from Mary
It seems like I'm always writing about dogs. And books. I can't help it. They're both in the top ten greatest hits of all creation, don't you think?
Oh yeah, I talk a lot about Dean Koontz, too. Love that guy. Since I discovered how much I enjoy his books, I've been going backward through his catalog. WATCHERS is an oldie-goldie with ... you guessed it ... a Goldie. A man takes a walk in the forest and encounters a golden retriever. The dog blocks the man's way down a certain path, over and over. The man hears strange, unearthly noises coming toward them and realizes the dog is trying to protect him. But from what? They escape first and wonder what kind of boogey-man is coming after them later.
At its heart, WATCHERS is about family. Some readers may think the dog's super-powers are a bit over the top, but I love that stuff.
* * * * * *
It's funny, when I googled the word "dog" while ago, this photo came up:
Not the kind of dog I was looking for, but ...
LIGHTNING by Dean Koontz, another older title I read this week, does have a tie-in to Hitler Germany.
One of the things I admire about Koontz is his intriguing story beginnings. They're real grabbers. LIGHTNING starts with an alcoholic obstetrician. He's drunk out of his mind when the hospital calls late one night with an emergency. One of his patients has gone into labor and is having complications. The doctor knows he's in no shape to work, but he's too proud to admit it. He's about to leave his house when a strange man attacks him. The man forces him back in the house, ties him up, holds him at gunpoint and tells him he's going nowhere. Why would an assassin want to kill this no-count nobody drunk?
I enjoyed the good storytelling in LIGHTNING, but it's not one of my favorites. It is, after all, dog-less. Still a great read.
* * * * * *
Everybody's wild about Harry ...
... and this fabulous series by Michael Connelly. In TRUNK MUSIC, L.A. homicide detective Harry Bosch investigates the murder of a man found in the trunk of a car near the Hollywood Bowl. Why am I wild about Harry? Because he is real. He's solid. He's not showy, he just bears down and gets the job done, most of the time in spite of internal power struggles in the LAPD. Great book.
* * * * * *
Don't you just love it when you find a new series to follow? FATED by Benedict Jacka is the first in a new fantasy series set in LONDON. HURRAY!!!! I am so excited. Alex Verus is a diviner with the special talent of seeing into the future. When young, he was an apprentice to a very bad mage who was cruel to him. Alex escaped that life and now wants nothing to do with the mages, Dark or Light. Of course, like with the Corleones, they pu-ul-l-l-l him back in.
Another super-talented young Benedict. Two more books in the series are out now, with many more to come, I hope.
What are reading this weekend?
Wasn't Fated terrific, Mary? Charlaine turned me on to those books, and I'm so excited there are more to read. (You know I scrolled down to see if there were any more "Benedict" pictures, right? ;) )
Posted by: Dana Cameron | March 04, 2013 at 07:51 AM
Not actually reading any grownup fiction, Mary, but adding these to my TBF list (to be found list--it precedes the TBR pile).
I'm reading children's fiction, notably the next couple of books in the Droon series, and hoping to clear mental space to enjoy Dan Stashower's In the Hour of Peril.
Posted by: Donna Andrews | March 04, 2013 at 10:04 AM
Dana, gotta have Benedict snaps. :) He describes Alex as tall, thin and dark hair, if I remember right, but after only a few pages, to me Alex is Martin Freeman.
Donna, right after your Femmes post about the Droon series, I put it on my TBF list. Gotta have my list in the purse at all times. The act of opening a bookstore door somehow magically erases my mental book list.
Posted by: Mary | March 04, 2013 at 08:14 PM