Malice Carries On

This year’s Malice Domestic mystery-fiction conference may have been cancelled as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, but that didn’t stop organizers from announcing the recipients of their 2020 Agatha Awards earlier this evening. You can watch the short live Zoom streaming event here, or simply scroll down to discover all of the winners.

Best Contemporary Novel:
The Long Call, by Ann Cleeves (Minotaur)

Also nominated: Fatal Cajun Festival, by Ellen Byron (Crooked Lane); Fair Game, by Annette Dashofy (Henery Press); The Missing Ones, by Edwin Hill (Kensington); A Better Man, by Louise Penny (Minotaur); and The Murder List, by Hank Philippi Ryan (Forge)

Best First Mystery Novel:
One Night Gone, by Tara Laskowski (Graydon House)

Also nominated: A Dream of Death, by Connie Berry (Crooked Lane); Murder Once Removed, by S.C. Perkins (Minotaur); When It’s Time for Leaving, by Ang Pompano (Encircle); and Staging for Murder, by Grace Topping (Henery Press)

Best Historical Mystery:
Charity’s Burden, by Edith Maxwell (Midnight Ink)

Also nominated: Love and Death Among the Cheetahs, by Rhys Bowen (Penquin); Murder Knocks Twice, by Susanna Calkins (Minotaur); The Pearl Dagger, by L. A. Chandlar (Kensington); and The Naming Game, by Gabriel Valjan (Winter Goose)

Best Non-fiction:
The Mutual Admiration Society: How Dorothy L. Sayers and her Oxford Circle Remade the World for Women, by Mo Moulton (Basic)

Also nominated: Frederic Dannay, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and the Art of the Detective Short Story, by Laird R. Blackwell (McFarland); Blonde Rattlesnake: Burmah Adams, Tom White, and the 1933 Crime Spree that Terrified Los Angeles, by Julia Bricklin (Lyons Press); Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee, by Casey Cep (Knopf); and The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper, by Hallie Rubenhold (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

Best Children/Young Adult:
The Last Crystal, by Frances Schoonmaker (Auctus Press)

Also nominated: Kazu Jones and the Denver Dognappers, by Shauna Holyoak (Disney Hyperion); Two Can Keep a Secret, by Karen MacManus (Delacorte Press); Top Marks for Murder, by Robin Stevens (Puffin); and Jada Sly, Artist and Spy, by Sherri Winston (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

Best Short Story:
“The Last Word,” by Shawn Reilly Simmons (from Malice Domestic 14: Mystery Most Edible, edited by Verena Rose, Rita Owen, and Shawn Reilly Simmons; Wildside Press)

Also nominated: “Grist for the Mill,” by Kaye George (from A Murder of Crows, edited by Sandra Murphy; Darkhouse); “Alex’s Choice,” by Barb Goffman (from Crime Travel, edited by Barb Goffman; Wildside Press); “The Blue Ribbon,” by Cynthia Kuhn (from Malice Domestic 14: Mystery Most Edible); and “Better Days,” by Art Taylor (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, May/June 2019)

As explained in the Zoom video, this year’s Agatha Award recipients will be presented with their prize teapots and invited to make acceptance speeches during the 2021 conference (assuming the novel coronavirus is no longer a danger by next spring).

Following Christie’s Lead

While I was away from my office yesterday, organizers of the annual Malice Domestic conference announced their finalists for this year’s Agatha Awards, in six categories. Those prizes celebrate the “traditional mystery” (books typified by the works of Agatha Christie, containing little violence, sex, or gore).

Best Contemporary Novel:
• Fatal Cajun Festival, by Ellen Byron (Crooked Lane)
• The Long Call, by Ann Cleeves (Minotaur)
• Fair Game, by Annette Dashofy (Henery Press)
• The Missing Ones, by Edwin Hill (Kensington)
• A Better Man, by Louise Penny (Minotaur)
• The Murder List, by Hank Philippi Ryan (Forge)

Best First Mystery Novel:
• A Dream of Death, by Connie Berry (Crooked Lane)
• One Night Gone, by Tara Laskowski (Graydon House)
• Murder Once Removed, by S.C. Perkins (Minotaur)
• When It’s Time for Leaving, by Ang Pompano (Encircle)
• Staging for Murder, by Grace Topping (Henery Press)

Best Historical Mystery:
• Love and Death Among the Cheetahs, by Rhys Bowen (Penquin)
• Murder Knocks Twice, by Susanna Calkins (Minotaur)
• The Pearl Dagger, by L. A. Chandlar (Kensington)
• Charity’s Burden, by Edith Maxwell (Midnight Ink)
• The Naming Game, by Gabriel Valjan (Winter Goose)

Best Non-fiction:
• Frederic Dannay, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and the Art of the Detective Short Story, by Laird R. Blackwell (McFarland)
• Blonde Rattlesnake: Burmah Adams, Tom White, and the 1933 Crime Spree that Terrified Los Angeles, by Julia Bricklin (Lyons Press)
• Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee,
by Casey Cep (Knopf)
• The Mutual Admiration Society: How Dorothy L. Sayers and her Oxford Circle Remade the World for Women, by Mo Moulton (Basic)
• The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper, by Hallie Rubenhold (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

Best Children/Young Adult:
• Kazu Jones and the Denver Dognappers, by Shauna Holyoak
(Disney Hyperion)
• Two Can Keep a Secret, by Karen MacManus (Delacorte Press)
• The Last Crystal, by Frances Schoonmaker (Auctus Press)
• Top Marks for Murder, by Robin Stevens (Puffin)
• Jada Sly, Artist and Spy, by Sherri Winston (Little, Brown Books
for Young Readers)

Best Short Story:
• “Grist for the Mill,” by Kaye George (from A Murder of Crows,
edited by Sandra Murphy; Darkhouse)
• “Alex’s Choice,” by Barb Goffman (from Crime Travel, edited by
Barb Goffman; Wildside Press)
• “The Blue Ribbon,” by Cynthia Kuhn (from Malice Domestic 14: Mystery Most Edible, edited by Verena Rose, Rita Owen, and
Shawn Reilly Simmons; Wildside Press)
• “The Last Word,” by Shawn Reilly Simmons (from Malice Domestic 14: Mystery Most Edible)
• “Better Days,” by Art Taylor (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, May/June 2019)

The winners are to be selected by attendees of Malice Domestic 32, which will be held in Bethesda, Maryland, from May 1 to 3. Congratulations to all of the nominees!

Treasured Tomes

The Friday “forgotten books” train continues chugging right along, today picking up a new array of crime-fiction recommendations, including: Assignment: Budapest, by Edward S. Aarons; Night Never Ends, by Frederick Lorenz; Through a Glass Darkly, by Helen McCloy; Peeper, by Loren D. Estleman; The Red Citroën, by Timothy Williams; The Distant Echo, by Val McDermid; One for Hell, by Jada M. Davis; Cruel Cuts, by J.R. Lindermuth; The Double Take, by Roy Huggins; At Death’s Door, by Robert Barnard; The Green Ripper, by John D. MacDonald; The Secret Adversary, by Agatha Christie; The Recycled Citizen, by Charlotte MacLeod; R.T.M. Scott’s Secret Service Smith stories; J.J. Montague’s Black Swan series; and The Crime of My Life, a short-story collection edited by Brian Garfield.

Oh, and of course I wrote about Alistair MacLean’s Breakheart Pass in The Rap Sheet. You will find that piece here.

Series organizer Patti Abbott has listed all of today’s participating critics in her own blog, where she also features an endorsement of the not-so-forgotten but still terrific Murder on the Yellow Brick Road, by Stuart M. Kaminsky.

Come Again

My favorite (and, well, only) nephew is getting married tomorrow, and I’ve been enlisted in a number of associated activities. Therefore, I have less time for blogging at the moment. But I want to be sure to alert readers to today’s crop of “forgotten books” posts.

In the way of crime fiction, this Friday’s offerings include the following recommendations: The Eyes of Buddha, by John Ball; Cat Catcher, by Caroline Shaw; Yellowthread Street, by William Marshall; They Don’t Dance Much, by James Ross; 120 Rue de la Gare, by Léo Malet; Green Grow the Tresses-O, by Stanley Hyland; A Study in Terror, by Ellery Queen; One for Hell, by Jada Davis; Client, by Parnell Hall; The Immaculate Deception, by Iain Pears; The Rising of the Moon, by Gladys Mitchell; Homicide My Own, by Anne Argula; Ringmaster of Doom, by Brant House; Murder Among Children, by Tucker Coe; and Supernatural Sleuths, edited by Peter Haining.

You’ll find a full accounting of today’s associated posts in Patti Abbott’s blog, plus three other suggestions of oft-overlooked novels.

They Speak Volumes

This has become a welcome new tradition, for authors and bloggers to tout fine but forgotten novels (most of them crime and mystery oriented) every Friday.

In addition to Tim Maleeny’s new selection in The Rap Sheet, the Web today offers: Mark Coggins on Samurai Boogie, by Peter Tasker; Ruth Jordan on The Friends of Eddie Coyle, by George V. Higgins; Chris F. Holm on The Elementals, by Michael McDowell; Steve Lewis on Pangolin, by Peter Driscoll; Gerald So on The Spy Who Loved Me, by Ian Fleming; Steve Brewer on The Tango Briefing, by Adam Hall; and Bill Crider’s take on One for Hell, by Jada M. Davis.

The Ones That Got Away

I had no idea what to expect when, in anticipation of The Rap Sheet’s first birthday on May 22, I e-mailed invitations to more than 100 crime novelists, book critics, and bloggers from all over the English-speaking world, asking them to choose the one crime/mystery/thriller novel they thought had been “most unjustly overlooked, criminally forgotten, or underappreciated over the years.” When you survey people in this way, you generally expect a fairly low response rate; folks are busy, maybe they don’t open their e-mails in time to meet the deadline, they’re out of town, or they just don’t want to participate, for one reason or another. I figured I’d be fortunate to hear back from 20 percent of the men and women I contacted. Instead, about 98 percent of them responded! And after I started posting the nominations and write-ups I had received in The Rap Sheet last Monday, more people wrote to ask whether they could participate, as well.

This seemed to be a subject close to writers’ hearts. That was clear in many of the nominating comments, as authors expressed nostalgic or heartfelt feelings for the books under consideration, or else a bit of comradely jealousy that somebody else had been able to pull off a literary feat that they themselves would one day like to achieve. This endeavor also proved worthwhile, because it reminded us of how many excellent books this genre has produced over the decades. Too few publishers go searching through the out-of-print piles for works that ought to be rediscovered (exceptions being Hard Case Crime and Stark House Press). We need reminding, every so often, of what isn’t available any longer, but should still be found and read.

I was surprised by the breadth of suggestions made. They spanned the entire 20th century, with a few from the 21st. And many of the books were new to me, as well as others.

I had never so much as heard of One for Hell, by Jada M. Davis, a 1952 paperback suggested by Bill Crider; or Finding Maubee, by A.H.Z. Carr, a 1972 Edgar Award winner that that Robert J. Randisi pulled out of his memory; or 1987’s Any Cold Jordan, by David Bottoms, which Wallace Stroby nominated. Equally valuable, this project reminded me of books I’d once thought sounded interesting, but never got around to reading, such as Hard Rain Falling (1966), by Don Carpenter, which George Pelecanos suggested; or The Revenge of Kali-Ra (1999), by K.K. Beck, which was plugged by editor-author-interviewer Elizabeth Foxwell; or Night Dogs (1996), by Kent Anderson--and that one received not one, but three nominations in our survey. Of the 115 novels mentioned, only four others were selected twice by the people surveyed. And just five writers--Charles Willeford, P.M. Hubbard, Ross Macdonald, Colin Harrison, and Jess Walter--appear with more than a single title on this list.

One friend of mine, who shall remain nameless, sent me a note after the fourth installment of The Rap Sheet’s “overlooked books” nominations had been posted, saying that he was having fun reading about all of the crime novels authors thought worthy of resurrecting. But he added something along the lines of “could you please stop this project now? I’ve already ordered a few of the books people have suggested, and my to-be-read pile is already at a dangerous height. I fear my wife will divorce me, if I buy any more books this week!” Likely, all of us who enjoy crime fiction and looked closely through all 10 parts of The Rap Sheet’s “one book” project came away with suggestions of what to read next. I know I did--copies of both Night Dogs and Interface (1974), by Joe Gores, are currently winging their way to my mailbox.

Several people suggested that I compile a master list of all the “unjustly overlooked” books nominated during the last week, and that’s exactly what I have done below. The titles are arranged alphabetically, according to the book’s name. And I’ve boldfaced those five titles that received more than one vote. In addition, for anyone who didn’t catch The Rap Sheet’s “one book” series the first time through last week, and is hoping to read all 10 parts in the order they were posted, I have set up a separate archive blog site, containing all of the text and book covers. You can find that here.

Again, I appreciate the time and effort that everyone took in responding to The Rap Sheet’s first-birthday survey. I might be ready, by the time this blog’s second birthday rolls around next May, to take on another special project of similar scope. Though, remember, I said might.

* * *

Question: What one crime, mystery, or thriller novel do you think has been most unjustly overlooked, criminally forgotten, or underappreciated over the years?

• About the Author (2001), by John Colapinto
• Anatomy of a Murder (1958), by Robert Traver
• Any Cold Jordan (1987), by David Bottoms
• Before I Die (1954), by Lionel White
• Big City, Bad Blood (2007), by Sean Chercover
• Blackburn (1993), by Bradley Denton
• The Black Mass of Brother Springer (1958), by Charles Willeford
• Blood Marks (1991), by Bill Crider
• Bodies Are Dust (1931), by P.J. Wolfson
• Bodies Electric (1993), by Colin Harrison
• The Bridge of Sighs (2003), by Olen Steinhauer
• The Burnt Orange Heresy (1971), by Charles Willeford
• California Fire and Life (1999), by Don Winslow
• Castles Burning (1979), by Arthur Lyons
• The Caves of Steel (1954), by Isaac Asimov
• The Chill (1964), by Ross Macdonald
• Citizen Vince (2005), by Jess Walter
• A Clod of Wayward Marl (2001), by Rick DeMarinis
• Coffin’s Got the Dead Guy on the Inside (1998), by Keith Snyder
• Cotton Comes to Harlem (1965), by Chester Himes
• Crow In Stolen Colors (2000), by Marcia Simpson
• Daddy Cool (1974), by Donald Goines
• A Darker Place (1999), by Laurie R. King
• The Dark Fields (2002), by Alan Glynn
• The Dark Ride (1996), by Kent Harrington
• The Deadly Percheron (1946), by John Franklin Bardin
• The Depths of the Forest (2002), by Eugenio Fuentes
• The Distance (2002), by Eddie Muller
• Don’t Cry for Me (1952), by William Campbell Gault
• The Doorbell Rang (1965), by Rex Stout
• Dover Beach (1987), by Richard Bowker
• Drama City (2005), by George Pelecanos
• Early Autumn (1981), by Robert B. Parker
• Eight Million Ways to Die (1982), by Lawrence Block
• An Embarrassment of Corpses (1997), by Alan Beechey
• Every Dead Thing (1999), by John Connolly
• Fast One (1933), by Paul Cain
• The Fiend in Human (2002), by John MacLachlan Gray
• Finding Maubee (1972), by A.H.Z. Carr
• The Franchise Affair (1948), by Josephine Tey
• Fugitive Moon (1995), by Ron Faust
• Funeral in Berlin (1964), by Len Deighton
• Get Carter (1970, originally Jack’s Return Home), by Ted Lewis
• Gramercy Park (2002), by Paula Cohen
• The Guards (2001), by Ken Bruen
• Gun Before Butter (1982), by Nicholas Freeling
• Gun with Occasional Music (1994), by Jonathan Lethem
• Hard Rain Falling (1966), by Don Carpenter
• The Havana Room (2004), by Colin Harrison
• High Tide (1970), by P.M. Hubbard
• The Holm Oaks (1965), by P.M. Hubbard
• Home Sweet Homicide (1944), by Craig Rice
• How Like an Angel (1962), by Margaret Millar
• The Human Stain (2000), by Philip Roth
• Intent to Kill (1957), by Brian Moore
• Interface (1974), by Joe Gores
• Israel Rank (1907), by Roy Horniman
• The Janissary Tree (2006), by Jason Goodwin
• The Jugger (1965), by Richard Stark
• A Killing Smile (2004), by Christopher G. Moore
• Killing the Second Dog (1990), by Marek Hłasko
• Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (1948), by Horace McCoy
• Land of the Blind (2003), by Jess Walter
• The Last Witness (2004), by K.J. Erickson
• The Late Man (1993), by James Preston Girard
• Legion (1983), by William Peter Blatty
• The Lime Pit (1980), by Jonathan Valin
• Lovely Mover (1998), by Bill James
• The Lowlife (2001), by Alexander Baron
• Madeline’s Ghost (1996), by Robert Girardi
• The Manchurian Candidate (1959), by Richard Condon
• Miami Blues (1984), by Charles Willeford
• Miami Purity (1995), by Vicki Hendricks
• The Misfortunes of Mr. Teal (1934), by Leslie Charteris
• Money to Burn (1999), by Katy Munger
• Murder Draws a Line (1940), by Willetta Ann Barber and R. F. Schabelitz
• Never Come Back (1941), by John Mair
• Night Dogs (1996), by Kent Anderson
• Night of the Jabberwock (1951), by Fredric Brown
• Night’s Black Agents (1933), by David Armstrong
• No Highway (1948), by Nevil Shute
• Obsession (1973), by Miles Tripp
• The Old Dick (1981), by L.A. Morse
• One for Hell (1952), by Jada M. Davis
• The Pew Group (1980), by Anthony Oliver
• The Red Right Hand (1978), by Joel Townsley Rogers
• The Revenge of Kali-Ra (1999), by K.K. Beck
• River of Darkness (1999), by Rennie Airth
• Roseanna (1965), by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö
• The Rose of Tibet (1962), by Lionel Davidson
• Run (2001), by Douglas E. Winter
• Senseless (2001), by Stona Fitch
• Seven Keys to Baldpate (1913), by Earl Derr Biggers
• The Singapore Wink (1969), by Ross Thomas
• Sleeping Dogs (1993), by Thomas Perry
• The Small Back Room (1943), by Nigel Balchin
• Sob Story (2007), by Carol Anne Davis
• Solomon’s Vineyard (1941), by Jonathan Latimer
• Spiral (1999), by Jeremiah Healy
• Stamboul Train (1932), by Graham Greene
• Still River (2005), by Harry Hunsicker
• Stone City (1990), by Mitchell Smith
• The Strangler (2007), by William Landay
• Suspects (1985), by David Thomson
• Swan Boats at Four (1995), by George V. Higgins
• Texas by the Tail (1965), by Jim Thompson
• The Thin Man (1934), by Dashiell Hammett
• To Catch a Forger (1988), by Robert Wallace
• Tomato Red (1998), by Daniel Woodrell
• A Town of Masks (1952), by Dorothy Salisbury Davis
• The Tropic of Night (2003), by Michael Gruber
• True Grit (1968), by Charles Portis
• The Underground Man (1971), by Ross Macdonald
• Wild Horses (1999), by Brian Hodge
• The Woman Who Married a Bear (1992), by John Straley

You’re Still the One, Part III

Question: What one crime, mystery, or thriller novel do you think has been most unjustly overlooked, criminally forgotten, or underappreciated over the years?

John Connolly, author of The Unquiet and The Book of Lost Things:

The Chill (1964), by Ross Macdonald. “This is one of the most perfectly plotted mystery novels in the canon, the kind of book that causes a dropping of the reader’s jaw over its final pages. Macdonald has always suffered a little (a lot) from the perception that he somehow worked in [Raymond] Chandler’s shadow. In fact, at the risk of being heretical, Macdonald was a much better novelist than Chandler, who was a flashier writer, and of Chandler’s best novels--The Long Goodbye and Farewell, My Lovely--the former in particular bears traces of Macdonald’s influence. Yet read The Chill not only for its exquisite plotting and elegant, measured prose, but for the empathy, humanity, and sheer generosity of spirit that infuses every page.”

Linda Fairstein, author of Bad Blood:

“For my money, the legal thriller that sets the bar for courtroom drama and style is Robert Traver’s Anatomy of a Murder. Published 50 years ago, the book became the number-one bestseller at the time, and was also turned into a classy, classic film by Otto Preminger. Traver was a Michigan judge, and the book--set there in the Upper Peninsula--has a great sense of place, as well as a brilliant send-up of the courtroom dynamic, even though the killer’s identity is not at issue. Traver’s narrative eloquence, his ability to turn his legal expertise into a spellbinding story, and his great characterizations of the lawyers as well as the witnesses, makes this book my favorite crime novel of all time.”

Bill Crider, blogger and author of Murder Among the OWLS:

One for Hell (1952), by Jada M. Davis. “I sometimes think the only reason this book hasn’t received a lot more attention is that Fawcett published it in a Red Seal edition rather as a Gold Medal Original, probably because it’s a bit too long for the GM format. A boxcar bum named Willa Ree enters a small town with the intention of picking it clean, and in the process all kinds of secrets and corruption come to light. It’s a fine noir story with a powerful ending that Jim Thompson would have been proud to have written.”

Nathan Cain, blogger, Independent Crime:

The Black Mass of Brother Springer (1958), by Charles Willeford. “You can argue about whether or not The Black Mass of Brother Springer is Willeford’s finest novel, but you can’t argue it’s not his boldest. The story of a failed writer who becomes the pastor of ablack church in Jacksonville, Florida, is scathingly cynical and deeply philosophical at the same time. Willeford takes on race and religion, two of the most sensitive topics anyone can imagine, and manages to skewer everyone on all sides.

“For my money, Sam Springer is an even more existential character than Camus’ Meursault. The situations that Meursault fails to respond to are purely personal ones. Springer, on the other hand, lands in the middle of [America’s] civil-rights movement, one of the great moral battles of the last century, and still manages to remain entirely detached. It’s hilarious and chilling at the same time.”

Andrew Klavan, author of Damnation Street and Shotgun Alley:

“Selected purely for the vastness of the gap between quality and reputation, my one book would have to be The Rose of Tibet [1962], by Lionel Davidson. What makes it so riveting, I think, is the contrast between the plausibility of the voice and the romance of the story. The narrator is an average intelligent Englishman, but the tale he unfolds is as full of adventure and excitement as anything by H. Rider Haggard. [The Rose of Tibet] deserves a much bigger audience--or to be in print, at least.”

Linda L. Richards, the editor of January Magazine, contributor to The Rap Sheet, and author of Calculated Loss and Death Was the Other Woman (2008):

Gun with Occasional Music (1994), by Jonathan Lethem. Neither critics nor readers knew exactly what to do with Jonathan Lethem’s 1994 debut novel. Was it science fiction? Well, kinda. But the tone put it somewhere else. Was it mystery? Well, sorta. But what about those talking kangaroos? The answer, really, is that it’s neither, both and more. If you love classic noir, you’ll love Gun with Occasional Music. Lethem takes the form, gets it right, then spins the whole thing on its ear. Delicious.

Gregg Hurwitz, author of The Crime Writer and Last Shot:

“I’d have to choose a book called Fugitive Moon [1995], by Ron Faust. It is not the type of mystery I generally gravitate toward, since it’s loose and rambling (and I’m more of a structure slut), but the characterization and richness of prose make this a stunning read. A manic depressive pro relief pitcher gets tangled up in a series of murders of transvestites--the crime scenes apparently following his team’s road schedule. No, I’m not joking. I couldn’t believe how good the writing was, sentence for sentence, page after page. And as for the character work--let’s just say that once you meet Moonman, you’re not bound to forget him.”

Maxim Jakubowski, former publisher and owner of London’s Murder One bookshop, and crime-fiction critic for The Guardian:

“Crime is committed for money, for power, for revenge, but for me the most interesting (and believable) crimes are caused by passion. I’m just a sucker for the emotional and physical violence sparked by the conflicts between man and women, by lust, by the flesh. Needless to say, I’m a die-hard James M. Cain fan. I’m pleased to say this sulfurous vein of noir writing continues to this day and it never fails to stimulate me (in the best possible way) and entrance me: Vicki Hendricks, Marc Behm, and the rare appearances in print of Paul Mayersberg are wondrous examples of this much neglected craft. But my vote goes to Kent Harrington’s 1996 first novel The Dark Ride. It caused minor ripples at the time, but has quickly faded from sight and collective memory. Harrington himself has since migrated to the exquisite ghetto of Dennis McMillan’s limited editions, albeit with very different sort of thrillers. It’s darker than night noir, it’s obsessive, it’s that dark side of sex and American relationships that crackles with electricity, it thrills and takes your breath away, with characters of flesh, blood, pettiness, and anger galore. Look it up: you’ll never be the same again.

Duane Swierczynski, author of Severance Package and The Blonde:

“Joe Gores’ Interface (1974) is a book I can’t believe isn’t mentioned (or reprinted) more often. It’s a miracle of style and point of view--and the equal of [Dashiell] Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon, in my opinion. With both books, what you see is what you literally get. At no point does Gores dip into the minds of the characters; instead, characterization is delivered by action, description, and dialogue. Few writers attempt this literary highwire act, and with good reason: most of us would end up splattered on the sidewalk. But Gores isn’t just showing off. This technique allows him to hide a series of shocks and surprise you have to read to believe. (Bonus: the book is dedicated to “that Stark villain, Parker--because he’s such a beautiful human being.”) Interface is the toughest, leanest and most innovative private-eye novel I’ve ever read.”

Graham Powell, the editor of CrimeSpot:

Funeral in Berlin (1964), by Len Deighton. “It may seem odd to select a book that was made into a well-known film as unappreciated, but today all of Len Deighton’s ‘Harry Palmer’ books are out of print and not often mentioned among the top rank of spy thrillers. This may be because Deighton treated his spies as less than thrilling--more middle-aged civil servants than James Bond. Deighton’s great innovation was to have his ‘master spy,’ unnamed in the books, recognize the truth that all bureaucratic wage slaves will understand--most of the work he does is nothing more than a colossal waste of time. Despite this, Funeral in Berlin is a gripping account of the attempt to smuggle a Russian scientist through Berlin to the British sector, and deserves a fresh look.”

Colin Cotterill, author of Anarchy and Old Dogs:

“Actually, I don’t read a lot of fiction. I spend what little reading time I have on non-fiction, especially research. What fiction I have read has been big guns. [But] I did spend some time reading local authors here in Thailand, and one who stands out is Christopher G. Moore. His best crime novel was A Killing Smile [2004]. I think readers will enjoy looking at the seedy side of Bangkok. He was the original bar-and-underworld writer and he spawned a lot of copycats.”

Marcus Sakey, author of The Blade Itself:
Night Dogs (1996), by Kent Anderson. “Quite simply the finest cop novel I’ve ever picked up. What makes this book so savagely powerful is Anderson’s willingness to get dirty; whether writing about race, class, cruelty, sex, or violence, he unhesitatingly steps into his dark places and reports what he finds with a journalist’s honesty and a poet’s flare.”