Crime Fiction: Gods and Beasts by Denise Mina

Of the hundreds of novels I receive each year, I always look forward to the newest one by Denise Mina. Her writing is consistently fresh and compelling, and nobody wraps an important social theme around a challenging and topical plot line better than she does. Mina’s latest effort, Gods and Beasts (Reagan Arthur), will not disappoint her many fans.

This tale begins in a small post office in

Crime Fiction: The Midwife’s Tale by Sam Thomas and Lady of Ashes by Christine Trent

Both of these historical mysteries focus on women with strong professional lives. But one of them works much better than the other.


Reflecting changes in society, mystery writers have expanded their venues from the days when books cast female protagonists as teachers or nurses. Now, it seems, the sky is the limit.

In The Midwife’s Tale, by Sam Thomas (Minotaur), widowed Lady Bridget Hodgson is

Best Books of 2012: Crime Fiction, Part II

This is the crime, mystery and thriller fiction (part II) segment of January Magazine’s Best Books of 2012 feature; part I was posted yesterday. Also available are our picks of the Best Cookbooks of 2012. Still to come: our contributors’ selections of the Best Fiction, Best Non-Fiction, Best Art & Culture, Best Biography, Best Books for Children and Young Adults and Best Science Fiction/Fantasy.

Best Books of 2012: Crime Fiction, Part I

This is the crime, mystery and thriller fiction (part I) segment of January Magazine’s Best Books of 2012 feature; part II is scheduled for presentation tomorrow. Already posted are our picks of the Best Cookbooks of 2012. Still to come are our choices of the Best Fiction, Best Non-Fiction, Best Art & Culture, Best Biography, Best Books for Children and Young Adults, and Best Science Fiction/

Holiday Gift Guide: Books to Die For edited by John Connolly and Declan Burke

As much as readers may enjoy selecting their own literary diversions, they’re also curious to know what novels authors themselves have enjoyed. Which makes Books to Die For: The World’s Greatest Mystery Writers on the
World’s Greatest Mystery Novels (Atria/Emily Bestler), a 560-page compilation of tributes to more
than 120 memorable works of crime, mystery and thriller fiction, so delightful.

Crime Fiction: The Bones and the Book by Jane Isenberg

It’s not unusual for a historical mystery to be set within a contemporary one. But in The Bones and the Book (Oconee Spirit Press), Jane Isenberg
puts a twist on this configuration.

There is indeed an inner story and an outer one here. But this time, both stories are set in the past, which demands rather more of the reader.

The inner -- that is, older -- story concerns Aliza Rudinsk, a young

Crime Fiction: Lehrter Station by David Downing

A classic cat-and-mouse game -- except it’s no game. David Downing’s latest novel, Lehrter Station (Soho Crime), chronicles days full of
promise, punctuated by nights full of peril, in a nation emerging from war and
pulled in many directions at once.

November 1945. World War II has ended, and people on both
sides of the conflict struggle to put the events of the previous five years
behind them

Crime Fiction: Beach Strip by John Lawrence Reynolds

Although there is no shortage of women authors whose protagonists are male, the reverse is seldom true. The Scottish crime writer Ian Rankin once told me that it was
difficult for male writers to write convincingly from a woman’s perspective. We
discussed why that was, and decided, somewhat disturbingly, that in many cases
men simply weren’t as perceptive as women. We moved on from that dark

Crime Fiction: Skeleton Picnic by Michael Norman

Pot hunting, the age-old business of digging up Native American pottery to collect or sell, is at the center of Skeleton Picnic (Poisoned Pen Press), the second book in Michael Norman’s series featuring J.D. Books, a law-enforcement ranger with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) working in the Southwest.

Books, whose life has left him with some pain and sadness, is a character worth

Crime Fiction: Broken Harbor by Tana French

Broken Harbor is crime writer Tana French’s compelling tale about the horrific multiple-murder of a family in rural Ireland. But if gore is not your thing, don’t be put off: the crime has already occurred by the story’s opening, and Broken Harbor -- released earlier this month in Canada, and due out in the States on July 24 -- is very much a police procedural married to a classic whodunnit. Its

Crime Fiction: The Gilded Shroud and The Deadly Portent by Elizabeth Bailey

Elizabeth Bailey’s The Gilded Shroud (Berkley), published last fall, was billed as the first book in a new series. But it isn’t the sort of book I usually look for. From the blurb on the back cover, it sounded like romantic suspense -- a genre not at the top of my “must-read” list.

Still, I like English historicals, and this one is set during the Regency Period (1811-1820).

I picked the novel

Crime Fiction: The Woodcutter by Reginald Hill

By the time he died in January 2012, British crime writer Reginald Hill had earned legions of fans worldwide for his engaging novels (and long-running TV series) featuring two improbably paired police detectives. Andy Dalziel (known as “Fat Andy,” but only behind his back) is opinionated, outspoken, sometimes rude and almost always politically incorrect; his university-educated, liberally

Drama, Skullduggery and Disaster at Sea

Since I claim a longstanding interest in the story of the luxurious Royal Mail Steamer Titanic, which -- 100 years ago this coming weekend -- sank in the North Atlantic after colliding with an iceberg, it was with great pleasure that I recently put together a collection of non-fiction books, for Kirkus Reviews, about that vessel and her heartbreaking, chilly fate. You’ll find that piece here.

Crime Fiction: Breakdown by Sara Paretsky

(Editor’s note: The following piece comes from Jim Napier, a Quebec resident and newspaper columnist. His book reviews have been featured in several Canadian papers and on such websites as Spinetingler Magazine, The Rap Sheet, Shots, Crime Time, Reviewing the Evidence, and Type M for Murder. Napier also has an award-winning crime-fiction site, Deadly Diversions.)

Chicago-based crime writer Sara

Pierce’s Pick: The Silver Stain by Paul Johnson

Speaking of crime, this week, J. Kingston Pierce chooses The Silver Stain by Paul Johnson:Half-Greek, half-Scots gumshoe Alex Mavros (The Golden Silence, 2004) gets involved with a film being made about the 1941 German invasion of Crete. When one of the movie’s consultants is found hanged, Mavros must determine whether the tragedy has to do with old animosities or a conspiracy involving drugs and

Best Books of 2011: Crime Fiction, Part II

This is the second crime fiction segment of January Magazine’s Best Books of 2011 feature. You can see other sections as follows: Best Fiction, Best Non-Fiction, Best Art & Culture, Best Biography, Best Books for Children and Young Adults, Best Cookbooks, Best Science Fiction/Fantasy and Best Crime Fiction (part I).

The Gentlemen’s Hour by Don Winslow (Simon & Schuster)
Although Winslow’s

Best Books of 2011: Crime Fiction, Part I

This is the crime fiction (part I) segment of January Magazine’s Best Books of 2011 feature. You can see other sections as follows: Best Fiction, Best Non-Fiction, Best Art & Culture, Best Biography, Best Books for Children and Young Adults, Best Cookbooks, Best Science Fiction/Fantasy and Best Crime Fiction (part II).

The Accident by Linwood Barclay (Bantam)
Canadian author Barclay burst upon

Pierce’s Pick: Dark Men by Derek Haas

This week, J. Kingston Pierce chooses Dark Men by Derek Haas:Contract killer Columbus (The Silver Bear) has retired with his lover to an Italian village. But he keeps up his tracking skills, just in case -- which is how he discovers that someone’s following him. To free himself once and for all, Columbus must return to Chicago and face whoever has kidnapped his former fence.Looking for previous

Crime Fiction: A Play of Heresy by Margaret Frazer

Nobody does the Middle Ages better than the pseudonymous Margaret Frazer. Her 15th-century mystery series featuring Dame Frevisse (which began with 1992’s The Novice’s Tale) is an enchanting modern re-creation of Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.

Her second, spin-off series, which focuses on Joliffe the Player, offers different challenges. The latest of those books, A Play of Heresy (Berkley)

Pierce’s Pick: The Boy Who Shoots Crows by Randall Silvis

This week, J. Kingston Pierce chooses The Boy Who Shoots Crows by Randall Silvis. Pierce writes:Silvis (Disquiet Heart, 2002) introduces us into the search for a Pennsylvania boy who went missing while hunting crows. Charlotte Dunleavy, a recent escapee from Manhattan, may have heard something useful to the investigation -- but her memory isn’t working properly. Could she be hiding her