All 2010 reviews

Here are all my reviews of 2010 ordered by the rating I gave books. Reflecting the quality of the books I read, the reviews are skewed towards the top end (I introduced the half star about halfway through the year and certainly some of the 4* books would have been 3.5 star if I'd had the system in place beforehand). Of the 101 books I read, 58 were 4 stars or above and 43 3.5 stars or below.

5* - 14; 4.5* - 7; 4* – 37; 3.5* - 10; 3* - 26; 2.5* - 3; 2* - 4

The general quality is to a large degree because my reading has been shaped somewhat by either prior experiences of an author's work or I've read good reviews elsewhere. Certainly, the quality of my reading has improved no end since I starting blogging, which is a compelling reason to continue.

Brodeck's Report by Phillipe Claudel *****
The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death by Charlie Huston *****
The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M Cain *****
Small Crimes by Dave Zeltserman *****
The Ones You Do by Daniel Woodrell *****
Gunshot Road by Adrian Hyland *****
Vanilla Ride by Joe Lansdale *****
Expiration Date by Duane Swierczynski *****
Dead I May Well Be by Adrian McKinty *****
Hypothermia by Arnaldur Indridason *****
We Die Alone by David Howarth *****
The Grave in Gaza by Matt Beynon Rees *****
Killer by Dave Zeltserman *****
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett *****

Collusion by Stuart Neville ****.5
Raven Black by Ann Cleeves ****.5
Blood of the Wicked by Leighton Gage ****.5
The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Coterill ****.5
Love, Sex and War by John Cosgrove ****.5
No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy ****.5
Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett****.5

Isle of Joy by Don Winslow ****
The Last Good Kiss by James Crumley ****
London Boulevard by Ken Bruen ****
A Brief History of Neoliberalism by David Harvey ****
Ten Days to D-Day by David Stafford ****
The Mask of Dimitrios by Eric Ambler ****
Enough is Enough by Fintan O'Toole ****
Halo in Blood by John Evans/Howard Browne ****
Needle in a Haystack by Ernesto Mallo ****
South of no North by Charles Bukowski ****
Saturday's Child by Ray Banks****
The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett ****
Tomato Red by Daniel Woodrell ****
Tonight I Said Goodbye by Michael Koryta ****
Damnation Street by Andrew Klavan ****
Then Came The Evening by Brian Hart ****
The Big O by Declan Burke ****
Vodka Doesn't Freeze by Liah Giarrantano ****
The Day of the Jack Russell by Colin Bateman ****
Roseanna by Maj Sjowall and Pers Wahloo ****
The People's Manifesto by Mark Thomas ****
Point Blank by Richard Stark****
The Silence of the Rain by Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza ****
The Good Thief's Guide to Paris by Chris Ewan ****
Devil's Food by Anthony Bruno ****
Operation Mincemeat by Ben Macintyre ****
The Complaints by Ian Rankin ****
The Song is You by Megan Abbott ****
The Goodbye Kiss by Massimo Carlotto ****
Leather Maiden by Joe Lansdale ****
Via Delle Oche by Carlo Lucarelli ****
A Firing Offense by George Pelecanos ****
Grift Sense by James Swain ****
Dead Set by Kel Robertson ****
Truth by Peter Temple ****
Chickenhawk by Robert Mason ****
Old Dogs by Donna Moore ****

Breakfast with Anglo by Simon Kelly ***.5
The Samaritan's Secret by Matt Beynon Rees ***.5
I, The Jury by Mickey Spillane***.5
Killer Country by Mike Nicols ***.5
Smoked by Patrick Quinlan ***.5
The Green Ripper by John D. Macdonald ***.5
The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly ***.5
Instruments of Darkness by Robert Wlison ***.5
Gallows Lane by Brian McGilloway ***.5
Almost Blue by Carlo Lucarelli ***.5

Operation Napoleon by Arnaldur Indridason ***
Wasters by Shane Ross and Nick Webb ***
The Arms Maker of Berlin by Dan Fesperman ***
Bangkok Tattoo by John Burdett ***
The Case of the Missing Books by Ian Samson ***
The Spies of Warsaw by Alan Furst ***
The Burglar Who Studied Spinoza by Lawrence Block ***
Cogan's Trade by George V Higgins ***
Water-Blue Eyes by Domingo Villar ***
Badfellas by Tonino Benacquista ***
GUBU Nation by Damian Corless ***
Bad Things Happen by Harry Dolan ***
Fury by G.M. Ford ***
Hand in the Fire by Hugo Hamilton ***
A Deadly Trade by Michael Stanley ***
The Devil's Garden by Ace Atkins ***
Trail of Blood by S.J. Rozan ***
The American Envoy by Garbhan Downey ***
Motor City Blue by Loren Estleman ***
Paying For It by Tony Black ***
Criminal Summer by Luigi Guicciardi ***
Have Mercy on Us All by Fred Vargas ***
Kamikazi by Raymond Lamont-Brown ***
Havana Fever by Leonardo Padura ***
Old Flames by John Lawton ***
The Fugitive Pigeon by Donald Westlake ***

Client by Parnell Hall**.5
The Information Officer by Mark Mills **.5
And Then You Die by Michael Dibdin **.5

Shinjuku Shark by Arimasa Osawa **
Pies and Prejudice by Stuart Maconie **
Up in Honey's Room by Elmore Leonard **
Blood Moon by Gary Disher **