According the number of feathers I found in my yard Sunday, a neighborhood cat stalked, caught and killed what appeared to be a seagull. Its feathers looked like a gull and I’m close to Matanzas Bay and although not an expert on birds, I can surely identify a gull’s feathers.
As I was inspecting the ‘crime scene’ I looked at my feet and thought, “oh my God, I’m contaminating the scene of the crime!” I don’t think I’ll ever look at such scenes the same after reading about Lincoln Rhyme’s keen eye for evidence even though he’s a quadriplegic. His reluctant ‘sidekick’ is a beautiful patrolwoman, soon to be moved to public affairs. Simply not beautiful but model (which she was) gorgeous.
My friend Sandy is passing Jeffery Deaver books to me regularly saying you’ve got to read him and I thought I had but no, this is my first Deaver but certainly not my last.
Deaver’s storyline was exceptional and his characters, including Rhyme, were top notch. I felt as though I knew them, knew them well.
Although I’m not one to try to figure out the ‘who dun it’ I was about three quarters though, and I’m thinking the guy has to be a character already introduced. Came up with a zero guess though.
It would be my guess that Deaver read Sherlock Holmes over and over because Rhyme’s sleuthing abilities reminds me of Holmes, with Holmes flat on his back, of course.
Some of Deaver’s favorite writers/poets which I found on his Web site are: J.R.R. Tolkien, Mark Helprin, Saul Bellow, John Updike, Ian Fleming, Gabriel Marquez, John LeCarre, Thomas Harris, Rober Heinlein, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle(no surprise), John Cheever, John Fowles, Robert Frost, Kenneth Robeson, Harper Lee, Truman Capote and Theodore White. Quite a list of authors but few surprises.
Deaver has been nominated for seven Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America, an Anthony Award and a Gumshoe Award. I tend towards reading Edgar Award nominees and winners. That list just seems to be getting longer because the bar seems to be setting higher and higher each year. Writers are getting better and better with more intricate storylines and well-drawn characters which are a must for readers. (I must add that for as many good/great writers, there are an equal number of not so good writing, due in part, to self publishing of ebooks, I believe.)
And surprise, folks, I have another protagonist to put on my list of series I’m reading, Detective (retired) Lincoln Rhyme and gratefully, there are only six or so. I say greatfully because I’m running quite a few series and characters I’m reading, checking them off one by one, slowly but surely. I've read some more than others. For instance I can only read Vachss infrequently because of the subject and his writing which is very vivid and strong with a sensative subject.
Here’s my updated latest list:
• Raymond Chandler (Philip Marlowe),
• Michael Connelly (Harry Bosch)
• Robert B. Parker (Spenser)
• Ross Macdonald (Lew Archer)
• John Lescroart (Dismas Hardy)
• John Sandford (Virgil Flowers/Lucas Davenport)
• Ed McBain (Matthew Hope)
• Lawrence Block (Matthew Scudder)
• Andrew Vachss (Burke)
• Sara Parasky (Victoria Iphigenia "V. I. or Vic" Warshawski)
• Jeffery Deaver (Lincoln Rhyme)
I need to do myself a favorite and just stop adding authors/protags to the list and finish up the ones I’ve already started. Anyone have any ideas on how I should go about doing that, let me know. Or I could just stop it and determine that I'm reading a series to the end. I love anticipating the reading of any one of these guys, the characters; no the guys are real to me!