or, since it won the Edgar, Silent Joe as a way to become familiar with his work. In addition to those two titles, his other recent books are part of a series featuring a female police detective by the name of Merci Rayborn (Blue Hour, Red Light, Black Water). I think his next book is going to be a standalone. I'm not too familiar with his work (maybe 5 books) prior to Where Serpents Lie.
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I've read Laguna Heat, Silent Joe and the Merci Rayborn books. Laguna Heat was great - one of the best opening lines in a novel - but it's a bit dated now.
I really recommend The Blue Hour. It's the first in the Merci Rayborn series and the best, imho. I liked Red Light quite a bit, but felt Black Water was a big dropoff in quality.
Silent Joe is simply terrific for the first 90%, then the ending is a little... imho, it didn't live up to the rest of the book, but it's still a great read.
I really recommend The Blue Hour. It's the first in the Merci Rayborn series and the best, imho. I liked Red Light quite a bit, but felt Black Water was a big dropoff in quality.
Silent Joe is simply terrific for the first 90%, then the ending is a little... imho, it didn't live up to the rest of the book, but it's still a great read.
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Originally posted by BoatDrinks
I've read Laguna Heat, Silent Joe and the Merci Rayborn books. Laguna Heat was great - one of the best opening lines in a novel - but it's a bit dated now.
I've read Laguna Heat, Silent Joe and the Merci Rayborn books. Laguna Heat was great - one of the best opening lines in a novel - but it's a bit dated now.
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I recently started in on TJP's Little Saigon. I can't quite pinpoint it, but this guy definitely has a characteristic in his writing style that makes him stand out. After reading some sub-par novels recently, I was aching for a top-notch mystery novel, thus I chose TJP.
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I've read all of Parkers books and they are all very good. Lots of depth and the characters are never boring.
Speaking of Harlan Coben, he is returning to Myron Bolitar in his next book entitled Promise Me, due out April 25th!!!
Speaking of Harlan Coben, he is returning to Myron Bolitar in his next book entitled Promise Me, due out April 25th!!!
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Originally Posted by Cedar
Speaking of Harlan Coben, he is returning to Myron Bolitar in his next book entitled Promise Me, due out April 25th!!!
And can anyone shed some light on whatever happened to Dennis Lehane? It seems he has dropped off the face of the earth.
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Last time I checked he was quoted in a magazine article saying his next books were going to be set back in the early 1900's, though it has been so long ago I don't remember much more than that. I do remember though it was going to be a potential series of three or more books and he said he was going to take his time with it so that he got it right. But after this long he may have changed his mind and went in another direction. His website is fairly worthless for information, but there is nothing showing on Amazon in the coming months other than rereleases of his older stuff. He is almost as bad as Thomas Perry who is finally putting a book out after a four year drought.
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Dennis LeHane writes for HBO's The Wire, so I wonder if that has been occupying most of his time?
Cedar - can't wait for Thomas Perry's new book. djmont has read it and said it was not his best effort but I'm looking forward to it just the same.
Cedar - can't wait for Thomas Perry's new book. djmont has read it and said it was not his best effort but I'm looking forward to it just the same.
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T. Jefferson Parker -- I didn't think the new book matched up to the extremely high level of the last few. (I found the central gimmick of the story -- the protagonist suffers from synesthesia -- annoying.) It's getting some excellent pre-publication buzz, though.
Harlan Coben -- The new Bolitar book is good; very much in the style and voice of the rest of the series. If you liked those, you'll like the new one.
Dennis Lehane -- Last I heard, he's still working on the new book, a historical crime novel set circa 1920. It's split between two stories, one taking place during the Boston Police Strike of 1919 (the event that sparked Calvin Coolidge to national prominence) and the other during the Tulsa race riot of 1921. I asked Lehane about it last September and, at that time, he still wasn't sure when it would be done. "There's light at the end of the tunnel," he said. "I just didn't know the tunnel would be so long." (In the meantime, he wrote a play that was recently produced Off Broadway, and a couple episodes of The Wire.)
Thomas Perry -- Perry had the writer's nightmare happen to him: he spent an entire year (or more) writing and revising a novel, and it just didn't work. Rather than publish it anyway, as many authors would, he scrapped it and started a new book. A gutsy move, but it definitely put him out of the spotlight for a while. As for the new book...Geofferson quotes me accurately. It's okay, but I was disappointed. (I love Perry's work, so I have very high standards for him.)
Harlan Coben -- The new Bolitar book is good; very much in the style and voice of the rest of the series. If you liked those, you'll like the new one.
Dennis Lehane -- Last I heard, he's still working on the new book, a historical crime novel set circa 1920. It's split between two stories, one taking place during the Boston Police Strike of 1919 (the event that sparked Calvin Coolidge to national prominence) and the other during the Tulsa race riot of 1921. I asked Lehane about it last September and, at that time, he still wasn't sure when it would be done. "There's light at the end of the tunnel," he said. "I just didn't know the tunnel would be so long." (In the meantime, he wrote a play that was recently produced Off Broadway, and a couple episodes of The Wire.)
Thomas Perry -- Perry had the writer's nightmare happen to him: he spent an entire year (or more) writing and revising a novel, and it just didn't work. Rather than publish it anyway, as many authors would, he scrapped it and started a new book. A gutsy move, but it definitely put him out of the spotlight for a while. As for the new book...Geofferson quotes me accurately. It's okay, but I was disappointed. (I love Perry's work, so I have very high standards for him.)
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According to Amazon, Lehane has a book scheduled for September 1st called Coronado: Stories. No description other than hardcover and 224 pages, so don't know if this is short stories or what.