Here is the first batch. More will come in subsequent days. (Read this post to see what this is all about.)
David J. Montgomery, mystery/thriller critic for the Chicago Sun-Times
Even though this was my idea, that doesn't make it any easier to choose. But here are three I loved.
- Laura Lippman - What the Dead Know. Probably the book of the year. The best thing yet from a writer who just keeps getting better.
- J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. A superb conclusion to a wonderful series -- when it comes to the pure joy of reading, Harry Potter is tops for me.
- Philip Hawley, Jr. - Stigma. A superb thriller -- but even more impressive, it's a debut. Few first novels show such poise and polish, but Stigma has both in spades. A delight to read.
Tess Gerritsen, author of The Bone Garden
- Chris Mooney - Remembering Sarah
- C.J. Box - Blue Heaven (pub date 2008)
- Linwood Barclay - No Time for Goodbye
John Hart, author of Down River
I rarely read in the genre when I am writing (which is pretty much all of the time) so this list is fairly eclectic. But, I loved each of these books.
- Michael Chabon - The Amazing Adventures of Cavalier and Clay
- Nathaniel Philbrick - In the Heart of the Sea
- Max Brooks - World War Z
Reed Farrel Coleman, author of Soul Patch
I have to say that this was a very difficult year to choose as I rededicated myself to reading and found some amazing books. But my three top books that I read in 2007 were:
- Michael Chabon - The Yiddish Policemen's Union
- Daniel Woodrell - Tomato Red
- Peter Spiegelman - Red Cat
Charles Ardai, editor of Hard Case Crime and author of Songs of Innocence
- Donald E. Westlake - The Mercenaries. Westlake's first novel, and somehow I'd never read it, maybe because the title (implying a story about stubble-cheeked tough guys toting machine guns through some hostile jungle) turned me off. As it turns out, the book has not a single mercenary in it -- and it's a terrific novel. We will be reprinting it in Hard Case Crime in 2009, under the title the author originally meant the book to have. (Can't reveal it yet.)
- Elise Blackwell - Grub. Not a crime novel; a scathing, funny, sad, scabrous novel about writers struggling with their craft, their art, their profession, and their demons.
- Fredric Brown - The Fabulous Clipjoint. A classic that I finally read. Absolutely knocked me on my ass.
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