Ten top novels for newcomers to crime fiction

At Kirkus Reviews, J. Kingston Pierce named ten top novels for readers looking for an introduction to the glories of crime fiction, including:

The Gods of Gotham, by Lyndsay Faye (2012)

[T]o represent the burgeoning subgenre of historical mysteries, I recommended this quick-stepping thriller about a fire-disfigured bartender, Timothy Wilde, who in 1845 joins the embryonic New York Police Department. Right away, Wilde gets mixed up with a young girl who’s fled one of the town’s higher-end brothels, covered in blood and claiming to know the whereabouts of a concealed graveyard for abused children.

Read about the other books on Pierce's list, and follow his insights into crime fiction at The Rap Sheet.

Learn more about The Gods of Gotham at Lyndsay Faye's website.

Writers Read: Lyndsay Faye (April 2012).

The Page 69 Test: The Gods of Gotham.

--Marshal Zeringue