Sample Query Letter

Douglas DiNunzio's Hot-Wired in Brooklyn will soon be available from Time Warner Books' iPublish Imprint

May 6, 1999

Mr. Michael Rosenberg
The Rosenberg Group
2800 Harlanwood Drive
Fort Worth, TX 76109

Dear Mr. Rosenberg:

I recently heard you speak at Sleuthfest '99 in Hollywood Beach, Florida. I hope you will find the enclosed query for a new mystery series of interest.

His name: Eddie Lombardi.
His occupation: shamus.
His turf: the blue-collar Italian streets of Bensonhurst, in 1940's Brooklyn.

In his first adventure, Snow-Blind in Brooklyn, he's up against a teenage chicken thief and his skillet-wielding mother, Mafia thugs, a hit man on the run, an eccentric Harlem gang lord, and a vindictive cop. All the while conducting a forbidden love affair with a beautiful black woman and complying with the endless demands of Italian friends.

Snow-Blind in Brooklyn is not only an exciting detective yarn, but also a thoroughly researched depiction of Italian life in Brooklyn just after the end of World War II. Like Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins novels, my series observes the detective within his own ethnic community and an often hostile outside world. In addition to my own background, the writings of Jerry Della Femina (An Italian Grows in Brooklyn), Salvatore La Puma (The Boys of Bensonhurst), the Brooklyn Historical Society, and others provide an authentic feel for time and place.

At 64,000 words, Snow-Blind in Brooklyn is paced for a quick-and-easy read. Would you care to read sample chapters and a synopsis or the complete manuscript? I have also prepared an Overview of my twelve book hard-boiled detective series including thumbnail sketches of the recurring characters. Enclosed is a SASE for your response. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely, 

Douglas DiNunzio