The first part of this century was basically when I got a front row seat to a new generation that pushed the genre in new and exciting directions. It's been so long now, another is coming up. In this year's 25 0f 25' tradition, I made this five part list, starting with number 25. These five show authors who were not afraid to play with the form. THE DEVIL TAKES YOU HOME by Gabino Iglesias- Possibly the darkest book on this list (which is saying something). A man pushed to the

John Shirley, mainly known for his science fiction, has successfully rode into the western genre. He recently won a Spur award for his book Gun Metal Mountain. This week, Wolf Pack Publishing, released his look at a legendary lawman, Wyatt In Wichita. In some ways, the book gives us the missing main piece in the Lawrence Kasdan biopic Wyatt Earp, showing the transition as directionless youngman to formidable man with a badge and gun. Shirley introduces us to him fleeing Illi

Ace Atkins proves most entertaining when he pulls a lot from what entertains him. This can be seen in his Quinn Colson series that pay tribute to the Dixie set crime and action movies of the seventies. With Everybody Wants to Rule the World, he moves to the next decade. He blends both the spy films and books of the eighties with the setup and protagonist of its teen horror and thrillers. In 1985, fifteen year-old Peter Bennett is not crazy about the latest dude his mother, Co

Author and musician Tim Bryant weaves his tale ,World of Rivers, like a chamber piece, where most authors would make it their symphony.. Just a little over two-hundred pages, it covers over forty years, three locations, at least four main characters, each told with their own section, and at least three families that become one as it looks at race, fate, art, and other themes. By taking an epic and tightening it, he looks at how life may hold a method under its chaos. He first

Jake Hinkson immediately grabs us with the set-up in his latest, You Will Never See Me. Alice, Hardesty, a married academic, gets pulled into an alley and is assaulted, as she leaves her lover's apartment. She escapes and leaves him bleeding. When she returns with the man she was sleeping with, the attacker and any signs of the crime are gone. She goes home, gets rid of her clothes, and decides to keep quiet as not to reveal her indiscretions. She didn't know private detectiv

With The Rancher, Peter Bracvold's third book about the tall, tough swede Anders Nordic, he puts the cap on his hero's arc. He began as a wandering loner who has a stronger bond with Finn, the collie he saves from torment, to finding love in The Man From Dakota. Here he establishes, friends, family, and a place for a future, learning the lengths he'll go when it is all threatened. Nordic is now married to Alexandria (Alex) , daughter of the Comanche Ranch owner Garth Deveraux

Bill Pronzini is one of those master craftsmen who can deftly apply his craft to almost any genre and subgenre. He recently broadened my opinion of the locked room (or impossible) mystery with his collection Tales of the Impossible. He was kind enough to take some questions from this newbie to the genre. SCOTT MONTGOMERY: Can you write a locked room on demand or can you only do it when you have most of the puzzle pieces in mind? BILL PRONZINI: I’ve never written an Impossible

Run Killer, Run is both heist master Lionel White's first and sixteenth book. Originally published in a digest version in 1952, under the title Seven Hungry Men, it was revised and retitled seven years later for Avon Books. It shows how well he had the genre down from the beginning. The first half of the plot and structure hit many familiar yet fun beats. Career robber Rand Coleman gets sprung from prison by lawyer and mastermind Borgman, who has a plan for a two million doll

T. Jefferson Parker often uses the crime novel to journey into Southern California society. Starting with his debut, Laguna Beach, he is at his best when he looks at the more insular communities outside L.A. With Wild Instinct, he gives us Orange County Detective Lew Gale to take us through some of its lesser known corners. A former marine who served in Afghanistan and part of the area's Acjacheme Indian community, struggling with PTSD. Parker introduces us to him in an engag

WARNING SPOILERS ALL AROUND FOR SHORT STORY AND BOTH FILMS. The Three Ten To Yuma became the first story of Elmore Leonard’s to be adapted into a film. It also became one of two of his works that Hollywood adapted twice. Both took liberties with the story as they expanded it.   Published by Dime Western in 1953, Leonard’s short story begins with Deputy Marshal Paul Scallen riding into the town of Contention with Jim Kidd, a convicted robber and murderer. At the Commercial Hot