Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Jonathan Yardley reviewed Michael Connelly's latest novel, The Lincoln Lawyer, in the Washington Post. Here is the last line of his critique:
"Michael Connelly [is] not a 'genre' novelist but the real thing, taking us into parts of the real America that most of our novelists never visit because they don't even know where, or what, they are."
Amen.
For those of you who, like me, are fans of Thomas Perry, I have a piece of good news. The galley of his new book, Nightlife, arrived today!
Okay, I know what you're thinking. "The book isn't being released until next March -- how does this do me any good now?" Fine, it doesn't. But it's still very cool news.
Thomas Perry is one of the very best contemporary writers of crime fiction and just knowing that a new book of his exists is something to be excited about.
In the meantime, if you haven't read The Butcher's Boy or Vanishing Act or Pursuit (the first winner of the Gumshoe Award), then you have no excuse. Go buy a copy or pick one up at the library today. Thomas Perry rocks!
As if I didn't have enough books to read already, I'm always trying to keep up with future releases as well. Here are some of the books that will be coming out next year that I'm most looking forward to.
Robert Ferrigno's Prayers for the Assassin, a political thriller set in the near future where America has become an Islamic republic and the Bible Belt has seceded to form its own Christian nation. Set against that backdrop is a thriller plot about a Muslim warrior being hunted by a psychopathic assassin. How's that for a grabber?
Phillip Hawley, Jr's Stigma (working title) a high octane thriller about a doctor caught up in the evil plans of a greedy pharmaceutical company. (I read this in manuscript form and it's a killer.)
Michael Connelly's sequel to The Lincoln Lawyer, which will feature both Mickey Haller and Harry Bosch. (Lincoln Lawyer, by the way, is great, one of the best things I've read all year.)
Thomas Perry's Nightlife. I don't know anything about this book, other than I'm dying for another Perry novel. It's been too long!
Gayle Lynds' The Last Spymaster. I first got interested in this book when Lynds told me about it a couple years ago at Bouchercon. It was delayed a year due to Lynds' husbands illness, but I'm looking forward to seeing what she has in store for us next.
James O. Born's Escape Clause. The third book featuring Florida cop Bill Tasker is supposed to be darker, bloodier and better than ever. Just got a copy of this one and hope to read it soon.
Lawrence Block's Hit Parade. Might be the last book to feature Block's nonchalant assassin Keller. Should be a good one.
Robert Ward's new one. Details are scant on this one; I don't even know when it will be released. It's been too long, though, since we've had a book from one of our best, most underrated writers.
As always, I'm also anticipating a lot of fun from the next books by Barry Eisler, Denise Hamilton, J.A. Konrath, Laura Lippman, George Pelecanos, Gary Phillips, Lee Child, Charlie Stella, T. Jefferson Parker, Chris Mooney, and a bunch of other people whose names I'm forgetting at the moment. It's a wonder that anyone has time to read new writers!
What are you looking forward to?
Over on M.J. Rose's blog, a post discussing a recent Chicago Tribune article that trashed genre fiction prompted the following comment from author Elizabeth Becka:
On one hand I agree with her that all men believe that anything written (as well as produced, manufactured or designed) by, for or about a woman is emotional fluff, something to keep the annoying things from whining at us for five minutes or so...
Whoa. We do?? All men think that? I must have missed the memo...What have I been doing reading and writing about all these books by female authors over the past few years? Am I now a gender traitor along with Marilyn Stasio?
I'm hoping that Ms. Becka misspoke, so to speak, because that's the biggest load I've heard in a long time.
Over the weekend, Marilyn Stasio wrote a long, critical piece about Chick Lit mysteries in the New York Times. Sarah Weinman predicted that it would generate a lot of controversy, but as Lee Goldberg points out, little has emerged so far. (Susan McBride did offer her backhand commentary over at the Lipstick Chronicles.)
I was on vacation when the article hit, so let's give it a shot now...Stasio wrote:
Slim stories. Joke titles. Juicy jacket art. Does a pattern begin to emerge? For a category of mystery still relatively new to the market, the babe book has already settled into some fairly narrow grooves. Even if you ignore the generally deplorable level of the writing (which is surely an unintentional aspect of the formula), these novels scrupulously observe all the basic chick-lit conventions: the giddy girls in their glamorous jobs, the shopping sprees and fashion makeovers, the gossipy friends, the disastrous dates and the wry comic voice of a heroine so adorable she could be...you.
Stasio generates more interest with her non-reviews than any other critic. After damning the "babe book" as a whole, she goes on to discuss several specific examples in only the vaguest of terms. The glories of writing for the New York Times -- no matter what you do, people pay attention.
I suppose Stasio will now forever be branded a gender traitor for so openly criticizing a genre of books written primarily for and by fellow women, but she does make a couple good points as well.
Just as is the case with the PI novel, too many chick lit mysteries have already fallen into familiar patterns and clichéd tropes that everyone would be better off avoiding. (I wrote a semi-tongue-in-cheek piece about this a while back.)
As with any genre (or sub-genre), the best writers will bend the conventions and traditions of that genre to tell fresh and entertaining stories in new and different ways. Unfortunately, many Chick Lit mysteries seem to be written more with a eye towards the eventual marketing than out of an artistic urge to tell a story.
Since this corner of the genre is very popular right now, publishers are rushing to fill the marketplace with product, and eager authors are more than happy to comply. That doesn't mean that all of the books, or even most of them, are any good, though, and it would be wrong not to point that out.
I read many of the novels that Stasio discusses in her piece and some of them are genuinely awful. On the other hand, a few of them are quite good; books that I enjoyed and was impressed by and said so in my reviews. All of this just points out how dubious a proposition it is to attempt to review a genre as a whole.
On the upside, coverage like that is great ink, the kind that money can't buy. If I had a chick lit mystery, Stasio could call it "a huge stinking pike" and I'd still be grateful to have it included in her column.
Making a living as a writer is such a difficult proposition that J.A. Konrath, author of Whiskey Sour and Bloody Mary, has apparently had to take a day job working at a library.
At least, I thnk that's what's going on here...I can't really tell from his expression.
So everyone, please go out and buy a copy of Bloody Mary. You don't want the poor folks at that library to have to put up with Joe!
(Thanks to the Owen County Public Library for the pic.)
Frank Wilson (my editor at the Philadelphia Inquirer) recently wrote a blog post about out-of-print books and neglected authors that inspired me. He wrote:
It has been estimated that 99 percent of all the books ever published are out of print. Certainly, enough people want to read out-of-print books to make for a thriving second-hand book business.
A couple of Sundays ago I wrote about a book that's out of print: John O'Hara's Sermons and Soda-Water. I was surprised at how many people sent me emails about O'Hara and what I had to say about him...
The response to my column about O'Hara encourages me to continue writing from time to time about books no longer in print, and about neglected authors. Aficionados of used-book stores are just the sort of people to have favorite neglected writers. So if any of you read this, let me know about them.
Again, I am convinced that the literary blogosphere can bring about a seismic change in critical outlook. We just have to get the conversation going.
I have decided to do something similar of my own. Thus, I will soon launch a new series called "Missing in Action," where I will write about favorite books of mine that have gone out of print. (Feel free to share some of your favorites as well.)
What effect the blogosphere can have at resurrecting these lost titles, I have no idea. I suspect it's probably small. But at least we'll have tried.
Look for the first entry in this series soon: Robert Ward's Red Baker.
Over on the Overnight Success? website, I just posted two new author stories, from Margaret Coel and Clea Simon. I think you'll find both of them interesting.
Check 'em out!
Robert B. Parker, creator of Spenser and one of the seminal figures in the history of the PI novel, has taken a lot of knocks over the past few years, including a few times from me. As the decades have gone by, and as Parker has become more prolific (he's now publishing at least 3 books a year), the quality of the novels has gone down. I don't think anyone would deny that.
And yet, there is definitely still something there. I finished the new Spenser novel last night (School Days, due out in late September) and it's actually very good. I doubt I'll review the book -- a review of Parker is a tough sale -- but I still wanted to talk about it.
School Days isn't vintage Spenser. I don't think Parker's work will ever reclaim the power it had back in the days of Looking for Rachel Wallace, Early Autumn or Mortal Stakes. But even if this one is "Spenser Lite" it's still quality stuff.
Joe Queenan, the "Look how funny I am, ma!" non-book-reviewer, has finally found a book that is deserving of his attention: Edward Klein's The Truth About Hillary.
To suggest, as the talented John Podhoretz did in The New York Post, that this is "one of the most sordid volumes I have ever waded through" is to raise serious questions about Podhoretz's sordid wading experiences.
As an expert on sordid nonfiction, I would not put The Truth About Hillary anywhere near the top of my list; it pales by comparison with Geraldo Rivera's sublimely vile autobiography, Exposing Myself, and seems demure, nuanced and levelheaded by comparison with masterpieces of partisan venom like the 60's cold-war classic None Dare Call It Treason.
No, I am not suggesting that Edward Klein is a fair, balanced, persuasive, scrupulously honest reporter or a gifted writer. Resorting to chilling Rip Van Winklisms like "Bill and Hillary often grooved the night away at Cozy Beach, spinning the latest Jefferson Airplane platters," Klein sometimes sounds like a cryogenically preserved Maynard G. Krebs. Like, dig: the cat is far out.
What I am saying is that if Klein purposely set out to write the sleaziest, most derivative, most despicable political biography ever, he has failed both himself and his readers miserably. The Truth About Hillary is only about the 16th sleaziest book I have ever read. Though, in fairness to the author, reading creepy, cut-and-paste books is my hobby.
Granted, it's a waste of time (and previous review space) for the New York Times to have someone like Queenan cover a book that is so obviously a huge, stinking pile. But at least this time he was funny. (Thanks to Sarah for the tip.)
If you have any suggestions for what I should read and review in the next week, please send 'em along. I'm having a helluva time finding stuff. The summer doldrums are upon me.
Thanks.
I was at the bookstore today looking over the new paperbacks to check for any blurbs from my reviews. (Yes, I do that. Gotta stroke the ego somehow, right?) I found one on the first page of the mass market edition of Jack Kerley's The Hundreth Man.
"A cracking debut." --Chicago Sun-Times
Okay, cool. Always nice to see my words in print. Only problem is, I didn't write that. What I actually wrote was "The Hundredth Man is a crackling debut."
Crackling. Not cracking. I was saying that the story is "lively, energetic, intense." It's a good thing. If you're a Brit, saying something is "cracking" is likewise a compliment. I'm not British, though, nor do I flavor my reviews with English slang. I am not, after all, an affected ponce.
You'd think the publisher would have someone who checks on stuff like that. Of course, maybe it was just a typo. I don't know which would be worse.
Whether it's "crackling" or "cracking," though, The Hundredth Man is a good book, so I recommend it to you either way.
I have officially joined the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy™, with my first piece for National Review: an assessment of the new Harry Potter book, written for National Review Online.
If you're opposed philosophically to clicking through to a conservative publication, allow me to summarize: I enjoyed the book a lot, believe that J.K. Rowling is a great talent in the tradition of Tolkien, and think the series is set up for a smashing finale in Book 7.
Another double play for my reviews this morning. First up is a piece on Bill Kent's Street Fighter (St. Martin's Minotaur) in the Philadelphia Inquirer, which I wrote quite a while ago and is finally running today.
Second is my latest column in the Chicago Sun-Times, featuring a handful of books:
J.A. Konrath - Blood Mary (Hyperion)
Kate White - Over Her Dead Body (Warner)
Jennifer Colt - The Butcher of Beverly Hills (Broadway)
Alafair Burke - Close Case (Henry Holt)
Sandra Scoppettone - This Dame for Hire (Ballantine)
The selection runs the gamut from the light to the serious, so there should be something for everyone in there. Enjoy!
J.A. Konrath, author of the Jack Daniels series, is about to begin his first official book tour and he doesn't really know what to expect.
I'm no stranger to book signings -- I've visited over 200 stores in the past 13 months. But I'm a total virgin when it comes to going on tour. My publisher, Hyperion, has set it all up and is paying for everything. I'm scheduled to appear in nine cities from July 12-27. I have no idea what to expect...
I wonder if Hyperion is giving me a beer budget?
I suspect that the publisher won't be picking up his tab. (I've drank with Joe and I know that can be quite an expense, too.) If you have a chance to drop by one of his appearances, though, you can probably convince him to buy you a beer.
In the meantime, pick up a copy of Bloody Mary, Joe's latest book, which is another fun, funny and occasionally disturbing read.
Author M.J. Rose, the marketing guru of the mystery world, has launched a new campaign to promote the release of her latest book, The Halo Effect, in paperback.
Rose's publisher has teamed up with VidLit to produce a preview for the book (just like they have for movies) that you can watch on the web. (Here's the link.) I happen to love these things and think they're a very cool idea.
I don't know if they'll sell books, but I'm pleased to see that, at the very least, people are trying innovative new ideas. Marketing in the publishing industry is as stale as week-old bread, so it's good to see authors trying new things.
So go check out the trailer and see what you think. If it sounds good, buy the book. (I haven't read it, but it's supposed to be good.)
As part of the campaign to get the word out, Rose and her publisher will make a donation to Reading is Fundamental in exchange for this mention...although I would have mentioned it anyway, 'cause I think it's cool.
It's my turn to chime in over at the Lipstick Chronicles on the subject of crime fiction's Girl Ghetto. A few of my statements might be somewhat provocative, like this one:
In general, books that take on serious issues will be treated more seriously (by reviewers, fans, whoever). If a book is about a wacky wedding planner on the case of a runaway bride, or a psychic cat that solves crimes, you can’t expect it to be viewed the same way as the story of an abused woman stalking and killing the men who have wronged her.
We'll see what people think. My basic take on the whole thing is that it's overstated. I think the differences among individual writers are much more prominent and important than the differences between the genders.
My wife and I had the pleasure of attending Barry Eisler's signing last night at the Barnes & Noble in Bethesda. The turn-out was great, around 100 people I'd guess. A lot of them were buying books, too, including one guy I saw who had at least 4 copies.
Barry always does an excellent job of talking about his writing. He describes his books in such a way as to make them sound fascinating, even if the subject matter (he writes about an assassin) isn't something you'd ordinarily care for.
It's no secret that I'm a great admirer of Eisler's work and his latest, Killing Rain, is no different. The story features hit man John Rain wrestling with his toughest opponent yet: his conscience. If you haven't had a chance to check it out, I highly recommend it.
I also recommend you catch Barry Eisler on tour if you can. He's a lot of fun to listen to. (He's also very easy on the eyes, if you like that kind of thing.)
The 4 writers behind The Lipstick Chronicles blog have launched a weeklong discussion of the perennial debate in the mystery community about whether male authors get more attention and respect than female authors.
First up in the discussion is Laura Lippman and, as you'd expect, she has some very interesting things to say. Later this week, I'll be sharing my thoughts on the subject, as will Sarah Weinman and Harlan Coben.
Laura starts things off in fine fashion, discussing the different perceptions about men and women in the mystery genre:
Men's stories are seen as the universal template. Much of the crime genre centers on a man's need to define manhood, to find a code to live by, to decide how violence should figure into that code, if at all. Men and women have a stake in that outcome because women often are the first to suffer when masculinity is defined via violence. So that story is universal, absolutely. Yet when someone writes about a female PI—or cop, or, lord help us, an amateur sleuth—the story is seen as specific to that woman. Her struggle is a personal one, not a universal one.
Yet men have a stake in women's stories as surely as women have a stake in men's stories. (The hand that rocks the cradle…) And, anecdotally, I have found most male readers open to that idea. Put it this way—“The Lovely Bones" could not have been as huge as it was if men weren't buying it, too. Because while women are the primary fiction buyers, the big successes—from "Harry Potter" to Tom Clancy -- are made when male buyers join the pool.
Thought-provoking stuff. Don't expect me to be as articulate as Laura, but I think I had a couple interesting things to say.
Bill Crider reports that he recently re-read Ross Thomas' Voodoo, Ltd. (as did I).
Sometimes I wonder why I don't just re-read Ross Thomas over and over, the way some people (you know who you are) re-read Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe series. For me, Thomas is The Master.
Every time I re-read a book by Thomas I wonder why I've wasted my time reading some big bestseller when I could just pick up something like Voodoo, Ltd. and read it again.
Sing it, brother! I'm in the middle of re-reading a bunch of Thomas' books and even the ones that aren't quite as great as the others (the early financial/union novels) are still entertaining and readable.
What are you waiting for?
It's long been rumored that bestselling authors receive little or not editing from their publishers. Bill Crider shares a couple of examples on his blog from Robert B. Parker's Appaloosa:
p. 266: "The room was quiet and noisy."
p. 238: "Bragg took a tan leather case out of his inside coat pocket. He offered a cigar to Bragg and me."
Mistakes happen to all of us, but that's just embarrassing.
(Thanks to Lee Goldberg for the tip.)
From Barbara Peters of the Poisoned Pen Bookstore (courtesy of George Easter at Deadly Pleasures, thanks to Sarah for the tip):
Jennifer Apodaca is the winner of the inaugural Ross Thomas Award, given to the best first line of a mystery or thriller novel published in 2004. Apodaca's winning opening sentence for Ninja Soccer Moms ($5.99) is: "The thing about revenge is that it takes a woman who is well and truly pissed to get it right."
The award was announced during a ceremony at "Of Dark and Stormy Nights," the annual writing conference sponsored by the Midwest chapter of the Mystery Writers of America. The Ross Thomas Award is named after the late Ross Thomas, with the permission of his widow, Rosalie, of Malibu, California.
Described by the New York Times Book Review as "America's best storyteller," Thomas was a master at creating opening paragraphs that grab readers' attention. The two-time Edgar Award winning author of 25 novels, Thomas died in 1995. I was only able to get him to Scottsdale once – Rob considers him the best caper writer ever, loving Chinaman's Chance ($15) as Thomas' best – and it was Game Seven of a hot World Series and only 3-5 people came. It haunts me still.
Ross Thomas was my favorite writer and I can't think of anyone better to name an award for, especially one honoring first lines. (His were brilliant.)
I've been on an R.T. reading kick lately, having devoured Voodoo, Ltd., Briarpatch, The Mordida Man and Yellow-Dog Contract in the past week and a half. Damn, those are good books.
I've read them all before, of course, but one of the best things about Thomas' writing was that you could reread his books and still enjoy them. He was a one-of-a-kind talent.
Congratulations, Ms. Apodaca! That is truly quite an honor.
Variety reports that Paramount Pictures has optioned the latest Lee Child thriller (One Shot) for a hefty mid-six figures.
The project will be a co-production with Tom Cruise's company, C/W Productions. (Never fear, that doesn't mean that Tom Cruise will be playing Jack Reacher. Chances are he wouldn't actually have anything to do with any eventual film, other than his company being marginally involved.)
One of the previous books in the series, Killing Floor, was set-up at New Line a couple years ago, and even had a script written that Lee said was pretty good. Before the producers could get a greenlight, though, the option expired.
So Lee gets to "sell" the property all over again! Ain't Hollywood grand?
Keeping in mind that a Jack Reacher film is still unlikely to get made, and that it would likely stink if it did, this is still good news. I love to see a guy like Lee, one of the true gentlemen of this business, get a nice payday. Well done!
According to The Book Standard, Little, Brown paid Elizabeth Kostova a $2 million advance for her debut novel, The Historian, which hit stores last week. The historical thriller moved 70,000 copies to land at #1 on the Bestselling Fiction Chart.
Ka-Ching!
I am opposed, on principle, to reading any entries in the contest for The Next Da Vinci Code™...but this one does have Dracula in it, which is kinda cool.
Anyone read it yet?
Over on Ed Gorman's blog, western writer Richard Wheeler offers up an interesting thought on body counts in books:
I have a theory that runs counter to common sense. I believe that readers who are squeamish about violence or the depiction of death go for novels, both mysteries and westerns, with high body counts. There is a simple reason: a novel with a lot of killing in it means that the victims are not developed as characters and thus their deaths do not evoke feeling among readers. I've read westerns where there is a whole range war, raggedy cowboys against cattle barons flanked by hired killers, and all sorts of cowboys and badmen expire. But they are little more than names, and the reader shrugs that off even though fifteen or twenty people are dead by the end of the book. Characters who are only names never pierce to the heart of a reader.
If a novelist really wants to deal with the tragedy of death and killing, the novelist will create only one victim, maybe two at the most, and invest those characters with rich humanity and personality, hopes and dreams, frailties and foibles. Only then does the cruelty of death generate a deeply tragic quality in the novel.
Great point and one that I never really thought of in those terms before. The death of one victim in a book is so much more affecting than the slaughter of a faceless dozen. That's a good reason why most mysteries do tend to feature only a couple of bodies in them. Beyond that and the reader starts to become numb.
Barry Eisler, author of the award-winning Rain series, shares some of his thoughts about the process of writing his latest thriller, Killing Rain.
I start each Rain story by asking myself questions about the characters from the previous book. For Killing Rain, this task required primary focus on Rain himself. Rain is a guy who's spent a lifetime building up an armor suit of cynicism. He protects himself professionally and emotionally by assuming the worst about people -- "preempting betrayal," as he describes it to Delilah in Rain Storm. But the sacrifice Dox makes at the end of that book to save Rain's life punctures Rain's emotional armor and forces him to acknowledge that there are people out there who are trustworthy. So in searching for the story that would become Killing Rain, I started by asking how Rain would be dealing with the selfless good Dox did him.
Continue reading "Author Barry Eisler on Writing Killing Rain" »
Just in time for the publication of his fourth book in the John Rain series (the excellent Killing Rain), author Barry Eisler has revealed what he was really doing in the early-90s during his mysterious tenure with the U.S. Government:
Sorry I've been vague about it for all these years, and it's true that my paychecks came from the U.S. State Department, as my website always said...but in fact, from 1989 to 1992 I held a covert position with the CIA. The subject has come up frequently at book signings and in correspondence with fans, and I finally decided to apply for a change of status so I could be a bit more forthcoming about the subject. Crimespree Magazine will have more on this in its July issue; for now, take a peek at my updated bio and the amusing photo.
I always suspected there was more than meets the eye when it came to Mr. Eisler. He couldn't just be a handsome, if diminutive, man with beautiful hair, who somehow knew how to fashion an anti-personnel explosive using just a toothpick, a book of matches and a dollop of Paul Mitchell mousse.
No word yet on whether Eisler was actually eliminating people for The Company, perhaps by stopping their hearts with a specifically modified PDA (à la his protagonist John Rain)...but we'll wait and see.
In the meantime, go buy the book. Killing Rain goes on sale in a couple of weeks and it's a beautifully written and action-packed story.
Hard Case Crime, producer of old and new crime fiction classics in the style of the old pulps (and my favorite new publishing company), is being coy about it, but they're on the verge of making a very cool announcement.
I thought I'd go ahead and spill the beans, since it doesn't seem to be much of a secret, and it really is exciting.
They will be publishing a novel co-written by Jason Starr and Ken Bruen, two of the most highly acclaimed and best writers of noir fiction around.
Lord only knows what those two will cook up when they put their twisted minds together. I know I'll be dying to read it, though.
A hearty congratulations to Michael Connelly, whose latest book The Closers has debuted at Number One on the New York Times Bestseller List.
This is Mike's first #1 and it's well-deserved, as it's a fine book.
Over on Paul Guyot's blog, he does his latest Cinco de Author with Lee Child, creator of the Jack Reacher series. One of the exchanges really jumped out at me:
PG: You and I both credit the Travis McGee novels as inspiring us early on. How big or important an influence was John D. MacDonald on your writing, and do you ever go back and read the McGee novels today?
LC: How big an influence was he? Can you spell H-U-G-E? Completely seminal, both in style and feel, but also in terms of structure. I re-read them occasionally. The gender relationships are toe-curlingly dated now, but other than that they're still great. Especially the beginnings. Generally nothing fantastic happens on page one but you're hooked immediately, stealthily, without notice or warning. Like heroin, really.
It warms my heart every time I see people discussing John D. MacDonald and Travis McGee. Those books were so important to me in my development as a mystery reader and critic. I'm glad that they haven't been forgotten. (It's so sad when a great writer fades into the mists of time.)
I'm working on a piece for the Washington Examiner newspaper about summer beach books. I've got 5 or 6 books that I think I'll include in it, but I want to make sure I don't miss anything cool.
What books are you looking forward to reading over the next month couple months? And what exactly are you supposed to read at the beach, anyway?
Over on the blog of my nemesis and future amanuensis, Paul Guyot, he has started a new featured called "Cinco de Author," in which he asks "incredibly important and insightful questions of a writer who is way too self-respecting and talented to be associated with this blatherlog."
His latest victim is Michael Connelly, and Mike has some particularly interesting things to say, including the following, which struck me as being something of a bombshell:
1 - Can you see a day when you would end the Bosch series, or will you write them as long as people keep buying them?
MC: Yes, I see the day. I think I have five years tops with Harry. After that, he either retires or goes down in the line of duty.
The Harry Bosch series is one of my all-time favorites in the detective genre, not to mention one of the best written -- and the next book, The Closers, is one of the very best yet.
Granted, I'd rather see Connelly quit the series than let it degenerate into Spenser. But I'll still be very sad to see Harry go.
2005 has already been a good year for books and, from the looks of things, that trend is going to continue.
Already we’ve seen Joseph Finder’s Company Man, a book that shows what a thriller is supposed to be, and soon that will be followed by Michael Connelly’s The Closers, one of the finest detective novels I’ve read in a long time.
Dean Koontz, as “can’t-miss” a writer as there’s been the past few years, has a wonderful novel (Velocity) out later this month, while another master of the thriller, David Morrell, has a book (Creepers) coming out in September that all but defines “edge of your seat” suspense.
This summer brings a bold new story from Barry Eisler (June’s Killing Rain) that takes his series character in a new direction, as well as another fun-filled Jack Reacher adventure from Lee Child (One Shot).
The best thing I’ve read all year so far, though, is Laura Lippman’s To the Power of Three. This is an amazing book, a powerful story that is a mystery only in the same sense that To Kill a Mockingbird was.
Ever-provocative bookseller and pundit Otto Penzler launches another salvo at the ranks of cozy mystery writers, this time broadening his aim to include female authors more generally:
“The women who write [cozies] stop the action to go shopping, create a recipe, or take care of cats,” he says. “Cozies are not serious literature. They don’t deserve to win. Men take [writing] more seriously as art. Men labor over a book to make it literature. There are wonderful exceptions, of course—P.D. James, Ruth Rendell.”
While I happen to agree that many cozies are not particularly fine writing or reading, it's silly to make such blanket statements as Otto loves to do. I also don't think the writer's sex has anything to do with it.
Of course, I'm confident Otto realizes that as well, but he does it anyway because he likes to create a stir. And he never fails to do so.
Prolific screenwriter and novelist Lee Goldberg takes up the subject on his blog:
Authors don't win much respect, at least not from critics, when they write a book-a- year...or more. Words like "hack" begin to get bandied about whenever the author's name comes up. If a book is written quickly, does that automatically mean it's bad? Is less creativity, emotion, and care invested in a book that's written in three months instead of three years? Apparently, the assumption is yes. A book that's written quickly must not be as good as one that's written slowly...or that something isn't quite right with the author.
Lee's definitely on to something. There seems to be a huge gap between what publishers believe, how the book-buying public behaves, and what authors can actually do.
Joseph Finder owes me a good night’s sleep. I was up half the night on Tuesday thinking about his damn book and anticipating the last 80 pages, which I finished yesterday.
You know how Larry King (aka “The Hack’s Hack”) writes those awful blurbs like “Don’t start this book if you have to go to work the next morning!”? In this case, it might actually be true.
If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know I read a lot of books. Forty-six so far this year. Most of what I read is okay, but I don’t get that excited about the majority. This is a different story, though.
Company Man was a book I couldn’t wait to get back to reading. It’s one of the best things I’ve read in a long time.
It's everything a thriller should be: thrilling, suspenseful, unsettling, tense, exciting, enthralling, entertaining...Thrown in your own adjectives. The book is great and I highly recommend it.
It’s been suggested to me in the past that Mystery Ink should add a category to the Gumshoe Awards to honor the Best Paperback Original. (After all, the Edgars, among others, do it.)
For a long time, I was resistant to the idea. What’s the point, I thought, of creating an award that Jason Starr is just going to win every year?
In recent months, though, it seems that things have changed. With companies like Hard Case Crime and Point Blank Press now publishing some outstanding original novels in paperback form, the field has definitely expanded.
We’re also seeing more traditional publishers issuing books in trade paperback format that previously might have been hardcovers. (Reed Coleman’s outstanding The James Deans is an example that comes to mind.)
So now, perhaps, the time has come. It looks like this year’s candidates could be very strong.
What do you all think? Should we add Best Paperback Original? And should this be an additional category, or should it replace Best European Crime Novel, a category I’m still unsure of. (Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section, or you can email me.)
I just finished Reed Farrel Coleman's new book, The James Deans. It's the third book with PI Moe Prager, but the first of Coleman's work that I've read. In a word, it's superb.
Moe is a great character, a refreshing change from the typical detective cliché. He's a good man, a devoted father and husband, a successful businessman. Like the rest of us, he's got his share of pain, but he’s not a dark, haunted soul. Even though he runs a wine shop, he only occasionally drinks.
Coleman’s writing is sparse and direct, with great characters and excellent use of setting. There are moments in the book that are very funny, elements of fine suspense, and turns that are touching and even sad.
Coleman launched a campaign at last year’s Bouchercon to "Save Moe," as his publisher was on the fence about whether or not to continue the series. It boggles the mind that this would be in doubt. If writing this good isn’t finding an audience, it’s hard to believe it’s the fault of the work.
Look for more of my thoughts on The James Deans and Reed Coleman in my next Chicago Sun-Times column. He’s definitely a writer to watch.
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