L is for .....
Le Crime by Peter Steiner.
Steiner is a novelist and cartoonist and this novel from 2003 is the first in his Louis Morgon series, of which I have a few. I suppose I ought to read them sometime
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| Peter Steiner - Le Crime (2003) |
A cross between The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and A Year in Provence, this ingenious thriller gets stunning raves from one and all:
"A beautiful crime novel."
---Thomas Perry, New York Times bestselling author of Nightlife
"Le Crime est superbe."
---Jim Fusilli, author of Hard, Hard City
Former State Department expert Louis Morgon finds a murdered body on the doorstep of his charming little house in France, and he and the local gendarme team up to solve the murder. Thriller and mystery lovers: Bon appetit!
This book was first published by St. Martin's Minotaur/Thomas Dunne Books as A French Country Murder.
L is for.......
Leonard - old man and favourite Elmore or son Peter?
I'd be here until next month if I start on Elmore. Peter it is.
Quiver is his unread debut from 2008.
I have enjoyed a couple from him though. Voices of the Dead (2012) and Back from the Dead (2013)
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| Peter Leonard - Quiver (2008) |
One of the most riveting and powerful new voices in crime fiction, Peter Leonard delivers a razor-sharp debut thriller.
Kate McCall's husband has been killed by her son, Luke, in a tragic bow-hunting accident. While Kate struggles with her son's surly guilt, her first love, Jack, an ex-con, reappears, along with a crew of his former "colleagues." While Jack must convince his partners in crime that he really did lose the heist money, his appearance sets into motion a series of events culminating in a life-and-death confrontation with a gang of killers.
Leonard displays remarkable maturity for a first-time novelist in both the plotting of the story and the language of his protagonists. The twists and turns of a love affair, an unrequited crush, and a kidnapping/extortion plot complement a tightly drawn, intimate cast of memorably quick and dim-witted characters.
Quiver marks the breakthrough of a new force in thriller writing---an explosive and unforgettable debut.
L is for......
Los Angeles.
I do like crime fiction set in the US and I've enjoyed a fair few books set in Los Angeles.... most notably the Harry Bosch series from Michael Connelly and Robert Crais with his Elvis Cole books. Plenty more besides........... James Ellroy, Walter Mosley, T. Jefferson Parker etc etc
I'll pick a couple of slightly less well known authors
P.G. Sturges and The Shortcut Man - it's the first in his four book series featuring Dick Henry.
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| P.G.Sturges - The Shortcut Man (2011) |
A smart and entertaining crime series debut set in the underbelly of Los Angeles, with a cast of characters that runs the gamut from saints to sinners. In the City of Angels, not everyone plays by the rules. When people need a problem fixed fast, and discreetly, they call Dick Henry. Henry is known as a "shortcut man," someone who believes that the shortest answer to many problems may not always be legal. As he cuts through the red tape for his clients, who range from an elderly woman ripped off by shady contractors to a landlord with a tenant many months behind on the rent, Henry always gets the job done, no matter what the cost. In Shortcut Man, Henry spends his days hunting down slimy con men and his nights seducing Lynette, an intoxicating, long-legged vixen. But when Henry gets an assignment from porn producer Artie Benjamin, his life suddenly becomes much more complicated. Now Henry must complete the job, avoid being killed, and somehow figure out what to do with Lynette. Filled with dark comedy, whip-smart writing, and a memorable cast of characters, Shortcut Man evokes Chandler and Hammett - hard-boiled crime at its best - and is an exciting beginning to a crackling new series.
Philip Reed and some car noir! Bird Dog from 1997, was followed by Low Rider in 1998.
I did enjoy one from him a few years ago - Off and Running (2015)
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| Philip Reed Bird Dog (1997) |
Bird Dog In his explosive debut, Philip Reed suggests the best of Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiaasen as he guides you on a lethal joyride you won't forget. Harold Dodge is pushing fifty, going gray, and carrying a few extra pounds. He's a good man. But in LA, good men some-times have to do bad things. Harold lives for women and cars...he just never figured on dying for them.
Previous Alphabet entries.....
CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - A IS FOR.... AX, ABBOTT, ABERDEEN
CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - B IS FOR ....... BOSTON, BIRD, BONES
CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - C IS FOR.........CAPE TOWN, CONFIDENCE MEN, CROSS
CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - D IS FOR ....... DETROIT, DISHER, DEAD
CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - E IS FOR ....... EDINBURGH, EXCESS, ELLIS
CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - F IS FOR ....... FLORIDA, FRANCIS, FLOATERS
CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - G IS FOR ....... GALWAY, GUNS, GRAFTON
CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - H IS FOR ....... HAMBURG, HAMMETT, HIDDEN RIVER
CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - I IS FOR ....... ICE, ICELAND, IZZO
CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - J IS FOR ....... JAPAN, JACK CARTER. JELLO SALAD
CRIME FICTION ALPHABET - K IS FOR ....... KING, KOREA, KEEPER
Nice choices for 'L,' Col. Yes, indeed, Elmore Leonard is an absolute gem when it comes to writing. Unique, classic, the whole thing. I'll be honest and say I've not (yet) read Peter Leonard's writing. In some ways, I very much want to; in others, though, I don't want to compare them, if that makes sense.
ReplyDeleteI did steer of his work initially Margot. Unfairly I thought he was published because of who his father was. The first one I read from him dissuaded me of that notion. I felt a similar thing about Alafair Burke. My one time reading her was a disappointment overall, so I've given her a miss subsequently.
DeleteI do have Peter Steiner's Le Crime, under another title. Someday I will read it.
ReplyDeleteI still have not read anything by Elmore Leonard yet. Unbelievable.
Ha, I expect you'll get there before me Tracy. Or you could break your Leonard streak!
DeleteCheers, Christmas is some way off yet, just saying
ReplyDeleteCol, I have, of course, read Elmore Leonard, though I did not know he had a son who also wrote crime novels. This is news to me — thanks!
ReplyDeleteThey are worth keeping an eye out for Prashant.
DeleteI always enjoy your alphabet posts. This time I thought I would win out with Leonard - but you chose the other one!
ReplyDeleteHa, it was a toss up. I do need to keep both of them on my 2020 reading radar though.
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