CANBERRA WEEKLY 9 NOVEMBER 2023: THREE GRITTY CRIME NOVELS FOR CHRISTMAS 2023
This week in the Canberra Weekly, I reviewed three good, tough crime novels that travel down the mean streets of LA and Perth.
Michael Connelly is a master of the urban crime novel and his latest Resurrection Walk, (Allen & Unwin, 7 November 2023), is another superb piece of crime fiction.
In the Canberra Weekly I said:
“Michael Connelly is one of the world’s best crime writers, and a new release from him is always a highlight. His latest, Resurrection Walk, is billed as a ‘Lincoln Lawyer Thriller’, but it also features the iconic Harry Bosch in a major role. The story revolves around the efforts of Bosch and his half-brother, Mickey Haller, to prove that the ex-wife of a LA sheriff’s deputy was wrongly jailed for his murder four years ago. Combining taut plotting with well-crafted characters and entertaining courtroom scenes, Resurrection Walk is a terrific crime thriller that builds to a suspenseful climax. Highly recommended.”
I also did a longer review a couple of weeks ago: https://murdermayhemandlongdogs.com/new-connelly-and-reacher-resurrection-walk-by-michael-connelly-and-the-secret-by-lee-and-andrew-child/
Also set partially in Los Angeles, albeit of the 1960s, is Dave Warner’s Summer Of Blood, (Fremantle Press, 3 October 2023). This follow up to his classic hardboiled novel, Big Bad Blood, is a gripping tour through the dark side of LA in the late 1960s.
In the Canberra Weekly I said:
“Los Angeles also features in Dave Warner’s Summer Of Blood. In this long awaited sequel to Big Bad Blood, two Sydney detectives head to America in 1967 to find the missing son of a friend of the Police Minister’s. As they scour the back streets of LA and San Francisco they become immersed in the world of new music, drugs, free love and hippie counterculture, and find themselves on the trail of a serial killer. Told in a stripped down, staccato style, Summer Of Blood is a twisty tale full of vivid imagery, violence, moral ambiguity and some astute reflections on the 1960s”
I also did a longer review here: https://murdermayhemandlongdogs.com/late-october-2023-crime-reading-new-books-by-lee-goldberg-bryan-brown-jack-heath-dave-warner-and-dann-mcdorman/
Rounding off this trio of exceptionally good hardboiled novels, is David Whish-Wilson’s impressive I Am Already Dead (Fremantle Press, 3 October 2023).
In the Canberra Weekly I said:
“Fremantle based David Whish-Wilson does not enjoy the attention that other crime writers receive, but his tough noir tales are among the best crime fiction being produced in Australia today.
I Am Already Dead is set in Perth in 1993 and features trainee private investigator Lee Southern, who finds himself drawn into a web of intrigue and escalating violence when he agrees to investigate a series of bribery attempts against a wealthy entrepreneur. Well written and totally gripping, with a memorable cast of characters, it moves along at a rapid rate to the bloody and surprising climax. Superior crime writing.”
All three of the books are very good reads and would make for excellent Christmas presents.
Thanks to the publishers and the Canberra Weekly for the above three books for review. The reviews can also be seen on the Canberra Daily site, along with other reviews and news: https://canberradaily.com.au/category/entertainment/books/