It's getting to be "best of" season, and NPR has issued its lists of the best books of 2008.
Their top five crime and mystery novels are:
Small Crimes (Dave Zeltserman), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Stieg Larsson), The Chinaman (Friedrich Glauser), Death Vows (Richard Stevenson), The Long Embrace (Judith Freeman).
We have published a review of only one of these: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. Our reviewer, M. Wayne Cunningham, said it was "Swedish noir at its best" and awarded it our highest rating.
We're fans of Richard Stevenson, having read and enjoyed many of the early Donald Strachey mysteries. And though we didn't have the opportunity to read Death Vows, we're delighted to see his name on the list. Four of Stevenson's books have been adapted as made-for-television movies; we've reviewed one (Third Man Out) and have a second review pending for publication.
We question the inclusion of The Long Embrace on NPR's list for a couple of reasons: it was originally published in 2007 and it not only isn't a mystery or crime novel, it isn't even a novel but for the most part a biography of author Raymond Chandler.
Look for our own list of the best mysteries of 2008 in mid-December.
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That's a strong list, I enjoyed them all.
ReplyDeleteLogan Lamech
www.eloquentbooks.com/LingeringPoets.html