King Recommendation

Have you ever found yourself in between King novels and needed something to read? I have found myself there often. I then usually find a book with a recommendation by Mr. King on the front or back or somewhere on the book. I end up buying it, because if my favorite author likes it, chances are that I will too. I haven't been disappointed yet!

Distraught by a failing marriage, Francie Cullingwood enters into a secret affair with charismatic radio psychologist Ned Demarco. But what seems like a refuge takes a decidedly dark turn. For when the liaison is discovered, a seething, enraged genius begins to construct the perfect, flawless murder, manipulating Francie, her lover, and her best friend like chess pieces in a lethal game. But even the most brilliant mind can make mistakes. And soon the intricate plan is spinning wildly out of control--in shocking, fatal directions. . . .

An unfaithful wife. A cheating lover. A loyal friend. A jealous husband. In this stunning thriller, four lives hang in precarious balance--as a cunning killer prepares their roles in A Perfect Crime.

Years later, posing as scholarly Dr. Fell, curator of a grand family's palazzo, Hannibal lives the good life in Florence, playing lovely tunes by serial killer/composer Henry VIII and killing hardly anyone himself. Clarice is unluckier: in the novel's action-film-like opening scene, she survives an FBI shootout gone wrong, and her nemesis, Paul Krendler, makes her the fall guy. Clarice is suspended, so, unfortunately, the first cop who stumbles on Hannibal is an Italian named Pazzi, who takes after his ancestors, greedy betrayers depicted in Dante's Inferno.

Pazzi is on the take from a character as scary as Hannibal: Mason Verger. When Verger was a young man busted for raping children, his vast wealth saved him from jail. All he needed was psychotherapy--with Dr. Lecter. Thanks to the treatment, Verger is now on a respirator, paralyzed except for one crablike hand, watching his enormous, brutal moray eel swim figure eights and devour fish. His obsession is to feed Lecter to some other brutal pets.

What happens when the Italian cop gets alone with Hannibal? How does Clarice's reunion with Lecter go from macabre to worse? Suffice it to say that the plot is Harris's weirdest, but it still has his signature mastery of realistic detail. There are flaws: Hannibal's madness gets a motive, which is creepy but lessens his mystery. If you want an exact duplicate of The Silence of the Lambs's Clarice/Hannibal duel, you'll miss what's cool about this book--that Hannibal is actually upstaged at points by other monsters. And if you think it's all unprecedentedly horrible, you're right. But note that the horrors are described with exquisite taste. Harris's secret recipe for success is restraint. --Tim Appelo --

Hannibal is really not a sequel at all, but rather the third and most satisfying part of one very long and scary ride through the haunted palace of abnormal psychiatry. Is is as good as Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs? No.............It is better.

Child-psychologist Alex Delaware has received a garbled, middle-of-the-night crisis call from an ex-patient--and is about to find himself on a journey into an unforgettably brutal world of madness and murderous passion. From the author of the best-selling When the Bough Breaks.

"Jonathan Kellerman's 3rd Alex Delaware novel is also his best...as a result, a great many people who have so far not been lucky enough to meet Alex are going to make a wonderful reading discovery...Kellerman has re-invented the private-eye story, and maybe just in time...Over The Edge is a compulsive page-turner...startling...filled with insight...Charged with suspense...If you've a weak stomach, enter Alex's world carefully, but do enter-this one is simply too good to miss."

It is a color the human eye can never truly see, a slice of the spectrum imbued with the promise of invisibility. But in the dark world occupied by Jack Chambers' father, indigo will also lead to places of unknown treachery, and ultimately, to madness. When Jack Chambers receives news of his father's death, he does not feel grief. He has not seen him for fifteen years. He is surprised, however, to learn of his appointment as executor of the will -- a duty that seems simple, but turns ominous...

David Fitzgerald is a 40-year-old English teacher with the rare ability to reach at least some of his students at a poor high school in Coney Island. But one who he can't reach is Nasser Hamdy, a Palestinian boy so scarred by hate that he joins with terrorists to plant a bomb in a school bus. A combination of accident and courage turns Fitzgerald into a media hero when he keeps most of his class from boarding the bus and then risks his life to rescue a pregnant teenager who got on early. But circumstantial factors quickly turn the tide and make Fitzgerald a prime suspect in the bombing. He is savaged by the system but never officially accused.

Dr. Emma Watson and five other hand-picked astronauts are about to take part in the trip of a lifetime--studying living creatures in space. But an alien life form, found in the deepest crevices of the ocean floor, is accidentally brought aboard the shuttle Atlantis. This mutated alien life form makes the creatures in Aliens look like backyard pets.

Soon the crew are suffering severe stomach pains, violent convulsions, and eyes so bloodshot that a gallon of Murine wouldn't help. Gerritsen brilliantly describes the difficulties of treating sick people inside a space module, and how the lack of gravity affects the process of taking blood and inserting a nasal tube. Dr. Watson does her best, but her colleagues die off one by one and the people at NASA don't want to risk bringing the platform back to earth. Only Emma's husband, a doctor/astronaut himself, refuses to give up on her.

"Tess Gerritsen is an automatic must-read in my house; what Anne Rice is to vampires, Gerritsen is to the tale of medical suspense. She is even better than Palmer, better than Cook...yes, even better than Crichton. If you've never read Gerritsen, figure in the price of electricity when you buy your first novel by her...'cause baby, you are going to be up all night."

Hank Mitchell thought he lived an ordinary, ordered life. Happily expecting their first child, Hank and his wife Sarah were headed for their next modest step up the ladder, comfortably nurturing a nest egg in a suburban community near the tiny Ohio crossroads where Hank and his brother Jacob were raised.

But on one chilly afternoon, Hank, his brother, and Jacob's unsavory pal Lou, make a discovery that offers a chance for a life filled with riches beyond...

Robert Neville is the last living man on Earth . . . but he is not alone. Every man, woman, and child in the world has become a vampire, and they are all hungry for Neville's blood. Now available in an Orb Books paperback edition, this classic novel is universally regarded as one of the most frightening and influential vampire novels ever written. Keep in mind that this novel is a collection of short stories.


	Recommendations Have you ever found yourself in between King novels and needed something to read? I have found myself there often. I then usually find a book with a recommendation by Mr. King on the front or back or somewhere on the book. I end up buying it, because if my favorite author likes it, chances are that I will too. I haven't been disappointed yet! These are the books that Mr. King recommends. If you know of any others, please feel free to e-mail me with the titles. Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling A Perfect Crime by Peter Abrahams Book Description: Distraught by a failing marriage, Francie Cullingwood enters into a secret affair with charismatic radio psychologist Ned Demarco. But what seems like a refuge takes a decidedly dark turn. For when the liaison is discovered, a seething, enraged genius begins to construct the perfect, flawless murder, manipulating Francie, her lover, and her best friend like chess pieces in a lethal game. But even the most brilliant mind can make mistakes. And soon the intricate plan is spinning wildly out of control--in shocking, fatal directions. . . . An unfaithful wife. A cheating lover. A loyal friend. A jealous husband. In this stunning thriller, four lives hang in precarious balance--as a cunning killer prepares their roles in A Perfect Crime. What Stephen King says: Peter Abrahams is my favorite American suspense novelist. Hannibal by Thomas Harris Book Description: Years later, posing as scholarly Dr. Fell, curator of a grand family's palazzo, Hannibal lives the good life in Florence, playing lovely tunes by serial killer/composer Henry VIII and killing hardly anyone himself. Clarice is unluckier: in the novel's action-film-like opening scene, she survives an FBI shootout gone wrong, and her nemesis, Paul Krendler, makes her the fall guy. Clarice is suspended, so, unfortunately, the first cop who stumbles on Hannibal is an Italian named Pazzi, who takes after his ancestors, greedy betrayers depicted in Dante's Inferno. Pazzi is on the take from a character as scary as Hannibal: Mason Verger. When Verger was a young man busted for raping children, his vast wealth saved him from jail. All he needed was psychotherapy--with Dr. Lecter. Thanks to the treatment, Verger is now on a respirator, paralyzed except for one crablike hand, watching his enormous, brutal moray eel swim figure eights and devour fish. His obsession is to feed Lecter to some other brutal pets. What happens when the Italian cop gets alone with Hannibal? How does Clarice's reunion with Lecter go from macabre to worse? Suffice it to say that the plot is Harris's weirdest, but it still has his signature mastery of realistic detail. There are flaws: Hannibal's madness gets a motive, which is creepy but lessens his mystery. If you want an exact duplicate of The Silence of the Lambs's Clarice/Hannibal duel, you'll miss what's cool about this book--that Hannibal is actually upstaged at points by other monsters. And if you think it's all unprecedentedly horrible, you're right. But note that the horrors are described with exquisite taste. Harris's secret recipe for success is restraint. --Tim Appelo -- What Stephen King Says: Hannibal is really not a sequel at all, but rather the third and most satisfying part of one very long and scary ride through the haunted palace of abnormal psychiatry. Is is as good as Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs? No.............It is better. Over The Edge by Jonathan Kellerman Book Description: Child-psychologist Alex Delaware has received a garbled, middle-of-the-night crisis call from an ex-patient--and is about to find himself on a journey into an unforgettably brutal world of madness and murderous passion. From the author of the best-selling When the Bough Breaks. What Stephen King says: "Jonathan Kellerman's 3rd Alex Delaware novel is also his best...as a result, a great many people who have so far not been lucky enough to meet Alex are going to make a wonderful reading discovery...Kellerman has re-invented the private-eye story, and maybe just in time...Over The Edge is a compulsive page-turner...startling...filled with insight...Charged with suspense...If you've a weak stomach, enter Alex's world carefully, but do enter-this one is simply too good to miss." Indigo by Graham Joyce Book Description: It is a color the human eye can never truly see, a slice of the spectrum imbued with the promise of invisibility. But in the dark world occupied by Jack Chambers' father, indigo will also lead to places of unknown treachery, and ultimately, to madness. When Jack Chambers receives news of his father's death, he does not feel grief. He has not seen him for fifteen years. He is surprised, however, to learn of his appointment as executor of the will -- a duty that seems simple, but turns ominous... What Stephen King says: "Clever, engrossing, and very scary. I was up until one in the morning." Man of the Hour by Peter Blauner Book Description: David Fitzgerald is a 40-year-old English teacher with the rare ability to reach at least some of his students at a poor high school in Coney Island. But one who he can't reach is Nasser Hamdy, a Palestinian boy so scarred by hate that he joins with terrorists to plant a bomb in a school bus. A combination of accident and courage turns Fitzgerald into a media hero when he keeps most of his class from boarding the bus and then risks his life to rescue a pregnant teenager who got on early. But circumstantial factors quickly turn the tide and make Fitzgerald a prime suspect in the bombing. He is savaged by the system but never officially accused. What Stephen King says: "Remarkable...Great social fiction. I loved it and couldn't put it down." Gravity by Tess Gerritsen Book Description: Dr. Emma Watson and five other hand-picked astronauts are about to take part in the trip of a lifetime--studying living creatures in space. But an alien life form, found in the deepest crevices of the ocean floor, is accidentally brought aboard the shuttle Atlantis. This mutated alien life form makes the creatures in Aliens look like backyard pets. Soon the crew are suffering severe stomach pains, violent convulsions, and eyes so bloodshot that a gallon of Murine wouldn't help. Gerritsen brilliantly describes the difficulties of treating sick people inside a space module, and how the lack of gravity affects the process of taking blood and inserting a nasal tube. Dr. Watson does her best, but her colleagues die off one by one and the people at NASA don't want to risk bringing the platform back to earth. Only Emma's husband, a doctor/astronaut himself, refuses to give up on her. What Stephen King says: "Tess Gerritsen is an automatic must-read in my house; what Anne Rice is to vampires, Gerritsen is to the tale of medical suspense. She is even better than Palmer, better than Cook...yes, even better than Crichton. If you've never read Gerritsen, figure in the price of electricity when you buy your first novel by her...'cause baby, you are going to be up all night." A Simple Plan by Scott Smith Book Description: Sometimes good people do evil things. Hank Mitchell thought he lived an ordinary, ordered life. Happily expecting their first child, Hank and his wife Sarah were headed for their next modest step up the ladder, comfortably nurturing a nest egg in a suburban community near the tiny Ohio crossroads where Hank and his brother Jacob were raised. But on one chilly afternoon, Hank, his brother, and Jacob's unsavory pal Lou, make a discovery that offers a chance for a life filled with riches beyond... What Stephen King says: "Simply the best suspense novel of the year, better than Silence of the Lambs" ~1993 I Am Legend by Richard Matheson Book Description: Robert Neville is the last living man on Earth . . . but he is not alone. Every man, woman, and child in the world has become a vampire, and they are all hungry for Neville's blood. Now available in an Orb Books paperback edition, this classic novel is universally regarded as one of the most frightening and influential vampire novels ever written. Keep in mind that this novel is a collection of short stories. What Stephen King says: "I think the author who influenced me the most as a writer was Richard matheson. Books like I am Legend were an inspiration to me."