about married detective couples with his wife, mystery author D.L. Browne (aka Diana Killian and Josh Lanyon), and waiting for the end of the world.• Racing the Light,
by Robert Crais (Putnam):
Other private eyes may be darker or trendier or offer more wokeful nutrients, but nothing satisfies my P.I. jones more than high-fiving an old friend—and you can’t get much friendlier than Robert Crais’ Elvis Cole, the affable Hollywood dick with the loud shirts and the Pinocchio clock in his office. Crais has never let me down, but this one ranks right up there with 1999’s L.A. Requiem in the series; a hard-boiled thriller with more genuine heart than a truck load of Harlequins. That’s right—this one finally (at least for now) resolves the whole shit-or-get-off-the-pot Lucy relationship. I know, I know—some readers have a disdain for Lucy Chenier that reaches almost Susan Silverman levels, but not me. Either I’m too sensitive, or else I’m getting soft, but I like my detectives to have some sort of grown-up emotional life, preferably with someone boasting a little more depth than a potato chip, and who isn’t just a convenient plot point. An accomplished Louisiana lawyer, a single mom, and the survivor of a genuinely toxic marriage, Lucy and her son, Ben, are coming for a visit in this book—but that’s just a sidebar to the rollicking main event, because Elvis and his eternally fierce partner Joe Pike are in the midst of a complex missing-persons case that’s threatening to go completely off the rails. They’re hired by an eccentric woman with plenty of secrets of her own to find “Josh Shoe,” her muckraking podcaster son, who seems to have vanished while researching a story—as has a young sex worker he’d previously interviewed. Everyone dismisses Josh as just another social-media doofus trolling for likes, but soon enough, bodies start to pile up, and Elvis and Joe realize somebody out there is playing for keeps.
• Robert B. Parker’s Bye Bye Baby, by Ace Atkins (Putnam):
While the quality of continuation novels keeping the late Robert B. Parker’s other creations “alive” has fluctuated wildly, Atkins’ steady hand on Spenser has remained as constant as the North Star, offering sincere and faithful tributes to a much-loved character, while somehow breathing some new life into the apparently ageless Boston private eye’s literary career. So, how to mark Atkins’ 10th and allegedly final installment? Atkins goes out with a bang, not a whimper, leaving it all on the field, with the full roster of usual suspects in attendance: Hawk, Susan Silverman, Frank Belson, Gerry Broz—even Spenser’s former apprentice,
Z Sixkill, drops by to help out. And Spenser may need every ounce of assistance he can get, as he jumps into the political and cultural septic tank of our times to protect a mouthy young Congressperson, Carolina Garcia-Ramirez, while she campaigns in a Democratic primary election despite a barrage of threats. But who’s behind those? Her older rivals, whom she bested in the previous contest? Or maybe a band of white-power mouth-breathers? And what’s with all the organized-crime yahoos poking around? As one can expect, Spenser eats, cooks, drinks beer, spars with Hawk, flirts with Susan, walks Pearl the Wonder Dog, cracks wise, annoys various good and bad guys, and even allows that Hawk and he aren’t quite as young as they used to be. But even 50 years on, Spenser and company remain great company—smart, entertaining, still able to engage and even surprise. Atkins doesn’t reinvent the wheel here—nor would we want him to. But over the course of 10 books, Atkins has kept that wheel spinning straight and true; not so much cash-cow pastiche as an honest, respectful continuation; 
more canon than cannon fodder, with a true fan in the driver’s seat. Something for which Spenser enthusiasts all over the world should be grateful. Thanks for the ride, Ace.• Random, by Penn Jillette (Akashic):
What’re the odds? I’m not sure exactly what Penn Jillette (the motormouth half of Penn & Teller) is trying to say in Random, but I definitely enjoyed him saying it. Anyone who’s caught the duo’s act, live or in countless TV appearances (including their brilliant but cancelled, myth-puncturing documentary series, Penn & Teller: Bullshit!), will know what to suspect. Random is a profane and perverted speed-rap, a crude and rude shaggy dog tale, a meandering ode to the fickle finger of Fate, delivered the way only Jillette could tell it—as a breakneck-paced, digressive rant that gleefully topples sacred cows and kicks narrative expectations in the backside. The story spins around a young Las Vegas flake, Bobby Ingersoll, who, after a bizarre streak of luck saves him from being killed on his 21st birthday, decides to base every decision, major and minor, in his life on a roll of the dice. (Shades of Luke Rhinehart’s darker The Dice Man!) I’m not even sure if Random qualifies as a crime novel, really, although there are plenty of touchstones here for fans of the genre: homicidal dirtbags, leg-breakers, hookers, card cheats, magicians, con artists, showgirls, killers, strippers, private detectives, and other miscreants all wander through a shape-shifting, picaresque yarn that switches direction with every role of Bobby’s dice. As he heads towards (or is it away from?) his comeuppance, you’ll start to wonder if the author used a similar method to plot this thing. All of which means you’ll either love the book, or hate it. But I’m betting you won’t forget it. Roll the dice.
• The Old Woman With the Knife, by Gu Byeong-mo, translated by Chi-Young Kim (Hanover Square Press):
What a drag it is getting old … Hornclaw, the heroine of South Korean author Byeong-Mo’s first novel translated into English, is a stone-cold killer; a feisty 65-year-old assassin nearing retirement. Only thing? She’s not ready to go. Not just yet. She is beginning to feel her years, though, and it
doesn’t help that Bullfight, a smug young male rival, seems intent on openly challenging her competency, casting aspersions on her emotional ability to continue doing her job. Is he just another callous jackass with no respect for his elders, or is there something else behind his behavior? And why does Bullfight keep showing up? Even more troubling for Hornclaw, however, is that—after decades of a locked-down, compartmentalized life—she’s starting to feel something akin to … empathy. Empathy for a handsome young doctor who helped her out of a jam once. For his aging parents. For his young daughter. For a homeless dude who collects old cans. Even for her aging rescue dog, Deadweight. The Old Woman With the Knife is doled out in a Stark (as in Richard), matter-of-fact tone, pinned against a grim, unforgiving South Korea that’s far from the air-brushed cotton-candy world of K-Pop. It’s a slow burner, laced with pitch-black humor and take-no-prisoners observations on aging and how society (not just of the Korean variety) treats the elderly, leading to a white-knuckle, action-film-ready climax that plays out like a re-imagined, smarted-up Die Hard—as unexpected as it is satisfying.• Hell and Gone, by Sam Wiebe (Harbour):
Beautiful British Columbia, my ass! Vancouver, B.C., has long been touted as one of North America’s most gorgeous cites, but Sam Wiebe’s series featuring young, idealistic local private eye Dave Wakeland and his partner, Jeff Chen, has always shone an unflinching and unflattering light on a Vancouver that visitors (with any luck) never see—and that the tourist industry certainly doesn’t mention. Beneath the peaceful, postcard-ready façade lies a simmering underworld of
organized and unorganized crime, and multiple layers of money launderers, drug dealers, swindlers, gangs both local and international, and of course, homicide. Not that Dave and Jeff really want to deal with such things—particularly not the always ambitious, businesslike Jeff, who has great plans for the agency. Dave doesn’t want to get involved with the rough stuff, either—at heart, he just hopes to help people. But all of that changes when Dave, working alone in their agency’s Chinatown office, witnesses a bloody shootout on the street outside, and everyone wants to know if he can identify the gunmen. Not wishing to become any more involved than he already is, Dave plays dumb. However, the cops, local bikers, various gangsters, retired Triad members, a shady international security company, and even Jeff all insist that Dave spill the beans. He stands firm, though—at least until some of the shooters themselves are killed, and Dave realizes silence is no longer an option.Other 2022 Favorites: Bad Actors, by Mick Herron (Soho Crime); Secrets Typed in Blood, by Stephen Spotswood (Doubleday); Knock Off the Hat, by Richard Stevenson (Amble Press); Follow Me Down, by Ed Brubkaer and Sean Phillips (Image Comics); and Secret Identity, by Alex Segura (Flatiron).
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