Can We Now Move on to 2007?

This comes a bit late in the game, but it’s nonetheless welcome: Crimespree Magazine has finally produced its favorite books of 2006 list, a reader-solicited rundown that comprises a number of ties, but two pretty clear winners. Here’s the full list:

■ Favorite Book of the Year

1st Place: The Cleanup, by Sean Doolittle

2nd Place: The Blonde, by Duane Swierczynski

3rd Place: (tie) The Book of Lost Things, by John Connolly, and The Night Gardener, by George Pelecanos

4th Place: (tie) Dope, by Sara Gran; Escape Clause, by James O. Born; No Good Deeds, by Laura Lippman; Saturday’s Child, by Ray Banks; and Shotgun Opera, by Victor Gischler

5th Place: (tie) American Skin, by Ken Bruen; A Dangerous Man, by Charlie Huston; The Drummer, by Anthony Neil Smith; A Necessary Evil, by Alex Kava; and The Two Minute Rule, by Robert Crais

■ Best Contribution to an Ongoing Series

1st Place: The Hard Way, by Lee Child

2nd Place: (tie) All Mortal Flesh, by Julia Spencer Fleming, and Echo Park, by Michael Connelly

3rd Place: (tie) Kidnapped, by Jan Burke, and The Last Assassin, by Barry Eisler

4th Place: (tie) A Necessary Evil, by Alex Kava, and No Good Deeds, by Laura Lippman

5th Place: (tie) Dying Light, by Stuart MacBride; The Next Time You Die, by Harry Hunsicker; A Stolen Season, by Steve Hamilton; and An Unquiet Grave, by P.J. Parrish

Ken Bruen of the Year: American Skin