The Crime Writer [Paperback]

Gregg Hurwitz (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Viking Press (2007)
• ASIN: B000U7U5N0
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,556,659 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gregg Hurwitz is the critically acclaimed, internationally bestselling author of The Tower, Minutes to Burn, Do No Harm, The Kill Clause, The Program, Troubleshooter, Last Shot, The Crime Writer, Trust No One, They're Watching, and coming soon, You're Next. His books have been nominated for numerous awards, shortlisted for best novel of the year by International Thriller Writers, nominated for CWA's Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, chosen as feature selections for all four major literary book clubs, honored as Book Sense Picks, and translated into twenty languages.

Currently a consulting producer on ABC's "V," he has written screenplays for or sold spec scripts to Warner Bros., Paramount, MGM, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, and ESPN, developed TV series for Warner Bros. and Lakeshore, written Wolverine, Punisher, and others for Marvel, and published numerous academic articles on Shakespeare. He has taught fiction writing in the USC English Department, and guest lectured for UCLA, and for Harvard in the United States and around the world. In the course of researching his thrillers, he has sneaked onto demolition ranges with Navy SEALs, swam with sharks in the Galápagos, and gone undercover into mind-control cults.

Hurwitz grew up in the Bay Area. While completing a BA from Harvard ('95) and a master's from Trinity College, Oxford in Shakespearean tragedy ('96), he wrote his first novel. He was the undergraduate scholar-athlete of the year at Harvard for his pole-vaulting exploits, and played college soccer in England, where he was a Knox fellow. He now lives in L.A. where he continues to play soccer, frequently injuring himself. Feel free to email him at [e-mail]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A stand-out summer thriller -- one of the year's best, August 11, 2007

By 

David Montgomery "Book Critic" (davidjmontgomery.com) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Crime Writer (Hardcover)

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.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lee Child made me read this, September 30, 2007

By 

BrianMusic "BrianMusic" (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Crime Writer (Hardcover)

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 -

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended, April 21, 2008

By 

Jennifer Wardrip (Bloomington, Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Crime Writer (Hardcover)

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!