Play Dead

Play Dead by David Rosenfelt

June 2015

PERSONAL INFORMATION:

Born in Patterson, NJ; married; children: two. Education: Graduated from New York University. Addresses:Home: CA. E-mail: david@davidrosenfelt.com.

CAREER:

Writer. Tri-Star Pictures, former president of marketing; Tara Foundation (dog rescue organization), cofounder, with wife, 1995.

AWARDS:

Mystery Prize, Audie Awards, 2014, for Unleashed, read by Grover Gardner

Former film executive and screenwriter David Rosenfelt pens mysteries and suspense novels. The bulk of his work is a series featuring a wealthy, witty, deceptively easygoing attorney who loves both dogs and justice. Rosenfelt places his wise-cracking protagonist in assorted unpleasant situations -- mostly in Paterson, New Jersey -- ratchets up the danger, then takes his readers on a fast-paced ride with criminals, cops, and dramatic courtroom scenes. Rosenfelt's stand-alone novels are equally brisk and witty, although they tend to be more plot-driven and suspenseful. Start with: Leader of the Pack.

"ANDY CARPENTER" SERIES

• Open and Shut, (#1), 2002.
• First Degree,(#2), 2003.
• Bury the Lead, (#3), 2004.
• Sudden Death, (#4), 2005.
• Dead Center,(#5), 2006.
• Play Dead, (#6), 2007.
• New Tricks,(#7) 2009.
• Dog Tags,(#8) 2010.
• One Dog Night, (#9) 2011.
• Leader of the Pack (#10) 2012
• Unleashed (#11) 2013
• Hounded (#12) 2014

NOVELS

• Don't Tell a Soul, 2008.
• Down to the Wire, 2010.
• On Borrowed Time, 2011.
• Heart of a Killer, 2012
• Unleashed, ,\ 2013.
• Airtight, 2013
• Without Warning, 2014

Play Dead finds Andy Carpenter defending Yogi, a golden retriever that has supposedly bitten its owner. Carpenter posits that the dog was protecting itself from an abusive situation and ultimately wins its freedom. The story deepens, however, when the dog turns out to have belonged to another owner five years previous and holds the key to proving the innocence of U.S. customs inspector Richard Evans in the case of the murder of his fiancée.

Read-alikes  series

1.	Dismas Hardy novels  by John T. Lescroart Reason:  Realistic courtroom drama surrounding provocative issues can be found in these series, which contain sympathetic, realistic characters who engage readers in their lives, not just the courtroom. The Carpenter novels are lighter in tone, while the Dismas Hardy novels are grittier, darker, and more urban. -- Rebecca Sigmon
2.	Paul Madriani novels  by Steve Martin Reason:  Both of these fast-paced series follow the suspenseful exploits of star defense attorneys whose violent cases and complex personal lives frequently intertwine. -- Kim Burton
3.	Jason Kolarich novels  by David Ellis Reason:  The Jason Kolarich novels and the Andy Carpenter novels are fast-paced and suspenseful, certain to entertain legal thriller fans with their independent-minded defense attorney protagonists and compelling plots. Justice is alive and well in the hands of these unorthodox but ethical lawyers. -- Mike Nilsson

Read-alikes  author

1.	Evanovich, Janet Reason:  If it's the snappy banter, humor, offbeat characters, and fast-paced (and sometimes wacky) plots that draw you to David Rosenfelt's Andy Carpenter Legal Thrillers, you might want to try Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series, which features a wise-cracking bounty hunter who never met a donut she didn't like. -- Shauna Griffin
2.	Lescroart, John T. Reason:  Rosenfelt's readers who don't mind a darker tone should try John T. Lescroart for his novels that also raise disturbing, provocative issues about the law and feature sympathetic series characters, investigative background, and grandstanding courtroom action. -- Katherine Johnson
3.	Corleone, Douglas Reason:  Corleone and Rosenfelt write legal thrillers that feature defense attorneys as their sleuths. The men are likeable and have a wry sense of humor. The stories are fast paced with intricate twists and turns in the plots. The sleuths often resort to uncovering the truth outside of court. -- Merle Jacob

Tenth Witness by Leonard Rosen

April, 2015

Born January 7, 1954, in Baltimore, MD; Education: Trinity College, Hartford, CT, B.A., 1975; American University, Ph.D., 1981. Addresses: Home: 199 Babcock St., Brookline, MA 02146. Office: Department of English, Bentley College, Beaver and Forest Sts., Waltham, MA 02254. Agent: Mark Kramer, 20 Bluewater Hill, Westport, CT 06880.

CAREER:

Bentley College, Waltham, MA, assistant professor of English, 1982--. Consultant to Digital Equipment Organization.

Biography

Leonard Rosen grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, where he taught high school English. Graduate studies in literature followed, and he went on to a university teaching career.  Len writes full time now in the Boston area.  He has contributed radio commentaries to Boston’s NPR station, written best-selling textbooks on writing, and taught writing at Harvard University and Bentley University. The Tenth Witness is a prequel to his award-winning first novel, All Cry Chaos.  Both feature Interpol agent Henri Poincaré, “a protagonist,” wrote one critic, “who reads like a literary figure in a thriller.”  Contact Len through this Web site to arrange for a web-based visit to your book group and to find book-related events, essays on writing, and a sampling of his radio commentaries.

Author’s website     http://lenrosenonline.com/  includes an interesting blog by the author.

WRITINGS:

• The Everyday English Handbook,, 1985.
• (With Larry Behrens) Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum, Pearson/Longman). 2005.
• (With Behrens) Reading for College Writers, 1987.
• (With Behrens) Theme and Variations: The Impact of Great Ideas,, 1988.
• (With Behrens) The Allyn & Bacon Handbook, 1992.
• Discovery and Commitment: A Guide for College Writers,, 1995.
• Decisions: A Writer's Handbook, 1998.
• A Sequence for Academic Writing, 2001.
• The Academic Writer's Handbook, 2006.

All cry chaos: an Henri Poincare mystery (Sep 2011)

When 30-year-old math genius James Fenster is blown up in his Amsterdam hotel room, via the precise detonation of military-grade rocket fuel, shortly before he was due to address a World Trade Organization conference, Henri Poincaré, aging Interpol agent and great-grandson of a legendary mathematician, investigates.

Series: Henri Poincare mysteries, 1

The tenth witness (Sep 2013)

In Rosen's strong prequel to his 2011 debut, All Cry Chaos, Henri Poincaré, not yet an Interpol agent, uncovers a startling secret that brings back the ghosts of WWII. In 1978, Poincaré, then a hydraulic engineer, is busy off the Dutch coast trying to salvage a 1799 shipwreck rumored to be laden with a fortune in gold bars. During his day off, Poincaré takes a walk on a nearby beach that leads to him meeting Liesel Kraus, heir to the Kraus Steel Co. fortune  

Series: Henri Poincare mysteries, 2

Read-alikes

Steig Larsson:  compelling, intricately plotted mysteries set in Sweden with business and social themes.

The day after tomorrow (Apr 1994)   By: Folsom, Allan

As an American surgeon tries to kill the man who murdered his father and a Geneva medical resident begins a fateful love affair, a group of industrialists prepares for a momentous celebration.

Folly du jour (Jan 2007)  By: Cleverly, Barbara

Arriving in Paris for an Interpol conference, Joe Sandilands is called to assist his old friend, Sir George Jardine, who has been arrested for murder.

Secondworld (May 2012)  By: Robinson, Jeremy

When the world's populations are abruptly wiped out by an apocalyptic event predicted by Hitler's scientists 70 years earlier, Lincoln Miller, a Navy SEAL-turned-scientist stationed in the

Aquarius underwater research station, teams up with a group of desperate survivors to stop a brutal neo-Nazi repopulation plot.

The redbreast (Jan 2000)  By: Nesbo, Jo

1942: Daniel, a soldier legendary among the Norwegians fighting at the Eastern front, is killed. Eighteen months later in a Vienna hospital, a wounded soldier becomes involved with a young nurse. The consequences will ripple forward to the end of the century. 1999: Having caused an embarrassment in the line of duty, Harry Hole is lumbered with monitoring neo-Nazi activity; a fairly mundane assignment, until reports of a rare weapon being fired attract his interest.

Cop Town by Karin Slaughter

May 2015

PERSONAL INFORMATION:

Born January 6, 1971, in GA. Avocational Interests: Rock climbing, fencing, running.Addresses: Home: Atlanta, GA

Karin Slaughter spent her childhood in rural Georgia and initially aspired to become a lawyer. Instead, she owned and operated a sign shop until she was twenty-five, when she left the business to begin writing novels. She has made a name for herself with the "Grant County" mystery series, which draws on her long association with the Deep South to depict the dark side of small-town life. Slaughter has also been praised for her "Will Trent" series and her stand-alone novellas.

WRITINGS:

• (Editor) Like a Charm: A Novel in Voices, William Morrow (New York, NY), 2004.
• Martin Misunderstood (novella), Random House (London, England), 2008.

"WILL TRENT" SERIES

• Triptych, Delacorte Press (New York, NY), 2006.
• Fractured, Delacorte Press (New York, NY), 2008.
• Undone, Delacorte Press (New York, NY), 2009.
• Broken, Delacorte Press (New York, NY), 2010.
• Fallen, Delacorte Press (New York, NY), 2011.
• Snatched (e-book novella), Dell (New York, NY), 2012.
• Criminal, Delacorte Press (New York, NY), 2012.
• Unseen, Delacorte Press (New York, NY), 2013.

"GRANT COUNTY" MYSTERY SERIES

• Blindsighted, William Morrow (New York, NY), 2001.
• Kisscut, William Morrow (New York, NY), 2002.
• A Faint Cold Fear, William Morrow (New York, NY), 2003.
• Indelible, William Morrow (New York, NY), 2004.
• Faithless, Delacorte Press (New York, NY), 2005.
• Beyond Reach, Delacorte Press (New York, NY), 2007.

Also author of short story, "The Unremarkable Heart." Contributor to the anthology Tart Noir, edited by Stella Duffy and Lauren Henderson, Berkley Prime Crime, 2002. Slaughter's works have been translated into more than thirty foreign languages

Cop Town :  "Atlanta, 1974. It's Kate Murphy's first day on the job and the Atlanta Police Department is seething after the murder of an officer. Before the day has barely begun, she already suspects she's not cut out for the job as a cop. Her male uniform is too big, she can't handle a gun, and she's rapidly learning that the APD is hardly a place that welcomes women. Worse still, in the ensuing manhunt, he'll be partnered with Maggie Lawson, a cop with her own ax to grind (and a brother and uncle already on the force)­­a strategy meant to isolate Kate and Maggie from the action. But the move will backfire, putting them right at the heart of it"­­ Provided by publisher.

Read­alikes:

1. Hard revolution by Pelecanos, George P.  Reason: Although Cop Town introduces two policewomen in 1974 Atlanta, Georgia, and Hard Revolution follows the career of an African ­American cop in 1960s Washington, D.C., both gritty mysteries depict the experiences of "outsiders" struggling to succeed in their careers despite discrimination. ­­ Gillian Speace

2. Open season by Miller, Maryann,  ­ Reason: Despite different settings ­­ Cop Town takes place in 1970s Atlanta, Georgia; Open Season is set in contemporary Dallas, Texas ­­ both gritty mysteries pair female police officers from different backgrounds who must solve politically sensitive cases with racial undertones. ­­ Gillian Speace

3. Forty acres by Smith,  Dwayne Alexander  Reason: Race relations are central to these provocative, fast ­paced suspense novels. While Cop Town focuses on the gritty realism of 1970s Atlanta and Forty Acres features a contemporary society of rich and powerful African ­Americans, both leave the reader with uncomfortable moral questions. ­­ Anthea Goffe

4. The poet  by Connelly. Michael,  Reason: Fast ­paced and gritty, these mysteries feature police officers hot on the trail of a cop killer who's equally clever and ruthless. Cop Town evokes the urban atmosphere of 1970s Atlanta, while The Poet takes readers on a contemporary, cross ­country manhunt. ­­ Gillian Speace

5. Crusader's cross by Burke, James Lee, ­ Reason: These books are Gritty, and they share: the genre 'Mystery stories' and the subjects 'Serial murder investigation' and 'Violence'.

6. The traffickers by Griffin, W. E. B. Reason: These books are Compelling and Gritty, and they share: the genre 'Mystery stories' and the subjects '1970s' and 'Violence'.

website:  http://www.karinslaughter.com/

TV series that takes a look back at police work circa 1973 :  Life on Mars.  Originally an UK series (2005), but there was an American remake in 2008.  Both versions are available from the library.

Sign of Four

Sign of Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

March, 2015

PERSONAL INFORMATION:

Born May 22, 1859, in Edinburgh, Scotland; died of a heart attack, July 7, 1930, in Crowborough, Sussex, England  Education: Edinburgh University, B.M., 1881, M.D., 1885. Memberships: British Society for Psychical Research.

CAREER:

Novelist and physician. Assistant to physician in Birmingham, England, 1879; ship's surgeon on whaling voyage to Arctic, 1880; ship's surgeon on voyage to west coast of Africa, 1881-82; physician in Southsea, Portsmouth, England, 1882-90; ophthalmologist in London, England, 1891; writer. Lectured on spiritualism in Europe, Australia, the United States, and Canada, 1917-25, South Africa, 1928, and Sweden, 1929.

Wartime service: Served during the Boer War as chief surgeon of a field hospital in Bloemfontein, South Africa, 1900.

AWARDS:

Knighted, 1902.

======================

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle shaped the mystery genre with his legendary brilliant private detective Sherlock Holmes, aided by his equally iconic stolid sidekick, Dr. Watson. Because of their timeless quality, Doyle's characters have become archetypes for the genre and the stories themselves part of our popular culture. Gentlemanly chivalry laced with adventure characterize the atmosphere of his cultured, sleek and entertaining narratives. Tightly ­knit plots offer a quick but stately pace, and stories are populated with colorful recurring characters. Start with: A Study in Scarlet.

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the Holmes phenomenon is the tongue-in-cheek pseudoscholarship that has grown up around the stories. The practitioners of this elaborate game--who call themselves Sherlockians or, in Britain, Holmesians--are educated, usually professional people. Adopting the pretense that Holmes really existed, that the stories are actual case reports written by Watson--or in two instances by Holmes himself--and that Doyle was merely Watson's literary agent, they study the sixty tales--called "the Canon (or Conan)"--to develop theories about unrecorded parts of the characters' lives and to try to explain away the main inconsistencies Doyle carelessly introduced into the stories.

==========

Here is a contemporary, not so favorable, review:

    "Novels of the Week: 'The Sign of Four'." The Athenaeum 3293 (6 Dec. 1890): 773. Rpt. in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Sharon K. Hall. Vol. 7. Detroit: Gale Research, 1982. Literature Resource Center. Web. 7 Mar. 2015.

A detective story is usually lively reading, but we cannot pretend to think that `The Sign of Four' is up to the level of the writer's best work. It is a curious medley, and full of horrors; and surely those who play at hide and seek with the fatal treasure are a strange company. The wooden-legged convict and his fiendish misshapen little mate, the ghastly twins, the genial prizefighters, the detectives wise and foolish, and the gentle girl whose lover tells the tale, twist in and out together in a mazy dance, culminating in that mad and terrible rush down the river which ends the mystery and the treasure. Dr. Doyle's admirers will read the little volume through eagerly enough, but they will hardly care to take it up again.

WEB SITES:

http://sherlockholmes.stanford.edu/biography.html

From 2002 to 2007, we at Stanford University have enjoyed a vicarious journey through the 19th century, courtesy of Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Stanford Library’s Special Collections. We began with three Dickens novels, Great Expectations in 2002-2003, A Tale of Two Cities in 2004, and Hard Times in 2005, and continued in 2006 and 2007 with selected Sherlock Holmes stories, including a complete novel,The Hound of the Baskervilles.

http://www.sherlock-holmes.org.uk/

A literary and social society for the study of the life and work of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson; open to anyone with an interest in Sherlock Holmes, Dr John H. Watson and their world.

http://www.sherlockian.net/

The web portal about the Great Detective • edited by Chris Redmond

http://www.mysterynet.com/holmes/sherlock-holmes-stories/

Complete text to all 24 Sherlock Holmes Adventures, ready to print

http://sherlockholmesexhibition.com/                                                                               Exhibition runs from Feb. 12, 2015 - May 10, 2015 at the Perot Museum of Nature & Science in Dallas, Texas

Inspired by and other Readalikes:

House of Silk; a Sherlock Holmes Novel by Anthony Horowitz

This first Sherlock Holmes novel to be authorized by Arthur Conan Doyle's estate opens in 1908 with a retired Dr. Watson laying pen to paper a final time to recount the most scandalous case of Holmes's career.

Stout, Rex, (1886­-1975) Reason: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic Sherlock Holmes series inspired Rex Stout's novels, and Stout is a good choice for readers who like eccentric but brilliant detectives, faithful sidekicks, vivid descriptions, a strong sense of place, and books that offer the mental challenge of coming up with the solution before the grand unveiling. ­­ Dawn Towery

1. Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes mysteries King, Laurie R. Reason: Fans of the original Sherlock Holmes series might enjoy a continuation in the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes Mysteries. Holmes and Mary work together solving crimes. King's historical detail, elegant language, well ­developed characters, and complex plots are comparable to the original Holmes. ­­ Rebecca Sigmon

2. Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries Reason: by Sayers, Dorothy. Both series feature a quirky, cunning, and bold detective dealing with complex mysteries and shady characters, and evocative period descriptions of England abound in each. The Lord Wimsey mysteries are more humorous, occasionally satirizing the iconic Holmes character. ­­ Derek Keyser

3. New adventures of the great detective by Thomas, Donald Serrell Reason: The New Adventures of the Great Detective and the Sherlock Holmes mysteries feature the brilliant detective from the original Arthur Conan Doyle stories in new, authentically re-imagined stories that continue the detective's adventures into the Edwardian era. ­­ Merle Jacob

4. Dr. Thomas Silkstone mysteries by Harris, Tessa Reason: These suspenseful historical mysteries set in London feature highly intelligent detectives who use the scientific method ­­ Silkstone pioneers 18th ­century forensic methodology while the 19th century Holmes uses deductive reasoning. Both richly detailed, fast-paced series bring London vividly to life. ­­ Mike Nilsson

5. Return of Sherlock Holmes by Grant, Barry Reason: If you find that Arthur Conan Doyle didn't write enough of his Sherlock Holmes mysteries to satisfy you, try a 21st­ century continuation series, Return of Sherlock Holmes, in which the real Sherlock Holmes (frozen and revivified) appears in Hertfordshire. ­­ Katherine Johnson  

6. Nero Wolfe mysteries Reason: The detectives in these mysteries are idiosyncratic, eccentric, brilliant men who work with assistants who have different but complementary personalities. The plots of both series are leisurely paced and well­ detailed, allowing the reader to solve the mystery alongside the detective. ­­ Rebecca Sigmon

7. Pendergast novels by Preston, Douglas J. Reason: Readers of the Sherlock Holmes Mysteries who particularly appreciate Holmes' intelligence, powers of observation, and indestructible nature may want to try the Pendergast Novels for a similar character solving crime in a modern setting. ­­ Rebecca Sigmon

Graphic Novel adaptations:

The sign of the four / adapted from the original novel by Arthur Conan Doyle ; text adapted by Ian Edginton; illustrated by I.N.J. Culbard

The hound of the Baskervilles / adapted from the original novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ; text adapted by Ian Edginton; illustrated by I.N.J. Culbard