Parnell Hall – Stanley Hastings
Born October 31, 1944 Culver City, California
Died December 15, 2020 (aged 76)
Strangler was the first of Parnell Hall’s Stanley Hastings mysteries I read way back in January 0f 1991. That book was quickly followed by Detective the first book ijn the series. And as they say the reat is history! The last Stanley Hasting’s mystery I read was 2015’s A Fool for a Client. I love everything about the Stanley Hastings mysteries, both the major and minor characters, and the stories. And while the Hatsing’s mnysteries are my favorite the Puzzle Lady Cora Felton has grown on me throught the years.
From ParnellHall.com…..
Readers of my Stanley Hastings private eye series may be surprised to learn I was influenced by Robert B. Parker. I read his Spenser books, and was blown away by them. Shortly thereafter I saw him interviewed on TV. He was asked why people like his books. He said, “I think they like the way the words sound.” The interviewer was taken aback, but I looked at his books again and he was absolutely right. There was a flow, a cadence, the words jumped off the page.
When I started my first book, Detective, I wanted it to sound good. It must have worked. The book was nominated for the Edgar and Shamus awards. Subsequent reviews referred to my “trademark, zippy, witty dialogue.”
Readers of my Puzzle Lady series may be surprised to find the books were written by the same person. The original manuscript even had a woman’s name as the author. Cora Felton, a charming fraud, who has been described as “Miss Marple on steroids” and “Jessica Fletcher meets Groucho Marx,” was voted the Best New Discovery by the Mystery Guild. Read More
Final Thoughts About Parnell Hall’s Books
As I was creating this page I discovered a few things. First, there’s one Stanley Hastings book I missed – Caper Parnell’s 2015 release. SEcondly, considering I’ve only rread seven Puzzle Lady boos, there’s 13 more to read! And finally, from 2016 to 2020 Parnell colloborated with Stuart Woods to write four books featuring Teddy Fay. They need to be checked out!
DETECTIVE, Hall’s first book was nominated for an Edgar award by the Mystery Writers of America, and a Shamus award by the Private Eye Writers of America. Stanley Hastings novel, MOVIE, was nominated for a Shamus award for Best Private Eye Novel of 1995, and for a Lefty for the funniest mystery novel of 1995. His novel, SCAM, was also a Lefty nominee.
Links for the Further Exploration of the Books of Parnell Hall
Goodreads
Author’s Goodreads Profilre
Author’s List of Books
Stanley Hastings Novels I Read Before 2010
Detective (Stanley Hastings #1)
Murder (Stanley Hastings #2)
Favor (Stanley Hastings #3)
Strangler (Stanley Hastings #4)
Client (Stanley Hastings #5)
Juror (Stanley Hastings #6)
Shot (Stanley Hastings #7)
Actor (Stanley Hastings #8)
Blackmail (Stanley Hastings #9)
Movie (Stanley Hastings #10)
Trial (Stanley Hastings #11)
Scam (Stanley Hastings #12)
Suspense (Stanley Hastings #13)
Cozy (Stanley Hastings #14)
Manslaughter (Stanley Hastings #15)
Hitman (Stanley Hastings #16)
After 2010
Stakeout (Stanley Hastings #18)
Safari (Stanley Hastings #19)
A Fool for a Client (Stanley Hastings #20)
The Puzzle Lady – Cora Felton Novels I Before Read 2010
A Clue for the Puzzle Lady (Puzzle Lady, #1)
A Puzzle in a Pear Tree (Puzzle Lady, #4)
You Have the Right to Remain Puzzled (Puzzle Lady, #8)
After 2010
NYPD Puzzle (Puzzle Lady, #15)
A Puzzle to be Named Later (Puzzle Lady, #18)
The Purloined Puzzle (Puzzle Lady, #19)
Lights! Camera! Puzzles! (Puzzle Lady, #20)
Parnell Hall Posts…..
