Book Notes — Killing Frost Released Today, Reviews Coming In

Blatant Self-Promotion:  Today is Launch Day.  This is the official release date for Killing Frost, Indianapolis P.I. Deets Shanahan’s last case. I apologize in advance for posting the news everywhere I can today. Some of you may get this more than once; but I promise to contain myself once the day is over.

The goal here is to sell books.  On the other hand, hardback prices are steep. Remember, your local library is your friend.  Let them know and they will get it for their collection and you can borrow it. If you’d like to purchase a copy and want to support your local, independent bookstore and it’s not on the shelf, they can order it for you. It’s also available through regular on-line booksellers as well.

In 1990, Stone Veil, my first Deets Shanahan mystery novel was nominated for a Shamus Award. Since then, there have been ten more novels in the series with positive nods along the way from The New York Times, Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, Deadly Pleasures Magazine, The Houston Post, The Indianapolis Star, Mystery News, Thrilling Detective and The Library Journal.

Killing Frost celebrates Shanahan’s 11th mystery and caps the series in its 25th year.

Killing Frost — Synopsis


At seventy-two, Deets Shanahan, still reeling from brain surgery is ready to check out.’  But fate has other plans. As he waits for the arrival of a mysterious, unwanted, yet insistent new client, he spies a car pull in his driveway.  From his window, he sees a woman head toward his front door. This is the first time he sees her and the last time he sees her alive.

Her death leaves too many questions. What did she want with Shanahan? Why was she killed? And what can he, in his condition, do about it? Shanahan’s obsessive search for answers will uncover a disturbing trail of greed, lies, ambition, sibling rivalry and police corruption.

Twenty-five years ago Shanahan embarked on his first case. Killing Frost is likely his last, a touching story of age, infirmity — and love.

Killing Frost — Early Reviews

“The real prize here is the tone, which Tierney keeps expertly hovering between compassionate valediction and civic outrage.”  — Kirkus Reviews

“This entry is a tribute to human decency and one man’s refusal to give up in the face of age and inevitable physical deterioration.”  — Publisher’s Weekly (starred review)

An Indianapolis native, I now live in San Francisco, the setting for a second P.I. series — the Paladino-Lang mysteries and for a new mystery novella, Blue Dragon, which will be released this fall. For more information visit www.ronaldtierney.com.

Opinion — Parker, Mankell? Who Got It Right?

It’s not a new question, but it came up recently. Thinking about the idea of a recurring protagonist in a mystery series, how many books are too many? I happened to tune in on the PBS documentary called “Nordic Blast.” The program discussed the current popularity of mysteries set in Scandinavian countries. And while I believe the Irish will challenge the Swedes in the end, the usually dark, cold and brooding mysteries of Scandinavia seem to be on a roll, and, in fact, were gathering fans and starred reviews even before Stieg Larsson set the world on fire.

In the documentary, there was a brief mention of the earlier and much heralded Martin Beck series and how it had started a Swedish tradition of authors voluntarily ending their series at 10 books. Swedish writer Henning Mankell, who created the Wallander series seems to abide by the idea, He recently published his last Wallander — the 10^th of the internationally successful series.

As Mankell is getting the buzz about the last Wallander, much is being written about the recent release of the late Robert B. Parker’s Sixkill, the last Spenser to be written by Parker, but the 39^th in the series. Over the years — at Bouchercons and Edgar Award ceremonies — there seemed to be resentment among more than a few writers who suggested Parker had been phoning it in for years. Was this just jealousy over such an obvious (and seemingly effortless) success? Or was it because it was so difficult to believe that anyone could sustain a series for so long without running out of steam or ideas?

Actually, Parker is not alone in this prolificacy. The highly respected Bill Pronzini is about to release Camouflage, the author’s 38^th and always well-received Nameless Detective book. Rex Stout created 47 Nero Wolfe novels and 40 more Wolfe novellas. Sue Grafton is at V for Vengeance. X, Y and Z cannot be far away. (What she does at the end of the alphabet is anyone’s bet; but the periodic tables have already been taken.) And it’s not just American overachievers. Of the more than 200 novels Belgian Georges Simenon wrote, 75 of them featured Maigret.

I suspect that any debate about how many books in a series are too many can be rationally debated and might very well conclude that there should be no maximum number, provided the author can maintain the quality that allowed the series to be that popular in the first place. No doubt my curiosity about the subject is predicated on my own series. Bullet Beach is the 10^th Shanahan. Keeping in mind I’m 1/8^th Norwegian, what should I do?