Capsule book reviews in 255 characters or fewer. Ish. A reading diary (1st Jan 2019 onwards) by Eamonn Griffin.
An ex-journalist investigating an art theft is accused of murder. The second of the Fletch series (originally published in 1977) is a sprightly mystery well up to the standards of its predecessor. Lean, dialogue-driven, and confident throughout. A movie adaptation is due in 2022.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
The lives of two career criminals and a robbery/homicide detective intertwine over a long decade. This follow-on novel to Michael Mann’s 1995 heist movie epic Heat is undeniably contrived, but equally undeniably thrilling: bags of detail, tonnes of cool under pressure, with prose that does an admirable job of replicating Mann’s cinematic storytelling. For fans, naturally, but that’s a broad church: the congregation will leave feeling redeemed.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
Recuperating with family after combat injury, military cop Mick Hardin investigates the death of a drug dealer as a favour. The second Hardin thriller offers the same pleasures as the first: laconic Kentuckians, a sense of ordinary lives, a conspiracy. Plenty to relish: a third book is keenly awaited.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
After solar flares take out the world’s electricity, trouble strikes a woman estranged from her billionaire brother. Ungainly mix of post-apocalypse SF and assholes-after-bag-of-money thriller. The former is very much dialled down to give focus, but the genre mashup doesn’t really work: the plot doesn’t need its context. That said, it’s pacy and kinda works, even though the book feels like a movie script in waiting rather than a novel.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
A corrupt cop-turned-PI seeks a murderer while scouring 1950s Hollywood for sleaze for the scandal sheets. While it teeters on the edge of parody Ellroyism at times, this is nevertheless swaggering stuff if you go with it. A minor work in the canon, perhaps, but fans will come away pleased.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
A military investigator returns home to face his estranged wife, and to help his sister catch a killer. Terrific austere thriller – first in a new series – strong on lean characterizations and small-town Kentucky working-class troubles. Plenty for genre fans to get their teeth into: like a Jack Reacher novel written by James Sallis. Highly recommended.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
A suspended young FBI agent finds that their colleague’s death is linked to an ancient demonic evil. The first of a new series from The Strain collaborators Del Toro and Hogan, this is all set-up. While ambitious – immortal demonologists, John Dee, civil rights and slavery, and backstory-a-gogo all involved – it’s also a bit insubstantial. Brisk enough though.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
Providence, Rhode Island, 1980s. Irish and Italian crime families go to war: a reluctant leader emerges in Danny Ryan. A smart, breathless gangland take on The Iliad – the first part of a trilogy – that does precisely what you’d expect it might, and with some verve. Long-time fans will know what to expect and new genre-friendly readers will wonder what they’ve been missing out on all these years. Recommended.
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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
A former LA detective, now living as a minimalistic recluse, is called in to act as a PI when a TV star is accused of murder. Sprightly Hollywood neo-noir with comic elements and an engaging approach to Los Angeles. Breezy and pacy: a fun entertainment with an interesting lead character in Charlie Waldo. Recommended.
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My own books here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
Five novellas featuring Lansdale‘s series protagonists: murder and mayhem in East Texas. Bringing together the previously separately-published Coco Butternut, Hoodoo Harry, Sad Onions, The Briar Patch Boogie, and Cold Cotton, this collection finds Hap and Leonard facing middle age but still with plenty of fight in them. Recommended.
A longer review is here.
Note: advance copy provided by the publisher.
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My own books here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.
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