The Hungry Detective

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...