#25: Defending Jacob by William Landay

A prosecutor is assigned the murder of a teenager in an affluent suburb, and quickly realizes his own son is the prime suspect, in William Landay's Defending Jacob.

The prosecutor is dismissed from the case but starts his own investigation, focusing on a child predator who lives nearby, blurring the lines of law and order as evidence mounts against his son.  

Some breakneck turns in the narrative in the last third of the book dish up plenty of surprises, all the way to a nebulous but surprising and satisfying conclusion.

This book reminds me of early Scott Turow and John Grisham but also compares pretty strikingly to Lionel Shriver's We Need to Talk about Kevin.  

Defending Jacob came recommended, and was on my radar as there is a television miniseries version just out, so I grabbed this from Amazon and read it quickly.  

Recommended for those readers looking for one of those brick-sized legal thriller beach reads.  

#24: Last Rider from Lonesome Canyon by James Farnsworth

A pair of brothers, one an outlaw and one a cowhand, square off as the military heats up a campaign against a band of Kiowa in James Farnsworth's Last Rider from Lonesome Canyon.

This is a standard western with curiously overheated elements, including almost supernatural animals, a giant snake among them, and almost superhuman feats of action, including shooting knives out of hands.  A deformed outlaw with lightning-fast knife skills has almost a James Bond villain quality.

Poor editing and odd chapter breaks add to the curiosity of the narrative.  But there was enough going on that I kept reading, and Farnsworth wrote a number of westerns, although I can't find much else about him.

I got this in a pickup of a stash of westerns and read it quickly.

#23: I Called Him Necktie by Milena Michiko Flasar

A young shut-in trying to re-enter the world, and a salaryman who can't tell his wife he lost his job, have a chance meeting in a park that changes the young man's life in Milena Michiko Flasar's I Called Him Necktie.

This is a slender, lyrically-written novel with a deep dive into Japanese culture.  We see how the young man--called a hikikomori--is driven to being a hermit-like figure by his outsider status, and how the older man's marriage and career left him where he was as well.

Melancholy throughout, but an upbeat ending helps.  Worthwhile for anyone wanting to read a well-written story from another culture.

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

#22: No Law Against Angels by Carter Brown

Al Wheeler is an unorthodox California cop working on a series of call-girl murders in Carter Brown's No Law Against Angels.

Carter Brown, actually an Australian writer named Alan Yates, wrote hundreds and hundreds of crime novels, and it seemed like in my teen years I couldn't go into a used book store and not see them stacked up everywhere.  I had never read one, but when my old favorite Stark House Press started reprinting them, I thought I would give one a go.

Despite the very hard-boiled title, this is a rather breezy, jokey novel in which Wheeler only gives the faintest hints of being a real policeman or having to follow any rules.  A "ditzy dame" sidekick provides even more comic relief.  In fact, there is so much comic relief, one keeps forgetting this short novel is really about a bunch of murdered prostitutes (and a handful of others for good measure).

Definitely a product of its 50s origin, but enjoyable on its merits, and now that I know about Carter Brown I would pick up another when I wanted an extremely light, quick read.

#21: Reckoning in Fire Valley by Clay Ringold

A young man inherits a ranch from a long-lost uncle, only to find when he goes to claim it that it is overrun with owlhoots, in Clay Ringold's Reckoning in Fire Valley.

In short order our hero is framed up for the murder of another cowpuncher, and has to get out of that as well as track down a band of rustlers, as well as squeeze in a little mild frontier romance.

I learned Ringold was actually Ray Hogan, a steady western author I enjoyed as a teen, when I read Westerns a bit more sporadically.  So I was not surprised this one was entirely serviceable, no matter which name he used.  Suffers a bit from some of the speedy denouements found in these Ace Doubles (Scorpion Showdown by the equally steady Tom West is on the other side), but it was a fast enjoyable read.

I grabbed this from a used bookstore a while back and was in the mood to read it quickly. 

#20: The Long Wire by Barry Cord

A young man's brother is killed under mysterious circumstances with a crew of men stringing telegraph wire, so he impersonates his replacement to figure out what happened in Barry Cord's The Long Wire.

Barry Cord was Peter Germano, who wrote extensively in books and television; I have found his work to be steady and satisfying.  I picked this one up somewhere, half of an Ace Double with Merle Constiner's Killer's Corral., because I thought the plot featuring a telegraph wire crew was interesting.  I've always found Constiner to be a pleasing western writer as well.

It was a good read, although lightly sketched in, in places; a frontier romance, and the appearance of the lead's old mentor on the wrong side of the law, are almost afterthoughts.  But most Ace Doubles are quick, undemanding reads, and any are recommended for fans of such.

#19: The 6:41 to Paris by Jean-Philippe Blondel

A man and woman end up next to each other on an early train to Paris, an unwelcome surprise as they had a brief relationship years before; their minds cast back over the catastrophic end of it all during the ride in Jean-Philippe Blondel's The 6:41 to Paris.

This is a slender read, made up of both character's internal monologues in alternating chapters.  Although that sounds somewhat slight, it is absolutely compelling throughout.  The man had a lot of potential, most of it squandered; the woman seemed destined for a middle-of-the-road life, but rose through the business world to fame; a friend in common ties them together as well.  A terrible night in London is finally revealed near the denouement, when the two old lovers address each other for the first time.

In some ways the novel seems like an exercise, or a study; but it manages to be suspenseful, with lots of surprises.  Recommended for readers of literary fiction.

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

#18: The Men from the Boys by Ed Lacy

A crooked cop who falls all the way to being a "house dick" at a seedy hotel puts all of his bad skills to work when his stepson, a rookie officer, gets severely beaten in The Men from the Boys.

This tough-minded piece of 50s crime fiction comes from Ed Lacy, who wrote a lot of notably hard-boiled stories in this era which I have read and enjoyed when I've found them. 

The crime portion of this story isn't much, but the vivid lead character--a sexist, racist, rule-busting cop who tries to do one good deed in his life--carries the story.  A dire medical diagnosis also recklessly propels him along, leading to a downbeat ending.

Although the protagonist is not presented in a positive light, the references are a product of their time even as the storytelling is energetic and ultimately timeless.

This is a reprint from Stark House Press's Black Gat line, where they are trying to bring great pulp fiction back from obscurity. 

#17: The Bishop's Bedroom by Piero Chiara

In the earliest days of a post-war Italy, a man takes to his boat on Lake Maggiore looking for female companionship and mild adventure; but when he meets a mysterious man, his skittish wife, and their supposedly widowed sister-in-law, he gets more than he bargained for in Piero Chiara's The Bishop's Bedroom.

The two men settle into an uneasy friendship that unfortunately, and ultimately violently, devolves into rivalries for the same women they meet around the lake.  

The Bishop's Bedroom has a splash of psychological suspense and an undertone of noir, as well as a vivid description of life in Italy in the mid 40s.  Rewarding overall.  

Chiara first published this novel in the 70s in Italian; I believe this edition is a newer translation by New Vessel Press.  

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

#16: The Last Weynfeldt by Martin Suter

An aging art expert, living in solitary affluence in a luxurious Zurich apartment, finds his life upended when he spontaneously spends the night with a troubled younger woman in Martin Suter's The Last Weynfeldt.

In short order the art expert, the last Weynfeldt of the title, is involved in an art forgery scheme and a cascading series of payoffs and double-crosses.

This is the kind of dry-witted, highbrow fine art caper that I always fall for, with characters drinking exquisite wines and eating at all the best places while discussing European art.  But there's an inky black undertone that gives it extra spice.

I enjoyed Suter's novel in translation and have learned he has written several others with similar themes.  I'm hoping to find more.

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

#15: You'll Get Yours by William Ard

A straight-arrow private eye falls hard for a rising starlet, and in short order is ready to kill to get her out of a blackmail frame, in William Ard's You'll Get Yours.

I know Ard mostly as Jonas Ward, who wrote a tough-minded series of westerns featuring Tom Buchanan, but he also wrote a number of crime novels under various names before his untimely death.

Stark House Press brought this one back under their Black Gat imprint, and it is a doozy.

You'll Get Yours is as hard-boiled as they come from the first page to the last--opening on the P.I. ready to kill someone in a seedy Mexican hotel all the way to a deadly, and downbeat, finale.  In between are gangsters, junkies, tough cops, and bad deals, and lots of pretty frank storytelling for the 50s.

I got this one from Stark House Press via mail and read it quickly.

#14: The Fragility of Bodies by Sergio Olguin

A tough Buenos Aires magazine reporter finds out that rich people are gambling on a disturbing contest involving a moving train and impoverished children in Sergio Olguin's The Fragility of Bodies.

The investigation becomes complex and deadly when she learns the contest threads through all levels of government, as well as the police.  A volatile relationship she ill-advisedly starts with a married conductor doesn't help matters.

This is the first in a series from Olguin, also the first translated into English.  There is apparently an Argentinian television series around the character as well.

Oguin is a vivid writer, working with a lot of unique characters and situations.  The storytelling is full of explosive violence and raw sex and features an unusual plot.  Rewarding for genre fans.

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

#13: Duel in Tombstone by Louis Masterson

Morgan Kane is a deadly lawman sent to clean up Tombstone after the Earps leave post-OK Corral, and find there is still plenty to do, in Louis Masterson's Duel in Tombstone.

Masterson was really Kjell Hallbing, a very prolific Norwegian author of American westerns in his native tongue, with his work translated into English and I believe other languages. 

I recently learned of him and found this one on eBay, and to my knowledge have never seen one in the wild, despite him having written nearly 100 volumes.

This is almost more of an alternate history than a western, as Kane shoots it out with plenty of real-life outlaws who had different real-life fates, like Buckskin Frank Leslie, Pony Deal, Johnny Ringo, and more.  Real people like Johnny Behan and Ike Clanton have central roles.

Plenty of action in this quick read; I hope I can find some more Masterson somewhere.

#12: And the Bride Closed the Door by Ronit Matalon

In Tel Aviv, a young woman barricades herself in a bedroom on her wedding day, sending her extended family into crisis, in Ronit Matalon's slice-of-life novel And the Bride Closed the Door.

This is a slender volume, but rich in characters and situations, as some of the backstory of the bride's life begins to slowly unfold.  Plenty of eccentric characters and quirky episodes, including a section where they try to reach the bride through a window with a borrowed bucket truck.

But it is tinged with melancholy also, as some family tragedy is gradually revealed as well.

A brisk but rewarding read that I borrowed from the Morrisson-Reeves Public Library in Richmond, Indiana.

#11: North to Montana by Steven C. Lawrence

Slattery is a former gun-hand who helps a group of settlers with a cattle drive to a Montana promised land; but when they get there, they find a cruel ranch owner holding secret sway in Steven C. Lawrence's North to Montana.  

Soon enough, Slattery's old gunfighting skills come in handy.

I found a Slattery book in a goodbye pile in a flea market and have been on a bender ever since, this being the third this year.  I really enjoy the hard-boiled style, reminiscent of one of my favorites, Ben Haas (John Benteen).  A big shoot-out in a sub-zero blizzard at the denouement adds value.

I feel like Lawrence and Slattery isn't on the radar for a lot of western readers, and should be.

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

#10: The Night Fire by Michael Connelly

Ballard is a cop relegated to "The Late Show" in Hollywood overnight after reporting a boss for sexual harassment; Bosch is a grizzled retired cop who can't let old cases go.  When Bosch is gifted an old cold case file after the death of his mentor, a murderous chain of events starts in the present in Michael Connelly's The Night Fire.

Connelly has been writing a great contemporary police procedural series, and the fabric has grown rich over time; this one also includes another series character, "The Lincoln Lawyer," who happens to be Bosch's half-brother.

Bosch and Ballard (a newer character) end up juggling several cases--a homeless man killed in what looks like an accidental fire, a judge's murder in front of a courthouse, and a gay man's killing in the past--several of which end up threading together.

I thought the finale went a little far afield from Connelly's usual journalistic style--featuring a movie-sized female assassin who has Bosch pinned down in an office building--and that was a bit of a letdown.  But otherwise another good entry in the series.

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

#9: Bullet Welcome by Steven C. Lawrence

Slattery is a gun-hand trying to retire, but when he--and a young boy passing by--stumble upon a gunrunner crossing the Mexican border, he is forced to defend the boy and his family against a ruthless gang in Steven C. Lawrence's Bullet Welcome.

But Slattery can't quite figure out who to defend them against, with a town full of secrets--including the motives of its lawmen--at the forefront.  Includes a memorable shoot-out for a finale.

This is the second Slattery book I have found recently, this one at the public library, and find the author and his writing the equal of many of the more well-known western authors.

Enjoyable throughout.

#8: The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

A poor, troubled teen --with an ability to see ghosts--finds herself mysteriously admitted to Yale, where she is tasked with overseeing the school's secret societies.  But when a young woman "townie" is found murdered, she quickly finds herself at odds with the living and the dead in Leigh Bardugo's The Ninth House.

I have never read Bardugo, who has primarily been a Young Adult author; I believe this is her first novel for adults.  And it would need to be approached by older teens with caution; it is full of sexual assaults, including by a ghost (!), casual drug use, and some gory scenes, including an opening sequence where some students use a living indigent person's organs to read the future.

Bardugo's writing is hip and engaging, and the story rockets in a cinematic fashion from one escapade to the next; only a complicated finale, with too big a thread dangling for the sequel, marred the storytelling for me.

I listened to a good audiobook reading of the book by Lauren Fortgang and Michael David Axtell, on loan from the Morrisson-Reeves Public Library in Richmond, Indiana.

#7: Contract in Cartridges by Ben Elliot

A gun-hand trying to retire gets pushed into a gunfight he doesn't want, and when a manhunt ensues he ends up recuperating at a struggling ranch run by a brother and sister.  When he falls for the sister, and a nearby rancher begins to crowd the land, he straps his guns on again in Ben Elliot's Contract in Cartridges.

This was on the flip side of an Ace Double with Don't Cross My Line by Tom West,  an author I wanted to read.  But at that point I didn't realize that Ben Elliot was actually Ben Haas, who wrote two tough-minded series I really enjoyed, Fargo and Sundance (as John Benteen).

By any name, this is a really great western, and begins to almost slip into noir territory towards the end, when the various relationships, and the lies they have told each other, begin to come out.  It has a downbeat but very rewarding ending.

I was glad I picked this one up at a used bookstore, and it continued to cement Ben Haas' reputation as a top western writer in my mind.  Recommended for fans.

#6: The Siberian Dilemma by Martin Cruz Smith

Renko is a world-weary Russian detective, but is moved to action when the love of his life--an investigative journalist writing a story about oligarchs and oil in Siberia--is suddenly in danger in Martin Cruz Smith's The Siberian Dilemma. 

Renko is the star of a long-running police procedural series, beginning with Gorky Park, which has charted the changes in the Soviet Union right in step along the way.  Renko has also accumulated a handful of supporting characters, including a quasi-foster son/chess wizard, a drunken but philosophical partner, and a scheming politically-sensitive boss.

These novels are always solidly plotted, with interesting characters, and in an interesting setting.  I always look forward to the next one.

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

#5: The Gun is My Brother by Cy James

Sam Spur is a hired gun who is forced to kill a preacher, and finds an entire poisonous town turned against him, in Cy James' first Spur novel, The Gun is My Brother.

James was actually Matt Chisholm who was actually prolific Australian writer Peter Watts, an author who wrote multiple western series at a breakneck pace.  His Blade series is pretty action-packed and mindless, his McAllister series is much more serious and hard-boiled, but this Spur novel is probably darker and bleaker still.

Spur gets bushwhacked and shot up near the outset, and spends a lot of the novel just trying to stay alive, until he is finally pushed into gunplay that shrinks the size of the town by some measure.

I have read a number of McAllisters but will definitely get another Spur novel soon.  I got this for my beloved Kindle and read it quickly.

#4: Blues for Outlaw Hearts and Old Whores by Massimo Carlotto

A melancholy, blues-loving criminal called The Alligator and his crew hunt a murderous snitch, and take on sex traffickers, in Massimo Carlotto's Blues for Outlaw Hearts and Old Whores.

Carlotto is an Italian author who writes very hard-boiled novels, as the title of this one might suggest.  I like his style and find his writing, though uncompromising, enjoyable and often surprising in its twists and turns.

The Alligator lives in a world where the criminals have honor and a code, and the cops and prosecutors can't be trusted. 

At the outset, his crew becomes outraged when they are framed and then blackmailed by the cops to hunt a killer they can't reach, even though his crew justifiably belongs in prison and they wanted to kill the person anyway.

A globe-trotting chase ensues, with a pretty downbeat ending.

This is part of the World Noir line that I have enjoyed for a long time.  World Noir sent me an advanced copy of Carlotto's latest, and I will look forward to his next adventure with The Alligator.

#3: Don't Cross My Line by Tom West

An outlaw poses as a lawman to sneak back from Mexico, then needs to go undercover as an outlaw (?!?!) to roust a dangerous gang, in Tom West's Don't Cross My Line.

Tom West was actually a British writer named Fred East, and has a following as a western scribe.  West packs enough plotting in this one for about a dozen westerns, but plenty of action smooths over the hazy motivations of the characters.

This was one half of an Ace Double with Ben Elliot's Contract in Cartridges on the other side, which I am eager to read after learning this was actually Ben Haas (who wrote most often as John Benteen).  Most Ace Doubles I've read are pretty light, and this one lighter than most; though I continue to enjoy Tom West when I find him.

I got this one in a big lot of Ace Doubles from a friend and read it quickly.

#2: A Noose for Slattery by Steven C. Lawrence

Slattery comes to town to join a cattle drive, but the town's boss takes to murder to keep it from happening, in A Noose for Slattery by Steve C. Lawrence.

Slattery seems to want to make his money in normal ways, but being a lightning-fast gun hand ends up being his stock in trade.

I had never heard of this author or series when I found A Noose for Slattery in a three-for-a-dollar box at a flea market in Frankfort, Indiana. 

Thus I was genuinely surprised to enjoy the writing in this one, and probably more surprised that more experienced reviewers than myself don't seem to have the author and series on their radar.

Not I'm on the hunt for more Slattery books after finding this one quite enjoyable.

#1: The Black Jersey by Jorge Zepeda Patterson

A French cyclist begins to realize that a series of accidents and mishaps on the Tour de France are anything but in Jorge Zepeda Patterson's The Black Jersey.

Our reluctant hero is former military, and thus is forcibly recruited to investigate, all the while feeling the threads unravel on an old friendship with the Tour's front-runner, a Hollywood-ready American.

His girlfriend, an old mentor, and the colorful collection of other cyclists make up a fully-realized cast in a thriller that moves, literally, at deadly speed.

This was an entirely refreshing novel with a unique setting and characters, and a great way to ring in 2020's reading challenge.

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