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ANTHOLOGIES
The Chopin Manuscript is a unique collaboration among 15 distinguished international thriller writers who came together to create a single audiobook with each author contributing a chapter to the ongoing story. The book is serialized and is hailed as the first-ever audio serial book. Jeffery Deaver conceived the characters and the setting and put the plot in motion with the first chapter. From there the story was turned over to fourteen authors—including Lee Child, Lisa Scottoline, Joseph Finder, David Hewson, S. J. Rozan, and P. J. Parrish—who each wrote a chapter that propelled the story along. Along the way the plot took twists and turns as each author lent his or her own imprint on the tale. Characters were added as the action moved around the world—and the stakes got higher and higher. The book wrapped with Deaver writing the final two chapters bringing The Chopin Manuscript to its explosive conclusion.
In the chapter David contributed (available for listening October 9th—see below), Middleton turns the tables on a couple of kidnappers, then retraces his steps to recover the invaluable Chopin manuscript. In transit he realizes, upon listening to a radio performance of Schöenberg's Pierrot Lunaire, that the manuscript's value may not be musical. PLEASE NOTE: The Chopin Manuscript is being delivered serially. Readers will receive a new installment of 2-3 chapters every Tuesday, beginning September 25th. Those who purchase the book after October 2nd will receive all the previous chapters, then get new chapters the following Tuesdays. The final, thrilling installment will be delivered on Tuesday, November 13th. This is the first-ever audio serialization, and is only available at Audible.com ($19.95). Note: There is a special 20% off offer price good from September 12th-24th. Go here for an interview with Jim Fusilli, editor of The Chopin Manuscript, plus a video interview with Jim, Jeffrey Deaver, David Hewson, P.J. Parrish, and Joseph Finder (and a video excerpt preview from the book!). Find out more and listen to the first chapter by clicking the banner below, and read about the project in USA TODAY. 
"Murder, mystery, and music combine in this international thriller written by 15 authors and originally published in serial form. With cliffhangers galore and a variety of styles . . . Alfred Molina gives an outstanding performance, reading this novel with a full palette of characters and accents that represent locales that range from Poland to Italy, from Serbia to the U.S. [and his] narration keeps this novel moving along at a fast pace. Molina manages to smooth out the different styles of the various authors and makes this serial thriller a highly entertaining listen." —Audiofile "[A] remarkable achievement of collaboration in both scope and execution. . . For a work of such diverse contribution, the whole of Chopin is virtually seamless, and the tension mounts from chapter to chapter. A congratulatory nod goes not only to each succeeding author, charged with enriching the plot and characterization, but also to editor Jim Fusilli, who lent a guiding hand. Lisa Scottoline does a wonderful job with Charlotte Middleton Perez, as does Erica Spindler, both women giving her character depth and pathos; Peter Spiegelman (Red Cat) and Fusilli tackle multiple character developments, furthering the tempo; Joseph Finder, James Grady, Ralph Pezzullo, and John Ramsey Miller all add color and realism to the law-enforcement angle; David Corbett's chapter is hard-boiled, urban, and gritty; David Hewson and John Gilstrap set their chapters in Italy, heightening the overseas connections; S.J. Rozan takes on the character of Leonora Tessler, the one-time lover of Harold Middleton and a former intelligence teammate, now living in Africa; P.J. Parrish and Lee Child propel the musical elements of Chopin, giving them a far more complicated and devious significance than merely running notes on a page. Deaver supplies the pyrotechnic ending and fuses together the various running threads of the story. All of this is simplistic observation on my part, because each author produces a layered segment of setting, character, motivation, and plot. The sum is really quite extraordinary. And what about the narrator of The Chopin Manuscript? Tony Award winner Alfred Molina does an outstanding job alternating between characters, genders, and nationalities, frequently in the same scene and in alternating lines. It's a brilliant tour de force performance." —Anthony Rainone, The Rap Sheet The Chopin Manuscript is product of the collaboration of 15 authors, including:
SAN FRANCISCO NOIR
Edited by Peter Maravelis This is one of Akashic Press's line of noir anthologies, which include: D.C. NOIR, edited George Pelecanos MANHATTAN NOIR, edited by Lawrence Block BALTIMORE NOIR, edited by Laura Lippman DUBLIN NOIR, edited by Ken Bruen CHICAGO NOIR, edited by Neal Pollack MIAMI NOIR, edited by Les Standiford LOS ANGELES NOIR, edited by Denise Hamilton SAN FRANCISCO took a decidedly more literary tack than its peers, with contributions not just from crime writers such as David, Eddie Muller, Dominic Stansberry, and Jim Nesbit, but such literary stars as Barry Gifford, Kate Braverman, Robert Mailer Anderson, Michelle Tea, Will Christopher Baer, and Peter Plate. David's story, "It Can Happen," was inspired by an estate planning case he and his late wife Terri worked on, involving a quadriplegic, his duplicitous but still much-loved ex-wife, her con man boyfriend, and the couple's embittered daughter. It was nominated for the Macavity Award for Best Short Story of 2005. Online review H.L. Suder remarked: David Corbett's "It Can Happen" displays the author's talent to write like a boxer fights, weaving and bobbing with words, entrancing the reader in a steadily building climax." BUY THE BOOK from an independent mystery bookstore, BookSense, Amazon, or Barnes & Noble.  David joins fellow San Francisco Noir contributors (l to r) Eddie Muller, Michelle Tea, and Peter Plate at the Mechanics Institute Library on January 17th, 2007
MEETING ACROSS THE RIVER
Edited by Jessica Kaye and Richard Brewer Each of the stories in this anthology was inspired by the song "Meeting Across the River" from Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run" album, and contains contributions from David, C.J. Box, Eric Garcia, Gregg Hurwitz, Steve Hamilton, William Kent Krueger, Wallace Stroby, Barbara Serenella, Cara Black, and Eddie Muller among others. Roderick Jones, in his review in "Backstreets: The Boss Magazine," wrote: "A Springsteen fan's reading of Meeting Across the River will be fueled by the desire to find those same characters that inhabit her imagination while the song is playing. For me, they showed up three-quarters of the way through the book, in "Bobby the Prop Buys In," by David Corbett. At 21 pages, it's the longest story, and also the most engaging . . . Corbett delivers a narrative that actually does seem 'inspired' the song." BUY THE BOOK from an independent mystery bookstore, BookSense, Amazon, or Barnes & Noble.  |
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