Born in the wilds of San Francisco, with its rich literary history and public transport system teeming with characters suitable for crime novels, the stage was set for Max Tomlinson to become a mystery writer. He has published multiple novels, including Sendero, which was listed as one of the top 100 Indie novels of 2012 by Kirkus.
Max’s Colleen Hayes Mysteries of the ’70s — Vanishing in the Haight (#1), Tie Die (#2), and Bad Scene (Colleen Hayes #3), which releases August 3, 2021 — are published by Oceanview Publishing.
BOOKS:
Sendero (2011)
Who Sings to the Dead (2013)
Lethal Dispatch (2013)
The Cain File (2015)
The Darknet File (2017)
Rock ‘n’ Roll Vampire (as Max Radin, 2018)
Vanishing in the Haight (2019)
Tie Die (2020)
Bad Scene (2021)
Your biggest literary influences:
Elmore Leonard, Patricia Highsmith, J.P. Donleavy
Last book read:
Midaq Alley by Naguib Mahfouz
The book that changed your life:
The first grown-up book I read as a teenager, and the one I currently reread every few years, The Ginger Man by J. P. Donleavy. Groundbreaking in its prose, scope and storytelling. A landmark novel, wildly funny and tragic at the same time.
Your favorite literary character:
Ginger Man’s Sebastian Dangerfield — a man who single-handedly battles sobriety, decency and industriousness, yet somehow maintains the reader’s sympathy.
Currently working on:
Line of Darkness (Colleen Hayes #4), a mystery that reaches back to WWII Nazi Germany.
Words to live by:
Only a writer can rewrite!
Advice for aspiring authors:
Learn how to take criticism.
Articles/Reviews:
Booklist — Vanishing in the Haight (starred review)
Publishers Weekly — Tie Die (starred review)
Booklist — Tie Die
Kirkus — Sendero (starred review)
