Bill Crider has probably forgotten more about the noirboiled world than most of us will ever know. In addition to his awesome expertise, he is also the author of numerous crime novels himself, both series and standalones. His most recent novel, Murder in the Air (2010), is part of his Sheriff Dan Rhodes series.
1. What’s the first crime novel that you remember reading?
Well, that’s an easy one. I remember it well. The Tower Treasure, a Hardy Boys book by Franklin W. Dixon. The first adult mystery I remember reading is A Most Contagious Game by Samuel Grafton.
2. If you were stuck desert island, which crime novelist’s complete works would you choose to have with you?
That’s a tough one. I hope I’m not stuck on a desert island anytime soon. If I had to choose, though, I’d say Raymond Chandler. Today. Tomorrow I might have a different answer.
3. If your house were on fire, and you could grab one book on your way out the door, which of your books would you grab?
Even tougher. Probably something personally meaningful and expensive. Maybe my copy of The Killer Inside Me.
4. Which crime novel have you read the most times?
Tougher still, since I don’t keep records. It would be something by Hammett, Chandler, or Ross Macdonald, that much I know. Just a guess, but Macdonald’s The Chill might be the one.
5. What’s the best novel by Bill Crider?
They’re all so good (and different) it's hard to choose just one. I’m fond of all of them. The one that’s sold the most copies in various editions is Blood Marks, for whatever that’s worth.
My first crime novel was The Secret of the Lost Tunnel also a Hardy Boys adventure.
ReplyDeleteGood flash interview.
Probably THE TOWER TREASURE for me. Along with Tom Swift, The Hardy Boys ruined me for all time. Books are trying to run me out of the house. Not a lot of room left.
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