At the end of this weirdest of years, we’re taking a moment to celebrate the accolades our authors have earned – read on below:
Deep State started the year as one of BookRiot and CrimeReads‘ most anticipated thrillers. The Independent picked it as a best new book, as did the New York Post and Apple Books. The New York Times called it “A timely political thriller [with] one of the more surprising double-reverse plot twists in some time,” and Publishers Weekly called heroine Hayley Chill “a refreshing change from the typical male action hero…a capable, kick-ass, and sharp woman from unassuming roots.” DEEP STATE ended up on CrimeReads‘ list of the year’s best action thrillers, and a sequel, SAVAGE ROAD, is coming in 2021.
CrimeReads put THE COMMITTEE on both their crime and historical fiction best-of lists. The New York Journal of Books raved, “the Committee proves nearly impossible to put down, so vivid is its pull-no-punches portrayal of the personal consequences of the Johns Committee’s reckless, unmitigated cruelty.”
J.H. Moncrieff’s DRAGONFLY SUMMER also earned critical praise, with High Fever Books calling it “a solidly crafted whodunit,” and Reads & Reels proclaiming, “This well-constructed mystery will keep you guessing…If you enjoy suspense with a sprinkling of the paranormal (just the right amount of ghost-y stuff—yay!), this book is for you.”
Grove/Atlantic’s edition of famed Russian author Boris Akunin’s SHE LOVER OF DEATH was published in March to yet more acclaim: Kirkus Reviews said that “Akunin continues to notch the most consistently varied approaches to the adventures of the Great Detective on record.”
March also brought a new Joe Pickett book – LONG RANGE debuted at #2 on the New York Times bestseller list and went on to nab top spots on the Amazon list, the Apple iBooks list, the Barnes & Noble list, the IndieBound list, the Los Angeles Times list, the Publishers Weekly list, the USA Today list, and the Wall Street Journal list. Praise for Joe Pickett’s 20th outing included the New York Times (“Good characters, an extra-good story and great scenes of life and death in the wilderness”) and The Real Book Spy (“Long Range proves once and for all that when it comes to crime fiction, C.J. Box owns the whole damn genre…and it’s not even close”). And CrimeReads also included it on their most anticipated thriller list.
Casey Dunn’s debut thriller SILENCE ON COLD RIVER was named a Best Book of May by the Southern Review of Books, and was also featured in a BookPage roundup of unmissable books from independent publishers. Booklist recommended it “for fans of dark obsession in the tradition of SILENCE OF THE LAMBS.”
In the middle of our strange COVID summer, the July 4th weekend found fan-favorite Thorn back in action in BAD AXE, his fifteenth adventure – the Tampa Bay Times raved: “Like many fans of Florida crime fiction, I’ve been addicted to James W. Hall’s series of propulsive, elegantly written novels about Thorn, the tough Key Largo loner who insists he’s a misanthrope but somehow gets drawn into protecting the vulnerable no matter how dangerous it might be…It all leads to a hold-your-breath (in more ways than one) finale that will make you glad Thorn is back.”
ONE LAST LIE, the eleventh Mike Bowditch mystery, made the Apple iBooks and USA Today bestseller lists, with Publishers Weekly, in a starred review, declaring “this entry reinforces the author’s position in the front rank of regional thriller writers.”
And finally, Erica Wright’s slithery entry in the Bloomsbury Object Lessons series, SNAKE, was mentioned in the opinion pages of the New York Times and garnered glowing reviews from Chapter 16 (“Snake is full of power, packed with sobering reminders about the human-animal relationship and our responsibility in maintaining it”) and Nashville Scene.
