Here is my Top 5 list from my last few months of crime fiction reading, some of them are old and some newer, but all of them are great reads that I would highly recommend.
5 - Death by Croissants by Ian Moore
Not quite my type of crime fiction but still a good read. A British B&B owner in France investigates the disappearance of one of his guests. He is helped by Valerie, who seems to have taken a shine to his tedious personality. The protagonist flitters along not really in control of his own narrative, one of the hens dies and the plot thickens. Well, it doesn’t really but it plods along quite entertainingly. If your dream is to open a B&B in France and have a quiet life with occasional crossword puzzles, then this main character is for you.
4 - Razor Girl by Carl Hiaasen
I didn’t find this quite as engaging as ‘Skink No Surrender’. I think that may have been due to the dual storylines and just the sheer number of characters, whom I struggled to keep track of a little. As always with Hiaasen there are some hilarious personalities within his story. From Buck Nance the redneck reality TV star through to Merry Mansfield the scam artist. The ride along through the characters' hilarious lives and the weird situations he paints them into is genius, but I could do with a map at times.
3 - Gangsterland by Tod Goldberg
Sal Cupertine is a hitman for the Chicago Mob. He must go on the run after killing three undercover FBI agents on a hit. He agrees to move location, undergo plastic surgery and re-train as a Rabi to help in a Vegas body disposal hustle. It’s a great idea and is played out against the FBI agent who feels responsible for his three colleagues’ deaths and tries to track down Sal. A great concept, with some wonderful characters and twists and turns that keep you guessing.
2 – Skink No Surrender by Carl Hiassen
This was my first read of a Carl Hiaasen book and it was immersive and entertaining, with enough dark humour and little twists to keep me interested. The main character didn’t really do much for me, but as always with Hiassen the sub characters where were life was at. Skink is just such a persona. A free-roaming ex-governor of California, with one eye. He spends his life since leaving politics affecting karmic revenge on bad doers. Richard the protagonist comes across him on the hunt for Malley his cousin who has gone missing. He wrestles giant gators, dodges bullets and generally acts like a superhero who took too much acid. Swamp justice at its best and what I believe could be classed as ‘classic Haissen’.
1 – Beat The Reaper by Josh Bazell
A twisting and hilarious look into the world of organised crime and medicine. Two areas rarely combined. Peter is an overworked intern at a Manhattan hospital with a very dubious past as a hitman. His new life comes under risk of exposure when a mobster called Eddy becomes his patient. He offers to keep quiet in return for his survival. This is no mean feat as Eddy has stomach cancer and the surgeon he has hired seems slightly quickish.
The medical detail and knowledge of the ex-hitman make the descriptions of violence as terrifying as American Psycho. The main character develops perfectly as we learn his reasons for first becoming a hitman and his reasons for entering into the witness protection programme. An amazing read and I’d strongly recommend it.