Thank you for recommending this one a while back in my log! I couldn’t put it down. 
You always have the best recommendations!
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I just got my amazon package with 2 recent books by one of my favorite authors, John Sandford. He’s got a huge series of books that are crime/thriller/bad ass detective - called the “Prey” series…essentially all the book titles contain that word.
E.G Mind prey, Mortal prey, Hidden prey, Righteous prey…
I just received “Toxic Prey” and “Judgement Prey”. I want to say that these are #33 & 34 in the series. If anyone is looking for a great, thrilling, gripping series of books to read, I highly recommend these! Over the past year, whenever I got some time I would read each new book and so I’ve worked my way through the whole series. I found reading his books to be very enthralling and when you are truly engrossed in one of his novels, you don’t want to put it down and instead find yourself reading late into the night to finish and find out how Lucas Davenport (the protagonist) gets the killer(s).
Also, to save some bucks, these books are readily available at your local library; mine is literally across the street from my neighborhood so I would just hop over there, check out several at a time, read, and repeat. I only bought these latest two because there are zero available in my county library system-they’re all checked out and the estimated time for them to become available to me in 2+ months. I admittedly am not the most patient person (especially when something I want can be easily found, purchased rather inexpensively, and even delivered to my doorstep), so I found these titles on Amazon, hardcover too, for like $15 or so apiece. I figure after I read them I can either donate them to the library or sell them to a used bookstore.
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I have read a couple of these a few years ago. I should go back and start from the beginning if they are still available on Libby or maybe on Audible.
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My buddy Jack read this book.
Anthony Doerr: Cloud Cuckoo Land
Meh. I really wanted to like this, but it was just too self-consciously literary. Also, it reminded me a little of some of his other books that Are. Just. Too. Sad. (“About Grace”, specifically.)
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Yes. All the Light was one of my favorite recent books, but I’m not sure I’d sign on for another of his after following it with Cuckoo and Grace.
I’m reading another Fredrik Backman - Britt-Marie Was Here - and it is light and quirky, as hoped/expected.
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I really liked this one!
There’s a great clip online of Frederik Backman reluctantly making a speech - I’ll see if I can find a link. Other than the Beartown books, I really enjoyed A Man Called Ove, and My Grandmother Sends Her Regards And Apologises.
Ann Patchett - Tom Lake. Pretty good, a typical gentle Patchett novel
Joel Dicker - The Baltimore Boys. I really enjoyed this one - also really enjoyed his previous one, The Harry Quebert Affair
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Demon Copperhead - Barbara Kingsolver: wow! I’m starting to get a slightly better understanding of why you backwoods Americans (yes YOU @ChickenLittle and YOU @EmilyQ ) are so odd and ornery. Really excellent novel.
The Deep Blue Goodbye - John D Macdonald (thanks @punnyguy yes, turns out you’re right, I am old enough to appreciate this)
Gone Baby Gone - Dennis Lehane. Standard private eye stuff.
Caledonian Road - Andrew O’Hagan. Which is a pretty good stab at The Great 21st Century Novel of London’s upper class and their cold corrupt hearts.
What You Are Looking For Is In The Library - Michiko Aoyama. Gentle Japanese fiction, sort of Murakami-lite.
Bell Hammers - Lancelot Schaubert. Poor man’s version of Demon Copperhead - pisspoor man’s version. Avoid.
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Nailed it!
I put the book on hold.
Barbara Kingsolver is an excellent author.
I am a huge MacDonald fan, have read all of the Travis McGee novels. I found them all at a garage sale for $20. Poor condition, didn’t care.
You might appreciate Carl Hiassen and Tim Dorsey as Florida novelists as well.
I do like Carl Hiaasen - I’ll add Tim Dorsey to the my list too, thanks.
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@QuadQueen did you watch the Fredrick Backman speech?
I didn’t. I didn’t even know it was happening!! I’m going to look and see if I can find it somewhere now. Thanks for the heads-up!
Re-reading The Passage trilogy now. I see some older chats about it above. Pretty wordy at times, but also epic.
I noticed they made part of it into a TV series. I watched the trailer and said, “Nope, they clearly f*cked it up.”
Here’s one small gripe about the books: It seems like almost every character (and there a lot of them over the 100-year span covered) has a name, a shortened version of that name, and a nickname. I’m on the third book after reading them all before and I’m still not certain of all the relationships. “Did she just have sex with her brother?? No, wait, that’s the other guy with three names.”
Edit: There is a glossary of names at the end. I found that out after finishing the books. Hard to spot on Kindle.
Still epic.
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I meant the video link, not a live speech, sorry!
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I absolutely loved this series!
I accidentally got the second book first and listened for about 30 mins and thought… I have no idea what’s going on here. Several months later I listened to the first one and was hooked!
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Start with The Stingray Shuffle.
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