Customer Reviews

The Crime Writer

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Drew Danner is a bestselling mystery writer with a successful career, plenty of money and a beautiful home. His idyllic life quickly turns into a nightmare, however, when he awakes in a hospital room, his skull covered with stitches from an operation to excise a brain tumor.

To his horror, Danner learns that he was found in the midst of a crippling seizure, covered in blood and huddled over the corpse of his former fiancée. Despite the holes in his memory caused by the tumor, Danner is convinced he didn't kill her.

He sets out to prove his innocence, using the skills for research and the expert connections that made him a success as a novelist. When Danner is accused of a second murder, his quest to clear his name takes on life-or-death importance.

Hurwitz has written one of the stand-out books of the summer, combining great writing, memorable characters and white-knuckle suspense. He's also crafted a story that uses the city of Los Angeles to beautiful effect. THE CRIME WRITER is not just the best novel this author has written; it would take top rank on many authors' resumes.

Never having read Hurwitz before, I bought this book based on the glowing praise of Lee Child's endorsement on the back cover. (I consider Child and Vachss to be the best writers of their genre. Hands down. If they recommend it, I read it.)

So with that said, as my first entry into Hurwitz, clearly a talented writer, I felt that this book coasted in 3rd gear pretty much throughout.

With a terrific opening chapter and overall creative premise, and some wonderful heartfelt relationship scenes (e.g. Caroline and Junior) I kept waiting for it to blast off - yet it never did. I wish there was a stronger momentum building toward the climax.

It's a solid effort; I wouldn't consider it a boneafide page-turner, but I would read Hurwitz again -

What a great read!

Although it took me a few chapters to get into the story (it's told in alternating real-time and past-tense chapters), this was one thriller that grabs on and never lets go.

I've read other Gregg Hurwitz titles, but THE CRIME WRITER is the first one that had me reading late into the night just to see what happened next. This is one read that definitely keeps you on your toes, and questions everything you think you know about what has happened or what's going to happen.

Highly recommended -- this one's a winner!

I had never read anything by Gregg Hurwitz but after totally enjoying this book, I will read all his work and highly recommend him to friends. Excellent, excellent read.

Andrew Danner is a mystery novelist who as a result of a brain tumor has a partial memory loss and ends up indicted for his former girl friend's murder. He's found not guilty by temporary insanity, but of course is still considered a murderer by his public. He is then framed for a second murder and forced to try to clear himself, starts writing his story as one of his mysteries, and this is the book we are reading. He hiself doesn't know how it will end, but hope that by writing out all that happens, he will eventually remember the circumstances he has no memory of.And Gregg Hurwitz successfully subverts his own style by allowing his character to write the story through him. At one point, it's indicated that Danner is considered a 2nd rate writer and there are indications, especially in descriptive passages during the first of the book and in some of the main character's dialogue that he is definitely a pulp type writer.All in all, this is an outstanding book and along with the author's more recent TRUST NO ONE shows indicatioons of a major talent blossoming.

I am glad I didn't read these negative reviews prior to getting the book. It might have dampened my spirits. True, the book has a melancholy narrative; but please, Drew is being charged for murder. He's not sure if he did it, plus a piece of his brain is floating in a jar. I think the book was set up perfectly.

Fantastic book. Fantastic writer.

The Crime Writer finds Hurwitz exploring a new, more noir-influenced direction in his always impeccably crafted crime stories. His previous work exemplified high-octane action scenes, stunning attention to detail, and fast paced thrills. In the Crime Writer, Hurwitz lets the story breath while soaking in the atmosphere of LA, with some hilarious and insightful depictions in the tradition of Raymond Chandler.

The story is a kind of post-modern take on noir and how crime, pop culture, and Los Angeles have been doing their dance since the city's inception. As a crime writer, the novel's protagonist, Drew Danner, finds himself in the middle of a plot straight out of one of his own pot-boilers. As he begins his investigation into clearing his own name, he finds that much of what he thought to be true isn't. He decides the only way to discover the truth is to write his own story, but he finds that he may be in over his head in the real world.

The Crime Writer features one of the best hooks in recent memory. The characters, humor, and unfolding mystery make it impossible to put down. Readers looking for an original take on the classic LA noir tradition will love the Crime Writer.

This is one of my favorite mystery books, and I have read hundreds. I just listened to it on CD for the third time. It's read by the mesmerizing Scott Brick. From the start, I felt I was on a deeply disturbing but fascinating journey with the "crime writer". I have a preference for books told in the first person, if that person is perceptive, quick witted, has a great self deprecating sense of humor, and an intelligent take on the world around him. As expected of someone in his profession, he has a certain street smartness but also a certain naivete that he feels he may share with some of the dream-seeking denizens of LA.

As a reader, I was drawn into his vivid descriptions of Los Angeles, about which he sometimes writes poignantly, and at other times with biting, sarcastic dark humor. Hurwitz has created a compelling main character, and his plot is full of mind bending, unexpected twists and turns. This book is great from beginning to end, check it out!

The Crime Writer starts with an absolutely great premise: a crime writer awakens from brain surgery, where a tumor has been removed from his head - along with his memories of how exactly he came to be standing over his ex-fiancee's dead body with a knife in his hand. And, in its best moments, the book lives up to that premise, whether it's the writer's discomfort of grappling with the possibility of his own guilt, or the way Hurwitz uses the book as a meta-meditation on the way crime fiction influences the real world and back again. The problem, though, is that these moments of brilliance are just that - moments. For far too much of its length, the book meanders along without a lot of focus, drifting from character to character without apparent motive or logic, and without enough depth given to the characters to make them truly interesting. Even the murder itself often seems to be forgotten about for long periods, and the ultimate reveal of the killer plays like a wasted opportunity, a moment that should have been moving and morally complex but just feels inert. Ultimately, The Crime Writer isn't out-and-out bad - it has too many well-written scenes, too much ambition, too many good moments - but it's far from successful, and in the end it feels like a waste of a great concept and story.

This book is an enjoyable read despite a sluggish first few chapters that are mostly exposition. What I enjoyed most about the story is how the mystery consumed his life and actually branches off into different unexpected areas. His relations with the different people in his life really drive the story since using his connections are the only way to solve the mystery.

The best thing that I think I can say about the book is that I truly didn't know whether he was a murderer until the very end of the book. I won't spoil it either way but I appreciated the fact that it wasn't given away too early.