Customer Reviews

Speaking of Murder: Interviews With the Masters of Mystery and Suspense, Vol. 1

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This is a collection of interviews conducted in 1997 and 1998 with 21 writers. It is mainly intended for fans of the writers to give them some insight into the writers' thoughts about their writing. I bought it in order to get a little background on Sue Grafton, as questions keep coming up on her Forum on the Web. It also includes interviews with other popular authors including Marcia Muller, Anne Perry, Patricia Cornwell, Elizabeth Peters, Tony Hillerman, Ian Rankin, Elizabeth George, Mickey Spillane, Ed McMain, and others. The subtitle is Interviews with Masters of Mystery and Suspense. There is a volume 2 published later.

Twenty-one of the most famous mystery writers of the last decades have been interviewed by critics or their peers and assembled into this unique and outstanding collection. Most of the interviews appear in print for the first time. The star caliber of the exchanges is dazzling and includes such luminaries as Ed McBain, Elizabeth George, Mickey Spillane, Mary Higgins Clark, Marcia Miller, and Tony Hillerman, as well as fifteen other superstars.

All the interviews are revealing as little known, but fascinating facts about the interviewees surface. The one recurring theme that all the authors agree on is that writing is a demanding and difficult advocation. Readers, who enjoy stepping behind the scenes, will take great pleasure from this collection.

Harriet Klausner