Interviews

I’ve always been fond of reading and conducting interviews, and the first book I edited, Conversations with James Ellroy, was an anthology of interviews. Since then, I have published a number of interviews with authors and filmmakers on this blog. Therefore, I thought it was high time I created an archive of these interviews to make them easy to access.

Below you’ll find introductions to each interview as well as links to the interviews published on this blog. I plan to update this page every time I conduct a new interview.

An Interview with David Adams Cleveland: Author of GODS OF DECEPTION

Gods of Deception is the brilliant new work of historical fiction by David Adams Cleveland, who takes the reader on an epic, revisionist sweep through post-war American history. The nonagenarian Judge Edward Dimock is writing his memoirs. The most troubling episode is his role as the defence attorney to Alger Hiss in the ‘trial of the century’. Dimock’s conscience is stricken at the thought that Hiss could have been guilty of espionage. Dimock enlists his grandson, Princeton astrophysicist George Altmann, to research the case. It’s the beginning of an investigation that could change their understanding of America’s Cold War history.

David Adams Cleveland is a novelist, historian and former correspondent and arts editor for Voice of America. I had the pleasure of talking to him about Gods of Deception. Interviewing David is a joy. It’s like sitting back with a snifter of brandy and listening to Gore Vidal or E.L. Doctorow wax lyrical about American history. Enjoy the interview and buy the book.

An Interview with Leye Adenle: Author of Easy Motion Tourist and When Trouble Sleeps

Leye Adenle is a rising star in the world of Nigerian and British crime fiction. His debut novel Easy Motion Tourist introduced Amaka Mbadiwe, ‘a sassy guardian angel of Lagos working girls’. In the novel, British hack Guy Collins becomes a murder suspect when a woman’s mutilated body is discovered near one of the main hotels in Lagos. Much of the novel is told from Collins point-of-view, and it is through him that we meet Amaka and witness the extraordinarily vibrant and dangerous character of Lagos as a city. In the follow-up, When Trouble Sleeps, a plane crash kills the state’s gubernatorial candidate. His replacement, the venal Chief Ojo, looks set to enjoy all of the power and influence that comes with high political office. However, Amaka has access to information that could reveal Ojo as a violent and depraved pervert, and Ojo will do anything to stop her from revealing it.

An Interview with Larry Beinhart: Author of The Deal Goes Down

The Deal Goes Down marks the return of Tony Casella, an ex-private eye who first appeared in Larry Beinhart’s Edgar Award winning novel No One Rides For Free in 1986, and reappeared in the follow-up novels You Get What You Pay For (1988) and Foreign Exchange (1992). This is the first Casella novel in thirty years and the character begins the story at a very low ebb. Estranged from his family, in financial trouble and on the brink of having his home repossessed, Casella is thrown a lifeline when he meets a woman named Maddie who offers him a well-paid assignment – murder her abusive husband. Things get complicated when Maddie, backed by a financier who funds “good causes”, compiles an array of dangerous assignments for Casella.

The Deal Goes Down is a gripping read, both thrilling and amusing in equal measure. It can be read as a standalone novel or as part of the Casella series. I strongly recommend that you jump on this narrative rollercoaster that begins in Woodstock NY and climaxes at an Austrian resort where Casella faces off against a Russian billionaire named God.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Larry Beinhart about The Deal Goes Down. Talking to Larry is like reading one his novels. He is witty, clever and, like all good books, very companionable.

Just don’t mention Hollywood…

Copy Boy: An Interview with Shelley Blanton-Stroud

Copy Boy is the debut novel by Shelley Blanton-Stroud, an author and academic based in Sacramento.

It’s the height of the Great Depression. Seventeen- year-old Jane is caught between an abusive father and manipulative mother. Then one day her father’s physical abuse gets too much for her. Jane snaps, attacking her father with a crowbar and leaving him for dead in an irrigation ditch. She flees to San Francisco where, turned down for job after job, she calculates that men have more economic opportunities than women. Jane disguises herself as a man to be hired as a Copy Boy for a local newspaper – The Prospect. All goes well for a while. But every time a person reinvents themselves, the past is not far behind. Jane’s new identity could unravel when she spots a photograph of her father in the paper with his arm around a girl who was later viciously attacked with a crowbar and left in a coma.

Is her father still alive? Was the assault on the girl a message and will Jane be next? It’s an intriguing premise, skilfully executed, in a narrative which merges suspense with some finely realised noir period detail. I had the pleasure of interviewing Shelley Blanton-Stroud about Copy Boy

An Interview with Writer-Director Andrew Cull on In the Dark and the Enduring Mystery of Louise Paxton

Some time ago, I wrote a review of the internet horror series In the Dark. The story concerns Louise Paxton, a young woman who moves from her hometown of Norwich to a dream home in London. At first everything seems to be going well, with Louise enjoying her newly found freedom and life in the big city. But then, sinister things start to happen. Louise suspects she’s being watched or worse: an intruder may be periodically entering the apartment.

Is Louise paranoid, or is she genuinely being stalked, or is there even something paranormal at work? There are thirty-eight videos in the series, ranging from just a few seconds to around eight minutes in length. You can access them all on this YouTube page. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and watch them in order for the full immersive experience. The vérité horror style of In the Dark was quite different from my usual tastes in crime fiction, but I was floored by the series and felt compelled to write a review. Shortly thereafter, I wrote another piece unveiling Louise Paxton as the actress Zoe Richards. In the Dark was originally presented as a found-footage style elaborate hoax, and many internet viewers believed Louise Paxton was a real person. This may seem difficult to accept, but when you watch the drama, especially the disturbing ending, you’ll understand the fervent grip it had on viewers’ imaginations when the story first unfolded.

Over the years, interest in the Louise Paxton mystery has endured, and the original reviews I wrote of the drama have generated massive web traffic for this blog in locales as far flung as Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Russia, Mexico among others. I’m periodically contacted by people who, in all sincerity, are concerned about Louise Paxton and want more information on her. This only made me more intrigued by the drama’s enduring appeal more than ten years after it debuted on YouTube.

I decided to contact the writer and director of In the Dark, Andrew Cull, and was delighted when he agreed to be interviewed by me. Since In the Dark, Andrew has gone on to success as the director of the feature film The Possession of David O’Reilly, and is the author of the recent short story collection Bones.

An Interview with John A. Curley – Author of the Jonathan Creed Series

John A. Curley is an author and private investigator based in New York City. His crime novels Bonds, Sorrows and Harbingers featuring PI Jonathan Creed are vintage hardboiled tales in the mould of Robert B. Parker and Mickey Spillane. Child Protection is a key theme and the Creed novels, like Andrew Vachss’s Burke series, are noted for their authenticity as Curley has brought his own experiences and used real cases as a basis in his fiction.

Curley and Andrew Vachss were both friends and colleagues, sharing a mutual interest in child protection. But to call it merely an interest would be to do both men a disservice. For Curley and Vachss, making the US a safer place for children was nothing short of a lifelong vocation and quest. This is why I first began talking to Curley and subsequently started devouring the Creed novels. I had interviewed Vachss when I was researching Love Me Fierce in Danger: The Life of James Ellroy, and I was eager to hear about Curley’s memories of Vachss who sadly died in November 2021.

I spoke with Curley at length via Zoom. We talked for so long that I decided to split our interview into two parts. The first part, published below, is focused on Curley’s professional relationship and friendship with Andrew Vachss. And in the second part, to be published soon, Curley will discuss the inspiration behind the gripping Jonathan Creed novels.

John A. Curley

And here is Part Two of the interview. Curley is an absolute joy to interview. Most authors are quite guarded as they prefer to play the publicity game, and rarely stray into other topics. Curley tells you exactly what is on his mind. He’s a New Yorker through and through, and although this part of the interview was designed to be more about the Creed novels, he still talks about Vachss a lot as Vachss’s influence on Curley’s life and work as both an author and a pioneer in child protection has been so comprehensive.

Jazzed is the compelling new novel by Jill Dearman. It delivers an ingenious twist on the Leopold & Loeb case – what if the two killers were women? The setting is Barnard College for Women, New York City, in the 1920s. Wilhelmina ‘Will’ Reinhardt and Dorothy ‘Dolly’ Raab are Freshman roommates at Barnard. Like many people who are attracted to each other, Will and Dolly have an interesting combination of similarities and differences. They are both from upper middle class Jewish families. However, Will is bookish and shy whereas Dolly is dominant, confident and knows exactly how to tease Will by withholding affection. At first their relationship blossoms among the Harlem speakeasies that made New York the epicentre of the Jazz Age. But an interest in Nietzschean philosophy thrusts the two women into increasingly transgressive acts that will ultimately lead to their destruction. When, for reasons of barely concealed prejudice, Barnard officials pair the couple off with new roommates, Dolly decides that she and Will must break the ultimate taboo by committing, and getting away with, the perfect crime – kidnapping and murdering a child.

Anyone who is interested in the Leopold & Loeb case, or indeed any reader who broadly enjoys crime fiction, will find Jazzed riveting. This is a story which is by turns sexy, dark, disturbing and tragic and yet it all coheres seamlessly into an exhilarating read.

I’ve been corresponding with Jill for several years now as we are both fascinated with True Crime, Film Noir and James Ellroy. Every conversation with Jill is a joy. She has wit, verve and joie de vivre. Enjoy this interview and buy yourself a copy of Jazzed. It’s sizzling.

And here’s my second interview with Jill Dearman. In this one Jill discusses her new novella The Uncanny Case of Gilles/Jeannette

Gallows Court: An Interview with Martin Edwards

Gallows Court is the new novel by Martin Edwards. The setting is London, 1930. A series of violent murders, the details as gruesome as the Ripper case, has horrified the capital. Rachel Savernake is the enigmatic heiress at the heart of the mystery. Brilliant, beautiful and cruel, Savernake solved the Chorus Girl Murder and is on the hunt of another killer. Yet, she is equally adept at using violence for her own ends.

I first met Martin when he was a guest at the Visions of Noir conference I organised in Liverpool in 2015. He’s always been enthusiastic and generous, and he kindly agreed to be interviewed by me about his new novel. The following exchange was conducted by email.

Unpublished James Ellroy Interview

I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing James Ellroy four times: on three occasions by telephone and once in his apartment in LA. Three of these interviews are included in the collection Conversations with James Ellroy which I edited for University Press of Mississippi. The interview I excluded from the volume was the third telephone interview which took place in November 2008. After giving the matter some thought, I decided that the interview wasn’t up to the high standard of my other interviews with Ellroy. You have to make some very difficult decisions when you’re editing an anthology of this kind, and I wanted to ensure there was space in the book for some of the outstanding interviews Ellroy has given throughout his career to such figures as Duane Tucker, Paul Duncan and Craig McDonald. However, I came across the interview again recently when searching through an old thumb drive, and I thought there were enough interesting moments to share it with you here, published for the very first time. I’ve edited it down quite significantly to the highlights

An Interview with Leah Konen: Author of One White Lie

One White Lie is the latest novel by Leah Konen. Lucy King is running away from an abusive relationship. To the outside world it might seem strange. She had a good-looking boyfriend who she adored. But little by little, as Lucy is holed up in Woodstock NY with only her dog and her thoughts for company, the reader learns of the abuse and controlling behaviour she has been put through. Things get seriously complicated when a couple she is staying with, seemingly kind and generous on the surface, reveal they have secrets of their own and Lucy gets drawn into a bizarre scheme to fake a man’s death.

Leah Konen has written an ingeniously-plotted, suspenseful thriller that will have you hooked until the last page. One White Lie was published as All The Broken People in the US. I was fortunate enough to interview Leah Konen about her new novel. The following interview took place by email.

Finlay Light: An Interview with the Australian James Bond

There are many showbiz stories about actors who could have played James Bond onscreen. With Daniel Craig stepping down from the role, the rumour mill has started again. One ‘he could have been Bond’ story that has always intrigued me more than the rest is that of Finlay Light. Light’s name has popped up now and again in Bond histories and chat forums. He was an Australian model who was in contention to play the role after Roger Moore stepped down in the 1980s, but not much more was publicly known about the story, including how close he came to the part. I wrote a piece a few years ago, investigating the Finlay Light rumours and appealing for more information.

Sure enough, a very close friend of Finlay’s reached out and said he would be prepared to talk to me. I had a wonderful conversation with Finlay. He’s funny, charming and intelligent, but with just the right dash of Australian abrasiveness to make for a potent Bondian mix. The story of how he was cast as James Bond, before ultimately losing the role is told by Finlay below. I came away from the interview surprised by how close he came to the part–actually, the part was officially his for awhile– and convinced he would have been a great James Bond.

The Chosen Ones by Howard Linskey

Howard Linskey’s The Chosen Ones is the fourth novel in the Detective Ian Bradshaw series. Bradshaw is a compelling creation; an honest, dogged policeman often tasked with the most disturbing cases which have lead him to grapple with anxiety and depression. Bradshaw is assisted in his investigations by the journalists Tom Carney and Helen Norton. I enjoyed this novel as gripping thriller, with an interesting take on the Buddy-Buddy narrative, and full of twists and turns. Perhaps the final twist was just a bit too much for me but, more than a week after finishing the book, I’m still thinking about it and that’s the sign of engaging writing.

Howard Linskey kindly agreed to answer some questions about his novel and writing:

Chicago ’63: Interview with Author Terrence McCauley

Chicago ’63 is the gripping new novella by Terrence McCauley. If you think you have already read everything there is to read about the assassination of President Kennedy then think again. McCauley sheds new light on the infamous event by focusing on a plot to kill Kennedy in Chicago. It took place one month before Kennedy was shot dead in Dallas.

The protagonist of this story is Secret Service agent Abraham Golden, a thinly-veiled version of the real-life Abraham Bolden, who was the first African-American to be assigned to the Presidential Protective Division. Golden uncovers the Chicago plot but finds his investigative work is undermined by racism and institutionalised corruption from the start.

McCauley mixes fact and fiction seamlessly in Chicago ’63. It’s a riveting read and I was delighted when Terrence agreed to talk to me about the writing of the book.

An Interview with Craig McDonald: The Hector Lassiter Series

Craig McDonald is an author and journalist. He has written fourteen novels, including, to date, nine books in the award-winning Hector Lassiter series. I have kept up a correspondence with Craig these past few years as we are both avid readers of James Ellroy. I’m also a massive fan of the Lassiter novels, and when Craig agreed to be interviewed by me, he also kindly supplied an advance copy of the final novel in the Lassiter series, the forthcoming Three Chords and the Truth. If you are not already initiated, I hope this interview will persuade you to start reading the Lassiter novels. They are compelling, thrilling and darkly humorous. Lassiter is a brilliant creation– a crime writer who learned his trade with Ernest Hemingway and the Lost Generation in Paris in the 1920s. He is also a man who seems dangerously prone to violent intrigue, doomed love affairs, tragic marriages and military campaigns (he’s a veteran of the Punitive Expedition, World War One, the Spanish Civil War and World War Two). Lassiter witnesses history unfolding and, occasionally, has a role in shaping it course. With Three Chords and the Truth, Craig McDonald has crafted a remarkable coda to the series.

Patricia Marques: An Interview with the Author of The Colours of Death and House of Silence

Patricia Marques is an author with a gift. Her gift is to write gripping detective fiction set in Lisbon with a speculative fiction twist.

Inspector Isabel Reis is a character with a gift. She is part of a small portion of the population born with special abilities – the gift of telekinesis and/or telepathy. These gifted individuals are distrusted by both the authorities and the general public. In Marques’ novels The Colours of Death and House of Silence, Isabel Reis investigates a series of seemingly baffling crimes while always battling the aura of suspicion that her gift bestows upon her.

I interviewed Patricia Marques about the Inspector Isabel Reis series. She’s a joy to talk to… brimming with enthusiasm about her influences but also candid about her writing struggles. She’s had a fascinating life.

Smoke Kings – An Interview with Author Jahmal Mayfield

Smoke Kings has the most ingenious premise I have encountered in a crime novel in recent years. Nate Evers is a black political activist. When his cousin is murdered, Evers turns his back on peaceful protest and, with three close associates, begins kidnapping the descendants of hate crime perpetrators and forcing them to confront their past and pay reparations to a community fund. But such a group is bound to make enemies, and Evers and his friends soon find themselves incurring the wrath of a violent white supremacist and a dogged former cop with some racist views of his own. Who will triumph, or rather just survive in the inevitably violent confrontation the novel is heading towards? It keeps you guessing till the final page.

I had some reservations about reading Smoke Kings. I was concerned it would be a political screed, more concerned with lecturing the reader than entertaining them. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Jahmal Mayfield’s writing is entertaining, empathetic and enlightening, and Smoke Kings is destined to become one of the most important novels of 2024.

An Interview with Joshua Melville about AMERICAN TIME BOMB: ATTICA, SAM MELVILLE, AND A SON’S SEARCH FOR ANSWERS

Joshua Melville has an unusual family history. His father was a bomb-setter, radical and (depending on your definition of the term) terrorist. Sam Melville was connected to at least eight bombings in the United States in 1969, finally being convicted of bombing the Federal Office Building in 1970. No one was killed in Melville’s bombings. However, a little over a year after he was convicted, Sam Melville was dead, killed in the Attica Prison riot.

Namaste Mart Confidential: Interview with Author Andrew Miller

Namaste Mart Confidential is the debut novel of Andrew Miller. It tells the story of Adam Minor and Richie Walsh, two buddies who work at Namaste Mart, a hippie grocery store in West Hollywood. By day they contend with the celebrities, hipsters and cult members that make up about half the LA populace. By night and in their spare time, Adam and Richie supplement their income by working as unlicensed private investigators. The two friends are good at what they do, but a new case is going to test their survival skills to the limit.

Joan Goldman was an action movie star of the 1980s, who now runs a chain of high-end lingerie stores. One of her top employees, Shayla Ramsey, has gone missing and she wants the boys to find them. On the trail of Shayla, Adam and Richie encounter vengeful Armenian gangsters and sex-crazed Mormon polygamists. It’s enough to make them wish they stayed in the grocery business…

Namaste Mart Confidential is a terrific novel. It’s funny, sexy, suspenseful and always keeps you turning the page. Andrew Miller knows his noir and, judging by his debut, is going to achieve great things in the genre. I spoke to Andrew about the writing of the novel.

An Interview with Andrew Nette: Author of Orphan Road

Orphan Road is the long-awaited follow-up novel to Gunshine State by Andrew Nette. Nette has brought back his signature character Gary Chance — a bruising but likeable professional thief who is always looking for that one big score that can take him out of the criminal underworld. In Orphan Road, Chance thinks he has found just that job. But the twist is that the heist happened several decades ago, and Chance just needs to find the loot. Chance soon discovers things are far less simple than they first appear.

Orphan Road is a terrific ‘heist gone wrong’ story that had me hooked from first page till last. I was delighted when author Andrew Nette agreed to talk to me about the writing of the book.

Have you heard of the Berwind Mutiny? No? Neither had I, until I read Charles Oldham’s terrific new book Ship of Blood: Mutiny and Slaughter Aboard the Harry A. Berwind, and the Quest for Justice. It’s a true crime tale with an intriguing premise. On October 10, 1905 the schooner Harry A. Berwind was drifting aimlessly about thirty miles off Cape Fear. Boarding parties were dispatched from shore to investigate and they discovered the Berwind was the scene of a bloodbath. The captain and four of his crew were dead. Three surviving crewmen were locked up and charged with mutiny. Were the murders were committed by one rogue member of the crew or was it a conspiracy involving all three men who had been charged? The crux of the matter was that all but one of the victims was white, whereas the three men charged with mutiny were black. In the South at a time when slavery and the Civil War were still a living memory for many people, one would think there was only ever going to be one outcome. However, this landmark case defied everyone’s expectations.

An Interview with James Rice: Author of Alice and the Fly and Walk

Alice and the Fly is the debut novel of James Rice. It is a haunting tale, written from the point of view of a cripplingly shy young man named Greg, which touches on themes such as loneliness, isolation and mental health. It’s a terrific read: sometimes funny, sometimes sad. I’ve known James for some time. He is charming and self-deprecating, but I’ve never been in any doubt of the burning talent that drives him as an author. James agreed to be interviewed by me about the genesis and writing process of Alice and the Fly.

An Interview with Zoe Richards – The Actress who Played Louise Paxton

In the Dark was an extraordinary internet drama that was broadcast (or should I say uploaded) onto YouTube between April and July of 2007. The drama focuses on Louise Paxton, a young woman who moves from Norwich to London to begin an exciting new life. The initial videos are fairly innocent. They show Louise having a farewell party with her friends in Norwich and then enjoying her new home. But pretty soon this idyllic life begins to fall apart. Louise begins to suspect that she is being stalked, and unsettling incidents in her flat appear to confirm this.

The video series was directed by Andrew Cull, who, working with a low-budget used practical effects with remarkable results in heightening the suspense of the drama. But the real star is Louise herself. Her video diaries are heartbreaking. She is increasingly scared, exhausted and always sympathetic. When the videos first came out, YouTube was in its infancy and the internet was awash with speculation that the videos were genuine, and even years later some viewers are still taken in by the story.

In the Dark was, of course, a hoax, or a drama, whichever label you prefer. It wasn’t real. I played a role in bringing this to light when I revealed the character of Louise Paxton was played by the actress Zoe Richards. I subsequently interviewed Andrew Cull who went on to direct the film The Torment (also known as The Possession of David O’Reilly) and is now a novelist based in Australia. For some time, I’ve been trying to get in touch with Zoe Richards. Her performance as Louise is heartrending and is key to the enduring appeal of In the Dark. Zoe Richards went on to play roles in Get Him to the Greek and Mr Selfridge. I was delighted when she agreed to be interviewed by me about the experience of playing Louise Paxton:

Iain Ryan: Interview with the Author of THE STRIP

The Strip is the new novel by Iain Ryan. Set on the Gold Coast of Australia in the early 1980s, The Strip begins with Detective Constable Lana Cohen joining the notorious Strike Force Diablo. An outsider to this world of machismo, corruption and casual bigotry, Cohen must quickly establish herself in a man’s world. She is reluctantly paired with Detective Henry Loch, a copper haunted by his past failures who sees the investigation into the murder of a doctor as his shot at redemption. But one murder is quickly connected to a whole series of murders which the local police have been too corrupt or incompetent to solve, and it isn’t long before Cohen and Loch are in danger of becoming victims themselves.

The Strip is one of the best crime novels of 2023. The Gold Coast setting and eighties period are vividly evoked and add a suitably sweaty ambience to the tense narrative which carries the reader along compulsively to final page. Author Iain Ryan grew up in Brisbane and knows the people, places and ethos of The Strip intricately. I had the pleasure of talking to Iain about his new novel.

An Interview with PJ Tracy: Author and Creator of the Monkeewrench Series

PJ Tracy is the pseudonym of the mother-daughter writing team of Patricia ‘PJ’ and Traci Lambrecht. Their debut novel, Monkeewrench (2003), was hugely successful and launched their popular series of novels featuring Detectives Gino and Magozzi who investigate complex and grisly crimes in modern day Minnesota. Sadly, PJ Lambrecht died in 2016. Traci Lambrecht has continued writing the Monkeewrench series since her mother’s passing, still using the PJ Tracy pseudonym. Ice Cold Heartis the tenth and latest novel in the series. It is a gripping thriller, full of twists and turns, which offers a vivid insight of modern day dangers the police grapple with in our technologically advanced society.

An Interview with Mike Ripley on the Enduring Appeal of the Albert Campion Novels

Mike Ripley has had a diverse and successful career as a writer. He made his name writing the Angel comedy crime novels. Fans of Shotsmag will know him for his ‘Getting Away With Murder’ column, which mixes genre news, literary gossip and publishing history to great effect. Ripley again put his encyclopaedic knowledge of genre matters to good use in Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, a riveting study of post-war British thrillers.

I’ve kept up a correspondence with Mike about all things crime fiction for several years now. We’ve met just once, at St Barts Pathology Museum when I was giving a lecture about the Black Dahliasurrounded by skulls and grisly diagrams. Mike has always been witty, knowledgeable and extremely generous, so I was delighted when he agreed to be interviewed by me about his lifelong fascination with and work on the Albert Campion series.

An Interview with Joseph Wambaugh

Joseph Wambaugh is one of the most important American crime writers of the past fifty years. While serving as a police officer in the LAPD, Wambaugh began writing about the everyday lives of policemen and women. His first two novels The New Centurions (1971) and The Blue Knight (1972) were instant successes which did much to strip away the myths about police work found in scores of fanciful crime novels/TV shows (some of which were essentially LAPD propaganda, like Dragnet). Wambaugh’s cops are tough and street-smart but they are also harassed, worn down, living with constant pressure and struggling with failing marriages all brought on by the repetitive drudgery and bureaucratic nature of police work. That said, he captures the gallows humour and camaraderie of policemen as only a true copper could. For the average police officer, the pay is poor; political activists regard them as villains; and you never know if an average working day will turn violent. Despite this people are still drawn to the LAPD in order ‘to protect and to serve’ their community, even if it might leave them with a jaundiced view of their fellow human being.

Finally, I was interviewed by the the great Jill Dearman for the Brooklyn Rail.

STEVE POWELL with Jill Dearman

James Ellroy’s novels and nonfiction are the stuff of obsession. But what kind of an obsessive writer would dedicate his reading, researching and writing time to uncracking the code of the famed L.A. Confidential and The Black Dahlia author. That writer in question would be a humble and deeply curious British biographer named Steven Powell. Powell is a crime fiction scholar and, in the words of Andrew Pepper, “The authority on James Ellroy.” His book James Ellroy: Demon Dog of Crime Fiction (Palgrave Macmillan 2016) was nominated for the HRF Keating Award for Best Biographical / Critical work. He is also the editor of the anthologies Conversations with James Ellroy (University Press of Mississippi, 2012) and The Big Somewhere: Essays on James Ellroy’s Noir World (BloomsburyAcademic, 2018). He edited the anthology 100 American Crime Writers (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012) and is a member of the Crime Writers Association. He blogs about crime fiction at The Venetian Vase. Below is my interview with Steven Powell, in which he discussed Ellroy at large in the context of his newest book, The Big Somewhere.