The Crime Writer

By: Gregg Hurwitz

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

Drew Danner, a crime novelist with a house off L.A.'s storied Mulholland Drive, awakens in a hospital bed with a scar on his head and no memory of being found convulsing over his ex-fiancee's body the previous night. He was discovered holding a knife, her blood beneath his nails. He himself doesn't know whether he's guilty or innocent.

To reconstruct the story, the writer must now become the protagonist, searching the corridors of his life and the city he loves. Soon Drew closes in on clues he may or may not have left for himself. And as another young woman is similarly murdered, he has to ask difficult questions - not of others but of himself.

©2007 Gregg Hurwitz (P)2007 BBC Audiobooks America

Critic reviews

"Hurwitz's L.A. thriller has noir pulp chutzpah in spades." ( Publishers Weekly)
"Hurwitz's insights about L.A. life sound knowing and are often ruefully funny, e.g., 'L.A., where a porn star runs for governor and an action figure wins.' Crime fans looking for something different will love this one." ( Booklist)

Okay book

Glad I bought it on sale. If it weren't for Scott Brick I may have given up on it. But it was worth finishing. I love anything Scott narrates

Writer caught in his own murder mystery script

What made the experience of listening to The Crime Writer the most enjoyable?

It was mesmerizing. Love Scott Brick. Love Gregg Hurwitz - first book of his I read was spectacular: Tell No Lies raised the hair on the back of my neck. 2nd -- Survivor -- very good but too much violence bothered me & (I confess) I like 100% happy even if implausible/impossible endings. This was just the right length and fascinating. Love, love, loved it!

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Crime Writer?

Well, crap! So many. When Drew got put in general pop. Yikes! LOVED his interactions with Caroline and LOVED his interactions with Junior. I love Xena. I loved this book!

Have you listened to any of Scott Brick’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Many. He has a breezy smart-ass style that generally suits the material he reads so I like his reading a lot.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Drew and Carolyn tried to hook up. And when Drew was afraid to stay the night because he wanted to keep her safe. Drew was such a decent human being... He may not be perfect but he is a hero and he has empathy and compassion, which are sometimes harder to find than heroics.

Any additional comments?

I love Drew's editor Preston too. And Chic and his wife and kids and extended family and contacts. These are loyal friends. I loved Caroline. The solution of the mystery made perfect sense, and I didn't see it coming, though I usually pick my suspect early. I love being surprised!

Mixed feelings.

I didn't love it but I didn't dislike it either. My Audible copy had some static and areas of garbled dialog as well as periods of dead space and I feel I missed something important. I will be returning this one.

Hurwitz's Best So Far

Would you listen to The Crime Writer again? Why?

I would listen, again. His Orphan X and other books are good, but so intense from beginning to end. This book was intense. But, it was funny and had some great characters.

Which character – as performed by Scott Brick – was your favorite?

I still don't care for Scott Brick.

Interesting, Great Narration

This story is pretty strong. I definitely didn't see the ending coming and my list of possible suspects was still relatively long for most of the book. I enjoyed the twists and turns, though not the scorn for famous people/the writing world/Hollywood hopefuls. (There's a way-too-long diatribe about aspiring actors waiting to get into clubs.

My new favorite!

This is a great story with many twists and turns that are in no way predictable nor too far contrived. There are several laugh out loud moments that caught me off guard!

I'll now be checking out his other books and hoping for something new.

First Rate Crime Story

Being a fan of Greg Hurwitz Orphan X series, I thought I would give a listen to this departure since crime stories are also on my list of likes in novels. The jest of this is we have a crime novel writer being rudely awakened by a SWAT team and hauled off to jail. His crime is the death of a former girlfriend which the police have compelling evidence our story lead is the culprit, His name is Drew Danner and he claims he has no recollection of the event. We quickly learn that Drew had suffered through blackouts due to a growth on his brain.

Our story unfolds in a first person delivery that is a departure from Mr. Hurwitz. We follow Drew through the ups and downs of his trial for murder and his subsequent overzealous search for the "real killer". The catch is since Drew suffered from blackouts, he does not know if possibly he is indeed the real killer. The hunt and unfolding of the saga goes through many stages, including another murder, is interesting and well paced. While a modern story, the telling has the feel of a noir type 40s black and white movie.

Scott Brick comes through admirably, once again as the narrator. Having listened to a number of Audible novels with Mr. Brick as the reader, I do find myself taking a closer look at future reads if he is the narrator.

Overall, this a very good listen with only a few slow parts here and there. I would certainly recommend "The Crime Writer" should you enjoy this genre.

Surprised me

I admittedly wasn’t familiar with Gregg Hurwitz until Orphan X. I really enjoyed that book, which lead to me getting this one. This was a very different story and I enjoyed it immensely. It’s a good, snarky thriller that keeps you guessing through its various twists and turns. There’s just enough humor bring some levity, and enough emotion to make you care. Scott Brick does a good job with the narration, and keeps things entertaining.

Wonderfully engaging

An LA Noir setting with rich characters. This book sucked me in for the jump. Creative twists and vivid Imagery. Fully recommend to anyone that enjoys a who done it novel.

An unexpected treat

I tend to have low expectations for free or discounted titles, so needless to say I prepared myself for a lackluster story... I was pleasantly surprised. The narrator's performance was excellent! And the overall story was solid enough to hold my attention until the very end. I did however have an issue with the final reveal of who the "bad guy" was. But apart from that, it's definitely worth a free read