The Hungry Detective

Ho-Ho-Ho! So now that the Christmas Holiday is in our rear view it is time to review those books acquired during the aforementioned Holiday. Who is Conrad Hirst - Kevin Wignall A Christmas Cash purchase. THD admits to picking this book up for its intriguing cover art. Reviews for this book have been quite good, but let me again admit I have not read any of them. Perhaps a 2008 resolution should be to cultivate a small cadre of reviews and reviewers to make informed buying decisions. Slay Ride/Hell for the Holidays - Chris Grabenstien THD is a confessed dork for Grabenstein's John Ceepak series, but as stated here before I have treated his holiday themed series cautiously for unknown reasons. THD could argue fiscal considerations, but I think we all know that would be a heaping helping of bull. In any case, THD is pleased to have both these books. I am sure it will tide THD over until Ceepak #4, Hell Hole, appears at local book retailers. Blonde Faith - Walter Mosley It is with a...

I have many super talented friends, one of them is named Peter Batchelder. He just made this video for his band The Rip-Off Artists. Although I am sure it was a collaboration I am giving him all the credit! Oh, Pete is the one with the full beard! Check it out!

Your Score : Schroeder Wishy-Washy: 71%, Mental: 50%, Physical: 50% A prodigy from his very first appearance, Schroeder idolizes Beethoven and spends most of his free time at the keyboard of his piano. He plays backstop for Charlie Brown's baseball team, but his heart belongs to classical music. The best way to get rid of annoying distractions is to yank the piano out from under them. The Peanuts Character Test

Thanks primarily to Garrison Keillor's The Writers Almanac , I was reminded that today is the birthday of the great James Lee Burke . Mr. Burke exemplifies the best that not only crime fiction has to offer, but American literature has to offer. To use a turn of phrase that I hate Mr. Burke is 71 years young . Check out the photos for the film adaptation of In the Electric Mist of the Confederate Dead . Release is 2008.

Just a short note this morning to point you to the Dennis Lehane article over on the CNN website . The two pieces of 'news' in the article are the title, The Given Day, (which I think is news to me) and...... that he has finished it! AP gets the credit for the photo.

In an attempt to maintain an earlier promise this is THD's Winter Preview 2007/08. BooYah?! The thing is I have been at a low ebb as it concerns new releases. The Preview has always been about expanding past what we at THD are interested in to books and authors that tap into the zeitgeist of what is new, fresh, and/or interesting in crime fiction. Part of this low ebb is due to the fact the 2008 release dates seem to be rather sparse, but as 2008 dates firm up I am sure that my general 2008 and Spring 2008 Preview will be a bit more expansive. Saying all of that now leads me into a few books that might be of interest to you and me..... but especially you. Red Mandarin Dress - Qiu Xiaolong Here is the fifth in the Detective Chen Cao series. I read his his first, Death of a Red Heroine, and loved it. Sadly I have never read any of the following books. I take only partial blame for this as I feel that poor distribution is also at the root of the problem. Hell for the Holidays - Chr...

Back in March of this year I complained that BBC America was taking its sweet time in rebroadcasting one of 2006 more interesting television shows, Life On Mars. The series concluded a two season run in the UK earlier this year and now American audiences will see the final eight episodes beginning December 11. Long story short, Sam Tyler is a Manchester cop in the year 2006 who is struck by a car and not only sent into a coma, but back 33 years to swinging... well... 1973 Manchester. Crazy great! There was a rumor that US based television producers (Brian Grazer?) were developing an adaptation for American consumption. God Bless the WGA Strike ... perhaps this will kill this bad idea dead.

This blog has only been around for a year. In that time I have not really discussed the origins of my fascination with crime fiction. I have three inspirations to this love affair and a bastard fourth. Maybe one day I will tell you of the others, but today is a sad day. Today is the day I found out this little bit of news . I know what is all coursing through your brains; WTF! Perhaps you knew.... and for those of you who did, why didn't you tell me. Traitors. Turn in your THD badge and scepter. This is a crap way to star the weekend. I can barely write the words that Walter Mosley is quitting the Easy Rawlins business. All THD has left is Cinnamon Kiss and Blonde Faith. Hopefully the HBO produced and Mosley scripted Little Scarlet will come off. I have bought hundreds of books since I bought Devil in a Blue Dress and forgotten most of those purchases. Yet to this day my mind still remembers the shelf Devil was on at my local Walden Book store. I could walk you to that spot. So h...

Well I have been reading. Let me tell you about them. When One Man Dies - Dave White Debut from this author proved to be a very good read even if I felt that I had read it before. This seems faint praise, but I assure it is not. It is just the happenstance of reading authors like Michael Koryta and Marcus Sakey . In deed Koryta's second book and Sakey's 2007 debut have plot points that bear similarities. Koryta with the friend killed by a hit and run, and Sakey with the one-time friend turned bitter enemy. Spaced out over a few years, all three books read fantastic. When One Man Dies suffers the fate of having been read third in a short succession of weeks. Still, let me say that I look forward to the next book Mr. White deigns to release on this world. Sorrow's Anthem - Michael Koryta I was a hysterical for Koryta's first book . That book struck a very dark and at times sinister mood. Sorrow is not up to that level but it is still a good book. My general issue w...

Well THD is on the road this weekend. And as the subject title suggests we are headed one state south to the great city of Philadelphia. THD is very excited to visit the birthplace of American Style Democracy, circa 1776-2000. Cheese Steaks and the Liberty Bell will be in the agenda, but I will also be seeking out all things Crime novel as well. A cursory check of the internets reveals Whodunit? . Reports are that this is a store with a healthy collection of used mysteries. Looks like it is well worth a turn of the door handle. Saturday has been tentatively set aside of for the accumulation of a few well chosen books. Sunday I will glory in the aforementioned Bell, as well as Independence Hall. Essentially I will be visiting all of the locations featured in the pulse pounding film, National Treasure .

Maybe if I change the template of the blog faithful readers won't notice the lack of real content in almost three weeks! Seriously, some real content is in THD's near future.

Tonight at the Monroe avenue Barnes and Noble in my fair city of Rochester is an author signing. One of THD's most anticipated fall releases, Noble Lies , will be signed by the book's author Charles Benoit . From all reports Mr. Benoit is quite the raconteur. We here at THD expect nothing less than a great night. The event is slated to begin at 7pm. I will be there, and you should too. Come early and buy his books!

Well a few things have come across the desk here at THD. The first purchases up for discussion were made from the the recently discovered Book Depository . The attraction of the website is threefold. First, and obviously, there is the access to UK editions that will not be released here in the US for several months. Second, the prices are very pretty competitive if not better than Amazon UK. Last, or third in this threefold wonderland of merriment, is FREE SHIPPING! This just got interesting..... No one is going to deny me a free shipping. Dying to Sin is the eighth book in the Cooper and Fry series written by Stephen Booth . This is a very dependable series. The general conceit of the series is that Fry and Cooper are not romantically involved at all. In fact they kind of hate each other. I also picked up another Booth, another Cooper/Fry, Claws . I know zero about this book... well novella really. I am not sure why this book released in this way. Don't care, it is our good for...

The final awards of the 2007 Bouchercon have been handed out, the Shamus', the Anthony's. I've short listed the awards below. THD thanks Jeff Pierce of The Rap Sheet for the gentle reminder on the Shamus Awards ! Also thanks to Confessions for the original post. The big winners would appear to be Louise Penny and Ken Bruen. Ms. Penny was able to grab the Barry for Best First Novel as well. Ken Bruen's prolific writing also meant that he walked away with two awards from two separate novels. The Hungry Detective congratulates all of this year's winners, as well as the deserving nominees. Shamus Awards Best Novel - Ken Bruen - The Dramatist Best First Novel - Declan Hughes - The Wrong Kind of Blood Best Paperback Original - P.J. Parrish - An Unquiet Grave Anthony Awards Best Novel - Laura Lippman - No Good Deed Best First Novel - Louise Penny - Still Life Best Paperback Original - Dana Cameron - Ashes and Bones

.... that they are going to the next Bouchercon ! With the Anchorage edition coming to an end tomorrow we can finally look forward to Baltimore. We would have loved to have gone to the Alaska. However, THD is financial cash strapped, and we must marshal our funds in other arenas. It is with a bit of irony that THD was in Anchorage last year, in fact the conference that has occupied our time this week was at the very same convention center as this year's B'Con. As for this year's B'con, Barry and Macavity awards have been handed out. A complete list of winners can be found here and here . The short list for those to lazy to click the above links. Barry's Best Novel - The Night Gardener - George Pelecanos Best First Novel - Still Life - Louise Penny Best British Mystery Novel - Priest - Ken Bruen Macavity's Best Novel: The Virgin of Small Plains - Nancy Pickard Best First Novel: Mr. Clarinet - Nick Stone (More awesomeness for this book!) The Anthony'...

I do apologize for the general lack of anything here as of late. My real life is intruding on my ability to get my act together in regards to this blog. And unfortunately that will continue for at least another week. There is a conference in my chosen field, and it is not only on the horizon, the conference is taking place here in Rochester. Indeed a portion of the events are to take place at my work. Oh dear! Privately, things have been slow for THD in regards to all things Crime Fiction. I won't be attending B'Con '07, and the books I have read as of late of been a bit underwhelming. Enough of the complaining! I should be able to get off a real post at least once next week, so see you then!

While endlessly watching Britney's train wreck of a performance at the MTV VMA's, THD did manage to discover a new refuge for Crime Fiction discussion. Certainly this was not a discovery I made alone, but rather THD was helped along by the Secret Dead Blog and the unspellable Duane Swierczynski (bless the Control-C and Control-V option). The Big Adios is a Crime Fiction discussion board. In the 21st century tell me what is more American than the ridiculous hyperbole or the quickly bruised ego of today's discussion boards? Any how THD signed up as quick as it could. At present it seem to be a bit of sausage-fest in there. Not that women readers don't enjoy lots of male on male discussion.... I'm just saying.

Well, put away your white shoes and get ready for the onslaught of Fall books. Once you have finished here you can head over to The Rap Sheet to check out their Fall Preview . Noble Lies - Charles Benoit Think globally, act locally is an axiom THD tries follows as often as it can. Charles is a local author who has two previous globe trotting mystery novels to his credit. We have read his first , and enjoyed it greatly, his second is mired in our to be read pile. Voices - Arnaldur Indridason Already released in the UK, this is the third book in a long series that is just now seeing release in the English language. Moody and dank. The first US release, Jar City also has been made into a film . You can check out a trailer here . Sorry no English subtitles. The Lighthouse War - Adrian McKinty Second in the Lighthouse Trilogy, this is a series of young adult fiction by the writer of Hidden River and Dead I May Well Be . I think this guy is the real deal. Epic writing that proves that y...

Continuing with the Cinema angle here at THD, is the DVD release of the adaptation of Don Winslow's novel, The Death and Life of Bobby Z. Yet another Crime Novel adaptation that snuck up on THD. Didn't know it was in production, didn't know it was being released. A bit worrisome is the fact that the film seems to already have made its debut in Greece and Russia. Yikes! Also the film appears to be lousy with Mixed Martial Arts 'fighters.' Whoa! Still, I dig Laurence Fishburne and Paul Walker is an interesting young actor. Although I am not sure what is up Larry Fishburne in that Cowboy hat in the poster. This is what Netflix was made for. I'll get one of the THD interns to put it in my queue.

While checking the Telluride Film Festival catalogue, I noticed that one of the films shared the same title as the Arnaldur Indridason book, Jar City . Funnily enough they share a lot more. This Jar City is in fact an adaptation of the book! Exciting news to be sure, but even better is that it is playing at the Telluride Film Festival. Telluride is a suitably snooty festival that makes you travel to the festival site before even releasing the schedule films. Long story short, Jar City would not be in the festival if this was not a good film. Check out the non-subtitled trailer , for a glimpse at what the Telluride Catalog called CSI Iceland.

As we push through these Dog Days of August, times are lean here at THD. We are in preparations for our Upcoming Fall Releases post, and I was struck at the relative lack of titles to grab my attention. I know if I review the various lists again something will pop out and catch my eye. Even recent purchases have failed to spark life into this dulled brain. I wonder if this is not some residual end of summer blues. Am I predestined to feel depressed because this is the time of year when freedom was snatched from me in the form of school? Oh dear me..... here are the recent purchases. Storm Runners - T. Jefferson Parker . Other than one or two of his early books, I now own most of this author's output. Which is in the theme of this post, excitingly depressing. I have yet to read any of his work, or even be inspired to do so. Bit the bullet and do it I guess. TJP is moving to the top of the pile! The Spellman Files - Liza Lutz I dismissed this book as Chick Lit a few months ago, ...

THD arrived safely at Corporate headquarters this morning at 3:00am! Consequently, a minor sore throat has turned into a pretty good chest cold. Do no fret for this Publisher and Editor, as KM is busy taking care of health related matters. So as mentioned in the previous post I did have a chance to visit the Seattle Mystery Bookshop on the third day of our stay. I went with intent of only buying two books. The Song is You and Queenpin , by Megan Abbott . Both were available and both were purchased. I read Megan's first book, Die A Little, earlier this year. It was pulpy and awesome. I also went for A Welcome Grave by Michael Koryta . I thought his first was a tremendous book. I read his second a few weeks ago, and found it a step below his debut. But that is like comparing a great book to a very good one. Still highly enjoyable. Last purchase was Volk's Game by Brent Ghelfi. I know nothing about this book or this author. It is a debut, and according to the gentleman at t...

Well, now that I don't have an internet connection I have to pay for I can type out my reflections of Seattle. Sure, Seattle is brimming with free WiFi but our otherwise sterling hotel was sans freeness. The thought of dragging the 'puter around to WiFi Hotspots was not high on list of must see attractions, plus it was vacation. Standouts included the Broadway tryout for the new Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein . Sadly the Pike Place Market did not disappoint. The market is one of those things you want to shove in locals faces by saying "Ehhh it was only okay." Vancouver Island and the Butchart Gardens were very nice. Nearing the top of the list was the Cinerama Theatre were KM and I saw The Simpson's . On Tuesday we hit a three punch combination that knocked our socks off. First to last in no order of preference was the monumental Salumi . A sandwich shop that focuses on cured meats. KM and I shared a meatball sub and Salumi Salami sandwich. The place is ...

The Anthony nominations were announced last week. A number of blogs posted them, and initially THD felt it would be overkill..... not to mention the cut and paste job we would be doing from one blog to this one. Anyway it was decided that it never hurts to keep the buzz going. Awards will be given at the Anchorage Bouchercon. Early THD Handicapping gives the edge to Pickard, Penny, Huston (in a killer category), Abbott, Niebuhr, and Ardai. BEST NOVEL ALL MORTAL FLESH, Julia Spencer-Fleming THE DEAD HOUR, Denise Mina KIDNAPPED, Jan Burke NO GOOD DEEDS, Laura Lippman THE VIRGIN OF SMALL PLAINS, Nancy Pickard BEST FIRST NOVEL A FIELD OF DARKNESS, Cornelia Read THE HARROWING, Alexandra Sokoloff HOLMES ON THE RANGE, Steve Hockensmith THE KING OF LIES, John Hart STILL LIFE, Louise Penny BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL ASHES AND BONES, Dana Cameron BABY SHARK, Robert Fate THE CLEANUP, Sean Doolittle A DANGEROUS MAN, Charlie Huston 47 RULES OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE BANK ROBBERS, Troy Cook SHOTGUN OPERA, ...

I plowed through Deathly Hollows last week. I actually finished late Tuesday/Early Wednesday morning. This book has played a large part in my absence from the blog. My super short review is that it is a fine finish for this series. I found the preceding books since Goblet of Fire to be a disappointment (Half Blood Prince) and a down right bore (Order of the Phoenix... didn't like the movie either). One could argue that Goblet deserved its epic length, but can anyone really say that about Phoenix or Half Blood? Deathly Hollows is not without problems as well. The middle third of the book veers from plot-less to naked exposition, but the last three hundred pages really close this book in exciting and dramatic fashion. The body count is high and capricious, but what are you going to do? I would like to say the Offices of THD are brimming with activity, but they are not. There is also a retreat to Seattle, Washington that most THD staffers are required to attend so additions to the blo...

Confessions is reporting the imminent closure of another NYC based Mystery book shop, Black Orchid . Oh cruel hoax? Sadly, no as the confirmation comes from the crime seller's mouth . I only had the opportunity to visit this lovely store on a couple of occasions. Much to my regret I never purchased a book from the store. Black Orchid remains open until September. Good Luck and Good Bye

The second edition Thillerfest was this weekend in that up and coming Gigapolis NYC. Confessions has already gathered many reports . Awards? Yep. Full list of winners is here . I did want to mention that Nick Stone was the winner of the Best First Novel, Mr Clarinet. We think we may have mentioned this book a few months ago . So Mr. Stone, congratulations..... and your welcome.

Trailer! Not how I imagined Kenzie or Gennaro, but I am still very excited.

Although widely reported elsewhere, THD is posting the winners of this prestigious UK crime fiction organization. We think it is important for THD to remain active, by duplicating work other's have done. Duncan Lawrie Dagger Peter Temple - The Broken Shore Duncan Lawrie International Dagger Fred Vargas - Wash This Blood From My Hands The CWA Ian Flemming Steel Dagger + The CWA New Blood Dagger Gillian Flynn - Sharp Objects The CWA Dagger in the Library Stuart MacBride The Debut Dagger (unpublished work) Alan Bradley - The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie The staff of The Hungry Detective extends our congratulations to all the winners.

I know it seem like all we do here at THD is buy books. Question one should be where are all those freebies from book publishers? Our response is from your lips to their ears. THD is not above corruption from our favorite crime fiction publishers. Currently THD has no close associations with those who also buy novels of the kind that enthrall us. However, we know of people who buy a ton more than we do here at The Hungry Detective. It really is all about moderation. I would have to guess that a fair portion of the books we buy fall firmly into the overstock category, and cost us no more than $5.99. Pseudo-diatribe aside there are four(4) new acquisitions. A Journeyman to Grief - Maureen Jennings Long time readings of THD know how much we enjoy these books. This really was a no brainer purchase on a recent visit to Toronto. Dead of Night - Randy Wayne White THD has read the first two books in this long running series, but has not read any since. An in-house policy of only reading book...

Lifeless - Mark Billingham Mark's books have always been pretty good reads. I am having trouble deciding if Tom Thorne is the London Harry Bosch or if Harry Bosch is the Los Angeles Tom Thorne. There is precedent in Connelly's case, but I think I have enjoyed Billingham's last few more than Connelly's. The fifth in this series covers the homeless, the first Gulf War and the darkness that lurks in the heart of all good men. The downward spiral that started at the tail end of The Burning Girl continues for our weary hero. Confined to a desk Thorne asks to go undercover to discovery who is kick London's homeless people to death. As usual Billingham does wonderful job of communicating Thorne's despair over his current state. It is a dark world out there and it only seems to be getting darker. I don't want this to sound like a negative, but Lifeless worked better as social commentary then as a crime novel. The who-done-it, and even the why-done-it, take back s...

The Hungry Detective was pleased to take part in the twice yearly sale over at Deep Discount . Every June and November Deep Discount slashes their entire DVD catalog 20% off of what is already pretty great prices. At the start of this year Deep Discount added books to their repertoire, and we thought we would take a flier on a few of them. First up is Silence of the Grave by Arnaldur Indridason. We have read his first book, the highly acclaimed Jar City. A review is on the way. Next is Borkmann's Point written by Hakan Nesser. We bought his second a few weeks ago. Plus I don't think I can afford the first book of the other Norweigen star Kjell Eriksson . THD have to be on the ground floor of something, so we are hitchin' our wagon to Hakan Nesser. Finally, there is this year's Edgar awarding The Janissary Tree . The second book in the series is about to release in the UK and THD is, again, all about the ground floor. I'll be honest and say it was purchased on ...

Well I tried to keep this blog on a three post schedule of Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. That lasted just two weeks. And I am sorry for that. The Hungry Detective was not in the office much last week due to some upgrades that required my attention at my palatial estate in Rochester New York's tony Upper North West Side. I added another set of shelves to the attic. This will free up some space in an overall general sense. However, not enough to truly make a difference. The larger issue is that I have books I don't really care about. Things bought and never read, and never will be read. I feel bad about that, not for the book, but my wallet. And there are the books read and more or less disliked. Do I need to display books that were a thorn in my side sheerly for the sake of volume, especially as I now have books spread through two separate rooms.... with no hope of bringing the collection together in its entirety? Answer? A resolute probably not. Moving to the house two ye...

In talking with our financial people an all too frequent topic came up. Do we, meaning THD, have to buy Micheal Connelly books when they are released, or should we just wait until the book show up on the overstock shelf? Yes, we realize that the author see little or none of the profit from these sales, but do we.... meaning THD.... really need to support Mr. Connelly with these initial purchases? The answer is don't think so. Mr. Connelly is firmly established among the top rank of book authors..... across all genres. All I am saying is that THD's hard earned dollar might be better spent with another author especially if The Overlook shows up in the overstock pile by... I'm guessing here... February 2008. This is all a moot point as yesterday saw the purchase of the hardback version of the aforementioned The Overlook. I do appreciate the significantly reduced MSRP. I don't think a Connelly novel has been south of $26.95 in more than a few years. THD was also very ...

These are difficult times for the Editor and Publisher of THD. In my nearing two decades of active Crime Fiction reading I have only stopped reading one book. That book was Allan Folsum's The Day After Tomorrow. Which funnily enough is now being described as proto-Dan Brown. Anyway, Wednesday night saw the second book go down, unfinished. A Field of Darkness by Cornelia Read . Despite a long list of rave notices, I found the book uninvolving from beginning to middle. The biggest sin for us here at The Hungry Detective is that there is precious little concern for the actual crime. One hundred and sixty pages or so..... and I am guessing less than half of them dealt with the actual murder. I'll leave it there, no reason to get down to the details. Write it off as not my cup of tea. Ultimately I don't think this is a bad book, but with 100+ books waiting to be read I have put down books that I don't connect with instead of slogging through them. It just makes for a long ...

The Travel Desk of The Hungry Detective informs me that early registration for Bouchercon 2009 is open. Cost for Indianapolis is only $125. This is pretty hard to pass up, and given that Indianapolis is with driving distance it seem pretty much like a done deal that someone will be representing THD at the 'o9 show. This virtually demands that THD also attend the 2008 Show in Baltimore . It would appear that early registration is still available at $150. So Christmas cames early to The Hungry Detective. Of course, I need cash in some Krugerrands , but this will not be a problem. Hopefully, Jared Case over at A Case of Murder will accompany me to the show(s). Of course 2008 will see his first book published and 2009 will see his third book published. That's right he going to write two book for 2009. Oh..... yeah you should be scared.......

A few books have passed through these fingers in the last few months. The Pale Blue - Louis Bayard I have mentioned this book on a few occasions. It got stellar reviews and was nominated for an Edgar. I picked this book up in LA. I decided I would read because I wanted to read at least one of the nominees, plus the story sounds killer. Edgar Allen Poe at West Point.... yeah! Unfortunately, this book went no where... slow. Some could call this character development..... this book was not that..... plus the ultimate solution to novel is pinched from perhaps the best crime novel of all time. The only negative review I read of the book came as I was 3/4 of the way through it. I was pot committed by that point. Die A Little - Megan Abbott Another book from my LA sojourn. Enjoyed this book immensely. A sharply written, sharply observed first novel from Ms. Abbott. It reminded me of James Ellroy.... only with proper sentence structure. One Last Breath - Stephen Booth A good to great UK p...

The Movie Desk just put an interesting item into my hands. Apparently I am booked for October 19th. Why? Because that is the day that Gone, Baby, Gone will premiere in limited release... of course if limited release means to initially exclude Rochester from this opening I won't be booked.... but you get the point. This is my favorite of the Dennis Lehane's Gennaro/Kenzie series... a series I hope Lehane returns to one day. It needs a good two book closer, but alas I don't think so. I am fascinated to see if writer-director Ben Affleck can pull this off. From a book standpoint everything thing, every story, every character in some way relates to the fallout from Darkness, Take My Hand . The eighties had The Red Dragon , the nineties had Darkness Take My Hand. I was at a signing..... at what seems like a dozen years ago.... where Mr. Lehane mentioned he wanted Ray Liotta to play Patrick and Annabella Sciorra for Angie. Those are great choices.... but Affleck chose h...

Two Saturday's ago saw our Intern Clive run, desperately, out to the closest Border's he could find. You see Clive is a huge Zach Braff / Jason Bateman fan, and this week saw the premiere of The Ex . The show time was 2:40pm at the local theater. For some reason, Clive waited until the very last minute get this book. Really I don't know what the issues was fifteen(15) minutes to travel, five(5) minutes in the store, drive the Chevette over to the theater with plenty to spare. Clearly the constant syndication of Scrubs and the recent cancellation of Arrested Development have struck Clive low. Anyway. The Return by Hakan Nesser . Cost? Not sure as I have been separated from the receipt. I told Clive to check the pockets of the pants he wore that day, but no-go. I really must find a replacement for Clive. Someone not so attached to episodic television. This last weekend saw the purchase of The Cruel Stars of the Night by Kjell Eriksson.

Long in the writing phase.... even longer in the editing phase.... I have the pleasure of publishing the first report from THD's Foreign Desk. Four(4) New Faces in Swedish Fiction: Kjell Eriksson leads this group of Leif Ericson acolytes. Last year's The Princess of Burundi was his first book released in the US. First Editions are already going for $40 as this book is into a fifth printing. His second US release is The Cruel Stars of the Night. Hakan Nesser has been writing for well over a decade at this point. Borkmann's Point appeared on these shores last year, but the Swedish Crime Writers' Academy gave this their Best Novel award in 1994. Ten(10) books make up the Van Veeteren series. Helene Tursten has written eight(8) in the Detective Inspector Huss series. The US has so far seen only three in this lauded series. The latest is the The Glass Devil, which followed last year's The Torso. Asa Larsson is the youngest of this group of four(4) writers, having be...

There has been some tension around The Hungry Detective Offices. Our Domestic Desk has bristled due to the creation of our new Foreign Desk. After a brief flirtation with placing the office in Crime Fiction's current hot bed, Sweden, I decided to keep us one big happy family here in Rochester, New York. The reason for the creation of a Foreign Desk was due to the recent discovery that the crime fiction community is obsessed with all things Swedish... and in general Nordic. I expressed some concern that this Swedish Invasion happened virtually unnoticed by anyone here at THD. The Domestic Desk said it was not their fault. I agreed that it was not their fault and quicker than you can get yourself to IKEA I created the Foreign Desk. The midnight oil (actual illumination...not the strange Australian band) has been seen burning from the window as I leave the offices in my Mazada Miata, so I expect a first report soon.

I don't know if this is true for you, but my ability to read decreases sharply between May and September as I attempt to maintain the best lawn on my block. Book purchasing also declines a bit, but that does not mean there are not interesting books releasing. The new releases desk of The Hungry Detective has culled many resources to produce this list, and I have thrown in my two cents.... more like my $24.95..... to bring you THD's most anticipated for Summer 2007. Queenpin - Megan Abbott (June 4) Pulp with a female perspective is slightly naughty. Maybe that is just the 15 year old boy in me. I hope there is a chapter or two detailing pillow fights in lingerie. Ya know typical girl stuff. Seriously, Megan has a cultivated a huge cult following with here first two books. I need to read one of them before this book releases. The Tin Roof Blow Down - James Lee Burke (July 17) James has spent the last 15 years at the top of Mount Crime Fiction, with few companions. Every...

Awww righty...... Four recent purchases have come across the desk of The Hungry Detective. My secretary has been delinquent in getting these into my hands so that I, as Publisher and Editor of The Hungry Detective, could pass this information along to my more rabid readers. From MysteryOne came Steve Hockensmith 's second On the Wrong Track, and Adrian McKinty's fourth and third in the Forsythe trilogy, The Bloomsday Dead. Both these books made my most anticipated for 2007 list. Both were mortal locks for purchase, it was just a matter of time. I have droned on about McKinty, but again let me state that he is the best new crime author out there. Hockensmith's first Holmes on the Range was a pleasure to read, and I am sucker for Holmes related writing . This second should be just as fun. B&N supplied one overstock of note and one used book. Barry Eisler's Killing Rain was the over stock and Charles Benoit's Relative Danger was the used book. Great to have ...

Well...... I didn't even come close. I felt pretty good picking Nancy Pickard's The Virgin of Small Plains . Mainly because she is an established author with a number of good books behind her. It felt like it was her time. Who knows maybe she did too. I take little consolation in the fact that Jason Goodwin appeared to be nobody's pick..... even Mr. Goodwin or at least his editor didn't think he had a chance.... because she told him not to show up! The Winners . Report 1 From Confessions . Report 2 from Dave White . Happy... somewhat... surprise is the win for Life On Mars in the TV category. Second... and final series has already transmitted in the UK. USA air date? Next year I will definitely make a concerted effort to read more of the nominees so I can be not so embarrassingly ill informed. Apologies from the Editor and Publisher of The Hungry Detective.