Eugene Izzi
Encyclopedia
Eugene Izzi was an American
crime writer.
Izzi, a lifelong resident of Chicago
, set most of his work in that city. He wrote in the classic hard-boiled style made famous by Mickey Spillane
and Dashiell Hammett
. Despite moderate popularity, he is best known for the unusual circumstances surrounding his death.
and spent time in prison. Izzi himself dropped out of high school and enlisted in the army
. During his military service, Izzi completed his high school equivalency degree. Upon his return to Chicago, Izzi began an ordinary blue-collar life, working at the steel mills on Chicago's south side. Although married with children, Izzi began to drink heavily and acquired his own criminal record. In 1991, Izzi appeared at Barbara's Book Store in Oak Park, Illinois
promoting his book "Prowlers". At this book signing, he talked about how he came to writing. After he and his wife had separated due to his depression and hard drinking, he began s swift decline, but he always carried with him his portable typewriter. He reached bottom when he was sleeping in the back room of a barber shop in exchange for cleaning up and helping around the shop. One night he reread what he had been writing over the past months and realized his stories were all self pitying parodies of his own recent life: a misunderstood man wrongfully rebuffed by the woman he loved. He knew that if he wanted to be a writer, he had to break away from self pity. He began writing stories about the people of steel mill neighborhoods on the Southeast side of Chicago where he grew up and toiled. He had found his path as a writer. He began to pull his life together and reconciled with his wife.
published The Take in 1987. Bad Guys followed in 1988 and The Eighth Victim in the same year.
As his book sales increased and the positive reviews continued, Izzi landed a lucrative deal with Bantam Books
to publish Tribal Secrets. Bantam provided a substantial advance
, expecting the title to rank Izzi alongside contemporaries like Elmore Leonard
, Tony Hillerman
, Sara Paretsky
, and Ed McBain.
Reviews of Tribal Secrets were poor, as were sales. Bantam quickly remaindered the title, angering Izzi, who believed the publisher failed to properly market and support his work. The dispute between author and publisher became contentious, eventually resulting in an unusual agreement. Izzi would be allowed to keep his advance, but was forbidden to publish under his own name for the next three years.
Izzi adopted the pseudonym
Nick Gaitano and published three novels under that name.
His most successful title was The Criminalist, published posthumously in 1998.
, his body dangling outside the 14th-story window of his writing office in downtown Chicago. When his body was discovered, Izzi was wearing a bulletproof vest
. In his pockets, investigators found brass knuckles
, a can of "disabling spray" (likely mace
or pepper spray
), and a computer disc containing an unfinished manuscript.
Although officially ruled to be suicide
, the strange manner of Izzi's death and unusual items found with his body have led to numerous conspiracy theories. Among these were claims that Izzi had infiltrated a white supremacist group and was planning to detail their activities in a future book. In addition, the bizarre scene is said to resemble one portrayed in the unfinished manuscript.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
crime writer.
Izzi, a lifelong resident of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, set most of his work in that city. He wrote in the classic hard-boiled style made famous by Mickey Spillane
Mickey Spillane
Frank Morrison Spillane , better known as Mickey Spillane, was an American author of crime novels, many featuring his signature detective character, Mike Hammer. More than 225 million copies of his books have sold internationally...
and Dashiell Hammett
Dashiell Hammett
Samuel Dashiell Hammett was an American author of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories, and political activist. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade , Nick and Nora Charles , and the Continental Op .In addition to the significant influence his novels and stories had on...
. Despite moderate popularity, he is best known for the unusual circumstances surrounding his death.
Background
Although few details are known of Izzi's early life, most accounts describe a trouble-prone youth. His father struggled with alcoholismAlcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
and spent time in prison. Izzi himself dropped out of high school and enlisted in the army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
. During his military service, Izzi completed his high school equivalency degree. Upon his return to Chicago, Izzi began an ordinary blue-collar life, working at the steel mills on Chicago's south side. Although married with children, Izzi began to drink heavily and acquired his own criminal record. In 1991, Izzi appeared at Barbara's Book Store in Oak Park, Illinois
Oak Park, Illinois
Oak Park, Illinois is a suburb bordering the west side of the city of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is the twenty-fifth largest municipality in Illinois. Oak Park has easy access to downtown Chicago due to public transportation such as the Chicago 'L' Blue and Green lines,...
promoting his book "Prowlers". At this book signing, he talked about how he came to writing. After he and his wife had separated due to his depression and hard drinking, he began s swift decline, but he always carried with him his portable typewriter. He reached bottom when he was sleeping in the back room of a barber shop in exchange for cleaning up and helping around the shop. One night he reread what he had been writing over the past months and realized his stories were all self pitying parodies of his own recent life: a misunderstood man wrongfully rebuffed by the woman he loved. He knew that if he wanted to be a writer, he had to break away from self pity. He began writing stories about the people of steel mill neighborhoods on the Southeast side of Chicago where he grew up and toiled. He had found his path as a writer. He began to pull his life together and reconciled with his wife.
Writing career
Izzi began his career as a form of personal therapy, writing during periodic layoffs from the steel mills. His hard work allowed him to repair his relationship with his wife, and quit drinking. After several years of steady rejection, St. Martin's PressSt. Martin's Press
St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in the Flatiron Building in New York City. Currently, St. Martin's Press is one of the United States' largest publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under eight imprints, which include St. Martin's Press , St...
published The Take in 1987. Bad Guys followed in 1988 and The Eighth Victim in the same year.
As his book sales increased and the positive reviews continued, Izzi landed a lucrative deal with Bantam Books
Bantam Books
Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by Random House, the German media corporation subsidiary of Bertelsmann; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. Kramer, and Ian and Betty Ballantine...
to publish Tribal Secrets. Bantam provided a substantial advance
Advance against royalties
In the field of intellectual property licensing, an advance against royalties is a payment made by the licensee to the licensor at the start of the period of licensing which is to be offset against future royalty payments.For example, a book's author may sell a license to a publisher in return for...
, expecting the title to rank Izzi alongside contemporaries like Elmore Leonard
Elmore Leonard
Elmore John Leonard Jr. , better known as Elmore Leonard, is an American novelist and screenwriter. His earliest published novels in the 1950s were westerns, but Leonard went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thrillers, many of which have been adapted into motion pictures.Among his...
, Tony Hillerman
Tony Hillerman
Tony Hillerman was an award-winning American author of detective novels and non-fiction works best known for his Navajo Tribal Police mystery novels...
, Sara Paretsky
Sara Paretsky
Sara Paretsky is a modern American author of detective fiction.-Life and career:Paretsky was born in Ames, Iowa and raised in Kansas, graduating from the University of Kansas with a degree in political science. She did community service work on the south side of Chicago in 1966 and returned in...
, and Ed McBain.
Reviews of Tribal Secrets were poor, as were sales. Bantam quickly remaindered the title, angering Izzi, who believed the publisher failed to properly market and support his work. The dispute between author and publisher became contentious, eventually resulting in an unusual agreement. Izzi would be allowed to keep his advance, but was forbidden to publish under his own name for the next three years.
Izzi adopted the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Nick Gaitano and published three novels under that name.
His most successful title was The Criminalist, published posthumously in 1998.
Suspicious Death
On December 7, 1996, Izzi was found hangedHanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
, his body dangling outside the 14th-story window of his writing office in downtown Chicago. When his body was discovered, Izzi was wearing a bulletproof vest
Bulletproof vest
A ballistic vest, bulletproof vest or bullet-resistant vest is an item of personal armor that helps absorb the impact from firearm-fired projectiles and shrapnel from explosions, and is worn on the torso...
. In his pockets, investigators found brass knuckles
Brass knuckles
Brass knuckles, also sometimes called knuckles, knucks, brass knucks, or knuckledusters, are weapons used in hand-to-hand combat. Brass knuckles are pieces of metal, usually steel despite their name, shaped to fit around the knuckles...
, a can of "disabling spray" (likely mace
Mace (spray)
Chemical Mace is a tear gas in the form of an aerosol spray which propels a lachrymatory agent mixed with a volatile solvent. It is sometimes used as a self-defense device...
or pepper spray
Pepper spray
Pepper spray, also known as OC spray , OC gas, and capsicum spray, is a lachrymatory agent that is used in riot control, crowd control and personal self-defense, including defense against dogs and bears...
), and a computer disc containing an unfinished manuscript.
Although officially ruled to be suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
, the strange manner of Izzi's death and unusual items found with his body have led to numerous conspiracy theories. Among these were claims that Izzi had infiltrated a white supremacist group and was planning to detail their activities in a future book. In addition, the bizarre scene is said to resemble one portrayed in the unfinished manuscript.
Written as Eugene Izzi
- The Take (1987)
- Bad Guys (1988)
- The Eighth Victim (1988)
- The Booster (1989)
- King Of The Hustlers (1989)
- The Prime Roll (1990)
- Invasions (1990)
- Prowlers (1991)
- Tribal Secrets (1992)
- Tony's Justice (1993)
- Bulletin from the Streets (1995, UK only; no American edition)
- Players (1996, UK only; no American edition)
- A Matter Of Honor (1997)
- The Criminalist (1998)
- Safe Harbor (1999)
Written as Nick Gaitano
- Special Victims (1994)
- Mr. X (1995,)
- Jaded (1996) (Spent Force in the UK edition)