Crown Vic 2 is Here!

Crown Vic 2

I’m delighted to share with you my new novella Crown Vic 2: If I Were a Rich Man. You may be one of the hundreds of readers who already pre-ordered it… but because of an infuriating technical glitch by Amazon, you were notified that your order was cancelled and the book was not going to be released. Amazon has apologized to me for their mistake, and may be reaching out to you soon to let you know the novella is now available in ebook and trade paperback. 

But for the rest of you, here’s the story behind this new novella.  A few years ago, I released the first Crown Vic, a collection containing two short novellas, “Ray Boyd isn’t Stupid” and “Occasional Risk,” as an experiment. I wanted to see if readers would accept a character from me who isn’t the least bit heroic… an ex-con aimlessly wandering America in his used Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, going wherever his appetites lead him, thinking only of himself and nobody else. The stories were dark, funny, violent, and full of sex…very different from my other work. 

To my surprise, the response from hundreds of readers was a resounding Yes, we want more! There was even a five-star review from Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, which called Crown Vic “a fun departure for Goldberg and a throwback to the thrilling and erotic men’s adventure novels of the 1970s.”  That was exactly what I was going for.

One of the readers who wanted more of Ray Boyd was my brother Tod, a New York Times bestselling author, who was gathering stories for Eight Very Bad Nights: A Collection of Hanukkah Noir for Soho. He thought a Ray Boyd story would be perfect for it. I reminded Tod of how twisted, sexually explicit, and violent the Ray Boyd stories were, but he insisted that was exactly what he wanted for his holiday collection. 

Mostly, though, I think Tod was giving me an excuse to dip my toe into Ray Boyd’s world one more time to see if I wanted to seriously pursue writing a full-length book, or collection of novellas, about the character.

So I wrote “If I Were a Rich Man,” the longest, and certainly the most sexually explicit, story in his collection. I’m glad to say the critical response to the story was terrific, with positive reviews coming from many sources, including the Los Angeles Times. There has even been Hollywood interest in optioning the character for TV and movies, though I haven’t accepted any offers yet.

So yes, I do intend to write more about Ray Boyd, either in a book length collection of loosely-linked stories  or by occasionally writing and publishing individual novellas like this one between my other contractual commitments (like more Sharpe & Walker and  Eve Ronin novels).

If you enjoy this novella, and would like to see more of Ray Boyd, I hope you will consider posting a review on Amazon and letting me know what you thought of it.

Thanks!

EIGHT VERY BAD NIGHTS is here!

It’s pub day for the short story anthology Eight Very Bad Nights: A Collection of Hanuhhah Noirwhich includes my nasty novella “If Were a Rich Man,” featuring Ray Boyd, the “anti-Reacher,” a character I introduced in my collection Crown Vic.

The other ten stories in Eight Very Bad Nights are by James D.F. Hannah, David L. Ulin, Ivy Pochoda,  Nikki Dolson, J.R. Angelella, Jim Ruland, Liska Jacobs, Gabino Iglesias, and Stefanie Leder, and my brother Tod, who edited the book and wrote the foreword.

This is the first time Tod and I have been in a book together…and it’s perhaps the first time you can clearly tell by our stories that we’re brothers. I’m sure if we swapped bylines on his story and mine, nobody would notice the difference. But you can be the judge of that. 

The reviews for the book have been terrific, but of course I’m especially happy about the ones that call out my story for special attention…

“My favorite story in Eight Very Bad Nights is Lee Goldberg’s “If I Were a Rich Man,” featuring his anti-hero Ray Boyd tracking down a bundle of stolen cash during Hanukkah. Boyd plays all the notes just right and even falls into a honeytrap with both eyes open. Of course, everything works out for Boyd and the trip is a blast.” Dark City Underground

“Tod Goldberg’s titular story as well as brother Lee’s “If I Were a Rich Man” — the latter involving a Jewish ex-con, now a dementia patient in a retirement home in Merced — bring on the funny while being wildly observant.” Los Angeles Times

Fair warning… “If I Were a Rich Man” is a sharp and crude departure from my other fiction. It’s full of violence and explicit sex. So if you’re looking for the kind of stuff I wrote with Janet Evanovich, or for Monk and Diagnosis Murder, you are going to be disappointed and, perhaps, offended.