2011 Overall Favorite Reads

Wow! We've come to the end of yet another year. Next month I will celebrate four years of blogging. Doesn't seem possible at all. A lot of growing and changing have happened in those years. A lot of new friends and of course a lot of books! I love that we can share that common bond.

But, before I start getting too sentimental, let's concentrate on 2011. This year I read 98 books, which was four below last year's total of 102. I try to aim for 100 each year, but given all the wonderful busy-ness of this year, I'm not at all disappointed in that total.

Of the 98 books, 47 were audiobooks - so almost half.

There were 83 different authors in the 98 book mix, 51 were new-to-me authors and 14 were debut novels. 65 books were written by men, 3 were written by male/female duos and 30 were written by women.

Now for the hard part. Winnowing down my favorite 10, but here we go:

10. THE HANGING TREE (Bryan Gruley) - this book was released in Summer 2010, so I was a little late in reading it, but Gruley blows me away with each book and I'm very much looking forward to his next book in this series, SKELETON BOX, that comes out next summer. I won't be waiting long to read that one, rest assured. STARVATION LAKE was great and THE HANGING TREE was even better. Can't wait to see what awaits Gus next. (Touchstone)

9. EL GAVILAN (Craig McDonald) - Craig consistently writes great fiction and with EL GAVILAN he stretched his wings a bit. I love that this book shows both his versatility as a writer and his traditional strengths as well. I love that he drew me in with characters I couldn't decide if I loved or hated. (Tyrus Books)

8. LONG GONE (Alafair Burke) - with every book Alafair Burke grows as a story teller and in LONG GONE she veered off the path she's been so successful with to date. She blazed a new trail proving yet again that she's got writing chops, y'all! Spending time with her characters in the NYC she so expertly creates is a treat. LONG GONE is possible the sweetest treat yet. (Harper)

7. DOMINANCE (Will Lavender) - WATCH. THIS. MAN. He is flat-out amazing. And he's young and with luck we will be seeing a lot more from him. DOMINANCE is complex and puzzling and mysterious and brilliant. This book was so much fun to read. And Will Lavender is a new-to-me author this year. DOMINANCE is his second novel. (Simon & Schuster)

6. SATORI (Don Winslow) - the very first book I read in 2011 and back then I said, "this will be on my favorites list" and it is. I loved SATORI as a book by itself, having not read SHIBUMI beforehand. After I read SHIBUMI I realized further how astounding SATORI is. Winslow managed to stay true to Travanian's characters and still infuse his own style and technique. SATORI is a work of art. (Grand Central)

5. THE SURROGATE/CAGE OF BONES (Tania Carver) - I'm putting these together, not trying to cheat, but CAGE OF BONES is not yet released in the U.S. I read both books this year, THE SURROGATE being the debut novel from Tania Carver - which is the writing team of Martyn Waites and his wife, Linda. Martyn writes independently under his own name as well, so it's not really his debut, but semantics. Like Bryan Gruley, I see the Tania Carver books as starting out great and only getting better. For those of you who like dark suspense, this is an absolute DO NOT MISS series. I'm hooked. I have to jump back and read THE CREEPER (due out in the US in 2012) - the middle book in the series - but once I'm all caught up this is definitely a series I'll be waiting impatiently for each new installment. Martyn's just thankful that he's across the pond so I can't camp outside his house waiting for the next book! ;-) (Pegasus)

4. THE TWO DEATHS OF DANIEL HAYES (Marcus Sakey) - The fact that I get to be a high-powered, kick-ass lawyer in this book has nothing to do with it's appearance on this list. And you should not hold Marcus' questionable choice in character names against him. This is the most amazing of his books. It's smart, fast-paced, brilliant plot twists. It keeps you on your toes and while the momentum of the book drives you to turn pages faster and faster, you don't want it to end. It's just too much fun. And that's what reading should be. (Dutton)

3. HELL IS EMPTY (Craig Johnson) - Yes indeed, I am an evangelist for this series. I do indeed have a crush on Walt Longmire. And if I didn't adore Vic so much, I'd want to kick her butt! O.k., don't worry, I do realize these are fictional characters, but when you're caught up in the books, they're friends. Breaking open a new Walt Longmire is like taking a vacation to my favorite destination. Prior to HELL IS EMPTY, KINDNESS GOES UNPUNISHED stayed my favorite, stayed my favorite, stayed my favorite and then HELL IS EMPTY rocked my reading world. There are so many wonderful layers to this book and you can enjoy one, some or all. (Viking)

2. YOU'RE NEXT (Gregg Hurwitz) - This book is always the hardest one for me to articulate why I love. Not because it's for bad reasons but rather because it affected me so deeply. This is a book that still resonates with me months after finishing it. The relationships that Hurwitz created between his characters are pulchritudinous (yes, I did learn that word just for this book...nothing else seemed to embrace the magnitude of what I was trying to say). I don't know how Gregg can tops this one, and how the heck can I top pulchritudinous if he does? (St. Martins)

1. THE RIDGE (Michael Koryta) - I, of course, revealed this last week in the year end meme. Michael's approach to both his human and feline characters is stunning. The world he created is dark and haunting, but I so wanted to be there. THE RIDGE gets the top spot this year because Koryta did what few are ever able to with me - he enticed me to let go of the reality I cling to and willingly follow into his. With any luck, Koryta will never want to be a cult leader. I think I'm a goner if he does. (Little, Brown)

In year's past, I've had debut authors in my top favorite 10. This year I didn't, but not because there weren't excellent debut authors, those danged veterans were just showing their experience! Anyway, I wanted to recognize a few debut authors as my favorites for 2011:

Sara Henry released LEARNING TO SWIM this year. I look forward to watching her grow as a writer and experiencing her work.

James Barney released THE GENESIS KEY which I felt did a wonderful job blending science, religion and crime! (Harper)

And Daniel Palmer released DELIRIOUS and I was glued to it. I've actually had the chance to read his follow-up to DELIRIOUS which is still a thriller, but quite different in content, so I can already see his versatility as writer in this genre. Problem with getting to read those ahead is you have to wait longer for the next one to come. I'm sure I can keep busy in the interim, though! (Kensington)

I feel very blessed that I learned to love reading and can appreciate the wonder and magnificence. While it's a challenge to narrow down a list to 10 favorites, it's also a tremendous gift to have experienced all of these worlds and characters - friends. My heartfelt thanks go out to all the authors who have shared their talents.

And many, many thanks to everyone who has entrusted me with books this year. I wish I was able to read every last one. And there are so many that I still intend to read. As things continue to change in my world, I hope that it offers me more opportunity to read and share and enjoy books with you all.

Thanks for hanging out with me this year! Let's do it again in 2012, o.k?

2011 Favorite Audiobooks

2011 has been an especially satisfying year for my audiobook listening experience. I believe there is an art to teaming the best narrator with each story. And that art is further enhanced when the narrator is on the same wave as the book's author. Then add in the magicians who do the editing. To create a great listening experience from a great book, there is a considerable amount of time, consideration and effort.

There have been many wonderful matches between great narrators and exceptional stories this year. I've listened to 47 audios and hope to add at least one more. Coming up with my favorite list was quite challenging. However, I do have to say that since I haven't had a chance to listen to HELL'S EMPTY on audiobook yet, that helped a teensy bit!

After much hemming and hawing and re-reading my reviews, I've come up with my favorite audiobooks of 2011:
 
10. FALLEN (written by Karin Slaughter; narrated by Shannon Cochran) - if I am completely honest, and when you get through my list you'll see I really have no choice but to be honest, I have a harder time listening to female narrators than I do male. Very rarely do I find a female narrator who does male characters justice in crime fiction, at least for my ear. Cochran is one of the best I've heard. And not only did she exhibit a wonderful range for the gender of the characters, she gave each character a distinct sound within the Southern dialect, which was not over-the-top ridiculous like many can be. It had been a little while since my last dance through Slaughter's fictional world and I'd forgotten how much I enjoy her characters. This audiobook was a delightful treat for me. Kudos to the AudioGo team that made FALLEN happen.

9. PORTRAIT OF A SPY (written by Daniel Silva; narrated by Simon Vance) - I haven't had a chance to review this one, yet, but last year I finally discovered Silva's Gabriel Allon series and I jumped at the chance to listen to the newest on audio this year. Vance achieved a great feat in delivering a convincing Gabriel for me. It's hard to do when I've read the character first and developed an image and sound in my brain. But I have to say, I prefered Vance's to my own. Harper Audio gets the nod for this great audibook.

8. THE ALIENIST (written by Caleb Carr; narrated by George Guidall) - I know everyone on the planet but me had read this book prior to 2011, but have you listened to George Guidall read it to you?  Guidall is a master at picking up subtle nuances and humor, which were vital in THE ALIENIST. And while I've listened to him bring Walt Longmire to life book after book, Guidall still manages to completely recreate himself for each character in each book, so there were no echos of Walt only the sounds of the world Carr depicted through his words. The masterminds at Recorded Books get an enthusiastic round of applause on THE ALIENIST.

7. THE PALE BLUE EYE (written by Louis Bayard; narrated by Charles Leggett) - This audiobook was an astounding combination of story and narrator. Leggett nailed Edgar Allen Poe and, boy, did he ever tap into Bayard's humor.  THE PALE BLUE EYE was entertainment at its finest. The folks at AudioGo (formerly BBC America) did Bayard's fine work justice.

6. CROOKED LETTER, CROOKED LETTER (written by Tom Franklin; narrated by Kevin Kenerly) - Books like CROOKED LETTER, CROOKED LETTER can present special challenges that result in the audio being either a phenomenal performance or a dreadful bomb. The sense of time and place, the depth of character, the range and intensity of theme. Kevin Kenerly nailed ALL of it. A tip of the hat to the Blackstone Audio folks for this exceptional production.

5.  A SIMPLE ACT OF VIOLENCE (written by R.J. Ellory; narrated by Kevin Kenerly) - Maybe I should start up Kenerly's fan club? As with CLCL, Kenerly takes the challenges of a richly complex novel and gives them pitch-perfect sound. The atmosphere is vital to this novel and it's obvious that Kenerly is keenly aware of its importance. The mystery is enhanced through his tempo. Both of these novels are ones I imagine narrators would be tempted to over-dramatize. He doesn't go down that road, and the results are hauntingly effective. Exquisite. Again, the Blackstone Audio crew are responsible for this great audiobook.

4. THE BOY IN THE SUITCASE (written by Lene Kaaberbøl & Agnete Friis; narrated by Katherine Kellgren) Kellgren does a such a superb job of setting the book's tone in this narration. Kaaberbøl & Friis have created female characters who are determined, yet struggling. They are simultaneously fearful and persistent. Kellgren motivates the audience to feel that internal conflict, which I feel is essential to comprehending the full extent of this novel. This is another one from those AudioGo pros!

3. FUN & GAMES/HELL & GONE (written by Duane Swierczynski; narrated by Pete Larkin) I paired these two books up because they share the same author, the same narrator and the same trilogy. Pete Larkin not only understood Swierczynski and his humor, he appreciated the work at every level. Larkin IS Charlie Hardie: the gruffness of Hardie's life experiences, the submission to fate, as well as Hardie's intuition, intelligence and curiosity. As I've mentioned before I think these audios are the perfect storm of audiobooks and Hachette Audio is the team responsible for making that storm happen.

2. SHIBUMI (written by Travanian; narrated by Joe Barrett) I was so pleasantly surprised with SHIBUMI. Too often a books I love are ravaged by over-eager narrators who makes the writing sound like a daytime drama. SHIBUMI has the content to possibly encourage that, but I should have had faith in one of my favorite narrators, Joe Barrett, who just does not ever over dramatize. Nicholai Hel would have no place in his world for drama. He's calm; he's in control; and he's at peace. Barrett exemplified both that and Trevanian's beautifully sensual, rich novel. He also nailed the esoteric essence of the novel. Thanks to Blackstone for making this one happen.  

1. GOOD GRACES (written by Lesley Kagen; narrated by Lesley Kagen) I battled with the order of these last three as I think they are all spectacular, but I decided on GOOD GRACES for the top spot because Lesley Kagen pulled every emotion possible from me in the course of this audiobook. I laughed at things I remembered during my childhood; I cried for honest mistakes that change your world; I raged at intolerance; and I melted from the innocence of youth. It was a perfect audiobook experience for me. Nice job AudioGo!

So that rounds out my favorite audiobooks for 2011. What was on YOUR list of favorites that you listened to this year?

Check back tomorrow for my final post - my favorite overall reads of 2011.

The Devil's Highway to the Buckeye State - Craig McDonald

Last week I posted my review of Craig McDonald's EL GAVILAN. I have a guest post as a special holiday treat from Craig today. I know I really enjoyed this piece as it's especially relevant to me where I live. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Happy Holidays!

The Devil's Highway to the Buckeye State

—Craig McDonald

My new novel, El Gavilan, examines the effects of illegal immigration and a single murder on one Ohio town. Many of those undocumented workers came to the Buckeye State via a torturous path dubbed the Devil's Highway.

The Devil's Highway technically runs between northern Mexico, across the Sonoran Desert wastelands of blasted-out ironwood and saguaro, and on up into Arizona. It's considered the deadliest stretch of ground to cover for those who would flee Mexico to America, yet thousands try every year and many don't make it to the other side.

El Gavilan opens with a quote of unknown provenance: "Never attach more feeling to a thing than God does."

The poet Ofelia Zepeda said of the region through which the Devil's Highway runs, "You need a new kind of prayers to negotiate with this land."

I'd argue the Devil's Highway knows no true end. The ones who do reach the American portion of the borderlands don't always opt to live out their days in Arizona, California or Texas. They head in deeper, trekking further north to make their meager living at myriad Mexican food restaurants . . . by mowing lawns or picking fruit for half-minimum wages in Georgia or Michigan and all points in-between.

Like the Oakies chased from their homes by the Dust Bowl tragedy nearly a century before -- the destitute immortalized in John Steinbeck's novel, The Grapes of Wrath -- men and women fleeing Mexico for El Norte found their path hastened by the American highway system. Route 66, "The Mother Road," may not be doing so dandy these days, but the U.S. interstate system is cranking right along.

A recent immigration study puts a fine point on it: "Ohio has the nation's 10th largest highway network and is within a single-day drive for half of North America's population. Ohio contains 70 percent of the country's manufacturing capacity. The state links the Northeast and Midwest; thus, much business and cargo traffic passes through its borders on this well-developed highway network. Ohio's economy is primarily based in Agriculture and Industry."

In other words, and in any language: Ohio=Prosperity. (Or it used to; these days, Ohio is just about the hardest hit state economically outside of Michigan.)

But circa 2005, or thereabouts, before the housing bubble burst, my corner of Ohio was literally swamped with undocumented workers. Like drunken sailors, developers were plowing under acres of corn and soybeans and platting out vistas of cookie-cutter subdivisions constructed largely through the sweat and effort of illegal immigrants. The bastards trucked them in by the dozens in old Ford Aerostars to frame-out houses for chump change wages. (An exposed wall of one side of my garage—a house built circa 2000—is covered with Spanish writings scrawled in Sharpie).

The influx of undocumented, unassimilated workers changed the face of central Ohio, nearly overnight. As a journalist, I saw results some while before the average Ohio citizen maybe took notice. When the citizenry of central Ohio realized what was happening, handwringing ensued. Racial tensions rose, then spiked.

The impact on infrastructure and public services here in Ohio was profound.

The immigration report put it this way, by the numbers: "Seventy-two percent of the total population growth between 2000 and 2006 in Ohio was directly attributed to the immigrant population . . . The annual fiscal cost to Ohio taxpayers for emergency medical care, education and incarceration is currently $224 million and is estimated to rise to $372 million per year in 2010 and $627 million per year in 2020."

When the Great Recession hit, a number of undocumented workers ventured back across that dusty line, suddenly finding prospects more enticing in the Mexico they'd earlier fled than in the financially decimated wastelands of post-recession America.

My aim in El Gavilan was to take one family's immigrant experience, trace it up into Ohio, and then watch the ripples flare out when a member of that family falls prey to a seemingly racially motivated spasm of fatal violence.

But before the murder that fires the story of El Gavilan occurs, there is another scene of violence and loss, very near the start of the book:

El Gavilan opens with a tragic fire that claims more victims than necessary when first responders and Latino firebombing victims aren't speaking the same language. Failure to communicate literally kills. The scene is based on all too real firebombing in Ohio that occurred in a mostly Latino, non-English-speaking apartment enclave in what had formerly been a white, working class neighborhood.

The victims were part of a family who'd chased prosperity from central Mexico all the way to Ohio's Capital City -- braving and surviving the passage through the desert wastelands only to be taken down deeper along The Devil's Highway, taken down in Ohio, "the heart of it all," as our state's publicists like to phrase it.

© 2011 Craig McDonald, author of El Gavilan

Author Bio
Craig McDonald, author of El Gavilan, is an Edgar®-nominee and an award-winning journalist, editor and fiction writer. His short fiction has appeared in literary magazines, anthologies and several online crime fiction sites. His debut novel, Head Games, was published by Bleak House Books in September 2007. Head Games was selected as a 2008 Edgar®-nominee for Best First Novel by an American Author. Head Games was also a finalist for the Anthony, Gumshoe and Crimespree Magazineawards for best first novel. His nonfiction books include Art in the Blood, a collection of interviews with 20 major crime authors which appeared in 2006, and Rogue Males: Conversations and Confrontations About the Writing Life, a second collection of interviews published by Bleak House Books in 2009. McDonald was also a contributor to the NYT's nonfiction bestseller, Secrets of the Code. He recently won national awards for his profiles of crime novelists James Crumley, Daniel Woodrell, James Sallis and Elmore Leonard. His new novel, El Gavilan, is available from Tyrus Books.

For more information please visit http://www.craigmcdonaldbooks.com, and follow the author on Facebook and Twitter

GOOD GRACES - Lesley Kagen

First line: "That summer earned itself a place in the record books that's never been beat."

Lesley Kagen returns to Milwaukee and her O'Malley sisters - Troo and Sally - in the sequel to Whistling in the Dark. But, if like me, you are just discovering the wonderfulness that is Lesley Kagen, you needn't worry about reading Whistling in the Dark first. You'll likely want to return to it after experiencing the summer exploits of these "Irish twins" as they fret over a town bully who's escaped from reform school, a series of home invasions, a run-away orphan, their mother's annulment and the popular parish priest who just doesn't sit right with Sally. Narrated by Kagen, herself, the summer of 1959 comes alive through the eyes of Sally with a realism rarely, if ever, so astutely rendered by an adult.

Sally has been saddled with the responsibility of looking after Troo. Her father asked this of her shortly before he died of injuries from a car accident. The young, impressionable and devastated Sally promised her father, and she fully intends to live up to that promise. Only Troo is a hard one to keep pinned down and out of trouble. Troo is spirited and rebellious and regularly finding herself in hot water.

Kagen's characters are so profoundly drawn readers will likely recognize younger versions of themselves and friends they knew growing up. Kagen doesn't just pull readers into her story, she pulls them back into their own stories - to 'Ghost in the Graveyard,' penny candy, soda fountains and Breck girls. Making that kind of connection with a book turns the story into something far more memorable than simple entertainment.

Most readers are familiar with the eye rolls and sarcastic tones of the younger lots. We used those devices ourselves and have watched our children discover them as well. In her narration of Good Graces, Kagen gives voice to the growing pains of adolescence as well at the compassion of caring adults, the self-centered obsession of egotists, the all-consuming regret of the remorseful. And on top of everything else, she transports us back to 1959 Small-Town USA. The sights of a Fourth of July fireworks display, sounds of the playground, smells of picnics and zoos and summer camp, all rolled into an incredible listening experience.

The author's name listed as the audiobook's narrator often gives cause for dread, but in the case of Good Graces, I don't believe another narrator could have done even half as well as Kagen, a former radio DJ, commercial voice and television actress. All the nuances to which Kagen is so intimately attuned deliver their desired effects through her professional training and her obvious adoration of the world and its inhabitants she's created.

There is a richness to Kagen's writing, a richness that remembers the innocence and clarity of childhood:

"It's so hard to lose someone you love. Our hearts growl for Daddy the same way our tummies do when we're hungry. It must be even worse for Mr. Kenfield. I know my daddy's gone forever in the deep blue of the western sky. I'll never hear the sound of his voice again or feel his late-day whiskers on my cheek or spend time after supper curled up on his lap listening to his happy shouts when Hank Aaron hits a homer on the radio. But Mr. Kenfield's daughter is not dead. She's out there somewhere. I bet if my old neighbor had it to do all over again, he wouldn't have sent Dottie away to the unwed mothers' home the way the church told him to do."

And there's a warm humor that makes you laugh out loud and reminisce:

"'You've got the wrong idea about our church,' I tell Ethel. 'You've only been up there for funerals. You don't know how bad it can get.'

'Mmmmm...hmmmm.' In southern, that means, Go on, tell me more.

'You gotta starve yourself for hours before you receive Holy Communion.' Ethel would especially not like that part. She adores a big country breakfast with ham first thing every morning. She wouldn't like the taste of the body and blood of Christ. He's really bland. (I'm too nervous to bring this up to anybody who might know the answer, but isn't swallowing down Jesus kinda like being a cannibal?) 'And the nuns, they got ways of torturin' people that are worse than the Red Chinese.'"

Good Graces encapsulates all the elements of a good book by my reading standards: endearing characters, rich experiences, suspenseful plot elements, intelligent humor and sincerity. I can't believe it took me this long to discover Lesley Kagen's work, but I'm extremely thankful I finally did.

Good Graces is without a doubt, the audiobook highlight of my year. There simply wasn't a bad element to the production, not even a mediocre one. It is superb at every turn and I can't recommend it highly enough. This would be a fantastic audiobook for someone just considering the possibility of audiobooks for themselves.

Good Graces is available on audio download from AudioGo (ISBN: 978-1-609-98525-7) and in print from Dutton (ISBN: 978-0-525-95238-1)

EL GAVILAN - Craig McDonald

My review of EL GAVILAN is appearing here with permission from Shelf Awareness. This review appeared in Tuesday's Readers' edition. If you are not already subscribed to Shelf Awareness, you can do so here for free and have the twice-weekly newsletter delivered to your email.

First line: "Her grandmother was the first to die of thirst crossing the Sonoran Desert."


Craig McDonald veers from his Hector Lassiter series to tackle the timely issue of illegal immigration in the United States. Taking neither a pro nor con stance, McDonald probes the gray areas while illustrating the volatile effects of the rape-murder of a Mexican-American mother in small town Ohio.

El Gavilan follows three law men: Sheriff Able Hawk, Police Chief Tell Lyon and Sheriff Walt Pierce as they battle each other for the territorial rights in the rape-murder investigation. Each law enforcement officer has his own agenda and none wears an unsullied white hat. Through their actions, McDonald smudges the lines between right and wrong – is it really wrong if it’s done for the right reasons - leaving his readers with conflicting feelings about the characters. It’s this conflict that makes El Gavilan so irresistible. As Hawk, Lyon and Pierce delve into the investigation, the reader delves into his/her feelings for the characters. Love or hate them, you can’t help but invest in them.

In his previous novels, McDonald brought the past to life for readers. In El Gavilan, he crafts a fictitious small town as real as any on an Ohio map. The sights, sounds and even the smells reach from the pages to pull the reader into this world.

El Gavilan proves that Craig McDonald’s talents aren’t limited to the historical thriller novel, and we can only hope that he has many more opportunities to bring his stories to print.

El Gavilan is available in both trade paper (ISBN: 978-1-4405-3191-0) and in hardcover (ISBN: 978-1-4405-3194-1) from Tyrus Books.

The Year-End Meme

I completed this meme last year and wanted to kick off my year-end lists with it again this year. It may foreshadow the lists that will be coming throughout the next week or so but I think there will still be quite a few surprises for you to uncover in those lists.

1. Best Book of 2011 – Last year I had a tie in this one and while there are a lot of great, great books I read this year, one does stand out above the rest for me and that’s THE RIDGE. Michael Koryta has been a wonderful writer since his debut with TONIGHT I SAID GOODBYE, but THE RIDGE takes him to a whole new level of greatness.

2. Worst Book of 2011 – This year was a great, great year for reading but I also had quite a few books that I didn't review because they just hit all the wrong chords with me. And this year I believe I had more books that I simply didn't finish than ever before. It's hard for me to pick one that stands out, but these four were no-gos for me: THE WEIGHT (Andrew Vachss), LOVE ME TO DEATH (Allison Brennan), THIEVES GET RICH, SAINTS GET SHOT (Jodi Compton) and TABLOID CITY (Pete Hamill).

3. Most Disappointing Book of 2011 – DEVOTION OF SUSPECT X. I know a lot of people liked this and I was looking forward to it, but it just fell flat for me. I didn't connect with any of the characters and I'm actually surprised I finished the book at all.

4. Most surprising (in a good way) book of 2011 – I'm going to go with HOUSE DIVIDED by Mike Lawson here. I wasn't expecting it to be bad. I had no idea what to expect, so when it was so wonderful, I was very pleasantly surprised.

5. Book you recommended to people most in 2011 – I recommended YOU’RE NEXT, THE TWO DEATHS OF DANIEL HAYES and SATORI endlessly this year, so I’m not sure which of those was the most often.

6. Best series you discovered in 2011 – Phillip Brennan/Marina Esposito series from Tania Carver and the Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alystyne series from Julia Spencer-Fleming.

7. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2011 – Martyn Waites, Louis Bayard, Lesley Kagen, Will Lavender, Mike Lawson, Daniel Palmer, Todd Ritter, Ace Atkins - I read 50 new authors this year and it's wonderful that so many were this spectacular, but my must-read list is growing out of control!

8. Most hilarious read of 2011 – This category's a little more difficult for me because I don't read books that would be categorized as "comedy" but at the same time, one of the qualities I love about my favorite books are the humor that weaves its way in. But I think the book I enjoyed the most and that packed the most humor would be THE WORLD'S GREATEST SLEUTH! (Steve Hockensmith).

9. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2011 –YOU’RE NEXT. This book is just WOW on every level imaginable. Even though I despise the word “unputdownable” I had a terrible time parting with YOU’RE NEXT and it was one of my very few single sitting reads this year.

10. Book you most anticipated in 2011 – This would be a toss up between LONG GONE, because I always anticipate a new Alafair Burke book, THE TWO DEATHS OF DANIEL HAYES because there was a bit of a lull between Marcus’ publications and A HARD DEATH because I've been waiting several years for the U.S. folks to publish Jonathan Hayes' second novel. Yay!

11. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2011 – I think I have to give this nod to THE RIDGE. All the jackets that Michael Koryta has had with Little, Brown have been wonderful, but this was my favorite. And I love the texture of it as well as the look of it.

12. Most memorable character in 2011 – I have to go back to Daniel in Robert Crais' THE SENTRY for this one. He is by far my favorite antagonist ever. I sure would like to see him come back maybe in a book of his own.

13. Most beautifully written book in 2011 – This one is so hard this year. SATORI was just incredibly written, CROOKED LETTER, CROOKED LETTER amazing, THE RIDGE left me breathless, THE HANGING TREE was stunning, A SIMPLE ACT OF VIOLENCE - I seriously think Roger can only write beautifully, it would be a challenge for him to write mediocre, and finally YOU'RE NEXT - I can't imagine not being struck to your soul by Gregg's amazing book.

14. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2011 – This is definitely a tight race between THE RIDGE and YOU'RE NEXT. They impacted me in different ways but both tremendously so. These will both be books I'm recommending for years and years to come.

15. Book you can’t believe you waited until 2011 to finally read? – this one is easy for me again. THE ALIENIST. How far behind can I possibly be?

THE BOY IN THE SUITCASE - Lene Kaaberbøl & Agnete Friis

First line: "Holding the glass door open with her hip, she dragged the suitcase into the stairwell leading down to the underground parking lot."

When it comes to doing right, Nina Borg seems to be able to do so by everyone except her own family. So when her old friend Karin contacts the Red Cross nurse asking for a favor, Nina can't turn her down. Karin leaves Nina with a train station locker key and a lot of questions! Those questions increase exponentially when Nina finds a suitcase filled with a three-year-old boy in the locker. Who is this boy? Where did he come from? Are his parents missing him or did they sell him? And why is he packed in a suitcase at the train station? Nina doesn't know whether it's safe to go to the police or not. At the risk of damaging an already fragile relationship with her family, Nina sets off to find answers to her questions because above all she doesn't want to hand the boy over to anyone who will do him more harm.

Kaaberbøl is a renowned fantasy writer; Friis a children's writer. How the two of them teamed up to write such a spectacular crime novel is a mystery to me, but they have managed to do it and make it look easy. The audiobook of THE BOY IN THE SUITCASE is beautifully narrated by Katherine Kellgren. Nina's conflicting feelings, her frustration and fear and determination all emanate from Kellgren's interpretation. Those feelings also mirror those of Sigita, the boy's mother, as she searches desperately for her missing child.

Likewise the pure evil of Andrius Jucas drips from every word as he leaves a trail of devastation in his campaign to recover the child and fulfill his contract.

The plot oscillates between the present day and years earlier when Sigita first met her estranged husband. The flashbacks lead up to the present, slowing awakening an understanding in the reader. It isn't until the climax, however, that all the players in this game are able to piece together the parts and fully understand the enormity of this crime that spans years and countries. The changes in time are easy to follow and work to expertly build the suspense.

While the events of the plot circle around the kidnapping, Kaaberbøl and Friis illustrate family bonds and commonalities that transcend language, borders, time and age. Kaaberbøl translated the original Danish to English. The excellent translation teamed with Kellgren's narration leaves the listener with no choice but to empathize with these women who experience extraordinary regret and who are willing to do whatever it takes to keep their families safe.

The cover of THE BOY IN THE SUITCASE labels this book as the "#1 Danish Bestselling Crime Series..." I hope that "series" means we will be seeing more from these two talented writers. THE BOY IN THE SUITCASE is a must read for crime fans, and the audiobook from AudioGo is a must listen for audio fans.

The print version of THE BOY IN THE SUITCASE is available from Soho Press (ISBN: 978-1-56947-981-0) and the audio is available from AudioGo on CD (ISNB: 978-1-60998-658-2) or as an mp3 download (ISBN: 978-1-60998-559-2).

I was very excited to be given the opportunity to participate in AudioGo's blog tour for THE BOY IN THE SUITCASE. It has afforded me the opportunity to share a segment of the audiobook with you and to hold a drawing to give away two copies of the audiobook. I'm the tail end of the blog tour - I prefer to think of myself as the anchor! Anyway, that means that there have already been some segments shared, so if you haven't had a chance to listen to the ones before, you may want to back up and listen to mine last:

Reflections of a Book Addict

The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia

Teresa's Reading Corner

The Literate Housewife

So now that you want to listen to this audiobook ;-) I can tempt you further by offering a chance to win a copy. Simply fill out the form below by Thursday, December 22nd and I'll draw two winners on Friday...just before Christmas! The contest is open to U.S. residents only, please. Drop me an email if you have any questions. Good luck!

A Little of This and That

Since I haven't done a "what's going on" update in awhile, I have a number of fun items to share with you in case you don't already know about them.

First, there are some pre-order contests going on for a couple of books I'll be talking about here soon. The first is Hilary Davidson's second novel, THE FIRST ONE TO FALL. You can find the details for her creative contest here. And the second is for Daniel Palmer's second novel, HELPLESS. Details for that one are here.

Bill Cameron's DAY ONE is free on ebook here and here. I'm not sure how long you have on this deal, so hop to it and don't miss out!

Michael Lister has THE BODY AND THE BLOOD from his John Jordan series free on Kindle right now, if you're a Kindle owner. I really like this series and thought this was the best book of the series to date. This offer is only this week, so if you want this one, move quick!

This is rather cool. The NoirCon 2012 folks are having their first ever NoirCon Poetry Contest. They are defining Noir Poetry as "1.) Poetry that makes reference to the subject matter, dialog or style of film noir or the hard-boiled detective genre, or, 2.) Poetry that invokes stark urban landscapes and atmosphere, and which either alludes to crime and perilous attachments or else seems to bear dark knowledge of this territory, or 3.) Poetry that tells the story of tortured souls - lovers, psychopaths, obsessives - drive down deadly paths, following desperate plans that are doomed to failure."

You can get all the details on the contest here.

If you're an Ed McBain fan, Thomas & Mercer will be re-issuing some of his 87th Precinct books.

And I know it's early to be excited about this, but I heard from Michael Koryta that his next book, a traditional crime novel this time, is due out in October 2012. It's called THE PROPHET, and I can't help it, I'm SOOOOO excited.

Just a reminder that I've set up the site and requirements for the Criminal Plots II reading challenge for 2012. I hope you'll join us for that. There's still some time to finish Criminal Plots I and get in on the drawing for the prizes.

The last item I want to mention tonight is related to xuni. There are starting to be occasions where I'm able to provide some bloggers books for review from our authors. If you have a blog and would be interested in reviewing books in the future, please complete my little form below so I can contact you when opportunities come up and see if you're interested. My promise is always that I will not ask anyone to read anything that I myself did not like. You would never be required to say anything other than your honest opinion about the books and you don't have to like everything I do, but I'm just promising that I won't be contacting people about just any old books.

Hope you're having a grand week filled with wonderful crime novels! Happy Reading!

HEADSTONE - Ken Bruen

First line: "He drained the last of the pint, thought,
'Christ, that was good.'"

Jack Taylor returns in Ken Bruen's ninth book of the series about the former guard turned Irish PI. Jack's damaged emotionally and physically, tainting his view of the world. But in HEADSTONE, he's daring to let hope weasel its way into his heart. That light is violently extinguished when a gang of sociopaths begin their march of terror through Galway and set their collective sights on Jack himself.

Ken Bruen fans will not be disappointed in his newest installment, labeled a "Jack Taylor novel of terror." Bruen's signature style glows as strong as ever: a pitch-black tone, with ever-so-tiny fissures of light and hope daring to invade the space. Damaged characters who simultaneously scare the bejesus out of you while making you want to take them home and protect them from all life's evils - give them the chance the world has deprived them of. John Lee, the HEADSTONE audiobook narrator, captures that dichotomy superbly. Lee allows the reader to hear and FEEL Taylor's rage and hopelessness, to experience the disbelief and horror.

Those not familiar with Bruen's work will easily be able to pick up HEADSTONE and join Jack Taylor's life odyssey mid-series. John Lee gives Bruen's unyielding sense of place dimension through his Irish brogue and obvious understanding of Taylor. Bruen's chilling atmosphere wraps around the reader in the form of Lee's voice.

I kept the print version of HEADSTONE close during my audio experience. It is a unique combination, probably enhanced by my American-ness. Bruen writes in a distinct style that is essential to the story. His placement of words on a page are just as much a part of his art as Jack Taylor. One shouldn't experience this series without experiencing the way Bruen has painted his pages. Lee gives sound to Taylor, a sound that a naive American with little experience of the variety in Irish dialect would completely botch without help. Experiencing the two together was an explosion of the senses - an experience I would recommend to any true crime fiction fan.

HEADSTONE is available in the United States in print (ISBN: 978-0-8021-2600-9) from The Mysterious Press and on audio from High Bridge Audio (ISBN: 978-1-61174-598-6). The audio runs 5 1/2 hours.

Criminal Plots II

About this time last year I announced the inaugural Criminal Plots Reading Challenge. For the first year, things have gone pretty well. If you signed up, there's still time to finish and be included in the drawing for the prizes. You have until the end of the month.

In the meantime, I have put together the second year of Criminal Plots and I hope you'll join in the fun. It's six crime fiction books in the following categories, read anytime between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2012:


1. Novel with a weapon in the title (examples: A Night of Long Knives, A Nail Through the Heart, Sharp Objects, The Rope, Lay Down my Sword and Shield)

2. Book published at least 10 years ago - this should be an easy one, time to pull out those backlists (examples: Goodnight Irene, The Black Echo, Indemnity Only)

3. Book written by an author from the state/provinence/etc. where you live. (I live in Ohio, so examples for me would be Carla Buckley, Les Roberts, Craig McDonald)

4. Book written by an author using a pen name (examples: Spencer Quinn, Ross Macdonald, Ariana Franklin, Noah Boyd, Juliett Blackwell, Lisa Black)

5. Crime novel whose protagonist is the opposite gender of the author (examples: Demolition Angel, Bury Your Dead, Calumet City)

6. A stand-alone novel written by an author who writes at least one series (examples: El Gavilan (Craig McDonald), Long Gone (Alafair Burke), The Lock Artist (Steve Hamilton), Envy the Night (Michael Koryta), The Most Dangerous Thing (Laura Lippman))

As with last year's challenge,  you can use the same books from other challenges but you can not use the same book in two or more categories of THIS challenge. So you need six different books. You don't have to read them in the order I've listed them, they can be in any format and any crime fiction sub-genre (i.e., thrillers, cozies, procedurals, etc.). You don't need to decide your books ahead of time, choose them as you go, and you don't need a blog to participate.

Sign-ups are located at the Criminal Plots site. Feel free to email me if you have any questions. I hope to see all of you there! Happy Reading!

Are You Ready for HIDDEN CITY?

Tomorrow HIDDEN CITY debuts on the Travel Channel. This show probably would have escaped my notice, since I don't watch television, but it's being hosted by one of my favorite writers, Marcus Sakey. I'll be trekkin' over to the parents' house to watch; I'm very excited.




I was able to pin Marcus down for a few minutes and get him to talk about his experiences working on the show. I've also collected some of the videos that have been made to preview the show. So, I hope it entices you to check it out as well.

Now over to Marcus.

Q. You have a rather solitary career now. Was it refreshing to be with people all day or did it take some getting use to?

Marcus: It’s been great. The people I’m working with are all spectacular: smart, funny, and dedicated. Every one of them is trying to elevate the show, and that’s a cool feeling.

Though I admit that I miss working in goofy morning hair and slippers. That’s frowned on in the television world.

At least, if you’re in front of the camera. The crew mostly does look that way.

Q. So, you were offered this opportunity; you said, "hot damn! Let's do it." Then what surprised you most about television production - the actual back stage process, filming, any part of it good or bad?

Marcus: The most surprising thing about television is just how much work and time goes into every aspect. It’s sort of like the old line about watching the sausage get made; once you’ve seen the process, you never look at the result the same way.

Every shot is captured multiple times, multiple ways. The setup for an interview takes three guys an hour to light and rig. At any moment we have no fewer than three cameras running, and often as many as seven if you count some of the ones we use for effects. And that’s not even mentioning the planning, the editing, the writing. It’s a pretty complex process.

Q. What was the experience that you'd do again in a heartbeat?

Marcus: There have been so many. I’ve gotten to interview the most incredible people: mayors, armored car thieves, Harvey Milk’s campaign manager, FBI task force leaders, convicted murderers.

But my favorite parts of the show are the ones where I get to do something. This season alone I’ve been pepper sprayed, trained with SWAT, landed a plane, driven an airboat, fired a sniper rifle, gone diving for treasure, tried to outrun State Troopers, been attacked by a dog...

Q. What experience would you refuse to do again regardless of the money you might be offered?

Marcus: There hasn’t been one. There are a few I’m leery of—all of my cop buddies urge me not to get Tased, for example—but I like getting my hands dirty, and I don’t mind taking lumps.

Q. Your favorite place you visited?

Marcus: The only one I hadn’t been before was Anchorage, and I loved it. The city itself is nice enough, but it’s really Alaska that swept me away. It’s just as breathtakingly majestic as you imagine. Watching the sun rise over a glacier, or hiking against 80 mph winds on a frozen river, these things turn me right on.

Q. Place you won't be rushing back to anytime soon?

Marcus: Oddly enough, the Florida Keys. There’s some stunningly beautiful stuff there, but after a week of sixteen hours days, sweating in places I didn’t know I had places, I was ready to go.

Q. Through this experience did you discover anything that crime fiction is portraying all wrong? Or something that crime fiction nails and gives the "everyman" an accurate portrayal of?

Marcus: One thing that is never really portrayed right is how matter of fact this all is; how much paperwork is involved, how many hoops need jumping, how many T’s and I’s need crossing and dotting. The truth is that for a homicide detective or an a FBI task force member or a ballistics expert, this is a job just like yours. They love it and they live it, but they have a lot of the same hassles and frustrations you do.

On the flip side, one thing crime fiction does really well is portray the intensity of it: the moments in life when everything changes, the pounding heart and sweaty armpits, the fear and tension and passion. Whether you’re talking the moments before a thief goes into the bank with a gun, the frustration that leads to an assassination, or the culture clash that ends up with a bloody body count, it’s all real, and ironically, fiction nails that.

Q. Do you feel this experience has changed you as a writer at all? If so, how?

Marcus: I don’t see how it can’t. I’ve met too many people and gotten too thorough a look into this world for it not to play in. Not only that, but writing for television is a lot like writing for advertising—you need to keep stripping down and down and down until you get to the essence of the thing, the one line that will slap someone awake, that will make their chest swell or their heart hurt.

I have to expect that will play into my novel writing as well. At least, I hope so.

Q. So where does Marcus Sakey go from here? Back to a full-time writer, "thanks for the fun, once was enough for me"? Is Spielberg going to be knocking down your door? Would you do this again?

Marcus: I had a blast, and if you’ll forgive me saying, I think the end result is great. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. In fact, we’re talking about Season Two now…

That said, I love being a novelist. Books were my first love, and I’ve been faithful to them. I wouldn’t want to stop writing novels.

So tomorrow night, I won't be reading, I'll be checking out the first episode, featuring Chicago. It airs at 10pm on the Travel Channel. I'll look forward to hearing what you all think. Have a great week!

SPEAK NO EVIL - Martyn Waites

First line: "A room."

In the fourth book of the Joe Donovan series, Donovan finds himself working with a child murderer to write her memoirs. Anne Marie is no ordinary child murderer, though. She committed her crime when she was a child herself, eleven years old. Now, years later, out of jail and trying to hold together some semblance of a normal life with her family, she's suffering blackouts. During one of these blackouts a young boy dies. With no where else to go, Anne Marie turns to Joe Donovan for help.

SPEAK NO EVIL is without a doubt the strongest book of the Joe Donovan series. That says a great deal considering my feelings about THE MERCY SEAT, the first book in the series. In SPEAK NO EVIL Martyn Waites gives us a front-row seat into Donovan's personal life that has previously been on the cusp of his character but not quite so central. Donovan's connection to his daughter and hers to him infuses him with a new dimension, which is further heightened by the parallel existence of Anne Marie and her son, Calvin.

The supporting cast in this series provide color to the very dark themes. Amar excels in technology and fashion; Jamal is the street-smart kid who's blossoming with the security and identity Donovan has cultivated in him. Peta, too, is becoming secure in her own skin. Watching these characters grow and bond throughout the series has been a large part of the enjoyment. In SPEAK NO EVIL the bonds that they've formed illustrate another level of the book's family theme.

Waites' dialogue flows naturally, seamlessly and at times very powerfully. In the Isis audio version, read by Waites himself, this is especially apparent as the audience becomes lost in the story, watching through the mind's picture, the life of a tortured woman unfold before them...the conflict of a young girl dealing with her separated parents...the drive of a young man, trying to prove his abilities. And Waites' subtle humor worms its way in every now and again as he voices the lives he's created on paper. I dare you not to care about them.

SPEAK NO EVIL is an emotionally intense, physically thrilling novel that is ramped up several notches in Waites' narration on the audiobook. You'll give your heart a workout experiencing it. The series is growing better with each book and I can't wait to see what comes next.

SPEAK NO EVIL is available in the US in hardcover (ISBN: 978-1605980966) from Pegasus Books and on audio (ISBN: 978-0753142608) from Isis Audio.