Circling the Runway
Private Investigator Jacob Diamond and San Francisco Detective Sergeant Roxton Johnson are famous for not getting along. Cats and dogs. Oil and water. Liston and Ali. Jake and Rocky.
When an assistant district attorney is murdered in his high-rise apartment building, and Johnson suspects his lieutenant may have something to do with it, he can think of no one else to turn to for help—no one he can trust except Jake Diamond.
If the mismatched duo can avoid stepping on each other’s toes long enough—they may be able to stop circling the runway and land on the villain’s doorstep. Lieutenant Laura Lopez, Detective Ray Boyle, Joey Clams, Vinnie Strings and Darlene Roman are all back in the first new Jake Diamond escapade since Counting to Infinity.
Hott Interview:
What was your favorite part of bringing back Jake Diamond?
Bringing Jake back after ten years, along with his recurring circle of supporting cast including Darlene Roman, Vinnie Strings, Laura Lopez, Ray Boyle and Joey Clams, was a reunion with old friends. Ironically, in the best sense of the word, as a result of writing the first novel, Jake Diamond offered me the opportunity to reunite with non-fictitious old friends.
In the early nineties, after living for some time in San Francisco and Denver, I returned to the east coast for a dozen years. I yearned for the Atlantic. As the years passed, I lost touch with good friends from the West—let them slip away. At the very start of Catching Water in a Net, a woman comes into Diamond Investigations looking to hire Jake to find her husband. In the course of that opening scene, Jake discovers that his friend and mentor Jimmy Pigeon has been killed. After the initial shock of the revelation, Jake asks himself why he had to hear the news from a stranger and why, if Jimmy was in some kind of jam, did Pigeon not reach out to Jake for help. Jake comes to realize it was because he had not made himself accessible to his friend and, as I finally understood what was driving the narrative, what the theme of the work was, I realized that I, like Jake, had failed in my responsibility as a friend. The beautiful quirk of fate was that when the novel was published it presented the occasion to visit Denver and San Francisco as a touring author and reconnect with those friends I had let get away. Life imitating art.
You and Jake have known each other for quite some time now, what is it that draws you to him?
Jake and I share some experiences—albeit a bit inside out, upside down or backwards. Jake came from Brooklyn, the son of a Russian-Jewish father and Italian-American mother—whereas I came from Brooklyn with a Sicilian father and a Russian mother.
Jake went from acting to private investigation, while I went from acting to writing. Jake has issues with self-revelation which he is constantly hoping to improve—as do I. What attracts me most to Jake, and constantly surprises me, is that he is funnier and less inhibited than I am. In writing the character, as in playing a role on stage or in film, I can reveal myself in ways that are less threatening, in ways that do not make me vulnerable to being personally misunderstood. As I get to know Jake better with each outing, I learn more about myself. And that is as appealing as it is necessary.
When can we expect another Jake Diamond from you – or should we look for something else?
I have completed a novella and a series of short stories featuring a Brooklyn private eye who is a bit more hard-boiled than Jake, and it was fun writing them. I expect that particular new work will be out there next. I am also working on a sequel to Gravesend, because there is more to explore about those characters and that place. But Jake will definitely return eventually, maybe in another prequel partnering with Jimmy Pigeon.
Wow! Great writer and great friend, open to new experiences, and always working! Definitely someone we need to get to know!
Thanks for stopping by, J.L.! Come back again!
More…
| Author: | J.L. Abramo | ||
| Source: | Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tours | ||
| Publisher & Date: | Down & Out Books, April 19, 2015 | ||
| Genre: | Mystery, PI | ||
| ISBN: | 978-1937495879 | ||
| Pages: | 260 | ||
| Steam: | This Book Contains Strong Langauge | ||
| Series: | Jake Diamond Mysteries, Book 4 | ||
 Catching Water in a Net |
 Clutching at Straws |
 Counting to Infinity |
 Circling the Runway |
Author Bio:
J. L. ABRAMO was born in the seaside paradise of Brooklyn, New York on Raymond Chandler’s fifty-ninth birthday. A long-time educator, journalist, theatre and film actor and director, he received a BA in Sociology at the City College of New York and an MA in Social Psychology at the University of Cincinnati.
Abramo is the author of the Jake Diamond mystery series including Catching Water in a Net (recipient of the MWA/PWA Award for Best First Private Eye Novel), Clutching at Straws, Counting to Infinity, and the prequel Chasing Charlie Chan—as well as the stand-alone crime thriller, Gravesend.
Abramo is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, Private Eye Writers of America and Screen Actors Guild.
The author lives in Denver, Colorado.
Websites & Links: 
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This is a giveaway hosted by Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tours for J.L. Abramo & Down and Out Books. There will be THREE winners of an ebook copy of Circling the Runway by J.L. Abramo. The giveaway is open to US residents only. The giveaway begins on April 18th, 2015 and runs through June 2nd, 2015. Visit each of the tour stops for additional giveaways!
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Thank you to J. L. ABRAMO, DOWN AND OUT BOOKS and Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for generously offering this book to me for host.If you’d like to join in on an upcoming tour just stop by their sites and sign up today!
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Terrific interview with the author, and a great introduction to this series featuring Jake Diamond. Looking forward to seeing more of him in the future!