Darkly Dreaming Dexter – Jeff Lindsay

I just finished reading the first book in the Dexter series by Jeff Lindsay.  I have been dying to read this book ever since I became hooked on the tv series.  I am pleased to say it did not let me down.  The characters were nicely fleshed out, the story developed gracefully and I love psycho killer Dexter just as much in the book as I do on the show.  It was a great pleasure to pick up the book and feel like I was meeting old friends because the characters and their actions were so familiar.

The other great thing about this book is it checks off another one on the Killer Thriller Challenge and I didn’t even realize it was on the list until I looked it over the not that long ago.  I can’t wait to read the next one!!! Luckily, it is sitting on the shelf, just begging to be cracked open.

This book is part of my personal library.

Update on the Killer Thriller Reading Challenge

I have now read book 7 and 8 on the list. They are:  And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie and The Shining by Stephen King.  I can’t really say I took to either of them.  The Agatha Christie book was just not for me, and the end of it was so lame, and far-fetched I couldn’t believe anyone actually goes out of their way to read her  books.  At least I can say I have read it and add it to my list.

The Shining, which I was thoroughly expecting to be engrossed in really did not grab my attention.  It was a great book.  Probably Stephen Kings best, certainly a melding of what he does best – horror and psychological thriller.  Considering that I once was a die-hard King fan I was very surprised not be a big fan of this one.  I just wasn’t and I was amazed at how dated it was.  I know all writers are of their time and have to use their current time and place as a reference point but this book just felt past its prime.

I do remember that I loved the movie, I may have to watch it again.

I am about to start reading Truman Capote’s In Cold  Blood.  This one I have read before and it is a chilling account of a true story.  I think this one will definitely be worth rereading.

Both books were borrowed from the library.

The Hound of the Baskervilles – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Hound of the Baskervilles is number 10 on NPR’s 100 Best Killer Thrillers list.  What I want to know is why?  I hated it!  I was bored and uninterested the whole way through, thank goodness it is a really, really short book.  Even though it is less than 200 pages, and I thoroughly expected to finish it in a day, it took me nearly 3.  I could not stay with it, in fact I almost put it down and just skipped it completely.  In all the years that I have been reading with abandon I have never been interested in reading a Sherlock Holmes mystery.  And, no, it is not because it is a classic, I have read plenty of classics and have loved many of them.  It was just thoroughly bland.  I know there must be many people who would not agree with me , this is indicated by its place on the list.  Oh, well, I can say I have read it, and now I know I will never read another.

I am now on my 3rd from the list and hope to write about that one here soon too.

Book borrowed from the library.

The Killer Thriller Reading Challenge

A friend of mine recently contacted me to say she had found this great reading list on the NPR website.  It is the Top 100 Killer Thrillers.  She challenged me to a reading race and how could I say no?  I have read about 30 of them and she has only read about 5.  We have agreed to reread any we have already read with the exception of anything by Dan Brown for me and Pet Sematary for her.

Since we will both be taking most of these books out of our respective libraries we will not be reading in any particular order.

The entire reading list is below: (the strike throughs show my progess)

• 1. The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris Finish 08/31/10
• 2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
• 3 Kiss the Girls, by James Patterson

• 4. The Bourne Identity, by Robert Ludlum
• 5.In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote
• 6. The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown
• 7. The Shining, by Stephen King
• 8. And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie
• 9. The Hunt tor Red October, by Tom Clancy
• 10. The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Fin 08/02/10
• 11.Dracula, by Bram Stoker
• 12. The Stand, by Stephen King
• 13. The Bone Collector, by Jeffery Deaver
• 14. Jurassic Park, by Michael Crichton
• 15. Angels & Demons, by Dan Brown
• 16. A Time to Kill, by John Grisham
• 17. The Andromeda Strain, by Michael Crichton
• 18. Mystic River, by Dennis Lehane
• 19. The Day of the Jackal, by Frederick Forsyth
• 20. Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier
• 21. Eye of the Needle, by Ken Follett
• 22. It, by Stephen King
• 23. The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas
• 24. The Girl Who Played with Fire, by Stieg Larsson
• 25. Jaws, by Peter Benchley
• 26. The Alienist, by Caleb Carr
• 27. Red Dragon, by Thomas Harris
• 28. Presumed Innocent, by Scott Turow
• 29. The Maltese Falcon, by Dashiell Hammett
• 30. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, by Stieg Larsson 
• 31. No Country For Old Men, by Cormac McCarthy
• 32. Gone Baby Gone, by Dennis Lehane
• 33. Gorky Park, by Martin Cruz Smith
• 34. Rosemary’s Baby, by Ira Levin
• 35. Subterranean, by James Rollins
• 36. Clear and Present Danger, by Tom Clancy
• 37. Salem’s Lot, by Stephen King
• 38. Shutter Island, by Dennis Lehane
• 39. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, by John Le Carre
• 40. The Poet, by Michael Connelly
• 41. The Boys from Brazil, by Ira Levin
• 42. Cape Fear, by John MacDonald

• 43. The Bride Collector, by Ted Dekker
• 44. Pet Sematary, by Stephen King
• 45. Dead Zone, by Stephen King
• 46. The Manchurian Candidate, by Richard Condon
• 47. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, by John Le Carre
• 48. The Talented Mr. Ripley, by Patricia Highsmith
• 49. Tell No One, by Harlan Coben
• 50. Consent to Kill, by Vince Flynn
• 51. The 39 Steps, by John Buchan
• 52. Blowback, by Brad Thor
• 53. The Children of Men, by P.D. James
• 54. 61 Hours, by Lee Child
• 55. Marathon Man, by William Goldman
• 56. The Woman in White, by Wilkie Collins
• 57. 206 Bones, by Kathy Reichs
• 58. Psycho, by Robert Bloch
• 59. The Killing Floor, by Lee Child
• 60. Rules of Prey, by John Sandford 
• 61. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
• 62. In the Woods, by Tana French
• 63. Shogun, by James Clavell
• 64. The Relic, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
• 65. Intensity, by Dean Koontz
• 66. Casino Royale, by Ian Fleming
• 67. Metzger’s Dog, by Thomas Perry
• 68. Timeline, by Michael Crichton
• 69. Contact, by Carl Sagan
• 70. What the Dead Know, by Laura Lippman
• 71. The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
• 72. The Cabinet of Curiosities, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
• 73. Charm School, by Nelson DeMille
• 74. Feed, by Mira Grant
• 75. Gone Tomorrow, by Lee Child
• 76. Darkly Dreaming Dexter, by Jeff Lindsay
• 77. The Secret History, by Donna Tartt
• 78. The First Deadly Sin, by Lawrence Sanders
• 79. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
• 80. The Brotherhood of the Rose, by David Morrell
• 81. Primal Fear, by William Diehl
• 82. The Templar Legacy, by Steve Berry
• 82. The Hard Way, by Lee Child [tie]
• 84. The Last of the Mohicans, by James Fenimore Cooper
• 85. Six Days of the Condor, by James Grady
• 86. Fail-Safe, by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler
• 87. Strangers on a Train, by Patricia Highsmith
• 88. The Eight, by Katherine Neville
• 89. The Lost Symbol, by Dan Brown
• 90. Goldfinger, by Ian Fleming
• 91. Bangkok 8, by John Burdett
• 92. The Kill Artist, by Daniel Silva
• 93. Hardball, by Sara Paretsky
• 94. The Club Dumas, by Arturo Perez-Reverte
• 95. The Deep Blue Good-by, by John MacDonald
• 96. The Monkey’s Raincoat, by Robert Crais
• 96. Berlin Game, by Len Deighton [tie]
• 98. A Simple Plan, by Scott Smith
• 99. Child 44, by Tom Rob Smith
• 100. Heartsick, by Chelsea Cain