SPINETINGLER AWARD NOMINATIONS

Today the 2010 Spinetingler Award nominees were posted. They have a slew of great nominees so voting is tough, but I hope you'll stop over and give them your input. And oh yeah, there's been some error...they put me on the list for Best Reviewer. I'm waiting for tomorrow when I wake up and someone says, "April Fools"!

In all seriousness, I'm extremely honored and humbled to be sharing space in this category with the other fabulous nominees. My sincerest thanks to the Spinetingler folks for the nod. It is a joy to talk about books with the blog-o-sphere. But to be recognized for having so much fun is just more than a person can ever hope for.

Remember, go vote! And if you haven't voted for your favorite detectives yet, get those votes in, too! Several of these contests are going to go down to the wire!

ROUND 4 - The Elite Eight!

The competition is stiff in this round. It's now essentially down to the classic detectives versus the modern detective. So who do you think deserves the crown? Cast your votes. As in previous weeks, once you vote and then return to the ballot or refresh your page, you will continue to see your choices. If you click submit several times you will not enter several votes, it will only update any changes you made.

Voting for Round 4 is open until this Friday - April 2. Barring some natural disaster or death, I'll post the results on Saturday, April 3rd and the Final Four round will open on Monday, April 5th.

Ready...Set...Vote!

Enter->

They Said WHAT?

It's the last Sunday of March already. Where the heck did March go? Although, I have to admit, I'm rarely sad to see March go. It means the warm weather is that much closer. However, March was great reading time for me. I hope it was for you, too. Here are some of the great lines from books I was reading this month.

In THE LOCK ARTIST by Steve Hamilton:

"I had learned on freestanding safes, where I could really get my body up next to them and feel what I was doing. As the Ghost had said so many times, when he was teaching me how to do this...It's like seducing a woman. Touching her in just the right way. Knowing what was going on inside her. How do you do that if every part of the woman except her face is hidden behind a wall?"

From Pat Conroy's SOUTH OF BROAD:

"I have an affinity for choosing the tightrope walk across the abyss and have developed a genius for the wrong turn."

"Living as I do in the backwaters of South Carolina, I had not fully appreciated the corroding effect of the celebrity obsession that has taken hold in America, leading to a maggoty and fly-spotted culture."

"As we sit there watching the water recede, I think about Niles in the orphanage on the day I met him, and I guess he had wanted someone, anyone, to hold his hand during the long, dreadful forced march of his childhood. It was the least I could do, as he had long ago taught me a lesson about the great inner strength sometimes granted to the most wounded of men. And how those men can sometimes grow up to be heroes."

In THE BOOK OF LOST THINGS by John Connolly:

"Stories were different, though: they came alive in the telling. Without a human voice to read them aloud, or a pair of wide eyes following them by flashlight beneath a blanket, they had no real existence in our world. They were like seeds in the beak of a bird, waiting to fall to earth, or the notes of a song laid out on a sheet, yearning for an instrument to bring their music into being. They lay dormant, hoping for the chance to emerge."

Ed Lynskey wrote in TROGLODYTES:

"The CNN reporter talking in the background...said another GI had died in Iraq. I frowned. That made one more Gold Star mom. Before the war ended, we'd see a galaxy of them."

In May, Chris Grabenstein's ROLLING THUNDER is coming out, and I think you'll agree that this is one heck of a hook for the book:

"The day starts like so many others with John Ceepak: we bust an eight-year-old girl for wearing high heels."

I just love his opening sentences - every book!

And to round out this month's awesome lines, I was listening to the audio for THE FIRST RULE on the way back from Pittsburgh yesterday and was reminded of this great line:

"He moved back along the hall, thinking how different his own home was from the home that Frank Meyer built. Pike's furnishings were minimal, and the walls were bare. Pike did not have a family, so he had no pictures of family on the walls, and he did not keep pictures of his friends. Pike's life had led to blank walls, and now he wondered if his walls would ever be filled."

I find that excerpt hauntingly beautiful, but it was even more incredible in Robert Crais' gravelly Pike voice.

I hope your March was filled with wonderfully great lines as well. If you have any YOU'D like to share, feel free to leave them in the comments. And let's meet up here again next month to share some more! Happy Reading!

Announcing the Elite 8

The moment you've been waiting for is here. The voting last week was very interesting because in most of these contests, the detectives danced back and forth before one pulled out and stayed ahead. But with almost 900 votes last week, the detectives moving on to Round 4/the Elite 8 are:

Harry Bosch (90%) vs. Alan Banks (10%)

Sam Spade (60%) vs. Kinsey Milhone (40%)

Alex Cross (35%) vs. Sherlock Holmes (65%)

Lincoln Rhyme (60%) vs. John Rebus (40%)

Elvis Cole (60%) vs. Lew Archer (40%)

Phillip Marlowe (58%) vs. Spenser (42%)

Lucas Davenport (43%) vs. Hercule Poirot (57%)

Kurt Wallander (44%) vs. Dave Robicheaux (56%)

And there you have it. I thought it was rather interesting how many of the matches were at or very near a 60/40 split. Should make next week's voting rather challenging for everyone, especially since next week comes down to classic detective vs. modern detective. Yikes! Round 4 will open Monday morning, so let all your friends know!

See you then! Happy Reading!

TROGLODYTES - Ed Lynskey

FIRST LINE: "'Watch this.'"

Private Investigator Frank Johnson is being hounded by the IRS for taxes he needs to pay when a job comes along requiring him to track a missing person...in Turkey. He isn't very keen on the idea, but the client was referred to him by his lawyer associate, Robert Gatlin, and of course there's the issue of the taxes that need to be paid. So Frank sets off for Turkey to try to locate the American diplomat, Sylvester Mercedes, who walked out of his hotel one Sunday morning never to be seen again. Frank manages to uncover several dead ends when an employee at the hotel is murdered. Evidence suggests that the murder could be connected to Mercedes, but can Frank prove it. And just where did Mercedes go?

TROGLODYTES is the fourth book in Lynskey's Frank Johnson series. Johnson is the epitome of the classic PI: recovering alcoholic, divorced, and for the most part a loner. He plays by his rules and tries to buck anyone who attempts to force their own rules on him.

The Turkish setting adds an exotic air to this novel, but the actual troglodyte tunnels play a rather small role in the novel. I think I would have liked for that to be developed more, but mostly because of my own fascination with them.

Because of the setting, Lynskey is able to bring in additional unique characters that add flavor to the novel. Omar, the hotel owner, has a drawer full of Lugers and wears many hats in his hotel, including dishwasher. He also has quite an eye for the ladies. His wife Karin is an attractive spitfire of a woman who would prefer not to have to bother with the hotel, but is forced into service by circumstance. And Selami the taksi driver teams up with Johnson to try to find Mercedes.

The last quarter of the novel seemed to pick up pace considerably, but throughout the novel, Lynskey uses vivid language and smart dialogue. The Iraqi war grumbles in the backdrop of the plot as Johnson copes with his feelings about it in relation to his own veteran status.

While I did have a little background on Johnson, having read the second book in the series, THE BLUE CHEER, TROGLODYTES is one a reader could easily pick up with no background on Johnson. So, for a quick trip to Turkey, coupled with murder and mystery, try TROGLODYTES by Ed Lynskey.

TROGLODYTES is available now in trade paper from Mundania Press (ISBN: 978-1-59426-721-5).

A Few Reminders for Friday

I just have a few reminders for you today. The first is of course that today is the last day to vote in Round 3 of the "World's Favorite Detective" tournament. If you haven't vote yet, go here to vote immediately! I am headed out to Mystery Lovers Bookshop tomorrow morning for Alafair Burke's event, so I probably won't be able to get this week's results up until tomorrow night or Sunday, but I'll get them up!

Also, don't forget to enter for your chance to win a signed, first edition copy of Ken Mercer's debut novel, SLOW FIRE. If you haven't entered yet, you can do so here.

Some news I just learned this week is that Foul Play Books in Westerville, Ohio, is going to be hosting a killer line-up on Saturday, May 1st. It includes Sophie Littlefield, Brad Parks and Carla Buckley. I'll definitely be there. If you're in the area, I hope you'll come, too!

Foul Play will also have Rosemary Harris on April 27th. Unfortunately that's the day I'm flying back from California, so I won't be able to make it, but if you can, I HIGHLY recommend it. Rosemary's new book in the Dirty Business Mystery Series is DEAD HEAD and I can't wait for it! If you go, be sure to tell her "hi" for me!

The Spinetingler short story nominations have been announced. And we have to send out shout outs to nominees Hilary Davidson, Sophie Littlefield and Paul Brazill! No, I'm not trying to influence your votes, just giving props to my pals. Voting will begin next week, though, so I hope if you have some time you'll stop over to read the nominees and return next week to vote.

That's it for this Friday. Hope your weekend is wonderful and warm. We have snow on the ground this morning and 50s in the forecast for tomorrow. Gotta love Northeast Ohio weather...or not. Happy Reading!

A Man of Many Talents - Jo Nesbø

Thanks to the kind folks at Mystery Lovers Bookshop in Oakmont, PA, I had the opportunity last Thursday to meet Scandinavian sensation, Jo Nesbø. What an amazing opportunity. So, today I'm going to share a little of that experience with you.

In the United States, Jo now has three novels out featuring his detective Harry Hole: THE REDBREAST, which I reviewed here last year, NEMESIS, and most recently THE DEVIL'S STAR. These however, are numbers three, four and five in the total series. Jo's Harry Hole bibliography actually includes nine novels total.

When Jo was introduced he said he had been writing for twelve years and that book signings are "sometimes an exercise in humiliation." I thought maybe he was having a little trouble with his English and meant to say humility, but no, he actually meant humiliation. As he went on he told us some stories about his travels. When he was in the Philippines, he was buying books in a bookstore and saw his own book, THE REDBREAST, behind the counter. He informed the cashier that he was the author and she wanted to go get her manager. Jo didn't want to hold up the line, but the cashier insisted. The manager came back and asked Jo if he could prove he was Jo Nesbø. Unfortunately he had left his ID back at the hotel, so no, he couldn't prove his identity. The manager apologized and said she couldn't give him the author discount on the books he was buying. Jo said quickly that he wasn't looking for a discount, but would she like him to sign his book? She said, "if you come back tomorrow with ID, you can sign one copy."

Jo's road to publishing was an exciting one. When he was 17 he was pretty certain that he would have a career as a professional soccer player. But when he tore ligaments in both of his knees, he was forced to come up with Plan B for his career path. Plan B turned out to be studying economics and business administration. According to Jo, when you don't know what you want to do with your life in Norway, that's what you study. In college Jo found an opportunity to join a band, playing guitar - when he knew all of two chords. After college, he moved back to Oslo and formed a different band with his brother and three professional musicians. Jo claims that the band didn't sound very good because he could still only play three chords. But they started playing at a small club where one of the musicians worked. They were hired every week because they "were so cheap." Jo told us they were so awful that they would change the name of the band every week, so the patrons would think someone else was coming in to perform. But after a year and a half of this, the band improved and some people starting asking for them to perform. But since they continually changed their name, people didn't have a way to ask for them specifically so they asked for "those guys." And that's what the band's name became - Those Guys.

Those Guys were fortunate enough to be heard by a record producer who happened by the club one night and offered them a record deal. They sold 5,000 copies, which Jo thought was incredible. The record company, not so much. But with album number 2, Those Guys found themselves a hit single and overnight success. They were suddenly being invited to play all over Norway. At the same time, Jo was working as a stock broker because he had promised his mother he wouldn't quit his day job - no matter what. So, he'd work his day job, fly out to the gigs at night, then fly back to return to work the next day. After the band's third year, when he played 180 dates, he needed a break.

Jo went to his boss at the brokerage firm and took a 6-month leave of absence; he informed the band that he would need to have an indefinite leave from touring. Then he took off to Australia with a laptop and an idea for a crime novel. Thus Harry Hole was born. While Jo was fairly certain that his first novel wouldn't be published, he was certain that writing was now something he HAD to do. His hope was that he would send the first novel off and at least get interest from a publisher who might see potential in his writing. So, he sent the manuscript off and forgot about it.

But he didn't forget about his love, his need, of writing. On the day he returned to the brokerage firm, he went into his office, turned on the computer, and before his screen finished loading with the stock indexes he walked into his boss's office and resigned. Then he went off in search of some freelance work with newspapers. He was working on this freelance work when the call came in from the publishing house; they were interested in his manuscript and wanted to meet with Jo.

However, they didn't know they were meeting with Jo because he originally submitted his manuscript under a pen name. If he was published, he wanted to be published on the merit of his work, not his star status as a musician. His fear was if they knew he was a celebrity, they would publish anything he wrote, even if it was crap. But when he walked into the meeting with five older men and they asked him why he submitted the manuscript under a pen name, he said, "because I'm Jo Nesbø." And they looked at each other and then said, "who's Jo Nesbø?" No one knew who Jo was and only one of the men had ever even heard the name of the band.

Jo read a section of his book in both English and Norwegian. Then a guest asked him if he was able to do that in all 40 languages his books had been translated in. Sadly, no he cannot. But, I am going to try to share that reading with you here. This is my first attempt at sharing an audio file; hopefully it will work correctly for you all:

Nesbo Sound Clip

Another member of the audience asked about the women in Harry's life and how they don't fair too well. Did Jo have any thoughts about that. Jo said when he looks back he notices that they tend to die and he tries not to analyze it.

Jo was asked if Henning Mankell influenced him because they have similarities in their writing styles. Jo actually didn't read his first Mankell novel until after he started writing, but attributes their similarities more to possibly sharing the same influences: the Scandinavian crime writers of the seventies, very likely.

Jo's mother was a librarian and his father a book lover. One of the first books that Jo's father read to him was LORD OF THE FLIES. Jo picked it out for two reasons: he could read enough to tell that the book was about kids on a deserted island and the cover had a pig head's on stake. Visual effect is important to the young writers of today, he believes, so television and movies have influenced him tremendously.

Jo is presently working on the third book in his children's series. The first was just released this year in the United States: DR. PROCTOR'S FART POWDER. I am so getting that for my nephew!

Jo wrapped up the event with a signing of course. I found it a little more difficult to connect with Jo because he was as shy if not moreso than me. I can follow, but I can't lead when it comes to starting conversations. I did however ask him about the first two books of the Harry Hole series and if they would be translated. It sounds like there's a good chance they will be translated at least in the U.K. And I managed to get this picture. The kind woman I sat with at the event took this for me, and I thank her kindly!

Jo is intelligent, talented and very funny. It was truly a treat to have this great opportunity. And again, thanks to Mystery Lovers. They do a fabulous job of booking wonderful crime fiction writers. Happy Reading, all!

World's Favorite Detective - Rounds 1 & 2 Results

I had a request to see the final results from Rounds 1 and 2 in the tournament. So, here are those results (note: these are NOT related to Round 3 at all; there will be NO mid-week update for Round 3):

Round 1:

Harry Bosch (91%) vs. Roderick Alleyn (9%)

Kate Shugak (35%) vs. Nero Wolfe (65%)

Tom Thorne (54%) vs. Cork O'Connor (46%)

Walt Longmire (39%) vs. Alan Banks (61%)

Lindsay Boxer (33%) vs. Sam Spade (67%)

John Ceepak (73%) vs. David "Kubu" Bengu (27%)

Easy Rawlins (84%) vs. Pepe Carvalho (16%)

V.I. Warshawski (42%) vs. Kinsey Milhone (58%)

Alex Cross (80%) vs. Jonathan Stride (20%)

Bernie Gunther (17%) vs. Tess Monaghan (83%)

Will Trent (39%) vs. Charlie Resnick (61%)

Ray Dudgeon (13%) vs. Sherlock Holmes (87%)

Jack Taylor (46%) vs. Jim Chee (54%)

Lincoln Rhyme (71%) vs. Aloysius Pendergast (29%)

Eve Dallas (49%) vs. Precious Ramotswe (51%)

Adam Dalgliesh (49%) vs. John Rebus (51%)

Elvis Cole (62%) vs. Joe Leaphorn (38%)

Endeavour Morse (49%) vs. Andy Dalziel (51%)

Matthew Scudder (60%) vs. Sam Purdy (40%)

Salvo Montalbano (18%) vs. Lew Archer (82%)

Phillip Marlowe (75%) vs. Charlie Parker (25%)

Travis McGee (71%) vs. Lincoln Perry (29%)

Jesse Stone (69%) vs. Armand Gamache (31%)

Guido Brunetti (18%) vs. Spenser (82%)

Lucas Davenport (80%) vs. Erlendur Sveinsson (20%)

John Corey (49%) vs. Tom Brant (51%)

Virgil Flowers (70%) vs. Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg (30%)

Reginald Wexford (23%) vs. Hercule Poirot (77%)

Kurt Wallander (70%) vs. Harry Hole (30%)

Carson Ryder (76%) vs. Skin Kadash (24%)

Patrick Kenzie (47%) vs. Ellie Hatcher (53%)

Moe Prager (17%) vs. Dave Robicheux (83%)

Round 2:

Harry Bosch (82%) vs. Nero Wolfe (18%)

Tom Thorne (44%) vs. Alan Banks (56%)

Sam Spade (82%) vs. John Ceepak (18%)

Easy Rawlins (42%) vs. Kinsey Milhone (58%)

Alex Cross (57%) vs. Tess Monaghan (43%)

Charlie Resnick (20%) vs. Sherlock Holmes (80%)

Jim Chee (31%) vs. Lincoln Rhyme (69%)

Precious Ramotswe (33%) vs. John Rebus (67%)

Elvis Cole (67%) vs. Andy Dalziel (33%)

Matthew Scudder (44%) vs. Lew Archer (56%)

Phillip Marlowe (66%) vs. Travis McGee (34%)

Jesse Stone (43%) vs. Spenser (57%)

Lucas Davenport (79%) vs. Tom Brant (21%)

Virgil Flowers (32%) vs. Hercule Poirot (68%)

Kurt Wallander (65%) vs. Carson Ryder (35%)

Ellie Hatcher (30%) vs. Dave Robicheaux (70%)

There you have it. The results from Rounds 1 and 2, with their percentage break-downs. If you haven't voted yet, make sure you get your votes in for Round 3. And tell all your crime fiction fan friends to get their votes in as well. If you missed it yesterday, I announced a giveaway for a signed first addition of Ken Mercer's wonderful debut novel, SLOW FIRE. Make sure you get your entries submitted for that contest.

I have a number of reviews to catch up on, so hopefully I'll be getting those posted in the very near future. And tomorrow, barring anything bizarre happening, I'll be recapping Jo Nesbø at the Mystery Lovers Bookshop.

Happy Wednesday and Happy Reading!

Some News, A Winner and a New Contest

Wow! It's almost the end of March. Where did this month go? Not that I'm complaining, mind you. It's moving us closer to warm weather.

This weekend I joined Audible and I'm trying to decide what book I want to choose for my free download. I'm so bad at making decisions like this, mostly because I want everything but want to make the "just right" choice. Some of the books I'm considering:

FACELESS KILLERS - Henning Mankell
NO TIME FOR GOODBYE - Linwood Barclay
PRIVILEGED INFORMATION - Stephen White

The direction I was trying to go was with someone I haven't read at all but someone I know I definitely want to start reading. These are all authors who have been highly recommended to me. Give me your thoughts. Do you have any input on any of these books? Do you have other suggestions for me? The tournament has got me excited about some new authors, too. I picked up a Brian Freeman book at the library so I can try him out. So, who else should I try? I want to put my free book to good use.

Today's the 23rd. That means it's release day for Alafair Burke's 212! As Alafair pointed out to me, 2-1-2 releases on 3-2-3. If you missed it before, here is my review of the new Ellie Hatcher. And I'm not the only one who loves it either. It's receiving great reviews everywhere. If you haven't read an Ellie Hatcher yet, now's the time to get on the ball. If, like me, you've been waiting for 212, IT'S HERE! Time to celebrate. I'm going to do just that by going to see Alafair on Saturday, so expect a recap from that event next week. Also, later this week I'll be recapping my trip to PA to meet Jo Nesbø! All kinds of fun. And the Festival of Books is quickly approaching as well.

Spinetingler had this great interview posted with Chris Grabenstein. I wanted to share it with you and remind you that May is bringing the new John Ceepak novel, ROLLING THUNDER, and you all must get a copy of this book. I've read it; it's wonderful; and I'm in it! So, I know you all want to have a souvenir of my literary debut!!

Alright, so I need to announce two items today. The first is the winner of OUR LADY OF IMMACULATE DECEPTION. And the random number generator awards the prize to Pete T. I have contacted Pete to get his mailing info and the book will go out to him ASAP.

Now you have a chance to win again! Woo hoo! And this is a great opportunity. I have a signed, first edition copy of Ken Mercer's SLOW FIRE. This debut has been receiving great reviews and just went into its second printing.

If you are unfamiliar with SLOW FIRE, it features former LAPD narcotics detective, Will Magowan. He left his job when he became addicted to the drugs he was supposed to be fighting against. With no job or wife, he's offered a position as a police chief in a tiny rural town full of dark secrets and Magowan has to try to save the town from destruction.

How about that for a thriller? Here's your chance to get your hands on it for free - signed even! If you have a U.S. mailing address complete the form below, and the random number generator will pick a winner next Tuesday. Don't delay!

Round 3 - World's Favorite Detective

Now the match-ups get very interesting! The outcomes of this Round will determine the "Elite Eight" and those that entered the bracket contest will be paying close attention to see who of their predictions survive this round. I will not be sharing progress at mid-week (by popular vote), so if you have detectives you want to see move on, round up your posse and get the votes in. The voting booth will be open through Friday (March 26th) for Round 3.

As in the previous weeks, you will only be able to vote once. If you refresh your page or return later, you will see your votes marked. You may change your votes, but submitting the same votes will not cause your votes to be counted multiple times.

Good luck to all the detectives.

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Moving On To Round Three Are...

Here are your winners from Round 2 in the "World's Favorite Detective" tournament:

Harry Bosch - W

Nero Wolfe

Tom Thorne

Alan Banks - W

Sam Spade - W

John Ceepak

Easy Rawlins

Kinsey Milhone - W

Alex Cross - W

Tess Monaghan

Charlie Resnick

Sherlock Holmes - W

Jim Chee

Lincoln Rhyme - W

Precious Ramotswe

John Rebus - W

Elvis Cole - W

Andy Dalziel

Matthew Scudder

Lew Archer - W

Phillip Marlowe - W

Travis McGee

Jesse Stone

Spenser - W

Lucas Davenport - W

Tom Brant

Virgil Flowers

Hercule Poirot - W

Kurt Wallander - W

Carson Ryder

Ellie Hatcher

Dave Robicheaux - W

A couple more of my favorites fell this week; how about yours? How are your brackets looking now? Very few of Round 2's contests were blow-outs. Alex Cross just barely made it past Tess Monaghan and Spenser just barely edged out his kin Jesse Stone. So Round 3 should be even more exciting. What do you think? For Round 3 should I post a mid-week standing or leave you in the dark until the end? Let me know what you'd prefer in the comments.

See you back here Monday for the opening of Round 3 voting! Happy Reading!

ONCE A SPY - Keith Thomson

Drummond Clark is living a quiet life in retirement and has begun the slow deterioration of Alzheimer's Disease. He worked his whole life as an appliance salesman, or so his son Charles thought. It turns out Drummond has a secret and that secret could be putting him in grave danger. The only problem is, most of the time, Drummond doesn't remember the secret due to his disease.

Drummond's son Charles is a gambling addict who is in debt up to his eyeballs with a dirty loan shark. If he doesn't come up with a very large payment soon, he will be in grave danger. Normally, Charles hates to be bothered with his aging father, but when Drummond hints at the fact that he has millions of dollars stashed away, Charlie pays close attention. And before he knows what hits him, he's in the midst of a man hunt where he and Drummond are the prey.

Traditionally I've been a cynic when it comes to spy thrillers. ONCE A SPY is so unique, though, I had to check it out. And I'm so very glad I did. The element of ONCE A SPY that drew me in was the relationship between Drummond and Charlie. The dynamics of this relationship are so life-like, I don't think any reader would have a hard time relating this father and son pair to people in their own lives. They may not have shoot outs and car chases and hidden passage ways, but they have the emotional dilemmas and connections.

In the typical spy thriller, all of the James Bond action and gadgets can come across as over the top and hard to believe. In ONCE A SPY, cynic Charlie helps to make those elements humorous and even a little more believable.

" The Dodge sped to within a half a block behind them. The gunman leaned out of the passenger window for a better shot.

'How's that idea going?' Charlie asked.

'Stop at the red.' Drummond pointed at the traffic light dangling ahead.

'The rule is except when someone is shooting you!'"

And Drummond's Alzheimer's Disease enhances the human-ness of his character. He isn't a larger than life, superman-type character; instead he's susceptible to pain and disease and heart ache. This reality makes me, the reader, care what happens to him. I have to continue reading to see his fate, instead of focusing on the improbability of the action and gadgets.

As a reader, I am a hard sell on the spy thriller, but Keith Thomson is a top-notch salesman and I walked away a happy customer.

ONCE A SPY is available now in hard cover from Doubleday (ISBN: 978-0-385-53078-1).

OUR LADY OF IMMACULATE DECEPTION - Nancy Martin

Roxy Abruzzo is working in the architectural-salvage business, salvaging items from the burned out remains of Julius Hyde’s home when she spies a statue in the yard. Roxy removes the statue from the property without anyone’s knowledge or consent. It probably wouldn’t have become a huge issue except for the fact that Julius Hyde ends up murdered and suddenly everyone’s on the trail of Hyde’s murderer and that statue.

OUR LADY OF IMMACULATE DECEPTION is Nancy Martin’s first book in her new series. This is a cute novel full of quirky characters. Roxy’s desperate attempts to stay away from her crime boss uncle’s “business” seem to be thwarted at every turn. At the core of her character, she wants to do the right thing, but sometimes the wrong thing will provide the funds to do the right thing and ethical dilemmas ensue.

Roxy’s eccentric Aunt Loretta, her employee Nooch, and her teen-age daughter Sage contribute to the various layers of the plot, but they also work to add dimension to Roxy’s unique character. Martin also gives ample development to the rich Hyde family: the matriarch on her death bed, the greedy corporate son, the spoiled youngest son, the evil daughter-in-law, and the drug addicted granddaughter. A dynamic cast of characters.

OUR LADY OF IMMACULATE DECEPTION has humor, drama, conniving and crime. You won’t be at a loss for entertainment with this new series.


Think OUR LADY OF IMMACULATE DECEPTION is a book you'd like to check out? Well, it just so happens that I have a copy to give away. So, if you'd like a chance to win this one, complete the form below. Unfortunately I have to restrict this contest to folks with a U.S. mailing address. I'll take entries through Monday, March 22 and draw a winner on the 23rd. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments or email me. Good luck!

Walter Mosley in Orlando

This past weekend was the weekend of CAMEX. I work for the National Association of College Stores and our yearly tradeshow is called CAMEX. This year the event took place in Orlando. Most of CAMEX would probably not be of much interest to you, but if you remember back to last year at this time, I wrote about the Book and Author Breakfast that is a part of CAMEX. This year was especially exciting for me because the three guests were Dwayne Betts, author of the memoir A QUESTION OF FREEDOM, Dave Isay, author of LISTENING IS AN ACT OF LOVE, and...WALTER MOSLEY!!! Yes, I typed that correctly, Walter Mosley attended our CAMEX Book and Author Breakfast this year.

I was thrilled beyond belief to have the opportunity to escort him from the hotel to the conference center. Bless his heart, he asked questions about the blog. And I happily filled him in. We also talked a little about bookstores.

All three authors had wonderful presentations for the audience. Dwayne Betts is a young man whose life was changed when he started reading in jail. He spoke about an anonymous person who slid THE BLACK POETS under his cell door when he was in isolation. Dwayne pointed out that an author requires a witness, that the author's words aren't complete until someone witnesses them. Many times it requires an intermediary to get those words to their witnesses. And someone sharing THE BLACK POETS with him was the only way he would have learned about it; that anonymous person changed his life and turned him into a witness. His statements were directed at the booksellers of course, but I also took a little away from that. I took away a sense that this hobby may make a difference to someone down the line; a difference I may never know anything about. It was encouragement for me to continue talking about books that I enjoy, books that mean a lot to me. And reinforcement that there should only be room here on the blog for the books I like. The important role is the one where I encourage a person to pick up a book; not the role where I encourage a person to avoid a book.

The next author to speak was Dave Isay. Dave Isay is the founder of a project called StoryCorps. If you listen to NPR you may know about this project as they play some of the stories on Friday mornings. The objective is to record people's stories, all people's stories, everyday people's stories. I think it is such an amazing idea. As Dave spoke I thought about all the people who should be participating in this project. It's also a reminder of something we all should be doing to save the stories of our families. He included some audio of people's recordings, including a husband and wife who had been with Martin Luther King, Jr. the night before he was assassinated. A pair of cousins who spoke about a neighbor of their grandmother's, Ms. Devine, who caught them lying. A man who related the story of his father, a chauffeur, staying up all night to teach himself algebra in order to be able to teach it to his son. Dave also played an animation of an interview done by a twelve-year-old with Asberger's Syndrome with his mother. The stories were funny and emotional and all worthy of being recorded for all time.

Walter Mosley wrapped up this year's program. He started off his presentation talking about the fact that he's uncomfortable trying to sell his book to people. It was very much his way of saying he didn't intend to stand up and try to talk people into buying his book. Instead, he shared some wonderful stories. The audience loved his stories; they loved him. He was animated, warm, funny and sincere.

Walter's first story tied back to Dwayne Betts. Dwayne had mentioned Etheridge Knight's influence on him as a poet. So Walter talked about a poetry convention he attended when he first thought he wanted to be a writer. Three poets spoke of stories that discourage Walter from wanting to pursue a life of writing, but Etheridge Knight opened Walter's heart to the possibilities of writing. Then Walter turned his story to a reference from Dave Isay's presentation, and he spoke about a story Studs Terkle told him about a young man burglarizing his home.

The Walter went on to talk about people who truly love books. These people create a world that allows people like Walter to survive and even thrive. True booksellers create an environment and an atmosphere where books can live, a place where people's lives can be changed.

And possibly my favorite part of Walter's presentation was the end when he spoke about his new series character Leonid McGill. You may have read my review of his first book, THE LONG FALL, and the second Leonid McGill novel, KNOWN TO EVIL will be released later this month. Walter sees Leonid McGill as a representation of America. For years Leonid has been on the wrong side of the law doing very bad things. Now he is trying to change, and that change is not a simple decision. We (America) have been doing wrong all over the world, doing wrong to people in prisons, elderly people, sick people...we do all kinds of things wrong, and now just a tiny bit we want to try and do things right. Walter says this is almost and impossible task and that's why he enjoys telling Leonid's story so much.

Following the presentations, the authors all held court and signed books. I was honored (and tickled pink) to assist Walter with his signing. He was convivial and personal, but still quick, allowing everyone to get their book signed. We even ran out of books.

Afterward, Walter posed for this picture with me. I'm going to have it enlarged to lifesize and hung in my living room! Just kidding. But it is a very precious prize to me.

Finally, I was afforded the opportunity to walk Walter back to his hotel. And I managed to almost get us lost twice. Mind you the hotel was across the street from the convention center! But we had a wonderful time chatting about everything from comic books to James Joyce. Then, Walter gave me a kiss! I plan to never wash my cheek again!

But seriously, he is an amazing man. He's funny and smart and generous and kind. Walter Mosley is the stuff heroes are made of. I am so incredibly honored to have had the chance to meet him and talk to him. I will treasure this day forever! Thank you for letting me share it with you.

Round 2 - Let's Vote!

Here it is, Round 2 voting for the "World's Favorite Detective" tournament. This will be an interesting Round as we have difficult match-ups. As I mentioned yesterday, a number of the contests in Round 1 literally came down to a matter of a few votes. So, rally all your friends and family to support your favorite detectives this week.

Choose your favorite detective in each pairing and then click "Finish Survey" at the very bottom of the form. Please note: if you refresh or return to this page, you will see your votes back. This will allow you to change your votes if you want, but it will not submit your votes multiple times.

And The Round 1 Winners Are...

The votes have been tallied and the winners determined. Here are the results of who will be going on to Round 2 of the "World's Favorite Detective" tournament:

Harry Bosch - W

Roderick Alleyn

Kate Shugak

Nero Wolfe - W

Tom Thorne - W

Cork O'Connor

Walt Longmire

Alan Banks - W

Lindsay Boxer

Sam Spade - W

John Ceepak - W

David "Kubu" Bengu

Easy Rawlins - W

Pepe Carvalho

V.I. Warshawski

Kinsey Milhone - W

Alex Cross - W

Jonathan Stride

Bernie Gunther

Tess Monaghan - W

Will Trent

Charlie Resnick - W

Ray Dudgeon

Sherlock Holmes - W

Jack Taylor

Jim Chee - W

Lincoln Rhyme - W

Aloysius Pendergast

Eve Dallas

Precious Ramotswe - W

Adam Dalgliesh

John Rebus - W

Elvis Cole - W

Joe Leaphorn

Endeavor Morse

Andy Delziel - W

Matthew Scudder - W

Sam Purdy

Salvo Mantalbano

Lew Archer - W

Phillip Marlowe - W

Charlie Parker

Travis McGee - W

Lincoln Perry

Jesse Stone - W

Armand Gamache

Guido Brunetti

Spenser - W

Lucas Davenport - W

Erlendur Sveinsson

John Corey

Tom Brant - W

Virgil Flowers - W

Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg

Reginald Wexford

Hercule Poirot - W

Kurt Wallander - W

Harry Hole

Carson Ryder - W

Skin Kadash

Patrick Kenzie

Ellie Hatcher - W

Moe Prager

Dave Robicheaux - W

Well, I'm sad to see a few of my own favorites going home after Round 1, but CONGRATULATIONS to all the first round victors. There were quite a few of these match-ups that were literally won but a matter of a few votes, so every vote does indeed count. Fill in your brackets with last week's winners. Tomorrow will start Round 2, so rally your friends, spread the word and come back to support your favorite detectives!

Update with Odds and Ends

Today I'm headed out of town for work. I'm not sure if I'll be able to post anything before I get back or not. In the event I can't I wanted to leave you with a few items to check out.

First, I'll give you a general update on Week 1 of the "World's Favorite Detective" tournament. It's been an interesting Week 1 actually with several contests volleying back and forth depending on the day. There are very few blowouts and most contests can still go either way depending on these last two days of voting. The voting booth for Week 1 will be open through tomorrow, so if you're pulling for your favorite detective to move on, now's the time to rally your friends and get the votes!

I was very excited to see that on Monday alone there were over 600 voters. Very cool. I hope you all continue to come back each week throughout the tournament and support your favorite detectives. I also hope you check out some whose names aren't familiar to you...or rather weren't familiar before the contest started. I'm hoping to do some highlights on the detectives when we get down a little further. I would have loved to have done a highlight for every single detective in the tourney, but time simply wouldn't permit it. That doesn't mean you can't check them out on your own. I've already requested audio books from some of the authors I wasn't familiar with before this. Very excited to discover some new detectives!

So, be sure to check back next week for Round 2. I return from my work trip Saturday night. If I can get to it, I'll post the winners of Round 1 Sunday, otherwise, I'll have it up for you on Monday and the new voting will start.

If you didn't have a chance to catch my interview with Tom Schreck earlier this week and you would like to, you can see that here. Tom turned the tables on me and I was in the interview hot seat this time. Tom's a super wonderful person, an extremely talented writer and I was honored to hang out with him at his blog.

And I also spent some time with my dear friend Kaye Barley this week over at her blog. I talked about my special family and I answered the question everyone's been asking me, "What is your six-word memoir?" So, if you'd like to see that, you can do that here.

Alright, I'm done being narcissistic for today. I want to talk about other cool places to visit if you haven't seen them already. I've actually fallen so far behind in my own blog reading that my friends are ready to send the lynch mob after me, I think. Naomi and Corey are staying very busy over at The Drowning Machine. Be sure to stop by there for a couple awesome reviews as well as an Indie Bookstore highlight. Absolutely love that!

Michael has been highlighting the Elvis Cole/Joe Pike series on audio book at his blog. I believe I talked about this before, but this is truly a series that I get excited about every time I hear he has a new post. To combine my love of Crais with my love of audio books is heaven to begin with. But Michael is a connoisseur and it's so much fun to discuss these audios with him. I just never tire of it. Anyway, he's up to THE FORGOTTEN MAN. You can check that out here. And he has links to the remainder of the series if you need to catch up.

Michael's also been doing a series on movie Title/Credit Sequences. He's up to Part 4 on that series. You can see that here. Again he adds links to the previous posts if you need to catch up. I have been reading them utterly dumbfounded. I can't even contribute I feel so unworthy! I love his film knowledge. I feel as though I get an education every time he hosts a post. It's great!

And my idol, Pop Culture Nerd, is getting super fancy on us these days. She put together a slide show of fashion from the Academy Awards. I don't need to hit People Magazine's website, PCN has all the inside scoop I need. And it's far more fun to dish with her than People Magazine! You have to go over and see this slide show. Her captions are half the fun. Make sure that you see Robert Downey, Jr. Seriously, I laughed out loud at that one. My colleagues thought I was off my rocker. Damn cubicles! If you haven't been over to check out her site lately, what are you waiting for? Lots of fun stuff going on there. Had I not been visiting, I'd have never heard about Tom Kaufman. See, that's why I hate getting behind on my blog reading!

And finally, please go over and wish my good friend Jenn from Jenn's Bookshelves a happy blogiversary. She celebrated two years of blogging this week. And she has a nice contest going on in honor of her blogiversary where you could win the book of your choice! Can't beat that! You have until March 15th to enter for that contest. And you know if you have trouble deciding what you want, I'll be happy to give you a long list of suggestions! ;-)

All right. I'll shut my trap now...or rather my fingers, I guess. I just wanted to make sure I left you with enough fun stuff until I return. I promise some reviews next week. I have still been reading, I swear, even though I haven't done a very good job of posting the reviews in a timely manner. But you know, you can also always follow me on Twitter. I tend to talk about books there while I'm reading them (as well as other various odds and ends). I put the link to my Twitter page over in my side bar if you aren't already following and would like to, just click my little Twitter bird.

Have a great weekend everyone. I hope it is filled with sunshine and happiness and BOOKS! And remember to VOTE!!!

Debut Author Thomas Kaufman

On Sunday I had the good fortune to be able to meet debut author Thomas Kaufman. He held a book event in Cleveland at Appletree Books in Cleveland.

Well, actually the event was down the street at this cool little restaurant called Nighttown. It was a very classy set-up. Tom joked that when he first came in there was a piano in the area where he would be speaking. He thought he would be able to stretch out on the piano (ala Michelle Pheiffer in the Fabulous Baker Boys) and present that way. No such luck. That would have made a great picture don't you think?

Anyway, as you'll remember since he was my guest blogger just last week, Thomas Kaufman just released DRINK THE TEA, which won the PWA/St. Martin's Best First Private Eye Novel contest (the same award presented to Les Roberts for PEPPER PIKE and Michael Koryta for TONIGHT I SAID GOODBYE).

Tom has a wonderful sense of humor and after starting to read the first few pages of the book while I was there at the restaurant, I could see that his humor translates into his writing as well. He started writing DRINK THE TEA when his first child was born. It took him about two years to write the original version. He put it away and worked on some other things for awhile and then picked it back up. While working in a writer's group, someone suggested that he should submit his book to the PWA/St. Martin's Press contest, so he did and promptly forgot about it. He forgot about it until he received a call informing him that he had won the contest.

DRINK THE TEA involves the juvenile correction system and Tom explained that a lot of that was inspired by a colleague of his. His protagonist is a fan of jazz, and you can tell he shares that characteristic with Tom himself.

The first round of edits on DRINK THE TEA required Tom to cut nearly 50 pages from his manuscript because the book was too long, but he believes that made the book better ultimately. There is a sequel to DRINK THE TEA that Minotaur likes. Publication of the sequel will be determined based on sales of DRINK THE TEA. So, in other words, go out and get your copy quickly so we can ensure more to come from Tom Kaufman.

Tom spends a lot of time behind the lens of a camera. His day job is as a cinematographer. He's been very successful there as well, racking up several awards for his work. But in either realm he's telling stories. Tom said he first started writing at the age of twelve.

Tom Kaufman is a very animated, witty, inspiring presenter and I encourage you to meet him if you get the chance. I know he's in the New York area right now, will hit my friends at Mystery Lovers on Thursday then will make his way out west to L.A. and Arizona. You can see his list of events here. Definitely go if you have the chance!

Visiting Tom Schreck Today

I'm in the review hot seat today over at Tom Schreck's site, so stop over and see what I had to say about crime fiction and reviewing.

Let's VOTE! - Round 1

It's Week 1 of the "World's Favorite Detective" tournament and the detectives are ready to go head-to-head. Below is your entry form. Choose one detective from each pairing. You may skip any of the pairs that you would like. Votes will be accepted through midnight Eastern on Friday, March 12th. Then check back next week for the "Sweet Sixteen" showdown. Thanks for participating!

Click here.

World's Favorite Detective Tournament Entry Form

Here's your chance to enter the contest for signed novels in the World's Greatest Detective Tournament. If you need to see the bracket again, you can access that here. The prizes for this contest are also outlined at that link.

As promised, I'm listing the detectives with links to places you can learn more about them. If you're like me, you don't know all the detectives on this list and may need to do some research before submitting your entry. So here are the 64 authors with their links:

1. Harry Bosch (Michael Connelly)


2. Elvis Cole (Robert Crais)


3. John Rebus (Ian Rankin)


4. Dave Robicheaux (James Lee Burke)


5. Kinsey Milhone (Sue Grafton)


6. Spenser (Robert B. Parker)


7. Lucas Davenport (John Sandford)


8. Alex Cross (James Patterson)


9. Sherlock Holmes (Arthur Conan Doyle)


10. Hercule Poirot (Agatha Christie)


11. Alan Banks (Peter Robinson)


12. V.I. Warshawski (Sara Paretsky)


13. Philip Marlowe (Raymond Chandler)


14. Lew Archer (Ross Macdonald)


15. Jack Taylor (Ken Bruen)


16. Kurt Wallander (Henning Mankell)


17. Walt Longmire (Craig Johnson)


18. Salvo Montalbano (Andrea Camilleri)


19. Harry Hole (Jo Nesbø)


20. Sam Spade (Dashiell Hammett)


21. Joe Leaphorn (Tony Hillerman)


22. Jim Chee (Tony Hillerman)


23. Moe Prager (Reed Farrel Coleman)


24. Adam Dalgleish (P.D. James)


25. Roderick Alleyn (Ngaio Marsh)


26. Charlie Parker (John Connolly)


27. Lindsay Boxer (James Patterson)


28. Guido Brunetti (Donna Leon)


29. Jonathan Stride (Brian Freeman)


30. Erlendur (Arnaldur Indridason)


31. Ray Dudgeon (Sean Chercover)


32. Reginald Wexford (Ruth Rendell)


33. Nero Wolfe (Rex Stout)


34. Andy Dalziel (Reginald Hill)


35. Tom Thorne (Mark Billingham)


36. Matthew Scudder (Lawrence Block)


37. John Ceepak (Chris Grabenstein)


38. Travis McGee (John D. MacDonald)


39. Easy Rawlins (Walter Mosley)


40. Jesse Stone (Robert B. Parker)


41. Bernie Gunther (Philip Kerr)


42. John Corey (Nelson DeMille)


43. Will Trent (Karin Slaughter)


44. Virgil Flowers (John Sandford)


45. Lincoln Rhyme (Jeffery Deaver)


46. Carson Ryder (Jack Kerley)


47. Eve Dallas (J.D. Robb)


48. Patrick Kenzie (Dennis Lehane)


49. Kate Shugak (Dana Stabenow)


50. Endeavour Morse (Colin Dexter)


51. Cork O'Conner (William Kent Krueger)


52. Sam Purdy (Stephen White)


53. David "Kubu" Bengu (Michael Stanley)


54. Lincoln Perry (Michael Koryta)


55. Pepe Carvalho (Manuel Vazquez Montalban)


56. Armand Gamache (Louise Penny)


57. Tess Monaghan (Laura Lippman)


58. Tom Brant (Ken Bruen)


59. Charlie Resnick (John Harvey)


60. Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg (Fred Vargas)


61. Aloysius Pendergast (Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child)


62. Skin Kadash (Bill Cameron)


63. Precious Ramotswe (Alexander McCall Smith)


64. Ellie Hatcher (Alafair Burke)

This contest is open to entrants WORLD WIDE, but you have to have your entry submitted by midnight U.S. Eastern Time on March 8th, so don't delay. Any incomplete or late entries will be disqualified. Be sure to read the directions and ask if you have any questions.

Good luck!

Newsworthy

I'm very excited about the enthusiasm surrounding the World's Favorite Detective tournament. Remember to come back tomorrow to find the entry form for the contest. You only have until midnight Eastern time on Monday to get your entries in, so don't dwaddle! And the first week of voting begins on MONDAY!!

Until then I have a couple of news items to share with you. The first is connected to Alafair Burke. Of course you know I'm a very big fan and love her work. Her new book 212, which I reviewed here, is going to be released on March 23rd, and the way the publishing business works, they look at pre-order numbers when determining whether or not writers will keep their publishing contracts. So, since you know I'm extremely selfish when it comes to the likes of my Ellie Hatcher books, I want Alafair to have good pre-order numbers. Well, so does she! So, she's giving away a mystery gift if you pre-order her new novel 212. So, if you were planning to get her novel, this is an opportunity for you to get a surprise, too. Here are the details on her giveaway.

That being said, I'll offer up some places you can make your orders. If you'd like a signed book, then you can contact the folks at Mystery Lovers Book Shop(Pennsylvania), The Mystery Bookstore (L.A.), or Murder by the Book (Houston) Each of these stores will be hosting Alafair, so you can call and pre-order with them, they'll hold the book until the event and get it inscribed for you. And Mystery Lovers even has free shipping!

I know that price can be a factor for some people. I don't usually advocate this and I don't buy books from them myself, but Amazon has 212 right now for almost half price on the pre-order. Since it is almost half price, you would need to either pay shipping or buy something else to qualify for their free shipping.

I think those are some really great options for a book that is solidly on my favorites list for this year. But there's even more tempting offers if you're a fan on her Facebook page. If you aren't already, check that out here.

The other newsworthy item to share with you is a contest that Macmillan is sponsoring for Duane Swierczynski’s new thriller, EXPIRATION DATE. Here's the link for the registration. You have an opportunity to win a signed book or Laurence Campbell's original art work from the book. Here are some of the samples of the illustrations that Macmillan sent me:

And lastly, I will leave you with a great article about Fred. If you don't know Fred, you'll enjoy meeting him in this article. Fred is Chris Grabenstein's dog who starred on Broadway.

Happy Reading! And I'll see you back here tomorrow to start entering the tournament contest!

The World's Favorite Detective Tournament

The nominations have been tallied and the bracket has been built. We're ready to kick off the "World's Favorite Detective Tournament."

So you have an idea of how the bracket was built from the nominations, I counted up all the individual nominations and ranked the detectives according to how many nominations they received. The total number of detectives nominated was 243 out of almost 1300 nominations. A few people nominated didn't meet the qualifications of "detective" such as Myron Bolitar, Jack Reacher and Jane Marple. All great characters but they didn't fit into the definition of "detective" for this tournament. In the future we may do this for amateur sleuths and thriller protagonists, but for now, to keep the playing field from getting too out of control, we're going with the licensed detectives. The results netted quite a variety of detectives, representing different genders, parts of the world and time periods. I'm excited to see how this tournament goes.

Every detective that received four or more nominations made the cut. That left 13 "wild card" spots. So all of the detectives with 3 nominations were listed and then Random Number Generator chose 13 of those detectives to get the "wild card" slots.

Then I created this tournament bracket from those 64 detectives. You should be able to access it so that you can follow along each week. But, if you have any trouble, email me and I'll send you a copy of the bracket.

Here is the final list of 64 detectives who made the cut:

1. Harrry Bosch (Michael Connelly)


2. Elvis Cole (Robert Crais)


3. John Rebus (Ian Rankin)


4. Dave Robicheaux (James Lee Burke)


5. Kinsey Milhone (Sue Grafton)


6. Spenser (Robert B. Parker)


7. Lucas Davenport (John Sandford)


8. Alex Cross (James Patterson)


9. Sherlock Holmes (Arthur Conan Doyle)


10. Hercule Poirot (Agatha Christie)


11. Alan Banks (Peter Robinson)


12. V.I. Warshawski (Sara Paretsky)


13. Philip Marlowe (Raymond Chandler)


14. Lew Archer (Ross Macdonald)


15. Jack Taylor (Ken Bruen)


16. Kurt Wallander (Henning Mankell)


17. Walt Longmire (Craig Johnson)


18. Salvo Montalbano (Andrea Camilleri)


19. Harry Hole (Jo Nesbø)


20. Sam Spade (Dashiell Hammett)


21. Joe Leaphorn (Tony Hillerman)


22. Jim Chee (Tony Hillerman)


23. Moe Prager (Reed Farrel Coleman)


24. Adam Dalgleish (P.D. James)


25. Roderick Alleyn (Ngaio Marsh)


26. Charlie Parker (John Connolly)


27. Lindsay Boxer (James Patterson)


28. Guido Brunetti (Donna Leon)


29. Jonathan Stride (Brian Freeman)


30. Erlendur (Arnaldur Indridason)


31. Ray Dudgeon (Sean Chercover)


32. Reginald Wexford (Ruth Rendell)


33. Nero Wolfe (Rex Stout)


34. Andy Dalziel (Reginald Hill)


35. Tom Thorne (Mark Billingham)


36. Matthew Scudder (Lawrence Block)


37. John Ceepak (Chris Grabenstein)


38. Travis McGee (John D. MacDonald)


39. Easy Rawlins (Walter Mosley)


40. Jesse Stone (Robert B. Parker)


41. Bernie Gunther (Philip Kerr)


42. John Corey (Nelson DeMille)


43. Will Trent (Karin Slaughter)


44. Virgil Flowers (John Sandford)


45. Lincoln Rhyme (Jeffery Deaver)


46. Carson Ryder (Jack Kerley)


47. Eve Dallas (J.D. Robb)


48. Patrick Kenzie (Dennis Lehane)


49. Kate Shugak (Dana Stabenow)


50. Endeavour Morse (Colin Dexter)


51. Cork O'Conner (William Kent Krueger)


52. Sam Purdy (Stephen White)


53. David "Kubu" Bengu (Michael Stanley)


54. Lincoln Perry (Michael Koryta)


55. Pepe Carvalho (Manuel Vazquez Montalban)


56. Armand Gamache (Louise Penny)


57. Tess Monaghan (Laura Lippman)


58. Tom Brant (Ken Bruen)


59. Charlie Resnick (John Harvey)


60. Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg (Fred Vargas)


61. Aloysius Pendergast (Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child)


62. Skin Kadash (Bill Cameron)


63. Precious Ramotswe (Alexander McCall Smith)


64. Ellie Hatcher (Alafair Burke)

As promised, there is a contest to go along with the tournament. The contest is open to anyone, anywhere! There will be a grand prize winner, a first runner up and a second runner up. Aside from bragging rights, each winner will be given their choice of a signed detective novel that I have in the prize cache. The grand prize winner will also be given a second selection of a novel from the general prize cache.

So what do you have to do to enter, you ask? You have to predict the results of the tourney. On Friday I will post a form here on the blog and each person may enter once. You will be required to predict the Elite Eight, the Final Four, the Championship and the "World's Favorite." The person(s) closest to the actual results will be the grand prize winner.

All prediction forms must be completed and submitted by 11:59p.m. (Eastern) Monday, March 8th. (Voting for Week 1 will begin on Monday, March 8th as well.)

If you have questions, I'd love it if you would post them in the comments in case other folks have those same questions. On Friday when I post the entry form, I'll also post links to each of the detectives so you can learn a little more about any that you might not know.

I hope you'll all participate and I hope you'll pass the word along so others will participate as well. Let's get ready to rumble y'all!

May I Introduce Thomas Kaufman?

Late last week I was reading this great review over at Pop Culture Nerd's blog and wondering why I had not heard of this book. I figure it's because my head has been stuck in other books, but that's still no excuse. Anyway, the name of the book is DRINK THE TEA and it is the winner of PWA's Best New Private Eye Novel Competition. This always raises my eyebrows since former winners include Steve Hamilton, Michael Koryta and Les Roberts. So, I'm thinking, "I have to get this book." Even though, in my mother's words I have "50 million books" around my house, I need to get THIS one. And low and behold, I kid you not, the next day there's an email in my inbox from the author, Thomas Kaufman.

Thomas Kaufman is an Emmy-award winning director and cameraman (gosh, he's going to need a bigger house for all these different awards). He's worked on many documentaries with cops and FBI agents. Now he's writing about those subjects.

Thomas graciously agreed to take over the reigns of the blog today, the release date of his debut novel DRINK THE TEA. Please help me welcome Mr. Thomas Kaufman:

Some people write to escape their days jobs. I write because of my day job. This job often forces me to take long airplane rides, and spend lots of evenings in hotel rooms.

I work as a cinematographer. I shoot TV shows for people like Barbara Kopple & Michael Moore. And I've filmed too-many-to-count programs for Discovery and National Geographic, BBC, WGBH, WNET…you get the idea.

The other thing about my day job is the kind of films I do – lots of commercial and some dramatic films, but more on the documentary side of things. And a lot of shows with cops, DEA agents, FBI agents. I have a great time with these men and women, and a lot of them are born story-tellers. Over the years I've written down some of these stories, and tried to use them in DRINK THE TEA.

My work lets me see life unfold through the viewfinder of a camera. So when I wrote the different scenes in DRINK THE TEA, I was doing my best to visualize them – how the people moved, their body language, what they were saying, what they weren't saying.

Last week my wife took me and the kids to an art gallery. We saw Renoir and Monet paintings. The impressionists believed in studying gestures, that certain poses and body language conveyed emotions and attitudes that were universal. I think about that kind of language when I visualize the scenes I'm writing.

Another type of language is spoken. I like to play music with my friends. So I think I have a pretty good ear. When I hear dialogue, I listen for the rhythms. Then I try to write that way. Folks don't speak in grammatical constructions. They talk in fragments. All the time. So I try to engage that part of me when I write dialogue. I try to hear it.

The last thing I'll tell you is where I write: anywhere but home.

Maybe it's all those years on the road, but I find it hard to do a first draft at home – too many distractions. But a coffee shop, sure. A doctor's waiting room? You bet. A Chuck E Cheese for a 9-year-old's birthday party? Even that is better than being in my own house, thanks just the same.

Oh, and pass the pepperoni.

So hopefully that birthday party turned out to be very productive for Thomas. The other great news Thomas shared with me is that he is going to be in my neck of the woods next weekend, so I'm headed off to see him on Sunday...and get my hands on that book...so I'll have 50 million and ONE books in my house!

You can find out more about Thomas Kaufman and his debut novel, DRINK THE TEA, at his website. And you can also check out his tour schedule to see if he will be in your neck of the woods!

The Alafair Burke Interview

Happy March! Aside from the snow, it's starting off great for me and I hope for you also. I found a few bucks in my pants pockets...AND Alafair posted our interview to YouTube. So here it is - be kind!