The Hungry Detective

 A time honored tradition at The Hungry Detective HQ is to perform the twice annual, and largely ceremonial, 'Dennis Lehane New book 20XX" Google search. Nothing comes up on his long abandoned Website, except notification of the script work for his television and film projects.  Grousing aside, 2022 was a big year for Mr. Lehane. BLACK BIRD, a show he created, played on Apple+ to solid acclaim. The show's star, Paul Walter Hauser, won a Golden Globe. But despite that I have yet to watch it. Not for any other reason than I am a movie person more than a TV person. The TV I do watch is watched in an arcane order that is difficult to decipher and even more baffling to explain. Short story, I need to watch ANDOR [Editor's Note: Slow going on ANDOR despite everyone telling me it is amazing.] And then BLACK BIRD, or maybe SLOW HORSES. I'll get there...  Anyway at the dead end of 2022, I did the search. Found out he wrote a book. SMALL MERCIES . I was excited to hear it. I

 Any day there is a new Michael Connelly book...let alone 5... is a great day. I have developed a real fondness for the Lincoln Lawyer Books and to have them pop up every 4-5 years is a real treat. …RESURRECTION WALK. Lincoln Lawyer Mickey Haller enlists the help of his half-brother, Harry Bosch, to prove the innocence of a woman convicted of killing her husband. pic.twitter.com/u7awu3d2bk — Michael Connelly (@Connellybooks) January 25, 2023

https://twitter.com/ucrosspop25/status/1616258498362494978?s=20&t=EHEeeFIp7-f6zw1oVENOUw https://twitter.com/ucrosspop25/status/1616258498362494978?s=20&t=EHEeeFIp7-f6zw1oVENOU https://twitter.com/ucrosspop25/status/1616258498362494978?s=20&t=EHEeeFIp7-f6zw1o Perfect timing! I just put HELL AND BACK to bed last weekend, so this announcement for Craig Johnson's latest is welcome news. On the list of things I need to do in 2023 is I need to collect/buy the missing Craig Johnson's in my collection. Book releases just after Bouchercon on September 5th. *Coming September 5th, 2023...* The Longmire Defense: Involved in a search & rescue in the Bighorn Mountains, Walt Longmire finds himself on a rock outcropping where he remembers his father telling him about the first time he saw a man die. pic.twitter.com/0y6L9FnzE2 — Craig Johnson (@ucrosspop25) January 20, 2023

 Over the Thanksgiving holiday I read...well finished... three books. TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY by John le Carré, THE MAID by Nita Prose and STATION ELEVEN by Emily St. John Mandel. There was a moment when I thought I could catch my reading goal of 40 books. That was.....foolish. [ Editor's Note: I can recommend all 3 books, immensely enjoyable in their own ways. ]  However, December reading died on the vine and alas I only made 28. The last official read of 2022 was Mark Billingham's THE MURDER BOOK. I was remined yet again that the Thorne books are pound for pound the best series running. I started EVERY CLOAK ROLLED IN BLOOD by James Lee Burke but did not finish it until after the 1st. Silver lining....it will pad the 2023 reading numbers. How was the book you might ask? JLB has ascended criticism in my mind so....  After that I moved on to THE ISLAND by Adrian McKinty. I was less enamored with this book than his last. It was some tough sledding through the first 100-125