City Primeval, Elmore Leonard. It had been years since I read this. I’ve been meaning to get around to it and the impending release of FX’s Justified extension got me off my ass. A wonderful book, maybe Leonard’s best crime novel. It was also made to order for Raylan Givens to stand in for Ray Cruz. City Primeval shows all the things that made Leonard a legend, and should serve well in Graham Yost’s and Timothy Olyphant’s hands.
Because
the Night, James D. F. Hannah. Hannah may have to make more room in his
house for awards if he insists on writing books like this. He manages to pay
homage to the PI tradition at the same time as breaking new ground, never
allowing things to seem stale or asking us to suspend too much disbelief. Henry
Malone and Woody are a pair worthy of the best PI/sidekick duos, and Crash is a
brilliant addition to the series.
The
Johnson County War, Bill O’Neal. Class warfare in America is nothing
new. Rustling was a problem in 1892 Wyoming, but the big cattlemen felt as if
all the government land was theirs by divine right and resented homesteaders
and small ranchers who staked legal claims. The cattlemen’s methods became so
overbearing juries refused to return rustling convictions. The big boys then hired
gunmen from Texas to kill anyone they decided had to go, rustler or not. The
locals fought back. This is a meticulously research and fascinating look at an episode
many thought only happened in movies.
Safe
and Sound, J.D. Rhoades. I’ve been reading his books for years, off and
on, but a while back I noticed they were getting so good I needed to take a
more comprehensive look. Turns out they were always that good. Safe and
Sound is part of the Jack Keller series and has all the action one could
want without ever putting a reader in a position of thinking “Oh, really?” Rhoades
is now on the list of people I need to make sure do not fall through the cracks.
The
Big Sleep, Raymond Chandler. It’s The Big Sleep. Damn right I
liked it. Again.
Sunset
and Jericho, Sam Wiebe. The Wakeland series keeps getting better, and
it was good to start with. This one deals with politics and money (hard to do a
story about politics that doesn’t involve money these days) and, while a
fascinating study of the pressures between the haves and have nots, it’s not
soon going to show up on the Vancouver Chamber of Commerce’s reading list.
Which is even more reason you should check it out.
4 comments:
I love seeing your favorite read and watch columns. There are always topics, authors and movies/shows that I add to my lists. Thank you for the suggestions.
Jim
Jim,
Thank you. It can seem as if I'm sedning these pposts into the void at times. It's always good to hear someone enjoys them. YOu made my day.
Like Jim, I also enjoy your lists and interviews because you typically provide attention to so many things that don't get the attention they deserve.
On top of that, too many websites/blogs already focus on the same things over and over again and who needs one more review of a Michael Connelly novel or subpar shows or movies when so much really good stuff is out there and in need of more publicity.
Thank you. Much appreciated.
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