Blog Posts for Matt Beynon Rees

Researching the novel

Matt Beynon Rees — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:07:17 -0800

Novelists aren’t journalists. Research for a novel isn’t the same as researching a journalistic article.I’d have thought that was too obvious to need stating. But then I became a published novelist, and I realized that people thought the two things were rather the same.I was a journalist for almost 20 years before my first novel was published. THE COLLABORATOR OF BETHLEHEM is a crime novel ...

Less about suicide bombers, more about suicides

Matt Beynon Rees — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:51:29 -0800

Michael Anthony is the author of MASS CASUALTIES: A Young Medic’s True Story of Death, Deception and Dishonor in Iraq (Adams Media, October 2009). His book is drawn from his personal journals during the first year he spent serving in Iraq. You can read my interview with him <a ...

Is Abbas really ready to quit this time?

Matt Beynon Rees — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:22:23 -0800

Worn out has-been or drama queen? Interpretations of the Palestinian president's threat to quit vary greatly. By Matt Beynon Rees - GlobalPostJERUSALEM — Sometimes a quitter really does quit for good. The Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, announced last week that he wouldn’t run for re-election in the proposed January elections. Back when he was Yasser Arafat’s deputy in the ...

Jerusalem's a zoo

Matt Beynon Rees — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:52:28 -0800

When foreign correspondents come to Jerusalem they often ask me for advice on stories and places from which to witness the various conflicts that play out in this city. Next time, I’m going to buy them a ticket to the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo.I go there every Saturday afternoon with my two-year-old son. But perhaps because our favorite animals (the cute little prairie dogs) have hibernated, I ...

Huff Post on Crime Fiction: What do you think?

Matt Beynon Rees — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:55:40 -0800

Huffington Post book blogger Jason Pinter has a column about "The State of the Crime Novel." It's a fairly Yankocentric appraisal of current crime writing by a series of top US reviewers. It includes this from veteran mystery columnist Oline H. Cogdill: "One of the main missions of crime novels is to paint a timely portrait of the issues in our times. This doesn't mean these novels ...

Looking for somewhere to kill someone: suggestions please

Matt Beynon Rees — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:03:19 -0800

I’m always looking for a good spot in which to kill someone. Still, as a crime writer, I rarely have to ask about potential locations for a good murder. People are keen to suggest that the blood be spilled on their doorstep.Most recently, it was a pastor and his wife.To be fair, they actually said I ought to have my Palestinian detective Omar Yussef visit their church on the top of the Mount of ...

Review: The year's best Police procedural

Matt Beynon Rees — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:12:42 -0700

Strange Things Happen: A Life with The Police, Polo and PygmiesBy Stewart CopelandPublisher UK: The Friday Project US: HarperStudioJust because I write crime fiction doesn’t make me obsessed by The Police. However, this new memoir by The Police drummer is absolutely the most delightful surprise of the year. Copeland writes with the same verve and invention he displays in his deceptively tricky ...

Jerusalem reading Nov. 16

Matt Beynon Rees — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:48:40 -0700

I'll be talking about my Palestinian crime novels in Jerusalem on Monday, Nov. 16 at 10 a.m. The location is Beit Frankforter, 80 Bethlehem Road, in Baka. So call in sick (if you still have a job) and come along.

Israel's new weapon: water?

Matt Beynon Rees — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:18:49 -0700

Yet another report accuses Israel of human rights abuses, this time for denying Palestinians water. By Matt Beynon Rees - GlobalPostJERUSALEM — Human-rights reports condemning Israel’s dealings with the Palestinians have become so frequent of late they’re like the dripping of Chinese water torture.In the last few months, there have been reports on the conduct of Israeli forces in Gaza, on ...

No more Mister Nice Guy

Matt Beynon Rees — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 23:44:33 -0700

This is where it gets ugly.Last week I zapped off the manuscript of my new novel to my agent in New York. My wife told me to get working on the next book. It’s not because she’s worried about me slacking off and failing to pay the rent. No, it’s because she knows what happens when I’m not writing.Ever read “The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde”? When I’m writing, I’m Dr ...