Judson, D. Daniel

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JUDSON, D. Daniel

PERSONAL: Male. Education: Attended Southampton College.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, St. Martin's Press, 175 5th Ave., New York, NY 10010.

CAREER: Writer.

AWARDS, HONORS: Shamus Award, Private Eye Writers of America, nomination for best first P.I. novel, 2002, for The Bone Orchard, and award for best paperback P.I. novel, 2003, for The Poisoned Rose.

WRITINGS:

The Bone Orchard (suspense novel), Bantam Books (New York, NY), 2002.

The Poisoned Rose (suspense novel), Bantam Books (New York, NY), 2002.

WORK IN PROGRESS: The Darkest Place.

SIDELIGHTS: D. Daniel Judson's character of thirty-something DeClan "Mac" MacManus first appears in The Bone Orchard, a story set in Southampton that begins as the summer tourists exit after the Labor Day weekend. Mac, a part-time private investigator, lives in a sparse apartment above a bar and struggles to survive amid the luxury of his surroundings. He is hired by private investigator Frank Gannon to follow the son-in-law of a client who suspects that the man is cheating on his daughter. Matters are complicated when Mac and friend Augie Hartsell, a former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent and Vietnam veteran, witness a single-vehicle accident that is obviously a murder. The corrupt police department destroys the evidence, and the two witnesses are attacked and one is charged with the crime. A Publishers Weekly contributor wrote that Judson's story is "brilliant," unfolding "slowly and beautifully, revealing critical character details only when the plot demands them."

Mac, Augie, and Augie's teenage daughter reappear in The Poisoned Rose. In this prequel to The Bone Orchard, Mac and Augie meet for the first time and witness the shooting of a man named Volger and then are themselves nearly killed. When the police chief's son attempts to rape Augie's daughter, Mac retaliates and injures him so badly that any chance the teen has for a football scholarship disappears. The boy's father ultimately seeks revenge. Judith Flavell, who reviewed the book for Mystery Reader online, found fault with the fact that "Mac is an alcoholic whose affliction never seems to affect him when it really matters…. He's the good guy who hates injustice and has to drink to escape from the world." Flavell concluded that she was "sucked into the mystery that is Mac" and felt that the novel "has lots of action, a good amount of twists and turns, and is a fast-paced read." A Publishers Weekly contributor noted that there are similarities between the plots of this and the previous book, including the fact that Augie's daughter temporarily moves in with Mac while her father is in hiding. "Still," said the reviewer, "this taut thriller is far from predictable, and its dark and mysterious plot suits Judson's understated writing style."