Books

So I haven't read much lately, which is unusual for me. I have read a few books recently that I wanted to comment about though, so here goes:

1. The Chicago Way - was a book written by Michael Harvey, who was the creator and executive producer of A&E's Cold Case Files. After eight or nine years of non-stop production of that show he decided to change gears. He had started a novel years before and decided to try to finish it. And finish it he did. It is a classic PI/noir novel, with dirty cops, dirty politicians, and a protagonist who is both flawed and noble. Despite the genre trappings, The Chicago Way turned out to be one of the best first novels that I have ever read. The story is tight, with no filler anywhere. The characters are archetypes, but they aren't one-dimensional, they talk and behave like real people. It was a great read.

2/3. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo/The Girl Who Played with Fire - were the first of a planned 10 books by Swedish writer Stieg Larsson. The books were to tell the story of a journalist named Mikael Blomkvist and a social misfit/computer hacker (what a stretch, although this one is female) Lisbeth Salander. Larsson died after he had completed the third book, leaving notes and summaries for what would come. The first book was fairly interesting. The characters were a bit cardboard, but the story elements were actually pretty interesting. After reading the first book, I was intrigued enough to dial up the second. What a piece of crap. There were actually three pages of text detailing what pieces of furniture from IKEA that Lisbeth purchased to furnish her flat. I don't usually quit reading a book prior to finishing it, but in this case I made an exception. Avoid these books if at all possible.

I do have a new book to read, it is called The Tourist, I have high hopes for it, I'll write more about it later.