'Correcting Injustice; Confronting Danger'

 

“We crime novelists have a great pulpit. We write about justice and about correcting injustice.” – Jesse Kellerman

 

Born in Los Angeles on this date in 1978, Kellerman is the oldest son of bestselling mystery novelists Faye Kellerman and Jonathan Kellerman.  He studied psychology at Harvard and playwriting at Brandeis, authoring the critically acclaimed play Things Beyond Our Control, winner of the Princess Grace Award given to the top “emerging authors in theater, dance and film.”

 

Also a musician, he was lead guitarist for the LA-based indie rock band "Don't Shoot the Dog" for a number of years before embarking on his crime-writing career.

 

While he has his own distinctive style that has made him a favorite in the crime scene genre, he also said people shouldn’t be surprised to see influences of his famous parents.  “All writers start out mimicking other writers,” he noted.  “I've never relinquished that. I have a good ear for speech and writing patterns.”   Several of his dozen books have been co-authored with his father, including his most recent, The Burning.  

        

“I prefer to write about ordinary people who find themselves in a singularly bizarre situation - that is to say, the one moment in their lives when they are forced to confront danger or mystery.”