Here’s the thing about collaboration. It often sucks.
The first and last time I ever collaborated on a screenplay, I was confronted with the utter absurdity of the project. Actually, I misspeak: not a screenplay but a mere treatment. Which means a longish synopsis in the arcane form of Hollywood-speak: introduce your problem, create rising action (read car chase, car chase, car chase) to a climax, and then the tumble on the downward slope of resolution. It looks so neat on a line graph in Screenplay Basics, but what the hell does it mean? How does it really fit into the Aristotelian dynamic or even the “then what” of E.M Forster’s Aspects of the Novel?: “We are all like Scheherazade’s husband, in that we want to know what happens next.” Continue Reading »
“Jo Nesbø’s Harry Hole novels are being adapted into a Netflix series titled “Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole,” set to be released in 2026. The series will adapt several of Nesbø’s novels, with the first season focusing on “The Devil’s Star”, the fifth book in the series.”
I ran across this notice halfway through the aforementioned novel, The Devil’s Star. I had not read a Nesbø novel in many years, irritated not only be the name of the protagonist, Harry Hole: how am I supposed to pronounce that surname? Amazingly you can pronounce it as spelled as one syllable, synonym of a ‘cavity.’ However, I always chose the two-syllable pronunciation, ‘hoo-leh,’ as in the Norwegian. Otherwise, it would be too much of a sophomoric finger in the eye.
But I was also irritated by Harry’s continual failure to deal with his alcoholism. Seemed like such a nice bloke. Folks on the force like him, Most, anyway. He’s great at his job: intuitive, stubborn, seeker of justice. But over and over again, he let Mr. Beam draw him into the headache clutches of too much booze and forgetfulness.
At any rate, I had been away from the misadventures of Harry for a number of years. Long enough that my son, now 21, had, as a young bairn, been amused with some of the children’s books from Nesbø, such as the wonderfully titled Dr. Proctor’s Fart Powder.
But short on reading material this time during my annual months in Hong Kong, I downloaded The Devil’s Star, and oh my, what a tale it is. The best of Nesbø. The absolute best: a twisty, turning, got-you-last yarn that is so much better than it even needed to be. As if Nesbø woke up every morning and said to himself, “Not done quite yet, sir. One more twist.”
I am not even going to bother with a synopsis. You’ve either read Nesbø or you haven’t. If you have, you know what he can do. And he does it with this one. And if you’ve never read him, I sort of want you to hold your fire. Maybe begin at the beginning of the Hole series. Keep this one for a rainy day. The man can write. And write.
So, I am definitely looking forward to the Nesbø series on Netflix that will begin with this amazing novel.
But you, happy reader, do not have to wait for the televised series. There are a lucky 13 ‘Harry Hole’ titles to work your way through meanwhile. And then, there’s always the fart powder.
I am pleased to announce that the second volume in my “Byrns on the Homefront Series” is now available at Amazon. A free ebook giveaway begins on Saturday, April 19, 2025 at 12AM PDT, and ends on Saturday, April 19, 2025 at 11:59PM, PDT.
Here is a brief synopsis. Enjoy a free ebook and please, if inclined, leave a review on Amazon.
Former NYPD Detective Max Byrns has his hands full in Play It In Between, the second volume in the celebrated ‘Byrns on the Homefront’ series.
Max—now a deputy with the San Ignacio police —is awakened early one morning in May, 1942, to investigate a body spotted on the beach by Wolf Hinkley. The cop shop calls him Wolf because he cries wolf a lot, phoning up to report a Japanese invasion fleet spotted out of his ocean-front window. Such ‘invasion fleets’ have always turned out to be either a couple of fishing boats out for a late run or a pod of whales entering deep into the bay.
But this time, no false alarm. The body on the beach leads Max on a convoluted investigation that morphs from murder to cover-up, fraud, blackmail, and espionage. His search for truth and justice takes him from tiny San Ignacio to the Warner Brothers Studio in Hollywood during the filming of Casablanca.
Max is again joined by his art-restorer wife, Elizabeth, and their son, Philip, who is serving in the Counterintelligence Corps, with a new posting that brings him once again into his parents’ orbit.
I am pleased to announce that the second volume in my “Byrns on the Homefront Series” will be available in early April from Werthen Press. Stay tuned for pub date. Meanwhile, here’s a teaser of this second volume:
Former NYPD Detective Max Byrns has his hands full in Play It In Between, the second volume in the celebrated ‘Byrns on the Homefront’ series.
Max—now a deputy with the San Ignacio police —is awakened early one morning in May, 1942, to investigate a body spotted on the beach by Wolf Hinkley. The cop shop calls him Wolf because he cries wolf a lot, phoning up to report a Japanese invasion fleet spotted out of his ocean-front window. Such ‘invasion fleets’ have always turned out to be either a couple of fishing boats out for a late run or a pod of whales entering deep into the bay.
But this time, no false alarm. The body on the beach leads Max on a convoluted investigation that morphs from murder to cover-up, fraud, blackmail, and espionage. His search for truth and justice takes him from tiny San Ignacio to the Warner Brothers Studio in Hollywood during the filming of Casablanca.
Max is again joined by his art-restorer wife, Elizabeth, and their son, Philip, who is serving in the Counterintelligence Corps, with a new posting that brings him once again into his parents’ orbit.
Judge Dee and Lao She, who we first met in The Murder of Mr. Ma, return for another “rollicking good tale” according to a Booklist starred review, in The Railway Conspiracy.
As in the first title of the series, co-authors SJ Rozan and John Shen Yen Nee offer plenty of action as well as Sherlockian moments in this tale of an international conspiracy set largely in London in 1924.
Judge Dee and Lao She find themselves investigating murders that appear to be connected to conspiracy rumors surrounding the Chinese Eastern Railroad. Publishers Weekly dubbed this installment, “Fiendishly clever.”
If you are in the mood for a murder mystery that combines martial arts action sequences with a historical setting, you won’t go wrong with The Railway Conspiracy, available April 1, 2015.
I just published the ebook and paperback editions of Lilacs Out of the Dead Land, the final installment of my VIENNESE MYSTERIES, on Amazon. And as a Valentine’s Day treat–this is, after all, a love story as well as a thriller–I am offering the ebook for free on February 14. The giveaway begins at 12 am on Friday, February 14, and ends at 11:59 pm on February 14. All times Pacific Standard Time.
Here’s a quick oveview of the book:
A historical what-if and searing romance set in the waning days of the interwar period “A fantastic historical thriller… Well written, thrilling, and very highly recommended.” — Jamie Michele, Readers’ Favorite Lilacs out of the Dead Land, a coda to Jones’ critically acclaimed VIENNESE MYSTERIES series, is set in Austria shortly after the German annexation, or Anschluss, in March 1938. Art historian Frieda von Werthen, with ties to the resistance, and her childhood friend, Franz Hruda, now a disaffected inspector in the Vienna criminal police, Kripo, become unlikely conspirators and lovers in a life-or-death mission. Their goal: to deliver Case Green, a secret Nazi plan for the coming German invasion of Czechoslovakia, to the French and British. In doing so, they hope to put a stop to Western appeasement and call Hitler’s bluff before the world stumbles once again into war. This mission is closely tracked by an ambitious officer of the SS security services and his troubled fixer, Falke, both of whom will do anything to recover this secret plan. Lilacs out of the Dead Land is at once an exciting game of cat and mouse, a love story, an ode to a lost world, and an inspiring tale of human devotion and sacrifice.
Happy reading and Happy Valentine’s Day! And please, leave a review with Amazon. A Valentine for a Valentine.
Lilacs Out of the Dead Land, coming out later this month, is already garnering strong reviews before publication. Here is one from Readers’ Favorite, by Jamie Michele, who gave the novel five stars:
“Lilacs Out of the Dead Land is a fantastic historical thriller and J. Sydney Jones does an exceptional job of giving readers a fresh new story in WWII fiction. The characters are fully fleshed-out and exceptionally well-developed, especially Frieda, whose courage is matched only by the weight of her sacrifices. I love tales of resistance and Jones does a remarkable job of describing fear that is palpable while maintaining a clear-eyed focus on the danger of active opposition. The pacing is forward-moving and steady with really detailed escape sequences and an authentic sense of urgency. The clock is ticking and, as readers, we can all feel it. Far from the usual cat-and-mouse pursuit, I found the alternating points of view and the ability to understand Mauter, as well as many others, brought so much more depth to the narrative. Well written, thrilling, and very highly recommended.”
This one was a hard one to write. It puts a definite end to my Viennese Mysteries series. The original series stopped after book six. I had originally planned it for another three to four installments. But other projects came up, other publishers. Finally, during Covid, I sat down to finally write this one, a capstone set three decades later. But you can do the math. I still procrastinated with publication. I loved writing that series and am saying goodbye reluctantly. I’m not going to lie: tears were shed during the writing and editing of this novel. It will be coming out in February–I will announce the date here. But I thought former fans and curious readers might want to take a look at the cover art. Following is a brief synopsis.
A historical what-if and searing romance set in the waning days of the interwar period Lilacs out of the Dead Land, a coda to the critically acclaimed VIENNESE MYSTERIES series, is a stirring historical thriller set in Austria shortly after the German annexation, or Anschluss, of March 1938. Art historian Frieda von Werthen, with ties to the resistance, and her childhood friend, Franz Hruda, now a disaffected inspector in the Vienna criminal police, Kripo, become unlikely conspirators and lovers in a life-or-death mission. Their goal: to deliver Case Green, a secret Nazi plan for the coming German invasion of Czechoslovakia, to the French and British. In doing so, they hope to put a stop to the Western policy of appeasement and call Hitler’s bluff before the world stumbles once again into war. This mission is closely tracked by an ambitious officer of the SS security services and his troubled fixer, Falke, both of whom will do anything to recover this secret plan. Lilacs out of the Dead Land is at once an exciting game of cat and mouse, a love story, an ode to a lost world, and an inspiring tale of human devotion and sacrifice.
J. Sydney Jones is the author of the acclaimed "Viennese Mystery" series, set in Vienna 1900. Novels include THE EMPTY MIRROR, REQUIEM IN VIENNA, THE SILENCE, THE KEEPER OF HANDS, and A MATTER OF BREEDING.
“What Sir Arthur Conan Doyle did for Victorian London and Caleb Carr did for old New York, J. Sydney Jones does for historic Vienna.”
-Karen Harper, New York Times bestselling author
Jones is also the author of a number of stand-alone thrillers and mysteries, including THE CRY OF CICADAS, an "immersive journey into the tumultuous era of WWII, filled with rich historical detail and compelling characters to delight fans of well-penned mystery." --Readers' Favorite
Visit him at his Web site: www.jsydneyjones.com
The Third Place
A MATTER OF BREEDING
The Keeper of Hands
The Silence
Requiem in Vienna
The Empty Mirror
Honors/Awards
Named one of the 50 Best Blogs for Crime & Mystery Book Lovers (courtreporter.net)
Named to the 2010 Top 45 Mystery Blogs
Scene of the Crime