Sunday Salon: clubs and Ingrid Black

In the prehistoric era (2 years ago) before I discovered blogging, I relied for tips of new (to me) crime fiction authors on the Mystery and Thriller Guild, a book club which I repeatedly joined to get the "5 books for 1 p each" introductory offers, then bought the minimum number of books at "club price", then cancelled membership, rejoining six months later. Since starting my blog in 2005, I have had no need to do this any more, as I have no shortage of recommendations -- both from the selected (and select) blogs I read regularly and, latterly, from the Sunday Salon participants: Amazon's prices are pretty competitive with the book club, so I have shifted my spending pattern over to a more personalised choice rather than to the "editor's recommendation" for that month. Another advantage is that I could stop reading James Patterson books (quite often sent to members as freebies, so presumably they weren't selling their stock even at 1p). Actually when I first joined a book club, Patterson was pretty good. But now, forget it.

This preamble is to note that I discovered quite a few very good authors for the first time via the editor's recommendation route. One was Lee Child, whose first novel I read when it came out in book club edition. Others that I remember were Karin Fossum, Denise Hamilton, Paul Carson, Denise Mina, Mary Higgins Clark, Michael Connelly, Victoria Blake, and I am sure others whose names temporarily escape me. One such author is Ingrid Black, whose first two novels I purchased via book club editions. I read her first novel, The Dead, when it came out, which a glance at Fantastic Fiction tells me was 2003. It turned out to be Irish noir, partly a police procedural with a woman in charge -- and partly private eye, with an ex-FBI agent called Saxon, relocated from Boston. In an original touch, it turns out that these two characters are gay and are having an affair. I liked the book, but not enough, it seems, to read the second.

Recently, the estimable Declan Burke of Crime Always Pays ran a competition to win the new (third) Saxon novel, just out in paperback. It was pretty taxing, I have to admit:

"Is Ingrid Black …?
(a) Benjamin Black’s daughter;
(b) Benjamin Black’s mother;
(c) Neither, you moron, they’re both pseudonyms."

I had a premonition that I might have managed to get the answer right, so I decided to dig out the second book, The Dark Eye, and start it, just in case. And it is jolly good so far. Just as well, because yesterday, a parcel dropped through my letterbox from Penguin Books - yes, I got the answer right! My copy of The Judas Heart was enclosed. Thank you, Declan and thank you, Penguin (who seem to have taken over from Headline in publishing this author).

I was also quite surprised to note from the Fantastic Fiction site that Ingrid Black is not only a pseudonym, but is a husband-and-wife team. I had imagined her as a Veronica Guernin-style undercover journalist, writing crime stories on the quiet. Just as well I am only a reader, not a real detective. I was quite taken in by the photo on the cover of my copy of the book and on Crime Always Pays.

Comments

[Clare D]

I was just thinking about names when I started reading this post - the unlikeliness of a name like Denise as a crime novelist- and yet there are two of them. Mary doesn't summon up crime either. Ingrid or Agatha, though, seem quite appropriate.

I heard from a friend who was party to the judging panel of the debut dagger awards that a novice author is often encouraged to change her name or even just take up initials if her name is unsuitable.

Now I'm wondering about the names of other people. Would Maxine be good? Or Debra? Or Rhian?

[KarenC]

Maxine - I was interested to see your comments about The Dead. I really really really really really struggled with that book and since then I've never looked at another by the same author. I shall have to stop being such a sook and try the second :)

[Maxine]

Well, I'm only half way though, Karen! In my experience crime fic is usually better in the first half, the second is often a bit of a let down.
Clare, yes, J K Rowling was apparently encouraged to use initials to encourage boy readers. K M Peyton and E Nisbet, from a different era, perhaps also wanted or were asked to disguise their gender.