Dave Zeltserman's Blog, page 56
July 15, 2011
Julius Katz and Archie..
is being profiled at the Indies Book Blog
July 12, 2011
Top Suspense's Sizzling Summer Reads!
We're announcing a Summer Book Club over at Top Suspense. My entry is Dying Memories, which is probably a perfect thriller for the summer. Fast-paced, lots of twists and turns where you're never quite sure what's happening, a nice noir edge, nasty, dangerous villains and a protagonist to root for. That's right, my protagonist in this one is the good guy!
July 10, 2011
Take the Blood Crimes Summer Challenge
There's a reason why I keep hearing from readers who tell me they hate vampire books but loved Blood Crimes. This review from Paul Brazill seems to be representative of what I've been hearing from most readers:
"Let's face it; most vampires are big girl's blouses. If Tom Cruise in `Interview With A Vampire' is anything to go by then the typical vampire is about as scary as Adam Ant's `Dandy Highwayman'.
But there's nothing of the New Romantic about the vampires in Dave Zeltserman's `Blood Crimes'. These are hard rocking creatures of the night. Indeed, the book kicks off with our heroes ,Jim and Carol, driving along an archetypal American highway listening to The Doors `Riders On The Storm'. This sets the tone of 'Blood Crimes' perfectly although there's more than one `killer on the road' in this hardboiled take on the vampire legend.
Jim and Clara are classic noir lovers on the run, like those in They Drive By Night, Theives Like Us,Badlands and Natural Born Killers. They're trying to escape from Serena - a rich, vampire femme fatale - and Metcalf - an ex CIA hit man who performs experiments on vampires in an underground laboratory. Throw a world weary Private Eye and a biker gang into the mix and you have a really well written, blood splattered and very cinamatic page turner that fans of From Dusk Till Dawn and Near Dark will love. And not a lavender fop in sight!"
So here's my Summer challenge--if you've got a Kindle or Nook, download the free sample and see if you can read it without being hooked! And if you do get hooked, help spread the word!
July 8, 2011
July 7, 2011
For fans of Small Crimes
Small Crimes was published in 2008 and made a bit of a stir when NPR picked it as one of the 5 best crime and mystery novels of that year, saying:
"This tale is told by one of fortune's fools: Joe Denton is a crooked ex-cop in Vermont who's just been released from jail after serving seven years for stabbing the local district attorney in the face. Since what's past is never truly past in crime noir, no sooner does Joe step out of the slammer than cosmic IOU's begin to rain down on his head. First, the disfigured DA cheerfully greets Joe outside the prison and announces that a local crime kingpin (and Joe's secret boss) is dying of cancer and has found religion. The kingpin's expected confession should send Joe straight back behind bars. Then, the local sheriff (also crooked) orders Joe to murder the DA before the crime kingpin can confess. The plot of Small Crimes ricochets out from this claustrophobic opening, and it's a thing of sordid beauty."
Small Crimes made other best of the year lists, and received other raves reviews from the Boston Globe, Sun-Sentinel, and others. It has since been translated to Italian (where it placed 3rd in last year's Bloody Mary awards) and French.
Fans of Small Crimes are going to want to read the Manny Vassey stories in 21 Tales!
July 6, 2011
For fans of Fast Lane
My first novel, Fast Lane, was first published in Italy by Meridiano Zero and later in 2003 by Point Blank Press in the US, and it ended up developing a loyal following among noir readers. In a lot of ways it's a very ambitious book, both a deconstruction of the hardboiled PI genre and a very wild psycho noir. Here's what Patrick Millikin at Poisoned Pen Bookstore wrote about it:
"In the last few years there have been a number of writers, such as Ken Bruen and Victor Gischler, who've taken the classic PI novel and tweaked the hell out of it, creating something fresh and unique. Add Dave Zeltserman to the list. Several pages into his debut, I knew that I was reading something special." Patrick Millikin, Poisoned Pen's Book News, Hardboiled Crime Club Selection
If you're a fan of Fast Lane, you want to read The Dover Affair in 21 Tales, which is one of Johnny Lane's earlier cases.
