If you wanted to completely change the face of American politics, what would you do? If you had nothing left to lose, what risks would you take? In Steve Martini’s The Rule of Nine, one character decides on a dramatic plan to change the political scene for decades to come. The Old Weatherman is dying — he has nothing left… Read more
The premise behind The Dark End of the Street is simple: When we proposed this book to writers from both banks of the stream dividing crime writing and literary writing, we thought we had a particularly alluring idea. Write your heart out on the twin subjects of sex and crime. Define each however you want, take any approach you like.… Read more
The prologue will give you nightmares. (Do you know what sort of sound human vertebrae make when they give way under pressure?) Other sections of the book made me want to cover my eyes and read through my fingers. The killer in Thomas White’s The Book of Matthew would give Hannibal Lecter a run for his money. This is not… Read more
I really, really hate the phrase “ripped from the headlines.” It ought to be on one of those lists of cliches than can never ever be used again in print. But open a newspaper or click on a news website and you are likely to see a story similar to Megan Gunther’s situation in 212: A Novel by Alafair Burke.… Read more
If you have a weak stomach, this book is not for you. Wake Up Dead is probably the most violent, bloody, gore-splattered book I’ve read in ages, and that’s really saying something. A gang war in Cape Town, South Africa’s ghettos provides the setting and the gang-bangers, drug lords, junkies and an honest-to-goodness cannibal provide the action. On a steamy… Read more
Paddy Meehan is probably the most flawed heroine I’ve read in a while. By page 10 of The Dead Hour, she has already taken a bribe. She lies, she has an affair with a married man — but in her own way, she’s trying to do the right thing. Her way is just a bit roundabout. Paddy is a reporter… Read more
The Book of Lies is a tough review to write. There is so much going on, so many interesting side stories that I want to tell you about, but I don’t want to spoil the surprises you have in store. There’s Cain and Abel, a kid named Jerry Siegel, a dog named Benoni, a tractor-trailer full of melting shrimp, and… Read more
The Brutal Telling is a first-rate detective novel. The mystery is complex and well-plotted, while the beautiful Canadian scenery and charming characters breathe life into the story. It is a look into the very darkest corners of the human heart, a reminder that we never truly know what another person is capable of, or what secrets they may keep. The… Read more
If you’re going to write great cop fiction, you need two things: great cops and great villains. Richard Montanari has both in his Philadelphia police series and his latest installment, Badlands, delivers an exceptionally creepy villain. This particular killer leads detectives on a scavenger hunt around Philadelphia, leaving clues and bodies for them to find. A dead runaway in a… Read more
Skeleton Creek is young adult fiction for kids who grew up online — think Harriet the Spy meets The Blair Witch Project. Two bored teenagers manufacture a mystery in their hometown, which leads to a real mystery and some dangerous consequences. When one of them is seriously injured, the other continues the investigation, videotaping her adventures and posting them online.… Read more