I've been lucky--I've enjoyed a string of excellent
books:
TWO-WAY SPLIT by Allan "Sunshine" Guthrie: I've read two
truly great hardboiled novels this year, and this is one of
them. Funny, ass-kicking, brutal, and with a protagonist
(Pearce) you'll want to adopt. Full disclosure: Al is my
editor, but I'd say the same thing, even if I didn't know
him. (Come to think of it, thank God I don't have to pretend
I like his stuff...)
THE DRAMATIST, by Ken Bruen. This is my other favorite
hardboiled novel of the year. It's fourth in the Jack Taylor
series, available from Ken's Irish publisher, Brandon. (We're
only up to #2 here in the U.S., with KILLING OF THE TINKERS.)
One of the last sequences is the most devestating thing I've
ever read. I actually dropped the book when I read it.
NIGHT OF THE TOADS, by Michael Collins: I've never read any
Dan Fortune, and this was a superb introduction. I felt like
I was dropped right in the middle of New York City in the
early '70s. I'm surprised this series isn't praised
more.
BAIT MONEY, by Max Allan Collins. I found the first three
"Nolan" novels in Pinnacle paperbacks, and they're really
crackin' reads. The Richard Stark influence is obvious, but
Collins makes it his own. (Hard Case Crime is reprinting the
first two novels as TWO FOR THE MONEY this fall.)
BLACK DAHLIA AVENGER, by Steve Hodel. This should have nabbed
the Edgar, in my humble opnion. There's a bombshell every
couple of pages, and tons of small details that Rara-Avians
will appreciate. (For instance, Fred Sexton, the artist who
designed the "Black Bird" statue from THE MALTESE FALCON, is
alleged to have helped Steve's father in the Dahlia torture
and killing.)
Cheers,
Duane Swierczynski
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