Radio Houstoned: Harley Jane Kozak

Harley Jane Kozak’s Dead Ex has just hit the bookshelves, and already it’s getting lots of buzz. Kozak made his name as an actor in films such as Parenthood and Arachnophobia and soap operas like Guiding Light. Then she turned her eye to writing and launched the Wollie Shelley mystery series, winning the Macavity Award for Best First Mystery Novel and the Toby Bromberg Award for Most Humorous Mystery for her debut Dating Dead Men, an especially nice trick. Dating is Murder soon followed, along with more accolades.

Dead Ex is the third outing for the spunky Ms. Shelley, an LA greeting card artist and amateur sleuth. When her friend Joey becomes the prime suspect in a murder, Shelley sets out to prove Joey is innocent. Of course, there are all the requisite twists, turns and trip-ups (for one thing, the dead guy is Wollie’s ex-boyfriend). Dead Ex has been described as a “laugh-out-loud whodunit.” If you’re wondering how murder can be funny, it’s not so much the dying part that is funny, it’s what the survivors do afterwards that is. A Hollywood insider, Kozak peoples her books with quirky daytime television stars, crazed paparazzi, overly dedicated cops, and slippery lovers. It’s sort of chick-lit-meets-black-comedy, or Miss Marple in heels. Kozak read from Dead Ex yesterday at Murder by the Book and she spoke to us as well. Get her take on the writing world and what to do with so many dead guys in our Radio Houstoned interview. -- Olivia Flores Alvarez

To hear the first part of our interview with Harley Jane Kozak, press the LISTEN button below.

To hear the second part of our interview with Harley Jane Kozak, press the LISTEN button below.