Books

Suzanne Berne

Suzanne Berne

Suzanne Berne is an American novelist known for her foreboding character studies involving unexpected domestic and psychological drama in bucolic suburban settings. Wikipedia

Paul Levine

Location-South Florida

Paul Levine

Author Paul Levine is an American born writer who loves to write in the genre of crime fiction and legal thriller. He was born in Williamsport in the state of Pennsylvania on 9th January, 1948. He completed his graduation in the year 1969 from Pennsylvania State University. Soon for The Daily Collegian newspaper he became the editor in chief, while his stay in Pennsylvania State University. In the year 1973 from the University of Miami, he received his J.D. Before becoming a writer, author Paul Levine was a lawyer and was a partner along with other positions at Lewis & Bockius, Morgan and was also working on television as a legal commentator. He started writing from 1990 onward and since then he is an active member and has written 19 novels and the translation of his novels have been done in 21 languages. There are two series that he has written so far. The first one is Jake Lassiter and the other one is Solomon & Lord. Both of the titles of the series are based on the main protagonist in the books.

Jake Lassiter has appeared in 10 novels of the American author Paul Levine. Jake is shown as a lawyer who was an ex-Penn State linebacker once. Booklist has described the character of Jake Lassiter as among the characters that are most entertaining in the genre of contemporary crime fiction. Perry Mason was good, but he didn’t have as much charisma as Jake Lassiter, says The Miami Herald. Steve Solomon and Victoria Lord are two arguing lawyers who have appeared in four novels of author Paul Levine. Both characters have been loved by many people and have been praised by many critics. Los Angeles Times named To Speak for the Dead by author Paul Levine as among the 10 best mysteries of the year. The character of Jake Lassiter was described as of Travis McGee holding a law degree. A movie was made by adapting the book in the year 1995 and the named was “Jake Lassiter: Justice on the Bayou” The actor in the leading character was played by Gerald McRaney in the role of Jake Lassiter and it was produced by Stephen J. Cannell. He has written 9 Scorpions and in the year 1999, he moved to Los Angeles from Florida after his friend Don Bellisario gave him an invitation. He came and became a writer of JAG, a CBS military series. The show aired from 1995 to 2005 and he has written 21 plays in it. For excellence in Florida fiction, he has been given John D. MacDonald Award. (Book Series in Order)

Michael Koryta

Michael Koryta

Michael Koryta began writing at a very early age. As an eight-year-old boy, he began writing to his favorite writers and by 16 had decided he wanted to become a crime novelist. By the age of 21, his crime novel, Tonight I Said Goodbye, had won the St. Martin’s Press/Private Eye Writers of America Best First Novel prize.[4] Nine of Koryta’s novels have been optioned for potential film or television production.[5]

Those Who Wish Me Dead, his 2014 stand-alone novel, was named the summer’s best thriller by both Amazon and Entertainment Weekly and was selected as one of the year’s best books by more than 10 publications. The audio version was also honored as a best of the year, the second time that Robert Petkoff’s narration of Michael’s work has earned such an honor. The novel is currently in production as a major motion picture starring Angelina Jolie, Nicholas Hoult, Tyler Perry, Jon Bernthal and Aidan Gillen and directed by Taylor Sheridan.

 

James W. Hall

Location: (Thorn series) Florida Keys

James W. Hall

Always excited about a new Thorn story…

Sixteen of his novels feature a hardcore loner named Thorn, who makes a meager living tying bonefish flies. Thorn, and his private eye pal, Sugarman, have teamed up to thwart animal smugglers, cruise ship hijackers, rogue medical experimenters, and other assorted villains. For a man who simply wants to be left alone to contemplate the island light and sweet sea breezes of Key Largo, Thorn has been drawn into a long string of adventures to right wrongs and avenge the deaths of his friends, relatives and lovers and has taken innumerable gashes and wounds and scars in the process.

Hall’s non-fiction work includes Hot Damn! a collection of personal essays he wrote for the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel’s Sunshine Magazine, as well as some he wrote for the Washington Post and The Miami Herald.

His second non-fiction effort is Hit Lit (Random House) an analysis of twelve of the most commercially successful novels of the last century and the dozen features those books have in common.

Les Standiford

Locations: Florida and others.

Les Standiford

Les Standiford is the author of twenty-one books, including the critically acclaimed works of non-fiction, Last Train to Paradise:  Henry Flagler and the Spectacular Rise and Fall of the Railroad that Crossed an Ocean –a History Channel Top Ten Pick & the One Read choice of more than a dozen public library systems; Meet You in Hell:  Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick and the Bitter Partnership that Transformed America, and Washington Burning: How a Frenchman’s Vision for Our Nation’s Capital Survived Congress, the Founding Fathers, and the Invading British Army–both publisher’s nominees for the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Awards; The Man Who Invented Christmas:  How Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived our Holiday Spirits (a New York Times Editors Choice); Bringing Adam Home:  The Abduction that Changed America (a New York Times best-seller); and most recently, Water to the Angels: William Mulholland, His Monumental Aqueduct, and the Rise of Los Angeles, a featured alternate of the History Book Club. 

He is also the author of ten novels, including the acclaimed John Deal mystery series as well as the stand-alone thrillers Black Mountain and Spill (adapted as a feature film). 

He has received the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award, the Frank O’Connor Award for Short Fiction, and Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. He is Founding Director of the Creative Writing Program at Florida International University in Miami and was appointed holder of the Peter Meinke Chair in Creative Writing at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg for the Spring of 2016.

He and his wife Kimberly, a psychotherapist and artist, are the parents of three children, Jeremy, Hannah, and Alexander.  They live in Pinecrest, Florida, in a home built of native Florida pine and maintained by the spirit of John Deal. 

James (Jim) Sallis

James Sallis

James Sallis (born December 21, 1944 in Helena, Arkansas, United States) is an Americancrime writer, poet, critic, musicologist and musician, best known for his series of novels featuring the detective character Lew Griffin and set in New Orleans, and for his 2005 novel Drive, which was adapted into a 2011 film of the same name.

Film – Drive starring Ryan Gosling

Steve Hamilton

Steve Hamilton is one of the most acclaimed mystery writers in the world, and one of only two authors to win Edgars for both Best First Novel and Best Novel. His Alex McKnight series includes two New York Times notable books, and he’s put two recent titles on the New York Times bestseller list. Wikipedia

Carl Hiaasen

Locations around Florida

Carl Hiaasen was born and raised in a bizarre place called Florida, where he still lives. His books have been described as savagely funny, riotous, and cathartic. Oddly, they are beloved even by readers who’ve never set foot in the Sunshine State.

A graduate of the University of Florida, at age 23 Hiaasen joined The Miami Herald as a city-desk reporter and went on to work for the newspaper’s weekly magazine and prize-winning investigations team.

From 1985 to 2021 he wrote an opinion column, which at one time or another thrashed just about every major politician in the state – and occasionally his own bosses. One of Hiaasen’s proudest moments came when a Miami City Commissioner who was enraged by the columns introduced a resolution officially denouncing him.

Hiaasen began writing novels in the early 1980s with his good friend and fellow journalist, the late William D. Montalbano. They collaborated on three mystery thrillers – POWDER BURNTRAP LINE and A DEATH IN CHINA – which borrowed heavily from their reporting experiences. (From his website)

Robert Crais

Location – Los Angeles

Robert Crais is an American author of detective fiction. Crais began his career writing scripts for television shows such as Hill Street Blues, Cagney & Lacey, Quincy, Miami Vice and L.A. Law. His writing is influenced by Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Ernest Hemingway, Robert B. Parker and John Steinbeck. Wikipedia

Ace Atkins

Location for Quinn Colson series – Mississippi

New York Times Bestselling author Ace Atkins has been nominated for every major award in crime fiction, including the Edgar three times, twice for novels about former U.S. Army Ranger Quinn Colson. He has written eight books in the Colson series and continued Robert B. Parker’s iconic Spenser character after Parker’s death in 2010, adding seven best-selling novels in that series. A former newspaper reporter and SEC football player, Ace also writes essays and investigative pieces for several national magazines including TimeOutside and Garden & Gun.

He lives in Oxford, Mississippi with his family, where he’s friend to many dogs and several bartenders.

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