The Rap Sheet has selected the new Hector Lassiter novel DEATH IN THE FACE as one of its 2015 favorite crime novels of the year. Reviewer Stephen Miller writes in part: "Lassiter hasn’t lost a step. Rubbing elbows not only with (Ian) Fleming, but also with actors Sean Connery and Robert Shaw, and Japanese author-poet Yukio Mishima, Lassiter dodges bullets and explosions, and the set piece here involving a pool of crocodiles is alone worth the price of admission. McDonald’s Lassiter stories represent a sorely needed throwback to ultra-hard-boiled adventure tales, and while the series is winding down (we can expect only one more novel and a collection of short stories, both due in 2016), the entire series hangs together as a multi-volume biography of the greatest fictional pulp writer ever created." Read the piece in its entirety here.
Every year about this time, as people start thinking about books for gift-giving, I start getting emails asking for tips on where new readers to the Hector Lassiter novels should jump in, what order the books should ideally be read in, and so on.
The short answer is that the cycle of 10 novels and single short story collection (all but the last novel and the short story anthology have been released) were designed to tell a larger story but can, really, be read in any order you prefer. Only the last novel, still to come, should be read, well, last. Also, on their first pass through publication, editors and publishers cherry-picked the series, publishing the first four out of my own intended, loose order, further confusing matters. A couple of years ago, Betimes Books got rights to the entire Lassiter saga, and began publishing the old and new novels in something as close to chronological form as is feasible. (Tough to do perfectly, given some of the novels sometimes jump decades in unfolding their stories.) In that spirit, and in sincere gratitude for your holiday gift-giving support, a very short description of the Lassiter novels in new, intended publication sequence follows: (One caution and an effort to mitigate riled Amazon reviewers who might get something they don't expect: The series is written for adults who have urges and weaknesses of their own. Some bad language occurs...people couple. These are literary thrillers, or crime novels, if you like, but decidedly not cozies or even mysteries, per se. Historical figures come and go throughout. Most of the novels turn on real crimes and events. Character drives plot. End of caution.)
ONE TRUE SENTENCE: This is Hector at ground zero; a novel about how the man became the author/screenwriter we follow through the other books. Set in Paris, in 1924, the novel is a love-letter to the City of Lights and attempt to transform Ernest Hemingway's A MOVEABLE FEAST into a crime novel. Hemingway appears throughout, along with other expatriate icons of the era.
FOREVER'S JUST PRETEND: A love story, and the only direct sequel in the series and so, practically speaking, the novel to read after OTS. This one takes Hector to Key West, coming right off the end of ONE TRUE SENTENCE. Along with that novel, FOREVER effectively completes Hector's apprenticeship, closing out his origin story, so to speak. This is the one novel in the series that contains no historical figures, though it is based on two historic crimes.
TOROS & TORSOS: If you're going to sample one novel and decide on others, I'd point you to this one. It's the Lassiter novel that looms largest and globe-trots with the most audacity. This one is based on a series of true-life, bizarre, art-inspired crimes, including the Black Dahlia murder. Ernest Hemingway and Orson Welles are supporting players. If I truly have a favorite among my novels, this is probably it.
THE GREAT PRETENDER: Orson Welles returns, and we follow him through the bizarre triumph of "The War of the Worlds" panic broadcast and on into the filming of the noir classic, THE THIRD MAN. It's a nice companion piece for TOROS, and sets the groundwork for Orson's final appearance in HEAD GAMES.
ROLL THE CREDITS: Along with TOROS, one of the big Lassiter novels. This one's set during World War II, largely in occupied Paris, but eventually moving on to post-war Hollywood, weaving in and around the events of the previous two novels but it also stands very much alone and explores the dark origins of film noir.
THE RUNNING KIND: With this entry, we enter the 1950s. Television is ascendant, the mob under fire from politicians and J. Edgar Hoover is trying to explain how he somehow missed the existence of the Mafia. A road novel, a love story... A cross-country chase through the snowy midwest between Thanksgiving and the New Year, and a portrait of a time when authors lived in fear TV would murder the publishing industry. (Always something...)
HEAD GAMES: In this reading sequence, the seventh novel, but originally the first and where it all started with the Lassiter series. Set in the late 1950s, Hector Lassiter inherits the lost skull of Pancho Villa, complete with treasure map, and things go crazy from there. The novel is coming in graphic novel format sometime in 2017.
PRINT THE LEGEND: The secret history of FBI director J. Edgar Hoover's war on writers, and, particularly, on Ernest Hemingway. Along with ONE TRUE SENTENCE and TOROS & TORSOS, this one completes a kind of Papa-trilogy within the larger series.
DEATH IN THE FACE: Newly released and the penultimate novel in the series, this one features James Bond creator Ian Fleming and gives the secret history behind several Bond novels and films, including FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE and YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE. A good choice not just for Lassiter readers, but for Ian Fleming and James Bond fans, as well. With that, a wish for a safe and happy holiday season for you and yours!
The Adventures of Zana O'Savin continue! Pulp fiction for our time in the spirit of Doc Savage, The Shadow & The Avenger.
THE BLOOD OGRE
Prolific pulp novel legends Lester Dent (Doc Savage) & Walter B. Gibson (The Shadow) both had the actual experience of witnessing their characters come to life, a chilling historical claim that sets the stage for this new series of neo-noir pulp adventures!
WRITE FROM WRONG
Hector Lassiter, Black Mask Magazine legend, crime novelist and screenwriter rubs shoulders with a who's who of 20th Century legends including Ernest Hemingway, Doc Savage creator Lester Dent, Walter B. Gibson of Shadow fame and Orson Wells.
HEAD GAMES, THE GRAPHIC NOVEL
A pulp-noir adaptation of the Edgar Award-nominated novel introducing Black Mask author, crime novelist and screenwriter Hector Lassiter.
Edgar®/Anthony/Macavity/Gumshoe/Crimespree nominated novelist of HEAD GAMES: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL, ONCE A WORLD, WRITE FROM WRONG, ONE TRUE SENTENCE, FOREVER'S JUST PRETEND, TOROS & TORSOS, THE GREAT PRETENDER, ROLL THE CREDITS, THE RUNNING KIND, HEAD GAMES, PRINT THE LEGEND, DEATH IN THE FACE, THREE CHORDS & THE TRUTH, EL GAVILAN, PARTS UNKNOWN, CARNIVAL NOIR, CABAL and ANGELS OF DARKNESS. Nonfiction titles include ART IN THE BLOOD and ROGUE MALES: CONVERSATIONS & CONFRONTATIONS ABOUT THE WRITING LIFE.
ONCE A WORLD — The acclaimed prequel to the Hector Lassiter series
Hector Lassiter's story begins, from his journey into Mexico to catch Pancho Villa, to the bloody trenches of World War I.
ONE TRUE SENTENCE (Hector Lassiter Series #1)
Hector Lassiter Series: #1 Bestseller, Amazon.com.au; One Of BookPeople's Top 10 Of 2011 & Poisoned Pen Staff Favorite. "Vivid, remarkable characters... Absolutely gripping!"—Diana Gabaldon
FOREVER'S JUST PRETEND (HECTOR LASSITER SERIES #2)
Hector Lassiter Series: #3 Bestseller, Amazon.com.au! "Entertaining...a must read for series fans &...for new readers."—Publishers Weekly
TOROS & TORSOS (HECTOR LASSITER SERIES #3)
Hector Lassiter Series: #4 Bestseller, Amazon.com.au! Named to numerous Year's Best Lists! "A bold, ambitious, genre-bending novel."—George Pelecanos
THE GREAT PRETENDER (HECTOR LASSITER SERIES #4)
Hector Lassiter Series: #2 Bestseller, Amazon.com.au! "McDonald cagily splits up the action, with Welles in full enfant terrible mode in the first half of the book—much of the story unfolds on the night of the infamous War of the Worlds broadcast in 1938—while the second takes place in the late 1940s as the filmmaker's star is already burning out."—Vince Keenan, author of DOWN THE HATCH
ROLL THE CREDITS (HECTOR LASSITER SERIES #5)
Hector Lassiter Series: #5 Bestseller, Amazon.com.au! "A writer of truly unique voice, approach, and ambition, Craig McDonald delivers again with ROLL THE CREDITS. Not to be missed." —Michael Koryta
THE RUNNING KIND (HECTOR LASSITER SERIES #6)
"Just the right amount of history, suspense, action and familiar faces to make his alternative history fascinating."—Terry Bowman, author of FIONA'S RULES
HEAD GAMES (HECTOR LASSITER SERIES #7)
Hector Lassiter series: Edgar & Anthony Awards Finalist! #5 Bestseller, Amazon.com.au! Coming autumn 2017 as a graphic novel from First Second! "Smart, it's funny, and it moves like a roach when the lights go on."—James Sallis
PRINT THE LEGEND (HECTOR LASSITER SERIES #8)
Named To More Than A Dozen Year's Best Lists; the most translated of the internationally best-selling series of novels! "An epic masterpiece.”—Michael Connelly.
DEATH IN THE FACE (HECTOR LASSITER SERIES #9)
The penultimate Hector Lassiter novel with 007-creator Ian Fleming; selected by The Rap Sheet as a 2015 novel of the year; praised by Publishers Weekly and Booklist!
THREE CHORDS & THE TRUTH (Hector Lassiter series #10)
The climax of the Hector Lassiter series, from Betimes Books. "With THREE CHORDS & THE TRUTH, Craig McDonald has crafted a remarkable coda to the series."—Steven Powell, author of JAMES ELLROY: DEMON DOG OF CRIME FICTION; "Grabs the reader by the throat." —Publishers Weekly. Get your copy here https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N0D4UFX
BORDERLAND NOIR
Now Available from Betimes Books
EL GAVILAN
Starred Review From Publishers Weekly! PW Pick of the Week. "As sobering and as urgent as tomorrow's headlines."—Publishers Weekly
PARTS UNKNOWN (CHRIS LYON SERIES #1)
#1 in Chris Lyon series of eBook exclusive thrillers, now available
CARNIVAL NOIR (CHRIS LYON SERIES #2)
#2 in Chris Lyon series of eBook exclusive thrillers, now available.
CABAL (CHRIS LYON SERIES #3)
#3 in Chris Lyon series of eBook exclusive thrillers, now available.
ANGELS OF DARKNESS (CHRIS LYON SERIES #4)
#4 in Chris Lyon series of eBook exclusive thrillers, now available and featuring Hector Lassiter!
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