Saturday, December 01, 2007 1:51 PM
Blawg Book Highlighter #12: EYE OF THE BEHOLDER
I met David Ellis at the Love is Murder mystery writing convention in Rosemont, Illinois, back in February 2006. We were both panelists, along with Laura Caldwell (“The Good Liar”) and Barry Eisler (author of the John Rain assassin series), on the “Pro Bono: Lawyers Help for Free!” panel. I joked that it was appropriate for me to be on the panel, because that was the going rate for my legal advice.
By far, I was the least accomplished lawyer-turned-author on that panel. It was one instance where my ignorance paid off. If I’d known the level of talent that surrounded me, I would have shrunk from stage-fright.
Truth be told, I’d never even heard of David Ellis before I sat next to him on that panel. This had nothing to do with his accomplishments and credentials (which are many) and everything to do with my shameful unawareness of his works.
At the convention, I bought Ellis’ first novel, LINE OF VISION, which won the 2002 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best First Novel by an American Author. I meant to get it signed, but never did. After reading it, I kicked myself for that failure. It is one of those rare books that makes an impression from the get-go, like when you read the debuts of Scott Turow or John Grisham, his better known counterparts in the legal thriller genre. It was daring and challenging from the first page to the last.
Since then, Ellis has published LIFE SENTENCE, JURY OF ONE, IN THE COMPANY OF LIARS and, most recently, EYE OF THE BEHOLDER. On his website, DavidEllis.com, Ellis makes a promise to his readers to do everything he can to write fresh, innovative mysteries. He has certainly done that. In LIARS, the mystery is written in reverse chronology.
In BEHOLDER, Renowned attorney Paul Riley has built a lucrative career based on his famous prosecution of Terry Burgos, a serial killer who followed the lyrics of a violent song to gruesomely murder six girls. Now, fifteen years later, the police are confronted with a new series of murders and mutilations. Riley is the first to realize that the two cases are connected-and that the killer seems to be willing to do anything to keep him involved. As the murderer's list of victims becomes less random and more personal, Riley finds himself at the center of a police task force assigned to catch the murderer-as both an investigator and a suspect.
Publishers Weekly gives BEHOLDER a starred review, calling it a “stunning tale of illicit sex, murder and betrayal…” Says Booklist: BEHOLDER “cements his reputation as a top-notch thriller writer.” And Kirkus calls it “another top-flight legal thriller…brimming with quality prose and layered characterizations.”
Ellis has not given up his day job. He is currently working as Counsel to the Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives. He grew up in Downers Grove, Illinois, a suburb outside Chicago. He graduated from the University of Illinois in 1990 and from Northwestern Law School in 1993.
On his website, Ellis has posted the first chapter of each of his five novels.
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Randy Richardson is an author, humorist, former journalist, and a lawyer. His fiction debut, Lost in the Ivy, a murder mystery set against the backdrop of Chicago's storied Wrigley Field, won the Writers Marketing Association's “Fresh Voices” Book Award and the Illinois Woman's Press Association's Mate E. Palmer Communications Contest. He writes the Dad Libs column for SanityCentral.com and is a frequent contributor to Chicago Parent magazine. In his day job, he is an attorney for the Social Security Administration’s disability appeals branch. At night and during lunch breaks, he serves as president of the Chicago Writers Association (chicagowrites.org) and works on his second novel while a 4-year-old tugs on his legs. Visit his website at www.lostintheivy.com.
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