Book 2 of 2 of Agent Shaw. In this book, Shaw’s mission intersects with another amateur group of modern Nazi hunters as they try to take down an old Soviet warlord. Gripping, but pretty airy stuff.

• Author: David Baldacci
• Fiction      Crime

King & Maxwell find themselves investigating the kidnapping of the President’s niece, leading them to discover a much darker motive than ransom or extortion.

• Author: David Baldacci
• Fiction      Crime

FBI agent Atlee Pine investigates a missing tourist at the Grand Canyon, uncovering a plot threatening democracy while haunted by her twin sister's childhood abduction.

• Author: David Baldacci
• Fiction      Crime

A cop with a photographic memory loses his wife and daughter, spirals and then seeks justice after an unusual confession to the murder that leads to something deeper. I really enjoyed this character, who captures the right mix of strength and tragedy.

• Author: David Baldacci
• Fiction      Crime

FBI agent Amos Decker investigates when a death row inmate is saved from execution by a new confession, uncovering dangerous secrets tied to America's past that threaten powerful people.

• Author: David Baldacci
• Fiction      Crime

In 1949, a WWII veteran is released from prison to Poca City. While collecting a debt for a businessman, he becomes entangled in a murder investigation that threatens his freedom. Different from what I expected from this author. Where events are generally national in scale, this book is hyper local, with a small rural town that might as well exist in a vacuum.

• Author: David Baldacci
• Fiction      Crime

Former secret service agents investigate a scientist's murder at a CIA facility, uncovering conspiracies involving elite mathematicians, spies, and classified codes, while dealing with personal demons.

• Author: David Baldacci
• Fiction      Crime

Two former Secret Service Agents are brought together to understand their own falling out from the Service as well as solve a crime linked to a presidential candidate.

• Author: David Baldacci
• Fiction      Crime

A suspenseful thriller with two ex-Secret Service agents on a dangerous quest to uncover the truth behind a series of murders replicating infamous killers, leading to shocking revelations and personal peril.

• Author: David Baldacci
• Fiction      Crime

King & Maxwell seek to uncover the truth about an alleged serial killer at a remote prison in Maine, leading them to confront powerful enemies and face deadly threats stemming from the war on terror.

• Author: David Baldacci
• Fiction      Crime

A thriller about the winner of a rigged lottery drawing. It spends the first 200 pages setting the scene before it really gets humming.

• Author: David Baldacci
• Fiction      Crime

Classic memoir from former major league pitcher and commentator Jim Bouten. The book covers the 1969 season, starting with his months on the short-lived Seattle Pilots franchise before moving to Houston. The insights into baseball and the dynamics of the locker room and the business side are interesting to read. The book made quite a splash when published, although this isn’t a tell all or a book of scandal. It was simply the first to talk about baseball played by real people (mostly young men in their 20s) rather than mythologies that had been spun at that time.

• Author: Jim Bouton
• Nonfiction      Culture

Each successive Reacher is more formulaic than the last. I’ll keep reading them but almost think it would be more rewarding to start again with the first book rather than the derivative adventures.

• Author: Lee Child
• Fiction      Crime

Jack Reacher wakes up handcuffed and injured in darkness, with no memory of his arrival. His captors believe he's an accomplice to a killed driver and plan to interrogate him.

• Author: Lee Child
• Fiction      Crime

Classic spy thriller detailing the attempted defection of Soviet naval officers aboard a submarine, with the US attempting to intercept the submarine before the Soviets can destroy it, and while avoiding any international incidents.

• Author: Tom Clancy
• Fiction      Crime

Mickey Haller takes on an AI company in court after their chatbot influenced a teen to commit murder, teaming up with journalist Jack McEvoy to uncover a crucial whistleblower.

• Author: Michael Connelly
• Fiction      Crime

Renée Ballard and the LAPD’s Open-Unsolved Unit get a hot shot DNA connection between a recently arrested man and a serial rapist and murderer who went quiet two decades ago. The arrested man is only twenty-four, so the genetic link must be familial: His father was the Pillowcase Rapist, responsible for a five-year reign of terror in the City of Angels. But when Ballard and her team move in on their suspect, they encounter a baffling web of secrets and legal hurdles.

• Author: Michael Connelly
• Fiction      Crime

My first Cussler, as I eyed two books left at the free book shelf at my local grocery store. This story focused on the Fargos, a wealthy husband-wife treasure hunting team that seeks to find Shangri-La. Engaging, light read.

• Author: Clive Cussler
• Fiction      Crime

Same-same as the first Cussler, Kingdom, that I read; very similar story framework but this time they are finding a mythical emerald of the Toltecs in Mexico. Apparently there is a myth of a white-skinned bearded ruler in Toltec mythology which Cussler leans into but is still quite disputed.

• Author: Clive Cussler
• Fiction      Crime

Recommended by Austin. Very strong beginning. I really like how the analogy the author used in describing the ocean as Earth’s engine, turning heat into motion and motion into life. The first part was the strongest as she laid down this basis and hooks the reader on the importance of the ocean to life on this planet. The 2nd and 3rd parts were deeper dives that I felt dragged a bit - still informative but likely at a deeper level than I was seeking.

• Author: Helen Czerski
• Nonfiction      Science

Recommendation from Austin. Well written and balanced - the author presents the thief as a sympathetic figure at the beginning of his thefts while also detailing the harm he is causing and why he is able to get away with it. Truly astounding on how brazen the thefts were and the art the thief was able to accumulate.

• Author: Michael Finkel
• Nonfiction      True Crime

Classic science fiction written back in 1984, with several key themes that were later flushed out in The Matrix, particularly the protagonist plugging himself into a computer an entering a parallel reality.

• Author: William Gibson
• Fiction      Sci-Fi

I knew Pete Hamill from his novel Forever and his ode to NYC after 9/11, Downtown: My Manhattan. This book has been on my list for some time and was worth it. He describes his childhood growing up in Brooklyn in the late 30s/early 40s and takes him through his formative years up through his mid-twenties as he became a journalist. The book ends around the mid-70s, when eh choose to stop drinking, with the 60s really being a blur. The name of the Memoir is based on how much alcohol was formative in his upbringing and his distance from his Dad, and ultimately some of deficiencies as a partner and father. Well written, and it’s interesting to see the changes to growing up in the 1930s versus my own childhood in the 1980s, as well as thinking about my son’s future in the 2020s.

• Author: Pete Hamill
• Nonfiction      Biography

The book is a series of articles written between 2008 - 2013 that profiles the Mid-West and middle-class, explaining their struggles. The author lives in St. Louis, once one of America’s proudest cities and now a city which is only reported on when there is a shooting or a protest. The articles do not mention Trump, but explain some of the forces that drove Americans to vote for the change Trump represented.

• Author: Sarah Kendzior
• Nonfiction      Politics

This story finds Bernie after WWII as a pawn in a murder mystery that revels in the cynicism of the post-war order. Classic Gunther.

• Author: Philip Kerr
• Fiction      Crime

Larson’s distinct brand of historical fiction details the story of the birth of wireless telegraph and it’s impact on the world, particularly on a strange murder in London. A key figure covered is Marconi, who is debatably the inventor of wireless telegraph while not apparently not understanding much of its scientific underpinnings. This time period appears to be a pivot point from the “gentleman scientist” who discovers for mankind’s sake and shares their finding far and wide for others to build upon and the capitalist dabbler, who has the good sense to see a scientific tide emerging and seeks to be the first to commercial application and covets the advances as trade secrets. While the gentleman scientist was limited to a privileged few who had the wealth and influence, we are worse off for not having some great minds striving for the general welfare.

• Author: Erik Larson
• Nonfiction      History

Subtitled “The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World”, the book is written by the Surgeon General under Obama, Vivek Murthy. It’s a good premise, exploring why human connection is just as important for our health as is eating well, exercise, etc. I’ve seen this repeated recently, where studies of old people reveal that those that live the longest have strong relationships. The author tries to underpin some evolutionary rationale for this in the beginning, after which breaks into more anecdotal evidence. The final chapter finishes strong as it talks about examples we can set for our kids, which resonated for me. Recommended by my Mom.

• Author: Vivek Murthy
• Nonfiction      Science

Epic in scope, the author weaves together a disparate group of protagonists to tell the story of the battle over the logging of old growth forests and what we have lost due to our ignorance and greed.

• Author: Richard Powers
• Fiction      Historical Fiction

The great detective is investigating the murder of a politician with a mysterious background.

• Author: Peter Romer
• Fiction      Crime

The good detective investigates a murder at Tuchinski theatre, one of the cooler buildings in Amsterdam that shows movies nowadays.

• Author: Peter Romer
• Fiction      Crime

The original Rutherford. I’ve read most of his works and felt I needed to trek back and read the original, based on the town of Salisbury, England. Enjoyable reading, imagining how different families traveled to an area, with some descendants staying and interacting over generations until modern day. I enjoy learning history and Rutherford captures the (fictional) lifestyle and concerns of those that lived during those times.

• Author: Edward Rutherford
• Fiction      Historical Fiction

Recommended by Ezra Klein. The author imagines a not-too-distant future of fascistic America falling apart, people overly engaged on their phones and obsessed with status signals of net worth, age and looks. I guess what we’re dealing with now but on overdrive. This future is presented through the lens of a love story between two characters. Interesting, but a schizophrenic read.

• Author: Gary Shteyngart
• Fiction      Novels

Book 1 of the Hyperion Cantos. The structure parallels the Canterbury Tales in having a number of pilgrims tell their story on their journey. Through each of the tales, more of the world as well as the stakes of the pilgrimage become clear. Beautifully written book.

• Author: Dan Simmons
• Fiction      Sci-Fi

Book 2 of the Hyperion Cantos, wrapping up the original arc of the story and universe. Building on the world created in the 1st book, the stakes are much higher in this book and the importance of the pilgrims in the first book becomes clear. A very engaging book with a satisfying ending.

• Author: Dan Simmons
• Fiction      Sci-Fi

From former Biden Senior Advisor Andy Slavitt, Preventable is the definitive inside account of the United States' failed response to the Coronavirus pandemic. Slavitt chronicles what he saw and how much could have been prevented. While attempting to focus on the cultural and economic factors that led to the poor response, it frequently swings back to the inept leadership we had at that time, directly implicating Trump as uncaring and only focused on himself and not on the American people. It would be great if any Trump supporter had the ability to read such a critical review of the presidents performance during the one true crisis he faced during his first term.

• Author: Andy Slavitt
• Nonfiction      Politics

True story of working class kid who gamed his way onto the Citi trading desks and became a very successful trader, at least for a short time period. Essentially, he figured out one great trade based on the insight of increasing inequality. Then when he tried to get out and keep some of his deferred bonus, fought the bank and won. Entertaining - the guy is clearly smart but what I took away is that there are a lot of mediocre people on the trading floor making a whole lot of money.

• Author: Gary Stevenson
• Nonfiction      Business

Written by one of the DeepMind co-founders, the book profiles the rapid rise in AI capabilities and tries to present both the upsides and downsides of this emergence. He presents his argument very early in the book, namely that AI can lead to a lot of bad outcomes but that once an idea is out there, it cannot be put back in the box. As such, we have to take various steps to mitigate the worst futures from AI.

• Author: Mohammed Suleiyman
• Nonfiction      Business

A fictional account inspired by true stories of boy’s reform schools that existed in the South in the 2nd part of the 20th century. Very well written.

• Author: Colston Whitehead
• Fiction      Novels

Recommended by Ian Bremmer and Ezra Klein. The story is based of monoliths that mysteriously appear with inscriptions that they were sent from the future . The protagonist seeks to understand its meaning as well as survive the effect it has on the present.

• Author: Robert Charles Wilson
• Fiction      Sci-Fi