Debut Novels

[DADavenport]

I collect first edition Debut Crime and Mystery novels by women. My little passion. I love seeing what those femme-fatale scribblers are putting out there and I also like supporting them in their initial efforts in a very tough occupation.

My absolutely favorite debut novel was Mallory's Oracle by Carol O'Connell. Brilliant is the only word.

A close second was Cornelia Read's A Field Of Darkness. Original and unique.

Off genre (and sex), was discovering A Confederacy Of Dunces. The debut and only novel by John Kennedy Toole. Sadly, he committed suicide after efforts to publish it failed. His mother went from publishers to professors for years, trying to get someone to see it's brilliance. An English Prof did, and brought it to the right publishers. So sad that he did not hang in there to see it's reception.

What was the debut novel, or novels, that made you sit up and scream "Genius" at the top of your lungs? The ones you will always remember and cherish?

[Christa M. Miller]

I've seen reviews that say that about Gillian Flynn's "Sharp Objects." I'm still trying to lay hands on a copy!

[Laura Root]

Not read In the Woods, but I would recommend Sharp Objects too. It has a great twist in the tale.

[Don Anderson]

Parts of Adrian McKinty's debut crime novel, DEAD I WELL MAY BE, (after his non-crime ORANGE RHYMES WITH EVERYTHING) made me want to jump up and scream genius. The protagonist, Michael Forsythe's escape from the Mexican prison still resonates with me, years after first reading this harsh, brutal story about Irish gangsters, loyalty and revenge.

And Kent Anderson's crime/police procedural debut, NIGHT DOGS, (following the non-crime SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL) confirmed Anderson's genius, in my mind. My only complaint is that he has'nt been more prolific.

[DADavenport]

Margot~ Thanks, I try and get it ASAP.

John~The ending was a horrible letdown. Very disappointing.

Christa~It's on my list and so is Suspicious Circumstances by our own Sandra Ruttan.

Don~I loved it. Great book and part of my collection...on the distaff side!

[Don Anderson]

SHARP OBJECTS is so totally unlike anything else I've read in the crime genre, lately. I know you'll enjoy it, too.

[Sandra Ruttan]

I... I hope you enjoy it when you have a chance to read it. (I always chew my nails off when someone I 'know' is reading SC. Total basketcase.)

[Don Anderson]

On the distaff side, Megan Abbott's DIE A LITTLE is a genius work of noir. And her follow-up novels, THE SONG IS YOU, and QUEENPIN are just as good.

[Sandra Ruttan]

I agree about Cornelia Read's A Field of Darkness. Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects is a good book, worth reading, but it treads down familiar paths and had flaws I couldn't overlook as a reviewer, anyway. Stunning debut from a guy: Stuart MacBride's Cold Granite.

I'm... hesitant about debut novels, myself. I think authors prove themselves books 2/3, but that's a whole other discussion.

[DADavenport]

Sandra~ Don't worry so much! I read your excerpt quite awhile ago and I still envision the woman poised against the sky, then gone. Very lyrically and haunting. If that is just a taste, I am sure I will enjoy the whole meal.

[Dennis Venter]

I'm no Einstein and often find "literary" works too much effort to wade through. But a debut novel that blew even short-attention-span me away is The Secret History by DonnaTartt. Awe-inspiring stuff even though not technically crime. Another in the same vein is Perfume by Patrick Suskind. Lyrical and haunting...and that was in English. What it was like in its original German, I can only guess.

[Bethany K. Warner]

I just started Patry Francis' "The Liar's Diary." I'm pretty hooked so far. I can't give it the "genius" stamp yet since I'm not done with it, but so far this book is making me sit up and take notice.