Blood Law (Zac Hunter) by Steven Hague

He was the best new PI last year... And this year he's back already! Ex-cop Zac Hunter is just wondering what to do with his life and how to make a difference without a badge when he's drawn into a new adventure. His old informant, gangbanger and babe extraordinaire Angel asks him for help when her daughter has been kidnapped. When Hunter investigates he finds out he's been caught in a web of lies and a maelstrom of violence. Along the way he meets a Native American vigilante, Stone, who's such an impressive character you get the feeling he deserves a novel of his own. It looks like he might be back in the next novel as a sidekick of some sort. Can't help thinking of the Lone Ranger and Tonto.
Even more actionpacked then the first novel (Justice For All) that reminded me a lot of Michael Connellý this one takes you more into Lee Child territory.
Worth it if you're into hardboiled action!

Father's Day (Louis Klein) by Keith Gilman

Ex-cop Louis Klein is asked by his old partner's widow to track down her missing daughter. Not exactly a new story premise, right? So, why did it win the Minotaur Books/PWA Best First Private Eye Novel award? Easy, it's because of the good writing. There's a James Lee Burke-like poetry and literacy to the words in here. Combine this with the fact the writer is a real cop and gives the story a very authentic tasteand you've got a great example how you can write a great PI novel without trying frantically to do something different.

Gutted (Gus Dury) by Tony Black

Black is back! As the writer of my favorite debut novel of 2008 I was of course very eager to read his second novel. Tony delivers the goods once again.
Gus Dury, the unofficial Scottish PI stumbles on a pair of dog torturers and gets into a fight with them. This action draws him into a complicated investigation and antagonizes both cops and robbers
Gus is again a very pissed-off character, angry at almost everything and always nearly drunk. He's dark, almost suicidal and full of problems and insecurities. We discover more about his relationship with his ex-wife Debs and a dark secret they share.
Tony Black shows how he's still the leading man in the stream of Ken Bruen's followers, serving up a hardboiled tale in which the protagonist is just as important as the crimes. Don't read this one if you're a bit too depressed though, it might just sent you over the edge. Tony's prose is that engaging and he will totally draw you into the dark mind of Gus Dury for sure.

Dead Man's Dust (Joe Hunter) by Matt Hilton

If you enjoy Lee Child's Jack Reacher novels, Stephen Leather's books or Don Pendleton this is the book for you. The first in a new series we are introduced to vigilante Joe Hunter and his pal Rink as they look for Joe's brother. He's gotten mixed up with a dangerous serial killer, dubbed The Harvestman and travels across the USA as Hunter and Rink do.
There's an awful lot of violence in this baby and if you dislike that sort of thing this might not be your cup of tea. Matt really knows his combat, that's very clear from every hardboiled page. Harvestman is a cool but somewhat over the top villain and Joe Hunter is a capable soldier, surely good enough to star in a long-running series. I can see why Matt Hilton got the big advance for his stuff, it's great, commercial dicklit but might not appeal to the visitors of this site who prefer subtler stories or crave for a bit more realistic stories. I however will absolutely be there in six months when the new Joe Hunter novel comes out.r

A Tight Lie (Huck Doyle) by Don Dahler

If you know ''tight lie'' is a golfing term you might get a bit of an idea what to expect... The PI in this debut novel is a professional golf player. He does know how to handle himself in a fight however and is backed up by a tough cop (who surprised me by his true identity) and a paraplegic FBI brother. Yep, he's hardboiled enough to appeal to all of you loyal visitors. The mystery centers around the death of a young girl and the ballplayers suspected of killing her. There's a refreshing lighter side to it all that reminded me of Harlan Coben's Myron Bolitar novels. Add to that the same sports-setting and I can really recommend this one to Bolitar-fans.
The absence of quotation marks for dialogue makes it a bit hard to read at times but that is made up for by the crisp writing style and layout of the book.
For me this one was one of the biggest surprises of 2009. Very enjoyable.