Here’s part four of my book recommendations:

Hilary Mantel

Wolf Hall

Hilary Mantel

Bring Up the Bodies

George R.R. Martin

Game of Thrones

Val McDermid

A Place of Execution

China Mieville

The City and the City

David Mitchell

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet

Tim O’Brien

In the Lake of the Woods

Edgar Allen Poe

The Complete Works

Richard Russo

Straight Man

Mark Singer

Citizen K

A Place of Execution

There are a lot of great books in the list above, including the two Thomas Cromwell novels by Hilary Mantel, which are both probably in my top five. But I wanted to mention A Place of Execution, because you are more likely to read Mantel without my urging. A Place of Execution is, in my opinion, a nearly perfect combination of atmosphere and mystery. It is the story of the investigation into the disappearance of a girl who lived in a small, insular, fairly hostile little hamlet in 1960s England. I think it is far better than most mystery/thrillers and when you are finished you may think differently about another, more celebrated book.