Stuart MacBride, Kevin Wignall, Olen Steinhauer and More
Wellington Leg: As the diplomatic row with the EU escalates, book reviewers at the Druidical & Literary are swamped with new arrivals. The Dowager Princess, a Pelacanos fan, authorized overtime after reversing the standings in the Steinbeck League by fiat. She thumbed her nose at French President Nicolas Sarkozy after reading an especially gruesome review in Le Soir: “One should visit Wellington Leg only if one is desperate for terrible food, dreadful local wine and abysmal service. The Hotel Faz is a campground and we are removing its one star rating forthwith.”
The Princess ordered Paris hotels downgraded to “underweight” while forbidding French imports retroactive to the Roger Vadim Era. The immediate fate of the Barbarella retrospective is not clear; no one at the Metroplex returned our phone calls. Our journalistic efforts thwarted we turn to crime fiction:
WHO IS CONRAD HIRST? by Kevin Wignall. PEOPLE DIE is one of the all time favorites around here and Simon & Schuster is bringing Kevin Wignall’s latest this fall.
I’d just finished Stuart MacBride’s DYING LIGHT when his latest, BLOODSHOT, arrived. This guy takes Aberdeen and turns it upside down: lots going on for DS Logan MacRae and the always spectacular DI Roberta Steele, his chain smoking boss.
Olen Steinhauer returns with VICTORY SQUARE. Steinhauer has captured the eastern bloc even thought it’s not the eastern bloc anymore with Soviet era crime novels in the unnamed satellite workers paradise.
Our friends at Pegasus have published a short story collection by Marsha Muller called SOMEWHERE IN THE CITY. Cool prose and deft storytelling abound.
I wanted to mention Charles Finch’s debut A BEAUTIFUL BLUE DEATH. If you’re fond of 19th century British sleuths this is for you.
Remember, there’s free popcorn all day at City Hall. French spies broke the machine so we’re making the best of the situation. Also bring a major credit card and get a free building permit!