The Hungry Detective

Often my wife and I make tentative plans to go out later. These usually occur just as we are getting home from work. We never go out later though. Within 5 seconds of entering our apartment, we are in for the night. But a few weekends ago, after an extensive wardrobe reduction project and watching a movie, we ventured out into the world at 8pm! Vapors!? We went to Target in Burbank California ostensibly to look for removable hooks. We bought those hooks. I also purchased a cute baby outfit for my best friends 9 month old... ...and THE CHAIN by Adrian McKinty. Target is not my bookstore of choice, [ Editor's Note: Ha! ] but seeing THE CHAIN sitting there on the end cap in an honest to goodness Target is likely to be the most pleasing book experience I will have this year. I don't advocate buying books at Target under any circumstances. However... I hold this writer in the highest regard. I have bought his books in many fine independent bookstores since DEAD I MA

A continuing series! It has only taken me about a decade to come up with something I can just quickly and randomly write about. [ Editor's Note: Hahaha... you wrote this 5 months ago... ] Last time, I wrote about Troy Soos and today is an author I think about often... Author: Sandra West Prowell Character: P.I. Pheobe Sigel The Work: BY EVIL MEANS (1993); THE KILLING OF MONDAY BROWN (1994); WHEN A WALLFLOWER DIES (1996) Sandra West Prowell published with Walker and Co. Walker was a mid-tier publisher of mainly non-fiction and children's books. They did, however,  maintain a small but notable slate of mystery authors, James Sallis and Edward D. Koch among them. Much like Troy Soos, who I wrote about previously, it all ended in tears. By the end of the '90s, mid-tier publishers were staring down the barrel. Crime Fiction only made up a small percentage of Walker's output. One assumes money was reallocated or focused on their bread and butter to stem the inevi