It's coming, it's coming! Thanks for asking, everyone. Unfortunately I have a lot of writing still to do, so don't expect the book before late 2009. Remember: better a good book than a rushed one. In the meantime, keep reading.

The Strangler has been nominated for the Strand Magazine Critics Award as Best Novel of 2007. The award "honors excellence in the field of mystery fiction," but what makes it special is the panel of judges, which is comprised of critics from many of the country's leading newspapers, including The Washington Post, L.A. Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Baltimore Sun and Boston Globe. It's a great honor, and I'm sincerely flattered and grateful. The winner will be announced in July.

Here is a nice online review of The Strangler -- "This novel is an extraordinary tour-de-force."

While I've been busily carpentering together the next book, The Strangler has had an eventful few weeks. The end-of-year round-ups brought good news: the book was named to several Best of 2007 lists, including the L.A. Times, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and England's Daily Telegraph. The book was also published in a handsome new paperback edition, and all the online stores seem to have their links in place. You can find the new paperback Strangler at Amazon, B&N, and of course at your local independent bookstore. (Please support the independents.) Now go read!

Read "Ten Views of the Combat Zone (Boston, 1976)", a new short story of mine, now available on Esquire's web site. The Combat Zone was Boston's notorious, anarchic red-light district where, in the 1970s, prostitution was all but legalized (as drugs were briefly legalized in the great "Hamsterdam" episode on HBO's The Wire.) The story is part of Esquire's Napkin Fiction Project, in which writers are challenged to write a very short story -- so short it can fit on a cocktail napkin.

The paperback edition of The Strangler is officially on the shelves. You know what to do!

The L.A. Times today named The Strangler one of its Favorite Mystery Books of 2007.

For the third week in a row, The Strangler has been named to a Best Books of 2007 list. This week it's the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

England's Daily Telegraph today named The Strangler one of its best novels of 2007.

The Kansas City Star has named The Strangler one of the Best Books of 2007 [link no longer available]. It seems a little early for this sort of thing, but who's complaining?

In response to a few e-mail inquiries: the U.S. paperback edition of The Strangler will be published December 26 by Dell. Just yesterday I received the very good news that the print run has already been increased because orders are running ahead of expectations.

The new cover art (right, click to enlarge) is a complete departure from the more austere hardcover graphic. Only the scratchy typeface has been carried over. I did not love the new cover when I first saw it, but it has grown on me. I have to remind myself that a good cover has one specific function: to catch shoppers' attention in those overcrowded, overlit, overstocked megastores that now dominate. No cover can make the book sell. But it can get people to notice the book, maybe even pick it up and begin to read. As Chip Kidd, the rock star of book cover designers, puts it, "I'm a matchmaker, not a pimp. I design jackets that are elaborate versions of name tags at singles parties. I introduce the prospective buyer to the text, and they either hit it off and go home together or don't." Will this cover work? I certainly hope so. But in book publishing as in Hollywood, it seems, "Nobody knows anything."

Attention, Cape Codders: On October 21 at 1:30, I will be appearing on a panel hosted by the Falmouth Public Library at beautiful Highfield Hall. The subject will be historical fiction. Fellow panelists include Amy Belding Brown (Mr. Emerson's Wife) and Michael C. White (Soul Catcher).

It should be an interesting Sunday afternoon, though I'm not sure I qualify as an expert on historical fiction. But who am I to nitpick? A.J. Liebling said it best (as usual): Through a combination of circumstances, Liebling found himself covering World War II for The New Yorker. He later wrote, "There is an old proverb that a girl may sleep with one man without being a trollop, but let a man cover one little war and he is a war correspondent. I belong to the one war category." And I belong to the one strangler category -- but I'll be in Falmouth anyway, among more genuine historical fictioneers. You should be there, too.

If you are interested in architecture or Boston, or both, I suggest you click your way over to Architecture Boston magazine. Unlike most architecture magazines, AB describes itself as "an 'ideas' magazine rather than a 'picture book'" -- and so it is. An ongoing discussion of how ideas shape design and how design shapes us.

This month the magazine's focus is on Boston's iconic City Hall, which the mayor has decided to sell, likely to be demolished. Bostonians feel little love for this building, but they ought to. It is one of the few truly important modern buildings in the city -- maybe the only one. (The plaza that surrounds City Hall is another story. It is rightly despised.) For this issue, the magazine invited me to share my thoughts on City Hall, which you can read here (PDF). Read the rest of the issue, too, and if you're still curious check out AB's 2005 discussion of the same building. This unloved building deserves a fresh look. Most Bostonians will not believe it, but they'll miss City Hall if it goes.

Esquire magazine, one of the last non-literary magazines that still regularly publishes short fiction, has a fun feature on its web site called Last Line. Here's the gimmick: in very short comments, writers answer the question "What is the last sentence you wrote and why?" I've added my two cents here. It's a peek at my new novel in progress.

Another series on the Esquire site and in the magazine is the "Napkin Fiction Project," in which writers are sent an ordinary cocktail napkin and asked to write a story directly on it. It's an interesting exercise, not just in compression (you can't fit many words on a cocktail napkin), but also in design. The way these napkins look is often as interesting as what they say. I'll be contributing a story-on-a-cocktail-napkin at the end of August. In the meantime, check out some other interesting entries from great writers like Daniel Alarcon and ZZ Packer, among many others.

Here is a nice review just published in The Evening Herald, Ireland's national evening paper. The reviewer, Lucille Redmond, makes an interesting point, one that had not occurred to me before.

As in Ireland today, the Boston of 1963 is a city whose prosperity is surfing precariously on a wave of construction. ... The New Boston is gangland heaven, a tiger economy swollen by Italian mobsters.

Tiger economies apparently make fertile ground for crime novelists. After the Strangler days, Boston produced George V. Higgins, Robert Parker and Dennis Lehane. And Ireland today is awash in crime writers, notably Ken Bruen. There is even a label for this new wave: Irish noir. Well, outside Ireland itself, I suppose if you're looking for a place both Irish and noir, Boston will do quite nicely.

I've just scheduled a last-minute appearance at the great Kate's Mystery Books in Cambridge. I'll be signing books along with John Connolly and my friend Chris Mooney this Thursday, June 7, from 6-7 PM. If you're in the Boston area, come join us.

Marshal Zeringue, the man who brought you the blog The Page 69 Test (the premise is explained here), has a new blog going called Writers Read. Maybe it's just that I have a professional interest, but I'm fascinated by the subject of writers reading. How and why do writers choose certain books? How do they read them, critically or for pleasure? And how do they segregate their reading and writing minds? Presumably the answers are different for everyone. You can can read my account of a wrestling match with David Mitchell's terrific "Black Swan Green." Have a look at the blog -- you won't be sorry. (Also, I apply the Page 69 Test to The Strangler here.)

Another late review, this one from the Calgary Herald: "Landay doesn't disappoint."

A reader writes:

I've got a couple of questions for you. (1) I've noticed that the chapters in The Strangler are shorter than Mission Flats. Why is this? Was it to speed up the pace of the book? (2) In part three of The Strangler you chose to do it without chapters. Why was this?

Just as the question suggests, chapter breaks are a good way to control the pace of the story. Like quick-cutting in a movie, the short chapters in The Strangler are intended to generate suspense, by constantly intercutting between the three main storylines. Longer chapters suggest a slower, more ruminative pace, usually where I want the reader to slow down and pay attention as characters are drawn in, themes are explored, etc. This is why there are no chapter breaks at all in act three of the book: After meticulously assembling all the pieces and ratcheting up the tension to an unsustainable peak, we have finally reached the climax, and the entire climactic sequence is meant to be experienced as one long adrenaline rush, like a roller coaster shooting downhill.

It's hard to imagine a worthier charity than the Robert F. Kennedy Children's Action Corps, which helps at-risk children in Massachusetts. I'll be appearing at an event for the organization, as part of an ongoing "concept home" fund raiser. Details of the event are posted on the appearances page.

As I write this, I happen to be in Washington D.C. where I visited RFK's grave site at Arlington. There they have posted a quote from the famous speech in South Africa in 1966, with its peroration about "each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope." It reminded me that one of the reasons I became a prosecutor was reading, as a law student, Arthur Schlesinger's biography of RFK, a beat-up old paperback copy with a black cover that a friend insisted I read. (And what will the historians say about our current prosecutor-in-chief? What young lawyers will be inspired by him? Hmm.)

Plans for the New England Crime Bake conference this fall are taking shape. The conference will take place over the weekend of November 9-11 in Dedham, MA. On Saturday morning (November 10) I will be appearing on a panel called "Heating Systems: Action & Suspense" with a distinguished cast: Lee Child, Mark Arsenault, Taylor Smith, and moderator Jim Fusilli. I will also host an informal "Meet the Author" table at Sunday's breakfast. For the complete schedule of activities at the Crime Bake, go here. Hope to see you all there!

Better late than never: In the U.K. The Strangler is reviewed in The Telegraph ("marvellous") and The Independent ("A dense and satisfying novel"), and in the U.S. it's the Charleston Post & Courier ("It works perfectly").

"The creative dead space between galley proofs and a book's first review is a dreaded time in an author's life, comparable to the tenth month of a pregnancy. (I've had two post-term babies, so I know what I'm talking about.) I look at the prepublication epoch as a Great Sargasso Sea and always try to fill it with satisfying short-term projects."

Barbara Kingsolver, introduction to The Best American Short Stories 2001

David Mehegan, the gentlemanly book reporter at the Boston Globe, has published a profile of me. Some outtakes from my interview with Mehegan are also available on the Globe's book blog.

Esquire magazine's online review starts well enough: "... when a book like The Strangler, the second novel by William Landay, comes along ... you sit up and take notice." Ah, but there's always a kicker: "it could definitely do with more sex." Couldn't we all?

Sunday's Toronto Sun has no complaints, sexual or otherwise: "A tough-minded, gripping look at a city under siege."

In addition to the U.S., The Strangler has been published in nearly a dozen foreign countries, including a few that would not leap to mind as obvious markets for this sort of story: Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria. But the biggest overseas audience by far is in the U.K.

So I am delighted to report that the book has been well reviewed there. The Guardian says, "The Strangler is a meaty, ambitious book, made all the more powerful by an author unafraid to tackle the complexities of moral ambiguity." The Evening Standard review concludes, "William Landay won a CWA Dagger for his impressive first novel, Mission Flats. The Strangler is, if anything, even better: a gripping, grown-up tale, punctuated by shocks, that leads to a shattering conclusion." Others call it "highly compelling" (The Daily Mirror) and "compulsive reading" (The Telegraph). Online publications have raved as well (read here, here, and here). All of which is tremendously flattering -- and heartening, as I struggle to get a new novel started. My sincere thanks to all my friends "over there."

(The image above shows the UK cover art. For a larger version, go here.)

Another week brings another round of strong reviews. The hometown Boston Globe says, "Reminiscent of Dennis Lehane's Mystic River, [The Strangler] takes us into a dark world where goodness is smothered and villainy thrives. ... I was completely riveted."

The Kansas City Star (Ernest Hemingway's old employer) also raves: "Landay's skillful, realistic characterization of the brothers makes each one likable and noble in his own fashion. Even the secondary characters are intriguing ... But it's the various plots that make this book a standout. Landay's deftness in weaving them together without dropping a single thread makes for a terrific read. ... this is not one to miss."

In case you missed it, the first batch of reviews also was overwhelmingly positive: The Baltimore Sun ("Expect to see The Strangler on many best-of lists"), The St. Louis Post-Dispatch ("The Strangler may turn out to be the [darkest] crime novel of the year. And also the best."), The Washington Post ("... genre fiction, but of a high order ... an impressive and satisfying performance"), and The Wall Street Journal ("a gripping, atmospheric saga" -- sorry, no link available).

If you're visiting from the UK, I haven't forgotten you! I'll gather up the reviews from the sceptered isle as soon as I can. Stay tuned.

The Strangler debuted at number 9 on the Boston hardcover bestseller list this week. Very good news indeed. In a market so deluged, it is hard for any book to bob to the surface this way. To do it against the established authors on that list (Norman Mailer, Claire Messud, James Patterson, Janet Evanovich) is even more remarkable. Many thanks to the booksellers who've been hand-selling The Strangler and buyers who've read it. Keep it up!

The Strangler is everywhere on the web at the moment. Bookreporter.com features the novel in its author spotlight series. The feature includes a new author interview and a glowing review ("The Strangler may well be the crime novel of the year").

Several newspapers have already published rave reviews: The Baltimore Sun ("Expect to see The Strangler on many best-of lists"), The St. Louis Post-Dispatch ("The Strangler may turn out to be the [darkest] crime novel of the year. And also the best."), The Washington Post ("... genre fiction, but of a high order ... an impressive and satisfying performance"), and The Wall Street Journal ("a gripping, atmospheric saga" -- sorry, no link available).

A friendly reminder: if you're in the Boston area, I will be appearing at Borders in the Back Bay this Friday evening at 7:00 for a reading and book signing. Afterward, we will move en masse to Dillon's restaurant and bar for a drink (or three) and an informal chat. Dillon's occupies a building that was once the wagon house for Boston P.D. Station 16, which figures prominently in The Strangler. (Joe Daley is assigned to station 16 for the first third of the book or so.) I can't imagine a more appropriate venue. FYI the original sponsor of this event, Dewars, had to back out for logistical reasons. No worries: the Phoenix has stepped in to sponsor the post-reading event at Dillon's. Thanks to the Phoenix and also to its sibling radio station WFNX which will be promoting the Strangler event on-air Thursday and Friday. Now go read the Phoenix, listen to 'FNX, and come join us on Friday!

Did you know that on the Web you can hear the voice of Arthur Conan Doyle or George Bernard Shaw or even Walt Whitman? But why listen to those hacks when you can listen to me? My publisher has recorded a podcast of my velvety voice for all to enjoy. It's a ten-minute discussion about The Strangler and about writing, part of a bi-weekly series featuring Bantam Dell authors. Get it for free at the Bantam Dell site or on iTunes. The recording is available here on my site, too, and I'll leave it here so it will be easy to find. And if you're interested in hearing more voices of Great Writers, check out the wonderful blog About Last Night, where Terry Teachout has compiled an amazing list of links (scroll down the right side of the page to "Audio") -- then kiss your afternoon goodbye.

I'm told I should ignore reviews, good and bad, but I can't help myself. In the last few days The Strangler has been reviewed in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, and today the Wall Street Journal ("a gripping, atmospheric saga ... a gifted writer" -- sorry, no link available). And at Bookreporter.com too. All overwhelmingly positive, even raves. But reading these, I feel more relieved than elated. It is a nerve-racking thing to see this book, which has been an intensely private and solitary project for a very long time, suddenly out in the world, exposed to criticism. I'll be glad when review season is over and I can get back to work.

Marshall McLuhan had a suggestion for how to pick a novel. He said, when you're browsing, open to page 69 and read it. If you like that page, buy the book. You'll probably like the rest.

Marshal Zeringue has carried the notion further on his blog. He invites authors to read page 69 of their own books and comment on how well that page captures the rest. My entry in the page 69 test just went up. Read it here.

Readers are notoriously hard to prod into buying books. I've been told that Joe Average must receive six media "hits" about a book -- reviews, print ads, radio ads, news articles -- before he will actually get up and buy the thing. (I should probably say "she"; women read much more than men.) Think about that: six! That's a very expensive proposition.

Well, here is hit number one for you: a sneak preview of an ad that will run in the New York Times and Boston Globe on February 6. (Look out, technophobes, that link will open a PDF document.) Hmm, maybe if you click the link six times...

I don't do a lot of personal appearances in bookstores. My publisher's philosophy is that live readings are a relatively costly and inefficient way to publicize books, at least if your intent is to reach readers in significant numbers. And that's fine by me. I'm no exhibitionist. But we do have one event scheduled, and it looks like a fun evening.

I will be appearing on Friday, February 9 at 7:00 PM at the new Borders store in Boston's Back Bay. There will be a reading and Q&A followed by some sort of party sponsored by Dewars scotch (about time those bastards started paying me back). Please come join us. It may be your only chance to meet me in the flesh! (More information here.)

When I launched this site in 2003, I did not expect much from it. I'd just published my first book, Mission Flats, and that seemed to require a web site. It was to be an advertisement, a sort of billboard for people waffling over whether or not to read the book. That was my impression, anyway.

It turned out, most people came here after they'd read the book, to learn more or to send me an e-mail saying (usually) that they'd liked it. They came to "meet" the author, perhaps to extend the intimate relationship they'd experienced while reading him. And they came in surprising numbers, I'm delighted to say.

So, what was a rudimentary web site has now been redesigned to be a friendlier, more interesting place to visit. I've added material about the new novel, The Strangler, and I'll continue to add more. On this home page, I will post occasional pieces like the one below, which discusses how I first lit upon the Strangler story as a subject for a novel. I'll also try to answer a few questions here, as they come in, if any seem to be of general interest.

I welcome messages from readers. I answer all e-mail. Maybe not as promptly as I'd like to, but I do answer. I'm happy to hear from you.

Also, one of the neat things about the Strangler story is that it stirs vivid memories of that time in Boston. If you are of a certain age and remember the Strangler days, drop me a line. I'll post the best reminiscences for all to share.

In the meantime, enjoy The Strangler.

Years ago, back when I was a prosecutor, I first heard a rumor that Albert DeSalvo might not actually have been the Boston Strangler. At the time, no one outside law enforcement (and precious few inside it) took the suggestion seriously. The campaign to reopen the Strangler investigation rarely made the news, and when it did, the stories often had a smart-alecky tone -- as if we all knew better, and only a crank would really believe it.

To my mother's generation, who were young adults when the case broke, the idea was plainly ridiculous. After all, they'd lived through it. They'd felt besieged during the murder spree and relieved afterward. Then they'd read Gerold Frank's best-selling book, and even watched Tony Curtis play DeSalvo as a mincing, menacing Boston Strangler in the movie. Now, twenty or thirty years later, DeSalvo was innocent?

As readers of my novel will know, I don't delve too deeply into the DeSalvo case, let alone pretend to solve it. Like a lot of historical novels that ask "what if?" (Robert Harris's Fatherland, for example), I simply take it as a jumping-off point for the story: What if DeSalvo really was the wrong man?

What fascinated me about the idea was not the case itself but what it suggested about this city. In Chinatown, screenwriter Robert Towne fictionalized an actual historical scandal involving real estate and the water supply in Los Angeles. In that scandal, Towne obviously saw something emblematic, something revealing about L.A. The Strangler story gave me a comparable shiver of recognition. It seemed to suggest all sorts of things about Boston -- at least about Boston in those years when the city was evolving into its current incarnation. My city, too, had a secret history.

But what did the Strangler case say about this place, exactly? That it was brutal? Corrupt? Close-mouthed? Why did the Strangler controversy seem to me a quintessentially Boston story? I don't have definitive answers, even now, having long finished writing the book. The signature Boston crime stories of my day (I am 43) often involve secrecy and corruption -- rot -- in the city's most trusted, impenetrable institutions: the Catholic church in the case of pedophile priests, the FBI in the Whitey Bulger case. From a distance, the DeSalvo case certainly looks like a close cousin to these -- another sinister secret deal, another conspiracy of silence. True Boston.

Or is it? You'll have to decide for yourself. I don't pretend to know. I think of novel-writing as a way to explore the world, not to pontificate about it. It is a mistake to assume novelists are intellectuals, or reporters bringing the news (about Boston, about DeSalvo, about crime, about anything). We are just storytellers. And the storyteller's job is to follow his vision, to bring it to life. Whether there is any truth in what he sees ... well, that's up to the audience -- you.