Megan Abbott, Multiple titles. If I listed all of her titles I liked individually, it would take up half the list. She gave us two novels – the moody historical noir THE SONG IS YOU, and the hard boiled QUEENPIN – as well as editing the sharp anthology A HELL OF A WOMAN and contributing stories to other anthologies, such as DETROIT NOIR. Seasoned writers can envy this newcomer's output this year.




Craig Johnson, KINDNESS GOES UNPUNISHED. Viking, $23.95. Sheriff Walt Longmire and Henry Standing Bear go to Philly, giving Johnson further opportunity to explore the ideas of justice, family, and community with humor, humanity, and just enough tough guy action.




Clyde W. Ford, DEUCE'S WILD. Midnight Ink trade paperback, $13.95. The most underrated book of the year, dealing with the myths in rap music and the war on terror.




Harry Hunsicker, CROSSHAIRS. St. Martin's Minotaur, $23.95. Great cross of thriller and first person private eye novel.




Reed Farrel Coleman, SOUL PATCH. Bleak House Books, $24.95. Further proof that Moe Prager may be the most fully realized PI.




Ken Bruen and Jason Starr, SLIDE. Hard Case Crime, $6.99 (paperback original). A sick and twisted book that I hate to admit I love.




Allan Guthrie, HARD MAN. Harcourt, $23.00. Psychedelic noir with martial arts experts, dysfunctional families, dead dogs, and a possible appearance of Jesus on the cross.




Jonathan Santlofer, ANATOMY OF FEAR. William Morrow, $24.95. A great premise of a police sketch artist going after a killer that leaves drawings of his victims; Santlofer uses his talents as both writer and artist to tell it.




Denise Hamilton, LOS ANGELES NOIR. Akashic trade paperback, $15.95. A great mix of stories that show how wide a community LA is. Scott Phillips contributes my favorite short of the year.




Peter Spiegelman, ed., WALL STREET NOIR. Akashic trade paperback, $15.95. The best collection of stories that shows the reach of Wall Street. It even has a story by Megan Abbott.