R.G. Belsky
    • About R.G. Belsky
    • Media
    • Blog
    • Events
    • Contact
    • Dana Perry Books

    JACK RICCARDI SHOW, KTSA RADIO

    I was a guest December 18  on the Jack Riccardi radio show, KTSA San Antonio, talking about my new Clare Carlson mystery BROADCAST BLUES. The host is a big book fan and we've discussed Clare on air several times before.  Lots of fun...
    Picture

    PODCAST INTERVIEW WITH WPRN

    I'm interviewed on WPRN PublicRadio.com about my new book, BROADCAST BLUES - out on January 2
    Listen
    Picture

    I'M THE MYSTERY WRITER OF PRINCETON

    Fun article about me - and my somewhat unique writing habits! - in the local media of Princeton N.J. where I spend a lot of times in coffee places!

    Picture
    Read it here

                                                              THE BIG THRILL Magazine

    Picture
    Button Text

                           INTERVIEW WITH JOHN VALERI PODCAST

    Picture
    Button Text

                                 FROM THE NEW YORK POST

    I'm featured in the New York Post Sunday book column
    Picture

                  FEATURED IN BOOKTRIB

    "Belsky’s not just funny; he has a pitch-perfect ear for dialogue, including writing snappy New York repartee not seen since Susan Isaacson."

    INTERVIEW IN THE BIG THRILL MAGAZINE

    Picture
    Picture
    Read it here...

                            MANHATTAN BOOK REVIEW: BEYOND THE HEADLINES

    Picture
    "R.G. Belsky and his main character, Channel 10 reporter Clare Carlson, had me hooked from the first book I read in the series. Clare is smart, reassured, and quick-witted...
    "Clare does what she does best. She sticks her nose in where it doesn’t belong to find the truth behind what really happened. ..

    "This book has an excellent plot featuring fantastic characters that will hold your attention all the way through."


    Read the entire review

                     PUBLISHERS WEEKLY REVIEW OF BEYOND THE HEADLINES

    Picture
    "Enjoyable...Belsky, a New York City journalist, casts a searing light on a television newsroom and the never-ending pressure to capture headlines and ratings. Readers will hope capable, hard-driven Clare returns soon."
    Read the entire PW review

                   Best Books of the Week Column - New York Post

    Wow, look at the great company I’m with in the Sunday New York Post today! Me and Michael Connelly. Featured among The Best Books of the Week in the May 24 edition.
    Picture
    Read more...

                     Made the Cover of Mystery Scene Magazine....

    Picture

           Q&A WITH JOHN VALERI/CRIMINAL ELEMENTS MYSTERY WEBSITE

    Picture
    READ HERE

                       BOOKTRIB TALKS ABOUT THE LAST SCOOP

    Picture
    READ HERE

                       INTERVIEW IN THE BIG THRILL MAGAZINE

    Picture
    READ IT HERE

    5 AUTHORS CHURNING OUT SUSPENSEFUL THRILLERS

    Nice to be included in this cool video from Wiki.Ezvid.com about thriller editors worth checking out....

    Picture
    Watch Video Here...


             "Captivating" - Publishers Weekly
           Review of THE LAST SCOOP

    Picture
    "Clare’s clear-eyed narration (“I am a woman who deals in lies for a living”) propels the story, balancing dynamic action with contemplative passages that reveal her complicated personal and professional life. Belsky’s experience as a journalist provides fascinating insights and a sense of authenticity. Readers will look forward to seeing more of doggedly determined Clare."

    See the entire Publisher's  review here:

    Read More

    Interview in the West Side Spirit & Our Town - Local Manhattan Newspapers

    Picture
    R.G. Belsky decamped from the high-stakes world of big media to write suspense novels offering a behind-the-scenes look at – you guessed it – the high-stakes world of big media.
    Read More

    Podcast From The Writers Room in NYC

    Picture
    Listen Here

    Interview With Mystery People

    Picture
    Read More

    Q&A With Criminal Element

    Picture
    Read More

    Cover Interview in The Big Thrill

    Picture
    Read more

    Interview in Suspense Magazine

    Picture

    "Web of Intrigue" : Booklist review of BELOW THE FOLD

    Picture
    Picture

    Ad in Suspense magazine....

    Picture

    Ad in Booklist....

    Picture

    "Yesterday's News is Today's Page-Turner": NJ Star-Ledger

    Picture
    Read more

    "Must-Read" - NY Post

    Picture
    Read more

    Town and Village newspaper interview

    Picture
    Read more

    Fran Lewis Blog Radio Show

    Listen here

    LCS Hockey Radio Show - Blog Talk

    Picture
    Listen Here

    WVOX - Eye on Weschester Show

    Picture

    KTSA-San Antonio, Jack Riccardi Show

    Picture
    Listen here

    Kiss and Thrill Website

    YESTERDAY’S NEWS is Today’s Hot New Crime Novel by R. G. Belsky!
    Read more...

    IndD Tale Magazine

    "The story is compelling, a well-composed intricate weaving of mystery that makes for a book one won't want to put down."
    Read ,more....

    Interview with R.G. Belsky - by Fiona Mcvie

    Everything you always wanted to know about me. Well, almost...

    "Hello and welcome to my blog, Author Interviews. My name is Fiona Mcvie. Here is my interview with R.G. Belsky...."

    Read the interview with me...

    Author R.G. Belsky Explores the Female Serial Killer in "Blonde Ice" -
    BOOK TRIB INTERVIEW

    Picture

    A Thrill Ride of a Novel: Mystery People Q&A with R.G. Belsky

    Read more
    Picture
    Read more

    Move Over Jack Reacher....Enter Gil Malloy! - KISS AND THRILL

    Picture
    Read more

    Gramercy Author's New Thriller Inspired by Son of Sam

    Picture
    Button Text

    This Week's Must Read Books - NY Post

    Picture
    Read more

    "Excellent thriller" - Booklist

    “This excellent thriller....establishes Malloy as a formidable hard-boiled hero.” --Booklist

    "Bombshell twists" : Publishers Weekly Review

    "Insightful and genuinely interesting characters, gritty atmospherics, and a wry sense of humor power the plot, which is filled with enough bombshell twists to keep readers guessing until the very last page."
    Picture
    Read more

    "Highly recommended": Men Reading Books

    "Belsky takes a serial killer plot and takes it well beyond what I've ever read. The true identity of the Blonde Ice killer is the real mystery here and Belsky takes us up and down one blind alley after another.
    "Belsky's style is addictive...Terrific. Highly recommended."

    Read more

    Night Owl Suspense - Top Pick

    "This book is journalism at its best. It gives the reader a clear picture as to the means a journalist goes about getting that big story and having that instantly made available to the public. There is not a dull moment throughout this book as it is laden with mystery and suspense."
    Picture
    Read more

    R.G. Belsky brings back Gil Malloy for another fun mystery

    Big piece on Gil Malloy and Shooting for the Stars in the Star-Ledger of NJ.....
    Read more
    Picture

    "Sensational!  R.G. Belsky dazzles with his new mystery novel...Gil Malloy shines!" -  Killer Nashville, Book of the Day

    Picture
    Sensational!
    R. G. Belsky dazzles with his new mystery novel, Shooting for the Stars. Suspenseful, Shooting for the Stars will knock you down with its broiled characters, its attention to detail, and haunting undertones. From the vagaries of an unsolved crime—an apparent murder-suicide that left movie starlet Laura Marlowe dead, and the shooter six feet under with her—emerges a slew of dark, horrific secrets, and dark, horrific men and women.

    It’s a cyclone of suicide, and remorseless humans who will even slay their own sisters, and it’s clamoring to make its way on the top shelf in your office. The writing is decisive and lucid; the detectives collected and anything but stereotypical. Leave the hard-boiled stuff in your section with Sam Hawkens and dear old Jack Searle; Gil Malloy shines!



    Read more

    "Sinewy, compelling and addictive" - Huffington Post

    Picture
    "Belsky's prose is sinewy, compelling, and addictive as he reels the reader in a chapter at a time until one literally can't stop reading until sleuthing out whodunnit. This is where Belsky's newspaper background shines from his many years of chasing stories in the naked city. His genius is evident in the way he compares and contrasts the atmosphere of a classic newsroom to that of the shiny new digital variety.Malloy, the elder statesman newsman, is the other side of the coin to the young and eager editor who is all about the tabloid-y approach to attract more eyeballs to the paper's website. There is a brilliant scene whereby the editor has Malloy do a live webcast about a popular page one story he's broken, praising him for having tears in his eyes. Her attitude sums up new and old journalism in one fell swoop. Real emotion? Exploit it!

    Again, we're hanging on for the ride, hardly able to put the book down so we can follow the hairpin twists and turns that lead us, eventually, to the answer behind Laura Marlowe's untimely death. Belsky has scored another home run with Gil Malloy's newest adventure in the seamy underbelly of American crime."



    Read more

    "Nifty" - NY Daily News

    Picture
    "Another nifty installment in the crime series featuring fictional New York Daily News reporter Gil Malloy. Malloy is set to do a piece on Abbie Kincaid, the host of “The Prime Time Files,” who claims to have a big story in the offing. Shortly after meeting with Malloy, Kincaid is found dead. It seems she was about to reveal the real killer of a rising Hollywood actress shot to death in the early ’80s. The murderer appears to be alive and killin’."
    Read more...

    Interview with Newsmax TV

    What happens when a dogged newspaper reporter uncovers startling new facts about the decades-old murder of a gorgeous Hollywood starlet and links them to the gruesome slayings of other celebrities?

    That's the premise behind "Shooting for the Stars," the new thriller by tabloid newsman-turned-bestselling author, R.G. Belsky.

    "I write it like you write a tabloid news story. Fast!" Belsky said Thursday on "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV.

    Read more....

    The Book Faerie review...

    "This is a complicated story with the past and the present connected in unsuspected ways and even some mob connections.  Asking questions can be dangerous and Gil finds that out up close and personal.  I like Mr. Belsky's main character who is quite human and has his own failings as well as skills.  The story was good even if it was a bit sad.  Life in the movie world was tough; staying alive was even tougher.."
    Read more...

    Buried Under Books review...

    "Shooting for the Stars is a quick read and the pacing is nearly ideal. Mr. Belsky is sure-handed in his characterizations and plot development and I’m just sorry I haven’t encountered his work before now. Many good things have been said about Gil’s first adventure, The Kennedy Connection, and I’m looking forward to picking that up while I wait for the next one."
    Read more...

    "Must-Read" - New York Post

    Read more...
    Picture

    From Booklist...

    “This wisecracking but suprisingly sensitive and self-aware crime solver will appear to fans of Robert Crais’ Elvis Cole novels and Harlan Coben’s early Myron Bolitar mysteries.” (Booklist)

    Kirkus review of Shooting for the Stars

    “What shines brightest here is Belsky’s talent for keeping the pace steady and fast so that every round of inquiries produces more satisfyingly tawdry revelations.” (Kirkus)
    Read more...

    "Smart, juicy...": Publishers Weekly

    Picture
    In Belsky’s smart, juicy sequel to 2014’s The Kennedy Connection, New York Daily News journalist Gil Malloy is in need of a good story. He finds one when TV personality Abbie Kincaid tells him she has a scoop on new evidence surrounding the murder of Hollywood legend Laura Marlowe at age 22 in 1985. Plucked from obscurity, Marlowe made only three films before an obsessed fan, Ray Janson, shot her in a New York hotel. Two days later Janson hanged himself, but a lot of questions remain. Abbie thinks the cops got the wrong guy. The reporter learns that Marlowe had an aggressive stage mother, ties to the mob, and a brief career doing softcore porn. The actress was also involved in a Manson Family–like religious cult. Malloy makes connections among the characters that are almost too neat, but never mind. Belsky keeps this highly satisfying mystery zipping along right up to the final twist. 
    Read more

    Early review for Shooting for the Stars...

    "I really enjoy Belsky’s style. His Gil Malloy has this wise cracking, to hell with it all attitude that reminds me a great deal of Nelson DeMille’s John Corey of the NYC anti-terrorist task force and Brian Haig’s Army lawyer Sean Drummond. Characters that will say and do what we readers could only dream to have the same nerve. Belsky has been in the newspaper business for years, mostly in NYC and his familiarity the the peaks and valleys of being a reporter are plainly evident as his descriptive narrative and dialogue appear spot on. Readers are taken on a personal ride through the investigative process of journalism...I have an opening on my power rotation and am seriously considering elevating Belsky. Great story that I could’ve read in a single sitting. Malloy may be a deeply flawed character, but that’s part of what makes this a highly readable book."
                                                                                                                         --- Men Reading Books blog
    Read more here
    Picture

    Killer Nashville: "It's a book you can't put down."

    Great new review of The Kennedy Connection from Killer Nashville thriller, suspense and mystery which calls it "a monstrous hurricane of conspiracy, lies and bodies....begs to be finished from the first page to the last."
    Picture
    Read more here

    Men Reading Books blog review of The Midnight Hour: "Compelling"

    "This is a novella length story into which Belsky wove a complex plot about a murder that occurred three decades earlier, followed by serial killings of families around the U.S. I was surprised by the ending – did not see it coming even though I was looking for the final twist. Malloy is a compelling and flawed character that the author makes believable. His constant proposals to his ex-wife, as well as his often flippant demeanor, provided a good comedy offset to the gruesome deaths which were being described. Belsky surrounds Malloy with a good cast of characters. I like this work and I hope there is a next Malloy installment."
    Read more here

    "Fresh Fiction" spotlights The Midnight Hour

    Your browser does not support viewing this document. Click here to download the document.

    Headless body in topless bar - and who killed JFK?

    Picture
    I'm featured on KISS AND THRILL blog to celebrate release day for THE MIDNIGHT HOUR
    Read more here

    Gramercy Park author releases 2nd Book in mystery series


    Last August, Dick Belsky, a former journalist and editor at several publications, including the Post and Daily News, released a novel called The Kennedy Connection. The book, published by Simon & Schuster, was about an embattled journalist in what was to become a three-part series.

    Now, Belsky, who’s also a longtime resident of Gramercy Park, is releasing the second in the series, a novella coming out as an e-book on February 3. Titled The Midnight Hour (Simon and Schuster, $3), the story once again follows an ambitious but discredited reporter for the Daily News named Gil Malloy.

    Recently, Belsky sat down for an interview with a Town & Village reporter at Irving Farm coffee joint to discuss the series and what went into writing it.
    Read more here
    Picture

    Read more here

    News Editor turns novelist

    Picture
    Article about me and The Kennedy Connection in Town Topics, a local Princeton newspaper....

    Having been a college student when John F. Kennedy was assassinated, R.G. Belsky knew most of the facts and theories surrounding the tragic events of November 22, 1963. When the 50th anniversary of the shooting was observed last year, he was managing editor of news for nbcnews.com, in charge of much of the coverage by mostly young reporters on the staff.

    He was amazed at their level of interest. “These are people who weren’t even alive when JFK was killed,” said Mr. Belsky, a writer who splits his time between a home in Princeton and an apartment in New York. “I was fascinated by how many people, kids in their early twenties, were obsessed with the topic. But it is, after all, the greatest unsolved crime of all time.”


    Read more here

    "He had me at the opening line'

    From the Star-Ledger of New Jersey...
    ."How these three, seemingly disparate, stories tie together is brilliant. Malloy might have been a lousy husband and indifferent friend, but he is a hell of a reporter....."
    Picture
    Read more here

    "Fascinating character study....a roller coaster ride"

    Great review from the Huffington Post...

    Belsky's writing is wiry and taut, and the entire time you're immersed in this story it's pretty much all you can think about until you can pick it up again to see the next turn of events. Ultimately, as all great stories are, it is at its heart the extremely well-written tale of good vs. evil.
    Picture
    Read more here 

    Deserves to be shortlisted for year-end best-of lists

    From Bookreporter.com

    THE KENNEDY CONNECTION is a surprise, to say the least. Veteran newspaper and television journalist R. G. Belsky returns to the mystery shelves after an extended absence with a new character in the form of Gil Malloy and a new novel in which all of the gears mesh together so nicely that what might have been a merely competent work becomes a title that deserves to be shortlisted for the year-end best-of lists. Yes, it is that good
    Read more here

    Read more here

    "You are gonna love this page turner"

    Picture
    History Corner/ Book Review: The Kennedy Connection by R.G. Belsky

    Read more here

    "Clever murder mystery": Men Reading Books

    Well, that's me reading my book at a recent signing....but Men Reading Books is a smart blog about mysteries and thrillers that gave The Kennedy Connection a strong recommendation.
    Picture
    Read more here

    "Great read.." - Bill Reynolds in the Providence Journal

    Nice mention of The Kennedy Connection here! Bill Reynolds calls it "a great read" midway down his sports column in the Providence Journal
    Picture
    Click to read more

    "Edge of your seat suspense...very entertaining"

    The Kennedy Connection is a recommended staff pick at Mysterious Galaxy books in San Diego: "If you are intrigued by the Kennedy assassination and love a bold thriller, this book is for you....The edge of your seat suspense continues to the unexpected climax. Very entertaining."
    Picture
    Click to read more

    Daily News interview about The Kennedy Connection

    Riddles in JFK assassination drive plot in ex-Daily News editor Dick Belsky's mystery

    'The Kennedy Connection,' first in a series, ties new crimes to Lee Harvey Oswald killing

    Click here to read more

    Kennedy Connection on  NY Post's "Must-Read Books" of the Week

    Picture
    Click here to read more

    Beach Reads Where Reporters are the Stars

    Beach-bound media wags beware: Your summer reading stack just got a little taller.
    Click here to read more
    Picture

    Booklist: "Intriguing...Will Appeal to Those Who Just Can't Leave the Grassy Knoll Alone"


    The Kennedy Connection.
    Belsky, R. G. (author).
    Aug. 2014. 352p. Atria, paperback, $16 (9781476762326).
    REVIEW. First published July 7, 2014 (Booklist Online).
    A disgraced reporter tries to turn his career around with a story that could solve the 50-year-old assassination of JFK. A literary agent tells reporter Gil Malloy about a man who claims to be the illegitimate son of Lee Harvey Oswald. The man believes he has a solid alibi for his father on November 22, 1963. While Malloy tries to prove the man’s claims, a murderer is running amok in Manhattan, leaving his victims with Kennedy half-dollars by their bodies. Are the killings related to the events of the past? Belsky’s tale adds another intriguing alternative interpretation of the Kennedy assassination and will appeal to those who just can’t leave the grassy knoll alone. — Jeff Ayers


    Library Journal: "Unexpectedly Clever Twists"

    Library Journal07/01/2014
    New York reporter Gil Malloy has been publicly disgraced by the taint of a fabricated source (think Jayson Blair), but he still holds a position at the paper. Unexpectedly, his former literary agent pitches him a wild story; she knows a man who claims to be Lee Harvey Oswald's son and has proof that his father didn't assassinate President John F. Kennedy. Malloy shrugs this off, instead opting to help Roberto Santiago, an old police detective friend who is convinced that a long-ago shooting case was a police cover-up. Santiago dies shortly after in a hit-and-run accident, and Malloy gets distracted by a more glamorous case. A photographer named Shawn Kennedy has been murdered, with a Kennedy half-dollar left next to her body. A second killing occurs, and another Kennedy half-dollar is left on the scene. Suddenly, knowing more about Oswald Jr. becomes imperative. Muscling his way into the spotlight, Malloy fails to see key clues connecting his two stories. Meanwhile, the body count increases. VERDICT Belsky's (Playing Dead) quick read has unexpectedly clever twists, perfect for the conspiracy-oriented reader. The first-person narrative keeps the tone personal.

    Kirkus: "Engrossing Thriller..." A Terrific Story"

    Picture
    KIRKUS REVIEW OF THE KENNEDY CONNECTION
    An engrossing journalistic thriller inspired by the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
    Two murders occur in different parts of New York City. The tenuous connection between them is the discovery of the uncommon Kennedy half dollar coin at both scenes. Police make little of it, but disgraced Daily News reporter Gil Malloy thinks it odd. Is a JFK-obsessed serial killer making a statement around the 50th anniversary of the president’s murder? Malloy has already ruined his own reputation with a big prostitution story he seems to have fabricated, but “maybe we do get second chances in life,” as he speculates. Lucky to still have a job, he persuades his editor that the Kennedy connection is worth pursuing. Meanwhile, a young man dies of a heart attack 15 years after being shot in the spine by an unknown assailant. Malloy promises the victim’s mother he will investigate her son’s shooting, but dazzled by the prospect of a journalistic coup, he spends all his time on the JFK case. He receives a Kennedy half dollar in the mail at his newsroom, and colleagues think he might have fabricated this detail to support yet another bogus story. A manuscript about the JFK assassination turns up, written by a previously unknown son of Lee Harvey Oswald. Malloy soon wonders whether Oswald, said to have been a mediocre marksman, could have been the lone gunman. Malloy and others face dire threats as he digs for the truth and displays his true character. Will this story blow up in his face as the hooker tale did? Author Belsky once worked at the Daily News and delivers a fast-moving and well-plotted yarn with twists the reader probably won’t see coming. They're mostly bad news for Malloy, but that’s good news for the reader.
    The truth about that awful day in November 1963 may never be known, but it’s provided grist for a terrific story.


    Advance Praise for The Kennedy Connection

    “Who better to tell the story of a newsman in disgrace –than a man from the New York tabloids, where disgrace was a badge of honor. Belsky has the news man’s gift. He tells his story well.” - Jimmy Breslin

    "Shrewd doses of competition, conspiracy and corruption fuel this intriguing media thriller linking a murder nobody cares about with America's most controversial assassination. Gil Malloy is a fresh take on the classic downtrodden reporter." -Julie Kramer, national bestelling author of Delivering Death

    “R.G. Belsky's thought-provoking thriller, The Kennedy Connection, introduces us to a smart, witty, and human hero whose quest to find answers about two crimes — one famous, one all but unnoticed — is loaded with tension and full of unexpected twists and turns. I loved The Kennedy Connection, and can't wait for the next Gil Malloy novel.” -Jan Burke

    "If you like your heroes a bit flawed, your mysteries a bit untidy, and your dialog entirely hilarious, you’ll love R.G. Belsky’s The Kennedy Connection. In Gil Malloy, Belsky has created a character that you’ll want to spend time with. I’m already looking forward to the next Gil Malloy story.” -Matthew Klein, author of No Way Back

    PW Article on Upcoming Kennedy Thrillers

    Picture
    Killing Kennedy: Mysteries & Thrillers Fall 2013
    By Lenny Picker |  Nov 15, 2013
    It’s hardly surprising that the assassination of President John Kennedy has spawned dozens of thrillers; in many ways, it exemplifies the aphorism that truth is stranger than fiction.

    A young, handsome, inspirational world leader is gunned down in the midst of a surprisingly warm reception from crowds in a city that was expected to be filled with hostility toward him. The assassin, an obscure nobody, is taken into custody, proclaiming he was set up, despite compelling evidence against him, including the discovery of the murder weapon at his place of work. Forty-eight hours later, the day of the president’s funeral, the assassin—who had defected to the U.S.S.R. at one point—is himself shot to death on live television, in police headquarters, by a man who has some mob ties. The FBI and CIA have reasons not to fully disclose relevant information to the official investigating commission, and don’t do so. And the murder is viewed by many as the start of a “swerve into darkness,” as author Greg Iles puts it, the first step in a chain of national traumas that some feel radically reshaped the direction of the country.

    Click here to read more >

    Publishers Marketplace: Dealmaker

    Fiction:
    Thriller Journalist and author R.G. Belsky's THE KENNEDY CONNECTION, in which a disgraced NYC newspaper reporter is the only person who can stop a serial killer seeking revenge for what happened in Dallas 50 years ago, to Todd Hunter at Atria, in a two-book deal, by Nalini Akolekar of Spencerhill Associates.

    Tabloid Tales

    Some of the stuff Gil Malloy does in The Kennedy Connection - not all, but definitely some - is based on my own experiences in the wacky, wonderful world of New York City newspapers. Here is an article about one of my most memorable moments. You can't make all this stuff up, folks.
    Picture
    How I helped write the best tabloid headline ever
    Picture

    Signup For My Newsletter

    Back to top