Recent Reads

[Craig Larson]

It's been awhile since my last post (if anyone cares) and I've gotten in a number of books. First up, Lee Child's latest Jack Reacher novel, Bad Luck and Trouble. I can remember the first Reacher I read, not that long ago, Persuader. I actively hated that book, but I stuck with Child and I've loved all the books since (still have to go back some time and read the first 4-5 in the series) and this one is just as good. Followed this up with the latest Dortmunder novel, Donald E. Westlake's What's So Funny? which was pretty good--certainly better than the last two in this series. It's always fun to spend some time with Dortmunder and his gang and here they're tasked with stealing an elaborate gold- and jewel-encrusted chess set created for the Russian royal family, which got lost in the turmoil of the end of WWI and the revolution. Next up was The Society of S, a revisionist vampire coming-of-age novel by Susan Hubbard, which I really enjoyed. And then came Vinnie's Head by Marc Lecard, a book that was really kind of dumb, but which I kept reading. I don't really enjoy novels where the main character is stupid and the plot revolves around his stupidity. Dortmunder is much more appealing--he's cursed by bad luck, but is still a competent thief and would be more of a success if it weren't for the forces of fate arrayed against him. The hero of Lecard's book is an idiot and much of what happens grows out of his dumb choices. Also, I didn't really care for the book's serial killer character, played for laughs.