Friends

: Lawrence Block is a mystery writer. Strike that: he’s a legend. What the rest of us mystery writers do with great difficulty, Larry does as if it takes no effort whatsoever. I’ve never missed one of his books.

: This strange man, who hugs big birds in Holland, is my good friend Josh Pachter.

: Eli Beachy is a writer, oral historian, and a Civil War re-enactor. He is a fallen-away Amish and knows all the best places to go in Holmes County (OH). I accept insults from him on a regular basis, which I wouldn’t put up with from anyone else.

: Harlan Coban is a bestselling mystery writer. I remember him when he was an awestruck pup. This was taken at a mystery writer’s conference.

: At the Jake on a night when the Tribe whipped the Yankees (left to right): me, Holly, Josh Pachter and Paula Stoia.

: Dennis Lehane is one of the best writers around. He penned Mystic River and several other great novels. I interviewed him here at the Private Eye Writers of America EyeCon in St. Louis in 1999.

: My series character Milan Jacovich is named after a real Clevelander, dentist Milan Yacovich, who kindly has allowed me to use his name all these years.

: Molly Malek from Chicago has been my friend for almost 50 years. The character of Beth in Seeing the Elephant is based on her.

: After our 2006 performance of Love Letters, we gathered with friends at Noggins in Shaker Heights. Top row: Josh, me, and Craig Barbee. Bottom row: Josh’s brilliant daughter Becca, Paula, Holly and Sherri Robertson.

: Peggy Barnes Szpatura (far left) and her husband Neal (far right) have always been there when I needed them. They rescue stray animals, too. Here, they took Holly and me out for my birthday to Suhei in Beachwood.

: This is S.J. Rozan, former president of the Private Eye Writers of America. She’s not only a terrific mystery writer, but she knows all the really great restaurants in New York’s Chinatown. She’s also an architect, but she writes even better.

: Joe Valancik is an expert on food, on movies, and on Slovenia, where he visits frequently. The picture was taken in front of the Les Roberts Shelf at the Fireside Book Shop in Chagrin Falls.

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