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Ace Atkins

Ace Atkins (born June 28, 1970)[1] is an American journalist and author. He became a full-time novelist at the age of 30.[citation needed]

Ace Atkins
Ace Atkins (2013; age 43).
Ace Atkins (2013; age 43).
Born (1970-06-28) June 28, 1970 (age 54)
OccupationNovelist
LanguageEnglish
NationalityAmerican
Alma materAuburn University
GenreCrime fiction, mystery

Biography

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Born in 1970, Atkins is the son of NFL player Billy Atkins.[2][3]

Atkins lettered for the Auburn University football team in 1992 and 1993.[4]

Atkins was featured on the Sports Illustrated cover commemorating the Tigers' perfect 11-0 season of 1993. The cover shows Atkins celebrating after sacking future Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel of the Florida Gators. Atkins wore number 99 for the Tigers.[citation needed]

Atkins graduated from Auburn University in 1994.[4]

Atkins worked[when?] as a crime reporter in the newsroom of The Tampa Tribune before he published his first novel, Crossroad Blues (1998).[citation needed] While at the Tribune, Atkins earned a Pulitzer Prize nomination for a feature series based on his investigation into a forgotten murder of the 1950s.[5] The story became the core of his critically acclaimed novel, White Shadow, which was commented on positively by noted authors and critics. In his next novels, Wicked City and Devil's Garden, Atkins continued this kind of story-telling, a style that was compared to that of Dennis Lehane and George Pelecanos.[5]

White Shadow (2006), Wicked City (2008), and Devil's Garden (2009) are personal books for Atkins, all set in his former homes: San Francisco, where he lived as a child; Alabama, his family's home and where he was born and went to college; and Tampa, where he embarked on his career as a writer. Each novel contains bits of himself – friends and colleagues he once knew, people he respected or admired, family members, and personal heroes.[citation needed]

In Devil's Garden, Atkins explores the early life of one of those heroes: Dashiell Hammett, the originator of the hard-boiled crime novel. As a Pinkerton Agency detective, Hammett investigated the rape and manslaughter case against early Hollywood star Roscoe Arbuckle, one of the most sensational trials of the 20th Century.[5] Atkins' novel Infamous (2010) is based on the 1933 Charles Urschel kidnapping and subsequent misadventures of the gangster couple George "Machine Gun" and Kathryn Kelly.[citation needed]

In 2011, Atkins was selected by the estate of Robert B. Parker to take over writing the Spenser series of novels.[6] The Boston Globe wrote that while some people might have "viewed the move as unseemly, those people didn't know Robert B. Parker, a man who, when asked how his books would be viewed in 50 years, replied: 'Don't know, don't care.' He was proud of his work, but he mainly saw writing as a means of providing a comfortable life for his family."[7]

Personal life

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In a 2023 interview for CrimeReads, Atkins said he’s been living for the past twenty years on a historic farm outside Oxford, Mississippi with his family.[4][8]

Novels

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Nick Travers

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  1. Crossroad Blues (1998)
  2. Leavin' Trunk Blues (2000)
  3. Dark End of the Street (2002)
  4. Dirty South (2004)

Quinn Colson

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  1. The Ranger (2011)[9][10][11][12]
  2. The Lost Ones (2012)[13][14]
  3. The Broken Places (2013)[15]
  4. The Forsaken (2014)[16]
  5. The Redeemers (2015)[17]
  6. The Innocents (2016)
  7. The Fallen (2017)[18]
  8. The Sinners (2018)
  9. The Shameless (2019)
  10. The Revelators (2020)
  11. The Heathens (2021)

Robert B. Parker's Spenser

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  • Robert B. Parker's Lullaby (2012)
  • Robert B. Parker's Wonderland (2013)
  • Robert B. Parker's Cheap Shot (2014)
  • Robert B. Parker's Kickback (2015)
  • Robert B. Parker's Slow Burn (2016)
  • Robert B. Parker's Little White Lies (2017)
  • Robert B. Parker's Old Black Magic (2018)
  • Robert B. Parker's Angel Eyes (2019)
  • Robert B. Parker’s Someone To Watch Over Me (2020)
  • Robert B. Parker's Bye Bye Baby (2022)

Stand Alone Novels

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  • White Shadow (2006) 400 pages ISBN 0-425-23054-6
  • Wicked City (2008) 368 pages ISBN 0-425-22707-3
  • Devil's Garden (2009) 368 pages ISBN 0-399-15536-8
  • Infamous (2010) 416 pages ISBN 0-399-15630-5

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Official Site of American Writer Ace Atkins | About: Quick Facts". Archived from the original on March 23, 2012. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
  2. ^ Shearer, Jeff (September 20, 2020). "On the cover: From sacks to books, Auburn's Ace Atkins stands tall". Auburn Tigers. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  3. ^ Edgemon, Erin (January 13, 2019). "Alabama native, bestselling author Ace Atkins to be honored". AL.com. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c Barnes, Brad (April 14, 2008). "A Q and A with author Ace Atkins". Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. Archived from the original on January 27, 2013. Retrieved January 26, 2010.
  5. ^ a b c DeSilva, Bruce (April 20, 2009). "'Devil's Garden' is a remarkable book". Associated Press. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
  6. ^ "Parker's series live on" by Mark Shanahan & Meredith Goldstein, Boston Globe April 28, 2011
  7. ^ Bissonette, Zac (May 12, 2013). "Robert B. Parker is dead. Long live Robert B. Parker!". Boston Globe. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  8. ^ "The Backlist: Revisiting Larry Brown's "Father and Son" with Ace Atkins". CrimeReads. February 2, 2023.
  9. ^ Anderson, Patrick. "Review of Ace Atkins's 'The Ranger'". Washington Post. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
  10. ^ MARTINDALE, DAVID. "Author interview: Ace Atkins talks about 'The Ranger'". Dallas News. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
  11. ^ Kardos, Michael. "Book review: 'The Forsaken' by Ace Atkins". Clarion Ledger. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
  12. ^ Gill, Leonard (October 3, 2014). "Summer Book Roundup". Memphis Magazine. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
  13. ^ Weaver, Kendal. "Book review: Second Quinn Colson novel features romance, dark family secret". News Sentinel. Retrieved June 7, 2015.[permanent dead link]
  14. ^ Bancroft, Colette. "Review: Ace Atkins' 'The Lost Ones' has Quinn Colson searching on the mean streets". Tampa Bay. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
  15. ^ Noble, Don (July 15, 2013). "Books:The Broken Places: A Quinn Colson Novel and Robert B. Parker's Wonderland". APR. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
  16. ^ Anderson, Lanie. "Atkins pens new novel, signs Wednesday". Oxford Citizen. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
  17. ^ "Review: 'The Redeemers' by Ace Atkins". October Country. July 17, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  18. ^ "The Fallen (A Quinn Colson Novel)". aceatkins.com. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
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