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Hats Off to Joe Hartlaub: Celebrating Joe as He Retires as Our Senior Reviewer

Joe Hartlaub has been our Senior Writer and our beloved mystery/thriller/crime book reviewer since 1997 (just one year after Bookreporter launched). After 24 years and over 3,000(!) reviews, Joe is stepping away from his role while he is "still at the top of his game." He let us know about his decision in May as he wanted to make sure we had at least three months' notice, which we so appreciated. We will miss him dearly as he has been part of the heart and soul of Bookreporter for over two decades. But we are so happy for him as he turns the page on a brand-new chapter in his life. His plan is to have “no deadlines,” and after years of meeting those deadlines with his three or four reviews each week, we understand and respect this goal.

To celebrate his long and impressive run with us, we have asked a number of authors whose books Joe has reviewed frequently to share a few words about him, as well as some publishing professionals who have known him for many years. Their tributes are below, and there also are reflections from us, his Bookreporter colleagues. As you can see, they love Joe just as much as we do and think so highly of his insightful and spot-on reviews.