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.