PRINT THE LEGEND ON A DOZEN-PLUS YEAR'S BEST LISTS

PRINT THE LEGEND, the third novel in the Hector Lassiter series, made a humbling number of year's best lists and garnered several honorable mentions, as well.

I'm grateful to each critic and fellow writer who singled out the novel for recognition at year's end. A round up of those lists follows, and, later today, some words about what's to come in 2011.



• Barnes & Noble/Ransom Notes on PRINT THE LEGEND: "Chapter three of a proposed eight installment series featuring the fictional 20th century pulp writer Hector Lassiter. This one focuses on the death of Ernest Hemingway. Notice I didn’t say suicide. McDonald has created a three-dimensional character in Lassiter and an intricately layered mythology of the twentieth century for him to inhabit. Print is the third Hector Lassiter book - catch up with HEAD GAMES and TOROS & TORSOS."

• The Rap Sheet/January Magazine: "The Hector Lassiter series took a significant step forward in 2010 when author Craig McDonald released his third book about the renegade hard-boiled writer...Like the previous entries in the Lassiter series, HEAD GAMES (2007) and TOROS & TORSOS (2008), in PRINT THE LEGEND McDonald pulls from the archives of conspiracies and skullduggery to compose a rollicking yarn, taking no prisoners and never letting up on the adrenaline."

• Things I'd Rather Be Doing/John Kenyon on PRINT THE LEGEND (and others): "What set these books apart was not simply having a great story or compelling characters. It was the fact that the authors were daring and adventurous. Every book here is evidence of an author taking chances, and in each case, those experiments and leaps of faith paid off handsomely."

• Crime Factory/Keith Rawson on PRINT THE LEGEND: "My favorite ongoing series. Each entry in the Lassiter series keeps getting better and better. I can't wait for ONE TRUE SENTENCE."

• The Paperback Dolls (a Day pick for PRINT THE LEGEND for her top 5).

• Jen's Book Thoughts/Jen Forbus: "Why I don't hear McDonald's name mentioned more often is one of the great wonders of this world. PRINT THE LEGEND is extraordinary. It's unique, masterfully blending fact with fiction. McDonald refused to be confined by any conventions. He's paving his own road, and I'm gladly traveling along enjoying the fruits of his labors."

• Book People/Scott Montgomery: "A unique thriller that has McDonald’s pistol-toting crime writer, Hector Lassiter, a shady government agent, and Ernest Hemingway’s widow circling around some lost manuscripts. Smart, slow burn suspense as well as a deft meditation on literary culture."

• Naomi Johnson on PRINT THE LEGEND: "It's no secret how much I love the Hector Lassiter series. I can't even think about this book without wanting to re-read it."

• Charlie Stella names PRINT THE LEGEND as a 2010 favorite.

• Vince Keenan on PRINT THE LEGEND: "Yes, technically I read it in 2009. But I remembered it."

• Lazy Thoughts From A Boomer: A Top 10 list with nice mentions of PRINT THE LEGEND and kudos for narrator/actor Tom Stechschulte.

• The Mystery Bookshelf picks PRINT THE LEGEND as a top read.

Also, to make it a baker's dozen, and then some:

• Hilary Davidson's best of list includes Thuglit's anthology, BLOOD, GUTS & WHISKEY, including the short story, "These Two Guys..."

• The Drowning Machine More kind words for PRINT THE LEGEND, and its linked short story, "Colt."