It is pretty obvious by the lack of activity around here that Crime Fiction and The Hungry Detective are not seeing eye to eye. The reasons are many, but as I mentioned in my Fall Preview there is nothing worse than a blogger complaining about their own complacency. Suffice to say the blame lies squarely with me, but it does not help that Crime Fiction seems hellbent on being mediocre right now. A couple weeks ago I picked up the last Easy Rawlins book, BLONDE FAITH, with the hopes that through sheer nostalgia I could rekindle the love affair. BLONDE FAITH is a very good book, but sadly I just did not feel it. All of which makes writing that THE NEAREST EXIT is undoubtedly the best thing I've to read this year all the more thrilling. I know that it should not be a great surprise. Mr. Steinhauer's first in this series was THE TOURIST. I loved that book. THE NEAREST EXIT is fantastic and it ascends to something greater. It blows away all of the paint by numbers plotting and sto...