Picks of the Week

THE BLOOD PRICE, by Jon Evans

(originally posted on November 9, 2005)

Why do I like these books so damn much? Maybe because Evans is a fellow Canadian, and maybe because he shines corners into some pretty far-flung places, but ultimately it's because he puts ordinary people (computer programmer/backpacker Paul Wood and his travel writer girlfriend Talena Radovich) in some incredibly extraordinary circumstances and makes everything work together. The tension's high and the plot twists plenty, but at the heart of this book is what it takes to keep a relationship going -- and that rings truest of all.

BILLIE MORGAN, by Joolz Denby

(originally posted on November 9, 2005)

This is pretty much female noir 101, thanks to the horrifyingly believable tale delivered in diary format by former biker chick turned haunted fortysomething Billie Morgan, who begins with the chilling proclamation that she is a murderer and details exactly how this came to be. Suffer the consequences? Oh yeah, does she ever. But she's impossible to forget and to condemn.

SKINNER'S DRIFT, by Lisa Fugard

(originally posted on November 9, 2005)

This debut novel (due out in January) has been getting some buzz since BEA, and it's completely justified and then some. Eva van Rensburg goes home to Africa after a 10 year absence to deal with the wreckage of her family history, her childhood home of Skinner's Drift and the aftermath of apartheid. The prose is so stripped down it's almost bare, but that nakedness gives the necessary power to keep reading, and stay haunted afterwards.

BANK JOB, by Steve Brewer

(originally posted on November 9, 2005)

It's pretty difficult to write consistently good entertainments, but Steve Brewer seems to have a knack for knowing exactly what needs to be done to keep the reader amused at all times. BANK JOB does that and more, with a few surprises thrown in (who knew a sweet elderly couple could kick so much ass?) If there's a bottled formula available, I want it.

THE GREAT STINK, by Clare Clark

(originally posted on October 23, 2005)

Can a novel about sewers and excrement be joyous? In Clark's hands, it is, because she's utterly brilliant at depicting the stink of the title and the nauseating smell of the Thames as it polluted London in the late 1850s while rendering wonderful characters like engineer William May and vagrant Long Arm Tom. When there were dire straits, I held back with bated breath. When the denouement lead to triumph, I cheered. I can't wait to see what Clark does for an encore.

ALREADY DEAD, by Charlie Huston

(originally posted on October 23, 2005)

What can I say? I really dug this book, which is touted as "Bram Stoker meets Raymond Chandler" but calling it Vamp Noir works just fine. Joe Pitt's an undead PI working in and around the East Village, which is a really nice touch. There's clan fights, unrequited love, horrible family secrets and lots of blood, and Huston makes it all work because his voice comes through clear as day in every line of dialogue and description. Look for it in -- wait for it -- early January.

MANIFESTO FOR THE DEAD, by Domenic Stansberry

(originally posted on October 23, 2005)

I have a complicated reaction to this book because there's so much happening: it stars an aging Jim Thompson, who's drowning in a Hollywood cesspool that might have originated in one of his own books. Then there's the novel-within-a novel structure, and elegaic reflections...all in less than 200 pages. Stansberry's about the only writer who could have pulled this off, and he sure does come close.

PRIVATE WARS, by Greg Rucka

(originally posted on October 23, 2005)

Tara Chace is baaack, and this time she's got even more serious complications to deal with: the loss of her lover, a new baby, and oh yeah, going to Uzbekistan to rescue a deposed leader from the clutches of his murderous family and the horrible feeling that she's being hung out to dry yet again. Try to stop reading this book, because it's damn near impossible (and I do wonder, will the Brits ever publish this series, seeing as it's set in England and all?)

NOW YOU SEE ME, by Rochelle Krich

(originally posted on October 23, 2005)

The comment's been made that Krich is what Faye Kellerman promised to be but didn't deliver on. And I can't really argue with it, because Krich combines a poignant mystery of a missing runaway with an incisive, and never judgmental, look at the world of Orthodox Judaism. Reading this, and her earlier books, make me want to reconcile my own difficulties with religious life because here's one woman who handles everything with aplomb. And you can't get much better praise than that, really.