Joyland by Stephen King - review

Finally! There is a new book written by the king of horror. Stephen King - to the delight of his fans – still writes great novels. His latest one - Joyland - is a must read for everyone who likes crime and mystery!

Some time ago I wrote about 10 best books by Stephen King. I think that if someone did not read his earlier novels, he should start with any of the previous titles.

However, if you already read some of the books written by King you should reach for the Joyland immediately, because in tis one the writer confirms that he is a great author with extraordinary imagination and workshop skills. He perfectly creates the characters, a mood and a story.

What is Joyland about? 
"Set in a small-town North Carolina amusement park in 1973, Joyland tells the story of the summer in which college student Devin Jones comes to work as a carny and confronts the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and the ways both will change his life forever" (see full description on Amazon).

Interestingly, the book is available only as a paperback. Why this decision?

"I love crime, I love mysteries, and I love ghosts. That combo made Hard Case Crime the perfect venue for this book, which is one of my favorites. I also loved the paperbacks I grew up with as a kid, and for that reason, we’re going to hold off on e-publishing this one for the time being. Joyland will be coming out in paperback, and folks who want to read it will have to buy the actual book." - said Stephen King.

What is my opinion about Joyland? The book is great, I highly recommended it. So if you have a birthday soon and the family asks you what you would like to get for a present - Joyland is a good answer :). Everyone else should buy a novel for themselfs, for example on Amazon :)

Top 10 best books by Harlan Coben

Harlan Coben is - in my opinion - the master of unexpected twists and turns in the novels. This American author of thrillers often was able to surprise me with the story's ending what's why, if someone wants a great crime novel that sucks you in action from the first page, I recommend to read one of Coben's books.

Harlan Coben's work can be divided into three parts:

First one consists of a series in which the main character is Myron Bolitar - a former basketball player and sports agent in one person. He first appeared in the book Infamous in 1995.

Second - stand-alone novels.

Third - new young adult series with the nephew of Myron - Mickey. For the first time he appeared in the novel, Shelter in 2011.

I like Coben's books because of interesting characters, great dialogues and unexpected twists. It is impossible to be bored while reading his novels. I remember that I literally could not get away from reading Tell No One. Instead of going to sleep I sat most of the night, until I read the last page.

He has written more than twenty novels. I chose the books which in my opinion are the best novels by Harlan Coben. Below is a list:

1. Tell No One (see description)
2. Gone For Good (see description)
3. Deal Breaker (see description)
4. Fade Away (see description)
5. Promise Me (see description)
6. The Innocent (see description)
7. Back Spin (see description)
8. One False Move (see description)
9. Caught (see description)
10. Darkest Fear (see description)

What is your favorite novel written by Coben? :)

Top 5 best books by Henning Mankell

Henning Mankell is a very popular Swedish writer known around the world. His books have been translated into over 40 languages. On my blog I will only concentrate on his novels where Kurt Wallander is the main character although Mankell is not only a crime novels author.

Kurt Wallander is a fictional police inspector living and working in Ystad. This character has brought Mankell his fame and made ​​him one of the best-selling writers in the world. This is another example that a interesting, memorable character is already a half of success in writting a bestseller novel :).

I like to read the Mankell's books, because they always have a well-constructed plot, carefully and curiously described. Sometimes the pace of the action is pretty slow, but after reading a few thrillers in a row, where the action is practically on every page, this is a nice change.

Therefore, I recommend to read Mankell's novels were we can expect long conversations, descriptions of tedious witnesses' questioning and Kurt checking all leads, because the story always illustrates what changes are taking place in modern Swedish society as the whole world changes, what problems people are facing nowadays etc.

So if you are looking for a good crime story, with a intresting and troubled policeman in the lead role, the novels of Kurt Wallander will be perfect for you!

Since Kurt as the main character appeared in only nine novels, I decided to choose five titles that I think are absolutely worth reading.

So below is a list of books which in my opinion are the best novels written by Henning Mankell with Kurt Wallander.

1. Faceless Killers (see description)

2. One Step Behind (see description)

3. Sidetracked (see description)

4. The Pyramid - short stories about Wallanders' early years in the police (see description)

5. The Fifth Woman (see description)

Of course, when you read those books, get the rest :).