1. A Legacy of Spies by John Le Carré
(8 Rave, 10 Positive, 1 Mixed)
“A Legacy of Spies brings it all back, as fresh and as rancid as ever, in a tale that shows the master in the full vigour of his old mastery … satisfies not only by being vintage Le Carré, which it is, but in the way in which it so neatly and ingeniously closes the circle of the author’s long career … The ingenuity and skill with which the thing is brought off is breathtaking – really, not since The Spy has Le Carré exercised his gift as a storyteller so powerfully and to such thrilling effect.”
–John Banville (The Guardian)
*
2. The Force by Don Winslow
(9 Rave, 4 Positive)
“Trust me when I tell you that you gotta read this book not because it’s beautiful (it isn’t) and not because Winslow is a virtuoso stylist (he isn’t) and not because it’s one of those Important Books that everyone will be talking about (they will), but because it is just fantastic. Like can’t-put-it-down, can’t-get-the-voices-out-of-your-head fantastic. An instant classic, an epic, a goddamn Wagner opera with a full cast and buckets of blood and smack and Jameson whiskey.”
–Jason Sheehan (NPR)
*
3. Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke
(7 Rave, 5 Positive)
“Attica Locke pens a poignant love letter to the lazy red-dirt roads and Piney Woods that serve as a backdrop to a noir thriller as murky as the bayous and bloodlines that thread through the region … Locke stitches a tale of murder and bloodlust, forbidden love, family ties and a violent racial history that bleed into the narrative of East Texas like the mournful moan of a Lightnin’ Hopkins song.”
–Jaundréa Clay (The Houston Chronicle)
*
4. The Late Show by Michael Connolly
(8 Rave, 1 Positive)
“Connelly’s special genius has always been his ability to build character like the most literary of novelists while attending to the procedural details of a police investigation with all the focus of an Ed McBain. He does both here, showing us Renée on her surfboard, working out her Bosch-like demons, but also grinding through the minutiae of the case until she achieves that ‘Holy Grail of detective work,’ that moment of knowing she has her man. Many established crime writers—James Lee Burke, Ian Rankin, Randy Wayne White—have launched new series as their signature heroes age, but few have done it as successfully as Connelly.”
–Bill Ott (Booklist)
*
5. Ill Will by Dan Chaon
(5 Rave, 5 Positive)
“Before beginning his exceptionally unnerving new book, go ahead and lock the door, but it won’t help. You’ll still be stuck inside yourself, which for Chaon is the most precarious place to be … Chaon’s novel walks along a garrote stretched taut between Edgar Allan Poe and Alfred Hitchcock. By the time we realize what’s happening, we’ve gone too far to turn back. We can only inch forward into the darkness, bracing for what might come next.”
–Ron Charles (The Washington Post)
*
6. Righteous by Joe Ide
(7 Rave, 1 Positive)
“As good as IQ was — and it was terrific — Righteous takes a deeper look at Isaiah, delving into what has shaped this young African-American man and allowing the character to mature … Ide keeps Righteous on a righteous path of compelling storytelling, allowing his characters to flourish while exploring the worst of human nature. Never once does Righteous go over the top as Ide keeps each plot point chillingly realistic … Ide’s debut IQ showed what a skillful writer he is. Righteous elevates the author — and his characters — to a new level.”
–Oline H. Cogdill (The Associated Press)
*
7. Mississippi Blood by Greg Iles
(5 Rave, 3 Positive)
“Those considering Mississippi Blood may wonder if it will be understandable without having read the two previous novels. The answer is a great big yes, although anyone who has time should start at the beginning … Although an emotional courtroom drama, there is plenty of action in Mississippi Blood. Mr. Iles drives his story forward with sturdy sentences but stops often to indulge in purely beautiful writing.”
–Margie Romero (The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
*
7. Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
(5 Rave, 3 Positive)
“Much like his character Alan, [Horowitz] is both prolific and a bona fide student of the golden age of detective fiction — and his knowledge shines through in this book, which is catnip for classic mystery lovers. As a Christie disciple, he is near equal to his master … With its elegant yet playful plotting, Magpie Murders is the thinking mystery fan’s ideal summer thriller.”
–Sarah Begley (TIME)
*
9. Since We Fell by Dennis Lehane
(5 Rave, 3 Positive, 4 Mixed, 1 Pan)
“[There is] an opener worthy of Raymond Chandler or James Cain, and the rest of this novel — a sleek thriller that, despite its turbocharged pace, explores the nature of love and evil — is just as gripping … Since We Fell feels distinctly cinematic. Its dialogue is crisp and often darkly funny, its characters vividly drawn, its plot a tightening wire of well-crafted suspense … Suffice it to say that anyone who has read Mystic River or Shutter Island knows that questions of identity, memory and reality have long been Lehane’s raw material — and that, along with being one of the best crime fiction writers in the business, he’s also an adept, insightful chronicler of romance.”
–Colette Bancroft (The Tampa Bay Times)
*
10. Little Deaths by Emma Flint
(4 Rave, 4 Positive)
“It has been a long time since a novel captured a time and place as powerfully as Emma Flint’s shattering debut … she is hardly the creature of low morals and icy veins who is driving tabloid sales. Her devastating inner monologues reveal quite the opposite: Her grief ‘was black and hungry and huge like an open, roaring mouth…And inside it: the loneliness, the loss, the lost-ness.’ In portraying ’60s New York culture with all its boozing, corruption and sexism, Flint goes where Mad Men dared not go. That the author is British makes her achievement all the more amazing.”
–Lloyd Sachs (The Chicago Tribune)
