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1. Killing Floor - Lee Child – The first Jack Reacher novel. He loses his brother. Not sure if it’s far-fetched or frighteningly possible.
2. Medusa’s Gaze and Vampire’s Bite - Matt Kaplan - Ever wonder why most non-fiction books have subtitles? This one’s is: The Science of Monsters. Talks about the psychology behind myths and monsters and also what real world things could have inspired the.
3. Jewish Noir – Kenneth Wishnia – A collection of short stories, mostly crime, all dark. Some good, some not so much. Generally a little socialist for my taste. A pair of Harlan Ellison to close it out, one of which I’d read before.
4. Die Trying – Lee Child – The 2nd book. Reacher gets swept up in a kidnapping and has to stop a revolution.
5. North River – Pete Hamill – North River was a former name for part of the Hudson River. This is set in the depression, about a Doctor in Greenwich Village who suddenly becomes the guardian of his 3 year old Grandson, and what ensues.
6. The Three Musketeers – Alexander Dumas – Written in 1844, I finally have the answer to why it’s called “Three” when there are four of them. As it turns out, D’Artangan doesn’t actually become a Musketeer until the last quarter of the book. Very enjoyable. And apparently there is a sequel or two.
7. Buried Alive – Jan Bondeson – Non-fiction: “The terrifying history of our most primal fear.” Talks about the rumors of people being buried alive, and if it actually happened. Also much of the literature around it.
8. The Sayings of Confucius – Lionel Giles, M.A. – This was a new translation by Giles, published in England in 1910.
9. The Breakthrough: Immunotherapy and the Race to Cure Cancer – CharlesGraeber – Heard about this at work when someone sent around a magazine article based on it. Fascinating and hopeful book. And the title is not hyperbole. Some cancers are being cured.
10. Connections in Death – JD Robb – Eve has to deal with a street gang who killed a former member. We meet a new character who is going to be recurring. Now wait until September for the next one.
11. The Mortal Word – Genevieve Cogman – And Invisible Library book, Irene and Vale are sent to solve a murder at a peace conference between the Dragons and the Fae. Fun novel.
12. Sweet Revenge – Nora Roberts – Enjoyable little (and old) book about the daughter of a sultan and a movie star who seeks revenge on her father for his treatment of her mother. So she becomes a thief.
13. Five Presidents – Clint Hill with Lisa McCubbin – Recommended by Mike Rowe, Hill was a secret service agent on the Presidential detail and this is the story of his service from Eisenhower to Ford.
14. Over the Top and Back – Tom Jones – His autobiography. Hell of a singer and quite a life. How he went to the top, to the dinner theatre circuit, and back to the limelight.
15. Grateful American a Journey from Self to Service – Gary Sinise - An autobiography that focuses on the service he has given to the armed services, veterans, and first responders. He is the rare celebrity who actually deserves respect.
16. How Long ‘Til Black Future Month? - N.K. Jemisin – I’d never heard of her but the title caught my eye, so I read the introduction. Some of the comments in it almost turned me off but her voice sounded interesting. Glad I did, the writing and the stories are tremendous. Some SF, some fantasy, but not a bad story in the book.
17. The Fifth Doctrine – Karen Robards – Bianca is found and forced to join a spy organization for a plot against North Korea. And finally deals with her so called father.
18. Tripwire – Lee Child – This one harks back to Vietnam, Reacher meets an old friend and may even settle down.
19. Running Blind – Lee Child - Reacher is still in NY with Jodie when he runs afoul of the FBI while trying to do a good deed, and is pressed into service to track a serial killer.
20.In a Glass Darkly – Sheridan Le Fanu – A collection of horror stories published in 1872. The last one in the book I read before in a vampire collection.
21. Knock Out – Catherine Coulter – Part of a series of “FBI Thrillers”, I wasn’t expecting a story about psychics but it was pretty good for a bathroom book. I have four more from a bag of books Mom gave me.
22.No Turning Back – Bryan Anderson with David Mack – Recommended in Gary Sinise’s book (he wrote the foreword) he is a triple amputee after driving over an IED in Afghanistan. Part memoir, part PMI.
23.The Coloring Book – Colin Quinn – “A comedian solves race relations in America.” Very funny book, with each chapter dealing with a different race, in a meandering way. Not PC at all but certainly not in any bad way.
24.Little Lord Fauntleroy – Frances Hodgson Burnett – You hear the phrase but did you know it was a book? A very good one too. A 6 year old being raised by his widowed mother in NYC finds out he’s the heir to an earl in England. He moves their and charms his grumpy grandfather. 1886
25.Another One Bites the Dust – Jennifer Rardin – Not a Queen novel, another vampire series. Jaz Parks is a CIA assassin on a team lead by a vampire named Vayl. In this 2nd book they head off a war with China.
26.The Green Ray – Jules Verne – An 1883 novel, set in Scotland, an orphan 18 year old being raised by her Uncles gets a desire to see a mythical “Green Ray” which is the last ray of the setting sun. Harder than you would think. It becomes a love story.
27.Echo Burning – Lee Child – So you beat up a guy who starts shit in a bar and find out he’s an off duty cop so decide it’s time to leave town. Can’t a guy hitchhike without getting accidentally involved in a murder plot?
28.The Choice – Dr. Edith Eva Eger with Esme Schwall Weigand – Subtitled Embrace the Possible. Dr. Eger is a holocaust survivor who came to America and late in life became a psychologist and motivational speaker. This is her story.
29.Without Fail – Lee Child – Reacher is hired by his late brother’s ex-girlfriend to test the security around the Vice President. He has a friend in this one from the Army, hope she reappears.
30.The Scarlet Pimpernel – Emma Orczy – Published in 1910, set during the French Revolution, he is the prototype superhero, basically Batman. An Englishman saving French nobles from the reign of terror.
31. The Misanthrope or, the Cantankerous Lover – Moliere – This is a play, first produced June 4th, 1666. I read it on June 5th, 2019. I love the title character, can totally relate to him.
32.All The Time in The World – E.L. Doctorow – A collection of short stories, most pretty good, although I didn’t like the title story much.
33.Persuader – Lee Child – For a guy who wants to be a loner Reacher works with feds a lot. FBI twice so far (I think), secret service, and now the DEA. Off the books of course. He switches from 3rd person to 1st for this one. Kind of threw me off. But I still enjoyed it.
34.Whiplash – Catherine Coulter – Pleasant book, she seems to dislike pharmaceutical companies. I notice there always seem to be two unrelated cases in each book. I have two or three more.
35.Can’t Is Not an Option – Nikki Haley – Written during her first term as Governor of South Carolina it tells her life story and the journey to the office. Maybe someday she can write one about becoming the first woman and first Indian President.
36.The Tin Collectors – Stephen J Cannell – I was watching The Greatest American Hero on DVD and there was an interview with him as one of the special features. Very interesting guy, so I decided to check out his books. This is first of a series about a cop named Scully who get involved in an IA investigation (hence the title) and ends up uncovering a plot to use bribery to secure an NFL team.
37.The Lost City of Z – David Grann – In the 1920’s a British Explorer who had been to the Amazon multiple times. He had become convinced there were the remains of an ancient city he called Z. He disappeared with his son and his son’s best friend. Over the years approximately 100 people have died searching for him. Archeological evidence in the last decade suggests that he may not have been far off.
38.The Big Kahuna – Janet Evanovich and Peter Evanovich – A Fox and O’Hare novel, but this time she replaced her former writing partner with her son. The duo searches for a missing tech billionaire.
39.The Enemy – Lee Child – Still in the first person, but a flashback to 1990 and his MP days. We get to meet his Mom and brother as he deals with an attempted coup in the military.
40.Back Fire – Catherine Coulter – She does two cases again, but this time they come together at the end. Better than the last one.
41. One Shot – Lee Child – Reacher heads to Indianapolis when he hears someone he once arrested may have done it again. Back to the third person here. I think I like that better.
42.The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood – Howard Pyle – Written in 1883, it’s a compilation of stories stretching back a few hundred years. From his origin, to assembling his band, all the way through his pardon by Richard the Lion Heart and his eventual death.
43.Ain’t Too Proud To Beg – Mark Ribowsky – The troubled lives and enduring soul of the Temptations. The play wasn’t based on this. Interesting book, no holds barred showing the ups and downs of their career, which continues till this day.
44.The Island of Doctor Moreau – H.G. Wells – 1896, an early warning against genetic engineering. Or maybe not.
45.Hollywood Gothic – David J Skal –“The tangled web of Dracula from Novel to Stage to Screen.” Tells the story of how Stoker came to write Dracula, the drama of getting it on stage, touches on the unauthorized Nosferatu, to the first few authorized movies. Then moves on to how it touched the culture as a whole. Written in 1990 it touches on Anne Rice’s Interview, but misses the Buffy – Twilight era.
46. Power Play – Catherine Coulter – The last of her books that I have. An Ambassador has someone trying to kill her. And the bad guy from the first of her books I read returns. Not bad, I don’t know if I will look for more of them.
47.The Hard Way – Lee Child – Reacher goes to England to avenge a kidnap victim. First he is in NY. He doesn’t mention his ex in either place.
48.A Book – Desi Arnaz – It’s a book, what should he call it, a pencil? I heard him say that on the Tonight Show (Carson version) years ago. It’s also in the epilogue. Very interesting story from his birth through Lucy, Desilu up until his divorce. Desilu was once the biggest TV studio in the world and was quite the pioneer.
49.The Devil in the White City – Erik Larson – Subtitled: Murder, Magic, And Madness at the Fair That Changed America. A history of the World’s Columbian Exposition in late 19th century Chicago, and a serial killer that stalked its outskirts. HH Holmes later became a ghost on Supernatural. Amazing all the things that came out of the fair, from shredded wheat, to incandescent bulbs, to the Ferris wheel, among others.
50.The Madman’s Daughter – Megan Shepherd – A modern retelling of The Island of Dr. Moreau starring and narrated by his daughter. It was good and the first of a trilogy. I plan on checking out the others. I believe they redo Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll
51. Bad Luck and Trouble – Lee Child – Neagley is back. Only the 2nd character who has been in more than one book, so far anyway. Some members of Reacher’s old unit are in trouble and Neagley bring the rest of them together to avenge them.
52.Thunder Dog – Michael Hingson with Susy Flory – The story of a blind man whose dog led him to safety on 9/11. Also part autobiography and a history of society’s dealing with the blind.
53.The Night I Disappeared – Julie Reece Deaver – I found this in the street and rescued it A YA novel about a 17 year old girl who is retreating into an imaginary world to escape a trauma from her even earlier youth. Actually pretty good.
54.The Man, or The Gates of Life – Bram Stoker – 1905. Published under both titles. A “gothic” novel, basically a love story. In its time it was probably considered a feminist novel, although not in today’s toxic environment. A far cry from his more famous novel.
55.Dark Curiosity – Megan Shepherd – The second of the trilogy. This one based on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The story is moving along nicely.
56.Nothing to Lose – Lee Child – Reacher travels from the town of Hope to Despair and stumbles upon a possible terror attack. This guy has the weirdest luck.
57.Nothing to Lose The Making of KISS 1972-1975 – Ken Sharp with Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons – When I was searching the library data base for the Reacher book above, this (and a half dozen others) with the same title came up. Seemed interesting, and it was. It’s all quotes from people who were around put together to tell the story.
58.A Time to Scatter Stones – Lawrence Block – A new Matthew Scudder novella, after a decade. Unlike some fictional detectives, he ages, and that’s sort of the theme of the book. He helps a young woman deal with a stalker, and faces his own advancing age.
59.Crashing Heat – Richard Castle – Rook takes a temporary teaching position upstate and promptly gets accused of murder. Conspiracy theorists will like this one.
60.Gone Tomorrow – Lee Child – Back in NY and back in first person. A chance encounter on a subway leads to dealings with yet another federal agency, and some terrorists. The first person still throws me off. I’ve now caught up to where I started.
61. A Cold Legacy – Megan Shepherd – The last of the trilogy, Juliet takes on the science of Frankenstein. Can’t say I was completely satisfied with the ending but it was good.
62.Robert B Parker’s Blood Feud – Mike Lupica – Parker stopped the Sunny Randall series which made me sad because I enjoyed it. Various authors have carried on the other series, but they made a bad choice in Lupica. He’s not the writer Parker is, and can’t keep his snide comments about current events out of the story. If he does another, I’ll pass.
63.A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens – Written in 1859 the two cities are London and Paris during the French Revolution. A story of ultimate sacrifice.
64.America Walks into a Bar – Christine Sismondo – “A spirited history of Taverns and Saloons, Speakeasies and Grog Shops.” Fairly interesting look at the history of bars in America from their place in the revolution to civil rights.
65.Worth Dying For – Lee Child – So I finally passed where I started from. Reacher stumbles into a town controlled by a family, and gets involved when he punches a wife beater. He references events in the previous book which doesn’t happen often, and it looks like the next one will continue.
66.The Eternal Party – Kristina Hagman with Elizabeth Kaye – Larry Hagman’s daughter examines her Dad’s life and her relationship with him as a way to deal with his death,
67.The Affair – Lee Child – Another 1st person flashback, to his last case in the Army. I’m sure it’s there to set something up for the next book related to events from the last two.
68.The Eerie Adventures of the Lycanthrope Robinson Crusoe – Peter Clines – What if Crusoe was a werewolf who lived in the world of HP Lovecraft? Lovecraft and Defoe are credited as coauthors. Interesting book.
69.A Wanted Man – Lee Child – Reacher is still trying to get to Virginia, gets a ride from the wrong group of people and ends up helping the FBI fight some terrorists. Again .
70.Snow Flower and the Secret Fan – Lisa Lee – Set in the mid 1800’s it’s the reminiscence of an old woman looking back on her life and that of her laotong, which is sort of an arranged partnership between to women. Very interesting and entertaining.
71. My Grandfather’s Son – Clarence Thomas – Supreme Court Justice and great man tells his amazing life story, including with the smear campaign intended to prevent his confirmation to the court.
72.Never Go Back – Lee Child – Reacher finally makes it to Virginia to meet the woman he spoke to on the phone in 61 Hours – and of course runs into a criminal conspiracy.
73.The Shape of Night – Tess Gerritsen – Not a Rizzoli & Isles book. More like The Ghost & Mrs. Muir meets 50 Shades of Gray. With a little homicide thrown in. Takes place in Maine. Was entertaining.
74.Kings Full of Aces – Rex Stout – Two novellas and 3 short stories, ranging from the 30’s to the 50’s. And Wolfe leaves his house in three of them, although in one just to the sidewalk. First Novella includes recipes!
75.Personal – Lee Child - Once again a government agency reaches out to Reacher (no pun intended) to solve a problem. Nice little twist at the end.
76.McMafia – Misha Glenny – “A journey through the global criminal underworld.” A story about how criminal organizations grow throughout the world, and how some means of stopping them are counterproductive. Prohibition just gives them power.
77.Vendetta in Death – JD Robb – Someone calling herself Lady Justice is castrating and killing men she deems bad. Eve has to stop her.
78.Where the Red Fern Grows – Wilson Rawls – Apparently a famous book for teens I never heard of it until some Facebook friends posted comparing it to Ol Yeller. A very touching story of an Ozarks boy and his two coon hounds.
79.Joe Gould’s Teeth – Jill Lepore – Gould was a sort of bohemian in the early 20th century who became a sort of celebrity, friend to many famous artists. He reportedly was writing a vast oral history which never saw the light of day. This is in part a search for it. He was made famous by a New Yorker article and a book called Joe Gould’s Secret – this book is sort of a refutation of that.
80.Make Me – Lee Child – Reacher visits a small town just because the name intrigues him and gets swept up in a convoluted crime story. And I mean that in a good way.
81. Robert B Parker’s Angel Eyes – Ace Atkins – Spenser is in LA looking for a missing woman, with Sixkill’s help. No Hawk I’m wondering if Atkins feels he can’t write him. I don’t feel he really has a handle on Susan, but it was still a good book.
82.Robert B Parker’s The Bitterest Pill – Reed Farrel Coleman – A cheerleader OD’s to begin this hunt for a drug ring. Good story for Jesse Stone, despite a few moments of preachiness.
83.Robert B Parker’s Buckskin – Robert Knott – Continuing the Appaloosa series, two parallel stories come together, leaving a little bit of guessing at the end.
84.Night School – Lee Child – No school, that’s just a cover story. It’s 1996 and Reacher teams up with an FBI and CIA agent in Germany to follow a possible threat. It occurred to me that this is the only series I follow that really only has one main character. Neagley returns in this, but this isn’t a team series like I usually go for.
85.The Midnight Line – Lee Child – Reacher finds a woman’s West Point ring in a pawn shop and follows it to adventure, and a story about opioid addiction. I’m thinking about my comment about teams above and need to revise it. He doesn’t have a regular team, but he usually (not always) seems to assemble one.
86.No Middle Name – Lee Child – Called the complete collection of short stores, in 2017 at least. He tries different things in these. Two stories from Reacher’s childhood (or early adulthood), Neagley and Joe both appear. And one is narrated by a third party. Interesting stuff.
87.Past Tense – Lee Child – By random chance, Reacher passes by his father’s home town. He finds out some truths about his past, and meets some distant relatives. And incidentally stops a couple of murders. This is the next to latest book. I was trying to catch up by end of year but the latest is too recent and I’m #38 in queue at the library.
88.The Night Fire – Michael Connelly – Bosch and Ballard together again on a cold case he finds in his mentor’s house. And a little Haller thrown in to the mix as well.
