Renowned thriller author Ivy Pochoda wrote the critically acclaimed novels "Wonder Valley," "Visitation Street," and "These Women." "These Women" was the New York Times best thriller of 2020 and a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Her latest work, "Sing Her Down," follows two female ex-cons who carve a bloody trail from Arizona to Los Angeles. 

Here are her six favorite books about the dark side of human nature.

The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner

Set in 2003, Romy Hall faces two consecutive life sentences at Stanville Women's Correctional Facility within the Central Valley in California. Romy leaves her young son, Jackson, and San Francisco, where she spent her youth. The prison shows the reality of thousands of women fighting over bare essentials to survive and casual acts of violence by the guards and prisoners, portrayed in a humorous manner.

This book, written by the New York Times bestseller and two-time National Book Award finalist Rachel Kushner, focuses on the life inside a prison for female offenders.  

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy

From the New York Times bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize winner Cormac McCarthy comes this novel about the events on the Texas-Mexico border in the 1850s.

The story's wounded protagonist, the Kid, a 14-year-old Tennessean, faces violence from the Glanton gang, a dangerous cadre on a mission to scalp Indians. One of the most memorable villains in American fiction, Judge Holden, appears to be in charge of this terrifying realm. It is an epic story of the bloodshed and corruption accompanying America's westward expansion. It deftly subverts the Western novel conventions and the mythology of the "Wild West."

Mecca by Susan Straight

National Book Award finalist Susan Straight stuns readers with a story about the lives of native Californians in their struggle for life and land.

A descendant of the state's Indigenous people and Mexican immigrants, Johnny Frias has Southern California's towns and canyons engraved in his soul. While working as a highway patrolman, he kills a man assaulting a young woman named Bunny, who leaves him with no witness. This moment of action 20 years ago connects a complex cast of characters, examining race, history, family, and destiny through the intertwined stories of native Californians fighting for their rights.

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Dirty Weekend by Helen Zahavi

Alone in her basement flat, Bella wakes up one morning and decides to change from a victim to an avenger. Over that one weekend, Bella goes out at night, killing seven men who try to attack her and leaving behind one myth: "Only women bleed."

When this book was released in 1991, it caused much controversy due to its dark, violent, and brutal humor. Even then, it became a worldwide success, was adapted into 13 languages, and was made into a feature film by Michael Winner.

Butcher's Crossing by John Williams

National Book Award winner John Williams dismantles the myths of modern America. Set in the 1870s, Will Andrews drops out of Harvard to seek a connection to nature. Andrews reaches Butcher's Crossing, a small town on the outskirts of Kansas, with men looking to earn money and use it. Then, a man who becomes Andrews' friend convinces him to join them to track buffalos down.

Upon reaching the place, they lose themselves in slaughter, forgetting all the concepts of time. Winter then comes, and as they stumble back to Butcher's Crossing the next spring, half-mad from cabin fever, cold, and starvation, they discover that everything has changed just as they have. 

Angels by Denis Johnson

Denis Johnson's debut novel, "Angels," which received the most acclaim, focuses on the lives of Jamie Mays, a wife running away with her two children, and Bill Houston, an ex-Navy man and ex-con.

Jamie and Bill travel the odd, intriguing, and difficult periphery of American life, hopping from bus stations to cheap hotels. Although Phoenix is listed on their tickets, their inevitable destination is a last stop that promises mind-blowing surprise and devastating violence.

Renowned for depicting impoverished American characters, Johnson unleashes literary fireworks on this road trip, illuminating the journey with humor and a self-assured metaphysics that boldly confronts the outside world.

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