Hollywood and Crime: Original Crime Stories Set During the History of Hollywood [Hardcover]

Robert J. Randisi (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2007

"Randisi knows the secret. That's why he's one of the best."-Michael Connelly

"Randisi keeps getting better."-Lawrence Block

Anything can happen at the corner of Hollywood and Vine, as today's finest authors of mystery fiction-including Michael Connelly, Lee Goldberg, Max Allan Collins, and Stuart Kaminsky-present fifteen original Hollywood crime stories.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The 14 stories in this entertaining anthology from Shamus Award–founder Randisi span Tinsel Town history from the 1930s to the present and intersect, literally, at Hollywood and Vine. Top billing should go to Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch story, "Suicide Run," and to Lee Goldberg's "Jack Webb's Star"—the former for the detection and the latter for biggest laughs. Other highlights include Max Allan Collins and Matthew V. Clemens's reinvention of one of the Three Stooges, Moe Howard, as a detective in their clever "Murderlized," about the 1937 death of the Stooges' mentor, vaudevillian Ted Healy. Robert S. Levinson delivers a wicked portrait of gossip columnist Hedda Hopper in "And the Winner Is...," which turns on her lackey's efforts to stop a Nazi sharpshooter at the 1960 Academy Awards. From Harry Bosch's visit to a photographer at Hollywood & Vine Studios to Moe's meeting at a coffee shop at that intersection, all the tales pay homage to the storied Hollywood street corner. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

As veteran crime writer Randisi notes in his introduction, when some people think of Hollywood, they think fame, glamour, and Disneyland. Others think of the Black Dahlia, O. J., and Fatty Arbuckle--the dark side of the Tinseltown dream. Among the authors represented in this collection of original short stories with a Hollywood theme are marquee names Michael Connelly, Max Allan Collins, Bill Pronzini, and Stuart Kaminsky. Among the best of the 14 selections are Collins' "Murderlized," featuring Moe Howard of Three Stooges fame investigating the death of his mentor, and Connelly's "Suicide Run," in which Harry Bosch extracts justice for a series of murdered starlets. Veteran television screenwriter Lee Goldberg has some fun with a small screen legend in "Jack Webb's Star," and Dick Lochte brings back private investigator Leo Bloodworth--still listening to Dinah Shore but on an MP3 player--in a mystery that ends with a devilish poke at the quality of modern screenwriting. This consistently high-quality collection offers readers a nice mix of big names and lesser-knowns who deserve larger audiences. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Pegasus Books (March 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933648287
• ISBN-13: 978-1933648286
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,517,010 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lee Goldberg is an ex-Navy SEAL, freelance Sexual Surrogate and a professional Pierce Brosnan impersonator.

Okay, that's not true. But he wants this biography to be really exciting, so pay attention. If things bog down, I've been instructed to add a car chase or some explicit sex.

Here's the real story. Lee Goldberg writes books and television shows.

His mother wanted him to be a doctor, and his grandfather wanted him to go into the family furniture business. Instead, he put himself through UCLA as a freelance journalist, writing for such publications as American Film, Starlog, Newsweek, The Los Angeles Times Syndicate, The Washington Post and The San Francisco Chronicle (He also wrote erotic letters to the editor for Playgirl at $25-a-letter, but he doesn't tell people about that, he just likes to boast about those "tiffany" credits).

He published his first book .357 Vigilante (as "Ian Ludlow," so he'd be on the shelf next to Robert Ludlum) while he was still a UCLA student. The West Coast Review of Books called his debut "as stunning as the report of a .357 Magnum, a dynamic premiere effort," singling the book out as "The Best New Paperback Series" of the year. Naturally, the publisher promptly went bankrupt and he never saw a dime in royalties.

Welcome to publishing, Lee.

His subsequent books include the non-fiction books Successful Television Writing and Unsold Television Pilots ("The Best Bathroom Reading Ever!" San Francisco Chronicle) as well as the novels My Gun Has Bullets ("It will make you cackle like a sitcom laugh track," Entertainment Weekly), Beyond the Beyond ("Outrageously entertaining," Kirkus Reviews), and the upcoming The Man With The Iron-On Badge.

"Take me now," she moaned, "you hot writer stud."

She tore off her clothes and tackled him onto the floor, unable to control her raging lust. Nothing excited her more than being around a writer with a big list of books.

Got your attention again? Good. I don't know about you, but I was starting to nod off. Where was I? Oh yes...

Goldberg broke into television with a freelance script sale to Spenser: For Hire. Since then, his TV writing & producing credits have covered a wide variety of genres, including sci-fi (SeaQuest), cop shows (Hunter), martial arts (Martial Law), whodunits (Diagnosis Murder, Nero Wolfe), the occult (She-Wolf of London), kid's shows (R.L. Stine's The Nightmare Room), T&A (Baywatch), comedy (Monk) and utter crap (The Highwayman). His TV work has earned him two Edgar Award nominations from the Mystery Writers of America.

His two careers, novelist and TV writer, merged when he began writing the Diagnosis Murder series of original novels, based on the hit CBS TV mystery that he also wrote and produced. And he also writes novels based on Monk, another show he's worked on.

But perhaps he's best known for his pioneering work mapping the human genome and negotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Goldberg lives in Los Angeles with his wife and his daughter and still sleeps in "Man From UNCLE" pajamas.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars entertaining, November 14, 2007

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hollywood and Crime: Original Crime Stories Set During the History of Hollywood (Hardcover)

The underlying theme to these fourteen wonderful crime capers is the corner of Hollywood and Vine. All the contributions are strong with a few deserving of award nomination status as this may be the crime anthology of the year. Especially powerful Harry Bosch's "Suicide Run" by Michael Connelly and Moe Howard proves he is no stooge as an amateur sleuth investigating the death of Three Stooges founder Ted Healey in "Murderlized". With homage to Jack Webb and Hedder Hopper amongst other notables, readers will appreciate Hollywood and Crime; however the highlight to this reviewer is the return of private investigator Leo Bloodworth (by Dock Lochte) working a case while listening to the sound of Dinah Shore singing Johnny Mercer on an MP3. As Gar Anthony Haywood's character Danny Floyd says in "Moving Pictures" claims he knows movies as he has seen the "Matrix trilogy six times and both Kill Bills twice apiece"; "who gives a F**k" about classic film noirs especially black and white". Readers will hooray for Hollywood and Crime as the show must go on.

Harriet Klausner

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hollywood And Crime, October 9, 2007

By 

Lynn Guyot (Tucson, Arizona) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hollywood and Crime: Original Crime Stories Set During the History of Hollywood (Hardcover)

This is a clever compilation of crime stories. Michael Connelly and Paul Guyot's tales are especially good.Everyone should have a copy available for a short story when needed and no time to read a full novel.Randisi has put together a great gang of authors.

5.0 out of 5 stars *** Don't Miss This Book ****, March 18, 2011

By 

DR. A. M. COLT "- Doc Fairtrade -" (Long Island Sound) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hollywood and Crime: Original Crime Stories Set During the History of Hollywood (Paperback)

I lived in Hollywood for 15 years. These are great stories set in a great place. All of them during a bygone era. Not only wonderful tales, but wonderful imagery. Don't miss this magic carpet ride-