White, Dave 1979–

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White, Dave 1979–

PERSONAL:

Born October 29, 1979.

ADDRESSES:

Home—NJ. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Educator. Middle-school English teacher in NJ.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Derringer Award.

WRITINGS:

"JACKSON DONNE" SERIES; NOVELS

When One Man Dies, Three Rivers Press (New York, NY), 2007.

The Evil That Men Do, Three Rivers Press (New York, NY), 2008.

Author of the Jackson Donne blog. Contributor to anthologies.

SIDELIGHTS:

Dave White is an educator. Born on October 29, 1979, he is one of the youngest recipients of the Derringer Award. White teaches middle-school English in New Jersey.

White published his first novel, When One Man Dies, in 2007. It marks the beginning of the "Jackson Donne" series. Former police officer Jackson Donne investigates his friend's death and finds that he did not know his friend as well as he thought. A new world of lies and deceptions open up as Donne finds himself as the center of a former friend's vengeance.

Hagen Baye, reviewing the debut novel on the Mostly Fiction Web site, commented that "at the end, to the reader's great surprise, ‘everything is connected’ in ways initially unimaginable, but pulled off quite impressively by White. White knows how to reveal bits and pieces about characters and their past in a systematic fashion. With some authors a reader is not always clear as to how the author arrived at the conclusion. With White, there is no such confusion." Baye was confused, however, over certain details in Donne's past which went unanswered in the text and wondered if White's own age was a factor in his perception of the central character's time in the police force. Nevertheless, Baye concluded that "none of the foregoing detracts from the fact that this is a truly fine first novel and that crime fiction fans should definitely be on the lookout for White's next book." David J. Montgomery, reviewing the book on the Mystery Ink Web site, called White "one of the few" contemporary fiction writers with talent. Montgomery mentioned that the author "has written a PI novel that is both traditional and fresh." A contributor to Kirkus Reviews called Donne "uptight" and found his life to be rather "downtrodden." The same contributor concluded that "an iron commitment to private-eye formulas undoes Donne's debut." A contributor to Publishers Weekly noted that "Derringer Award-winner White's engrossing, evocative debut novel will grab most readers from its opening sentences."

The following year White published the sequel to When One Man Dies, called The Evil That Men Do. Donne, living in a more miserable state of life than previously, finds that his estranged family is in need of his sleuthing ability. His mother hints at a dark family secret but cannot be trusted at face value due to her illness. When Donne starts to ask around, an aunt and uncle are mysteriously killed. Things heat up as Donne himself takes a beating. A contributor to Kirkus Reviews described Donne's

situation as "a down-on-his-luck ex-shamus returns to sleuthing to help his family." The same critic wrote that "this sequel … shows distinct improvement. But tight-lipped, under-responsive Donne remains essentially charisma-challenged."