Updating with:
#85 Stephen Booth - Blind To The Bones
SB is becoming an exception to my general dislike of British thrillers. I still loathe the character of Diane Fry, but love Ben Cooper. Although in this one, Diane did elicit some sympathy. Perhaps she's loosening up a little.
#86 Dean Koontz - Velocity
#87 Jim Brown - Black Valley
#88 Richard Laymon - One Rainy Night
It's been way too long since I've read a pure horror novel and these 3 were darn good examples of the genre. I enjoyed all of them. ORN was firmly in the territory of James Herbert (The Fog, The Dark) so had few pretensions to depth, but fun all the same and with above average characterisations for that sub genre.
#89 Richard Montinari - Broken Angels
I loved this one. A genuinely original concept for the serial killer - the author brought off something of a coup by making him both evil and chilling and yet also something of a pathetic and sympathetic character. I'll be looking out for more from RM.
And the duds in this batch:
#90 Various - Tales From The Borderlands
This promised to be a horror anthology, but I found the stories to be just pretentious and boring. Even the contribution from Stephen King lost me within two pages. And, boy, do the editing team love themselves! :rolleyes:
#91 Ethan Black - The Broken Hearts Club
Not sure why this didn't click with me - the premise seemed interesting enough. But the writing style just didn't engage me at all.
#92 Nora Roberts - Birthright
NR is one of those authors whose huge success eludes me. I have zero understanding of why she sells books. I thought I'd give it another go, but I didn't enjoy this one any more than any of her others, so I'll be leaving her books on the shelf in future.
James Patterson:
#93 Violets Are Blue
#94 Four Blind Mice
#95 The Big Bad Wolf
Well, this did seem to confirm my theory.
All of these were sole-authored by JP and all of them were good for killing the odd hour or so, but instantly forgettable thereafter. Admittedly, not helped by the fact that I've never really liked his Alex Cross character. Also, they do tend to be a tad repetitious. It's astonishing how many serial killers take pot shots at Alex's home and family...and miss every time! Who'd have thought so many psychopaths could be such lousy shots?
And ooops, not a dud, but got into that pile by mistake. I'll add it in here, because I'd have to adjust all those numbers if I tried to fit it in above.
#96 Paul Adam - Unholy Trinity
I really enjoyed this thriller. Perhaps because it had some 'Da Vinci Code' elements or the Italian locations, but the plot was intriguing and the central characters likeable.
LabRat
