Ross D. MacDonald or
John D.
MacDonald?
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Edgar Nominee 2017, Anthony nominee 2017
Polis Books, 2015-nominated for the Anthony and Macavity Awards
See Link Below
http://www.mysteryscenemag.com/26-reviews/books/5202-concrete-angel
Kirkus Reviews
Dana King: Twenty Questions
Gerald So: Concrete Angel chat
MYSTERY PEOPLE (Book People) Scott Montgomery Review
Bill Crider: Being a Late Bloomer
George Kelley: Patti Abbott's Bookshelves
J. Kingston Pierce: "Mommie Direst" (a reference to the character in Concrete Angel)
Ron Earl Phillips: Patti Abbott and Rob Hart: A Conversation
Ed Gorman: Pro-File
Women of Mystery: Setting
Elizabeth Spann Craig: Working My Way Toward the Novel
Charlie Stella's post and review
Joe Barone (review)
Criminal Element (Edward Grainger) (review)
Sergio Angelini (post)
Randy Johnson (review)
Todd Mason interview)
R & R with B.V. Lawson
Seana Graham (review)
Bill Crider (review)
Five Favorite Novels about Mothers and Daughters.(CRIMESPREE MAGAZINE)
Scott Parker (DO SOME DAMAGE)
Megan Abbott interview on THE LIFE SENTENCE
Debbie Diesen's MICHIGANDER MONDAY. (interview)
Marshall Zeringue's Page 69 test
Interview with Prashant Trikannad
My Book, The Movie
Writers Read
Evan Lewis' Blog-(Davy Crockett's Almanac) review
Martin Edwards-guest blog
Behind the Book, CRIMESPREE MAGAZINE, Writing Dark
Interview with Scott Montgomery, MYSTERY PEOPLE at BOOK PEOPLE in Austin
Tip The Wink (Rick Robinson) review
TracyK review (Bitter Tea and Mystery)
Bernadette (Reactions to Reading)
Pulp Hack Confessions
I SEE LIGHTNING FALL review
Kevin Tipple review
Barry Ergang review
Dead End Follies review
THE BLUE HOUSE review
Mathew Paust
About Me
Patricia Abbott is the author of more than 125 stories that have appeared online, in print journals and in various anthologies. She is the author of two print novels CONCRETE ANGEL (2015) and SHOT IN DETROIT (2016)(Polis Books). CONCRETE ANGEL was nominated for an Anthony and Macavity Award in 2016. SHOT IN DETROIT was nominated for an Edgar Award and an Anthony Award in 2017. A collection of her stories I BRING SORROW AND OTHER STORIES OF TRANSGRESSION will appear in 2018.
She also authored two ebooks, MONKEY JUSTICE and HOME INVASION and co-edited DISCOUNT NOIR. She won a Derringer award for her story "My Hero." She lives outside Detroit.
She also authored two ebooks, MONKEY JUSTICE and HOME INVASION and co-edited DISCOUNT NOIR. She won a Derringer award for her story "My Hero." She lives outside Detroit.
Patricia (Patti) Abbott
SHOT IN DETROIT
Edgar Nominee 2017, Anthony nominee 2017
CONCRETE ANGEL
Polis Books, 2015-nominated for the Anthony and Macavity Awards
Contact me
pattinaseabbott@gmail.com
My Blog List
Friday's Forgotten Books
See Link Below
Blog Archive
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2010
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November
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- Dylan in America
- LA RONDE, Part 9: Kassandra Kelly
- Something to Make You Smile
- BAD NEWS
- THE SUMMING UP, Friday November 27, 2010
- Friday's Forgotten Books, November 26, 2010
- DAMN NEAR DEAD 2
- Happy Thanksgiving
- Guilty Pleasure Movie
- HOW I CAME TO WRITE THIS BOOK: James Reasoner
- Boxing Match
- La Ronde, Part 8
- Your Five Favorite U.S. Movies from the 1970s
- One of the great themes- IMHO
- Sense of Place
- THE SUMMING UP, Friday, November 19, 2010
- Friday's Forgotten Books 1, November 19, 2010
- Thursday Night Music-Julie London
- Short Story Challenge at Yvette's Place:In So Many...
- How I Came to Write the Book, Milton Burton
- What 's your favorite comedy?
- La Ronde, Part Seven-Eric Beetner
- This Week's Books
- STEAMPUNK
- Those Who Died Too Young/
- THE SUMMING UP, Friday, November 5, 12, 2010
- Friday's Forgotten Books, November 12, 2010- 2
- Friday's Forgotten Books 1, November 12, 2010
- Some Observations About Noircon 2010
- How I Came To WRITE THIS BOOK-Richard Wheeler
- What Do Men Really Think?
- Your Favorite Collection of Short Stores-Single Au...
- LA RONDE, Part Six
- A FEW NOIRCON PHOTOS
- What Happened to Woody Allen?
- Friday's Forgotten Books, November, 5, 2010
- HOW I CAME TO WRITE THIS BOOK-Bill Crider
- First Wednesday Book Review Club, November 3, 2010
- Your "List" Aria
- LA RONDE, Part Five
- Tomorrow's Election
- What Movie Defines The State You Live in Best?
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November
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SHOT IN DETROIT
Crimespree Magazine.Six Novels Set in Detroit
The Rap Sheet, Bringing the Dead to Life
Kirkus Review, Summer Crime Fiction
Portand Book Review, Essay
OBAT-Dana King-interview
Litreactor-review
Do Some Damage-Scott Parker-review
Temporary Knuckline-Charlie Stella essay and review
Razored Zen-Essay on difficult women
Bill Crider's Pop Culture. Essay on writing the second novel
Bolo Books, essay
Graham Wynd, essay on whether I write genre
Katomic Energy, essay
Matt Paust, review
Bill Crider's Pop Culture Review, review
Prashant Trikannad, interview
Paul Brazil, essay on photography
Joe Barone, review
TracyK, review
Seana Graham review
Reactions to Reading review
Mystery People, Scott Montgomery review
The Rap Sheet, Bringing the Dead to Life
Kirkus Review, Summer Crime Fiction
Portand Book Review, Essay
OBAT-Dana King-interview
Litreactor-review
Do Some Damage-Scott Parker-review
Temporary Knuckline-Charlie Stella essay and review
Razored Zen-Essay on difficult women
Bill Crider's Pop Culture. Essay on writing the second novel
Bolo Books, essay
Graham Wynd, essay on whether I write genre
Katomic Energy, essay
Matt Paust, review
Bill Crider's Pop Culture Review, review
Prashant Trikannad, interview
Paul Brazil, essay on photography
Joe Barone, review
TracyK, review
Seana Graham review
Reactions to Reading review
Mystery People, Scott Montgomery review
CONCRETE ANGEL-Reviews and Blog Tour
http://www.mysteryscenemag.com/26-reviews/books/5202-concrete-angel
Kirkus Reviews
Dana King: Twenty Questions
Gerald So: Concrete Angel chat
MYSTERY PEOPLE (Book People) Scott Montgomery Review
Bill Crider: Being a Late Bloomer
George Kelley: Patti Abbott's Bookshelves
J. Kingston Pierce: "Mommie Direst" (a reference to the character in Concrete Angel)
Ron Earl Phillips: Patti Abbott and Rob Hart: A Conversation
Ed Gorman: Pro-File
Women of Mystery: Setting
Elizabeth Spann Craig: Working My Way Toward the Novel
Charlie Stella's post and review
Joe Barone (review)
Criminal Element (Edward Grainger) (review)
Sergio Angelini (post)
Randy Johnson (review)
Todd Mason interview)
R & R with B.V. Lawson
Seana Graham (review)
Bill Crider (review)
Five Favorite Novels about Mothers and Daughters.(CRIMESPREE MAGAZINE)
Scott Parker (DO SOME DAMAGE)
Megan Abbott interview on THE LIFE SENTENCE
Debbie Diesen's MICHIGANDER MONDAY. (interview)
Marshall Zeringue's Page 69 test
Interview with Prashant Trikannad
My Book, The Movie
Writers Read
Evan Lewis' Blog-(Davy Crockett's Almanac) review
Martin Edwards-guest blog
Behind the Book, CRIMESPREE MAGAZINE, Writing Dark
Interview with Scott Montgomery, MYSTERY PEOPLE at BOOK PEOPLE in Austin
Tip The Wink (Rick Robinson) review
TracyK review (Bitter Tea and Mystery)
Bernadette (Reactions to Reading)
Pulp Hack Confessions
I SEE LIGHTNING FALL review
Kevin Tipple review
Barry Ergang review
Dead End Follies review
THE BLUE HOUSE review
Mathew Paust
29 comments:
I couldn't choose between the MacDonalds. No way.
And I wonder who will.
I have to say I enjoyed Travis as a character more then Lew. But Lew had more complex cases.
I think Ross Macdonald was the finest writer ever of private eye fiction. He brought literary integrity and psychological depth to the form that has never been equaled. I think John D. was the great populist storyteller. He once said that he wrote folk tales for men who carried their lunches in buckets. While I don't think he had the depth of Ross Mc I think he had a range and storytelling ability that Ross Mc sometimes lacked. Hell I read them both all the time. Hard to beat either one of them if you like to watch masters at work.
Travis was certainly more sure of himself than Lew. Many-a-woman put her life back together by sleeping with Travis.
Though I enjoyed Ross as a stylist more, I think John D had a larger breadth of characters and plots.
Dan Luft
I'm glad I don't really have to make a choice because to me they're both indispensable. Ed's answer is on the money.
Ross without question. I always especially appreciated writers I saw as bringing mystery fiction to the level of other great literature. For me that was Dashiell Hammett and Ross MacDonald.
I saw John D. MacDonald as more of an entertainer, though he wrote a cut-above type novel called Condominium.
Ross MacDonald. I discovered his work just a few years ago and was instantly smitten. I agree with Ed, 'he was the finest writer ever of private eye fiction.' I love his books.
One of them, I rushed to read, the other one I savored.
RM for me.
Mr. Gorman said it best.
Yes, he did.
If I had to choose one, It would be Ross. Thankfully, I can read both with great enjoyment and not feel like I'm wasting my time. There are writers I've read that I regretted ever wasting my time with.
One huge bestseller comes to mind.
I'm going to buck the trend and go with John. I like Travis more than Lew (although I generally skip the sex scenes--too early sixties, even when they weren't written in that era); also I like how you can read the entire "touristization" of the state of Florida through the course of his works.
And Patti, how could we ever be sick of you? You ask such interesting questions.
Huge fangirl crush on Travis.
Am I right in thinking zombies, Randy.
Both were better than most of their contemporaries, including several who are too often cited ahead of them.
We wouldn't be here if we were sick of you, Patti...hope you're feeling more sanguine about yourself soonish...
At least one boxer named Mailer was among those I was thinking of.
Probably not hundreds, Patti...perhaps dozens (I certainly haven't read many cozy novels yet, and prefer short fiction on balance).
Mailer comes to mind for sure.
I LOVE short fiction but rarely lose myself in it. It's more about craft, tone.
Right now, I yearn for a book that take me away.
THERE IS NOTHING LIKE A BOOK TO TAKE YOU FAR AWAY.
There's no point in even trying to improve on Ed's remarks, so I won't. It should be mentioned, though, that a goodly number of JDM's best novels are not in the McGee series. Even though these non-series novels are harder to find than the McGees, they shouldn't be skipped.
Craft, tone and passion. Too often, novels become exercises in endurance for even the best, most inspired writers. And it too often shows.
Why choose?
And JDM wrote a lot more than just the Travis McGee books.
Jeff M.
THE EXECUTIONERS by John and perhaps THE CHILL by "Ross" are the current favorites of mine.
Not at all, Patti. Think religion.
I'm a fan of both writers, but the tragic end of Ross Macdonald, a victim of Alzheimer's, tilts my choice to Kenneth Millar.
I've read very little John D. MacDonald, so my opinion isn't well informed. But, having studied and collected the work of Ken Millar/Ross Macdonald (small "d" by the way) in-depth for the last 27 years, I would be hard pressed to name a mystery writer whose work provides me with the rich rewards as the transplanted Santa Barbara writer does. His use of simile and metaphor are often touted, but I am most impressed with his exploration of particular themes within a given book. Look for how he foreshadows events in The Chill with bird imagery, how The Zebra-Striped Hearse is filled with black, white, and grey themes, or how the color, orange, is used in Sleeping Beauty. There's one book that has maybe 20 references to people's faces being like a mask of some kind or another. I enjoy how these themes or images tie in with the structure of the book. It makes for great re-reading. I find there's more going on in a Ross Macdonald book than an intricate plot, and the vision of the world through Lew Archer's eyes is a treat I seldom tire of.
Hi Jeff-Loved the picture you took of us at Noircon.
And I love the work of Margaret Millar too. Probably the best twosome ever.
Hi Patti - I'm pleased the picture turned out well and you're happy with it. I mailed a tube of goodies to Megan (last week?)--do you know if she got it? I'm sorry we didn't really get to chat at NoirCon--I didn't get to hang out as much as I had hoped. Oh well, the best-laid schemes o' mice an' men...
I'll ask, Jeff.
Ross, with every possible way.
Edge to Ross. Ross never wrote anything as bad as JDM's lesser potboilers (CONTRARY PLEASURE, anyone?), and JDM never wrote anything as good as THE ZEBRA-STRIPED HEARSE or THE UNDERGROUND MAN.
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