Bruen, Ken

For fans of the series and its protagonist, and readers who admire Jack’s devious ways of making things right.

Employing elegantly poetic brevity and exploring religion's dark side, a favored motif, this is another strong addition to Bruen's noirish canon. Jack Taylor is an iconic character, a charming reprobate whose plaintive booze-drenched rants are the perfect vehicle for Bruen's black humor and insights related to pop culture, music, and literature. [See Prepub Alert, 5/7/17.]

Readers unfamiliar with the series probably could start here without confusion but would be better served by reading earlier entries first. Fans of the series will be delighted, although the book ends with questions about where things will go next. [See Prepub Alert, 3/14/16; library marketing.]

Mystery champion Otto Penzler recently bought back the Mysterious Press, which he founded in 1975 and then sold; he's relaunching it with Grove Atlantic...