Best of 2007
This year, while I usually stick to just ten titles, I have chosen eleven because I just couldn't cut it down any further! I also have an "honorable mention" section - it was hard to pare this group down. Whatever your taste there should be something for every type of reader to enjoy on this list.The Song is You, Megan Abbott, Simon & Schuster, $14.00.
- from The Song is You
Megan Abbott is a truly original voice in mystery fiction. This noir novel is set in 50's Hollywood, and exposes a very seamy side of the movie business. We follow slick PR man Gil "Hop" Hopkins through the novel as he unravels the secret of starlet Jean Spangler's disappearance. No-one is free of corruption in this book; everyone is touched by it, and I think one of the more interesting things about this novel (along with the lovely prose) are the various reactions of the characters to both the corruption and the glamour that surrounds them. Brilliantly taking the tiny shreds of a true story (there was a Jean Spangler, and she really did disappear) Abbott takes the pieces and makes her own delirious, almost hallucinogenic reality, along the way filling in the dreamy details of the 50's.
The Conjurer, Cordelia Frances Biddle, St. Martin's Minotaur, $23.95.
- from The Conjurer
I admit it, I picked this book up for its gorgeous cover, but there's so much more inside. Biddle is a writer of great complexity and surprising darkness. She paints a picture of 1842 Philadelphia, using as her focal point the innocent Martha Beale, whose father has vanished and who is presumed dead. Martha is completely believable as a denizen of 1842; she's never anachronistically out of period in her behavior. This is a wonderful recreation of the time with many plot threads that are neatly tied up by the end of the novel. The way this woman writes makes me think of two other very gifted historical authors, Kate Ross and Bruce Alexander. Even better, it makes me remember in December what I enjoyed about this book back in February.
Yesterday's Fatal, Jan Brogan, St Martin's Minotaur, $24.95.
- from Yesterday's Fatal
Jan Brogan hasn't had quite the career her talent deserves; this is her third novel and third publisher. Hopefully St. Martin's will provide a happy home for journalist Hallie Ahern and her creator. Set in a richly detailed Providence, R.I. ( reminiscent of Estleman's Detroit or Lippman's Baltimore), Hallie is a journalist on the edge. She's on the edge of recovering from a gambling problem; she's on the edge of being laid off as the paper downsizes; and she's teetering on the edge of a relationship. The book starts off with a bang as Hallie witnesses a car accident, and her subsequent investigation leads her into a tangled web of insurance fraud and high level political corruption. This is a very dark book and it's also a very well written one. Brogan deserves the same mention that some of her male brethren are receiving, because she's walking the same territory as they are. This book is a delightful discovery.
Her Royal Spyness, Rhys Bowen, Berkley Prime Crime, $23.95.
- from Her Royal Spyness
When I first saw the cover of this book and heard the concept behind it I was very put off - I wasn't so sure I even wanted to read it. I shouldn't have doubted Bowen for a minute; one of the very best pure narrative storytellers in the business, she takes the slightly fluffy premise of a very minor royal, makes her work for her income, takes her to tea with Queen Mary (this is set in London in the 30's), and makes it totally original. It's funny, the characters are great, the social history is light but solid, and the story is terrific. It avoids the first-in-a-new-series feeling of being a set up for further books and stands nicely on its own, while still making you look forward to the next installment. A complete delight.
The White Corridor, Christopher Fowler, Bantam, $24.00.
- from The White Corridor
I think all of Christopher Fowler's books, featuring the Peculiar Crimes Unit in a decayed and forgotten building in London, are ridiculously enjoyable. His obvious love for the genre allows him to build on the conventional tropes with a great deal of wit and intelligence. I found this entry particularly enjoyable as it features not just one, but two, locked room mysteries. One of the deaths occurs in the locked morgue; the other in a line up of cars stuck in a blizzard. Unfortunately for the murderer, two of his / her fellow stranded motorists are the heroes of the series, the elderly Bryant and May. Bryant and May are in communication with the unit back in London, giving them help with their case, while the London unit in return supplies Bryant and May with necessary information. The whole enterprise is made far more enjoyable by the looming visit of a particularly unpleasant and minor royal who is due to inspect the unit and perhaps give an unfavorable report back to the higher ups that it should be shut down. As always in a Fowler novel, nothing that is expected actually happens. Settle in for a wonderful read.
The Mortal Groove, Ellen Hart, St. Martin's Minotaur, $25.95.
- from The Mortal Groove
Ellen Hart's skill sets are so varied it's hard to know where to start. One of course is her talent as a pure mystery writer, from the point of view of a tricky plot, fair clues, and even the occasional red herring. One is her talent with creating character; all of her characters are memorable and even better, she makes you care about them. This novel encompasses so wide a canvas it could almost be called an epic, though clocking in at just 350+ pages it's simply a ripping good story that's hard to put down. This Jane Lawless installment deals with Jane's father, Ray, who is running for governor, and some of the unsavory things his campaign manager and friends got into back in 1971 after returning from Vietnam. That experience created an unbreakable bond between the three disparate men, but it's a bond that's tested to the limit when the most unsavory of the three turns up in Minneapolis for a "visit". As the plot deepens in complexity, it takes in Jane's friend Cordelia's grief at losing her niece Hattie to her sister; and her brother Peter's struggles as he loses his job and looks for a lost child. Peter's struggle is the most meaningful, as it's actually his struggle to find himself. As Peter's story becomes entwined with the story of the three Vietnam vets, Hart ratchets up the suspense and tension. This is a remarkable novel, full of emotion, depth and a complexity of plot that shouldn't be missed by any devotee of the contemporary traditional mystery. There are really few, if any, better practitioners than Ellen Hart.
Thunder Bay, William Kent Krueger, Atria, $24.00.
- from Thunder Bay
I keep thinking I shouldn't include Krueger on this list every year, but I guess he would have to stop writing such great books. Thunder Bay is actually one of the strongest books in a brilliant series; Cork O'Connor goes on a search for his friend Henry Meloux's son, and meanwhile we as readers learn about Henry's life, making it absolutely unnecessary to have read any of the previous novels to appreciate this one. Henry's past life, full of surprising violence and affections, is told with the typical Krueger skill in drawing the reader in to the world of his characters and also placing the reader into a fully realized, and beautifully portrayed, setting. He may be one of the best writers about nature working at the moment. Included is a subtheme about the various parts love plays in all our lives; there's a paragraph toward the very end that's so lovely I re-read it frequently (and one of my customers told me she has it laminated and on her refrigerator).
What the Dead Know, Laura Lippman, William Morrow, $24.95.
- from What the Dead Know
Laura Lippman is such a good writer she makes the complex look easy. This book is so smoothly written and goes down so well you won't notice until you finish it that its plot is complicated and the characterizations are exquisite - they just feel so "right" it's almost like reading about real life. The story is about two sisters who disappear in the 70's, and when one of them reappears in the present, Lippman details so perfectly the ripple effect the girl's absence has had in the lives of everyone they touched that you won't be able to look away. This is the only book on this list that actually made me gasp in surprise when I got to the end - but Lippman had set the whole thing up so well I really shouldn't have. This book is entering Ruth Rendell / Barbara Vine territory in terms of its psychological astuteness - though Lippman has more of a heart. She's not as bleak - and that's a good thing. This is a book you won't forget for a long, long time.
Maiden Rock, Mary Logue, Bleak House, Cloth, $24.95, Tradepaper, $14.95.
- from Maiden Rock
This is the sixth novel by Logue about Deputy Sheriff Claire Watkins of tiny Pepin County, Wisconsin. Claire left the Twin Cities to escape the crime that killed her husband, and has raised a daughter and met a new man in the form of pheasant farmer Rich. This book really is about Claire's teenage daughter Meg, who is dealing not only with the uncertainty and turmoil of simply being a teenager, but with the sudden death of her best friend. This is a horrifying look at drug use in rural America, as well as a deep and complex look at family loyalty, friendship, and just plain growing up and the issues of trust that come with it. It's a completely rocket powered read - I was unable to put it down. There are few writers better than Logue at creating memorable characters, and this is one of her very best books.
Bloodshot, Stuart MacBride, St. Martin's Minotaur, $24.95.
- Stuart MacBride
MacBride doesn't miss a beat in Bloodshot, the latest entry in his excellent Aberdeen, Scotland based series featuring Detective Sergeant Logan McRae. In the beginning of the book Logan's girlfriend Constable Jackie "Ball Breaker" Watson lives up to her nickname while busting a suspected serial rapist. When that suspect turns out to be a popular football star with a seemingly unshakeable alibi who calls upon the services of a despicable solicitor and the sympathies of a gullible public, things, as usual, get complicated. McRae's personal life gets complicated too, as a misunderstanding with Jackie causes him to finally act on his long suppressed attraction for Rachael Tulloch, the deputy Procurator Fiscal. MacBride combines the mundane, the horrific and the ridiculous skillfully to produce another enormously satisfying read. Along with Ian Rankin, Val McDermid and Denise Mina, MacBride is a leading figure in a Scottish crime wave that's producing some of the best mysteries in the world. The writing in this series is always great and the weather in Aberdeen is always awful.
A Fatal Grace, Louise Penny, St. Martin's Minotaur, $23.95.
I admit it, I'm smitten by Louise Penny. I absolutely loved her first novel Still Life and was just as taken by the second, the story of the death of the world's nastiest woman and most horrible mother in a freak curling accident. The setting is again the idyllic Three Pines, with all its wonderful inhabitants, and the police work is once again carried out by the wonderful Armand Gamache, a re-visitation in contemporary form of Inspector Maigret. I have talked with many, many readers about these books; we all wish that we could actually live in Three Pines. Far from painting herself into a corner, Penny has been able to change up the formula from the first book to make the second quite different from the first, but just as terrific. A bravura sophomore effort from a very talented and welcome addition to the mystery world. And, as a bonus, her prose is pure poetry.
Also Notable:
Donna Andrews' funny, completely delightful The Penguin Who Knew Too Much; David Ellis' twisty, edge of your seat, intelligent thriller, Eye of the Beholder; the always excellent P.J. Parrish turns in another exciting thriller, A Thousand Bones, this time set in Michigan; and Jeff Cohen's affectionate and funny look at the movies, Some Like it Hot-Buttered. Cohen's is the first in a new series.
To browse more reviews, use the navigation links at the top of the page.