The current Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine has a story that is terribly inventive. Sadly, the author, Pablo Palacio, has been dead for some years. K.j.a. Wishnia has translated and introduced the story and it deserves to be known.
In the story, the narrator reads of a man who was kicked to death. The man had made his way to a police precinct before dying and when the police had asked who had kicked him and why, the victim's story is thin. Since the man dies soon after, the thin story is all there is. Or is it?
The narrator, after waiting a few days to see if more of the story comes out, takes it upon himself to investigate. Of course, he isn't a police officer and doesn't have anything more than the short news article, but he goes through a process of ratiocination (that's right, I said ratiocination...) that would have made Dupin envious. The narrator is clearly crazed, but he also seems to be clearly right in his deductions about the crime.
In any event, this is a story tha deserves to be read by many more and Wishnia and AHMM have done mystery lovers a great kindness. Here's hoping there are more Palacio stories out there.
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
"I Seen That" by S.J. Rozan
From: Once Upon a Crime: An Anthology of Murder, Mayhem, and Suspense ed. Gary R. Bush and Chris Everheart
In three pages, Rozan's contribution to an anthology honoring Minneapolis mystery bookshop Once Upon a Crime delivers a New York character as only Bronx-born Rozan could write him. In a one-sided conversation with bartender Frankie, he fills in the backstory behind a woman's murder just reported on the news.
In three pages, Rozan's contribution to an anthology honoring Minneapolis mystery bookshop Once Upon a Crime delivers a New York character as only Bronx-born Rozan could write him. In a one-sided conversation with bartender Frankie, he fills in the backstory behind a woman's murder just reported on the news.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
R.I.P. Stuart M. Kaminsky
Along with the rest of the mystery community, I was saddened to hear of the passing yesterday of former MWA Grandmaster Stuart M. Kaminsky at the age of 75. Kaminsky's prose was so personable, I felt I knew him though we had never met. Click here to read my previous coverage of Kaminsky's work on Nasty. Brutish. Short.
Friday, September 25, 2009
"Ten Gallons of Infected Saliva, or, The Cuckold, Avenged" by Scott Phillips
From: Uncage Me ed. Jen Jordan. Bleak House Books, 2009.
Leading off an anthology on the many forms of transgression, this story follows Amos, a college kid willing to work at a porno theater to accumulate the hours he needs to join the projectionist's union. Amos's wry narration reminded me of Lawrence Block's Chip Harrison, his voice so engaging as to almost make smut palatable.
One of Amos's friends, Tad, works at a funeral parlor and carries on an affair with his boss's wife, Beth. One night, Tad takes Beth to the theater, followed shortly by a man with a gun. Flustered, Amos lets the armed man into the theater, and he proceeds to shoot himself. Though the man's name is never mentioned, it's implied he is Beth's husband, Tad's boss. That this shooting is the only act I considered a crime in this story testifies to the persuasive power of Phillips's writing.
You can also hear Phillips read this story at Seth Harwood's CrimeWAV.
Leading off an anthology on the many forms of transgression, this story follows Amos, a college kid willing to work at a porno theater to accumulate the hours he needs to join the projectionist's union. Amos's wry narration reminded me of Lawrence Block's Chip Harrison, his voice so engaging as to almost make smut palatable.
One of Amos's friends, Tad, works at a funeral parlor and carries on an affair with his boss's wife, Beth. One night, Tad takes Beth to the theater, followed shortly by a man with a gun. Flustered, Amos lets the armed man into the theater, and he proceeds to shoot himself. Though the man's name is never mentioned, it's implied he is Beth's husband, Tad's boss. That this shooting is the only act I considered a crime in this story testifies to the persuasive power of Phillips's writing.
You can also hear Phillips read this story at Seth Harwood's CrimeWAV.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Homework by Phil Lovesey
The latest EQMM has a story by the son of one of my favorite short story writers, Peter Lovesey. Phil Lovesey's story, "Homework" is a good crime story told in an interesting way - a tenth grader's homework essay. Now, there is a danger in a tenth grader's essay - to make it seem authentic, the author, no matter how skilled, must make the essay read poorly. In the case of this story, for instance, there are a fair number of run on sentences. Oh, and digressions. And fairly superficial readings of Hamlet. If you've taught English, you know what I'm talking about.
But these things don't ever overwhelm the story. And the story is a good one. The student feels she's been slighted by the teacher who asked for the assignment, and she has learned some details about that teacher that he might not want divulged. Things go downhill for the teacher from there. And he won't know who has devised his doom until he reads the homework assignments. For reasons I won't give away, it might be a while before he gets to them.
Anyway, if you want a good story told in a unique manner, try out the latest EQMM.
But these things don't ever overwhelm the story. And the story is a good one. The student feels she's been slighted by the teacher who asked for the assignment, and she has learned some details about that teacher that he might not want divulged. Things go downhill for the teacher from there. And he won't know who has devised his doom until he reads the homework assignments. For reasons I won't give away, it might be a while before he gets to them.
Anyway, if you want a good story told in a unique manner, try out the latest EQMM.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
The Case of the Piss-Poor Gold by Lee Goldberg
Lee Goldberg is the author of the Monk novels based on Adrian Monk, one of the more colorful detectives ever put together. If you don't know, Monk is a brilliant man beset by just about every obssessive-compulsive behavior possible. This story, however, is not about ADRIAN Monk. It's about a distant relative, Artemis Monk who solves crimes (in his spare time) in a California gold rush town that's still in its unclean infancy.The story is told by Mrs. Guthrie, his assistant.
The main crux of the story is how a town drunk who literally pisses about town (to Monk's grief) was able to sell a land claim that seems to contain plenty of gold now, but had previously been determined to be barren. As the town's only assayer, Monk can testify about the former barrenness. As Monk, he can figure out what crime was committed to make the land have more gold in it now.
I'll have to say I hadn't thought of the solution ahead of time which is always a good sign, but this story is more than just a good puzzle (or two, Monk also quickly wraps up a murder - his powers are prodigous). It is also a good portrait of a mining town and its inhabitants, paying particular attention to the dirt. More importantly for me, the story had me laugh out loud a couple of times, and that is a terribly difficult thing to do on paper. Most funny lines die once written down, but not in Goldberg's hands. That's magic. Well worth the price of the latest Ellery Queen.
The main crux of the story is how a town drunk who literally pisses about town (to Monk's grief) was able to sell a land claim that seems to contain plenty of gold now, but had previously been determined to be barren. As the town's only assayer, Monk can testify about the former barrenness. As Monk, he can figure out what crime was committed to make the land have more gold in it now.
I'll have to say I hadn't thought of the solution ahead of time which is always a good sign, but this story is more than just a good puzzle (or two, Monk also quickly wraps up a murder - his powers are prodigous). It is also a good portrait of a mining town and its inhabitants, paying particular attention to the dirt. More importantly for me, the story had me laugh out loud a couple of times, and that is a terribly difficult thing to do on paper. Most funny lines die once written down, but not in Goldberg's hands. That's magic. Well worth the price of the latest Ellery Queen.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
"Discovery" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
From: Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, November 2008.
Pia Cardenas, solo attorney in a small New Mexico town, represents Nan Hughes. Nan's husband, Ty, tried to outrun a train in his truck and supposedly died in the resulting crash. Shortly before he died, Ty left a voicemail for Nan, confessing to trying to beat the train. Not only does the evidence seem stacked against her, but Pia also feels overwhelmed by the large law firm representing the railroad.
Leaning toward asking Nan to settle, Pia nevertheless covers all her bases, running down the list of witnesses. Her legwork pays off as she discovers the truth behind the accident. This is a classic David vs. Goliath story livened up by Pia's epiphany that she prefers working solo in a small town to a job with a more prominent firm.
While Pia isn't a private investigator by name, "Discovery" has many of the best characteristics of the P.I. story. I can see why it was nominated for a Shamus Award by the Private Eye Writers of America.
Pia Cardenas, solo attorney in a small New Mexico town, represents Nan Hughes. Nan's husband, Ty, tried to outrun a train in his truck and supposedly died in the resulting crash. Shortly before he died, Ty left a voicemail for Nan, confessing to trying to beat the train. Not only does the evidence seem stacked against her, but Pia also feels overwhelmed by the large law firm representing the railroad.
Leaning toward asking Nan to settle, Pia nevertheless covers all her bases, running down the list of witnesses. Her legwork pays off as she discovers the truth behind the accident. This is a classic David vs. Goliath story livened up by Pia's epiphany that she prefers working solo in a small town to a job with a more prominent firm.
While Pia isn't a private investigator by name, "Discovery" has many of the best characteristics of the P.I. story. I can see why it was nominated for a Shamus Award by the Private Eye Writers of America.
Friday, August 21, 2009
NBS Special Report: 2009 Shamus Award Nominees
Announced by the Private Eye Writers of America:
For Best Short Story:
“Family Values,” by Mitch Alderman (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine [AHMM], June 2008)
“Last Island South,” by John C. Boland (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine [EQMM], September/October 2008)
“The Blonde Tigress,” by Max Allan Collins (EQMM, June 2008)
“Discovery,” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (AHMM, November 2008)
“Panic on Portage Path,” by Dick Stodghill (AHMM, January/February 2008)
For Best Short Story:
“Family Values,” by Mitch Alderman (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine [AHMM], June 2008)
“Last Island South,” by John C. Boland (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine [EQMM], September/October 2008)
“The Blonde Tigress,” by Max Allan Collins (EQMM, June 2008)
“Discovery,” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (AHMM, November 2008)
“Panic on Portage Path,” by Dick Stodghill (AHMM, January/February 2008)
Monday, August 10, 2009
Interview with Blake Crouch
Blake Crouch is known for his psychological thrillers like Desert Places and his latest novel Abandon.* He's also recently turned his hands at the short story form. I reviewed one of his stories, "Shining Rock," last week after it ran in EQMM and he has another story out sharing space in an anthology, Uncage Me!, with one of my Stoop, the Thief stories. He was kind enough to take time away from work and family and answer a few questions for me:
1 - If it doesn't reveal too much about the plot, can you talk about the genesis of the "Shining Rock" story?
When I was a boy, I did a lot of backpacking with my parents and younger brother, and one of our favorite places to go was Shining Rock Wilderness in the North Carolina Mountains . One summer evening as we were setting up camp in a remote area of the wilderness called Beech Spring Gap, a gentleman came over to our camp and introduced himself. He was a burly fellow in his fifties wearing blue shorts and a vest brimming with camping accessories and various patches. He also had a machete lashed to his back and mentioned in the course of small-talk that he’d fought in Vietnam . The interaction was unsettling and more than a little awkward. I was twelve at the time but found out years later from my father that he’d been terrified, so much in fact that he and my mom had whispered in their tent late that night, debating leaving because they were afraid this man was going to come back and murder all of us while we slept. Obviously, that didn’t happen. My family struck up a friendship with the man (who turned out to be a gentle soul) and we accompanied him on future backpacking trips. But the strangeness of that initial encounter and the fear my parents must have felt never left me, and the experience inspired a short story called “Shining Rock.”
2 - You've also written a story for the anthology UNCAGE ME called "*69". That story has a seriously creepy element to it. Do you work on creepiness or does it spring naturally?
Well, in full disclosure, you have a story in UNCAGE ME called "The Biography of Stoop, the Thief" which I thought was just first-rate and had a real delicate emotional core. Might be my favorite of the collection. Creepiness does tend to infiltrate my writing. I think it's the shady side of human nature that fascinates me (all of us crime writers, right?). So far, I've been devoted to exploring how far down our depravity goes (bottomless I think), but I'm trying as of late, to see the way out. We know we're bad, but so what? What do we do about it? The dicey morality stuff is infinitely harder.
3 - Is short story writing fundamentally different from novel writing for you?
Yes, I think it's much more difficult. With a short story, I'll only start writing one if the idea is very strong, self-contained, and something I'm just dying to do. It's one of the hardest forms of writing I think, because it also has to have a twist, and I don't mean a surprise ending, but a tension between reader expectation and what actually happens, no matter how small. Otherwise it's just like reading the alphabet. I also find that unlike novels, with short fiction, I can put it aside for months at a time, and then come back to it. My stories really benefit from that time away, but if I took off that much time from a novel in progress, I'd lose it. But I love writing short fiction. When it works, it just flat-out works. Like a gut-punch.
4 - Any favorite short story writers in or out of the genre that readers should be aware of?
Well, the old pros...Raymond Carver, Elmore Leonard, Lawrence Block. I love Annie Proulx's stuff. Adam Haslett's first short story collection YOU ARE NOT A STRANGER HERE really made me want to start writing short fiction.
5 - Any short stories coming in the immediate future?
My story, "Remaking" just came out in the THRILLER 2 anthology, as well as an audio exclusive called "On the Good, Red Road " that I recorded as a bonus for the Brilliance Audiobook of ABANDON. Of course, there was the abomination called SERIAL I wrote with JA Konrath which is far and away the most messed-up thing I've written. His publisher, Grand Central, made it available everywhere as a free eBook. So with 5 stories out this year, that may be it for 2009. I've got two longer short stories that I'm really happy with, and one more I still need to rework. The two that are finished are on submission, so you know how that goes. Could see them this year, maybe next, maybe never. It's a tough business.
My many thanks to Blake for taking the time.
1 - If it doesn't reveal too much about the plot, can you talk about the genesis of the "Shining Rock" story?
When I was a boy, I did a lot of backpacking with my parents and younger brother, and one of our favorite places to go was Shining Rock Wilderness in the North Carolina Mountains . One summer evening as we were setting up camp in a remote area of the wilderness called Beech Spring Gap, a gentleman came over to our camp and introduced himself. He was a burly fellow in his fifties wearing blue shorts and a vest brimming with camping accessories and various patches. He also had a machete lashed to his back and mentioned in the course of small-talk that he’d fought in Vietnam . The interaction was unsettling and more than a little awkward. I was twelve at the time but found out years later from my father that he’d been terrified, so much in fact that he and my mom had whispered in their tent late that night, debating leaving because they were afraid this man was going to come back and murder all of us while we slept. Obviously, that didn’t happen. My family struck up a friendship with the man (who turned out to be a gentle soul) and we accompanied him on future backpacking trips. But the strangeness of that initial encounter and the fear my parents must have felt never left me, and the experience inspired a short story called “Shining Rock.”
2 - You've also written a story for the anthology UNCAGE ME called "*69". That story has a seriously creepy element to it. Do you work on creepiness or does it spring naturally?
Well, in full disclosure, you have a story in UNCAGE ME called "The Biography of Stoop, the Thief" which I thought was just first-rate and had a real delicate emotional core. Might be my favorite of the collection. Creepiness does tend to infiltrate my writing. I think it's the shady side of human nature that fascinates me (all of us crime writers, right?). So far, I've been devoted to exploring how far down our depravity goes (bottomless I think), but I'm trying as of late, to see the way out. We know we're bad, but so what? What do we do about it? The dicey morality stuff is infinitely harder.
3 - Is short story writing fundamentally different from novel writing for you?
Yes, I think it's much more difficult. With a short story, I'll only start writing one if the idea is very strong, self-contained, and something I'm just dying to do. It's one of the hardest forms of writing I think, because it also has to have a twist, and I don't mean a surprise ending, but a tension between reader expectation and what actually happens, no matter how small. Otherwise it's just like reading the alphabet. I also find that unlike novels, with short fiction, I can put it aside for months at a time, and then come back to it. My stories really benefit from that time away, but if I took off that much time from a novel in progress, I'd lose it. But I love writing short fiction. When it works, it just flat-out works. Like a gut-punch.
4 - Any favorite short story writers in or out of the genre that readers should be aware of?
Well, the old pros...Raymond Carver, Elmore Leonard, Lawrence Block. I love Annie Proulx's stuff. Adam Haslett's first short story collection YOU ARE NOT A STRANGER HERE really made me want to start writing short fiction.
5 - Any short stories coming in the immediate future?
My story, "Remaking" just came out in the THRILLER 2 anthology, as well as an audio exclusive called "On the Good, Red Road " that I recorded as a bonus for the Brilliance Audiobook of ABANDON. Of course, there was the abomination called SERIAL I wrote with JA Konrath which is far and away the most messed-up thing I've written. His publisher, Grand Central, made it available everywhere as a free eBook. So with 5 stories out this year, that may be it for 2009. I've got two longer short stories that I'm really happy with, and one more I still need to rework. The two that are finished are on submission, so you know how that goes. Could see them this year, maybe next, maybe never. It's a tough business.
My many thanks to Blake for taking the time.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Shining Rock by Blake Crouch
The May 2009 issue of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine contains a story by suspense write Blake Crouch. Blake, a friend of mine and stablemate at St. Martin's Press, tends to write stories with a fairly high creepiness factor sometimes accompanied by gore, but not in this case. The suspense is all there. You know bad things are going to happen. It's just hard to tell to whom and who by.
In the story, a couple facing middle age are hiking to a remote area of the woods for their annual camping trip. This is the first time in a long while they've been without their children, and after a few drinks at night, they get a visit from a lonely man with a very sad story. There is an air of menance about him, and the couple is creeped out. When he finally makes his way back to his camp, the couple discuss the man's story and, well... let's just say the story resonates with them in a strange way. Unexpected (at least by me) and the couple decides, after analyzing the story and the coincidence of being encountered in the lonliest part of the woods, that the man is out to kill them. How they react to this tidbit, however, makes the story. Well, that and the last thing the lonely man says.
Anyway, Crouch certainly knows suspense, and this was a grand example. Read the intro to the story at the link.
In the story, a couple facing middle age are hiking to a remote area of the woods for their annual camping trip. This is the first time in a long while they've been without their children, and after a few drinks at night, they get a visit from a lonely man with a very sad story. There is an air of menance about him, and the couple is creeped out. When he finally makes his way back to his camp, the couple discuss the man's story and, well... let's just say the story resonates with them in a strange way. Unexpected (at least by me) and the couple decides, after analyzing the story and the coincidence of being encountered in the lonliest part of the woods, that the man is out to kill them. How they react to this tidbit, however, makes the story. Well, that and the last thing the lonely man says.
Anyway, Crouch certainly knows suspense, and this was a grand example. Read the intro to the story at the link.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
The Incense Murder by I.J. Parker
The September 2009 Alfred Hitchcock has a story from one of my favorite mystery short story writers, IJ Parker. Parker's main character is Sugawara (try saying that 3 times, fast) Akitada. The setting is 11 century Japan, Heian-Kyo (modern Kyoto). The stories generally revolve around some aspect of Japanese culture of the period, often they take place during festivals, for instance.
In this case, Akitada is asked to investigate a murder that may just have been caused by burning incense. The person asking him to look into the case had no love for the deceased but thinks the real target was himself. And who himself is is important to the tale - Akitada's cousin, a wealthy man who hasn't hidden his dislike of Akitada's and his mother but, since he is a blood relation, may just leave Akitada and mom a fortune when he dies.
Akitada, always very smart, takes the case, gets to the bottom of things and ends the story pretty much under arrest though with a chance he'll be set free. How he got into this mess is one of the several twists you'll have to read the story to figure out. Another homerun from IJ Parker.
I see from her website that her next Akitada book is on its way to bookstores. It's called "The Convict's Sword" and it has already garnered a rave from Publisher's Weekly: "Besides smoothly mixing action and deduction, Parker gives her protagonist an emotional depth that raises her to the front rank of contemporary historical writers." This is a starred review. Can't wait...
By the way, if you've never read an IJ Parker story, let me help you up from your benighted position. Here's a link.
In this case, Akitada is asked to investigate a murder that may just have been caused by burning incense. The person asking him to look into the case had no love for the deceased but thinks the real target was himself. And who himself is is important to the tale - Akitada's cousin, a wealthy man who hasn't hidden his dislike of Akitada's and his mother but, since he is a blood relation, may just leave Akitada and mom a fortune when he dies.
Akitada, always very smart, takes the case, gets to the bottom of things and ends the story pretty much under arrest though with a chance he'll be set free. How he got into this mess is one of the several twists you'll have to read the story to figure out. Another homerun from IJ Parker.
I see from her website that her next Akitada book is on its way to bookstores. It's called "The Convict's Sword" and it has already garnered a rave from Publisher's Weekly: "Besides smoothly mixing action and deduction, Parker gives her protagonist an emotional depth that raises her to the front rank of contemporary historical writers." This is a starred review. Can't wait...
By the way, if you've never read an IJ Parker story, let me help you up from your benighted position. Here's a link.
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
"The Perfect Sucker", by Leslie Charteris
From: Thanks to the Saint, Pocket Books, 1957.
Sometimes Simon Templar, better known as The Saint, isn't looking for trouble. Sometimes he just wants to kick back, relax, and enjoy himself. And it's true that there's nothing he likes better than seeing come to a just end, that wears on a man. Sometimes he just wants to go fishing.
Which he does, at a fishing camp on the Rogue River in Oregon. But his trip turns into a busman's holiday when he's taken for a mark by a couple of crafty con men working a sweet scheme. Or so it seems...
The Saint stories have a unique charm and are great entertainment, despite the fact that Simon Templar himself should come across as an insufferably smug English twit. He comes across as a wittier James Bond - a jack of all trades, admired by men, irresistible to women, etc etc, righting wrongs for his own amusement instead of Queen and country. But just this once he nearly puts his foot in it, and badly enough that he'd never forgive himself. As usual, chance smiles upon him, and he eventually finds a way to put things right.
These stories are nearly forgotten today, but I can't recommend them enough. Especially good is The Best of The Saint, Vol. 2, with a forward by Sir Roger Moore.
Sometimes Simon Templar, better known as The Saint, isn't looking for trouble. Sometimes he just wants to kick back, relax, and enjoy himself. And it's true that there's nothing he likes better than seeing come to a just end, that wears on a man. Sometimes he just wants to go fishing.
Which he does, at a fishing camp on the Rogue River in Oregon. But his trip turns into a busman's holiday when he's taken for a mark by a couple of crafty con men working a sweet scheme. Or so it seems...
The Saint stories have a unique charm and are great entertainment, despite the fact that Simon Templar himself should come across as an insufferably smug English twit. He comes across as a wittier James Bond - a jack of all trades, admired by men, irresistible to women, etc etc, righting wrongs for his own amusement instead of Queen and country. But just this once he nearly puts his foot in it, and badly enough that he'd never forgive himself. As usual, chance smiles upon him, and he eventually finds a way to put things right.
These stories are nearly forgotten today, but I can't recommend them enough. Especially good is The Best of The Saint, Vol. 2, with a forward by Sir Roger Moore.
Monday, June 29, 2009
EQMM and AHMM Giveaway
I've got a dozen (or more) EQMM/AHMM magazines from the last year or three sitting around clogging up bookshelf space. Anyone want them? Leave a comment to that effect and I'll check back tomorrow. If there's more than one interested party, I'll pick from a hat. Same contest at my blog so you have two chances to win (that is, I've got two boxes of magazines primed for the post office...)
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
"Guy Walks Into a Bar..." by Lee Child
Published in The New York Times (June 6, 2009).
Child's contribution to the Times' Summer Thrills fiction series starts with a girl who catches Jack Reacher's eye at a Greenwich Village bar in the wee hours. She's no older than nineteen, Russian, and Reacher's instincts tell him she's about to be kidnapped. Longtime fans balance a trust in Reacher's take on most situations with the knowledge that, sooner or later, Child will upend expectations. When he does it is the surprise.
Child's contribution to the Times' Summer Thrills fiction series starts with a girl who catches Jack Reacher's eye at a Greenwich Village bar in the wee hours. She's no older than nineteen, Russian, and Reacher's instincts tell him she's about to be kidnapped. Longtime fans balance a trust in Reacher's take on most situations with the knowledge that, sooner or later, Child will upend expectations. When he does it is the surprise.
Monday, June 08, 2009
"Heat" by Toni McGee Causey
Toni McGee Causey just tweeted about this story, calling it a very hot, sexy prequel to her novel series starring Bobbie Faye Sumrall. I've heard good buzz about Toni's series and have her first book on my shelf, but have yet to get to it, which allows me to give a first-time reader's account of "Heat".
No crime or mystery is at the center of this story. Bobbie Faye's best friend Cam, an LSU quarterback-turned-state policeman, has just helped her out of a bad relationship, and the two of them are preparing a crawfish boil. The story starts from Bobbie Faye's viewpoint. She's annoyed with Cam, wishing he'd see her as more than a friend. Causey then switches to Cam's viewpoint, and it turns out the attraction is mutual. The story ends in a connection that isn't very graphic, but serves to release the sexual tension just the same.
Events are alluded to and enough of Bobbie Faye's voice comes through that I want to read and fill in the rest.
No crime or mystery is at the center of this story. Bobbie Faye's best friend Cam, an LSU quarterback-turned-state policeman, has just helped her out of a bad relationship, and the two of them are preparing a crawfish boil. The story starts from Bobbie Faye's viewpoint. She's annoyed with Cam, wishing he'd see her as more than a friend. Causey then switches to Cam's viewpoint, and it turns out the attraction is mutual. The story ends in a connection that isn't very graphic, but serves to release the sexual tension just the same.
Events are alluded to and enough of Bobbie Faye's voice comes through that I want to read and fill in the rest.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Shanks on Misdirection by Robert Lopresti
I've just gotten into Robert Lopresti's long running Shanks series, and they're quite cool. The main character, Leopold Longshanks is a professional mystery writer and more than a little crumudgeonly. In the last story I reviewed, Shanks skewered a self-published author. In this one, he has troubles with writer of nasty reviews and a cozy writer who prefers to be called a "traditional" mystery writer. When the cozy writer's husband talks about having his ATM card eaten by the machine, Shanks suspects something more sinister than a simple ATM malfunction.
In any event, the mystery of this story is relatively slight (though those not knowledgeable of short cons might take a tip or two here) but the story makes up for that in attitude. Shanks and his wife have a healthy back and forth as does Shanks and just about anybody else. Getting back at the reviewer is a nice extra in the story.
In any event, the mystery of this story is relatively slight (though those not knowledgeable of short cons might take a tip or two here) but the story makes up for that in attitude. Shanks and his wife have a healthy back and forth as does Shanks and just about anybody else. Getting back at the reviewer is a nice extra in the story.
Friday, May 22, 2009
"Follow Up" by Jo Dereske
From: The Prosecution Rests ed. Linda Fairstein. Little, Brown, and Co., 2009.
In the middle of a blizzard, Michigan parole board member Jeff Willett comes to the aid of a woman stranded in the snow. He learns the woman is the mother of a possible parolee, Danny Hartman, who served time of holding up a 7-Eleven. Desperate to deliver letters in favor of Danny's parole, Danny's mother breaks from Jeff when his car runs off the road.
Jeff searches for her for a while, but when he meets with Danny, the kid seems unwilling to talk or accept possible help from his mother. I wasn't sure whether Jeff wanted to help Danny's mother reach the parole board or if he just wanted to avoid the complications her letters would bring. Either way, this story is a well-delivered, bleak look at the system.
In the middle of a blizzard, Michigan parole board member Jeff Willett comes to the aid of a woman stranded in the snow. He learns the woman is the mother of a possible parolee, Danny Hartman, who served time of holding up a 7-Eleven. Desperate to deliver letters in favor of Danny's parole, Danny's mother breaks from Jeff when his car runs off the road.
Jeff searches for her for a while, but when he meets with Danny, the kid seems unwilling to talk or accept possible help from his mother. I wasn't sure whether Jeff wanted to help Danny's mother reach the parole board or if he just wanted to avoid the complications her letters would bring. Either way, this story is a well-delivered, bleak look at the system.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
NBS Special Report: 2009 Best Short Story Edgar
As Twittered by Sarah Weinman and posted to The Rap Sheet:
Best Short Story: “Skinhead Central,” by T. Jefferson Parker (from The Blue Religion, edited by Michael Connelly; Little, Brown)
Also nominated: “A Sleep Not Unlike Death,” by Sean Chercover (from Hardcore Hardboiled, edited by Todd Robinson; Kensington Publishing); “Skin and Bones,” by David Edgerley Gate (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, October 2008); “Scratch of a Woman,” by Laura Lippman (from Hardly Knew Her; Morrow); and “La Vie en Rose,” by Dominique Mainard (from Paris Noir; edited by Aurelien Masson; Akashic Books)
Best Short Story: “Skinhead Central,” by T. Jefferson Parker (from The Blue Religion, edited by Michael Connelly; Little, Brown)
Also nominated: “A Sleep Not Unlike Death,” by Sean Chercover (from Hardcore Hardboiled, edited by Todd Robinson; Kensington Publishing); “Skin and Bones,” by David Edgerley Gate (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, October 2008); “Scratch of a Woman,” by Laura Lippman (from Hardly Knew Her; Morrow); and “La Vie en Rose,” by Dominique Mainard (from Paris Noir; edited by Aurelien Masson; Akashic Books)
Monday, April 20, 2009
G. Miki Hayden, Redux
A couple of weeks ago I posted the first part of an interview with one of my favorite short story writers*. Then I lost internet service for a few days, then life got in the way, now I'm back to finish what I started. In fact, what follows is the entire interview. The first two Q&As duplicate what I posted some time ago. Enjoy:
ST: I really love your Miriam Obadah stories for AHMM. I find them moving besides being good mysteries. Do you concentrate on one aspect (emotion) instead of another (puzzle) at different times as you write or do the stories just come together as the reader sees them?
GMH: Thanks so much, Steve.
I don’t concentrate on one aspect and then layer in other aspects of a story when I write. I also rarely restructure. I write and then polish. However, while I certainly think that writing everything at the same time produces a more cohesive piece, I also will suggest that students (I teach for Writer’s Digest at Writers Online Workshops) can layer in elements later on if they aren’t able to provide them in the initial draft.
The most common essentials that students will miss in their writing are emotion, setting, and point-of-view character internals.
The eliciting of emotion is definitely an important fundamental of fiction, but that’s probably the hardest thing for writers to do. So I don’t really mean that, as creating suspense, tension, the onset of romance, or even reader sorrow is extremely difficult. If someone can actually trigger reader feelings—wonderful—she may make a lot of money selling her manuscripts. But if she can’t, then she can at least include the mechanical representation of these sensations. We are always able to write, “His heart thudded in his chest and he thought he would faint.” That will substitute for the real thing in many instances, and a writer does need to have at least some of that to round out any story.
As for setting, I encourage students to sketch in a few specifics, but also to keep the setting alive throughout a scene. For instance, if the characters are in deep conversation in a school cafeteria, let’s hear a little bit of the noise—the crash of trays, the laughter of the kids—and maybe even see someone slide on spilt milk. But I say sketch in these details, because the setting shouldn’t take away from the dialogue. It should simply create part of the reality, the background part.
The other most-often-missing element in fiction by new writers is point-of-view character thought. And some of this can be emotional as well, so I don’t entirely separate the two. The more the writer lets the reader know what’s going on with the character, the fuller the story becomes for his audience. Of course this, too, has to be paced out, and has to be on focus for the scene and the story. As writers, we don’t want to give stream of consciousness, but we also don’t want readers to be in the dark as to what the character believes, in regard to the situation.
I said I mostly don’t restructure, but sometimes I do, and the times when I do, I restructure the opening. The opening, especially of a short story, has to be quick and offer the hook as soon as possible. Writers often feel the need to “develop” or to “set up” the story, but less here is more. We can start quickly and then come back, and through internals give more development and setup.
ST: Do you have any methods either for the generation of short story ideas or for the writing process that you can share?
Ideas are everywhere, so instead of talking about how to generate them, I’ll say that once a writer has an idea and has started a project he ought to stick with that until he’s done. Worse than not being able to come up with an idea is not being able to carry through the writing to the end. I think that’s a chronic difficulty. Trust me, no story idea is significantly better than any other. No idea is “the” idea. The treatment of the idea is what really counts.
With a short story—as opposed to a full-length manuscript—I generally prefer to have a fairly well-formed sense of what I’m writing when I sit down to do the draft. I find that thinking through the logic of the story and knowing where it’s going can make the writing process a whole lot easier.
On the other hand, not everyone works in the same way, and not every piece will proceed along the same path, either. Writers do have to learn to trust their own processes. But I’m suggesting that if someone works out the short story plot in his head before he sits down, he’ll find the writing flows more easily.
That’s harder with a novel of course. Novels are longer. I don’t say that to be facetious exactly, but people do sometimes ask what the difference is between writing a short story and writing a novel. That novels are longer is pretty much my answer as to the difference. The length of the work affects the pacing of the story arc and may even account for the proverbial “sagging middle” of the novel—the segment of the manuscript where the writer herself sags and has no idea what to do next with her characters. (The answer is—push through to the end.)
ST: Your stories have been nominated for and won awards. Care to give the genesis for one or two of them?
GMH: Again, it’s not the idea, really. What makes a story successful is the execution. And believe me, too, a story can be successful and never be published, much less nominated for anything. Selling a story is the goal, but it’s not the actual hallmark of success. I just this year sold two stories I’ve been trying to sell for a number of years. I look at it as having finally found the proper markets. The stories didn’t change, but I found markets that really wanted this exact type of material. These, by the way, are stories with Middle Eastern protagonists—Moslems.
Some of the stories I’ve sold immediately, however, were stories I completely geared to a specific market with very exact requirements. In that case, I sat down and generated the idea and the story based on what the publication or anthology wanted. For instance, I did have a story nominated for a Derringer, and that story appeared in Babs Lakey’s anthology entitled DIME. Obviously she wanted something a little bit on the pulp side. What I did in writing “The Girl in Apartment 2A” was to take an idea and a character I had for a novel and turn it into a story. In this case I already had the character and her particulars and the story was sort of a prequel to what I felt would work for a novel.
I think, in other words, that writers can use short stories to test out characters they might want to write more about. Writers might also want to test a few themes that interest them, such as a period of history or a setting. Or a continuing protagonist.
But let me backtrack a little in explaining the execution side since I’ve mention that a couple of times. What I mean here is that the writer must add something to the story that makes it stand out. What will make a story rise above the rest might be the complexity of the background. Maybe the writer can charge the story up with a Wall Street setting that seems to jump from the pages of the Wall Street Journal. The story is timely and adds a chilling depth of financial detail in describing a multibillion dollar, even deadly, fraud.
Or maybe the story replicates the plot of a well-known novel from another era—but in the end adds an exciting twist. Or the story may bring in rich historical detail, which is something I myself like to do. I had a story published last year that was set in 1826, during the building of Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York. ...That was inspired, actually, by a visit some folks from our MWA chapter made to Sing Sing in the company of fellow member, federal Judge Andy Peck.
While I do know of some stories about the spouse buried in the back garden that then flourishes or a rival writer tricked into eating certain foods that have gone on and won prizes, this is the exception rather than the rule. Trite and tried may conquer in the end, but not usually. Generally speaking, we should attempt to present a finely etched, well-developed, different sort of story if we want to compete in a market as crowded as this one for short stories is.
ST: You also write sci-fi. Do you find there's a big difference in how you go about constructing your stories depending on the genre?
GMH: In writing science fiction, unless the setting is a known one into which I introduce changes, I probably do much less research while writing. What I’ve done with a lot of my science fiction stories, however, has been to write them as mysteries—or as crime fiction. The beauty of the mystery story is that with a high-stakes, well-focused situation, the format of the story is in some sense a given and has an automatic power. Here, instead of researching the setting, you can think one up. However, research can actually apply in science fiction in many instances. For instance, an alien species can be based on earthly reptiles or types of insects. Or the intergalactic society we write about might have as its counterpart the culture of a South American Indian tribe. Or we may need to research the latest in particle physics to find a way to explain our multiverses.
The actual construction of the story, however, will be pretty much the same in science fiction or in mystery or even in romance—plotted around a central aim of the protagonist, or a central conflict. The protagonist makes progress, is stymied, makes progress, is blocked, overcomes, and eventually wins the day. How many conflicts then depends on the length of the story. Yes, really.
ST: What short story writers--mystery or otherwise—have inspired you?
GMH: Offhand I can think of three short stories that have really inspired me. One was by Dostoevsky and it simply overwhelmed me with the reality of the character and the protagonist’s situation. The story, “White Nights,” has been adapted for the screen several times, and a new digital version—transposed to L.A.—apparently will come out some time soon. I guess I wasn’t the only one to react to the story.
Another story, and I recall neither the author nor the story’s title, was set in the not-too-distant future in which the earth is simply overcrowded with people. This story featured each of the points of view of all the roommates (several) in one small apartment. I’ve never read a short story before or since with so many protagonists or one that gave such a strong feeling of a realistic, possible future for mankind.
The third story that influenced me I remember exactly nothing about except my impression. This story ran in a major magazine, a market that paid a lot for the story. And reading that story, I understood why it had been chosen—because in the end my emotions were profoundly affected. The story delved much more deeply than most stories do. The author made more extreme choices in the details than we typically do as writers. And thus the story had real impact and was published in a significant magazine.
I’ll add my impressions of a fourth story, one by a well-thought-of mystery writer. The writing was exceptionally skilled, and the story very different. It was, in fact, written in second person, and how often is that done? However, I found the story despicable and pointless. It had no moral, ethical center, and thus was simply, to me, an exercise in inhumanity. Writing that doesn’t do something to raise us all up (even writing about crime from a psychopath’s point of view can fly the flag of the radiant)—writing that doesn’t contribute to the betterment of our common situation on this earth either through pure entertainment or illumination—is to me without purpose. We writers create as well as reflect our civilization; we thus have a responsibility. That well-paid-for, well-published story also inspired me, but in a completely different respect. Even for writers (as with physicians), the motto should be “first do no harm.”
G. Miki Hayden is the author of The Naked Writer, a comprehensive, easy-to-read style and composition guide for all levels of writers.
ST: I really love your Miriam Obadah stories for AHMM. I find them moving besides being good mysteries. Do you concentrate on one aspect (emotion) instead of another (puzzle) at different times as you write or do the stories just come together as the reader sees them?
GMH: Thanks so much, Steve.
I don’t concentrate on one aspect and then layer in other aspects of a story when I write. I also rarely restructure. I write and then polish. However, while I certainly think that writing everything at the same time produces a more cohesive piece, I also will suggest that students (I teach for Writer’s Digest at Writers Online Workshops) can layer in elements later on if they aren’t able to provide them in the initial draft.
The most common essentials that students will miss in their writing are emotion, setting, and point-of-view character internals.
The eliciting of emotion is definitely an important fundamental of fiction, but that’s probably the hardest thing for writers to do. So I don’t really mean that, as creating suspense, tension, the onset of romance, or even reader sorrow is extremely difficult. If someone can actually trigger reader feelings—wonderful—she may make a lot of money selling her manuscripts. But if she can’t, then she can at least include the mechanical representation of these sensations. We are always able to write, “His heart thudded in his chest and he thought he would faint.” That will substitute for the real thing in many instances, and a writer does need to have at least some of that to round out any story.
As for setting, I encourage students to sketch in a few specifics, but also to keep the setting alive throughout a scene. For instance, if the characters are in deep conversation in a school cafeteria, let’s hear a little bit of the noise—the crash of trays, the laughter of the kids—and maybe even see someone slide on spilt milk. But I say sketch in these details, because the setting shouldn’t take away from the dialogue. It should simply create part of the reality, the background part.
The other most-often-missing element in fiction by new writers is point-of-view character thought. And some of this can be emotional as well, so I don’t entirely separate the two. The more the writer lets the reader know what’s going on with the character, the fuller the story becomes for his audience. Of course this, too, has to be paced out, and has to be on focus for the scene and the story. As writers, we don’t want to give stream of consciousness, but we also don’t want readers to be in the dark as to what the character believes, in regard to the situation.
I said I mostly don’t restructure, but sometimes I do, and the times when I do, I restructure the opening. The opening, especially of a short story, has to be quick and offer the hook as soon as possible. Writers often feel the need to “develop” or to “set up” the story, but less here is more. We can start quickly and then come back, and through internals give more development and setup.
ST: Do you have any methods either for the generation of short story ideas or for the writing process that you can share?
Ideas are everywhere, so instead of talking about how to generate them, I’ll say that once a writer has an idea and has started a project he ought to stick with that until he’s done. Worse than not being able to come up with an idea is not being able to carry through the writing to the end. I think that’s a chronic difficulty. Trust me, no story idea is significantly better than any other. No idea is “the” idea. The treatment of the idea is what really counts.
With a short story—as opposed to a full-length manuscript—I generally prefer to have a fairly well-formed sense of what I’m writing when I sit down to do the draft. I find that thinking through the logic of the story and knowing where it’s going can make the writing process a whole lot easier.
On the other hand, not everyone works in the same way, and not every piece will proceed along the same path, either. Writers do have to learn to trust their own processes. But I’m suggesting that if someone works out the short story plot in his head before he sits down, he’ll find the writing flows more easily.
That’s harder with a novel of course. Novels are longer. I don’t say that to be facetious exactly, but people do sometimes ask what the difference is between writing a short story and writing a novel. That novels are longer is pretty much my answer as to the difference. The length of the work affects the pacing of the story arc and may even account for the proverbial “sagging middle” of the novel—the segment of the manuscript where the writer herself sags and has no idea what to do next with her characters. (The answer is—push through to the end.)
ST: Your stories have been nominated for and won awards. Care to give the genesis for one or two of them?
GMH: Again, it’s not the idea, really. What makes a story successful is the execution. And believe me, too, a story can be successful and never be published, much less nominated for anything. Selling a story is the goal, but it’s not the actual hallmark of success. I just this year sold two stories I’ve been trying to sell for a number of years. I look at it as having finally found the proper markets. The stories didn’t change, but I found markets that really wanted this exact type of material. These, by the way, are stories with Middle Eastern protagonists—Moslems.
Some of the stories I’ve sold immediately, however, were stories I completely geared to a specific market with very exact requirements. In that case, I sat down and generated the idea and the story based on what the publication or anthology wanted. For instance, I did have a story nominated for a Derringer, and that story appeared in Babs Lakey’s anthology entitled DIME. Obviously she wanted something a little bit on the pulp side. What I did in writing “The Girl in Apartment 2A” was to take an idea and a character I had for a novel and turn it into a story. In this case I already had the character and her particulars and the story was sort of a prequel to what I felt would work for a novel.
I think, in other words, that writers can use short stories to test out characters they might want to write more about. Writers might also want to test a few themes that interest them, such as a period of history or a setting. Or a continuing protagonist.
But let me backtrack a little in explaining the execution side since I’ve mention that a couple of times. What I mean here is that the writer must add something to the story that makes it stand out. What will make a story rise above the rest might be the complexity of the background. Maybe the writer can charge the story up with a Wall Street setting that seems to jump from the pages of the Wall Street Journal. The story is timely and adds a chilling depth of financial detail in describing a multibillion dollar, even deadly, fraud.
Or maybe the story replicates the plot of a well-known novel from another era—but in the end adds an exciting twist. Or the story may bring in rich historical detail, which is something I myself like to do. I had a story published last year that was set in 1826, during the building of Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York. ...That was inspired, actually, by a visit some folks from our MWA chapter made to Sing Sing in the company of fellow member, federal Judge Andy Peck.
While I do know of some stories about the spouse buried in the back garden that then flourishes or a rival writer tricked into eating certain foods that have gone on and won prizes, this is the exception rather than the rule. Trite and tried may conquer in the end, but not usually. Generally speaking, we should attempt to present a finely etched, well-developed, different sort of story if we want to compete in a market as crowded as this one for short stories is.
ST: You also write sci-fi. Do you find there's a big difference in how you go about constructing your stories depending on the genre?
GMH: In writing science fiction, unless the setting is a known one into which I introduce changes, I probably do much less research while writing. What I’ve done with a lot of my science fiction stories, however, has been to write them as mysteries—or as crime fiction. The beauty of the mystery story is that with a high-stakes, well-focused situation, the format of the story is in some sense a given and has an automatic power. Here, instead of researching the setting, you can think one up. However, research can actually apply in science fiction in many instances. For instance, an alien species can be based on earthly reptiles or types of insects. Or the intergalactic society we write about might have as its counterpart the culture of a South American Indian tribe. Or we may need to research the latest in particle physics to find a way to explain our multiverses.
The actual construction of the story, however, will be pretty much the same in science fiction or in mystery or even in romance—plotted around a central aim of the protagonist, or a central conflict. The protagonist makes progress, is stymied, makes progress, is blocked, overcomes, and eventually wins the day. How many conflicts then depends on the length of the story. Yes, really.
ST: What short story writers--mystery or otherwise—have inspired you?
GMH: Offhand I can think of three short stories that have really inspired me. One was by Dostoevsky and it simply overwhelmed me with the reality of the character and the protagonist’s situation. The story, “White Nights,” has been adapted for the screen several times, and a new digital version—transposed to L.A.—apparently will come out some time soon. I guess I wasn’t the only one to react to the story.
Another story, and I recall neither the author nor the story’s title, was set in the not-too-distant future in which the earth is simply overcrowded with people. This story featured each of the points of view of all the roommates (several) in one small apartment. I’ve never read a short story before or since with so many protagonists or one that gave such a strong feeling of a realistic, possible future for mankind.
The third story that influenced me I remember exactly nothing about except my impression. This story ran in a major magazine, a market that paid a lot for the story. And reading that story, I understood why it had been chosen—because in the end my emotions were profoundly affected. The story delved much more deeply than most stories do. The author made more extreme choices in the details than we typically do as writers. And thus the story had real impact and was published in a significant magazine.
I’ll add my impressions of a fourth story, one by a well-thought-of mystery writer. The writing was exceptionally skilled, and the story very different. It was, in fact, written in second person, and how often is that done? However, I found the story despicable and pointless. It had no moral, ethical center, and thus was simply, to me, an exercise in inhumanity. Writing that doesn’t do something to raise us all up (even writing about crime from a psychopath’s point of view can fly the flag of the radiant)—writing that doesn’t contribute to the betterment of our common situation on this earth either through pure entertainment or illumination—is to me without purpose. We writers create as well as reflect our civilization; we thus have a responsibility. That well-paid-for, well-published story also inspired me, but in a completely different respect. Even for writers (as with physicians), the motto should be “first do no harm.”
G. Miki Hayden is the author of The Naked Writer, a comprehensive, easy-to-read style and composition guide for all levels of writers.
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
"In My Hands" by Sarah Cortez
From: The Hit List: The Best of Latino Mystery ed. Sarah Cortez and Liz Martinez, Arte Publico Press, 2006.
This story details the unlikely friendship between go-getter real estate agent Calais and gold-digger Elizabeth. Elizabeth and her handsome husband Winston seem like the perfect couple until Winston leaves her for a younger woman. Distraught, Elizabeth becomes convinced Winston will try to kill her to get out of paying alimony.
One day, Elizabeth goes missing, and her friend Kathy asks Calais to check on her. Discovering what appears to be a struggle, Calais imagines what might have happened and how she can turn it to her advantage.
Cortez meticulously spins the clues into two different scenarios and shows how quickly friends can turn on each other.
This story details the unlikely friendship between go-getter real estate agent Calais and gold-digger Elizabeth. Elizabeth and her handsome husband Winston seem like the perfect couple until Winston leaves her for a younger woman. Distraught, Elizabeth becomes convinced Winston will try to kill her to get out of paying alimony.
One day, Elizabeth goes missing, and her friend Kathy asks Calais to check on her. Discovering what appears to be a struggle, Calais imagines what might have happened and how she can turn it to her advantage.
Cortez meticulously spins the clues into two different scenarios and shows how quickly friends can turn on each other.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Interview with G. Miki Hayden, Part I
If you've been reading my reviews here, you know I'm a great admirer of Edgar winner G. Miki Hayden's short stories. If you haven't been reading my reviews, then shame on you. SHAME ON YOU!!
In any event, I asked a few questions and she taught a master lesson. Here is part one:
ST: I really love your Miriam Obadah stories for AHMM. I find them moving besides being good mysteries. Do you concentrate on one aspect (emotion) instead of another (puzzle) at different times as you write or do the stories just come together as the reader sees them?
GMH: Thanks so much, Steve.
I don’t concentrate on one aspect and then layer in other aspects of a story when I write. I also rarely restructure. I write and then polish. However, while I certainly think that writing everything at the same time produces a more cohesive piece, I also will suggest that students (I teach for Writer’s Digest at Writers Online Workshops) can layer in elements later on if they aren’t able to provide them in the initial draft.
The most common essentials that students will miss in their writing are emotion, setting, and point-of-view character internals.
The eliciting of emotion is definitely an important fundamental of fiction, but that’s probably the hardest thing for writers to do. So I don’t really mean that THE WRITER NEEDS TO ACTUALLY EVOKE A FEELING, as creating suspense, tension, the onset of romance, or even reader sorrow is extremely difficult. If someone can actually trigger reader feelings—wonderful—she may make a lot of money selling her manuscripts. But if she can’t, then she can at least include the mechanical representation of these sensations. We are always able to write, “His heart thudded in his chest and he thought he would faint.” That will substitute for the real thing in many instances, and a writer does need to have at least some of that to round out any story.
As for setting, I encourage students to sketch in a few specifics, but also to keep the setting alive throughout a scene. For instance, if the characters are in deep conversation in a school cafeteria, let’s hear a little bit of the noise—the crash of trays, the laughter of the kids—and maybe even see someone slide on spilt milk. But I say sketch in these details, because the setting shouldn’t take away from the dialogue. It should simply create part of the reality, the background part.
The other most-often-missing element in fiction by new writers is point-of-view character thought. And some of this can be emotional as well, so I don’t entirely separate the two. The more the writer lets the reader know what’s going on with the character, the fuller the story becomes for his audience. Of course this, too, has to be paced out, and has to be on focus for the scene and the story. As writers, we don’t want to give stream of consciousness, but we also don’t want readers to be in the dark as to what the character believes, in regard to the situation.
I said I mostly don’t restructure, but sometimes I do, and the times when I do, I restructure the opening. The opening, especially of a short story, has to be quick and offer the hook as soon as possible. Writers often feel the need to “develop” or to “set up” the story, but less here is more. We can start quickly and then come back, and through internals give more development and setup.
ST: Do you have any methods either for the generation of short story ideas or for the writing process that you can share?
GMH: Ideas are everywhere, so instead of talking about how to generate them, I’ll say that once a writer has an idea and has started a project he ought to stick with that until he’s done. Worse than not being able to come up with an idea is not being able to carry through the writing to the end. I think that’s a chronic difficulty. Trust me, no story idea is significantly better than any other. No idea is “the” idea. The treatment of the idea is what really counts.
With a short story—as opposed to a full-length manuscript—I generally prefer to have a fairly well-formed sense of what I’m writing when I sit down to do the draft. I find that thinking through the logic of the story and knowing where it’s going can make the writing process a whole lot easier.
On the other hand, not everyone works in the same way, and not every piece will proceed along the same path, either. Writers do have to learn to trust their own processes. But I’m suggesting that if someone works out the short story plot in his head before he sits down, he’ll find the writing flows more easily.
That’s harder with a novel of course. Novels are longer. I don’t say that to be facetious exactly, but people do sometimes ask what the difference is between writing a short story and writing a novel. That novels are longer is pretty much my answer as to the difference. The length of the work affects the pacing of the story arc and may even account for the proverbial “sagging middle” of the novel—the segment of the manuscript where the writer herself sags and has no idea what to do next with her characters. (The answer is—push through to the end.)
****
G. Miki Hayden is the author of The Naked Writer, a comprehensive, easy-to-read style and composition guide for all levels of writers.
In any event, I asked a few questions and she taught a master lesson. Here is part one:
ST: I really love your Miriam Obadah stories for AHMM. I find them moving besides being good mysteries. Do you concentrate on one aspect (emotion) instead of another (puzzle) at different times as you write or do the stories just come together as the reader sees them?
GMH: Thanks so much, Steve.
I don’t concentrate on one aspect and then layer in other aspects of a story when I write. I also rarely restructure. I write and then polish. However, while I certainly think that writing everything at the same time produces a more cohesive piece, I also will suggest that students (I teach for Writer’s Digest at Writers Online Workshops) can layer in elements later on if they aren’t able to provide them in the initial draft.
The most common essentials that students will miss in their writing are emotion, setting, and point-of-view character internals.
The eliciting of emotion is definitely an important fundamental of fiction, but that’s probably the hardest thing for writers to do. So I don’t really mean that THE WRITER NEEDS TO ACTUALLY EVOKE A FEELING, as creating suspense, tension, the onset of romance, or even reader sorrow is extremely difficult. If someone can actually trigger reader feelings—wonderful—she may make a lot of money selling her manuscripts. But if she can’t, then she can at least include the mechanical representation of these sensations. We are always able to write, “His heart thudded in his chest and he thought he would faint.” That will substitute for the real thing in many instances, and a writer does need to have at least some of that to round out any story.
As for setting, I encourage students to sketch in a few specifics, but also to keep the setting alive throughout a scene. For instance, if the characters are in deep conversation in a school cafeteria, let’s hear a little bit of the noise—the crash of trays, the laughter of the kids—and maybe even see someone slide on spilt milk. But I say sketch in these details, because the setting shouldn’t take away from the dialogue. It should simply create part of the reality, the background part.
The other most-often-missing element in fiction by new writers is point-of-view character thought. And some of this can be emotional as well, so I don’t entirely separate the two. The more the writer lets the reader know what’s going on with the character, the fuller the story becomes for his audience. Of course this, too, has to be paced out, and has to be on focus for the scene and the story. As writers, we don’t want to give stream of consciousness, but we also don’t want readers to be in the dark as to what the character believes, in regard to the situation.
I said I mostly don’t restructure, but sometimes I do, and the times when I do, I restructure the opening. The opening, especially of a short story, has to be quick and offer the hook as soon as possible. Writers often feel the need to “develop” or to “set up” the story, but less here is more. We can start quickly and then come back, and through internals give more development and setup.
ST: Do you have any methods either for the generation of short story ideas or for the writing process that you can share?
GMH: Ideas are everywhere, so instead of talking about how to generate them, I’ll say that once a writer has an idea and has started a project he ought to stick with that until he’s done. Worse than not being able to come up with an idea is not being able to carry through the writing to the end. I think that’s a chronic difficulty. Trust me, no story idea is significantly better than any other. No idea is “the” idea. The treatment of the idea is what really counts.
With a short story—as opposed to a full-length manuscript—I generally prefer to have a fairly well-formed sense of what I’m writing when I sit down to do the draft. I find that thinking through the logic of the story and knowing where it’s going can make the writing process a whole lot easier.
On the other hand, not everyone works in the same way, and not every piece will proceed along the same path, either. Writers do have to learn to trust their own processes. But I’m suggesting that if someone works out the short story plot in his head before he sits down, he’ll find the writing flows more easily.
That’s harder with a novel of course. Novels are longer. I don’t say that to be facetious exactly, but people do sometimes ask what the difference is between writing a short story and writing a novel. That novels are longer is pretty much my answer as to the difference. The length of the work affects the pacing of the story arc and may even account for the proverbial “sagging middle” of the novel—the segment of the manuscript where the writer herself sags and has no idea what to do next with her characters. (The answer is—push through to the end.)
****
G. Miki Hayden is the author of The Naked Writer, a comprehensive, easy-to-read style and composition guide for all levels of writers.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Shanks Gets Killed by Robert Lopresti
Robert Lopresti writes several series of short stories for Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and has been nominated for and won a Derringer Award. Shanks is a mystery writer who winds up solving crimes. Like a lot of real writers, Shanks is a bit on the surly side and with a biting sense of humor. In this story, he has been dragooned into a mystery weekend at a resort where he's supposed to be the celebrity author and get whacked on the first night - this means he doesn't have much to do.
Then the grand prize, a first edition of The Maltese Falcon, goes missing and Shanks is dragooned again. After all, if he's not busy acting a part, he might as well save the resort the trouble and fuss of having the police around bothering guests. Of course, he gets to the bottom of it all, but how he does it and the humor that goes into the interrogations he has to conduct make the story worth the read.
In the process of solving the crime, Shanks gives the reader a glimpse into a subset of the mystery world I hadn't really considered before. Are people really that competitive when they go to a bed and breakfast for those mystery weekends? I hope that's a product of Lopresti's imagination.
Then the grand prize, a first edition of The Maltese Falcon, goes missing and Shanks is dragooned again. After all, if he's not busy acting a part, he might as well save the resort the trouble and fuss of having the police around bothering guests. Of course, he gets to the bottom of it all, but how he does it and the humor that goes into the interrogations he has to conduct make the story worth the read.
In the process of solving the crime, Shanks gives the reader a glimpse into a subset of the mystery world I hadn't really considered before. Are people really that competitive when they go to a bed and breakfast for those mystery weekends? I hope that's a product of Lopresti's imagination.
Monday, March 09, 2009
Without Anesthesia by Maceias Nunes
As I often do, I started reading the latest EQMM with the shortest story in the volume - I'm a notoriously slow reader. Short stories can take me days. Anyway, in this case, the story was quite short - about three pages. Still, the author - this is his first fiction - was able to pack quite a punch. The story is about a Nazi hiding in Brazil. In this case, the narrator is offered money to keep quiet about the Nazi. The narrator being poor but principled means this won't be an easy decision. The fact that the narrator is in love with the Nazi's daughter makes it even more difficult. Anyway, what the narrator decides and, especially why, is the twist here.
Then, of course, there's the question of whether you can ever be happy again once you've been propositioned by a Nazi. In any event, the prose is crisp and clear, but I felt the story could have been helped by being longer - I would have liked more development of the narrator. Still, if you're going to err about the length of a story, it's better to be too short than too long. Don't get me wrong. The story is a good read and worthy of your attention. I guess I'd just like it if there were more of it to enjoy.
Then, of course, there's the question of whether you can ever be happy again once you've been propositioned by a Nazi. In any event, the prose is crisp and clear, but I felt the story could have been helped by being longer - I would have liked more development of the narrator. Still, if you're going to err about the length of a story, it's better to be too short than too long. Don't get me wrong. The story is a good read and worthy of your attention. I guess I'd just like it if there were more of it to enjoy.
Friday, March 06, 2009
"The Case of the Extra Ventriloquist" by Ron Goulart
From: Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, May 2009.
In 1951 Los Angeles, detective comic strip artist Jack Ortega happens upon children's radio host Polly Renfrew, trussed up and gagged in the woods. Smitten, Jack unties Polly and asks how she ended up there. Polly and her dummy, Sally Sawdust, were supposed to entertain at the mansion of famous actress Mona Tardy. According to Ms. Tardy, another ventriloquist showed up in Polly's place and stole $200,000 worth of jewels and bearer bonds.
Polly deduces who's behind the theft by having Jack sketch a likeness of the villainous ventriloquist's dummy, but the next day, Polly goes missing and Jack has to play detective to find her.
I was a fan of the early 90s Tek series, ghostwritten for William Shatner by Ron Goulart. Featuring the same lighthearted humor and distinctive speech pattern, this story was doubly nostalgic for me.
In 1951 Los Angeles, detective comic strip artist Jack Ortega happens upon children's radio host Polly Renfrew, trussed up and gagged in the woods. Smitten, Jack unties Polly and asks how she ended up there. Polly and her dummy, Sally Sawdust, were supposed to entertain at the mansion of famous actress Mona Tardy. According to Ms. Tardy, another ventriloquist showed up in Polly's place and stole $200,000 worth of jewels and bearer bonds.
Polly deduces who's behind the theft by having Jack sketch a likeness of the villainous ventriloquist's dummy, but the next day, Polly goes missing and Jack has to play detective to find her.
I was a fan of the early 90s Tek series, ghostwritten for William Shatner by Ron Goulart. Featuring the same lighthearted humor and distinctive speech pattern, this story was doubly nostalgic for me.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Insurance by Fletcher Flora
The latest AHMM has a story first published long ago. I've never heard of the author before and, in fact, I almost wrote the name down as Flora Fletcher. Anyway, the story centers around a husband/wife team trying to defraud an insurance company by pretending the husband has died in a barn fire. Of course, to do this, they need a reasonable cadavar and getting that is part of the story.
Then, of course, the real husband has to disappear so the wife can get paid and do her own disappearing act. The way the con would normally go, the husband and wife meet up after the payout and live happily ever after, but I think you can see a myriad ways things could go wrong. For instance, if the insurance fails to pay out. That's not what happens here, but it could have.
In any event, while I think I've seen the outline of the plot before, the story is still worthy of notice - Loren Estleman introduces the story by saying that not a single word is wasted, and I have to admit with a build up like that, I really tried finding wasted words. He's right. They're not there. The prose is sharp as a knife. There are three things that force the reader to keep turning pages and this story certainly has one of them - poetry in nearly every line. A hard-bitten poetry. Poetry of a broken nose. Still, it was a joy to read.
Then, of course, the real husband has to disappear so the wife can get paid and do her own disappearing act. The way the con would normally go, the husband and wife meet up after the payout and live happily ever after, but I think you can see a myriad ways things could go wrong. For instance, if the insurance fails to pay out. That's not what happens here, but it could have.
In any event, while I think I've seen the outline of the plot before, the story is still worthy of notice - Loren Estleman introduces the story by saying that not a single word is wasted, and I have to admit with a build up like that, I really tried finding wasted words. He's right. They're not there. The prose is sharp as a knife. There are three things that force the reader to keep turning pages and this story certainly has one of them - poetry in nearly every line. A hard-bitten poetry. Poetry of a broken nose. Still, it was a joy to read.
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
"Buckner's Error" by Joseph Guglielmelli
From: Queens Noir ed. Robert Knightly. Akashic Books, 2008.
Winner of this year's MWA Robert L. Fish Memorial Award for Best First Short Story, "Buckner's Error" is equal parts classic baseball banter and true noir. As the story trundles on the 7 Train from Grand Central Station to Shea Stadium, readers follow an unnamed Mets fan hitman zeroing in on power broker, pervert, and Sox fan Jack Buckner.
Winner of this year's MWA Robert L. Fish Memorial Award for Best First Short Story, "Buckner's Error" is equal parts classic baseball banter and true noir. As the story trundles on the 7 Train from Grand Central Station to Shea Stadium, readers follow an unnamed Mets fan hitman zeroing in on power broker, pervert, and Sox fan Jack Buckner.
Death Inside the Box by John Dirckx
The latest issue of AHMM includes another story by John Dirckx, one of my favorite mystery short story writers. Dirckx is well known for his Cyrus Auburn stories, but this one is a change of pace, and I'm not totally convinced it works as well.
For those who don't know, Auburn is a homicide detective in Baltimore, quite cerebral, good at his job. This new story features a coroner named Mary Deventer.
Deventer si called out to a power plant where a veteran worker has managed to electrocute himself. Accident or murder? Suspicion arises because it was a rookie mistake that killed the victim. Well, this turns out to be a crime and, of course, it is solved. No real problems there, but...
Hopefully, what follows isn't a spoiler.
I'm used to my Cyrus Auburn where there is a motive made plain. I didn't really get a motive for murder as far as I could see. Of course, a coroner may not be concerned with motive so it is true to life, I suppose, but then, that truthiness doesn't necessarily make the story moving or interesting. The Cyrus Auburn stories are always that.
Anyway, grain of salt time.
For those who don't know, Auburn is a homicide detective in Baltimore, quite cerebral, good at his job. This new story features a coroner named Mary Deventer.
Deventer si called out to a power plant where a veteran worker has managed to electrocute himself. Accident or murder? Suspicion arises because it was a rookie mistake that killed the victim. Well, this turns out to be a crime and, of course, it is solved. No real problems there, but...
Hopefully, what follows isn't a spoiler.
I'm used to my Cyrus Auburn where there is a motive made plain. I didn't really get a motive for murder as far as I could see. Of course, a coroner may not be concerned with motive so it is true to life, I suppose, but then, that truthiness doesn't necessarily make the story moving or interesting. The Cyrus Auburn stories are always that.
Anyway, grain of salt time.
Monday, February 02, 2009
Silverfish by SJ Rozan
This neat little story is part of Ellery Queen's Black Mask department and fits in well as it deals with prostitutes, johns, and pimps.Silverfish is the name of a pro with a heart of gold. She takes into her care a less experienced, naive prostitute who happens to have a nasty pimp named Roach. When Roach needs dealing with, Silverfish is there, but, of course, it isn't like she can do anything overt. She can't just shoot him or anything. So how will she get her friend out from under his thumb? Well, let's say she's a trickesy one (pardon the pun).
As with all of SJ's writing, the prose is smooth, the dialogue snappy. Her novel THE SHANGHAI MOON comes out tomorrow.
As with all of SJ's writing, the prose is smooth, the dialogue snappy. Her novel THE SHANGHAI MOON comes out tomorrow.
Friday, January 30, 2009
"Skinhead Central" by T. Jefferson Parker
From: The Blue Religion ed. Michael Connelly. Little Brown and Company, 2008.
This Edgar-nominated story is told from the viewpoint of Sally, who has moved with her retired cop husband Jim from Laguna Beach to Spring Lake, Idaho. Shortly after the move, a 19-year-old skinhead named Dale shows up looking for work. Jim begrudgingly gives him some, but when Sally's jewelry bag goes missing, it's easily traced to Dale. The next day, Dale's younger brother Jason returns the bag and takes a beating from Dale for his trouble.
Calling on a network of contacts stretching back to California, Jim learns that Dale and Jason's father is an abusive ex-con. Jim and Sally take an unusual interest in the boys' future.
"Skinhead Central" is written so crisply, in a voice so knowing, I read it aloud.
This Edgar-nominated story is told from the viewpoint of Sally, who has moved with her retired cop husband Jim from Laguna Beach to Spring Lake, Idaho. Shortly after the move, a 19-year-old skinhead named Dale shows up looking for work. Jim begrudgingly gives him some, but when Sally's jewelry bag goes missing, it's easily traced to Dale. The next day, Dale's younger brother Jason returns the bag and takes a beating from Dale for his trouble.
Calling on a network of contacts stretching back to California, Jim learns that Dale and Jason's father is an abusive ex-con. Jim and Sally take an unusual interest in the boys' future.
"Skinhead Central" is written so crisply, in a voice so knowing, I read it aloud.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
The Lost Girl by Robert Barnard
The latest Ellery Queen has another Robert Barnard story. He publishes there with great regularity, and I've read several of his stories over the years, but they all affect me the same way - in short, I don't like them.
If you don't know, Robert Barnard has won a slew of awards over the decades, and he has the respect of the mystery reading/writing world. He has my respect as well. His prose is impeccable. He can make you care for the characters he puts before you. What he hasn't been able to do, especially with the short stories but even with the one novel of his I've read, is give me a satisfying ending. In one story, a character presented with a dilemma chooses the path no one I have ever encountered in my life would have chosen. In other stories, the ending just fizzles. So with this story.
The story (which is only about five or six pages) starts off well - a teenaged girl is missing, she might have crossed paths with a pedophile, and the Inspector follows leads and questions witnesses. In every way, the story is set up perfectly, and I truly expected to finally like a Barnard story at long last. Then came the ending. Fizzle. In faact, it took me three readings just to figure out what it is I think went on at the end. But once I figured things out (I think) I found as many loose ends as there were tied up ones.
SPOILER ** SPOILER ** SPOILER**
Notice the SPOILER sign? Your last chance to turn back.
Okay. You asked for it.
The lost girl is, as far as I can tell, still lost at the end of the story. And the pedophile ist kaput. Presumably she killed him. Was she related to him? Not sure. If she killed him, what, precisely was her reason? No idea.
Oh well. The prose is nice.
If you don't know, Robert Barnard has won a slew of awards over the decades, and he has the respect of the mystery reading/writing world. He has my respect as well. His prose is impeccable. He can make you care for the characters he puts before you. What he hasn't been able to do, especially with the short stories but even with the one novel of his I've read, is give me a satisfying ending. In one story, a character presented with a dilemma chooses the path no one I have ever encountered in my life would have chosen. In other stories, the ending just fizzles. So with this story.
The story (which is only about five or six pages) starts off well - a teenaged girl is missing, she might have crossed paths with a pedophile, and the Inspector follows leads and questions witnesses. In every way, the story is set up perfectly, and I truly expected to finally like a Barnard story at long last. Then came the ending. Fizzle. In faact, it took me three readings just to figure out what it is I think went on at the end. But once I figured things out (I think) I found as many loose ends as there were tied up ones.
SPOILER ** SPOILER ** SPOILER**
Notice the SPOILER sign? Your last chance to turn back.
Okay. You asked for it.
The lost girl is, as far as I can tell, still lost at the end of the story. And the pedophile ist kaput. Presumably she killed him. Was she related to him? Not sure. If she killed him, what, precisely was her reason? No idea.
Oh well. The prose is nice.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
The Rules of Evidence by Steve Gore
This story all takes place in the interrogation room in dialogue between a career criminal named Irish and a homicide detective named Pacheco. Irish is a suspect in the murder of Mucker, one of Irish's former partners. The problem is that no matter what Pacheco thinks, the physical evidence is weak, Irish is seasoned enough to resist breaking, and besides, someone else has already confessed to the murder. Seems like a pretty tough case.
Though there aren't any car chases or shootouts, the dialogue stays crisp. It grips you and refuses to let go.
Pacheco may not have the best case, but he's determined. Is there a way he can make Irish slip up? You'll have to pick up a current copy of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine to find out.
By the way, this is Steve Gore's first published story - kudos to him and I hope others are in the pipeline.
Though there aren't any car chases or shootouts, the dialogue stays crisp. It grips you and refuses to let go.
Pacheco may not have the best case, but he's determined. Is there a way he can make Irish slip up? You'll have to pick up a current copy of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine to find out.
By the way, this is Steve Gore's first published story - kudos to him and I hope others are in the pipeline.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Cheer by Megan Abbott
In other places, I've talked about Megan Abbott's novels including Die a Little and The Song is You, and they are marvelous things. The stories are interesting and tightly wound, the prose is finely spun - some of the strongest prose you'll find in crime fiction today. The voices of her characters are always pitch perfect. In this story, she continues her winning ways.
"Cheer" has to do with the cheerleading team under the care of a young woman called "Coach." It's told by one of the squad members and even though the narrator is not named, she exhibits a growing sense of...I'm not sure what. Fear? Dread? Anxiety? In any event, nothing good. This happens as the narrator learns more about the coach and her teammates.
In the end, of course, it is a crime story so the narrator has reason to feel ill at ease. I can't tell you what happens or even why it happens, but I can say the story is well worth looking up. Like just about everything else Megan has written, "Cheer" has been nominated for a prize. In this case, it's a Pushcart Prize.
"Cheer" has to do with the cheerleading team under the care of a young woman called "Coach." It's told by one of the squad members and even though the narrator is not named, she exhibits a growing sense of...I'm not sure what. Fear? Dread? Anxiety? In any event, nothing good. This happens as the narrator learns more about the coach and her teammates.
In the end, of course, it is a crime story so the narrator has reason to feel ill at ease. I can't tell you what happens or even why it happens, but I can say the story is well worth looking up. Like just about everything else Megan has written, "Cheer" has been nominated for a prize. In this case, it's a Pushcart Prize.
Friday, January 16, 2009
NBS Special Report: 2009 Best Short Story Edgar Nominees
As presented by the Mystery Writers of America:
BEST SHORT STORY
"A Sleep Not Unlike Death" - Hardcore Hardboiled by Sean Chercover (Kensington Publishing)
"Skin and Bones" – Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine by David Edgerley Gates (Dell Magazines)
"Scratch of a Woman" - Hardly Knew Her by Laura Lippman (HarperCollins – William Morrow)
"La Vie en Rose" - Paris Noir by Dominique Mainard (Akashic Books)
"Skinhead Central" - The Blue Religion by T. Jefferson Parker (Hachette Book Group – Little, Brown and Company)
ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD (Best First Short Story)
"Buckner's Error" - Queens Noir by Joseph Guglielmelli (Akashic Books)
Congratulations and good luck to all.
The full list of Edgar nominees via Sarah Weinman's Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind.
BEST SHORT STORY
"A Sleep Not Unlike Death" - Hardcore Hardboiled by Sean Chercover (Kensington Publishing)
"Skin and Bones" – Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine by David Edgerley Gates (Dell Magazines)
"Scratch of a Woman" - Hardly Knew Her by Laura Lippman (HarperCollins – William Morrow)
"La Vie en Rose" - Paris Noir by Dominique Mainard (Akashic Books)
"Skinhead Central" - The Blue Religion by T. Jefferson Parker (Hachette Book Group – Little, Brown and Company)
ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD (Best First Short Story)
"Buckner's Error" - Queens Noir by Joseph Guglielmelli (Akashic Books)
Congratulations and good luck to all.
The full list of Edgar nominees via Sarah Weinman's Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
"Devil Dog" by Dick Lochte
From: Hollywood and Crime. Ed. Robert J. Randisi. Pegasus, 2007.
One of the contemporary entries in a collection of crime stories set during the history of Hollywood, "Devil Dog" marks the return of Leo Bloodworth. At the behest of Larry King-like media personality Pierre Reynaldo, Leo looks into a woman's claims that her neighbor is a Satanist.
After an eight-year hiatus, it's good to hear from Leo in a story that is equally comedic and tragic.
One of the contemporary entries in a collection of crime stories set during the history of Hollywood, "Devil Dog" marks the return of Leo Bloodworth. At the behest of Larry King-like media personality Pierre Reynaldo, Leo looks into a woman's claims that her neighbor is a Satanist.
After an eight-year hiatus, it's good to hear from Leo in a story that is equally comedic and tragic.
Friday, January 02, 2009
"Give Till It Hurts" by Donald E. Westlake
Available in Thieves Dozen by Donald E. Westlake. Mysterious Press, 2005.
Discovered trying to pass himself off as a rich Arab at a coin collectors' convention in Manhattan, John Dortmunder narrowly escapes through a linen closet window and stumbles into a poker game at Otto Penzler's Mysterious Bookshop.
Dortmunder is $240 ahead when the police come calling, investigating the burglary he's just committed. To Dortmunder's surprise, Penzler and friends don't hand him to the cops. Then he realizes they want to win their money back.
Penzler first published this story in 1993 as a Christmas present to the Mysterious Bookshop's mail-order customers. In memory of Westlake, who died on New Year's Eve at age 75, I hope our reviews give readers some idea of his talent and personality.
Discovered trying to pass himself off as a rich Arab at a coin collectors' convention in Manhattan, John Dortmunder narrowly escapes through a linen closet window and stumbles into a poker game at Otto Penzler's Mysterious Bookshop.
Dortmunder is $240 ahead when the police come calling, investigating the burglary he's just committed. To Dortmunder's surprise, Penzler and friends don't hand him to the cops. Then he realizes they want to win their money back.
Penzler first published this story in 1993 as a Christmas present to the Mysterious Bookshop's mail-order customers. In memory of Westlake, who died on New Year's Eve at age 75, I hope our reviews give readers some idea of his talent and personality.
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