A Cold Day for Murder by Dana StabenowMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
Having started my mystery/detective reading with the Scandanavians has (I'm afraid) set me up for disappointment as I now attempt some Americans. I didn't hate this book but, to give a sense of my overall engagement, I actually couldn't remember if I had finished it.
Overall I do like the Kate Shugak character--strong female, enigmatic, non-conforming--but at times the novel felt more like a trite romance novel than a mystery. While it had a few nods to the deeper issues of discrimination of the Aleut tribe, none are satisfyingly explored.
View all my reviews
3 comments:
Have you read the classic American crime/noir? Hammett? Chandler? I also think early James Ellroy is excellent. Clandestine and Brown's Requiem are good. Jim Thompson's The Killer Inside Me is a must read. Hammett's Red Harvest is also a favorite.
Hightouch will be up on the contemporary stuff, but I'm now reading some current Australian crime novel that I'm enjoying very much. I'll post about it at some point perhaps.
I would just add Ross MacDonald to mb's list of classic American crime/detective writers. Lew Archer is MacDonald's detective--I think he is a swell writer, have read every single one of his Archer books. I've been trying to think of a more contemporary detective fiction writer. I quite liked The Black Dahlia--disturbing and dark and florid. I read all of Michael Connelly awhile back--the Harry Bosch novels--police procedurals. Some are better than others. Also the guy who wrote Devil with a Blue Dress--Walter Mosley. Those are good books. And finally, I highly recommend Elmore Leonard--you could start with Get Shorty, which I think is pretty much genius.
Thanks for suggestions. I know many of these names and could have done more research before posting my worries concerning American mystery/detective writing. But now I feel more confident with these suggestions.
BTW, Lisa, I just happened to finish Devil with a blue dress by Walter Mosley--I quite enjoyed it.
Post a Comment