Friends,

In six weeks, we're going to publish Donald E. Westlake's unpublished novel, MEMORY.

Both Publishers Weekly and Booklist have given it starred reviews, calling it "a significant final work from a master" and "absolutely a must-read." The book hits stores at the end of March -- but if you're reading this message you have a chance to get a copy sooner than that. At the start of March we're going to be sending 12 free advance copies of the book to randomly selected people from our mailing list. Interested in throwing your hat into the ring? Well, we don't need your hat -- just send your name and the address to which you'd like the book mailed if you're chosen to [email protected] before 5PM (New York time) on February 28. It's as simple as that. All we ask is that if you're selected you help us tell the world about the book, either by posting a review on a site like Amazon.com or BN.com, or by wrting about it in your blog (if you have one), or in whatever other ways you can think of. Actually...we'd be grateful for anything you can do along these lines regardless of whether yours is one of the dozen names we wind up drawing. MEMORY is one of the most important books we've ever had the privilege to publish, and anything you can do to help spread the word about it is much appreciated.

Other news: We've added another forthcoming title to our Web site, QUARRY'S EX by Max Allan Collins -- you can see the cover art by Greg Manchess at www.HardCaseCrime.com. This will be our fourth novel about the enigmatic hitman and we're thrilled to bring him back.

On the "high adventure" side of the house, we're bringing two-fisted adventurer Gabriel Hunt back as well, for three more adventures, and the first of these -- HUNT BEYOND THE FROZEN FIRE, co-written by Christa Faust (author of the Edgar-nominated MONEY SHOT) -- will arrive in stores on the same day as MEMORY. In this one, Gabriel assembles a crack team to go down to Antarctica and bring back a scientist who's gone missing near the South Pole. Only what they find when they get there isn't nearly what they expect... For more info (and a glimpse at Glen Orbik's delicious cover painting), visit www.HuntForAdventure.com.

And as long as we're mixing genres, here's one more reading suggestion, and it's not even a book we published. When you're next in your favorite local bookstore, why not pick up a copy of WARRIORS, edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois? It's a hefty collection featuring new novellas by 20 major authors, ranging from crime stories to epic fantasy to science fiction, all on the theme of warfare, broadly defined. The authors include Hard Case Crime's own Lawrence Block, as well as hardboiled masters Joe Lansdale and David Morrell. But my personal favorite author of the bunch is Naomi Novik, who is not only the New York Times-bestselling author of the TEMERAIRE series but also...my wife. The story she wrote for the book is a heart-stopping account of warfare on a distant planet, between a technologically advanced invading force and the desperate natives who use their connection to the biological world around them to fight back. If this premise sounds a wee bit familiar, I can only assure you that the story was written well over a year ago, before she (or I) had ever heard of AVATAR, never mind seen it. And having seen AVATAR since...I can also tell you that her story's better. (Yes, I'm biased.)

One last tidbit of news before I vanish for another month: We just bought our first title for 2011, and though I can't tell you the title yet, I can tell you this: it's by Christa Faust, it stars Angel Dare.

And if you don't know who Angel Dare is, all I can say is: Why haven't you read MONEY SHOT yet?

More soon,
Charles

Friends,

Donald Westlake's final novel, MEMORY, is finally here.

I've seen and held a copy; I've seen it available for delivery on Amazon.com and BarnesAndNoble.com (and the easier-to-type bn.com); and I've seen it on the shelves of one bookstore near me. Chances are it's at one near you, too.

You know where else I've seen it? In USA Today last week (where they unfortunately rendered the title as "Memoir," but were very kind to give it the write-up they did). And I'm told that Time magazine will be running a piece about it in their next issue. Time magazine! And to think that when Don originally wrote the book in the early 1960s his agent told him he wouldn't be able to sell it.

The book tells the story of a man who's been the victim of a brutal assault and has to deal with the consequences: a peculiar form of brain damage that prevents him from forming or holding onto memories. When he gets out of the hospital he goes looking for his old life -- but how can you find something when you can't even remember what it was? And what if you're hundreds of miles from home, with no money and no resources, and only the cards in your wallet to remind you where you need to go...

For a taste of the book, you can read the sample chapter on our Web site, www.HardCaseCrime.com. But you're going to want more than a taste of this one. It's our first new book in four months, it's one of the longest we've ever published, and it's really, really good. This is not one you'll want to miss.

And we've got another new book that you might enjoy checking out as well: the first new Gabriel Hunt adventure novel since last November's HUNT AT WORLD'S END. This one's called HUNT BEYOND THE FROZEN FIRE and it's co-authored by Christa Faust, Edgar Award-nominated author of MONEY SHOT. In it, Gabriel and his team of hardy adventurers travel to Antarctica in search of a scientist who vanished after a final radio transmission in which he claimed to have found something impossible. What did he find...? You wouldn't believe me if I told you. The book's in stores now -- why not pick up a copy and find out for yourself?

We've got plenty more good things coming, too -- the next Hard Case Crime book will be NOBODY'S ANGEL, a gorgeous, heartbreaking noir novel written by a Chicago cab driver named Jack Clark; and the next Gabriel Hunt book, HUNT AMONG THE KILLERS OF MEN, is co-written by David J. Schow (screenwriter of "The Crow" and other Hollywood pictures) and takes Gabriel to the dark underworld of Shanghai. But those are both a couple of months away (June and July, respectively). In the meantime, I very much hope you'll give Don's book a read, and Christa's, and let me know what you thought of them. They're as different as can be from one another, but I think they'd make a hell of a one-two punch.

Best,
Charles