Friday, October 9, 2009

Recommendations from Julie




The Song is You by Megan Abbott
Ken Bruen calls her books "a wrenching poetic noir vision of loss and regret" and I think that's a perfect description. You get caught up with the characters weaving their way through messes possibly of their own making. They may be characters that you normally wouldn't like, but the world in the novel is so corrupt that many of the characters feel like victims, and therefore worthy of sympathy. Megan Abbott is definitely the new queen of noir.

The Blade Itself by Marcus Sakey
A former felon who has gone legit is hounded by his former partner-in-crime to do another job. Sakey grabbed me with the last paragraph of the 1st chapter and he didn't let go until I had finished the book. Very suspenseful!

Bad Chili by Joe R. Lansdale
Mark Twain meets Elmore Leonard in this folksy, funny, East Texas mystery revolving around King Arthur, king of the chili cook-offs and gay-biker infighting. The town is a little safer with Hap, his buddy Leonard and with a little help from out-of-town p.i. Jim Bob around to deal with the unsavories. A fun read!

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