The 500
By Matthew Quirk

In his first novel, journalist Quirk takes on the Washington, D.C., power structure in a thundering David-and-Goliath tale of corruption. Mike Ford is struggling to pay his tuition at Harvard law and settle his incarcerated father’s debt when he’s recruited by Henry Davies, who heads D.C.’s most influential consulting firm. Ford soon learns that the job, despite its six-figure salary, multiple perks, and enticing colleague, Annie Clark, is essentially a con game in which the Davies Group seeks to solidify influence with the 500 people who wield the real power inside the Beltway.

The Written Word
By Sara Paretsky

The world of books has seen major changes since my first novel was published 30 years ago. It was hard for me to find a publisher for a story about a woman PI set in the Midwest. Indeed, one editor wrote that a book set in Chicago had regional interest only, and not enough people read in the Upper Midwest to make it profitable to set a novel there.

At the same time, there were many more publishers to approach than exist today. We live in a world of conglomerated publishers and booksellers, and we writers are frequently told that we are not creating stories or characters but “brands,” like Crest or Charmin. In such a world, it is hard to remember that we are storytellers above all, not accountants, marketers, or vending machines.

Trends in Crime Fiction Series: Books by the Yard; or, I Have So Many Great Ideas for Books That I Just Can’t Write Them All Myself
By Keir Graff

Some writers are just too important to deal with all the little details of writing books, like writing books. Ideas for characters, settings, and stories tumble from their fevered brains in such abundance that they’re forced to hire other people just to get it all down. And if you think the reading public is wary when confronted by such blatantly commercial maneuvers, you’re wrong: sales figures show that a writer’s trusted brand means more to fans than having that writer actually write the books. The success of this for-hire approach has many aspiring authors dreaming of the day when they can employ their own aspiring authors to do the dirty work of stringing all those little words together.

Read-alikes: Young Sherlockians
By Ann Kelley

Sherlock Holmes may have first appeared on the page in 1887, but the fascination with his powers of deduction continues, as evidenced by Secret Letters, by Leah Scheier, and the six Holmesian titles for youth listed below, many of which are the first in a series. Middle-grade and YA readers—especially those with a penchant for magnifying glasses, disguises, and good old-fashioned sleuthing—will find adventure and suspense in spades. There’s nothing elementary here.

The 100-Year-Old Secret . By Tracy Barrett. 2008. Holt, $16.99 (9780805083408). Gr. 4–6.

Voices in My Head: Dynamic Duos
By Mary Burkey

It’s no mystery why audiobook series have such passionate followers. Listeners make a connection between the reader’s voice and the prime characters and eagerly await each new title. Audiobook publishers know that pairing the same reader and author provides a continuity of character and place. I talked with two award-winning author and reader duos to learn more about the inner workings of these pairings. Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series is so strongly identified with narrator Dick Hill that the two are referred to as Team Reacher by the audio producer. Speaking about their partnership, which began with Killing Floor (Brilliance Audio, 2004), Child ruefully reflects on one hazard for him: “Fans at readings are sometimes disappointed my voice isn’t Dick’s—they look at me like a fraud.”

One Foot in the Gutter: Literary Stars Turn to Crime
By Keir Graff

What makes otherwise respectable authors turn to crime? Is it money? Is it the lure of spending time with loose characters in seedy establishments, where the music is loud and the drinks flow freely? Or is it simply the secret desire to bump someone off and get away with it?

Whatever the reason, writing crime fiction has long held appeal for so-called literary writers, and the trend is only gaining momentum. Cold, hard cash is always a potential motive, of course, and as publishing-industry woes result in smaller book advances, some writers have descended from their ivory towers and discovered what veterans of the mean streets have long understood: in the numbers game that is publishing, genre-fiction sales are the brown-bag payments that keep the office safes full.

Trends in Crime Fiction Series: From Beyond the Grave; Dead Authors, Living Series
By Keir Graff

It’s never easy to say good-bye to someone you love, whether it’s a grandparent, a beloved pet, or your favorite author. And while the desire to keep that loved one close at hand is understandable, it may not always be healthy: a psychologist would probably tell us to move on. But our inability to do just that is certainly healthy for publishers’ bottom lines, as some of the most successful fiction franchises bear the names of authors who have long since shuffled off this mortal coil. Why do we have such a hard time letting go? Hard to say but the current craze for zombies may shed some light on our desire to keep authors publishing long after they’re dead.

Robert Ludlum, RIP