title: The Triumph of the Thriller: How Cops, Crooks, and Cannibals Captured Popular Fiction
author:  Patrick Anderson 
description: The reader who isn't a thriller fan but is curious about this enormously popular genre couldn't ask for a better introduction than Anderson's lively and informative survey. Anderson, the <i>Washington Post </i>weekly thriller reviewer and self-described "middlebrow," explains why the genre has come to dominate bestseller lists in recent years: "Decades of war, recession, and political and corporate corruption have made Americans more cynicalor realisticand thus more open to novels that examine the dark side of our society." Then he quickly covers the 19th-century pioneers (Poe, Collins, Conan Doyle) and the early 20th-century greats (Christie, Hammett, Chandler). The book hits its stride with a chapter on the modern thriller's birth in the 1980s. The author champions such contemporary writers as Thomas Harris, George P. Pelecanos, Michael Connelly and Dennis Lehane, but isn't afraid to condemn the work of such bestsellers as James Patterson and Patricia Cornwell. While the generous plot descriptions might spoil a novel like <i>The Silence of the Lamb </i>for those who have never read Harris, this personal, opinionated guide will satisfy even those well versed in the genre. Anderson is also the author of <i>The President's Mistress</i> and eight other novels. <i>(Feb. 6)</i> <br />Copyright  Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  
  
  As always, many people helped with the details of this book.
  
  
  First and foremost, my husband Dan for helping me figure out how to make a
  conspiracy work.
  
  
  A special thanks to morgue supervisor Phelan Evans from the Sacramento County
  Coroner’s Office for not only the tour, but answering all my questions without
  batting an eye. C. J. Lyons once again saved my butt with her sound medical
  advice. My friend Trisha McKay who reminded me that the Fox & Goose serves
  Guinness on tap. And Virna DePaul who answered many of my legal questions.
  
  
  Of course, I can’t neglect to mention Dan, my husband, for making many
  sacrifices, including eating cold or late dinners—and sometimes having to make
  his own dinner—during the writing of this book.
  
  
  I especially want to thank the Sacramento Regional FBI Office, in particular
  SAC Drew Parenti, SA and Citizen’s 