Thu 23 Jan 2020
Death Noted: JIM LEHRER (1934-2020).
Posted by Steve under Authors , Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Characters , Obituaries / Deaths Noted[4] Comments
Noted TV journalist and news anchor JIM LEHRER died today at the age of 85. Of his many other accomplishments, which will most assuredly be included in the many obituaries appearing now online and again in tomorrow’s newspapers, he also wrote a good many works of crime fiction, most of which I seem to have missed knowing about for all these years.
The first series of note are the light-hearted adventures of One-Eyed Mack, Oklahoma’s lieutenant governor, who solves mysteries in his spare time. Lehrer also wrote two books about Charles Avenue Henderson, a former CIA agent who wants nothing more to do but retire in peace and quiet, , but who finds that actually doing so is not as easy as he thought.
The One-Eyed Mack series —
Kick the Can. Putnam 1988
Crown Oklahoma. Putnam 1989
The Sooner Spy. Putnam 1990
Lost and Found. Putnam 1991
Fine Lines. Random House 1994
Mack to the Rescue. University of Oklahoma Press, 2008.
The Charlie Henderson series —
Blue Hearts. Random House 1993. ISBN 0-679-42216-1.
Purple Dots. Random House, 1998.
Crime-related standalone novels include —
The Special Prisoner. Random House, 2000.
The Franklin Affair. Random House, 2003.
Top Down: A Novel of the Kennedy Assassination. Random Houose, 2013.
January 24th, 2020 at 9:08 am
Besides the mysteries, most of which I’ve read and enjoyed, I would particularly recommend to you his WE WERE DREAMERS. Back in the late ’40s and early ’50s, Lehrer’s parents (he and his brother were teens then) owned a bus company in Kansas, and the book tells the tale with astonishing (to me) detail – bus routes, stops, drivers, mechanics, etc. Very good, and it made me want to read his fiction.
January 25th, 2020 at 1:15 am
The books were very much in the familiar Lehrer voice so that reading one you could almost hear him in your head.
January 25th, 2020 at 11:34 am
I had no idea he had written fiction. I wonder if they are good? I may try the one Jeff mentioned.
January 25th, 2020 at 1:19 pm
I will probably pass on the One-Eyed Monk books myself. They sound a little too folksy for me.
The premise of the ex-CIA agentnot able retire yet sound like a just another cliche, but maybe Jim Lehrer’s ability as a writer and a voice to be reckoned with will save the day on those. One of the two of those is what I’m inclined to try.