The Rap Sheet’s 10 favorite crime novels of 2011

J. Kingston Pierce is both the editor of The Rap Sheet and the senior editor of January Magazine.

One of his ten favorite crime novels of 2011:

The End of Everything, by Megan Abbott

Lizzie Hood and Evie Verver were 13-year-old best friends living in a “safe” American suburb during the late 20th century. They thought they knew everything about each other. But after Evie suddenly vanishes—evidently kidnapped—Lizzie starts poking around for answers, only to discover that her naïveté had blinded her to Evie’s complexities and desires. Before long, Lizzie is manipulating evidence in the case and exploring her sexuality in ways that make her more like her friend than she realizes.

Read about another novel on the list.

The Page 69 Test: The End of Everything.

--Marshal Zeringue