IT'S A CRIME! (OR A MYSTERY...)

Books for Christmas - Declan Burke

The Christmas stocking pick of Declan Burke, author of The Big O is Julius Winsome by Gerard Donovan:

"Cheats! Having read Brian McGilloway and Donna Moore's contributions, and realising it was okay to cheat by mentioning more than one book that thrilled me this year, I really should mention McGilloway's BORDERLANDS, Adrian McKinty's THE BLOOMSDAY DEAD, Reed Farrel Coleman's THE JAMES DEANS and Allan Guthrie's KISS HER GOODBYE. The book that left the most lasting impression, however, was Gerard Donovan's JULIUS WINSOME, to wit:

Julius Winsome lives alone in the northern Maine woods, with only his dog Hobbes to keep him company. When Hobbes is shot to death by an unknown hunter, the mild-mannered Julius takes down the rifle his grandfather brought home from the trenches of WWI and sets out to wreak revenge.

The simple plot outline, however, is a stark framework upon which Gerard Donovan stretches a compelling tale. Its telling is drum-skin tight and yet layered with a fierce hatred, poignant grief, an almost unbearable loneliness and a powerful desire to restore the cosmic balance that has been tilted imperceptibly out of kilter by the unwarranted killing of Hobbes – a voracious reader, Julius is a connoisseur of arcane Shakespearian phrases, and particularly those that hark back to a more primitive form of mediaeval, and perhaps even primordial, justice. Despite the elegiac tone, this is a real page-turner. Julius Winsome is as fascinating a character as has emerged from mainstream fiction for some time, an entirely realistic borderline psychopath who garners the reader's sympathy even as he questions his own motives and the extent to which he is prepared to pursue his deranged logic. Donovan's prose is masterfully controlled, restrained and elegantly simple but devastating in its execution, the overall effect putting this reader in mind of Tom Ripley reimagined by Cormac McCarthy."

Books for Christmas - John Baker

And filling up that stocking even more, we now have John Baker, author of the Sam Turner and Stone Lewis novels:

"The best crime novel I've read this year is, undoubtedly, Ann Cleeves' Dagger Award winning Raven Black.

My review of the novel is here.

I read very few crime novels as a general rule and always look for, and expect, more than simple tension or a tight plot.  I need good and convincing characterization and a landscape and dialogue to which I can relate.

Ann Cleeves' novel has all this.  Set in Shetland, in the far north, it has the advantage of a small but far flung community, riddled with superstition and rumour and reminded me, above all else, of the novels of Tony Hillerman.

Additionally, Raven Black offered the insights and cogitations of a man at a real crossroads in his life, and it was this, equally as much as the cleverly built-in suspense, that kept me turning the pages hungrily for as long as it took to get from the beginnings to the finale of the novel.

I read the book in January and now, writing these words in mid October, the landscape and main protagonists are as clearly with me as they were when I first read it.  There are few contemporary novels for which I could make that claim." 

Books for Christmas - Bernard Knight

And now for the Christmas pick of Bernard Knight, author of the Crowner John series, the latest being The Noble outlaw:

Murdering Americans - Ruth Dudley Edwards

"This was another delightful satire using the crime genre to carry the author’s outrageously iconoclastic themes. In this book, she assaults 'political correctness', specifically that as inflicted upon the American educational system, but with plenty of digs and parallels with Britain.

As usual, her heroine is Baroness 'Jack' Troutbeck, the eccentric Mistress of a Cambridge college, who is offered a 'freebie' semester in a small-town university in Indiana, who are under the misapprehension that she is a radical socialist like the majority of those 'loonie-lefts' who now run many American seats of so-called learning – to quote, 'academia in the United States is now dominated by knee-jerk liberalism, contempt for Western civilisation and the institutionalisation of insane political correctness'.

She is soon appalled by what is going on there, as the college administration has been hi-jacked by a woman Principal and her sinister enforcer, whom she suspects have murdered the previous sensible Provost. A student group is protesting at their denial of a proper education, in favour of 'dumbing-down', heavily censored teaching and positive discrimination carried to such extraordinary lengths that a young white male is looked upon as a pariah. Jack Troutbeck rallies the forces of dissent, even to the extent of toting a pistol; more deaths occur, but of course right triumphs in the end. Though a rumbustious and often farcical tale, there is no doubt that Ruth Dudley Edwards is using the story to grind a damned great axe and I loved every paragraph, as it accorded with my own view of this awful Western World."

Books for Christmas - Margaret Murphy

And now it's time for Margaret Murphy to shoot an urgent missive to the Christmas elves.  She was more than enthusiastic to spread her word when asked, this book is a killer...

Margaret Murphy has written a lot of crime novels and is the author of the Rickman series which starts here.

"Engleby is such an essential Christmas read I am convinced Santa’s Elves have pre-empted this recommendation and are already packing them for crime fiction readers everywhere.  The story is narrated by Mike Engleby, a second year student at an ‘ancient university’, The narrative voice is simple, unembellished, deceptively simple. Yet, from the start, we are convinced that we are dealing with an exceptional mind – uncompromising, fiercely intelligent, wickedly funny – and deeply disturbed. The working-class boy’s agonisingly painful progress through the public school system, his alienation which persists through university and into adulthood, is told unsentimentally, and without rancour, but we burn with shame and rage on his behalf.

A fellow student disappears, and Engleby mourns her loss, yet we feel an unease: despite his eidetic memory for facts, there are gaps in his memory of events.  Engleby is compulsive, immediate and suspenseful, crime fiction reminiscent of the early Barara Vine novels: although there is relatively little incident, the writer keeps the reader in a state of constant dread - a truly masterful work."

And now for a little bit extra: I have two signed paperback copies of Margaret's wonderful novel The Dispossessed, my favourite crime fiction read in 2005.  You only have to email to get your hands on one.  No quiz or test here; you just have to email me.  The first two to the post get a copy.

Expect a compelling read with The Dispossessed and a stomach flooring moment towards the end.  Life in Liverpool is like life in any other major UK city, but Margaret has a bunch of keys to let you into the reality through fiction - a stunning read. 

Books for Christmas - Steve Mosby

This time it's the Christmas pick of Steve Mosby, author of The 50/50 Killer, which is out now as a hardback and in paperback on 1 December 2007; and originally one of the Orion New Blood pack in 2004:

"The crime novel that impressed me most in 2007 is, without doubt, Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects. The plot concerns Chicago journalist Camille Preaker’s return to her small, Missouri hometown to cover the recent abduction of two young girls there. In doing so, she has to reconnect – reluctantly – with her overbearing mother, creepy step-sister and small-town past. But the reason for reading the book is not the mystery, as the solution to the crime provides only the bones of the tale; the heart lies in the characters and the wonderful first-person prose. Camille is a unique and engaging creation: a cynical, self-harming car-crash of a woman, whose vulnerability is obvious even as she pushes people away with her callous and barbed commentary on the town. And Flynn’s prose is gorgeous. She isn’t afraid to move the story slowly, building an almost unbearable atmosphere of dread, and ultimately delivers a searing portrayal of female violence, a touching and fascinating character study, and a crime story that provides a rare chill. It’s a superb novel, and no fan of the genre – or, indeed, of great writing in general – should allow it to pass them by."

Books for Christmas - Brian McGilloway

This time it's the Christmas picks of Brian McGilloway, author of Borderlands, the first in the Garda Inspector Devlin series.

"This is a hard choice to make in a year that’s seen the publication of some great reads. I caught up with my favourite established character, Dave Robicheaux, with the latest James Lee Burke, The Tin Roof Blowdown, and encountered some new writers - LC Tyler’s The Herring Seller’s Apprentice is compulsive reading at the moment - or writers who are new to me - CJ Samson’s Sovereign was a great summer read.

"If I have to pick one, I couldn’t, so I’ll go for two. For a new discovery, I’d have to say Declan Burke’s, The Big O, which I read in one sitting a few months back. This is an extremely funny crime novel that takes Irish crime fiction in a whole new direction. Under the cracking comedy of the book lurks some very subtle and highly skillful plotting and prose. Declan’s just got a US deal, so catch The Big O before it gets any bigger.

"But, I’d also have to go with Exit Music. Ian Rankin was the first crime writer I ever read and Exit Music is a wholly appropriate ending to the series – at least with Rebus on the force. From the opening line – echoing the opening of the first Rebus, Knots and Crosses – to the perfection of the closing scene, Ian Rankin has delivered another master class in crime writing. It might not be the end of Rebus, but if it is – what a way to go."

More from Brian here, and for his selections click: The Big O and Exit Music.

Books for Christmas - Donna Moore

This time it's the Christmas pick of Donna Moore, author of Go to Helena Handbasket:

"Ooooh, it’s so tough to choose only one. I have read some great books this year – Warren Ellis’s CROOKED LITTLE VEIN, Ray Banks’s DONKEY PUNCH, Steven Torres’s CONCRETE MAZE, Declan Burke's THE BIG O (see how I cleverly managed to get around the rules there?!), but I think I’ll focus on Kevin Wignall’s WHO IS CONRAD HIRST?

In the first couple of pages of the book the reader learns that Conrad Hirst is a hitman who has decided to kill his way out of the business, by doing what he does best, and disposing of the few people who know about him. Running in parallel is another thread telling how and why he became a hitman in the first place. To say any more would be to spoil what is a gradual peeling away of the layers that slowly reveal who Conrad Hirst really is, and the truth of his world. A wonderful book - a look at the meaning and value of life to someone who is existing, rather than living. One of those satisfyingly perfect books that all way through you are on edge wondering how it's all going to pan out, and then when you've finished it's so much more than you anticipated."

If you now need an instant fix of Kevin Wignall, you can find him here and here.  For the book via Amazon, click this.

More on the death of the hardback...

Today, The Guardian carries an interesting article by Robert Booth concerning the move by Picador to launch novels in paperback from next year (with a small limited edition run of hardbacks which will sell at about £20).

I liked the comment from Kirsty Dunseath, publishing director of Weidenfield & Nicholson re the current average retail sales price of a discounted hardback:

"...Anyway, £12.99 isn't such a high price to pay - you'd happily pay that for a CD."

I think this is true for some, but it overlooks the fact that CD purchasers will listen to that CD more than once - unless the CD proves to be a disappointment.  Having read a novel, what's the point in keeping it?  You might want to read it again.  You might treasure it.  You might want to retain it for its beauty.

Having read this article, I'm beginning to think that the changes afoot in the world of publishing will actually consolidate in the near future and it's time to face the reality.  Masses of paperbacks of short useful lives aren't particularly environmentally friendly.  Neither is their distribution mechanism.  Those digital readers we booklovers shun with horror just might take off.  The book as we've known it for so long may indeed become a limited edition and at a high price.

Books for Christmas - Ann Cleeves

To kick off we have the Christmas pick of Ann Cleeves author of the Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award winning Raven Black, the first novel in her Shetland Quartet:

"My choice would be VOICES by Arnaldur Indridason.  I love translated fiction for the glimpse it provides into another culture's preoccupations and prejudices: it gives the experience of travel without the carbon footprint.  Gold Dagger winner Indridason is an Icelander and VOICES is set in a Reykjavic hotel.  It's the run up to Chistmas, cold and dark, with flurries of snow, so the book is a very appropriate stocking filler.

The hotel handyman is found murdered in the small room where he lives.  It seems the man had a certain celebrity in his childhood - he was a well known boy soprano - and that his unusual past had returned to haunt him.  VOICES depicts the tight, enclosed world of the hotel.  Erlandur, Indridason's series detective actually moves in for a period, and this only adds to the claustrophobic feel of the novel.  It's hard to believe that in the world outside families are preparing for the Christmas celebrations - we only catch sight of them through windows or in the hotel bar.  The conceit of the enclosed community is a classic crime fiction device, but here it has a completely contemporary feel.

For any crime fan who likes her mysteries quiet, domestic, intense, this is essential reading."

For the book click here.  For more from Ann, click here.

Update 17/11: Ann tells me she's just found out that Raven Black has been shortlisted for the Martin Beck award - the Swedish award for best translated crime - and she finds herself up against Indridason...

Picador is brave in recognising the demise of the hardback book?

An interesting article from Nicholas Clee in The Guardian Books Blog today.  He starts by saying:

"It seems hasty to announce the imminent death of the hardback literary novel on the evidence of one experimental policy by one London publisher. But Picador's decision to bring out most of its new fiction in paperback editions, accompanied by only a small number of "collectors'" hardbacks, is a symptom of the dire health of what has been a surprisingly persistent format. While we may think of the hardback, usually appearing some 12 months before the edition that most people consider affordable, as elitist and uncommercial, there are nevertheless reasons to worry about its passing."

For the hardback, Clee asserts:

"At the same time, Picador's novels will also appear in limited hardback print runs, produced for the people who prefer to acquire books with cloth covers, boards, endpapers and so on, and who don't mind paying for those luxuries."

Well, thank God for that.  But neither do I mind arguing back when it comes to the small population's love of books and the buyer's point of view.  There is a small population out there that is neither elitist nor one to see its hardback purchases as "luxuries".  Since the Net Book Agreement trickled down the gutters and into the drains, new (hardback) book prices have become rather more attractive to the customer.  (Perhaps the publishers sold themselves out here?)  There are more than a few who have not waited for the potentially easily-grubby mass market paperback of their favoured authors; they want a hardback.    And what would you choose to have signed by the author?  Something that resembles a flayed with vigour Andrex toilet roll or something you can preserve with the honour and respect it deserves?

Curiously, Clee let one cat out of the bag with this comment:

"Until now, a small market has just about upheld the other arguments for literary fiction in hardback. But that market has almost reached vanishing point. The paucity of sales of novels even by acclaimed authors was an awkward book industry secret until this summer, when it was broadcast that eight of the novels on the longlist for the Man Booker Prize had sold fewer than 1,000 copies."

Note that it's "literary fiction" of which he speaks, which adds another dimension to this argument.  I agree with him for the literary genre, but beg to differ on crime & thriller fiction.  He added:

"Publishers of hardbacks can print 1,500 copies, hope for reviews and - for a lucky few - awards. The authors' careers build from there. If they dispense with hardbacks, they will have to put out larger print runs of paperbacks to justify publication; and they will find that the market is often resistant to new fiction, at any price."

Some of us already realise that hardback runs are so severely limited.  Some of us devour that fact and pursue our purchases to match that thought.  I have one crime fiction bibliophile friend who texts me regularly.  One of our recent conversations had me listening to - we're text and talk in person - something along the lines of "Christ, you didn't buy the trade paperback did you?  There's a hardback out there!" 

But while I can understand a reaction to less sales on the part of the publisher, isn't this an example of actually creating elitism going forward?  Those that can, will seek out the ever more scarce hardback and ensure it's signed, creating an ever more elitist market.  The publishers will not gain a penny, as the main market will be second hand sales; unless they bump up the price on a new release in hardback, creating even more of an elitist market. £100 anyone?

It's both a self-fulfilling prophecy and double-edged sword as far I can see.

"Et tu, Brute!"  See the horizon and weep; if it's your credit/debit card on the line.