nomadreader

Livia Lone, the first in a series featuring the titular character, was my favorite mystery of 2017 . I've been looking forward to The Night Trade  since I finished Livia Lone . I loved Livia Lone  so much that I also wanted to read Eisler's other books, and I read the first in his John Rain series, A Clean Kill in Tokyo , earlier this month. I knew from the blurb that Livia returns to Thaiand in this book, and I managed to wait until I was in Thailand to read it. The Night Trade  picks up shortly after Livia Lone , and, as should be expected, there are tons of spoilers from the first book. It's clear this series is not one that can be read out of order. Livia Lone is a critical foundation for both the characters and story of Livia. Eisler recaps the highlights well in The Night Trade  in case you've forgotten, but there's no substitute for reading the book itself. What I wansn't expecting in The Night Trade  was Dox, a character from the Rain books. I didn...

Dear Barry Eisler, Last year I read Livia Lone , the first in your new series about the badass titular character. It was my favorite mystery of 2017 . I knew I wanted to start the rest of your backlist from the beginning, and I couldn't resist waiting to read your first mystery, renamed A Clean Kill in Tokyo , while I traveled through Tokyo earlier this month, as I love to read books set where I'm traveling. I started A Clean Kill in Tokyo  around 4:30 in the morning in Des Moines. I expected it would keep me company as I flew first to Chicago, then Tokyo, and finally to my final destination of Bangkok, where, incidentally, Livia Lone spent some time. From the opening scenes (and the opening kill) of A Clean Kill in Tokyo , I knew I was in for a thrilling read. This book is relentless. As I read, I was impressed at how you balanced the pacing, character development, and setting. Tokyo (and to a large extent, Japan as a whole), is a character in this novel. As I read, I le...

In a year when I often wanted to tune out reality and current events, I found myself reading a lot of mysteries and thrillers. Although arguably depressing in their own right, mysteries have a way of transporting me when I read. Even when I end up rating a book 4 stars or less, I often quite enjoy the time I spend reading the book, even moreso than some books that end awesomely but are somewhat slow to get through. I find when I read mysteries, I find more minutes in the day to read. As I made this list and ranked it, I realized rankings these books by my ratings (4, 4.5, or 5 stars) wasn't the right way to go. Ratings are highly subjective and imperfect, but I recommend all of these, for a variety of reasons. Here are my seven favorites,with a three-way tie for first place!) (As always, clicking the book covers will take you to Amazon.) 7. Final Girls  by Riley Sager The premise of this one is bleak but fascinating. It centers on Quincy Carpenter, a young woman who ten years ...