Official Web Site of J. Sydney Jones Official Web Site of J. Sydney Jones
Official Web Site of J. Sydney Jones Official Web Site of J. Sydney Jones

Home

About the Author

Viennese Mysteries

Vienna 1900

Characters

Events & News

Other Books

Interviews

Q & A

Contact

Blog


University
 

 J. Kingston Pierce,  Kirkus Reviews  feature interview for The Keeper of Hands
March 14, 2013

High Society Meets Low Murder in Jones' Imperial Vienna [read more...]



 J. Kingston Pierce,  Rap Sheet  feature interview for The Keeper of Hands
March 14, 2013

In Tune with Vintage Vienna [read more...]



  Karen Charlton Guest Blog  interview on The Keeper of Hands
March 1, 2013

Gentlemen are like buses. You don't get one for a year and then three come along all at once. This week I am delighted to welcome to my Guest Blog the third man in a row: the acclaimed crime-fiction author, J. Sydney Jones. It is really fitting that Syd should be my 'third man,' as his popular series of crime novels are also set in Vienna - just like the famous film: 'The Third Man.' [read more...]



  Rap Sheet   feature article on The Silence
November 16, 2011

The Story Behind the Story:
The Silence
by J. Sydney Jones

I turned 21 on Easter Sunday in Rome, squeezed amongst the throngs of people gathered in St. Peter’s Square as the pope gave us all a plenary indulgence. I am not Catholic or Christian or even particularly religious, but the fact that the slim speck of white far away on a balcony over the enormous piazza erased all previous sin in my life was emblematic of that annus mirabilis in my life. [read more...]



 Gary Kriss The Big Thrill  feature article on The Silence
November 11-14, 2011

The Silence: A Viennese Mystery by J. Sydney Jones

First, I’m going to let J. Sydney Jones use his own words to give you the nitty-gritty about his just-published novel, THE SILENCE (Severn House), the third of his Viennese Mysteries: [read more...]



 Rhys Bowen Jungle Red Writers
June 13, 2012

Intrigue in Old Vienna [read more...]



 The Book Case  Guest Blog for BookPage
February 25, 2010

Tailed in Vienna

It took me two, maybe three weeks to figure it out.

At first I thought it might be a shopkeeper I did occasional business with. That would explain why he looked so familiar. The butcher on Langegasse or the wine merchant in the Altstadt. He had the same general features: slight build, medium height, light brown hair and eyes, gray overcoat. Nothing stood out. A figure that blends into the background." [read more...]



 7 Criminal Minds  Guest Blog
February 23, 2010

Ein Herz fuer Wien

Today we get a glimpse into another pivotal European city: Vienna. Since so much of twentieth century history was shaped here, we're lucky enough to have an expert guide: J. Sydney Jones, long term Viennese resident and writer of the Karl Werthen mystery series set in Vienna at the turn of the century. The starred Kirkus review for the second mystery in the series, REQUIEM IN VIENNA, gushed "Confident prose and mastery of historical detail, woven into a convincing narrative, make this sophisticated entertainment of a very high caliber." [read more...]



Murder is Everywhere  Guest Blog
Six renowned crime writers blog from different corners of the world
February 19, 2010

Es War Einmal in Wien [read more...]



Matt Beynon Rees, The Man of Twists and Turns Interview
February 18, 2010

From Hitler History to Mahler Mystery: J.Sydney Jones's Writing Life

Some authors exude the pleasure of reading and writing (and, believe me, when you meet them, you’d be surprised how many just don’t.) J. Sydney Jones is such a man, with a breadth of writing experience in different genres that’s deeply impressive and carries with it an obvious love of his craft. His Viennese Mystery series is a fascinating way to delve into one of Europe’s loveliest, most cultured cities – and damned entertaining, too. He’s also the man behind a great new blog Scene of the Crime, which focuses on the role of place in crime fiction – check out Syd’s interview with Berlin noirmeister Philip Kerr. Here Syd discusses his career and his ideas about writing. [read more...]



Cheryl's Book Nook Interview
February 16, 2010

First, can you please tell readers a little bit about yourself?

I’ve been writing professionally since just out of college. I started with travel pieces, then went on to nonfiction books and from there moved on to fiction. I write thrillers and historical mysteries and would not give up my job for any other. I’m most happily married and the father of a twenty-nine-year-old daughter and a five-year-old son. My family and I live on the central coast of California. [read more...]



Lesa’s Book Critiques  Guest Blog
February 4, 2010

I am a bit of a hybrid as a writer. I started out in nonfiction though fiction has always been my first love. The game plan at the time was to gain publishing credits through travel writing (I was living in Vienna and other places in Europe), and then build on those to narrative history (including a survey of Vienna 1900), and from there I would move to fiction. Well, duhh. Not being a graduate of a writing program, I really had no idea how the publishing industry works and how easy it is to get pigeonholed. [read more...]



Margaret Donsbach, HistoricalNovels.info Interview
February 3, 2010

The portrait of 1899 Vienna in your novel is full of depth and detail. Which aspect of your research had the strongest effect on your writing?

In this novel two different resources came together: a volume of Henry-Louis de la Grange’s massive and massively important biography of Mahler, Gustav Mahler: Vienna: The Years of Challenge (1897-1904), and Alma Schindler’s (later Mahler) diaries for the same period, Alma Mahler-Werfel: Diaries 1898-1902. Both supplied a wealth of detail not only about the protagonists, but also about Vienna of the time. Of course there are also intangibles that came together for this novel: my years of living in Vienna, my own deep love of music, and nagging questions about musical heritage and influences. [read more...]



Louise Ure, Murderati Interview
February 2, 2009

It's clear from your work that you know Vienna well. Tell us a little bit about your years there.

I went to Vienna initially as a student. It was my first experience of a big city and I fell in love with the place. This was during the Cold War--the Russians had just crushed the Prague Spring movement--and the city was most definitely Central European with the ambience of a much earlier time. Faded elegance best describes Vienna during that time. It has since gotten a facelift and joined Western Europe in a million small and irritating ways, but at the time, for a young man who loved history, Vienna was a living museum. I stayed on for almost two decades after my student year, working and living in other parts of Europe as well: Paris, Florence, Molyvos, Donegal. But I always kept coming back to Vienna for that feeling of home. [read more...]



Top