Randisi, Robert J. 1951–
RANDISI, Robert J. 1951–
(Lew Baines, Nick Carter, a house pseudonym, Tom Cutter, Robert Lake, Paul Ledd, Robert Leigh, W.B. Longley, Joseph Meek, Joshua Randall, Robert Joseph Randisi, J.R. Roberts, Jon Sharpe, Cole Weston)
PERSONAL:
Born August 24, 1951, in New York, NY; son of Joseph Francis and Rose Randisi; married Anna Y. Hom (a teacher), May 20, 1972 (divorced); children: Christopher Robert, Matthew Joseph. Education: Attended high school in Brooklyn, NY.
ADDRESSES:
Home—St. Louis, MO.
CAREER:
Writer, novelist, and editor. Mailroom boy, mailroom manager, and collection clerk, 1968-72; New York City Police Department, Brooklyn, NY, civilian police administrative aide, 1973-81. Cofounder and editor of Mystery Scene (magazine).
MEMBER:
Private Eye Writers of America (founder and president), Western Writers of America, American Crime Writers' League (cofounder).
AWARDS, HONORS:
Shamus Award nomination, Private Eye Writers of America, best private eye short story, 1982, for "The Snapdance," best paperback private eye novel, 1983, for The Steinway Collection, best private eye novel, 1984, for Full Contact, and best private eye short story, 1996, for "The Girl Who Talked to Horses"; Life Achievement Award, Southwest Mystery/Suspense Convention, 1993.
WRITINGS:
novels
The Disappearance of Penny, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1980.
(With Warren Murphy) Dangerous Games, Pinnacle Books (New York, NY), 1980.
(With Warren Murphy) Midnight Man, Pinnacle Books (New York, NY), 1981.
(With Warren Murphy) Total Recall, Pinnacle Books (New York, NY), 1984.
The Ham Reporter (historical novel), Doubleday (New York, NY), 1986.
No Exit from Brooklyn (first novel in "Nick Delvecchio" series), St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1987.
Once upon a Murder, TSR (Lake Geneva, WI), 1987.
(With others) Caribbean Blues, Paperjacks (New York, NY), 1988.
(With others) The Black Moon, Lynx (New York, NY), 1989.
The Dead of Brooklyn (second novel in "Nick Delvecchio" series), St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1991.
Targett (western novel), M. Evans (New York, NY), 1991.
(Under pseudonym Robert Leigh) The Turner Journals, Walker & Co. (New York, NY), 1996.
(With Christine Matthews) Murder Is the Deal of the Day, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1998.
The Ghost with Blue Eyes (western novel), Leisure (Norwalk, CT), 1999.
Delvecchio's Brooklyn (short stories), introduction by Max Allan Collins, Five Star (Unity, ME), 2001.
Miracle of the Jacal, Leisure Books (New York, NY), 2001.
(With Christine Matthews) The Masks of Auntie Laveau, Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Minotaur (New York, NY), 2002.
Curtains of Blood (novel), Leisure Books (New York, NY), 2002.
Invitation to a Hanging, Pocket Star Books (New York, NY), 2003.
The Offer, Five Star (Waterville, ME), 2003.
Lancaster's Orphans, Leisure Books (New York, NY), 2004.
Turnback Creek, Pocket Star Books (New York, NY), 2004.
The Sons of Daniel Shaye: Leaving Epitaph, Harper-Torch (New York, NY), 2004.
Blood of Angels, Leisure Books (New York, NY), 2004.
(With Christine Matthews) Same Time, Same Murder, Thomas Dunne Books (New York, NY), 2005.
Cold Blooded, Leisure Books (New York, NY), 2005.
Everybody Kills Somebody Sometime, Thomas Dunne Books (New York, NY), 2006.
"joe keough" series; mystery novels
Alone with the Dead, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1995.
In the Shadow of the Arch, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1997.
Blood on the Arch, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 2000.
Fire under the Arch, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 2000.
East of the Arch, Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Minotaur (New York, NY), 2002.
Arch Angels, Thomas Dunne Books (New York, NY), 2004.
"miles jacoby" series; mystery novels
Eye in the Ring, Avon (New York, NY), 1982.
The Steinway Collection, Avon (New York, NY), 1983.
Full Contact, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1984.
Separate Cases, Walker & Co. (New York, NY), 1990.
Hard Look, Walker & Co. (New York, NY), 1993.
Stand-Up, Walker & Co. (New York, NY), 1994.
mystery novels; under house pseudonym nick carter
Pleasure Island, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1981.
Chessmaster, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1982.
The Mendoza Manuscript, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1982.
The Greek Summit, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1983.
The Decoy Hit, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1984.
The Caribbean Coup, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1984.
western novels; under pseudonym tom cutter
The Winning Hand, Avon (New York, NY), 1983.
The Blue Cut Job, Avon (New York, NY), 1983.
Lincoln County, Avon (New York, NY), 1983.
Chinatown Chance, Avon (New York, NY), 1983.
The Oklahoma Score, Avon (New York, NY), 1985.
The Barbary Coast Tong, Avon (New York, NY), 1985.
Huntsville Breakout, Avon (New York, NY), 1985.
western novels; under pseudonym w.b. longley
Angel Eyes: The Miracle of Revenge, Paperjacks (New York, NY), 1985.
Angel Eyes: Death's Angel, Paperjacks (New York, NY), 1985.
Wolf Pass, Paperjacks (New York, NY), 1985.
Angel Eyes: Chinatown Justice, Paperjacks (New York, NY), 1985.
Logan's Army, Paperjacks (New York, NY), 1986.
Bullets and Bad Times, Paperjacks (New York, NY), 1986.
Six Gun Angel, Paperjacks (New York, NY), 1986.
Avenging Angel, Paperjacks (New York, NY), 1986.
Angel for Hire, Paperjacks (New York, NY), 1987.
western novels; under pseudonym joseph meek
Mountain Jack Pike, Zebra Books (New York, NY), 1989.
Rocky Mountain Kill, Zebra Books (New York, NY), 1989.
Crow Bait, Zebra Books (New York, NY), 1989.
Green River Hunt, Zebra Books (New York, NY), 1990.
western novels; under pseudonym joshua randall
Double the Bounty, Paperjacks (New York, NY), 1987.
Bounty on a Lawman, Paperjacks (New York, NY), 1987.
Beauty and the Bounty, Paperjacks (New York, NY), 1988.
Bounty on a Baron, Paperjacks (New York, NY), 1988.
Broadway Bounty, Paperjacks (New York, NY), 1988.
western novels; under pseudonym j.r. roberts
Apache Gold, Berkley (New York, NY), 1988.
The Mustang Hunters, Jove (New York, NY), 1988.
The Nevada Timber War, Jove (New York, NY), 1988.
Brothers of the Gun, Jove (New York, NY), 1989.
Six-Gun Sideshow, Berkley (New York, NY), 1989.
Game of Death, Jove (New York, NY), 1991.
Ghost Town, Jove (New York, NY), 1992.
The Witness, Jove (New York, NY), 1992.
Gambler's Blood, Jove (New York, NY), 1993.
Samurai Hunt, Jove (New York, NY), 1993.
Vigilante Hunt, Jove (New York, NY), 1993.
Gillett's Rangers, Jove (New York, NY), 1994.
The Gambler, Jove (New York, NY), 1998.
The Gambler's Girl, Jove (New York, NY), 1999.
Legend of the Piasa Bird, Jove (New York, NY), 1999.
The Man from Peculiar, Jove (New York, NY), 1999.
Showdown at Daylight, Jove (New York, NY), 1999.
Safetown, Jove (New York, NY), 2000.
The Sioux City War, Jove (New York, NY), 2000.
Wanted: Clint Adams, Jove (New York, NY), 2000.
Ambush at Black Rock, Jove (New York, NY), 2000.
Barnum and Bullets, Jove (New York, NY), 2000.
Baron of Crime, Jove (New York, NY), 2000.
The Brothel Inspector, Jove (New York, NY), 2000.
The Cleveland Connection, Jove (New York, NY), 2000.
Dangerous Breed, Jove (New York, NY), 2000.
Dead Horse Canyon, Jove (New York, NY), 2000.
End of the Trail, Jove (New York, NY), 2000.
Justice in Rimfire, Jove (New York, NY), 2000.
The Lynched Man, Jove (New York, NY), 2000.
Stacked Deck, Jove (New York, NY), 2001.
Tales from the White Elephant Saloon, Jove (New York, NY), 2001.
Train Full of Trouble, Jove (New York, NY), 2001.
Bayou Ghosts, Jove (New York, NY), 2001.
Bullets for a Boy, Jove (New York, NY), 2001.
The Cherokee Strip, Jove (New York, NY), 2001.
Deadly Business, Jove (New York, NY), 2001.
High Card Dies, Jove (New York, NY), 2001.
The High Road, Jove (New York, NY), 2001.
The Killer Con, Jove (New York, NY), 2001.
Pay Dirt, Jove (New York, NY), 2001.
The Posse Men, Jove (New York, NY), 2001.
The Spirit Box, Jove (New York, NY), 2001.
Playing for Blood, Jove (New York, NY), 2002.
Random Gunfire, Jove (New York, NY), 2002.
The Shadow of the Gunsmith, Jove (New York, NY), 2002.
Dead and Buried, Jove (New York, NY), 2002.
Dead Man's Eyes, Jove (New York, NY), 2002.
Deadly Game, Jove (New York, NY), 2002.
The Doomsday Riders, Berkley (New York, NY), 2002.
Ghost Squadron, Jove (New York, NY), 2002.
The Making of a Bad Man, Jove (New York, NY), 2002.
A Man of the Gun, Jove (New York, NY), 2002.
The Marshal of Kingdom, Jove (New York, NY), 2002.
Next to Die, Jove (New York, NY), 2002.
Outlaw Luck, Jove (New York, NY), 2002.
Tangled Web, Jove (New York, NY), 2003.
Treasure Hunt, Jove (New York, NY), 2003.
Widow's Watch, Jove (New York, NY), 2003.
A Day in the Sun, Jove (New York, NY), 2003.
The Devil's Spark, Jove (New York, NY), 2003.
Empty Hand, Jove (New York, NY), 2003.
Faces of the Dead, Jove (New York, NY), 2003.
The Ghost of Billy the Kid, Jove (New York, NY), 2003.
Just Reward, Jove (New York, NY), 2003.
A Killer's Hands, Jove (New York, NY), 2003.
The Love of Money, Jove (New York, NY), 2003.
The Only Law, Jove (New York, NY), 2003.
No Turning Back, Jove (New York, NY), 2004.
The Red Queen, Jove (New York, NY), 2004.
Tricks of the Trade, Jove (New York, NY), 2004.
The Big Fork Game, Jove (New York, NY), 2004.
Big-Sky Bandits, Jove (New York, NY), 2004.
The Canadian Job, Jove (New York, NY), 2004.
Dead End Pass, Jove (New York, NY), 2004.
Guilty as Charged, Jove (New York, NY), 2004.
The Hanging Tree, Jove (New York, NY), 2004.
In for a Pound, Jove (New York, NY), 2004.
Little Sureshot and the Wild West Show, Jove (New York, NY), 2004.
Long Way Down, Jove (New York, NY), 2004.
The Lucky Lady, Jove (New York, NY), 2004.
Rolling Thunder, Jove (New York, NY), 2005.
Scorpion's Tail, Jove (New York, NY), 2005.
Dead Weight, Jove (New York, NY), 2005.
Death in Denver, Jove (New York, NY), 2005.
The Ghost of Goliad, Jove (New York, NY), 2005.
The Hanging Judge, Jove (New York, NY), 2005.
Innocent Blood, Jove (New York, NY), 2005.
The Last Ride, Jove (New York, NY), 2005.
The Reapers, Jove (New York, NY), 2005.
The Reckoning, Jove (New York, NY), 2005.
Riding the Whirlwind, Jove (New York, NY), 2005.
Ring of Fire, Jove (New York, NY), 2005.
editor
The Eyes Have It: The First Annual PWA Anthology, Mysterious Press (New York, NY), 1984.
Mean Streets: The Second PWA Anthology, Mysterious Press (New York, NY), 1986.
An Eye for Justice: The Third PWA Anthology, Mysterious Press (New York, NY), 1988.
(With Edward Gorman) Under the Gun, New American Library (New York, NY), 1990.
Justice for Hire: The Fourth PWA Anthology, Mysterious Press (New York, NY), 1990.
(With Marilyn Wallace) Deadly Allies: PWA/Sisters in Crime Collaborative Anthology, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1992.
(With Susan Dunlap) Deadly Allies II: PWA/Sisters in Crime Collaborative Anthology, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1994.
The Eyes Still Have It: The Shamus Award-winning Stories, Dutton (New York, NY), 1995.
First Cases: First Appearances of Classic Private Eyes, Dutton (New York, NY), 1996.
(With Barbara Collins) Lethal Ladies, Berkley (New York, NY), 1996.
First Cases, Volume 2: First Appearances of Classic Amateur Detectives, Signet (New York, NY), 1997.
Writing the Private-Eye Novel (nonfiction), Writer's Digest Books (Cincinnati, OH), 1997.
Lethal Ladies II, Prime Crime (New York, NY), 1998.
First Cases, Volume 3: New and Classic Tales of Detection, Signet (New York, NY), 1999.
Tin Star, Berkley (New York, NY), 2000.
The Shamus Game: Fourteen New Stories of Detective Fiction, Signet (New York, NY), 2000.
Mystery Street, Signet (New York, NY), 2001.
(With Christine Matthews) Mayhem in the Midlands, Hats Off (Tucson, AZ), 2001.
Most Wanted: A Lineup of Favorite Crime Stories, Signet (New York, NY), 2002.
First Cases, Volume 4: The Early Years of Famous Detection, Signet (New York, NY), 2002.
Boot Hill: An Anthology of the West, Forge Books (New York, NY), 2002.
Black Hats, Berkley (New York, NY), 2003.
High Stakes: Eight Sure-Bet Stories of Gambling and Crime, New American Library (New York, NY), 2003.
Greatest Hits: Original Stories of Assassins, Hitmen, and Hired Guns, Carroll & Graf (New York, NY), 2006.
Hollywood and Crime: Original Crime Stories Set during the History of Hollywood, Pegasus Books (New York, NY), 2007.
other
Also creator and author of over two hundred series titles and three giant special titles in "The Gunsmith" western novel series, under pseudonym J.R. Roberts, published by Berkley; author of several western novels under pseudonym Cole Weston. Has also written under pseudonyms Lew Baines, Robert Lake, Paul Ledd, and John Sharpe. Contributor to magazines, including Armchair Detective and Poisoned Pen.
SIDELIGHTS:
Robert J. Randisi is a prolific writer of private eye and western novels who has sometimes turned out as many as sixteen novels a year. He is best known for his private eye mysteries and for championing the genre through the Private Eye Writers of America, which he founded. "My aim has been to elevate this field from a subgenre of mystery to a genre of its own," Randisi commented in the St. James Guide to Crime and Mystery Writers. Indeed, it is clear from his writing that Randisi "loves the private eye," according to Gary Warren Niebuhr in the same volume.
Randisi is the creator of several series characters, including two who are private investigators and one series character who is a police detective. Miles Jacoby, a former prizefighter, and Nick Delvecchio, a one-time police officer, are the private eyes, while Joe Keough, a transplant from New York City to St. Louis, is the detective. Jacoby is a "prototypical everyman investigator," as Niebuhr put it, while Delvecchio is more complex. Keogh "maintains all the best attributes of the lone wolf P.I.," even though he is on a municipal payroll, according to Niebuhr. Private eye Henry Po, who specializes in probing gambling corruption, is the protagonist of Randisi's first novel, The Disappearance of Penny, and has made supporting appearances in the Jacoby series. Other authors' fictional private investigators have also made "guest appearances" in several of Randisi's novels.
Randisi's affection for the private eye genre does not keep him from bending its rules at times. In The Steinway Collection, for example, one of the mysteries remains unsolved; Jacoby finds the killer of his client, but not the magazine collection the client had hired him to find in the first place. "This is in direct violation of the 'private eye code' that says a P.I. has to finish what he starts no matter what," Randisi once told CA. "I was warned by a friend that I could not possibly do this, leave a mystery unsolved, but I went ahead and did it anyway."
Despite an occasional divergence from the genre's conventions, Randisi remains grounded in the tradition of the hard-boiled private eye story. For example, Hard Look, with Jacoby searching for a missing woman body builder in Florida, abounds in "sharp sleuth patter, hard luck, and cheap graft," according to a Publishers Weekly contributor. Writing private eye fiction is a challenge, noted Wes Lukowsky in a Booklist review of Stand-Up, which finds Jacoby investigating the disappearance of a friend and the death of a comedian: "It's a balancing act in which you must simultaneously pay homage to past masters and make the song your own. [Raymond] Chandler and [Dashiell] Hammett would approve of the way Randisi bends his notes."
Randisi is also the creator of recurring series characters Claire and Gil Hunt, a husband-and-wife team of amateur detectives based in St. Louis, Missouri. Gil is the owner of a bookstore, while Claire hosts the St. Louis area's most popular home shopping show on television. In Same Time, Same Murder, Gil and Claire tell how they met at a mystery writers convention in Omaha, investigated a murder, and fell in love—in that order. When a dinner date goes sour, the two discover the body of the convention's guest of honor, Robin Westerly, who has been shot dead in his room. Police detectives seek out Gil's knowledge of the publishing world, hoping it will help in the investigation, while the authorities eye a nervous hotel maid as the killer. Bolstered by their own investigation, Gil and Claire are sure the killer is someone else. Booklist reviewer Sue O'Brien called the novel a "pleasant cozy with likable characters."
In The Masks of Auntie Laveau Claire and Gil are dispatched to New Orleans to look for products Claire can feature on her home shopping show. In particular, they are on the lookout for a type of miniature Mardi Gras mask. Their first meeting with Auntie Laveau, the artist who makes the masks and claims direct lineage to famed voodoo queen Marie Laveau, raises their suspicions; later, when the real Auntie Laveau turns up dead, Claire and Gil realize that they were talking to an imposter. The Hunts tell the investigators all they know about Auntie Laveau and then return to St. Louis. Gil then finds himself thoroughly taken by the legends and concepts of voodoo, and when New Orleans police call for help in identifying a comatose woman they think the Hunts know, Gil immediately takes the opportunity to head south again. Gil confirms that the woman is the bogus Auntie Laveau, with whom he and Claire first met, but he cannot offer any insight into who she is or how she ended up in the hospital. As Gil becomes more and more involved in the case and deadly danger menaces him, he realizes that he seems unable to withdraw from the situation, causing him to wonder if he has been the victim of a voodoo spell. A Publishers Weekly reviewer commented: "Hexes, potions, and spells interweave with vivid settings, two delightful sleuths and credible supporting characters."
Randisi's "Joe Keough" series books are also set in St. Louis, and have distinctive titles that all refer in some way to the famed St. Louis Gateway Arch. Arch Angels "features a distinctive double plot and plenty of humanizing detail," commented a Publishers Weekly reviewer. Keough and his partner, Harriet Connors, are dispatched by the Federal Serial Killer Task Force to investigate two similar but geographically separated cases; one in Chicago in which three young girls are kidnapped and killed, and another in St. Louis, in which three young boys are similarly kidnapped and slain. In both locations, the detectives encounter resistance and resentment from local law enforcement, but they do their best to investigate despite their obstacles. As they analyze the evidence and build their case, Joe and Harriet begin to think that the killer is the same in both cases. This conclusion, however, defies the law of physics, requiring the killer to be in two places at the same time. If there are indeed two killers at work, the sleuths must learn what their connection is and why their methods are so uncannily similar. Booklist reviewer Wes Lukowsky called Randisi's Keough stories "understated gems," adding: "An unsettling resolution adds just the right touch of uncertainty to this fine crime novel."
East of the Arch brings Joe Keough into contact with a brutal murderer who preys on pregnant women. In two cases in East St. Louis, Illinois, the battered bodies of pregnant women have been found with their unborn children viciously torn from their wombs. Joe's specialized knowledge of serial killers leads him to work on the case outside his normal jurisdiction, along with local partner, detective Marc Jeter. When the investigation slows and fails to produce any leads in a timely manner, the mayor of East St. Louis orders that a suspect be arrested, even though Keough is certain that the incarcerated man is not the killer. When the suspect is released from jail for lack of evidence, the detectives are blamed for botching the case, which infuriates Keough and fuels him with determination to solve the case, though the answers he finds are not at all what he expects. Emily Melton, writing in Booklist, called the novel "another exceptionally entertaining and riveting mystery from genre stalwart Randisi."
Some reviewers have found Randisi's detectives less than appealing. A Publishers Weekly critic, for one, was offended by intimations of Delvecchio's prejudiced attitudes in No Exit from Brooklyn. Randisi's plotting has received occasional negative comments as well; a Publishers Weekly reviewer described No Exit's complicated story as an "unwieldy narrative." Other critics, however, have declared Randisi a solid practitioner of the private eye novel, a "no-nonsense" author whose work "doesn't waste a phrase or a plot turn," as another Publishers Weekly contributor put it. Niebuhr, assessing Randisi's body of work, maintained that the author "continues to write fine novels that contribute to the quality of the genre."
Randisi is also a prolific editor of anthologies in his selected genres of fiction. Greatest Hits: Original Stories of Assassins, Hitmen, and Hired Guns contains original short mystery stories about contract killers by several of the genre's most notable names, including Lawrence Block, Ed Gorman, Max Allan Collins, and Jeffrey Deaver. Fans of hard-boiled mysteries "will be in seventh heaven," commented David Pitt in Booklist. A Publishers Weekly reviewer observed that "there isn't a bad story in the bunch, a notable accomplishment." Boot Hill: An Anthology of the West, contains fifteen short stories centered on the storied Western graveyard and how some of its inhabitants came to be buried there. Using the presence of an unnamed gravedigger as a framing device, Randisi assembles the diverse stories, "packed with vividly described gunplay," as the anonymous narrator heads toward a surprise ending, according to Charles C. Nash in Library Journal.
Through his work as an editor, and by founding the Private Eye Writers of America, which bestows the Shamus Award upon worthy authors, Randisi has done much to give "aid and comfort to his fellow writers," according to Niebuhr, who also credited the organization with aiding in the resurgence of the private eye story in the 1980s.
In addition to his detective fiction, Randisi has written numerous Western novels. His most enduring series is "The Gunsmith," which consists of well over two hundred titles. Randisi once told CA he "backed into" Western writing at the request of an editor. He has written almost all of his Westerns under pseudonyms so that his real name remains associated with the private eye genre.
BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:
books
Conquest, John, Trouble Is Their Business, Garland Publishing (New York, NY), 1990.
St. James Guide to Crime and Mystery Writers, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1996.
periodicals
Booklist, April 15, 1993, Wes Lukowsky, review of Hard Look, p. 1498; December 15, 1994, Wes Lukowsky, review of Stand-Up, p. 739; May 1, 2000, Wes Lukowsky, review of Blood on the Arch, p. 1624; December 15, 2001, Barbara Bibel, review of The Masks of Auntie Laveau, p. 707; September 1, 2002, Emily Melton, review of East of the Arch, p. 63; February 1, 2004, Wes Lukowsky, review ofArch Angels, p. 953; June 1, 2005, Sue O'Brien, review of Same Time, Same Murder, p. 1762; November 15, 2005, David Pitt, review of Greatest Hits: Original Stories of Assassins, Hitmen, and Hired Guns, p. 29.
Kirkus Reviews, November 1, 2001, review of The Masks of Auntie Laveau, p. 1521.
Library Journal, June 1, 1987, Jo Ann Vicarel, review of No Exit from Brooklyn, p. 132; July, 1991, Angela Washington-Blair, review of Targett, p. 137; May 1, 1993, Rex E. Klett, review of Hard Look, p. 121; May 15, 2002, Charles C. Nash, review of Boot Hill: An Anthology of the West, p. 128; January, 2003, Rex E. Klett, review of The Offer, p. 163.
Publishers Weekly, May 1, 1987, Sybil Steinberg, review of No Exit from Brooklyn, p. 56; July 1, 1988, Sybil Steinberg, review of An Eye for Justice, p. 68; June 7, 1991, review of Targett, p. 54; February 24, 1992, review of Deadly Allies, p. 46; March 15, 1993, review of Hard Look, p. 72; October 31, 1994, review of Stand-Up, p. 46; September 18, 1995, review of The Eyes Still Have It, p. 116; July 26, 1999, review of The Ghost with Blue Eyes, p. 88; March 20, 2000, review of Blood on the Arch, p. 74; December 3, 2001, review of The Masks of Auntie Laveau, p. 43; May 20, 2002, "May Publications," review of Boot Hill, p. 49; September 2, 2002, review of East of the Arch, p. 57; February 23, 2004, review of Arch Angels, p. 55; September 26, 2005, review of Cold Blooded, p. 68; November 7, 2005, review of Greatest Hits, p. 56.
online
American Western,http://www.readthewest.com/ (June 4, 2006), interview with Robert J. Randisi.
Thrilling Detective,http://www.thrillingdetective.com/ (June 4, 2006), biography of Robert J. Randisi.*