My books making Best of the Year lists

National Public Radio's Top 5 Crime and Mystery novels of 2008
Washington Post's Best Books of 2008
Bookgasm's 10 That Were Great in 2008

Washington Post's Best Books of 2009
 Bookgasm Top Crime in 2009

American Library Association short list for best horror novel of 2010
Black Quill nominee for best dark genre book of 2010

WBUR (NPR Boston) 10 best books of 2012

More of my ebooks: Action + Suspense

I'm not quite sure how to categorize all those great Parker books from Richard Stark (Donald Westlake). Crime thrillers? Men's adventure? Suspense & action? Each of the books center around a crime, but it's a crime that Parker and his crew are going to be pulling off, and the twists usually come in how things get screwed up for them, so calling them crime thrillers doesn't seem quite right.  But whatever category you want to call them, my Hunted novellas would be in the same category, although in these there's the added ingredient of government conspiracy. So far I have two of these available as ebooks--THE HUNTED and THE DAME, and a 3rd one, THE INTERLOPER, has been written and should be available later this year.  While THE HUNTED AND THE DAME are novellas at 85 and 100 pages respectively, THE INTERLOPER is more size of a Gold Medal novel.

The series kicks off with THE HUNTED, which author Vincent Zandri calls ""dark tour-de-force of non-stop action and tension." THE HUNTED is available for $3.25.

The second in the series is THE DAME, which author Evan Lewis says of it: "Everything Dave Zeltserman writes is gold, and his new Hunted series is no exception." THE DAME is available for $3.25.

Look for THE INTERLOPER later this year.

More of my ebooks: short story collections

21 TALES features 21 of my early stories. MONEY RUN, which is a con man story filled with double and triple crosses is probably my funnest story and was my first story published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. CLOSING TIME and DAVE STEVENS, I PRESUME were originally published in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine.A LONG TIME TO DIE was my first published story, and was originally in New Mystery Magazine with a terrific illustration by Lucien Freud (yes, that Lucien Freud!). NEXT TIME was originally published in Hardboiled Magazine, FOREVER AND EVER in Hot Blood #12, ADRENALINE in Out of the Gutter, NINE-BALL LESSONS in Bullet Magazine, ALMOST HUMAN and VIEW FROM THE MIRADOR in Futures Magazine. The rest of the stories, including MORE THAN A SCAM, which was probably the first  Nigerian email scam story and a notable story in Best American Mystery Stories, were published on a number of web-zines. New York Magazine called this collection "inventively depraved". Tom Piccirilli said of 21 TALES: "Dave Zeltserman is one of the crime genre's most accomplished, radical, and innovative talents. His command of style and personal dark vision of the world are framed in the short form to reach out and shake the reader by the throat. I only wish that 21 TALES had been 51 Tales or 101 Tales. We need more of his edgy stories to rattle the field."21 TALES is available for $3.99.

ONE ANGRY JULIUS & OTHER STORIES features my 3rd Julius Katz story, ONE ANGRY JULIUS AND ELEVEN BEFUDDLED JURORS, as well as five other very different types of crime stories, including Thriller Award nominee, A HOSTAGE SITUATION, and notable story from Best American Mystery Stories, EMMA SUE. This ebook is available for $3.25.

More of my ebooks: Lighthearted mysteries

"Mystery readers: I never miss a Julius Katz mystery. A great series. Simply the best." David Kanell, owner of Kingdom Books, Waterford Vermont, specializing in mysteries and crime novels.

My Julius Katz mystery stories and novel are very different from my crime novels. They're certainly not cozies, just as Nero Wolfe and Sherlock Holmes books aren't cozies, but the stories were written for Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine so there's no profanity (unlike PARIAH which has possibly more profanity per page than any other crime novel!), there's no sex, and there's minimal onscreen violence--and the little that's there is bloodless. What drives these stories is the relationship between the brilliant and eccentric (and lazy) Julius Katz and his assistant, Archie, as well as humor. I think it's safe to say that Archie, who narrates these stories, is one of the more unusual detective sidekicks in the annals of the mystery genre.

JULIUS KATZ MYSTERIES is made up of the first two stories in this series, and as the cover states, my novella, JULIUS KATZ, ended up winning the Shamus Award for best PI story, as well as the Derringer Award for best novella, and ARCHIE'S BEEN FRAMED won Ellery Queen's Reader's Choice Award (as well as being cited by Publisher's Weekly as the best story in the best mysteries of the year collection, THE INTERROGATOR AND OTHER CRIMINALLY GOOD FICTION). Timothy Hallinan, author of THE QUEEN OF PATPONG, said of JULIUS KATZ MYSTERIES: "I love these stories." This ebook is available for $2.99.

I wrote the full-length novel JULIUS KATZ AND ARCHIE after ARCHIE'S BEEN FRAMED. Paul Levine, author of FLESH & BONES, said of this book: "It's a nifty change-of-pace for the usually hard-boiled Dave Zeltserman. Clever, sophisticated and witty, Julius Katz and Archie will thrill fans of Nero Wolfe...and readers who never heard of him! Zeltserman knows how to mix character, action, and plot and create a pitch-perfect, modern mystery. More, Sir! The sooner the better." Edgar-award winning author Naomi Hirahara said: "Fans of Donna Andrews's Turing Hopper artificial intelligence mysteries, rejoice! Award-winning author Dave Zeltserman has created silicon chip Archie, the high-tech sidekick to Julius Katz, Boston's most famous and laziest wine-drinking detective. Here is a delightful traditional mystery that follows in the footsteps of Dorothy L. Sayers's Lord Peter Wimsey series." JULIUS KATZ AND ARCHIE is available for $4.50.

This collection has my 3rd Julius Katz story published by Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, ONE ANGRY JULIUS AND ELEVEN BEFUDDLED JURORS, as well as five other crime stories. I'll talk more about this one when I talk about my short story collections, but this is available for $3.25.

Will there be more Julius Katz stories? Yep. Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine recently published ARCHIE SOLVES THE CASE, and has also bought my 5th Julius Katz story, JULIUS ACCUSED for future publication. A 6th story has also been written.

More of my ebooks: Horror

I've got four very different types of horror ebook novels: quiet, explosive, gothic Frankenstein-retelling, and a thriller that straddles the line between horror and crime.

THE CARETAKER OF LORNE FIELD is my quiet horror novel. It was short listed for best horror novel of 2010 by the American Library Association and was a Black Quill nominee for best dark genre book of the year. Publisher's Weekly in a starred review called it "a superb mix of humor and horror". Booklist called it a "superbly crafted horror story." Overlook Press has made it available for $12.99.

The best way to describe BLOOD CRIMES is think of Pulp Fiction mixed with vampires--and the vampires here are not sparkly ones! This is a full blown horror, crime and noir. Ed Gorman said of BLOOD CRIMES: 'I've just read the manuscript of Dave Zeltserman's new novel, BLOOD CRIMES. This is one of the few fresh takes on vampirism I've read in years. It's as if Charles Bukowski sat down and said, OK, Bram Stoker, how about this?' BLOOD CRIMES is available for $3.99.

MONSTER was picked by WBUR Radio (NPR BOSTON) as one of the 10 best novels of 2012, and is a gothic retelling of Frankenstein. Or is it also a gothic retelling of 120 Days of Sodom? Booklist in a starred review said of MONSTER: "This is juicy material for Franken-fans, and Zeltserman is just faithful enough to the original that his many fresh contributions feel entirely normal. Well, abnormal, to be accurate, but deliciously so." Overlook Press has made MONSTER available for $11.99.

BAD THOUGHTS is one of the two novels included in THE SHANNON NOVELS, which I included as one of my ebook crime thrillers. Edgar-winner Steve Hamilton said of BAD THOUGHTS: "Dark, brutal, captivating -- this is one hell of a book, the kind of book that doesn't let go of you once you start it. Dave Zeltserman is clearly the real deal." BAD THOUGHTS is available for $3.99.

Five crime thriller ebooks to check out!

I've got a lot of different type of ebooks out: crime thrillers, horror, suspense, charming lighthearted mysteries, and short story collections. Today I'll be talking about my crime thrillers.

Serpent's Tail has put out the 3rd book in my 'man out of prison' noir series, KILLER, currently $5.99 on Amazon. Publisher's Weekly said of KILLER: "Spare prose and assured pacing place this above most other contemporary noirs."

Serpent's Tail has put out my explosive crime heist novel, OUTSOURCED, currently $5.99 on Amazon. NPR's Fresh Air said of OUTSOURCED: "a dark gem of a story...a macabre delight to read". OUTSOURCED is currently in film development by Impact Pictures.
 

BAD THOUGHTS and BAD KARMA were originally published as hardcovers by Five Star, and I've put them both together as THE SHANNON NOVELS for $4.99. Edgard-winner Steve Hamilton said of BAD THOUGHTS: "Dark, brutal, captivating -- this is one hell of a book, the kind of book that doesn't let go of you once you start it. Dave Zeltserman is clearly the real deal.", while Bookgasm called BAD KARMA "top-notch P.I. reading."

My first novel, FAST LANE, was originally published by Point Blank Press in 2003, and I've made it available now for $3.99. This is a pretty wild one, and is not at all what it appears. Ken Bruen said of FAST LANE: "For those of us who believed Jim Thompson would never be equaled, great tidings, he's back in the form of Dave Zeltserman. Hilarious in the darkest fashion, violent, bitter, psychotic and unputdownable.

Overlook Press has made A KILLER'S ESSENCE (currently in film development by Braven Films) available for $10.99. The Boston Globe said of A KILLER'S ESSENCE: "Zeltserman’s lean but muscular style, so evident in “Killer’’ and “The Caretaker of Lorne Field,’’ is just as sharply honed here. His ability to juggle Green’s story and Lynch’s, develop a riveting murder mystery, and even mix in some Brighton Beach ex-KGB sleazeballs, all in less than 250 pages, is a pretty neat page-turning trick."