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Burning Questions
Wondering what happened to your favorite author? Gosh, so are we. Ask away: Send your cards and letters to Burning Questions, 2143 Belcourt Avenue, Nashville, TN 37212. Or better yet, send us e-mail. When you write, please include your full name and the city and state where you live. Sadly, personal replies are not possible. And if your question is too hard, we'll simply put it in our big file labeled "We dunno."
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MYSTERY MASTER
Dear Burning Questions, Would you tell me what happened to Mr. Kaminsky and his Russian detective? Does he have a new book out? You have a very informative review of books.
J. Boyer
Since there aren't too many Kaminskys in the mystery world, we assume you're referring to Stuart M. Kaminsky. The extremely prolific author —winner of the 2006 Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America—has five different series going, including one about Russian inspector Porfiry Petrovich Rostnikov. The last Rostnikov novel was published in 2001, and according to his editor at Tor, Kaminsky has no plans to return to Rostnikov anytime soon. His next book, Always Say Goodbye, is a Lew Fonesca mystery, and will be published in December.
OVER THE OCEAN
I was wondering if Barbara Bickmore has written anything in the last few years. I think she's a great writer, and would love to own more of her books.
Nancy Marland
It took some sleuthing to track down Barbara Bickmore, whose last book, Beyond the Promise, was released in 1999. But several heartfelt pleas like yours kept us trying, and we finally got an answer. Here's what Bickmore herself had to say about her work: "How lovely of you to be interested enough to inquire. Yes, I've written two [more] books, one published in 2002, and another finished in September. However, you won't be able to get them. They are not published in America, but are in nearly all European countries. No American publishers seem interested anymore. I'm told that I write books that are too long, are about women and their problems and achievements and don't have enough violence and action in them to interest Americans. I guess my two books before that didn't sell terribly well. However, I do make a very nice living from Europe, and it does make me a little sad that America isn't interested anymore. I don't write romances, where there is nothing more than the man and woman getting together and then being torn apart and the rest of the book is about their getting back together. My books are too complex for romance readers. So, there's my story. I am not unhappy. Thanks for writing."
BACK ON THE RANCH
Could you please advise if C.J. Box has another book on the way?
Tony Mulcahy
Wyoming native C.J. Box has published five mystery novels starring game warden Joe Pickett, beginning with his 2001 debut, Open Season. The sixth Pickett novel, In Plain Sight (Putnam), hits shelves in the U.S. on May 4—you may have to wait a bit longer before it appears Down Under. While investigating the case of a missing ranch owner, Pickett encounters a new ranch hand who looks familiar—and seems to have something against Pickett.
WHAT COMES AFTER
What does Elizabeth George have in mind for her Inspector Thomas Lynley series? At the end of With No One as Witness, published in 2005, Lynley resigned from Scotland Yard (a very unsatisfactory ending, to me). Is Ms. George writing another book in this series, or was that intended to be the final one?
Jessie L. Mayer
Elizabeth George's next book, What Came Before He Shot Her, will be published by HarperCollins in October. But fans of Detective Superintendent Lynley and his perennially-in-trouble sidekick Barbara Havers will have to wait a little longer for his return. According to Carolyn Marino, George's editor, the upcoming book "doesn't feature Lynley but explores the chain of events leading up to a shocking and devastating murder." Readers of With No One as Witness will know which murder (we edited your question so as not to spoil the plot for those who waited for the recently released paperback—or indeed the upcoming PBS Mystery! adaptation). Meanwhile, Marino assures BQ that you haven't read the last of Lynley: "Elizabeth George is now working on the novel that will come after What Came Before He Shot Her," she says, "and it will feature Thomas Lynley and is set in Cornwall."
WINNER'S CIRCLE Congratulations to the winners of our February contest, sponsored by Kaplan Publishing. These four grand prize winners received all eight books in Kaplan's new On the Road series and an On the Road series keychain: JoAnne Griebel, New Ulm, Minnesota
Ten second place winners received an On the Road keychain: Deborah Raith, Pasadena, Maryland
A Burning Question for YOU Happy reading to our March BQ for You winner, Terri Shea of Marion, Illinois, who received an assortment of books recently reviewed in BookPage. "I go through BookPage every month for titles for our elementary school library," she says. Watch this space next month for your chance to win!
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