Martin Edwards's Blog, page 291

Derrick Bird and the Cumbria Shootings

Yesterday's news of Derrick Bird's killing spree in Cumbria is so appalling that it is difficult to take in. There is, no doubt, much yet to be revealed about the man who murdered at least a dozen people in such peaceful places as Whitehaven and Seascale, who shot many others, and who finally ended his own life – in the paradoxically lovely Lake District village of Boot. But this terrible tragedy is another reminder of the chasm between fictional crime, which entertains so many of us, and...

25 Great Years

CADS 58 has just been published and this marks 25 years of publication of a wonderful magazine. This milestone represents a triumph for editor Geoff Bradley, who has produced every single issue over a quarter of a century and established CADS as a truly unmissable publication for crime fans, especially for those fascinated by obscure and less well remembered books.

As usual, there are many, many good things in this issue (and also, I should declare, an article by me about Gory Knight, and a...

Lost River

I've mentioned Stephen Booth's Lost River in the context of the amount of background information that the book contains, but there is much more to it than that. This is the tenth book in the Cooper and Fry series (although oddly, the press release says it's the ninth – the correct figure appears on the dust wrapper) and one of the reasons I plucked it out of the voluminous pile of splendid books that I really ought to read was the evocative title, which really is made relevant to the story...

Lewis - Falling Darkness: review

The latest series of Lewis came to an end with Falling Darkness, an episode written by a highly experienced screen writer, Russell Lewis. It was set at Hallowe'en, and focused on Laura Hobson (Clare Holman), the attractive pathologist whose slowly developing relationship with Lewis (Kevin Whately) has been one of the recurrent themes of the series.

The concept of encountering friends, and ghosts, from the past, is at the heart of the story. Laura is about to meet up with two friends and...

Butterfly on a Wheel

Butterfly on a Wheel (also known as Shattered, for some reason) is a 2007 movie starring Pierce Brosnan, as a kidnapper who reprises the sinister stare into a driver's rear view mirror that many of us remember from that great film The Long Good Friday. Since that early appearance, Brosnan has become a superstar, but he still conveys menace better than most.

The set-up of the story is straightforward. An apparently perfect Chicago family comprises a rising corporate executive called Randall...

Convention reflections

For the last in my series of posts about Crimefest, I'd like to reflect on the appeal of crime fiction conventions, perhaps especially for the benefit of any readers of this blog who have not attended such a convention, and wonder whether they would enjoy such an event, or whether they would feel a bit isolated.

My first crime convention was 20 years ago this autumn – the Bouchercon that was held in London. At the time, I had not enjoyed any success whatsoever as a crime writer, although I...

Forgotten Book - The Cambridge Murders

Adam Broome was one of the authors I highlighted at the Forgotten Authors panel at Crimefest, and so it seems appropriate to feature a book by him in Patti Abbott's series of Forgotten Books.

I am not sure I'd ever heard of Broome until quite recently, and I have comments on this blog to thank. Philip drew my attention to the fact that Broome wrote an Oxford mystery which predated J.C. Masterman's well-known An Oxford Tragedy. He also wrote a number of books set in Africa.

The Cambridge...

Forgotten Song - Waiting for Charlie to Come Home

My latest entry in Scott Parker's series of Forgotten Music is a song that dates back almost half a century. 'Waiting for Charlie to Come Home' was recorded by Etta James and Jane Morgan when first written, but it was never a hit, and it might have faded from sight completely but for a couple of things.

The words were written by Bob Hilliard, a terrific lyricist who died more than 40 years ago, but was responsible for some great songs, including Any Day Now, Please Stay and Mexican Divorce...

Questions and Answers

For me, the final act of the hugely enjoyable Crimefest 2010 was, as last year, the Criminal Mastermind quiz. The organisers of Crimefest kindly gave me a free pass to the convention on the condition that I returned to 'defend the title' that I won last year. My fellow contestants were Peter Guttridge, Ali Karim and Cara Black, and the quizmaster was Maxim Jakubowski.

The format of Criminal Mastermind follows closely the format of the TV show. You have two minutes each on your chosen special s...

Mike Hodges and John Curran

Two highlights of Crimefest for me were first meetings with two men whose work I admire for very different reasons. One of the advantages of spending a bit of time in the bar at conventions is that you meet some very interesting people, and this was never more the case than when Maxim Jakubowski and his wife introduced me to Mike Hodges, whose first novel is being published by Maxim's new imprint.

Mike Hodges is, of course, the legendary film director whose masterpiece is Get Carter. I've...