Having trouble finding something to read? Check out the best fiction books readers are crazy about.
61 Hours by Lee Child
This book was released on May 18, 2010and is the fourteenth book in the Jack Reacher series. Jack is a former U.S. Army Military Police Major. Now, he is a drifter who wears clothes for 2 or 3 days and discards them. He lives off his army pension. Child’s books are usually about Jack getting into tight situations. In 61 Hours, Jack ends up in Bolton, South Dakota after his bus skids off the road and crashes. A Mexican drug cartel opened a methamphetamine lab outside of Bolton at an abandoned military facility. Bolton police ask Jack Reacher for help.
61 Hours made the top ten because of Lee Child’s ability to create the most intense situations for a dirty drifter. This book is not an ordinary thriller or mystery about a cop or private detective. The star of the book is an original no body that becomes a hero outside of the U.S. Army.
Heart of the Matter by Emily Griffin
Published on May 11, 2010, Heart of the Matter is about a pediatric plastic surgeon named Nick Russo who develops feelings for his patient’s mother. The only problem is that Nick is married. Sexual tension plagues Nick’s libido.
Heart of the Matter makes the list because Griffin breaks the usual romance novel theme of two single people. Readers get bored with the same story with different characters routine. Griffin is smart to spice up her current book with extra conflict.
Storm Prey by John Sanford
The current novel by Pulitzer Prize winner and best selling novelist John Sanford was published on May 18, 2010. The beloved protagonist Lucas Davenport returns to investigate a pharmaceutical robbery gone wrong. The stakes are raised for Davenport on this case because Weather Karkinnen, his wife, is the only possible witness to the crime…and the criminals know it.
Storm Prey made the list because of the personal involvement of Davenport’s wife. A personal turn for the protagonist always intensifies a plot.
Lover Mine by J.R. Ward
Lover Mine was published on April 27, 2010 and is the eighth book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. Vampire John Matthew promises to free his mate, Xhexania, from Lash, a coke addict who’s transforming into a nontemporal entity. John succeeds in his quest and Xhexania joins the battle against the Omega.
Although this book has complicated subplots an attentive reader will enjoy it. The reason this book is listed in the top 10 is because of the book’s characters. Vampires in fictional stories are hot right now.
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephanie Meyer
This is an Eclipse novella, which is part of the Twilight Saga that will be published on June 5, 2010. This book is simply about Bree Tanner, the character who was introduced in Eclipse. Meyers tells the story of Bree and the newborn army as they prepare to close in on Bella and the Cullens.
The reason this book made the top 10 list is because of Stephanie Meyer’s success as a vampire author. Entertainment Weekly claims Meyer is the world’s most popular vampire writer since Anne Rice. Stephanie Meyer’s first book, Twilight, debuted on The New York Times bestseller. Twilight also received the Best Book of the Year award from Publishers Weekly. Meyer’s has proved she is not a one hit wonder because the sequels to Twilight are just as popular as the first book. How many authors get on the New York Times bestsellers list for their first book? Not many, Stephanie Meyer deserves props and this honorable mention.
Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer by John Grisham
Theodore Boone lives in a small city called Strattenburg. He’s thirteen years old and dreams about being a great trial lawyer. Theo is off to a good start because he already knows every judge, policemen, court clerks, and a lot about the law. However, Theodore finds himself in a court much sooner than expected. He drops in the middle of a large murder trail, which the cold-blooded killer may go free. Theo is the only one who can make sure justice is served.
John Grisham’s novels about lawyers, court trials, and judges are infamous, but Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer made the list because of the new spin of a kid being the key to a murder trial. This book will release on May 25, 2010.
Murder at Avedon Hill by P.G. Holyfield
Published on May 7, 2010, Murder at Avedon Hill is a murder fantasy novel. Conflict between religious faith and arcane magic has reached a breaking point. Gretta Plat, mistress of Avedon Manor, has been murdered. Almost everyone in town is a suspect. Aarronic Advisor, scholar of prophecy, is determined to find out who killed Gretta despite the roadblocks that are ahead of him.
This book made the top 10 list because of the clever incorporation of fantasy and murder mystery. The book is also fresh. Readers who are bored with vampires, the usual romance, and law-based thrillers will find this novel to be a good change of pace.
Relentless by Dean Koontz
Best selling author Cullen Cubby Greenwich is infuriated when Shearman Waxx, a premier literary critic, tears his work to shreds. Still, Cullen refuses to let one bad review ruin his outlook on his career until an encounter with Waxx and his six year old son at a restaurant. This one innocent encounter leads to Cullen’s house being blown up. Unfortunately for Cullen the harassment doesn’t stop there. Apparently, Waxx can give criticism, but he can’t take it.
This book made the top 10 because of the plot. This book is a nice get away for professional authors. It is centered on the profession that writers love. It is unusual for a book critic to go psycho on a writer who he smashed in a review. The paperback edition of Relentless released on April 27, 2010.
Unzipped by Noire
Paperback edition published in March 2010, Unzipped is an urban adult erotica story about two twin sisters who fall hard for the glamour and glitter of street life. Their father, ex-gangsta Irish Baines, doesn’t notice because he is busy rehabilitating young thugs. Fortunately, Pearl is able to let go of the street life and graduate at the top of her class. Now, she’s become an FBI agent and plans to get far away from Harlem. However, fate is cruel and the streets always get their due. On a night that should have been the happiest of her life, Pearl’s family perishes in a fire. Her course is clear…get the bastard who killed her family.
Adult urban fiction is a great change of pace. That’s how it made the top 10. Urban fiction opens a window on other cultures. These books are colorful, intense, and exciting when referring to sex and crime.
The Shadow of Your Smile by Mary Higgins Clark
Dead nun, Sister Catherine, becomes a candidate for sainthood. Monica Farrell, Manhattan pediatrician, becomes a target of people who don’t want her to inherit her grandfather Alex’s, fortune. Alex Gannon had a child by Sister Catherine before she joined the church. The child, who was given up for adoption is Monica’s father.
The reason this book made the top ten is because of Clark’s skill of mixing spiritual questions with dirty deeds. The plot reveals that greedy heirs and associates, who will do anything to keep their criminal behavior a secret, have siphoned off Gannon Foundation funds. The Shadow of Your Smile was published on April 13, 2010.
