Tumblin’ Dice

Obscured so far by all the hullabaloo over the imminent release of Worst Enemies (March 1 for Kindle and Nook, only $2.99) is the news that John McFetridge’s newest, Tumblin’ Dice, will also be available March 1, and in a more corporeal sense in that it’s an actual physical book, with pages and a cover and dust jacket and binding and all that stuff that keeps IKEA in business selling us shelves to put them on. I was fortunate enough to receive an advance copy and finished it last week. My full review will appear in the April edition of New Mystery Reader, along with an interview with John. Because we’re friends, I’m going to let you in on a little secret ahead of time:

Buy this book. Read this book. It might be the best book you’ll read this year.

John has found a way to write a series that isn’t. He uses the universe he created way back in Dirty Sweet, but only enough to provide a common shared experience; each story has its own primary cast. His dialog sizzles, as always. The crime elements of the plot serve as setting more than plot. The story is about the people involved with the crimes and their collateral effects. Richard Price would be proud.

Don’t wait. John writes for a small Canadian press, so it’s not like there are millions of copies holding up display tables in bookstores across North America. You don’t want to get caught up in an ugly Vancouver mob when they find out the Canucks will lose the Cup again this year and Tumblin’ Dice is temporarily sold out.