Novel

 

DARKNESS DROPS AGAIN


When Inspector Brumaire finds a text in English attached the corpse of a prostitute off the rue Mouffetard in Paris's Latin Quarter, he sends it to a translator to discover that it is written by the murderer, who says he is a writer who has decided to kill in order to have something to write about. The narrative shifts from the point of view of the serial killer as he records his exploits in the notes to the police; to the Paris cops -- the young trainee policewoman Carole Denis, and the hip Harley-Davidson driving Brumaire -- as they chase the killer; and accounts of true crime written by the murderer and depicting famous European murderers such as Petiot, Kurten and Landru, which he uses as starting points for his own murders.

Listen to me read from the first two chapters of the novel by clicking on the links below:

I am a member of 813, Association des amis de la litterature policière.


For further information, contact me.

 





Short Fiction

 


My first short story was published in the University of Toronto Review in 1983, and titled, "One Persian Night Before the Fall." It is based on my experiences in Iran during the Revolution.

In the June 1996 issue of Murderous Intent mystery magazine based in Vancouver, Washington, I published a mystery short story called "Murder in the Abbey," based on the adventures of a series character, a Canadian wine critic living in Paris, named Dan Bacchus. The story was nominated for the 1997 Arthur Ellis Award for Best Short Story.

My short story, "Ulysses Induced," appeared in the Summer 1999 issue of Murderous Intent – although it is not a crime story at all.

 

 

Translation

 

Along with Freddy Michalski, France’s leading translator for crime fiction (especially known for his translations of James Ellroy) I translated from French to English a short story by Jean-Hugues Oppel, called, “A Demon in My Head,” published in Death by Espionage, ed. Martin Cruz Smith, Cumberland House 1999.

I have also translated from French to English three short stories by Marc Villard, one of France’s other top crime writers, and master of the short story.

 

 

The Abbey bookshop, where part of my “Murder in the Abbey” story takes place, is pictured in the drawing below:





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