Dave Zeltserman's Blog, page 7
August 2, 2023
Everybody Lies in Hell now available!
Everybody Lies in Hell is now available for purchase.
"In Everybody Lies in Hell Mike Stone's eternal damnation is a private detective's office in a re-imagined Brooklyn. In Hell, the beautiful woman with a case opens a literal Pandora's Box, and Stone is soon inundated by all-too-recognizable evils and lies of Hell's tortured souls, powerful ancient demons and devils, and haunting personal ones. Classic pulp, noir, and horror--think James N. Cain and Bukowski and Palahniuk--are all ground up in a blender and the result is a nasty, wild, and ultimately redemptive novel that only Dave Zeltserman could write." Paul Tremblay
July 28, 2023
July 27, 2023
Once upon a time .... Outsourced
What reviewers said about Outsourced:"Bodies mount up as the double dealing and revenge gather apace. The blurb on the book describes it as a "fast-paced, edge-of-your seat crime novel," and it really does live up to the hype. Add this to your holiday reading list for a piece of escapism." Morning Star"A small gem of crime fiction" Booklist
"a dark gem of a story...a macabre delight to read" NPR
"A dark, lightening-paced read" Financial Times
"Zeltserman’s nifty bit of neo-noir is damned decent fun" DIG Boston
"And here again, Zeltserman manages to tell a riveting story in the straightforward, personality-driven manner at which he’s so accomplished. There’s no purple in his prose even though he obviously has learned lessons of the genre from masters like Jim Thompson. His characters aren’t as hard-bitten, which perhaps is why it’s easier to identify with them." Boston Globe
"Back in the “real” world, Dave Zeltserman’s Outsourced is a dryly witty take on the heist caper genre with a gaggle of reluctantly redundant software engineers planning the perfect bank robbery. He brings together crazed hitmen, Russian mafiosi, Iraqi antiques smugglers and domestic angst in a fast-paced action romp that has the inestimable advantage (or not) that its characters are actually human." Peter Millar, London Times
"DAVE Zeltserman is one of the new, highly original voices in crime fiction, his writing spare, disciplined and concrete. His plots are as original as anyone writing hard-boiled fiction with an attractive noir edge, and always grimly entertaining. Like his characters. Outsourced, already being turned into a movie, follows an all-too-human bunch of outsourced software engineers who have no job prospects and no long-term insurance but do possess a plan. They are going to use their computing skills to rob a bank, and Zeltserman delivers a finely paced, witty and stylish take on the heist caper novel. More than most authors churning out mysteries, Zeltserman is fully steeped in the conventions of crime fiction. He remains absolutely his own hard man." The Australian
July 9, 2023
Two new stories
I have two new stories out:
A new Archie story, Archie's Been Stolen, in the latest issue of Ellery Queen.
And in this week's issue of Black Cat Weekly, my very meta comic serial killer thriller spoof, The Matzo Ball Killer. Any similarities between myself and the character Dan Seltzerberg are purely intentional.
July 4, 2023
More Julius Katz and Archie on sale
"The puzzles are clever, and Zeltserman plays fair with readers. Stout devotees will be delighted with this loving homage." Publishers Weekly (starred review)My second collection of Julius Katz detective stories is on sale thru July 6th for $0.99.
May 27, 2023
Kindle version Everybody Lies in Hell available for pre-order!
The kindle version for Everybody Lies in Hell will be on sale Aug. 23rd and can be pre-ordered now!
"This clever depiction of hell explores the lies that people tell, both to others and to themselves... Zeltserman has developed a rich world with a complex protagonist, and the stated stagnation of hellish eternity doesn’t stop his story from moving briskly along." Publishers Weekly
"Everybody Lies in Hell is a wild adventure centered on confronting our demons--literally and figuratively. At once compulsively entertaining and bizarre, Zeltserman has written a metaphysical masterpiece. Hell has never been so much fun." Jon Bassoff
"In Everybody Lies in Hell Mike Stone's eternal damnation is a private detective's office in a re-imagined Brooklyn. In Hell, the beautiful woman with a case opens a literal Pandora's Box, and Stone is soon inundated by all-too-recognizable evils and lies of Hell's tortured souls, powerful ancient demons and devils, and haunting personal ones. Classic pulp, noir, and horror--think James N. Cain and Bukowski and Palahniuk--are all ground up in a blender and the result is a nasty, wild, and ultimately redemptive novel that only Dave Zeltserman could write." Paul Tremblay
January 15, 2023
When Pigs Fly
I've got a time-travel paradox story in the latest issue of Black Cat Weekly. If you haven't discovered this magazine yet, you should--it's a nice of mix of new and old mystery + sci-fi short fiction.
October 23, 2022
Three new stories out now
Julius Katz might be retired, but Archie and Julia continue the adventure in 'Archie Smith International Spy'
In my latest Morris Brick crime story, 'Fay & Wray', Parker has been dognapped!
'Buxton' is a quiet and very unusual story that I think fans of 'The Caretaker of Lorne Field' will like quite a bit. I hope folks check this one out!
August 21, 2022
HUSK on sale for $1.99
My publisher has HUSK on sale for $1.99. You can get the Kindle version here and the Nook version here."The story is at once tender, brutal, fantastic, and vibrantly real. A unique and splendid novel" ― Booklist Starred Review“Dave Zeltserman’s Husk is a compelling, quirky, twisty, smart, page-turner mix of horror, satire, and even a little romance with (yeah, I’ll say it) bite. A brutal love story perfect for our dark times.” ― Paul Tremblay, author of Cabin at the End of the World
"HUSK may be Zeltserman’s best book to date.... Many of the twists and turns are saved for the final third of the novel, but they come hard, fast and heavy, right up to the last sentence, which is one of the best I have read this year."
"I loved this book" Becky Spratford, RA for All: Horror
January 2, 2022
"A unique and splendid novel"
Charlie Husk is a cannibal, a member of a clan of flesh-eaters who live hidden away from the world. His job is to travel into civilization, abduct people (college students are favored prey), and bring them back to the clan. He's quite good at it; he's stealthy, ruthless, and smart, easily able to adapt to unexpected changes in circumstances. When he falls in love with a human girl, Charlie's whole life changes instantly, like a switch has been thrown. And, so, Charlie abandons his clan and his heritage, and determines to live among the people who used to be his prey. The author takes on a tricky challenge making a monster a sympathetic character and he's completely successful. Zeltserman keeps the story grounded in reality, giving Charlie practical problems to overcome (like finding a way to deal with the craving for human flesh, or learning new words, like social security number), and the story is at once tender, brutal, fantastic, and vibrantly real. A unique and splendid novel.--Booklist's starred review.
