Meeting Margot Kinberg

It's funny, in the age of the Internet we can feel like we 'know' some people, at least in some small way, or in relation to a particular thing, even when we've never met them before. That we're familiar with them, in that one respect, at least. Email, Facebook, blogs, and other Internet-based conversations allow us to talk about and debate some of the things we are interested in, from sports to books to movies to parenting to the meaning of life, with a vast variety of people all over the world.

One of the people I've felt like I've got to know a little over the past couple of years in a crime fiction context is US-based mystery writer and university academic Margot Kinberg.

Kinberg has written two mystery novels herself (PUBLISH OR PERISH and B-VERY FLAT), starring former police officer and now university academic Joel Williams. I read and enjoyed B-VERY FLAT last year, and am looking forward to reading PUBLISH OR PERISH at some point soon. Kinberg has completed a third Joel Williams manuscript, which hopefully we will see published in the near future.

This week I had the pleasure and privilege of meeting Kinberg (pictured above at an Auckland cafe), who also writes the impressive Confessions of a Mystery Novelist blog, and knows a heck of a lot about the crime fiction genre, while she was visiting New Zealand for a university conference. As is often the case when two people who share a certain interest get together, we ended up chatting for a couple of hours about all sorts of things, from crime fiction, to US and New Zealand politics (we have a nationwide election here on Saturday), to the place and power of the media, and more. It was terrific, and I'm hoping to catch up with Kinberg again before she flies home to California.

I will have more to say about Kinberg's writing (I enjoyed the academic setting, the pleasant pacing, and the interesting characters in B-VERY FLAT) in due course. But in the meantime, you can read more about her at her blog here, and in her previous 9mm interview with Crime Watch here.

Have you read any of Kinberg's mystery novels? Have you met new people from places abroad thanks to your shared interest in crime fiction? Do you enjoy commenting on the genre with people from all over the world? Thoughts and comments welcome.

Currently reading: B-VERY FLAT by Margot Kinberg

As some of you may have gathered, things have been pretty frantic down this way lately, both on the crime fiction-related front and elsewhere. I have still been reading lots, although sometimes I'm not entirely sure where I've found the time - the good news is its become such a good habit that I'm still reading even when I'm really, really busy. It's a good way to relax and unwind. Though I am pretty behind in my reviewing (the other day I tallied up about 16-17 books I'd read fairly recently and not yet reviewed anywhere, oops).

The thing is, I've had a big run of reading-related commitments in the past couple/few months, from books that needed to be read in preparation for various Weekend Herald and Good Reading feature articles, to various reviewing commitments with new books - so I haven't been able to address some other terrific books in my TBR pile that have been sitting there for quite a while.

However this week I've managed to start reading some of those other books, and I'm very pleased to say that right now the book that's got my attention is B-VERY FLAT by California-based mystery writer Margot Kinberg. It's a pleasant change of pace after a couple of darker thrillers I've read recently, and I'm enjoying the intriguing read so far. Can't wait to see how it all comes together. Here's the backcover blurb:

"Is anyone really safe? Not necessarily. At nineteen years old, Serena Brinkman, an undergraduate violin major at Tilton University, seems to have a very secure future; she's got good looks, money, people who love her, and rare musical talent. She's also got a coveted Amati violin, a musical rival, friends whose secrets she knows, and an obsessed fan.

Serena's dreams are shattered when she suddenly dies on the night of a major music competition. Serena's partner, sure that her death was not an accident, asks for help from Dr. Joel Williams of Tilton's Department of Criminal Justice. Williams, a former detective, becomes convinced that Serena was murdered, when he learns how unsafe her world really was. As he works with the Tilton Police Department to uncover the truth, Williams finds that Serena's looks, money, and talent, far from securing her future, made her a target."

You can watch a video of the author reading a passage from this book below:



I will post a review here after I've finished the book. In the meantime, if you just can't wait to hear whether it's worth getting your hands on this book (my early indications say yes), here are some reviews:

• Mysteries in Paradise
• Petrona
• DJs Krimiblog
• Reactions to Reading
• The Thrill of it All

You can also read the author's excellent blog, Confessions of a Mystery Novelist, here, and my 9mm interview with the author here.