Michael P. King

I’ve received some emails over the last year or so asking me if there were going to be any more Travelers books, since I’d switched focus to the KD Thorne thrillers. Well, last fall, while I was recuperating from my knee replacement and finishing up The Hunt for the Ransomware Hackers, I wrote up a few pages of what is going to be a new Travelers book, tentatively titled The Grifters’ Hopscotch. That’s the book I’m working on now, and I hope to finish it this spring. So if you’ve been waiting for a new Travelers caper, there’s one on the way.

In the meantime, two books you might be interested in.

You all know I’m a big fan of Donald Westlake’s Parker books (written as Richard Stark). I’ve also read and commented upon a few of his Mitchell Tobin books. These books are much more centered in the time period when they were written. I recently read A Jade in Aries (1970). This outing concerns the murder of a gay man whose partner is using astrology to find the killer, who he thinks must be one of their six gay friends. (Not kidding.) The premise might seem a little off beat, but Westlake avoids the usual stereotypes to make the characters individual and compelling. And the murder mystery itself is a first-rate closed box puzzle with a surprising twist about two-thirds the way in. Couldn’t put it down once I was halfway through.

A Jade in Aries is $1.99 (US) today. Here’s the link if you want to check it out:

Also, I recently wrote about Bruno, Chief of Police by Martin Walker, which is the first of a series of mystery novels that take place in a small town in southern France. I’ve just finished the third book in this series, Black Diamond (2010), which involves counterfeit truffles (the kind you find in the forest), illegal immigration, and the murder of a local hunter and truffle expert. These books are not hard boiled, but the characters are beautifully drawn, and the mysteries are complex and exciting. Fun, fun, fun reading!

Hope you have a great holiday season!