Sherman, David J. 1966-

PERSONAL:

Born 1966, in Racine, WI; married; children: one daughter.

ADDRESSES:

Home—CA.

CAREER:

Writer, 1998—. Worked variously as a computer programmer, warehouse manager, truck driver, dispatcher, safety consultant, and record store owner.

MEMBER:

National Writers Union, Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Private Eye Writers of America, American Crime Writers League.

WRITINGS:

The Dark Side: A Jack Murphy Novel, Bloody Mist Press (Las Vegas, NV), 2002.

Also author of poems and short stories.

SIDELIGHTS:

David J. Sherman is the author of The Dark Side: A Jack Murphy Novel. "My style of writing is hardboiled PI, kick-ass partner, guns, drugs, crimes, killings and the loss of a kneecap or two," Sherman told Jon Jordan on the Books 'n' Bytes Web site. Citing his influences as Raymond Chandler, Robert B. Parker, Robert Crais, and Dennis Lehane, Sherman added: "All I try to do when I write is be real. I view myself as a storyteller, not an English major."

In The Dark Side, Sherman introduces Jack Murphy, a former small-town police officer turned private investigator who lives in Los Angeles. Murphy, who specializes in tracking down deadbeat dads and cheat- ing husbands, is hired by Raymond Sanders to locate his sixteen-year-old daughter, Carrie. Though Sanders reveals that the first detective he hired was killed under mysterious circumstances, it doesn't prevent Murphy from taking the case. With the help of his sidekick Arturo, a former gang member and ex-convict, and his resourceful secretary Nadia, Murphy enters the seedy world of child pornography and prostitution. "Sherman writes with class," Robin Glazer wrote on Myshelf.com. "His violent scenes are never gratuitous and always expertly done." In his debut novel, Sherman "combines a mystery-noir prose style with a vividly contemporary setting," noted Booklist reviewer David Pitt.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, October 1, 2002, David Pitt, review of The Dark Side: A Jack Murphy Novel, p. 305.

ONLINE

Books 'n' Bytes,http://www.booksnbytes.com/ (May 14, 2007), Jon Jordan, "Interview with David J. Sherman."

David J. Sherman Home Page,http://www.davidjsherman.com (September 26, 2004).

Myshelf.com,http://www.myshelf.com/ (April 20, 2007), Robin Glazer, review of The Dark Side.

Mystery Morgue,http://breakthroughpromotions.com/mysterymorgue/ (May 14, 2007), Dawn McKinney, review of The Dark Side.

Reviewing the Evidence,http://www.reviewingtheevidence.com/ (November 2, 2002), Angel L. Soto, review of The Dark Side.