Happy holidays

Reed Farrel Coleman’s Moe Prager novels keep winning over converts. Ian Rankin calls them his "Discovery of the Year"!

The Houston Chronicle also chimes in that "the twists and reversals are expertly done, and Moe’s voice, which mixes Jewish intellectual with cop smarts, is company worth keeping."



A perfectly-sized stocking stuffer is David Cottrell's MONDAY MORNING CHOICES, which was featured in THE COSTCO CONNECTION's December issue.





Sean Doolittle's SAFER is already getting readers excited. "Unsettling...Admirably complex", says Publishers Weekly.

The Omaha World-Herald heartily agrees that "this could be the Omahan's breakout novel. That wouldn't be much of a surprise. The only question is what's taken the rest of the reading public so long? It's time Doolittle's name starts popping up beside such contemporaries as Dennis Lehane and George Pelecanos, both of whom have written past blurbs for Doolittle."



Very Short List, an email subscription that recommends must-see gems, plugged Christina Weir and Nunzio DeFilippis' graphic novel adaptation of THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON this month.

"Brad Pitt’s latest blockbuster is based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novella The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, about a man who’s born old and ages back to infancy. The movie comes out this Christmas. But this graphic novel is no less inventive than the film. the graphic novel retains the original time frame — as well as the story’s ties to Fitzgerald’s own, favorite era — and its carefully compressed text and beautifully detailed illustrations evoke that era perfectly. Needless to say, no adaptation can match the experience of reading the novella itself, but this one comes remarkably close."



If you're looking for a less genteel era, dive into Victor Gischler's GO-GO GIRLS OF THE APOCALYPSE for a trip that's "utterly insane, hyperkinetic...one action scene after another, linked together to tell the tale of a man trying to find sense in an insane world...way too much fun to miss out on...sheer entertainment." (SF Site)



ENVY THE NIGHT, by Michael Koryta, is #2 on Oline H. Cogdill's top mysteries of 2008.

She applauds the "sharply plotted Envy the Night [as] one of the year's finest crime novels. Kotya shows a new confidence in storytelling that doesn't follow the predictable lines of the genre and illustrates his affinity for shaping authentic characters."



Another top writer who champions authenticity is Theresa Schwegel. If you haven't read her newest book PERSON OF INTEREST yet, the mass market paperback will be in stores on the 30th!




The Mystery Bookshelf endorses THE BLONDE in its 2008 Holiday Gift Guide for Mystery/Thriller Readers:

"This was the most hilarious story I read all year. I enjoyed Swierczynski’s writing style and fell in love with the characters very quickly. I’m definitely buying this for my friends."



In comic news, Swierczy's Immortal Iron Fist #21 comes out on the 24th.

"Danny Rand was not the first Immortal Iron Fist…and he won't be the last! The year – 3099. The place – a distant planet first colonized a millennium ago by the People's Republic of China. Now, a humanity oppressed by a totalitarian technological tyrant has just one hope for salvation – the kung-fu freedom-fighting of the Immortal Iron Fist! But his coming is nothing more than a prophecy and a silent prayer…and even if the Iron Fist does arrive, he must first defeat the most powerful weapon the evil robot empire has…Robo Fat-Cobra! Hot off the heels of Duane Swierczynski and Travel Foreman's rip-roaring "MORTAL IRON FIST" arc comes an all-new look at the future legacy of the Immortal Iron Fist...with a jaw-dropping cover by Juan Doe!



In January, Duane Swierczynski and artist Mico Suayan come out with their four-issue “Dead of Night Featuring Werewolf by Night” miniseries, from Marvel's mature readers MAX imprint.

Beware, "Marvel's most famous werewolf" is back!