Ranger (Quinn Colson) by Ace Atkins

As a fan of the Nick Travers series I was excited to hear Ace Atkins had a new series coming out.
In this first novel of the series we follow Ranger Quinn Colson as he returns to his hometown because of his uncle's death. What he encounters is a large cast of redneck villains and some great Southern Belles. He's aided by one-armed sidekick Boom and deputy sheriff Lillie. Especially Lillie is a great, likable character. Quinn is a cool, cigar-smoking tough guy but not the superman Jack Reacher is.
There's a strong subplot about a teenage girl who got herself pregnant by a piece white trash that comes to a violent conclusion in the end.
It all reminded me a bit of Lori Armstrong's No Mercy and people who enjoyed that one will surely enjoy this one. More Southern noir than a straight mystery novel Ace shows how to make the best use of a setting.

Shamus Award Winners 2011

The Shamus Award winners have been revealed at Bouchercon. Sons of Spade congratulates all winners and is happy that one of my favorites (No Mercy) is among the winners.

• Best PI Hardcover: No Mercy [Mercy Gunderson] by Lori G. Armstrong (Touchstone)

• Best First PI Novel: In Search of Mercy [Dexter Bolzjak] by Michael Ayoob (Minotaur Books)

• Best PI Paperback Original: Asia Hand [Vincent Calvino] by Christopher G. Moore (Grove/Atlantic)

• Best PI Short Story: "The Lamb Was Sure To Go" by Gar Anthony Haywood (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, November 2010)

• Best PI Series Character: V. I. Warshawski, created by Sara Paretsky

• The EYE Lifetime Achievement Award: Ed Gorman

Shamus Award Nominees

The nominees for the Shamus Awards are in! Here they are:

BEST HARDCOVER PI NOVEL
No Mercy, by Lori Armstrong (Touchstone)
The First Rule, by Robert Crais (Putnam)
Voyeur, by Daniel Judson (Minotaur)If the Dead Rise Not, by Philip Kerr (Putnam)
Naked Moon, by Domenic Stansberry (Minotaur)

BEST FIRST PI NOVEL
In Search of Mercy, by Michael Ayoob (Minotaur)
One Man’s Paradise, by Douglas Corleone (Minotaur)
Rogue Island, by Bruce DeSilva (Forge)
Random Violence, by Jassy MacKenzie (Soho)
City of Dragons, by Kelli Stanley (Minotaur)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL PI NOVEL
Hostage Zero, by John Gilstrap (Kensington)
Nightshade, by Tom Henighan (Dundurn Press)
Mister X, by John Lutz (Pinnacle)
The Panic Zone, by Rick Mofina (Mira)
Asia Hand, by Christopher G. Moore (Grove/Atlantic)
The Little Death, by P.J. Parrish (Pocket Star)

BEST PI SHORT STORY
“The God of Right and Wrong,” by Steven Gore
(Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, January/February 2010)

“The Lamb Was Sure to Go,” by Gar Anthony Haywood
(Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, November 2010)

“The Girl in the Golden Gown,” by Robert S. Levinson
(Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, March/April 2010)

“Phelan’s First Case.” by Lisa Sandlin
(Lone Star Noir, edited by Bobby Byrd and Johnny Byrd; Akashic Books)

“A Long Time Dead,” by Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins
(The Strand Magazine, June-Sept. 2010)


I am especially rooting for Bruce (Hardboiled Collective member), Lori and Max. Good luck!

Mercy Kill (Mercy Gunderson) by Lori Armstrong

Mercy Gunderson is back! After the events of No Mercy she's trying to put her life in Dakota in order when an old friend from her military days shows up. He's trying to get people to back up Titan Oil, a company that wants to put a pipeline through Eagle River County. When he ends up being murdered Mercy sets out to investigate, clashing with her secret lover, the local sheriff. She even decideds to campaign for the position of sheriff, following in her dad's footsteps.
Mercy is a pretty tough chick, and she'll need to be because there's some very evil criminals involved.
Mercy is a great character, way tougher than girls like Warshawski or Milhone, wilder than even moste male characters and still with a soft side. The way she deals with her family and her military past is just as important as the crime stuff. Because Mercy is so hardboiled a character though it never gets too sappy or too much like chicklit.
Lori really outdoes herself this time with the army flashbacks which make you feel you're transported over to the battlefields along with Mercy.
More excellent stuff from an already excellent series.

Favorite Sons of 2010

As I do every year I want to share with you my favorite PI-stuff of the year.

BEST PI NOVEL: Big Bang by Mickey Spillane & Max Allan Collins
BEST DEBUT: Rogue Island by Bruce DeSilva
BEST NEW PI: Jimmy Boone (in This Wicked World) by Richard Lange
BEST ACTION SCENES: The Taking of Libbie, SD by David Housewright

Honorable mentions go to Lori Armstrong for her new series featuring Mercy Gunderson that promises to be as good as the Julie Collins books and Nick Quantrill for the most exciting non-US novel of the year.