SJ Rozan, a native New Yorker, is the author of fifteen novels and five dozen short stories. Her work has won the Edgar, Shamus, Anthony, Nero, and Macavity awards for Best Novel and the Edgar for Best Short Story. She’s also the recipient of the Japanese Maltese Falcon Award and recently received the Life Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America. BRONX NOIR, a short story anthology SJ edited, was chosen NAIBA “Notable Book of the Year.” She also co-edited, with Jonathan Santlofer, the anthology DARK END OF THE STREET.
Beyond All Doubt (2024) Hilton Reed "Hilton Reed's Beyond All Doubt is an edge-of-your-seat fast-moving thrill-ride, kicked off by the reappearance of a dead man and propelling the reader along to the final bullet . . . and beyond."
A Secret About a Secret (2022) Peter Spiegelman "Peter Spiegelman has an extraordinary ability to conjure vivid characters and places with a few perfectly-chosen words. In A Secret About a Secret, he puts that skill to the service of creating a world that is not quite ours (not yet anyway). I couldn't put this book down and was rooting for Myles, its narrator, even while I was a tiny bit horrified at his role in a world that itself is more than a tiny bit horrifying."
This Train (2022) James Grady "Writing with the rhythm of a rushing train, James Grady delivers a story you won't see coming, crowded with characters you get to know very well very fast. If ever a book paralleled the experience it depicts, This Train is that book."
(Inspector Lu Fei Mystery, book 1) Brian Klingborg "Brian Klingborg's Thief of Souls offers a wonderful view into the life of a rural town in the orbit of one of China's huge but secondary cities. Klingborg truly understands how Chinese bureaucracies work; at the same time he's a wizard at believable characters, compelling situations, and a propulsive plot. I'm already looking forward to the second book in this series."
Tower of Babel (2021) (Queens Mystery, book 1) Michael Sears "Tower of Babel is so full of New York characters and locations that you'd swear it was written on asphalt. It has no potholes, though, just a fast-moving and, because it involves corrupt politicians and shady real estate developers, completely believable plot. If you live here, you'll love it. If you don't, read it to see what makes us the way we are."
The Ancestor (2020) Lee Matthew Goldberg "From the icy opening battle of man vs. wolf, you feel yourself in the hands of a master storyteller and that feeling never lets up."
Murder in Chianti (2020) (Tuscan Mystery, book 1) Camilla Trinchieri "Engaging characters, a wonderful Tuscan setting, and a tightly plotted mystery. Like a good wine, Nico's story starts out delicious and is sure to reveal even more complexity and nuance over time."
Chasing Jack (2020) Parnell Hall "Parnell Hall is a pro's pro's pro. No one else creates characters as deftly or puts them in heart-in-your-mouth situations with such economy. Read Chasing Jack once for the joy of it and a second time for a lesson in how thriller writing is done."
Dry County (2019) Jake Hinkson "Desire, desperation, and despair collide in Jake Hinkson's bleakly imagined and perfectly rendered vision of small-town Arkansas. Religion, respectability, hope for the future--virtue is the flip side of vice and Hinkson drives that truth sharply home."
The Frangipani Tree Mystery (2017) (Su Lin, book 1) Ovidia Yu "A new book by Ovidia Yu is always a treat; a new series is an occasion for rejoicing."
One Red Bastard (2012) (Detective Robert Chow) Ed Lin "...[my] favorite new writer in years."
The Devotion of Suspect X (2011) (Detective Galileo, book 1) Keigo Higashino "Japanese crime writers excel at many things: one is the slow tightening of the noose that's at the fast-pounding heart of the police procedural. The Devotion of Suspect X is a terrific book in that tradition and it's about time American readers got a crack at it."
The Coroner's Lunch (2004) (Dr. Siri Paiboun, book 1) Colin Cotterill "The Coroner's Lunch is marvelous. The setting may be unique in Western fiction, and the characters are unique to themselves. Sweet but not sappy, offbeat but not self-conscious about it, this book doesn't so much pull you in as open a door and let you walk happily through. Fans of Alexander McCall Smith's books will love this one."
Burning Moon (2003) (Wil Hardesty, book 5) Richard Barre "Barre is one terrific writer. His characters are alive, his settings so well-drawn you'll swear you've been there. And you'll want to read some of his sentences over and over, just for the sounds of the words."
Canine Crimes (1998) Fifteen Thrilling Original Tales Starring German Shepherds, Irish Setters, Mastifs, Mutts, and Other Daring Dogs edited by Jeffrey Marks