One of my fave genres of fiction is the crime/mystery/thriller. I’m about 2/3 of the way thru this book, and wanted to give it a recommendation. Not only is it pretty well-written for the genre, but it also deals with some kinda sophisticated religious/philosophical issues on a reasonably high level.
Disclaimer: I believe it will certainly appeal more to those on the liberal end of the political/religious spectrum. So far it has referenced such things as atheism, UU, secular humanism, the Patriot Act and the War on Terror - all subjects I am relatively informed and opinionated about - and hasn’t gotten anything seriously wrong yet. Various characters are atheist, Jewish, evangelical, catholic, and muslim, and tho he seems to have a particular viewpoint I think he is pretty evenhanded in his handling of all. Which IME is pretty much unprecedented for popular fiction. Of course he still has 120 pages or so in which to screw everything up.
The author previously wrote Wag the Dog, and another book - The Librarian - which I intend to read.
Nothing lifechanging. And if you do not care for the genre, you will not care for this book. But if you are looking for a good quick read, you could do considerably worse.