Much Catching Up to Do

Wow do I ever have a lot of catching up to do after last week! I had a BLAST in NYC - where the weather was amazing - and some fun stuff to share with you all, but let's catch up on all the goodness that has been happening around the web while I was gone.

First, Macmillan launched their online crime fiction community called The Criminal Element. It is quite nice: exclusive shorts, guest posts, regular bloggers, giveaways. Be sure to check that out.

Penguin also has a community going on that you can explore. It's a "genre community" called Book Country. I haven't had a chance yet, but I'll probably pop over there and see what they've got as well.

And then I've mentioned Copia on here before. I've been putting my library together over there and taking part in some discussions. I also started checking out their reader app. I'll be doing more of that.

The Edgar Awards took place on Thursday and I just want to send out the biggest congratulations to Steve Hamilton who won the Best Novel Edgar this year for THE LOCK ARTIST. Most anyone who has asked me anything about books in the last year has heard THE LOCK ARTIST come out of my mouth simply because I love it so much. So, I was beyond thrilled for Steve. In celebration, here's a little video that Open Road Media put together that's rather fun:



The folks at Little Brown have shared this fun widget for Michael Koryta's next book THE RIDGE.



That's pretty cool. I'm looking forward to this book, but you know me by now. I look forward to all of Koryta's work.

And I can't remember if I mentioned Michael's caption contest that he's been running. In case I didn't you can check out this week's photo here. Send in a caption for the photo and be entered to win a signed copy of THE RIDGE. Since the book takes place in the Exotic Feline Rescue Center, the pictures are all of the cats from the Center. It's fun. Check it out.

A reminder that voting for The Spinetingler Awards ends today. If you haven't done that and you'd like to, this is your last chance.

I absolutely love this. You may have seen it by now as it's been on a few other blogs already, but I am totally getting some of this. It's a charity effort to raise money for Youth Literacy: "Real men read women." Amen. The women behind it are: Alafair Burke, Lisa Unger, Lisa Gardner, Tess Gerritsen, Laura Lippman and Karen Slaughter.

If you didn't check this out already, you will want to pop over and see this video interview that Keith Rawson did with Joe Lansdale.

I'm sad to be missing the L.A. Times Festival of Books this year. My friends Pop Culture Nerd and Le0pard 13 will be in attendance, so I'll be watching for their blog posts about the festival. I'll be turning my sights now to BEA/BBC, Printers Row and Bouchercon. This is going to be a fantastic year at Bouchercon and if you haven't signed up yet, you'll want to do so soon. The host hotel is now sold out, but there are a plethora of hotels in the surrounding area that are very reasonable in price.

I think that's about good for now. Hope you're having a splendid weekend and happy reading!

It's a GREGG HURWITZ Giveaway!

I hope everyone who celebrated had a nice Easter. I'm off to New York City to help with some Bouchercon stuff. Speaking of Bouchercon! Have you registered yet? If not, don't delay.

Since I'm in New York, the blog will probably be a bit quiet this week. I'll try to post some updates to Facebook and Twitter, but to keep you company here, I have a giveaway! Woo hoo. This giveaway is courtesy of Kaye Publicity and involves one of my favorite crime writers, Gregg Hurwitz. His fantastic novel, THEY'RE WATCHING, is out this week in paperback. So, Dana Kaye is generously providing a copy for me to give away to a lucky reader.

With Gregg at the 2010 L.A. Times Festival of Books

I raved about THEY'RE WATCHING here. And I also interviewed Gregg about this book about this time last year...at the L.A. Times Festival of Books. The video is not that great because of my choice of locations - amateur videographer! But the content is fabulous. Take a listen and then enter to win.

You can enter through Friday, April 29th and I'll pick the winner on Saturday. For this contest, entrants need to be U.S. residents. If you have questions, drop them in the comments section or send me an email. I might be a little slower in responding, but I promise I'll respond.

Without further ado, Here's Gregg!

Part 1:

Part 2:

The Pivot Questions (Don't miss this part!):

Audiobook Thursday - A PLACE OF EXECUTION

First line: "Like Alison Carter, I was born in Derbyshire in 1950."

George Bennett is a police inspector assigned to the disappearance of Alison Carter, a young girl living in the community of Scardale. Bennett's first hurdle to overcome is the closed nature of the community. No one trusts outsiders, and especially not police outsiders, so no one is willing to talk. Little by little George breaks down the barriers, determined to solve the mystery of Alison's disappearance, even though he knows he's solving the mystery of her death.

Val McDermid's A PLACE OF EXECUTION is a literary mind game. The elaborate layers of mystery and suspense held me captive throughout the entire audiobook. McDermid shrouds the story in an eerie darkness that acts much the way music does in a suspenseful movie.

McDermid chose to tell the story as a flashback which also helped to build the suspense. Listening to the book on audio was an especially wonderful treat as some of the flashback wasn't readily discernible as such. I believe that enhanced the tension of the plot even further.

Strong social issues contribute to the complexity as well. Bennett and his partner, Tommy Clough, contemplate their feelings on capital punishment and the circumstances in which they'd condone its use. Scardale is lorded over by Philip Hawkin, who for all intents and purposes, owns the people of Scardale. McDermid also sneaks in the effects of wrongly accusing individuals in an investigation and the responsibility for the fallout.

The characters inhabiting A PLACE OF EXECUTION are all suspect in the investigation. The little town is overflowing with secrets and deception. The beguilement defines them all, leaving the plot even more mysterious.

The shade of gray in this novel far outweigh the black and white; in the issues of the novel as well as the characters. McDermid will leave you wondering if you really know all you THINK you know.

A PLACE OF EXECUTION is an amazing psychological thriller. The Brilliance audiobook narrated by Paddy Glynn does an excellent job of creating the mysterious atmosphere, building the suspense, interpreting the characters. There's not a lot of distinction between characters, with the possible exception of the old woman, Ma Lomas. That combined with the complexity of the novel requires good attention while listening to this book, but the novel itself draws your attention in without any other factors playing a part. I was a little surprised that Brilliance opted for a woman to narrate since the bulk of the book is centered around the male George Bennett. It's a moot point in the whole scheme of the recording. This is most certainly an audiobook worth listening to. Will make for great entertainment on a long drive or air plane flight.

A PLACE OF EXECUTION was published in the United States by Minotaur (ISBN: 978-0-312-26632-5) and on audio by Brilliance Audio (ISBN: 978-1-593-35294-3).

GUILT BY ASSOCIATION - Marcia Clark

First line: "He snapped his cell phone shut and slid it into the pocket of his skin-tight jeans."

Rachel Knight is a Los Angeles DA facing the death of her colleague Jake. His death appears to be a murder-suicide but Rachel isn't buying that. However, the powers that be have specifically instructed her to stay away from the case. Instead, she's been handed a political hot potato of a rape case that Jake was working on before his untimely demise.

As most any intelligent being will attest to, one does not tell a strong-willed woman to "stay away" from anything. Teaming up with her detective pal, Bailey, Rachel walks headlong into a storm of deception and danger. In her own words, Rachel admits:

"There's no such thing as a case without surprises, but they're generally little minnow-size twists that only involve side issues. What we had here was a game-changing sperm whale."

As I read GUILT BY ASSOCIATION, I was regularly confronted, "Hey is that - " "Yes it is."

"Jen, is that - " "YES! It is."

"Jen, the author, is that - " "YES. IT. IS!"

It got to the point where I wouldn't even look up when people started talking to me while I was reading. Or I'd walk in the office lunch room and just say, "yes it is" before anyone could ask. So let's get the 100-pound gorilla outta the room right now. Yes, GUILT BY ASSOCIATION is the debut novel of Marcia Clark, the lead prosecutor from the O.J. Simpson trial. Great, that's out of the way.

Now let's talk about the great legal thriller she wrote.

The plot of GUILT BY ASSOCIATION is the summation of several sub-plots that weave themselves all around a central point, which is the protagonist Rachel. Clark does an impressive job of keeping the reader on his/her toes with the plot often taking unexpected turns. But the other technique she uses to make the story strong is characterization.

Clark's created characters the reader can empathize with and connect with. They are complex characters who offer up challenges. For example, one of my favorite characters is a rape suspect and gang leader, Luis Revelo. He has aspirations of attending business school and is working diligently on his elocution, but often lapses into street slang when he's frustrated. Does Luis wear a white hat and ride around rescuing people? No. He's a criminal, but Clark depicts all the elements of Luis, not just his criminal element.

The characters tie back to the plot because the reader cares about the players in the game, so he/she intends to stay to the end to see the outcome. There may even be some cheering or booing because the emotional connection is present.

While I read this book in print, I think as an avid audiobook listener, I've become more acutely aware of dialogue and its quality level. GUILT BY ASSOCIATION has some of the most fun dialogue I have read in awhile. Clark's wit comes through in the conversations between Rachel and her good friends Bailey and Toni, as well as Rachel's conversations with Graden Hales, a police lieutenant and Luis.

The great dialogue also helps to develop the great relationships Clark illustrates throughout the book. And not just the relationships between Rachel and her friends, but also relationships like Susan, the rape victim, with her parents or the relationships between Luis and his gang members. Los Angeles is an array of people and surroundings and Clark brings it all to life, not just a select snapshot.

Reading GUILT BY ASSOCIATION I learned two things. First, people still look at your book jackets when you read in public. And second, Marcia Clark is one fine crime fiction writer. I'm looking forward to more contributions from her.

GUILT BY ASSOCIATION (ISBN: 978-0-316-12951-0) is available tomorrow as not only Marcia Clark's debut, but also the debut of Mulholland Books. Congrats to the entire team. GUILT BY ASSOCIATION is also available from Hachette Audio on audiobook (ISBN: 978-1-609-41978-3).

Social Media Survey

Recently I've run into a few folks who are using social media almost exclusively for self-promotion. These are people that I have started to consider friends but have been contemplating unfollowing them because I'm so put off by their behavior. I made a mention of it on Facebook yesterday and it created a bit of a conversation. I had a couple suggestions to write a post about it, which I have done in the past, but maybe it's time for another look for those who are relatively new and a reminder to some who have evidently forgotten the meaning of social media.

What I'm hoping is that folks will share information with me for the post. I'll report the findings as I share ideas for good use of social media.

If you don't understand any of the questions in the survey, please feel free to email me. Thanks in advance for your participation. Hopefully we can make this a valuable blog post for everyone.

A Bunch of Odds and Ends

Wow. It seems like I have gads of odds and ends items to share with you all. A few theme week items to wrap up:

First congrats to Kay from Texas who won the comment prize pack. Thanks for all your enthusiasm throughout the week Kay. I saw comments from you everywhere, but it was one of her comments at Beth Fish Reads blog that won her the prize pack.

I had a few people ask for the answers to the Positions Wanted contest. So, here they are:

1. Waitress and bartender...[Stacey Curtis]
2. Newspaper journalist with...[Gus Carpenter]
3. Experienced investigative journalist...[Carter Ross]
4. Got a pressing personal...[Henry Gamadge]
5. Landscape architect looking for...[Paula Holliday]
6. Artistic photographer with...[Lydia McKenzie]
7. Talented publicist who chucked..[Agatha Raisin]
8. Riding the range...[Amlingmeyer Brothers]
9. Experienced specialty cake decorator...[Piper Donovan]
10. Looking to expand current...[Annie Laurance]
11. Experienced European investigative....[Annika Bengtzon]
12. Fiber-loving individual...[Kelly Flynn]
13. Full-time investigative TV reporter...[Riley Spartz]
14. Museum curator with...[Grace Wheaton]
15. Experienced mother of nine...[Alafair Tucker]
16. Fairy-Tale Cupcake baking class...[Melanie Cooper & Angie DeLaura]

Prizes have started going out but I haven't finished them all, so if you haven't received yours yet, it's still coming. Thanks for your patience.

Tomorrow is your last day to enter to win a copy of Marcus Sakey's THE AMATEURS. If you haven't entered yet, don't delay!

Also, if you didn't see yesterday, you can enter to win one of three copies of Jonathan Hayes' A HARD DEATH, which I reviewed on Wednesday.

A reminder that the Spinetingler Awards are still up for votes through the end of the month. If you haven't had a chance to vote there, make haste!

And if you're eligible to nominate for the Anthony Awards and you haven't done that yet, the deadline for those nominations is also the end of this month. There's even an incentive for you to nominate. So, check that out here.

Speaking of Bouchercon, if you haven't made your plans for the convention, don't wait much longer. Rooms in the host hotel are limited. They are very reasonably priced, so you don't want to miss out on a room right there IN the Renaissance.

If you haven't checked out the attendees list for Bouchercon lately, stop over and take a look. This is going to be an incredible convention. If you've never been before, this is a great year to see what it's all about!

I've been exploring this site called Copia recently. I created an account and am discovering all the different tools they have available. So far I've started a discussion, started compiling my "library." I can review books, rate books. And one part I haven't gotten into yet is their read apps. The reader apps are supposed to allow you to take notes and share them with others. I still have a lot of exploring to do, but check it out if you have some interest.

Another blog you'll want to keep your eye on is the xuni.com blog. Some of you may know I am working with xuni.com's brilliant creator Maddee James. We'll be updating this blog as well as the xuni.com Facebook page with author website news. So like this week, we spread the news about John Connolly's upcoming Charlie Parker novel when it was added to the website and about a new site for Will Lavender when it went live. There are oodles of authors (like Lee Child, Michael Koryta, Sophie Littlefield) you can keep up to date with, so check out the xuni.com blog and like xuni.com on Facebook!

Whew. I think I got everything, but an hour from now I'll remember something I meant to mention. That's always how it works. I hope you have a great weekend. We'll be having a very rainy one here in Northeast Ohio, so I'll be getting a lot of inside work done, which also means READING. Happy Reading to you!

A HARD DEATH giveaway!

Earlier this week I reviewed Jonathan Hayes' fantastic new forensics thriller A HARD DEATH. Jonathan has been generous enough to arrange for me to give away THREE signed copies of this must read book.

So if you have a U.S. mailing address, you can enter! I will take entries through next Friday, which also happens to be Good Friday. Then I will draw three winners on Saturday. As always, if you have any questions, drop me an email or leave them in the comments. It's that easy! Good luck.

Audiobook Thursday - Three for the Price of One

I mentioned on Tuesday when I reviewed Julia Spencer-Fleming's ONE WAS A SOLDIER that I had gone back to listen to some of the earlier books in the series. I finished books one through three and decided to talk about them altogether here for this week's audiobook Thursday since they all have the same narrator.

Book 1 in the Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne series is IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER:

First line: "It was one hell of a night to throw a baby away."

Julia Spencer-Fleming introduces her series with a baby left on the steps of the town Episcopal Church in the dead of winter, where the new priest, Clare Fergusson, finds it. A note is left with the baby instructing the baby be given to a couple in the parish to adopt. However, adoption laws aren't quite that easy and the police chief, Russ Van Alstyne has to investigate the baby's abandonment. When the baby's mother is found dead, the investigation intensifies. Meanwhile sparks are also starting to fly between the priest and the married police chief.

Book 2 in the series is A FOUNTAIN FILLED WITH BLOOD:

First line: "The yahoos came by just after the dinner party broke up."

Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne meet up again in Millers Kill when Emil Dvorak, the county medical examiner, is viciously attacked. Emil is the partner of Clare's good friend, Paul Foubert. When a second victim is discovered in his video rental store, Clare begins to press Russ into telling the town that a string of hate crimes is happening. The situation escalates even further when the developer of a posh spa, also a gay man, is found murdered in the park.

And Book 3 in the series is OUT OF THE DEEP I CRY:

First line: "Russ Van Alstyne had just gotten a tug on his line when he saw the old lady get up from between the headstones she had been trimming, lay down her gardening tools, and walk into the reservoir."

Spencer-Fleming makes a bit of a style change in the third installment in her series. In OUT OF THE DEEP I CRY, she tells the story through a series of flashback and current events. When St. Alban's roof finally springs a link, the vestry has no choice but to do something about it. They can't borrow money as the Church is too far in debt. So Mrs. Marshall, one of the vestry members, decides to break the trust her mother left her and give the money to St. Alban's to fix the roof. However, breaking the trust also means taking away the interest from the local medical clinic that Mrs. Marshall's mother helped established years ago. What seems like a paltry amount ends up wreaking havoc on Millers Kill.

I decided to review these altogether today because each of these books reflects the strengths of Julia Spencer-Fleming as a writer. She creates vivid characters with down-to-Earth qualities and characteristics. Much like Louise Penny or Craig Johnson, the consistency in characters from book to book makes the reader feel as though he/she is coming back to Millers Kill for a visit, seeing old friends again.

As I mentioned in my ONE WAS A SOLDIER review, I have a special affinity for Clare. Her well-meaning actions sometimes lead her straight into trouble. I can identify with that. Her periodic reflections on whether she's chosen the right life path. I can identify with that. Her tendency to end up wrinkled and disheveled. I can definitely identify with that. Clare and I share a great disdain for winter. I even drove a Mustang convertible at one time, but it wasn't a Shelby. I also won't be joining the seminary or flying helicopters anytime soon. But Spencer-Fleming takes a fictional character in a role we normally idealize and shows that character for the human she is. Spencer-Fleming does a masterful job of this.

Each of the novels centers around at least one social issue, flushing it out for the complicated situation that it is. Rarely is it as black and white as activists or politicians would like us to believe. The perfect storm of legal, moral and psychological ramifications often takes place smack in the middle of the plot. Clare's insistence on being right in the middle of police investigations may be a bit of a reach, but one readers will happily overlook for the pleasures of reading this series.

The Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne series includes all elements of life: the funny parts, the serious parts, the scary parts, the happy parts and the sad parts. I believe that's what makes this series so rich. I went from one audiobook to the next to the next because I didn't want to leave Millers Kill and it's citizens. They've become my friends.

This audiobook series is recorded by AudioGo, formerly BBC America. All of the books are read by Suzanne Toren. I adore Toren for all of the female characters, especially Clare, but for the male characters I see a old woman who has smoked all her life. After a short while I grew use to it and didn't notice it quite as much, but it was kind of jarring at first. The other type of character that was a little painful for my ears was young males. There is a young police officer, in his early 20s, but her characterization of him sounds more like pre-pubescent. And when you're hearing a book, that alters the image of the character.

That being said, I do like this series on audio. Those two details are ones that after a short while you grow accustomed to because Toren does such a wonderful job of setting tone and the mood of the characters. The pacing is also exceptional. And she seems to have an intuitive understanding of the characters as well as Spencer-Fleming's humor.

I have three more books to catch up with the series, and I will listen to them all on audio. This is a series I would recommend to others who enjoy audiobooks.

A HARD DEATH - Jonathan Hayes

First line: "The airboat was nearing the edges of the Glades, wending its way through a series of small sloughs."

Forensic pathologist, Dr. Edward Jenner has left New York City where his medical license was suspended and political fall-out from his actions in a serial murder case haunt his every step. Jenner's former mentor asks Jenner to come down and cover his position as the Douglas County, Florida, medical examiner while he and his wife go on vacation. Jenner's solace is shattered, however, when a car containing the murdered corpses of Jenner's mentor and his mentor's wife is pulled out of a canal. Jenner's situation only grows worse when he receives an phone tip leading him to the hanging corpses of four more bodies. As law enforcement begins to learn of Jenner's past and cut him off from the investigation, Jenner's determination to avenge his mentor soars.

A HARD DEATH is one intense thriller. Jonathan Hayes brings the experience of a veteran medical examiner to the pages of this book. His descriptions, while not gratuitously grotesque, are realistic and allow the reader to experience first hand:

"It wouldn't be like on TV, where you can tell the dead by the unearthly pallor of their skin and their frigid blue lips: in the real world, most dead people look like live people, look as though, if you called to them loudly enough, they'd sit up and climb down from the table."

The realism flows through to his characters as well. Despite their flaws, there's a level of empathy for the characters, for their struggles and experiences. And all of the characters are complex, multi-layered beings - points of beauty, glaring foibles, blunders and perfections. I found Hayes' characters to be a major strength in A HARD DEATH.

The characters combined with a quick-paced plot kept me up late turning pages. Hayes found a setting, the Florida Glades, that set the tone for eerie atmosphere, but it's his use of the setting, the events that take place in that setting, that builds the intensity and the suspense.

We waited awhile for A HARD DEATH, but this novel was certainly worth that wait. Hayes has written a chillingly wonderful forensic thriller.

A HARD DEATH is now available in hardcover from Harper (ISBN: 978-0-061-69176-8).

ONE WAS A SOLDIER - Julia Spencer-Fleming

First line: "Sarah Dowling's first thought, peering through the wire-reinforced glass of the community center's door, was that they were an odd group."

Five soldiers have returned to Millers Kill from active duty. Five soldiers who have opted to join a counseling group to work through the demons that have followed them home from war. But when one of the five commits suicide, more than the personal demons of these soldiers are unleashed on the sleepy little New York town of Millers Kill.

When I was offered the chance to read ONE WAS A SOLDIER, I readily agreed. I had heard many good things about this series; here was my push to dive into it. So as not to start cold on the seventh book of the series, I picked up audiobooks of the earlier works in this series. For those who are concerned, it isn't necessary to have the background of the earlier books; you can pick this series up with ONE WAS A SOLDIER, but I enjoyed seeing how the characters from the earlier tales weaved into this one.

ONE WAS A SOLDIER is a timely story dealing with the unspeakable effects of war on our soldiers. It is because we allow these effects to be unspeakable that they have such devastating and lasting effects on our men and women. This novel approaches that issue beautifully.

The effects of the soldiers are all orbiting around the central event of the plot that deals with some unsavory business practices and an apparent car accident. Spencer-Fleming begins the book in a series of flashback episodes that ultimately lead into the present, allowing her to bring the story together in pieces. Much like the soldiers are piecing their lives back together, the reader pieces their stories and the mystery together.

The characters in this novel are at times painfully real, at other times humorously real, and still other times mundanely real. By the time the reader turns the last page, he/she has made a whole town of new friends. Of course, that's if you're reading this series for the first time. If you're a devoted series fan, then you're visiting them again after a bit of a vacation.

I'm especially fond of Clare Fergusson. Seeing her grow throughout the series is a joyful experience. She has so much love and compassion for others that sometimes she trips over it. Clare easily won a place on my list of favorite females in crime fiction.

ONE WAS A SOLDIER is a novel that doesn't fit easily into pre-established labels. Grittier than the cozy novel, a touch of the literary, and whole lot of enjoyment. It's in a league of its own. Count me among Julia Spencer-Fleming's cheerleaders. I love this series.

ONE WAS A SOLDIER is available today from Minotaur/Thomas Dunne Books in hardcover (ISBN: 978-0-312-33489-5) and will be available later this month on audio from AudioGo (ISBN: 978-1-609-98185-3). Thursday I'll have a review of another book from the series in the audio format.

Marcus Sakey on THE TWO DEATHS OF DANIEL HAYES.

Marcus Sakey and his wife are in the midst of moving, but he generously agreed to chat with me about THE TWO DEATHS OF DANIEL HAYES. I think you'll find that when you read it, you'll want to talk to someone about it, too.  This book will make a fantastic book club selection.

I promised Marcus I would keep the questions to a minimum. You know how I can get with interviews. (You can see the more in depth interview I did with Marcus here: Part 1 and Part 2.) But I'm really excited to share this with you since I am just over the moon in love with this book. Hope you enjoy!

Q. THE TWO DEATHS OF DANIEL HAYES has some major changes for you. One of which is your setting. You've moved from the urban sprawl of Chicago out to Los Angeles. As readers will discover, the setting is rather vital to the plot so did the plot idea come first and you said, I have to put this in LA, it won't work in Chicago? Or did you think, "hey, I want to break away from Chicago for my setting" and then develop the plot from that point?

Marcus: The former. To be honest, I've written about Chicago mostly because I live here. It makes it easier to get details right, and of course if I want to do a ridealong or something, I can arrange it.

It was great fun to write about Los Angeles. She's such a tricky town, a chameleon city with a thousand faces, and I enjoyed dancing with her.

Also, I enjoyed spending a couple of weeks out there for research. Beats a Chicago winter.

Yeah, most of us here in the Midwest can understand that winter issue!

Q. Your books to date have all been stand alones, and I've heard you say that when you finish a book you've had enough of it and you are ready to bid your characters farewell. THE TWO DEATHS OF DANIEL HAYES, however, brings a character back from a previous book. Why the return in this book?

Marcus: You know, he's a slippery sucker. I've actually written him dead a couple of times, and he's come back both times.

To clarify, I should say that I'm annoyed by writers who talk about their characters as if they're possessed of free will. That's a cute conceit, but that's all it is.

It's more accurate to say that sometimes a character brings so much life and energy to the page that you find yourself wondering why you wouldn't reuse them. That was the case here.

Q. Your books are thrillers and are consistently very fast paced. But I find I end up with whiplash reading them because you are also meticulous about the detail. I'm reading along swiftly and then get to a passage like, "Sophie in fragments, slivers of a life framed and hung like butterflies on a board." And not only do I (often out loud) say, "damn, that was an amazing passage" but I have to stop, go back and read it again, maybe a couple times, because in that sentence, there is so much said with so little. So my question here is do you experience that same effect writing that I do reading? Are you moving along at a thriller pace typing and then you stop to ponder, "how am I going to describe this scene?" Or does detail and description like that flow the same way the rest of the writing does? And when you finish a line like that, do YOU think, "damn, that was good?"

Marcus: First off, thank you.

It's hard to explain, because while a lot of it is practiced and honed, some of it is instinctive, and the intersection between the two is murky.

Take details. For me, the least effective way to describe a place is to literally describe it: "There were tables scattered across the floor. The walls were covered with framed artwork. A long oak bar ran along one wall. There were stools in front. Behind it were rows of glass bottles lit by neon."

I mean, it's a bar. We get it. We've been there.

So what I try to do is pick the single detail that tells you more, and then to render it as intuitively as I can. So: "A lazy fan stirred weather patterns in the Parliament smoke."

I also like mixing words in ways that aren't grammar school perfect, but which make emotional sense. "He woke in a beam of sweaty sunlight."

None of which, I'm realizing, really answers your question, but there you go.

It's outstanding, though. You've summed up what bothers me when a scene goes into a bunch of mundane description. It isn't furthering the plot and I'm starting to get distracted.

Q. One of your conventions is inclusion of philosophical questions or situations as themes. THE TWO DEATHS OF DANIEL HAYES is no exception on that front. In fact, some rather weighty philosophical questions are themes here: identity and facades, the importance - or unimportance - of history, and even the idea of soul mates. How is weighty content like that to write? Do you detach personally from it? I would be surprised if you said, "yes" because so much passion comes through. I can't imagine that you could create that passion if you detached from the content. As a reader I feel like I've been changed by the time I get to the last page. How is it for you as the writer? At the end of a writing day or at the end of the book?

Marcus: To me, that's the juice. That's the reason to write the book and, hopefully, the reason to read it. Without that, what are thrillers? Run, run, chase, chase, shoot, shoot. Meh.

I don't detach from it, but I also don't claim to have the answers. The questions are the point. I like thinking about them, and I like forcing my characters into situations where they have to question their own convictions.

I think my favorite moments, though, are the ones when themes come to me unbidden. It's kind of like excavating a skeleton, or carving a statue from a block of marble; you have an idea of the shape, but not every detail of it, and the most enchanting ones are those that surprise you.

In THE AMATEURS, for example, it was the idea of game theory. I hadn't planned to integrate that. In fact, I was about 250 pages in before I realized that it belonged there, that it could tie the whole thing together.

Love those days.

And I sure am glad you have them. It amazes me.

Q. You write about a man who loses his memory. First, did you have any hesitation about the use of amnesia - some, especially television writers, have made a mockery of the plot concept. Next, what did you do to research this? I was so incredibly fascinated by what this character would remember, what he wouldn't remember, what he would think to himself...did he like this smell, would he have done such and such...his frustrations and discoveries. Not that I'm an amnesia expert, but it felt authentic to me. What did you do to ensure that?

Marcus: My hesitation was mostly about not wanting to feel too familiar. As you point out, it's been done numerous times, and I didn't want this to unconsciously echo anything. So I made a point of watching and reading amnesia stories so I would avoid that. I actually gave many of them shoutouts within the novel; there's a Memento poster, and someone reading a Ludlum book, etc.

As for researching, it's such a great era for that. I posted on my Facebook profile that I wanted to talk to medical professionals who might know about amnesia; the next morning I had two or three messages from people who knew someone. One call led to another, and all of a sudden I found myself talking to some of the foremost experts in the field.

They were all very gracious and helpful, and I used many of the things they told me verbatim. But one thing they also told me was that there really aren't defined parameters for this; it's a rare and poorly understood phenomenon.

Which, as a writer, is the dream answer. It meant I got to put myself in his position and try to imagine what he would feel, what would be automatic versus learned, hell, even whether he knew how he liked his burger. It was a blast.

Q. You've written all your novels from the third person point of view and you've said you're not opposed to writing in first person, but it hasn't been the right choice for any of the books to date. THE TWO DEATHS OF DANIEL HAYES is also third person limited. What made it the right choice for this novel? As the reader, I know why I feel it was the best choice, but I'm interested to know why the creator thought so as well.

Marcus: Close third rocks. It combines many of the strengths of first person without the limitations. Plus close third allows for multiple characters without confusing a reader, which is tricky with firsts or first-third.

I felt it was particularly appropriate in this novel because it's also the way that Daniel is seeing the world. He's living in close third person. So by mirroring that in the language, I hoped to make a reader feel what he was feeling.

And of course, all of the other characters in the novel are facing identity issues of their own, which was part of the fun. I wanted to write a book where everyone's "self" was a bit slippery. In some cases, that's just minor characters in a state of change; in others...well, I don't want to give anything away....

This book makes me excited every time I write about it, talk about, think about it. It really is something extraordinary. Many thanks to Marcus for taking time to indulge me. And I'm also excited to announce that Kaye Publicity is donating a copy of Marcus' book THE AMATEURS to a lucky blog reader. All you have to do is complete the form below by April 17th. The contest is open to U.S. residents. And don't forget to send your TWO DEATHS OF DANIEL HAYES preorder verifications in to be entered in the iPod drawing.  

THE TWO DEATHS OF DANIEL HAYES - Marcus Sakey

First line: "He was naked and cold, stiff with it, his veins ice and frost."

When a man wakes up on a beach in Maine with no memory of who he is or why he's there, he starts to follow the clues backward. All he has on the beach is an abandoned BMW containing a registration with the name Daniel Hayes. He'll work from there. But when the police show up, the man realizes the stakes are much higher than he first anticipated. He has to figure out who he is and how he wound up alone on that beach.

I'm trying to keep my fingers from typing "THIS BOOK IS GENIUS! YOU MUST READ IT!" But obviously I didn't succeed on that front. When I read the synopsis, my first thought was, "this has the potential to be colossally horrible or amazingly brilliant." Marcus Sakey nailed "amazingly brilliant" with THE TWO DEATHS OF DANIEL HAYES, his fifth stand alone novel.

The suspense starts with the first sentence of the first chapter and it doesn't let up until the last word of the last chapter. Just when you think you have the plot figured out, Sakey yanks the rug out from under you and you have to read a little faster because the intensity is ratcheted up a notch. There's no doubt it is an impressive, mentally challenging thriller. However, impressive, mentally challenging thrillers don't necessitate "amazingly brilliant."

What makes this book amazingly brilliant is the juggling act Sakey performs with the plot, the characters, the themes and the writing; they are all symbiotic. Often when a book is moving at the pace that THE TWO DEATHS OF DANIEL HAYES moves, the detail is sacrificed, the character development is sacrificed. In this case, it's the plot that is developing the characters. This man with amnesia is learning who he is right along with the reader. The entire plot is acting on him as much as he is acting himself. That works to not only create empathy between the reader and the protagonist, it also leaves the reader in that same hazy amnesiac cloud of the unknown the protagonist is experiencing.

The themes, of course, bloom from that character/plot interaction. One of the strongest deals with identity and how much of a person's history defines who he/she is. Readers can't escape a Sakey novel without a philosophical challenge.

"The memory had come strong as a vision, and he wished he were alone, that he could sit and stare at the façade of life and try to peer behind it."

Marcus Sakey is an extremely talented writer and I have sung his praises here before, but I truly feel that he raised the bar on the writing in this novel. The imagery he creates, the atmosphere and tone, all of it exudes an invigorating passion. If Sakey didn't have fun writing this book, he's an amazing illusionist. He is in tune not only with nature: "The wind's laughter died" but with the thoughts and feelings of a person experiencing amnesia, "Had he always talked to himself?" He helps the reader experience the characters' surroundings:

"There was a reason the tourist shots always showed Vegas at night, glowing like fireworks. By the bright light of early morning, the glitter seemed surreal and cheap. A hangover after a night of bad decisions."

As well as the characters' emotions and experiences through powerful imagery like this:

"The connection between body and mind strained. He felt like a marionette with half the strings cut, a jerky, drunken thing. Was he going mad, really mad?"

THE TWO DEATHS OF DANIEL HAYES alternates between a traditional prose novel and a television script. Sakey has been quoted comparing his use of third person limited to filming a movie and having the "freedom to zoom in on whatever [he] thinks makes the best scene." In THE TWO DEATHS OF DANIEL HAYES, he actually uses that movie technique to develop the story.

And finally, Sakey's humor weasels its way into the novel, finding little corners to snuggle into and spring from at the most opportune moments:

"Luckily, he was in Los Angeles. If a second head had sprouted from his belly and begun pitching a spec script, it wouldn't have drawn more than a glance."

As I read THE TWO DEATHS OF DANIEL HAYES I could feel myself fidgeting with excitement, wanting to speed up my reading pace to discover what happens, but at the same time slow it down to savor the beauty of the writing and technique. When I finished, I wanted to talk to people about it and discuss all the ideas that were bounding around in my mind. I stepped away from the book before writing this review to try to calm my enthusiasm, but the minute I picked the book back up to examine my notes and thoughts, the excitement materialized again.

Every year there ends up being one or two books that really inspire me, that I feel overwhelming passion about. I become a kind of evangelist for those books. This year there is no doubt that THE TWO DEATHS OF DANIEL HAYES is that book. It's simply bursting at its covers with all the qualities of an amazingly brilliant book.

This book will be on my favorites list of 2011, so you don't need to wait until December to find out. Discover THE TWO DEATHS OF DANIEL HAYES as soon as you can. You won't be disappointed.


**Special Note: Check back later today when I'll have a short interview with Marcus about THE TWO DEATHS OF DANIEL HAYES as well as a contest to win a copy of his novel THE AMATEURS.

**Special Note 2: Marcus is holding a contest that you are eligible for if you preorder THE TWO DEATHS OF DANIEL HAYES. You can see the details about it here. Essentially, if you pre-order the book, you're entered in a contest to win an iPod loaded with the audiobook of THE AMATEURS. Pretty nice opportunity if you know you're going to get the book anyway.

Theme Week Winners!

I still have one more prize to draw. I wanted to give folks through the weekend to get their comments posted in the theme week posts, so I'll be determining the final winner this week for that part of the festivities.

But as for our other winners....

Peter G won the copy of Bryan Gruley's HANGING TREE.

Kristopher Z and Les B. tied for the best predictions in the tournament brackets.

And sadly, no one entered the Positions Wanted contest, so that prize will go to the tournament contest since we had a tie with the winners.

Congratulations to all the winners and thank you so much to all who stopped by to enjoy the theme week.

The 2011 World's Favorite Amateur Sleuth

I know after all the drama yesterday that people are waiting on pins and needles to hear the winner declared today. So without further ado, chosen by the people, the 2011 World's Favorite Amateur Sleuth title goes to:

Carter Ross

The final round included 428 votes and here was the distribution:

 

Thanks to everyone who voted and all those who had fun with this contest this year. One of the things I heard most often was "I haven't heard of a lot of these sleuths." I, too, was saying that same thing, but that's one of the biggest motivators for me on fun events like this, make people more aware of who is out there. I hope you had fun. I know I did. Now let me go start plotting....I mean planning for what fun we'll have next year! Happy Reading!

Tom Schreck - A Boxing Social Worker

To wrap up the Moonlighting for Murder theme week, Tom Schreck, author of the Duffy Dombrowski series, is here to talk about his choice of a boxing social worker as amateur sleuth.

Tom himself has spent his career in various social work positions. He's volunteered on a suicide hotline, he teaches psychology courses at a local community college and writes freelance. Tom isn't a pro boxer, but he does judge pro boxing and gets in the ring to spar when he can. That's all in addition to taking care of the three hounds that live with he and his wife.

Tom has a great sense of humor and a love of Elvis Presley, all of which weaves its way into Tom's books. I'm excited to have him here, so I'll let him take it away.

Why a boxing social worker?

I fell in love with mysteries from reading, first the Travis McGee series by John D. Macdonald and then the Spenser series by Robert B. Parker. I loved the first person narrative and I loved how cool the main characters were. They lived on 110 foot houseboats, drank exotic beers, were gourmets and had interesting genius friends.

I wanted to create a character equally as interesting but who was drawn from real life. I wanted someone without extraordinary skills who reached a breaking point when someone vulnerable was victimized.

I’ve worked in human services since 1984. Not in psychology, not in medicine—in human services. It’s where the blue-collar people wind up when they need help—usually because the legal system insisted on it. I’ve been a childcare worker with troubled ghetto kids, a teen age drug counselor, a counselor and salesman for a posh rehab and the director of an inner city clinic.

This kind of counseling isn’t the Freudian therapy Keith Ablow or Jonathan Kellerman  write about. This is the therapy you get for stealing hair extensions at the dollar store after smoking too much crack. It’s real and it’s going on every day. The professionals who do it sometimes have degrees (I have a Masters) but often they have junior college educations or less. They are the heroes doing this work 40 hours a week often on lousy shifts for $23,000 a year.

Many of the clients in these clinics are unlikeable. They are dysfunctional and have little desire to change. They’re constantly scheming manipulative strategies to get their welfare check and beat the system. The clinics are driven to make sure they make their “number” so funding continues which makes the clinics complicit in the system’s dysfunction. The whole thing is a horror show.

But sometimes someone’s life gets turned around. Sometimes someone who wants to change does. Sometimes someone changes just enough to impact their spouse, their kids and the people surrounding their lives.

That is beautiful. That is the most important thing there is in life. That is what keeps human services working at a salary just above the poverty line.

Boxing is also a very central thing to my life. I’m typing this with a sore jaw and a low-level head ache from a well placed right hand that I took yesterday afternoon. My shoulders are tight and sleep will be hard to come by for the next couple of nights because of the soreness. I also judge professional boxing, getting the privilege to decide who wins world championship fights.

Ninety-nine percent of professional boxers make less than $2,000 from it. Yes, it’s professional sports and the very best make multiple millions but the vast majority do it because it’s in their blood.
Yesterday four of us got together to spar. Before it starts there’s a palpable unspoken anxiety in the gym. While it’s going on it’s truly breathtaking and when it’s over it’s the most exhilarating high I’ve ever experienced. I’d shoot it into a vein if I could.

Real life pro boxers have to work jobs. Some are educated; most aren’t so they do hourly gigs, labor and yes, human services. Those jobs don’t define them, their boxing does.

A person who’s been fighting for a long time has a presence. Other fighters can identify it but the general public will miss it. The fighters don’t play office games, get intimidated by being written up on the job or get macho when it comes to the board room. Men do that instead of fighting. Fighters see that shit as silly.

Boxers are real. Guys who really fight are a different type of animal. I’m not talking about someone who takes a boxing aerobics class or someone who learns how to hit a bag. I’m talking about someone who knows that feeling of waiting for the bell to ring knowing he’s about to get punched in the face.

Duffy Dombrowski isn’t Travis McGee or Spenser. His life has more grit and it’s uglier but it is the life that is lived on the streets of every city in this cruel country.
He often decides he’s not excepting that life and it causes him plenty of personal trouble. It also saves the lives and dignity of those who can’t do it on their own.

That’s what drives him.

He isn’t a Japanese assassin, an art appraiser or a CIA operative.

He’s a boxer and a human services worker.

That’s who he is.

Moonlighting for Murder - Friday Events

Welcome to the final full day of Moonlighting for Murder. This has been a most fantastic week full of simply wonderful posts by all the bloggers involved. Please, when you visit them today, leave a note of thanks first to let them know you stopped by and second because they really have gone out of their way to put together great reviews and creative posts, to recruit guest posts, to hold contests, all in recognition of amateur sleuths. This has all been done voluntarily on their part. I am so grateful for all of them. They are fantastic!

So what's on tap for today? Here at Jen's Book Thoughts Tom Schreck will take the reins in a guest post.

At Bermudaonion's Weblog, Kathy has a post about photography AND she'll be hosting Meredith Cole for a guest post.

At S.Krishna Books, we'll get a look at the Ski Diva, Stacey Curtis and the added bonus of a martini recipe!

Yesterday, if you missed it, Erin posted part 3 of her interview with Carter Ross at In Real Life, while Jenn let Julie Hyzy take the reins as the guest blogger at Jenn's Bookshelves.

Over at The Drowning Machine, Naomi has the answers to the first four questions in her Warwick's gift card contest, plus the final question of the week.

Booking Mama Julie has a history of wedding cakes to go along with her coverage of Mary Jane Clark's TO HAVE AND TO KILL.

At Read 'Em and Eat, Audrey has THE FAIRY TALE BAKERY: IT'S KISS OR KILL! Yikes - I think I'll take the kisses, thanks!!

And last but by no means least, SuziQOregon has a post on China Bayles career path to amateur sleuth on Whimpulsive.

Today's the final day to vote in the World's Favorite Amateur Sleuth tournament. I have to tell you, this year's tournament has really surprised me. We'll see how it all comes out in the end.

Also, today is the final day to submit your entries in the Positions Wanted contest. All the sleuths have been revealed now. Hopefully you can match each up with his/her ad.

If you're going to get in on Hank's "Hank or Charlie" contest, get your guesses in for that. And today's the final day to enter to win a copy of Bryan Gruley's THE HANGING TREE.

If you missed it yesterday, you can enter to win Carolyn Hart's DEAD BY MIDNIGHT at Beth Fish Reads.

And of course, for each comment you leave at a Moonlighting for Murder post, you earn an entry in the drawing for a book prize pack. Tomorrow I will be figuring out a number of winners and hope to post everything by the end of the day, Sunday at the latest. So be sure to check back on that.

Thanks so much for joining us this week in our celebration of amateur sleuths. I hope you've enjoyed the festivities. Happy Reading.

Audiobook Thursday - ON THE WRONG TRACK

First line: "Few things dampen a man's appreciation for natural splendor more quickly than the sound of another man retching."

Otto and Gustav have hung up their saddles to take an undercover job on the railroad in ON THE WRONG TRACK. Their job is to protect the train from a band of outlaws that have been targeting the Pacific Express, but on their trek to San Francisco, there's more to worry about than outlaws.

ON THE WRONG TRACK is the second book in Steve Hockensmith's Holmes on the Range mystery series. The deliciously colorful characters, smart who-dunnit plots and priceless dialogue makes this a series I enjoy coming back to.

Hockensmith does a commendable job weaving Sherlock Holmes into the tales both literally and metaphorically. The plots are also created in the style of Holmes, presenting all the clues to the reader in a fair mystery. The reader has as much of a chance at solving the crime as Hockensmith's protagonists.

And speaking of protagonists, The Amlingmeyer Brothers are not only engaging characters, but the relationship between the two is worth the price of admission. I think having two sisters makes me more acutely aware of the small nuances that work to make the Amlingmeyer relationship so realistic. The differences in personalities combined with a familiar allegiance makes for seemingly contradictory behavior on the part of the brothers. But anyone with a sibling will recognize the authenticity.

"Our tickets were waiting for us under 'Dissimulo' like Colonel Crowe said, though the clerk behind the counter gave me the evil eye when I had trouble pronouncing what was supposedly my own last name.

'Dissimulo - what kinda handle is that anyway?' I asked Gustav as we went looking for a porter to take our things.

'Sounds I-talian,' my brother muttered.

'I guess I oughta start callin' you Giuseppe then. You can call me Leonardo.'

'How 'bout I just call you Chucklehead?' Old read said wearily, as if making digs at me was an obligation he could barely muster the strength to meet. 'If we're gonna take on another name, it may as well be something that fits us.'

That actually seemed sensible to me - which is why, soon afterward, I checked in our saddles and war bags under the name Gustav Holmes."

The supporting and minor characters of ON THE WRONG TRACK are an array of personality and splendor. All together locked in a train throughout the course of the novel makes for great conflict, tension and numerous red herrings.

I listened to ON THE WRONG TRACK on audio from Tantor Audio, narrated by William Dufris. I have mixed feelings on this audiobook. I think it is well recorded and Dufris does a good job of bringing out Hockensmith's humor. I also think Dufris does an amazing job voicing all the supporting characters. However, it's Gustav and Otto that I have difficulties with. My interpretation of their characters is significantly different than the characters Dufris brings to life with his narration. It isn't simply what they sound like but their mannerisms, their dialects and their behaviors. If a reader/listener listens to the series from the start, their reaction to the audios may be quite different from mine. I have tainted my views on these characters by having read them in print first, I believe.

ON THE WRONG TRACK is available in trade paper (ISBN: 978-0-312-37288-0) from Minotaur and on audiobook from Tantor Audio (ISBN: 978-1-400-15355-8).

Moonlighting for Murder - Thursday Events

Well, we're on the downhill side of the Moonlighting for Murder theme week now. We've had quite a few wonderful contributions to the amateur sleuth celebration. But I hope you're ready because we have a slew more coming your way today and tomorrow.

Today here at Jen's Book Thoughts I'll be sharing a pair of amateur sleuths for Audiobook Thursday. I'm reviewing ON THE WRONG TRACK from Steve Hockensmith.

Kathy from Bermudiaonion's Weblog will be taking a look at Meredith Cole's amateur sleuth, Lydia McKenzie.

At Beth Fish Reads, check out the bookstore post and enter to win a copy of Carolyn Hart's newest entry in the Death on Demand series.

Hannah is talking about TV Reporters at Word Lily to go along with her coverage of Julie Kramer's Riley Spartz series. This post is so creative. Don't miss it!!

At How Mysterious! Karen is discussing Agatha Raisin's other job.

Julie Hyzy's GRACE UNDER PRESSURE gets the royal treatment at Jenn's Bookshelves.

Julie takes a look at Mary Jane Clark's TO HAVE AND TO KILL at Booking Mama.

Naomi reviews Donis Casey's CRYING BLOOD and adds another question to the contest at The Drowning Machine.

And SuziQOregon reviews Bloodroot from the China Bayles series at Whimpulsive.

Remember that commenting at any of these posts earns you an entry in the drawing for a book prize pack this week.

You have two more days to cast your vote for the World's Favorite Amateur Sleuth. We will crown a winner on Saturday.

And finally, as the sleuths are being revealed on the various blogs, be sure to figure out your responses to the "Positions Wanted" contest.

The Man in the Goal - Bryan Gruley

Bryan Gruley is presently the Chicago bureau chief of The Wall Street Journal. He's worked at newspapers in Antrim County, Brighton, Howell, Kalamazoo and Detroit as well.  Bryan shared in the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News that the Walt Street Journal won for its coverage of the terrorist attack.

Bryan's protagonist, Gus Carpenter, shares Bryan's profession, as well as his passion - hockey. Like Gus, Bryan grew up playing hockey and still plays regularly in Chicago. We've yet to see if Gus is as musically inclined as his creator. Luckily, in addition to all this, Bryan is an incredible fiction writer as well. His first novel, STARVATION LAKE, was nominated for the Edgar Award for best first novel. It won the Anthony Award and the Barry Award for best paperback original. I named it to my list of favorite audiobooks of 2010. So, I'm very excited to host him today as part of the Moonlighting for Murder series. For those who have not experienced Bryan's books yet, this post will give you a taste of the splendor you'll find in his novels. Without further ado, Bryan Gruley!

Ice hockey’s goaltender may occupy the loneliest position in all of sports—which is essentially why I made Gus Carpenter, the protagonist of my novels, a goalie.

“You can never look into their eyes,” he says in his first line of narration in my debut, Starvation Lake. Gus is standing in his net, alone, facing a shooter bearing down on him in a hockey rink in the middle of the night.

On the surface, his words describe a rule goalies follow in trying to stop opponents from putting pucks behind them. At the same time, Gus alludes, however unintentionally, to his own alienation from the people around him, on the ice as well as off.

OK, you don’t usually see the words “alienation” and “hockey” in the same essay. But think about it. On the ice, Gus stays pretty much in one place—his net—while the rest of his teammates roam freely. He doesn’t actively participate in the game, but waits for it to come to him. He wears a mask. If he fails in his duty, he can count on shouldering most if not all of the blame. As he tells us in my forthcoming third book, The Skeleton Box:

You could whine and bitch about your teammates all you wanted, but they knew and, more important, you knew that it didn’t matter which defenseman coughed up the puck to an opponent, or which winger didn’t hustle to cover the point man with the big slap shot, because if the puck wound up behind you, in your net, it was your fault. Your job, your only job, was to keep the puck out, so even if it wasn’t your fault, it was, and you knew it, no matter how much you bitched at your teammates or banged your stick over the crossbar in anger.

It was you and only you.

My first novel came about after my agent asked me, “Why don’t you write me a story about these middle-aged guys who play hockey in the middle of the night?” That gave me permission to write about the sport I’ve played and loved since boyhood. I chose to make Gus a goalie despite the fact that I am not one (full disclosure: I played goaltender for one season when I was 12, and I was a sieve).

Many hockey players are loathe to admit this, but goalies are intrinsically cool. Goalies wear the niftiest equipment (their stick is a “paddle” and one of their gloves is a “waffle”) and have the weirdest superstitions (former NHL-er Gary Smith used to take cold showers between each period of games he played). They flip and flop and dive and waggle. They can be bigger heroes—and bigger goats—than anyone on the ice. Contrary to what most casual hockey fans assume, goalies are often among the best skaters on their teams.

When I was concocting Gus Carpenter, I knew too that he would be a defrocked big-city journalist (a subject for another time) forced to make a humbling retreat to his tiny hometown. It seemed fitting that he should be a goalie—a loner behind a metaphorical mask—as well as the goalie known for blowing the town’s only shot at a state championship years before.

Readers familiar with Gus know he can be frustratingly distant at times, even as he’s speaking directly to other characters and, indeed, to the readers themselves. Chastened by his past, Gus is wary, vigilant, defensive, at the same time that he misses things while “peering out at that little world through the eye holes of my goalie mask,” as he says in the first book.

Most good goalies share these character traits, but for Gus, they also define his personality and the way he approaches his job, his family, his friends, and his love relationships.

Did I intend for all of this to be so neatly packaged? Of course not. I had an inkling that it would be fun to write from the perspective of a goaltender. Then, like a goalie, I got between the posts and reacted to what happened around me as I wrote. As Gus says in that opening scene in the first book:

"By day, I was the associate editor of the Pine County Pilot, circulation 4,733, published every day but Sunday. By night I tended goal in the Midnight Hour Men’s League, surrounded by men I’d known as boys. In between I waited for something to change my life, to get me out of Starvation Lake again. That’s what goalies do. They wait."

Gus’s wait was about to end. What has happened since will eventually make up the trilogy of tales culminating with The Skeleton Box. And then?

A goalie can never be sure of what’s coming next.

If you have any questions for Bryan, feel free to leave them in the comments.

Dana Kaye of Kaye Publicity has generously donated a copy of Bryan's book THE HANGING TREE. If you'd like a chance at winning this book and you live in the United States, complete the entry form below. I'll take entries through Friday at midnight (Eastern) so don't dwadle! Good luck!

THE HANGING TREE - Bryan Gruley

First Line: "I have learned that you can be too grateful for love."

Starvation Lake has undergone some changes. Laird Haskell and his family have moved to Starvation Lake with the promise of building a new hockey rink. The Pine County Pilot is now part of a communications conglomerate. Gus Carpenter, its executive director, now has to worry about being scooped by his own team as the local television newscaster, part of the same conglomerate, seems to have the inside track to all the stories. The Pilot has a new "managing editor" whose main concern is advertising dollars and Gus has a new home - or rather a new old home. He's returned to live with his mother because his lease on the apartment above the Pilot was not renewed once the newspaper changed hands.

The biggest change, however, happens when Gus' childhood friend Gracie McBride hangs herself. Gus and Gracie haven't associated in years, but Gus' girlfriend and sheriff deputy, Darlene Esper, is still very close to Gracie. Darlene doesn't believe Gracie killed herself and she recruits Gus to help prove it. As Gus starts shaking up Gracie's past, more skeletons fall out of the closet than anyone expected.

The multi-award winning, Edgar-nominated STARVATION LAKE was Bryan Gruley's first book featuring Gus Carpenter. Gruley tops himself with THE HANGING TREE. This novel is deliciously dark, hauntingly poetic and heart-wrenchingly emotional.

Gruley sets the tone and scene with strong imagery:

"The silhouettes of the bare trees etched skeletons on the linen sky."

And he constructs richly tragic characters:

"A woman who'd been racing toward the gates of hell for most of her life had arrived a bit quicker than we'd all expected."

Of course the tragic hero is Gus Carpenter. In THE HANGING TREE Gus has stopped playing goalie for his night hockey league. This is symbolic for Gus as he explains,

"In the dressing room, in the hockey shop, in the tavern, the goalie is one of the boys. On the ice he is stranded, lost inside his bloated pads, hiding his face behind a mask. When he gives up a goal his teammates figure he should have stopped, he is alone, circling his crease, dousing himself from his water bottle, wishing he had another chance at the shot he was sure he had with the toe of his skate until it hit someone's elbow and deflected just inside the post."

Gus is ready to let go of that loneliness, but it seems the harder he tries, the more isolated he becomes.

As with STARVATION LAKE, Gruley writes a plot that examines the complexities of the small town through a magnifying glass. The town, its people, its politics none of them can hide their blemishes under the scrutiny. Gruley emphasizes that safety, security, happiness are certainly not guaranteed and just because you're outside the big city doesn't mean you've found Mayberry.

THE HANGING TREE is an exquisite sophomore novel from Bryan Gruley. As long as Gruley continues to write books the caliber of THE HANGING TREE, I will be a devoted fan.

THE HANGING TREE is available in trade paper (ISBN: 978-1-4165-6364-8) from Touchstone.

Moonlighting for Murder - Wednesday Events

Welcome back to Day 3 of Moonlighting for Murder! There have been such great contributions so far. Are you finding some new sleuths to check out?

Well, in case you haven't found any yet, we have a couple new ones to add to the mix today, and these are a little more on the hard boiled side.

Here at Jen's Book Thoughts I'll be reviewing Bryan Gruley's second Starvation Lake Mystery, THE HANGING TREE and then Bryan will join us for a guest post and a giveaway.

At Reactions to Reading, Bernadette is covering a sleuth I'm chomping at the bit to find out about, Liza Marklund's Annika Bengtzon.

Kathy will have her "Wondrous Words Wednesday" at Bermudaonion's Weblog which will feature photography words. Her sleuth will be introduced later this week, but her sleuth is a photographer!

Naomi spreads some light on the daunting job Alafair Tucker undertakes on The Drowning Machine today. And she adds a new question to the Warwick's gift card contest.

And while it's not part of Moonlighting for Murder, I just wanted to put in a little plug for SuziQOregon's "Wordless Wednesday" at Whimpulsive. Each Wednesday she posts a picture she took. It's a feature I look forward to every week on her blog, so you might want to stop over and see what beautiful shot she has up today.

That's it for today's posts. A little bit of a recap to make sure you know about everything going on right now. There's the "Positions Wanted" contest. Each blogger participating this week submitted a "positions wanted" ad for their character. So you figure out who belongs to each ad for a chance at a book prize pack.

The World's Favorite Amateur Sleuth tourney is still taking votes in its final round, which has been rather...interesting. That's all I'll say. If you haven't voted, be sure to do so. And pass the word to your mystery loving friends as well.

Have you taken a stab at Hank or Charlie from Hank Phillippi Ryan's guest post on Monday? There's a book up for grabs on that fun challenge as well.

And of course, each comment you're making at Moonlighting for Murder posts this week earns you an entry in the prize pack drawing.

I hope you're enjoying this week of amateur sleuths. Please be sure to thank the wonderful bloggers who contributed and made the theme week possible. Happy Reading!

Rosemary Harris Picks a "Dirty" Job

I was hooked on the Dirty Business Mystery series after the first page of the first book I picked up. Paula Holliday is simply a fascinating, fun character. She's the kind of gal I'd want as a friend.

When I had the opportunity to meet Rosemary Harris in person for the first time, I found out exactly where all of Paula's charisma comes from. Rosemary has done a considerable amount of traveling, both for personal trips and while volunteering for Habitat for Humanity.

Rosemary doesn't have to moonlight to write these days, but she in the past she's worked in book retailing, direct marketing and video/television/public television. Paula is a former television exec who turned in her business suit for a shovel, some pruning shears and a lot of dirty business.

Rosemary took some time out from her tour prep for SLUGFEST, her duties as MWA NY Chapter president and her golden retriever MAX to talk about why she choose a gardening career for her Anthony and Agatha-nominated series that includes PUSHING UP DAISIES, THE BIG DIRT NAP, DEAD HEAD, and coming out next week, SLUGFEST.

Position Wanted

Must be able to make own hours and not be tied down. Applicant can interact well with a wide variety of people and occasionally be the fly on the wall.

Will relocate – preferably to a city or town with a small or ineffectual (but charming and perhaps single) police force.

Contact : Paula Holliday

Most amateur sleuths need to have a job. Unless you’re writing about an English lord (see Peter Wimsey) or a kindly little old lady (you know who) you’ll most likely want your protagonist to be gainfully employed – preferably in a job that offers the above conditions.

As much as I enjoy gardening, the real reason Paula Holliday is a gardener is that it's a seasonal business which give her plenty of time to solve crimes. She can also reasonably come into contact with people from different socio-economic backgrounds, from the day laborers she hires at the local donut shop to the suburbanites - who aren’t always what they seem - and the bluebloods who hire her to care for their estates. As a gardener she can poke around homes and properties without arousing suspicions because all too often the people who provide basic services – nannies, waiters, housekeepers, hair stylists, etc. are treated as invisible. People will say or do things in front of them that they might not in front of other more “important” people. Is it eavesdropping if you're being ignored? This invisibility exposes her to characters with all sorts of motives for mischief and mayhem, the most common being greed, lust and revenge, all of which exist just as much in the suburbs as they do on the mean streets of the big cities. All Paula needs is a prop – a pitchfork or a pair of loppers – to fit right in. And in a pinch either of those garden tools can turn into a lethal weapon.

It's often said that one's villain needs MOM to commit a crime - means, opportunity and motive. I think an amateur sleuth needs MOM too. In this job, Paula Holliday has the means and the opportunity to solve the crime. But what’s her motive? That’s the hardest question to answer and one that writers of police procedurals, legal thrillers etc. never have to address. What’s a gardener or a golf pro, a tea shop owner or a television reporter doing solving crimes? Apart from the obvious answer that there would be no book if she didn't (and that would be terrible…) it’s generally that someone she knows is involved or accused. Or she is. Or she accidentally knows something the bad guys don’t want her to reveal. Or the cops don’t think there’s been a crime but our amateur sleuth knows better. Or maybe it’s just that writers know readers love them.

If you are a Twitter fan, like I am, you can follow Rosemary on Twitter (@rosemaryharris1). She's also on Facebook.