Martin Edwards's Blog, page 290

Women who Like Crime Fiction

Yesterday I participated in an enjoyable crime readers' day event held at Nottingham Central Library. After talks by others in the morning, I hosted my Victorian murder mystery event in the afternoon. All very enjoyable (and well performed by the cast) as I calmed down after the trauma of getting completely lost in Nottingham's Kafkaesque one-way traffic system. I like solving mysteries, but trying to find the library's cunningly concealed car park defeated me...

One thing that struck me...

Ruso and the Root of all Evils

The latest book by R.S. Downie arrived on my doorstep recently, and is a reminder of the enduring popularity of books set in Roman times. The leader of the pack has for a good many years been Lindsey Davies, whose books about Falco have achieved a great deal of acclaim not only in Britain but throughout the world.

There are quite a number of others, however, who work in classical territory to very good effect. The American Steven Saylor is one, and closer to home we have Jane Finnis (whose...

Forgotten Book - Three-Core Lead

I was sorry to learn – in the first instance, in an email from our mutual friend Margaret Yorke- that Clare Curzon had died, about three weeks ago. As a small tribute to her, therefore, my choice for today's entry in Patti Abbot's series of Forgotten Books is the first Clare Curzon novel I came across, Three-Core Lead.

This novel was first published in 1988, not long after I began reviewing crime fiction – a hobby which introduced me to many good writers. It features Detective Superintendent M...

Cath Staincliffe and The Kindest Thing

Cath Staincliffe has been a friend of mine since she joined the Northern Chapter of the Crime Writers' Association, not long after her first Sal Kilkenny novel, published by a small Mancunian press, achieved a great deal of acclaim. Later, when our mutual friend Margaret Murphy formed Murder Squad, she invited Cath and I to join, along with Ann Cleeves, Chaz Brenchley, John Baker and Stuart Pawson. That was ten years ago, and Murder Squad is still going strong.

In the intervening years, Cath h...

Panorama - The Cumbria Shootings: review

Panorama's programme on the Cumbria Shootings on Monday evening was short, sharp and horrific. Sensibly, the makers scarcely attempted to answer the many questions surrounding Derrick Bird's motives for killing twelve people, and then himself in a peaceful wood, but rather focused on following the geographical course he took, just one week ago.

The contrast between the sunlit landscape and the terrible crimes that Bird committed was shocking. Even Conan Doyle, when writing in 'The Copper...

Neil White and Dead Silent

The United States appears to be full of attorneys who dash off bulky legal thrillers at will. In the UK, by contrast, there are relatively few lawyers – solicitors or barristers – who combine full-time professional life with writing crime fiction. There have been some great exceptions to the rule, of course – Cyril Hare, Michael Gilbert and more recently Frances Fyfield spring to mind. But some lawyers who appeared destined to make a mark a decade or more ago, the likes of Dexter Dias and...

Canals and Crime

A highlight of the week-end was a canal cruise with dinner on board, starting out from Bollington in Cheshire and organised by my friend from schooldays, Stephen, who is the dedicatee of The Cipher Garden. Among our fellow guests were Kate Ellis and her husband Roger.

The very agreeable trip reminded me of an article sent to me a while ago by that great crime buff, Philip L. Scowcroft. Philip contributes to many publications, including CADS and Deadly Pleasures, and this essay, 'Canals and...

Wallander and Balance

The latest episode of the Swedish TV version of Wallander that I've seen provided a very good example of balanced story-telling. By that, I mean that, in my opinion, the balance struck between the detective mystery plot and the addressing of social issues through the story was done with great skill, so that preachiness did not get in the way of the puzzle – yet the viewer was left with plenty to think about.

At the start of the screenplay, a girls' choir is singing under the direction of a...

Policing, Bookdagger and Bookwise

After Derrick Bird's shooting spree in Cumbria on Wednesday, almost inevitably people are looking for someone or something to blame, given that the culprit is now beyond reach of earthly justice. For example, there is a suggestion that the Cumbria police would be more effective if they were part of a larger, merged force.

Now I'm not an expert on police force structures, but the issue of possible merger was a live one four or five years ago, and touched on in my early Lake District Mysteries. ...

Forgotten Book - Julian Symons Remembered

My choice for today's Forgotten Book is a labour of love conceived by John Walsdorf as a tribute to Julian Symons, the crime novelist and critic whom he admired so much. I wrote about Walsdorf's epic bibliography of Symons' work a while ago, and thanks to the wonders of the internet, I was contacted via Facebook by John Walsdorf's son, who promptly put me in touch with his father – who has proved a very interesting correspondent. Making these connections wouldn't have been possible (or at...