Craig, Daniel Edward 1966-

PERSONAL:

Born November 11, 1966, in Canada.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. E-mail—dcraig@telus.net.

CAREER:

Writer and hotelier. Began working in hotel industry, 1987; Opus Hotel, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 2002—, became general manager and vice president.

WRITINGS:

"FIVE-STAR MYSTERY" SERIES

Murder at the Universe, Midnight Ink (Woodbury, MN), 2007.

Murder at Hotel Cinema, Midnight Ink (Woodbury, MN), 2008.

SIDELIGHTS:

Daniel Edward Craig is a Canadian writer and hotelier. Born on November 11, 1966, he has worked in the hotel industry since 1987. After studying international relations, he put his skills to use in a number of hotel positions, ranging from front desk receptionist to executive administrator, at a number of luxury hotels across Canada. In 2002 he joined Opus Hotel and eventually became the general manager in Vancouver and its vice president. According to a press release on the Opus Hotel Web site, the hotel "has garnered its international reputation for exemplary service, distinctive design, and cutting edge marketing" under Craig's management.

Craig started the "Five-Star Mystery" series with the publication of his first novel, Murder at the Universe, in 2007. Relayed in an article on the Opus Hotel Web site, Craig said that the series draws "inspiration from many of the weird and wonderful people I have met in my career." In the novel, Canadian hotelier Trevor Lambert works diligently for one of New York's ritziest hotels, the Universe. One of the guests finds the hotel's much-loved owner, Willard Godfrey, dead after supposedly being hit by a drunk driver following the holiday staff party. Lambert is passed over for promotion but is handed the majority of the hotel's running responsibilities. In the meantime he also finds it necessary for the hotel's sake to find out what really happened to his former boss as disgruntled guests and the media begin to cause problems.

Carolyn Ali, reviewing the novel on Straight.com, recalled that "writers are told to ‘write what you know’, and that's what Daniel Edward Craig has done with his first novel, Murder at the Universe." A contributor to Kirkus Reviews noted that the "behind-the-scenes look at hotel management and personal angst overpower the meager mystery." A contributor to Publishers Weekly called the novel an "erudite whodunit." The same contributor commented that "Lambert's wry turn as an accidental house detective puts Murder at the Universe on the map."

Craig published his second novel, Murder at Hotel Cinema, the following year. Lambert is serving as the general manager for a new Hollywood boutique hotel, the Hotel Cinema. At the opening ceremonies, a starlet dives from the penthouse balcony into the pool and dies. Many wonder if it was an accident, a suicide, or even a murder, as the stunt was planned carefully by the hotel. Lambert takes it upon himself to get to the bottom of the case. A contributor to Publishers Weekly remarked that "this fast-paced puzzler shines with droll wit and hotel-savvy details."

Craig told CA: "I have wanted to write ever since I was four years old and used to carry a notebook around with me entitled ‘Poims.’ My spelling has improved since then, but it wasn't until I was thirty that I wrote my first work of fiction, Murder at the Universe. I thought it would be fun to plot out a murder mystery. At the time I was working as a duty manager in a hotel and decided it was a great setting for a murder mystery.

"I love the cat-and-mouse game a mystery writer plays with his reader. I think every book is a mystery of sorts, so I am inspired by all types of authors, from classic writers like Fyodor Dostoyevsky and E.M. Forster to contemporary writers like Tom Wolfe and Jonathan Franzen. I love Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky—a classic and unconventional mystery that gets into the protagonist's head and manages to make the reader empathize with him despite his unspeakable crime. I also love Tom Wolfe's Bonfire of the Vanities for its hilarious parody of New York life and Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections for its brilliant characterization."

When asked to describe his writing process, Craig said: "I empty all my thoughts on the page and then edit, edit, and edit." He added that the most surprising thing he has learned as a writer is how to "hold the reader's interest not by divulging information but by withholding it.

"I write to entertain and to give readers a behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of luxury hotels, where things are never as calm nor as dignified as they seem."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Kirkus Reviews, July 15, 2007, review of Murder at the Universe.

Meetings & Conventions, December 1, 2007, review of Murder at the Universe, p. 17.

Publishers Weekly, July 23, 2007, review of Murder at the Universe, p. 47; April 21, 2008, review of Murder at Hotel Cinema, p. 40.

ONLINE

Daniel Edward Craig Home Page,http://www.danieledwardcraig.com (June 3, 2008), author biography.

Opus Hotel Web site,http://www.opushotel.com/ (June 1, 2007), author profile.

Straight.com,http://www.straight.com/ (November 8, 2007), Carolyn Ali, review of Murder at the Universe.