If you'll forgive me linking to my own work...

I've got a new column up on The Daily Beast where I recommend "5 Hot Summer Thrillers."

Some excellent books in there. Be interested to hear any feedback if you've read them yet.

This isn't a genre that has ever appealed to me, so I can't comment on your selections. That said, at the risk of nitpicking, your second paragraph about Roadside Crosses seems kind of clunky. Maybe that's because it's mostly one run-on sentence. Just sayin'.

The sentence reads fine to me. But hey -- I'm just happy you read it. So it's all good.

What books do you enjoy?

In the last year or so, I've focused primarily on autobiographies. Despite being a self-identified liberal, in the last six months I've become fascinated reading the memoirs of people who worked in key positions during the Reagan administration (including the president's own autobiography). I'm fascinated by the firsthand accounts of how and why these men and women came to prominence and what they wished to accomplish once they got there.

In fiction, I've been working my way through Ian Fleming's James Bond novels one per year and am almost finished with those; last year I started to delve into John le Carre's works. Other than those (and Tom Clancy's The Hunt for Red October and Patriot Games), though, I wouldn't say I'm into spy novels.

I've also started to dabble more in works written in the 19th and early 20th century; authors like Wodehouse, Poe and Melville. I think this has been encouraged by B.J. Harrison's "The Classic Tales Podcast," of which my wife and I are both fans.

Never been much of a devotee of Fleming or Clancy -- there are many thriller writers out there who wrote much better stuff, in my opinion -- but le Carre was a seminal figure.

I'm still waiting for the definitive Reagan bio.... Everyone hoped that Edmund Morris would be it, but then he went all loopy. Did you read Reagan's diaries? I haven't, although I heard they're very interesting.

(Found out an interesting fact recently: Christopher Buckley ghosted David Stockman's memoirs. I never have heard who really wrote Reagan's.)

I noticed that someone on your site mentioned the Charlemagne Pursuit by Steve Berry. Not sure if you have read all of his stuff, but while I like the formula for his books (using historical events as a basis for his plots, similar to Dan Brown), they have been getting worse and worse, with the last two being just awful IMO (which include CP). Have you read any of Berry's work?

BTW, when I saw the title of this thread, I was afraid that you had put one of those awful James Patterson books like Beach House or Lake House on it (I think that this year's selection is Swimsuit).

[QUOTE=djmont;9489889]Never been much of a devotee of Fleming or Clancy -- there are many thriller writers out there who wrote much better stuff, in my opinion -- but le Carre was a seminal figure.[/i]

I enjoy Fleming's writing style because it is very succinct (honed as a foreign correspondent) and I have found the world he described very specific and distinct. When I read one of his Bond books, I am immediately taken to the 1950s and 1960s--as he saw them, and wanted me to see them.

As for Clancy, a friend of mine has been an avid fan of his for nearly 20 years now and got me to read the first two. I enjoyed them, but I couldn't get into the subsequent ones. I can't say why, necessarily, other than I think somewhere he began to focus too much on showing that he knew the military and intelligence communities than in telling stories about characters that interested me. Maybe I'll revisit them later.

I've known of Le Carre for years but only recently decided to being exploring his work. The Spy Who Came In from the Cold was every bit the masterpiece I'd heard it was; very taut and full of cold war atmosphere.

I haven't read Morris yet (though I recently acquired a hardback copy from Half Price Books that's awaiting me), nor have I read The Reagan Diaries. So far, my reading of his administration has been confined to David Gergen's Eyewitness to Power, Mr. Reagan's An American Life and James Baker's "Work Hard, Study...and Stay Out of Politics!" I enjoyed each, for different reasons.

Fascinating about Buckley, by the way. I just got around to reading Thank You for Smoking a few months back (after loving the film version) and have put him on my ever-expanding list of authors to explore.

The Scarecrow and Wicked Prey both sound good for summer reading. (Didn't notice any run-on sentences in your reviews btw. They were pretty succinct.)

I've read a few of Berry's books and reviewed a couple of them (I think). I thought they were okay, but better in conception than execution. I didn't care for The Charlemagne Pursuit.

Loved Thank you for Smoking! Great book. Terrific film adaptation, too.

Buckley's new book, a memoir of losing his parents, is excellent. Funny, sad and quite touching. (It helps if you're interested in his late father.)

I have The Scarecrow, Gone Tomorrow and Wicked Prey all in my 'to-read' pile (going to a Lee Child reading this week as a matter of fact). I never really got into Lisa Scottoline or Jeffrey Deaver, though I've heard nothing but good things about their work.

I've been in a hard-boiled/noir phase as of late catching up on authors such as the following (Richard Stark's Parker, Adrian McKinty, Victor Gischler, Dan Simmons' Joe Kurtz novels). Outside of that, I've been peppering in Connelly's older work, Eisler's John Rain books and some of the older Elmore Leonard titles...

...which leads me to my new motto: too many books, too little time.

Oh, and I also plan on checking out Thriller 2

The Parker series is still one of my all-time favorites.