It’s always a tough one – what to get Dad for Father’s Day? If you’re thinking of a book (which you should be) we’re here to help.

We did some thinking about what Dads might want to read this year  – and this doubles as a good summer reading list for non-Dads as well.  If you have any additional suggestions or comments, please join the conversation and add your input.  You can always ask us directly on Twitter, with the hashtag #IndigoGiftSOS.  Tell us the kind of book you like, and we’ll do our best to provide a non-algorithmic recommendation – because aren’t recommendations from actual humans best?

For the Dad who enjoys Crime or Mystery Fiction:

Defending Jacob – A Massachusetts prosecutor finds himself defending his own son on a murder charge; a son that both parents may not know as well as they think.  There are twists, but I won't be revealing them here. No spoilers from me.  Ideal for the Grisham fan, who published a baseball book this year (Calico Joe) instead of a legal thriller, which is also a good gift idea.

The Gods of Gotham – an Indigo Spotlight title that’s one of the best historical mysteries we’ve read in years.  A recently injured bartender accepts a job as a "copper star" in the newly formed New York Police Department, and soon finds himself tracking down a serial killer targeting Irish children.  Faye's attention to detail to the language of the time (called"flash") evokes the period brilliantly.  Read a review here, and you can take it for a test drive with this excerpt.

Iron House – The rundown: a young man in New York wants to quit his job because he’s in love for the first time in his life and he has a job that pretty much precludes settling down and raising a family. It’s also the kind of job that you’re not allowed to quit while you’re still breathing.  Now in paperback; when the hardcover released last year, we called it “that rare thing: a truly smart thriller.”  John Hart should be more widely read.  Featured last year in the Indigo Blog, you can read the review here.

The Cut by George Pelecanos - Just in time for Father's Day, this will be out in paperback on June 5th.  Spero Lucas is an Iraq vet who is not a policeman or a detective – he recovers things for people who have lost them, and no matter the item, his cut is always 40 percent (hence the title).  When he takes on two young, naïve D.C. drug mules as clients, things go from bad to worse in short order.  Another writer who deserves more recognition and wider readership, this should also appeal to Lee Child fans.

For the Dad who wants a Thriller or a Spy Novel:

The 500, by Matthew Quirk.  A debut thriller that is perfect for the Baldacci or Grisham fan; the movie pitch would be John Grisham’s The Firm, but with a political conspiracy element.  Our early in-house reads are very positive, and this seems like a perfect summer read.  Available in hardcover on June 5, 2012.

Edge of Dark Water, by Joe Lansdale.  A departure from his Hap and Leonard novels, this reads like a hybrid of Mark Twain and Stephen King setting out to write a road trip novel (although it’s set on a river).  Another comparison might be Harper Lee and Thomas Harris getting together to do their own version of Deliverance – and I bet you haven’t heard that before.  A depression era novel, in which three friends set out for Hollywood to spread the ashes of their murdered best friend – if they can elude the psychotic killer for hire that is stalking them and make it there alive.  Good characters, humour, tension ... but be warned, not for the squeamish.  Lansdale is a true storyteller, which may be the highest compliment I can pay an author.

***

For some recommendations for the Dad who wants something literary, or something fantastic and out of this world, click here for Part Two of this series.