What is Steve Hockensmith reading?

The current featured contributor at Writers Read: Steve Hockensmith, the New York Times bestselling author of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls as well as World’s Greatest Sleuth! and other “Holmes on the Range” mysteries.

His entry begins:

The last book I read, Kurt Vonnegut’s funny-sad-brilliant Hocus Pocus, took me three days. The book I’m reading now, on the other hand, has taken me close to three weeks...and I’ve still got 100 pages to go.

You’d think I was subjecting myself to War and Peace, but that’s not the case. It’s The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins that I’m crawling through. I’m enjoying the crawl, though! Don’t think I’m complaining. It’s just that the book -- an exhaustive (and devastating) critique of religion -- is so densely packed with ideas and arguments that I have to take it slowly. I usually read for half an hour each night, enough to take a decent-sized bite out of a Vonnegut novel, say. In the same amount of time with Dawkins’s book, however, I’m only getting through 10 or 15 pages. It looks like this is going to be my Book of the Month.

And that’s fine by me. Well, not entirely. Oh, to be a speed reader, zipping through Gravity’s Rainbow in the dentist’s waiting room; polishing off...[read on]

Among the early praise for World's Greatest Sleuth!:

"Hockensmith has delivered a fine addition to his 'Holmes on the Range' series. Gustav and Otto are appealing heroes and the 'White City' provides a great backdrop. This should satisfy historical mystery readers who enjoy a tale full of clues leavened with humor."
—Library Journal

"World's Greatest Sleuth! is a hoot."
—The Washington Post

"The novel is a delicate balance of mystery and humor, and its two leads, the brothers Amlingmeyer, are a real treat for fans of lighthearted mysteries. Holmesians, too, will get a kick out of Hockensmith's frequent nods to the Great Detective."
—Booklist

"World's Greatest Sleuth! is a delightful mixture of Western, mystery and comedy. Hockensmith writes with a flair that other writers must envy."
—The Galveston County Daily News

"Hilarious...rollicking"
—Romantic Times

"...a delightful madcap farce...fun and funny...you'll be wondering who the culprit was and what the heck they're up to as you fly through the pages."
—Bookgasm

Visit Steve Hockensmith's website.

The Page 69 Test: On the Wrong Track.

My Book, The Movie: Holmes on the Range.

The Page 99 Test: The Black Dove.

The Page 69 Test: The Crack in the Lens.

The Page 69 Test: World's Greatest Sleuth!.

Writers Read: Steve Hockensmith.

--Marshal Zeringue