CANR
WORK TITLE: Ashes Never Lie
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.leegoldberg.com/
CITY: Los Angeles
STATE:
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME: LRC 2020
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
ADDRESS
CAREER
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Reviewer’s Bookwatch Aug., 2013. review of The Heist.
Xpress Reviews Dec. 5, 2014, Ayers, Jeff. , “Evanovich, Janet & Lee Goldberg. The Job: A Fox and O’Hare Novel.”.
Reviewer’s Bookwatch Oct., 2016. Mason, Jack. , “The Pursuit.”. p. NA.
Booklist vol. 114 no. 12 Feb. 15, 2018, Crinklaw, Don. , “True Fiction.”. p. 35.
Publishers Weekly vol. 265 no. 9 Feb. 26, 2018, Simms, Dave. , “The Opposite of Jack Reacher: PW Talks with Lee Goldberg.”. p. 65.
Publishers Weekly vol. 265 no. 48 Nov. 26, 2018, Goldberg, Lee. , “Killer Thriller: An Ian Ludlow Thriller.”. p. 35.
Small Press Bookwatch Mar., 2019. , “Killer Thriller.”.
Booklist vol. 116 no. 5 Nov. 1, 2019, Crinklaw, Don. , “Lost Hills.”. p. 25.
Kirkus Reviews Oct. 1, 2019, , “Goldberg, Lee: LOST HILLS.”.
Booklist vol. 116 no. 13 Mar. 1, 2020, Crinklaw, Don. , “Fake Truth.”.
Kirkus Reviews Feb. 15, 2020, , “Goldberg, Lee: FAKE TRUTH.”.
Internet Bookwatch Jan., 2021. , “Bone Canyon.”.
Kirkus Reviews Oct. 15, 2020, , “Goldberg, Lee: BONE CANYON.”.
Kirkus Reviews July 15, 2021, , “Goldberg, Lee: GATED PREY.”. p. NA.
Publishers Weekly vol. 268 no. 33 Aug. 16, 2021, , “Gated Prey.”. p. 65.
Kirkus Reviews Apr. 15, 2022, , “Goldberg, Lee: MOVIELAND.”. p. NA.
Publishers Weekly vol. 269 no. 16 Apr. 18, 2022, , “Movieland.”. p. 55.
Library Journal vol. 148 no. 4 Apr., 2023. Holstine, Lesa. , “Malibu Burning.”. p. 84.
Kirkus Reviews May 1, 2023, , “Goldberg, Lee: MALIBU BURNING.”. p. NA.
Kirkus Reviews Sept. 15, 2023, , “Goldberg, Lee: CALICO.”. p. NA.
Library Journal vol. 148 no. 10 Oct., 2023. , “Calico.”. p. 104.
Publishers Weekly vol. 270 no. 45 Nov. 6, 2023, , “Dream Town.”. p. 30.
Library Journal vol. 148 no. 12 Dec., 2023. , “Dream Town. Thomas & Mercer: Amazon.”.
Kirkus Reviews Dec. 1, 2023, , “Goldberg, Lee: DREAM TOWN.”. p. NA.
Publishers Weekly vol. 271 no. 25 June 24, 2024, , “Ashes Never Lie.”. p. 41.
Library Journal vol. 149 no. 7 July, 2024. Holstine, Lesa. , “Goldberg, Lee. Ashes Never Lie.”. p. 77.
Kirkus Reviews Sept. 1, 2024, , “Goldberg, Lee: ASHES NEVER LIE.”. p. NA.
Lee Goldberg
USA flag (b.1962)
aka Ian Ludlow
Lee Goldberg is a novelist and television writer whose TV scripting and producing credits include Diagnosis Murder, A Nero Wolfe Mystery, Hunter, Spenser For Hire, She-Wolf of London, SeaQuest, 1-800-Missing, Martial Law and Monk.
He is currently on the board of the Mystery Writers of America and founded, with novelist Max Allan Collins, the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers.
Genres: Mystery, Horror, Thriller
New and upcoming books
September 2024
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Ashes Never Lie
(Sharpe & Walker, book 2)April 2025
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Hidden in Smoke
(Sharpe & Walker, book 3)October 2025
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Fallen Star
(Eve Ronin, book 6)
Series
357: Vigilante (as by Ian Ludlow)
1. 357: Vigilante (1985)
2. Make Them Pay (1985)
3. White Wash (1985)
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Charlie Willis
1. My Gun Has Bullets (1995)
2. Dead Space (1997)
aka Beyond the Beyond
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Diagnosis Murder
1. The Silent Partner (2003)
2. The Death Merchant (2004)
3. The Shooting Script (2004)
4. The Waking Nightmare (2005)
5. The Past Tense (2005)
6. The Dead Letter (2006)
7. The Double Life (2006)
8. The Last Word (2007)
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Monk
1. Mr. Monk Goes to the Fire House (2006)
2. Mr. Monk Goes to Hawaii (2006)
3. Mr. Monk and The Blue Flu (2007)
4. Mr. Monk and the Two Assistants (2007)
5. Mr. Monk in Outer Space (2007)
6. Mr. Monk Goes to Germany (2008)
7. Mr. Monk Is Miserable (2008)
8. Mr. Monk and the Dirty Cop (2009)
9. Mr. Monk in Trouble (2009)
10. Mr. Monk is Cleaned Out (2010)
11. Mr. Monk on the Road (2011)
12. Mr. Monk on the Couch (2011)
13. Mr. Monk on Patrol (2012)
14. Mr. Monk Is a Mess (2012)
15. Mr. Monk Gets Even (2012)
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Jury
1. Judgment (2011)
aka 357: Vigilante
2. Adjourned (2009)
aka Make Them Pay
3. Payback (2011)
aka White Wash
4. Guilty (2011)
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Fox & O'Hare (with Janet Evanovich)
0.1. The Shell Game (2014)
0.5. Pros and Cons (2013)
1. The Heist (2013)
2. The Chase (2014)
3. The Job (2014)
4. The Scam (2015)
5. The Pursuit (2016)
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Ian Ludlow
1. True Fiction (2018)
2. Killer Thriller (2019)
3. Fake Truth (2020)
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Eve Ronin
1. Lost Hills (2020)
2. Bone Canyon (2021)
3. Gated Prey (2021)
4. Movieland (2022)
5. Dream Town (2024)
6. Fallen Star (2025)
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Sharpe & Walker
1. Malibu Burning (2023)
2. Ashes Never Lie (2024)
3. Hidden in Smoke (2025)
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Novels
Deadly Games (1995)
The Walk (2004)
Watch Me Die (2005)
aka The Man with the Iron-On Badge
King City (2012)
Calico (2023)
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Collections
Three Ways to Die (2009)
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Novellas and Short Stories
Remaindered (2006)
McGrave (2012)
Fast Track (2013)
Crown Vic (2023)
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Series contributed to
Dead Man
1. Face of Evil (2011) (with William Rabkin)
2. Ring of Knives (2011) (with William Rabkin)
3. Hell in Heaven (2011) (with William Rabkin)
4. The Dead Woman (2011) (with David McAfee and William Rabkin)
5. The Blood Mesa (2011) (with William Rabkin and James Reasoner)
6. Kill Them All (2011) (with William Rabkin and Harry Shannon)
7. The Beast Within (2011) (with James Daniels and William Rabkin)
8. Fire and Ice (2012) (with Jude Hardin and William Rabkin)
9. Carnival of Death (2012) (with Bill Crider and William Rabkin)
10. Freaks Must Die (2012) (with Joel Goldman and William Rabkin)
11. Slaves to Evil (2012) (with Lisa Klink and William Rabkin)
12. Midnight Special (2012) (with William Rabkin and Phoef Sutton)
13. The Death Match (2012) (with Christa Faust and William Rabkin)
14. The Black Death (2012) (with Aric Davis and William Rabkin)
16. Colder than Hell (2013) (with William Rabkin and Anthony Neil Smith)
20. The Dark Need (2013) (with Stant Litore and William Rabkin)
21. The Rising Dead (2013) (with Stella Green and William Rabkin)
22. Reborn (2014) (with others)
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Plays hide
Dame Edna: Detective (2011)
Aimee & David Thurlo's Ella Clah: The Pilot Script (2013) (with William Rabkin)
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Non fiction hide
The Best TV Shows That Never Were (1990)
aka Unsold TV Pilots
Television Series Revivals (1993)
The Dreamweavers (1995) (with others)
Science Fiction Filmmaking in the 1980s (1995) (with others)
Successful Television Writing (2003) (with William Rabkin)
Television Fast Forward (2009)
Tied In (2010)
Unsold Television Pilots: 1955-1989 (2015)
The James Bond Films 1963-1989 (2022)
The Joy of Sets (2022)
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Omnibus editions hide
The Jury Series (2009)
Double Header (2011)
Double Impact (2012)
Fast Action (2020) (with Jim Bosworth)
About the author
#1 New York Times Bestselling Author
Lee Goldberg is an ex-Navy SEAL, nuclear physicist and a professional Daniel Craig impersonator.
Okay, that's not true. But he wants this biography to be really exciting, so pay attention. If things bog down, I've been instructed to add a car chase or some explicit sex.
Here's the real story. Lee Goldberg writes books and television shows.
His mother wanted him to be a doctor, and his grandfather wanted him to go into the family furniture business. Instead, he put himself through UCLA as a freelance journalist, writing for such publications as American Film, Starlog, Newsweek, The Los Angeles Times Syndicate, The Washington Post and The San Francisco Chronicle (He also wrote erotic letters to the editor for Playgirl at twenty-five-dollars-a-letter, but he doesn't tell people about that, he just likes to boast about those "tiffany" credits).
He published his first book ".357 Vigilante" (as "Ian Ludlow," so he'd be on the shelf next to Robert Ludlum) while he was still a UCLA student. The West Coast Review of Books called his debut "as stunning as the report of a .357 Magnum, a dynamic premiere effort," singling the book out as "The Best New Paperback Series" of the year. Naturally, the publisher promptly went bankrupt and he never saw a dime in royalties. (But the books are available on the Kindle as "The Jury Series")
Welcome to publishing, Lee.
His subsequent books include the non-fiction books "Successful Television Writing" and "Unsold Television Pilots" ("The Best Bathroom Reading Ever!" San Francisco Chronicle) as well as the novels "My Gun Has Bullets" ("It will make you cackle like a sitcom laugh track," Entertainment Weekly), "Dead Space" ("Outrageously entertaining," Kirkus Reviews), "Watch Me Die" ("as dark and twisted as anything Hammet or Chandler ever dreamed up," Kirkus Reviews).
"Take me now," she moaned, "you hot writer stud."
She tore off her clothes and tackled him onto the floor, unable to control her raging lust. Nothing excited her more than being around a writer with a big list of books.
Got your attention again? Good. I don't know about you, but I was starting to nod off. Where was I? Oh yes...
Goldberg broke into television with a freelance script sale to "Spenser: For Hire." Since then, his TV writing & producing credits have covered a wide variety of genres, including sci-fi (SeaQuest), cop shows (Hunter, The Glades), martial arts (Martial Law), whodunits (Diagnosis Murder, Nero Wolfe), the occult (She-Wolf of London), kid's shows (R.L. Stine's The Nightmare Room), T&A (Baywatch), comedy (Monk) and utter crap (The Highwayman). His TV work has earned him two Edgar Award nominations from the Mystery Writers of America.
His two careers, novelist and TV writer, merged when he began writing the "Diagnosis Murder" series of original novels, based on the hit CBS TV mystery that he also wrote and produced, and later wrote the 15 bestselling novels based on "Monk," another show that he worked on. He is co-creator of the hit Hallmark movie series "Mystery 101." He also he teamed up with Janet Evanovich to write the #1 New York Times bestselling Fox & O'Hare novels ("The Heist," "The Chase," "The Job," "The Scam," "The Pursuit"). His most recent books include "Movieland" (the 4th novel in the Eve Roninseries), "Malibu Burning" (the first novel in the Sharpe & Walker series) and the genre-bending thriller "Calico."
But perhaps he's best known for his pioneering work mapping the human genome and negotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Goldberg lives in Los Angeles with his wife and his daughter and still sleeps in "Man From UNCLE" pajamas.
About Lee
Lee GoldbergLee Goldberg is an ex-Navy SEAL, nuclear physicist and a professional Daniel Craig impersonator.
Okay, that’s not true. But he wants this biography to be really exciting, so pay attention. If things bog down, I’ve been instructed to add a car chase or some explicit sex.
Here’s the real story.
Lee Goldberg writes books and television shows.
His mother wanted him to be a doctor, and his grandfather wanted him to go into the family furniture business. Instead, he put himself through UCLA as a freelance journalist, writing for such publications as American Film, Starlog, Newsweek, The Los Angeles Times Syndicate, The Washington Post and The San Francisco Chronicle (he also wrote erotic letters to the editor for Playgirl at $25-a-letter, but he doesn’t tell people about that, he just likes to boast about those “Tiffany” credits).
He published his first book .357 Vigilante (as “Ian Ludlow,” so he’d be on the shelf next to Robert Ludlum) while he was still a UCLA student. The West Coast Review of Books called his debut “as stunning as the report of a .357 Magnum, a dynamic premiere effort,” singling the book out as “The Best New Paperback Series” of the year. Naturally, the publisher promptly went bankrupt and he never saw a dime in royalties.
Welcome to publishing, Lee.
His many subsequent books include the non-fiction Successful Television Writing and Unsold Television Pilots as well as the novels Lost Hills, True Fiction, My Gun Has Bullets, The Walk, King City, and Watch Me Die, which was nominated for a Shamus Award for Best Novel from the Private Eye Writers of America. He was also the co-author with Janet Evanovich of the five international bestselling Fox & O’Hare novels (The Heist, The Chase, The Job, The Scam and The Pursuit) and two New York Times bestselling prequel novellas (The Shell Game and Pros & Cons). His most recent books include Dream Town (the 5th novel in the Eve Ronin series), Malibu Burning (the first novel in the Sharpe & Walker series) and the genre-bending thriller Calico, a 2024 Spur Award finalist for Best Contemporary Western from the Western Writers of America.
“Take me now,” she moaned, “you hot writer stud.”
She tore off her clothes and tackled him onto the floor, unable to control her raging lust. Nothing excited her more than being around a writer with a big list of books.
Got your attention again? Good. I don’t know about you, but I was starting to nod off. Where was I? Oh yes…
2016-06-21 17.52.41
Janet Evanovich & Lee Goldberg
Goldberg broke into television with a freelance script sale to Spenser: For Hire. Since then, his TV writing & producing credits have covered a wide variety of genres, including sci-fi (seaQuest), cop shows (Hunter, The Glades), martial arts (Martial Law), whodunits (Diagnosis Murder, Nero Wolfe), the occult (She-Wolf of London), kid’s shows (R.L. Stine’s The Nightmare Room), T&A (Baywatch, She Spies), comedy (Monk) clip shows (The Best TV Shows That Never Were) and total crap (The Highwayman, The New Adventures of Flipper). He co-created the hit Hallmark movie series Mystery 101.
He’s written and produced TV shows in Canada (Murphy’s Law, Cobra, Missing), England (Stick With Me Kid, She Wolf of London) and Germany (Fast Track: No Limits). His mystery writing for television has earned him two Edgar Award nominations from the Mystery Writers of America.
His two careers, novelist and TV writer, merged when he wrote the eight books in the Diagnosis Murder series of original novels, based on the hit CBS TV mystery that he also wrote and produced. He followed that up by writing fifteen bestselling novels based on Monk, another TV show that he worked on. His Monk novels have been translated and published in Germany, Poland, Thailand, Japan, Turkey, and many other countries.
In addition to his writing, he’s worked as an international TV development expert and consulting producer for production companies and major networks in Canada, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Belgium, and the Netherlands. And he launched, with author Joel Goldman, the acclaimed small press Brash Books, which has published hundreds of award-winning, highly-praised crime, mystery and thriller novels over the last decade.
But perhaps he’s best known for his pioneering work mapping the human genome and negotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Goldberg lives in Los Angeles with his wife and his daughter and still sleeps in Man From U.N.C.L.E. pajamas.
Lee Goldberg
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the weather forecaster, see Lee Goldberg (meteorologist).
Lee Goldberg
Goldberg at the 2022 Left Coast Crime conference
Goldberg at the 2022 Left Coast Crime conference
Born United States
Pen name "Ian Ludlow"
Occupation
AuthorScreenwriterpublisher
Citizenship American
Alma mater University of California, Los Angeles
Genre Crime fiction, television, screenwriting
Relatives Tod Goldberg (Brother)
Website
leegoldberg.com
Lee Goldberg is an American author, screenwriter, publisher and producer known for his bestselling novels Lost Hills and True Fiction and his work on a wide variety of TV crime series, including Diagnosis: Murder, A Nero Wolfe Mystery, Hunter, Spenser: For Hire, Martial Law, She-Wolf of London, SeaQuest, 1-800-Missing, The Glades and Monk.
Career
Goldberg began his career as a journalist, covering local news and the police beat for the Contra Costa Times (later renamed the East Bay Times) and UPI, and writing feature articles, interviews and reviews for various national publications, including the San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, Newsweek and American Film among others.
He attended UCLA, where he was a reporter and feature writer for the Daily Bruin student newspaper, in addition to his aforementioned journalism work. There he befriended Lewis Perdue, the paper's journalism advisor from 1979 to 1982, who got Goldberg his first writing assignment for Pinnacle Books. The novel, .357 Vigilante, was published under the pseudonym "Ian Ludlow" in 1985.[1] The novel spawned three more sequels and the series' movie rights were optioned by New World Pictures. Although the movie was never made, his script for the movie, co-written with fellow UCLA classmate William Rabkin, led to a long career in television and film. Their first television credit was on the "If You Knew Sammy" episode of Spenser: For Hire about an author of vigilante novels.[2]
Film and television
His subsequent writing and producing credits include Murphy's Law, SeaQuest DSV, The Cosby Mysteries, and Monk, among others. He is perhaps best known for his stint as supervising producer and executive producer of the long-running series Diagnosis Murder starring Dick Van Dyke as a doctor who solves crimes.
In 2007, Goldberg wrote and produced the pilot for a German television program, Fast Track: No Limits.[3][4] which aired on television in some countries and was released as a theatrical film in others.
In 2010, he wrote and directed the short film Remaindered, based on his short story for Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, on location in Kentucky. He wrote and directed the sequel, Bumsicle, in 2012.
In 2019, he co-wrote and co-created with Robin Bernheim the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries telefilm series Mystery 101 starring Jill Wagner and Kristofer Polaha.
In April 2021, Constantin Films announced that they will be producing a feature film version his novel The Walk based on his screenplay adaptation.[5]
In April 2024, ID8 Media and producers Shelby Stone and Derek Dudley announced that they will be producing a TV series based upon his novel Malibu Burning[6]
Writing
In conjunction with his work on Monk and Diagnosis Murder, Goldberg wrote several original tie-in novels based on those series.[7][8] He has also penned several original crime novels, two featuring ex-cop-turned-Hollywood troubleshooter Charlie Willis and the aforementioned .357 Vigilante series, which he wrote under the pseudonym Ian Ludlow, while still a UCLA undergraduate student.[9]
His novel, The Man with the Iron-On Badge (titled Watch Me Die for its re-release), was nominated for a Shamus Award by the Private Eye Writers of America and was produced in 2007 as the stage play, Mapes For Hire, in Owensboro, Kentucky at the International Mystery Writers Festival.
Goldberg has also written non-fiction books about the entertainment industry, including Unsold Television Pilots and Successful Television Writing. His book, Unsold Television Pilots, was turned into two TV specials – The Greatest Shows You Never Saw on CBS and The Best TV Shows That Never Were on ABC, both written and produced by William Rabkin and Goldberg. They also co-created The Dead Man an original, monthly series of horror novels that rolled-out in October 2011[10] as the premiere titles of Amazon's new 47North sci-fi/horror/fantasy imprint.[11] Amazon initially ordered 12 books and, in February 2012, extended the series by 12 more. The 24th title, the Kindle Serial Reborn, was published in January 2014 and is the final book in the series to date.
In June 2013, his novel The Heist, the first in a five-book series written with Janet Evanovich, was released by Random House.[12] A prequel short story, "Pros and Cons," was published in May 2013 and became the #1 bestselling Kindle Single for seven straight weeks...and hit both the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists.[13] The Heist debuted at #2 on the USA Today bestseller list and #5 on the New York Times bestseller list. The sequel, The Chase, debuted at #1 on the Publishers Weekly bestseller list[14] and #2 on The New York Times bestseller list[15] in March 2014. The fifth book in the series, The Pursuit, was published in June 2016 and hit #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.[16]
His novel True Fiction, was published by Amazon/Thomas & Mercer in April 2018.[17] It was followed by Killer Thriller in February 2019 and Fake Truth in April 2020. All three books are "Ian Ludlow" thrillers, the novelist hero sharing the same name as the pseudonym that Goldberg used to write his .357 Vigilante paperbacks when he was in college in the 1980s.
His series about Detective Eve Ronin, the youngest homicide detective on the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department history, kicked off with Lost Hills in January 2020 and was followed by Bone Canyon (January 2021) Gated Prey (Oct 2021), Movieland (June 2022).[18][19][20] Dream Town (January 2024), and Fallen Star (coming October 2025).
Malibu Burning,[21] the first novel in a new series about two LASD arson investigators, was released in September 2023, and was followed by a sequel Ashes Never Lie, a cross-over with his Eve Ronin series, in September 2024.[22] A third cross-over novel, Hidden in Smoke, is coming in April 2025.
His standalone thriller Calico was released in November 2023.[23][24] and was a finalist for the Western Writers of America's 2024 Spur Award for Best Contemporary Western.[25]
Publishing
In September 2014, Goldberg launched the publishing company Brash Books with novelist Joel Goldman.[26] The company publishes new crime fiction as well as award-winning, highly acclaimed crime, thriller and suspense novels that have fallen out of print.[27]
In 2018, Goldberg acquired the copyright to the published and unpublished books by the late author Ralph Dennis,[28] who is best known for his Hardman series of crime novels, which were a major influence on the work of novelist Joe R. Lansdale[29] and screenwriter Shane Black.[30] The Hardman series, with introductions by Joe R. Lansdale, Ben Jones and Robert J. Randisi, among others, as well as Dennis' thriller The War Heist (Goldberg's edited down and revised version of Dennis' 1976 novel MacTaggart's War[31]) were released by Brash Books in 2019. In February 2020, Brash Books released "All Kinds of Ugly," a long-lost, final Hardman novel, which Goldberg discovered and revised.[32]
In December 2020, he launched another publishing imprint, Cutting Edge Books, to release vintage crime novels, thrillers, westerns, and literary fiction from the 40s, 50s, and early 60s that had fallen out-of-print, including the work of authors Robert Dietrich (E. Howard Hunt), James Howard, March Hastings (Sally Singer), Stuart James, Bud Clifton (David Derek Stacton), and Richard Himmel.[33]
Awards
Goldberg has been nominated twice for an Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America and twice for a Shamus Award by the Private Eye Writers of America. He was the 2012 recipient of the Poirot Award from Malice Domestic.
He has served as a board member for the Mystery Writers of America and also founded, alongside novelist Max Allan Collins, the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers.[34]
In July 2021, he was selected by the City of Agoura, California as their 2021 One City One Book honoree for his novel Lost Hills.[35]
In March 2024, his novel Calico was honored by the Western Writers of America as a finalist for their Spur Award for Best Contemporary Western.[25]
Personal life
Goldberg has three younger siblings – Tod Goldberg, Linda Woods and Karen Dinino—all of whom are writers. His uncle is true crime author Burl Barer.
He lives with his wife and daughter in Calabasas.
Bibliography
Sharpe & Walker
Malibu Burning (September 2023)
Ashes Never Lie (September 2024) [A cross-over with the Eve Ronin series]
Hidden in Smoke (April 2025) [A cross-over with the Eve Ronin series]
Eve Ronin
Lost Hills (January 2020)
Bone Canyon (January 2021)
Gated Prey (October 2021)
Movieland (June 2022)
Dream Town (January 2024)
Ashes Never Lie (September 2024) [A cross-over with the Sharpe & Walker series]
Hidden in Smoke (April 2025) [A cross-over with the Sharpe & Walker series]
Fallen Star (October 2025)
The Ian Ludlow Thrillers
True Fiction (April 2018)
Killer Thriller (February 2019)
Fake Truth (April 2020)
Fox & O'Hare
"Pros and Cons" Short Story prequel (written with Janet Evanovich) (2013)
The Heist (written with Janet Evanovich) (June 2013)
The Chase (written with Janet Evanovich) (Feb 25, 2014)[36]
"The Shell Game" Short Story prequel (written with Janet Evanovich) (2014)
The Job (written with Janet Evanovich) (Nov. 2014)
The Caper Short Story prequel (written with Janet Evanovich)
The Scam (written with Janet Evanovich) (Sept 15, 2015)
The Pursuit (written with Janet Evanovich) (June 21, 2016)
Diagnosis Murder Book Series
#1 The Silent Partner (2003)
#2 The Death Merchant (2004)
#3 The Shooting Script (2004)
#4 The Waking Nightmare (2005)
#5 The Past Tense (2005)
#6 The Dead Letter (2006)
#7 The Double Life (2006)
#8 The Last Word (2007)
Monk Book Series
Mr. Monk Goes to the Firehouse (2006)
Mr. Monk Goes to Hawaii (2006)
Mr. Monk and the Blue Flu (2007)
Mr. Monk and the Two Assistants (2007)
Mr. Monk in Outer Space (2007)
Mr. Monk Goes to Germany (2008)
Mr. Monk is Miserable (2008)
Mr. Monk and the Dirty Cop (2009)
Mr. Monk in Trouble (2009) Excerpt: The Case of the Piss-Poor Gold, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, November 2009
Mr. Monk is Cleaned Out (2010)
Mr. Monk on the Road (2011) Excerpt: Mr. Monk and the Seventeen Steps, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, December 2010
Mr. Monk on the Couch (2011) Excerpt: Mr. Monk and the Sunday Paper, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, July 2011
Mr. Monk on Patrol (2012) Excerpt: Mr. Monk and the Open House Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine December 2011
Mr. Monk is a Mess (July 2012) Excerpt: Mr. Monk and the Talking Car Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine May 2012
Mr. Monk Gets Even (January 2013) Excerpt "Mr. Monk Sees the Light" Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, December 2012
Charlie Willis
My Gun Has Bullets (1995) Reprinted (2003) Kindle Edition (2009)
Beyond the Beyond (1997) Kindle edition (2009) (retitled Dead Space)
The Dead Man Series
Face of Evil (with William Rabkin) (2011)
Ring of Knives (with William Rabkin and James Daniels) (2011)
Hell in Heaven (with William Rabkin) (2011)
The Dead Woman (with William Rabkin and David McAfee) (2011)
The Blood Mesa (with William Rabkin and James Reasoner) (2011)
Kill Them All (with William Rabkin and Harry Shannon) (2011)
Beast Within (with William Rabkin and James Daniels) (2011)
Fire & Ice (with William Rabkin and Jude Hardin) (2012)
Carnival of Death (with William Rabkin and Bill Crider) (2012)
Freaks Must Die (with William Rabkin and Joel Goldman) (2012)
Slaves to Evil (with William Rabkin and Lisa Klink) (2012)
The Midnight Special (with William Rabkin and Phoef Sutton) (2012)
The Death Match (with William Rabkin and Christa Faust) (2012)
The Black Death (with William Rabkin and Aric Davis) (2012)
The Killing Floor (with William Rabkin and David Tully) (2012)
Colder Than Hell (with William Rabkin and Anthony Neil Smith) (Jan 2013)
Evil to Burn (with William Rabkin and Lisa Klink) (March 2013)
Streets of Blood (with William Rabkin and Barry Napier) (June 2013)
Crucible of Fire (with William Rabkin and Mel Odom) (2013)
The Dark Need (with William Rabkin and Stant Litore) (2013)
The Rising Dead (with William Rabkin and Stella Green) (2014)
Reborn (with William Rabkin, Kate Danley, Phoef Sutton, and Lisa Klink) (2014)
The Jury Series
.357 Vigilante (1985) Kindle Edition 2010 (retitled Judgment)
.357 Vigilante: Make Them Pay (1985) Kindle Edition 2010 (retitled Adjourned)
.357 Vigilante: White Wash (1985) Kindle Edition 2010 (retitled Payback)
.357 Vigilante: Killstorm Unpublished, released in a Kindle Edition 2010 (retitled Guilty)
Non-fiction
Unsold TV Pilots (1992)
Unsold Television Pilots 1955–1989 (1990)
Television Series Revivals (1993) retitled "Television Fast Forward" in the 2010 ebook edition
Science Fiction Film-Making in the 1980s (1994) – co-written with William Rabkin, Randy & Jean-Marc Lofficier
The Dreamweavers: Fantasy Film-Making in the 1980s (1994) – co-written with William Rabkin, Randy & Jean-Marc Lofficier
Successful Television Writing (2003) – co-written with William Rabkin
Tied In- The Business, Craft, and History of Media Tie-In Writing (2010) – editor
The James Bond Films 1962-1989 (2022)
The Joy of Sets: Interviews on the sets of 1980s Genre Movies (2022)
Standalones
The Walk (2004) Kindle Edition 2009
The Man with the Iron-On Badge (2005) Kindle Edition 2011 (retitled Watch Me Die)
Top Suspense: 13 Stories by 12 Masters of the Genre (2011) Contributor
Thrillers: 100 Must Reads (2010) contributor
Die, Lover, Die! (2011) contributor
McGrave (2012)
King City (2012)
Ella Clah: The Pilot Script (with William Rabkin, Aimee Thurlo & David Thurlo) (2013)
Hollywood vs the Author (2018) contributor
The Buy Back Blues (Afterword to novel by Ralph Dennis) (2019)
All Kinds of Ugly (Afterword to novel by Ralph Dennis) (2020)
Tales of a Sad, Fat Wordman (Introduction to novel by Ralph Dennis) (2020)
Collectibles Edited by Lawrence Block (Contributor, Short story Lost Shows) (2021)
Crown Vic A collection of two novellas, Ray Boyd isn't Stupid and Occasional Risk, about a roaming criminal named Ray Boyd, whom Goldberg calls 'the anti-Reacher.' (2023)
Calico (2023)
Eight Very Bad Nights Edited by Tod Goldberg (Contributor, Short Story, If I Were a Rich Man, his third featuring Ray Boyd) (2024)
Filmography
Year Title Role/Job # of Episodes Written/
Notes
1987–1988 Spenser For Hire Writer 3 episodes, including the unsold spin-off pilot "Play It Again, Sammy"
1988 The Highwayman Writer 1 episode, "Haunted Highway"
1988–1989 Murphy's Law Staff Writer 5 episodes, ABC TV series starring George Segal based on the "Trace" and "Digger" books by Warren Murphy (Staff Writer: 13 eps)
1989 Hunter Writer, Story Editor 1 episode, "On Air"
1989–1990 Baywatch Writer, Executive Story Editor 4 episodes, including the final NBC episode, entitled "The End," before the series went into first-run syndication (Executive Story Editor: 22 eps)
1990–1991 She-Wolf of London Writer, Supervising Producer 11 episodes (Supervising Producer: 20 eps)
1991–1992 Likely Suspects Writer, Supervising Producer 5 episodes, including "Smells Like Teen Spirit," an Edgar Award Finalist for Best Teleplay
1993–1994 Cobra Writer, Supervising Producer 7 episodes (Supervising Producer: 22 eps)
1994–1995 Diagnosis: Murder Writer 6 episodes
1995 The Cosby Mysteries Writer, Supervising Producer 2 episodes
1995 Sliders Writer 1 episodes, “Prince of Wails”
1995 Deadly Games Writer 2 episodes, "The Boss" and "The Car Mechanic"
1995 Stick With Me, Kid Writer, Supervising producer 3 episodes
1995 SeaQuest DSV Writer, Supervising producer 3 episodes
1995 The Greatest Shows You Never Saw Writer, Producer CBS TV Special, based on his book “Unsold Television Pilots”
1995–1996 Flipper Writer 2 episodes
1996–1999 Diagnosis: Murder Writer, Supervising Producer, Executive Producer 26 episodes (Supervising Producer: 22 eps, Executive Producer: 47 eps)
1999 Martial Law Writer, Executive Producer 3 episodes (Executive Producer: 22 eps)
2001–2002 A Nero Wolfe Mystery Writer 6 episodes, including "Prisoners Base," an Edgar Award Finalist for Best Teleplay
2002 The Nightmare Room Writer 1 episode, “My Name is Evil”
2003 She Spies Writer 1 Episode, "Crossed Out"
2003–2005 1-800-Missing aka Missing Writer / Supervising Producer 8 episodes (Supervising Producer: 36 eps)
2003–2006 Monk Writer 3 episodes “Mr. Monk Can’t See a Thing” (based on his book Mr. Monk Goes to the Firehouse), “Mr. Monk Meets the Godfather,” “Mr. Monk Goes to Mexico”
2004 The Best TV Shows That Never Were Writer, Executive Producer ABC TV Special, Based on his book Unsold Television Pilots
2007 Psych Writer 1 episode, “Forget Me Not”
2008 Fast Track: No Limits Writer, Executive Producer TV movie, ProSeiben Germany, M6 France, Showcase Canada
2010–2012 The Glades Writer 3 episodes
2019–2022 Mystery 101 Writer / Creator 7 movies, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries series co-created with Robin Bernheim
2024 Vesma Neprost Writer / Story By 1 episode, a Russian adaptation of his Forget Me Not episode of ''Psych''
The Heist
Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg
Bantam Books
c/o The Random House Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, 17th floor
New York, NY 10019
www.bantamdell.com
97803455430423, pp., $28.00, www.amazon.com
I found this novel to be superficial. The press release accompanying it says, among other things, that it is filled with "popcorn thrills." I find it doubtful that it would make a good movie or television episode. Why it took two talented, best-selling authors to write it leads one to scratch his/her head in wonder.
It would appear that FBI Special Agent Kate O'Hare was created hopefully as another heroine like the popular Stephanie Plum character from another Evanovich series. Not even close. She is a shallow personality full of cliches, as is the novel itself. The plot is simple (no pun intended): Kate captures a con man, Nick Fox, only to see him released by her superiors to propagate a bigger con to capture a fugitive financier who stole $500,000 and is secreted on an Indonesian island. To make matters worse, Kate is partnered with Nick in an attempt to capture Fox, recover the money and return him to the United States for arrest. Of course the whole operation, including the kidnapping, is illegal (but then is the FBI or the U.S. government free from such accusations?).
On a positive note, the writing is smooth and the reading is easy. Enough said.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2013 Midwest Book Review
http://www.midwestbookreview.com
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"The Heist." Reviewer's Bookwatch, Aug. 2013. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A340808659/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=bf7cf993. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.
Evanovich, Janet & Lee Goldberg. The Job: A Fox and O'Hare Novel. Bantam. 2014. 304p. ISBN 9780345543127. $28; ebk. ISBN 9780345543141. F
Evanovich ("Stephanie Plum" series) and Goldberg(Monk novelizations) team up for their third rollicking adventure (after The Heist and The Chase) with FBI agent Kate O'Hare and con artist Nicolas Fox, who now works with the agency and O'Hare to take down high-profile criminals. This time the stakes are personal to Fox since someone is committing art thefts, and video feeds taken at the crime scenes seem to implicate him. Fox claims his innocence, and O'Hare must put aside her feelings of doubt if she's to capture the true thief. Uncovering the truth will lead them both to an even greater threat that could end their working together--permanently.
Verdict This suspense series continues to mix the humor from Evanovich and Goldberg's books with the intricate cons seen in the best episodes of Mission: Impossible. The banter and thrills are nonstop, and readers will be anxious to see what happens next.--Jeff Ayers, Seattle P.L.
Ayers, Jeff
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2014 Library Journals, LLC
http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/xpress/884170-289/xpress_reviews-first_look_at_new.html.csp
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Ayers, Jeff. "Evanovich, Janet & Lee Goldberg. The Job: A Fox and O'Hare Novel." Xpress Reviews, 5 Dec. 2014. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A394184293/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=8f350d1e. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.
The Pursuit
Janet Evanovich & Lee Goldberg
Bantam Books
c/o The Random House Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, 17th floor, New York, NY 10019
www.randomhouse.com
9780553392777, $28.00, HC, 304pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Nicolas Fox, international con man, thief, and one of the top ten fugitives on the FBI's most-wanted list, has been kidnapped from a beachfront retreat in Hawaii. What the kidnapper doesn't know is that Nick Fox has been secretly working for the FBI. It isn't long before Nick's covert partner, Special Agent Kate O'Hare, is in hot pursuit of the crook who stole her con man.
The trail leads to Belgium, France, and Italy, and pits Nick and Kate against their deadliest adversary yet: Dragan Kovic, an ex-Serbian military officer. He's plotting a crime that will net him billions ... and cost thousands of American lives.
Once again, Nick and Kate have to mount the most daring, risky, and audacious con they've ever attempted to save a major U.S. city from a catastrophe of epic proportions. Luckily they have the help of an eccentric out-of-work actor, a bandit who does his best work in the sewers, and Kate's dad, Jake. The pressure's on for Nick and Kate to make this work--even if they have to lay their lives on the line.
Critique: A riveting, consistently compelling, roller-coaster ride of a read, "The Pursuit" continues to demonstrate author Janet Evanovich as a master novelist of the first order in this fifth title in her 'Fox and O'Hare' series. While certain to be an enduringly popular favorite for community library Suspense/Thriller collection, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Pursuit" is also available in a Kindle format ($14.99). Librarians should also note that "The Pursuit" (9780735285019, $28.00) is available for their large print fiction collections as well.
Jack Mason
Reviewer
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 Midwest Book Review
http://www.midwestbookreview.com
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Mason, Jack. "The Pursuit." Reviewer's Bookwatch, Oct. 2016, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A469849649/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=c19d8fda. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.
True Fiction.
By Lee Goldberg.
Apr. 2018. Amazon/Thomas & Mercer, $24.95 (9781503949188); paper, $15.95 (9781503954076).
Goldberg just won't be totally serious. He was behind television hits like Monk and Diagnosis Murder, and his urge to tease is irresistible. So he keeps interrupting this crackerjack thriller with mentions of wacky, made-up TV shows. Like the western Saddlesore. Or the cop show Hollywood & the Vine, with a hero who's "half man, half plant, all cop." But this mockery is the right touch for a story of life imitating art, or trying to. Ian Ludlow's best-selling thrillers have earned him an invite from the U.S. government to concoct terrorist plots that our agents must learn to guard against. The one he comes up with is similar to the conspiracy theorists' version that has the government staging 9/11 to consolidate its power. Then it really happens. Now Ludlow knows too much and must die, and the chase is on. If the spooks can use his idea to kill people, he wonders, why can't he do the same thing to bring down the spooks? So the wild finale plays out like ... well, like a thriller somebody wrote.--Don Crinklaw
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
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Crinklaw, Don. "True Fiction." Booklist, vol. 114, no. 12, 15 Feb. 2018, p. 35. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A531171568/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=52821364. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.
Goldberg's thriller True Fiction (Thomas & Mercer, Apr.) portrays a bestselling thriller writer, Ian Ludlow, as a reluctant action hero.
How did you come up with Ian Ludlow?
Ian Ludlow is me. I wanted to create a character with zero superskills. He's not Jack Reacher or James Bond. He's not Navy SEALs, Special Forces, or even a superlover. He's a writer. He makes stuff up. He has to become a hero. Ludlow is out of shape and doesn't have sex. He's anything but the stereotypical super character. He faces danger and runs like hell--until he's forced not to. The only person in the novel who has special powers is utterly insane.
True Fiction is full of humor. How important is it in your writing?
It's crucial. Even in the most dire situations humor is instrumental to survival. Every dire situation contains humor. I find books that do not contain humor to not accurately portray life. Look at James Bond, Star Wars, and Star Trek. The challenge is finding the delicate balance between the story and the thriller plot line and the humor. You don't want to cross the line into Austin Powers territory. Elmore Leonard was a pro at striking this balance. True Fiction is a thriller that also makes fun of thrillers, and it shows that a hero can be as human as you or me.
In True Fiction, the CIA studies an imagined terrorist scenario written by Ludlow. Is this based on fact?
Here's what's true about True Fiction, besides the humor. Writers such as Lee Child, Brad Meltzer, Michael Connelly, and others have advised the CIA in secret scenarios, and not just since 9/11. This goes back to WWII. There's a special group at the University of Southern California that does just this. A lot of terrorist scenarios have been found in fiction first. The CIA comes to writers, musicians, graphic artists to garner ideas and then act on preventing them.
Does your background as a screenwriter help with your novel writing or is it the other way around?
Definitely screenwriting helps more. Everything that goes into writing a novel is the antithesis of a television show, where everything has to move the story forward. If it doesn't, you cut it. It's all show, don't tell. A book can go inside a character's head and supply heavy exposition. A screenplay moves through dialogue and action. It's forced my writing to become lean and cinematic in nature.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
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Simms, Dave. "The Opposite of Jack Reacher: PW Talks with Lee Goldberg." Publishers Weekly, vol. 265, no. 9, 26 Feb. 2018, p. 65. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A530637416/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=9c1c6c5b. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.
Killer Thriller: An Ian Ludlow Thriller
Lee Goldberg. Thomas & Mercer, $24.95 (288p) ISBN 978-1-5039-0356-2
Authentic-seeming background and meticulous detail somewhat mitigate the comic book superhero plotting and writing in Goldberg's sequel to 2018's True Fiction, which introduced Ian Ludlow, a thriller writer whose scripts have the unfortunate habit of coming true, and his sidekick, CIA agent Margo French, who's adept at getting them out of the messes that his bumbling gets them into. The story alternates between the perambulations of Ludlow, who has come to Hong Kong to witness the shooting of his latest script, and glimpses of the violent actions of the Chinese cabal that has eyes and ears everywhere and is preparing to take over the world. The villains stumble across a copy of Ludlow's script, which inadvertently parallels their own schemes, and decide he knows too much. They attempt to kill him in Hong Kong and in Shanghai and then in Paris, where the Chinese and Ludlow have a final showdown, in which Matgo plays a decisive role. Despite the nonstop over-the-top action, cardboard cutout bad guys, and a surfeit of pointless killings, some readers will find this a suspension-of-disbelief page-turner. (Feb.)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
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Goldberg, Lee. "Killer Thriller: An Ian Ludlow Thriller." Publishers Weekly, vol. 265, no. 48, 26 Nov. 2018, p. 35. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A564607011/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=455ed1cd. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.
Killer Thriller
Lee Goldberg
Thomas & Mercer
9781503903562, $24.95, HC, 271pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Everybody loves Ian Ludlow's action novels (especially the CIA) because the spies know something the public doesn't--his fictional plots have a frightening tendency to come true.
Ian is in Hong Kong with his resourceful assistant Margo French to research his wildest story yet --a deadly global conspiracy by Chinese intelligence to topple the United States.
What Ian doesn't know is that his horrifying scenario is happening and that the Chinese mistakenly believe he's an undercover superspy assigned to foil their scheme. Now Ian is trapped in his own terrifying thriller, on the run from assassins, and racing against time to prevent an epic disaster.
He's written himself into a corner that could cost his life--and his country!
Critique: An original and riveting read from cover to cover, author Lee Goldberg showcases a genuine flair as a novelist for narrative driven storytelling and able to create memorable characters that will linger in the mind long after the book itself has been finished and set back upon the shelf.
While very highly recommended for community library Suspense/Thriller/Mystery collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Killer Thriller" is also available in a paperback edition (9781503904286, $15.95), in a digital book format (Kindle, $5.99), and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Brilliance Audio, 9781978616455, $24.99, MP3 CD).
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2019 Midwest Book Review
http://www.midwestbookreview.com
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"Killer Thriller." Small Press Bookwatch, Mar. 2019. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A582507379/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=657caff4. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.
Lost Hills. By Lee Goldberg. Jan. 2020. 240p. Amazon/Thomas & Mercer, $24.99 (9781542093804); paper, $ 15.95 (9781542091893); e-book, $4.99 (9781542091909).
Has anybody noticed that Lee Goldberg, along with turning out offbeat thrillers like True Fiction (2018) that verge on parody, is also quite good when he plays the genre straight? Solid evidence is here in his latest, a cop novel so good it makes much of the old guard read like they're going through the mo tions until they can retire. Tyro cop Eve Ronin vaulted to the top of the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department when a video of her lowering the boom on a nasty film star went viral. Now she must do two jobs at once: solve crimes while coping with jealous coworkers. The scene is a blood-soaked home with, strangely, no bodies. Eve uses technology to tell everyone, including us, what's happened and who the killer is early on. The challenge is proving it, and that involves interpreting anomalies, like a severed cord and a missing pillowcase. Detecting prowess aside, the real appeal here is Goldberg's lean prose, which imbues just-the-facts procedure with remarkable tension and cranks up to a stunning description of a fire that was like "Christmas in hell."--Don Crinklaw
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2019 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
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Crinklaw, Don. "Lost Hills." Booklist, vol. 116, no. 5, 1 Nov. 2019, p. 25. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A608072764/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=285b5828. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.
Goldberg, Lee LOST HILLS Thomas & Mercer (Adult Fiction) $24.95 1, 1 ISBN: 978-1-5420-9380-4
Veteran TV writer and fiction collaborator Goldberg (Killer Thriller, 2019, etc.) auditions a tough, ambitious rookie LA County detective determined to ride a triple murder hard--if it doesn't destroy her career first.
After stepping up when she was off duty to take down an action-movie star who was smacking his girlfriend around, Eve Ronin suddenly found herself catapulted to the county sheriff's Robbery-Homicide Division, where the cases are high profile and her male peers are low tolerant. Minutes after she and Detective Duncan Pavone, her older, fatter, more dispassionate partner, shrug off a borderline killing that really belongs to the LAPD, they answer a distress call from a neighbor of aspiring actress/actual waitress Tanya Kenworth to find Tanya, her two children, and her dog missing from their Topanga house, which is awash in blood. As she's searching the woods around the house for clues, Eve is jumped by a hairy monster she can't even identify as human before she's knocked out--an incident she improbably decides to keep secret from Duncan. There's plenty of convincing evidence that the family was killed, dismembered, and taken away but no evidence that points to any particular suspect. Tanya's ex-husband, Cleve, seems to have been hours away in Merced when his estranged family vanished, and her ex-boyfriend, Jared Rawlins, was entertaining his rebound hookup. As if determined never to be off duty again, Eve works around the clock to find and pursue new leads, but instead of impressing her colleagues, she just convinces them that she's a ruthless careerist. Nor do her efforts sit well with her endlessly critical mother, who can't understand why she looks so disheveled during the TV interviews that make her the face, and eventually the leader, of the investigation. At length, Eve's tireless work identifies a suspect she arrests, but although he fits the evidence to a T, his smug self-assurance makes her worry that she's screwed up. And she has, though not in the way she thinks.
An energetic, resourceful procedural starring a heroine who deserves a series of her own.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2019 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Goldberg, Lee: LOST HILLS." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Oct. 2019. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A601050596/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=9a0921e9. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.
Fake Truth. By Lee Goldberg. Apr. 2020. Amazon/Thomas & Mercer, $24.95 (9781542014694); paper, $ 15.95 (9781542093118); e-book, $5.99 (9781542093101).
Goldberg's third delightfully outrageous thriller again features Ian Ludlow, that dweebish novelist who has turned his fantasy life into super-successful spy thrillers. Problem is, the Russians have been flummoxing the U.S. with real-life ploys that appear to have I been lifted directly from Ludlow's zingy novels. Or maybe all spies, real or imagined, just think alike. Whatever, as this adventure begins, the U.S. is taking no chances and has enlisted the chubby author to share plot ideas with the CIA, "just in case some of them might come true again." And so Ludlow becomes the reluctant hero of his own thriller. After a somewhat ponderous start, with too much backstory, Ludlow blunders into a Russian plot and must unearth the connection between a Mexican drug lord, a rogue army, and two dead tourists in Portugal. There are shootouts, bombings, car chases, and plenty I of almost slapstick--but still murderous--mayhem. There are hilarious lines, too. Here's I a waiter with "a nose so large it looked like he'd grown a thick mustache to help support its weight." For readers who enjoy madcap action. And a good laugh.--Don Crinklaw
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
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Crinklaw, Don. "Fake Truth." Booklist, vol. 116, no. 13, 1 Mar. 2020, pp. 26+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A618567096/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=51611539. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.
Goldberg, Lee FAKE TRUTH Thomas & Mercer (Adult Fiction) $24.95 4, 7 ISBN: 978-1-5420-1469-4
Ian Ludlow, the novelist who's blessed or cursed with the ability to invent and transplant plot twists from real life to fiction and vice versa, gets a third opportunity to devise a rollicking tale that's ripped from the headlines and a bunch of James Bond movies.
Always looking for new ways to bring the United States to its knees, Russia's GRU stumbles over a new wrinkle flooding digital media with fake news about nonexistent events: They provoke or invent incendiary incidents they can count on other news sources to parrot. Double-crossing every party she can find, GRU agent Beth Wheeler arranges to have a well-armed security team for an anti-immigrant Texas ranger kill two dozen clueless Mexican drug smugglers with weapons that will point to a White House conspiracy so that another clandestine group of GRU hirelings passing themselves off as enforcers for Mexico's Vibora drug cartel can execute the members of the security team. Not content with staging an incident bound to have international reverberations, Beth leaks to Fox News puppet Dwight Edney a recording of the president's expletive-laced vow to take revenge on Mexico that's so exclusive that the president never actually made it. The only way to prevent the two nations from being dragged into war is to wait until Ian and his research assistant, Margo French (Killer Thriller, 2019, etc.), return from Portugal, where Ian's search for new fictional inspiration in real-life anecdotes has plunged them into a hitherto unsuspected murder and endangered their lives, so that they can survive to revise the Russian agents' sinister closing act and make it more suitable for peaceniks and life in the Western Hemisphere. That's exactly what Ian does in a finale whose general outline is as predictable as its working out is hilariously surprising.
The author's juggling of truth and fiction is almost as dexterous as his hero's.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Goldberg, Lee: FAKE TRUTH." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Feb. 2020. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A613751099/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=1bfd7dc9. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.
Bone Canyon
Lee Goldberg
Thomas & Mercer
www.brillianceaudio.com
9781542042710, $24.95, HC, 288pp
https://www.amazon.com/Bone-Canyon-Eve-Ronin-Goldberg/dp/1542042712
Synopsis: A catastrophic wildfire scorches the Santa Monica Mountains, exposing the charred remains of a woman who disappeared years ago. The investigation is assigned to Eve Ronin, the youngest homicide detective in the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, a position that forces her to prove herself again and again. This time, though, she has much more to prove.
Bones don't lie, and these have a horrific story to tell. Eve tirelessly digs into the past, unearthing dark secrets that reveal nothing about the case is as it seems. With almost no one she can trust, her relentless pursuit of justice for the forgotten dead could put Eve's own life in peril.
Critique: A deftly crafted 'cold case' mystery, "Bone Canyon" is a simply riveting read from cover to cover and showcases author Lee Goldberg's total mastery of the genre. Original, entertaining, and especially recommended for community library Mystery/Suspense collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of dedicated mystery buffs that "Bone Canyon" is also readily available in a paperback edition (9781542042772, $15.95), in a digital book format (Kindle, $4.99), and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Brilliance Audio, 9781799764496, $24.99, MP3-CD).
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 Midwest Book Review
http://www.midwestbookreview.com
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"Bone Canyon." Internet Bookwatch, Jan. 2021. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A650847526/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=c6ed5e60. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.
Goldberg, Lee BONE CANYON Thomas & Mercer (Fiction None) $24.95 1, 5 ISBN: 978-1-5420-4271-0
The bones found in the San Fernando Valley’s Hueso Canyon send Robbery--Homicide Detective Eve Ronin up against the very last people she wants to tangle with.
Stalked by Hollywood producers and writers who want to put her high-profile debut case onscreen or create a TV series around her and criticized as a camera-chasing diva by resentful colleagues, Eve would love to have the bone fragment horror screenwriter Sherwood Minter finds on the edge of his property be a routine discovery. But forensic anthropologist Dr. Daniel Brooks quickly unearths more bones and identifies them as those of Sabrina Morton, who vanished six years ago shortly after filing a rape complaint that was investigated by Detective, now Assistant Sheriff, Ted Nakamura. When the evidence indicates that Sabrina’s rapists were most likely officers in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Eve, who feels as if “I’ve already become a television character,” faces some tough choices about how far she should push the case and whom she can trust. The mystery deepens when Dan, as Eve now calls him, finds part of an 11th finger in Hueso Canyon. Clearly Sabrina’s body wasn’t the only one left there. How are the victims connected, and what hope do Sabrina’s embittered parents have of getting justice for their long-forgotten daughter? When her fellow cops regard her with suspicion and everyone else around her, from her neglectful mother to her long-absent father to the veteran agent trying to get her to take a meeting, wants a piece of Eve, it’s hard to see how she can focus enough to solve the case—especially given the last-minute trick Goldberg has up his sleeve.
Best in its disturbingly timely portrait of the police’s “blue wall” fortified to repel even the most intrepid crusaders.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Goldberg, Lee: BONE CANYON." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Oct. 2020. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A638165972/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=4a33ea98. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.
Goldberg, Lee GATED PREY Thomas & Mercer (Fiction None) $24.95 10, 26 ISBN: 978-1-5420-2934-6
A rash of cases sends Detective Eve Ronin, of the LA Sheriff’s Department, into the gated communities of Calabasas, which trap the homeowners with all the evils they were meant to protect them from.
The tale begins with a string of home invasion robberies Eve and her partner, almost-retired Duncan Pavone, have gone undercover to solve. Masquerading as a wealthy couple in order to lure the thieves into targeting them, they succeed all too well, and soon they have three dead bodies to answer for. The LASD gives a medal to Grayson Mumford, the young grocery store guard who shot runaway thief Paul Colter, but makes it clear to Eve that her stock among her colleagues has plummeted even as her flashy style has encouraged scriptwriter Simone Harper to write the pilot for a TV series based on her exploits. Before Eve can get too preoccupied with either shunning she doesn’t deserve or fame she doesn’t want, a routine call to the home of Anna McCaig, who’s just delivered a stillborn child, swiftly escalates to a case of murder. Just to keep the plot boiling, Eve learns that she’s being sued for $10 million by the family of a bent deputy who claims she drove him to suicide at the end of her last case. Will the department, which is also named in the suit, have her back, or will they cut her loose and let her twist slowly in the wind? Against all odds, Goldberg not only ties up most of the loose ends, leaving just a few deliberately dangling, but links some of Eve’s investigations in ways as disturbing as they are surprising.
The seamy side of California dreaming.
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"Goldberg, Lee: GATED PREY." Kirkus Reviews, 15 July 2021, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A668237746/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=ae39568c. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.
Gated Prey
Lee Goldberg. Thomas & Mercer, $24.95 (276p) ISBN 978-1-5420-2934-6
Hollywood decadence and duplicity are at the heart of bestseller Goldberg's entertaining third outing for Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy Eve Ronin (after Bone Canyon). With her partner Duncan Pavone ("a fat man in his late fifties") just weeks away from retiring, a wrongful death lawsuit hanging over her head, and an agent shopping around a TV series loosely based on her life, Eve is finding it increasingly difficult to do her job, which includes apprehending a gang responsible for a series of violent home invasions in gated communities. When posing as affluent homeowners almost gets Eve and Duncan killed, she discovers that some of her coworkers may be attempting retribution for her recent takedown of a group of corrupt cops. A woman in one of the gated communities who seemingly gave birth at home to a stillborn baby further complicates matters. Lively descriptive prose enhances the tight plot of this episodic crime novel, which reads like a TV show in narrative form. Columbo fans will have fun. Agent: Amy Tannenbaum, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Oct.)
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"Gated Prey." Publishers Weekly, vol. 268, no. 33, 16 Aug. 2021, p. 65. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A673346386/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=602701dd. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.
Goldberg, Lee MOVIELAND Thomas & Mercer (Fiction None) $24.95 6, 21 ISBN: 978-1-6625-0065-7
Maverick Detective Eve Ronin and her partner, Detective Duncan Pavone, land a case that threatens to push back Duncan's retirement date, currently two weeks away, if it doesn't kill them first.
Water district bureaucrat Wallace Ewell insists the two detectives for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department find the thief who's been crashing into his break room and stealing mostly valueless stuff. He's good and annoyed when the two are called away from the scene to investigate a shooting. Activist blogger Zena Faust has been wounded and her lover, yoga instructor Kim Spivey, killed by shotgun fire in Malibu Creek State Park. Since there's no way to trace the bullets, Eve and Duncan focus on the other forensic evidence their colleagues are able to extract from a scene the public is clamoring to get back into--and on possible motives that lead them to movie producer Curtis Honig, whom Kim accused of sexual predation years ago before some straight women he'd assaulted got the law to take his behavior seriously, and to millionaire Paul Banning, whose property adjoins the park. The discovery that a dozen earlier people had been shot, none of them fatally, in the park over the past 18 months fuels rumors of a Malibu Sniper, and the shooting of Calabasas city councilman Clark Netter in a car filled with cash enlarges the suspect pool and makes the case even more urgent. The number of unrelated perps, several of them minor characters who come and go in a flash, turns out to be so extensive that the ending, or endings, is inevitably a letdown except for Duncan's triumphant taunt: "Vomit doesn't lie."
Based on true events that leave their untidy mark everywhere.
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"Goldberg, Lee: MOVIELAND." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Apr. 2022, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A700219828/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=22e3c90c. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.
Movieland
Lee Goldberg. Thomas & Mercer, $24.95 (358p) ISBN 978-1-6625-0065-7
At the start of bestseller Goldberg's strong fourth Eve Ronin mystery (after 2021 's Gated Prey), Eve, a young Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy, and her soon-to-retire partner, Duncan Pavone, are called to Malibu Creek State Park, where rhey find one woman dead from a shotgun blast and another seriously injured. Eve recognizes the wounded woman as Zena Faust, "a harsh critic of... local politicians, developers, and celebrities" who promptly decides that a serial shooter must be menacing park visitors. Duncan has suspected as much for some time, but he has been ordered to stifle his hunch because the powers-that-be don't want to scare off the public. Now, the furor won't subside, especially after a city councilman is shot dead just outside the park. As Eve and Duncan pursue the investigation despite official resistance, she also must worry about the men in her department who resent her fast promotion. Eve boldly and sometimes foolishly charges forward while Duncan tries to keep her alive. Assured prose matches the tight plot. The tale of the brave, rule-breaking rookie and the weary, good-hearted mentor has been done almost to death, but Goldberg manages to make his version fresh. Agent: Amy Tannenbaum, Jane Rotrosen Agency, (June)
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"Movieland." Publishers Weekly, vol. 269, no. 16, 18 Apr. 2022, p. 55. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A701549181/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=ddea1aaf. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.
Goldberg, Lee. Malibu Burning. Thomas & Mercer: Amazon. Jun 2023.304p. ISBN 9781662500671. $28.99. THRILLER
Master thief Danny Cole has a fatal flaw: He doesn't want to see anyone innocent get hurt during one of his cons. That's what landed him in prison in California, where he worked in the inmates' wildfire-fighting program. He's out now and is determined to avenge the needless death of a fellow prison firefighter. Danny pulls together his old crew to take advantage of October and the wildfires that make that season hell in Southern California. Danny plans to aim the firestorm at one rich, entitled man's neighborhood. During the chaos, he will steal invaluable possessions, destroy the houses, and provide for a widow. What's standing in his way? Arson investigator Walter Sharpe, who knows every trick when it comes to arson. And Sharpe's new partner, former U.S. Marshal Andrew Walker, knows all of Danny's tricks. Walker is able to put together a few clues, and he recognizes a Danny Cole plan. None of the three realizes that the flames will trap all of them with several innocent teens and a deadly enemy. VERDICT The author of the Eve Ronin mysteries returns with a fast-paced, over-the-top caper that entertains while keeping readers guessing. -- Lesa Holstine
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Holstine, Lesa. "Malibu Burning." Library Journal, vol. 148, no. 4, Apr. 2023, p. 84. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A744137414/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=1620e561. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.
Goldberg, Lee MALIBU BURNING Thomas & Mercer (Fiction None) $28.99 6, 20 ISBN: 9781662500671
Goldberg returns to the wildfire he memorably chronicled in Lost Hills (2020) from a strikingly new angle.
Not many con men are also trained firefighters. But when Danny Cole was convicted of a typically bold con eight years ago after a heroically unselfish act derailed his escape, he volunteered for service as a convict firefighter alongside a crew of other convicts that included car-leasing scammer Arnie Soloway. Arnie's death fighting a fire around the extravagant home of millionaire Roland Slezak, who leaned on his connections to make sure the blaze spared his home at a high cost to others, has made Danny hunger for vengeance, if possible with substantial financial profits on the side. So he comes up with a staggeringly audacious plan: to persuade underwater real estate developer Levi Brisker, Slezak's neighbor, to host his surviving cohort while they set a fire that will burn down every home in the area but Brisker's, whose value will accordingly skyrocket. As Danny methodically lays the groundwork for his coup once he's released from prison, LA County arson investigator Walter Sharpe and his new deputy, former U.S. Marshal Andrew Walker, who Sharpe aptly says "could make delivering pizzas a high-risk job," learn of an Icarus drone that's gone missing from CAL FIRE and trace its theft to Danny. While heroes and villains race against the clock and each other, Goldberg creates such a maelstrom of loyalties that it's hard to know who to root for. Could Danny possibly get his revenge even while justice is done in a technical sense as well?
A businesslike thriller that shows how rewarding it can be to revisit the same story from a new point of view.
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"Goldberg, Lee: MALIBU BURNING." Kirkus Reviews, 1 May 2023, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A747342332/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=728cb7cf. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.
Goldberg, Lee CALICO Severn House (Fiction None) $31.99 11, 7 ISBN: 9781448310135
Hold onto your hats. A fatal but otherwise routine accident in rural California turns out to be not exactly either one.
Fired from the LAPD over an affair with a junior officer, Beth McDade has to settle for working as a detective for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office in Barstow. The town has its share of burglaries and such, but Beth's latest case is something else entirely. A ghostly figure has appeared screaming out of thin air and run into the path of a mobile home outside Peggy Sue's in Yermo one stormy night. The dead man has no identifying papers, and the contents of his pockets all date from the 1880s. The weirdness is only intensified by the discovery of a skeleton that seems to be that of missing chef and food writer Owen Slader, even though pregnant coroner Amanda Selby identifies it as a century old despite its Tommy Bahama shirt and state-of-the-art dental and orthopedic implants. So what's going on here? Beth's increasingly bewildered inquiries lead her to focus on the history of the Calico silver mine, which flourished more than a century ago, and the possibility that the best place to get answers may be the nearby Marine Corps Logistics Base, whose security chief, Bill Knox, is another of Beth's ex-flings. The Marines, being Marines, aren't eager to enlighten her, and she's left searching for leads while the story follows Owen in the days before his remains are discovered, into worlds that will seriously challenge readers' suspension of disbelief even as they expand the boundaries of the police procedural in rip-roaring ways.
If you have time for only one mystery, one Western, and one SF this year, this will ding all three targets.
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"Goldberg, Lee: CALICO." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Sept. 2023, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A764873431/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=5f7222ee. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.
Goldberg, Lee. Calico. Severn House. Nov. 2023.320p. ISBN 9781448310135.
$31.99. THRILLER
Beth McDade is an ex-LAPD detective, banished to the only California town that will accept her, Barstow, in the Mojave Desert. Afterhours are spent drinking and having sex, at least until Feb. 3, 2019. On Feb. 2, a terrified man runs in front of an RV and is killed. The coroner discovers that his clothes were made in the 1800s. Topping this, an extinct grizzly bear attacks a camper. Then there's the disappearance of Owen Slader, on his way from Las Vegas to LA. When his bones are found a week later, they appear to be over 100 years old. There's also the discovery of some sort of explosion at two local marine bases and a man's historical appearance out of nowhere in the mining town of Calico in 1882, but McDade is stonewalled when she asks questions about these events. While she digs into happenings that seem to make no sense, readers are clued in to what really happened to Slader, events that affect his descendants until 2019. VERDICT In an unusual mash-up, the author of the Eve Ronin books combines police procedural, Western historical, and time travel. An entertaining story for those who can suspend disbelief--Lesa Holstine
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"Calico." Library Journal, vol. 148, no. 10, Oct. 2023, p. 104. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A767644942/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=098a991f. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.
Dream Town
Lee Goldberg. Thomas & Mercer, $28.99 (300p) ISBN 978-1-66251-234-6
In bestseller Goldberg's wobbly fifth Eve Ronin thriller (after 2022's Movieland), the youngest homicide detective in the history of Los Angeles County investigates the robbery and murder of Kitty Winslow, star of the Kardasbians-like reality series Life with the Windows. The home invasion jolts Hidden Hills, a gated enclave whose wealthy, conservative residents are leery of the recent influx of new money, which they see as a threat to the neighborhood's old-fashioned values. When human remains are found in a nearby public park shortly after Kitty's murder, Ronin and her investigators come to believe they've discovered a gang burial ground. Additional intel from Hidden Hills' sheriff leads Ronin's team to believe that the Winslows may have been targeted by a Chilean gang. While Ronin struggles to establish a link between the Chileans and the Winslows, she must also endure the psychological vertigo of seeing her previous cases turned into fodder for a TV procedural directed by her estranged father. Goldberg is on autopilot here, failing to make much of some chewy contemporary ingredients, but even a phoned-in Goldberg plot still has its share of slick pleasures. Surprises are in short supply, but series fans will enjoy themselves. (Jan.)
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"Dream Town." Publishers Weekly, vol. 270, no. 45, 6 Nov. 2023, p. 30. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A773694858/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=65812685. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.
Goldberg, Lee. Dream Town. Thomas & Mercer: Amazon. (Eve Ronin, Bk. 5). Jan. 2024. 300n. ISBN 9781662512346. $28.99. M
At 26, Eve Ronin became the youngest homicide detective in the history of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The sheriff and her boss always send her and her partner, Duncan "Donuts" Pavone, to high-profile murder investigations. In their latest case, the bodies found in Ahmanson Preserve don't qualify as high profile. Eve and Duncan have been called to a family compound in the exclusive Hidden Hills neighborhood. Kitty Winslow, star of a hit reality show, was shot and killed during a home invasion soon after showing off her flashy engagement ring on social media. Her family grieves her loss and the possible premature end to her TV show. Deputy Amos Tatum, assigned as security in the neighborhood, insists that the killers must have been Chilean crime tourists--robbers who fly in, spend several weeks robbing the wealthy, then fly home again. But Eve suspects that Kitty's killers are a little closer to home. Eve's boyfriend, forensic anthropologist Dr. Daniel Brooks, offers insights that help with the case VERDICT Fans of fast-paced police procedurals will enjoy Goldberg's trademark humor and his insight into the entertainment world in his latest Eve Ronin novel (following Movieland).--Lesa Holstine
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"Dream Town. Thomas & Mercer: Amazon." Library Journal, vol. 148, no. 12, Dec. 2023, pp. 74+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A776316891/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=ad95684a. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.
oldberg, Lee DREAM TOWN Thomas & Mercer (Fiction None) $28.99 1, 16 ISBN: 9781662512346
A pair of reality-based TV programs spell trouble for Det. Eve Ronin, rising star of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
Life With the Winslows, a series hatched by retired former Western star Caleb Winslow's camera-hungry second wife, Brandy, abruptly morphs into Death With the Winslows when one of Caleb's daughters, singer and model Kitty Winslow, is shot to death during a home invasion of the family compound in Hidden Hills. Det. Eve Ronin, already taxed with identifying the human remains discovered by a dog walker nearby, has to deal with a houseful of prima donnas and Deputy Amos Tatum, the longtime Hidden Hills marshal who's determined to keep her as far from the Winslows' gated community as he can. The only thing that could possibly make things worse is the eruption of Ronin, the TV show based on Eve's earlier cases, into her life. Director Vince Nyby, the father who abandoned her family long ago, fawns over Eve in the hope of helming more episodes, and Jen Ronin, Eve's actress mother, does her best to get Eve to make nice to her hated father in the hope of pumping up her own part in the series. Meanwhile, everyone in the Lost Hills office of LASD--except for her partner, Det. Duncan "Donuts" Pavone--takes turns hating Eve for the ways the show is turning her into a plaster saint and disrupting their routines. No wonder she can't help reflecting that "her own life was sort of like Life With the Winslows in reverse."
Old bones, paparazzi, rappers, sex tapes, the whole nine yards--topped off with a surprisingly Big Reveal.
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"Goldberg, Lee: DREAM TOWN." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Dec. 2023, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A774415198/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=731c7527. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.
Ashes Never Lie
Lee Goldberg. Thomas & Mercer, $28.99 (288p) ISBN 978-1-662512-38-4
Goldberg's crafty second procedural featuring L. A. arson investigators Walter Sharpe and Andrew Walker (after Malibu Burning) finds the partners looking into a pair of suspicious blazes. First, they're called to the scene of a fire at an unoccupied new home. Before they can investigate thoroughly, Sharpe and Walker are called to a nearby house that has burned down with a male corpse inside. That discovery brings homicide detective Eve Ronin (who anchors a different Goldberg series) and her sidekick, Duncan Pavone, into the investigation. Together, all four try to determine whether the dead man--Patrick Lopresti, who has a bullet wound in his head in addition to severe burns--was murdered or took his own life. Soon, they learn Lopresti worked for a biotech firm developing "biological defenses against emerging infectious diseases," and that he was having an affair with his colleague Justine Bryce, who was accidentally infected with a supervirus and has since gone missing. As the four search for Justine, they unravel a deadly conspiracy that links back to Sharpe and Walker's initial investigation. Goldberg manages to give each of his four leads their due while keeping the investigation's fuse burning bright. This series deserves a long life. Agent; Amy Tannenbaum, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Sept.)
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"Ashes Never Lie." Publishers Weekly, vol. 271, no. 25, 24 June 2024, p. 41. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A800404825/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=8892c168. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.
Goldberg, Lee. Ashes Never Lie. Thomas & Mercer: Amazon. (Sharpe & Walker, Bk. 2). Sept. 2024. 288p. ISBN 9781662512384. $28.99. M
When arson investigators Walter Sharpe and Andrew Walker are called to the scene of a fire at a new housing development, former U.S. Marshal Walker is guessing that this will be just another boring case. He's more intrigued with a different fire at a house where a corpse is discovered. The discovery of the body forces Sharpe and Walker to team up with homicide detectives Eve Ronin and Duncan Pavone (from another of Goldberg's series) for a case that is more up Walker's alley. They soon discover a cunning killer and arsonist with bigger ambitions than just one murder. At the same time, Sharpe and Walker's first case leads to an undercover role for Walker s wife as they investigate insurance fraud involving fires. But Ronin and Walker have to go rogue at a sci-fi convention to track a man who holds the fate of the country in his hands, with a vial that could spell death if the investigators can't find the missing man. VERDICT The sequel to Malibu Burning unites Goldberg's Ronin and Pavone police team (last seen in 2024's Dream Town) with his arson investigators Sharpe and Walker in a clever, complicated story. With its witty banter and well-developed characters, Goldberg's latest procedural is tailor-made for readers who enjoy shrewd investigators in fast-paced dramas.--Lesa Holstine
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Holstine, Lesa. "Goldberg, Lee. Ashes Never Lie." Library Journal, vol. 149, no. 7, July 2024, p. 77. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A800536078/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=0af5e9c3. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.
Goldberg, Lee ASHES NEVER LIE Thomas & Mercer (Fiction None) $28.99 9, 17 ISBN: 9781662512384
A series of suspicious fires proves to be only the tip of the iceberg in Goldberg's latest dispatch from the San Fernando Valley.
L.A. County Sheriff's Department arson investigator Walter Sharpe and his gung-ho new partner, Andrew Walker, are called to the Chatsworth Nature Preserve, where someone has set a Toyota Camry ablaze. Soon afterward, following the trail of devastation left by a deadly virus that's disappeared from Triax Biotech, homicide detectives Duncan Pavone, back from retirement, and Eve Ronin, who's recently had a TV series based on her work, track down Triax microbiologist Patrick Lopresti, only to watch his house explode in a fireball before their eyes, leaving Lopresti inside, shot in the head in a bizarre apparent suicide. Justine Bryce, Lopresti's lover and presumed partner in crime who's also been exposed to the virus, has reacted by going on the lam. Even when the cops confront her, she refuses to surrender for fear of infecting someone else. In the meantime, Sharpe and Walker have uncovered an epidemic of house fires in and around the Twin Lakes development blamed on the remarkably similar failures of domestic electrical appliances. There's clearly a mastermind behind this crime wave. But what's the connection between this mastermind and the Triax employee who's blown up his own house rather than give himself up along with the virus? The path to answers and convictions leads to a San Diego SciCon in which Eve and Walker dress up as Wonder Woman and the Mandalorian in order to approach their suspect without arousing any suspicion and, incidentally, to provide a suitably colorful not-quite-finale to this knockabout procedural.
Pure enjoyment for anyone who doesn't happen to own a home in the Valley.
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"Goldberg, Lee: ASHES NEVER LIE." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Sept. 2024, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A806452820/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=1c6f737c. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.