10. Sue Grafton's A Is for Alibi
Grafton bent noir without breaking it. She made the genre into something else. In doing so, she made it her own.
9. Elizabeth Gaskell's Wives and Daughters
This high Victorian serial caught Charles Dickens' eye. And no wonder. The symbolism is sometimes blatant, sometimes subtle. But it always works hard to carry a larger message.
8. Carla Negger's The Cabin
Now I get it: Peanut butter is to chocolate what romance is to suspense!
7. Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
Need I say more?
6. Jane Austen's Mansfield Park
Structure is the object here. In a sense, this novel is a story told in duplicate. Each character, each motive, each setting has its equal and opposite counterpart. Together, these parts tell a poignant tale -- through structure.
5. Dashiell Hammett's The Thin Man
This Depression Era novel packs a punch even by today's standards. How? Hammett conveys dark truths in single sentences.
4. Dorothy L. Sayers' Gaudy Night
Sayers is always q study in theme. Gaudy Night's theme is constant throughout - and can be summed up in one word -- love.
3. Robert Crais' L.A. Requiem
Crais is a master storyteller, working point-of-view not just to gradually reveal the pertinent facts of his mystery, but also to naturally trigger an emotional reaction from the reader. Joe Pike, I love you from the bottom of my heart.
2. William Gibson's Pattern Recognition
My heart sings each time I read this novel. While the book may seem topical, its characters are really on a universal quest.
1. Frank Herbert's Dune
I first read this book when I was fourteen years old. And it rocked my world. Dune is an amalgam of messages that seem to sum up where we've been... and where we're going. I can only my books will do as much.