Today’s Post by Joe Farace
“The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.” – Mark Twain
My wife doesn’t read much fiction; she prefers non-fiction, especially self-help books. An exception to this preference was when she was recovering from surgery a year ago and read some of Elin Hilderbrand ‘s recent books. During her recuperation, she read several of them but when I gave her a hardback copy of Ms. Hilderbrand’s latest novel for her birthday last Fall, it sits, unloved and unopened on the coffee table in our living room. Yet she has a knack at finding authors for me that I really like. Last year, she introduced me to the writing of William Kent Krueger and gave me a signed copy of of his book Spirit Crossing and since then I’ve been avidly devouring his early novels. The same is true for Walter Mosley. She gave me a copy of his book
Books about Fathers
For some reason—coincidence, I guess—the last two mystery books, my preferred genre, that I read were about a detective searching for his or a client’s father. In each case, what they discover and uncover is a surprise.
Let’s start with . Let me say right now, this is the best mystery novel, maybe best book, I’ve read all year. OK, I’ve only read ten books so far in 2025 but this is easily one of the best books I’ve read in the last 14 months.
is one of those rare authors who combine inventive and engaging story telling with masterful writing skills that together make this classic “missing person” mystery novel soar above it’s genre. Joe “King” Oliver is ‘s protagonist and he’s asked by his 90-year old grandmother, who raised him while his father was in prison, to find his father so she can see him before she undergoes serious surgery. You see, King’s daddy had been released from prison for a while but he was in hiding. Where was he? Maybe a long string of friends, one of whom betrayed him, sending an innocent main to prison, along an assortment of people including some of the most interesting women you’ll find in mystery fiction, know where he’s hiding. What happens when King does find his daddy is both poignant and moving and it’s a rare novel that chokes me up—movies do it to me all the time—but books seldom do. Archer Mayor’s The Ragman’s Memory is the only other book that affected me this way and the ending of Stephen King’s
While I typically don’t try to figure out who the killer is in a whodunit—in this case it’s a search for who was the betrayer that sent Dad to the slammer—i figured it out well before the denouement. That’s because I really didn’t care who the bad guy was, I just enjoyed hanging out with King Oliver and all of the other people—good and bad—in his orbit. I think you will too. Highly recommended.
The Big Empty
by Robert Crais, which should win an award for the best author’s photo on a dust jacket for this or any other year and proves you can tell a book by its cover. Elvis Cole and his sidekick, the enigmatic, Joe Pike appear in a story that’s both contemporary and filled with the two of them facing moral and ethical challenges, making this more complex than the seemingly Chandler-eque title would seem to indicate. Cole is hired by an Internet influencer, known for baking muffins, to find her father who had gone missing for ten years. He was. by all appearances, a hardworking HVAC technician and beloved parent who disappeared after finishing his last service call for the day.
As Cole begins investigating, a second or maybe third story line appears with the chapter heading “Kill Car” that pops up from time-to-time, sometimes I even forgot about until it reappeared. Cole and later the Frank Castle-like Pike are dogged in finding out what happened to Daddy, all the while being discouraged to uncover the truth by many people, including the Influencer’s own mother. Cole keeps pulling at the threads of this pursuit until there are some unforeseen occurrences that befall him, which is when Pike shows up to add his lethal assistance.
This is a fascinatingly, complex story where you feel you are with Cole as he struggles to make the right choice and how much of the truth he gets to tell his client. On top of this dilemma, he has to deal with the “Kill Car” as he comes face-to-face with how his decision affects his well being as well. This is a fascinating read and the story elevates the private eye genre well beyond what you might have read before, Dashiell Hammett excepted of course. Hammett only published five novels and after you’ve read, or maybe re-read, them and are looking for new authors to explore, give The Big Empty a try. I promise you a memorable reading experience.