Campbell, David 1968-
(David M. Campbell)

PERSONAL:

Born 1968; married Jennifer Murray; children: Finn.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Pennington, NJ.

CAREER:

Writer and copywriter. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, copy writer.

WRITINGS:

Venetian Holiday (novel), Thomas Dunne Books (New York, NY), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

In his first novel, Venetian Holiday, author David Campbell presents a crime caper in which cat burglar Kate Fujimori runs into two amateur thieves as they all try to steal the Mona Lisa painting. Kate's husband, who taught her everything she knows, has retired and Kate is on her own when she discovers that her new partner, Freddy Doloreux, has arranged her capture by the Italian police. If this fails, she is to be murdered. Referring to Venetian Holiday as a "slapstick mystery," Harriet Klausner, writing on her home page, recommended the book to "readers who enjoy a wild lighthearted amusing crime caper in which plausibility is irrelevant." Jenny McLarin, writing in Booklist, commented: "All the mayhem is nicely offset by moments of Tarantino-like black humor." A Publishers Weekly contributor called Campbell's first novel "a fast-moving crime caper." A contributor to the Book Bitch Web site, deemed the novel "a fast and fairly pleasant read." Commenting on his book in an interview with Princeton weekly Town Topics contributor Linda Arntzenius, Campbell noted: "I was inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's movies, notably To Catch a Thief and North by Northwest; by the comedy of Blake Edwards' Pink Panther movies; and in general by the sparkling dialogue of Hollywood romantic comedies of the 1940s and 1950s."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, March 1, 2006, Jenny McLarin, review of Venetian Holiday, p. 71.

Publishers Weekly, April 24, 2006, review of Venetian Holiday, p. 42.

Town Topics (Princeton, NJ), July 12, 2006, Linda Arntzenius, "First Novel by Local Author Is Set in Venice," interview with author.

ONLINE

Book Bitch,http://bookbitch.com/ (November 16, 2006), review of Venetian Holiday.

Harriet Klausner Home Page,http://harrietklausner.wwwi.com/ (November 16, 2006), review of Venetian Holiday. *