“Robicheaux” by James Lee Burke – Grasping Hands from the Darkness

James Lee Burke has done a great service to the world of literature when he gave birth to the Dave Robicheaux series, the scarred and damaged investigator trying to stay afloat amidst a sea of demons, personal and otherwise.

In Robicheaux, the titular character returns to the gritty backwoods of Louisiana to investigate a murder involving the man who killed Dave's wife.

“Love and Other Consolation Prizes” by Jamie Ford – Raffled into a Pilgrimage

Jamie Ford has established himself as one of the few authors out there willing to tackle the uncomfortable subject of the oppressed existence led by many Asian-Americans during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

In Love and Other Consolation Prizes he returns to his forte once again, telling the story of a young Chinese boy who is first sold by his mother as a means of getting him a better life, and then auctioned off to the madam of a brothel in the red light district.

Curiously enough, it's where the boy begins to form his first semblance of an actual family and is embarked on a lifelong journey few could have ever predicted.