Hollywood

by Howard Owen

Harcover Mystery Book

242 pages, Hardcover

Published June 12, 2023

About the author

Howard Owen was born March 1, 1949, in Fayetteville, N.C. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1971, journalism) and has a master's degree from Virginia Commonwealth University (1981, English).
He and his wife since 1973, Karen Van Neste Owen (the former publisher of Van Neste Books), live in Richmond, Va. He was a newspaper reporter and editor for 44 years.
Owen won The Dashiell Hammett Prize for crime literature in the United States and Canada for Oregon Hill, his 10th novel.
His first novel, "Littlejohn," was written in 1989, when he was 40. It was bought by The Permanent Press and published in 1992. Random House bought it from The Permanent Press and reissued it as a Villard hardcover in 1993 and a Vintage Contemporary paperback in 1994. It was nominated for the Abbey Award (American Booksellers) and Discovery (Barnes & Noble) award for best new fiction. It has sold, in all, more than 50,000 copies. It has been printed in Japanese, French and Korean; it has been a Doubleday Book Club selection; audio and large-print editions have been issued, and movie option rights have been sold.
His second novel, "Fat Lightning," came out as a Permanent Press book in 1994. It was bought by HarperCollins and was reissued as a Harper Perennial paperback in 1996. It received a starred review from Publishers' Weekly.
His third novel, "Answers to Lucky," was published by HarperCollins as a hardcover in 1996 and as a paperback in 1997. It received favorable reviews in The New York Times, Southern Living, GW, Publishers' Weekly, the Atlanta Constitution, the Baltimore Sun, the Memphis Commercial Appeal and numerous other publications. It was included in "The Best Novels of the Nineties: A Reader’s Guide."
His fourth novel, "The Measured Man," was published in hardcover by HarperCollins in 1997. It was praised in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Publishers' Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, the Raleigh News & Observer, the Orlando Sentinel, the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel and many other publications. It was one of the LA Times Book Reviews’ "Recommended Titles" for 1997. It was included in "The Best Novels of the Nineties: A Reader’s Guide."
Owen's fifth novel, "Harry and Ruth," was published by The Permanent Press in September of 2000 to critical acclaim from Kirkus, Publisher's Weekly and various weekly publications.
His sixth novel, "The Rail," was published in April of 2002. It is about (among other things) baseball and the parable of the talents. Owen won the 2002 Theresa Pollack Award for Words.
His seventh novel, "Turn Signal," was about a man whose muse drives him either to madness or to the best move he's ever made in his life. It came out in 2004 and was a Booksense selection for July of 2004.
His eighth novel, "Rock of Ages," is something of a sequel to his first novel, "Littlejohn." Georgia McCain returns to her hometown years after her father’s death to sell the family farm and finds herself immersed in baby-boomer guilt and a murder mystery. It was a Booksense pick for July of 2006.

His ninth novel, "The Reckoning," about ghosts of the ’60s, came out in late 2010 and received very positive reviews from, among others, Publishers Weekly and the New York Journal of Books.
His short story, "The Thirteenth Floor," part of "Richmond Noir," came out in early 2010.
The protagonist of “The Thirteenth Floor,” Willie Black, also is at the center of Owen’s 10th novel, “Oregon Hill,” which came in July of 2012 to very positive reviews in The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus and elsewhere. It's also an audio book.

Willie starred in future Owen novels: The Philadelphia Quarry (2013), Parker Field (2014), The Bottom (2015), Grace (2016) and The Devil's Triangle (2017). His 16th novel, Annie's Bones, comes out in April of 2018.

Reviews

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

The recent past echoes through the newspaper offices, as print editions dwindle and the race to put something out for online readers dominates the scene. Meanwhile the more distant past echoes through the mysteries of unexpected death and a murder in Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, VA. The resulting novel is a perfect addition to Howard Owen’s Willie Black mystery series, moving the slow demise of the news pages to a time just as Covid starts winding down in the US.

The end of Covid brings conflicting needs—to get out, and to settle down. So now, reporter Willie Black and his wife dream of buying the apartment where they’ve long been isolated. And an old man plans a huge and glorious celebration, but dies the same day. A much younger man, who might be related, is murdered. And of course, since both the deceased are white, newspaper readers demand lots of background and lots of detail. Willie will have to write those column inches on time, as well as filling space on the newspaper’s blog. And of course, as a newspaperman, he will want to know more.

The truth lies in the details, and Willie investigates with his usual careful attention and far-reaching awareness. Strange symbols, curious locations, and enough vaguely Biblical references to raise the interest of a local preacher, soon have him researching the history of a locally famous family, with enough tangled webs to enthrall the most jaded reader.

The story is told in the convincing voice so familiar to readers of this series. Pitch perfect dialog and internal narrative, a great sense for time and place, and a captivating wealth of background knowledge make it a really great read. Both long-term and new readers will suitably satisfied by the combination of mystery, investigation, social commentary and (of course) danger. It's highly recommended.

Disclosure: I received a prerelease copy of the book and thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Mike Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm biased, we'll get that out of the way up front. Howard is a friend AND my former boss.

But he's also created an excellent character in Willie Black and this series has become one of my favorites.

Do yourself a favor if you haven't already: read ALL the Willie Black books.

[Bill Bushman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best Willie Black so far! Willie, to me, has become that old friend encountered regularly one wishes would stay around longer; like Harry Bosch, John Rebus, or Elvis Cole. Looking forward to “Laburnum.”