What book are you really looking forward to?

[Christa M. Miller]

To piggyback on Laura's discussion about reading...

I'm looking forward to Dennis Lehane's new one, about the Boston Police Strike. And Julia Spencer-Fleming's sixth (I would think due out this fall or winter?).

Any other upcoming releases to keep watch for?

[Maxine]

I always look forward to the next Harlan Coben, Lee Child, Mary Higgins Clark, Robert Crais....I know the first two have titles coming out soon (in the UK). The last two publish one a year so they must have new ones soon, too, though I have not yet Crais' last one yet (it is on my vast and tottering pile, or one of them, rather).

[BrianLindenmuth]

I wrote this in the begininning of the year as part of an article of what in 2007 we were most looking forward to.

1) Dennis Lehane's as of yet unnamed novel about the Boston Police Strike of 1919. This is the book that I'm most looking forward to in 2007, assuming it actually comes out. It is scheduled for a fall 07 release but everyone, including Lehane, is tight lipped on this. Not much is known about Lehane's newest book except to say that it is taking him a long time to write. In mystery circles this is probably the most highly anticipated book because here we are at the end of another year and it still hasn’t appeared. But outside of genre circles this is a hotly anticipated title also given Lehane's mainstream popularity with the success of Mystic River, both book and movie.

Discounting the short story collection that was released last year and has been met with mediocre reviews at best it has been 3+ years since his last novel. Previously he had published 7 novels in a 10-year period of time, with the longest gaps in between novels being two years.

Dropping the occasional vague hint in an almost top secret way it has been talked about by Lehane in interviews and elsewhere for years at this point, but he won’t give anything up except name, rank and serial number. The size and scope of the book seem to grow exponentially over the years in direct correlation to the rumors and speculation. At last count the rumored text was 800 pages and the number has grown over the years. The scope of the book originally started out as just a few years but is now speculated to encompass 80 years and two families.

The kicker though is that NOBODY but God and Lehane knows at this point.

The release date has been pushed back a few times at this point but the fall 2007 date seems to be sticking so far. So, I and many others wait with bated breath as we tiptoe closer to next fall in hopes that we won’t spook Lehane and send him and his 800 page monkey shuffling away deep into 2008.

2) Priest, Cross, Ammunition and Once Were Cops - all by Ken Bruen

Bruen is an Irish author and as a part of his conquering of America there is a literal explosion of releases by him here as we catch up to the UK releases. Priest & Cross are books 5 & 6 of the Jack Taylor series. Ammunition is the final book in the Brant series. Once Were Cops, will be his second non series book following American Skin. Like I have said elsewhere, it is a great time right now for the reader who discovers Bruen because so much is readily available and there are multiple titles released each year as we in the U.S. play catch-up.

3) The Shotgun Rule and the 3rd Joe Pitt book – both by Charlie Huston.

Its Charlie Huston. That’s why!

[Steve Allan]

The Lehane book will be much bigger than Mystic River. He's been working on the damn thing for the past five years, at least. It'll be so heavy that Thomas Pynchon will get envious. But the fact that he published Coronado in part to please his publisher doesn't seem like a good sign that it will be out in the next year. Hopefully it won't turn out like Capote's Answered Prayers after the success of In Cold Blood or Ralph Ellison's Juneteenth after Invisible Man.

Other books I'm looking forward to: Bruen's Priest, Elmore Leonard's latest, Acacia by David Anthony Durham, Accidental American by Alex Carr, T. Jefferson Parker's Storm Runners and both Terrorist by John Updike and Jennifer Egan's The Keep to come out in paperback.

[Jeff Greene]

Books I'm looking forward to.

Kiss Her Goodbye by Robert Gregory Browne -- Out already but the local brink
house doesn't have it, Amazon order I guess
The Woods by Harlon Coben
Power Play by Joseph Finder
Scavengers by David Morrell

[Helen]

This is my watch list (so far) of upcoming releases:

Mark Billingham: Death message
Stephen Booth: Dying to sin
Karin Fossum: Black seconds
Arnaldur Indridason: The draining lake
Stuart MacBride: Broken skin
Barry Maitland: Bright air
Val McDermid: Beneath the bleeding
Denise Mina: Slip of the knife
Peter Robinson: Friend of the devil
And I'm hoping another Jo Nesbo will appear in translation, although I've seen no mention of it.
Oh, and Harry Potter.

[Karen from AustCrime]

Thanks Helen - I really needed that extra buying list.....

Hakan Nesser's The Return is, it seems, a big improvement on Borkmann's Point so that should be interesting.

Asa Larsson's The Blood Split is available via Amazon.co.uk but I've not seen it here yet. (The Savage Altar is also available in pre-order).

And let's not forget Sucked In by Shane Maloney (yeah right, he's finally going to deliver that book). Oh I believe him, millions wouldn't, just because we've sat there for the last couple of years listening to vague promises about this book, doesn't mean we've lost faith. Not even slightly...

[Sunnie Gill]

Helen has listed quite a few of the books that I'm looking forward to as well.
Billingham, Booth, MacBride, McDermid and Mina.
To which I'll add Christopher Brookmyre's next novel whatever that will be called and C. J. Sansom's Sovereign (yes,I know it's already out - I just haven't picked it up yet).

Which brings me to my next observation. My list of favourite authors seems to have a definite leaning towards the Scottish. Is that some sort of subconscious connection to my Scottish ancestry or is there something in the water in Scotland?

Two other favourites are Alexander McCall Smith and Ian Rankin. I've just picked up The Good Husband of Zebra Drive .

[Karen from AustCrime]

Sunnie - You've read the latest Rankin haven't you... what did you think of that one?

[Sunnie Gill]

Karen: I'm assuming you're talking about The Naming of the Dead. I thought it wasn't quite as good as some of his books. I had a couple of issues with him setting his story within real events and events that recieved a great deal of media attention at that. There were a couple of things that didn't work for me. But having said that Rankin slightly below his best is still damn good.
I won't go into detail about what didnt' work in this forum. If anyone is interested I wrote a review which can be found at http://www.reviewers-choice.com/the_naming_of_the_dead.htm