Why am I passionate about this?

I have picked these books because I have a passion for good reading material. All the books I have chosen have become reading classics in their own way. They are well written and have plots that go well beyond normal literature in a sense that they unveil the 'human condition' into the realm of the protagonist being up against all odds, where in the end, truth reveals all!       


I wrote...

E.B.E.: Extraterrestrial Biological Entity

By Gary Van Haas,

Book cover of E.B.E.: Extraterrestrial Biological Entity

What is my book about?

Nineteen-year-old genius inventor Hallen Jenners, an amateur rocket engineer, is unceremoniously inducted into the U.S. Air Force to work on…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of L.A. Noir

Gary Van Haas Why did I love this book?

I loved this compelling James Elroy story because of his straightforward writing, which captured the intense mood of the 1960s in Los Angeles, and the misguided spirit of the main character, "Detective Sergeant Lloyd Hopins," who focuses all his attention on his unrelenting search for the killer and his search for justice in a violent, murderous, corrupt city.   

By James Ellroy,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked L.A. Noir as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Three of Ellroy's most compelling novels featuring Detective Sergeant Lloyd Hopkins in one volume. Blood On The Moon: 20 random killings of women are unconnected in police files. But Det. Sgt. Lloyd Hopkins sees a pattern. As he is drawn to the murderer, the two men face a confrontation pitting icy intelligence against white-heated madness. . . Because The Night: Jacob Herzog, hero cop, has disappeared. A multiple murder committed with a pre-Civil War revolver remains unsolved. Are the two cases connected? As Det. Sgt. Lloyd Hopkins pieces the puzzle together he discovers the darker threat of John Haviland, a…


Book cover of The Sheltering Sky

Gary Van Haas Why did I love this book?

I read this fine book when it first came out with all its allusions to free sex and promiscuity. The theme is an elegant allegory about an American married couple who trade civilization for the wilderness of the Sahara.

I like how both were first seduced by the desert's eternal beauty, and in the end, both surrender psychologically and physically to the desert's deep dark undercurrents backdropped by an uncompromising, deeply different culture.  

By Paul Bowles,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked The Sheltering Sky as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'The Sheltering Sky is a book about people on the edge of an alien space; somewhere where, curiously, they are never alone' Michael Hoffman.

Port and Kit Moresbury, a sophisticated American couple, are finding it more than a little difficult to live with each other. Endeavouring to escape this predicament, they set off for North Africa intending to travel through Algeria - uncertain of exactly where they are heading, but determined to leave the modern world behind. The results of this casually taken decision are both tragic and compelling.


Book cover of Last Man Standing

Gary Van Haas Why did I love this book?

I first read this exciting Baldacci novel when I was on a red-eye flight from Los Angeles to New York. The read was so captivating; I got caught up in the twisting plot of this book where the main protagonist, "Web" tries to put his life back together after incredible challenges, where he has to figure out why he was the only man not killed in set up that led to a deadly ambush when in eventuality, the story explores the essence of pure survival in itself.  

By David Baldacci,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Last Man Standing as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Seven seconds. That's all it took for Web London to lose everything: his friends, his team, his reputation. Point man of the FBI's super-elite Hostage rescue Team, Web roared into a blind alley towards a drug leader's lair, only to meet a high-tech, custom-designed ambush that killed everyone around him. Coping with the blame-filled words of anguished widows and the suspicions of colleagues, Web tries to put his life back together. To do so, he must discover why he was the one man who lived through the ambush - and find the only other person who came out of the…


Book cover of Private Vegas

Gary Van Haas Why did I love this book?

This book was a birthday gift from a good friend and fellow writer at The Guardian. It captured my interest immediately because I enjoy Patterson. This exciting action thriller explores the seedy life of Las Vegas, where love and murder are lost and found for a few quick dollars.

I especially enjoyed his tale with wild twists, where his main character, Jack Morgan, is continually beaten down and challenged through incredible odds and tribulations.  

By James Patterson, Maxine Paetro,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Private Vegas as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

_____________________________
Showgirls. Millionaires. Murder.

Jack Morgan, head of Private Investigations, the global PI agency of the rich and famous, is being pushed to the limit. His car has been firebombed, his ex is dating someone else, and his twin brother is still out to destroy him.

But Private doesn't rest, and nor do its clients: not the LAPD who need Private's help catching two scumbags with diplomatic immunity, and not the client who has just confessed to murdering his wife.

Add to that Jack's best friend being held on a trumped-up charge that could see him locked away for a…


Book cover of The Great Gatsby

Gary Van Haas Why did I love this book?

Everybody loves this book because it, of course, has become an international classic of literature and one of the best works F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote, which takes the reader on a time-traveling secretive world of the upper-class set in New England life in the 1920s.

In F. Scott's work, we are casually and comfortably introduced to an America where new money met old money, and the tender tightrope one had to walk in order to vie for position, marriage, and peer acceptance in a world founded on wealth and prestige.    

By F. Scott Fitzgerald,

Why should I read it?

25 authors picked The Great Gatsby as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

As the summer unfolds, Nick is drawn into Gatsby's world of luxury cars, speedboats and extravagant parties. But the more he hears about Gatsby - even from what Gatsby himself tells him - the less he seems to believe. Did he really go to Oxford University? Was Gatsby a hero in the war? Did he once kill a man? Nick recalls how he comes to know Gatsby and how he also enters the world of his cousin Daisy and her wealthy husband Tom. Does their money make them any happier? Do the stories all connect? Shall we come to know…


Don't forget about my Book 😀

E.B.E.: Extraterrestrial Biological Entity

By Gary Van Haas,

Book cover of E.B.E.: Extraterrestrial Biological Entity

What is my book about?

Nineteen-year-old genius inventor Hallen Jenners, an amateur rocket engineer, is unceremoniously inducted into the U.S. Air Force to work on a ‘top secret’ project, “reverse-engineering,” a recently found crashed flying saucer. When Jenners learns the military is also working on cloning extraterrestrial beings at the base, he jumps into action to save the only surviving alien named “EBE,” and together they escape, flying the saucer on a mind-boggling, action-packed adventure to other planets, and countless galaxies millions of light years away.

During their voyage, EBE explains many hidden realities to Jenners about the dismal state of the Earth, the Industrial Military Complex’s involvement with Washington, and their experimental cloning of extraterrestrials to exploit their advanced knowledge and technology to man the captured alien spacecraft.

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The Mazatlan Showdown

By Patrick Weill,

Book cover of The Mazatlan Showdown

Patrick Weill Author Of The Mazatlan Showdown

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Artist Editor Father Husband Fighter

Patrick's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

Jeff Walker is a champion surfer haunted by the mystery of his father’s murder and his mother’s broken heart. After finding a job as a lifeguard, a rescue mission at sea plunges him into a far-reaching criminal conspiracy.

Walker and his closest friends aid the police in their investigation, through which it is revealed that the leader of the crooks is his father’s killer! The tension builds from that point on until he finally faces his nemesis in a confrontation that will leave only one man standing. 

This first episode of The Park and Walker Action Thriller Series will whisk…

The Mazatlan Showdown

By Patrick Weill,

What is this book about?

Meet Jeff Walker, a champion surfer haunted by the unsolved mystery of his father’s murder and his mother’s broken heart. When he relocates to sunny San Diego and secures a job as a beach lifeguard, a rescue mission at sea plunges him into the dark underworld of international crime.

Along with his closest friends, Walker supports the police in their investigation, and in doing so discovers that the leader of the smugglers is his father’s killer, the man he’s been looking for since he was a teenager! From that moment on, the tension builds, until Walker finally faces his nemesis…


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