CRIME ON A SUMMER MORNING (2011 Edition)

We’re already seeing these summer-reading lists popping up everywhere and I like checking them out to know what everyone else is recommending and reading. You can find a great exhaustive list here at The Rap Sheet. I usually write some of these down, especially when they mention authors I’ve never read. Here is the list of books that I hope to get through; other titles always squeeze in so I will update that list once in a while. I certainly won't have time to read all of them but one can hope for a perfect summer, right? The books are listed in no particular order. (Title of the post inspired by the French movie Par un beau matin d'été).

Books that are already waiting on my shelves (pub dates are US/CAN unless otherwise noted):

• The Ridge by Michael Koryta (available now)  
• The Most Dangerous Thing by Laura Lippman (pub date August)
• Outrage by Arnaldur Indridason (pub date July)  
• Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson (available now) 
• The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen (pub date August)
• The Darkness Drops by Peter Clement (available in ebook format now)  
• The Wreckage by Michael Robotham (available now except in Canada--March 2012)
• Fun and Games by Duane Swierczynski (available now)
• Bad Signs by R.J. Ellory  (available UK/CAN now)
• The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler  (available now)
• Triple Crossing by Sebastian Rotella  (pub date July)
• Lasting Damage by Sophie Hannah (pub date August)
• The Killer is Dying by James Sallis (pub date August)
• Darkness, My Old Friend by Lisa Unger (pub date August)
• Black Lens by Ken Bruen and Russell Ackerman; serialization on Mulholland Books’s website; this started in January at one excerpt per week and you can read it all from the beginning; not to be missed!
• Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead by Sara Gran (available now)
• A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny (pub date August 30^th). Check out our new giveaway for a free advance reader's copy!
• Agent 6 by Tom Rob Smith (UK pub date is July/ US pub date January 2012; just received the ARC and I think it’ll be very good)
• The Accident by Linwood Barclay (US/CAN pub date August)
• The Adjustment by Scott Phillips (pub date August; reading now)
• The Burning Soul by John Connolly (pub date September 6^th in US/CAN, Sept. 1^st UK/Ireland/Australia)
• I have every title by Jo Nesbø but so far I've only read his first one, in French, L'homme chauve-souris (The Bat Man--not yet available in English). I wrote a review on this page. Reading the second one now Les cafards (The Cockroaches--not yet available in English). 
• And also books by Camilla Lackberg; on recommendations from friends, I've just bought her first two titles: The Ice Princess and The Preacher)

A few non-fiction titles of interest:

• The Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson (author of The Devil in the White City) --very good; available now
• Sex on the Moon by Ben Mezrich (author of The Accidental Billionaires -which became the movie The Social Network; and of Bringing Down the House -became the movie 21) --pub date July
• The Science of Evil by Simon Baron-Cohen (cousin of Sacha Baron-Cohen -Borat- Simon is a highly respected psychologist and professor of Developmental Psychopathology at the University of Cambridge, UK). He is highly respected and known around the world for his research on autism. (available now)
• Who Killed Janet Smith? by Edward Starkins. The story of one of the oldest unsolved murders in Canadian history. (pub date August in CAN/US) Reads like a good crime novel.

Some that I’ve already read and recommend are:

• The Cut by George Pelecanos (I've just finished reading it for the second time and it's just as good as the first time; I’ll post a review very soon along with an interview; available now)
• Never Knowing by Chevy Stevens (available now; see my review on this page and an interview here)
• The End of Everything by Megan Abbott (Great writer, great book! Check out my review and my interview with her. Available now)
• Long Gone by Alafair Burke  (her best book yet! Available now)
• Fallen by Karin Slaughter (intense, great characters. Available now)
• Bloodline by Mark Billingham (see my review on this page-- US pub date July)
• Lake Charles by Ed Lynskey (available now; you can read my review on this page)
• The Guardians by Andrew Pyper (review here in late August before the US pub date of September)
• Ashes of the Earth by Eliot Pattison (available now)
• The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly (you can read my review on this page; and my interview with him here)
• The Cypress House by Michael Koryta (in paperback now, easy to bring at the beach). My review also on this page plus an interview here.
• The Girl in the Green Raincoat by Laura Lippman (my first review for this blog, it was a very short one and doesn't really do justice to the book; just read it! The book, not the review.)
• Moonlight Mile by Dennis Lehane (on trade paperback), review very soon and interview here   

Quelques titres de qualité disponibles en francais /A few good titles available in French:

• Kolyma de Tom Rob Smith (titre original The Secret Speech)
• Les neufs dragons de Michael Connelly (titre original Nine Dragons)
• L'armée furieuse de Fred Vargas (not yet available in English)
• Moonlight Mile de Dennis Lehane (du meme titre/same title)
• La mort entre autres de Philip Kerr (titre original The One From the Other)
• Le léopard de Jo Nesbø (titre original Panserjherte)
• Tout est sous controle de Hugh Laurie (titre original The Gun Seller)
• La cinquieme femme de Henning Mankell (titre original Den femte kvinnan)
• Le royaume des voleurs de William Ryan (titre original The Holy Thief)

Format demi-poche (Le Points 2) / Semi-paperback format from Le Points 2:
Concept qui nous vient des Pays-Bas. Nouveau format demi-poche qui veut concurrencer les lecteurs numériques par sa taille.  Tient bien dans la poche.  On l'ouvre et on tourne de façon à avoir la pliure à l'horizontale. Textes imprimés sur papier bible.  Pour l'instant des reprises de bons titres déjà parus.  Reste à voir le programme de nouveautés.  Personnellement, je n'aime pas trop le format.  Trop petit à mon goût et cher.  Gadget. 
This is a concept that comes from the Netherlands. New semi-paperback format to try to compete with ebooks. Fits well in a pocket. You open it with the spine on the horizontal. Texts are printed on bible paper. For now, only previously published titles are offered. We'll wait and see what the new releases will be. Personally, I'm not a big fan. Too small and a bit expensive. Just a gadget really.  (texte/text Grenouille Noire)


Quelques titres disponibles / Some of the available titles: Le poète (Michael Connelly), Les visages (Jesse Kellerman), La cinquième femme (Henning Mankell), Tout est sous controle (Hugh Laurie).


Here are some titles that have been waiting for me since their publication in early spring (or even from last fall in some cases). I will definitely read them soon:

• The Priest by Gerard O’Donovan
• Dark Side by Belinda Bauer
• One True Sentence by Craig McDonald
• The Night Season by Chelsea Cain
• The Bone House by Brian Freeman
• Gone by Mo Hayder
• Bad Boy by Peter Robinson
• Devoured by D.E. Meredith (already read; review on this page)

Here are more titles that I hope to have on my reading list in late summer and all through fall but for which I don't have a copy yet:

• The Drop by Michael Connelly (pub date November 29^th)
• El Gavilan by Craig McDonald (pub date September)
• Good as Dead by Mark Billingham (UK pub date August 2011/ US probably 2012)
• The Hidden Child by Camilla Lackberg (UK pub date August)
• Dublin Dead by Gerard O'Donovan (UK July/ US-CAN probably 2012)
• The Pack by Jason Starr  (available now)
• The Devil's Ribbon by D.E. Meredith (pub date October)
• Killer Move by Michael Marshall (available now)
• The Nightmare Thief by Meg Gardiner (pub date July)
• Hanging Hill by Mo Hayder (available in the UK/probably early 2012 in US/CAN

Okay, I know that's a hell of a lot! But if I can read half of them I'll be happy. A third of them, should be good too. 
You're welcome to leave comments, to recommend titles and to tell me what you intend to read.

We hope you'll come back to The House of Crime and Mystery for many more reviews and interviews in the days and weeks ahead. We have new interviews with Daniel Polansky, Megan Abbott, Dennis Lehane and Chevy Stevens, reviews of Daniel Polansky's Low Town, Megan Abbott's The End of Everything, Eliot Pattison's Ashes of the Earth, Ed Lynskey's Lake Charles and D.E. Meredith's Devoured; soon of Alafair Burke's Long Gone, Karin Slaughter's Fallen and Scott Phillips's The Adjustment, plus a few more.

Have a great summer! Or winter, depending on where you are on the planet.

JF  June 2011
(updated September 4th)

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