The Mystery of Jersey Tomatoes
My copy of Jersey Tomatoes, the first book Stevens wrote as J.W. Rider. I've always wondered about the cover design for Jersey Tomatoes . It's so similiar to Way Uptown In Another World . Both books feature the title and author as graffitii on a a brick wall. The main difference is Uptown is gritty photorealism and Jersey is dated 80s cheese. But is it that a purposeful or coincidental similiarity? Truthfully, it's probably just coincidence. But it feeds the mystery of Stevens' pseudonum. On one hand, Shane registered J.W. Rider as the copyright holder on his P.I. novels. Yet, if you look up the larger record, which doesn't take much effort, Rider is clearly listed as a pseudonym for Stevens. The first line of the so-so Kirkus review of Jersey Tomatoes outs Rider as a pseudonym, but doesn't say for whom. The book won the Shamus Award for Best First P.I. novel. When I spoke to Robert Randisi, he remembered speaking to Shane over the phone. While Stev