The Rap Sheet

I've been unproductive lately - thank you, start of school year and roll up to new additional very part-time but not so part-stress job.  But never fear - Graeme Kent's One Blood is on deck for you all here, and an oddly entertaining book by Mick Herron called Slow Horses is in the hole.

But in the meantime, you should know about The Rap Sheet, if you don't already.  Along with Detectives Beyond Borders (for which I cannot figure out how to get an email subscription so constantly forget to check), TRS is the best blog out there on crime fiction.  J. Kingston Pierce is a writer and editor in the Seattle area, and as far as I can tell, has about twice as many hours in the day as the rest of us, most of which he fills with following new and vintage crime fiction.  For all the news, reviews, vintage picks, and author info you need, The Rap Sheet is your place.

I'm telling you this because I just loved this opening sentence in one of TRS' occasional series, The Book You Have To Read.  This is a review of an older work, mostly lost to the world of used book sellers and old vacation rentals, but worth reading if you happen upon it.  Guest writers often work in here, and today's offering is from a fellow named Steve Nester, who hosts a weekly radio show on PRX about this stuff.  Here's what he had to say about They Don't Dance Much by James Ross.  "When the romantic lead is named Smut and he owns a white-trash roadhouse, and the femme fatale is named Lola and drives a “Nile green roadster,” you know they didn’t meet in church."

I'm not as wild about noir to read as I am to watch, but what a great summary.  Makes you want to put your lips together and blow.