Nearly the end of January - who has been reading lucky

[Karen from AustCrime]

Every year for a while now I've been finding my first entrant in "books of the year for me" in January. And this year I was lucky enough to do it again.

This time it's been The Shadow in the River, Frode Grytten which was an absolute ripper of a book.

Anybody else got anything they want to rave about?

[Donna Moore]

I haven't finished it yet but I'm currently reading David Corbett's BLOOD OF PARADISE which is absolutely wonderful. I really love his writing and this is probably his best yet.

[Barbara Fister]

I was lucky enough to get an arc of Alex Carr's PRICE OF BAGRAM PRISON, which won't be out until March - it's really stunning. Beautiful writing, a timely story, and incredible narrative control. The story has a tone of characters, shifts back and forth in time, moves across several continents, and it's totally under control. How'd she do that?! Many readers know Alex Carr under the name Jenny Siler. I believe this is her second Alex Carr book, after THE ACCIDENTAL AMERICAN, which is available now if you can't wait.

Donna, I loved BLOOD OF PARADISE, too. Corbett is such a fine writer. A word of warning: at least in the US edition, there's a chuck of pages at the end, a "dossier," that gives fascinating background to the events in the story. But if you don't realize it's there, you might come to the end (which, by the by, is a knockout) thinking you have another twenty pages to go.

[Naomi Hirahara]

I'm just finishing up Don Winslow's THE POWER OF THE DOG. The beginning was a little slow for me (not in action), but because there are so many characters. But I soon got into its rhythm and the book's marvelous. Drug running, geopolitics, betrayal by criminals and covert agencies. If that captures your fancy, THE POWER OF THE DOG is for you.

[Barbara Fister]

Fabulous book! Reminded me of the original Traffik - the German/British production, not the Hollywood version.

[Naomi Hirahara]

Most definitely.

[Gumshoe Carl]

I'm progressing nicely with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I'm exactly half way into the 532 hardback pages and hope to finish it over the weekend. So far so good. I'll report when I am finished. Plus I read the first two Susan Hill's and loved them and finally read Citizen Vince which was above average.

GumshoeCarl

[Bethany K. Warner]

Oh yeah.
It's not a mystery, per se, but Brock Clarke's "an Arsonist's Guide to Writer's Homes in New england" will for sure be on my list. Granted, the book came out in fall 07, but I couldn't get my hands on copy until January.
it's wonderful.

[Beth Groundwater]

I'm reading A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, a wonderful book. So far, it's pace seems to be a little slower than A Kite Runner, but it's still beautifully written. Next is The Blue Nowhere by Jeffery Deaver. He's coming to Colorado Springs March 1st for a workshop and dinner, and in preparation, the Pikes Peak Writers (who are hosting him) are running online discussions of five of his books on their website.