The first reviews of my second Cross novel, The Dead Hamlets, have been spotted in the wild. That came as a surprise to me, as the book’s pub date is now mid-February — and I don’t even have a final copy of the book myself yet! I hope the advance reviewers have the most up-to-date version….

I was impressed by a Goodreads review by Pop Bog, which called The Dead Hamlets “A Rewarding, Witty, Hot Mess of Angel-Pummeling, Action and Noir Detective Fiction.” (Warning: minor spoilers.) The reviewer really embraced what I was trying to do and had a great sense of how my work relates to the rest of the genre. That was a relief, as you always wonder if readers are going to get what you’re going for. Also, I had to laugh when the word “unhinged” came up — I think that’s the third time now that I’ve been called unhinged for these books. I should put that on the jacket of the next book.

Please let me know if you see any other reviews of The Dead Hamlets. I do like to read them, as it’s always interesting to know what people think of the Cross books. And you never know: sometimes if you ask for something in a review it may just come true in a future book.

OK, I really should get back to finishing that third book in the Cross series now.