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Glitter of Diamonds is dedicated to Tom Cheek and Jerry Howarth, long-time radio broadcaster for the Toronto Blue Jays.
Notes of Interest:
If you're a mystery fan, are you a member of Dorothy L, the largest mystery listserv going? (named in honor of Dorothy L. Sayers) If not, click here.
Check out more mystery writers at Crime Writers of Canada, Sisters in Crime, and Mystery Writerr of America.
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Latest review of Glittter - at Bestsellersworld
On the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 5th, at 7:30 PM, N. J. was part of the Casa Loma and Crime Writers of Canada reading series. She reading along with Peter Robinson.
Thanks to THE FAN 590 who gave away 10 copies of Glitter of Diamonds to their fans in February.
Listen to the podcast from July 25/07 of an interview with N. J. by Megan Willingham for the show "Writers, Authors, n' More" on AdviceRadio.com
Read two very different interviews with N. J. at the NoName Cafe and the Chat 'n' Chew Cafe.
Read "10 Minutes with N. J. Lindquist " from The Markham Economist Sun.
Who are Paul Manziuk and Jacquie Ryan?
What are the reviewers saying?
"In her second mystery after Shaded Light, Lindquist, a master of plotting, seeds her tale with concealed clues and innuendoes that keep readers guessing until the very end. Reminiscent of golden age mysteries, her latest will appeal to fans of classic mysteries." Library Journal
"The carefully plotted story is neatly integrated into the world of pro sports -- the emotions of the fans, the business-dollar-hype of management and agents, plus the media persuasiveness when it comes to the mystery of baseball as part of our cultural fabric. The writing has humour, the story-telling is edged with compassion and the characters are well drawn. The story is baseball, the language is the stress, ego and entertainment of professional sport and the result is an exciting stand-up triple." The Hamilton Spectator
"Glitter of Diamonds is the second book in Canadian author, N.J. Lindquist's Manziuk and Ryan mystery series. I have not read the first book in the series, Shaded Light, but if it was anything like Glitter of Diamonds, it is worth reading.... This is a modern-day whodunit, much in the style of the classic Christie novels. There are plot twists galore and you are guessing to the end. I had to stay up all night to finish it...." Natalie York, Armchair Interviews
"Although this reviewer very seldom watches a baseball game, listens to a talk show sportscaster, or ever reads anything on the sports page of the newspaper, this book was written in such a way that it's possible for someone like myself to enjoy the story.... Glitter of Diamonds is a book worth reading. N. J. Lindquist is fantastic in telling this story with humor, compassion, and commitment."
Betty of the Betz Review, Hidden Staircase Mystery Reviews"Sports fans and readers who like police procedurals will want to read GLITTER OF DIAMONDS where famous baseball players are shown to be ordinary people with the same stress and problems as anyone else. The investigation is fascinating to watch as the police follow the clues and eliminate suspects one by one. N.J. Lindquist is a fine writer who tells an exciting baseball whodunit." MidWest Book review
"Baseball. There are few things that say lazy, hazy summer days than that sport. But this book is anything but lazy or hazy – and is one hell of a read. A Christie–style mystery, this one does a good job of it.... There are plot twists enough to keep you occupied, and enough other entertaining material to please even the most demanding reader." Mysterical - E Reviewed by Vero Caravette
"This is the second outing for Toronto detectives Paul Manziuk and Jacqueline Ryan, with a cast of characters with a capital C – all manner of players, a Marilyn Monroe wannabe and the potential for an international incident. The bases are loaded, it’s the bottom of the ninth, who is on first, I don’t know, keep reading to find out the answer in this nicely done 'classical' mystery." Jack Quick for Book Bitch
Questions people have asked:
What is this book anyway, and why all the hype about it? Well, mostly it's just a great book to sit down and read. You know, get away from it all. Slow down and put your feet up. Maybe find a spot under a big old tree and veg for a few hours. Let the cell phones and the computers and all those other things get along without you for a bit. A lot of people are getting so they don't even remember how to relax. Glitter of Diamonds will help you.
Okay, so it's a book about how to relax? No, not at all. You don't need a how-to book for that. You just need a really good story with terrific characters who will take you into another world for a little while. And when you come back to this world, you'll be better for the time spent somewhere else.
Um, maybe, But - er - why do I need a story to help me relax? N. J. still remembers a poem she read when she was very, very small. Actually, she memorized it. It was written by a man named Robert Louis Stevenson, and it said, "When alone at home I sit and am very tired of it, I have just to close my eyes to go sailing through the skies -" It's unfortunate that the older we get, the less likely it is that we'll find time to use our imaginations. Reading great stories helps.
Why is there a baseball on the front cover? Because one day while N. J. was watching a Toronto Blue Jays baseball game, it occurred to her that the bullpen of a stadium woud be a really good place to have a dead body appear. (Well, not a real dead body - just a pretend one.) After she thought about it for a while, she figured out whose body it was, and then she wrote a book about it.
What if I don't know much about baseball? According to one non-baseball fan who reviewed it, that doesn't matter. (Read more reviews here.) Really, what did you know about bell-ringing before you read Dorothy Sayer's The Nine Tailors?
Er, I haven't read The Nine Tailors (and what do tailors have to do with bells anyway?) It's a book about the discovery of the body of an unknown man, and it involves the Church of England custom of precision bell-ringing. Many thousands of people have read and loved it.
Okay, I'll think about it. So, do you have more reviews I can read? Well, actually, yes, we do. You can click here to see what the eviewers have said about Glitter of Diamonds to date.
What if I want to read a bit of it for myself before I buy the book? No problem. You can read part of chapter one of Glitter of Diamonds right here.
For mystery fans only:
Is Glitter of Diamonds a cozy? Well, not exactly. More in the classic style of Christie and Sayers and Heyer. It does have some humour and some romance and not too much blood.
Is it a police procedural? Well, it has quite a bit of that, too.
Is it hard-bloiled? No, but maybe soft-to-medium boiled.
What if I have no idea what those terms mean? Don't worry about it. If you love a good story with interesting characters and a cool plot, you'll like it!
What other mystery authors does N. J. write like? According to the critics, Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers. According to N. J., those plus Georgette Heyer, Ngaio Marsh, Emma Lathen, P. D. James, and most others who stick to the classic British whodunnit style.
What authors does N. J. read? The above plus Peter Robinson, Robin Burcell, T. Jefferson Parker, M. C. Beaton's Hamish Macbeth series, Donna Andrews, and many, many more! In fact, N. J. just came home from a booksigning tour last spring with no less than 64 books by 52 different authors.