Skip to main content

I'm gonna buy these books

In version 1.0 of this blog I wrote quarterly book release previews. I enjoyed that aspect a great deal, so here are a few things I'll buy in the coming months.

WAYFARING STRANGER - James Lee Burke - Out Now
A strictly non-series book from Mr. Burke is a rare occurrence...and honestly I am not even 100% that WAYFARING STRANGER does not refer to previous work. In the past, I have fooled myself into believing that I did not have to buy them to have the complete canon. That was foolish thinking. [Editors Note: A quick glance of Mr. Burke's website notes the main character being a part of the large 'Holland' clan.] 

THE RECKONING - Rennie Airth - Out Now
The first in this series, RIVER OF DARKNESS, lingers long in my memory. It is a great book. The two sequels are a case of diminishing returns. I don't believe either of those books survived the purge where as I would be loathed to part with RIVER OF DARKNESS. Perhaps it is the several year intermission between each book? It hardly matters as I my connection with the first is strong enough to seek the latest out when it hits shelves. 

THE DROP - Dennis Lehane - Out Now
A novelization to the coming movie which is also an adaptation of Mr. Lehane's highly regarded short, Animal Rescue. Of all the books on this list, this comes as the biggest surprise. The sequel to LIVE BY NIGHT, WORLD GONE BY was scheduled for a hot second this spring before being pushed a full year.  I wonder if this novel and that movie are the reason? [Editors Note: This could just be Amazon weirdness.]

THE SUN IS GOD - Adrian McKinty - September 9
I have blathered on and on about how I think this guy is great. You should buy all his books. His recent Duffy Trilogy is fantastic. Bonus is that Mr. McKinty is slated to attend this year Bouchercon in Long Beach. I have many books for him to sign.

PERFIDIA - James Ellroy - September 9th
A return to Los Angeles, and hopefully (more) complete sentences from Mr. Ellroy. Characters from the LA Quartet mix with characters from his Underworld U.S.A books to deliver what is likely a dense narrative of WWII era Los Angeles.

ROSE GOLD - Walter Mosley - September 23
Last year's LITTLE GREEN was the best Easy Rawlins since...well a long time. Walter Mosley and Easy Rawlins are a part of my origin story. I will follow them down the trail for as long as I can read words on the printed page...or until they force an e-reader into my hands...when in which case I'll open an Etsy shoppe and sell hand made books.

THE BURNING ROOM - Michael Connelly - Novemebr 3
Mr. Connelly has not missed in a very long time. It is a Bosch book this go around, and I can't help but think that Mickey Haller is the counterbalance to Mr. Connelly's Los Angeles. An obvious statement, but I mean this more for Connelly as an author of Los Angeles based crime fiction.

THE PROMISE - Robert Crais - November 4
Everyone is back for Robert Crais's latest. And I mean everyone. Elvis, Joe, that dog from the last book. Mr. Crais has been on a pretty solid run of books lately, and I mean come on....it is Robert Crais. Even an 'off' Crais is still better than 90% of almost anyone else.

NO KNOWN GRAVE - Maureen Jennings - November 28
One of my favorite authors. She is now three books deep into a series that I only recently discovered. Lots to catch up. [Editors Note: Read the first in the series, Season of Darkness. It was good but not up to the standard of the Murdoch books. Still, solid.]

Perhaps I have missed others, but my new book buying is strictly author maintenance. Perhaps in 2015 I will look to add an author to The Hungry Detective stable. I'll need to make more serious in roads into the back catalog of books I still need to fill out the gaps in the authors I already collect. I should gather names of perspective authors...

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is it 'Aughts' or 'Oughts' - The Best of the Decade Pt. II

Better late than what quite possibly could have been never. I found the whole task of formulating and compiling this list to be not very enjoyable. Ugh. Not sure why this list proved laborious to produce. Holidays are not a good time for anything except opening gifts... like a 47" LG LCD television. Let's quit with the complaining and finish the list. If you started here you should go back to the beginning . 5 . DIRT - Sean Doolittle (2001) This was a real toss up for me. I could just as easily gone with the funny and brutal THE CLEAN UP. DIRT gets it by a nose because a lot of what I enjoy about Crime Fiction is discovery. THE CLEAN UP is a great book, one that you should read, but I knew it was going to be good going in. Mr. Doolittle is a terrific writer of human frailty. DIRT contains one of the great truisms of human behavior that we frantically keep secrets from our closest friends and family while just as equally hoping these secrets will be discovered and accepted. I ...
4 comments
Read more

The Very Best of Mr. Michael Connelly - Part 2

My August 31 post of The Hungry Detective ranked all the non-Bosch books. This list returns to take on the larger task of Mr. Heironimous Bosch. 9 Dragons made its appearance right before the Indy B'Con, and try as I might... ok I didn't try that hard... I didn't have time to read it for inclusion in these rankings. As a quick aside I don't want to undersell any of the books at the bottom of the list. Mr. Connelly doesn't know how to write a bad book, but in my case there have been occasions where I have not connected with his work. 13. THE NARROWS - 2004 It is because I love THE POET so much that this book is at the end of the list. When Mr. Connelly is at his best his works has the precision of a watchmaker. THE NARROWS just felt forced and not worthy of the intricacy of THE POET. 12. BLACK ICE - 1993 Second book. Third read. I thought the story was pretty flat. It has been well over a decade since I read this book, but the story of Mexican drug runner...
1 comment
Read more

Murder, Mayhem and the Return of Patrick and Angie

Back from Murder and Mayhem in Muskego IV . It was an ultimately very good weekend if not for a few hiccups. The original intention was to attend the mini-con with my sister who lives in Appleton. Alas, she caught one of the fifty or so colds she will have in the next three months. Everyone at The Hungry Detective office hopes she feels better, and we are already looking forward to attending the fifth installment with her next year. The second minor disappointment was the, I'm sure, entirely unavoidable absences of Duane Swierczynski and Harry Hunsicker . Bummer. (Ed Note. Duane's twitter feed notes a Christening... Cheers to that Mr. Swierczynski!) All of this is, of course, is weighted by the very wonderful news that Dennis Lehane , after taking the balance of a year off after finishing The Given Day, is writing a new book. And it is a Kenzie and Gennaro book. Woo-Hoo! In terms of my own education about Crime Fiction, Dennis is an important figure. I was reading a lot by the...
4 comments
Read more