Ken Oder

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Ken Oder

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Born
The United States
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Member Since
August 2013

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Ken Oder grew up in White Hall, Virginia, at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains. He received undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Virginia and moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1975 to join the law firm of Latham & Watkins. He practiced law there until 1993, when he left the firm to become an executive at Safeway, Inc. He retired from Safeway in 2003. He and his wife, Cindy, have three children and two grandchildren, and live in California.

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Ken Oder This may seem arrogant, but I don't mean it to be. I'd like to go to Whippoorwill Hollow, the fictional setting in rural Virginia in the late 1960's o…moreThis may seem arrogant, but I don't mean it to be. I'd like to go to Whippoorwill Hollow, the fictional setting in rural Virginia in the late 1960's of my novels, The Closing and Old Wounds to the Heart. In writing these stories, the characters came alive for me. They're like old friends. I think about them often. Living with them again would be a great gift. (less)
Ken Oder There are two things. There's nothing quite like the moment when you've finished a jag of writing and you know you've brought it to the highest level …moreThere are two things. There's nothing quite like the moment when you've finished a jag of writing and you know you've brought it to the highest level of quality you can attain and it feels good and right and artful. Discussing your story with someone who read it and really enjoyed it is also a pretty amazing thrill, especially when they tell you something they saw in the story that you never thought of when you wrote it. The story has taken on a life of its own then, and its readers own it as much as you do. (less)
Average rating: 4.21 · 3,513 ratings · 309 reviews · 11 distinct worksSimilar authors
The Closing (Whippoorwill H...

4.13 avg rating — 1,602 ratings — published 2014 — 6 editions
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The Judas Murders (Whippoor...

4.30 avg rating — 1,375 ratings4 editions
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Old Wounds to the Heart (Wh...

4.16 avg rating — 355 ratings — published 2015 — 3 editions
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Keeping the Promise

4.37 avg rating — 102 ratings2 editions
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The Princess of Sugar Valley

4.39 avg rating — 28 ratings2 editions
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The Old Bull

it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2016
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Alegato final

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Cats

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The Closing

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O Encerramento

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More books by Ken Oder…

Lily’s Room in the Cancer Hotel

My trainer and good friend Janet called me one afternoon in July. “Marino says Lily is bleeding.” Her voice was tight, strained. “He says there’s a lot of blood.” Lily is a gray Azteca mare. Marino is the man who feeds my horses and mucks out the stalls.

“I’ll go over there now,” I said.

“Call me when you get there. I’ll come in if it’s as bad as he says.”

When I arrived at the barn, Lily stood at he

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Published on October 17, 2025 05:48
The Closing Old Wounds to the Heart The Judas Murders
(3 books)
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The Elements
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The Making of the...
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Resurrection
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The Elements by John Boyne
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The Making of the American Mind by Matthew Spalding
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The River Is Waiting by Wally Lamb
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This is simultaneously among the most difficult and rewarding reads I've encountered. Corby Ledbetter unintentionally commits an horrendous crime in Chapter 1. What he did was so repulsive and depressing that I set the book aside after that chapter, ...more
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What She Saw by Mary Burton
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As a mystery novel, this book fails. The protagonist, an investigative reporter, doesn't seek out witnesses and search for clues in a logical fashion. Her questions are superficial and leave major issues unaddressed. As a result, suspense doesn't bui ...more
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Joe Country by Mick Herron
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Herron is a master at spinning the complicated, gripping spy novel with his unique antihero, Jackson Lamb, but in this one I didn't appreciate the constant shifting of perspectives across too many characters as the excitement developed. It's a needle ...more
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Quotes by Ken Oder  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“unjust cause.”
Ken Oder, The Closing

“Herring is a good man.”
Ken Oder, The Closing

“The same hideous cat-piss-scented, lime-green carpet that polluted the lobby graced the floor.”
Ken Oder, The Judas Murders

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“Give me books, French wine, fruit, fine weather and a little music played out of doors by somebody I do not know.”
John Keats

“His dad had told him many times that the definition of a real man is one who cries without shame, reads poetry with his heart, feels opera in his soul, and does what’s necessary to defend a woman.”
Delia Owens, Where the Crawdads Sing

“There'll be times when the only refuge is books. Then you'll read as if you meant it, as if your life depended on it.”
Ken Bruen, The Killing of the Tinkers

“To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life.”
W. Somerset Maugham, Books and You

“The old forests are going and once they are gone we will have to wait a thousand years or more to see their like. Though nothing will be allowed such a generous measure of time to grow.”
Annie Proulx, Barkskins

2789 Vroman's Bookstore — 174 members — last activity May 04, 2018 10:49AM
Vroman's Bookstore is the innovative force behind independent bookselling since 1894. As the oldest & largest independent bookstore in Southern Califo ...more
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This groups is designed for Southern California Goodreads members to get information about local events such as Book Swaps.
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message 1: by Dale (last edited Jul 19, 2014 06:34PM)

Dale Thele Ken, thank you for accepting my friend request.
I've downloaded and look forward to reading The Closing.
Wishing you the very best!


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