Dan Smith Books In Order

Publication Order of Crooked Oak Mysteries Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Dan Smith was born in the year 1970While growing up, Dan led three lives. In one he survived the humdrum of boarding school while in the other, Dan travelled across the world looking for adventure in the forests of Brazil and fields of Asia. In the third life, Dan lived in a life of his own, coming up with stories of his own. A majority of people say that Dan still lives this life. Dan has lived in so many places. All the places that Dan Smith lived have all inspired his story in one way or another. The places that Dan has lived include Sumatra, Sierra Leone, Central and Northern Brazil. Apart from Brazil, Dan has also lived in the Soviet Union and Spain.

Later on Dan decided to settle in Newcastle with his two kids and wife. Before being an author, Dan has also worked as a dishwasher, social security fraud detection officer. He has also worked on exceedingly large Christmas decorations and a number of mundane office jobs. Dan currently writes for both adults and children. Dan’s first novel Dry Season was nominated as the best first novel by the authors club. In the same year, it was also nominated for IMPAC Dublin Literary award.

Dark Horizon

Dark Horizon is an outstanding character driven thriller, which will keep you turning the pages exceedingly fast. In this book, Dan Smith paints an exceedingly vivid picture of Indonesia together with its sound and sights. The sights and sounds in this book include the culture of Indonesia, the stunning lakes and forests of Sumatra, well known trails of Bali and its dangerous roads. In this book we are introduced to one Alex. Alex is an exceedingly likeable character who is somewhat inexperienced and is stranded in a strange country. He eventually falls for one impulsive, complicated and slightly dangerous Domino. Alex may be naïve but he is a person who can read people extremely well.

Additionally, he also has the ability to question their motivations and actions of those people that he may find living amongst. Immediately after arriving at his destination, Alex is involved in a fatal car crash. While still at the scene of the accident, Alex is robbed. He eventually ends up at a hospital, and he is unable to speak the local language. By good luck, he meets up with one beautiful girl by the name Domino, who eventually saves Alex from a run-in with the local police. Exotic and exciting, Alex love affair with Domino takes him away from the beaten tracks and also away from the sights which had been recommended in the book. Later on Domino leads him to lake Toba, and also to her home within the island.

A million miles away from home, Alex lives an extremely simple life. Despite embracing the idea, several questions still nag him at the back of his mind. Since he lived in Indonesia during his early years, Dan Smith paints an exceedingly beautiful picture, which has powerful metaphors and vivid descriptions. Smith’s descriptions conjure up striking imagery, which the readers and his followers will not have a difficult time picturing the beautiful landscapes of Sumatra. With that said, all the characters in this book have been well constructed. Smith manages to subtly lure the reader into making assumptions first before sneaking in another twisty surprise.

The plot in this book has been worked well, though there are several cases where the violence in the book gets out of hand. The final four chapters in this book were not only unexpected but also intelligently constructed.

My Brother’s Secret

My Brothers secret is another book written by Dan Smith. In this book, we are introduced to one Karl Friedman who has been actively participating in paramilitary exercises and also reveling his badges. When a boy’s father is killed, the other boys give the boy an extremely hard time. Karl feels for the boy. The boy has an elder brother, Stephan. Stephan is a well-known troublemaker. He had quit school to purposefully join Hitler’s youth club. Additionally, he is also hanging with a group, which from the look of things will eventually get him in trouble. When Karl’s father dies, his mother immediately collapses. Despite the fact that Karl still yearns to go back to school, he is not allowed to live the compound.

Karl suspects that just like his brother, his grandparents do not want him to leave the compound. He defies the orders that he has been given and takes his bicycle out into the town. Karl manages to get into an accident and in the process hits the local Gestapo commander. Since Karl is in his uniform, complete with all the medals that he has earned so far, he is not arrested but instead keeps an eye on him. Karl later on meets up with a woman who is named Lisa. Lisa is the girl next door and is extremely fond of the Nazis as well. She took an oath to fight the Nazis ever since his father was taken away. It does not take long before Karl begins to suspect that Stephan is directly linked with an opposition group.

When Wolff comes to investigate about the mysterious propagandist flyers, one of the flyers is found in Karl’s room. The extent in which the residents of the town are involved with the resistance group becomes evident when Lisa and Karl begin investigating about the group. Is the investigation that they are conducting going to free up Stephan or is it going to put their families in risk? My Brother’s secret has some great information about a World War 2 facet, which is not covered many at times, the Hitler Youth. Seeing this movement through Hitler’s eyes is extremely enlightening. If a similar movement was started today, a majority of the well-behaved and obedient children are going to join the group.

Watching his opinion’s change is also exceedingly fascinating, since many of the early teens struggle with these problems. Karl is an incredibly fascinating character. Additionally, the supporting characters have been well defined. Wolff is extremely slimy and portrays no sympathetic qualities at all. On the other hand, Stefan is extremely quiet, but though he still manages to portray his beliefs without tearing him down. This is an excellent read.