Exit Strategy  by Kelley Armstrong. Armstrong's “Women of the Otherworld” series has been a big hit in paranormal circles. Exit Strategy is her first in a new series featuring a very down-to-earth ex-cop turned hitman called Nadia Stafford. The good news is that the writing and story are just as entertaining as I'd come to expect of Armstrong. A serial killer who may or may not be a professional hitman is taking down victims seemingly at random, and the professional community doesn't like it one bit. Nadia is among those who band together to hunt the murderer before the police get their mits on him. The above average cat and mouse, and the interplay between Nadia and her hitman mentor Jack spark nicely in a story that meanders its way towards the expected explosive finish. It's a great snacky sort of read, and a series I'll watch for in future.

The Colorado Kid, Stephen King.  A slim little novella, The Colorado Kid is King playing artsy with the hard-boiled genre.  Possessed of an ending that'll polarize readers, I still have mixed feelings about this one.  King lays out his cards in the afterward (which spoils the ending, so read it yourself), and I think the effort successful for his aims, though I have to wonder if this was the right medium for such an experiment.

The Pale Blue Eye, Louis Bayard. A well-executed historical mystery that works as both pastiche and homage. After a series of gruesome murders, Cadet Edgar Poe is brought in to assist the detective in charge. Bayard nail's Poe's tone and affectation. The plot is worthy of one of the famous author's gothic horrors, while the ending owes a good bit to Agatha Christie. Lovely.

Charmed to Death, Shirley Damsgaard.  The second Ophelia and Abbey mystery is slightly heavier on the actual witchcraft, but still concerned with the charms of small-town life.  Damsgaard's ending leaves openings for many more sequals, and suggests that Ophelia may start acting in an official capacity as police psychic.  Since there's been very little character development thus far, it wouldn't be an unwelcome development

Witch Way to Murder, Shirley Damsgaard.  In this lightweight mystery, a small town librarian solves a murder and busts a drug ring.  The first book in Damsgaard's Ophelia and Abbey mysteries, this incorporates white witchcraft and a hint of psychic powers, but the overall effect is more Miss Marple or Bewitched than any of the other witchcraft inspired mysteries currently in vogue.

Tokyo Suckerpunch: A Billy Chaka Adventure, Isaac Adamson.  This is brilliant in its squashing of genres I never expected to fit together. Blending detective noir, farce, and a strange sense of humor with a look at through western eyes (think Lost in Translation), Adamson gives us a supernatural mystery in a place where natural is subjective and truth is funnier than any fiction. I've already picked up Hokkaido Popsicle, and I'm hoping for a similar good time

Hokkaido Popsicle, Isaac Adamson.  Easily as good as Tokyo Suckerpunch with the same blend of the obscure, strange, and amusing

Dreaming Pachinko, Isaac Adamson. This series is consistently good; even though I'd never heard of Pachinko, I found myself drawn in by the blend of humor, mystery, and X-Files-ish plots Adamson creates. By this entry the setting and situations seemed more normal, but the lack of novelty is easily countered by a tighter, more traditional noir plot.

Guardian of the Horizon, Elizabeth Peters - I was hoping this would be a bit better than it was; with the series as long as it is, and most of the personal and political conflicts resolved happily in the years through WWI it makes sense to go back to the past, and introduce a new episode in the days where tension was still ripe between Sethos and Amelia and Ramses and Nefret. Unfortunately, while the setting is right, the relationships and plot is a bit slipshod; characters say and do things more obvious in a Gothic romance, as opposed to the established gentle satire of the genre. It's still a worthy trip for fans, even though they may be bothered by the apparent lack of later integration of this episode.

Those Who Hunt The Night Barbara Hambly.  An unusual murder mystery where vampirism is more of an aside than central to the plot workings.