The Times (UK) has a Christmas wrap-up of crime fiction titles by Marcel Berlins in today's edition. All of the authors they cite are Europeans, except for one:

"Back in the USA, no one is writing better than Michael Connelly. His novels featuring LAPD cop Harry Bosch have kept up an astonishingly high standard and Lost Light (Orion, £6.99; offer £5.94) is no exception. The morose Bosch, emotionally and physically weary after his many years with the department, has finally quit. But one unsolved case troubles him — the strangling of a young woman in the film business. His stubborn inquiries, unofficial and resented by his former colleagues, re-open old wounds and revive forgotten evidence. There’s even a link to terrorism after September 11. This is crime fiction of the highest quality."

Well said, my friend. I couldn't agree more.