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“Corbett delivers a rich, hard-hitting epic.”

—Publishers Weekly
Starred Review

“The best in contemporary crime fiction—or in contemporary fiction, period.”

—Washington Post

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“Corbett, like Robert Stone and Graham Greene before him, is crafting important, immensely thrilling books.”

—George Pelecanos

“That rare beast: a work of popular fiction that is both serious and thrilling.”

—John Connolly

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“The line runs through Ernest Hemingway and Graham Greene, straight on to David Corbett. I’m not kidding. He’s that good.”

—John Lescroart

“For all the lyricism of his narration and the compassion he shows, Corbett never strays too far from the blunt vigor of California noir.”

—New York Times Book Review

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“Corbett is the best of Quentin Tarantino and Elmore Leonard. Nobody writes crime fiction better.”

—Robert Dugoni

“Corbett handles his story line and subplots adroitly, in economical but polished prose, but his real strength is in character development.”

—Booklist

News

Although this happened a few years ago David just discovered this!
In his master class on making documentaries, Ken Burns mentioned The Art of Character as a source for developing even non-fiction characters:
Lesson 9. Shaping Nonfiction Characters—Class Guide: “Read The Art of Character: Creating Memorable Characters for Fiction, Film, and TV by David Corbett. Although authored by a novelist, the lessons and tips in this book are equally applicable to both narrative and documentary film.”

2025

Defending Democracy Book Group
David has started a new book group at his local library premised on non-fiction that addresses the battle between democracy and autocracy. Books they will be discussing in their upcoming gatherings include:
On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder
How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky, Daniel Ziblatt
Surviving Autocracy by Masha Gessen
Autocracy Inc. by Anne Applebaum
The Undertow by Jeff Sharlet
Dark Money by Jane Mayer
Does your local library or independent bookstore have a group like this? If not, consider starting one yourself!

2024

September 24
Bianca Vandenbos of Book Notions interviewed David about his writing and his past life as a private investigator. (Feel free to flip forward to the parts about the Michael Jackson Case and the People’s Temple Trial.)
The full interview can be found here.

September 23
Dp Lyle and Kathie Antrim of Outliers Writing University interviewed David for their Youtube channel and asked him about his tortured childhood, his wayward education, his writing and teaching, and other aspects of his misspent life.
Watch the video here.

May 13
Chicago-based author and blogger G.P. Gottlieb interviewed David for the the New Books Network to discuss his latest novel, The Truth Against the World, which she described as "a brilliant literary fantasy about a divided, dystopian America on the verge of war.”
You can listen to the full interview here.

March 15
David’s short story “Attrition” appeared in the online journal Close to the Bone.

2023

May 16
The Indy Author: What I Learned
The Truth Against the World with David Corbett
Matty Dalrymple interviews David about what he learned in writing his latest novel that could provide lessons both for fellow writers and for readers.

May 28
Writer Unboxed
Take Five: Q&A with David Corbett about The Truth Against the World
Elizabeth Havey poses five key questions to David about his latest novel.

May 30
Authors on the Air
Bestselling author Rachel Howzell Hall interviews David for this one-of-a-kind program about books and authors syndicated worldwide.

June 1
Writer Unboxed
How I (Re)discovered my (White, Irish) Roots by Writing my Latest Novel
David explores how his research for The Truth Against the World deepened his understanding of his cultural heritage.

June 1
Jungle Red Writers (Blog)
David will be the guest of Hallie Ephron as they discuss David’s upcoming novel, The Truth Against the World.

June 2
The Story Blender
David discusses his latest novel and storytelling in general with Steven James.