Um - John Driscoll taught my daughter in grade five. When did he move to NYC?

Definitely Scudder. When I moved here I sought out "New York Authentic" -- crime fic seemed to be the genre doing it consistently great.

Started with older stuff (Dawn Powell, Hammett's Thin Man, Woolrich) then sought out more contemporary stuff -- police procedurals by way of Cunitz and Ed Dee, then found Block, who sealed it.

I love that I can prowl the city and find many places he's written about -- the Flame, (formerly) Jimmy Armstrong's...

Very nice to meet you here; look forward to discovering your work.

There's a Carbondale in Pennsylvania, Colorado, and Illinois. And, on May 1, in New York, but purely by the effort of grabbing hold of the tiny hamlet in PA. and dragging it across the river to make use of it in my book. Enjoy the cheese and crackers. If you're still rattled, may I suggest a ruby port. I'm sure it's noon somewhere in Crimespace. Hell, it's gotta be! They've got a bar!!!

Cheese and crackers, you scared me! My Carbondale is in Illinois. In the country. 200 miles from anywhere. Who knew there was another one!?

Oh, no! Is there something I should know about Carbondale? I've only been here about five minutes....

Hi, Thomas. Pleased to meet you!

Likewise, Carol. And I'm glad you like the next book's cover and title.

Hi Thomas, it's great to be your buddy. Great cover and title.

Thanks, Pat!

..thanks for the message (at least my email said you'd sent one - but there's a bug in this system so it's gone missing...)

Spoke with you briefly in Phoenix at Thrillerfest - but unfortunately I didn't get to spend some time with you ...

Treat my favorite city well ! Must go and get SCREAMING ROOM and I agree with Kristy: good cover!

Slan go foill,
Pat.

Thank you, Angie and Kristy, for you warm welcome. It's nice to be here! And, Kristy, I'm glad you like the cover. Poor guy. Could he be ordering three fingers of scotch at our new bar? Hmm.....