Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A young deformed and mute boy is rejected by his father than his mother. He is accepted by an older man who taught him how to read a write, but he died of old age. Left alone he finds nothing but trouble and has to flee his home town.
Comments: Yis is an odd and slow cooker novel of Western delights.
Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A single mother working an enormous amount of hours for little pay takes a night for herself and winds up in bed with a drug dealing psycho. He winds up dead, she has been drugged and can not remember if she killed him or someone else. Also we are missing a bag full of drug cash. All the while the cops are on the hunt to see who killed the scum bag and where’s the cash.
Comments: A wild ride of a debut novel. A F Carter is the real deal.
Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A former Minneapolis police officer holding in the woods like a hermit is asked by the former county sheriff to look into his missing daughter and grandson when the current sheriff thinks it’s a simple runaway.
Comments: Unfortunately weakly plotted and time line and distances are off, probably to not overly complex the plot. Rather formulated and predictable unlike Eskens previously brilliant novels.
Rating: Starred Review
Summary: A women with little going on decides to deep dive and create a crime podcast about a unsolved double murder around Christmas time in 1972 on the border of North Carolina and Southern Virginia. She enlists the help of a famous Washed up TV news anchor and some notes from her Grandfather’s attic she discovered. Told from a parent and past narrative.
Comments: A brilliant developed crime novel expertly written. Pruitt nails the narrative of the time.
Rating: Starred Review
Summary: Before a fathers release from prison for a technicality he has to defend himself from a ruthless Aryan gang. Upon his release he kidnaps his daughter when her mother is murdered by the gang in revenge. He fleas with his daughter and seeks to survive a gangland murder on himself and daughter.
Comments: A high octane violent crime thriller. Of the likes of Eli Cranor or S A Crosby float your reading boat, this will be right up your Southern Cali grill. Don’t ignore Harper like I did. Jump on it.
Rating: Starred Reviews
Summaries: The city of Baxter is going to be transformed after the announcement of a huge Nissan factory being built. Two nifty crimes stories expertly written from various character points of view. Drugs, money, desperate people.
Comments: Highly recommended crime novels. Fast paced and page flippers.
http://smile.amazon.com/A.-F.-Carter/e/B08CZYJS7W%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share
Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An American trying to start a career as a private detective in the roaring Havana of the 50’s gets himself involved in the Batista regimes attempts to end any revolution against there oh so great government.
Comments: Viva Cuba Libre Revolutions have consequences. A great crime noir and it looks like we will get a second novel here. I can’t wait.
Rating: Starred Review
Summary: A struggling author without any ideas for a new novel meets a former friend for a drink and is given an idea to look at his family past. A well off Newton Massachusetts women married to a highly successful dominant husband, disappears from her family in the mid 70’s without a trace for nearly 18 years. Told brilliantly by multiple characters we dive deadly into family accusations and hate.
Comments: Completely honest here: The story unfolds in such a way I thought is was real for the first half of the book. Absorbing and suspenseful you will not put it down. We waited a long time for a new William Landay book, and he goes and one ups us all and writes the novel of the year. Highly recommended.
Rating: Starred Review
Summary: An Earl Swagger prequel. The world is in the midsts of WW2 and Earl is back from the pacific war theater where he island hopped and became somewhat of a legend war god. When the war in Europe gets bogged down by some mysterious snipers in the hedge grows of France interrupting the D-day push the OSS calls on a Earl to solve the problem he is only capable to figure out.
Comments: Hunters gift as a writer is to slowly turn the thermostat up. No slow burn, but a continuous stoking the fire to keep the reader page flipping. His love for the rifle, the precision of shooting, oh I know how difficult this is, lives in his story. I would highly recommend some research and back reading of the Earl Swagger books. They are all excellent.
Rating: Starred Review
Summary: Back dropped in a dry dusty town during the annual festival named Sunsetter a series drug deals and possessions a young man dies of a overdose setting off a bleak chain of events. The discovery of who is doing the distribution will forever change the lives of the people involved.
Comments: I will say up front this is a top 10 novel of the year for me. Bleak, dark, and crime noir to the very core of writing. Some serious chops go into writing a novel this good. No good happens here. Don’t expect smiley faces. So great. Highly recommended.
Rating: 4 stars.
When a very popular Doctor at A Manhattan hospital is found dead in her car Jack Stapleton is asked by his wife to look into it and perform the autopsy. Jack doesn’t like what he sees but can’t prove anything either. In long tradition Jack goes into investigation mode, even though he’s been pretty well forbidden.
Comments: Medical thrillers are always fun and Cook knows how to create a page turner. Don’t worry about a slow parts because there are none.
Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Aaron Falk returns to Maralee an outback town to visit his friend who he will be a godfather to his son. Falk started looking into a missing women’s disappearance and uncommon ears a mixed up relationship family secrets and a towns hidden pasts.
Comments: A tidy little crime novels that hits on all cylinders. Much enjoying the Falk series and to see where it might go. A little tease towards the end. Great fast paced read.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09XL72RWP/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0
Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A aimless attorney meanders around New York City working low level cases for little money. He becomes involved some kind of book theft, or something with authors that is stolen, supposedly.
Comments: I love crime reads. It’s an outstanding website. Rich in atmosphere. Light on plotting. Or maybe it was me. I love Boyles darker catholic version of Brooklyn
Starred review:
Summary: Those of you familiar with the original Heat movie, this is the prequel. Cops and robbers glamour.
Comments: Written somewhat like supporter Winslow, this is probably the novel of the year. Smoothly written with Lenny of pazzz. It’s that good. Meg Gardiner….big win.
Rating: Stared Review
Summary: Jack Reacher strolls into a small Colorado town and witnesses a women get pushed into a moving bus. A teen boy runs from an abusive foster mother. A private prison run by goons is up to something Child blends all together.
Comments: Andrew Child takes the Reacher novels into a new category by taking different story arcs and making a nifty little tie in to the entire plot. Well done. Highly recommend.
Starred Review
Summary: A LA Times investigative journalist gets a tip concerning a doctor and his girlfriend. Over several years highs his own bosses to uncover cover ups corruption at USC and the Times bosses to cover for the university.
Comments: A very true story of cover ups the highest levels of American universities. This is a page turner. Highly recommended.
Rating: 5 stars
Summary: When a women with little income receives a letter of eminent domain, from a very crooked Mayor of a town in the corrupt New Jersey, she tries as mightily as a poor person can to fight for her neighborhood.
Comments: A somewhat over the top plot, but the pace and the wild ride are sure fun. A relatively short read you can fly through.
Rating: Stared Review
Summary: Xavier Wallace has severe damage to his head from years of MMA fights. While training with a younger man he severely beats him. He can barley manage his life when a opportunity to fight again and redeem a suspension comes up. As Xavier looks to navigate his training, his father a white man with a hate filled past is dying in a care home.
Summary: A complicated emotional book to describe doesn’t do justice on how great this novel is. Vercher doesn’t pull punches in his second novel. You will be gut and head punched by this novel. Story telling at his finest. Comparisons do not justify his writing, but think Eli Cranor and S. A. Cosby. Must read author.
Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Two young men that were childhood friends go on different life paths. When Aaron is released from prison Bobby picks him up to take him home. On the way a fight breaks out and there paths once again meet in a devastating way.
Comments: Like a bad reader and a bad reviewer that I am, I skipped the debut of Vercher. The staying power of Vercher is loud and I finally got to it. Holy cow did I waste a year. Great hardcore noir crime novel. Vercher can outright tell a character driven novel. Highly recommended. Now reading his sophomore novel set in one of my favorite cities, Philadelphia. It a barn burner already.
A Friend is a Gift You Give Yourself by William Boyle
Rating: Stared Review
Summary: When a widowed women who was married to a high level mobster, shot on their front steps, is asked by a lonely older neighbor for a little companionship she fleas to her estranged daughters house to seek refuge. Little does she know what waits there for her.
Comments: I have now finished all of Boyles novels. Boyle is writing at the highest level. Read his work, you will not be disappointed.
Rating: Starred review
Summary: Andrew returns to the town in Maine where he grew up and worked to teach at the high school and coach the girls LaCross team. Andrew here’s a story about the local lobster family he has a past with he digs deeper into there past and there crime roots.
Comments: Propulsive character driven narrative told from four family members story. Unique page turner. Well done Mr. White!
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B09FNZSNGR/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0
Rating: 3.5 stars
Summary: A PI named Happy Doll is asked by a elderly friend to donate a kidney. Doll hesitates and the old guy looks for an alternative. When the old guy turns up with a bullet hole at Dolls house, Doll can’t help to wonder how.
Comments: Having a cute little dog with you will not solve your problems. Doll is worth the read and a follow up soon to be released.
Starred review.
Summary: John Corey is back on Long Island resting away at his rich uncles house when former lover Beth Penrose shows up with a offer for a PI job nearby. Corey is reluctant but because he gets an offer to reacquaint with Beth he follows through with and interview. Obviously Corey spots the trap pretty quickly.
Comments: DeMille starts the book out a tad slow, but he quickly turns on the jets and John Corey is back, funny, and rage filled as ever. Great stuff from a master writer.
Rating: Stared review
Summary: Chicago’s longest serving capo sets Nicky Pins up to take care of some personal business when a jewelry heist committed by another group of expert thieves is not taken keenly by rival gangland capo. Nicky puts all his pins in one basket along with his child hood friends to keep Tony Accardo happy.
Comments: Having Hogan writing again would be enough of a celebration, but then he goes and writes the best book of 2022. A can’t miss thriller/heists novel. Keep writing Mr. Hogan, keep writing.
Summary: A recently fired police detective finds a note in a book that leads her to investigate privately the message. It leads her on a personal journey of a former relationship and a family that recently died and the bodies dispersed.
Comments: I didn’t quite get the hype behind this novel. A science fiction slash crime novel with some sadness.
Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A group of nine people randomly receive a letter in the mail with there name and a list of the others on it. When suddenly out of nowhere they begin to be murdered, someone in the FBI must find out who is behind the list and murdering them.
Comments: A weak plotted no character development take off of the Agatha Christie novel. Fast paced but light of development.
Rating: Starred Review
Summary: Joey is visiting his older mother and father in Beaufort SC. His father has a rare from of memory loss. As Joey comes to grips with his fathers condition he meets a wonderful women and they strike quite the relationship. When a rich man in town is killed Joey must defend his father to the highest degree of possibly dishonesty.
Comments: Goldman takes a break from Nils Shapiro series and write maybe his best book yet. Highly recommended and maybe a tear from a wet eye will develop. Outstanding!
Rating: 5 stars
Mike Bowditch is back as series regular up to an amazing 13 book. Mike and his girlfriend Stacey are out on the main coast kayaking to a remote bird San at the request of one of the researches. He’s on high alert when the researcher asks to bring his gun along. All signs lead to big trouble as Mike connects the dots of what exactly is a very weird set of people on the Maine coastal islands
Comments: Doiron is a fun author and continues to build a great series. Doiron compares nicely with Peter Heller or CJ Box. Great books.
Rating: Stared Review
Summary: Long time great character Cork O’Conner is back in Aurora working the hamburger stand as summer is about to bloom in the North woods of the great Minnesota forests. Cork is approached by a man asking for help finding his wife who seemingly left him. Corks asks his good friend Henry and finds out the women is with him in the process of a “sweat” Things come together quickly as the women is being hunted by a group of men looking for her husband and the chase throughout the beautiful north Minnesota woods ensues.
Comments: Kent Krueger is a peer storyteller and at his finest once again. This is still at book 19 ago to must read series. Fantastic.
Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Two detectives assigned for the first time together try to navigate a mysterious man using healthy people to transplant organs into not healthy people for a price. Many plot lines keep the story pacing fast and furious ending.
Comments: My first Candice Fox novel, much like Tana French I will be back for more.
Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A teen boy that is talented football player lives a highly impoverished life in rural Arkansas. A coach looking for a restart to his coaching career aided by his committed family. These two collide with massive violence from the beginning to the final pages.
Comments: A massive achievement of a debut power house novel. Outstanding rural writing with dialect from the source. Highly recommended.
Rating: Starred Review
Summary: A successful father and husband gets caught up in his friend/bosses in many schemes to make money. He also decides to help coach his daughters high school basketball team. Things go down hill fast when the FBI shows up asking questions.
Comments: Len Joy is an expert and gifted storyteller. Masterfull writing.
Rating: 5 stars
Summary A blended new family is on a outback vacation in Melbourne and decides to day trip to a nearby island to see Aussie wild life. When the husband accidentally hit a young deaf woman on a bike, the family takes into their own hands to serve justice.
Comments: A propulsive page suspense filled turner. Some twisty turners and a heroine comes to life.
Rating: Starred Review
Summary: A young man with a very bright future who has done everything right. He attends a high school party that goes wrong and he fleas with friends in the back of a pickup. When another fires a gun at a cop car while in a high speed incident his life is forever changed.
Comments: This might be the novel of the year for crime readers. Thick overwhelming suspense and sadness. Feels very real. Outstanding novel.
Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Two young women with influence are shot in a Malibu Park while camping. Detective Eve Ronin and old timer Duncan Dounuts is dispatched to the park to find the killer. Through a through investigation they determine there is a serial shooter on the loose. Who is it?
Comments: Based on a true story this is a fun page turner for the crime lover in you.
Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Ide recreates the famous Philip Marlowe. Marlowe is asked by a fading actress to look for her missing teenage daughter after the murder of her husband. Things go quickly sideways for Marlowe when he finds the girl and her version of the events at home.
Comments: Ide is fantastic. More please ASAP. The Marlowe creation is as any crime character out there.
Rating: Starred Review
Summary: A young women forced into prostitution and paired up with the mayor of Atlanta where he he shared all his secrets is taken into the Georgia backwoods to be killed. When old geezer Leonard interrupts their plans he takes Maya into his home for safe keeping.
Comments: Farris lays the atmosphere on fire with this graphic crime novel set mostly in the Georgia rural woods. The characters Maya and Leonard are electric. Best novel of 2022 so far. Must read.
Rating: 3 stars
Summary:
Junior Bender is asked by a local aging mobster to get his stolen investment back from a local rock concert tour made of past rock star's. Bender must also entertain his teen daughter and delves into his career while teaching the expert burglar trade to her.
Comments: Plenty of woke references to plot the book to be sure Hallinan shows his bonafides to the readers that need such reference to there reading. Bender never really gets to use his skills, but suddenly becomes and investigator.
Rating: 4 stars
Prolific Minnesota crime writer brings back Rushmore McKenzie surviving a almost fatal shooting. Now recovered he is bored and his long time partner asks him to look into a the death of a friends very rich grandmother. Although it seems straightforward McKenzie finds otherwise.
Comments: A nifty crime novel with a very Agatha Christie style ending. Housewright does Minnesota crime writing a great service.
Rating: Starred Review
Summary: A twin sister living a quiet safe and prepared life in London is called by her parents that her twin sister is dead in New York City. She rushes to New York to console her parents and grieve her awful murder.
Comments: Dean is amazing suspense writer. Never saw a major twist coming and the pages flip almost by themselves. Totally absorbing and shocking. Must read novel of the year.
Rating: Starred Review
Summary: A small town in the outback of Australia is fractured when a young girl on her way home from school with her best friend goes missing. The investigation centers around a group of families interwoven and told from different character point of view.
Comments: A brilliant crime novel that goes bleak and dark with horrible consequences. It a no win crime novel told from various characters with a nifty ending told from the characters. Highly recommend for those who have read those great out Outback crime novels.
Rating: Stared Review
Summary: Successful writer Aaron Holland Broussard is tangled in emotion of the sudden lose of his daughter. He is haunted by her ghost. When he has his barn door painted with a swastika it sets in motion events that will expose the drug culture on Montana.
Comments: Lots of ghost and goblins. Equal part ghost story and crime novel. Do you talk to the dead?
Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A teen boy who witnessed his father commit suicide with a shotgun starts to question his father death. The path leads him to many family secrets and his own downfall.
Comments: A peel the onion back suspense novel that has some serious shocks to the system. A very compelling read. Highly recommend.
