Murder & Mayhem Between the Pages

Hmmm, as I turned to the "Book Review" section of our newspaper this morning and glanced at the Top Ten Bestsellers for the week it was staringly apparent that death, murder, evil and mayhem are what sells.  No fluff on this list.

1. 77 SHADOW STREET - Dean Koontz latest "evil" writing (probably more than one death occurs between these pages)
2. DEATH COMES TO PEMBERLEY -  P D James, sister & husband murdered right off the bat
3. 11/22/63 - Stephen King's assassination of JFK (was in those masses of people waving)
4. LOCKED ON - Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan in his constant fight with terrorism (definitely some deaths going on here)
5. KILL ALEX CROSS - James Patterson, the name says it all
6. THE LITIGATORS  - John Grisham's tale of the fight against a big drug company whose drug may have disastrous results.....sounds like death to me
7. THE BEST OF ME - Nicolas Sparks novels repeatedly end in the death of someone, this one apparently starts off with a funeral. 
8. RED MIST - Patricia Cornwell, always filled with murders of various ways and means
9. EXPLOSIVE EIGHTEEN - Janet Evanovich's uh oh, Stephanie Plum's life is in jeopardy now
10. THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET'S NEST - Steig Larrson's third in his series with Lisbeth, not exactly a sweet, gentle soul.  

**I will tell you that I have not read any of the above books, but basing my assessments on what I have heard, or read in previous novels by the authors.

What is it about our fascination with the darker side?  What does this say about us as a society?  Is it to boost our own selves by reading about dastardly deeds that others commit that would never cross our sweet, gentle minds? Is it escapism, fascination with the bizarre?  I don't have answers, however, I am sure if I looked hard enough across the internet I could find the study that exposes the reasons why.  Me, I fall right in there too.  I am not one to read gory, or watch gory on TV or in the movies, but give me a good mystery and I'm all over it.  Not necessarily a murder or a who-dun-it but just a good page turning razor's edge mystery.

What do you like to read, is it murder & mayhem or light & fluffy or futuristic or deep & thought provoking?....please share, always looking for a good read.  

A stack of a few of my murders and mayhems.....

"A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted.  You should lead several lives while reading it."  ~  William Styron

Until next time......