Crime Fiction Dossier

Win This Book winner

Congratulations to C. Watson of Morganton, NC the latest winner of Crime Fiction Dossier's Win This Book contest. The prize: a personally-autographed copy of Gregg Hurwitz' new thriller, Last Shot.

If you didn't win, I hope you'll consider buying the book anyway. It's a fun and exciting read. Thanks to Gregg Hurwitz for providing the book, and to Random.org for providing the winning number.

Check back soon for our next super-cool and exciting contest!

(Authors: If you're interested in participating in Win This Book, please shoot me an email.)

Killer Year update -- "Vinnie's Head"

I read my fourth Killer Year book and didn't even know it! (Okay, technically it's only my third, since C.J. Lyons had to drop out of the group. But still.)

I devoured Marc Lecard's superb, twisted, hilarious, gruesome, wonderful, outrageous novel Vinnie's Head last weekend, only to discover afterwards that he's part of the Killer Year group. (I guess I should pay attention to who's actually in this group, since I said I'd read all their books.)

I started Vinnie's Head on Saturday afternoon and couldn't put it down until I finished it on Sunday morning. (I guess that's what most people are talking about when they say "I read it in one sitting!" Either that, or they're just lying.)

The book isn't being published until March -- I know, that's a lonnnngggg 'ways off -- but make a note of it now. If you're the least bit sick and twisted -- or just like to read about people who are -- you'll love this book.

Steve Brewer reports on the Lonely Street movie

The following report is from author Steve Brewer, author of a whole passel of terrific, usually comic, mysteries and thrillers.

Well, I've had my first experience with Hollywood now, and thought I'd report in...

I spent Thursday and Friday in LA, on location with the film crew shooting my novel, "Lonely Street." I'm a big movie fan, so it was a blast to watch a crew in action. Everyone was really nice to me, the gawking visitor. It was unusually blustery for LA, so naturally we were outside the whole time, mostly shooting in a huge San Fernando Valley park that could stand in for many locations (tree-studded lawns, a lake, parking lots, etc...). I mostly stood around near the food.

Jay Mohr, who plays private eye Bubba Mabry in the movie, was hilarious, both on- and off-camera. I saw some of the dailies while I was there, and he's absolutely perfect as Bubba. Joe Mantegna, who plays the villain, was almost unrecognizable in beard and ponytail, but wonderful as always. Lindsay Price makes a wonderful Felicia, though they did away with Felicia's oversized eyeglasses. I didn't get to meet Robert Patrick because he wasn't on the shooting schedule the days I was there, but everyone says he's splendid as the mysterious Mr. Aaron.

Not surprisingly, the script differs from the book in some ways, but I think I'll be pleased with the final product. They're almost done shooting it, and post-production is scheduled to wrap in Jan. or Feb. After that, it's all about distribution deals, etc., so I don't know when the movie will actually hit theaters, but expect to see it sometime in 2007.

All in all, a terrific experience, so far, having my book made into a film. I recommend it.

(Although Steve doesn't mention it, there will be a new Bubba Mabry book out later this fall, titled Monkey Man. I'm looking forward to it! --DJM)

Spenser is back

Since we're talking about the 10 Greatest Detective Novels below, I thought I'd mention that I finished the new Spenser novel last night.

It's the 34th in the series, if you can believe that, and brings back a familiar old character: April Kyle, the prostitute that Spenser rescued in Ceremony and then met up with again in Taming a Sea Horse.

(I'll admit: I had to look it up to see which books she'd been in. I vaguely remembered her, but I read those books a looong time ago.)

I'm not going to give Hundred-Dollar Baby a full review here. But I will say that I thought the book was terrific and enjoyed it a lot. This one still falls more into the category of "Spenser Lite" than some of the really meaty books in the series. But, as was the case with last year's School Days, Parker seems to have rejuvenated the series with sharper writing, a better plot and fewer of the annoying tics that plague some of his work.

Hundred-Dollar Baby is a fast and easy read, but I found it to be a very satisfying one. Parker takes his knocks, including from me on occasion, but the man is still one of the best.

10 Greatest Detective Novels -- let the debate begin!

I've decided to compile a list of the 10 Greatest Detective Novels ever written. And you can help! I'll give my preliminary list below. Feel free to use the comments section to argue over the choices. Your suggestions and contributions are welcome. I want to put together the definitive list...Well, at least, the CFD's definitive list.

The only requirements are: the book must feature a detective; it must be written in English; and I have to have read it. (I know, you don't know what I've read. We'll figure it out.)

So, here goes...

10 Greatest Detective Novels (in alphabetical order):

• Lawrence Block - When the Sacred Ginmill Closes
• Raymond Chandler - The Long Goodbye
• Michael Connelly - The Black Echo
• Robert Crais - L.A. Requiem
• Dashiell Hammett - The Maltese Falcon
• Walter Mosley - Devil in a Blue Dress
• Robert B. Parker - Looking for Rachel Wallace

Okay, that's only seven. I think we need a Rex Stout (maybe Black Mountain?) and a John D. MacDonald (Dreadful Lemon Sky, maybe?). I'm not that big a fan of Ross Macdonald or Mickey Spillane, but maybe you can convince me otherwise.

It's all men so far, so do any books by women belong? I don't think Agatha Christie is good enough to make the cut. Never read Dorothy L. Sayers. Laura Lippman or Denise Hamilton, maybe? They're both top-notch.

Oh, and I was never much of a fan of Arthur Conan Doyle or Ed McBain. What about Dick Francis, though?

Thoughts?? Who have I left out? What books should be on here?

Win This Book -- don't forget!

Don't forget, the Crime Fiction Dossier is currently running a contest to win a personally-autographed copy of Gregg Hurwitz' excellent new thriller, Last Shot.

The winner of the contest will receive a hardcover copy of Last Shot, inscribed to them and signed by the author. To enter, just send an email with "Contest" in the subject line and your name in the body of the email.

Contest ends on 9/19. Only one entry per person, please. Only U.S. residents are eligible to win. All decisions are final. Crime Fiction Dossier is not responsible for anything.

Killer Year update

In a fit of madness, I announced a while back that I would be reading and reviewing all of the books published in 2007 by the Killer Year authors.

I wanted to let you know that I recently read my third book from one of the Killer Year folks. No reviews yet (since the books haven't been published), but so far I can say that I have enjoyed all three of them, and have been impressed by the quality of the writing.

The books I've read are:

• Stigma by Philip Hawley, Jr.
• The Blade Itself by Marcus Sakey
• Blink of an Eye by C.J. Lyons

If this early bunch is any indication, we can expect some good things from this group.

Books for Troops

By design, the real world doesn't often rear its ugly head on the Crime Fiction Dossier. I did want to make a brief mention, though, of the 5-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. For all of those who lost their lives that day, for all of those who tried to save them, and for all of those who continue to serve, you are in my heart, my thoughts and my prayers.

I will never forget.

If you'd like to do something to help boost the morale of our men and women serving overseas, you might consider sending them some books. Joe Konrath has a post over on his blog about a particular soldier whom you can send them to, or there are many other places I'm sure you can find. Most of us have too many books anyway, right?

You found me!

People discover the Crime Fiction Dossier through an interesting variety of ways. Every once in a while, I'll look through the stats to see which search terms people used to find this blog. Some of them make sense, and some of them are a little on the odd side.

Here is a sampling from the last few days:

• "crime fiction slaughter" -- Karin Slaughter, presumably, not the other kind.
• "yellow dog contract by ross thomas" -- My favorite author! I hope the person found what they were looking for.
• "ken roberts" -- No idea who that is, or why the search led to me.
• "book torture" -- Hopefully they're not looking for a "How To" manual.
• "Harlan Coben criticism" -- Me, criticize Harlan? Never. Have you seen the man? He must be eight feet tall.
• "how much do crime fiction authors make" -- Very little, my friend. Very little.
• "David Montgomery blog" -- Wow, that's flattering. I think that's the first time I've seen that one. Of course, they were probably looking for David Montgomery, the Yale Historian.
• "what can i put for a blurb for a mystery story" -- I wonder if this was Stephen King. Could he finally be out of jacket quotes?
• "gumshoe awards 2006" -- Cool! Someone actually searching for Mystery Ink's awards.
• "hawke speak devil" -- I'm hoping that's Richard Hawke's book, Speak of the Devil (which I reviewed), and not the details for some Satanic ritual.
• "frederick forsyth review afghan" -- I didn't review Forsyth's new book, but I did run it through the Blurb Machine. This is by far the most popular search of the past few weeks. A lot of interest in this book!
• "How has crime fiction evolved or changed" -- Great question. I don't think I've answered it, though.

And my favorite:

• "Joe Konrath pseudonym" -- That one I can answer: Barbara Cartland.

Top 15 Spy Novels

Publishers Weekly prints a list of 15 top spy novels (Best spy novels? It doesn't really say.), compiled by Peter Cannon.

1. THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD by John le Carre (1963)
2. THE BOURNE IDENTITY by Robert Ludlum (1980)
3. THE DAY OF THE JACKAL by Frederick Forsyth (1971)
4. THE SPY WHO LOVED ME by Ian Fleming (1962)
5. THE QUIET AMERICAN by Graham Greene (1955)
6. THE IPCRESS FILE by Len Deighton (1962)
7. THE EYE OF THE NEEDLE by Ken Follett (1978)
8. MASQUERADE by Gayle Lynds (1996)
9. THE MOSCOW CLUB by Joseph Finder (1991)
10. ABOVE SUSPICION by Helen MacInnes (1939)
11. THE 39 STEPS by John Buchan (1915)
12. HARLOT'S GHOST by Norman Mailer (1991)
13. THE UNLIKELY SPY by Daniel Silva (1996)
14. THE RIDDLE OF THE SANDS by Erskine Childers (1903)
15. MORNING SPY, EVENING SPY by Colin MacKinnon (2006)

(Be sure to click through to the article in order to read Cannon's commentary.)

It seems like a good list, although I'll confess to only having read three of the books. (The first three.) I'm familiar with the work of several of the others, however.

I was pleased to see three of my favorite contemporary thriller writers included: Gayle Lynds, Joseph Finder and Daniel Silva.

It's somewhat arbitrary, what one considers a spy novel...But I would have definitely thrown in Ross Thomas' The Cold War Swap, Trevanian's The Eiger Sanction, William Goldman's The Marathon Man and David Morrell's The Brotherhood of the Rose.

What are some of your favorites?