All American Murder by James Patterson and Alexander Abramovich
The only book I can remember being advertised via television commercial, All American Murder tells the story of Aaron Hernandez, the Patriots’ tight end turned convicted murderer. While I enjoy watching sports, there are two primary reasons I wanted to read this one. First, I love a good true crime story, and, while I did somewhat follow this case via the news, I never knew all the details. Second, I respect James Patterson, a fellow Manhattan alum, and his reputation as a writer. Suffice to say, I was not disappointed. I read the entirety over the course of a few days as I was constantly gripped by the fast paced account of what propelled Hernandez to the top of his game and what caused his sudden demise. I loved that even though it was obvious this book was well-researched, it still read like a narrative. Patterson didn’t paint Hernandez as a hero by any means, detailing his less than stellar track record at the University of Florida and unsavory influences from his home turf of Bristol, CT. Yet, I couldn’t help but feel bad for Hernandez when his father (and #1 role model/fan) passed away suddenly. Aaron also appeared to suffer from an intense paranoia, constantly forcing him to question his surroundings and likely a cause for his abuse of drugs. I would highly recommend this book to any Patriots fan or any fan of true crime stories. I knew I would find this title interesting, but I was shocked at how I could not put it down.
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
I’ve enjoyed reading to solve the crime ever since Nancy Drew and Fear Street. That being said, it was about time that I read a novel by the ultimate mystery writer, Agatha Christie. Murder on the Orient Express recently came out as a motion picture. I was extremely intrigued by the ensemble cast, but I knew I would be disappointed in myself if I didn’t read it first. I am a firm believer that if you have any interest at all in the print version, you start there. It is almost impossible to go in the reverse and read a novel after seeing the movie (at least for me). In the book, detective Poirot finds himself aboard a train where a passenger has been stabbed to death. The train has been delayed by a snowstorm allowing the suspense to increase as the other passengers are more closely inspected as suspects. Sure, the language is old school and slightly European, but I really got into the way the story was organized. It made the narrative slightly choppy, but I thought the whole concept of compiling evidence one character at a time and then drawing conclusions was so “good old-fashioned mystery” in the best way possible. I wasn’t blown away by the ending (or the novel in general), but I would still recommend it to mystery lovers and those looking to check some of the classics of their lists.
