Review: The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly

Today in January Magazine’s crime fiction section, contributing editor Anthony Rainone reviews The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly. Says Rainone:

Los Angeles Times cop beat reporter Jack McEvoy becomes another victim of downsizing when the paper gives him his Reduction in Force notice -- aka “pink slip.” But that doesn’t take the charge out of McEvoy’s instincts for a good story, especially if it means he can go out with a bang and leave some egg on his bosses’ faces. And McEvoy has just the article in mind.

The full review is here.

Review: Trust No One by Gregg Hurwitz

Today in January Magazine’s crime fiction section, contributing editor Anthony Rainone reviews Trust No One by Gregg Hurwitz. Says Rainone:

Nick Horrigan is a man running from his past. He has few friends he can trust. His relationship with his family is in tatters. His employment history is mediocre. Horrigan is on a linear path to obscurity. Then, things change in a heartbeat. Horrigan is taken from his Santa Monica apartment in the early morning hours by Secret Service agents. He is told that a terrorist is threatening to blow up a nearby nuclear power plant. The terrorist will talk only to him. Horrigan doesn’t know the man or why he’s been singled out. The agents dispatched to roust Horrigan are equally clueless and distrustful. From this opening, the reader is likely to believe that Trust No One is a novel about murderous terrorists, maybe the kinds of guys that 24’s Jack Bauer confronts on television. But then the plot blows up -- literally. From its ashes appears a political thriller of considerable ambition and tension. Author Gregg Hurwitz is a rising star among thriller writers, and Trust No One is going to make that ascent brighter.

The full review is here.

Review: Sins of the Assassin by Robert Ferrigno

Today, in January Magazine’s crime fiction section, contributing editor Anthony Rainone reviews Sins of the Assassin by Robert Ferrigno. Says Rainone:

Three years have now passed in the Islamic States of America, since it was first introduced to readers in Prayers for the Assassin 2006), Book One of Robert Ferrigno’s Assassin Trilogy. In the sequel, Sins of the Assassin, things are looking decidedly gloomy. For starters, former Fedayeen shadow warrior Rakkim Epps, the single most important agent carrying out covert operations on behalf of President Damon Kingsley, doesn’t feel like his old self. Raising no less concern, Rakkim has spotted the Black Robe strangler Tariq-al Faisal in Seattle’s Zone (“officially called the Christian Quarter, a thirty-or-forty-block section of the city where nightclubs and coffeehouses flourished, where cybergame parlors and movie theatres operated largely free of censorship”), and he is displaying suspicious activity that can only mean ill-doings aimed at the Islamic Republic. And most critically, recent activity in the Bible Belt (the old Southern Confederacy) indicates imminent danger from the likes of Colonel Zachary Smitts, a Catholic enemy. With this blockbuster beginning, Ferrigno’s readers should buckle in for an exhilarating ride of thriller proportions, with high stakes: the continuation or demise of the American Muslim nation.

The full review is here.

Review: The Follower by Jason Starr

Today, in January Magazine’s crime fiction section, contributing editor Anthony Rainone reviews The Follower by Jason Starr. Says Rainone:

The case could be made that no one is better than Jason Starr when it comes to writing repellent psychopathic characters. This particular skill flowers in The Follower, his newest thriller, set on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The story builds around Peter Wells, an unstable stalker who’s come into an inheritance that allows him plenty of free time in which to set up his latest victim, a 22-year-old woman named Katie Porter.

The full review is here.

Review: Songs of Innocence by Richard Aleas

Today, in January Magazine’s crime fiction section, contributing editor Anthony Rainone reviews Songs of Innocence by Richard Aleas (aka Hard Case Crime’s Charles Ardai). Says Rainone:

Private investigator John Blake is suffering from an existential breakdown in Songs of Innocence, the second book in the Blake series, by author Richard Aleas. Much of his moral dilemma stems from events he suffered during his debut outing, in the Edgar and Shamus award nominated Little Girl Lost (2004). Blake doesn’t want to be a P.I. anymore (“I was a private investigator once,” he remarks early on. “But then we’ve all been things we aren’t anymore”). Yet, that’s like a Dalmatian dog saying it doesn’t want spots on its fur any longer. Somewhere along the line, his fate has been permanently cast, and Blake can’t stop himself from investigating crimes. Once more, in Songs of Innocence, personal circumstances lure Blake back into the game, and readers can only benefit, because this book provides a terrific and seductive ride.

The full review is here.

Review: Safe and Sound by J.D. Rhoades

Today, in January Magazine’s crime fiction section, contributing editor Anthony Rainone reviews Safe and Sound by J.D. Rhoades. Says Rainone:

The title of J.D. Rhoades’ third Jackson Keller novel, Safe and Sound, conveys a state of being that runs counter to what really lies at it’s core: the horrible, dark acts that human beings -- especially the central characters here -- are capable of perpetrating. While Keller’s main goal is to rescue and protect those he loves from one of crime fiction’s more ruthless killers, the cost of “safe and sound” is enormous. This is a trip down the murkier passages of the soul, a terrain that philosophers and religionists warn against. No one comes out unscathed -- least of all Keller. Rhoades’ commanding writing will leave readers simultaneously disturbed and hugely enthralled.

The full review is here.

Review: Whitewash by Alex Kava

Today, in January Magazine’s crime fiction section, contributing editor Anthony Rainone reviews Whitewash by Alex Kava. Says Rainone:

With rising gasoline prices in the United States and the volatile political situation in the Middle East, attention to developing and using alternative fuels is increasing significantly. It’s hard not to see an ethanol plant if you drive through America’s Midwest, for example, and Nebraska author Alex Kava has tapped into this topical theme in her newest standalone thriller, Whitewash.

The full review is here.

Review: Ladykiller by Meredith Anthony and Lawrence Light

Today, in January Magazine’s crime fiction section, contributing editor Anthony Rainone reviews Ladykiller by Meredith Anthony and Lawrence Light. Rainone says:

Given the sophistication of the material, the dark humor, complex characters and the chockfull-of-crime happenings in Ladykiller, Meredith and Light could become the crime-fiction-writing equivalent of Nick and Nora Charles. This is a confident and accomplished debut.

The complete review is here.

Review: The Watchman by Robert Crais

Today in January’s crime fiction section, contributing editor Anthony Rainone reviews The Watchman, which is “technically the first Joe Pike novel, though fans of the author’s Elvis Cole private-eye series are well-acquainted with the hard-charging former LAPD officer and worldwide mercenary.”

Make no mistake: Rainone likes the book. A lot:

This reviewer has run out of superlatives to describe Crais' immense talent, but suffice it to say that The Watchman is a turbo-charged ride that further pushes its author into the stratosphere of crime-fiction immortality.

Rainone’s review of The Watchman is here.