House is one my favorite shows, not because I like solving medical puzzles and contemplating obscure diagnoses (would it have killed me to learn some basic Latin roots?), but because Dr. Gregory House is one deeply blue-eyed, attractive, miserable, sarcastic bastard. Doesn’t every woman want to date one of those? OK maybe it’s just me. He limps around, is addicted to painkillers, disregards the feelings of others, and breaks both the hospital’s and society’s rules nine ways before breakfast. He’s also charming, dedicated, and committed to solving each case he encounters—the life he saves being almost inconsequential. He’s not, after all, a big people person.

So, if you like House, you might enjoy The Gun Seller, a book by Hugh Laurie, the actor who plays House, because the main character is not unlike the TV character in that brash yet appealing way. Technically a mystery, the book weaves a number of characters along a plot of intrigue in a thoroughly satisfying way, largely due to writing that’s sharp, clever and very, very funny. Read an excerpt if you don’t believe me. As a payoff, sometimes you can catch a human glimpse of these characters who occasionally even feel love.