📕 John Darnielle (2022) Devil House – is an atmospheric psychological thriller centered on true-crime writer Gage Chandler, who moves into an infamous California home to investigate an unsolved 1980s double homicide. The novel uses a multi-layered structure to explore the narrative process and the ethics behind true-crime storytelling.
📺 All Creatures Great and Small (1978) 7 seasons – In 1937, a young, newly-qualified veterinarian surgeon, James Herriot arrives in the picturesque village of Darrowby to take up his first job in the established veterinary practice of Sigfried and Tristan Farnon. But in rural Yorkshire, with few medicines available, the treatment of sick animals still seems to be rooted in the Dark Ages. This, together with the country-folk's inherent suspicion of strangers, poses problems for James Herriot in the early years of his career.
📕 Linwood Barclay (2023) The Lie Maker – follows protagonist Jack Givins, a struggling writer whose life shifts when a mysterious woman hires him to investigate a cold disappearance. As Jack digs deeper into the dark secrets of an idyllic town, he uncovers a web of deception that threatens his own safety.
📺 Upstairs Downstairs (2010) – a British period drama series that originally aired on the BBC from 2010 to 2012. It serves as a continuation of the classic 1970s television series of the same name. The revival is set in 1936 London, picking up six years after the events of the original show. It centers once again on the iconic townhouse at 165 Eaton Place, though with a brand-new set of upper-class residents and household staff. 👎👎
📕 John Banville (2025) Venetian Vespers – Set in 1899 Venice, this psychological thriller follows struggling writer Evelyn Dolman, who loses his expected inheritance after his wealthy wife is disinherited. During their gloomy honeymoon, she mysteriously vanishes following a chaotic night. Evelyn descends into a disorienting puzzle, questioning his sanity, reality, and everyone around him.
📕 Steve Berry (2005) The Third Secret – A really bad story. Crappy characters, centered around some mysterious "third secret" that women can be priests, priests can marry, homosexuality is OK, and women can decide if they have abortions, all revealed 91% into the book. This "secret" is conveyed through appearances of "The Virgin" Mary. 12+ hours of total crap audio. 👎👎
📺 Upstairs, Downstairs (1974) – This Emmy Award-winning British drama series tells the story of the wealthy, aristocratic Bellamys and their loyal and lively servants. 👍
📕 Joseph Finder (2025) The Oligarch's Daughter – Former Wall Street manager Paul Brightman hides under an assumed name after spying on his Russian oligarch father-in-law, Arkady Galkin. When assassins discover his location, Paul flees into the New Hampshire wilderness, using survival skills to evade federal agents and Russian operatives while uncovering a massive government conspiracy. – 👎 Kind of a tinfoil hat book. Main character is an idiot. Thinks he's smart, but marries a Russian Oligarch's daughter, and thinks things will go smoothly. He just does one stupid thing after another.
📕 Chris Bohjalian (2020) The Red Lotus: A Novel – follows Alexis, an emergency room doctor whose boyfriend Austin vanishes and turns up dead during a cycling vacation in Vietnam. Her investigation uncovers that Austin was entangled in a deadly corporate conspiracy involving bioengineering, weaponized pathogens, and a catastrophic global pandemic plot. – 👎 The basic line of the story involves the attempt to introduce a plague into humanity via rats, which reproduce fast, and spread disease well. But the girl friend character Alexis Remnick of the initial murdered victim is so annoying, self absorbed, and narcissistic that the story is almost unbearable to tolerate.
📕 Martin Seay (2016) The Mirror Thief – follows three men across different centuries connected by the legendary Venetian mirror industry. Each protagonist chases dangerous obsessions involving secrets, illusion, and mirrors. The plot loops through renaissance Italy, a 1950s California beachfront resort, and a modern casino city, ultimately revealing how their fates are mysteriously intertwined. 👎 Gave up after a few chapters.