Laura van den Berg's six favorite unconventional mystery novels

Laura van den Berg's second story collection, The Isle of Youth, explores the lives of women mired in secrecy and deception.

For The Week magazine, she tagged six favorite unconventional mystery novels. One title on the list:

Big Machine by Victor LaValle

Ricky Rice, the hero of this wild and wonderful novel, has one of the most intoxicating voices I've encountered. As we follow Ricky through California sewers, a mysterious Vermont compound, a supernatural impregnation, and his tormented memories of a youth spent in a religious cult, a twisty mystery — and a meditation on what it means to believe — take hold of the reader and won't let go.

Read about the other books on the list.

The Page 69 Test: Big Machine.

Visit Laura van den Berg's website and blog.

Writers Read: Laura van den Berg (January 2010).

--Marshal Zeringue