NO REST FOR THE DEAD

I just found out this week that Diana Gabaldon has written a chapter in a multi-author mystery novel called NO REST FOR THE DEAD, due out on July 5, 2011.



From the publisher's description:
More than twenty New York Times bestselling authors team up to create a first-rate serial novel -- a collaboration that combines the skills of America's greatest storytellers to produce a gripping, spellbinding mystery.

"The lineup of writers who have contributed to this mystery is akin to the Murderers' Row of the 1927 New York Yankees. There is not a weak spot in the bunch."
—David Baldacci, from the Introduction
In this innovative storytelling approach, each of these twenty-five bestselling writers brings their distinctive voice to a chapter of the narrative, building the tension to a shocking, explosive finale. No Rest for the Dead is a thrilling, page-turning accomplishment that only America's very best authors could achieve.
There is a list of the contributing authors here.

UPDATE 6/24/2011 5:25 pm:

Diana has now commented on the book, and I think it's worth quoting what she said on Compuserve in its entirety, just so everyone has a realistic idea of what to expect:
   I wouldn't want to discourage anyone from buying the book (considering that the proceeds go to cancer research), but truth in advertising compels me to note that

 1) this is a collaborative mystery novel, one chapter written by each of the contributors.  I.e.,

  2) it doesn't involve any of my characters, and I didn't either choose the characters nor set the style, and

  3) since it's collaborative, the editor "smoothed" all the chapters, so the details would be congruent and the voice of the book not too different between chapters. 

  4)  I wrote my chapter three years ago, and no longer remember anything whatever about the characters (not even their names) nor the story, and

  5) because of 3), I don't even know whether my chapter _sounds_ much like me.

   _Caveat emptor_. <g>

(As Diana noted, all proceeds from the book go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.)

If you are in the New York area, there will be a multi-author signing for NO REST FOR THE DEAD on July 8th at the Center for Fiction, 17 E. 47th Street, at which Diana Gabaldon and a number of the other contributing authors will be appearing. Commenting about this event yesterday on Compuserve, Diana said , "Since this isn't a bookstore, my guess is that you could bring in your own books, but....I don't know for sure."

I have never been much of a reader of mystery novels, and given Diana's comments above, I don't think I'm going to buy this one.  But feel free to post here with your comments on the book, after it comes out on July 5th.

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