Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind: The Weekend Update for the Bouchercon-minded

Picks of the Week

Harry Dolan: Bad Things Happen
BAD THINGS HAPPEN is a nifty debut, cleverly told and unfurled from the very first line: "The shovel has to meet certain requirements" on through meeting "the man who calls himself David Loogan." There are reasons for concealment, just as there are reasons the editor of a mystery magazine bearing little resemblance to EQMM or AHMM might bring him into the fold, thus catalyzing a series of murderous events. The twists come quickly and the dialogue is sharp and if it falls apart slightly at the end, no matter - I want to read much more from Dolan from now on.
Ian MacKenzie: City of Strangers: A Novel
MacKenzie's debut novel reminded me a lot of Paul Auster's NEW YORK TRILOGY, whether it was intended or not, in terms of his choice of words, the thrust of the narrative and the existential nature of the main character (whose first name, incidentally, is Paul) caught up in a snowballing sequence of strange and violent events in and around New York City. MacKenzie straddles the line between thriller and internal examination of a man's failings, and his ability to do so establishes him as a young writer of serious talent and future.
Megan Abbott: Bury Me Deep
In a word: amazing. In more words: Megan Abbott, who has never delivered anything less than an excellent novel, exceeds expectations and takes a very bold and very necessary step forward both in the quality of the prose, the development of her characters and especially in portraying how obsession seeps into the very soul of people, transforming them into their worst nightmares all too easily. Just read this book. And then tell many others to do so as well.
Ninni Holmqvist: The Unit
Understandably, echoes of THE HANDMAID'S TALE are hard to ignore in this dystopic examination of a society where fertility is so high a priority that older, single, marginal women are shut away in secret locales to live out the rest of their lives in seemingly perfect harmony - at least, until the "donations" begin. But Holmqvist's marvelous book doesn't browbeat her thesis into the reader and smartly expands her ideas to look at the plight of all marginalized folk, women and men alike, and how the promise of comforts can be the most horrifying of all. Prepare to be disturbed, but prepare further to think about the ramifications.
Paula Froelich: Mercury in Retrograde
This is possibly the most perfect novel for today's economically challenged times. Why? Because it has plenty of glitz and glamor and blind items, as befitting a narrative by the deputy editor of Page Six, but Froelich isn't arch or snarky or acid-tongued in the slightest. Her trio of protagonists land in all manner of embarrassing situations but they aren't played for mean-spirited laughs. The New York here is something of a fantasy-land, but not so far off the mark that it's completely unbelievable. Most of all it's clear Froelich remains sincere and optimistic about her chosen city, and has retained her sense of fun. So no need to check your brain at the door, but sometimes it just needs to chill out and relax.

More on the convention, including other award wins, in a separate post, but first up is my newest "Dark Passages" column, which takes the idea of the serial killer as a folk hero and does its best to run with it.

NYTBR: Stephen King tries to understand what ails the short story; Neil Genzlinger has an unusual take on Michael Gates Gill's Starbucks-drenched memoir; and Kathryn Harrison takes aim at a book embellishing a now-famous aside.

WaPo Book World: Jabari Asim has his say on Junot Diaz's novel; Ron Charles does the same for the Russo; and ditto Dirda on Philip Roth while Marc Weitzmann engages the author in conversation.

LA Times: Dick Lochte is underwhelmed by the Dick Francis reset with son Felix in tow; David Ulin expounds on Philip Roth and EXIT GHOST; Elaine Dundy talks about being an overnight sensation at the age of 86; and Susan Salter Reynolds chats with Richard Russo about his new novel THE BRIDGE OF SIGHS.

G&M: Elizabeth Renzetti talks to Graham Swift all about his latest novel, TOMORROW; Mark Kingwell looks at towers tall and not-so-tall; and Keith Garebian remembers the late, great entertainment journalist Brian Linehan.

Guardian Review: DJ Taylor flashes back to the Bright Young Author movement of the early 20th century; Christopher Tayler is the latest to compare and contrast Philip Roth with Nathan Zuckerman; James Ellroy re-examines Dashiell Hammett; and George Szirtes feasts on Irene Nemirovsky's latest undiscovered treasure.

Observer: The broadsheet offers a guide on how to write a Katie Price-like blockbuster; Anthony Holden is thoroughly entertained by Robert Harris's roman a clef THE GHOST; and late in the game is another rave for Scarlett Thomas's THE END OF MR. Y.

The Times: Rod Liddle takes aim at Robert Harris's attempt at political thrillerdom, as does Peter Millar; Eric Clapton gets touchy when the subject of his missing mother comes up; and Andrew Taylor describes how to thicken that burgeoning plot, while Andrew Lycett sums up the best ones from Arthur Conan Doyle's pen.

The Scotsman: Robert Nye takes a peek through Graham Greene's collected letters; Stuart Kelly scoffs at the Jordan/Booker Prize "controversy"; and Sandra Dick tracks Peter Kerr's trajectory from DJ to bestselling author.

The Rest:

Oline Cogdill enthuses about new crime novels from Chelsea Cain and Yrsa Sigurdardottir (yes, I wrote that in one take. You can, too!)

Jeff Lindsay talks to the WSJ's Jeff Trachtenberg about how to make a serial killer likeable.

Sara Paretsky, Nancy Pickard, Rochelle Krich and others chat with the Chicago Sun-Times about the 20th anniversary of Sisters in Crime, commemorated with a new paperback anthology.

Also in the Sun-Times is David Montgomery's newest column, reviewing the latest by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child, Alison Gaylin, Dave White, John Sandford & Elaine Flinn.

At the Telegraph, Susanna Yager reviews new offerings from Dreda Say Mitchell & Ruth Dudley Edwards while Toby Clements goes historical with recent books by Jason Goodwin, Christopher Fowler, Philip Kerr and Andrew Martin.

The Age's Sue Turnbull laments Rebus's exit but hails Ian Rankin's work.

Jeffery Deaver talks with the Malaysian Star about his new series, his old one, and why what readers want is what Deaver wants.

And finally, RIP Miss Moneypenny. (via)

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September 30, 2007

The Weekend Update for the Bouchercon-minded

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