[Penforhire]

I've been on a Charlie Huston jag lately. I'd say the best of my recent reads of his is "The Shotgun Rule." He has an amazing ability to spin a close-to-home yarn whose plot could be written on one page but expands enjoyably. We ride with many characters, their backgrounds, and motivations. I'd say his "Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death" was nearly as good but less gritty and more whimsical.

"Sleepless" expanded Huston's range but doesn't measure up, IMO, against this other work, the Hank Thomson trilogy, or even the Joe Pitt series. But I think it gives the Joe Pitt series a possibility of a next book. If he could handle the worldwide crisis theme of Sleepless then he COULD write the next Pitt novel, with vampires getting publicity.

Before Shotgun Rule, I'd say my next-favorite recent read was Barry Eisler's 'Rain' series, starting with "Rain Fall." I found those better than his 'Treven' books (Fault Line & Inside Out).