Robert J. Randisi is the author of the
Miles Jacoby,
Nick Delvecchio, and
Joe Keough mystery series. He has been nominated four times for the Shamus Award from the Private Eye Writers of America. In 1993 he was the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Southwest Mystery/Suspense Convention. He is the editor of more than 25 print and audio anthologies, including the
Deadly Allies, Lethal Ladies, For Crime Out Loud and
First Cases series. His most recent anthologies are
The Shamus Game (NAL, 2000) and
Mystery Street (NAL, 2001), both PWA anthologies.
His most recent book, Blood on the Arch (St. Martin’s Press, 2000), a “Joe Keough” novel, will be published in paperback from Leisure Books this fall. The year 2001 will see the publication of the novel The Masks of Auntie Laveau, co-authored with Christine Matthews, as well as Delvecchio’s Brooklyn, a collection of his “Nick Delvecchio” short stories. He is the Founder and Permanent Executive Director of the Private Eye Writers of America, the creator of the Shamus Award, the co-founder of Mystery Scene magazine and The American Crime Writer’s League, and the former mystery reviewer for The Orlando Sentinel.
Fans of the contemporary private-eye genre will enjoy this anthology, which presents the short story debuts of many well-known private investigators, including Lawrence Block's Matthew Scudder, Sara Paretsky's V. I. Warshawski, and Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone. The collection will especially interest mystery fans wishing for insight on the development of their favorite gumshoes, as each story begins with a brief biography of the character and information on the author. The collection is pleasantly diverse in its stories and reading styles, and if Amanda Karr's Kinsey Millhone doesn't exactly match the voice you imagined (too mild, lacking acerbic edge), then it's on to another story that suits exactly. With 18 stories narrated by 16 capable readers, there's something here for everyone. J.C.G. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine