Why am I passionate about this?
I’m not sure why the dark side of humanity has always fascinated me, as it does so many others. I’ve read mystery and horror stories ever since I was a young boy, gravitating to ever darker books as I aged. I’m a pantser—that means that I don’t totally know where a story is going when I start, so I discover it right along with the characters. I think evoking emotion is key to writing a riveting tale, so I try to imagine what my character is feeling as I chronicle their experience. Part of being able to do this well is reading other writers who can, such as the authors on this list.
Thomas' book list on dark mysteries you should read with the lights on
Why did Thomas love this book?
Michael Connelly is the immensely successful author of the Harry Bosch books, but The Poet is the first book in his much shorter Jack McEvoy series.
McEvoy is a reporter who has a penchant for chasing down serial killers, and unfortunately becoming a target as well.
The psychological horror here comes from Connelly’s exacting and precise account of who the killer, dubbed the Poet, is and how he came to be.
I discovered this along with McEvoy and came to realization that he was becoming a target before he did. It’s a long book, but I found that I did not want to put it down before I learned how it played out.
3 authors picked The Poet as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
When Jack begins to investigate the phenomenon of police suicides, a disturbing pattern emerges and he soon suspects that a serial killer is at work, one who sets up his victims and leaves "suicide" notes drawn from the dark poems of Edgar Allan Poe.