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beastreader's review
4.0
For mystery thriller fans alike whether it be Ken Bruen and his character, Jack Taylor or Jonathan Kellerman and his character Alex Delaware, then you will enjoy The Lineup. Edited by Otto Penzler. This book lets readers into the minds of crime writers. The authors share the back ground story about how they developed their characters, why they became authors, and even share some about their next book.
I enjoyed reading about Ken Bruen’s Jack Taylor. It made him more interesting to me and now I will give his books another try. It was fun learning about Michael Connelly’s childhood and where he grew up. Ever wonder how Mr. Connelly came up with the name Hieronymus Bosch…well you will just have to read about it in The Lineup. There are many authors that are new to me in this book. The Lineup became like a wish list for me of authors and their books I want to read. So if you want the inside scoop on your favorite crime authors…look no further than The Lineup.
I enjoyed reading about Ken Bruen’s Jack Taylor. It made him more interesting to me and now I will give his books another try. It was fun learning about Michael Connelly’s childhood and where he grew up. Ever wonder how Mr. Connelly came up with the name Hieronymus Bosch…well you will just have to read about it in The Lineup. There are many authors that are new to me in this book. The Lineup became like a wish list for me of authors and their books I want to read. So if you want the inside scoop on your favorite crime authors…look no further than The Lineup.
aspygirlsmom_1995's review against another edition
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
bibliobabe94's review
3.0
ok - some short stories, some article type entries that authors use to talk about how their main character was developed. really enjoyed child/reacher and preston/rhyme
raven31's review
4.0
This was a very interesting read. Learning about how my favorite authors (and authors I hadn't heard of) created their main characters was very informative.
catherine_t's review
3.0
The title really says it all in this case. Panzler recruited many well-known crime-fiction writers to write about their most well-known characters. Some are essays on the characters; some are "interviews" between author and creation; and in a couple of cases, the pieces are short stories.
The book was nominated for (and won? I can't remember) an Edgar award a few years ago, which is when it made it to my "want to read" list. Mostly entertaining, the essays provide an entree into some characters/authors you may not have read (I think I'm going to have to add Laura Lippman and Robert Crais to my list of authors to read) and give insights into others you have read (I especially liked the pieces by Alexander McCall Smith and Ian Rankin).
The book was nominated for (and won? I can't remember) an Edgar award a few years ago, which is when it made it to my "want to read" list. Mostly entertaining, the essays provide an entree into some characters/authors you may not have read (I think I'm going to have to add Laura Lippman and Robert Crais to my list of authors to read) and give insights into others you have read (I especially liked the pieces by Alexander McCall Smith and Ian Rankin).
reading_and_wheeling's review against another edition
4.0
The essays in this collection are written by well-known crime fiction and mystery authors. They tell us how they created the main character that made them famous through either informational essays or short stories that give back story on the characters' history. Some authors' contributions just fell flat for me. I believe this is just because I wasn't interested in the character and series those authors had created. Overall, however, I enjoyed reading this and found it very interesting. I mean, who doesn't want to know how their favorite character came to be, am I right?
rosseroo's review against another edition
3.0
This isn't the kind of book that usually grabs my attention, but it did win a big award last year and it does have a few authors in it I like, so I figured it was worth dipping into. It appears to have had its genesis in a series of essays put out by the Mysterious Bookstore, all of which have been collected into this volume. In skimming the table of contents, I immediately took issue with the book's subtitle of "The World's Greatest Crime Writers Tell the Inside Story of Their Greatest Detectives." First of all, the "World" isn't represented beyond the US and UK. Secondly, using the word "Greatest" is always ill-advised for anthologies like this, since invariably people will argue with that designation (for example, there's no Elmore Leonard here). Third, the phrase "Crime Writers" is invoked when a good number of the authors included are best described as "Thriller Writers" and along those lines, many of the characters discussed are not really "Detectives", they're more heroes or protagonists. So, there's plenty to quibble with in terms of how the book is presented.
However, once you're past that, the individual essays are generally pretty decent. Some are very straightforward, some are arranged as Q&As, at least one is written as a faux newspaper article, and some are more like drifting meditations. I read the ones by Ken Bruen (haven't liked his fractured prose in the past, didn't really like it here), Michael Connelly, Colin Dexter (kind of a fussy piece that strays way off target into TV adaptation), John Harvey (very interesting explanation of why his books were set in Nottingham), Laura Lippman (again being a little too cute for my taste), Robert Parker (a dashed off scene of fiction), and Ian Rankin (a nice overview of his early career). My two favorite pieces were probably David Morrell talking about his misunderstood character Rambo (not exactly the first character you expect to find in a book about "Greatest Detectives"), and Alexander McCall Smith's loving ode to the Africa that inspired Previous Ramotswe.
Probably worth dipping into if you're a fan of some of the writers, but otherwise of limited interest.
However, once you're past that, the individual essays are generally pretty decent. Some are very straightforward, some are arranged as Q&As, at least one is written as a faux newspaper article, and some are more like drifting meditations. I read the ones by Ken Bruen (haven't liked his fractured prose in the past, didn't really like it here), Michael Connelly, Colin Dexter (kind of a fussy piece that strays way off target into TV adaptation), John Harvey (very interesting explanation of why his books were set in Nottingham), Laura Lippman (again being a little too cute for my taste), Robert Parker (a dashed off scene of fiction), and Ian Rankin (a nice overview of his early career). My two favorite pieces were probably David Morrell talking about his misunderstood character Rambo (not exactly the first character you expect to find in a book about "Greatest Detectives"), and Alexander McCall Smith's loving ode to the Africa that inspired Previous Ramotswe.
Probably worth dipping into if you're a fan of some of the writers, but otherwise of limited interest.
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