MysteryPeople Crime Fiction Coordinator Scott M. picks his favorite debuts from 2011:
1. Crimes In Southern Indiana by Frank Bill
A collection of kick butt fiction with pulp and pathos. Frank Bill grounds these visceral stories with the true emotion of desperate folks living on the edge and getting pushed over it.
________________________________
2. Death On Tour by Janice Hamrick
I usually go for something harder and darker, but Janice proves with this funny mix of chick-lit and thriller that honest emotion and human insight are two of the main reasons I read crime fiction no matter what the sub genre. A winner of the MWA/ St. Martins First Mystery Award.
________________________________
3. The Rock Hole by Reavis Wortham
A great look at race and evil through the eyes of a young boy who’s constable grandfather teams up with a black deputy to catch a killer in 1963 Texas.
________________________________
4. Ranchero by Rick Gavin
A fun misadventure through the Mississippi Delta going after a stolen car. If only it was written in the Seventies so Burt Reynolds and Warren Oates could have done the movie version.
________________________________
5. Guilt By Association by Marcia Clark
A unique legal thriller that holds all of the qualities of a great LA crime novel with a prosecutor taking a mysterious case of her colleague while she looks into his murder. It also shows fun and strong professional camaraderie among women that’s rarely depicted. Looking forward to Clark’s follow up Guilt by Degree.
BookPeople 