Ed here: I can chart Bob's career by how
certain books marked his progress as a
writer--how he moved to the next level.
The Ham Reporter
Alone With The Dead
TheEnd of Brooklyn
Upon My Soul
Pro-File: Bob Randisi
1. Tell us about your current novel/collection.
My new book is UPON
MY SOUL, the first in my Hit Man with a Soul Trilogy. The
title comes from a Townes
Van Zandt song. It's about a hit man who waked up one
morning and realizes he
suddenly has a soul. He is then forced to deal with
what he has done over
the years, while others are trying to either kill him
or get him to kill
again.
2. Can you give a sense of what you're working on now?
I'm working on
something I hope will be new for me, a book called MCKENNA'S HOUSE.
It's about a
investigator who, while involved in a case of whether or not a dead
man was faithful to his wife, finds and takes in a homeless woman and
her small
son.
3. What is the greatest pleasure of a writing career?
Not having to
punch a time clock.
4. What is the greatest DISpleasure?
Having to deal with editor and publishers
who can't understand what you're
trying to do. Thought that might be changing these days.
5. If you have one piece of advice for the publishing world, what is
it?
Slow down,
don't be in such a hurry to get of rid of REAL books.
6. Are there two or three forgotten mystery writers you'd like to see
in print again?
I'd like to see
some the old P.I. guys print--Thomas B. Dewey, Henry Kane and
Frank Kane. In PRINT! Not ebooks.
7. Tell us about selling your first novel. Most writers never forget
that moment.
I met my first
editor wile tending bar at MWA cocktail parties every month. We
became friends, and bought my first novel, THE DISAPPEARANCE OF PENNY.
There was
stop-and-go involved, but it finally saw print in 1980. It's now
available on the
Prologue Books website.
UPON MY SOUL a review by James Reasoner
As many excellent hitman novels as
there have been over the years—Lawrence Block's Keller series and Max Allan
Collins' Quarry series come to mind—you wouldn't think there would be much left
to do with the sub-genre. But you'd be wrong, as Robert J. Randisi's new novel
UPON MY SOUL proves quite handily.
Sangster, the protagonist of this
novel, was an efficient, highly skilled killer for hire until the morning he
woke up and realized he had a soul. This discovery led him to retire from the
business, and he's spent the last several years leading a quiet, peaceful life
in Louisiana.
But people at that deadly level of
the underworld usually aren't allowed to walk away, as readers of Peter Rabe's
Daniel Port novels and Ennis Willie's Sand series (not to mention the Butcher
men's adventure novels) know very well. Sangster's past catches up to him in
bloody fashion, and he's forced to choose between preserving his new-found soul
by honoring his vow not to kill again or avenging several brutal murders for
which he feels some responsibility. It's a dangerous conundrum, and Randisi
uses it to ratchet up a considerable amount of suspense.
As usual in a Bob Randisi novel,
UPON MY SOUL is very fast-paced, but it's not quite as dialogue-driven as some
and is a bit more reflective, which works very well. Sangster is an interesting
and sympathetic protagonist, despite his ruthless background, and the
supporting cast is good, too, especially a Jamaican cab driver in Las Vegas who
becomes an unlikely ally and an elderly butler who is more than he seems. There
are some nice twists in the plot as well.
UPON MY SOUL is a fine crime novel,
and I'm glad to report that it's also the first in a trilogy. I'm looking
forward to reading more about Sangster's continuing struggle for his soul.
