Chew on This

(Editor’s note: The following squib comes from Dick Adler, a regular contributor to The Rap Sheet).

I don’t write fan letters often, but here’s one I just sent that I thought might enjoy -- especially if you’re a foodie. It went to William Grimes, a former food critic for The New York Times. The book I’m complimenting originally came out in 2009, but I only just had the opportunity to read it.

Dear William Grimes:

My wife gave me Appetite City: A Culinary History of New York for Christmas, and I wanted to say this to you -- it is one of the best books I have ever read.

I don’t think we have met, but we have similar backgrounds. I’ve been a reviewer (for The New York Times Book Review, the Chicago Tribune, The Barnes & Noble Review) and a magazine writer and editor (New York, New West). Now I’m writing fiction full-time. (http://forgetalzymer.blogspot.com/).

What impresses me most about Appetite City is the complete, absolute sense of trust you create. Usually, my tendency is to check on a writer’s research by finding and reading at least one of the author’s choices [of research work]. I never felt the need to do this with your book. From Page 1, I knew instinctively that you had done this for me. So, many thanks, and best regards.

OK, enough gushing for now ...

Review: Touchstone by Laurie R. King

Today, in January Magazine’s crime fiction section, Dick Adler reviews Touchstone by Laurie R. King. Says Adler:

Everything Laurie R. King writes is first-class, from her modern, totally feminist and often surprisingly touching Kate Martinelli mysteries to her Mary Russell thrillers, which manage to carry on with (and improve upon) Arthur Conan Doyle’s tales of Sherlock Holmes and give the Great Detective a new life. King’s new novel, Touchstone, is one of the best books of any kind published in 2007 -- a terrific combination and culmination of her work so far.

The full review is here.

The Adventure Continues

Today in The Rap Sheet, Dick Adler’s “crime novel in installments,” Men’s Adventure, continues with chapter four:

Where we left off: While waiting to hear again from Saul Cooperman, who’s out West digging up clues to a murder case, Ivan Davis took dinner with his parents and then received an invitation to Vesuvio’s restaurant from his mob-connected cousin, who said he might know some things Ivan should hear.

Here’s the link.