.....and I have to tell you it is an excellent and engrossing mystery.
Mrs. Spinelli is a very talented writer and I hope this first book is just the beginning of a series. I am a big fan of series in the detective and mystery genre so I know something about it. Robert B. Parker's Spenser. Lawrence Block's Matt Scudder. John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee. Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer. Tony Hillerman's Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn. Marj Sjowall and Per Wahloo's Martin Beck. Elmore Leonard's Raylan Givens. They all spring to mind.
Of course there are many female master's of the genre. Fay Kellerman. Patricia Cornwall's Kay Scarpetta. Elizabeth Peter's Amelia Peabody. Sharon Kay Penman's Justin De Quincy.
Now Leslyn Spinelli's Kate Daniels can take her place amongst her peers.
It is very interesting how she weaves Kate's anxiety syndrome into her character. It reminds me of Matt Scudders alcoholism. Or Spenser's smart alecky personality. A major character flaw the humanizes the character.
I have to tell you the Nick's lovely bride is a very talented fiction writer. She imagines the protagonist's husband as a virile ex-Navy Seal and Private investigator who is a dreamboat.
Boy can she write fiction or what?
Anyway we might be posting some excepts from the book in the next few weeks. Stay tuned.
7 comments:
Trooper, My bride is very happy you are enjoying this book. I told her you are an avid reader of mystery, a great writer, and you would be straight w/ her. She has the follow-up done and it will be out in time for Christmas. I helped her a lot on the second book, just a little on this one. She's researching the third volume of Caroline and it involves Gypsies. Did you know the pc term now is Roma? Thanks, much.
Indeed I do.
I will pass on some stories of when we had some gypies in the store trying to rip us off.
And a family that tried a home improvement scam.
Very helpful, thanks. We're going to Chicago soon for research. I know a Chicago cop who worked pickpocket detail. And, we're going to go to some Tarot Card readers, undercover. The inspiration for the Gypsy is when she recommended a prison sentence for a Gypsy, one of the family put a curse on her as she left the courtroom. And, I was wrong. Caroline is not part of the Gypsy book.
Oh that might be a mistake. Series are good. They are money makers. I made a list of several of the more famous ones in another post. They build name recognition and can lead to someone wanting them for TV or a movie or something.
But of course you wife knows best. I will put these stories in a post or too and I would be happy if your bride cannibalizes them.
Thanks from her and me.
The Irish have their own version of Gypsies, not the Roma or Romani, but are called Travelers. They are basically Irish people who are Gypsies. When I was in Ireland, they were a real pain in the ass. Constantly trying to scam you. Tarot and fortune telling are big for the Irish Travelers.
In the States, it seems that they do a lot of, like Trooper said, home improvement scams and in our area asphalt scams. Trick unsuspecting homeowners into thinking that they are going to get their driveway's redone. Link They are a pain in the ass in the USA as well.
DBQ, Never heard of the Irish Travelers, thanks.
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