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Picks of the Week

  • Harry Dolan: Bad Things Happen

    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

    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

    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

    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

    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.

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June 24, 2008

Jerry Rodriguez, RIP

Jerry Rodriguez, whose crime novels THE DEVIL'S MAMBO and REVENGE TANGO were published by Kensington Books, lost his battle with cancer on Sunday. He was 46. The New York Daily News has the story and author Ivan Sanchez pays tribute to Rodriguez on his MySpace blog:

In this day and age when we cyber-the-hell out of everything picking up the phone becomes a chore to us. I wish I would have picked up the phone one last time to actually check on the brother. Maybe he would have picked up, maybe he wouldn't have… But if we spoke I'm sure he would have shown the same grace, poise and quick wit he always did.

 

The guy was beyond intelligent and I looked forward to learning a lot from him as the years went on. I only hoped that after ten years of writing and learning from him and Jeff we'd keep the promise we made to change the face of Latino literature.

 

I only knew him for a short time but he impacted my life greatly. He will be missed… I guess God needed a talented, intelligent, funny Latino writer to help him pass the time.

(Thanks to Jason Starr for alerting me to the news)

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I met Jerry about two years at Bouchercon in Madison. He came up to me in the book room and and we hit it off right away. It turned out we both went to the same high school (Midwood in Brooklyn) and from the get-go we were like old friends. Jerry and Ken Bruen also hit it off and the three of us hung out for most of the weekend at the hotel bar, pretty much laughing non-stop (that's what I remember most about Jerry, his wonderful sense of humor). After the convention, I stayed in touch, hanging out a few times in the city. I also read his books, The Devil's Mambo and Revenge Tango and thought they were classics, two of the finest noir novels of recent years (I also think they are important neo-Latino literature). Jerry was one of the kindest, funniest, bravest, most talented people I've ever known. He left us way, way too early. RIP, buddy.

Jerry was one of those wondrous shining lights you rare and rarely encounter
Jason Starr and I had dedicated The Max to him
I hope he knows
And that my main character in my coming standalone is also named for him
he was in the words of Gary Philips, one cool cat
I was graced to have him as friend and my heart is broken
Rest well amigo
Ken Bruen

This is terrible news. A cool cat indeed. Cancer is a heartless bastard.

A talent taken too soon.
I was lucky enough to meet with Jerry upon learning that we'd be under the same publisher - he for his novels, me for my anthologies. We both shared our excitement in moving into the strange new world of publishing and looked forward to working together one of these days. Another one of those days that, sadly, I'll never get to share with him. Jerry was a gift of a man - both as a writer and as a human being. We were all lucky to see, if only for a moment, the light of his work.

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