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American/Cozy Mysteries

Essays: § Cozies: An Especially American Art Form § When is a Cozy not a Cozy?
Kenneth Abel § Cold Steel Rain	Alina Adams § Murder on Ice	Donna Andrews § The Penguin Who Knew Too Much	Nevada Barr § High Country
Larry Beinhart § The Librarian	Claudia Bishop and Don Bruns (editors) § A Merry Band of Murderers	Meredith Blevins § The Hummingbird Wizard	Lawrence Block § The Burglar in the Rye
Jan Brogan § A Confidential Source	Judy Clemens § The Day Will Come	Joan Coggin § Who Killed the Curate?	Jeffrey Cohen § As Dog is My Witness § Some Like it Hot-Buttered
Thomas Cook § Into the Web	Gordon Cotler § Artist’s Proof	Casey Daniels § Don of the Dead	Diane Mott Davidson § Dark Tort § Double Shot
Aaron Elkins § Good Blood	Sharon Fiffer § Buried Stuff	Kate Flora § Stalking Death	Christine Goff § A Rant of Ravens
Denise Hamilton § Last Lullaby § Savage Garden § Sugar Skull	David Handler § The Cold Blue Blood	Charlaine Harris § Grave Sight § Grave Surprise § Shakespeare’s Counselor	Rosemary Harris § Pushing Up Daisies
Ellen Hart § An Intimate Ghost § The Iron Girl § Night Vision	Libby Fischer Hellmann § An Image of Death § A Picture of Guilt § A Shot to Die For	Martha C. Lawrence § Ashes of Aries	Marc Lecard § Vinnie's Head
Laura Lippman § To the Power of Three	Mary Logue § Maiden Rock	Margaret Maron § Last Lessons of Summer	Sujata Massey § Girl in a Box
Alexander McCall-Smith § The #1 Ladies Detective Agency	Deborah Morgan § The Marriage Casket § The Weedless Widow	Marcia Muller § Cyanide Wells	Kem Nunn § Tijuana Straits
Nancy Pickard § The Virgin of Small Plains	David Skibbins § Eight of Swords	Jessica Speart § Blue Twilight	Julia Spencer-Fleming § All Mortal Flesh § A Fountain Filled With Blood § I Shall Not Want § In the Bleak Midwinter § Out of the Deep I Cry § To Darkness and to Death
Denise Swanson § Murder of a Sleeping Beauty § Murder of a Barbie and Ken § Murder of a Snake in the Grass	Sarah Stewart Taylor § Judgment of the Grave § Mansions of the Dead § O’ Artful Death § Still as Death	Elaine Viets § Dying to Call You § Just Murdered § Murder with Reservations § Murder Unleashed § Shop Till You Drop

Cold Steel Rain, Kenneth Abel, Signet, $5.99.

This is a beautifully written, moving, horrifying book - but it also has some problems. Abel is able almost as well as James Lee Burke to take New Orleans and make it live and breathe for the reader - and he is also skilled at various violent vignettes which stay around with you for some time after finishing the book (another James Lee Burke talent). He has an interesting main character, Danny Chaisson, a former DA who left his job to be the bagman for one of the most notorious political "fixers" in Louisiana - and in Louisiana, famous for it's scandalous politics, that's saying alot. Danny has lots of interesting psychological baggage and he's an appealing character. The plot is sort of an amorphous one - much like the hot, humid, smoky New Orleans weather, parts of this plot seem to swirl in out of nowhere on a heat wave, and then swirl right back out. The book opens with the restaurant slaughter of five people - two of whom were Danny's friends. For Danny, this is an irresistible draw into a heartbreaking case which ends up leading to a major gun supplier. Danny is tied into it in all kinds of ways that emerge as the plot moves along.

I think Abel's real agenda, though, is illustrating in a particularly graphic and heartbreaking way the effect of cheap and easy guns on the primarily African American children who are able to get hold of them. There are no easy answers to this problem, but Abel certainly takes you for an inside ride. What isn't like James Lee Burke is Abel's only fledgling ability to bring his characters to fully formed life. As many readers know, Dave Robicheaux lives and breathes, and I can't say exactly the same thing for Danny Chaisson. If Abel can manage to write a more tightly focused plot and also to tighten up his characters, this will be a top notch series. As it is, it's beautifully written and memorable in lots of ways. I recommend this effort in what is the first in a series, and I personally look forward to the second book.

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