Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Another Pair of Hotties

The list of strong contenders for best crime books of 2009 continues to grow. Here are two more:

Life Sentences, by Laura Lippman (Morrow). Two years ago, Lippman took a break from her popular Tess Monaghan private eye series in order to write What the Dead Know--a standalone that hit the best-seller lists like a guided missile. Now she takes aim again with this story about a child’s mysterious death, a young woman’s romantic obsession, and a father’s long-hidden secret. This latest work from Lippman (whose serial novel in The New York Times Magazine just ended its run) is due out in mid-March.

American Rust, by Philipp Meyer (Spiegel & Grau). Everyone from George Pelecanos and Pete Dexter to Patricia Cornwell has been standing up on their hind legs and shouting the praises of this debut mystery novel, which is set in a beautiful but economically devastated Pennsylvania steel town. Names such as Steinbeck, Lehane, and Cormac McCarthy have been dropping like rain to help explain its author’s talent. Look for American Rust later this month.

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