Friday, March 9, 2007

On the nightstand...

I've been on a pretty good streak lately of finding new authors to fall in love with. There are so many fine writers out there - it's pretty damn hard to keep up.


Bermuda Schwartz



















I don't normally read "comedic Florida" mysteries but I'm really taken with Zack - the ex-football player turned reluctant PI. I read this while lounging on the beach in Mexico and it was perfect - you hear people talk about a "beach read" - this is it. Fast paced, funny and has a "twist" at the end that will make this series move in very interesting directions.

Blue Edge of Midnight

Jonathon King




















King hardly needs my endorsement - he won an Edgar for this book. It's fantastic. Relatively simple plot - no one is trying to blow up the Astro Dome or anything - but the deftly drawn characters and the beautifully rendered setting really draw you in. This is a human drama - not a "high concept" plot driven book. And that's what I like - I think you will too.


Stealing the Dragon




















Tim's cover might win the sexiest cover of the year award - and the cover clues you into the real hook of the book. The story is centered around a PI by the name of Cape Weathers but it's Sally that stole the show for me and the cover ostensibley tells us that. I'm looking forward to more Sally and Cape adventures.


Lost Dog


Another cool cover - and this image doesn't do it justice. It's got a metallic sheen to it that makes you want to pick it up. And you won't be disappointed you did. Peter McKrall isn't your typical hero - but then neither is Phil Riley of Running Wrecked fame.... But I have a soft spot for unconventional protagonists as I've long been a fan of Kem Nunn and his surfer books. Lost Dog reminded me of Nunn in the best ways - confident writing, keen attention to setting, and a protagonist that you'd walk by on the street and never think he'd have a story to tell.

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