Dear Dotties:

I must have been asleep at the switch when you all were raving about Keith Snyder, because I have only now discovered him. I started with COFFIN'S GOT THE DEAD GUY ON THE INSIDE and I was just blown away.

I felt the way I did when I read my first Robt B Parker, EARLY AUTUMN, or the first Michael Connelly or the first James Lee Burke. All among my favorites, because they introduced me to a new kind of hero, a new kind of courage and terrific writing.

Keith Snyder is also very very funny. And boy do I love his characters. I was so happy in his world, I never wanted to leave it.

The thing that most impressed me, though, as a reader was that Snyder has a new voice and a new take on the morality of the hero. To me, the whole book was about morality. And the choices of the hero, around things like greed (the consumer culture) money and art, aggression, violence, trust, and faithfulness to friends were unlike those made by other heroes. They were extremely interesting, idiosyncratic, and to me, beautiful.

And that's not all (as they say in the commercial.) The plot was fun, the settings very interesting (loved the scenes in the run-down rooming house and in Death Valley), the car chases -- a spoof on your ordinary car chase -- were a hoot, and the insight into music fascinating. Dialogue was tops - full of unexpected playful riffs, perhaps only a musician could write.

I think Snyder belongs to be up there with the top crime writers writing today, and in my book, he gets an A for originality, entertainment, depth without pompousness, and insight into violence without exploitation.

Thanks to all of you who recommended him.

—Ellen Godfrey, on Dorothy-L