Cold Sunset

by William Boyd

Atlantic Crime / Grove/Atlantic, Inc.

    Gabriel Dax is a great hero for our time. He is not happy about being thrust into espionage; he is confused by his feelings for his handler; he's ignoring the best advice from his therapist. But he manages to rise to every occasion and maintain some semblance of sanity and wit.

    These are great stories but you do want to begin with the first, Gabriel's Moon, to fully appreciate them.

If you would like to know more about, or own any of these books, please check with your local independent bookstore or this great place: bookshop.org.

Backwater

by James Sallis

Soho Press

  Such beautiful prose, elegiac in the best possible way - of music, friendship, the impossibility of knowing another, and the search for meaning and justice in small and large places. You need to read this. 

If you would like to know more about, or own any of these books, please check with your local independent bookstore or this great place: bookshop.org.

The Tailor

by Tim Sullivan

Atlantic Crime / Grove/Atlantic, Inc.

     If you haven't read any of the George Cross mysteries, it would be good to start with the first , The Dentist, only because it's amazing to watch Sullivan develop the characters (not just George) as the series goes along. There's always a good mystery, and you'll learn something about something - tailoring, this time - but the characters are what you'll come back for.

     Sometimes you just need a "Cheers bar" of a book.

If you would like to know more about, or own any of these books, please check with your local independent bookstore or this great place: bookshop.org.

Exit Party

by Emily St. John Mandel

Knopf/PRH

    My only complaint is that I would like more! lots more! The characters are drawn so that you want to know them forever; the settings are so close to realistic that they are frightening; the plotting is complex but never confusing; the issues raised will stay on your mind. It is well worth a second read, right away.

If you would like to know more about, or own any of these books, please check with your local independent bookstore or this great place: bookshop.org.

Scorpio Rising

By Deon Meyers

Atlantic Crime / Grove/Atlantic, Inc.

pub date March 2, 2027

   This gives a brief look at a particular part of  South Africa - murders, police and their families. You'll learn more than you imagined you'd ever want to know about the future of warfare, but also understand a bit of the traumas of crime solving. This is more fun than it sounds as the relationship between the two investigators is warm and often humorous. The glossary is very helpful.

    The others in this series are also worth your time, but they don't have to be read in any specific order. And they're available now - Devil's Peak is the first.

If you would like to know more about, or own any of these books, please check with your local independent bookstore or this great place: bookshop.org.