Contemporary fiction books for your reading list.
During what might turn out to be an unproductive search for mystery books online, you might consider a slight alternative to the mystery thriller books genre (I’ve dabbled a bit in that field myself by the way – see the wonderful Boulevard Dreams or The Ticket).
The thing is, if you combine general humor with mystery and add a touch of say, hmm, let me think, let’s say the very best aspects of a romantic comedies book genre, what comes out of the oven is – voila – The Desperation of Harry. You see, a mixture of comedy, mystery and romance is rare in a book – that is to say it is rare for all portions to be done equally well. Now, I think The Desperation of Harry is done well. I’d certainly be some kind of dope to think that it’s not.
So, what’s this supposed gem about anyway?
Well, in 1977, Monty Hill, moves to Hollywood from the Midwest to become a mainstream screenwriter. There he meets his new neighbor, Harry, an endearing yet mysterious man, who desires to assist Monty with his shaky finances. Harry steers Monty directly into the path of a possibly dangerous producer of adult films, who demands Monty write him the biggest moneymaker of all time. Meanwhile, Monty stumbles through a series of volatile romantic relationships with a variety of women in addition to other personal encounters.
There are shocks and secrets aplenty buried in this intelligent story based on actual events, but it’s up to the reader to figure out where they are hidden before they crash-land with thoroughly unexpected explosions.