Best reads of 2012 (a little late)

For whatever reason I have no interest in reading when I am in the hospital and since I spent about half of 2012 at St. Joseph's or UAB my reading was curtailed quite a bit. Still, I knocked out 30 or more titles. Here are the better ones: Kearny's March by Winston Groom. A wide-ranging look at the politics, personalities and military strategy that led to the United States' four-pronged war against Mexico. Groom does a terrific job of sorting out the various storylines without shorting any of them. Fascinating history. Excellent writing. My favorite read in 2012. Fears Unlimited by Tim Lebbon. Four fine novellas by the British writer. Very sharp. If you've never read his work, this is an excellent introduction. 1781: The Decisive Year of the American Revolution by Robert Tonsetic. A quality look at the decisive year of the American Revolution with much of the action taking place in the South. Tonsetic writes well and offers some interesting views. Moon of the Wolf by Leslie Whitten. I loved the old David Janssen-TV movie based on this story and Joe Lansdale's rave assessment of Whiten led me to read the book. Thanks Joe. Whitten's briskly-told werewolf tale still pack an impact. Gun Work by David Schow appeared as part of the Hard Case Crime series. You have to love a south-of-the-border crime story with lots of tough guys shooting at each other, a sexy, nefarious babe and a wrestling ring full of pissed off Luchadores. Fun stuff. Nocturnas by Shawn Ryan. Nasty vampires who are not looking for love. What a relief! It's a little too comic booky at times but Nocturnas moves with considerable energy and some terrific action scenes. This would make a fun movie. The Best Western Stories of Loren Estleman. I love Estleman's Page Murdock series and this slim collection of some of his other western stories also work very well. Lean and mean without being vicious, Estleman creates flavorful stories that stick with you. Grouch Marx, King of the Jungle by Ron Goulart. Goulart has churned out a lot of slim books built on even slimmer premises, not that they aren't fun. He's best known for his sci-fi, but the Groucho Marx series is aimed at lovers of detective fiction (as well as the great comedian himself.) In this one Groucho and his pal Denby mix it up with an Edgar Rice Burroughs-like character. Like I said, it was a thinner year than usual for me, but that's going to change this year. Looking forward to turning a lot of pages this year.