Mark Gimenez –Thriller Writer of Format

I am a fan of the so-called legal thrillers. Not so long ago, by accident I stumbled upon a thriller by Mark Gimenez - The Abduction. It was hard for me to put it down as it kept me spell-bounded, on the edge of my seat and guessing until the last sentence.

Then I went out of my way to get hold of the other two thrillers that was at that time already available in South Africa. – The Colour of Law and The Perk. Needless to say that both these books went off very well after some nail-biting and domestic disturbance as I could not put them down in spite of my chores in and around the house that were neglected to the dismay of my wife. But knowing me for more than 30 years now she understood and I could finish the two books in peace.

Then there was a dry spell without any books from Mark but yesterday my day was made when I found The Common Lawyer in our local bookstore. Today I started to read it and I am not disappointed – I am enjoying it thoroughly. 

As this now the 4^th one I am reading (and enjoying) I had to put the latest one down for a while as I was driven to write this article.

Mark grew up in Galveston County, Texas. He attended Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, and earned a B.A. in Political Science with honours. He then attended Notre Dame Law School in Indiana and earned a J.D. degree magna cum laude.

He practiced law with a large Dallas law firm and became a partner. After ten years, he left to practice solo and to write. He lives outside Fort Worth with my wife and two sons.

I must also get the Accused.

This is proof of his popularity as a writer:

ACCUSED was number 7 on the best-seller list in South Africa, number 11 in Ireland, and number 19 in the UK.

THE COLOR OF LAW was number 28 on the New York Times extended hardback list and number 6 on the London Sunday Times paperback bestseller list, one of the top ten crime/thriller novels for Crime Squad (UK), a finalist for the Thriller Award for Best First Novel, number 8 on Amazon's Top 10 Mystery & Thrillers list, and picked for Alan Cheuse's Holiday Book List for NPR/All Things Considered.

THE ABDUCTION was number 6 in Australia, 8 in Ireland, and 14 in the UK. 

THE PERK was number 6 in Ireland, 10 in the UK, and 11 in Australia, and was also one of the top ten crime/thriller novels for Crime Squad (UK) in 2008. 

THE COMMON LAWYER was number 8 in South Africa, 10 in Ireland, and 11 in Australia.

THE COLOR OF LAW and THE ABDUCTION have now sold almost 600,000 copies worldwide.

Daniel

How to Write Book Reviews

Part of my portfolio is to write book reviews. It is actually rewarding to do it because you also get the opportunity to read a lot of books!

Here are the tips:

1. Read the book. A lot of review writers think they can get around this, but it’s not worth it. If necessary, also read about the book. If the book needs a context, read a little bit of history about the environment or the writer.

2. Assemble your ideas. Instead of just sitting down and telling yourself to start writing, take the time to let things fall into place. Wait a day and think about the book before you write the review. See what sticks in your mind as good and bad. Make lists of what you responded to and didn’t. Keep your audience in mind. It may be that things you liked will not appeal to them, and if you know your audience well, you can recommend something that you did not enjoy.

3. Start writing. Don’t write the review immediately, but write a few sentences. Try to boil the book down to a very simple three-sentence paragraph. A synopsis of the book is essential to a review, but you don’t want it to take up half of the review text! Write an outline or write an opening and a closing. Try to say what you liked most or least about the book in one sentence.

4. Write the body of the review. Now that your brain has started moving, write the meat of the review. Write an opening sentence or two, then move to the summary of the book’s events. If necessary, after that write briefly about the context of the book or the writer and why they may matter. Finally, get into what matters: What you thought. Identify what was good and bad, but more important, tell the audience why. Tell the audience whether you recommend the book or not.

5. Summarize with blurbs. A modern audience, particularly one online, enjoys information stripped down to very simple sentences. Your review can be much more marketable if you write up blurbs in advance instead of making an editor do it. Give a few bullet points with pros and cons and end with recommended or not.

Recently I did a review on a novel by Mark Gimenez – The Common Lawyer – you can read it here.

Acknowledgement: Beau Prichard