What is Ken Harmon reading?

The current featured contributor at Writers Read: Ken Harmon, author of The Fat Man.

The entry begins:

I am not one of those readers that can read multiple books at once. Confusion is not the concern, but it always feels like an illicit affair, like the other book knows it is being ignored and that the characters in the story are plotting their revenge. But this article is not about my insanity. Presently, I am reading The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, the first book in Edmund Morris’ trilogy. Last summer, I read, Candice Millard’s The River of Doubt about Roosevelt’s nearly fatal trip to the Amazon. I became curious about the man that would make such a trip.

Before I started the Morris trilogy, I read...[read on]

Among the early praise for The Fat Man:

"Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean...and who wears jingle bells on his curly-toed shoes and stands about two-foot three. A man who is, in other words, an elf. But don't let the green tights and stocking cap fool you: Gumdrop Coal is the roughest, toughest punisher of the naughty since Mike Hammer, even if he does smell like peppermint and fresh-baked cookies."
-New York Times bestselling author Steve Hockensmith (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls)

"Noir and Christmas go together like Santa and his reindeer in this stylish elf fable by Ken Harmon, a newcomer who knows noir like he apprenticed with Hammett. An excellent stocking stuffer for the mystery lover in your family."
-New York Times bestselling author John Lescroart

"This is one of those wonderful books where I hit my forehead and cry, "Why didn't I think of that?". As I read I kept hoping it wasn't as brilliant as I feared - but it is. It's the "Naughty List" for you, if you don't buy this book for Christmas!"
-Louise Penny, New York Times bestselling author of A Brutal Telling

Visit Ken Harmon's website.

Writers Read: Ken Harmon.

The Page 69 Test: The Fat Man.

--Marshal Zeringue