Favorite Sons of 2019

I had some more time to read this year and managed to enjoy some great new PI writing. As I do every year I managed to pick my favorites again.

BEST PI NOVEL: Behind The Wall Of Sleep (Henry Malone) by James D.F. Hannah
BEST DEBUT: Cobra Clutch (Hammerhead Jed Ounstead) by A.J. Devlin
BEST NEW PI: Auggie Velez by Robert J. Randisi

The Last Sweet Song of Hammer Dylan (Auggie Velez / Nashville P.I.) by Robert J. Randisi

Robert J. Randisi shows again what a master he is at the Elmore Leonard style of writing: leaving out the parts people skip. That makes for a highly entertaining, fast read.
I also love the character of guitarplayer / PI Auggie Velez. Never do you think of him as a superman, but he still is a strong protagonist and pretty good private eye. In this novel he is hired to track down country artist Dylan Hammer who went missing years ago, presumed dead. In this mission he stumbles on a dead body and two older ladies with a very healthy sexual appetite to complicate things.
While the mystery isn't that complicated and there's not much action within the pages the strong writing and atmosphere made me really enjoy it. I just love how Randisi uses the country scene to really give the story extra color like I try to use the metal scene in my Lenny Parker stories.
I really hope Mr. Randisi sticks with this character!

The Headstone Detective Agency (John Headston) by Robert J. Randisi

Robert J. Randisi has done so much for the private eye novel heading up among other things the Private Eye Writers of America for some time. Aside from that he's written some pretty good PI series. After treating us to the Nashville PI series he's now back with a brand new series.
It features John Headston, a 50 year old PI who used to have big agency but is now back to a one man operation.
In this first novel Headston is hired to find a missing stockbroker by his wife. As these cases often turn out he is drawn into a murder investigation. During this investigation he gets a new employee, a young girl with tattoos more or less his own counterpart.
The best thing about this novel is the tight writing. Never do we get bogged down by too detailed descriptions of furniture, houses or the weather. Instead the plot is moved forward by dialogue and short scenes, just how I like it. Aside from that Headston starts out as pretty standard PI but we get to see deeper layers of his character as the story continued. And you will fall in love with his female sidekick Ally for sure.
Randisi shows off what experience can bring you in this very solid tale that is bound to be loved by all PI fans who want the good old stuff instead of the fancy thrillers like Robert Crais seems to be writing these days or the Reacher novels.

The Honky Tonk Big Hoss Boogie (Nashville PI series / Auggie Velez) by Robert J. Randisi

Robert J. Randisi is of course a real pro when it comes to PI fiction. He wrote a lot of PI stories and series in the past (like the Miles Jacoby books) and even served as president of the Private Eye Writers of America. So, it should come as no surprise he hands in a solid little story here.
In nicely paced short chapters we are introduced to Auggie Velez, a session guitarplayer in Nashville who is also a PI. He reminds me just a little bit of my own roadie/bassplayer/PI Lenny Parker in that regard. Auggie is hired by a record producer to deliver a suitcase. When the recipient of the suitcase is murdered Auggie sets out to find the killer.
What makes this story great is that Auggie really feels like a real person, not a two-dimensional action hero. I was just a bit sorry he’s a war veteran as I thought his charm is that he doesn’t seem like a real tough guy. Also, the whole Nashville music setting is interesting and the writing very tight.

Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea (various) by various writers

I love PI short stories! I was overjoyed when I learned about this great anthology. I was even happier when I found out most stories were fairly traditional PI stories. That is exactly the reason why some readers might not like it, but most loyal readers of my blog will.
We've got experienced PI writers like Robert J. Randisi (with a Ratpack tale), new popular PI writers like Matt Coyle (introducing a new PI) and a short story debut by a new series PI (Stephen Nicholson as written by Thomas Donahue). There's a PI in the Wild West (by John M. Floyd) and a team of PI's by Gay Totl Kinman. Michael Bracken served up a very noir little tale.
Personal favorites were the Nick Ventura story by J.L. Abramo and the almost softboiled but witty PI who isn't really a PI story by Art Taylor. I'd also like to see more of the PI introduced by Andrew McAleer in King's Quarter.
Although the concept was pretty cool and would make a great TV show I cared less for the almost journalistic writing of Gay Totl Kinman and the clue that gave away the killer that was a bit too cliche.
A great anthology for any fan of this blog. Also, if you like this kind of stuff don't forget about the two PI anthologies I edited, The Shamus Sampler and The Shamus Sampler II.

Fifty Shades of Fedora (Anthology) by Robert J. Randisi

One of the most important reasons I developed the Shamus Sampler series of anthologies was that the Private Eye Writers of America didn't seem to put out theirs anymore. Lucky for me, they're back with this one, as always expertly edited by Robert J. Randisi. I'm sorry he didn't do introductions for each tale, used to love those.

The running theme, as can be guessed a bit by the title is sex. Some graphic and kinky, some more implied. Some tales didn't really seem to be real PI tales to me, but of course that wasn't advertised either. A LOT of them are, I'm happy to say, though.

Among the writers are Carolina Garcia-Aquilera, Justin Scott, Gary Phillips, Jerry Kennealy, Michael Bracken, Christine Matthews, Robert J. Randisi, Warren Murphy, Ted Fitzgerald, Dick Lochte, and John Lutz. I loved seeing Max Allan Collins with a Nate Heller story and Jerry Kennealy put in a short and sweet Nick Polo tale. The fact there's a VI Warshawski tale in it should sell some extra copies. Some tales are a bit raunchier than others, Bracken's probably the more hardcore one. If you don't like that kind of stuff, don't worry, it is at the beginning but  not indicative to the rest.

Special mention should go to Ted Fitzgerald's Tex Texeira who is a PI that does background checks for a nudie magazine. I thought that idea was very original and the tale very enjoyable. @Ted: if you are reading this, be sure to contact me for an interview.