The Blackbird Papers

the-blackbird-papers Ian Smith

When the going gets tough, some of the tough read cheesy murder mysteries. I grabbed this one at random (ok, the cover was red and shiny).  Blackbird turned out to be one of the best and most imaginative mysteries I have read in ages. While most mysteries fit into a category of one or another (cozy, medical, true crime), Smith doesn’t pigeonhole himself. The plot is good and fast moving, lots of action without getting really squishy, bits of interesting science and medical fact thrown in and realistic, filled-out characters. The only complaint I have is that this is Smith’s first book and it is recent. Nuts.

Update: As of July 2011 he still hasn’t written a new mystery.  Booooo!