Next Agatha or Edgar? A guide
One of the joys of being a reader is the pleasure that comes from discovering a new author, a fresh voice that dazzles and delights with its energy and ability.
One of the sorrows of being a reader is the chore of sifting through the numerous books crowding the store shelves, searching for that nugget of talent that has the potential to shine so brightly.
What follows are my recommendations of five relative newcomers to the crime fiction scene, all of them superior writers who are likely to impress. Each is well worth your attention, so keep them in mind the next time you find yourself surveying those teeming shelves.
P. J. Tracy is two writers in one, a pseudonymous mother-daughter team that made quite a splash with 2003's Gumshoe Award-winning debut ''Monkee-wrench." Tracy returns this May with the follow-up to that polished rookie effort, ''Live Bait" (Putnam, $23.95), another fast-paced and intriguingly plotted mystery.
Like John Sandford, the masterful crime writer whose work hers most resembles, Tracy uses the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul as the setting for her stories. That frigid location makes a perfect backdrop for her suspenseful and witty stories of cops and killers.
''Live Bait" has a complex plot, and the lead characters are interesting. Some of the secondary characters aren't quite as well done as in ''Monkeewrench," but that is only a minor detraction.
Denise Hamilton is the latest of a rich tradition of journalists who bring their talents for observation and insight into human nature to the crafting of fine mystery novels. Since the publication of her stunning 2001 debut, ''The Jasmine Trade," Hamilton has dazzled the mystery community with her well-researched, crisply written books.
Hamilton's latest is another suspenseful and rapid-paced winner. ''Last Lullaby" (Scribner, $25), the third in the series featuring Los Angeles Times reporter Eve Diamond, is an intense story about child abductions and the underground market for overseas adoptions.
In the best tradition of the genre (as practiced by Raymond Chandler on forward), Hamilton uses the mystery novel to explore important social issues and themes in society. Although ''Last Lullaby" will probably resonate most strongly with parents, particularly mothers, the feelings that it evokes will strike a chord with any reader.
Chris Mooney, a Boston-based writer, has produced three books over the past few years, the most recent of which is the stunning ''Remembering Sarah" (Atria, $25). The plot, about a father's suffering when his young daughter goes missing, is familiar, but the execution of the story is so well done that Mooney takes it to a new level.
Mooney's work is dark and desperate, but filled with genuine human emotion, sympathetic characters, and intriguing plots. His books aren't always the easiest to read, due to their troubling, often violent subject matter, but they are so well done that you will be glad you did.
Many authors incorporate music into their books; fewer can write with the rhythms and poetry of music itself. Ace Atkins proves with his latest book, ''Dirty South" (HarperCollins, $24.95), that he is one of the latter.
His series character, Nick Travers, has perhaps the coolest day job of any amateur investigator: He's a ''blues tracker." A former football player, now a college professor, Travers spends his time tracking down the dying legends of the blues and recording their stories as part of an oral history project.
Atkins's prose reads like the blues brought to life. Moving to a lush, languid beat, he leads his readers on a raw but fluid journey through the American South, treating them to some of the best writing of the genre.
Jonathon King is another author who uses setting and atmosphere to such fine effect that his books stand out from the pack. His series character, Max Freeman, is a former Philly cop who retired to South Florida after he was shot and nearly killed.
Now Max spends his days in isolation, living in a shack in the Everglades, only occasionally journeying into civilization to help people in need. ''Shadow Men" (Dutton, $23.95), the third book in the series, finds Max pursuing a case that dates back several decades into the region's violent past.
King evokes locales with such vivid descriptions that the reader can't help but picture them like a movie in the mind. Although the author sometimes limits himself too much with the plots he chooses, he's definitely a talent worth watching.
David Montgomery is the editor of Mystery Ink (www.mysteryinkonline.com).
