On the murder-mystery side, you might enjoy The Flanders Panel. I personally didn't like the ending much, but the premise of the whole thing is pretty darn interesting.
What chess book (novel type) would u recommend?
Nabokov wrote one that you might like -- in terms of literary stuff -- called 'The Luzhin Defense'. No guarantee expressed or implied, though.

The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis is a decent read. I did a review of it on my blog at http://www.rookhouse.com/blog/?p=129
King's Gambit by Paul Hoffman is an awesome book as well.
So nothing to do with openings, tactics or any of that.
Just a good read. I see there is a few, like "This crazy world of chess", "Bobby Fischer Goes to War : How A Lone American Star Defeated the Soviet Chess Machine"...
anything worth recommending?