Welcome to Marc Hirsch Author's Website
About Me
My background
I was born in New York City just before the end of World War II, and raised in the Bronx. I graduated Boston University School of Medicine in 1969 and moved to San Francisco for post-graduate training. I attended medical needs of American Indians at the start of their occupation of Alcatraz.
My writing roots
I moved to a small island off the coast of British Columbia where I read boxes of paperback detective books by authors like Raymond Chandler (Philip Marlowe,) Dashiell Hammett (Sam Spade, Nick and Nora Charles,) and Earl der Biggers (Charlie Chan.) Detective fiction became my favorite genre.
My style
I collected sketches over ten years for my memoirs and discovered to my dismay that I did not write very well, so I found a professional screenwriter to help me learn the craft. Rich Krevolin, professor of screenwriting at USC and UCLA, helped me develop a cinematic style, demonstrating character traits rather than describing them.
I'm from NYC so I talk fast and so do my characters. I have fond memories of the 1950s, so my series is set in 1950s NYC. The Case was my first book about a young female law student investigating for a law firm during the day and going to NYU Law School at night.
The Con Case Review
Review
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed By Christian Sia for Readers’ Favorite
The Con Case is the third book in The Alice White Investigator Series by Marc Hirsch, an intelligently plotted crime novel with characters that are compelling and interesting to follow. In a story set in New York in the ’50s, Alice White is investigating a ruthless gang of con artists. But it seems she is up against a very cunning enemy, the leader of the gang who gets a young man involved in their game and then frames him for murder. While Alice can see through the unconventional and sinister methods they use to ensure the loyalty of their recruits, she will have to match wits with the ruthless gang leader to succeed in saving a life and bringing the bad guys to justice. The only question is: Can she save her own life?
If you love sleuth novels, then this one will be a great read for you. I enjoyed the fact that Marc Hirsch has created a strong female protagonist and sent her into a world of wolves. Readers will easily feel connected to the protagonist, a character that is humanly flawed, but whose courage and intelligence compensate for her apparent flaws. Readers will also enjoy the way the villain, Pope, is developed; the kind of character whose wickedness and evil ways contradict everything we would admire in a hero. The Con Case is beautifully written, fast-paced and riveting, and readers will enjoy the emotional depth of the story. The author takes readers into the world of con artists and explores the psychology of deceit and manipulation in a very skillful way. This is a very satisfying read.
5 Star Review Of The Con Case
Review Rating:
5 Stars - Congratulations on your 5-star review!
Reviewed By Kimberlee J Benart for Readers’ Favorite
The Con Case is the third book in The Alice White Investigator Series by Marc Hirsch. It continues the daring adventures of a law firm’s legal assistant and investigator, who is also an NYU law student at night, in exciting and colorful mid-1950s New York City. Three previous near-death experiences have left Alice wondering if criminal investigation is the kind of work she ought to do, even though it led her to her current boyfriend. But, when Michael Pope, a dangerous, abusive, wealthy “ruler” of a deadly sex-drugs-and-alcohol-infused “con game” empire, leaves a lot of victims in his wake, including the former boyfriend of a neighbor, Alice brings her investigative abilities to bear because, as a friend puts it, “Someone’s got to stand up for people who’re being pushed around.” The question is, will Alice get through this one alive, and who else will end up dead before it’s all through?
Although I haven’t read the first two books in the Alice White series, I never felt the lack of it as I read The Con Case. The story stands on its own, though readers will be inspired to go back and see what adventures they missed. Hirsch introduces a complex and interrelated cast of both savory and unsavory characters with consummate skill in narration, description, and development. Trust me, your emotions will become engaged very quickly in this one. I like Alice. She’s an intelligent, mature, and courageous yet vulnerable heroine. If you like crime fiction that keeps you on the edge of your seat, The Con Case is for you.