tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post2041804086688486109..comments2024-03-28T07:27:17.868-04:00Comments on Jungle Red Writers: James Hayman--Murder We WroteJungle Red Writershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16646429819267618412noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-64843258642064655132015-07-30T13:54:53.887-04:002015-07-30T13:54:53.887-04:00Pat, until this very minute I thought I liked pick...Pat, until this very minute I thought I liked pickled herring.<br /><br />Thanks Kathy. do hope the TBR pile doesn't bury you alive.James Haymanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17986770186817511855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-43933672942573964332015-07-30T13:49:34.764-04:002015-07-30T13:49:34.764-04:00James, The Girl in the Glass sounds like quite the...James, The Girl in the Glass sounds like quite the thriller! It is going on my TBR list and my Amazon wish list. I love the idea of the century apart murder with the identical features, from the physical appearance of the victim to the execution of the crime. The Cutting also peaks my interest, with its all too real possibilities. I think I've found another new series to start. Like Kristopher, the danger of death by TBR pile is something I'll just have to risk.<br /><br />The Roald Dahl story is a hard one to forget. Of course, I am a huge Roald Dahl fan, leaning toward the bizarre and quirky myself. So many odd and terrible ways to die in stories (and life), but I have always been struck (pun intended) by the inch by inch impending doom of The Pit and the Pendulum by Poe.Kathy Reelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17004247271452356577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-34110522213746830742015-07-30T13:21:35.103-04:002015-07-30T13:21:35.103-04:00Seriously ugh and yuck. I've forgotten everyth...Seriously ugh and yuck. I've forgotten everything about that novel except for that image. Now I'm sorry it popped into my head!Lisa Alberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12591430453957883948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-76645380714148129582015-07-30T13:19:48.342-04:002015-07-30T13:19:48.342-04:00I remember seeing the Dahl story on the Twilight Z...I remember seeing the Dahl story on the Twilight Zone back in the day. Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie to you Dallas fans)played the housewife. Poe wrote a tale about a man drowning in a cask of amontillado. I don't remember the particulars though, but assume he set himself up for that. A more modern ploy is getting the victim to eat something he/she is deathly allergic to: peanuts, shellfish, etc. I just read Catriona McPherson's latest where an arm, a leg, etc are turning up in barrels of pickled herring. Now THAT is gruesome. Glad I don't eat that stuff.Pat Dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-26576989961489206312015-07-30T13:03:48.210-04:002015-07-30T13:03:48.210-04:00Deb,
The research for The Cutting was pretty exte...Deb,<br /><br />The research for The Cutting was pretty extensive. Mostly talking to heart surgeons including one good friend and college classmate who's a transplant surgeon out in Iowa. When I finished writing he plausibility checked the entire book and said I got it mostly right but did suggest a few minor changes.<br /><br />Lisa,<br /><br />The idea grew out of a conflict I had with myself. On one level I wanted to try a historical mystery. On the other I wanted to keep the McCabe/Savage series going. Having the twin murders take place more than a century apart allowed me to do both. <br /><br />As for the keeping the poor victims alive in water till their skin falls off? Yuck. Up there with Hannibal Lechter.James Haymanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17986770186817511855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-2272888882288733942015-07-30T12:52:43.468-04:002015-07-30T12:52:43.468-04:00Lisa Abler, that is going to give me nightmares. U...Lisa Abler, that is going to give me nightmares. Ugh. Some things are just too creepy. There's a Peter James novel where you get the victim's viewpoint as he's buried alive. Like Jim, I'm a bit claustrophobic, and I could NOT read that book. Just couldn't make myself do it...Deborah Crombiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16988750789088153601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-80288033862403047342015-07-30T12:35:46.404-04:002015-07-30T12:35:46.404-04:00I agree: Wonderful cover! I love the premise too -...I agree: Wonderful cover! I love the premise too -- how the past and present echo each other, and identical-ness (nice "word" there, Lisa), too. This novel is right up my alley.<br /><br />James, what inspired the concept/idea for this story?<br /><br />Unfortunately, I can't think of anything super clever right this second, but I do remember how I felt when I got to the end of some of Agatha Christie novels. As a thirteen year old, they seemed so genius. Murder on the Orient Express. Ten Little Indians. It's the classic locked-room mystery. I love those, though I don't write them.<br /><br />Last year I read a Scandinavian author (can't remember who) whose sadistic killer kept his victims in water tanks with feeding and breathing tubes. For weeks. His depiction of them alive but with skin falling off was so gross I could barely finish the book. Lisa Alberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12591430453957883948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-85699392326014867572015-07-30T12:13:36.034-04:002015-07-30T12:13:36.034-04:00Hank, so disappointed to hear that about The Speck...Hank, so disappointed to hear that about The Speckled Band! I always thought that was so clever.<br /><br />Jim, I'm fascinated by the "spitting image" idea, too. And by the time gap between the murders. Hmmm. I can see I'm going to be reading this book! <br /><br />The idea behind your book "The Cutting" is so chillingly plausible. What kind of research did you do? Was the idea triggered by something you read?Deborah Crombiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16988750789088153601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-57569390140715445182015-07-30T12:04:41.056-04:002015-07-30T12:04:41.056-04:00Jim, yes. A lot of thrill seekers try to "sho...Jim, yes. A lot of thrill seekers try to "shoot the falls." Barrels aren't as popular these days. The theory is that you get in a light craft, paddle, and the current (which is already pretty fast) allows you to build up enough momentum that you "shoot" past the lip and land beyond the water. Usually on the Canadian or Horseshoe Falls, because there are fewer rocks and there is a small depression at the bottom to "cushion" your landing.<br /><br />It doesn't really work out well. Something about hundreds of thousands of gallons of water per minute landing on your head. Of course, any thrill seeks who survive get another thrill - a trip to jail since it is illegal.<br /><br />Then there are the people who stand on the railings over the gorge to get cool pictures.<br /><br />And yes, suicides.<br /><br />And the boaters who ignore the warning signs on the river (Coast Guard rescues a few of those a summer).<br /><br />The possibilities are endless.Liz Millironhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04919409969263609919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-69373501788859269372015-07-30T11:57:59.266-04:002015-07-30T11:57:59.266-04:00Jim is a great example of the Mystery of the Maine...Jim is a great example of the Mystery of the Maine Crime Fiction Writers. Maine is one of the most crime-free states in the union. Our average murder rate is 22-23 per year; yes, that's for the entire state. Outside of the few "big" cities, people don't bother to lock their houses or cars; if you get far enough into the country, people leave their keys in the truck overnight.<br /><br />Yet we have so many crime fiction/ thriller writers! Jim and me, Paul Doiron and Chris Holm, Tess Gerritsen and Doug Preston, Al Lamanada, Lea Waite, Kathy Lynn Emerson, Kate Flora, Jessie Crockett - the list goes on and on (John Connelly lives here part time!)<br /><br />Maybe it takes a nice quite place to turn people's thoughts to murder...Juliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09553268569509053159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-44280426633006310992015-07-30T11:37:13.820-04:002015-07-30T11:37:13.820-04:00Hope you both enjoy The Girl in the Glass and the ...Hope you both enjoy The Girl in the Glass and the other McCabe/Savage entries. Thanks for the comments and stay tuned for the giveaway.James Haymanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17986770186817511855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-85578712386385907272015-07-30T11:36:14.192-04:002015-07-30T11:36:14.192-04:00Oh how fun...
Poison seems too easy since I don&#...Oh how fun...<br /><br />Poison seems too easy since I don't have a pufferfish handy.<br /><br />I guess I'd go with rubbing peanut sauce on the steering wheel of a car as long as I know the person driving is deathly allergic. <br /><br />I also like the idea of staging a scene to look like a murder when it was suicide. Yes, I meant it that way. If you're going to take yourself out, why not get revenge on those who wronged you by getting them locked up? J.A. (Julie) Kazimerhttp://www.jakazimer.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-67969414410071069662015-07-30T11:10:30.254-04:002015-07-30T11:10:30.254-04:00Just added all those books to my TBR, and have a n...Just added all those books to my TBR, and have a new series to check out. I am so happy to be in company that enjoys the same ghastly stuff I do. Thanks for the giveaway.Grandma Cootiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10709540756822695170noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-13793275871109496552015-07-30T10:32:08.054-04:002015-07-30T10:32:08.054-04:00A new series to check out--yes! I'd check it o...A new series to check out--yes! I'd check it out anyway, based on that cover. I do not like snakes. In one of the Deborah Knott mysteries, someone offs an unwanted heir by putting a large, common black snake in the victim's car. The victim, deathly afraid of snakes, panicked when the snake made itself known. Not good to panic on those twisty mountain roads. And if the snake slithers away afterwards, it looks like a straight-forward accident.<br /><br />And I can totally buy into the 'spittin' image' idea--my mother was a dead-ringer for her grandmother.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-996954069719961382015-07-30T10:28:15.803-04:002015-07-30T10:28:15.803-04:00Hey James! Welcome! And you are braver (?) than I…...Hey James! Welcome! And you are braver (?) than I…I hate writing the killing people part I am always so sad for the victims, and try to make my main characters realize they're real people, too. I once said to Jonathan--maybe I could just have them be in a coma, and they didn't know they were hurt, and then they wake up? Jonathan said---aren't you writing murder mysteries? There has to be a murder. Fine.<br /><br />As for methods:<br /><br />I was so disappointed when someone did an article about The Speckled Band,..and how that murder method could not have worked. I mean-I believed it!<br /><br /><br />Hank Phillippi Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17420701704169428286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-58608795091159911122015-07-30T10:28:01.864-04:002015-07-30T10:28:01.864-04:00Susan D: You're right. Murder in real life i...Susan D: You're right. Murder in real life is not merely "unpleasant" but horrific. I stand corrected.<br /><br />As for beer making? Hmmm. if you had to go drowning in a vat of beer wouldn't be the worst way. I picture myself leaving the world with a goofy smile on my face. <br /><br />As for Niagara Falls, it seems some folks go over for fun. Others to do themselves in. In either case the numbers are high. According to Wikipedial (My first source for almost everything these days): "The first recorded person to survive going over the falls was Annie Edson Taylor, who went over the falls in a barrel in 1901. 72 years previously, however, Sam Patch had jumped from a platform adjacent to Goat Island.[1][2]<br /><br />An estimated 5,000 bodies were found at the foot of the falls between 1850 and 2011,[3] and an estimated 40 people are killed each year when they are swept over the falls—most of which are suicides."<br /><br />Brenda and Chris, thanks for the nice words.<br /><br />James Haymanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17986770186817511855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-23609918262173998922015-07-30T10:05:09.155-04:002015-07-30T10:05:09.155-04:00Nice to see your face on Jungle Reds, James - I ch...Nice to see your face on Jungle Reds, James - I check out this blog every day. Nice post, and looking forward to this latest installment in your McCabe/Savage series!<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01099623817070273141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-88024275506086750892015-07-30T09:51:22.740-04:002015-07-30T09:51:22.740-04:00I am looking forward to The Girl in the Glass, Jim...I am looking forward to The Girl in the Glass, Jim. Great premise and I know it will be peopled with great characters in addition to Maggie and McCabe. I also love both the title and the cover. Good work!Brenda Buchananhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14161539130987122737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-53376885177617691672015-07-30T09:22:28.060-04:002015-07-30T09:22:28.060-04:00The Girl in the Glass sounds terrific. I'll be...<i>The Girl in the Glass</i> sounds terrific. I'll be on the lookout for that.<br /><br />The icicle, yes. For myself, I'm most proud of using Niagara Falls as a murder weapon. The killer hits the victim over the head to stun then throws her into the rapids.Liz Millironhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04919409969263609919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-9824597437772589132015-07-30T08:35:45.215-04:002015-07-30T08:35:45.215-04:00"In real life murder tends to be a fairly pro..."In real life murder tends to be a fairly prosaic if unpleasant affair. Husbands killing wives...."<br /><br />I love all things Jungle Red, but I just can't let this pass. There's is nothing remotely prosaic about domestic violence and murder, and "unpleasant" doesn't even begin to cover it.Susan Dhttp://www.susandaly.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-82927606807035256962015-07-30T08:35:15.259-04:002015-07-30T08:35:15.259-04:00PD James, The Murder Room. I enjoyed the symmetry ...PD James, The Murder Room. I enjoyed the symmetry of historic murders recreated in a museum.<br /><br />It seems that every profession (bookbinding, beer making, blacksmithing) has unique tools of the trade that make wonderful weapons for executing a murder.Margaret S. Hamiltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07979191318652199350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-58721169475307471312015-07-30T08:17:19.660-04:002015-07-30T08:17:19.660-04:00Thanks Hallie for the welcome. I too remember the...Thanks Hallie for the welcome. I too remember the icicle as a weapon. Perhaps the title should be Murder Melts Away or some such.James Haymanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17986770186817511855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-69123624917105817382015-07-30T08:14:41.409-04:002015-07-30T08:14:41.409-04:00Christopher,
I haven't read The Long Way Home...Christopher,<br /><br />I haven't read The Long Way Home Left but will add it to MY pile. That being said, the idea of of a victim being put to death by having a large pile (a truck load?) of murder mysteries dumped on his head definitely has a certain appeal. More a Roald Dahl kind of fate than a McCabe/Savage but even so...<br />James Haymanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17986770186817511855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-80404116773266273922015-07-30T08:03:14.465-04:002015-07-30T08:03:14.465-04:00I'm not going to go into detail, because of th...I'm not going to go into detail, because of the spoiler potential, but I will say that the crime in Louise Penny's The Long Way Home was particularly shocking to me mainly because we usually think of murder as an immediately solution to a temporary problem. Louise manages to turn that on its head.<br /><br />The plot of The Girl in the Glass is very intriguing and I have definitely added this book to my To Be Read pile. This has been said before, but that stack of books could fall over and kill me - talk about a way to go!<br /><br />Thanks for stopping by James.Kristopherhttp://www.bolobooks.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-6835190870640947282015-07-30T07:19:20.342-04:002015-07-30T07:19:20.342-04:00We're so happy to have you here on Jungle Red,...We're so happy to have you here on Jungle Red, James! I remember reading that Dahl short story ... I mean how often do you actually remember the plot of one? The cops eat the evidence -- and the victim is a cop -- how perfect is that? A variant on revenge is a dish best served cold.<br /><br />ah yes, the icicle weapon, I remember that one, Gram. In my own books, I favor the mundane: blunt instruments and poison. Hallie Ephronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04759439029582054503noreply@blogger.com