Every reader out there has their "guilty pleasures", the books that they read just for fun, for me those are mystery/thrillers. For sure I read sci-fi/fantasy far, far more, but that's because I enjoy it more, it occupies more of my mind, but with mysteries I can just kinda kick back with a nice easy read and let go. They aren't particularly difficult and a lot of the time the twists are rather predictable, but it's fun! Back in my junior year my physics teacher--who also happens to be my across the street neighbor--introduced me to a great pair of authors: Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. They both are distinguished solo authors, but they teamed up to write an absolutely fantastic series of mystery/thrillers. They also have a couple of novels that aren't part of the series that are amazing as well. I've read all but Riptide and after reading their latest Cemetery Dance I just had to get another one. It had also been a little while since I picked up a mystery and I needed a little break from the usual stuff. Unfortunately Page One, the local used book store here, was out of Riptide so I decided to get Tyrannosaur Canyon which is one of Preston's solo novels.
I don't know what it is about these guys, but even this solo novel had me hooked from page one! Generally I try and stay away from books set here in New Mexico, or even the Southwest, because I don't particularly like the culture that is overloaded in books about it. Not everyone here is a cowboy or an Indian, nor do we all love turquoise and silver jewelry. And no, I don't own any Indian pottery or rugs. So I was a bit hesitant to read it, but it turned out okay. For one the novel was set in Abiquiu, New Mexico, which is a small uber rural town up north. The characters were the usual innocent who witnesses a murder, the ex-con who's being used by a rich mastermind, and an ex CIA agent trying to redeem himself. One thing I think I should mention is that both Preston and Child are very into academia, in other words, they know their shit. One worked at the New York Natural History Museum, the other various other scientific places, so even though the story is fiction, a lot of the science is real. Which really helps when you have authors like Dan Brown out there fucking up their facts. This also helps with the fact that the majority of mystery books out there are kinda cookie cutter, different character names, different places, but overall the same plot. Although Tyrannosaur Canyon is similar to those others, it is also unique in its presentation.
The story follows the innocent cowboy who catches the ex-con killing a lone prospector in a remote canyon, the cowboy manages to revive the prospector long enough for him to hand over a notebook full of numbers and asks for that to be given to his daughter. Seeing as cowboys are very morally sound, he calls the police, but refuses to hand over the notebook and instead goes off on his own to try and figure out what happened. This leads him to the ex-CIA agent who, like most mystery supporting characters, is trying to hide from his past, this time by becoming a monk in a secluded dessert monastery. And so the hunt is on to unravel just what this notebook is for, why it's important enough to kill for, and all at the same time run from the ex-con who is trying to kill them. During the course of the book a side story emerges about the rich mastermind in which we are given more clues as to just what is going on. Since it is a mystery I won't bother with any more plot stuff, but instead I'm going to say that anyone in need of a good mystery that will throw you on it's masterful twists and turns, should pick up Tyrannosaur Canyon.
That's the other thing, unlike a lot of other mysteries, the actual mystery remains so until the very last minute, and even then your jaw will drop with the authors ingenuity. It had me staying up later than usual wanting to find out just what happened and thankfully it wasn't a let down at all! I don't know why, but I've found that when reading Preston and Child, and now just Preston, I always want to do the various careers featured in the book. After reading their first two books I was convinced I wanted to work in a museum, and then I wanted to work for the FBI, then the NYPD, then a journalist, the list goes on and on, but it always amazes me how they can make a rather dry, boring job seem really interesting. The same goes for this book, after reading it I really wanted to major in GEOLOGY and work for a lab analyzing rocks.. seriously. Geology is neat and all, but it is not a subject I particularly enjoyed in high school, nor in the various classes it's come up. For him to actually make me want to get a PhD in Geology is really something. I might just be easily swayed, but thankfully it doesn't last long, especially given the fact I look into the various fields and realize it's not that great. Major, major props to both Preston and Child though, because it takes a very good author to portray a boring-ish job in such a way to make the reader want to do that. It's one of the reasons I've read all of their books and now that I know Preston can write on his own, probably all his books. Next up I'll probably pick up a Child book and see how it stacks up. It was fascinating to see Preston's own style; it's easy to see where his own stuff comes through in their co-author books, but I must say, by himself he is not as good as with Child. I'm going to guess it's the same with the other one and that their own styles mate in such a way to make a fantastic book! If you don't do anything more than just go look at their books my mission has been accomplished. I yearn to introduce people to authors I like and hope that they will like them too, because really reading is magical and everyone should do it!
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