So, this book is doing weird things in the meta--one of the conceits is that the first-person POV character, the "I" of the novel, has written "how to write a mystery novel" books, so the narrator goes to great lengths to demonstrate that he's "playing fair." That ... strangely, doesn't interfere with this working as a reasonable modern take on a Fair Play Mystery, at least to my not-deeply-involved-in-the-genre taste, without at all coming across (to me) as anything like a satire. The voice is reasonably engaging, and the characters are ... fun to find in a book, though I honestly wouldn't want to spend more real-world time with them than necessary.
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Big Chief by Jon Hickey
Another really good novel--and this one by an author entirely new to me. I think this is his debut, so probably new to just about everyone...

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A grim and gritty novel, bristling with menace, stuffed to the brim with characters it's difficult to like--mainly because t...
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A beautiful novel about life as a mobster (in 1940s Tampa) and all the contradictions and complications of it. Lehane clearly has an ear f...
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