B.V. Lawson's Blog, page 11

Author R&R with Jeremy D. Baker

[image error]Jeremy D. Baker grew up in Italy, Florida, and Maryland. After dropping out of college at 19, he joined the US Army as a counterintelligence agent and HUMINT collector. He is a combat veteran and PTSD survivor. For the last 20 years he’s worked in national security, with a focus on intelligence, counterterrorism, and transnational organized crime. He lives with his wonderful family in Maryland, where he keeps a little garden and writes about the things that keep him up at night.

[image error]His debut novel, The Guilty Sleep, follows veteran Dexter Grant, who is suffering from PTSD and on the verge of divorce when he is approached by his former Army buddies to help save the life of their interpreter in Afghanistan. It means robbing a lot of money from a vicious queen pin. But not to worry. They have it all worked out, and if anyone can pull it off, it's Dexter's former team lead Staff Sergeant Saenz. Tempted by an easy score that could make his own problems disappear and imbued with new purpose, Dex agrees to play his part. But as in combat, the best laid plans don't survive first contact, and when the heist goes off the rails, Dex's wife and daughter become targets for bloody revenge. Dex must call on all his strength and training to save them, and in his quest he will learn there was much more to this robbery than he ever imagined.

Jeremy Baker stops by In Reference to Murder to take some Author R&R about researching and writing the book:

 

Disclaimer:  As with all writing experience and advice, my take here is very subjective to my own personal experience.  And now that that is out of the way, let me lay down a gold-plated, iron-clad, tungsten-hearted absolute maxim of writing:  have some freaking fun with it.  If what you’re writing doesn’t bring you at least a modicum of enjoyment or entertainment, what are you even doing?  Yeah, sometimes we’re going to write about dark, challenging, hurtful stuff—this is a key to compelling fiction, right?  But you should also be enjoying the act of writing, the act of creation, the act of telling your story as only you can.

For me, one of the main elements of my personality that has directly translated into enjoying my writing, is that I am a fundamentally curious person.  I always like to learn more about the world we live in, how it works, where we came from, and where we’re going.  This inherent curiosity made me a decent interrogator an adequate intelligence analyst, and a good investigator.  And it’s made me an author who loves to research!

My novel, The Guilty Sleep, is about an Afghanistan vet and former Army Counterintelligence Agent, Dexter Grant, who’s broke, reeling from PTSD, and on the verge of divorce when his old Army crew approaches him to help save the life of their former interpreter.  To do that, they need to rip off a vicious drug lord’s illicit proceeds.  Things, as they do in these scenarios, go very south very quickly, placing Dex’s family squarely in the crosshairs. 

Now, I’m a former Army Counterintelligence Agent and combat veteran of the war in Afghanistan.  I battled PTSD for years, and my life was once saved by one of our interpreters.  And for the last 20 years I’ve worked in law enforcement, intelligence, and national security.  In other words, writing The Guilty Sleep was squarely in my wheelhouse of personal knowledge and experience.  That said, I never personally ripped off a drug lord, engaged in money laundering, got in a shootout with corrupt cops, or many of the other things that happen in my novel.

Which meant I had plenty of things I needed to research, even for such a personal novel:  Maryland divorce law, for starters, plus things like vehicle kill switches, anti-listening device technology, the geography of west Africa, cargo ship transatlantic travel timetables, and successful bank heists.  These were just a few of the things I dove into.  Why?  Well, partly because I wanted to tell a good story, and good stories have an underlying current of absolute truth, even if they’re fictional.  Readers, I think, want believability and verisimilitude in crime thrillers.  They want to know that the way you describe, say, a criminal enterprise’s operations, at least roughly corresponds to how a criminal enterprise operates in the real world.  Just as important to my way of writing, the other reason I dove into these issues was that good ol’ curiosity.  Is there such as thing as a little box the size of a deck of cards which, when switched on, automatically create a 20-foot buffer that subsumes listening devices, wi-fi and cell signals, and video surveillance?  Is there such a thing as a chip that can be plugged into a vehicle’s on-board diagnostic port that allows remote access via phone app?  How would I pull off a bank heist with three teammates, an unmarked van, and 30 miles of country roads, going up against a feckless bank manager and some very annoyed drug dealers?  (The answer to those questions is—maybe, not yet that I could find, and with extreme caution.)  Taking the time to dive into those details through extensive research (internet, interviews, and the library were my friends) brought an extra level of detail and believability to my novel that wouldn’t exist if I’d just winged it!

Here's the other great thing about curiosity and research in my writing experience.  I could be looking for one particular piece of information and follow my yen to learn new and interesting things down a series of research rabbit holes that uncover completely unrelated stuff that either fits into the current story, or sparks a completely new idea.  I write in both the crime/thriller and speculative fiction genres.  In researching the idea of a vehicle kill switch that plugs into the on-board diagnostic port, my research trail directly led to point-to-point encrypted communication phone apps used in furtherance of crime (which makes an appearance in my novel), then somehow onward to a discussion of the old Silk Road caravan route in Central Asia, which led to a comparison of Ummayad versus Abbasid caliphates, which led to a deep dive into the Umayyad state of Córdoba circa 800 CE and the fascinating Andalusian polymath Abbas ibn Firnas, the DaVinci of the Islamic world, who may have been the first person to achieve (unpowered) flight…which led to the idea for a short story that I’m still unraveling!

What I’m getting at is, for me, curiosity begets research begets knowledge begets verisimilitude begets writing, and a curious writer is a happy writer.  Give your curiosity free rein, because you never know where it’s going to take you.

Now, about that Andalusian polymath…

 

You can learn more about Jeremy D. Baker via his website and follow him on BlueSky, Instagram, and Facebook. The Guilty Sleep is now available via Diversion Books and can be purchased from all major booksellers.

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Media Murder for Monday

[image error]It's the start of a new week and that means it's time for a brand-new roundup of crime drama news:

THE BIG SCREEN/MOVIES

Lyrical Media and Ryder Picture Company will adapt Sian Gilbert’s debut thriller, She Started It, for the screen. Jessica Sharzer, the screenwriter behind A Simple Favor, is set to direct from the script she co-wrote with Sarah Masson. The story follows Annabel, Esther, Tanya, and Chloe, once inseparable childhood friends who have since drifted apart. Their adult lives haven’t unfolded quite as they’d imagined, but a shared past and buried secrets have kept them loosely connected. When they receive an invitation from former classmate, Poppy Greer, to an extravagant bachelorette weekend on a private island, curiosity and the promise of luxury pulls them back together. But the trip is not what it seems. With no cell service, no other guests, and tensions rising, the women soon realize they’ve underestimated Poppy — and each other.

Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick) is set to direct and produce an adaptation of Miami Vice for Universal Pictures, from a script by Dan Gilroy. Miami Vice, the groundbreaking original NBC series that starred Don Johnson (Sonny Crockett) and Philip Michael Thomas (Rico Tubbs), signed off in 1989 after five sunglasses-filled seasons, followed by the 2006 Michael Mann-directed film adaptation starring Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx. No cast has been set for this latest iteration.

Chris Hemsworth is set to star in Subversion, a submarine action flick coming together at Amazon MGM Studios, with Patrick Vollrath (7500) directing from a script by Andrew Ferguson. The film follows a once-promising Naval commander (Hemsworth) who is blackmailed by a cartel-like operation into piloting a dangerous submarine carrying illegal cargo across international waters, thrusting him into a high-stakes game of cat and mouse, outmaneuvering blockades, and navigating perilous threats both in and outside of the submarine.

Jessica Alba (Trigger Warning) has signed on to lead the action thriller, The Mark, a spy flick set to begin production in Australia in July. In the film from director Justin Chadwick (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom), Alba plays Eden, an enigmatic spy on a covert and dangerous mission. When Eden pulls single father Ben Dawson into her world of high-stakes espionage, his life is turned upside down. Mistaken for the world’s deadliest assassin, Ben becomes the perfect decoy for Eden. She uses the mix-up to expose a powerful network of corrupt politicians, placing Ben in the crosshairs of the CIA, Interpol, and ruthless crime syndicates. With enemies closing in from all sides, Eden must keep Ben alive long enough to complete her mission — while Ben must summon his inner action hero to stay alive and return to the person who matters most: his daughter. Ronnie Christensen (Passengers; Incarnate) penned the script.

TELEVISION/STREAMING

Blink49 Studios has secured rights to adapt the debut novel of Eliza Reid, Iceland's former First Lady, as a six-part TV series. Billed as a "twist-filled mystery thriller," Death on the Island is set in the high-stakes world of diplomacy. Per the synopsis, "When the Canadian ambassador’s deputy collapses at a remote Icelandic soirée, suspicions swirl, and his wife, Jane Shearer, decides to take matters into her own hands. Partnering with an ambitious young Icelandic detective, Jane uncovers a web of secrets, corruption, and betrayal stretching from Reykjavik’s elite to the heart of her own marriage. As the danger mounts and the truth threatens powerful interests, Jane must choose: protect the illusion or risk everything to unmask a killer."

Scott Rosenbaum, showrunner of USA Network’s Queen of the South, is adapting Maureen Callahan’s book, American Predator: The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century, as a television series. The book investigates one of America’s most elusive and terrifying criminals, Israel Keyes, who buried "kill kits" in remote locations across the country. Over the course of fourteen years, he would fly to a city, rent a car, and drive thousands of miles in order to use his kits. He would break into a stranger’s house, abduct his victims in broad daylight, and kill and dispose of them in mere hours. And then he would return home to Alaska, resuming life as a quiet, reliable construction worker devoted to his only daughter.

Universal is adapting Amy Tintera's bestseller thriller novel, Listen for the Lie, into a drama series of the same name. The novel follows Lucy on her quest to solve best friend Savvy’s murder, in which she is the prime suspect. At the start of the novel, it’s been five years since Lucy was found wandering the streets covered in her best friend Savvy's blood shortly after she was murdered. After moving to L.A. to start a new life, Lucy is forced to revisit her small Texas hometown — and the circumstances of Savvy's death — when the host of the hit true crime podcast, Listen for the Lie, makes the case the focus of his next investigation.

The Sun is reporting that Peaky Blinders is returning to BBC One but with two major changes from last series. The move follows on the heels of the upcoming Peaky Blinders movie set to air on Netflix later this year. Series six saw the characters in the 1930s, while the upcoming film, titled The Immortal Man, is set during the Second World War. The new series is likely to move the Birmingham gangsters into the Fifties, an era known for violent mobs of Teddy Boys and the rise of notorious East London villains, the Kray twins. Although casting details are unknown at this time, it's possible that Oscar Winner Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer), who appears in the new film, could return as crime boss Thomas Shelby but as a "father figure" to younger gang members. The BBC declined to respond to the story.

 



In a return to CBS, former CSI: Vegas star Matt Lauria has been tapped as the male lead opposite Morena Baccarin on the network’s upcoming drama series, Sheriff Country, a spinoff from hit Fire Country. The spinoff, which will premiere in the fall, stars Baccarin as straight-shooting sheriff Mickey Fox, the stepsister of Cal Fire’s division chief Sharon Leone (Fire Country's Diane Farr), who investigates criminal activity as she patrols the streets of small-town Edgewater while contending with her ex-con father (W. Earl Brown) and a mysterious incident involving her wayward daughter. Lauria will play Boone, Sheriff Mickey Fox’s smart, tough and capable deputy and longtime partner. Originally from Oakland, he’s used to a different kind of policing. Their contrasting law enforcement styles makes their partnership both complex and occasionally tense.

I noted last week that CBS had picked up an order for the crime drama, Einstein, starring Matthew Gubler (Criminal Minds) as a bad-boy professor—who also happens to the great-grandson of Albert Einstein—who is roped into assisting law enforcement. Now it appears that the network will be holding the series until the 2026-27 season due to "limited shelf space" in the 2025-26 TV schedule and "that it would benefit from a longer pre-production window." The project was also set to star Rosa Salazar (Bird Box; Undone) as Veronica "Ronni" Paris, a detective inspector for the New Jersey State Police who has conflicted feelings about working with Einstein, but the actress has asked to depart the project due to the schedule delay.

Acorn TV confirmed the premiere date and released the official trailer for the art world crime drama, Art Detectives, starring and executive produced by Stephen Moyer (True Blood; Sexy Beast). The procedural, set to debut with two episodes on Monday, June 9 in the US and Canada, with additional episodes dropping weekly on Mondays, revolves around the Heritage Crime Unit, a police department hired to solve murders connected to the world of art and antiques.

Canada's CBC has renewed five series, including new procedural hit, Saint-Pierre, starring Allan Hawco and Josephine Jobert, who play seasoned police officers with very different styles who are forced together to solve crimes in the French territory of Saint-Pierre et Miquelon. Saint-Pierre will return for a second season after becoming CBC’s most-watched new series of the year, and will be joined by two more seasons of Wild Cards and new runs for Allegiance, Heartland, and Murdoch Mysteries.

Unfortunately, it's not good news for fans of The Equalizer, which CBS has canceled after 5 seasons. The drama, starring and executive produced by Queen Latifah, is a reimagining of the classic 1980s series centering on the character of Robyn McCall, an enigmatic woman with a mysterious background who uses her extensive skills as a former CIA operative to help those with nowhere else to turn.

PODCASTS/RADIO

On the latest episode of Murder Junction, Vaseem Khan discussed his new psychological thriller, The Girl in Cell A, inspired by great small town novels such as In The Heat of the Night, and the 1874 small town true crime known as The Axe Murders of Saxtown.

Wrong Place, Write Crime host Frank Zafiro welcomed Adam Plantinga to talk about his new book, Hard Town, and the two cops, who are also writers, spoke a little bit of inside baseball about both topics.

Suspense Radio host Tracey Devlyn dived into the darker side of dating with R.G. Belsky and Bonnie Traymore, co-authors of Swipe, a gripping thriller about secrets, swipes, and survival.

Katie McLain Horner and Kendra Winchester celebrated 200 episodes of Read or Dead.

Pick Your Poison host, Dr. Jen Prosser, reported on a compound from the Amazon that combines two plants in a bit of ingenious indigenous pharmacology, and which substance was considered too dangerous for study in communist countries.

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Crimefest Awards Shortlists

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After sixteen successful years, Bristol’s iconic crime fiction convention, CrimeFest, will come to an end in 2025. But they're going out with a bang, including the annual CrimeFest Awards, with shortlists revealed this week. Winners will be presented at the convention Gala Awards Dinner on May 17. Congrats to all the finalists!

SPECSAVERS DEBUT CRIME NOVEL AWARD



In association with headline sponsor, the Specsavers Debut Crime Novel Award is for debut authors first published in the United Kingdom in 2023. The winning author receives a £1,000 prize.

Tom Baragwanath for Paper Cage (Baskerville)
Tasha Coryell for Love Letters to a Serial Killer (Orion Fiction)
C. L. Miller for The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder (Pan Macmillan)
Akira Otani (and translator Sam Bett) for The Night of Baba Yaga (Faber & Faber)
Tracy Sierra for Nightwatching (Viking)
Claire Wilson for Five by Five (Michael Joseph)

eDUNNIT AWARD



For the best crime fiction ebook first published in both hardcopy and in electronic format in the United Kingdom in 2024.

Martin Edwards for Hemlock Bay (Head of Zeus)
Laurie R. King for The Lantern’s Dance (Allison & Busby)
Jean Hanff Korelitz for The Sequel (Faber & Faber)
Bella Mackie for What A Way To Go (The Borough Press)
Liz Moore for The God of the Woods (The Borough Press)
Peter Swanson for A Talent for Murder (Faber & Faber)

LAST LAUGH AWARD



The Last Laugh Award is for the best humorous crime novel first published in the United Kingdom in 2024.

Cathy Ace for The Case of the Secretive Secretary (Four Tails Publishing Ltd.)
DG Coutinho for The Light and Shade of Ellen Swithin (Harvill Secker)
Bella Mackie for What A Way To Go (The Borough Press)
Orlando Murrin for Knife Skills for Beginners (Transworld)
Mike Ripley for Mr Campion’s Christmas (Severn House)
Antti Tuomianen (and translator David Hackston) for The Burning Stones (Orenda Books)

H.R.F. KEATING AWARD



The H.R.F. Keating Award is for the best biographical or critical book related to crime fiction first published in the United Kingdom in 2024. The award is named after H.R.F. ‘Harry’ Keating, one of Britain’s most esteemed crime novelists, crime reviewers and writer of books about crime fiction.

Mark Aldridge for Agatha Christie’s Marple: Expert in Wickedness (HarperCollins)
Jem Bloomfield for Allusion in Detective Fiction (Palgrave Macmillan)
Ashley Bowden for Female Detectives in Early Crime Fiction 1841-1920 (Fabula Mysterium Press)
Dan Coxon & Richard V. Hirst for Writing the Murder: Essays in Crafting Crime Fiction (Dead Ink)
Sara Lodge for The Mysterious Case of the Victorian Female (Yale University Press)
Lynda La Plante for Getting Away With Murder: My Unexpected Life on Page, Stage and Screen (Zaffre)

THALIA PROCTOR MEMORIAL AWARD FOR BEST ADAPTED TV CRIME DRAMA



This award is for the best television crime drama based on a book, and first screened in the UK in 2024. Eligible titles were collated from the Radio Times, and CrimeFest newsletter readers establish the shortlist and the winning title. The winning author and production company each receive a Bristol Blue Glass commemorative award.

Bad Monkey, based on the book by Carl Hiaasen (Apple TV+)
Dalgliesh (series 3), based on the Inspector Dalgliesh books by P.D. James (Channel 5)
Lady in the Lake based on the book by Laura Lippman (Apple TV+)
Moonflower Murders based on the book by Anthony Horowitz (BBC)
Slow Horses (series 4), based on the Slough House books by Mick Herron (Apple TV+)
The Turkish Detective, based on the Inspector Ikmen books by Barbara Nadel (BBC)

CRIMEFEST AWARDS FOR BEST CRIME NOVEL FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS



Eligible titles are submitted by publishers, and reviewers of fiction for children and young adults vote alongside volunteering members of the School Library Association (SLA) to establish the shortlist and the winning title. The winners receive a commemorative Bristol Blue Glass award.

BEST CRIME NOVEL FOR CHILDREN



This award is for the best crime novel for children (aged 8-12) first published in the United Kingdom in 2024.

Sufiya Ahmed for Rosie Raja: Undercover Codebreaker (Bloomsbury Education)
Natasha Farrant for The Secret of Golden Island (Faber & Faber)
A.M. Howell for Mysteries at Sea: The Hollywood Kidnap Case (Usborne Publishing)
M. G. Leonard for The Twitchers: Feather (Walker Books)
Beth Lincoln for The Swifts: A Gallery of Rogues (Penguin Random House Children’s UK)
Nicki Thornton for The Floating Witch Mystery (Faber & Faber)

BEST CRIME NOVEL FOR YOUNG ADULTS



This award is for the best crime novel for young adults (aged 12-16) first published in the United Kingdom in 2024.

H.F. Askwith for A Cruel Twist of Fate (Penguin Random House Children’s UK)
Denise Brown for It All Started With a Lie (Hashtag Press)
A.J. Clack for Lie or Die (Firefly Press)
Amie  Jordan for All the Hidden Monsters (Chicken House)
Kayvion Lewis for Heist Royale (Simon & Schuster Children’s Books)
Karen M. McManus for Such Charming Liars (Penguin Random House Children’s UK)

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The Excellence of Edgar

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Mystery Writers of America revealed the winners of the 2025 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, nonfiction, and television published or produced in 2024. The 78th Annual Edgar® Awards were celebrated last night at the New York Marriott Marquis Times Square. Congrats to all the winners and finalists!

BEST NOVEL: The In Crowd by Charlotte Vassell (Penguin Random House – Doubleday)

Other finalists:

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett (Penguin Random House – Random House Worlds/Del Rey
Rough Trade by Katrina Carrasco (Farrar, Straus and Giroux – MCD)
Things Don’t Break on Their Own by Sarah Easter Collins (Penguin Random House – Crown)
My Favorite Scar by Nicolás Ferraro (Soho Press – Soho Crime)
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore (Penguin Random House – Riverhead Books)
Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera (Macmillan Publishers – Celadon Books)

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR:  Holy City by Henry Wise (Grove Atlantic – Atlantic Monthly Press)

Other finalists:

Twice the Trouble by Ash Clifton (Crooked Lane Books)
Cold to the Touch by Kerri Hakoda (Crooked Lane Books)
The Mechanics of Memory by Audrey Lee (CamCat Books)
A Jewel in the Crown by David Lewis (Kensington Books – A John Scognamiglio Book)
The President’s Lawyer by Lawrence Robbins (Simon & Schuster – Atria Books)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL:  The Paris Widow by Kimberly Belle (Harlequin Trade Publishing – Park Row Books)

Other finalists:

The Vacancy in Room 10 by Seraphina Nova Glass (Harlequin Trade Publishing – Graydon House)
Shell Games by Bonnie Kistler (HarperCollins – Harper Paperbacks)
A Forgotten Kill by Isabella Maldonado (Amazon Publishing – Thomas & Mercer)
The Road to Heaven by Alexis Stefanovich-Thomson (Dundurn Press Ltd.)  

BEST FACT CRIME:  The Infernal Machine: A True Story of Dynamite, Terror, and the Rise of the Modern Detective by Steven Johnson (Penguin Random House – Crown)

Other finalists: 

Long Haul: Hunting the Highway Serial Killers by Frank Figliuzzi (HarperCollins – Mariner Books)
 Devil Went Down to Georgia: Race, Power, Privilege, and the Murder of Lita McClinton by Deb Miller Landau (Pegasus Books – Pegasus Crime)
The Amish Wife: Unraveling the Lies, Secrets, and Conspiracy that Let a Killer Go Free by Gregg Olsen (Amazon Publishing – Thomas & Mercer)
Hell Put to Shame: The 1921 Murder Farm Massacre and the Horror of America’s Second Slavery by Earl Swift (HarperCollins – Mariner Books)
The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age by Michael Wolraich (Union Square & Co.)

BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL:  James Sallis: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction by Nathan Ashman (McFarland Publishing)

Other finalists:  

American Noir Film: From The Maltese Falcon to Gone Girl by M. Keith Booker (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers)
Organized Crime on Page and Screen: Portrayals in Hit Novels, Films, and Television Shows by David Geherin (McFarland Publishing)
On Edge: Gender and Genre in the Work of Shirley Jackson, Patricia Highsmith, and Leigh Brackett by Ashley Lawson (The Ohio State University Press)
Ian Fleming; The Complete Man by Nicholas Shakespeare (HarperCollins – Harper)

BEST SHORT STORY:  “Eat My Moose,” Conjunctions: 82, Works & Days by Erika Krouse (Bard College)

Other finalists:  

“Cut and Thirst,” Amazon Original Stories by Margaret Atwood (Amazon Publishing)
“Everywhere You Look,” Amazon Original Stories by Liv Constantine (Amazon Publishing)
Barriers to Entry,” Amazon Original Stories by Ariel Lawhon (Amazon Publishing)
“The Art of Cruel Embroidery,” Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine – July-August 2024 by Steven Sheil (Dell Magazine)

BEST JUVENILE:  Mysteries of Trash and Treasure: The Stolen Key by Margaret Peterson Haddix (HarperCollins – Quill Tree Books)

Other finalists: 

The Beanstalk Murder by P.G. Bell (Macmillan Publishers – Feiwel & Friends)
Mystery of Mystic Mountain by Janet Fox (Simon & Schuster BFYR)
The Spindle of Fate by Aimee Lim (Macmillan Publishers – Feiwel & Friends)
Find Her by Ginger Reno (Holiday House)

BEST YOUNG ADULT:  49 Miles Alone by Natalie D. Richards (Sourcebooks – Sourcebooks Fire)

Other finalists:

Looking for Smoke by K.A. Cobell (HarperCollins – Heartdrum)
The Bitter End by Alexa Donne (Random House Books for Young Readers)
A Crane Among Wolves by June Hur (Macmillan Publishers – Feiwel & Friends)
Death at Morning House by Maureen Johnson (HarperCollins Publishers – Harper Teen)

BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY:  “Episode One” – Monsieur Spade, Written by Tom Fontana & Scott Frank (AMC)

Other finalists:

“Episode Five” – Rebus, Written by Gregory Burke (Viaplay)
Episode One” – Moonflower Murders, Written by Anthony Horowitz (Masterpiece PBS)
“Mirror” – Murderesses , Written by Wiktor Piatkowski, Joanna Kozłowska, Katarzyna Kaczmarek (Viaplay)
“Episode Two” – The Marlow Murder Club , Written by Robert Thorogood (Masterpiece PBS)

ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD – Endowed by the family of Robert L. Fish.

“The Jews on Elm Street,” Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, September-October 2024 by Anna Stolley Persky (Dell Magazines)

THE SIMON & SCHUSTER MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD – Presented on behalf of Simon & Schuster.

The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill (Sourcebooks – Poisoned Pen Press)

THE G.P. PUTNAM’S SONS SUE GRAFTON MEMORIAL AWARD – Presented on behalf of G.P. Putnam’s Sons.

The Comfort of Ghosts by Jacqueline Winspear (Soho Press – Soho Crime)

THE LILIAN JACKSON BRAUN MEMORIAL AWARD – Endowed by the estate of Lilian Jackson Braun.

The Murders in Great Diddling by Katarina Bivald (Sourcebooks – Poisoned Pen Press)

SPECIAL AWARDS – PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED IN JANUARY 2025

Grand Master

Laura Lippman


John Sandford

Raven Award

Face in a Book Bookstore & Gifts

Ellery Queen Award

Peter Wolverton of St. Martin’s Publishing Group

 

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Mystery Melange

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Book art by Emma Taylor

The Los Angeles Times Book Awards were presented at the annual LA Times Festival of Books this past weekend during a ceremony at the University of Southern California’s Bovard Auditorium. The 2025 winner of the Mystery/Thriller category was Danielle Trussoni for The Puzzle Box. The other finalists include: Christopher Bollen, Havoc; Michael Connelly, The Waiting: A Ballard and Bosch Novel; Attica Locke, Guide Me Home: A Highway 59 Novel; and Liz Moore, The God of the Woods.

A longlist for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year was also revealed last weekend. Harrogate International Festivals announced the 18 titles competing for the UK and Ireland’s most prestigious crime fiction award, now in its twenty-first year. The longlist, selected by an academy of journalists, reviewers, booksellers, bloggers, an podcasters and representatives from within the industry, "showcases innovative, original and entertaining stories, with global bestsellers and new talent vying for the coveted award." Readers are now encouraged to vote for their favorite novels to reach the shortlist, with the winner crowned on the opening night of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, Thursday, July 17.

Kensington's Cozy Con heads to Marietta, Georgia on Sunday, May 4, from 10am to 4pm at the Sewell Mill Library & Cultural Center. Authors Ellery Adams, Valerie Burns, Lynn Cahoon, Kemper Donovan, Dianne Freeman, Debra H. Goldstein, Traci Hall, Molly Macrae, Roz Noonan, and Allie Pleite will be on hand for talks and book signings. Refreshments and swag bags will also be available for attendees. You can register via the following link.

National Crime Reading Month in the UK (held throughout June) will kick off with a free online panel event, "The Lives of Crime," on June 4, featuring bestselling authors Vaseem Khan, Adele Parks, Fiona Cummins, and Penny Batchelor. The panel will explore the genre’s universal appeal – from psychological thrillers to cozy mysteries – and how it creates accessible pathways to reading for audiences who might otherwise never discover the joy of books. You can register for this free event by following this link.

 

Although this one will be a bit pricey for most of us, the Sonoma Valley Authors Festival, held from May 2-4 in San Francisco, will include appearances by best-selling authors Isabel Allende, Michael Connelly, Percival Everett, and many more, using a "TED Talk" style format that includes the main tent and breakout sessions. Passes for the three-day event start at $1,500.

On May 5, the popular literary event Noir at the Bar comes to Buffalo, New York, at Charlie’s Boatyard, located at 1111 Fuhrmann Boulevard. This event brings together crime fiction fans and authors for an unforgettable evening of live readings, cocktails, and conversation. Hosted by Jim Creahan and Tom McDonnell, this installment of Noir at the Bar will include Gary Earl Ross, Sandra Block, Stephen G. Eoannou, A.M. Loweecey, John Schreier, Lissa Marie Redmond, Jeff Schober, Bill Metzger and special guest, poet Kate McGreevy.

BBC Studios, the commercial arm of British broadcaster BBC, and the Agatha Christie estate have teamed up to launch a writing course on the educational streaming service BBC Maestro taught by Christie herself—although to be fair, it's actually actress Vivien Keene aided by AI, using the author’s own words. (The actress was chosen primarily by considering the biometrics of her face for the visuals, and for the audio, Christie’s and the actress’ voices were put together). The project's creators used meticulously restored archival interviews, private letters, and writings researched by a team of Christie experts for the pioneering course, which reconstructs Christie’s own voice and insights, guiding you through the art of suspense, plot twists and unforgettable characters. Nicki Sheard, CEO of brands and licensing at BBC Studios, added, “Agatha Christie was an icon of British storytelling, and to be able to deploy this technology in a way that is ethical and thoughtful, to both honor her legacy and bring her genius to a new generation in a fresh and different way, is a great thing to be able to do."

This is a fun event I'd like to see more of: the 16th edition of the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF) at the Expo Centre Sharjah, in the UAE, includes the Sherlock Holmes Exhibition, recreating iconic scenes from Sherlock’s world and encouraging children to solve clues and crack mysteries just like the legendary detective. Through hands-on exploration, kids build critical thinking skills while enjoying an exciting adventure and hopefully developing an appreciation for the mystery genre.

It seems a little early to start with the "best" lists, but Irenie Forshaw at The Week, Jamie Canaves at Book Riot, and editors at The Times compiled lists of their picks for the best crime fiction "so far" in 2025.

Happy anniversary to Stark House Press, celebrating 25 years of bringing many authors and their work back into print, particularly from the hardboiled and noir era of the fifties and sixties.

In the Q&A roundup, thriller author Kay Sparling chatted with Lisa Haselton about her new feminist cold war spy thriller, Mission THAW; Karen Rose Smith (Daisy’s Tea Garden Mysteries, Caprice De Luca Home-Staging Mysteries, and the Tomes & Tea Mystery Series) applied the Page 69 Test to her latest Tomes & Tea mystery, Booked for Revenge; U.S. playwright, Ken Ludwig, spoke with The Guardian about adapting Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot mysteries, Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile; S. A. Kazlo was interviewed by E. B. Davis over at the Writers Who Kill blog about A Pawsome Summer For Murder, the seventh book in the Samantha Davies mystery series; and Anne Hillerman spoke with Cowboys & Indians about her father's legacy, finding her own voice, and Dark Winds.

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Derringer Delights

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Since 1998, the Short Mystery Fiction Society has awarded the annual Derringers—named after the popular pocket pistol—to outstanding published stories during the previous year. Derringer Coordinator, Paula Messina, revealed the winners today via the organization's newsgroup. Congrats to all the winners and finalists!

 

THE SILVER DERRINGER FOR EDITORIAL EXCELLENCE :   Janet Hutchings

 

EDWARD D. HOCH MEMORIAL GOLDEN DERRINGER FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT:   Art Taylor

 

HALL OF FAME:  O. Henry (William Sydney Porter)

 

FLASH:    Kargin the Necromancer by Mike McHone (Mystery Tribune, December 15, 2024)

Other finalists:

Sweet Red Cherries by C.W. Blackwell (Punk Noir Magazine, November 28, 2024)
Mob Mentality by James Patrick Focarile (Shotgun Honey, June 20, 2024)
La Petite Mort by Susan Hatters Friedman (Bristol Noir, February 16, 2024)
Lockerbie, 1988 by Mary Thorson (Cotton Xenomorph, October 13, 2024)

 

SHORT STORY: "The Wind Phone" by Josh Pachter (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, September/October 2024)

Other finalists:

"Skeeter's Bar and Grill" by Julie Hastrup (Larceny & Last Chances: 22 Stories of Mystery & Suspense, Superior Shores Press)
"The Heist" by Bill Pronzini (Shamus and Anthony Commit Capers: Ten Tales of Criminals, Crooks, and Culprits, Level Best Books)
"The Last Chance Coalition" by Judy Penz Sheluk (Larceny & Last Chances: 22 Stories of Mystery & Suspense, Superior Shores Press)
"The Kratz Gambit" by Mark Thielman (Private Dicks and Disco Balls: Private Eyes in the Dyn-O-Mite Seventies, Down & Out Books)

 

LONG STORY: "Heart of Darkness" by Tammy Euliano (Scattered, Smothered, Covered & Chunked: Crime Fiction Inspired by Waffle House, Down & Out Books)

Other finalists:

"How Mary’s Garden Grew" by Elizabeth Elwood (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, January/February 2024)
"Putting Things Right" by Peter W. J. Hayes (Thrill Ride - The Magazine, December 21, 2024)
"Motive Factor X" by Joseph Andre Thomas (Howls from the Scene of the Crime: A Crime Horror Anthology, Howl Society Press)
"Cold Comfort" by Andrew Welsh-Huggins (Private Dicks and Disco Balls: Private Eyes in the Dyn-O-Mite Seventies, Down & Out Books)

 

NOVELETTE: "The Cadillac Job" by Stacy Woodson (Chop Shop Episode 1, Down & Out Books, January 1, 2024)

Other finalists:

"A Band of Scheming Women" by Joslyn Chase (Thrill Ride - The Magazine, March 21, 2024)
"Christmas Dinner" by Robert Lopresti (Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, November/December 2024)
"Barracuda Backfire" by Tom Milani (Chop Shop Episode 4, Down & Out Books, April 1, 2024)
"Her Dangerously Clever Hands" by Karen Odden (Crimeucopia - Through the Past Darkly, Murderous Ink Press)

 

ANTHOLOGY: Murder, Neat: A SleuthSayers Anthology Edited by Michael Bracken and Barb Goffman, Level Best Books

Other finalists:

Devil's Snare: Best New England Crime Stories 2024 Edited by Susan Oleksiw, Ang Pompano, Leslie Wheeler, Crime Spell Books
Friend of the Devil: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Grateful Dead Edited by Josh Pachter, Down & Out Books
Larceny & Last Chances: 22 Stories of Mystery & Suspense Edited by Judy Penz Sheluk, Superior Shores Press
New York State of Crime: Murder New York Style 6 Edited by D.M. Barr and Joseph R.G. De Marco, Down & Out Books
The 13th Letter Edited by Donna Carrick, Carrick Publishing

          

Media Murder for Monday

[image error]It's the start of a new week and that means it's time for a brand-new roundup of crime drama news:

THE BIG SCREEN/MOVIES

Amazon MGM Studios has landed film rights to James Patterson and Duane Swierczynski’s forthcoming book, Billion-Dollar Ransom, with Oscar winning scribe Stephen Gaghan (Traffic) adapting. The action thriller, which will be published by Little, Brown and Company in September, follows five members of a billionaire’s family, kidnapped at the same moment, from different locations—for the unthinkable ransom of a billion dollars.

Oscar winner Robert Zemeckis (Forest Gump) has come on board to direct an adaptation of The Last Mrs. Parrish, with Jennifer Lopez attached to star and Oscar nominees Andrea Berloff (Straight Outta Compton) and John Gatins (Flight) penning the script. Based on the Liv Constant novel, the story follows a con artist (Lopez) who targets a wealthy couple—the Parrishes—as her next victims. She infiltrates the pair by befriending the wife and seducing the husband, with the master plan of becoming the next Mrs. Parrish, only to discover that the wife’s life is far more complicated than she could have imagined.

Rising screenwriter Jenna Mattison (Fish Without a Bicycle) is scripting an adaptation of the psychological thriller, Decorum at the Deathbed, the 2021 novella from Josh Malerman. Released exclusively as an Audible Original, Decorum at the Deathbed—billed as "Body Heat meets Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart"—follows a grieving widow who starts a twisted affair with the detective investigating the mutilated deer that keep appearing in the forest behind her house. But as the relationship deepens, he begins to wonder if she’s truly a victim or a sociopathic killer. 

Mena Suvari (American Beauty), Jeffrey Donovan (Sicario), and Cam Gigandet (Twilight) are set to star opposite James C. Clayton (Bullet Proof) in Briefcase, 8, a new neo-noir action film which Clayton is directing. Set in a city where the rain never stops and the truth is buried in alleyways, Briefcase, 8 follows "8" (Clayton), a weary hitman who takes one last job from his ruthless boss (Donovan) to escape with the woman he loves (Suvari). But as a mysterious briefcase causes blood to be spilled, he must outwit his enemies (Gigandet) and uncover the truth to survive.

TELEVISION/STREAMING

Wallander, the globally acclaimed Swedish detective drama, is getting a "a modernized and reimagined reboot" with Gustaf Skarsgård (Oppenheimer; Vikings) playing the iconic role. The first season of the new Swedish-language adaptation will comprise three 90-minute films and will see Kurt Wallander, now 42, who’s recently separated, after two decades of marriage, and estranged from his daughter. On the edge as his life seemingly unravels, Wallander drinks too much, sleeps too little, and carries the weight of every unsolved case. Penned by bestselling author Henning Mankell, the Wallander novels have sold over 40 million copies and been translated into more than 40 languages. The original Swedish series and film adaptations, which aired between 1994 and 2013, garnered wide international success and were followed by a British mini-series adaptation starring Kenneth Branagh that earned him a BAFTA for his portrayal of the detective.

CBS has opted not to proceed with the proposed Equalizer spinoff starring Titus Welliver and co-lead Juani Feliz. It also leaves The Equalizer, starring and executive produced by Queen Latifah, as the only remaining CBS scripted title yet to learn its fate for next season. A reimagining of the classic series, The Equalizer features Queen Latifah as Robyn McCall, an enigmatic woman with a mysterious background who uses her extensive skills as a former CIA operative to help those with nowhere else to turn. Welliver played Hudson Reed, a former top CIA operative with a dark secret who is connected to Robyn by an old mentor. Feliz played Samantha Reed, who has been trained by her father to be a weapons expert, skilled martial artist, and true chameleon all while hiding a mysterious past.

The FBI offshoot with a CIA twist is moving forward with a straight-to-series order at CBS and Tom Ellis (Lucifer) as star. The project (fka FBI: CIA) will now join the mothership FBI drama on CBS’s 2025-26 schedule. CIA (working title) centers on two unlikely partners—a fast-talking, rule-breaking loose cannon CIA case officer (Ellis), and a by-the-book, seasoned, and smart FBI agent who believes in the rule of law. When this odd couple are assigned to work out of the CIA’s New York Station, they must learn to work together to investigate cases and criminals posing threats on U.S. soil, finding that their differences may actually be their strength.

CBS has made a decision on its standalone pilots, including handing a series order to the detective drama Einstein, headlined by Criminal Minds alum Matthew Gray Gubler, from the Monk duo of Andy Breckman and Randy Zisk. The project is an adaptation of a German series by Breckman, and follows the brilliant but directionless great-grandson of Albert Einstein who spends his days as a comfortably tenured professor until his bad boy antics land him in trouble with the law, and he is pressed into service helping a local police detective solve her most puzzling cases.

Masterpiece on PBS has released the first trailer for the 10th season of Grantchester, one of the platform’s longest-running series, with the new season premiering on June 15 at 9/8c. The season will also be available to stream via the PBS app, PBS.org and PBS Masterpiece on Prime Video. The drama stars Robson Green and Rishi Nair who are set to return as DI Geordie Keating and Reverend Alphy Kottaram, respectively. In the new episodes, Alphy has found a home in Grantchester and a best friend and intellectual equal in Geordie. Love proves more elusive, until a case throws him in the path of a romance. But before he can let anyone else in, he must confront truths about himself. Geordie, meanwhile, wrestles with his expectations for his own son and Cathy takes steps to better her career with the help of Mrs. Chapman.

Netflix released first-look images from Dept. Q, an adaptation of the popular ten-book series of Nordic noir crime fiction by Jussi Adler-Olsen. With a locale switch from Denmark to Edinburgh, Scotland, the story follows DCI Carl Morck, a brilliant cop but a terrible colleague. After a shooting that leaves his partner paralyzed and a young PC dead, he finds himself exiled to the basement and the sole member of Department Q—a newly formed cold case unit. Carl starts to build a gang of waifs and strays who have everything to prove. So, when the stone-cold trail of a prominent civil servant who disappeared several years ago starts to heat up, Carl is back doing what he does best—rattling cages and refusing to take no for an answer.

PODCASTS/RADIO

NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday host, Ayesha Rascoe, spoke with Louise Hegarty about her debut novel, Fair Play, which honors the golden age of crime novels, just as it turns the genre on its head.

Debbi Mack's latest guest for the Crime Cafe podcast was crime writer Deven Greene, whose medical thrillers reflect her background of a PhD in biochemistry and as an MD, practicing pathology for more than 20 years.

On Crime Time FM, Jeremy Vine chatted with Paul Burke about his new murder mystery, Murder on Line One; regional radio; celebrity; Agatha Christie; and washing our clothes.

Murder Junction hosts Vaseem Khan and Abir Mukherjee interviewed Hollywood producer turned crime writer Kelly Mullen about her debut, This is Not a Game, and her Iowa roots, including a famous serial killer with a connection to the state.

On Meet the Thriller Author, host Alan Petersen spoke with Marcie R. Rendon, an award-winning author, poet, and playwright, known for her Cash Blackbear mystery series.

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Agatha Award Accolades

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Winners of the annual Agatha Awards were announced at the Agatha Awards Banquet on Saturday night during the Malice Domestic Conference, held in Bethesda, MD. The  awards celebrate the traditional mystery, best typified by the works of Agatha Christie. The genre is loosely defined as mysteries that contain no explicit sex, excessive gore, or gratuitous violence, and would not be classified as "hard-boiled." ​Congrats to all the winners and finalists!

Best Contemporary Novel:  A Midnight Puzzle by Gigi Pandian

Also nominated:

A Collection Of Lies by Connie Berry
 Very Woodsy Murder by Ellen Byron
Fondue Or Die by Korina Moss
The Dark Wives by Ann Cleeves

Best Historical Novel:  To Slip The Bonds Of Earth by Amanda Flower

Also nominated:

Hall Of Mirrors by John Copenhaver
The Last Hope by Susan Elia MacNeal
The Paris Mistress by Mally Becker
The Wharton Plot by Mariah Fredericks

Best First Novel:  You Know What You Did by K.T. Nguyen

Also nominated:

A Deadly Endeavor by Jenny Adams
Ghosts Of WaikīkĪ by Jennifer K. Morita
Hounds Of The Hollywood Baskervilles by Elizabeth Crowens
Threads Of Deception by Elle Jauffret

Best Short Story:  "The Postman Always Flirts Twice" by Barb Goffman, Agatha and Derringer Get Cozy

Also nominated:

"A Matter Of Trust" by Barb Goffman, Three Strikes—You're Dead
"Reynisfjara" by Kristopher Zgorski, Mystery Most International
"Satan’s Spit" by Gabriel Valjan, Tales of Music, Murder and Mayhem: Bouchercon 2024
"Sins Of The Father" by Kerry Hammond, Mystery Most International

Best Non-fiction:  Writing The Cozy Mystery: Authors' Perspectives On Their Craft Edited by Phyllis M. Betz

Also nominated:

Abingdon's Boardinghouse Murder by Greg Lilly
Agatha Christie, Marple: Expert On Wickedness by Mark Aldridge
Some Of My Best Friends Are Murderers: Critiquing The Columbo Killers by Chris Chan
The Bookshop: A History Of The American Bookstore by Evan Friss

Best Children's/YA:  The Big Grey Man Of Ben Macdhui by K.B. Jackson

Also nominated:

First Week Free At The Roomy Toilet: A June Knight Mystery by Josh Pachter
Sasquatch of Harriman Lake by K.B. Jackson
Sid Johnson & The Well-Intended Conspiracy by Frances Schoonmaker
he Sherlock Society by James Ponti

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Canadian Crime Commendations

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Crime Writers of Canada (CWC) announced the shortlists for the 2025 Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing at a ceremony last evening. Since 1984, Crime Writers of Canada has recognized the best in mystery, crime, suspense fiction, and crime nonfiction by Canadian authors, including citizens abroad and new residents. This year, the CWC is also sponsoring a very special presentation of the Derrick Murdoch Award, which is celebrated every two years, honoring those who have contributed greatly to the development of crime writing in Canada through their work as writers, editors, producers, publicists, and organizers. The 2025 recipient is William H. Deverell, a distinguished Canadian novelist, activist, and criminal lawyer.

 

The Miller-Martin Award for Best Crime Novel :  

Colin Barrett, Wild Houses (McClelland & Stewart)
Jaima Fixsen, The Specimen (Poisoned Pen Pressed Pen Press)
Conor Kerr, Prairie Edge (Strange Light, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada)
John MacLachlan Gray, Mr. Good-Evening (Douglas & McIntyre)
Louise Penny, The Grey Wolf (Minotaur Books)

Best Crime First Novel :  

Suzan Denoncourt, The Burden of Truth (Suzan Denoncourt)
Peter Holloway, The Roaring Game Murders (Bonspiel Books)
Jim McDonald, Altered Boy (Amalit Books)
Marianne K. Miller, We Were the Bullfighter (Dundurn Press)
Ashley Tate, Twenty-Seven Minutes (Doubleday Books Canada)

Best Crime Novel Set in Canada:  

Brenda Chapman, Fatal Harvest (Ivy Bay Press)
Barry W. Levy, The War Machine (Double Dagger Books)
Shane Peacock, As We Forgive Others (Cormorant Books)
Greg Rhyno, Who By Fire (Cormorant Books)
Kerry Wilkinson, The Call (Bookouture)

The Whodunit Award for Best Traditional Mystery :  

Cathy Ace, The Corpse with the Pearly Smile (Four Tails Publishing Ltd.)
Raye Anderson, The Dead Shall Inherit (Signature Editions)
Susan Juby, A Meditation on Murder (HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.)
Thomas King, Black Ice (HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.)
Jonathan Whitelaw, Concert Hall Killer (HarperNorth/ HarperCollins Canada)

Best Crime Novella:

Marcelle Dubé, Chuck Berry is Missing , Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine
Liz Ireland, Mrs. Claus and the Candy Corn Caper, Kensington
Pamela Jones, The Windmill Mystery, Austin Macauley Publishers
A.J. McCarthy, A Rock, Black Rose Writing
Twist Phelan, Aim, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

Best Crime Short Story :  

Catherine Astolfo, "Farmer Knudson," from Auntie Beers: A Book of Connected Short Stories, Carrick Publishing
Therese Greenwood, "Hatcheck Bingo," from The 13th Letter, Mesdames and Messieurs of Mayhem, Carrick Publishing
Billie Livingston, "Houdini Act," Saturday Evening Post
Linda Sanche, "The Electrician," from Crime Waves, Dangerous Games, A Canada West Anthology
Melissa Yi, "The Longest Night of the Year," Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

The Best French Language Crime Book (Fiction and Nonfiction) : 

L. Blanchard, La femme papillon ( Fides)
Lavallée, Le crime du garçon exquis ( Fides)
Jean Lemieux, L’Affaire des montants ( Québec Amérique)
Guillaume Morrissette, Une mémoire de lion (Saint-Jean)
Johanne Seymour, Fracture (Libre Expression)

Best Juvenile/YA Crime Book :    

Sigmund Brouwer, Shock Wave , Orca Book Publishers
Meagan Mahoney, The Time Keeper , DCB Young Readers
Twist Phelan, Snowed , Bronzeville Books, LLC
David A. Poulsen, The Dark Won't Wait, Red Deer Press
Melissa Yi, The Red Rock Killer, Windtree Press

The Brass Knuckles Award for Best Nonfiction Crime :  

Denise Chong, Out of Darkness: Rumana Monzur's Journey through Betrayal, Tyranny and Abuse, Random House Canada
Nate Hendley, Atrocity on the Atlantic: Attack on a Hospital Ship During the Great War, Dundurn Press
John L. Hill, The Rest of the [True Crime] Story, AOS Publishing
Dean Jobb , A Gentleman and a Thief: The Daring Jewel Heists of a Jazz Age Rogue, HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
Tanya Talaga, The Knowing, HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

Best Unpublished Crime Novel :  

Robert Bowerman, The Man in The Black Hat
Luke Devlin, Govern Yourself Accordingly
Delee Fromm, Dark Waters
Lorrie Potvin, A Trail's Tears
William Watt, Predators in the Shadows

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Mystery Melange

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Book art by Emma Taylor

The 37th Annual Publishing Triangle Awards were held at The New School in New York City last week with a celebration of LGBTQ+ literary excellence. With ten categories, this year’s ceremony spotlighted some of the most powerful voices in queer literature published in the previous year, including Margot Douaihy, winner of the Joseph Hansen Award for LGBTQ Crime Writing. Previous winners of the Hansen Award (established in 2023), recognizing an outstanding work of crime fiction or nonfiction, include Val McDermid in 2023 and J.M. Redmann in 2024.

The Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers' Colorado Gold Rush Literary Awards Contest is accepting submissions. The awards are a way to offer encouragement and opportunity to all writers in a variety of ways and also to support diverse and marginalized voices. If you are an unpublished writer of commercial novel-length fiction, this is your chance to win a prize, get quality feedback, and have your work seen by literary agents and editors. The submission deadline is May 19. Last year's Mystery/Thriller winner was The Almost Death of Silla Foster by Becky Munyon.

A quartet of great crime fiction conferences will happen this weekend on both sides of the Atlantic. On the European side, we have the Gŵyl CRIME CYMRU Festival in Aberystwyth, Wales, with various panels, a Noir at the Bar, and the presentation of the CRIME CYMRU First Novel Prize in both English and Welsh; plus Skulduggery in Stowmarket in the UK will feature talks by six best-selling and award-winning crime and thriller novelists. On the U.S. side, the West Coast hosts the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books with several crime fiction-themed panels and the announcement of the 2025 Book Awards winners; while the East Coast has Malice Domestic in Bethesda, Maryland, with a weekend of author panels and the unveiling of the Agatha Award winners.

Our Friday, June 13th, a Women In Noir event will be held at the Howland Cultural Center in Beacon, New York, featuring an immersive multimedia program with readings by acclaimed bestselling crime and thriller fiction writers Margot Douaihy, Jode Millman, and Julia Dahl, in conversation with NYC Writers Studio’s Cynthia Weiner, and TownSquare Media’s Jackie Corley.

As F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby turns 100, Chistopher Chambers makes the case for reading Gatsby as noir crime fiction.

This week, we celebrated Earth Day, and Janet Rudolph posted some environmental/ecological mysteries on the Mystery Fanfare blog.

An exhibition is on display in the Upper Reading Room of New College Library in Oxford, UK, about a leading figure of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, and one of New College’s most popular authors, Cyril Hare (1900–1958).

If you find yourself in Paris, France, the Galerie du Montparnasse is hosting the rather macabre Serial Killer Exhibition (although in addition to exploring the workings of crime, there is an effort to pay tribute to the memory of the victims). Billed as "the world's largest collection of original artifacts belonging to serial killers," the exhibition includes over 1,000 original artifacts - such as Jeffrey Dahmer's glasses and Armin Meiwes's refrigerator - as well as recreations of infamous crime scenes like those of Ted Bundy and the Zodiac Killer and documents and drawings of the most famous killers made by themselves.

Also in the true-crime realm, the True CRIME Museum in White Rock, Hastings in the UK is featuring a talk on May 11 by the Curator, Joel Griggs. The True CRIME Museum is dedicated to the history of crime and punishment with even more macabre artifacts from the criminal world (and yes, more serial killers), including a step back into Victorian London with stories of Jack the Ripper, and a glimpse into the mind of a killer through Richard Ramirez’s haunting love letters.

Was Edgar Allan Poe a time traveler?

In the Q&A roundup, Julie Mae Cohen took the Page 69 Test to her new romantic thriller, Eat, Slay, Love; the Seattle Times interviewed Matthew Sullivan about his latest novel, Midnight in Soap Lake, set in a small Washington town; and Norwegian crime fiction author Jo Nesbø reflected on writing, characters, and the shadow of Harry Hole with The Iceland Monitor.

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