SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Heath Holland has interviewed me about the new Quarry novel, Quarry’s Reunion, the publication date of which is TODAY, Nov. 10 2026. It’s in depth, almost a full hour, and it’s a YouTube Premiere. It airs 10 a.m. Central today, Nov. 10, [One hour after this post! –Nate] and is accompanied by a live chat with both Heath and myself, just for the duration of the premiere. After the premiere broadcast the interview will of course still be available.
Actually, Quarry’s a little older than fifty, as I created him in 1972 at the Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa, where my class was pretty much underwhelmed by the first two chapters of Quarry (aka The Broker). My instructor, William Price Fox, wasn’t bowled over either. But when I sold two books not long after (Bait Money and No Cure for Death), I was suddenly taken a little more seriously, particularly since nobody else sold anything while I was in the Workshop.
I had to set that first Quarry novel aside when those two books sold, because the publisher requested sequels from both of them. When I came back to Quarry, I did so feeling I had something special – a concept of my own, as opposed to Nolan in Bait Money coming from Richard Stark/Donald E. Westlake, and Mallory in No Cure for Death representing Raymond Chandler and Mickey Spillane.
There was (and is) plenty of Stark and Chandler and Spillane in the Quarry novels, but the mix is mine and so is the evolving concept of a hitman hero. Not anti-hero: he has always been a good guy, in his bad way, to me.
But the four Quarry novels I wrote for Berkley Books published in 1976 and 1977 did not lead to the publisher requesting more entries in the series. I thought I had a tiger by the tail but it appeared to be just a mouse that briefly roared.
I went on about my business, including Nate Heller and his long successful run.
A funny thing happened on the way to Quarry’s apparent early demise: readers at mystery conventions would approach me liking the series – smart ones, like Bill Crider and Steve Mertz – and others would write me actual letters, in those pre-e-mail days, loving the novels.
When True Detective became a big deal, I had the opportunity to do various things of my choice. For example, I did a new Nolan and Jon novel for TOR (Spree, now from Hard Case Crime as Mad Money). And I did a new Quarry novel for a terrific boutique house, Foul Play Press.
It’s time to acknowledge the unsung hero of Quarry’s success. Louis Wilder, the editor at Foul Play Press, wanted to reprint all of the four existing Quarry novels in classy new editions, featuring my preferred titles. Berkley had retitled all of them, without telling me – I never knew what any of the first four Quarrys would be titled till I held each book in my hand.
Louis knew that I was unhappy in particular that my book Quarry had been published by Berkley as The Broker, and that the second novel, Quarry’s List, had been called by Berkley The Broker’s Wife – literally giving away a major plot point! Louis wanted to do all four and commissioned a new one, the first – and to date only – Quarry hardcover, Primary Target.
Ironically, when Charles Ardai reprinted the first five Quarry novels at Hard Case Crime, we decided to retitle that one Quarry’s Vote to make the titling pattern consistent.
Meanwhile, back in the ‘80s, Louis Wilder passed away. He was a fine editor and a good friend to me and Quarry; but we lost him. No other editor or publisher showed any interest in picking up this cult-ish series. Remember, as Don Westlake said, a cult writer is seven readers short of making a living.
But throughout the ‘90s, interest in Quarry bubbled. Fan mail continued. I would write occasional Quarry short stories, one of which, “A Matter of Principal,” was reprinted several times. That story also attracted the attention of a young filmmaker, Jeffrey Goodman, who pursued me for the rights to make a film from the story. I finally consented on the condition that I write the screenplay. It became an award-winning film festival favorite, and was shown at a Bouchercon to a great reaction.
This led to the Quarry feature film directed by Jeffrey and co-written by me, The Last Lullaby, which also became a film festival favorite. In addition, it generated a novelization of sorts, The Last Quarry, written from my initial draft of the screenplay before the film was shot.
While the short film was attracting attention and with the possibility of a feature brewing, Charles Ardai – a hero I’ve sung much about – responded to my offer to do an original novel for Hard Case Crime instead of just provide a reprint. I said I’d do a new book for reprint money if he could get me a Robert McGinnis cover.
He did.
The Last Quarry, as some of you know, was designed to put a button on this on-and-again-off-again series. But it would generate eleven more novels, including today’s Quarry’s Reunion.
The interview Heath did with me for the YouTube Premiere goes into how my late friend Jon McCrea had been a major influence on Quarry. He represented a smart, funny, normal-ish guy who went to Vietnam a Marine, did several tours, and came back damaged after having killed a lot of Viet Cong. Audie Murphy, the underrated actor who was also the most decorated soldier of World War II, was another influence. So were several other friends of mine who went to Vietnam, one of whom was a sweet, simple soul who returned hardbitten and unrecognizably the person I’d known (he was in my first rock band in high school).
It should be said that Quarry, despite all those influences, is me. I didn’t serve, unless you count my draft physical, but I was collateral damage. I drew a number that guaranteed I would serve and faced that fear with my lovely young wife (only my severe migraine headaches spared me). I saw body bags being loaded on transports as I ate my TV dinners getting numb to the violence. I lived with survivor’s guilt which beat dying heroic. I saw America change and not always in good ways. That war did no one any favors in this great country of ours. And on some level, the Quarry stories are always about that.
That a good guy from a small Midwestern town in Ohio could become a person who learned to kill as a perfectly reasonable option.
He goes home again in Quarry’s Reunion.
This long, uneven ride has somehow led to Quarry apparently being the longest-running series in mystery fiction – not by number of books and stories, but simply by lasting so many years.
I know how he feels.
Here’s a vintage appearance I made in 2002 in relation to the Quarry short film, “A Matter of Principal.” It’s a brief excerpt but may be of interest.
M.A.C.
