B.V. Lawson's Blog, page 164

Sunday Music Treat

Sergei Rachmaninov (a/k/a Rachmaninoff) was born this month (April 1, 1873) and is one of Scott Drayco's favorite composers. One of Rachmaninov's pieces, the Prelude Op.23 No.5 in G minor, will be used in the upcoming Drayco book, Suicide Sonata, due out this summer. Here's another talented pianist, Vladimir Ashkenazy, performing the piece:

 

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Quote of the Week

           Related StoriesQuote of the Week 

FFB: A Thief in the Night

Ernest William Hornung (1866–1921) was an English poet and author who also happened to be the brother-in-law of Arthur Conan Doyle. He also worked as a journalist in England, France and Australia, and centered many of his stories around Aussie settings and culture. He's perhaps best known for his series featuring gentleman thief A. J. Raffles, who first appeared in a story in Cassell's Magazine in 1898.



Raffles may have been one of the earliest anti-heroes in crime fiction, spending his days playing cricket and his nights carrying out ingenious burglaries, aided by his sidekick Harry "Bunny" Manders, a man he once saved from suicide and disgrace. Raffles the "Amateur Cracksman" appears in several stories that divide into two periods, one before he was unmasked while plying his trade on board a cruise ship and presumably jumped overboard and drowned, and the other following his return where he and Manders continue their thieving ways in disguise.



The stories were collected into several volumes, including A Thief in the Night, published in 1905. They include "The Criminologists," about a society of crime experts who invite Raffles and Manders to discuss crime in sport, but have more nefarious purposes in mind, believing him to be the notorious gentleman thief; "A Trap to Catch a Cracksman," in which Raffles attempts to rob American heavyweight boxing champion Barney Maguire, only to have it backfire on him; and "The Raffles Relics," where Ruffles—now in hiding—hears about an exhibit dedicated to his "work" at Scotland Yard's Black Room, and decides to steal back his trophies.



Raffles is a cynical character, whose philosophy is "we can't all be moralists, and the distribution of wealth is all wrong anyway." Still, he has his own code of honor, once stealing money from a miserly man to make a donation to their former school and volunteering for the Boer War, where he dies in battle after exposing an enemy spy. The stories in A Thief in the Night are actually told from Bunny's point of view, a la Watson and his accounts of Holmes, as Bunny reflects back on their adventures prior to the master thief's demise.



Several of Hornung's stories were later adapted for the theater, television and film, including portrayals by John Barrymore, David Niven, and as recently as 2001, a production starring Nigel Havers (Dangerfield, Coronation Street, Downton Abbey).

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Library Love

It's National Library Week in the U.S, and 2018 marks the 60th anniversary of the first such celebration. Today's specific theme is "Take Action for Libraries Day," a national library advocacy effort observed for the first time in 2017 in response to proposed cuts to federal funds for libraries. The American Library Association has some steps you can take to help online, but such efforts also start at the local level. Look around your community and see if there are ways you can support your public and school libraries through volunteering, civic action, or participating in local programs. Here are some ideas to get you started.

           Related StoriesHappy Book YearHappy Fourth of JulyHave a Criminally Good Thanksgiving 

Mystery Melange

 

The International Thriller Writers have announced the 2018 Thriller Award finalists, including those for Best Hardcover Novel:  Dan Chaon — Ill Will; Denise Mina — The Long Drop; B.A. Paris — The Breakdown; Gin Phillips — Fierce Kingdom; and Riley Sager — Final Girls. For all the various category nods, including Best First Novel, Best Paperback Original, Best Short Story, Best Young Adult Novel, and Best E-Book Original Novel, follow this link to the official ITW website.

Likewise, the Strand Magazine Critics Award nominees were announced this past weekend. The finalists include:

Nominees for Best Novel

A Legacy of Spies by John le Carré

The Late Show by Michael Connelly

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz

My Darling Detective by Howard Norman 

Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke 

Wonder Valley by Ivy Pochoda 

Nominees for Best First Novel

My Sister’s Bones: A Novel of Suspense by Nuala Ellwood 

Quicksand by Malin Persson Giolito 

August Snow by Stephen Mack Jones

The Lost Ones by Sheena Kamal 

Lola: A Novel by Melissa Scrivner Love

See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt 

The Lifetime Achievement Award winners this year are J.A. Jance, whose four-decade career has a firm reputation among millions of fans as one of the finest practitioners of the suspenseful thriller, and also English author and Lovejoy creator Jonathan Gash. In addition, the Publisher of the Year Award goes to Tom Doherty, publisher of Tor/Forge books. The awards will be presented at an invitation-only cocktail party in New York City, hosted by The Strand Magazine, on July 11, 2018.

The Independent Book Publishers Association announced the winners of its annual Ben Franklin Awards, including those in the Mystery/Thriller category. The Gold Winner was Full Service Blonde: A Copper Jack Mystery by Megan Edwards; the Silver Winners were The Old Cape Hollywood Secret by Barbara Eppich Struna, and The Ploy by Marilyn Jax.

Bookriot is celebrating "a surge in the number of excellent mysteries and thrillers being published by diverse authors" by offering to give away all 15 titles in their "best of" list to one lucky reader. To enter, hop on over to this link and fill out the entry form through May 9th.

Shakespeare & Co. in New York City plans to open three new bookstores, two in New York City, and one in Philadelphia, and a stand-alone café in what the company, which currently operates a Lexington Avenue store across from Hunter College, describes as "the initial phase of a larger planned expansion." Each bookstore will be about 3,000 square feet and feature "well-stocked and exquisitely curated" book inventory, a literary café with seating and wi-fi, and Espresso Book Machine. (HT to Shelf Awareness)

 

If you're stuck trying to create an "elevator pitch" for a book, Electric Literature has a handy (and very tongue-in-cheek) chart that should help. (HT to Sisters in Crime)

Here's a bucket list for book lovers: "25 Libraries Every Voracious Reader Must Absolutely Visit."

 

The latest poem at the 5-2 crime poetry weekly is "The Sirens Never Sleep" by John Darling.

 

In the Q&A roundup, the Baltimore Fish Bowl queried Sujata Massey about her latest mystery novel, The Widows of Malabar Hill; Scottish crime writer Ed James chatted with The Edinburgh Reporter about James' Scott Cullen crime fiction series, which features an Edinburgh detective; and Deborah Kalb spoke with Becky Clark, author of the new mystery novel Fiction Can Be Murder.

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Media Murder for Monday

Welcome to the start o'the week and the latest crime drama roundup:

MOVIES

Focus Features has picked up film rights to the upcoming novel To Die in Vienna by Kevin Wignall and attached Jake Gyllenhaal to star in its movie adaptation to be titled Welcome to Vienna. Gyllenhaal is set to play Freddie, a civilian surveillance contractor who interrupts a break-in at his apartment while he's spying on a Chinese academic in Vienna. The intruder escapes, but then comes back and tries to kill Freddie, making the American contractor a hunted man. Freddie's only hope for survival is that his pursuer doesn't know the past he’s running away from.

Anonymous Content has acquired screen rights to Foe, the upcoming thriller novel by Iain Reid. The novel is set slightly in the future, after severe climate change has ruined the farmlands across the north and created devastating fires that has scarred the landscape. A farmer and his wife live a solitary life, struggling on one of the last remaining farms, where they raise cattle and harvest grain, until a knock on the door changes things. A stranger tells the farmer he has been selected to travel far from the farm, with a group of settlers looking to relocate. Arrangements have been made so that when he leaves, his wife won’t miss him because a "replacement" has been arranged, who’ll join the wife on the farm while he’s gone.

Sony Pictures is in the early stages of mounting a remake of the 1985 thriller Jagged Edge as a star vehicle for Halle Berry. Directed by Richard Marquand from a Joe Eszterhas script, the original starred Glenn Close, Jeff Bridges and Robert Loggia, the latter of whom got an Oscar nomination. In the story, after a San Francisco heiress is brutally murdered in her remote beach house, her dashing newspaper publisher husband Jack is accused of committing the gruesome crime. He hires lawyer Teddy Barnes to defend him, and their chemistry spills into an affair. Even though the lawyer is falling in love, can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t quite right with the case, with the killer sending anonymous notes pecked out on an old typewriter. Is Jack the key to a happy future for the lawyer if she can get him acquitted in a courtroom, or is he a sociopath?

Ray Liotta has been cast in the indie film Cutman for producer-director Michael Mailer (Blind). The script, written by Tiffany Heath (Cut Her Out), follows a retired boxer who is dying of cancer and working also as an enforcer for various low-level mobsters. He is haunted by the death of his "cutman" (the guys in the corners during a boxing match who make sure the fighter is taken care of physically) and just wants to die in peace, before he meets a junkie and her daughter as they all search for meaning and revenge. 

The cast for Mary Hannon’s upcoming drama about the Charles Manson Murder trials, Charlie Says, also continues to grow. X-Files star Annabeth Gish has now joined the film to play Virginia Carlson, head of the California Institute for Women. Gish joins cast members Matt Smith as the notorious cult leader, Suki Waterhouse, Odessa Young, and Chace Crawford in the upcoming film from American Psycho director Mary Hannon. Written by Guinevere Turner the film will focus on three young women who were sentenced to life in prison for their involvement in the Sharon Tate murder case when the death penalty was lifted. Virginia Carlson (Gish) pursues a young graduate student, Karlene Faith (Merritt Wever), to work with the incarcerated Manson girls.

For those of you in the southern California area, don't forget that the Los Angeles long-running Noir City: Hollywood film festival returns to the Egyptian Theatre for the 15th year beginning April 13th. This year's event features a fusion of films shot on the streets of Los Angeles, some rarities, and an appearance by the master of noir crime fiction, James Ellroy.

TELEVISION/STREAMING SERVICES

The 2018 British Academy Television Awards Nominations, or BAFTAs, announced nominations in the various categories last week. The BBC police procedural Line of Duty and Peaky Blinders, (which follows the exploits of the Shelby crime family), were both finalists for Best TV Drama; Jack Rowan was nominated for Best Actor for his role in Born to Kill as a seemingly ordinary 16-year-old who appears to harboring secret psychopathic tendencies; the Best Actress nods included Molly Windsor, nominated for her role in Three Girls, which deals with child sex trafficking, Sinead Keenan, for the murder drama Little Boy Blue, and Thandie Newton for Line of Duty. For all the finalists, head on over to the official BAFTA website.

Top Of The Lake and Lion producer See Saw Films has picked up TV rights to Lucy Foley’s upcoming murder mystery novel The Hunting Party (pre-empted in a strong six-figure deal in December 2017 and slated for hardback publication in 2019). The plot of the Scottish highlands-set murder mystery unfolds over New Year’s Eve as a tight-knit group of Oxford university alumni celebrate in the impressive wilderness of the Loch Corrin Estate. In the wild terrain the group reminisce, go deer stalking, and hide friendship-destroying secrets; secrets that set a dangerous sequence of events in motion, culminating with a broken body in the snow. Best known for her sweeping wartime historical fiction, The Hunting Party sees Foley make her crime debut.

Benedict Cumberbatch’s production outfit SunnyMarch has pre-empted the TV rights to Ambrose Parry’s (a collaboration between author Chris Brookmyre and consultant anaesthetist Marisa Haetzman) upcoming novel, The Way Of All Flesh. The book is the first in a new historical series set in the medical world of Edinburgh, Scotland, in the 1840s and based on historical figures. Medical student Will Raven is about to start his apprenticeship with the brilliant professor of midwifery, Dr. James Young Simpson, at Simpson’s unusual clinic on Queen Street, where patients range from the richest to the poorest. There, Raven meets Sarah Fisher, officially housemaid and unofficially clinical assistant to Dr. Simpson, determined to improve her station in life. After a string of mysterious deaths in the city, Raven and Sarah are propelled into the darkest shadows of Edinburgh’s underworld, where they will have to overcome their differences if they are to make it out alive.

More casting news for the second season of HBO's Emmy-winning limited series Big Little Lies: Kathryn Newton, Robin Weigert, Merrin Dungey, and Sarah Sokolovic are set to return and Crystal Fox (The Haves and the Have Nots) and Mo McRae (Den of Thieves) have also joined the project. They join previously announced returning cast members Nicole Kidman as Celeste Wright, Reese Witherspoon as Madeline Martha Mackenzie, Adam Scott as Ed MacKenzie, Laura Dern as Renata Klein, Shailene Woodley as Jane, Zoë Kravitz as Bonnie Carlson. Previously announced Meryl Streep joins Season 2 as Mary Louise Wright, along with Douglas Smith as Corey Brockfield.

Hustle and Life on Mars creator Tony Jordan is spearheading a 12-part Gomorrah-esque drama for Eastern European broadcast group Antenna. The crime drama is titled Besa and will tell the story of the Albanian mafia – one of the most secretive and most feared criminal networks in the world. Jordan has written the show with a team of local writers and it will be shot on location across south East Europe for a September debut.

Fargo and The Punisher helmer Dearbhla Walsh is to direct Channel 4’s period espionage epic Jerusalem, marking her first return to British television in three years. The six-part series stars Shape of Water’s Michael Stuhlbarg, as well as Matt Lauria, Emma Appleton, and Luke Treadaway in the story set in the aftermath of WWII, when Britain was struggling to define itself in a new world order. Appleton plays Feef Symonds, a bold and ambitious 20-something woman who joins the Civil Service in 1945, just as Attlee’s Labour party sweeps to victory, while Lauria stars as her American lover Peter and Stuhlbarg plays fellow American and zealot Rowe. Feef agrees to spy on her own government for the Americans, who are determined to make sure England’s burgeoning Socialist ambitions don’t play into Soviet hands, quickly learning that no one is what they seem. 

Apparently, some fans aren't happy that the BBC changed the killer for the network's dramatization of Agatha Christie's Ordeal by Innocence. But even the experts don't agree on this approach; Christie biographer Laura Thompson said: "Changing the identity of the murderer, however good for publicity, is a bit much" while Christie expert Dr. Jamie Bernthal-Hooker said the changes "could bring the original work to a whole new audience."

Last week, we saw the passing of Steven Bochco, whose name became synomyous with TV crime dramas, including Columbo, McMillan & Wife, Bay City Blues, Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, NYPD Blue, Murder One, and Murder in the First. His work helped define the modern TV drama, especially the crime drama genre, and helped him win 10 primetime Emmys, another 15 wins from other organizations including the Edgars and Writers Guild of America, and 49 nominations from various media organizations. Bochco was 74.

Appropriately, the New York Times listed "11 Great Foreign Police Shows to Stream Tonight" to add to your watch list.

PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO

NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday chatted with Jo Nesbo, the Norwegian author widely celebrated as the king of Nordic Noir, who was tasked with re-imagining Macbeth for a 21st-century audience as part of the Hogarth Shakespeare series.

Novelist Nathan Ripley, whose real name is Naben Ruthnum, spoke with CBC Radio to explain why he adopted an alias for his debut crime thriller Find You in the Dark and what it says about the ways writers of South Asian descent are stereotyped in the publishing industry.

The featured guests on the latest Suspense Radio edition included Rob Leininger (the Mortimer Angel private eye series), Charles Salzberg (known for his Henry Swann detective novel series), and K.J. Howe (author of a series with Thea Paris, a kidnap and ransom specialist).

Crime Cafe host Debbi Mack welcomed translator and crime fiction publisher Anne Trager, whose latest project is Minced, Marinated, and Murdered authored by French writers Noel Balen and Vanessa Barrot.

The Spybrary podcast had a field report from the inaugural Spy Con in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Crime Syndicate podcast caught up with authors E.A. Aymar and Sarah M. Chen to discuss the novel in stories they edited and contributed to, The Night of the Flood, as well as read an excerpt from their own contribution.

In the third episode of Case Notes, we learned what happens when violinist Min Kym's instrument was stolen - a Stradivarius worth £1.2m ($1.7m U.S. dollars).

The latest Meet the Thriller Author spoke with David E. Berens, a Knoxville-based author who writes a series about Florida-based private eye, Troy Bodean.

THEATER

Murder! at The Strand, an immersive theatrical who-dun-it, is coming to Marietta, Georgia's historic theater for a limited run April 12-15. Using all of The Strand—including its 500-seat auditorium and proscenium stage—this interactive, world-premiere event challenges the audience to identify the true story behind a nefarious crime and the true criminal with a nefarious motive. Eight "celebrity victims" will meet their demise over the course of the nights. Created by director and playwright Corey Bradberry and escape room designer Jeremy Ledbetter, this 75-minute interactive experience will invite patrons to take on the roles of audience members, witnesses to a crime and ultimately investigators following clues, interacting with the actors and examining the space to identify the culprit.

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Mystery Melange

The 10th Swansea University International Dylan Thomas Prize, the world's biggest prize for younger writers, announced its 2018 shortlist. Two authors from the U.S. both made the cut with their thrillers, debut American novelist Emily Ruskovich for her thriller hit Idaho, which tells the story of a mother suddenly killing her six-year-old daughter, and Gabriel Tallent has for his debut novel My Absolute Darling, called "the year’s must-read novel" by The Times and "a masterpiece" by Stephen King.

Noir at the Bar Dallas is back Wednesday, April 18 from 7:30 - 10:30 PM CDT at The Wild Detectives with live crime noir fiction readings from local and international authors. Authors scheduled to participate include Michael Pool, Michael Bracken, Eryk Pruitt, Tim Bryant, Carlos Salas, Lyndee Walker, and Clay Reynolds. The organizers encourage you to "Come have some drinks and hear some stories of crime and debauchery read live."

Clay Stafford, founder and CEO Killer Nashville, has announced the launch of the independent publishing house Clay Stafford Books. Stafford said he sees the formation of the book unit as an extension of the Killer Nashville Claymore Award, which was founded in order to help to discover unpublished authors. Clay Stafford Books will release five books this year, including three novels, Paid in Spades by Richard Helms, The Damage Done by P.J. Parrish, and Bar None by Cathi Stoler. In addition to the novels, Clay Stafford Books will also release the first installment of its "Killer Nashville Presents…" series, a short story anthology featuring works from Jeffrey Deaver, Robert Dugoni, Steve James, Anne Perry, John Gilstrap, and more. There are also plans to release the inaugural edition of Broken Ribbon, a literary journal, which was created in order to give a platform for new and emerging voices in the writing community.

Happy 20th anniversary to The Thrilling Detective website! The brainchild of Kevin Burton Smith, the site promotes the world of private-eye fiction—past, present and future. (HT to the Rap Sheet)

Unfortunately, I also have a sad milestone to report: Aunt Agatha's Mystery Bookshop in Ann Arbor, Michigan, announced it would be closing after 26 years in the business. Owners Robin and Jamie Agnew explained that "there are many culprits for our demise – we are getting older; constant street construction; Amazon; and fierce local competition. We hope you will keep local bookstores vital and alive by patronizing the many exciting stores that remain open." (HT to Mystery Fanfare)

It's been said before, but it's nice to see science continuing to back up the idea that reading books not only has various mental and physical benefits, you should make it a priority ... if you know what's good for you.

A new startup has a new way of reading all those good-for-you-books: combining three of the most popular methods of delivering stories into one hybrid form called the cine-book. It enables readers to read, listen to, or even watch a book within a single mobile app for iOS, Android, Amazon, browser, or share a book with others on a TV or other big screens via AirPlay and Chromecast. In April, Cine-books will launch a publishing platform to unite self-published authors, literary rights holders, readers, photo and film production studios, and media content investors in a B2B marketplace.

Each April, the Academy of American Poets' celebrates National Poetry Month, and the crime poetry weekly, The Five-Two, has a blog tour in honor of the event. Check out the full schedule here, including the latest Poem of the Week, "The Homeless Artist," by Nancy Scott.

In the Q&A roundup, the Library Journal quizzed Brad Parks, winner of the Shamus, Nero, and Lefty Awards, about his inspiration for his new book, Closer Than You Know, as well as his writing background; and Inside Hook chatted with with Jim Heimann about his new book Dark City: The Real Los Angeles Noir, which features photographs of the real-life locations that inspired writers, including those used by Raymond Chandler and those related to the Black Dahlia case (HT to Elizabeth Foxwell).

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Media Murder for Monday

Happy Monday to you! Here are some crime drama updates to start off your week:

MOVIES

Kevin Bacon is producing and starring in the horror-thriller You Should Have Left, with David Koepp directing from his own script for Jason Blum’s Blumhouse Productions. The project is based on Daniel Kehlmann’s 2017 novel, which centers on a screenwriter in a remote house in the Alps working on a sequel to his hit film, who begins to lose his bearings thanks to unexplained occurrences. Koepp has writing credits on Jurassic Park and Spider-Man and directing credits on The Trigger Effect and Secret Window. Blumhouse scored last year with Get Out and Split, both low-cost projects that became box office sensations.

Fresh off her Oscar-nominated role in I,Tonya, Margot Robbie returns to the screen as a fictional femme fatale in the official Terminal trailer. The neo-noir thriller follows the twisting tales of two assassins carrying out a sinister mission, a teacher battling illness, a mysterious janitor, and a curious waitress leading a dangerous double life. Deadly consequences unravel in the dead of night as their lives all intertwine at the hand of a mysterious criminal mastermind. Writer-director Vaughn Stein makes his feature directorial debut in the project, which also stars Simon Pegg, Mike Myers, Max Irons, and Dexter Fletcher. 

TELEVISION/STREAMING SERVICES 

Netflix has acquired the live-action feature film rights to Carmen Sandiego and has attached Golden Globe winner Gina Rodriguez to star as the title character. The project is based on the book series produced by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt that centers around the fictional thieving villain of the same name, who is the ringleader of the criminal organization V.I.L.E. and must battle agents of the ACME Detective Agency as they try to thwart the crooks' plans to steal treasures from around the world - and ultimately capture Carmen Sandiego herself.

CBS has renewed its top two freshman dramas, SEAL Team and S.W.A.T., for second seasons. The military drama SEAL Team stars David Boreanaz and follows the professional and personal lives of the most elite unit of Navy SEALs as they train, plan and execute the most dangerous missions that our country can ask of them. S.W.A.T. stars Shemar Moore as the locally born and raised sergeant tasked with running a specialized tactical unit that is the last stop in law enforcement in Los Angeles.

Amazon’s upcoming TV series Homecoming has added a second Oscar-winning actress, with Sissy Spacek set to recur opposite Julia Roberts in the project from Universal Cable Productions, Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail, and Anonymous Content. The half-hour drama, which also stars Bobby Cannavale, Stephan James, and Dermot Mulroney, is based on Gimlet Media’s breakout psychological thriller podcast that centers on a caseworker at a secret government facility (Roberts) and a soldier (James) eager to rejoin civilian life.

Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston are set to star in the action comedy Murder Mystery at Netflix. Sandler will play a NYC cop who finally takes his wife (Aniston) on a long promised European trip. A chance meeting on the flight gets them invited to an intimate family gathering on the Super Yacht of elderly billionaire Malcolm Quince, but when Quince is murdered, they become the prime suspects in a modern day whodunit.

Alison Sweeney, who toplined the Murder She Baked franchise for Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, is returning as star and executive producer for a new movie franchise, The Chronicle Mysteries. Written by Melissa Salmons, The Chronicle Mysteries stars Sweeney as Roberta "Robbie" McPherson, a novelist and podcaster who’s researching the cold case of Gina DeSavio, a girl she knew while they were growing up together in a small town.

CBS All Access has rounded out the cast and begun production on its new mystery thriller drama series $1. Nike Kadri (Seven Seconds), Joshua Bitton (The Night Of) and Hamilton Clancy (Orange Is the New Black, Bridge of Spies) are set as series regulars and Ashlie Atkinson (Bull, Blue Bloods) will recur. They join previously announced series regulars John Carroll Lynch, Nathaniel Martello-White, Philip Ettinger, Chris Denham, Kirrilee Berger and Gracie Lawrence, along with recurring cast Leslie Odom Jr., Jeff Perry and Sturgill Simpson. Created by Jason Mosberg, $1 is set in a small Rust Belt town in post-recession America, where a one-dollar bill changing hands connects a group of characters involved in a shocking multiple murder. The path of the dollar bill, and point of view in each episode, paints a picture of a modern American town with deep class and cultural divides that spill out into the open as the town’s secrets get revealed. 

The Bravo network has tapped Connie Britton to star in the first season of its true-crime scripted anthology series, Dirty John. Written by Chance co-creator Alexandra Cunningham, Dirty John is based on the articles and breakout true crime podcast from Los Angeles Times reporter Christopher Goffard. Season 1 tells the story of Debra Newell (Britton), a successful interior designer and single mom from Orange County who falls in love with John Meehan, a romance that soon spirals into secrets, denial, and manipulation. 

Raymond J. Barry is set for a recurring role in Season 3 of USA Network’s popular drama series Shooter. Based on the best-selling novels by Stephen Hunter and the 2007 Paramount film starring Mark Wahlberg, Shooter follows the journey of Bob Lee Swagger (Ryan Phillippe), a highly decorated veteran who must confront a nemesis from his past in order to return to a life of normalcy. In Season 3, mysterious details are revealed surrounding his father Earl’s death, leading Bob Lee towards a startling conspiracy that hits close to home. Barry will play August Russo, formerly a member of Earl Swagger’s unit in Vietnam, who now uses the skills he developed in wartime to train operatives at a secret facility.

PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO

SBS Radio has launched Noir Hear This, an original eight-part Nordic thriller podcast series that delves deep into the Scandinavian crime genre. Hosted by Johan Gabrielsson, each episode visits a different Scandinavian location and features conversations with novelists, screen writers, critics and thinkers, who discuss the psyche and craft behind this successful crime fiction genre. A new episode of Noir Hear will be available every Wednesday through May 16 across SBS Radio app; Android, iTunes and Pocketcasts.

The Virginia Festival of the Book was featured on C-Span's Book TV, including a live in-depth Q&A with Walter Mosley, author of the bestselling private eye Easy Rawlins crime novels and most recently, Down the River unto the Sea.

Two Crime Writers and a Microphone hosts Steve Cavanagh and Luca Veste journeyed to Belfast to interview ace writer Gerard Brennan for a live event in the legendary bookshop No Alibis. They discussed The Bone Keeper, research, lounge pants, the genesis of TCWAAM, and much more.

Beyond the Cover chatted with bestselling author Steve Berry about his iconic fictional hero, Cotton Malone, and also spoke with award winning author Kelli Stanley about her historical crime fiction and the Miranda Corbie series, set in Kelly's adoptive hometown San Francisco.

On the latest Read or Dead podcast, hosts Katie and Rincey talked about The Woman in the Window movie adaptation, a new Cormoran Strike book, and they also did a bit of a backlist dive.

THEATER

Michael Cera, Chris Evans, Brian Tyree Henry, and Bel Powley star in Lobby Hero, the inaugural production of Second Stage's new Broadway home at the Helen Hays Theatre. Lobby Hero is written by Kenneth Lonergan (2017 Oscar-winning writer of Manchester By the Sea) and is set in the lobby of a Manhattan apartment building, which is much more than a waiting area for four New Yorkers involved in a murder investigation. It’s a testing ground for what happens when personal and professional personas find themselves at odds. A young security guard with big ambitions (Cena) clashes with his stern boss (Henry), an intense rookie cop (Powley), and her unpredictable partner (Evans).

Sydney, Australia's Genesian Theatre is presenting Sherlock Holmes and the Speckled Band April 7-12, an adaptation of the Arthur Conan Doyle story by Max Gee. The story has Holmes and Watson trying to discover the mystery behind the death of a young woman who tragically dies under mysterious circumstances on the eve of her wedding, with the only clues being a low whistle and a heavy metallic clang. 

The Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre in Carmel, Indiana is presenting a stage version of the "The deliciously dark" Agatha Christie novel And Then There Were None through April 8. The iconic tale follows ten strangers who find themselves trapped on an English island with a killer in their midst, only to soon realize not all is as it seems when they are all accused of committing various murders.

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Quote of the Week

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Mystery Melange

Left Coast Crime 2018, "Crime on the Comstock," awarded four Lefty awards at the 28th annual LCC convention at the Nugget Casino Resort in Reno/Sparks, Nevada. The Leftys are for books published in 2017:

Lefty for Best Humorous Mystery Novel: Ellen Byron, A Cajun Christmas
Lefty for Best Historical Mystery Novel (Bruce Alexander Memorial) for books covering events before 1960: Rhys Bowen, In Farleigh Field
Lefty for Best Debut Mystery Novel: Kellye Garrett, Hollywood Homicide
Lefty for Best Mystery Novel (not in other categories): William Kent Krueger, Sulfur Springs

The winner of the annual Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Readers Choice Award this year is Brendan DuBois for his short story "Flowing Waters." In second place was Doug Allyn, with his story "Tombstone," and Dave Zeltserman took third with a new entry in his Shamus and Derringer Award winning Julius Katz and Archie series (a Nero Wolfe homage), "Cramer in Trouble." (HT to Mystery Fanfare)

We've been losing too many bright lights in the crime fiction community recently, and there was another sad milestone this past week as we mourned the loss of Philip Kerr, author of the historical crime fiction series featuring Bernie Gunther, an investigator with the Kriminalpolizei who must carry out his work during the political turbulence of 1930s Germany. Kerr wrote thirteen Gunther books, eventually evolving the character into a private detective in post-War Germany. Kerr's bestselling and beloved novels won many crime fiction honors during his too-short career, including the British Crime Writers' Association's Ellis Peters Historic Crime Award. Several sites are offering up tributes, including Shots Magazine, Crime Fiction Lover, and The Guardian.

Join the Mystery Writers of America, New York Chapter, on April 3 at New York City's KGB Bar for another thrilling night of chilling crime fiction read by some of the chapter's talented members. The lineup includes R.G. Belsky, Laura K. Curtis, L.R. Hieber, Tim O’Mara, Thomas Pluck, Alex Segura, Carrie Smith, and Walllace Stroby. Hosted by Scott Adlerberg, this event is free and open to the public.

A few days later, on April 6, Missoula, Montana's indie bookstore Shakespeare & Company will present an evening of crime fiction featuring readings from authors Gwen Florio, Alec Cizak, and Russell Thayer.

On April 10, Portland, Maine's Rising Tide Brewing will host a "Cozy Mystery Author Palooza" featuring twelve authors talking about and signing books. The event is co-sponsored by Print: A Bookstore and Kensington Publishing.

The one-day symposium "Crime and the City" at the University of London on Friday, June 22, has put out a call for papers. The urban city is one of the most characteristic settings of crime fiction, from nineteenth-century Newgate Novels to late-Victorian detective stories, from twentieth-century noir and hard-boiled fiction to recent police procedurals. This one-day symposium brings together crime fiction critics and writers to examine the relationship between crime writing and the city, and organizers are seeking proposals for 20-minute papers or for conference panels on any aspect of urban crime writing from any period.

In addition to Mystery Fanfare's annual list of Easter-themed crime fiction, the blog also has a list of Passover-themed crime stories. This year, the two observations coincide on the calendar, with Passover spanning March 30-April 7, and Easter falling on April 1.

The latest issue of Noir City, the publication of the Film Noir Foundation, has a "blonde" themed issue, with a "troika of fair-haired silver screen goddesses for you to (re)consider."

Pittsburgh's NPR affiliate, WESA-FM, profiled Gloria Stoll Karn, a 94-year-old Pittsburgh artist who was one of the few women – let alone teenagers – in the field of pulp novel illustrators in the 1940s. Stoll went on to create more than 100 full-color covers for both romance and mystery magazines.

While we're on the subject of pulp fiction, did you know there is a database for the genre? Open Culture took readers into the Pulp Magazine Archive featuring over 11,000 digitized Issues of classic sci-fi, fantasy, and detective fiction.

Just in time for all those summer vacation trips to Florida, Crime Reads has a "guide to the madness" that often characterizes Sunshine State crime fiction.

Also great for beach vacations are quick reads, and the Crime Reads blog has a listing of "25 classic crime books you can read in an afternoon."

My own bucket list of travel destinations keeps growing longer, and this DreamTrip of Malmo and Southern Sweden notes that among the many other highlights of the tour, you can "Use your free time in Ystad to walk the streets of this town that helped put Nordic Noir crime fiction on the map."

This week's crime poem at the 5-2 is "Working Backwards" by Charles Cline.

In the Q&A roundup, Alex Segura took Paul D. Brazill's "Short, Sharp Interview," talking about prepping for the launch of Blackout, his fourth Pete Fernandez Miami Mystery; Tripwire returned the favor, interviewing Brazill about his writing career and what it’s like being a Brit in Poland; and Ruth Downie chatted with Ruth Downie, the author of the new mystery novel Memento Mori, the latest in her Gaius Ruso series set during the Roman Empire.

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