And yet more lists

Because of the sheer number of them, I've created a new category. Why not, after all?

David Montgomery surveyed over 50 people in the crime fiction world--writers, reviewers, knowledgeable fans--to give their Top 5 books of the year. He also collects some interesting stats from the contributions:

Most-cited book: Scott Phillips' Cottonwood -- 7 picks
Second most-cited book (tie): Ken Bruen's The Guards and T. Jefferson Parker's California Girl -- 6 picks each
Most-cited author: Ken Bruen -- 11 picks
Second most-cited author: T. Jefferson Parker -- 7 picks
Third most-cited author: Lee Child -- 6 picks
Most-cited debut book: J.A. Konrath's Whiskey Sour -- 3 picks
Most-cited unreleased book (tie): Kent Harrington's Red Jungle and Ray Banks' The Big Blind -- 2 picks each
Most-cited non-crime fiction book: Pete Dexter's Train -- 3 picks
Book I most wish I could have included: Laura Lippman's Every Secret Thing -- I read it last year, thus it wasn't eligible.

My own list is included as well, but considering I change my mind about every six seconds when it comes to this topic, take it for what it's worth.

Comments

[David Montgomery]

I was really struck by how much people liked Scott Phillips' book, Cottonwood. I definitely want to read that one. (I really enjoyed his first book, The Ice Harvest.)

[Aldo]

David,
You need to read COTTONWOOD. Scott is one of the finest authors around and not only is he a great story teller but the research that goes into the books is amazing.

[Aldo]

Here is my list:
In no particular order:
COTTONWOOD by Scott Phillips.
RED JUNGLE by Kent Harrington - a true masterpiece
TWO-WAY SPLIT - Al Guthrie
THE BIG BLIND - Ray Banks
SECRET DEAD MEN - Duane Swierczynski
CHEAPSKATES - Charlie Stella
EARTHQUAKE WEATHER - TErrill Lankford
MONKOLOGY - Gary Phillips
Anything by Bruen
CASE HISTORIES - KATE ATKINSON

[Bryon]

People really liked "Whiskey Sour?" Wow...I didn't see that coming.

[Laura]

I couldn't get my act together to contribute to David's list -- too brain-dead after completing revisions on #10 -- but I think it's a great approach. I jotted down lots of things I've been meaning to read (Drummond chief among them, but also the Thornburgh, as I've read only Cutter and Bone). Asking writers to talk about books they love has a nice karmic energy.

[David Montgomery]

Bryon, you didn't like Whiskey Sour? I enjoyed it; thought it was nicely done for a first novel. I wasn't totally convinced of the juxtapositioning of elements, but Joe did a pretty smooth job of pulling it off.

It didn't make my Top 5 overall, but would probably squeeze into my Top 5 debut. (There were actually several strong debuts this year... more than usual, it seems.)