1) Julius Katz is a brilliant, eccentric and, ultimately, very lazy detective, who like another brilliant, eccentric and lazy detective, Nero Wolfe, needs to be pestered by a sidekick named Archie to work. But there are distinct differences between Julius and Nero, just as there are between Nero’s Archie Goodwin and Julius’s Archie.
2) Julius owns a townhouse in the Beacon Hill section of Boston, while Nero resides in Manhattan.
3) Julius is a wine connoisseur with an extensive wine collection, while Nero drinks beer.
4) Julius is handsome, physically fit, and a 5th degree black belt in Kung Fu. Nero is none of those, weighing in at one seventh of a ton.
5) Julius is a womanizer, at least he was before he fell madly in love with Lily Rosten, who did the same with Julius. Nero is afraid of women.
6) Julius’s favorite pastime is gambling, especially poker. Nero’s is taking care of his orchids.
7) Julius is a gourmet, as is Nero.
8) Julius’s arch nemesis on the police force is Detective Mark Cramer. Nero’s is Inspector Cramer.
9) Julius’s favorite freelance PIs to hire are Saul Penzer, Tom Durkin and Willie Cather. Nero’s are Saul Panzer, Fred Durkin and Orrie Cather.
10) Julius has a bit of a larcenous streak in him. I haven’t done a family tree yet, but I suspect he shares some DNA with my con man Pete Mitchel.
11) Julius will only allow himself to be pestered by Archie into taking a case when his funds have reached dire levels.
12) While Nero’s Archie Goodwin is a flesh-and-blood hardboiled PI, Julius’s Archie is something entirely different, although he has the heart and soul of a hardboiled PI.
13) While fiercely loyal of Julius, Archie dreams of beating his boss to the punch in solving case. Maybe some day it will happen.
About Julius Katz and Archie
The award-winning Julius Katz mysteries have delighted thousands of mystery fans since first appearing on the pages of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine in 2009, winning a Shamus, Derringer and Ellery Queen’s Readers Choice Award. ‘Julius Katz’ introduced readers to Boston’s most brilliant, eccentric and possibly laziest detective, Julius Katz, as well as his sidekick, Archie, a tiny marvel of whizbang computer technology with the heart and soul of a hard-boiled PI. Now in Julius Katz and Archie’s first full novel, the stakes have never been higher when a famous Boston mystery writer, Kenneth Kingston, tells Julius he wants to find out who’s planning to kill him. The problem is almost everyone in Kingston’s life has good reason to want to kill him, and this case soon plunges Julius and Archie deep into the world of murder and publishing. Julius Katz and Archie is available for #2.99 as either a Nook or Kindle download.
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