Misogynistic, or Picky?

Egomaniac that I am, I publish an annual list of what I thought were the best books I read each year, as if anyone else gives a shit. In 2012 the list contained no female authors. This was a genuine surprise to me when pointed out—I honest to God hadn’t noticed—but it got me to thinking. Since then I have made a conscious effort to read more female writers, and to add female characters to my writing.

My 2013 list contained only two females, both in the Honorable Mention list. (Laura Lippman and Zoe Sharp.) None made the Top Ten.

This prompted some examination. Why don’t I read more female authors, and why don’t I enjoy them more when I do? As the father of a daughter, I felt a need to see if there was something more afoot. I doubt my conclusions will satisfy many, but what good is a writer without an occasional well-intentioned controversy?

I looked for a common denominator in the writing that might put me off. This is dangerous business, as that implies all women write more or less the same way, which is no truer that saying all men do. I needed to organize my thoughts around writing, not gender, to see if there were common elements in the books I either didn’t like as much as I’d hoped, regardless of the author’s plumbing. I found three things:

1. So long as the story is plausible and doesn’t require me to rupture myself suspending disbelief, I’m interested more in the manner of the telling than I am in what’s told. In short, I read for style. Most of the female authors to whom I’ve been exposed are storytellers more than stylists, with a couple of notable exceptions. (Megan Abbott, Christa Faust.)

2. Women tend to be more descriptive than men. Lots more adjectives. I don’t care that it was a pale blue house with a white door and cedar shake shingles unless it’s important for some reason. I don’t care that a person set down his Louis Vuitton garment bag, shrugged up the sleeve of his Caraceni suit, and looked at his Piaget watch unless it tells me something about him, and it’s something worth remembering, which means I don’t have to hear about it every time. That reason doesn’t have to be readily evident, but there needs to be one. That’s a matter of personal taste. It doesn’t make me right, but it does affect my reading enjoyment.

3. Forgive me for saying this, but a lot of female authors drop in too many scenes that seem to have been written for Lifetime TV movies. I don’t watch TV movies. As above, that doesn’t make me right, but it does affect my choices.

Who do I read and enjoy? Megan Abbott. (Though I’ll admit Dare Me put me off. Maybe because I used to be a public school teacher or because my daughter is not that far removed from high school, but every character I remember was detestable, and I just stopped caring about them. In fairness, Bury Me Deep is as good as it gets.) Christa Faust. Laura Lippman’s standalones (Tess Monahan I can live without). Sandra Parshall. S.J. Rozan. Zoe Sharp.

Help me out. With the above caveats in mind, who am I missing?

Recommended Reads, November - December

First, the news: Omni Mystery has been kind enough to run me through a fairly intensive interview about Grind Joint and writing in general. It’s a great site, well worth poking around on. Or in. Whichever term is appropriate for a web site.

Now to our regularly scheduled programming.

What’s that? Narcissistic references to my own handiwork are the regular programming of late? Okay, you got me. Way the hell back on October 3 I promised to keep up better with recommended reads, and since then the lion’s share of the recommended reading has been Grind Joint. (Except for when I came up for air and pimped A Small Sacrifice.) It’s time I made amends. (Order of appearance is the order in which the books were read.)

The Walkaway, Scott Phillips. I’ve already had a lot to say about The Walkaway. A wonderful book, maybe my favorite of Phillips’s oeuvre, which is saying a lot.

The Onion Field, Joseph Wambaugh. His first non-fiction, and possibly the best non-fiction crime book I have ever read, including In Cold Blood back when I thought everything in it was true, too. This is the intensely personal story of two cops who happen into the wrong place at the worst possible time in an era when cops in the street lacked the support systems they have now, both on the job and off-duty. A brilliant, painful, riveting, and exhausting book.

Black Rock, John McFetridge. I scored a pre-release copy of this one; now I understand how psychics feel, knowing what people are going to do before they know themselves. Here’s your future: you’re going to love this book. A departure from McFetridge’s previous Toronto series, with passing similarities to Adrian McKinty’s Sean Duffy series in the historical placement and setting the crime against larger social events, with all of McFetridge’s trademark touches. Keep your eyes open for this one.

Road Kill, Zoe Sharp. I don’t read thrillers much, and I don’t read as many female writers as I might. (There will be a more detailed discussion of this in a few weeks.) Charlie Fox is a badass; not Wonder Woman. She uses her wits as much as her physical skills to know when to call for help, and to do her best to stay out of situations where help may be needed. Sharp also keeps the stakes high, but personal, a far more effective technique than worrying about the Fate of All Human Kind. This shit feels real.

Ratlines, Stuart Neville. A fantastic book, explored in detail here.

Never Call Retreat, Bruce Catton. Volume Three of Catton’s Civil War historical trilogy maintains the level of excellence of the first two. A lot of books have been written about the battles of the Civil, as if the armies stood around for weeks or months, then randomly decided to fight. Catton ties together the military, political, and social considerations in a series that brings as much sense as can be derived from such a universal cluster fuck. Released in 1965, looking back 100 years, some of the parallels to what’s going on today are eerie.

Vespers, Ed McBain. Nothing special by McBain’s standards, which makes it better than 90% of what’s out there. (More on McBain here.)

Remember, anyone who sends an email to danakingcrime (at) gmail (dot) com may request a free e-book of their choice, so long as it’s one I wrote. I’m not giving away other people’s stuff.

Bouchercon Interview, Part 7: Zoe Sharp

(As noted last week, due to Black Friday here in the States—an orgy of shopping where Americans give thanks for what they have in life by pushing, pulling screaming, cajoling, occasionally injuring, and sometimes killing others in the spirit of Christmas—this week’s interview with Zoë Sharp has been posted early. Charlie Fox is badass, but not even I would send her into Black Friday alone.)

Zoë Sharp was born in Nottinghamshire, England. She wrote her first novel at fifteen, but success came in 2001 with the publication of Killer Instinct − the first book to feature her ex-Special Forces heroine, Charlotte “Charlie” Fox. The character evolved after Zoë received death-threat letters in the course of her photo-journalism work.

Later Charlie Fox novels – First Drop and Fourth Day − were finalists for the Barry Award for Best British Crime Novel. The Charlie Fox series has also been optioned for TV. Zoë's short stories have been published in anthologies and magazines, and have been shortlisted for the Short Story Dagger by the UK Crime Writers' Association. Her other writing has been nominated for the coveted Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America, the Anthony Award presented by the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention, the Macavity Award, and the Benjamin Franklin Award from the Independent Book Publishers' Association.

I can honestly say her Charlie Fox tales are among the few modern thrillers I read. The characters are people, the situations are not too over the top, and Charlie is badass enough to be entertaining, but not so much as to strain believability. It was a real treat when she agreed to answer some Bouchercon questions for us.

One Bite at a Time: What made you decide to come to Albany?

Zoë Sharp: I try not to miss a Bouchercon if I can help it, and this year I had both a novella in my Charlie Fox series, Absence of Light, and a new standalone mystery thriller, The Blood Whisperer fresh out, so I wanted to spread the word about those two new books.

OBAAT: What’s the most important aspect of Bouchercon for you? (This year, or any year?)

ZS: Catching up with author friends, meeting readers old and new, and getting the chance to chat to people in the industry — agents, editors, reviewers, bloggers, etc.

OBAAT: Were you on any panels?

ZS: I was lucky enough to be on two panels — one as a panelist and one as moderator. The delightful Jen Forbus of Jen’s Book Thoughts was moderating my first panel called “You’re Only Human: secret powers and other little-known talents that would make us great Super Heroes or Villains” at which we just had to be as funny and inventive as possible. And I was moderating the panel entitled “Running On Ice: adrenaline-driven stories.”

OBAAT: To you, what makes a good panel, from a panelist’s perspective?

ZS: A moderator who’s done their homework and asks interesting and imaginative questions designed to draw out the very best from their panelists. Fellow panelists who like to keep things short, sweet and moving along, good interplay between the panelists.

OBAAT: What do you look for when deciding which panels to attend?

ZS: An author with an opinion or specialist knowledge I particularly want to hear and/or learn from; an author I know will be witty and entertaining; a fun topic — something a little out of the ordinary like Jen Forbus’s panel at Albany.

OBAAT: What makes a panel good for you when you’re in the audience?

ZS: Same as when I’m on a panel. A moderator who (even if participating) doesn’t make it all about them; short and sweet answers that keep things moving without letting the energy in the room dissipate; exploring the topic and not wandering too far down blind alleyways; imaginative questions that show the moderator has done their research and prepared well; not going into politics — particularly when they’re not relevant to overseas visitors; humour; something a bit different.

OBAAT: Would you like to see more or fewer questions from the audience?

ZS: That depends. I’d almost say that if the moderator has done their job correctly there shouldn’t be too many questions needed, but at the same time I hate it when people disguise a statement as a question simply by coming out with a long-winded opinion and then just adding, “don’t you agree?” to the end of it. Or questions that are very specific to one author rather than the topic under discussion, and exclude all the other panelists while that author enters into a dialogue with the questioner. You have individual questions? Great. Save them for afterwards.

OBAAT: What’s your favorite Bouchercon story, from this year or any past years?

ZS: Every year Bouchercon holds a charity auction usually in aid of a local literacy charity. Quite often at these auctions someone will offer ‘have breakfast/lunch with the author’. I decided to go a little further and once put ‘have breakfast … and go to the gun range with the author’. The lady who made the winning bid had been blind since birth. She went to Radio Shack and bought some cheap transistor radios which we could hang over the target to give her something to aim for, and she did so well with a handgun that the people at the range brought out an MP5 submachine gun for her to try. Afterwards we packaged up the bits and suggested she took them back to the store to see if they would give her a refund. The most interesting thing about this, from my point of view, was the attitude of other people. They expected that I would either refuse to take her shooting, or that it would not be feasible for her to hit the target but she proved them wrong. I’ve always played with preconceptions in my work. It was great to be able to do it in real life too.

Many thanks to Zoë for taking the time to share her Bouchercon thoughts. As these answers imply, should you have a chance to catch on a panel or a personal appearance, by all means, do so.

Bouchercon Interviews Schedule

October 18 – Judy Bobalik and Jon Jordan (organizers)

October 25 – Peter Rozovsky (moderator)

November 1 – Thomas Pluck (author)

November 8 – John McFetridge (author)

November 15 – Tim O’Mara (author)

November 22 – Ali Karim (firmware)

November 27 – Zoe Sharp (author)

December 6 – Jack Getze (author)

December 13 – Walter Colby (reader)

December 20 – Michelle Turlock Isler (reader)

Best Reads, September–October

With the faint hope that things may soon return to normal here at The Home Office, it’s time to do a little catching up. I was able to slip in some worthwhile reading over the past several weeks. Here are my recommendations, in the order in which they were read.

Little Elvises, Timothy Hallinan. Hallinan’s Junior Bender series (e-book only) is funnier and less intense than his Poke Rafferty thrillers, but no less readable. Junior is a thief who serves as unlicensed PI to the underworld, getting himself out of scrapes by performing certain “services” for those who could do him harm. In Little Elvises he has to clear a cop’s uncle who was a shady music promoter fifty years ago and who may—or may not—be mobbed up. Hallinan has assembled an ensemble of characters that wears well and should provide ample fodder for a successful series.

Big Money, Jack Getze. The sequel to Big Numbers finds Austin Carr no longer living in a camper, but still making bad decisions. This time his boss has gone on vacation, leaving Austin to hold the bag without much to help him aside from the winning Carr smile and his wits, which cannot be relied upon any more than the smile. A New York-New Jersey mob war and federal investigators complicate things. Getze once again is able to pull off showing the reader right off the bat who is/are the bad guy/guys without telling you who they are, so you know how the climax sets up without knowing who is there. A fun read, perfectly balancing comedy, crime, and violence, without spoiling the effect of any.

Fox Five, Zoe Sharp. Sharp writes the kind of books I don’t usually read, unless they’re written by her. Charlotte “Charlie” Fox is a close protection agent (bodyguard to us in the States) who is involved in a series of thrillers. Sharp keeps Charlie believable by making her efficient (not a sexy killbot) yet not perfect (she still needs help from time to time). This collection of short stories is an excellent primer into Fox’s world, and should lead any reader to want to read the Fox novels.

Watch Me Die, Lee Goldberg. I’d forgotten how many humorous books I’d read recently until I put this list together. Goldberg does a great job with Harvey Mapes, a Walter Mitty for the 21st Century. Mapes works in the guard shack for a gated community but dreams of being a private investigator. When he’s finally given an opportunity, he researches investigative techniques by reading Travis McGee books and watching an Mannix marathon. That works about as well as could be expected. Goldberg keeps Harvey likeable and teases you just enough with what can go wrong without giving too much away. The ending is a little somber in tone compared to the rest of the book, but not enough to spoil the fun.

Gun, Ray Banks. Banks is the goods. Gun is a day in the life of Richie, recently released from jail, who is tasked with picking up a gun for a local crime boss. This is a bigger deal in England than it would be in the States, but still should be a simple pick up and deliver. Things go wrong and Richie finds himself far more involved than he intended. A true noir tale of a flawed but not wholly irredeemable character drawn down by circumstances and bad judgment, written by a master.

Road Rules, Jim Winter. Insurance companies, Russian gangsters, cops, feds, and the Catholic Church combine to give this chase story multiple injections of energy ad fun. Winter treads the line between what’s funny and making light of what isn’t funny with a deft touch. A large cast is well differentiated and easy to keep track of, and everything makes sense, in it’s own goofy way. The added twist in the last paragraph is the mint after a great dinner.

Joe Puma, PI, William Campbell Gault. Five first-rate PI stories from the 50s, hard-boiled without being self-conscious about it. There’s nothing neo or retro about Gault. He wrote these when they were the vogue and hold his own with anyone. I’d never heard of him before, and I forget how I heard of this colleciton, but he’s on my radar now.

March's Best Reads

Here are my recommended reads from March:

Fiddle Game, Richard Thompson—Saw Thompson on a Bouchercon panel discussing cons and swindles. Engaging fellow, good sense of humor, and the right tongue-in-cheek attitude about con games in general. The book isn’t quite what I expected: it was better. The fiddle con in question relates to a bail bond scheme, and who the bad guys are is in doubt for most of the book. The cast is fun and varied, especially a demented prophet who’s not as off as he appears, and never misses an opportunity to turn a buck himself. Thompson keeps things unpredictable but plausible and delivers a very entertaining read. I’ll look for his next book, which is due out soon, if it hasn’t hit already.

Johnny Porno, Charlie Stella—This is a kickass book. Stella is writing what most publishers say they won’t buy—books about Italian mobs—so well you have to wonder why the hell people won’t buy them. Set in the early 70s, Johnny Porno examines what happens when a divorced father gets down on his luck and has to take a job as a runner for the local mob to make ends meet. His ex-wife, her boyfriend, and another mobster all have it in for him, and the cops can’t barely tell which side each of them is on. The characters would make Elmore Leonard proud, and the dialog has elements of George V. Higgins. First-class stuff. (A more detailed review and interview with the author are available at New Mystery Reader.)

First Drop, Zoe Sharp—Sharp’s first Charlie Fox novel makes it easy to see why she was asked to write more. Fox is an excellent female protagonist: feminine, tough enough to do the job, and smart enough to know when she’s in over her head. She doesn’t wait around for divine intervention or a big, strong, man to save her, but knows enough to get help when she needs it. What starts out as a simple job of keeping an eye on a teenaged boy turns into a high body count thriller when an attempt is made on his life at an amusement park, and everyone—including Fox’s partner—is missing when they try to go home. I figured out the ultimate bad guy before the end, but much of the fun came from seeing how Fox would put it all together.