Daniel Friedman

Daniel Friedman (born 1981 in Memphis, Tennessee) – lawyer and author of the Buck Schatz trilogy which follows an 87-year-old retired Jewish Memphis homicide detective. The series blends “geezer noir” with dark humor as Buck grapples with aging, memory loss, and the violent reappearance of his past. Buck is a nickname for Baruch, and he has contended with anti-Semitism throughout his life, starting as a WW2 P.O.W. and later in the Memphis Police Department. The character is loosely based on the author’s grandfather, Buddy Friedman.

Don’t Ever Get Old  (2012) - Buck’s quiet retirement is upended when a dying fellow veteran reveals that Heinrich Ziegler, the SS officer who tortured them in a Nazi POW camp (they were U.S. soldiers captured during World War II), is alive in the U.S. and in possession of stolen Nazi gold. Buck decides to hunt down his old tormentor to claim the loot, enlisting his NYU law student grandson, ”Tequila” (a fraternity nickname for “Willaim Tecumseh Schatz”, which Buck dislikes and often purposely distorts) to help him deal with the modern world and technology. The hunt attracts a “murderous crew,” including a Mississippi loan shark, Israeli agents, and a bloodthirsty killer. 

Don’t Ever Look Back  (2014) - Set four months later, Buck is now 88 and living in an assisted-living facility, using a walker and facing worsening dementia. An old nemesis named Elijah, a criminal mastermind from a 1965 bank robbery, approaches Buck for protection. Elijah claims someone is trying to kill him and offers to confess to his cold cases if Buck brokers his surrender.The narrative jumps between the 2009 present and the 1965 robbery, revealing a decades-old feud that reaches a final, explosive conclusion. 

Running Out of Road  (2020) - Now even more frail and struggling with significant cognitive decline, Buck faces a threat to his entire career legacy. Chester March, a serial killer Buck put on death row 35 years ago, is finally facing execution. However, an NPR producer begins investigating the case, claiming Buck coerced a confession from an innocent man. While Buck’s wife, Rose, faces a terminal health crisis, Buck must enter his own fracturing memories to defend his reputation and prove that he caught the right man. 

Friedman, Daniel, [Buck Schatz series #1], (Don’t Ever Get Old [hc, Minotaur Books, 2012] 978-0312606930 [pb, Minotaur Books, 2013]) 978-1250028921

Friedman, Daniel, [Buck Schatz series #2], (Don’t Ever Look Back [hc, Minotaur Books, 2014] 978-1250027566 [pb, Minotaur Books, 2015]) 978-1250060983

Friedman, Daniel, [Buck Schatz series #3], (Running Out of Road [hc, Minotaur Books, 2020] 978-1250058485