3 Favorite Books of 2007 - Part 13

Read this post to see what this is all about. For more favorites, see here. This is probably the last batch of these for 2007.

Sean Chercover, author of Big City, Bad Blood

• Ken Bruen - Priest. I don't have the words to articulate the genius that is Ken Bruen. Read this book. Read all of his books.
• Madelaine Drohan - Making a Killing: How and Why Corporations Use Armed Force to Do Business. A chilling introduction to the violent world of very big business, with case studies from Cecil Rhodes' time to today's "blood diamond" industry. Focuses on Africa, but the lessons apply world wide. Scholarly but never dry, this is essential reading.
• Jeremy Scahill - Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army. You may despair for our country after reading this one, but in matters of this importance, ignorance is definitely not bliss.

Allison Brennan, author of Killing Fear

• Toni McGee Causey - Bobbie Faye's Very (very, very, very) Bad Day. Absolutely couldn't put it down, laughed out loud, and completely enjoyed myself.
• Dana Kollman -  Never Suck A Dead Man's Hand: Curious Adventures of a CSI. I read a lot of true crime, but this is the only one I laughed with. Kollman writes about the real crime scene investigators with wit, sarcasm and honesty. I learned a lot and had fun at the same time.
• Joe Hill - Heart-Shaped Box. Original, scary, thrilling and tightly written.

Harley Jane Kozak, author of Dead Ex

• Anne LaMott - Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith
• Robert Crais - The Watchman
• And about 13 more half-finished books. Oh, and a lot of children's books. [Editor's note: I can relate to that one!]

Ralph Pezzullo, author of Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA's Key Field Commander (with Gary Berntsen)

• Rajiv Chandrasekaren - Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone. Corruption, ineptitude and severe cultural myopia of the U.S. in Iraq. And people wonder what went wrong?
• Joe Andoe - Jubilee City: A Memoir at Full Speed. Oklahoma redneck becomes successful artist. It's a bumpy road bio and a great ride.
• Jim Thompson - Recoil. Great razor-wire plot, soon to be a motion picture.

Simon Kernick, author of A Good Day to Die

• Friedrich Dürrenmatt - The Pledge
• Gillian Flynn - Sharp Objects
• Robert Harris - The Ghost