RARA-AVIS: Re: Shane Stevens (note spelling)

From: Paul Duncan ( paul.duncan@asml.nl)
Date: 18 Jan 2000


Bill & BobT:

> Just had the presence of mind to check the Hubin bibliography. The two
> P.I. books by Stephens are under the name J. W. Rider. The titles are HOT
> TICKETS and JERSEY TOMATOES. I have both of these but haven't read them.
> Anybody?

I'm a big fan of Stevens' work, and have read BY REASON OF INSANITY (big serial kiler comic book from 1979, years before Hannibal appeared), DEAD CITY (Gut-wrenching Mafia lowlife novel contrasting rise of new soldier and fall of old has-been), RAT PACK (one night in the life of black kids rampaging through NY), ANVIL CHORUS (French policeman hunts down Nazi gold and top Gestapo man), and GO DOWN DEAD (the best JD novel ever written, about King Henry and the Playboys down in Harlem). The only novel unread is WAY UPTOWN IN ANOTHER WORLD.

I've read one of his two books as J W Rider and found it okay but disappointing, even though it won a Shamus for best PI novel.

Stevens now works as a scriptwriter in Hollywood. I tried to contact him through a friend of a friend but Stevens ain't doing interviews - he has always refused to be interviewed and wrote that the work should speak for itself.

Someday, I'll write an article all about him.

- paul

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