When Solomon's sister is found drugged and in a coma after an online date, Solomon can't believe this was just a terrible accident. Determined to find out what happened to his sister, and with the police unwilling to help, Solomon begins to investigate on his own. He soon uncovers a rash of similar cases of women who have been found brutally murdered or assaulted after an online date. There is a predator out there working the streets of London, preying on young women. Solomon sets out to bring him to justice, putting him on a collision course with a deadly killer who is fiendishly clever and more twisted than anyone could possibly imagine...
Perfect Match by D B Thorne is published on 5 April 2018 by Corvus Books. I'm really happy to welcome the author here to Random Things today, he's talking about the books that are special to him in My Life In Books.
My Life in Books - D B Thorne
Escapism is often used in a disparaging way, for pulp fiction packed full of thrills, suspense and implausible plots. But Jim Harrison writes novels so poetic and profound, so beautifully written and full of humour, that just the reading of the words, never mind the plot (which there isn’t a lot of) takes you away to a different place. This novel is a sprawling family epic of the mid-West, but that hardly matters. I’d read Jim Harrison’s guide to flat-pack furniture, frankly, just to enjoy his unique and wonderful voice.
People often think of John le Carré as a slightly old-fashioned, oh-so-British espionage writer. Well, they’re half right. But only half. This book is half spy novel, half Bildungsroman, and full of contradictions, the main one (in my opinion) being that it is simultaneously one heck of a page-turner, and also a gobsmackingly brilliant postmodern exploration into the unreliability of both identity and narrative. Philip Roth called it ‘the best English novel since the war,’ and I reckon he’s right.
I’ve never climbed a mountain in my life and, to be honest, I don’t want to. It sounds like hard work and, after you’ve read this, bloody dangerous with it. But this account of a doomed expedition to summit Mount Everest is insanely compelling. Egos, hubris, heroes, villains, selfishness, selflessness, endurance, tragedy, it’s got the lot. I read it on a plane from Nepal. I’m scared of flying, but this time I was too engrossed to be scared. It reads like a novel (often said about non-fiction, usually a lie) and the best thing is, no matter how unreal a lot of it sounds, it actually happened.
Sometimes, you can put a bit too much plot into a book, too many twists and turns, to the point that you lose the reader. The Moonstone is a monstrous, sprawling, complex, and very, very long detective story which, however, never manages to lose the reader. Published in 1868, I don’t think it’s ever been bettered.
Probably the funniest book I’ve ever read, with the best-drawn (and funniest) central character I’ve ever encountered.
A children’s picture book in which the child is, fairly early on in the tale, eaten by a monster. Only his parents are too busy to notice. Properly subversive in a brilliantly understated way, it’s a fine example of a ‘genre’ piece which combines both mass popularity with a genuinely unique perspective. Plus it's hilarious.
Four young First World War veterans travel to the eternal night of an Arctic winter, to undertake scientific research. Cut off on a small island in unremitting blackness, they discover something that defies rational explanation. My word this book is scary, to the point that when I finished it (late at night) I got up to go to the loo in the darkness with genuine trepidation.
This is a massive novel about the bombing of Pearl Harbour and the early stages of World War II. But in truth the story and subject matter are entirely secondary to the strength of the book’s characters, who entertain, frustrate, delight and carry the reader happily through all 976 pages. Top Sergeant Milton Warden alone is one of the finest, most complex, conflicted and hilarious characters ever written, and when the book was finished I felt a genuine sense of loss that I’d no longer be able to hear his voice.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from www.davidthornecri.me) : I studied English Literature at Queen Mary's in London. Everything I was taught there was wonderful - except learning how to write academically, which, frankly, is a bit of a curse for a writer.
Then I got a job in advertising, writing ads for the press and TV and radio and those horrible things which get shoved through your door. But it taught me economy. Less is more. Comes in handy, when you want to keep the pace up. And sell teabags. And shampoo.
Still, advertising. It’s a bit... grubby. So I got into writing comedy, for the BBC, Channel Four. Sketches, gags, scripts. This was invaluable for writing character. You can’t do decent comedy if you can’t come up with good characters. Oh, and taking risks. Sketches have to be absurd, bonkers, but believable. I suppose that’s what you’d call a transferable skill. Thrillers need to be pretty out there, too. But still believable.
Then in 2010 I moved to Essex, and was immediately inspired to write East Of Innocence. Whatever you read about Essex, the reality is bigger, louder and more in-your-face. With Range Rovers.
After I finished my Essex noir trilogy, I switched my attention to psychological thrillers. Troll is my first standalone novel, and one I hope will keep people awake at night (for all the right reasons).
Find out more at http://www.davidthornecri.me/
Follow on Twitter @Thorne_d
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