August 14, 2017: Time on my hands for thrillers and mysteries!

This time three years ago, I had written the scripts for Episodes 1, 2, and 4, and was in the process of writing the script for Episode 8.

This time two years ago, I had written the scripts for “Kill Them All” and “We Were Family” and I had just started scripting “Stuff To Steal, People To Kill”.

This time last year, I had written “Being Better Is So Much Harder” and “Welcome To The Revolution” and was plotting out the back half of season 3.

This summer, I have been checking out most of Vancouver’s ice cream and gelato shops.  I have also been doing a lot of reading.  Here are my favorite mystery/thriller authors in no particular order…

1 – Deon Meyers: South Africa’s king of crime fiction writes some of the tautest, fast-paced thrillers in the genre.

Favorite book: Thirteen Hours –  An American backpacker has been killed and another is on the run for her life.  Inspector Benny Giessel is tasked with solving two parallel murder cases, and locating the whereabouts of a frightened young girl marked for death.

2 – Don Winslow: One of America’s premiere crime novelists, his work is mesmerizing, downright unputdownable.

Favorite book: The Winter of Frankie Machine – A retired hit man is drawn back into the life he left behind after surviving an attempt on his life.  Someone wants him dead – but who?  And why?

3 – Nicholas Pileggi: A successful author and screenwriter, his works include the novels Casino and Wiseguy, both of which he adapted for the big screen.

Favorite book: Wiseguy – The life story of a mobster, a brutal enforcer, murder, and family man, Henry Hill.  It would form the basis of the movie Goodfellas.

4 – Herman Koch: The rich, colorful, reprehensible characters that mark this Dutch author’s novels always make for a shocking, wholly absorbing, emotionally charged read.

Favorite book: Summer House with Swimming Pool – Dr. Marc Schlosser hides a terrible secret, his role in the death of a famous actor.  But the truth is far darker, and goes much deeper, than anyone could have imagined.

5 – Ben H. Winters: Author of The Last Policeman series, a post-apocalyptic crime series that is presently in development at NBC.

Favorite book: The Last Policeman, the first book in the aforementioned series.

6 – Ariana Franklin: Nom de plume of late British author Diana Norman.  Her Mistress of the Art of Death books are my all-time favorite historical crime series.

Favorite book: Mistress of the Art of Death – A young female medical examiner must weather sexism and anti-semitism to solve the murder of four young children, a crime that has been blamed on the local Jewish community of medieval Cambridge.

Honorable Mentions (Fantastic single titles from authors who I plan to read more of…):

The Coroner’s Lunch, by Colin Cotterill.  A mix of thriller, humor, and the supernatural, this novel, set in the 197o’s, focuses on Siri Paiboun, a 72 year old Laotian medical examiner who takes it upon himself to uncover the conspiracy surrounding the death of a government official’s wife.

The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley, by Hannah Tinti.  My favorite read of 2017 so far, this book focuses on the relationship between a spirited young girl and her well-intentioned father struggling with his criminal past.

Gotham Central, by Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka.  The stories of the lives and cases of Gotham’s finest.  A dark, gritty, more human perspective of Batman’s big city.

Ill Will, by Dan Chaon.  A psychologist is drawn to explore the work of what may be a serial killer of young college men in suburban Cleveland – but his past involvement in a horrific crime complicates his personal investigation.

Cutter and Bone, by Newton Thornburg.  A mysterious murder leads Vietnam vet Cutter and his best friend Bone journey to the Ozarks, home of the infamous Wolfe Empire.

Get Carter, by Ted Lewis.  London “fixer” Jack Carter travels to the mill town of Scunthorpe to attend his brother’s funeral.  But when he starts using his tried and true methods to get at the truth behind his brother’s death, all hell breaks loose.

Any recommendations?