It's Time for Your Annual Review
Our Year in Review, and some books I enjoyed reading in 2023.
So how was your year?
Pretty good, I think? My most-read and, happily, best-received book came out. That was nice.
Did No Home for Killers accomplish every single thing you wanted? Be honest. Remember, this is your review.
I have no complaints, because I wrote the best book I could, and it also happened to be the book I wanted to write.
But it didn’t hit the way I wanted. I was hoping my little vigilante would be everywhere. I imagined the movie trailer. I wanted a Funko of Emily Peña wearing her Three Strikes mask. I had dreams, man.
All of that sounds perfectly reasonable!
Right? But it didn’t happen, and I think it’s because I made some mistakes with the writing. I do think it’s a good book, and a story worth telling.
But there was too much swearing (fair). And it was too violent (also fair). And those were things I probably should have paid attention to.
But there was a deeper problem, if we’re being honest. No Home for Killers is a tragedy, and I didn’t realize that until months after publication. And I don’t even know if that was something I wanted to write.
Don’t you teach writing? Isn’t that something you should have caught?
I know! But it’s weird with a book. You never fully realize the simple things about it, even if they’re somewhat glaringly obvious to readers. Like, “hey this guy is already sitting, how did he sit again, is he a contortionist?” Or, “wow, this is super dark and upsetting for the heroes, maybe you’re writing a noir tragedy.”
What’s wrong with that?
Nothing, necessarily…but a tragedy needs to be approached differently. You have to be deeply aware of that, so you can provide enough light at the end; otherwise, the ending feels pointless. And that’s a very disappointing way to finish a book.
I don’t think that was the main takeaway from No Home for Killers, and I have enough reviews and feedback from trades and readers to know it was liked…but it could have been stronger. I know that now.
How do you feel going into 2024?
Well, I have the new book coming out, When She Left. Which I wrote as an upswing from No Home for Killers, so where that book was dark with moments of light, this is the opposite. It makes me happy to think about it.
Anything else?
This newsletter was, as always, a joy for me to write, and I love that it resonates with readers. And all the thanks to Tara Laskowski and SmokeLong Quarterly for running my one of newsletter’s opening essays, “How to Talk to Your Children About War,” in their most recent issue. The idea that people enjoy this means a lot to me.
That said, like a lot of writers, I’ll be leaving SubStack because of their “eh shrug” approach to Nazis, but…
Wait, what?
Yeah, it’s a whole thing. And I don’t want to have a whole debate or anything. I’m a free speech absolutist, but I also don’t want to share space (more than I have to) with voices calling for the destruction of entire groups of people. I’m a believer in bubbles. We have to put up with opposing views (not a bad thing!) in our politicians, pundits, colleagues, family, and I need a few places where I can get a break. And social media and this newsletter are places of respite for me.
SOCIAL MEDIA IS A PLACE OF RESPITE???
Well, I’m not on Twitter.
Where is Crime Fiction Works going?
I’m still looking into platforms. But where I land shouldn’t affect subscribers whatsoever. The newsletter may look different, but it’ll still be arriving in your inbox once every three weeks.
I thought it was twice a month?
Originally it was monthly, then twice a month, and now once every three weeks. That seems like the best approach. Just enough before I get too annoying and needy.
But this newsletter has always been, and will continue to be, a work-in-progress. That’s part of the fun. I like mixing recommendations with “A Writer Kisses, Marries, and Kills.” I like coming up with new ideas to promote writers and their books.
And I really like the idea that, somehow, the person reading this and I are in conversation. Hopefully, no matter how troubled things turn, our conversation makes you a little less lonely. It does that for me.
See you in 2024!
EA
Speaking of When She Left, my next novel is available for preorder! It was just reviewed by the lovely folks at First Clue who said this:
There were so many times when I wanted to yell DON’T DO THAT! at the characters in this dark tale of trying to do right by the ones you love but being tripped up by hapless choices at every turn. The cast is stuck, in various ways, in the orbit of the ruthless Winters crime family. Melissa Cruz, who’s “[smothering] her guilt in justification and Xanax,” is running from an abusive relationship with a member of the family, accompanied by her real love. The Winterses are not taking this betrayal lightly, and they’ve sent Lucky Wilson to find the couple and…well, Lucky is a professional assassin, even if his day job is real estate, so things don’t look good. Then there’s Lucky’s family: his wife, who he believes is having an affair, and his teenage daughter, who’s very much not into boys her own age. The fast-moving and sometimes-comic tale unfolds the back stories of the various characters, beautifully illustrating how bad decisions can be the product of fierce love and how what seems like the worst path might be a redemption. While waiting for this book, you’ll want to go back and try Aymar’s No Home for Killers and They’re Gone, as his writing is just great.—Henrietta Thornton
Check it out HERE and treat yourself to an early Christmas gift for 2025.
Here is a very random list of books I enjoyed reading in 2023.
All the Sinners Bleed, S.A. Cosby
Shawn has ended up every best of the year list, and deservedly so. His story about a black sheriff in a southern town, menaced by a serial killer, is exceptionally powerful and unsettling, and nobody but Shawn could have told this story as well as he did,
Everybody Knows, Jordan Harper
This book probably has the purest prose of any that I read in 2023. Jordan Harper is on his own level, and his writing is superb. You can try studying him, but it’d be like watching Usain Bolt…no matter what, you won’t run like that.
Hot Springs Drive, Lindsay Hunter
My favorite book of the year, by a writer I was asked to review and had never heard of. Hunter writes about desire in a way that feels like you’re licking honey off the sharp edge of a knife.
Happiness Falls, Angie Kim
The anticipated follow-up to Kim’s Miracle Creek didn’t disappoint. Most writers have a discernible pattern or style, something that lends itself to familiarity. But Kim is a character actor, and loses herself in her stories. The only similarities I could find between her two books is that each is masterfully told.
Dark Ride, Lou Berney
If you’re going to have a dark ending, then you should read Lou Berney and learn how to do it with skill and compassion. I’ll never forget this book, or how lost and hopeful it made me feel.
The winner of this newsletter contest is l___k__en@gmail.com! Congrats, and you’ve won any of the books listed above! I’ll slide into your DMs (send you an email, so not exactly slide into your DMs) soon.
Until next time, much love and Happy Reading!