Barb and I (and for that matter our son Nate) are huge Nero Wolfe fans. Our preferred mode of enjoyment is the fine series of audio books read by Michael Pritchard, which Barb and I have listened to perhaps five times. I am also a fan of Bob Goldsborough’s continuation of Rex Stout’s great series – he was a role model for me in my work on Mickey’s unfinished novels.
So it was with particular pleasure and even a little pride that Barb and I learned that we’d been nominated for the Wolfe Pack’s prestigious Nero Award. This award is, rivaled only by the Edgar, the remaining award in mystery fiction that I still dream of winning – in part because it’s physically cool, being a bust of Wolfe himself. Read about it at the Rap Sheet, where you can see who the other three nominees are (like I’m going to tell you!).
The other big news this week is that top-flight actor Stellan Skadrsgard (THOR, THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO), has been cast as the Broker in the Cinemax QUARRY pilot. This will be a recurring role, if the pilot goes to series, at least for the first season (regular readers of the Quarry books know why the Broker will not likely be around for the long haul…).
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: I have learned that reviews of WHAT DOESN’T KILL HER cannot go up on Amazon until after the book has been published. So those of you got review copies from me will have to wait until then, although you can post at Goodreads any time and the also on blogs of your own. When the book comes out in September, I will remind you to post those reviews.
By the way – and this was mentioned in a comment response here, but many of you may not have seen it – I am close to signing with Hard Case Crime to do another Quarry novel, which I would write later this year. The title will probably be QUARRY’S CHOICE. It will not be a “list” novel, but will return to the period where Quarry works for the Broker. (THE WRONG QUARRY will be out in January, and I immodestly suggest it’s among the strongest in the series.)
Favorable reviews of COMPLEX 90 continue to roll in, but I really get a kick out of it when a young woman like the reviewer at Nerds in Babeland connects with Mike Hammer and his world, particularly a smart one who recognizes how strong Velda and the other female characters are.
A very well-conducted interview, part of the COMPLEX 90 blog tour, is here, at Celebrity Cafe.
And here’s another one, nicely handled by the interviewer, at blogcritics.
David Williams continues to review Heller novels in succinct, smart fashion, as in this look at BYE BYE, BABY.
And Just a Guy That Likes to Read liked reading TRUE CRIME very much, as his review indicates.
An annotated reprinting of my BATMAN comic strip story (illoed by the great Marshall Rogers) is here. I’ve posted this before, but this is a revised, expanded version.
And here’s a fun look at the “Barbara Allan” Marilyn Monroe thriller, BOMBSHELL, a book that really got lost between the cracks until Thomas & Mercer gave it a new lease on life.
M.A.C.
Tags: Antiques Disposal, Awards, Barbara Allan, Batman, Bombshell, Bye Bye Baby, Complex 90, Mike Hammer, Nathan Heller, Quarry TV, Quarry's Choice, Reviews, Spillane, The Wrong Quarry, Trash 'n' Treasures, True Crime, What Doesn't Kill Her
You mention Hard Case Crime here and I’m afraid I’m still
on my soap box about SK’s ‘Joyland’. Here’s a review that
is pretty much how I feel:
“I like very-very much Hard Case Crime books and think that some of King’s novels are rather interesting. But unfortunately this novel doesn’t belong to this series – too little suspense or even the absolute lack of it. ‘Joyland’ isn’t hard-boiled AT ALL and isn’t even stylish. ‘Ghost’ plot-line is unnecessary and didn’t add anything to the characters or even the plot. Mystery is solved at the last pages with the use of such an unfair device (hack writers love to use it) as deus ex machina.”
For those who don’t know, “Deus ex machina is a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem is suddenly and abruptly resolved, with the contrived and unexpected intervention of some new event, character, ability, or object. Depending on how it is done, it can be intended to move the story forward when the writer has “painted himself into a corner” and sees no other way out, to surprise the audience, to bring a happy ending into the tale..”
You’d think SK would be above such trickery, but alas, he’s not. It may
very well be good for Hard Case Crime that he’s thrown his hat in the
ring, I just wish it wasn’t a beanie with the propeller on top..