Best reads of 2017

I read a lot of good books in 2017, though I completed fewer books than in the last few years - 85. Selecting the top ten was relatively easy given I'd only given ten books 5 stars. I'd rated another fifteen as 4.5 stars. Thirty percent of reads hitting the top two categories is a pretty good strike rate, I think. Here's my best reads selection.

The Rules of Backyard Cricket by Jock Serong

A brilliant slice of literary Australian noir told through twin narratives. The first details the attempt by Darren Keefe – a bad-boy of Australian cricket – to free himself from the confines of a car boot. The second charts the childhood and careers of Darren and Wally, his elder brother who secures a place in the Australian national team and eventually becomes captain. The plotting, pacing and prose is superb, with Serong creating a convincing story of two brothers who seem to have it all but are always slightly out of their depth and attract tragedy as much as success. The characterisation and character development is excellent and the denouement packs a powerful and surprising punch.  

The Sellout by Paul Beatty

The Sellout is the story of how an unnamed narrator becomes infamous through his efforts to place Dickens, a town in South Central Los Angeles, back onto the map and to challenge ideas of race and racism within the black community. The story is smart, sassy, outrageous, knowledgeable, and laugh-out loud funny. It is highly entertaining tale, with a great set of characters and an engaging storyline, yet also makes one reflect and think on a whole bunch of social issues and the history of race relations and places.

Real Tigers by Mick Herron

Real Tigers is the third book following the exploits of the slow horses – spies who’ve been put out to grass because of some major blemish in their careers. The two key elements – plot and characterisation – are excellent. The slow horses are pawns in a much larger game between a vengeful ex-army senior officer, a clownish but ruthless politician, the head of MI5 and her internal rival. There’s plenty of scheming, backstabbing, action, and twists and turns. Herron creates a multi-threaded and layered story with the strands being drawn to a climatic showdown and intriguing fallout. The dialogue and social relations between characters is nicely done, as is the storytelling in general, and there's a delicious streak of dark humour running throughout.

The Trespasser by Tana French

The sixth book in the Murder Squad series set in Ireland charts an investigation into the death of a young woman in Dublin. The story provides a microscopic account of the case, including every sentence in every interview, all of Detective Antoinette Conway’s thoughts, rich descriptions of context and scenes, detailed explanations of procedural elements, etc. It could have been overly descriptive, but is actually fully absorbing with the detail adding to the tension. This is aided by close attention to office politics and psychology and strong characterisation and character development. A wonderfully written, multilayered and intense tale. 

After You Die by Eva Dolan 

The third book in the Ferreira and Zigic series set in Peterborough. In this outing, the pair and their small team investigate the murder of a mother and the death of her severely disabled child who been victims of a harassment campaign. It's strong point is its realism and tight plot that doesn't rely on unlikely coincidences or weak plot devices. Dolan does an excellent job of keeping various possible suspects in the frame and shifting potential guilt between them. The characterisation is nicely done, as is the peeling back of the victims’ lives and their relationships. The tale also deals well with issues around disability, harassment, and fostering. Overall, a captivating read.

There’s Police at the Station and They Don’t Look Friendly by Adrian McKinty 

The sixth book in the Sean Duffy series set in Carrickfergus in Northern Ireland during the 1980s. Duffy seeks the killer of a local drug-dealer which brings him into the orbit of paramilitaries who ‘police’ local areas. As usual he manages to rub his colleagues and powerful people up the wrong way, with potentially deadly consequences. The characterisation, sense of place and time, intertextuality, and prose are excellent, and the dialogue throughout the story sparkles. In addition, the pacing and plotting is very nicely done, with tale working its way to a tense denouement without obvious plot devices. 

Riptide by John Lawton

The fourth book in the Inspector Troy series, though a prequel to the other books in the series, set in 1941. The plot centres on the hunt for a senior Nazi and American agent who has fled to London and is hiding in the city, unsure who to trust. The story blends to strong historicisation and sense of place with a ripping yarn peopled with interesting and engaging characters, ranging from everyday folk to senior diplomats and politicians to real-life players at the time. The result is a wonderfully evocative sense of London at war and a gripping tale of espionage, politics, murder and pathos, that has a nice side line in dark humour.

Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch

The second book in the Peter Grant series set in modern day London, which slots into the genre of urban fantasy police procedural. The tale has all the elements of a good story – plot, voice, sense of place, context, characterisation. I was particularly taken with the voice, the little asides about London’s history and jazz, and observations about modern policy. The trick with good urban fantasy is to make it seem completely natural so the reader suspends disbelief without effort and the magical elements don’t jar or throw the reader from the story and Aaronovitch executes this very well. There’s also a nice streak of humour running throughout.

Redemption Road by John Hart

Elizabeth Black is a tough cop living with a dark secret. Ex-cop Adrian Wall has served 13 years for the death of a local woman. The day after he’s released, another woman is found dead in the same place and laid out in the same way as Adrian's first victim. Elizabeth seems to be the only person who doesn't believe Adrian is guilty. There's a lot going on in the story with two prime story lines and their various subplots. The pacing is at a quick tempo and there are multiple mini-cliffhanger moments. Indeed, the story is full of tension, though it's also relentlessly grim. The result is a kind of literary redemption, serial killer tale with a hell of a lot more going on than the average literary tale.

The Day That Never Comes by Caimh McDonnell

The second book in a trilogy. The hapless Paul Mulchrone has started a new private investigation company with Nurse Conroy and former Detective Sergeant Bunny McGarry. Mulchrone's task is to trail a property developer involved in large-scale corruption, embezzlement and building control violations. It should be straightforward but someone is murdering the developer’s colleagues. The tale is great fun; witty throughout and with a number of laugh out loud moments, plus it has all the elements of a decent crime tale. The characterisation is excellent, the plot is well constructed building to a nice denouement, and there's a strong sense of place and context.

Review of There’s Police at the Station and They Don’t Look Friendly by Adrian McKinty (Serpent’s Tail, 2017)

Belfast 1988.  A recent returnee to Northern Ireland, a local drug-dealer, is found dead.  He’s been shot with a bolt from a crossbow in front of the house he shared with his Bulgarian wife.  Detective Sean Duffy returns from a holiday in Donegal to investigate. A few days earlier another man survived a similar attack. It seems as if local paramilitaries are actively policing drug-dealing in their area. Duffy keeps scratching at the case despite being directed to ‘yellow file’ it. Eventually his persistence starts to pay dividends, but it also brings a visit from Internal Affairs and attracts the attention of the IRA. If IA doesn’t push him out of the force, then the IRA might push him out of existence. To add spice to a difficult case, his partner has decided to seek a temporary break in their relationship, taking their young daughter with her. Duffy is not easily phased, but the stakes at work and home have got him worried.

There’s Police at the Station and They Don’t Look Friendly is the sixth book in Adrian McKinty’s excellent Sean Duffy series set in Carrickfergus in Northern Ireland during the 1980s. In this outing, Duffy has settled down with his partner and has mellowed a little after the birth of their daughter. His work life is just as difficult as ever. Being a Catholic cop and head of Carrickfergus CID at the height of the Troubles is challenging; more so when you have a streak of intransigence and bloody-mindedness and want to solve every crime and have the wits to do so. In this case, Duffy seeks the killer of a local drug-dealer which brings him into the orbit of paramilitaries who ‘police’ local areas. As usual he manages to rub his own colleagues and powerful people up the wrong way, with potentially deadly consequences.  As with the other books, the characterisation, sense of place and time, intertextuality, and prose are excellent.  Duffy and his colleagues are three-dimensional characters and the dialogue throughout the story sparkles.  In addition, the pacing and plotting is very nicely done, with tale working its way to a tense denouement without the need for obvious plot devices.  The result is a wonderful addition to the series.

Review of The Intrusions by Shav Sherez (Faber & Faber, 2017)

DI Carrigan has taken to munching pills to keep his demons in check – his mother is in a coma and having crossed the Assistant Chief Constable six months previously he’s under criminal investigation for misconduct.  When DS Miller comes to him about the possible abduction of a backpacker, he dismisses the concern.  Miller, however, is convinced that there has been foul-play, which is soon confirmed by the discovery of a body.  Anna, an aspiring German actress, disappeared from an alley behind a bar after her drink was spiked.  Her Australian friend, Madison, was also drugged but made it back to the Bayswater hostel they were both staying at.  The killing has all the hallmarks of a serial killing given the two women were initially stalked and the ritual nature of the murder.  As Carrigan and Miller slowly scrape together and pursue clues they discover an online world of hacking and psychological torture and control.  Convinced that the killer will claim another victim, and aware that Carrigan could be removed from the case at any minute, they struggle to make headway both online and in the real-world. 

The Instrusions is the third novel in the Carrigan and Miller series.  Unlike the first two, which had strong political foci, this outing is a more straightforward police procedural tale that pits the wits of the two main protagonists against a serial killer preying on female backpackers and also their bosses.  At first it seems that Sherez has strayed from the political edginess that set the series apart into typical crime fiction cliché territory.  However, the novelty in the tale is the contemporary nature of how the killer stalks and intimidates his victims through the internet, initially without them even realising their lives have been captured, and then ensnares them in a nightmare world of psychotropic drugs that lengthens time and heightens awareness of their suffering.  Sherez uses this scenario to great effect, creating a high-tension, psychological drama that has the reader sitting on the edge of their seat.  The result is shocking, gripping, and scares as much for the tale as the possibilities for how such stalking could affect the reader in real-life.  While there are a couple of twists, the storyline got a little linear towards the end I felt, and while tense the tale ended quite quickly.  Nonetheless, The Intrusions is another strong addition to what is becoming one of my favourite series.

Review of Stasi Wolf by David Young (Zaffre, 2017)

East Germany, 1975. In the model new town of Halle-Neustadt twins have been snatched from their parents.  A short time later the baby boy is found dead in a suitcase thrown from a train.  Detective Karin Müller is transferred from Berlin to take over the case.  However, she is prevented from running a normal investigation by the local Stasi office who do not the reputation of a flagship development to be sullied by the abduction or the locals to panic.  Instead, Müller must find creative ways to try and quietly search for the missing baby girl.  The case also reminds Müller of her own aborted twins and raises questions about her own background.  Despite her best efforts, the investigation grinds almost to a halt, then the child snatcher strikes again.  Müller and her team are under pressure to find the culprit and rescue a second child but within the silencing parameters dictated by the Stasi.

Stasi Wolf is the second book in the Karin Müller series set in East Germany in the 1970s.  The premise of trying to find a child abductor in a police state where the Stasi do not want the crime to be publicly known was an interesting one.  However, while there is plenty going on in the plot, with a plethora of feints and turns, there is also too many niggles in the storyline.  For example, there was too much coincidence and telegraphing with respect to Karin’s personal life and history, too much coincidence in the links between Karin and other key characters, and the setup for the denouement was highly staged and fanciful in all aspects.  A key part of the plot premise also felt too contrived - I could see no logical reason why Karin would be bought in to investigate the case other than as a plot device – the same ends would have been achieved by the manipulator by just using the local police force, which is precisely what Karin does.  What keeps the book interesting is a glimpse into East Germany in the 1970s and its social relations and paranoia and resistance, which was nicely done, and the character of Karin Müller, who is determined to succeed as a murder detective despite widespread misogyny and difficult internal politics.  These pluses however are not sufficient to paper over the plotting issues, which is a shame as the series and character that has a lot of potential.

Review of Deep Down Dead by Steph Broadribb (Orenda, 2017)

Lori Anderson makes her living as a bounty hunter in Florida, but is struggling to pay the medical bills for her sick, nine-year old daughter, Dakota.  Desperate for cash she heckles her boss into letting her chase down a major bounty.  There are two snags, however.  The bounty is JT, her former mentor and lover, and she needs to take her daughter on the trip.  She finds JT in West Virginia, but straightaway things start to go wrong.  The Miami Mob and a theme-park paedophile ring are also searching for JT and when Dakota is snatched by one of them the stakes skyrocket. Lori is not about to forfeit her daughter or the bounty without a fight.

Deep Down Dead is a crime thriller that follows the exploits of sassy bounty hunter and single-mother, Lori Anderson, in bringing back to Florida the person who taught her everything about her job, JT.  In tow is her ill daughter and a messy past with JT.  The key ingredients to the book are pace, action and tension.  Broadribb keeps the narrative hurtling along as her heroine grapples with JT, the Miami Mob and a paedophile ring working in the Winter Wonderland theme park.  What holds the story together, however, is an endless series of plot devices, many of which felt a little clunky, that stretched believability to the limit. Moreover, the relentless pace meant the tale lacked emotional depth and reflexivity beyond some confused feelings for JT and a desire to rescue the daughter.  Overall then, a Hollywood action thriller that zips along in a series of improbable scenes, propelled by a sassy lead character, a will they/won’t they romance, and fear for a kidnapped child.