Local and international crime featured in the New Zealand Listener's 100 Best Books of 2011

Last year, you might recall, I was very pleased to see several crime novels make the annual 100 Best Books list put out by the New Zealand Listener magazine (especially as the list the year before had had a distinct lack of crime, mystery or thriller fiction titles, New Zealand or international). The New Zealand Listener has long been considered one of our premier magazines. It is a weekly current affairs and entertainment magazine, renowned for having one of the best books sections around.

Near the end of each year the Listener has a “100 Best Books of the Year” issue, where its reviewers, with help from nominations from booksellers and others, compile their list of best novels, short stories, poetry, biography, memoir, and other non-fiction (eg history, science, journalism and essays, art, and food and drink) books of the year.

The 100 Best Books issue (see cover image above right) for 2011 has now hit newstands etc, and I am very pleased to share that it too includes several crime, mystery or thriller titles on the latest list:

• BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP by SJ Watson
• BOUND by Vanda Symon
• DEATH COMES TO PEMBERLEY by PD James
• FEAST DAY OF FOOLS by James Lee Burke
• LUTHER: THE CALLING by Neil Cross
• AN UNCERTAIN PLACE by Fred Vargas
• THE WRECKAGE by Michael Robotham

So a nice mix of UK, US, New Zealand, Australian, and continental European authors, and a variety of different 'types' of crime or thriller fiction there, which is cool to see. Some cracking books there, and hopefully more Kiwi readers might give some of them a go, after reading about them in this week's issue of the Listener. Congratulations to the Kiwi crime writers who made the list.

Have you read any of the crime novels mentioned? If so, what did you think? If not, which ones catch your eye? Thoughts and comments welcome.

H is for HUNTING BLIND

Apologies for the delayed Crime Fiction Alphabet post this week - it's continued to be a crazy busy time here. FYI, while the news cameras around the world may have turned away, and viewers have got a little earthquake-fatigued, the recovery continues in Christchurch. So click here for ways you can help with earthquake relief, no matter where in the world you may be.

But the Crime Fiction Alphabet rolls on, and our intrepid book bloggers out there around the blogosphere (and the globe) have this week been tapping away at their keyboards in creation of great, gripping posts related to the letter 'H'.

For my second go around at the Crime Fiction Alphabet (read my 2010 posts here), I've set myself the challenging task of focusing not only just on New Zealand-themed posts, but just on Kiwi crime fiction books (ie I won't do any author profiles etc this time around) - although sometimes it may be the author's name that is relevant to the letter of the week.

So this week I'm featuring HUNTING BLIND by Paddy Richardson, which was a #1 New Zealand bestseller last year, and was selected as one of the NZ Listener's 100 Best Books. Here is my review I wrote for WildTomato magazine (which has previously not been published online):

Dunedin novelist and short story writer Paddy Richardson recently released her latest psychological thriller, Hunting Blind; a tale centring on the all-too-realistic situation of a young girl disappearing, leaving a family and community devastated.

It starts at a summertime school picnic by a picturesque lake; the last time little Gemma Anderson is ever seen. Seventeen years later, older sister Stephanie is working as a trainee psychiatrist, helping heal holes in others’ lives, while never having truly addressed her own. When a new patient shares a story that seems strikingly familiar, Stephanie is spurred to revisit her past, embarking on a journey that takes her from the West Coast to Kaikoura, and eventually back to her long-abandoned childhood home of Wanaka. All in a quest to find out what really happened all those years ago.

Having been a touch underwhelmed by Richardson’s earlier thriller, A Year to Learn a Woman, I opened her latest book with some trepidation. What I found was an accomplished and compelling novel from a writer that has clearly stepped up, honed her style, and found her ‘voice’. She evokes a nice sense of South Island small towns, and takes readers into the aftermath of high-profile tragedies; the ongoing effects after the media circus leaves, and the rest of the country forgets. The plot lags a little in the second quarter (several chapters of psychiatry sessions) before kicking into high gear, but overall Hunting Blind is an enjoyable page-turner - a very good weekend read.

Have you read HUNTING BLIND? If so, what did you think? Are you following the Crime Fiction Alphabet? Thoughts and comments welcome.

Local and international crime featured in the New Zealand Listener's 100 Best Books of 2010

Last year, you might recall, I was a little disappointed at the relative lack of crime, mystery or thriller fiction titles, New Zealand or international, in the annual 100 Best Books list put out by the New Zealand Listener magazine. Especially as there were several very good crime novels that came out, and despite its literary leanings, the Listener had listed crime novels, including New Zealand crime novels, in the past, such as those of Paul Cleave and Vanda Symon.

As I said last year, the New Zealand Listener has long been considered one of our premier magazines. It is a weekly current affairs and entertainment magazine, renowned for having one of the best books sections around. Near the end of each year the Listener has a “100 Best Books of the Year” issue, where its reviewers compile their list of best novels, short stories, poetry, biography, memoir, and other non-fiction (eg history, science, journalism and essays, art, and food and drink) books of the year.

Well, this week the 2010 100 Best Books List has been published (in the issue pictured), and I am very pleased to say that there are several crime fiction titles amongst the 'best books' of the year, according to the reviewing team of the Listener. The crime fiction titles on the list are:

• BLACKLANDS by Belinda Bauer
• BLOOD MEN by Paul Cleave
• THE FALLEN by Ben Sanders
• HUNTING BLIND by Paddy Richardson
• THE REVERSAL by Michael Connelly
• SURRENDER by Donna Malane

Some cracking books there, and hopefully more Kiwi readers might give some of them a go, after reading about them in this week's issue of the Listener. Congratulations to the Kiwi crime writers who made the list.

Have you read any of the crime novels mentioned? If so, what did you think? If not, which ones catch your eye? Thoughts and comments welcome.