The Crime Writer

May 14, 2007
H
urwitz's L.A. thriller has noir pulp chutzpah in spades, even if it does start out with a bang and end up shooting blanks. When Andrew “Drew” Danner, a crime novelist, is tried for the murder of his ex-fiancée, Genevieve Bertrand, beside whose body he was found holding a bloody knife, he pleads not guilty. He has no memory of how he got to the crime scene because of a breakdown caused by a recently removed brain tumor. Once he's found not guilty by reason of temporary insanity, Danner sets out to find the real killer—or discover some very nasty things about himself. Someone's also trying to frame him for a second murder that appears to be similar to that of Bertrand. Luckily, Danner gets help from old friend Chic, an ex-professional baseball player, and Lloyd Wagoner, a troubled police criminalist. A tense, page-turning first act leads to disappointing explanations involving the police and a misinterpreted phone message. Still, the fast pace and ingenious setup provide considerable tension. Hurwitz (Last Shot
) may not have written a California classic, but it's a worthy effort. 5-city author tour.

June 1, 2007
Drew Danner is a crime writer who's always done his homework. He's cultivated cops and forensic specialists to give his novels the necessary realism. He's researched everything from the guns his characters use to the ways in which bodies deteriorate. But in his latest effort, Drew is leaving fiction behind and exploring true crime. The result is almost more real than he can handle, because the murder he's researching for his newest book is one he may have committed. In the opening pages of Hurwitz's latest crime thriller (after "Last Shot"), Drew wakes in the hospital with a scar on his head, a cop by his bedside, and no memory of how he got where he is. The police think Drew killed his ex-fiancé e in an angry frenzy. Four months later, Drew is acquitted of the murder by reason of mental defect (he had a brain tumor) but is driven to discover whether he is capable of the crime. Hurwitz has written a nice puzzler with a sympathetic hero and a great supporting cast. Recommended for all public libraries. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 3/15/07.]Jane Jorgenson, Madison P.L., WI

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