Being swept away by a well-told story, one crafted by a skillful author, has become to me much like a drug. I am thoroughly addicted. Sadly, like any drug fiend will tell you, the problem with being an addict is the torturous, unending, all-consuming search for the next high. Even sadder however, is how almost impossible to recapture that first high is. I spend most of my time searching for that perfect book, one that will completely ensnare me, mesmerize me, transport me. Once in a while I find one.

Darkly Dreaming Dexter is by no means a perfect novel. It has its many flaws. What it is though, is a deeply engrossing character study. The novel is well plotted, suspenseful, and effortlessly blends the elements of a thriller with those of a mystery. For all these reasons this novel is a great read. But it’s the protagonist Dexter that takes your breath away. He is brilliant, charming, charismatic and a remorseless serial killer. In Dexter, Jeff Lindsay has created an unforgettable character. We see the world through his eyes and we so completely fall in love with him that we begin to look forward to his next kill.

This is an excellent couldn’t put it down page-turner that I devoured cover to cover in one sitting. I loved every twist and turn in this book and I think you will too. This book inspired the hit Showtime Series Dexter, which surprisingly enough is much better than the novel. Get this book, read it, then go out and get the TV series. You’ll thank me later.

The plot of this story is as simple as its title. Three men find a plane with four million dollars in it. They decide to keep the money. What at first seems like a simple matter of dividing up the money and trying to keep it secret soon turns into a rollercoaster ride down the darker side of human nature. This is a well thought out, remarkably well-paced suspense thriller that will keep you turning pages all the way to the end.

Scott Smith has a remarkable talent for writing stories that are at once mesmerizing and at the same time deeply moving. Like his newest novel, The Ruins, his stories are not about weird situations, but how people react when caught up in them. This novel is replete with characters so vivid and alive that they seem to jump off the page.

As I read I couldn’t help but ask myself ‘Would I do that?’ You will undoubtedly ask yourself the same question. Prepare yourself however, you may find yourself surprised by your answer. If you haven’t read Scott Smith in the past get this novel today. You won’t regret it.

This is by far Dan Brown’s best book. It is a stunning thriller, perfectly paced and ingeniously plotted. To think I almost didn’t read it. Long before anyone knew his name, I tried first his debut novel and then the follow up. In my opinion, they were just short of awful. The writing was amateurish, the characters were shallow and boring, and the plotting was so confusing I kept getting lost. I vowed at the time never to read another book by him, but now I’m glad I broke my promise.

If you take it for what it is, a work of fiction, this book really is fantastic. It is great fun. It’s loaded with interesting characters, and it jumps from one exotic location to the next at a breakneck pace. It is the kind of can’t be put down, page turner thriller that I wish that I wish we had more of on the bookshelves.

Dan Brown manages to blend fact with fiction so ingeniously well that at times it’s difficult to figure out where one ends and the other begins. It is the sort of thing that has gotten him in trouble in the past, with some fans and critics, who have taken his writing more seriously than they should have.

Although the Da Vinci code is more popular and better known, this, Dan Brown’s third novel, is in many ways a far superior read. If you haven’t yet read it, there’s no time like the present.

Rose is, in my opinion, Martin Cruz Smith best novel. It’s a historical mystery that seems to break all the rules. It is vivid, engrossing, and brilliant. It is beautifully written, and its unusual plot and location only serve to deepen one’s interest. This is the sort of novel that captures and transports us to a different world, and involves us so thoroughly in the action that we never want to leave. Is it historically accurate? I don’t know, but nor do I care. It feels real, and that’s good enough for me.

By the time Martin Cruz Smith wrote this novel, he had already proven himself a master storyteller. He is the author of such winners as Gorky Park, Polar Star, and Red Square. But if you’re looking for Arkady Renko or a Russia setting, I have to warn you, they aren’t present here.

This is an ambitious and riveting mystery that clearly shows Mr. Smith’s versatility and mastery of his craft. I read the entire thing in one sitting, and now I wish I had read slower. I highly recommend this unusual page turner. If you don’t like it, I suggest you grab your wrist and check for a pulse. Get it now.

And Then There Were None, also published as Ten Little Indians, is one of the most intriguing, bewildering, and ingenious mystery/thriller novels of all time. It belongs at the very top of must reads, not only for mystery lovers, but for fiction fans across all genres.

Agatha Christie leaves no argument, with this novel, that she will forever be the queen of the close room mystery. I have read virtually all of her work, and I can say that this novel shows her at the top of her game.

This is an intricate page turner that slowly builds up to one shocker of an ending. This novel is at times dark, and in very subtle ways, complex. It is nothing like Agatha’s previous work up to this point.

In short, this novel is a spectacular couldn’t put it down good read. If you have seen the stage or movie adaptations, you may not be aware that Agatha Christie rewrote the ending of the book for these. Read the book. It’s way better.

Here I go again. Just can’t get enough of Arkady Renko. I knew Havana Bay was going to be a couldn’t put it down winner, when in the opening pages a character tells Renko, “A dead Russian, a live Russian. What’s the difference?” Talk about cynicism.

Havana Bay is the fourth book in the Arkady Renko novel series. Although some of Renko’s fans will be disappointed and upset at the turn of events that led their favorite investigator to Havana, Cuba, this novel is a riveting page turner that delivers.

Renko arrives in Havana Cuba with nothing to lose and delves into communism, a state he knows too well, in search of an old friend. Place a Russian in Cuba who speaks no Spanish, knows nothing about the island and its history, and can’t contain his need to ask questions, and you can’t help but get a heart-stopping thriller.

If you don’t’ already own it be sure to pick it up. For maximum satisfaction, it is strongly recommended that these novels be read in the order they were written.

WARNING: If you’re suffering from chest pain, shortness of breath, or stress put the book down and step away from the bookshelf. I repeat: STEP AWAY FROM THE BOOKSHELF.

But if you’re like me, and you like sharp turns, big hills, and free falling, get ready to sail out into the Bearing sea on the Polar Star and be enthralled by this stomach lurching, white-knuckle gripping, page turning, heart throbbing experience.

If you didn’t already come to love Arkady Renko in Gorky Park, you will in this novel. The author, mercilessly takes you along with Renko on a series of unpredictable and shocking twists and turns that are sure to keep your heart rate up and your stomach churning.

If you don’t already own it be sure to pick up this couldn’t put it down winner and let it sweep you away in its story telling magic.

Hollywood station is a super funny Police procedural that is at once a satire and a pseudo thriller. Mr. Wambaugh hates what has happened to the once proud LAPD in the years after Rodney King and he’s not shy about letting his views show. In fact, his in your face criticisms of the current management of the LAPD is so ludicrous and unbelievable, that at times those who have never served in any police capacity in our politically correct atmosphere is forced to dismiss them as mere rantings and wild exaggerations from a disgruntled ex-cop. Not so.

This couldn’t put it down winner is littered with stereotypes so outrageously silly that in the hands of a lesser author they could easily be confused with the fumbling of an unimaginative hack. But in this highly entertaining read the use of clichéd characters and situations is used to great effect and it gives this novel, if seen for the satire is supposed to be, a feel of greatness.

Some of Mr. Wambaugh’s fans may be confused and disappointed. This is to be expected. This book has none of the serious feel and forceful character of some of his earlier works, for which he has won so much acclaim. It almost feels as if it had been written by a totally different person (uhm). But in my humble opinion, this is his best work yet. Get it now, but before you start it take a deep breath. You’ll find it hard to come up for air until the very last page.

What a treat! I’d never heard of Jack Ketchum before yesterday, but oh boy am I a fan. I got through Old Flame in about two hours and now I wish I would have slowed down and taken my time. This is a remarkable work of fiction by a master storyteller. What’s this surprisingly good couldn’t put it down pager turner novel about? Think fatal attraction to the power of fifty, then add in some first rate suspense.

The only flaw I could find with this story was that it was way too short, more of a novella really. But seen in the right light, this is another plus for this highly skilled author, who seems to grasp the idea that a story ends only where it must and that to force it to continue is to ruin it. I can’t wait to delve into some of his other works. The plot was fresh and surprising, and the pace was slow and torturous building painfully to a hell of a climax. Jack Ketchum is the real deal.

The Appeal is the first Grisham book I have enjoyed reading in a long time. It wasn’t perfect. Far from it. But, at least for me, it was a couldn’t put it down page turner that kept me reading uninterrupted all the way to the end. After the very bad Bleachers, the even worse Skipping Christmas, and the downright awful Playing for Pizza, I found this novel to be a breath of fresh air.

It is light, fun, easy reading. If you overlook the lack of a strong central character, the cartoon-like stereotypes, the thinly veiled political bias, the one dimensional characterizations, and the nonstop almost Marxist sermonizing about evil corporations, this book is a good read. Grisham’s talent really lies in the legal thriller and any return to it, however shallow, it’s good news to me. If you’re a Grisham fan, and have missed his legal thrillers, you can get somewhat of a fix here.