21 Reasons...

In the next couple of weeks I have a major newspaper reviewing Small Crimes, as well as some potential articles if the freelance writers I've been talking to get their articles accepted. With some downtime right now I'm just kind of fooling around and have put together my 21 reasons why you might want to read Small Crimes, because face it, there are a lot of terrific crime novels out there, and I think it's only fair that I make a case why readers should take a chance with mine. From feedback I've been getting from readers I'm pretty confident that if you like hardboiled noir than you're going to like Small Crimes, but still here's my list of 21 reasons--and in putting together these reasons I only pulled quotes from good reviews. Although all reviews so far (at least the ones I've seen) have been good to great, I'm not about to pull a quote out of a bad or mediocre review to mislead anyone. So here's my case for why if you're a fan of crime fiction you might want to indulge in some Small Crimes:

1) From Publisher’s Weekly’s starred review: "Zeltserman's breakthrough third crime novel deserves comparison with the best of James Ellroy"

2) Booklist also has good stuff to say about Small Crimes: "Small Crimes has plenty of crime, but obsession, hubris, and evil, pure and impure, are at the heart of this vivid noir."

3) Maybe you might want to find out why Ed Gorman thinks Small Crimes is one of the finest dark suspense novels he’s read in the past few years.

4) Same with why Bruce Grossman from Bookgasm feels that Small Crimes is a surefire contender for book of the year.

5) As does why Nathan Cain (who’s blog 'Independent Crime' reviewed Small Crimes) agrees with Bruce.

6) And then there’s the ending, the one which Bill Crider writes is both “stunning and surprising”.

7) Laura Wilson in her review for the Guardian, also calling it a "surprisingly bold ending"

8) David Connett for the Sunday Express agrees also, saying, “Denton is one of the best realised characters I have read in this genre, and the powerfully noir-ish, uncompromising plot, which truly keeps one guessing from page to page, culminates with a genuinely astonishing finale."

9) Thuglit also agrees, making Small Crimes one of their picks, and saying, “...the book ends with one of my favorite final lines in the history of the written word. But don’t skip to it, ya lazy bastid.”

10) Patrick Milliken from Poisoned Pen Bookstore agrees with Thuglit's choice, making Small Crimes one of his hardboiled picks.

11) Then there’s Marcel Berlins at the London Times saying, "Small Crimes is the kind of grim noir novel they used to write in the Thirties and Forties. There are no good guys, only men who are mean, vicious, tough, corrupt and amoral. Action is frenzied and bloody, women easy but vulnerable, dialogue curt and the plot not necessarily convincing. David Zeltserman serves up the formula with enthusiasm and some fine writing.”

12) And Cath Staincliffe over at Tangled Web saying, "The characterisation and mental torment are reminiscent of the insightful psychological thrillers of Jim Thompson. Stunning stuff."

13) And Crimespree Magazine calling Small Crimes a dark masterpiece.

14) And Barry Forshaw over at CrimeTime saying, “This loamy smorgasboard of salvation and revenge has both a violent and comic edge, marking Zeltserman as a name to watch."

15) And Damien Seaman at Shots Magazine saying about Small Crimes, "Not so much a highway to hell as a full-on rollercoaster ride."

16) And Ray Walsh in the Lansing State Journal saying, “Zeltserman masterfully controls the action, offering dark noir fiction in the best Jim Thompson tradition. This is ideal for lovers of tense suspense and violent action.”

17) And then there’s Dark Party Review saying, “That’s the secret to Zeltserman’s fascinating novel about small town corruption and the consequences that follow. Unlike many crime writers today addicted to glamorous, far-fetched shoot-outs, outrageously high-concept plots, and the superhero-like-antics of protagonists, Zeltserman mines the ordinary for the extraordinary...."

18) And Barnes and Noble on their Mystery & Crime page calling Small Crimes, "ultra-noir, funny, and shocking by turns"

19) And then there’s Amazon.com right now discounting new copies to $10.17

20) Small Crimes is being published by Serpent's Tail, one of the world's best independent publishers of crime fiction. I mean, come on, when has Serpent's Tail ever let you down?

21) And finally, Pariah is out in the UK this January, and if Whitey Bulger ends up reading it, there may not be too many more books coming from me…

Small Crimes book launch party

The US book launch party for Small Crimes is going to be held Oct. 21st at Redbones in Somerville, MA from 5:30-7. For anyone unfamiliar with Redbones it has probably the best barbecued food in the Boston area, and free appetizers will be on hand. I hope people in the area will be able to make it, and I'll look forward to seeing you all there.

More information about Redbones and the event can be found by clicking here.

Small Crimes joining a Dark Party

GFS3 reviews Small Crimes over at the always interesting and thought-provoking DaRK PaRTY ReVIEW:

"...My conversation with Cormier came to mind as I was reading Dave Zeltserman’s crime novel “Small Crimes.” You couldn’t find two more disparate writers, but both novelists understand the power of a smaller stage. Small stories can produce big results and unveil universal truths.

That’s the secret to Zeltserman’s fascinating novel about small town corruption and the consequences that follow. Unlike many crime writers today addicted to glamorous, far-fetched shoot-outs, outrageously high-concept plots, and the superhero-like-antics of protagonists, Zeltserman mines the ordinary for the extraordinary...."

You can read the whole review here (and reading it is a hell of a lot less painful today than checking the stock market indices!)

Crimespree Magazine also reviews Small Crimes, and has good things to say also, calling Small Crimes a dark masterpiece. You can read the review here.

How books break through

I think this is something every writer struggles over. You might have written a book that's gotten great reviews by the trades, websites, and smaller newspapers, but how do you get from there to bestseller? There's no way around it, books sell because of how they're positioned and promoted in bookstores--and usually the publishers are paying for that placement and promotion, and reserving that payment for what they're considering their big books. So if you're not part of that, how do you break through?

Luck.

It really comes down to that. You need to be lucky to have the right person discover your book and support it. More than just support it, but be a champion for it. Whether it's a reviewer at the NY Times or Entertainment Weekly or the right person at a chain bookstore, you need someone like that in your corner for a book to break through. I think that might be happening to me right now. Case in point, my sales rankings right now at bn.com and amazon.com:

Small Crimes sales rank at bn.com: 267
at amazon.cm: 635,923

Why the huge discrepancy? It's not a stunt on my part--I'm not buying copies at bn.com, nor am I asking friends to. It's because someone at bn.com discovered Small Crimes and is giving it prominent exposure on their Mystery & Crime and Thriller pages. On their Mystery & Crime page this is what they had to say:

This month focuses on a writer we'll be hearing a lot more about over the coming years: Dave Zeltserman. His new book, Small Crimes, is just out -- ultra-noir, funny, and shocking by turns. A major new talent continues his crime spree.

BN.com started giving Small Crimes this exposure Thursday and the ranking quickly went from 500,000 to 660. Now it's 267. If amazon.com did the same, I'm sure the sales would follow there also. The reason someone at bn.com had a chance of noticing the book in the first place is that I'm being featured on their crime book club this month--but still, without the right person at bn.com reading Small Crimes and believing in it this wouldn't be happening. This is the luck part of it.

Very cool for Small Crimes

I don't know how long this is going to be up there, but if you go to bn.com, then click on Books, then on Mystery & Crime, will see a nice plug for Small Crimes.

More Small Crimes

Ray Walsh reviews Small Crimes and Iain Levison's Dog Eat Dog for the Lansing State Journal, and finds both books highly entertaining, with both books having well-developed characters, corkscrew plots and endings that are virtually impossible to predict. About Small Crimes: "a nifty, captivating tale ... Zeltserman masterfully controls the action, offering dark noir fiction in the best Jim Thompson tradition. This is ideal for lovers of tense suspense and violent action." Read the entire review here.

Vince Keenan has good things to say about Small Crimes.

As does MonstersAndCritics.com ...

And LiteratureChick adding that Small Crimes is a must read.

I also have fun with Marshal Zeringue, coming up with my dream cast for Small Crimes for his "My Book, The Movie" series.

And finally, from the month of October I'll be the guest author over an bn.com's Crime Club.