#55: Desperado: A Mile High Noir by Manuel Ramos

A down-on-his-luck guy reluctantly helps an old high school friend who is getting blackmailed--but when the old friend turns up dead, things quickly go from bad to worse in Desperado:  A Mile High Noir by Manuel Ramos.

Ramos hits all of the right genre beats, including a can't-win-for-losing protagonist, but adds interest by setting the story in the center of Latino culture in a gentrifying Denver. 

I would recommend this novel to any noir fans, especially readers who want to hear from a different voice in the genre.

This was a surprise gift from the Seattle Mystery Bookshop on a recent visit to Seattle.  I bought The Tokyo Zodiac Murders there and was given a brown paper-wrapped package as a "Mystery Date" for my purchase.  It was a welcome surprise.

#54: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling

Writer/Director/Actress Mindy Kaling dishes on pop culture, relationships, and her own sometimes funny/sometimes painful childhood in Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns).

Kaling is probably best known from the television show The Office, and she talks quite a bit about that experience for fans, but her stories of the slings and arrows it took to get there are also interesting. 

Kaling also addresses body image issues and being a person of color in the entertainment field, among other topics, although generally with a light hand. 

She acknowledges her slender book is more or less in the same category as the ones written by people like Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Sarah Silverman (all three of which I also liked) and would be enjoyed by readers who are fans of any of these talents. 

I have listened to all of these, and others (such as Lena Durham's) read by the author on audiobook, which I think adds value. 

I checked this out from the New Castle-Henry County Memorial Library in New Castle, Indiana.

#53: The Voice of the Violin by Andrea Camilleri

Inspector Montalbano is in a squad car that swerves to miss a chicken, and smashes into a parked car; shortly thereafter a grisly murder is discovered, sending the policeman sifting through clues in The Voice of the Violin.

Andrea Camilleri has written a long and popular series of police procedurals featuring Montalbano, that have spun off into other media platforms in his native Italy and elsewhere.

I pick one up whenever I come across one, and enjoy them; the mysteries are solid and the characters quirky, bordering sometimes on comic. Montalbano's own personal code of honor, and his vast appetites--for food, and for attractive women whether they might be witnesses or suspects--always plays a role as well.

I listened to this one on audiobook on loan from the New Castle-Henry County Memorial Library in New Castle, Indiana.

#52: The Bastards of Pizzofalcone by Maurizio de Giovanni

A group of unwanted cops are sent to staff a precinct on the verge of closing; but when an affluent woman is murdered, they have a chance to redeem themselves both personally and professionally in The Bastards of Pizzofalcone.

This is the first novel in a new Italian crime series from Maurizio de Giovanni, bringing the lead cop over from his solid thriller The Crocodile.  Lojacono, called "The Chinaman," teams up with a handful of tarnished heroes on this and several other cases that thread throughout, as they try to hold various aspects of their personal lives together.

de Giovanni acknowledges Ed McBain and his "87th Precinct" books in the writing of this novel, and his nods to the source material show throughout.  Fans of McBain will enjoy this outing, a story that would fit right into that series but seen through a different cultural lens.

I thought the mystery was somewhat slight, but the characters and situations highly interesting, making it a fast read.

I was sent a review copy by World Noir and read it quickly.

#51: The Snowman by Jo Nesbo

Harry Hole is a hard-living cop whose reputation as the best investigator in Oslo is tested by the emergence of a serial killer in Jo Nesbo's The Snowman.

I first discovered Nesbo reading The Redbreast, one of my favorite books of that year, and found his dark, action-packed crime stories the greatest successor to the late Stieg Larsson that I know of.

The Snowman is probably the best I've read in the series since.  It rockets from one plot twist to the next, and from one false lead to the next, ending in a cinematic showdown that is wholly satisfying.

But what really holds the book together is the flawed, mesmerizing character of Hole.  It helps to have followed the character through the previous books (if nothing else, to understand the identities of the people, all deceased, in the photographs on his office wall) but is not prohibitive to the mystery side.

I continue to enjoy this series and recommend it to readers of dark mysteries and thrillers, especially of the Scandinavian kind.

I listened to this on audiobook on loan from the New Castle-Henry County Public Library in New Castle, Indiana.

#50: Reputations by Juan Gabriel Vasquez

A political cartoonist in Bogota is honored for a life's work, and sees a chance to reunite with his estranged wife, a radio personality; but a young woman's sudden appearance in his life unearths a story he would prefer to stay buried in Juan Gabriel Vasquez's novel Reputations.

Vasquez writes a somewhat melancholy character study, as the cartoonist looks back at his career, its influences, and how it impacted his family life, all sketched in over a day and a night and a day.

The history and politics of Columbia adds interest to readers.

I enjoyed Reputations, seemingly written in straightforward prose but with emotional resonance throughout.  Recommended.

I checked this out from the Morrisson-Reeves Public Library in Richmond, Indiana and read it quickly.

#49: The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

A humble Indian driver turned business entrepreneur writes a series of letters to the Premier of China, and through these letters gradually reveals an unsettling tale of crime, murder, and revenge, in Aravind Adiga's The White Tiger.

Adiga's debut novel, a Man Booker Prize winner, works on several levels; on one, it is a darkly humorous story--told in epistolary form--with an unreliable narrator, but it is also a brutal indictment of the caste system in India, and India society and politics in general.

The White Tiger can be enjoyed on the surface as a thriller, or more deeply as a look at a fractured society.  Recommended either way.

I listened to a very good audiobook reading of this on loan from the New Castle-Henry County Public Library.

#48: Silenced by Kristina Ohlsson

An immigrant killed in a hit and run, a vicar and his wife in a murder-suicide, and a young woman being terrorized in Bangkok are all tied together, and it's up to a special squad of Stockholm detectives to figure out how in Kristina Ohlsson's Silenced.

Ohlsson weaves a tangled plot, even more knotty with the complex backstories of the team of detectives trying to solve the various cases.  One is pregnant by a married lover, another senses trouble at home, a third is going through a volcanic divorce which is impacting his work.

Characters you can invest in, and sharp storytelling, make Silenced a satisfying read, especially for fans of Scandinavian crime stories.

I checked this out from the Morrisson-Reeves Library in Richmond, Indiana.

#47: Wind/Pinball by Haruki Murakami

Two disaffected young friends knock around Japan in the early 70s in two novellas from Haruki Murakami.

Wind/Pinball is a combined re-release of Murakami's first two works, Hear the Wind Sing and Pinball, 1973. 

In the first story, the narrator and his friend The Rat are both in college and hanging around a local bar, falling in and out of love with various young women. 

In the second, they are both emerging young professionals, and the protagonist finds himself living with a pair of odd twins and spending a lot of time obsessing over a rare pinball machine.

These first Murakami novels feature a lot of the hallmarks of his later best-known work; they are awash in pop culture and malaise, bordering on the surreal at times.  Definitely of interest to Murakami fans, and of interest to other readers who enjoy offbeat narratives.

I checked this out on audiobook from the New Castle-Henry County Public Library.

#46: The Tokyo Zodiac Murders by Soji Shimada

 An artist is murdered in his studio, and later his family is dismembered and scattered across Japan; years later, two quirky friends take on this long-unsolved mystery in Soji Shimada's The Tokyo Zodiac Murders.

Despite its sometimes shocking trappings, including gruesome murders and grisly astrology rituals, at its heart Shimada has written a classic locked-room mystery.  Shimada even interjects himself twice into the story, telling the reader that all the clues to solve the mystery have been given out and invites the reader to try and solve it before the end.

The Tokyo Zodiac Murders is an offbeat blend of cozy murder mystery and gory violence, an unusual read.

This release is from the Pushkin Vertigo imprint, which has been dedicated to bringing back classic genre novels from around the world.  I found this at the famous Seattle Mystery Bookshop and read it on a flight back from Seattle.

#45: The Madmen of Benghazi by Gérard de Villiers

Freelance superspy Malko Linge drops into Libya to try and help stabilize the government, only to find himself in deep with various government agencies, political groups, and hot-tempered women in Gerard de Villiers' The Madmen of Benghazi.

de Villiers wrote hundreds of spy novels in his native France that were known for their political astuteness as well as their raunchy sex and explosive violence.  de Villiers is often compared to Ian Fleming, but his novels remind me more of those spinner-rack Men's Adventures paperbacks of the 60s and 70s.

These novels are finally getting translated into English, and this is the second one I've read recently.  They are quick reads, and enjoyable, if often impolite.

I found this used and read it fast on a plane ride to Seattle.

#44: Vertigo by Boileau-Narcejac

A suspicious husband asks his friend to trail his melancholy wife; when the friend becomes obsessed, and that obsession seems to lead to madness, the plot twists and turns and twists again in Vertigo.

Boileau-Narcejac was Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac, whose writing collaboration produced a string of classics, including this one that Alfred Hitchcock turned into one of his iconic films.

Even if you know the movie's beats, this is a rock-solid psychological noir, brought back into print by the Pushkin Vertigo imprint that features genre novels from around the world.

Recommended for fans of the film, or noir fans in general.

I bought this at Sandmeyer's Bookstore in downtown Chicago and read it on a long flight to Seattle.

#43: The Kingdom by Fuminori Nakamura

In Tokyo, a young woman works for a shadowy crime gang, luring businessmen and then getting compromising photos of them; when a rival gang makes an appearance, she plays a dangerous game pitting one against the other in Fuminori Nakamura's The Kingdom.

On the surface, this is a hard-boiled noir in the vein of Red Harvest (which begat Yojimbo, which begat A Fistful of Dollars, and on and on).  But this is Nakamura, whose novels ooze and seep, creep and crawl, creating high levels of dread.  Grinding, inescapable fate of the type Cornell Woolrich ate for breakfast is the standard fare.

Nakamura's novels are unsettling, to say the least, often with uncomfortable subject matter, but if you are interested in going down an inky-black road The Kingdom may be his most accessible novel that I've read to date.

I checked this out from the New Castle-Henry County Public Library in New Castle, Indiana and read it quickly.

#42: The Boy in the Shadows by Carl-Johan Vallgren

A child disappears, and years later, his now-adult brother does as well; when the brother's wife turns to a recovering addict turned part-time investigator to help, the city of Stockholm threatens to explode in Carl-Johan Vallgren's The Boy in the Shadows.

Vallgren's thriller has all the hallmarks of Scandinavian noir--gloomy characters, grisly murders, and long-buried secrets--but broadens the horizon with secret military experiments and intimations of curses and black magic.  A lot of things thrown in the pot, but the story never stops moving.

Vallgren's novel also benefits from an unusual protagonist and a complex collection of supporting characters and backstories, which in the end tie into the present storyline nicely.

All in all, a satisfying read, and one I consumed quickly.

I borrowed this from the Morrisson-Reeves Public Library in Richmond, Indiana.

#41: The Redeemer by Jo Nesbo

During a sub-zero Oslo Christmas, a young man from the Salvation Army is shot on the street; but the crime reverberates through time, and reveals hidden family secrets, in Jo Nesbo's The Redeemer.

I think Nesbo is not just one of the great Scandinavian thriller writers, but one of the great contemporary thriller writers anywhere.  His flawed series detective, Harry Hole, is an obsessed, complex figure with a handful of demons.  And Nesbo's plots are always taut and razor-sharp.

More American-flavored than a lot of his Scandinavian contemporaries, and benefits from having read the prior novels, but another worthy addition to Nesbo's work.

I listened to a good audiobook reading of this novel on loan from the Morrisson-Reeves Library in Richmond, Indiana.

#40: Sergio Y by Alexandre Vidal Porto

A São Paulo therapist sees a young man, and feels the sessions come to a solid conclusion before his patient moves to New York; but when the young man is murdered, and another life is revealed, it sends the therapist on a voyage of self-discovery in Sergio Y by Alexandre Vidal Porto.

Sergio Y is a slender, philosophical slice of life which paints gentle portraits of several people in transition.  Despite the framing device of a murder, the novel largely functions as a character study, and of family and relationship dynamics.

Although the novel seems a slight read at the outset, some of the ideas and images resonate.

I checked this out from the Morrisson-Reeves Public Library in Richmond, Indiana and read it quickly.

#39: Super Extra Grande by Yoss

A veterinarian who specializes in gigantic alien animals is tasked with rescuing two former love interests (who have been inconveniently swallowed by a huge creature) in Super Extra Grande by Yoss.

Super Extra Grande, by a Cuban sci-fi writer and rock star, is a nutty romp, part raunchy Fantastic Voyage and part Spanglish Gulliver's Travels. 

It is a slender but engaging story speculating on a future where a handful of alien races have achieved interstellar travel and have turned the galaxy into a pan-sexual, polyglot stew.  Funny, especially if you like reading about people getting pooped out of oversized aliens.

A bought this with an Amazon gift card I got for my birthday and read it quickly.  Enjoyable.

#38: Little Green by Walter Mosley

L.A. private eye Easy Rawlins heads to the Sunset Strip at the height of the psychedelic 60s to find a missing young man, only to run afoul of angry hippies, murderous drug dealers, and other dangerous characters in Walter Mosley's Little Green.

Mosley's Easy Rawlins series is a great achievement in contemporary detective fiction, as Mosley has charted Rawlins' life from post-World War II California through the Cold War 50s to the late 60s counterculture, creating a rich accounting of various characters and events along the way. 

I continue to enjoy this series as the character grows and changes (having survived what appeared to be a fatal car wreck at the end of the last novel) along with a dynamic supporting cast of various friends, family, lowlifes, and cops.

Michael Boatman did a great read of this novel on audiobook, which I heard on loan from the New Castle-Henry County Memorial Library in New Castle, Indiana.

#37: The Assimilated Cuban's Guide to Quantum Santeria by Carlos Hernandez

The Assimilated Cuban's Guide to Quantum Santeria by Carlos Hernandez is a neat batch of contemporary science fiction and fantasy stories that feature everything from robot pandas to ghosts lodged in false teeth and pianos to dangerous reality show hijinks. 

The title of the collection gives away the general hook for each story, which feature Cuban characters and culture either prominently or implicitly. 

The title is certainly eye-catching--and the main reason I nabbed Hernandez's work for my beloved Kindle--but the stories are solid of their own accord for any fans of sci-fi and fantasy.

I liked Hernandez's voice throughout and will look for more from this author.

#36: The Silent Dead by Tetsuya Honda

A string of grisly homicides lead a young female cop towards a mysterious website--but she has to fight against the rigid political and social structure of Tokyo's police world all the while--in Tetsuya Honda's The Silent Dead.

This is the first English translation in Honda's popular police procedural series, which has also found its way to movies and television in Japan. 

Despite some gory trappings, the characters and relationships are easily digestible and television-ready.  The story is not overly demanding, but of more interest to readers who want a glimpse of contemporary Japanese culture.

I checked this out from the Morrisson-Reeves Public Library in Richmond, Indiana and read it quickly.

#35: The Good Lord Bird by James McBride

Upon the accidental death of his father, a slave child falls in with abolitionist John Brown, becoming an often unwilling witness to history in James McBride's The Good Lord Bird.

With its sometimes comedic first-person narration (with the protagonist as an elderly man looking backwards), vivid real-life historic figures (also including Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Jeb Stuart, and Robert E. Lee, among many others) and offbeat takes on historic narratives, McBride's novel reminds me a bit of True Grit and a lot of Little Big Man.  Fans of both of those novels, or even the films, will find a lot to enjoy here.

The Good Lord Bird is on one hand a big, brawling western-flavored story, but on the other filled with small, interesting character interactions--especially how the narrator, Onion, ended up living several years as a little girl and not a little boy, and the towering madness of John Brown.

This was a very enjoyable novel made more so by a very good narration on audio book by Michael Boatman. 

I checked this out from the Morrisson-Reeves Public Library in Richmond, Indiana.

#34: Moonstone by Sjón

A gay teen in early twentieth century Iceland finds escape in movies, as the real world--in the form of World War, pandemic flu, and even an active volcano--creeps in on his life in Sjón's slender, lyrical tale Moonstone.

Sjón is an interesting feature in Icelandic culture as he writes novels, poetry, stage plays, and works with musicians, among other things. 

Whether the reader knows Sjón's celebrity status or not won't diminish the power of this often provocative work.  Although seemingly slight, the images and emotions in the storytelling will resonate after the last page, for discerning readers.

I checked this out from the New Castle-Henry County Public Library in New Castle, Indiana and read it quickly.

#33: For All the Gold in the World by Massimo Carlotto

An armed robbery spirals into a heinous crime and orphans a young boy, sending The Alligator and his friends seeking revenge in For All the Gold in the World by Massimo Carlotto.

Carlotto's Alligator is a semi-reformed, largely philosophical criminal who roams Italy looking to right wrongs set aside by the machinery of justice.  The Alligator's world is one where various strains of criminals have a more intricate code of honor and respect than law enforcement or any of the "civilians" that might wander into their path.

I have read several of Carlotto's tough-minded, sardonic crime stories and find them to be enjoyable, quick reads.  Good for fans of international noir.

This was sent to me by World Noir and I read it quickly.

#32: Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee

In a star-spanning future, a young soldier is given the seemingly suicidal mission of re-taking a fortress captured by heretics, only to find navigating galactic politics is even harder in Yoon Ha Lee's Ninefox Gambit.

This is as dense and intricate a bit of world-building that I've seen in a science fiction novel; so much so that it took about thirty or forty pages before I had the slightest notion of what was going on.  But once I got into the novel's baroque rhythms I really enjoyed it. 

The storytelling is great on the intimate level--as our protagonist struggles with being mind-melded to a genocidal general kept around as a ghost--up to the epic sweep of world-breaking battles and empire-cracking machinations.

A unique setting and plenty of unusual ideas makes Ninefox Gambit recommended for sci-fi fans.

I bought this from Amazon and read it quickly.

#31: The Dark Forest by Liu Cixin

A seemingly unstoppable alien armada is a few hundred years away from arriving from deep space and conquering Earth, sending humanity through various highs and lows as the day approaches in Liu Cixin's epic The Dark Forest.

The Dark Forest is the sequel to one of my favorite reads of the year, The Three-Body Problem.  This one is less action-oriented, which is hard to say about a novel which had long stretches of math, but The Dark Forest is more philosophical in its plotting but still full of interesting ideas.

The decade-spanning and galaxy-stretching storyline features Earth's desperate plan to anoint several "Wallfacers" to develop secret strategies to defeat the invasion--and the confusion that arises when the aliens and their human henchmen seem intent on killing just one lowly, underachieving scientist. 

A really worthwhile read for fans looking for a fresh voice in science fiction.

I checked this out from the Morrisson-Reeves Public Library in Richmond, Indiana, and had to renew this behemoth several times to finish it.