Daniel Silva – The Gabriel Allon Series
Daniel Silva’s novels are somewhat more high brow shoot-em-up boy books. While they offer a great deal of action and lots of guns, there is also art, culture, and international travel. The protagonist, Gabriel Allon, is a Mossad assassin but also an incredibly talented art restorationist. He restores old master paintings while hunting down the enemies of Isreal. As an art history major who loves a good thriller these books are particularly appealing to me. The writing is good and Silva easily transports you to richly described cities around the globe. Gabriel is a tortured soul with a complicated personal life that pulls at your heartstrings and compels you to turn the page. Many characters and plots resurface in consecutive books so they flow better if read in order, but can stand alone as well. If you like art, travel, and espionage this series is for you.
Brad Thor – Scott Harvath Series
These books are a little more traditional boy books. They are populated with guns, special forces soldiers, and pretty women. All of the stories involve an intense crisis of international terrorism. Often Scott Harvath jets off to interesting places around the globe, offering a nice opportunity for vicarious international travel. Thor’s stories move fast and are good to listen to while driving or exercising. Though all are stand-alone novels they are part of a series and aspects of the backstory are better understood if read in order. As a bonus, I have learned a lot about tactical sub-machine guns (whatever they are) from reading these books.
Brad Taylor – Pike Logan Series
After an initial sense that I would not like these books because all the characters had ridiculous “call signs”, I found myself pulled along by a pretty good shoot-em-up series. The author uses liberal splashes of humor even in really intense fight scenes, which makes them much more readable. The narrator is male, but there is a female character who is not completely one dimensional – a rare bonus. While everything blows up and at least one main character is near fatally wounded in each story, these books flow easily and lightly. They are good as audio books and perfect for driving or working out. There is usually some pretty exotic travel and the Taylor does a nice job describing the scenery. Despite the funny call signs I am usually happy to read a book from this series.
Dan Mayland – Mark Sava Series
This dark and brooding series introduces Mark Sava, a former CIA station chief who is trying to peacefully live out his days. Unfortunately, he is sucked back into the crazy world of international espionage when circumstances conspire against him. These stories are a little grimy and brutal, much like the region in which they take place. I had to consult a map a couple of times because Azerbaijan, Iran, and “the Stans” (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan) don’t easily arrange themselves on my mental map. I enjoy reading novels that transport me to a place I have never been and will likely never go. Like the other boy books these novels move quickly and cover a great deal of geography. They are good as audiobooks, but check out a map before you get confused.