A Hodge-Podge of Homicide

It is a rare day indeed when it doesn't seem either insane or hyperbolic to say that an author has just produced a book that has the authentic sound of that great American original, James Crumley, but, giving myself the benefit of a doubt in denying both insanity and hyperbole, "Lone Creek" (HarperCollins, 336 pages, $24.95), by Neil McMahon, fits neatly into that exalted place on a pedestal.

Having previously written four books about Dr. Carroll Monks, all of which are very good, Mr. McMahon has now found his true voice with this splendid and suspenseful novel set in Montana (also Mr. Crumley's home court).

"Lone Creek" is a crime story about Hugh Davoren, a former boxer who is now a handyman on the ranch where he grew up. In the midst of the construction of a big new house, he comes across two horses, shot to death and thrown into the site dump. Arrested and jailed for reasons unknown to him, he deduces that someone thinks he knows something he shouldn't know, but he can't figure out what it is.

What separates this book from other outstanding crime novels is the moral might of the hero — and he is a hero, just as Philip Marlowe, Lew Archer, Spenser, Harry Bosch, and C.W. Sugrue are. Davoren believes in friendship, his word, honor, and the earth — the bleak but beautiful mountainous west. He might not like it if you called him a romantic, but denial won't change the facts.

It is the poignant and knowing prose that elevates the novel to literature. How is this for the beginning of a scene that won't let you stop reading?

I awoke to the sound of a woman weeping. That had happened a number of times before in my life, almost always because she was wishing that one of us was someplace, or somebody, else.

Unlike the superb novels of Mr. Crumley, for whom plots are so complex they are either too subtle to comprehend or too convoluted to make sense (I've never been able to sort it out, but never cared because I love them so much), "Lone Creek" is a straightforward chase novel with Davoren on the run from a terrible crew that wants him dead, though it is not until the thrilling climax that he, and the reader, knows why.

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Lawrence Block has stepped a bit outside the mystery world to write a movie for Wong Kar-Wai, the first Chinese to win the Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival. "My Blueberry Nights" is a romantic road film, with a young woman making a soul-searching trip across America and encountering a series of charming and bizarre characters. Norah Jones stars in her first motion picture, which is chock-full of today's A-list of good-looking actors and actresses, including Jude Law, Rachel Weisz, Natalie Portman, David Strathairn, Jessica Simpson, Tim Roth, and Minnie Driver. Since Mr. Block no longer writes two or three crime novels a year, as he did in the 1970s and '80s, this charming movie will have to hold his fans for a while. It will be released late summer or early fall.

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The venerable firm of New American Library is adding a new imprint devoted entirely to mystery fiction, which strongly indicates yet again that our favorite genre is a good bet to have a longer future than a cold beer in a hot fraternity house. Obsidian Mysteries will contain all of NAL's mystery titles, including a substantial number of new paperback originals, among which will be a new line of tie-ins based on the CBS crime series "Criminal Minds." Having experienced the literary quality of movie and TV tie-ins over the years, I can hardly wait.

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Lee Child is not only a huge best seller here in America, but his new book, "Bad Luck and Trouble," hit the no. 1 spot in England in its first week, outselling the number two and three books combined. His paperback, "The Hard Way," also made its debut on the paperback list in the top spot. Authors who can produce works of such literary excellence while achieving such popularity are as rare as gourmet Canadian cuisine.

Mr. Penzler is the proprietor of the Mysterious Bookshop in Manhattan and the series editor of the annual "Best American Mystery Stories." He can be reached at ottopenzler@mysteriousbookshop.com.