Now you're getting the picture baby

Congrats to Sean Doolittle (for THE CLEANUP nabbing #1!), Duane Swierczynski (also Murder by the Book's Hot new urban writer featured in March) and Victor Gischler for landing in Crimespree Magazine's top 5 Favorite Books of 2006.

Spinetingler Magazine's Best Reads of 2006 include THE WHEELMAN and SHOTGUN OPERA.

CHUD's (Cinematic Happenings Under Development) must-reads of 2006 rounds it out with SORROW'S ANTHEM by Michael Koryta and THE BLONDE by Swierczynski.

In review news, Robert Wade of the San Diego Union Tribune has great things to say about PROBABLE CAUSE. “[Theresa] Schwegel spins a taut and muscular tale that explores the dark side of law enforcement. The cast is convincing, the suspense is unrelenting, the result is top-flight entertainment.”

David J. Montgomery, in the Chicago Sun-Times, calls Doolittle "today's finest writer of Midwestern noir...His understated novels are real gems, fine examples of timeless crime writing that hold up the rich traditions of the genre while also breaking new ground."

PROBABLE CAUSE also made the NYTBR Editor's Choice list yesterday!

NY Times, part deux

Nope, it's not an echo you hear. The DHS team is just that good.

In Sunday's Book Review, Marilyn Stasio calls Theresa Schwegel one of a "few promising writers tooling up to give the genre its next generation of heroes. In her first novel, 'Officer Down,' Schwegel got inside the head of a female cop who earns her independence the hard way when she's suspected of killing her partner. PROBABLE CAUSE returns to this dark theme with its coming-of-age story about a third-generation Chicago police officer, 23-year-old Ray Weiss, who is ostracized by his fellow officers when he balks at participating in their shady deals with local merchants. Schwegel has no trouble winning sympathy for Ray, whose awed love for his emotionally distant father and idealistic faith in the honor of his job make him sweet as well as vulnerable. And while Schwegel skillfully tightens the plot screws that force Ray to develop his own code of ethics, she also has fun riding with the cops through the best and worst of Chicago's neighborhoods."

Chick-lit? Check.

1 John Scalzi
1 Duane Swierczynski
6 Questions

Pour all ingredients into large stein and Voila!

Hear ye, hear ye

Author of the YA novel and MTV film ALL YOU’VE GOT, Karol Ann Hoeffner’s new novel SURF ED - in which Molly Browne, irritated that she’s forced to move from Texas to California after her parents’ divorce, tackles high school romance and the surfing world - sold to Simon Pulse. (World rights)

In THE RIDDLE, Andrew Razeghi explores where epiphanies come from, why they occur, and how readers can use these insights to become more creative. Jossey-Bass has world rights.

Just in time for those new year resolutions, Elizabeth Somer's 10 HABITS make the Top 10!

The New York Times Book Review, no less!

"Sean Doolittle is another author who tends to fly under the radar, although his novels are stylishly written and refreshing in their quirky originality. Continuing the offbeat style of earlier books like "Burn" and "Dirt", THE CLEANUP is a noir thriller that takes nasty glee in putting a decent man in a terrible situation and watching him go to the dogs. We meet the good guy, a young cop named Matthew Worth, in an Omaha supermarket, where he's bagging groceries while keeping an eye out for shoplifters. Because good guys are always dumb things in noir thillers, Worth develops a crush on Gwen, a skittish checkout clerk shacked up with a two-bit crook who beats her. When Gwen kills this abusive brute, guess who volunteers to clean up the mess? Like the sweet chump he is, Worth makes one bad judgment call after the next in this black comedy, a terrifying nightmare seen from the inside - and absurdly funny when you're lucky enough to be just looking in."

Ohhh yeah

It's all about the no-nonsense banter and the *Starred Reviews*!

"Author [James Patrick] Hunt, who just appeared on the crime scene a couple years ago with his Maitland series (Maitland, 2004), is quickly building an impressive catalog of series titles and stand-alones that compares favorably to Elmore Leonard's early urban crime novels. His protagonists are intelligent, self-aware, and capable of swift, harsh action. And no one is better at capturing the flirty-but-keep-your-distance banter between the sexes. Tracy and Hepburn got nothin' on this guy. Plan ahead and clear a shelf for James Patrick Hunt. He's the real deal." - Booklist