thrillers and insight

I've been blown away by many of the books I've read this year. It's been a joy to read thrillers written by women, books that are fresh and weird and challenging and have something to say. 

Sara Gran has written three books about Claire DeWitt, "world's greatest detective." Gran lets her protagonist be an asshole, get beat up, do drugs, drink too much, and most of all, be curious and reckless and sarcastic and feel too much. The plots are convoluted and yet always satisfying, because a detail mentioned early on will come back and manifest and grow later in the story. I read all three books quickly and sadly, because they're short and I didn't want any of them to end. 

Here's a snippet from The Infinite Blacktop.

The other book I want to mention is Melanie Finn's The Hare. I won't even try to summarize the plot other than to say it's about how women do what women always do, which is cope. The protagonist starts out young and impressionable and the story follows her through a surprise pregnancy, abandonment, and pockets of love and violence. 

Here's a passage I found remarkable. 

I enjoy these writers, I envy their insight and their skill. They urge me on, to do better, work harder, feel more.