TOP 5 BOOKS REVIEWED IN 2018

With a new year upon us and a new crop of books waiting to be enjoyed, it behooves us as readers and critics to pause for a moment to consider the pleasures bestowed upon us by the big dog publishers in 2018.

As a book critic for the New York Journal of Books, I reviewed a grand total of 40 titles last year; a nice round number. Some were bestselling duds (Chicago, City of Endless Night, Pandemic) but some were very good. And some were terrific. So ... what were the five best books I had the pleasure of reviewing in 2018?

5. Cave of Bones, by Anne Hillerman (April 3; Harper Collins)
Navaho Tribal Police officer Bernadette Manuelito discovers a lava cave with human bones while searching for a missing girl in the El Malpais badlands. Anne Hillerman's tight, clean writing style does justice to the characters and setting we know and love so much.
(Read the review.)

4. In a House of Lies, by Ian Rankin (Dec. 29; Little, Brown)
Rankin brings us another high-quality police procedural set in Scotland, as an old missing person case becomes a homicide investigation that threatens to expose possible past wrongdoing by retired detective John Rebus.
(Read the review.)

3. The Sandman, by Lars Kepler (March 6; Knopf)
When a young man is found wandering across a train bridge on a cold night, police discover that he and his sister have been missing for 13 years. By far, the best Joona Linna crime novel to date by the Swedish husband-and-wife team writing as Lars Kepler. An absolute page turner.
(Read the review.)

2. Dark Sacred Night, by Michael Connelly (Oct. 29; Little, Brown) The heavyweight champion of police procedurals delivers another knockout as Det. Renee Ballard teams up with Harry Bosch on a cold case in which a teenage girl was brutally murdered and left in a dumpster. Well written, as always, and an effective pairing.
(Read the review.)

1. I'll Be Gone in the Dark, by Michelle McNamara (Feb. 26; Harper Collins) Heartfelt, gripping true crime by the late blogger and journalist who devoted so much of her adult life to the pursuit of the notorious Golden State Killer, aka East Area Rapist/Original Night Stalker, who was (allegedly) finally captured this year. An incredible tribute to a remarkable woman who passed away too soon.
(Read the review.)

Honorable mentions:

• The Boy, by Tami Hoag (Dec. 31; Dutton) (read the review);
• The Widows of Malabar Hill, by Sujata Massey (Jan. 8; Soho Crime) (read the review).

Best wishes to all avid readers out there, and high hopes for a rich crop of books to enjoy in 2019!

I'LL BE GONE IN THE DARK

I don't usually read books about true crime. I prefer crime fiction, since I'm in the fiction business, but I made an exception recently to review I'LL BE GONE IN THE DARK by Michelle McNamara, and I'm very glad I did.

McNamara was a true crime blogger and journalist who spent every free hour of her time sifting through information about a serial rapist and murderer who committed numerous offences in California during the late 1970s and early 1980s. He had been connected not only to the crimes of the East Area Rapist but also the Original Night Stalker and perhaps the Ransacker as well.

The author used her blog to communicate with fellow amateur investigators, she kept in touch with detectives investigating the various series of crimes, and worked with other journalists. The search for this sexual predator was, as the subtitle suggests, an obsession.

When she passed away in her sleep unexpectedly in 2016 at the age of 46, she was in the process of writing this book. The manuscript was completed and prepared for publication by two friends who were also involved in her research. It's a remarkable book by a remarkable woman who passed away too soon.

Read my full review in the New York Journal of Books here.