The raves keep coming in for my buddy Axel Brand's new book THE HOTEL DICK. Axel is the pen name of a very successful author stepping into a new genre (hence the new moniker). Library Journal says:
With a narrative voice reminiscent of Dragnet's Joe Friday and a spot-on 1940s style that subtly slips modernisms into the smooth, often humorous telling, Brand has written a sound period piece featuring Lt. Joe Sonntag. Sonntag maintains a cool approach when movie star Spencer Tracy appears to be the only viable suspect in the murder of a hotel detective. The plot is as devious as any of Donald Westlake's and hard-boiled enough to please Bill Pronzini fans. The end result is pure entertainment.
And author & reviewer Bill Crider loved it, too:
fit into today's world of hotshot crime-solvers, but his dogged
approach gets the job done. It was great to read a book like this one,
an effective throwback to another era that still feels fresh and new.
It's great to see Axel's first hardboiled detective novel doing so well.
Thanks for the tip, Lee. So far I can’t locate a copy of Mr. Brand’s book but I’ll keep looking!
What I have gotten a hold of, though, is your MURDER: DIAGNOSES book, “The Past Tense,” and a copy of “Mr. Monk Goes to Germany.” I’m looking forward to enjoying them.
Although not much happens in Guelph, Ontario, Canada beyond the intense bouts we have with humid air, sometimes something actually happens. Local writer Mary Swan, a winner of the O. Henry Award for excellence in short-story writing, is a contender for the $50,000 dollar Giller Prize with her first novel, “The Boys in the Trees.” It’s published out of the United States by Henry Holt/H.B. Fenn. I don’t know Ms. Swan but I managed to get a copy of her book, too. The Giller Prize is for literary achievement so I’m thinking her book will be a good read.