Psssst, hey, want to see where General Slocum’s Gold takes place?
Check out this short PBS video about North Brother Island, and pay special attention to the abandoned hospital in the background. That’s where Sackett, Whitey, Grease, Al, and Burns run into some serious supernatural trouble on their treasure hunt.
I had a feeling the Publishers Weekly review was a fluke. Here is Booklist‘s far more positive take on Dying Is My Business:
Dying Is My Business.
Kaufmann, Nicholas (Author)
Oct 2013. 368 p. St. Martin’s/Griffin, paperback, $15.99. (9781250036100). St. Martin’s/Griffin, e-book,
$9.99. (9781250036094).
What would you do if you couldn’t die? When you get killed, you awake a few minutes later, good as new. Well, if you’re Trent, the narrator of this nifty mix of horror and urban fantasy, you’d go to work for Underwood, a Brooklyn gangster whose connections on both sides of the law might just lead you to the answers you desperately need—not just the reason why you can’t die but why your memory only goes back a year and, of course, your real identity. Trent’s latest job involves taking an antique box away from some homeless folks and delivering it into Underwood’s hands—as usual, no questions asked. But unfortunately, there are lots of questions, such as what’s in the box, who are the winged creatures guarding it, and whether Trent will choose the right side in what appears to be an ancient war between the forces of good and evil. Filled with characters that should appeal to urban fantasy readers—a zombified werewolf is a standout—and told with a real sense of style and wit, the book should have no trouble amassing an enthusiastic readership.
— David Pitt
The zombified werewolf was a standout with my first readers, too. His name is Thornton. Everybody loves Thornton.
Word came late today that actress Karen Black (seen above in the only good segment of Trilogy of Terror) has died. She was 74.
Aside from Trilogy of Terror, Black was also in Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, Airport 1975, House of 1000 Corpses, and one of the greatest horror films of the 1970s, Burnt Offerings. Overall, I think she acted in nearly 200 films and TV shows. Pretty impressive for someone best known for being chased around her apartment by a small, angry “Zuni fetish doll.”
