2016 Crime Fiction Recommendations

As the year winds down and 2017 approaches, I thought I'd tale a look back at the crime fiction reads that impressed me the most from this years batch of releases. While I haven't read anywhere near the same amount of books as previous years, 2016 still saw a number of quality crime books being published. 

Here are my recommendations in no particular order. 

REVOLVER by Duane Swierczynski

REVOLVER is fine storytelling - seamlessly switching gears through alternating timelines to deliver a multifaceted crime tale, steadily increasing in complexity as the narrative unfolds. Spanning three generations each enveloped in heady blood red mist of murder and mystery surrounding the deaths of Philadelphia cops Stan Walczak and George Wildey in 1965, Swierczynski ensures his fictitious bullet fired some 50years past is still dangerous in the present.

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GUNSHINE STATE by Andrew Nette

The thief’s theme is rife in this cross continent noir by Aussie crime writer Andrew Nette. Gary Chance makes his hard earned cash from stealing others hard earned cash. He’s a professional in a profession where the big ‘pay-off’ is the pinnacle but prison is a more probable outcome – if not death. His latest job takes him to the Gold Coast but all is not glitter, gold and sunny beaches. 

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THE HIT by Nadia Dalbuono

Sex, lies, and criminal ties. A sudden and dramatic car crash leaves a top television exec dazed and confused; more so when he realizes a good Samaritan is a sheep in wolfs clothing, and is part of an elaborate ruse to kidnap his family. As Leone Scamarcio investigates the nature of the kidnapping a connection to organised crime and a shady brother in-law emerge as key pieces to the puzzle. With the investigation slipping away, and suspects mounting, Scamarcio’s lone wolf investigative approach might not be enough to save the exec’s wife and child.

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BLACK SAILS, DISCO INFERNO by Andrez Bergen

BLACK SAILS, DISCO INFERNO is a criminally good novel that ripens the rotten forbidden fruit of romance amid the slippery red violence of the underworld in a classic retelling reminiscent of star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet.

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THE EMERALD LIE by Ken Bruen

As with the previous books in this series, The Emerald Lie reads more as a character study than crime novel, with Jack, the glue that binds Bruen's noir enriched world of fiction together. Well known for being a drunkard and not one to shy away from drugs and violence, Jack once again dons the tried and true persona to great effect. His nonchalance customary to the crimes he takes as cases, yet he yields results inadvertently by virtue of proximity, luck, and shear will. The Grammatical killer, the antagonist with a not so obscure link to Jack, is the latest niche serial killer to wade into the cross-hairs.

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THE NICE GUYS by Charles Ardai

Holland March is a private eye, hired to track down deceased porn star, Misty Mountains - wait, she's supposed to be dead right? Not according the elderly woman who swears she saw her briefly before Misty turned heel and did a runner from her home - the day after flipping her car and officially being declared dead. Jackson Healy is the tough guy who was hired by Amelia, a young woman with a striking resemblance to Misty, to put the hard word on a man (March) who had been snooping around her. The two cases collide in a wave of conspiracy, murder and evil schemes that neither could have predicted. 

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