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- Cordell Logan Series
Why do I answer every email from readers? Back in the day—at the dawn of the Internet and long before social media existed—I was a working investigative reporter. For nearly two decades, I worked at a daily newspaper, chasing leads, combing through dusty archives, and persuading reluctant sources to talk. I spent weeks—sometimes months—building stories meant to expose wrongdoing, uncover injustice, or shine light into bureaucratic corners where...
When you’re an author, there’s little better than landing a positive book review, especially from someone who truly knows the craft. My gratitude to Mark Stevens, an author whose talents far exceed mine, for this terrific assessment of Deep Fury, my latest Cordell Logan mystery. https://markhstevens.wordpress.com/2025/03/28/david-freed-deep-fury/
I fly frequently enough on United Airlines to qualify as a “Premier” passenger. This designation, bestowed upon me as a reward for my loyalty—or at least my continued tolerance—allows me to board early and sit in what United optimistically calls Economy Plus. Economy Plus offers marginally more legroom, which is airline industry shorthand for “You will still suffer, but with slightly more dignity.” It also increases the likelihood...
All I know about horse racing is what I learned from reading Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand—and watching the movie adaptation. Both told the story of an underdog horse and a down-on-his-luck jockey who triumphed during the Great Depression. In college, I also read The Reivers by William Faulkner, which, if memory serves, involved horses somewhere in the mix—though mostly it was about three rascals stealing a car in...
Most folks, I suspect, have a favorite ball cap. Mine is sweat-stained, sun-faded, and frayed at the brim. It features a blue-and-gold winged panther—the insignia of the 99th Pursuit Squadron, better known as the Fighting 99th. In all the years I’ve worn it, only one person has ever recognized the patch. We were in a restaurant in Colorado Springs when the hostess—a young woman in her early twenties—smiled...
What happens when you write a novel, setting much of it in the real world, and then part of that real world is erased before the novel can be published? This was my dilemma in writing The Impossible Turn, my eighth and newest Cordell Logan mystery. A fair amount of the story originally took place in Malibu, California, where I drew references to actual streets I’ve driven...