There are a lot of new authors on this year’s Edgar list, which is a good sign, but I’m definitely rooting for Philip Kerr, whose praises I’ve been singing on this blog for a long time.  It’s time that he was recognized for his excellent mysteries.  That said, I’m looking forward to reading 1222 by Anne Holt.  It looks like a great story.

__
Best Novel:

Best First Novel by an American Author:

Best Paperback Original:

The Hammett Prize is given to “a work of literary excellence in the field of crime writing by a U.S. or Canadian author.” The nominees for this year’s awards are:

The Independent Mystery Booksellers Association has announced its nominees for the 2012 Dilys Award. This is given to “the mystery title of the [previous] year which the member booksellers have most enjoyed selling.”

Good luck to all the nominees!

Synopsis:

CC de Poitiers managed to alienate everyone in the hamlet of Three Pines, right up to the moment she died. When Chief Inspector Armand Gamache begins his investigation, it seems like an impossible murder: CC was electrocuted on a frozen lake, in front of the entire town, during the annual curling tournament. With compassion and courage, Gamache digs beneath the idyllic surface of village life to find long buried secrets, while his own enemies threaten to bring something even more chilling than the bitter winter winds to Three Pines.

Links: Amazon, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK

Charlie Newton debuted with a bang with his first novel “Calumet City” (Amazon, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK) landing nominations for Edgar, Macavity & Steel Dagger awards. His followup “Start Shooting” is published this month.

The prologue references two events whose interconnection will become clear later in the novel – firstly, the rape-murder of an Irish-American girl in Chicago in the 1980′s and secondly, the disappearance of an unspecified box in Japan following World War II.

From there, we’re introduced to Bobby Vargas a gang cop in Chicago and Arleen Brennan – the twin sister of the dead girl who is also an aspiring actress and unfortunately is involved against her will in the illicit dealings of Bobby’s brother Ruben, also a cop.

The sudden entrance of another cop conspirator, Robbie Steffen, precedes a rapid explosion of violence. Likewise when the initial drug buy conducted by Bobby’s gang team supplemented by two federal agents goes badly wrong leaving one of the agents dead and everyone else wondering why the agents are there and if they have been setup to take a fall. Newton excels in producing these surges of adrenaline while also raising the prospect of the intended assassination of Bobby Vargas.

None of the potential scenarios that would explain the presence of federal agents exactly please the cops and when Bobby and his brother Ruben become the subject of a tabloid expose accusing them of being complicit in the death of Coleen Brennan, Bobby quickly gets isolated and is forced to assist the surviving agent while not being exactly sure of her agency credentials, whether she can be trusted or what she is actually trying to achieve. Meanwhile other unsavoury allegations surface and the only way for Arleen and Bobby to get out from under suspicion, survive and get away is to “Start Shooting”.

This is the second novel that I’ve read in less than a year to feature biological weapons in Chicago – there must definitely be something in the water there. Covering similar ground to Michael Harvey’s “We All Fall Down” (Amazon, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK) (in that biological weapons feature prominently) I found this dealt with the subject matter much more convincingly (aided by WWII references to Japan conducting virus experiments which may or may not be true but strikes a convincing note in the narrative and certainly add a degree of credence to the storyline when needed).

A happy ever after ending will bring a tear to the eye if you’re so inclined. All told, a very enjoyable tale with powerhouse action scenes that explode out of nowhere (reminiscent of the famous shootout from Heat). One can’t help but feel for the two lead characters as they’re exploited by others and stumble around oblivious to the who, what and why that is happening around them.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Related Posts: Review of “We All Fall Down” by Michael Harvey http://wp.me/p6kwu-V2)

Best Book of 2011

I couldn’t separate these three. I loved them all even though they are all very different.

=1. Three Seconds (Amazon, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK) by Anders Roslund & Borge Hellstrom

(Full Review: http://wp.me/p6kwu-UX)

=1. Iron House (Amazon, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK) by John Hart

(Full Review: http://wp.me/p6kwu-Ua)

=1. El Gavilan (Amazon, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK) by Craig McDonald

(Full Review: http://wp.me/p6kwu-VE)

Bubbling Under (aka my other favourite books of the year in no particular order)

The Financial Lives of the Poets (Amazon, Amazon UK) by Jess Walter

The Burning Soul (Amazon US, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK) by John Connolly

(Full Review: http://wp.me/p6kwu-Pi)

Hurt Machine (Amazon, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK) by Reed Farrel Coleman

(Full Review: http://wp.me/p6kwu-Sy)

Sleepless (Amazon, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK) by Charle Huston

(Full Review: http://wp.me/p6kwu-V4)

The Drop (Amazon US, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK) by Michael Connelly

(Full Review: http://wp.me/p6kwu-OV)

The Fifth Witness (Amazon, Amazon UK) by Michael Connelly

Moonlight Mile (Amazon, Amazon UK) by Dennis Lehane

The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes (Amazon, Amazon UK) by Marcus Sakey

The Pusher (Amazon, Amazon UK) by Ed McBain (87th Precinct #3)

Fun & Games (Amazon, Amazon UK) by Duane Swierczynski

(Full Review: http://wp.me/p6kwu-Ty)

Most Disappointing Books of 2011
So Cold The River by Michael Koryta and We All Fall Down (Amazon, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK) by Michael Harvey (Full Review: http://wp.me/p6kwu-V2)

Most surprising (in a good way) book of 2011 / Most Hilarious Read 2011
Plugged (Amazon, Amazon UK) by Eoin Colfer

(Full Review: http://wp.me/p6kwu-Od)

Book you recommended to people most in 2011
If El Gavilan hadn’t been so late in the year it may have been in the running but probably Iron House shades it.

Best series you discovered in 2011 / Most memorable character in 2011
Charlie Hardie by Duane Swierczynski

(Full Reviews of Fun & Games (Amazon, Amazon UK): http://wp.me/p6kwu-Ty and Hell & Gone (Amazon, Amazon UK) : http://wp.me/p6kwu-Ut)

Favorite new authors you discovered in 2011
Well 2 of my 3 favourite books were authors that were new to me in 2011 so step forward and take a bow Anders Roslund & Borge Hellstrom and Craig McDonald.

Book you most anticipated in 2011
Tie between: Moonlight Mile (Amazon, Amazon UK) by Dennis Lehane and We All Fall Down (Amazon, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK) by Michael Harvey (Full Review: http://wp.me/p6kwu-V2)

Favorite cover of a book you read in 2011
The Burning Soul (Amazon US, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK) by John Connolly (Full Review: http://wp.me/p6kwu-Pi)

Book you can’t believe you waited until 2011 to finally read
87th Precinct #1 Cop Hater (Amazon, Amazon UK) by Ed McBain and Martin Beck #1 Roseanna (Amazon, Amazon UK) by Maj Sjowall & Per Wahloo

#1 - The End of Everything by Megan Abbott (12 mentions)

#2 - A Drop of the Hard Stuff by Lawrence Block (9 mentions)

The Cut by George Pelecanos (9 mentions)

#3 – Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson (6 mentions)

A Trick of Light by Louise Penny (6 mentions)

#4 – Field Gray by Philip Kerr (5 mentions)

The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly (5 mentions)

#5 - Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson (4 mentions)

Falling Glass by Adrian McKinty (4 mentions)

Thick as Thieves by Peter Spiegelman (4 mentions)

Fun & Games by Duane Swierczynski (4 mentions)

The list draws from the following critics and more:
January Magazine
Spinetingler Magazine
Amazon.com
The Boston Globe
The New York Times
The Seattle Times
The Wall Street Journal
Publisher’s Weekly
Crime Always Pays
Grift Magazine
Kirkus Reviews
Library Journal
Bookreporter.com
Murder, Mystery, and Mayhem
Jen’s Book Thoughts
Kittling Books
The Drowning Machine

So far these are:

1. Volume Target of 36 – that’s 3 books per month, given I work fulltime and have kids as well, reaching this goal is a challenge all by itself. In fact, I’ve only managed it once in the last 3 years.

2. “New To Me” Authors – for the last couple of years this has hovered around 6 – 8, I would like to get this up to 10 for 2012.

3. Geographic – I’ve a tendency toward American fiction and in the last couple of years have expanded into Nordic as well as maintaining an interest in the burgeoning Irish crime scene. I’m going to try to make room for some other territories this year – target of 5 outside of the aforementioned regions plus an increase in the specific Irish output as well. I also need to read some more authors from my near neighbour in the UK given the solitary UK book I read for 2011.

4. TBR – the dreaded TBR pile is seriously out of control with a number of excellent authors and books sitting there crying out for attention so I have to rescue at least 10 books from the TBR pile this year.

5. The Classics – I’ve neglected the likes of Chandler, Hammett, MacDonald et al so will try to include at least 3 of the “classic” authors in 2012.

6. Series – I’ve made some inroads in the last couple of years into various series that I would like to continue in 2012, specifically Martin Beck by Sjowall and Wahloo, Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct, Robert Crais’ Elvis Cole and a re-read of Lawrence Block’s Matt Scudder. The latter especially needs attention given the publication in 2011 of “A Drop of the Hard Stuff” (Amazon, Amazon UK) and “The Night and the Music” (Amazon, Amazon UK).

Anyone have any other targets in mind?

#1 John Grisham - The Confession

#2 Stieg Larsson – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

#3 Stieg Larsson – The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest

#4 Stieg Larsson  – The Girl Who Played with Fire

#5 Lee Child – Worth Dying For

#6 Martina Cole – The Family

#7 Patricia Cornwell – Port Mortuary

#8 Jo Nesbo – The Leopard

#9 Peter James – Dead Man’s Grip

#10 Harlan Coben – Caught

#11 Karin Slaughter – Broken

#12 James Patterson – Private

#13 Harlan Coben – Miracle Cure

#14 James Patterson – Postcard Killers

#15 Kathy Reichs – Spider Bones

#16 James Patterson – Don’t Blink

#17 James Patterson – 9th Judgement

#18 Linwood Barclay – The Accident

#19 James Patterson – Cross Fire

#20 Lynda La Plante – Blind Fury

So here’s my list of the best mystery/thriller books I read in 2011:

1. Rupture (or A Thousand Cuts – US Title) by Simon Lelic (2010)

2. The Spy Who Came In From the Cold by John Le Carre (1963)

3. Still Life by Louise Penny (2006)

4. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John Le Carre (1978)

5. 
Fault Line by Barry Eisler (2009)

6. If the Dead Rise Not by Philip Kerr (2010)

7. Luther: A Calling by Neil Cross (2011)

8. The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly (2010)

9. 
Pariah by Dave Zeltserman (2009)

10. 
Moonlight Mile by Dennis Lehane (2010)

Best Book of 2011
Rupture (or A Thousand Cuts – US Title) by Simon Lelic

Worst Book of 2011
Tularosa by Michael McGarrity

Most Disappointing Book of 2011
The Tourist by Olen Steinhauer

Most surprising (in a good way) book of 2011
Still Life by Louise Penny

Book you recommended to people most in 2011
If the Dead Rise Not by Philip Kerr

Best series you discovered in 2011
Chief Inspector Armand Gamache – Still Life by Louise Penny

Favorite new authors you discovered in 2011
John LeCarre and Louise Penny

Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2011
The Spy Who Came In From the Cold by John Le Carre

Book you most anticipated in 2011
Moonlight Mile by Dennis Lehane

Favorite cover of a book you read in 2011
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John Le Carre (US paperback edition)

Most memorable character in 2011
Alec Leamas (The Spy Who Came In From the Cold by John Le Carre)

Most beautifully written book in 2011
The Spy Who Came In From the Cold by John Le Carre

Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2011
Rupture (or A Thousand Cuts – US Title) by Simon Lelic

Book you can’t believe you waited until 2011 to finally read
Still Life by Louise Penny and The Spy Who Came In From the Cold by John Le Carre

(Amazon, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK)

A book that I happened to pick up passing through one of my local bookstores having heard good things about both it and its predecessor “Box 21″ (Amazon, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK). It does come tagged inevitably with the “new Stieg Larsson” label that is attached to anything coming out from Scandinavia at the moment but aside from locations doesn’t actually share too much with the Millenium trilogy as it is less overtly political and consequently tighter overall and becomes one of those books that you don’t want to put down and makes me want to read more from this writing team.  I’ve recently purchased “Cell 8″ (Amazon, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK) and will get around to reading and reviewing that shortly.  As always, beware possible spoilers below.

Piet Hoffmann alias Paula is living a double life – one as husband & father and a second as an undercover informant for the police seeking to infiltrate the Polish mafia. When a drug deal goes bad and an undercover policeman is killed, Piet reports it but while one detective leads the murder inquiry, Piet’s handler is fully aware of all the details and together with the upper echelons places the truth under wraps in pursuit of the bigger fish. As Ewert Grens leads the inquiry he manages to discover a link to Piet which leads those in power to decide that the situation is too risky and to leak Piet’s activities to the Polish mafia and let them resolve the problem. A tense finale ensues as Piet has to stay alive long enough to escape prison, recapture & murder in order to get his life and family back. Luckily he is a resourceful character who manages to stay one step ahead of a sniper’s bullet amongst other things. But who will pay the price?

Excellent.

Michael Kelly #4 – We All Fall Down by Michael Harvey (Amazon, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK)

Frankly, I was slightly disappointed in this as I’ve really enjoyed the previous books in the Michael Kelly series and was looking forward to this one. There is enough in this book to keep me waiting for number 5 but …… there should be more than that. Opening chapters rely too much on you appreciating who the characters are and their roles from the preceding book and when there’s a gap since you read the previous entries in the series this leaves you struggling a little.

The pace does pick up at the end for a dramatic conclusion but the inclusion of an ex-cop PI in the middle of a nuclear, biological, chemical (NBC) attack jars from the outset I guess and never adequately convinces. The parts that work best for me are the interplay between the mayor & Kelly and also between Kelly and Rodriquez. These hark back also to the parts that I loved about the rest of the series.

When you start getting into NBC, Homeland Security & martial law you just wonder about how easy it is for Kelly to walk around the quarantine zone. Maybe I was slow to spot the connections but possibly this would have worked best as an out and out conspiracy thriller rather than a whodunnit that morphs into a conspiracy. Won’t exactly set the world alight with this one but Michael Harvey is a good writer and even a relatively poor entry from him is still probably better than a lot of the other novels out there.

Overall, this isn’t the best entry in the series so while I would still highly recommend the series as a whole you’d be far better off starting out with “The Chicago Way” and going from there.

The Michael Kelly Series

Michael Kelly #1 – The Chicago Way (Amazon, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK)

Michael Kelly #2 – The Fifth Floor (Amazon, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK)

Michael Kelly #3 – The Third Rail (Amazon, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK)

Michael Kelly #4 – We All Fall Down (Amazon, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK)

(Amazon, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK)

Set in a world where a CJD type disease has infected the majority of the population leading to a plague of insomnia which last months until those infected enter the final few weeks known as “the suffering”. This has caused society to break down with rampant lawlessness and armed factions roaming the streets with the wealthy holded up in their compounds and car bombings in the streets. There is no cure but a drug named Dreamer offers some respite leading to it becoming the most sought after black market product and more valuable than oil or cocaine and being traded for in gold. Central character is an undercover police officer Parker Haas who has been recruited to search for illicit trade in Dreamer leaving his sleepless wife to look after their baby who they haven’t had tested for fear of what the results may be and neither the baby nor he are sleeping as well as they used to so what is to become of them if they too are to succumb? Edging deeper into his street character he uncovers links with the megarich Cager whose family control the patent & manufacture of Dreamer. Why would they be selling their own drug on the black market and how did they manage to develop the only effective drug so quickly in response to a newly discovered disease? Is there a conspiracy or it is just his own lack of sleep that is driving his paranoia. I’ve read a few Charlie Huston books now but this is my favourite one yet mainly due to the emotional impact that it carries in its closing pages.

Other Related Posts: http://wp.me/p6kwu-oe

Start Shooting – Charlie Newton (Amazon US, Amazon UK)

January 2012

Officer Bobby Vargas and actress/waitress Arleen Brennan understand hopes-and-dreams, the bet-it-all kind that either propel you through the fire or burn you to death. At age thirteen a gruesome rape/murder rocked their lives and the unforgiving streets of Chicago’s Four Corners. Now, twenty-nine years later, a dying Chicago newspaper plans a serial exposé on that “solved” case, threatening to implicate Bobby and his older brother, Ruben—a decorated detective, patron del barrio. The “exposé” will lead Arleen and the Vargas brothers down an increasingly twisted and terrifying path, where the sins of the past threaten to destroy what remains of the truth.

As readers and critics discovered in his first novel, Calumet City (Amazon US, Amazon UK), Charlie Newton’s Chicago is a landscape as brutal and poignant as any in modern crime fiction—a multi-faceted, shockingly violent labyrinth of gangland politics, political backstabbing, corporate malfeasance, and, possibly, hope.

Wild Thing – Josh Bazell (Amazon US, Amazon UK)

February 2012

Former mob hitman Dr. Brnwa is on the case—and on the run—in the electrifying sequel to the bestseller Beat the Reaper (Amazon US, Amazon UK). It’s hard to find work as a doctor when using your real name will get you killed. So hard that when a reclusive billionaire offers Dr. Peter Brown, aka Pietro Brnwa, a job accompanying a sexy but self-destructive paleontologist on the world’s worst field assignment, Brown has no real choice but to say yes. Even if it means that an army of murderers, mobsters, and international drug dealers—not to mention the occasional lake monster—are about to have a serious Pietro Brnwa problem. Facing new and old monsters alike, Dr. Brnwa’s story continues in this darkly funny and lightning-paced follow up to Josh Bazell’s bestselling debut.

Tribulations of the Shortcut Man – PG Sturges (Amazon US, Amazon UK)

February 2012

From the writer described as “a worthy successor to Chandler” (Michael Connelly), the follow-up to Shortcut Man (Amazon US, Amazon UK), featuring Dick Henry, is a rousing tale of sin and salvation in the City of Angels. Dick Henry is the Shortcut Man, assisting people with their sticky situations in the belief that the shortest answer to many problems may not always be legal. In Tribulations of the Shortcut Man, he reluctantly provides assistance to an old girlfriend, pole dancer Pussy Grace.

After Pussy’s boyfriend, rich and famous developer and septuagenarian Art Lewis, has inexplicably cut off communication with her, Dick and Puss enter Lewis’s mansion disguised as gas company employees to investigate. Everything quickly goes to hell. Dick and Puss flee, leaving the very dead Art Lewis behind. Dick anticipates arrest until news breaks the next morning: Art Lewis has just gotten married and is now enjoying his honeymoon. Realizing a conspiracy is afoot, Dick must navigate his way through the underbelly of Los Angeles and a motley crew of miscreants in pursuit of justice.

Another week and another Duane Swierczynski novel down. This time it’s part two of the Charlie Hardie trilogy – Hell & Gone (Amazon UK). Following on from Fun & Games (Amazon UK)last week, I can’t believe I have to wait another 3 months until part 3 “Point & Shoot” (Amazon, Amazon UK) is released. Seriously? 3 months? Can I have an ARC now please? No? Thought not. D@mn!

I was expecting a straight continuation from Fun & Games (Amazon UK) but this goes so much further. The opening pages place the scale of what “The Accident People” can do on a whole other level as it sets up a grand conspiracy. While Fun & Games (Amazon UK) was essentially a “chase” novel, in Hell & Gone (Amazon UK) Charlie unfortunately has been captured and spirited away to a secret location and, confusingly to Charlie, installed as warden of this unknown underground prison. But how to get out when you don’t who you can trust – is it the prisoners or the guards and are under constant surveillance.

What follows is “The Milgram Experiment” writ large. Go ahead and follow the link to find out more – I had to because even though it rang a bell with me I couldn’t recall the specifics and when you are familiar with them, you will appreciate the ingenuity of what Swierczynski has achieved with it even more – but read the book first.

See also: REVIEW: Hell and Gone by Duane Swierczynski

Another marvellous book from John Hart – one wonders how long he can keep delivering at this level following multiple awards for previous books including “The Last Child” (Amazon, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK) and “Down River” (Amazon, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK).

Even the publisher blurb generates excitement.

An old man is dying. And when the old man is dead, they will come for him. And they will come for her, to make him hurt. She knows nothing of this. Not his past as a killer, or the danger he brought to her door. But he would go to hell to keep her safe. And come back burning.

“Iron House” (Amazon, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK) is the name of an orphanage where two brothers Michael and Julian are hoping for adoption but Michael runs away to cover Julian’s role in the death of another resident and thereafter their lives take wildly divergent paths – one as a successful children’s author and adopted son of a senator and the other as a “boogeyman” enforcer for organised crime. Their paths cross again later in life with the latter on the run from his erstwhile hitman colleagues and the former the prime suspect in a murder but how are these events connected and who is the killer?

Hart does a superb job of cranking up the anticipation levels and keeping you guessing. Some limited gruesome scenes in places may not be for the fainthearted. Highly recommended and another surefire contender for awards.

See also:

Coming Soon: Iron House by John Hart

Three for Three: John Hart’s Awards

I read “The Blonde” (Amazon, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK) a couple of years back and that was great – all high paced action and non-stop adrenaline. Fun & Games (Amazon UK) is in a similar vein. The grim mundane reality of everyday life doesn’t even merit a sideways glance here in a novel packed with wicked humour (see some of the quotes below). Caution – there may be some spoilers below.

Charlie Hardie has been watching dvds from the classic period of Hollywood and drowning in booze for the last three years ever since he accidently led some hitmen to the house of his best friend and watched his whole family die. Since then he hasn’t seen his own family and has fallen into a housesitting job that doesn’t require much of him other than the aforementioned dvd’s and booze until today that is when on his latest housesitting job in the Hollywood hills he encounters Lane Madden, an actress with dependency issues of her own which may explain the paranoia. But then again, just maybe they are actually trying to kill her and anyone else, specifically Charlie, that happens to get in the way. Creating the grand conspiracy to beat them all just about everyone and everything is set against Charlie on this one-man mission.

“Hardie had one of his usual take-stock-of-your-current-situation moments and realized he was standing on a downward slope of the Hollywood Hills, surrounded by multimillion-dollar upside-down homes, talking to a topless vigilante / killer. Okay. Just wanted to make sure he had it right.”

“But these motherfuckers weren’t zombies. They were smart. They were determined. They had gear. They had plans. They had ambitions. They had huge breasts. And they had all the time in the world.”

“Hardie took a step back, breathed out, put his palms on his knees. Thought about the events of the day. Women punched in the face: 2. Men thrown off something high: 2. Hardie was nothing if not consistent.”

“AD2 turned to see Hardie’s eyes glaring back up at him, and a blood-spattered face that now twisted into a wicked grin, and then there were three miniature explosions ripping through AD2′s body and he was floating in the air and the house tumbled around him and then, all too late, he remembered his gun, in his hand, which would have been really useful about two seconds ago.”

It’s a hell of an enjoyable ride with Charlie courtesy of Duane Swierczynski and while it may not be too taxing of a read sometimes pure escapism is exactly what you need particularly with a last line that sets up the next installment perfectly. It works for me anyway so next up I’m jumping straight into part two of the

Charlie Hardie trilogy – Hell & Gone (Amazon UK).

If you haven’t watched Luther (BBC) yet, then you’re missing the best crime miniseries on TV since The Wire.  It even features one of The Wire‘s principal actors: Idris Elba (aka Stringer Bell).  Luther is a daring new psychological thriller, and I doubt that television audiences have seen anything like it before.  Trust me, it’s definitely not for the timid.  Neil Cross is the writer and creator, and now he’s written a prequel and published it as a book.

LUTHER: The Calling by Neil Cross (UK – Aug. 2011) (US – Sept. 2012)

Synopsis:

Meet Detective Chief Inspector John Luther. He’s a murder detective. A near-genius. He’s brilliant; he’s intense; he’s instinctive. He’s obsessional. He’s dangerous. DCI John Luther has an extraordinary clearance rate. He commands outstanding loyalty from friends and colleagues. Nobody who ever stood at his side has a bad word to say about him. And yet there are rumours that DCI Luther is bad – not corrupt, not on the take, but tormented. Luther seethes with a hidden fury that at times he can barely control. Sometimes it sends him to the brink of madness, making him do things he shouldn’t; things way beyond the limits of the law.

Luther: The Calling, the first in a new series of novels featuring DCI John Luther, takes us into Luther’s past and into his mind. It is the story of the case that tore his personal and professional relationships apart and propelled him over the precipice. Beyond fury, beyond vengeance. All the way to murder…

__

Justified (FX) is another critically-acclaimed series, which finally found its momentum in Season Two.  Timothy Olyphant (Deadwood) brilliantly plays Marshall Raylan Givens.  The peculiar characters and the poor, rural setting of Eastern Kentucky’s coal-mining towns give Justified a distinctly Southern flavor and charm.

RAYLAN: A Novel by Elmore Leonard (UK – Jan. 17, 2012) (US – Jan. 31, 2012)

Synopsis:

U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (Pronto, Riding the Rap, Fire in the Hole) is one of Leonard’s most popular creations, thanks in part to the phenomenal success of the hit TV series “Justified.” Leonard’s Raylan shines a spotlight once again on the dedicated, if somewhat trigger-happy lawman, this time in his familiar but not particularly cozy milieu of Harlan County, Kentucky, where the drug dealing Crowe brothers are branching out into the human body parts business.

Hurt Machine (Amazon, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK) is the 7th book in the Moe Prager series from Reed Farrel Coleman, and it comes with quite a pedigree with three of the preceding books having garnered Shamus awards: The James Deans (Amazon, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK), Soul Patch (Amazon, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK) and Empty Ever After (Amazon, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK).

Personally I’ve read the first two entries in the series [Walking the Perfect Square (Amazon, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK) and Redemption Street (Amazon, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK)] but unfortunately the following one, The James Deans, has been languishing in my TBR pile for quite a while, and that has led me to neglect the series as a whole. So even though it meant reading the series out of order, I welcomed the chance to reacquaint myself with Moe.

From the opening chapters, there are multiple references to previous events and characters that make it obvious that this is the latest novel in a series. It made me wish that I had read the intervening entries so that I could more fully understand these references, but that impression fades relatively quickly as the narrative takes hold.

Recurring twin themes of mortality and redemption are evident throughout as Moe undertakes an investigation on behalf of his ex-wife, NYPD colleague and former PI partner, Carmella into the murder of her estranged sister. The case stands out on the basis of the marked lack of sympathy for the victim in a murder case. This is due to New Yorkers giving a collective shrug of their shoulders when they realised she was the same woman who as a FDNY EMT had refused to treat a man who subsequently died resulting in a widespread and public vilification from both inside and outside the FDNY.

Moe’s problems go far beyond a jealous girlfriend hurt by the sudden reappearance of his ex-wife days before his daughter’s wedding as it also re-opens old wounds for Moe who gets to see the stepson he helped raise for the first time in ten years.  Through the case, he also comes into contact with other former colleagues and shares recollections about others and what befell them. Traces of his former colleagues can be seen in the current police detective who assists him, but will he fall prey to the same vices of greed and ambition that seduced his friends?

Moe is Jewish but doesn’t really believe in a god and the title of “Hurt Machine” relates to Moe’s view of I guess both god(s), humans and even himself (in his melancholic moments) in that they visit hurt upon his fellow humans whether intended or not. An alternative title might equally be “Scar Tissue” recalling past pain and suffering as well as friendships lost.

Reminiscent of peeling an onion as the author slowly reveals additional layers in the narrative and the case gets more complex and sidetracked by tangents, he seems to take a fiendish delight in setting up a suspect to be guilty of numerous offences but innocent of the murder.  Along the way, we intersect with “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” date rape drugs & internet sexploitation.

Highly recommended.  I, for one, didn’t anticipate the conclusion and this will almost certainly be one of my top ten books for 2011. I can see myself adding some of the Moe Prager books that I’ve missed out on to my reading list for 2012.

The Moe Prager Series:

Moe Prager #1 – Walking the Perfect Square (Amazon, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK)

Moe Prager #2 – Redemption Street (Amazon, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK)

Moe Prager #3 – The James Deans (Amazon, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK)

2006 Shamus Award – Best Paperback Original

Moe Prager #4 – Soul Patch (Amazon, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK)

2008 Shamus Award – Best Novel

Moe Prager #5 – Empty Ever After (Amazon, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK)

2009 Shamus Award – Best Hardcover

Moe Prager #6 – Innocent Monster (Amazon, Amazon UK, Book Depository UK)

For Paperbacks, you can also view last year’s Holiday Gift Guide for Mystery Fans.

I just can’t wait to curl up with my tea and a book this holiday season.

THE ULTIMATE GIFT OF 2011:

Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson (2011) (Amazon UK, Book Depository UK)

This is the number one, most highly acclaimed book of 2011.

Synopsis:

“As I sleep, my mind will erase everything I did today. I will wake up tomorrow as I did this morning. Thinking I’m still a child. Thinking I have a whole lifetime of choice ahead of me. . . .”

Memories define us. So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep? Your name, your identity, your past, even the people you love—all forgotten overnight. And the one person you trust may be telling you only half the story.

Welcome to Christine’s life.

FOR THE HARD-BOILED P.I. LOVER:

If the Dead Rise Not by Philip Kerr (2010) (Amazon UK, Book Depository UK)

Mark my words: This book will be a classic.  No one writes better hard-boiled detective fiction than Philip Kerr.

Synopsis:

Berlin, 1934: The Nazis have secured the 1936 Olympiad for the city but are facing foreign resistance. Hitler and Avery Brundage, the head of the U.S. Olympic Committee, have connived to soft-pedal Nazi anti- Semitism and convince America to participate. Bernie Gunther, now the house detective at an upscale Berlin hotel, is swept into this world of international corruption and dangerous double-dealing, caught between the warring factions of the Nazi apparatus.

Havana, 1954: Batista, aided by the CIA, has just seized power; Castro is in prison; and the American Mafia is quickly gaining a stranglehold on the city’s exploding gaming and prostitution industries. Bernie, who has been unceremoniously kicked out of Buenos Aires, has resurfaced in Cuba with a new life, seemingly one of routine and relative peace. But Bernie discovers that he truly cannot outrun the burden of his past: He soon collides with a vicious killer from his Berlin days, who is mysteriously murdered not long afterward-and an old lover, who may be the murderer.

FOR THE CONTEMPORARY P.I. LOVER:

The Gentlemen’s Hour by Don Winslow (2011) (Amazon UK, Book Depository UK)

The highly acclaimed sequel to Don Wilson’s The Dawn Patrol.  If you like mysteries set in sunny California, this one is for you.

Synopsis:

Laid back, ultra–California cool, the former cop turned PI begins each day with the Dawn Patrol, a close-knit group of surfers, best friends who not only ride waves together but have one another’s backs out of the water. It’s the life Boone loves, all he wants. To him, “There’s no such thing as a bad day at the beach.” So when one of their own is murdered—especially an icon like Kelly Kuhio, a local hero—and another surfer, a young punk from the Rockpile Crew, stands accused, the small world of Pacific Beach is rocked to its core.

Boone knows he can no longer ignore the painful truth that violence is seeping into the surfing community. But when he agrees to help the defense, the outrage he courts from the community, and the Dawn Patrol, is more than he ever anticipated. He’s risking losing the relationships that define his life— just when he needs them most.

As Boone digs deeper into San Diego’s murkier side, delving into places the city’s reputation conscious establishment would rather he left alone, it becomes clear that more than a murder case is at stake. He soon finds himself out there alone, struggling to stay afloat, as the waves get rougher and rougher . . . and more deadly.

FOR THE NOIR LOVER:

The Killer’s Essence by Dave Zeltserman (2011) (Amazon UK, Book Depository UK)

I’ve been waiting all year for this book.  Dave Zeltserman’s suspenseful stories always leave you wanting more.

Synopsis:

Stan Green is a New York City Homicide Detective who has seen better days. As his family life threatens to disintegrate and his work partner disappears, he is assigned to the most shocking case of his career-a strange and remarkably violent murder. Stan must look into the crime alone. He finds just one witness, a neurologically disabled recluse who sees through the souls of others as demonic hallucinations. As more murders occur, and he drifts further from his family and friends, Stan’s suspicion and rage escalate. Soon he realizes that the deaths fall into the pattern of a serial killer–and starts to believe that his witness is not at all insane, but terrifyingly perceptive . . .

FOR THE POLICE PROCEDURAL LOVER:

The Drop by Michael Connelly (2011) (Amazon UK, Book Depository UK)

There is no greater pleasure than reading a Harry Bosch novel.  The Drop is no exception.

Synopsis:

Harry Bosch has been given three years before he must retire from the LAPD, and he wants cases more fiercely than ever. In one morning, he gets two. DNA from a 1989 rape and murder matches a 29-year-old convicted rapist. Was he an eight-year-old killer or has something gone terribly wrong in the new Regional Crime Lab? The latter possibility could compromise all of the lab’s DNA cases currently in court.

Then Bosch and his partner are called to a death scene fraught with internal politics. Councilman Irvin Irving’s son jumped or was pushed from a window at the Chateau Marmont. Irving, Bosch’s longtime nemesis, has demanded that Harry handle the investigation. Relentlessly pursuing both cases, Bosch makes two chilling discoveries: a killer operating unknown in the city for as many as three decades, and a political conspiracy that goes back into the dark history of the police department.

FOR THE BRITISH MYSTERY LOVER:

The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz (2011) (Amazon UK, Book Depository UK)

For the first time in its one-hundred-and-twenty-five-year history, the Arthur Conan Doyle Estate has authorized a new Sherlock Holmes novel.  If you’ve ever watched Anthony Horowitz’s Foyle’s War, you know that this novel will be worth it.

Synopsis:

London, 1890. 221B Baker St. A fine art dealer named Edmund Carstairs visits Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson to beg for their help. He is being menaced by a strange man in a flat cap – a wanted criminal who seems to have followed him all the way from America. In the days that follow, his home is robbed, his family is threatened. And then the first murder takes place.

Almost unwillingly, Holmes and Watson find themselves being drawn ever deeper into an international conspiracy connected to the teeming criminal underworld of Boston, the gaslit streets of London, opium dens and much, much more. And as they dig, they begin to hear the whispered phrase-the House of Silk-a mysterious entity that connects the highest levels of government to the deepest depths of criminality. Holmes begins to fear that he has uncovered a conspiracy that threatens to tear apart the very fabric of society.

FOR THE SPY LOVER:

Trinity Six by Charles Cumming (2011) (Amazon UK, Book Depository UK)

The most closely-guarded secret of the Cold War is about to be exposed – the identity of a SIXTH member of the infamous Cambridge spy ring.  You’re in for a great spy story.  

Synopsis:

London, 1992. Late one night, Edward Crane, 76, is declared dead at a London hospital. An obituary describes him only as a ‘resourceful career diplomat’. But Crane was much more than that – and the circumstances surrounding his death are far from what they seem.

Fifteen years later, academic Sam Gaddis needs money. When a journalist friend asks for his help researching a possible sixth member of the notorious Trinity spy ring, Gaddis knows that she’s onto a story that could turn his fortunes around. But within hours the journalist is dead, apparently from a heart attack.

Taking over her investigation, Gaddis trails a man who claims to know the truth about Edward Crane. Europe still echoes with decades of deadly disinformation on both sides of the Iron Curtain. And as Gaddis follows a series of leads across the continent, he approaches a shocking revelation – one which will rock the foundations of politics from London to Moscow…

FOR THE PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER LOVER:

Iron House by John Hart (2011) (Amazon UK, Book Depository UK)

One of the most prolific and highly regarded writers today, John Hart just keeps on surprising us.  He’s that good!

Synopsis:

Two babies left to die in an icy creek. Two boys who must fight to survive. Two men, two very different lives. One unbreakable bond.

When a twelve-year-old boy murders his tormentor in their brutal orphanage, his older brother takes the blame and runs to New York – into the heart of organized crime. Two decades later, Michael returns to North Carolina with a sentence on his head, the mob in hot pursuit and his long-lost brother in trouble of a different kind. With vast sums in play, political fortunes at risk and bodies piling up, the brothers must reunite to solve the mystery of their shared past.

FOR THE ACTION THRILLER LOVER:

Fun & Games by Duane Swierczynski (2011) (Amazon UK, Book Depository UK)

Buckle your seatbelt.  This is the first of three explosive pulp thrillers from Duane Swierczynski. You won’t be disappointed, and seconds after you turn the last page, you’ll want to get Hell and Gone as soon as possible.

Synopsis:

Charlie Hardie, an ex-cop still reeling from the revenge killing of his former partner’s entire family, fears one thing above all else: that he’ll suffer the same fate.

Languishing in self-imposed exile, Hardie has become a glorified house sitter. His latest gig comes replete with an illegally squatting B-movie actress who rants about hit men who specialize in making deaths look like accidents. Unfortunately, it’s the real deal. Hardie finds himself squared off against a small army of the most lethal men in the world: The Accident People.

It’s nothing personal-the girl just happens to be the next name on their list. For Hardie, though, it’s intensely personal. He’s not about to let more innocent people die. Not on his watch.

FOR THE GREAT OUTDOORS MYSTERY LOVER:

The Poacher’s Son by Paul Doiron (2010) (Amazon UK, Book Depository UK)

I’m a sucker for mysteries set in the great outdoors.  Although very different from C.J. Box’s game warden Joe Pickett, you’ll love Paul Doiron’s latest debut featuring Mike Bowditch, a game warden in Maine.

Synopsis:

Set in the wilds of Maine, this is an explosive tale of an estranged son thrust into the hunt for a murderous fugitive—his own father. Game warden Mike Bowditch returns home one evening to find an alarming voice from the past on his answering machine: his father Jack, a hard drinking womanizer who makes his living poaching illegal game. An even more frightening call comes the next morning from the police: they are searching for the man who killed a beloved local cop the night before—and his father is their prime suspect. Jack has escaped from police custody, and only Mike believes that his tormented father might not be guilty.

Now, alienated from the woman he loves, shunned by colleagues who have no sympathy for the suspected cop-killer, Mike must come to terms with his haunted past. He knows firsthand Jack’s brutality, but is the man capable of murder? Desperate and alone, he strikes up an uneasy alliance with a retired warden pilot, and together the two men journey deep into the Maine wilderness in search of a runaway fugitive. But the only way for Mike to save his father is to find the real killer—which could mean putting everyone he loves in the line of fire.

FOR THE COZY VILLAGE MYSTERY LOVER:

Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny (2010) (Amazon UK, Book Depository UK)

Lousie Penny is simply the best cozy mystery author since Agatha Christie, and Bury Your Dead is one of her best novels.

Synopsis:

It is Winter Carnival in Quebec City, bitterly cold and surpassingly beautiful. Chief Inspector Armand Gamache has come not to join the revels but to recover from an investigation gone hauntingly wrong. But violent death is inescapable, even in the apparent sanctuary of the Literary and Historical Society— where an obsessive historian’s quest for the remains of the founder of Quebec, Samuel de Champlain, ends in murder. Could a secret buried with Champlain for nearly 400 years be so dreadful that someone would kill to protect it?

Although he is supposed to be on leave, Gamache cannot walk away from a crime that threatens to ignite long-smoldering tensions between the English and the French. Meanwhile, he is receiving disquieting letters from the village of Three Pines, where beloved Bistro owner Olivier was recently convicted of murder. “It doesn’t make sense,” Olivier’s partner writes every day. “He didn’t do it, you know.” As past and present collide in this astonishing novel, Gamache must relive the terrible event of his own past before he can bury his dead.

FOR THE LEGAL THRILLER LOVER:

The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly (2011) (Amazon UK, Book Depository UK)

Only Connelly can deliver such a compelling story about our current financial woes.  Hands down, Mickey Haller is my favorite attorney to read to about.  

Synopsis:

Mickey Haller has fallen on tough times. He expands his business into foreclosure defense, only to see one of his clients accused of killing the banker she blames for trying to take away her home.

Mickey puts his team into high gear to exonerate Lisa Trammel, even though the evidence and his own suspicions tell him his client is guilty. Soon after he learns that the victim had black market dealings of his own, Haller is assaulted, too–and he’s certain he’s on the right trail. Despite the danger and uncertainty, Haller mounts the best defense of his career in a trial where the last surprise comes after the verdict is in.

FOR THE HISTORICAL MYSTERY LOVER:

Heartstone by C.J. Sansom (2011) (Amazon UK, Book Depository UK)

If you haven’t started C.J. Sansom’s Matthew Shardlake series, you’ve been missing the most enjoyable reading experiences of our life.  Sansom’s latest is no different. It sucks you in, and you don’t want to leave its pages. 

Synopsis:

Summer, 1545. England is at war, and Matthew Shardlake is about to encounter the most politically dangerous case of his career. While a massive French fleet prepares to attack, every able-bodied man is being pressed into military service. Meanwhile, an old servant of Queen Catherine Parr asks Shardlake to investigate claims of “monstrous wrongs” committed against a young ward of the court. Shardlake’s inquiries take him and his loyal assistant, Jack Barak, to Hoyland Priory and Portsmouth, where the English fleet is gathering. There they uncover a startling link between the ward and a woman incarcerated in Bedlam.

With a fantastic backdrop of wartime intrigue and a dramatic finale onboard one of Henry VIII’s great warships, Heartstone is certain to catapult this internationally bestselling series to greater prominence.

FOR THE INTERNATIONAL MYSTERY LOVER:

The Snowman by Jo Nesbo (2011) (Amazon UK, Book Depository UK)

Harry Hole is the future of detective fiction.  You won’t be disappointed.

Synopsis:

Internationally acclaimed crime writer Jo Nesbø’s antihero police investigator, Harry Hole, is back in a bone-chilling thriller that will take Hole to the brink of insanity.

Oslo in November. The first snow of the season has fallen. A boy named Jonas wakes in the night to find his mother gone. Out his window, in the cold moonlight, he sees the snowman that inexplicably appeared in the yard earlier in the day. Around its neck is his mother’s pink scarf.

Hole suspects a link between a menacing letter he’s received and the disappearance of Jonas’s mother—and of perhaps a dozen other women, all of whom went missing on the day of a first snowfall. As his investigation deepens, something else emerges: he is becoming a pawn in an increasingly terrifying game whose rules are devised—and constantly revised—by the killer.

Have a wonderful holiday!