Bidding a Fond Farewell to 2009

2009 has been an absolutely incredible year for me in the crime fiction community and as a book blogger. But, I'm one of those irritating people who bring up the fact that the decade doesn't actually end until NEXT December 31st, so I won't be talking about that for another year. Let's just take a look back at 2009.

I went back to look at my resolution post from last year. I didn't do so swell on resolutions. I had resolved to have 25 interviews here. I ended up with 16, which is 5 more than last year - an improvement, but didn't hit the mark. I did, however, record my first ever video interview, and had my first interview in print. (If you didn't see it, pick up a copy of the most recent Crimespree Magazine.) What I am most proud of with my interviews, however, is the improvement in my questions and approach. It takes a lot of time to put them together, but I like the direction the interviews are going, and you can expect to see more in both formats.

I had also resolved to try yet again to read at least one book each month that I had purchased previous to 2009. I only managed to read 7 of those. So, again, didn't hit the mark. For next year, I'm going to drop that resolution altogether. It's the same as the reading challenges. My reading is just too unpredictable to be able to commit to a resolution like that.

I didn't make any resolutions about numbers of books, which is good, because I dropped in total number this year, only reading 94. In those 94 there were 72 different authors, 56 of whom where brand new to me. Last year 54% of the books I read were from new to me authors, this year it's 60%. I don't know if I'll be increasing that percentage again since so many are now must reads for me, but we'll see how that turns out.

23 of the novels were the authors' debuts, 10 were debuts released this year. In addition I read three other novels that were debuts for the respective authors in the U.S.; they each had previously published outside the U.S., so they aren't completely debut novels.

For 2010 I'll try to get back up to at least 100 novels. But, I won't rush through books just to reach that goal either. I'm not much of a fast reader anyway, so rush doesn't usually apply to my reading style! There's just a lot of great crime fiction available, and I know I'm not going to run out of anything to read.

I said the biggest goal for 2009 was to increase readership. As I type this, hits to my blog have increased by over 500% from last year. Subscribers have more than doubled. I credit a lot of this to firsts in 2009:

• Started using Twitter.


• Added Jen's Book Thoughts to NetworkedBlogs on Facebook, where there are presently 102 followers.


• Attended my first Los Angeles Times Festival of Books!


• Visited The Mystery Bookstore in L.A.


• Visited Aunt Agathas in Ann Arbor.


• Submitted my reviews to Crimespree Magazine!! :)


• Attended my first Bouchercon!!


• Attended my first Murder and Mayhem in Muskego!



• Guest blogged at Jungle Red.


• And of course, started the "You Have the Right to Six Words" series.

And there were repeats this year:

• Participated in Book Blogger Appreciation Week for year two.


• Visited Foul Play in Columbus.


• Visited Mystery Lovers Book Shop in Oakmont.


• Attended book events at various libraries throughout the Cleveland area.

But one of the biggest factors has been you all. When you've added Jen's Book Thoughts to your blog lists, subscribed to the blog, tweeted about posts here, mentioned Jen's Book Thoughts on your blogs, or passed along emails I sent out. All of those things have brought others to this blog. I hope that you'll continue to visit and comment and write. There's no greater gift to me than to have someone say, "I really love that book you recommended to me." I will attempt once again to increase readership in 2010. The memoirs will be back in late spring, early summer. I'm already registered for Bouchercon and will (fingers crossed) hopefully be going back to L.A. I have some other new ideas in the works as well. Hopefully, it will bring more people here to share books! The more the merrier! In 2010, let's talk crime fiction!

I hope you all have a wonderful New Year's, and I hope 2010 brings you much happiness, love and of course - books. Happy 2010; Happy Reading!

A Few Odds and Ends

Just wanted to put up a quick post this morning. I'm behind, yet again, on my reviews - I'm sounding like a broken record. I have four that need finishing right now and another two books that I'm close to finishing. Having books in four different places is keeping me on my toes: print book, e-book, mp3 audio book, and the audio book in my car. Lucky for me they are all four outstanding books. I want to read them all simultaneously! I also have work to do on several interviews, and my year-end post is coming up. Wow, what a year it's been! And I was looking at the calendar; it's a couple weeks until Jen's Book Thoughts' second blogiversary! Double Wow on that one.

Tonight I'm headed out to Chagrin Falls for Steve Hockensmith's event at the library. If you're in the area, I highly recommend you stop by. If Steve is half as fun as he was at Bouchercon, all attendees are in for a wonderful evening. The event starts at 7. I may need to leave a little earlier than planned as we've been having snow for a couple days now. Is it spring yet?

I was over at Pop Culture Nerd's blog yesterday reading about her favorite things of 2009. And then Meredith Cole was talking about her favorite books and movies of 2009 at 7 Criminal Minds. And I became acutely aware of the fact that I didn't see hardly any movies this past year. So, I looked up a listing of all movies released in 2009. I went to the theater all of five times, no wait, one of the movies I saw on DVD, so that's four times in 2009. So, I decided to ask for suggestions of what was good in 2009 that I can request on DVD. I put in a request for PUBLIC ENEMIES from the library. I'm 800 something on the list, so it'll be awhile for that one to come in. While I'm waiting, offer up some suggestions in the comments section of movies you think I would like - they need to be available on DVD now, though. Nothing overly sappy, nothing overly gory, nothing overly stupid - and no vampires!

Stay warm and I'll be back soon to wrap up 2009 and recap Steve Hockensmith! Happy Reading!

The Alphabet in 2009

I was reading about this A to Z Book Challenge at S. Krishna's Books. I've tried to do challenges in the past but my reading doesn't lend itself well to these things and I never end up finishing them. But, she participated in the challenge this year and it intrigued me. So, I thought, just for S&G I'd see how my reading of 2009 lined up with this challenge. I went back and looked at the rules of the challenge. You could read 26 books and do the A to Z by title or read 26 and do the A to Z by author. Or you could mix them and read 52 books. While the author's name or a word in the title was supposed to begin with the letter of the alphabet, a caveat was allowed for X - the X could appear anywhere in a word or name. It was actually rather interesting to look at my reading this way. Some letters I didn't think would be difficult, were, while others I thought would be difficult weren't. So, here's what I came up with from my reading in 2009:

A
(Author) - Lou Allin, MEMORIES ARE MURDER
(Title) - Garth Stein, THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN

B
(Author) - James Lee Burke, THE RAIN GODS
(Title) - Simon Lewis, BAD TRAFFIC

C
(Author) - Harlan Coben, TELL NO ONE
(Title) - James Lee Burke, LAST CAR TO ELYSIAN FIELDS

D
(Author) - Ted Dekker, ADAM
(Title) - Rosemary Harris, THE BIG DIRT NAP

E
(Author) - Halle Ephron, BIBLIOPHILE'S DEVOTIONAL
(Title) - Michael Lister, DOUBLE EXPOSURE

F
(Author) - Karen Fossum, THE WATER'S EDGE
(Title) - Brad Parks, FACES OF THE GONE

G
(Author) - Chris Grabenstein, THE CROSSROADS
(Title) - Tess Gerritsen, GRAVITY

H
(Author) - Gregg Hurwitz, TRUST NO ONE
(Title) - Craig McDonald, HEAD GAMES

I
(Author) - Ken Isaacson, SILENT COUNSEL
(Title) - Libby Fischer Hellmann, EASY INNOCENCE

J
(Author) - Craig Johnson, THE DARK HORSE
(Title) - Robert Fate, JUGGLERS AT THE BORDER

K
(Author) - Michael Koryta, THE SILENT HOUR
(Title) - Ridley Pearson, KILLER SUMMER

L
(Author) - Sophie Littlefield, A BAD DAY FOR SORRY
(Title) - Linda Fairstein, LETHAL LEGACY

M
(Author) - Brian McGilloway, GALLOW'S LANE
(Title) - Robert Crais, THE MONKEY'S RAINCOAT

N
(Author) - Jo Nesbø, THE REDBREAST
(Title) - Inger Frimansson, ISLAND OF THE NAKED WOMEN

O
(Author) - Karen Olson, THE MISSING INK
(Title) - Tom Schreck, OUT COLD

P
(Author) - Louise Penny, STILL LIFE
(Title) - Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Q
(Author) - Spencer Quinn, THEREBY HANGS A TALE
(Title) - Diane A.S. Stuckart, THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT

R
(Author) - Les Roberts, PEPPER PIKE
(Title) - Tom Schreck, ON THE ROPES

S
(Author) - Michael Stanley, SECOND DEATH OF GOODLUCK TINUBU
(Title) - Reed Farrel Coleman, WALKING THE PERFECT SQUARE

T
(Author) - James Thompson, SNOW ANGELS
(Title) - Ken Bruen & Reed Farrel Coleman, TOWER

U
(Author) -
(Title) - Don Winslow, A COOL BREEZE ON THE UNDERGROUND

V
(Author) -
(Title) - John Shannon, PALOS VERDES BLUE

W
(Author) - Kate Wilhelm, COLD CASE
(Title) - Timothy Hallinan, BREATHING WATER

X
(Author) - C.J. Box, FREE FIRE
(Title) -

Y
(Author) - Yasmina Khadra, DEAD MAN'S SHARE
(Title) -

Z
(Author) -
(Title) -

So, without trying, I almost made that challenge! It was fun to look at the authors and titles that way. I know I've said this before, but this was an incredible year of reading for me. I probably won't make 100 books this year, maybe 96 or 97, but such a large percentage of those were excellent reads.

Hope you found an alphabet full of great reads as well! Happy Reading!

The Generosity of Others

MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone observing today. I hope today as well as every other day is filled with love and happiness - and of course, books. Today in Northeast Ohio we have a rather ugly day. It's cold, but not cold enough for snow so it's raining. The snow has melted and there's lots of muck and mess. And it's windy.

However, I have a lot of cause to be happy despite the weather. And that happiness comes from the generosity of others. In the last week my email box and regular mail box have been filled with beautiful cards and sentiments that truly mean the world to me. In addition, some folks have bestowed extra gifts on me and I'm overwhelmed; I really was not expecting this at all. I know folks will be asking about them, so I decided to share them with you today:

I've been looking forward to this follow-up to Robin's first Sydney Fitzpatrick novel, FACE OF A KILLER. So this put a big smile on my face when it arrived.

C.J. Box's new Joe Pickett novel really surprised me when it showed up, but even more so when it was personalized to me. What may have made me smile the most, though, was when the giver informed me that C.J. remembered me when she asked him to sign it. :)

Hopefully you can see this next picture. The book at the top, THE GIFT OF MURDER, is a collection of short stories. The proceeds from the sale of these books went to Toys for Tots. Doesn't it always warm your heart when you receive a gift that was more than a gift just to you? The person who bestowed this on me will never know just how precious a gift I think that is.

Yessiree, it's a digital reader! A Cool-ER. Plus it came with a handful of books on it that I've been wanting to read. I think you can see Donald Westlake's here in the picture. I've also started Megan Abbott's QUEENPIN on this. I'm learning all the little ins and outs, so I'll definitely be updating you on that more later. And it's purple! For those that haven't heard of the Cool-ER, the biggest factor for me on liking this is that it isn't proprietary. They do have a large e-book store online, but the reader itself takes many different digital formats and it will also accept my audio books. If all goes as planned, I have three major trips planned for 2010 and this will be a great thing to have along on those!

I think my friends must have gotten tired of hearing me say, "I'd really like to read Carl Hiaasen. I haven't read him yet." I was surprised to receive this book, and there's also a different Hiaasen title on my digital reader. But that's another factor that really makes a gift special, isn't it? When people pay attention to things you say and do, and then find a special gift based on that info. Wow!

And drum roll, please....This beauty will be going in a frame to be hung on the wall. Not only is this a picture of a setting from R.C.'s THE MONKEY'S RAINCOAT...signed by R.C. himself. It's the one setting in L.A. I got to visit when I was there with my sister this past March. She and I went to Griffith Park for the day. I'm not sure if that's why my friend gave me this one, but it sure does make it even extra special...if that was possible! :)

Alright, I better wrap this up. I have to do one more extended family "thing" today and then the rest of the weekend is mine - all mine! But, before I leave, I wanted to let you know that if you're in the Northeast Ohio area, Steve Hockensmith is going to be at the Chagrin Falls Library on Tuesday evening. I'm definitely going - I can't wait; if you're interested, you can register here. It's free, but the library requests that you register so they have an idea of how many people will be attending.

Thank you to everyone who stops by my blog, leaves a comment, emails, tweets, whatever. You, too, give me gifts every day. I am so thankful to be able to share books with you. I'm also especially thankful for my online friends who help feed my obsession with word games over on Facebook! I just love those games! Thank you for the gift of your time. How precious a gift that is.

My little gift to you today is the gift of music...and no, I'm not going to sing. That would be a punishment, not a gift. I've seen Harry and Lucien perform together in concert, and I think they are amazing. Hope you enjoy this fun little song and have a very merry Christmas.

My 2009 Crime Fiction Favorites

I'm putting my 2009 favorites list together a little early this year. The books that are up next in the reading schedule are ones set for release in 2010, so I'll not count them for this list...helps me narrow things down a little! 2009 was just a fantastic year for me as far as reading goes and there are still a stack of books I haven't gotten to yet.

I would not presume to insinuate my standards qualify these as the "best" books and they aren't necessarily all releases from 2009. They are simply the books I read in 2009, and they are my favorites from my reads in 2009. I'm not going to rank them this year. The titles are simply in order according to the order I read them this year. Since I really read across the spectrum of crime fiction, my favorites are often favorites for different reasons and therefore I find it hard to compare. If I were reading all noir P.I. fiction, I could have an easy set of standards to base my rating on. But I don't do that. So suffice it to say, these are the books I love. These are books I'd recommend to others. These are the books I would not part ways with, and I require them to be in my library.

As I said, this was a difficult list for me to put together. The great stuff this year far out-weighed the mediocre and bad. Don't you just love years like that? I'm going to borrow my friend Lesa's concept and give you my "reader's dozen." Here they are, my favorites of 2009:

LAST CAR TO ELYSIAN FIELDS (James Lee Burke) - I've said many times that I believe James Lee Burke is one of America's greatest living writers (the other being Pat Conroy). I am simply enraptured with every book I read of his. The complexity of this plot and the richness of the characters have stuck with me all year long. This was an early read for me this year. Part of the credit should also go to Mark Hammer who brought all the characters to life so exquisitely in the audio book version I listened to.

KINDNESS GOES UNPUNISHED (Craig Johnson) - I actually read books 2 through 5 this year in the Walt Longmire series, and I would recommend any and all of them - as a matter of fact, I do recommend them, regularly. They are all magnificent. I've chosen KINDNESS GOES UNPUNISHED because I connected the strongest with this one; it was so personal to Walt, and Craig Johnson did such an amazing job of illustrating that bond between father and daughter. KINDNESS GOES UNPUNISHED is nothing shy of amazing. And kudos again to my favorite audio book reader, George Guidall. With all of the Walt Longmire books I read the print versions AND listen to the audio book because hearing George Guidall as the voice of Walt is an absolute treat. If George ever stops reading this series, I'll have to stop listening because he IS the voice of Walt Longmire for me.


BAD TRAFFIC (Simon Lewis) - BAD TRAFFIC is Simon Lewis' debut in the U.S. (he previously published GO in the U.K.) It was nominated for the 2009 L.A. Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller and with good reason. Lewis chose a corrupt Chinese cop as his protagonist, uprooted him to a country where he knows no one and doesn't speak the language, but needs to rescue his daughter. Lewis partners the cop with an illegal alien who has no idea who is his friend and who is his enemy. It doesn't get much darker than BAD TRAFFIC, but it also doesn't get more powerful. Incredible read.

BREATHING WATER (Timothy Hallinan) - Poke Rafferty made my list last year and he's back again this year. I always recommend that people start at the beginning of this series if they haven't read any of it, yet. The books can be read out of order, but you lose the total effect of Hallinan's gift at developing character and relationship. Character and relationships constantly build on each other throughout all three novels. It's extraordinary. BREATHING WATER is my favorite in the series so far as Poke's family takes center stage because of the threat against them, and we see not only growing pains on the part of his adopted daughter but also the struggles Poke encounters being a father. Another strength in this series is Hallinan's depiction of Bangkok. This series is a trip to an exotic land of wealth and poverty, beauty and hideousness, excess and destitution.

WALKING THE PERFECT SQUARE (Reed Farrel Coleman) - O.k., I'm late to the game on this one, but gosh darn it I love Moe Prager. *Thank you, Linda Brown!* Coleman makes his New York City setting come alive in Moe's adventure; he builds depth and dimension into the unique characters; and he takes you on a roller coaster ride with the plot. Coleman's put a unique spin on the P.I. novel, and Moe Prager has joined the ranks of my favorite P.I.s.

THE SILENT HOUR (Michael Koryta) - In my review I spoke to the study in character this book exemplifies, so it's a natural that a character-lover such as myself would relish this novel. It's introspective and readers get a view of Lincoln Perry we haven't previously been privy to. Koryta has taken his characters through some harrowing physical experiences throughout the series, THE SILENT HOUR puts them through the emotional and psychological experiences. Prepare to take that ride with them.

DOUBLE EXPOSURE (Michael Lister) - This is one of the most unique and effective approaches to the crime fiction thriller I've ever read. Lister's passion for the subject comes through in every word. DOUBLE EXPOSURE is fast-paced, action-packed, and it keeps you on the edge of your seat. There aren't a lot of books that keep me up all night, but this is one of those all-nighters.

TRUST NO ONE (Gregg Hurwitz) - This man knows how to write thrillers; there are simply no two ways about it. Last year he was on my list with THE CRIME WRITER and this year TRUST NO ONE was a no brainer. Hurwitz combines the fast-moving plot with real characters and attention to detail. I connect with Hurwitz's characters; I invest in them as a reader, so by God I want to be along with them for the ride.


OUT COLD (Tom Schreck) - I also read ON THE ROPES this year. I highly recommend the entire Duffy Dombrowski series. When I interviewed Tom someone made a comparison in the comments to this series being like an iceberg. That nails it perfectly. There is so much below the surface in regards to relationships, stereotypes, and society. You can read the series for pure entertainment - there's plenty of humor - but you'd miss out on the substance. Duffy is crime fiction's "Everyman." And then there's Al. I can't resist Al.

A BAD DAY FOR SORRY (Sophie Littlefield) - Holy Moly what a debut! Stella is a unique spit-fire of a character. Her approach may not always be kosher, but I was rooting for her all the way. I love her attitude; I love that she's not fashion-model gorgeous with men falling all over themselves for her; and I love that she doesn't take crap. She's the modern-day Robin Hood.

THE BRUTAL TELLING (Louise Penny) - I read ALL of the Three Pines series this year. What a gem of a series. It lacks for nothing: distinct, robust characters, wonderful plot lines, humor, mystery, deep themes. THE BRUTAL TELLING is the most recent book of the series and definitely the most powerful. Like the Walt Longmire series, I read and listened to The Three Pines series. Ralph Cosham does an incredible job with the audio book narrations. If you are not familiar with this series, you must check it out.

TOWER (Ken Bruen/Reed Farrel Coleman) - This book is poetry in motion. The voices of Bruen and Coleman blend seamlessly in this tale of cops, crime and corruption. The harsh beauty of this book grips you and pulls you in. Most of us will never personally experience anything close to the lives of Nick and Todd, but you walk away from THE TOWER feeling as though you've lived it yourself. TOWER is an incredible book penned by an incredible writing team.

FACES OF THE GONE (Brad Parks) - I'm still in awe over this debut. As I mentioned in my review of this book, Parks' depiction of humanity in all its forms is astounding. There's no sugar-coating; it's real and raw. He counterbalances that rawness with perfectly crafted humor, AND he makes it look easy. Parks takes his experience as an investigative reporter and he brings it to life through his protagonist Carter Ross. This is truly a book that changes you as a reader.

There are two other books I want to mention for this post. Both were books I listened to this year on audio, but I didn't get to write my reviews in a timely manner :( So, I didn't want to do either book a disservice by trying to write from a recording at too long a time span, but they were both outstanding books that I highly recommend. First was Michael Connelly's THE SCARECROW. I liked THE POET; I loved THE SCARECROW. I do believe this is one of Connelly's finest works. The other book was Craig McDonald's HEAD GAMES. The thought that ran through my brain while listening to this audio book was, "Don Quixote meets John Wayne." The larger than life ambitions, the humor, the characters all blend into a true work of crime fiction art.

There were many more books that vied for position on this list and it was difficult to whittle it down. But there you have it. I'm looking forward to 2010 because the line-up already looks great and I have some left-overs from 2009 that I'm determined to make time for.

There is definitely a rich selection of wonderful crime fiction out there ripe for the picking. What were some of your favorites this year?

Saturday Around the Web

Hi all. Hope your holiday season is going well. I'm stuck in car-buying hell right now, so as you read this I'm probably back out car shopping. Say a little prayer that Saturday is the last day I have to do this and that I manage to come home with a car.

But I wanted to leave you with some fun things around the web I've found this week. The first two come courtesy of Jon Jordan at Crimespree Magazine. This is the only time I will look like I have ANY semblance of rhythm. (Warning: do not drink while watching.) For your enjoyment, here are some of the Crimespree Gang...or as Jon calls us, the Crimespree Elves. And then here we are in the hip-hop version.

I'm very excited for Brad Parks and the mention of FACES OF THE GONE here. Congrats to Brad; so well deserved! Obviously they heard me raving about this book and got with the program - just kidding.

Since I'm having car-buying issues, I was over reading this article Tom Schreck wrote a couple years ago. There are actually two articles at this link: the first one dealt with the driver's manual and made me cry, I was laughing so hard. And right now it's good to laugh-cry, because I really want to cry-cry this process is so painful. If you have the urge to read some more of his articles, you can find them here.

Hilary Davidson has her "Undying Love" short story available at The Feral Pages. I'm so looking forward to her debut novel in 2010.

Some folks have started to post their favorites lists. I'll be working on mine soon, as all the books I have to read now are '10 publications. But until I get my list up, you may want to check out Lesa Holstine's list or Oline Cogdill's or Sarah Weinman's or Dick Adler's. Here are Marcus Sakey's favorite reads from this year. Micheal Koryta is even mentioning his favorite reads from the second half of the year.

I hope everyone's holiday season is going well, and if I don't see you back here before, have a wonderful, wonderful New Year!

Happy Reading!

DEAD MAN'S SHARE - Yasmina Khadra

FIRST LINE: "You'd think the world had stopped turning."

Brahim Llob is a police superintendent in Algiers where there seems to be a shortage on crime. In a crime fiction novel, you know that can't last long. So when the action happens in DEAD MAN'S SHARE, it's explosive.

Llob's lieutenant, partner and friend Lino is dating the wrong woman, the ex-girlfriend of the wealthy and powerful Haj Thobane. And not only is Lino dating her, he's flaunting the fact that he's dating her, and he's digging himself into a financial debt trying to impress her.

When an attempt is made on Haj Thobane's life with Lino's gun, Lino is arrested and left in deteriorating condition in jail. It's up to Llob to uncover the truth and free his friend before there is nothing left. But in the process of uncovering the truth, Llob finds far more than he ever planned about his country and its past.

In DEAD MAN'S SHARE Khadra paints a stunning picture of Algiers and the conflicts that face its people. Sacrifices are made, evils are sactioned and disparity rages:

"Abuse isn't an aberration for us, it's a culture, a vocation, an ambition."

Khadra's stunning use of language, translated by Aubrey Botsford, is the right balance to set the tone:

"A light rain weeps onto the city, and a limping wind batters its face against the wailing walls that our ramparts have become. A thin mist hangs its dirty laundry out at the corner of the street. It's as if all the world's depression has arranged to gather in our country to drain our morale."

create the atmosphere:

"On both sides, low cells, plunged in darkness. No tenants, just barred ratholes that send a chill down the spine. Further on, a soiled staircase plunges down to a horrifying lower level where further cells molder beneath thick layers of saltpeter. A penetrating stench irritates my eyes and throat. There are no skylights and no air vents, just stone walls sweating fetid secretions, with the feeling that one is wandering somewhere among the insalubrious mists of purgatory without the slightest chance of escaping unharmed."

and develop the characters without being ostentatious. Every word functions to heighten the reader's experience and propel the plot forward. Meanwhile, the events of the plot keep the reader on his/her toes as one twist follows the next at dizzying speeds.

DEAD MAN'S SHARE is at turns heartbreaking and uplifting. Llob believes so passionately in the justice he pursues, while others mock him and instruct him to leave well enough alone. But in the end, he simply embodies his own definition of sacrifice:

"Sacrifice isn't about dying for someone or for a cause; I'd even say that that is the least reasonable act of all, without a doubt. Sacrifice, true sacrifice is about continuing to love life despite everything."

I highly recommend DEAD MAN'S SHARE by Yasmina Khadra. Available from The Toby Press in trade paper (ISBN: 978-1-59264-269-4).

Guess Who's Coming to...

...Jungle Red? I've donned my spiffy duds and shined up my manners so I can go out visiting today, ya'll. I'm guest blogging! Yeah, someone asked me to be their guest, can you believe it? The nice ladies over at the Jungle Red blog are hosting me to talk about my favorite subject...six word memoirs. So, stop over to read my post there. Psst, there's loot involved, so don't leave me over there by myself. I'll get lonely. And I promise I'll be back home very soon!

http://www.jungleredwriters.com/

Time to Stuff the Stockings...with Paperbacks

Today I am blogging over at Buy Books for the Holidays, so I'm going to share that post here as well in lieux of a Monday Mystery Backlist. You've heard about some of these books here on my blog, others are ones I have in my TBR list, but all are great options for paperback stocking stuffers! So, here's my post:



We're closing in on the holidays. Have you finished your shopping? As I write this, I'm hoping I have one more store to visit today and then I'll be done. One of the final things people have for their shopping is those little stocking stuffers. This is a prime place to stick a great paperback! It's an affordable treasure to fill out that stocking. Here are a few great crime fiction paperbacks you can consider for your crime drama fan:

LETHAL LEGACY - by Linda Fairstein takes readers into the bowels of the New York Public Library to investigate the crime with Homocide Detective, Mike Chapman and Special Crimes Assistant Prosecutor, Alex Cooper. You'll never believe the library can be so deadly.

A NAIL THROUGH THE HEART - by Timothy Hallinan is the first of his Bangkok Thriller series. I always recommend people start at the beginning with this series featuring travel writer Poke Rafferty because the character development and the character relationships build throughout the series, and these elements are among the great strengths of this series. A NAIL THROUGH THE HEART is available as a trade paperback and is a must read for any thriller lover!

TRIGGER CITY - by Sean Chercover has been racking up award nominations and award wins. In the follow-up to award-winning BIG CITY, BAD BLOOD (also available in paperback), Ray Dudgeon gets more than he bargained for when he investigates a woman's death on behalf of her father. The victim is not what she appeared and Dudgeon may become the next victim for discovering her true identity.

BLUE HEAVEN - is C.J. Box's Edgar-award-winning thriller about two young children on the run in Idaho from four retired Los Angeles policemen. The children witnessed the policemen commit murder, and the policemen plan to stop at nothing to silence them.

THE BOOK OF LIES - by Brad Meltzer brings the most famous murder, Cain murdering his brother Abel, together with the creation of Superman for a present-day, heart-pounding thriller.

ANGEL'S TIP - is Alafair Burke's second novel in her Ellie Hatcher series. Ellie Hatcher is a police detective in New York City and ANGEL'S TIP is a ripped from the headlines plot. A young woman visiting New York City wants to stay longer at the night club and her friends leave her behind...alone.

GOOD PEOPLE - by Marcus Sakey follows a couple who want nothing more in life than to be able to have a family. Their desperation leads them smack into trouble with a couple of ruthless men who will stop at nothing for revenge. Dennis Lehane calls Marcus Sakey the "electric jolt American crime fiction needs."

THE FURY and THE DARKNESS - were released back to back this year by author Jason Pinter. They share a story arc dealing with a drug cartel as books four and five of Pinter's Henry Parker series.

DOG ON IT - is Spencer Quinn's debut novel featuring P.I. Bernie and his canine partner Chet. Chet narrates the adventure of their search for a missing teen-age girl. Stephen King said DOG ON IT is "Sometimes funny, sometimes touching, and in a few places terrifying...[DOG ON IT is an] enchanting one-of-a-kind novel."

For your readers who prefer something a little more on the cozy side, you might want to check out:

THE MISSING INK - by Karen Olson is the first book in Karen's new series about Brett Kavanaugh and her Painted Lady tattoo shop. Brett is scheduled to do a devotion tat on a woman who never shows. Not unusual, some folks re-consider their tattoo choices. However, when the woman winds up dead, this turn everything unusual, especially the fact that the "devotion" tattoo wasn't supposed to have the name of her very wealthy fiance.

AIR TIME - by Hank Phillippi Ryan brings TV reporter Charlotte McNally undercover into the world of high fashion. In this world of design, no one is who they seem to be and danger is very real. Who knew this world could be so deadly?

WHEN A MAN LOVES A WEAPON - is Toni McGee Causey's most recent installment of her hilarious Bobbie Faye Sumrall series. This time the spunky Louisiana gal is in a mess of trouble because of gems that folks wouldn't have any trouble killing Bobbie for.

Have readers on your list who like things a little darker? You could check out:

MANIA - is Craig Larsen's debut about a newspaper photographer in Seattle who gets caught up in the depravity of a serial killer dubbed Street Butcher only to find his own disturbing past.

CUT TO THE BONE - by Shane Gericke brings back Detective Commander Martin Benedetti and Detective Emily Thompson as they pursue the Executioner who is seeking revenge for a wrongful execution performed over forty years earlier.

THE GATEKEEPER - by Michelle Gagnon is the third book in her series featuring Special Agent Kelly Jones. This time a young girl has been kidnapped, and the kidnapping is connected to a terrorist plot hatched by American hate groups.

This is just a taste to get you started. There are so many great crime fiction books available in paperback. They aren't all ones that you will quickly find at Walmart or Target or even Barnes and Noble, but believe me when I say they are worth the little extra effort to hunt them down. Any of the great mystery independent stores that you've seen featured here on the blog can help you out on finding these books, as can some of my other favorites: Mystery Lover's Bookshop in Pennsylvania, The Mystery Bookstore in Los Angeles, Murder by the Book in Houston, and The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City.

Wishing you the happiest of holidays and hoping they are filled with crime....fiction! Happy Reading and Happy Shopping!

The Faces of Brad Parks

Tuesday I reviewed Brad Parks' debut novel, FACES OF THE GONE. It's an amazing debut, and so of course I had to go out and nag Brad to talk with me one on one. Many of you commented on how excited I was about FACES OF THE GONE and you were going to check it out, so I thought you would also enjoy getting to know Brad a little better. He was kind enough to take time out of his schedule right before his book release to answer my questions. I'm absolutely tickled to be able to share our chat with you.

If you read the blog regularly, you already know a bit about Brad from when he shared his six-word memoir. He's a former journalist; he spent many years covering sports and then investigative reporting. He previously lived in New Jersey, he now resides in Virgina, is a full-time writer and full-time dad.

And I'll quit my blabbing and share this fantastic interview with you. Here he is...Brad Parks.

Q: Your first job writing was at the age of 14, covering the local high school girls’ basketball team. Were you assigned to this or did you have a girlfriend on the team or what got you started with girls’ basketball? Would you say you learned any lessons (about writing) then that you still carry with you today?

Brad: I was a short, fat freshman with braces. I only wish I had a girlfriend on the team. Basically, I saw an ad in the paper saying they needed a sportswriter. I’m quite sure I was the only one to apply for the job, so they gave it to me. The team had been horrible for years. Yet, somehow, that was the season the Ridgefield High School girls basketball team started winning. The more it won, the more attention my writing got. And I found pretty quickly I enjoyed getting attention for my writing, and that what made it meaningful to me is when it provoked some reaction out of the readers, even if the reaction was just to be pleased I put their daughter’s name in the paper. To this day, that’s what I strive for – to move readers (to laughter, to tears, to head-scratching, or whatever) with words.

Q: You spent a good amount of time covering sports, but ultimately switched to news. What prompted the switch? Then what did you miss most about sports when you switched?

Brad: Why switch? That’s easy: 100 nights a year in a hotel. Nothing against Mr. Marriott, but I just didn’t feel like spending that much time with him. My wife and I wanted to start a family and I didn’t want her pointing to my picture on the mantel every time my kids asked, “Where’s Daddy?” It also seemed like a good career move. I had been doing sports my entire writing life at that point and figured having something else on the resume might be nice. Turns out it was a good decision – I never could have written FACES OF THE GONE without the experience of having worked on news side. Did I miss stuff about sports? Sure. The games were fun. The big events brought a lot of energy to my writing. And the storytelling was great. But I had gotten my fill of sports – Super Bowls, Olympics, World Series, etc. – and left without looking back.

Q: There are obviously major differences between writing journalistically and writing novel-length fiction. What from your journalism career do you think helped you the most starting out as a novelist? Then likewise, what would you say, if anything, did you have to re-learn or overcome that a non-journalist may not have had to deal with?

Brad: I’ve always felt the key to writing well is to write poorly first, if that makes any sense at all. And journalism certainly gave me the chance to do a lot of very poor writing. The simple reality of the newspaper business is that, for as much as I wanted everything that appeared underneath “By Brad Parks” to be outstanding examples of my compositional craftsmanship, there were days – like, most days – when the constraints of time and deadline didn’t allow it. Eventually, I figured out there was no such thing as perfect writing, but if my story was good enough, people would keep reading anyway. That’s a great thing for a novelist to keep in mind as he’s fighting his way through 90,000 words, and it’s freeing to know not all of them have to be perfect.

As for what I had to overcome as a journalist, that’s pretty simple: The fear of getting fired. As a reporter, I knew that if I made anything up, I’d be out of a job pretty fast. Making up stuff was a total anathema to me. So nearly everything from FACES OF THE GONE is the product of my experience rather than my imagination – it’s stuff I saw, heard or experienced firsthand that I gave only the slightest fictional twist. It’s only in books two and three that I finally gave myself a little more latitude to use my imagination. I’ve finally realized it doesn’t have to have been pulled straight from my reporter’s notebook to still feel authentic.

Q: The quadruple homicide that occurs in FACES OF THE GONE is based on a story you covered as a journalist. Did you know right away that you wanted to use it as the plot line for novel? Were you considering fiction writing at the time? And was that real-life case solved?

Brad: I had been writing fiction for a while, though it was fiction of a different sort – a coming-of-age tale set in Youngstown, Ohio (also known as Jen Forbus Country). I had just finished that manuscript maybe three or four weeks before covering the quadruple homicide that became the inspiration for FACES OF THE GONE. And while I didn’t quite walk away from the scene of that crime with a light bulb over my ahead – “Aha! There’s the setting for my first novel!” – I was definitely looking for something new to write. It was probably a few months later that it had gelled enough in my brain that I began writing it.

As to the real-life crime, it remained a true mystery for about a year. Then the cops charged some guy who had just gone to jail for another murder. The cops claimed that once he was behind bars – and thus no longer a threat – witnesses started coming forward. The cynical side of me wonders if the cops didn’t just pin it on this guy just to be able to close the case. We’ll never know because the case never went to trial. There was a paucity of evidence in the first place and since the guy was already locked up for killing someone else, there was never huge pressure to prosecute. Unfortunately, that’s how inner-city justice goes sometimes.

Q: Covering real-life crime cases like the quadruple homicide, was crime fiction a natural fit then for you or did you always have aspirations toward crime fiction and the event gave you the idea you needed?

Brad: I read crime fiction and thrillers as a kid – starting with Hardy Boys and graduating to John D. MacDonald – and I always harbored the aspiration of writing mysteries. I suppose I imagined that’s what I would do in semi-retirement – you know, when I was 55 or 60 and the kids were through college and the mortgage was paid off and I finally started doing what I really wanted to do with my life, you know? Well, I had gotten an agent interested in my first manuscript, the Youngstown one, when I showed her the first three chapters of what is now FACES OF THE GONE. They were obviously very different books. And my agent, Jeanne Forte Dube, asked me point blank, “Which one of these is you? Who do you want to be as a writer?” And I blurted out, “The next Harlan Coben.” And she said, “Okay, so go finish that mystery.” With hindsight, I guess I can say this was always what I wanted to be doing. And I can even tell a narrative that makes it seem like I took a straight line getting here. But, in reality, there were a lot of twists and turns, rejections and dead ends – and I wouldn’t trade any of them.

Q: Now you’re a full-time writer/full-time dad. What do you miss most about journalism, now that you’re not in the thick of it all the time? And what do you miss least?

Brad: I miss the rush of deadline. Oh, yeah, I miss it badly. There’s just nothing in the world like knowing you’ve got 30 minutes to write 600 words and you’ve got to jam it out. In those wonderful moments, it’s just your madly whirring brain and the screen. And the little filter that normally sits between the brain and the screen – the one that says “is this really the right word?” or “are you sure you couldn’t phrase it better?” or “don’t you need to empty the garbage?” – that filter is just gone. And you… just… write. It’s a total high.

What I miss the least? Being forced to pull my punches on a story. On any investigative piece, the best 25 to 50 percent of what you know is probably never going to get in the paper because you simply can’t nail it down with enough certainty to get it past the editors and lawyers whose job it is to vet your copy. And the storyteller inside of you is just dying to get that stuff out – because it’s great stuff! – but the journalist in you has to pull it back, simply because it’s not backed by three sources and two documents proving it to be true. Now I just get to be a pure storyteller, which is a lot more freeing.

Q: So, FACES OF THE GONE. Wow! What a way to debut! How long did it take you to write this novel?

Brad: I wrote FACES OF THE GONE in dribs and drabs over the course of a year and a half or so. I was working full-time, of course, and I wasn’t the most disciplined writer. So I’d write for a month and then get busy at work and drop it. Then I’d write another month and suddenly three months would go by without a word. (I would not recommend this as a way to write a novel, by the way). By the time I got to the end – in a month-long, 30,000 word burst – I had to go back and do a lot of cleaning, simply because there was some unevenness that resulted in all the stopping and starting. Carter Ross installments Nos. 2 and 3 were basically written in about three months each, writing every single day. I’ve discovered that, at least for me, that’s a much, much better way to write.

Q: There are some pretty heavy themes underlying FACES OF THE GONE that deal with how people treat some social groups. And you do a flat-out amazing job of depicting that through the characters, their behaviors, etc. Is that something you encountered yourself while working as a journalist or does that come from somewhere else? It has obviously impacted you; I can’t imagine being able to write that powerfully if it hadn’t.

Brad: As a typical white person, raised in a lily-white suburb, I didn’t understand why black people were always so hung up on race. I mean, why did they feel the need to talk about it so much? Why couldn’t they just get over it already? Then, as a reporter, I finally found myself in a place where I was the minority – the neighborhoods of Newark, New Jersey, walking through places where they simply referred to me as “the white guy,” because I was going to be the only one coming through that month (well, unless you count cops). Suddenly, I understood what it meant to be defined by my race. And, lo and behold, I found myself wanting to talk about it a lot. One of the real ironies of political correctness is that it’s actually stunted the national dialogue on race in a lot of ways, because it’s left people – white people in particular – afraid of saying “the wrong thing.” I enjoyed writing a book that’s at least not afraid to have the conversation.

Q: Building on that question, Carter Ross, your protagonist in FACES OF THE GONE, does a lot of actual physical investigating in the novel. Is this common for an investigative reporter – to be out in the projects, meeting with gang members, etc.? Or did you invoke some literary license?

Brad: There’s certainly some literary license taken. For example, the notion of the lone wolf journalist – going off on his own direction, away from the other reporters at his paper, away from the cops, solving the crime on his own – makes for good reading but is probably a bit removed from reality. That said, the way Carter goes about finding the truth in FACES OF THE GONE is very true to life, or at least true to how I did it as a reporter. I was constantly out on the streets, in the projects, talking with anyone – be it grandmas or gangbangers – who might be able to help my story. I suppose there are some reporters who spend more time in the office, but I was never one of them, and neither is Carter.

Q: Alright, so there’s this very serious element to FACES OF THE GONE, but there’s also a lot of hysterically funny humor. Does that come naturally for you? Or is it something you have to work at and practice? And given the series element of the novel, how do you find the right balance?

Brad: To me, a book should be like a good friend. I don’t want a book that’s brooding and serious all the time anymore than I’d want a friend who is that way. I appreciate friends who can be serious and silly, who can make me think and make me laugh, who can tell a good story and tell a good joke. Above all, I like books (and friends) who are fun. So I guess I try to be mindful of that when I’m writing. There’s a balance, of course. I guess my general rule is that, every so often, I try to throw in a scene that – while it marginally bumps the plot forward – is mostly just there for comic relief. I mean, we read these books for fun, right?

That's certainly why I read them!

Q: You’ve lived in Connecticut, New Jersey and now Virginia. Having been born and raised in Northeast Ohio, I have to ask: How did the 1987 Browns team make it into the plot of FACES OF THE GONE?

Brad: Embarrassing childhood confessions time: When I was a kid, I guess I must not have had a lot of friends, because I would go into the back yard and play pretend football by myself. I’d throw the ball to myself, tackle myself, keep imaginary statistics, the whole thing. One of my favorite pretend squads was that Browns team with Kevin Mack (the power runner) and Earnest Byner (the speed runner). Whenever I did a running play up the middle, I was Mack; when I took it around the corner, I was Byner. So there I was, twenty years later, writing my book – I don’t have a lot of friends now either, by the way – and I needed to invent a gang for Carter. There’s a real life gang in Newark called the Brick City Brims. I didn’t want to risk slandering the Brims, so I fictionalized them as the Brick City Browns. The retro uniforms just followed naturally from there.

I shared with Brad that I loved this team as well. I was a Browns fanatic at the time. My favorite players from that team were defensive backs, though: Frank Minnifield and Hanford Dixon. That made a real connection for me in the book.

Q: You’re guaranteed that if you interview at Jen’s Book Thoughts, you have to have a question about your characters and their development, because for me – as a reader – character makes or breaks a book. Character definitely made FACES OF THE GONE. Are these characters complete figments of your imagination? Or have they evolved from people you’ve known?

Brad: Well, let’s see, Carter Ross is a stiff white guy from the suburbs who plunges into the mean inner-city and… hey, look at that! I am, too! So there’s definitely a lot of me in Carter and vice versa. On the other end of the spectrum, the city editor – smokin’ hot Tina Thompson – is a total fabrication. My last city editor at The Star-Ledger was a middle-aged guy Bruno. He was sorta cute, but definitely not smokin’ hot like Tina.

Q: FACES OF THE GONE is told through the first person account of Carter. And we get to see what Carter thinks Tina is all about. But then through Tina’s actions, we see that Carter may be mis-perceiving things a bit. It makes for some excellent laughs but it’s also a pretty interesting look at gender relations. Was that a specific goal with these characters or did it just kind of work out nicely?

Brad: When you’re writing a series, some story arcs are limited to the span of one book – namely, the whodunit stuff. But then there are also going to be some stories that develop across multiple books. The relationship between Tina and Carter is one of those. I don’t think Carter even begins to understand what makes Tina tick until Book 3. And who only knows how long it’s going to take him to figure out what to do about it? When it comes to how those characters react to each other, I’m not sure anything I do is 100 percent intentional. I feel like I start with a strong understanding of who each character is. And then with each scene I write, I constantly ask myself: Knowing Carter (or Tina) as well as I do, is that how he/she would react to that scenario? If I ended up making any interesting commentary on gender relations in the course of doing that, I assure you it was very much by accident.

Q: The FACES OF THE GONE book jacket says you’re working on the next Carter Ross adventure. Is that now in the bag or are you still at work on that? Any thoughts about writing something away from Carter or do you want to stick solely with him for the time being?

Brad: Yep, numbers two and three are in the bag. I’ll probably stick to Carter – sorry, are you tired of him already? – and keep writing him until someone begs me to stop. The more I write him, the more I enjoy the time we spend together. There may be some other projects along the way – I’d like to try Young Adult, for example, and as a journalist I never rule out non-fiction – but Carter has a special place in my heart.

Note: I am definitely NOT tired of Carter. I can't wait for the next book!

Q: Last question, being dad to two small children, what are you all reading these days? Do they have any favorite books that you now know by heart because you’ve read them so many times? And are they at a stage where they tell people what their dad does? How do they describe your job?

Brad: Every night in the Parks household ends with story time – I would consider it child abuse to do anything else – so, yes, there are a number of books where everyone has the text memorized and we only turn the pages because it seems like the thing to do. My daughter just turned one, so she isn’t quite talking yet. My son is two and a half. When you ask him what Daddy does for work, he replies “Daddy is auffer. He writes books.”

And there you have it, Brad Parks the "auffer." You can check out more about Brad at his website. I encourage you to sign up for his newsletter as it is pure entertainment! I love it. And definitely take a couple minutes to watch this video of Brad. Good stuff. You can check out his tour schedule. He's all over New Jersey for the next couple days, so if you're in that part of the country, he may be near you for a signing.

I posted on Facebook and Twitter about this guest post Brad did at the Do Some Damage blog. If you missed it, I strongly encourage you to check it out. Hysterical! LOVED. IT. And I'm NOT mocking Brad, I swear!

I hope you enjoyed this little visit with Brad. My thanks to Brad for putting up with me and my nosey questions! So excited to have him here. I'm no prognosticator, but if I had to put my money on the next big thing, it would be Brad Parks.

Happy Reading!

You Have the Right to Six Words - The Acknowledgements

So, yesterday we wrapped up "You Have the Right to Six Words: Six-Word Memoirs from Crime Fiction's Greatest Writers" the inaugural season! What I thought would start out as a small little 8 or 9 week project turned into 29 weeks of amazing memoirs from crime fiction's greats. I truly appreciate everyone who has commended me on the project, but this is more than my project. It could have never happened without the help of many, many people. And I really want to give those folks their due.

First and foremost all the authors who participated. There were 112 different memoirs contributed to this season's project. The response to me was overwhelming. I didn't calculate everything up (and I'm not sure I even have the information to do so), but if I had to take a best guess, I would say that for every 10 requests I sent out, 9 came back saying they would participate. A very special thank you to James Lee Burke who was the very first person to respond with a memoir. When your first response is a legend in this genre, you somehow gain a lot of motivation to keep asking. And what's even more amazing to me, all these contributors actually took time to craft something meaningful. It wasn't just a silly project to any of them. One author took the project to her Sisters in Crime chapter and returned with a half dozen memoirs. Another author informed me that it spurred a short story idea for her. Many posted about the project on their websites, blogs or Facebook pages. And so many sent beautiful thank you notes. I cherish them. They truly warm my heart. What an incredible gift. Thank you.

I had one person I was counting on back out of the project. In a bit of a panic, I sent out an S.O.S. to try to find a replacement. I contacted friends to ask if anyone could help me find someone else. That S.O.S. for one replacement resulted in 4 friends helping me secure 8 new authors that I wasn't able to contact before. Those 4 friends vouched for me, and I know personally how much trust it takes to put one's name on the line for another. Their generosity and trust humbles me. Those 4 people know who they are; I do hope they read this and know they have bestowed upon me a gift unlike any other. I am honored. Thank you.

To my fellow readers and bloggers that I tapped for ideas on who to contact for memoirs. You helped fuel my courage to just go out and ask. In some cases you introduced me to new authors and new books to pursue in my never-ending reading exploration. You too are an integral part of this project and I thank you for helping make it work - for helping make ME work!

And to everyone who came back week after week to read the memoirs, this would never have lasted 29 weeks without your enthusiasm. Aside from the wonderful comments you left each week, I received emails, notes on Facebook, tweets on Twitter. Many of you passed the word along on Twitter when posts went up. The word got out because you helped get it there.

I'm so proud of this project because the whole crime fiction community made it work, not just me. You all were a part of it. Thank you for sharing it with me!

Now we have our work cut out for us in 2010. How in the world are we going to top 2009? I'm off to start planning now. If you have grand ideas, you know where to find me!

May you all have a wonderful, wonderful new year! Thank you for helping make 2009 so incredible for me! Happy Reading!

You Have the Right to Six Words - The 2009 Grand Finale!

Well, here it is everyone...the final "You Have the Right to Six Words" post for 2009. Since we started with a bang, I wanted to go out with a bang, too. Seems like our finale bang is actually a couple weeks long, doesn't it?

This week I have a bit of a theme going on: it's the boys of Southern California! I'm hoping their post will bring with it some of that warmer weather, I'm already tired of freezing temperatures! Let's get started!

Leading off our final post is Charlie Huston who writes crime fiction, specifically pulp fiction, in a variety of formats. He has a trilogy of books featuring protagonist Hank Thompson. Charlie also has a series with protagonist Joe Pitt that deals with vampire clans. Charlie released the fifth and final book, MY DEAD BODY, in the Joe Pitt series this year. Toss in a couple stand alones, mix in a few short stories and add comic books. Yes, Charlie revived Marvel's Moon Knight, writing the first twelve issues, and more recently he revived Deathlok with artist Lan Medina.

2009 was a busy year for Charlie. In addition to MY DEAD BODY and the Deathlok comics, Charlie also released a standalone novel, THE MYSTIC ARTS OF ERASING ALL SIGNS OF DEATH. Stephen King says Charlie Huston is "one of the most remarkable prose stylists to emerge from the noir tradition in this century." And Charlie says,

Never did fix that attitude problem.

Next up is truly a crime fiction legend. His writing has influenced many other crime fiction writers, it's made its way to the big screen, and it comes from personal experiences as well as dedicated research. Joseph Wambaugh served a stint in the Marine Corps before attending college and then entering the Los Angeles Police Department. Joe's career with the police department last fourteen years, ending at the rank of detective sergeant. While still on the force, Joe published what he refers to as his "moonlighting novels," THE NEW CENTURIONS and THE BLUE KNIGHT. These novels would cause some problems as Joe's superiors did not care for the way he portrayed the police officers in his novels. He was taking a fresh approach and portraying them as real people, as humans with flaws.

In 1973, Joe published his first non-fiction work, THE ONION FIELD. Joe says, "I feel I was put on earth to write this story, and I've never had that feeling before or since. Nothing could ever stop me from writing THE ONION FIELD." It is the true story of the abduction of two Los Angeles policemen and the subsequent execution of one of those officers. THE ONION FIELD would go on to earn Joe his first Edgar award and take him into the realm of screenwriting.

In 2004 the Mystery Writers of America bestowed on Joe Wambaugh the American Grand Master Award, after which he would begin the first series of his career. The first book of the Hollywood series was published in 2006, HOLLYWOOD STATION. Last month Joe released the third book in this series and his fourteenth novel, HOLLYWOOD MOON.

Joseph Wambaugh has made a lasting impression on the police crime novel. And his lasting impression on this memoir series is

I was only an adequate copper.

I'll take Joe's word for it on that front but on the writing front, he's far exceeded adequate, and I'm so thrilled to be able to include him in the final segment of this year's memoirs.

So, that brings us to the final memoirist for 2009. T. Jefferson Parker has lived in Southern California his entire life. After earning a Bachelor's degree from the University of California, Irvine, Jeff went to work as a newspaper reporter where he covered police, city hall, and cultural stories, won awards and squirreled away ideas that would one day result in his first novel.

That one day came in 1985 with the publication of Jeff's first novel LAGUNA HEAT, which would make its way to the New York Times Bestseller list when it came out in paperback in 1986. It also made its way to HBO when it was adapted for a television movie starring Harry Hamlin and Jason Robards. Of course this was just the beginning of a stellar writing career. In 2001 Jeff published SILENT JOE, which earned him his first Edgar award for Best Novel as well as the L.A. Times Book Prize in the Mystery/Thriller category. In 2004, Jeff would snag another Edgar award for Best Novel, this time for CALIFORNIA GIRL. As if these accomplishments weren't enough, Jeff also penned several short stories. His "Skinhead Central," published in THE BLUE RELIGION, earned him yet another Edgar Award just this year for best Short Story.

And that stellar career continues. Next month on January 5, 2010, Jeff will release his seventeenth crime fiction novel, IRON RIVER, which will continue the story of Charlie Hood, Jeff's protagonist from THE RENEGADES.

When he isn't hard at work on his next novel, Jeff enjoys spending time with his family hiking, hunting, fishing, playing tennis, diving, snorkeling and traveling.

I don't know that we could have had a better memoir to end this year's project on. I fell in love with it the minute I received it from Jeff:

I walked into a beautiful room.

And I believe he's let us all get a little peek at that room. What a gift for the entire crime fiction community, the entire crime fiction genre. Thank you, Jeff. And I also wish to thank Jeff for this wonderful picture that he provided. He informed me that the person in the background is none other than C.J. Box. A fantastic picture to wrap up the series as well!

Thanks to all the memoirists, today: Charlie, Joe, and Jeff; I am speechless. You have graced my blog with your participation in this project. I am honored; I am grateful; I am over the moon.

I will follow up tomorrow with an "Acknowledgements Page" to this year's project and share my overall thank yous then. But rest assured, I have put this project back on the calendar for next year. I'm going to spend a little time collecting memoirs again and we'll have Season 2 start next summer.

Thanks everyone! Happy Reading!

FACES OF THE GONE - Brad Parks

FIRST LINE: "With all the vacant lots in Newark, New Jersey - and there were thousands of them - the Director could afford to be picky."

Carter Ross is an investigative reporter for the Newark Eagle-Examiner in New Jersey, so when four seemingly unrelated individuals wind up shot, execution-style in a vacant lot, Carter is off to investigate the case.

In an attempt to calm the neighborhood, the police pose a theory on the shootings, saying they were retaliation for a bar heist. Carter's boss charges him with getting the bar heist story for the paper, but Carter is suspicious and begins to investigate other avenues with the help of Tina Thompson, the Eagle-Examiner city editor and Tommy Hernandez, an intern with the paper.

Carter quickly finds himself waist-deep in more trouble than he ever anticipated, and he's counting on a prostitute and the 1987 Cleveland Browns line-up to help bail him out.

FACES OF THE GONE is Brad Parks' debut novel and, boy, did he ever knock my socks off. The plot of FACES OF THE GONE is intricate and well-developed. Parks' own background as a journalist may have helped him to keep the plot tight and moving. He does not waste words. What he does do amazingly well is depict humanity. As I've spoken with people about this book, I've regularly mentioned how often I was in awe of the images he created of this urban neighborhood, so accustomed to death:

"I had interviewed kids who bragged about how big their shrines would be when they got killed. They talked about it with a nonchalance that was chilling."

"Tee has a small storefront on Clinton Avenue. He and I became acquainted a few years back when I did a story about RIP T-shirts, which happen to be Tee's speciality. RIPs had become a disturbingly prevalent urban fashion trend: anytime some too-young kid got killed, his boys rushed to have a T-shirt made in his memory. Every RIP T-shirt was different, but they followed the a basic formula, featuring the deceased's photo, the dates of birth and death, and the words REST IN PEACE. The people who wore them essentially became walking tombstones."

"If Wanda had known the choices she was making would have left her dead before her thirtieth birthday, would she have chosen differently? Maybe. Except, of course, Wanda probably never thought about her thirtieth birthday. It's a common problem among the impoverished, the lack of future focus. People are so worried about surviving today they don't have the luxury of thinking about tomorrow."

And before you think, "wow, I'm not sure if I can read this; it sounds depressing," let me add the next layer to Parks' plot - humor. Despite the tragedy happening all around, Carter Ross manages to be hilarious without undermining the seriousness of the plot, as are some of the situations Carter finds himself in. The situations aren't absurd, they're funny. Much of it comes from Carter's perceptions and MIS-perceptions of the world around him:

"It's like lion prides. For years, researchers - sorry, male researchers - believed the boy lions duked it out for the right to breed with the girl lions, who were passive spectators in the whole thing. The record only got set straight when some female researchers came along and took a more careful look at the social dynamics in the pride that preceded the fight. It turns out much of the time the lionesses are really calling the shots, selecting the most fit breeding partner. The fights the boy lions have are merely a noisy confirmation of what the girl lions have already decided among themselves."

The final element of the plot that truly makes it great is the fact that it turns the old cliché of the "cops don't know what they're doing" on its head and shakes the coins out of its pockets. This is not a predictable plot by any stretch of the imagination.

Parks takes this complex plot, peppered with humor and mixes in his cast of rich, eccentric characters. Tommy, the gay Cuban intern; Tina, the biological clock-watching city editor; Red, the homeless Casanova; Tynesha, the exotic dancer/prostitute. And of course, the protagonist and narrator, investigative reporter Carter Ross:

"The things that allow me to blend into the tasteful décor at any of New Jersey's better suburban shopping malls - my side-parted hair, my preference for button-down-collared shirts and pressed slacks, my awkwardly upright carriage, my precise diction and bland anywhere-in-America accent - made me a circus freak in the hood. Most people I pass on the street are polite enough to merely stare. A few openly point. People are constantly asking me if I'm lost."

Carter is smart and funny and principled and flawed. He doesn't always make the best choices and he isn't always right. Instead, he's hysterically human.


I dare you not to fall in love with these characters. As eccentric as they are, I could completely imagine meeting every single last one of them; they come alive on the page and that makes the underlying themes of the book so much more powerful.

This is a debut that should NOT be missed! You will be seeing this title on my favorites list for 2009. Brad Parks has undoubtedly got "The Stuff"!

FACES OF THE GONE is available starting today from St. Martin's Minotaur (ISBN: 978-0-312-57477-2).