Behind the Mystery: Top Mystery Writers Interviewed by Stuart Kaminsky And Photographed by Laurie Roberts

by Laurie Roberts

Kaminsky personally visited and interviewed 18 of his friends who are leading mystery writers. Laurie Roberts captures them on film at home, working, and relaxing.

Genres: Nonfiction, Writing

237 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2005

Reviews

[James Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brief biographical interviews with successful mystery authors, conducted by the late Stuart Kaminsky, one-time Grandmaster of the Myster Writers of America and author of my favourite mystery series.

Come to think of it, most of the people he interviewed are dead now, as well. Some I love, some I barely know. And it was interesting seeing, via Laurie Roberts' photographs, where and how they live and work. I was DEFINITELY surprised at Sue Grafton's palatial home. I had, unconsciously, come to identify her with Kinsey Milhone. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

I just stumbled over this book in the library, but now I wish I had a copy of my own.

[Bcoghill Coghill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable interviews of many of my favorite author and other authors I was not familiar with and at least one who I thought was long dead. A couple have since passed away which makes this one of the last interviews.
The photos are worth the price of admission.

[miteypen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since this book’s publication in 2005, six of the 18 interviewees and the interviewer have died, most of whom were favorites of mine. Being over sixty myself, I found this depressing. On the other hand, they all achieved fame and a kind of immortality through the works they left behind.

The interviews themselves were interesting, although some were more revealing than others. The photographs were a nice addition but I wish they’d been captioned. Sometimes I wasn’t sure what I was looking at.

The book itself is large, almost a coffee table book, which made the photos seem more intimate. And it’s only 237 pages. So it’s a quick read, if you want to read it straight through.

[Suzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish the print were larger. There's a lot of white space and I had to squint. What I love about this book are the informal photographs of each author. NOT book jacket glorified photos! Interesting interviewing techniques.

[Deanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting read about the background of some of the mystery writers. The interviewer asked the questions most of us ask. How did you start, what motivates you, writers block, etc.

[Steven Kirby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some decent candid pictures. A few surprising tidbits about the private lives of some famous authors. This really is the Who's Who of American crime fiction. It's a little bit sad, as some of the interviewees have already finished their long goodbyes and eased their way into the big sleep. Robert B. Parker, Elmore Leonard, Tony Hillerman and Ed McBain, are all gone, as is the interviewer & writer, Stuart Kaminsky.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this look at some well known mystery writer and how they approach their craft.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book, but some of the worst proofreading I've seen.