The Hungry Detective

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(Photo above is definition of awesomeness, also I stole the image form the Polis Books website) The return of 'Awesome' Dave White ! The Return of Jackson Donne! Read. This. Guy. Hurry February. Hurry....

(Photo above is evidence of corrected behavior) Dear Adrien McKinty -- I could use the excuse that gutless American publishers have kept me from purchasing your books over the last few years. They did not. Amazon UK is both a blessing and a curse in this case. I could tell you that I have experienced an ennui about Crime Fiction over the last three years. I could also tell you an equally convoluted story about priorities and lessons of adulthood that are still mysterious even at the age of 42. I'll spare you as I am certain that it would bore you as quickly as it does me at this point.      So, let me write that I recently bought three of your books, and that I think of DEAD I MAY WELL BE so often. All my very best to you in the New Year, Dan  The Hungry Detective

I predicted absolutely nothing last year. My general advice if you are betting this is to go in the opposite direction. To the authors I have 'chosen' this year... I'm sorry. I spent most of 2011 out of the Crime Fiction trade so I'm even less acquainted with this year's books more than normal. In general it was great to see all of small press stuff got nominated, particularly as it is an indication that I'm not the only one who is left wanting by the major Crime Fiction publishers. My fingers are crossed in a big way for THE RANGER. I have read Mr. Atkins going back to CROSSROAD BLUES. It is always great to see authors who you love recognized. Even if THE RANGER fails to capture the big prize I hope it brings more people to his work.  Good luck to all the authors. I hope the night is a blast no matter how things end up. Cheers! BEST NOVEL THE RANGER - Ace Atkins -Penguin Group USA – G.P. Putnam’s Sons BEST FIRST NOVEL - AN AMERICAN AUTHOR BE

Chris Cosentino is a chef whose claim to fame has been his work with offal . His restaurant in San Francisco is called Incanto . I've eaten there, its really good. I became interested in Mr. Cosentino through a friend who turned me on to his now defunct Food Network show Chef vs. City. Watch this video because if nothing else the guy will charm you with his passion. Unfortunately, Chef Unleashed was not picked up, so it stands as a singular document to respecting the food the rest of us thoughtlessly put in our mouth. He'll have a cookbook released in March 2012 . Chef Unleashed from Chris Cosentino on Vimeo .

Book releases in January 2012. Could. Not. Be. More. Excited! That it lacks an American publisher is unfortunate, but at this point in my life I'm more of an AmazonUK guy anyway.

Let me tell you that writing these post while NOT actually being in attendance is a super bummer. I am consoled by the fact the EXPIRATION DATE and the general awesomeness of Duane Swierczynski has been rewarded. Woot! Full list of nominees are here . THD congratulates all of the winners and nominees. Best Novel BURY YOUR DEAD - Louise Penny - Minotaur Best First Novel DAMAGE DONE - Hilary Davidson - Forge Best Paperback Original EXPIRATION DATE - Duane Swierczynski - Minotaur Best Short Story  “SWING SHIFT,” by Dana Cameron (from Crimes by Moonlight , edited by Charlaine Harris; Berkley) Best Graphic Novel THE CHILL - Jason Starr - Vertigo Crime Best Critical /Non-Fiction:   AGATHA CHRISTIE'S SECRET NOTEBOOKS: 50 YEARS OF MYSTERIES IN THE MAKING -  John Curran (Harper) Best Web Site/Blog: Stop, You’re Killing Me!, edited by Stan Ulrich and Lucinda Surber

Mr. Burke talks about his latest book, FEAST DAY OF FOOLS. I have not read Mr. Burke in a couple years. Time to get back in the saddle and catch up with the finest writer of American fiction, crime or otherwise.

The sheer number of books I have bought because the dust jacket was awesome is.... numerous. Anyway, the jacket for FEAST DAY OF FOOLS is incredible. The quote on the jacket states 'America's Best Novelist.' Mark it people, the first dust jacket quote to not be hyperbolic in anyway. Book releases September 27th.

Sean Doolittle has a new book . LAKE COUNTRY. Yay! It releases next July. Boo! Everyone knows I love this guy, right? Well, you should. The guy has never missed. You have a whole year to read this guys back catalog. 

So I bought The Hungry Detective domain name. Woo!

My favorite authors produce books so routinely that I often don't even need the requisite year for their latest to appear in my local bookshop. That sounds horribly jaded, I know. That at any moment during the year I have access to a new book from somebody I love to read is not exactly a hardship. I guess, maybe, I'm talking about the mystery of anticipation. I have a few writers that I scour the internet for any possible shred of news on their latest book. Adrian McKinty falls into that category. That I have waited this long to post news about this upcoming release is just sheer foolishness on my part.

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

Out of the loop for so long that I missed this bit of recent greatness. 11.2.10!

CIA Agent Milo Weaver is one hot mess at the beginning of Olen Steinhauer's THE TOURIST . Strung out on a variety of chemical enhancements, Milo is protecting a low level government functionary when everything well and truly falls apart. We spring forward a handful of years where Milo has woman in his life and a young daughter to care for. He has extracted himself from the deepest part of his despair with their help, but like the all the best Crime Fiction the past is a door to your future problems. Of course, Milo is dragged back down into the shadowy world when an assassin, Milo's rival, turns up inauspiciously in a small town jail. There he weaves a tale of deceit and betrayal at the very heart of the CIA. Concurrently, Milo's boss tells him that a colleague is leaking information to the Chinese. These two events combine to reveal to Milo what a pawn he has been all along. I mentioned in a previous post that I thought THE TOURIST was a 4/5th masterpiece. But writing

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

I know, I know. I have left a ton of things off the list. In ten years I'm guessing I have read around 300 books and that is not a lot. Many of the great books of the 'aughts' were sadly un-read by The Hungry Detective. Biggest regrets are that I only read one Laura Lippman and not enough Pelecanos. But, I shouldn't regret what I don't know. What I do know is I have had the opportunity to experience some really wonderful crime fiction. This list, in two parts, is only a small part of it. 10. THE WATCHMAN - Robert Crais (2007) Balls out the decades best opening 25 pages. I don't buy hyperbole like 'pulse pounding excitement' or 'a nerve jangling thrill ride, but all of those adjectives apply to this book. The 'first' Joe Pike did not disappoint. THE WATCHMAN accomplishes the difficult balancing act of letting us in to Joe Pike's world without him losing any of his mystery or menace. Mr. Crais has been writing at such a high level for su

The Hungry Detective had planned on his Post-B'Con post to appear sooner, but the hand of fate had other plans, namely Pneumonia. However with loads of free time over the last 5 days I have felt, besides sick, not very creative in terms of posting here. I extend my apologies to long time readers of The Hungry Detective and those of you who are just here harvesting email addresses. The Damage - 19 Books THE LANGUAGE OF BEES + O JERUSALEM - Laurie King 9 DRAGONS - Michael Connelly THE COLD DISH - Craig Johnson THE LAST QUARRY + THE FIRST QUARRY + DEADLY BELOVED - Max Allan Collins THE FURY - Jason Pinter A QUIET BELIEF IN ANGELS + The ANNIVERSARY MAN - R.J. Ellory SO COLD THE NIGHT - Michael Koryta (Free ARC at Connelly interview) RUNNING FROM THE DEVIL - Jamie Freveletti BLOOD DETECTIVE + BLOOD ATONEMENT - Daniel Waddell DOUBLE EXPOSURE - Michael Lister BOULEVARD - Stephen Jay Schwartz (Book Bazaar) A CARRION OF DEATH - Michael Stanley (Book Bazaar) DEAD MEN'S DUST - Matt Hi

I'll admit that it was a difficult to say good-bye to Michael Forsythe. Over the course of three novels, DEAD I MAY WELL BE, THE DEAD YARD and THE BLOOMSDAY DEAD, Adrian McKinty crafted three fantastic stories and many wonderful characters. The books are bloody, gritty reads. They are the finest example of 21st Century Noir, and along with his first stand alone HIDDEN RIVER, without peer. FIFTY GRAND is the latest and greatest from Mr. McKinty, and it does a lot to ease my anxiety over the loss Mr. Forsythe. 50K is a revenge story played out in the rich enclave of Fairview Colorado. A Cuban Police Officer masquerades as an illegal alien to discovery who killed her long absent father. As plot outlines go, this is pretty spare, but with some books it really is about the journey. Strangely more fascinating than the revenge story is the Alexis de Tocquville-like examination of American society by the protagonist Officer Mercado. Through out the book Officer Mercado expresses complete

An Amazon purchase I made the other day was Sean Doolittle's latest SAFER . Mr. Doolittle is a guy who never fails to disappoint. His first book DIRT contains so much insight into human frailty... mainly my own set of human frailties... that I find the book to be a bit spooky. THE CLEAN UP is his fourth book and one that, like most things, I have been wanting to read for a good long while. Matt Worth is a cop, and a screw up. He comes from a long line cops, none of them screw ups. Matt is serving his time at a Grocery store for taking a poke at a Homicide Detective, who is sleeping with his ex-wife. But he finds it oddly fulfilling bagging groceries and chit-chatting with Gwen, the checker. Gwen has problems, like a boyfriend who beats her. Matt is protective, so when Gwen shows up at work, catatonic one night bruised head to toe, Matt knows its all gone Pete Tong. A cursory review of Gwen's apartment reveals Gwen's fella got a taste of his own medicine and is dead. Funny