Category Archives: Reviews

The Big Lie is smart, surprising and beautifully rendered.

Posted on by

The Big Lie, the latest Shane Cleary novel from Gabriel Valjan is smart, surprising and beautifully rendered. This is the fifth book in the series, and Valjan’s keen eye for detail, strong characters and narrative control, shine through this tale. Cleary, an ex-Boston cop, now a PI, is that rare person, an honest man in a world of shadows, lies and crime. Fans of Valjan’s Shane Cleary series (and I count myself as one!) know that things are complicated for Cleary. But as compelling as the unfolding plot is, there’s immense satisfaction in the way he does the job and finds his way through to something honorable.

The story begins when Southie’s most dangerous criminal hires Cleary to find his lost dog. Cleary is willing to refuse the job, except Jimmy says that he has information about Cleary’s father’s death years earlier. But only if he finds the dog.

Everything screams he shouldn’t take the job, but Shane can’t resist Jimmy’s added ‘incentive.’ Add in some other favors he’s asked to do, some rival gangsters, dirty cops and an overzealous DA, and you have the kind of tasty recipe only Valjan can bring to the table. The notion of “the big lie” looms throughout, touching on various aspects of the evolving case. And Shane can’t help but think his client just might kill him anyway after he finds the dog. To say much more would be to spoil the fun.

Highly recommended!

(I read an advance copy of The Big Lie via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review)

# # #

James McCrone is the author of the Imogen Trager political suspense-thrillers Faithless Elector, Dark Network , and Emergency Powers–noir tales about a stolen presidency, a conspiracy, and a nation on edge. Bastard Verdict, his fourth novel, is about a conspiracy surrounding a second Scottish Independence referendum. All books are available on BookShop.org, IndyBound.org, Barnes & Noble, your local bookshop, and Amazon. eBooks are available in multiple formats including Apple, Kobo, Nook and Kindle.

He’s a member of Mystery Writers of America, Int’l Assoc. of Crime Writers, and he’s the current president of the Delaware Valley chapter of Sisters in Crime. He lives in Philadelphia. James has an MFA from the University of Washington in Seattle. His current, work-in-progress is a mystery-thriller set in Oregon’s wine country…A (pinot) Noir, called Witness Tree.

For a full list of appearances and readings, make sure to check out his Events/About page. And follow this blog!

You can also keep up with James and his work on social media:
Mastodon: @JMcCrone
Bluesky: @jmccrone.bsky.social
Facebook: James McCrone author (@FaithlessElector)
and Instagram/Threads “@james.mccrone”

The Best of 2023

Posted on by

Well, it’s only the second day of 2024, and Bastard Verdict has made it onto two “best-of-2023” lists. I’m grateful and humbled to be included with such rarefied work, particularly for a dark tale that “weaves high stakes and low politics.”

Roughly seven months after Bastard Verdict came out (May 14), the intensity of activity–reviews, shares, notes from readers–has tended to subside. Stories are meant to endure, to last well past the initial surge at the bookstores, so its gratifying to know that for many, the book stood out. Check them out!

The Crime Book Girl’s Books of the Year, 2023

TG Wolf’s podcast Toe Tag’s Five-Star Books of 2023.

Other reviewers had kind things to say, both here in the US, and in Scotland, where Bastard Verdict is set:

(Scotland) Grab This book: “An utterly absorbing read” – https://grabthisbook.net/?p=7348

(Scotland) Craig Kelly at Tangled Web/Inspiring Fiction: “Will have you shouting, ‘just one more chapter’!” – https://www.inspiringfiction.com/post/bastard-verdict-by-james-mccrone

(US) Midwest Book Review (Diane Donovan): “McCrone keeps the tension high and psychological depth on track.” – https://www.midwestbookreview.com/mbw/jun_23.htm#dianedonovan

For more reviews, check out the Review Page on jamesmccrone.com

<<In Bastard Verdict, a second referendum on independence looms…
A Scottish official enlists elections specialist Imogen Trager, a by-the-numbers, if rarely by-the-book investigator, to look into irregularities in the 2014 Scottish Independence referendum. She has neither standing nor any investigatory powers in the UK, but moth-to-a-flame, she takes on the case, where she uncovers a trail of criminal self-dealing, cover-ups, and murder leading to the highest levels of power. None but a very few know the truth. And those few need it to stay hidden at any cost.

YOU DON’T NEED TO WIN, JUST DON’T LOSE
In politics, people cheat to win, or because they’re afraid to lose. The difference can be deadly.

Imogen will risk what’s left of her standing, her career–and maybe her life–to get at the truth.>>

Bastard Verdict is available now at Bookshop.org, Amazon-US, Amazon-UK, Waterstones, Barnes & Noble and local, independent bookstores. It’s also available on Kindle, Nook, for Kobo and Apple Books.

# # #

James McCrone is the author of the Imogen Trager political suspense-thrillers Faithless Elector, Dark Network , and Emergency Powers–noir tales about a stolen presidency, a conspiracy, and a nation on edge. Bastard Verdict, his fourth novel, is about a conspiracy surrounding a second Scottish Independence referendum. To get the details right for the new thriller, he drew on his boyhood in Scotland and scouted locations for scenes in the book while attending Bloody Scotland.

All books are available on BookShop.org, IndyBound.org, Barnes & Noble, your local bookshop, and Amazon. eBooks are available in multiple formats including Apple, Kobo, Nook and Kindle.

He’s a member of MWA, Int’l Assoc. of Crime Writers, and he’s the new president of the Delaware Valley Sisters in Crime chapter. He lives in Philadelphia. James has an MFA from the University of Washington in Seattle. His current, work-in-progress is a mystery-thriller set in Oregon’s wine country…A (pinot) Noir, called Witness Tree.

For a full list of appearances and readings, make sure to check out his Events/About page. And follow this blog!

His most recent short fiction is below. The first is available for online reading.

“Eight O’Clock Sharp” in Retreats from Oblivion: the Journal of NoirCon. (free online)
Set in Philadelphia’s 9th Street Market, Thomas is a man outside of time, forgotten, but trying to do the right thing while contending with avaricious forces.

“Ultimatum Games” in Rock and Hard Place magazine issue #7
A rare book heist, bad decisions. The narrator and his partner-in-crime clash over evolving bourgeois norms.

“Nostalgia” in Low Down Dirty Vote, vol. 3
An armed group tries to resurrect a past that never was as they struggle with change.

Getting the story

Posted on by

BROADCAST BLUES – R.G. Belsky

R. G. Belsky’s newest Clare Carlson mystery, Broadcast Blues, is a compelling and superbly human story of justice and corruption.

Approaching her 50th birthday, Clare Carlson finds that “getting the story” becomes increasingly dangerous in Belsky’s latest, tense mystery-thriller, Broadcast Blues. The trail she follows in her reporting on the horrific death of Wendy Kyle, a high-profile private investigator specializing in divorce cases, has a multitude of suspects who wouldn’t mind seeing her dead.

But it’s the little clues, the things not said (or suppressed) that call out to Clare Carlson. Not only does she have to navigate among a group of suspects–any of whom might be the killer–but she remains at odds with her managing editor, and the TV station where she works is up for sale to a hedge-funded media/entertainment colossus that couldn’t care less about news and the big stories that matter.

The deeper Clare digs, the more she identifies with the dead PI, a conflicted, driven investigator. Highly recommended.

NOTE: I received an advance review copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Strong Characters

Posted on by

I write about politics and institutions a great deal on this blog. I worry that my posts have made it seem that the Faithless Elector books are only political treatises. To be sure they are well researched and offer a chilling, insider take on Washington and our dismayingly enduring democratic deficit.

But they’re thillers.

As thrillers, they’re about characters in action. And a good many readers and reviewers have found the characters compelling and intriguing (see a sampling, below). My protagonist, FBI Agent Imogen Trager is a complex, driven character, a by-the-numbers (if rarely by-the-book) investigator who leads a strong, memorable cast. Taken together, the books weave high stakes, low politics, intricate motives and tense emotions into compelling, fast-paced stories that can be read individually or in order.

Imogen grew out of the first book, Faithless Elector, and during the re-writing/editing process, I realized she was a star. And like a star, she was stealing scenes and making others look bad! I deleted one character, and gave her his lines and discoveries, and switched a few other things around to make her more central. When I came to write the second book, Dark Network, I was excited because it would be wholly her book. In Emergency Powers, all the chickens come home to roost. And the whole cast—Imogen in particular—must confront their choices and their allegiances. (No chickens were actually harmed in the writing of this book 🙂

Here’s some of what reviewers and readers have said about the characters in the Faithless Elector series:

“McCrone’s ability to portray a heroine who makes both good and bad decisions is well-done, providing many action-packed and unexpected moments throughout.” — DIANE DONOVAN, Sr. Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

“Three tough female characters that steal the show: FBI agents Vega, Sartain, and Trager…shoulder much of the burden in this novel and deserve a large credit for why it succeeds.” -T. LIEBERMAN, Independent Book Review

Imogen Trager “wrangles with her demotion from golden girl to the FBI’s problem child while still trying to uncover the truth…It beautifully combines the bureaucracy of a spy thriller with the tantalising chase that’s usually seen in detective novels. -HANNAH STEVENSON, Dorset Book Detective

“A dynamic mix of political intrigue and high-stakes personal drama, offering keen portraits of true patriotism—its weight, its costs, and the courage that drives it.
— ART TAYLOR, Edgar Award-winning author of The Boy Detective & The Summer of ’74

“Couldn’t put it down. The tension just builds and builds. The book just sucked me in….and now I’m looking forward to the next!” radiostax (Amazon)

“Wonderful characters! But the key to the book is Imogen Trager – a dedicated FBI agent who’s willing to risk whatever it takes to save the country. You’ll love her. Highly recommended!” R. G. Belsky (Amazon)

Links to all the books are available in the bio below.

You can catch me online this Sunday, Aug. 1 at 3pm in conversation with Matty Dalrymple and Lisa Regan, hosted by the Mechanicsburg Mystery Bookshop;

AND I’ll be in New York City on Wednesday, Aug. 4, at KGB Bar (85 E 4th St) IN-PERSON and online for the MWA Reading Series, beginning at 7pm.

For a full list of appearances and readings, make sure to check out my Events/About page.

# # #

James McCrone is the author of the Imogen Trager political suspense-thrillers Faithless Elector , Dark Network , and Emergency Powers–noir tales about a stolen presidency, a conspiracy, and a nation on edge. All books are available on BookShop.org, IndyBound.org, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon. eBooks are available in multiple formats including Apple, Kobo, Nook and Kindle.

  • James McCrone

His work, “Numbers Don’t Lie” also recently appeared in the 2020 short-story anthology Low Down Dirty Vote, vol. 2, and his short story “Ultimatum Games” will appear in Rock and a Hard Place in issue #7 this fall. His next book, w/t Bastard Verdict, is a noir political thriller set in Scotland.


A Seattle native (mostly), James now lives in South Philadelphia with his wife and three children. He’s a member of the The Mystery Writers of America, Int’l Assoc. of Crime Writers, Int’l Thriller Writers, Philadelphia Dramatists Center and is the newly elected vice-president of the Delaware Valley chapter of the Sisters in Crime network. James has an MFA from the University of Washington in Seattle.