Department of Book Reports: Jason Starr

I'm really excited for this week's Virtually Speaking in Second Life, they will be hosting crime fiction author, Jason Starr. I've long been an admirer of his work, but never had a chance to meet him when I worked at the mystery bookshop.
From his website:
COLD CALLER was hailed by Kirkus Reviews as "just the thing for fans who miss the acid noir that Jim Thompson dispensed in The Grifters." Jason's second novel, NOTHING PERSONAL, about a compulsive gambler who hatches a sick kidnapping plot to pay off debts, was hailed as the best novel of the year by Bookends. Jason's third novel, FAKE I.D., concerns a bouncer's desperate attempts to join a horse-owning syndicate. His fourth novel, HARD FEELINGS, about a computer networking salesman, trying to do deal with a horror from his past, was a "Penzler Pick" and the first ever original novel published by the prestigious American publisher, Vintage Crime/Black Lizard.
TOUGH LUCK, Jason's fifth novel, about a young guy in Brooklyn who gets in deep with a mob figure, was an Anthony Award finalist and won the Barry Award for best paperback. Jason's sixth novel,
TWISTED CITY, about the devastating consequences a financial journalist faces when he attempts to recover a stolen wallet, was a Barry Award finalist and an Anthony Award winner.
In 2006, Jason's new novel LIGHTS OUT, a thrilling tale of jealousy and murder set in Brooklyn. Also in 2006, the heralded new American pulp publisher Hard Case Crime, published BUST, a crime novel that Jason wrote with Irish novelist Ken Bruen, and Vintage Books published a collection of stories and essays on horse racing called BLOODLINES: A HORSE RACING ANTHOLOGY, which Jason co-edited with Maggie Estep.

In 2007, Jason's thriller THE FOLLOWER was published by St. Martin's Press. Also in 2007, Hard Case Crime publish Bruen and Starr's novel, SLIDE.

In 2008, Bruen and Starr closed out "The Bust Trilogy" with their third co-written novel, THE MAX.

In 2009, Hard Case Crime will publish the first American edition of Jason's gritty, highly acclaimed crime novel, FAKE ID. In August 2009, St. Martin's Press published Jason's new hardcover thriller, PANIC ATTACK.







And here's something very refreshing to see: Jason Strongly suggests buying his books at your local independent bookstore. The books are also available at Jackson Street Books.


PS: Have some unbearably cute baby zebra pics! You're welcome.