I just got finished reading Defending Jacob.  While the plot was riveting, the dialogue and descriptions well done, I didn't like the book.  It disturbed me.  I've come to realize I don't like thrillers.  I thought it was just a court drama but it was a thriller.  Just like Stephen King.  I think King is one of the best writers we have but I can't and won't read his books ( except On Writing which I love).  King's novels scare and upset me too much. When I read I want to be uplifted, amused, transformed.  I do not want to think that the human race is evil or sick.  I want to see it redeemed.  I want to read books and stories like the ones I write.  Like ORANGE PEELS and COBBLESTONES, which readers tell me how moved they are by it, in a good way.  You can still have twists and turns to the story line but it doesn't have to be bizarre.