The Lineup: The World's Greatest Crime Writers Tell the Inside Story of Their Greatest Detectives

A great recurring character in a fictional series you love becomes an old friend. You learn about their strange quirks and their haunted pasts and root for them every time they face danger. But where do some of the most fascinating sleuths in the mystery and thriller world really come from?

What was the real-life location that inspired Michael Connelly to make Harry Bosch a Vietnam vet tunnel rat? Why is Jack Reacher a drifter? How did a brief encounter in Botswana inspire Alexander McCall Smith to create Precious Ramotswe?

In THE LINEUP, some of the top mystery writers in the world tell about the genesis of their most beloved characters -- or, in some cases, let their creations do the talking.

Author: Otto Penzler
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Published: 11/18/2010
Pages: 416
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.80lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.40w x 1.10d
ISBN: 9780316031943

Review Citation(s):
New York Times Book Review 11/28/2010 pg. 28

About the Author
Otto Penzler is the proprietor of The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City, and the editor of many mystery anthologies, including The Encyclopedia of Mystery and Detection, for which he won an Edgar Award. He lives in New York.