Love Those Hard Case covers

Honey In His Mouth by Lester Dent, the creator of Doc Savage, the latest release from the amazing Hard Case Crime, sounds like a great read: first publication ever of a story about a small-time grifter who looks very much like a South American dictator.

But let's be honest: Ron Lesser's cover is the main reason to get your paws on this one...

A Fiddler In My Head

Sounds crazy, no? But ever since I saw the Topol film (beautifully directed by Norman Jewison) for the second time last week, my head has been filled with Sheldon Harnick's tremendous lyrics. I hear them at least a dozen times a day: Tradition, Sunrise Sunset (which I sang at my own daughter's wedding), To Life -- the whole delicious schmeer.

Maybe it's a case for Dr. Oliver Sacks, whose book Musicophilia tells about various people's extreme reactions to music, and was the basis of a fascinating PBS special. What do you think? What music is in your head these days?

Schwegel Owns Chicago Crime

My review of Theresa Schwegel's LAST KNOWN ADDRESS is up today at the Chicago Tribune.

On Ravens' Bloody Wings

Remember THE CAVEMAN'S VALENTINE, which earned its author George Dawes Green loads of rave reviews plus an Edgar for Best First Novel? It's just been reissued by Grand Central as a spiffy trade paperback, to coincide with the hardcover publication of Green's latest -- a terrfic thriller called RAVENS.

The ravens here are two scary birds named Shaw McBride and Romeo Zderko. They had only planned on pulling over from I-95 in Georgia for just long enough to put some air in their leaky tire, but when the convenience store clerk reveals that a winning ticket to the multimillion-dollar jackpot has just been sold, Shaw and Romeo change their plans and hatch a scheme. Since the clerk had accidentally given away the winner's home where they take the family hostage.

Like CAVEMAN and THE JUROR (also just out in trade paperback), RAVENS is beautifully written. It has already moved high up on my list of the year's best book.

Reduce Your Carbon Footprint -- Or Else

BELOW ZERO, by C.J. Box

My review of Box's latest is posted today at BN.com

Here's how it begins: Blue Heaven, Box's last book, was a terrific stand-alone thriller about rogue L.A. cops retired to Idaho. Below Zero is a return to the Joe Pickett series, Box's ongoing dissection of crime in Wyoming as seen through the eyes of a game warden whose favorite big game is human villains.

Two More Fine Crime Books Arrive

DARK PLACES, by Gillian Flynn (Shaye Areheart Books; June)

Gillian Flynn, I'm told, is a calm and respectable Chicago resident who is the chief TV critic for Entertainment Weekly. As a writer of thrillers, however, she's something quite different: one scary momma.

Dark Places is narrated by Libby Day, who 24 years ago was the only survivor of what newspapers called the “Prarie Massacre,” when her older brother killed her mother and two older sisters in what seemed to be a satanic ritual. Flynn's writing is strong and pared down to the bone. She never gives in to sentimentality. This one is already high up on my year's best list.

DARKNESS AT THE STROKE OF NOON, by Dennis Richard Murphy (HarperCollins; July)

As the great Sarah Weinman says, "What a shame that Murphy did not live to see his one and only novel published, and that he was robbed of writing more. His evocation of Canada's most frozen north is strong enough to chill the bones, and his ability to merge multiple mysteries together in seamless fashion is on par with writers of lengthy series backlists."

Bruno Shows Up

My review of one of the year's best crime books -- BRUNO, CHIEF OF POLICE, by Martin Walker -- is up today on BN.com.