Hush Money to Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy to Los Alamos

Last year I began reading Hush Money by Robert Parker. I read about half the book and felt I was wasting time. I liked half of his subject matter, but the other half (about a goofy sex pot client), was just too silly, and I got bored.

So I moved on to Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John Le Carre. I had read one of his books before but too long ago to remember the title. I did remember that I wasn't impressed, but I tried this book because I read in a review of another author's book, which I had read and liked very much, that that book could be compared to such "classics" as Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. I was terribly bored by it, though, because LeCarre kept going off on tangents, describing too much in too much detail that had nothing to do with anything.

LeCarre writes well, but I got the feeling he has the problem that many writers have--they love to read what they wrote because they think it sounds so good so they keep writing and writing and writing.

Then I moved on to Los Alamos by Joseph Kanon. I'd read every other book Kanon has written, and I've liked them all. They're historical fiction, and this is his debut. It was great.

I emailed Kanon to urge him to write another book. His last was in 2006, and I want to look forward to something more. He does have another book, Stardust, coming out, but I'm not sure when.