recommended reading: bad luck and trouble

margarita and i have coined a term for the urban fantasy mixed genre novels that we love and that we write in. they are known as Our Kind of Books. however, the urban fantasy genre is pretty saturated right now, and frankly, the content has become diluted. so if i waited for a great or even good Our Kind of Book to read, i would be reading about 6 books a year. as a result, i'd like to introduce a new genre: My Kind of Book. My Kind of Book includes Our Kind of Books, but the category also extends to thrillers, mysteries (hard-boiled and otherwise), romances (if decent, which is rare), and horror.

lee child has been writing My Kind of Book for a long time now. i read his first book, killing floor, about 8 or 9 years ago. i was immediately hooked. child's main character, jack reacher, is a former military policeman who wanders the united states, aimless, accumulating experiences of the country that he never had as a military brat and military cop living everywhere in the world but the good ole u.s.a. he is a true bad ass, and the way he is written makes him one of the best characters i have ever chanced upon, in any genre.

child's latest offering is titled bad luck and trouble. and let me tell you, it was neither bad luck nor trouble that had me reserving this title as soon as i heard it was on its way. sigh. the book is so good that i considered smoking a cigarette after, and i don't smoke. one of the members of reacher's old special investigations unit is found tortured and killed, so the remaining members of the team get together to hunt down the murderer(s?) because you do not mess with special investigations (that's their motto, not mine). though i have loved lee child since i was introduced to him, i find that i appreciate his writing even more now that i'm writing a novel. it's like a deeper, more mature love. ;) there is not one, NOT ONE, word or phrase that doesn't advance the plot or reveal character. reacher is about as proactive as it gets, yet he has to react to crazy shit happening to him or around him. the characters' actions are totally believable, and their actions are all you need to tell you who they are and what they are about. i think i've got to go buy the reacher novels that i was too poor to purchase during my immigrant years (i read them from the library instead, imagine that) so that i can read one every once in a while to remind myself of what great pacing, characterization and action look like. sigh. so dreamy. My Kind of Book.