King’s Books on Tacoma’s St. Helens Avenue is an unlikely venue for a political fundraiser. But it’s a logical place for one starring Pierce County deputy prosecutor and thriller writer Mark Lindquist.

Lindquist, an all-but-announced candidate to succeed retiring Prosecutor Gerry Horne in two years, will read from his latest novel, “The King of Methlehem,” at 7 p.m. May 29. “A discussion of literature, politics and Pierce County will follow,” the invitation says. Perhaps Lindquist will share meth recipes.

The fundraiser is for the county Democratic Party, not for Lindquist. U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Tacoma, former governor and county executive Booth Gardner and Horne are billed as hosts.

Lindquist is the party favorite for the prosecutor’s race, and having Horne’s backing is a major advantage. I asked Lindquist how “Methelehem” fared with the reviewers:

Reviews for "King of Methlehem" have been good (Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Seattle Times etc), overblown (The Weekly Volcano, God bless the local press, called me a "literary genius,") and blah (New York Times Book Review was boring, but you can't really complain about being reviewed in the NYTBR). You can see some reviews here

Reviews for "Never Mind Nirvana" (an earlier novel) were more numerous and often more enthusiastic, probably because of the subject matter. Rock and roll apparently entices more book review editors than meth.

Important thing is that the hardback did well enough that Simon & Schuster is putting out a trade paperback this month. Here's an interesting reference to "King of Methlehem" in an msnbc article, "Pop Culture is Getting an Injection of Meth

The cover of the paperback is cooler than the hardback, so that should count for something

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And here’s a capsule review from the Los Angeles Times:

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"Lindquist had the fortune or misfortune to be associated with the literary brat pack of the 80s, and, over the years, his books have enjoyed blurbs of endorsement from all the big players in that gang: Tama Janowitz, Bret Easton Ellis and Jay McInerney. When the 80s became the 90s, Lindquist once again found himself with a view of the zeitgeist. He was living in Seattle watching the grunge scene develop, out of which came his book Never Mind Nirvana. Lindquist, who was once named by People magazine as one of the most eligible bachelors in America, released his latest novel last month: King of Methlehem. Though continuing Lindquist's fascination with pop culture, this novel is about speed freaks called tweekers, and draws more than any of his other work on Lindquist's day job working as a prosecutor in Pierce County and his life in Tacoma, Washington."
--Richard Abowitz, Los Angeles Times