Hannibal, by Thomas Harris (Heinemann, £16.99 in UK) was surely the crime blockbuster of the year - though Harris's blood-boltered offering is for strong stomachs only. Lecter and Clarice Starling joust yet again, the good doctor still showing an appetite for beans, wine and human liver. For myself, I'll stick to the turkey, ham and cranberry sauce.
Angels Flight by Michael Connelly (Orion, hardback £9.99, paperback £5.99, both UK prices) must also be mentioned. A hundred thousand welcomes for LAPD Detective Harry Bosch, tough, astringent and in everybody's face. As he investigates the murder of high-profile civil rights lawyer Howard Elias, he succeeds in annoying his superiors, his colleagues, his girlfriend, yet he does solve the case, in his fashion. Great writing, great dialogue, great plot development. Could one ask for anything more?
Forget the genre, Alan Furst is simply a first-rate novelist, a magician with words, scene-setting and character delineation. In Red Gold (HarperCollins, £16.99 in UK) he continues the wartime manoeuvres of film producer Casson, a reluctant saboteur, as he wanders occupied Paris in the winter of 1941. If you intend treating yourself to one hardback this Christmas, this is the one to buy.
James Lee Burke is another very fine writer who usually sets his dark tales in the swampy bayous of Louisiana, but this time in Heartwood (Orion, £16.99 in UK) it is the sun-drenched vastness of Texas that sees the playing out of a story describing the corrosive effect a suspect past can have on the seeming happiness of the present. Heartwood entertains, but it also makes you think.