• Last Wednesday, I was fortunate to be invited by editor Beverley Cousins to Penguin UK’s launch party celebrating the paperback release of Mr. Clarinet, by Nick Stone. This affair was held at The Blue Posts just off Oxford Street, London, and buzzed with authors ranging from Dreda Say Mitchell, David Harrison, and Jim Kelly to Maxim Jakubowski and Mark Timlin, along with a cabal of journalists, literary editors, and the usual crack Penguin team. It was made particularly interesting by the attendance of Nick’s father, the historian Norman Stone. (When Mr. Clarinet was first released, there was a fascinating article published in the London Times about father and son, which provided a backdrop to their various works.) After the festivities, a group of us went out for supper, and the conversation continued long into the night. I found a kindred spirit in Beverley’s husband, Gavin (formerly a guitarist with the rock band Jamiroquai), who turns out to be another conspiracy-theory enthusiast. And I picked up a whisper from Left Coast Crime 2006
organizer Myles Allfrey, to the effect that he’s working with critic/author Adrian Muller to schedule another crime/thriller convention in the UK. More details when I have them.• It wasn’t long after I received a copy of Scott Frost’s new Never Fear (Headline), that I had polished it off. The story’s easygoing and beguiling style makes it a one-sitting wonder. Later, I dug around to find out more about Frost, who has television-writing credits from Twin Peaks and Babylon 5, and whose book is being released in a UK mass-market edition in January 2007. I quickly discovered that Never Fear is the second novel (after 2005’s Run the Risk) to feature Lieutenant Alex Delillo of the Pasadena, California, police department, but the first to be published in Britain. Once again, family ties play a part, for this sophomore outing finds Alex reeling from the discovery that she has a half-brother. And not only that, but he’s just been murdered. Compelled to find out why he tried to contact her on the night of his death, Alex hits upon an unexpected connection to the notorious “River Killer.” Seventeen years ago, three young women were found dead, their bodies dumped by the side of the Los Angeles River, their killer never apprehended. As Alex investigates, she learns--to her utter horror--that her absent father was the prime suspect in the River Killer slayings. Could dear old dad really have been responsible? And if so, how far will he go now to cover his tracks? Never Fear is an exceptional read, and received a rather memorable review in The Independent from Mark Timlin, who wrote: “Never Fear is as tough a crime novel as I’ve read, with a plot that twists and turns like a snake on crack.” I’m off now to devour Run the Risk.
• Incidentally, publisher Headline has begun publishing a newsletter called Crime Files. If you haven’t seen it yet, download Issue #2 here (PDF).
• I was amused and intrigued to find in my mail a review copy of No Exit Press’ forthcoming Gangster Wives, by “Lee Martin.” Yeah, right … I was tipped off several weeks ago about this “debut” sex-thriller, which I have on good authority is not a debut novel at all, but instead the pseudonymous work of a renowned British crime writer. However, I hadn’t expected the fast-paced results to be quite so much fun. I polished off Gangster Wives in just a couple of hours--one sitting. Imagine a cross between Jackie Collins and Mario Puzo, and what you end up with is this story about four women married to hardened East London bank robbers, who decide to take on their husbands as well as the police in an audacious, vengeful heist. It’s filled with witty dialogue, some laugh-out-loud scenarios, and brutal action, as well as graphic language and hardcore sex scenes. The most interesting aspect, to me, is that Lee Martin, whoever he or she is, has played a very witty early April Fool’s gag on yours truly. It seems that the undercover cop penetrating (pun intended) the gang in this novel is a Detective Sergeant Ali S. Karim, with the S standing (apparently) for “Sex God.” I almost spat out my tea, when I saw the name Ali S. Karim, and then roared with laughter. No Exit Press’ Ion Mills won’t reveal Lee Martin’s true identity, but he admitted to being amused by Martin’s protagonist, and couldn’t help but ask whether my own sex life mirrored the fictional Karim’s. I declined, tactfully, to comment. Anyway, Mills notes that Martin is diligently at work on a sequel, and there’s been strong interest in adapting Gangster Wives for television. During the Nick Stone launch, I confronted erotic-crime supremo Maxim Jakubowski on whether--as rumors have had it--he’s behind Gangster Wives, but he said that it couldn’t be him, because the sex in the story is far too restrained! Well, let me disagree: the sex is far from restrained, although its certainly pivotal to the plot. If I wasn’t already a man of color, I’d have blushed severely while reading about the exploits of DS Ali S. Karim. There’s no release date yet for Gangster Wives,
but I strongly encourage you to track it down, once it does arrive in bookstores. And if anyone out there knows who Lee Martin really is, please e-mail me. I have my own suspicions. And as Detective Ali S. Karim would say, “We’re continuing our investigation.”• On the subject of Jakubowski, he mentioned that he plans to open his bookstore, Murder One (76-78 Charing Cross Road, London), at midnight on Monday, December 4, in order to begin selling Thomas Harris’ latest novel, Hannibal Rising. If you’re in town, be sure to get to Murder One early. There’s bound to be a giant queue, as Hannibal Rising’s release is embargoed until December 5. A huge Harris fan myself, I’ll be writing something soon in anticipation of this author’s new book.
• The Rap Sheet reported recently that thriller writer Robert Littell’s son, Jonathan, has been getting considerable attention in France with his epic debut literary novel, Les Bienveillantes, written in French. We heard this week that Chatto & Windus won the auction for publishing the 900-page novel in the UK. Chatto’s publishing director, Alison Samuel, acquired the British rights from agent Andrew Nurnberg and is due to release an English translation in 2008. More information is available from the ever-dependable Times of London, which reports that as Paris enters its latest round of autumn book prizes, its cozy publishing world is struggling to cope with the runaway success of Les Bienveillantes. The 39-year-old Littell made history this week by becoming the first native English speaker to win the Grand prix du roman de l’Académie française, an annual award given out by the Académie Française, the guardian of the French language. Littell’s novel, favorably compared by critics to the works of Tolstoy, Proust, and Flaubert, has bulldozed the minimalist tomes by usual Left Bank stars to become the favorite to win the Prix Goncourt, the most coveted commendation in French literature, on November 6.
• Meanwhile, great interest is still being generated in the U.S. release of Robert Littell’s latest espionage opus, Vicious Circle. That follow-up to the award-winning Legends (2005) delves into the murky waters of Middle Eastern politics and deceptions. I find it amusing that both father and son were first published by the legendary French house Gallimard, and listening to the elder Littell last year talk about his slam-bam adoption by Gallimard was among the funniest anecdotes from his colorful life.
• Finally, thudding onto my doorstep last week came issue #14 of Crimespree Magazine. I say “thudded,” because this issue is chock-full of articles, reviews, interviews, and commentary from the Jordan family (Jon, Ruth, and Jennifer), as well as their many contributors. Highlights include the famous photograph of Deadly Pleasures editor George Easter and Mystery Mike having lunch with Clive Cussler, a guest editorial by Kevin Wignall, a “chat” between authors Martyn Waites and Ray Banks, and a superb piece about Greg Rucka, written by Jon Jordan. Crimespree is a labor of love, and it shows. Updates are available from Jon Jordan’s blog, which is always a hoot.
To finish off my theme for the week, let me leave you with this quote from Nathaniel Hawthorne, which sums up the hierarchy of an author’s needs: “The only sensible ends of literature are, first, the pleasurable toil of writing; second, the gratification of one’s family and friends; and lastly, the solid cash.”
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