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.

I’ve never been a fan of literary novels, especially those longwinded, meandering amalgams of overly flowery prose and bore you to tears characters. They usually go nowhere and seem to exist only for the purpose of giving their writers a platform to show off their command of the language. Once in a while, however, a gem comes along that blends together the myriad of intangible factors that when weaved together build a tapestry that becomes a masterpiece. Disgrace is such a novel.

J. M. Coetzee, twice winner of the prestigious Booker Prize and 2003 Nobel laureate for literature, shows himself at the height of his powers with this wonderful, flawlessly written novel. It is a true masterpiece of pacing, characterization, prose, style, and theme. This novel is everything a literary work should be. Although it is not a thriller, strangely enough it reads like one. From the very first page I was sucked in and was not able to put it down until I turned the last page.

Life can be terribly unfair at times. In the late sixties, early seventies Coetzee taught as an assistant professor of English at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Unbelievably his application for permanent residence in the United States was denied. It appears that holding a PhD in English, linguistics, and Germanic languages wasn’t enough for him to qualify. I’d like to meet the genius that made that decision. Perhaps had he had some connection to extremist terrorist groups he would have had better luck. Oh well.

I highly recommend this wonderful novel, and anything else J. M. Coetzee has written. He is one of the best writers of our time and if you haven’t yet read him, you’re in for a treat.

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.

In the realm of couldn’t put it down literary winners, I believe The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand rightfully holds a top spot. This powerful masterpiece will hook you after only reading the opening sentence.

If you’re an idealist with high aspirations who holds fast to personal visions and ideas, this is the book for you. After reading the first page you will fall completely in love with the protagonist who struggles to mainstream his contemporary architectural ideas and defeat the principles of architectural dogma.

But regardless of your politics, or your philosophical views, as a story this book is just plain good reading.

Having experienced the power of this massive book first hand I must air a word of caution. Before you delve into this fast-gripping brain teasing novel, be sure to eat, bathe, and take your vitamins. Once you read the opening passage, this book will stick to your fingers like glue.

I guarantee once you start this puppy you won’t be able (or even want to) put it down. Don’t wait, this book is a must read.

I have read many books in my lifetime. From classics to science fiction to even an occasional romance novel, but of all these books, only very few have had the power to actually influence my life. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky is one of these novels.

This riveting masterpiece takes you on the journey of a despondent young man contemplating an unthinkable ethical dilemma. Within the opening pages this novel will grab hold of you and send you back to 1800 Russia where you will vividly live the mental anguish and rationalization of the protagonist’s choice and the unexpected ramifications of his actions.

I love this story because I feel that it truly speaks to the human condition. Every single one of us at one point or another has faced ethical and moral dilemmas and the pressures that come with making the right choice.

If you haven’t already, pick up a copy of this novel and get ready for a twisted tale of greed, crime, and punishment you won’t soon forget.

This novel is simply amazing. This is a very serious book that attempts, in one sweeping tale, to tell the entire story of the American west. But for me that fact is beside the point. This book is one of those delightfully engaging page-turners that grabs a hold of you and transports you to another world, forcing you to forget your worries. You would have a difficult time finding better entertainment elsewhere.

If you’re put off by westerns, don’t let that steer you away from this wonderful book. You won’t find any silly caricatures here. The characters are richly drawn, and are so multidimensional that they seem more real than most real people you will ever meet. This novel won the Pulitzer prize and rightfully so. Mr. Mcmurtry deserves any accolades we can heap on him for giving us this wonderful masterpiece.

I loved every single page of it. I read it as fast as I could, yet kept trying to slow myself down because I didn’t want it to end. Thankfully Mr. McMurtry chose to write three other companion novels to Lonesome Dove. One is a prequel, and the two others are sequels. If I were you, and was desperately looking for an amazing read, something that would knock me right over, I would rush to buy this novel and its three companions. You may as well get them all. As soon as you finish one you’ll just rush out to get the next one.

Gone with the Wind is simply brilliant. This is a true work of art. It proves, without a shadow of a doubt, that superb, masterful fiction doesn’t have to be obtuse and unreadable, like most literary snobs would have us believe. Not only did this novel win the Pulitzer, but has managed, since its publication, to sell in the neighborhood of 25 million copies worldwide. Not an easy feat.

This is a very long novel that flies through your fingers so quickly, you won’t believe you could read that fast. At its core, this remarkable book is simply one hell of a page turner. It reads like a modern fast paced thriller, and it’s definitely a couldn’t put it down winner. But this novel is such much more. It is at once a history lesson, a romance, an adventure story, and a deeply characterized masterpiece.

It has been accused over the years of racism, sexism, revisionism, and of being on the whole nothing more than a fancy Harlequin novel. None of these things could be further from the truth. This novel is really about the end of a way of life, and about how those people most affected by it were changed by the ordeal.

If you haven’t yet read this novel you have absolutely no idea what you’re missing. Pick it up today and prepare yourself for an experience you will never forget.