Thanks for the mention, Kate! So glad you enjoyed the Spark book; it is quite a disturbing and original read, I think.
I have to confess that I am not a huge thriller reader, mostly because I read a lot before bed and I find I get too stressed by them!! But an unusual book I did enjoy was 'The Body Lies' by Jo Baker. It wouldn't necessarily fall into the thriller genre qs such, but does have a mystery at the centre of it and would come under literary fiction with its use of metafiction. It is also set in a UK university and is about creative writing! So I think you might enjoy it!
So much to enjoy here as always, thanks for the recommendations. I need to read much faster! Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole series is very good if a bit gruesome. He had me in tears once, not something one expects reading crime fiction. I'm working on a piece about a Scandinavian TV series at the moment : I really love the mood of Scandinavian crime fiction and TV drama. The Third Man is a great classic movie and Orson Welles was marvellous as Harry Lime. (Strangely I've also mentioned a film of his in another article I'm putting out within the next month although it's not actually about him). So interesting to see that they still celebrate the film in Vienna! I haven't read a lot of Greene but I do love "Our Man in Havana". "The End of the Affair" was good. I was very excited by "The New York Trilogy" when I first read it years ago so I also read "Leviathan". Auster is the real deal. I should probably read them again. So many books, so little time. Good luck with your current one Kate, I've downloaded "The White Night" which looks great.
What an intriguing topic. I've binge-watched "24" three times, but generally don't read novels for adrenaline rushes. But you're showing me a thriller can have plenty of nuance and even intellectual depth.
Graham Greene is in my Top 30 novelists (although not my Top 20). Thought I'd read all his novels, but I guess I missed The Third Man, so I'll add it to my reading list.
Ooh, more books to be read! Thank you. To my shame, not read any of these, but I've taken some notes. I've never been huge on thrillers, which is odd because I love thriller films. Perhaps I should give some a go. If you had to suggest just one from this list, which would it be?
Related/unrelated: I just listened to the Masterclass by Dan Brown (friend gifted me a sub, so I've been working my way through all the authors on there). I don't think he falls into the genre of thrillers for literary fiction lovers (correct me if I'm wrong) because his prose is what I have heard referred to as "American transparent", but I did find his discussions and thoughts on thrillers as a genre interesting. He knows how to plot and lay suspense etc, and he speaks well and it's easy listening, much like his writing is easy reading, I suppose. Anyway, just thought I'd mention it.
Thanks for the mention, Kate! So glad you enjoyed the Spark book; it is quite a disturbing and original read, I think.
I have to confess that I am not a huge thriller reader, mostly because I read a lot before bed and I find I get too stressed by them!! But an unusual book I did enjoy was 'The Body Lies' by Jo Baker. It wouldn't necessarily fall into the thriller genre qs such, but does have a mystery at the centre of it and would come under literary fiction with its use of metafiction. It is also set in a UK university and is about creative writing! So I think you might enjoy it!
So much to enjoy here as always, thanks for the recommendations. I need to read much faster! Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole series is very good if a bit gruesome. He had me in tears once, not something one expects reading crime fiction. I'm working on a piece about a Scandinavian TV series at the moment : I really love the mood of Scandinavian crime fiction and TV drama. The Third Man is a great classic movie and Orson Welles was marvellous as Harry Lime. (Strangely I've also mentioned a film of his in another article I'm putting out within the next month although it's not actually about him). So interesting to see that they still celebrate the film in Vienna! I haven't read a lot of Greene but I do love "Our Man in Havana". "The End of the Affair" was good. I was very excited by "The New York Trilogy" when I first read it years ago so I also read "Leviathan". Auster is the real deal. I should probably read them again. So many books, so little time. Good luck with your current one Kate, I've downloaded "The White Night" which looks great.
What an intriguing topic. I've binge-watched "24" three times, but generally don't read novels for adrenaline rushes. But you're showing me a thriller can have plenty of nuance and even intellectual depth.
Graham Greene is in my Top 30 novelists (although not my Top 20). Thought I'd read all his novels, but I guess I missed The Third Man, so I'll add it to my reading list.
Thanks, Kathleen. Another world-class post.
Thanks for the recommendations, Kate. An interesting read as always!
I have not read any Auster. I should!
Ooh, more books to be read! Thank you. To my shame, not read any of these, but I've taken some notes. I've never been huge on thrillers, which is odd because I love thriller films. Perhaps I should give some a go. If you had to suggest just one from this list, which would it be?
Related/unrelated: I just listened to the Masterclass by Dan Brown (friend gifted me a sub, so I've been working my way through all the authors on there). I don't think he falls into the genre of thrillers for literary fiction lovers (correct me if I'm wrong) because his prose is what I have heard referred to as "American transparent", but I did find his discussions and thoughts on thrillers as a genre interesting. He knows how to plot and lay suspense etc, and he speaks well and it's easy listening, much like his writing is easy reading, I suppose. Anyway, just thought I'd mention it.