Calibre.

Bruen, Ken (author).

Bruen is so prolific that there is mounting evidence he could supply his own book-of-the-month club. It doesn’t seem to affect his quality, though: if you like him, you’ll still like him; if you don’t, you still won’t. Switching gears from his Jack Taylor series (The Dramatist, 2006), Bruen returns to cops-and-robbers London and the cast of characters last seen in Vixen (2005). This postmodern crime novel pits the Ed McBain–loving antihero Sergeant Brant against a new villain, the Jim Thompson–obsessed Manners Killer. Well, against is a strong word in this morally murky universe, but one of them does have a badge. Bruen has referenced McBain’s 87th Precinct series often enough that it’s clear he is writing his own version, though the brutality, cynicism, and racism of the characters almost guarantee they won’t reach as wide an audience. Bruen is so stinting on description that it’s hard to keep some of them straight—but the completely corrupt, satanically funny Brant probably could carry the whole thing on his shoulders. Here’s to the next Bruen-of-the-Month.