I’m stunned, thrilled, and flattered to report that Kirkus Reviews has given my new novel THE MAN WITH THE IRON-ON BADGE a starred review in this week’s issue. I wish all weeks started off this good.
*A star is assigned to books of unusual merit, determined
by the editors of Kirkus Reviews."Veteran
TV writer Goldberg (Beyond the Beyond, 1997, etc.) tests a gatehouse security
guard to his limits when he agrees to shadow a homeowner’s
wife.International movie distributor Cyril Parkus doesn’t think his wife
—although his own role models are mostly TV shamuses like
is having an affair, but he knows there’s something wrong with her. So he hires
Bel Vista Estates guard Harvey Mapes, whose professional experience is limited
to watching monitors and writing out courtesy tickets, to follow her around
Camarillo. Harvey watches Lauren Parkus drink coffee, gaze at the ocean, drive
to a pawnshop and meet a man he’s sure is blackmailing her. As a reward, he’s
summarily dismissed with a bonus over the $150 a day he requested and treated to
the horrifying spectacle of Lauren doing a swan dive off a freeway overpass.
Shocked that his investigative work had such a tragic ending, he digs deeper
into the case and soon unearths secrets as dark and twisted as anything Hammett
or Chandler ever dreamed up
Joe Mannix, Dan Tana and Jim Rockford. Working with his friend and sometime
lover Carol, Harvey doesn’t set the world straight, but he does get to the
bottom of the case, earn Carol’s love and grow miles beyond those paragons of
machismo.A grim tale with a
disarmingly sweet hero who begins like sad-sack lawyer Stanley Hastings and ends
by leaving Travis McGee in the dust. "
Wow! Congrats!!!
Wow! Congrats!!!
That’s absolutely fantastic. Congratulations!
Well-deserved! I am part of the way through the e-ARC and loving it!
Kirkus? Ah, they never like anything good. Seriously, I’m a chapter into the e-book and it looks good, Lee.
A star for lee
Lee Goldberg’s latest stand-alone novel “The Man with the Iron-on Badge” received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews.
That’s a great start on this book for the guy who’s writing the
That’s a terrific review, but it’s got one helluva huge spoiler in it! Man, I really hate it when reviewers do that.
Kudos, though. 🙂
Congratulations, Lee. I knew it was a good one.
If it’s got a huge spoiler, I’m glad I didn’t read it.
When does it actually come out? Can’t wait to get it.
BTW, congrats. Meant to include that last time.
Mark
Congratulations, Lee!
Congratulations, that’s wonderful news.
Congrats on the good review!
Plot sounds nice and twisted – just the way I like!
Is this / Will it be published over here in the UK?
Thank you so much for all the congratulations. I’m still pretty stunned by it all.
The book comes out in October (here and in the UK) but it will be pretty hard to find at your local B&N or Borders.
You’re better off ordering a signed copy for Mysteries to Die For (www.mysteriestodiefor.com) or The Mystery Bookstore (www.mystery-bookstore.com) or another independant mystery bookstore… or buying online from Amazon.
I’m not happy about the spoiler in the middle of the review but I can’t complain, since they gave me a star (and there are plenty more twists along the way) On the other hand, Harriet Klausner’s review of DM: THE PAST TENSE gives far too much of the mystery away. While I appreciate her nice review, I wish she didn’t reveal so many of the surprises in her plot summary.
Yes, yes, YES! This is great news indeed and well deserved. Congrats!
I’ll be on hand for the launch party and we will get it all on digital!
Congrats Lee, just pre-ordered it from AMZN. I read your blog often and enjoy your insights. Trying now to find an agent for my first novel, your blog helps…keep up the good work.
Glad I didn’t read HK’s review at Amazon either, then.
How will I wait another month or so to get it at the signing?
Mark
Congrats Lee. That’s a real review, but what’s “Five Star (ME)” mean? It should be pointed out that this isn’t the Kirkus pay to review option. It’s real.
Kirkus is by far the toughest of the trade review services. A star from them means more than any other starred review. In the quiet of the night, with that sort of accolade from your critics and peers and colleagues, you can rejoice about the way your life is progressing.
I have no idea what “Five Star (ME)” means, Mark. I saw that on the Amazon listing and I was wondering myself…
Thank you, Richard. I’m crossing my fingers that PW will give me a positive review, too. I know from past experience that it’s hard to get Five Star books noticed outside of the library market and a few independant mystery bookstores without really strong reviews.
Lee, I believe they designate the publisher as “Five Star (ME)” because their distribution operation is in Maine. (Looks like at least some of their editorial operation is there, too.) That is to differentiate this publisher from the other Five Stars you wrote about a while back.
Does Five Star get any distribution to bookstores? (I know the majority go to libraries.) It’s a shame that the books are not more widely available, as they put out some good titles.
Congratulations, Lee !!
Hey, that’s great, Lee! Can’t wait ’til this one is available to us readers.
One quibble with the review, though: Stanley Hastings is a PI, not a lawyer. (Yes, I know it has nothing to do with Lee’s book, but that’s one of my favorite series.)
David:
Does Five Star get any distribution to bookstores?
They are not at all bookstore friendly (or weren’t, last I knew). Several times, my closest mystery bookstore (now, sadly, closed) tried to get copies of some of their mystery titles. It was pretty much a crapshoot whether or not there would be a response from Five Star. Hopefully, things have improved in the last couple of years.
Cheers! Great review.
Very well done, Lee! Exellent!
I suspected it was a Maine thing, but don’t know anything about the company.
Mark,
Five Star is a division of Thomson/Gale (which does a lot of large print books, including my DM novels). You can find out more about them, and their other imprints, at http://www.gale.com
Well-deserved star for the multi-talented, multi-tasking, and multi-millionaire (?) Lee Goldberg. Did I mention ambidextrous, too? I know the days of Rockford and Columbo are long gone, but Harvey Mapes would make a helluva TV show. Start pitching, Lee!
Bravo,Lee! Kudos from Kirkus not an easy thing for any author to achieve. Hopefully a sign of more terrific reviews to come your way…
Lee, just saw this! Major congratulations!!
Lee, just saw this! Major congratulations!!
Congrats, Lee, that’s just terrific!!!
Publishers Weekly Gives BADGE a Rave
I’m pleased to report that, on the heels of the starred review from Kirkus, THE MAN WITH THE IRON-ON BADGE got a rave today from Publisher’s Weekly. Approaching the level of Lawrence Block is no mean feat, but Goldberg (the