Lee Goldberg

Lee Goldberg is a two-time Edgar Award and two-time Shamus Award nominee and the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty novels, including the Ian Ludlow thrillers Killer Thriller and True Fiction, King City, The Walk, fifteen Monk mysteries, and the internationally bestselling Fox & O’Hare books (The Heist, The Chase, The Job, The Scam, and The Pursuit) cowritten with Janet Evanovich. He has also written and/or produced many TV shows, including Diagnosis Murder, SeaQuest, and Monk, and is the co-creator of the Hallmark movie series Mystery 101. As an international television consultant, he has advised networks and studios in Canada, France, Germany, Spain, China, Sweden, and the Netherlands on the creation, writing, and production of episodic television series.

Goldberg's new novel is Lost Hills.

Recently I asked the author about what he was reading. His reply:

I like to alternate my reading between newly released books in a variety of genres and stuff that was published decades ago. In the last couple of weeks, I've read Lou Berney's remarkable November Road, which works not only as a great crime novel, but also as pure literature. He beautifully captures both a time and a place... and even the smallest characters came alive as three-dimensional, unique, and memorable. I also like the deft balance of horror, humanity and humor. The novel deserves all the praise it has been getting.

I also read Alfred Harris' Baroni, a little-known crime novel from the 70s that was made into a French film in the 1980s. It starts off like a typical police procedural of its time, with some stiff writing and tired cliches, but it takes an unpredictable turn, becoming less about a homicide investigation than about the delightful, surprising, utterly original relationship that develops between the Columbo-esque cop and the killer he is pursuing...and about the other characters, also colorful, lost souls, in each of their lives. An unexpectedly heartwarming novel...with a satisfying final twist.

I also read a non-fiction book, the revised and expanded edition of The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman, that discusses how products, building, websites, and just about everything we use in life are designed to match our practical, emotional, and physical needs. It was fascinating and entertaining.

Visit Lee Goldberg's website.

My Book, The Movie: Lost Hills.

--Marshal Zeringue