A Writer's Life

The Word on The Last Word

I have been getting lots of emails about THE LAST WORD, the final DIAGNOSIS  MURDER novel. I would say that 95% of the response has been positive...the rest, well, far less so. Here's a small sampling of some of them:

From Patrick Casey:

I finished reading "The Last Word" last night and I must say that it is a spectacular book.  I enjoyed how you brought back a lot of the old enemies of Mark, and giving him his greatest challenge yet.  As I was finishing reading the last chapter of the book at tear started to roll down, knowing that this is the end for the characters.  The last line of the book is exactly what this series was about.  Thank you for giving us fans a wonderful ending for this wonderful TV show.  I hope that one day down the road you will revisit the books and give us more of Dr. Mark Sloan and family.

From Patty Kavaitis:

I just finished it. It kept me so enthralled that I literally could not put it down-read it at one go.  You did not let us down, you kept the family together, and left the door open for new adventures. Sweeney's insidious plan was so intricate I almost felt like pulling out pencil and paper to keep track of who did what and who knew what--and to connect all the dots of the not so coincidental connections...

From Betty:

If it wasn't for Dick Van Dyke's photo on the cover, I'd have sworn I was reading bad fan fiction. 'The Last Word' lives up, or should I say down, to its name by completely destroying the lives and careers of the characters. I particularly hate the characters being subjected to the state-sponsored kidnapping also known as wrongful arrest and imprisonment; without the slightest hint of any form of redress at the end. For me this book caused tears and a nightmare. This series could have ended in style with *satisfactory* resolutions; including other, positive reasons for Mark and Steve to decide it was time to quit medicine and solving murders, respectively. And by the way, destroying the characters means that the baddies win after all. What kind of a message is that to send?

From TommyH:

I enjoyed The Last Word, and think you have done a great job in taking the characters from the TV series and making them more 3 dimensional and interesting. While the TV show was entertaining, the books blow the series out of the water, because they expand on familiar characters/plot and make them more realistic. The books have improved on the television series, and I just hope that The Last Word is not the last book

From Maria:

I’ve just finished reading The Last Word.  This tied in very well with #5 and #7.  I like the ending, which leaves you with so many possibilities to continue the story in so many different ways, if so required/wished to do so. Only one problem…I lost a few hours sleep in finishing reading it...>really a great read, great story and a great ‘ending’.

From William Simon:

I have to tell you (for what my opinion's worth), you blew me out of my chair.  You scared me at about the 3/4 mark; how the F*** was Mark going to get out of THIS jam?  Usually, I'm a little better than average at figuring things out (a legacy from being raised on Ellery Queen I suppose), but you took me by surprise all the way around.  My compliments, amigo.  A well done novel, a nice tribute, a fitting end to the series.

From  Nwolynetz :

The critics were right it was tooooo dark.  I don't think it was a fitting end to the series, you made Dr. Sloan and his "family" and his past exploits irrelevant. Your dimensions were way off.  I loved all of your past books but not this one.  I have reread all of your other books more than once, but will never reread this one.  Stop reevaluating your characters and keep them as lovable as they once were. I have few authors I enjoy and you have been one of them, please don't disappoint me again.  Thanks for giving me a chance to vent my frustration.

From Richard L. Moore:

I just finished THE LAST WORD and I do think, in my humble opinion, that it was a fitting end to the series. I enjoyed the book, couldn't put it down as I had to keep reading to see what happened.  The ending was just great.

One of my all-time favorite emails

I got this email today from someone who read DIAGNOSIS MURDER: THE LAST WORD and wasn't too fond of it:

The reason why I like reading DM is because I enjoyed the television series.  I, too, did think your recent book was a little "dark".  I personally would prefer no changes and enjoyed reading about the one demensional tv character Dr. Sloan solving cases.  If I wanted to read a novel, I will buy James Patterson.

Another Word on THE LAST WORD

Longtime DIAGNOSIS MURDER fan Chadwick Saxelid has read THE LAST WORD, the 8th and final book in the series, and didn't find it a very pleasant experience. He says, in part:

With Diagnosis Murder #8: The Last Word author Lee Goldberg takes to the status quo of the series the way Godzilla takes to Tokyo.  He leaves no recognizable landmark standing, completely obliterating the status quo. [...] This is dark stuff indeed and a major change of pace for the series.  [...] This time around [he] takes the gloves off and does more than put Mark Sloan in a coma, he beats him bloody and senseless.  Watching Sloan rebound and regroup in an atypical manner completes the deconstruction of both the character and the series.  The Last Word truly is.

I certainly can't argue with his overall take on the book, though I don't think it's any darker than THE PAST TENSE (#5) or THE DOUBLE LIFE (#7)...the other books in this "unofficial" trilogy. It was certainly my intent with THE LAST WORD -- as well as PAST TENSE and DOUBLE LIFE -- to explore, as deeply as I could, Dr. Mark Sloan and to make him more than just a one-dimensional TV character, a "doctor who solves crimes." Over those three books, and to a lesser degree in THE SHOOTING SCRIPT (#3), I was intentionally confronting/deconstructing the ridiculous conceits of the series in a backwards attempt to make the implausible, underlying concept more believable and, by extension, the characters more real. I know that sounds pretentious, but I like to think that's what made these books read more like novels than simply knock-offs of a TV show...and why I was lucky enough to enjoy so much critical praise for them (even from Chadwick!).

If I ever decide to do more DM books, the resolution of THE LAST WORD opens the door to go in a new direction which...after being involved in four seasons of DM as a writer/producer and as the author of  eight books...I am ready to do. I think I have taken this particular format and these relationships about as far as they can go.

I'm curious to know what you think. Is THE LAST WORD a fitting end for the series? Or did I go too far?

Review Copies

I've received a limited number of review copies of MR. MONK AND THE TWO ASSISTANTS (July 2007) and DIAGNOSIS MURDER: THE LAST WORD (May 2007). If you're an established reviewer and would be interested in receiving copies one or both books, please send me an email as soon as possible at Lee@leegoldberg.com with the name of your publication/website and your mailing address. I can't promise that everyone who asks for one will get one...but I will do my best.

The First Word on The Last Word

Mark Baker, a frequent visitor here and an Amazon top reviewers, has given his eOpinion on DIAGNOSIS MURDER: THE LAST WORD, the final book in the series. He says, in part:

About a quarter of the way into it, I was getting bored and wondering where it was going. Then things really took off and I was hooked for the rest of the book. And those events from the first quarter? Absolutely essential to what comes next.

[...]Not only does this book close out the book series, but it also serves as a finale for the TV show. Yet it leaves the door open for further adventures. Frankly, I'd love to know what happens to these old friends next.

This is a book for the fans. Anyone looking for closure for these characters should read it. I'm definitely going to miss them. I just hope that something changes and we can get more adventure with these characters at some point in the future.

The book officially comes out the first week of May, but I am already getting emails from people who pre-ordered it and have received their copies.

Diagnosis: DVD

TVShowsonDVD reports that the second season boxed set of DIAGNOSIS MURDER, which includes my first contributions to the show, will be released in June. Our mentor Michael Gleason (creator/EP of REMINGTON STEELE) was running DM during the second season and signed Bill Rabkin and me to write four freelance episodes, one of which turned out to be the season premiere. We were thrilled. But a few weeks later, we got hired as supervising producers on THE COSBY MYSTERIES. So we found ourselves balancing two jobs and two TV icons at once ...Bill Cosby by day and Dick Van Dyke by night. We did it and somehow we even managed to write a pilot that year, too. Little did we know that our relationship with DIAGNOSIS MURDER was only just beginning.

Proofs as Proof

Novelist John Connolly just got the page proofs for his new book THE UNQUIET:

It's always interesting to receive the proofs, as it's the first time that I get to see the book as it will look to the public, i.e. typeset, and no longer simply my manuscript. At that point, a transformation occurs in the way I view it. It is not just something that I rustled up on my computer. It's a book, and I judge it in a different way. I notice elements that perhaps I did not recognise before. I become more conscious of themes running through it, and I become aware, for want of a better word, of the 'feel' of the book.

I know exactly how he feels. I just finished going through the proofs for DIAGNOSIS MURDER: THE LAST WORD and I felt as if I was reading someone else's book. It didn't seem to have any connection to the "file" I emailed to my editor months ago. I was reading it fresh and I was surprised by some of obvious themes that ran that ran through the book...themes I wasn't even consciously aware of as I was writing it. 

When I read the proofs, I find myself seeing the prose, the characters, and the plot differently than I did in the midst of working on the book. But most of all, reading THE LAST WORD, I was aware of a pace and rythmn to the story that I definitely didn't feel while I was writing it in bits and pieces, at different times and in different places (L.A., Germany, Palm Springs... and at my desk, on airplanes, in hotel rooms, in waiting rooms, in my car, etc.)

The term "proofs" has a double-meaning to me. Holding the proofs, I have evidence to convince myself that what I wrote is actually a book...it's the first time the story feels like a book to me instead of work.

Diagnosis Murder Galleys

THE LAST WORD, the final book in the DIAGNOSIS MURDER series, will be published in May. If you are a book critic and would like a galley of the book for review,  please send me your name, the title of your publication (or the web address of your review site), and your mailing address.

Diagnosis Murder Song

Look what I stumbled on...some band in England has recorded a spoofy song about DIAGNOSIS MURDER and posted a video on You Tube. I have no idea what the lyrics are, which makes it hard for me to sing-along. Can you make them out?

Double Takes

DIAGNOSIS MURDER: THE DOUBLE LIFE has been getting some very nice reviews from some very kind bloggers. Bill Peschel notes:

Fans of the “DM” series will know exactly what to expect: fast-paced storytelling, some humor, and a nicely observed interaction between Mark and his son, a homicide detective struggling to establish himself away from his father’s accomplishments. It’s to Lee’s credit that, in a genre that demands neat and tidy solutions, the personal conflicts never get truly resolved, just as in real life.

While the ScifiChick observes:

Goldberg weaves a complex mystery full of murders and puzzles. As always, he gives Dr. Sloan so much depth, emotion, and humor that you can imagine Dick Van Dyke playing the part on TV. Goldberg has proved once again that he is a master of writing whodunits.

Chris Well says you don't have to be a DIAGNOSIS MURDER fan to enjoy the book:

Goldberg does an excellent job of building on the characters we know and love. He also displays a knack of creating mysteries within mysteries, much like a puzzle box: no sooner do you have one thing figured out than you discover it's actually hiding something even more sinister. As such, The Double Life is not just an excellent continuation of the series -- but an excellent mystery novel.

And apparently Chadwick Saxelid didn't take it personally that I killed him off in this book:

Lee Goldberg has concocted a mystery concept so unnerving, it would even give veteran medical thriller writer Robin Cook the willies.

I want to thank all four bloggers for saying such nice things about the  THE DOUBLE LIFE, which leads directly in to THE LAST WORD, the final book in the series, which comes out in May. The cover for the book just showed up on Amazon (Click on the picture for a larger image).