It seems as if I’m only writing tributes in the last weeks, to Kerry Greenwood, Peter Lovesey, and now Andrew Gross. May they all rest in peace.
A personal Arizona story. I met Andrew Gross and his wife, Lynn, at a birthday party in Tucson. We had dinner. The next day, I went to see Andrew at the Tucson Festival of Books. Andrew looked awful, but he managed to make it through his program. He had food poisoning from the night before.
Gross appeared at The Poisoned Pen several times. He wrote some books with James Patterson before he wrote thrillers on his own. But, I want to share an interview for Gross’ most personal book, Button Man. It’s based on the story of Gross’ own family, a Jewish family working in the garment industry. You would have to place a special order for Button Man. https://bit.ly/3YvwrdJ
Andrew Gross said Button Man is really a depiction of the origin of an industry, but also a depiction of organized crime in New York.
Patrick Millikin did an excellent interview with Andrew Gross. It’s a pleasure to hear him talk about his family and New York City history. It’s worth watching, one last time.
Andrew Gross. May he rest in peace.