I usually am a pretty strict literary realism kind of guy (Tolstoy, Austen, Dickens, Franzen, etc.) along with contemporary fiction/plays. But there's this great thriller writer who isn't very well known in the U.S. named Jonathan Barnes.
He has two novels (a third is on the way): The Somnambulist and The Domino Men.
I bought The Somnambulist at a library book sale for $2 simply because the cover was awesome. This time, judging the cover of the book worked wonders.
I began to read it on a plane ride down to Universal studios. And I couldn't put it down.
The story is about Edward Moon, a magician in late 1800s England who helps the police with murder investigations (I know how absurd that sounds; it's part of the majesty of it all). He works with a 7 foot tall, hairless sidekick called the Somnambulist who loves milk and only writes on a handheld chalkboard.
They begin investigating one murder and it opens up a dark secret in the heart of London. There are secret societies, magic, time travel, adult psycho-maniacs dressed as British schoolboys who go on murdering rampages. Everything you could want!
It's a great read.
Later (the next Spring Break vacation to be precise), I checked out his next book The Domino Men and found that it was as good, if not better, than the first.
Set in present day London, this one employs all the best part of the first book: the secret societies, the creepy twins. But it adds on a whole extra layer of brilliance. The story is told by two separate narrators who begin fighting in the pages, saying things like "The last chapter was patently false. What actually happened is that...." and it starts to make you wonder who you can trust.
There are wonderful, dramatic reveals; characters are fun and engrossing. Ultimately, it's not written that poorly. Sure, there's nothing all that interesting going on at the sentence-level and it's not grappling with themes of death, justice, or beauty. But it's definitely better written that most of the stuff from James Patterson, John Grisham, Dean Koontz, Tom Clancy, etc.
Honestly, I urge you to pick up his books. They will be the most fun you've had with a book in a long time.
And he's a really nice guy. Tweeted him a few times and he always tweets back.
Links: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-somnambulist-jonathan-barnes/1008636003?ean=9780061375392
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/domino-men-jonathan-barnes/1100570596?ean=9780061671418