Over at Crime Fiction Dossier, David J. Montgomery poses a question: Who are the three authors whose work you would miss the most if they stopped writing? You'll have to jump to his site to see his answers. Here are mine:
George Pelecanos - He has written 14 novels and I just wolf down whatever he publishes. I'm in the enviable position when you find a new author in that you read the new stuff as it comes out and get to sample older works at my own personal pace. If Dennis Lehane set the hook, Pelecanos was the fishing line that dragged me into this fantastic world of crime fiction.
Elmore Leonard - I have only read about 4 of his books. The Hot Kid was fantastic: a western pulp yarn with a U.S. Marshall as the lead protagonist. I have purchased all his westerns and gulped down Valdez is Coming and Hombe in four days ove Thanksgiving 2006. I put him on the list for what he has written...and that I have yet to read.
Christa Faust - I have only read one of her books (Money Shot, read my review) but it's my favorite book of the year so far. I put her on the list because of all the future books she'll write.
My honorable mention goes to Dennis Lehane without whom I probably would not be reading any crime fiction. It was Mystic River that caused me to take a nibble. It was the Kenzie/Gennaro series, particularly the first two (A Drink Before the War and Darkness, Take My Hand) that set the hook.
And these are just the crime fiction authors.
How about y'all?
Christa Faust is an interesting dark-horse choice. Like you, I have read Money Shot. I also read the opening chapter of Hoodtown, which is as beguiling a mix of keen observation, jauntiness and seediness as I can remember reading. Damn, it's good.
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