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Ed Gorman became a full-time writer after twenty years in advertising and since then has written extensively in the mystery, thriller and horror genres.
EG: Dwyer was my protagonist from the git-go. What happened was that my editor thought I had this talent for comedy, so I wrote two serio-comic books about a short, alcoholic movie critic named Tobin. The books--to judge by the reviews--were funny but they were also darker than anything I'd written before. SEVERAL DEATHS LATER, the second Tobin, is probably the bleakest novel I've ever done--yet it's guised as a comedy. The experience of writing those two books--which I did quickly back-to-back--changed me when I went back to Dwyer and THE AUTUMN DEAD. I think the Tobins were the first books I wrote in my own real voice, that mixture of drama and comedy. 
EG: Maybe. If I can find a subject that interests me. Richard North Patterson has done some nice stuff with the genre. And Richard Condon, of course. He was the master. Tom Gifford is also a master. Great stuff. When I read him, I want to do another MARILYN or FIRST LADY. We'll see, I guess.
EG: One of my primary influences has always been Georges Simenon. I had a nun who loved him and passed his books on to me. I remember reading my first Maigret when I was thirteen or so. But whether writing Maigret or straight novels, his books always ran around 45,000-50,000--perfect for French tastes but an abomination here. American publishers want books that give you back aches to pick up. I think of BLACK RIVER FALLS and SHADOW GAMES and CAGE OF NIGHT in particular as my Simenons: short novels of psychological suspense crossed with occasional horrific effects (the bloody severed head in the refrigerator in SHADOW GAMES etc).
EG: When you write mysteries, you write series. I always try and come up with something that'll hold my interest for four or five books. The Payne books are very, very dark but very humane, too, I think. Payne's the first truly decent guy I've ever written about. But I've done five Paynes and I have no idea what else to do with him and nobody's clamoring for more so it seems a good time to end the series. Sam McCain books are set in small-town Iowa in the mid-50s. They're a lot of melancholy fun to write. I think of them as jukebox songs, hopefully the kind you want to hear more than once. I always disliked "Happy Days" and "Grease" because they were so fraudulent. The 50s were a great time if you were white, Christian and middle-class. But if you weren't... So far people seem to like my balancing act with Sam. He definitely believes that the 50s were a good time in small-town America (which they were) but he also points out the flaws, some of them serious such as racism, red-baiting, etc. I hope this series goes on for several more books.
EG: Freedom is what you get from westerns. You can tell virtually any kind of story--love story, hardboiled crime story, historical story, comedy, tragedy, whatever. A reviewer recently said "Gorman doesn't write westerns, he writes midwesterns" and I think that's true. Most of my westerns are set in the middle of the country at the end of frontier days, that transition to the new century on the horizon. The old "Mavericks" were largely set in the Midwest. That's my all time favorite western show. I've got a boxfull of Maverick tapes and whenever I get depressed I just pop a couple in the machine and feel at least a bit better. I grew up reading one or two westerns a week. But I realize that my son's generation has no real interest in them.
EG: It's this simple: I've been writing short stories since I was in fifth grade. After all this time, I couldn't stop if I wanted to.
EG: The most fun I've had editing are the collections of crime stories Marty Greenberg, Bill Pronzini and I have done over the past few years--AMERICAN PULP, LOVE KILLS, PURE PULP. We believe that the fifties--not the thirties and forties as the scholars would have it--were the real golden age of the noir crime short story. It's nice to see all those great stories of our youth back in print again.
EG: No comments on other pen-names, other than to say I get credited for a lot of stuff I didn't write.
EG: We're all waiting to see where the Internet will take us because at some point, and soon enough, the Internet is going to profoundly change publishing as we think of it. And small presses will be a big part of it. CD and Rich Chizmar did an amazing job with my book PRISONERS. And Rich is doing it over and over again. Small presses are starting to pop up in the mystery field now, too. 
EG: I liked the set-up and I liked the people. It's the type of story I've always loved to read. Everyday folks caught up in something far bigger than they are…
EG: Oh, gosh, I never know how to answer that question. I'd say BLACK RIVER FALLS, WHAT THE DEAD MEN SAY, THE AUTUMN DEAD, BLOOD MOON, THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED and my collections are probably my favorites. | It all starts so innocently. It is just a group of buddies meeting for a weekly poker game. No harm done-until the night an intruder breaks in while they are playing. They don't mean to kill him, that is an accident. They think if they throw the body in the river no one will ever know. That's where they are wrong. The intruder hasn't come alone. His friend is waiting for him outside the house and he sees it all. Suddenly the game has changed. What starts out as a simple poker game now becomes a game of cat and mouse. The stakes are raised too-to life and death. And it looks like the attacker in the shadows holds all the cards. |
8 . 5 / 10 REVIEW Not all short stories can be fleshed out to adequately fit the frame of a novel but Ed Gorman has magnificently managed to do just that with THE POKER CLUB. The original theme and plot of the Subterranean Press '96 chapbook, OUT THERE IN THE DARKNESS, remains the same: four respectable suburban men learn deadly lessons in personal honesty and civic responsibility when they try covering up their accidental killing of a burglar and outwitting his vengeful accomplice who manages to escape them. Gorman uses the expanse of the novel format to further develop distinct personalities for his protagonists and evoke paranoid fears as their secure world of middle-class values grows increasingly unstable and violent. Better still, he fleshes out the anonymous and implacable accomplice who stalks them night and day. The lean, terse first-person narrative allows the reader to delve into the frightened and desperate motives of Aaron Tyler, the lawyer in whose house the killing occurred, and understand how easily the ordeal unhinges the lives of his himself, his family and three friends. Gorman's lean, terse prose is a perfect fit for both the thrilling suspense sequences as well as the poignant personal overtones of love, family and honor. Ed Gorman, one of this generation's finest writers, has dealt his legion of readers a winning hand with THE POKER CLUB. - - Ron Clinton, USA |
 | Parkhurst is a fine Iowa town - pretty, well ordered and peaceful. Most of the time. But that peace is about to be destroyed forever. All it takes is a single day. Writer Darcy McCain is not what you'd expect in an escaped convict. Gentle young women don't bust out of jail and hop freight trains with half the state police on their trail. But Darcy's serving time for murder and she's got one hope of overturning her conviction. Right now that hope is fading fast on a bed in Parkhurst... Judge Carmichael lies dying while the March rain beats down outside. He's been a hard man in his life and a hard road lies ahead. But it's not death that troubles him now, it's his conscience. And whether he can speak his mind before his time runs out... With her alcoholic husband in crisis and three daughters to support, Police Chief Amy Foster carries more than the burden of office. Now Darcy's on the run there's a manhunt on her hands. And, unless Amy can nail her quick, the lid might blow off a whole can of worms that she and her family have worked all their lives to protect. A can of worms otherwise known as the peaceful town of Parkhurst... |
7 . 5 / 10 REVIEW Ed Gorman follows up his classic small-town noir, BLACK RIVER FALLS, and subsequent thrilling action/suspense novel, RUNNER IN THE DARK, with this novel that combines the elements of both, though primarily revisiting the small-town dark underbelly. Unfortunately, THE SILVER SCREAM is a bit of an uneven mix. Novelist Darcy McCain has just broken out of prison, her hopes for vindication buoyed by a letter she receieved in prison, a letter by a respected judge who hints at the knowledge of her innocence. She sets out to unravel the strands that caused her to be unduly convicted of murder and, along the way, discovers a vast framework of conspiracy and vigilantiism in her own backyard. In the hands of another, less talented author, this novel may have been predictable and unworkable. In Gorman's exemplary hands, it is simply predictable. Gorman brings forth the usual trademark array of intriguing characters and sizzling dialogue, but his plot structure in this book leaves little room for surprise or misdirection. While not up to par with his most recent other suspense novels, THE SILVER SCREAM is still a great read and a worthy addition to Gorman's stellar body of work. - - Ron Clinton, USA |
| Who would want to kill a beautiful young woman like Alison? And why? Whatever happens, nineteen-year-old Ben Tyler will protect her... It's not been easy for Ben. The boy the other kids always picked on. But now Ben has Alison and at last things are going his way. Until he learns a secret so ugly that his entire life is changed. A secret that will destroy those he loves. A secret as dark and dangerous as the tumbling waters of Black River Falls... |
9/10 | Among his contemporaries, Ed Gorman is often cited as one of the best writers working in popular fiction today. And rightly so. Sadly, his talent and voluminous output is often ignored by a reading public hungry for the next bland bestseller. Perhaps BLACK RIVER FALLS, one of Gorman's very best, will work to change that inequity. Rich with vivid characterizations, sparkling dialogue and staccato pacing, FALLS is a relentless examination of a family torn asunder by duplicity and violence. Gorman's skill at creating tangible characters and storylines of dark, startling poignancy has never been so seamlessly displayed. BLACK RIVER FALLS is suspense writing in its most exemplary, undiluted form and, if there is any justice in this world, will garner a wider audience for an author whose acclaim is richly deserved...and, for the most part, long overdue. -- Ron Clinton, USA |
 | There's a psycho on the loose... When former FBI criminologist Robert Payne receives $10,000 in an unmarked envelope he knows there has to be a catch. The catch comes in the shape of a glamorous blonde. She wants Payne to find the man who killed her daughter. ...the kind who kidnaps little girls... Macho is not Payne's style, he's more the laid-back type. But he's an expert in criminal profiling so he knows the kind of man he's looking for - callous, cruel and very clever. ...and feeds them to the beasts! Payne keeps the money and packs his bags and sets off beneath the blood red moon... |
7. 5/10 | REVIEW BLOOD RED MOON introduces Ed Gorman's legion of fans - readers and scores of fellow writers alike - to an engrossing new series character, Psychological Profile Investigator Robert Payne. Payne is a respected figure among police investigators whose skills are exemplary and reputation legendary. Gorman has fleshed out a fully-formed, intriguing character who exudes confidence and style yet whose humanity and approachable persona makes Robert Payne instantly likeable and sympathetic to even the most jaded reader. A refreshing change from many of the thrillers now in vogue - and, to some extent, even Gorman's own Jack Dwyer - Payne is not confused and/or alcoholic and/or tormented by personal tragedy; he is strong, capable and thoughtful. In this first novel of his MOON series, Gorman has crafted a tale of procedural suspense featuring a murder in the Iowa heartland and of a family's tragic heritage...and those its lingering horror threatens to destroy. It's first-person narrative strikes a perfect chord for Payne's easy and natural investigative ability and charm. BLOOD RED MOON is an admirable first installment of this exciting new series. While perhaps my personal preferences still lie with Gorman's dark, noir-ish small-town dramas (BLACK RIVER FALLS, etc.), this remains a novel not to be missed. -- Ron Clinton, USA |
 | A life spent studying the worst kind of killers and sociopaths takes its toll on a guy. But ex-FBI invesigator Robert Payne works hard at being an optimist. Sometimes it's difficult. Like when his client is a pretty Native American and her husband is falsely accused of murder and ritual maiming. Payne will bring to the case all his skills in the art of criminal profiling and up-to-date forensic techniques. He will do his damnedest to prove the young Indian is not responsible for the slaughter and mutilation. Some things don't change in a hundred years. Like bigotry and prejudice and the yearning of evil men for the slick flowing river of another human's blood... |
8/10 | REVIEW Two Indian women are found with their faces mutilated, an ancient practice of inflicting penalty for infidelity. Payne knows there's more - much more - to the case than appearances would suggest. He sets out to discover why these women were slaughtered and, in the process, finds a dark link to the town's frontier past...a secret a prominent family would kill to keep secret. This intriguing plot, with its parallel flashes to past events involving a young Indian brave, echo with assured mastery as only Gorman can deliver. Always one to shatter preconceived notions, Gorman once again shows his incredible versatility and demonstrates that a sequel can indeed outdeliver its predeccesor. With the exciting maturing clearly evident in Robert Payne's character development and the MOON series itself, it will exciting to see what MOON Ed Gorman will explore next. -- Ron Clinton, USA |
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