B.V. Lawson's Blog, page 177
July 15, 2017
July 14, 2017
FFB: A Crime Remembered
Roderic Jeffries (1926- ) was born in London, the son of writer Graham Montague Jeffries who was known for his series featuring the gentleman crook-sleuth "Blackshirt." Roderic Jeffries didn't immediately follow in his father's footsteps, going to sea at the ripe old age of 17. He later became an attorney, but the lure of writing was too great, and since publishing his first novel in 1951 (taking over the "Blackshirt" character), he's penned over one hundred and sixty novels under his own name and several other pseudonyms, including Peter Alding, Roderic Graeme, Graham Hastings and Jeffrey Ashford.
Thirty-six of the author's books featured Enrique Alvarez, police inspector on the island of Mallorca, but he wrote even more titles under his Jeffrey Ashford pen name, including A Crime Remembered from 1987. The plot centers on the Tourkville family, who has owned Highland Place for generations and whose present owner, Edward Pierre Darcy Tourkville, plans on keeping the estate his father almost ruined via neglect and mismanagement. Standing in his way is a sordid seafaring episode from his past during World War II he thought he'd been able to put behind him but now threatens to ruin everything he's built.
Detective-Constable Pete Noyes, a man with no love lost for the privileged upper classes, is assigned to the recent case of a middle-aged homosexual man found murdered, a large stash of bank-notes in his safe that could point to blackmail. With only minimal clues—the name of a town, Glinton, and the initials EPDT—Noyes's investigations take him square into the path of Tourkville. Both Tourkville and the murdered man served on the same ship in the Merchant Marine and were two of only four survivors of the ship's sinking. Hoping to pin the murder on Tourkville, Noyes gradually and grudgingly comes to admire the man, thanks in no small part to Tourkville's devoted wife Charlotte who begs Noyes to clear her husband's name.
As Kirkus Reviews pointed out, Ashford offers something other than a conventional whodunit, part murder-mystery, part psychological study, part police-portrait. The transformation of Noyes is as central to the plot as the murder on one level, or as Kirkus adds, "shrewdly counterpointing Noyes' rocky marriage with the Tourkvilles' sturdy-yet-threatened 40-year relationship." We learn where Noyes self-centered prejudices and tough shell came from, early on:
He despised weakness. Life was about fighting. Fighting the form bully because he couldn't name his father and although one-parent families were said to be fashionable, the form bully had decreed otherwise; fighting the viral infection which had baffled the doctors and specialists and which had, for a mind-numbing time, threatened to leave him paralysed; fighting his way out of a background which seldom let anyone go because most were stupid enough to believe that easy money need not carry a cost..."
As old case and new case intersect and two marriages are put to the test, Ashford skillfully weaves the threads together into a tapestry of regret, redemption and learning to let go of the past.
July 12, 2017
Mystery Melange
Sisters in Crime has announced the shortlists for the 2017 Davitt Awards for the best crime books by Australian women. The shortlisted works for Best Adult Novel include Dead in the Water by Tania Chandler; Ghost Girls by Cath Ferla; The Dry by Jane Harper; Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil by Melina Marchetta; and Goodwood by Holly Throsby. For all the category shortlists, including young adult novel, children’s novel, nonfiction, and debut, follow this link to the SinC Australia website.
The winner of the Richard and Judy search for a bestseller open genre competition for first-time unpublished writers is Caz Frear's thriller Sweet Little Lies. Frear will receive representation from literary agency Furniss Lawton, a publishing contract with Bonnier Zaffre, and prime real estate in WH Smith bookstores in the UK.
UK writers, take note: you are being offered a chance to have your psychological thriller published as an ebook and win £5,000. The winner of the competition, sponsored by Quercus (publisher of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) and Psychologies magazine, will receive a publishing contract from Quercus with representation by the agency, David Higham Associates. More information here.
The Boyle Arts Festival in Ireland is sponsoring a Crimewriters Panel on July 22 made up of Declan Burke, whose most recent book was The Lost and the Blind; Louise Phillips, author of four bestselling psychological crime thrillers, each shortlisted for Best Irish Crime Novel of the Year; Arlene Hunt, creator of John and Sarah of QuicK Investigations; and Andrea Carter, who writes a series of crime novels set in Inishowen.
The UK's Crimefest has come and gone, but Ali Karim has a detailed recap on The Rap Sheet for those of us who couldn't be there in person.
The Washington Post profiled small presses that can help you think big about summer reading. Among the featured publishers were Haffner Press, known for its pulp fiction including the crime fiction of Fredric Brown and the occult detective stories of Manly Wade Wellman. Also showcased was Poisoned Pen Press specializing in older mysteries such as the American editions of the addictive British Library Crime Classics.
Now that Hillary Clinton has a little more free time on her hands, turns out she's been reading a lot of mystery novels.
The New York Times had some praise for psychological thriller author Daphne du Maurier.
As good as fingerprint technology is for catching bad guys in reality and in crime fiction and dramas, until now it hasn't been able to tell forensic experts important chemical information about that fingerprint, such as DNA or whether the person had recently come into contact with explosives. New technology developed by researchers can identify compounds (even the extremely delicate DNA molecule) at the scene of a crime.
Even an elderly grandmother's obituary can be a mystery.
This week, the featured crime poem at the 5-2 is "LeBron Airs" by Tonia Kalouria.
In the Q&A roundup, Barry Lancet spoke with the Toyko Weekender about his most recent topical thriller, The Spy Across the Table, with a plot set in North Korea and a character who is a high-level Chinese spy; D.J. Williams had "Five Questions" for his fellow thriller author, the New York Times Best-selling Gregg Hurwitz; the Crimewatch "9mm Interview Challenge" series continued with debut crime writer Kristen Lepionka, discussing her book, The Last Place You Look; Criminal Element snagged Claire Booth, author of Another Man’s Ground; and Paul D. Brazill spoke with Dana King about living and writing in Poland, working with an indie publisher, and his latest crime fiction; and Crime Fiction Lover snagged Tess Gerritsen for a chat about the latest in her Rizzoli and Isles series.
Related StoriesMystery Melange
July 10, 2017
Media Murder for Monday
Hope everyone had a great weekend! It's Monday again, and that means it's time for the latest crime drama roundup:
MOVIES
Anonymous Content has partnered with Made In Africa Films on In The Garden Of The King to be directed by Paul Ian Johnson from his own script. The story focuses on events surrounding the little-known genocide of the Congolese people by King Leopold II of Belgium between 1885-1908 and is told through the eyes of three protagonists, each living in different parts of the world in different eras: a present-day Belgian aid worker; a Victorian shipping merchant and a colonial Congo girl warrior.
Saban Films has acquired North American distribution rights to Killing Gunther, the action comedy written and directed by former Saturday Night Live regular Taran Killam and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. The plot centers on Gunther (Schwarzenegger), the world’s greatest hitman who’s also arrogant, a show-off, and steals jobs. The assassin community is tired of it and a group of eccentric killers from across the globe come together to set the perfect trap. But their plan quickly turns into a series of embarrassing fails as Gunther always appears one step ahead.
Paramount Pictures announced the premiere date for the Ang Lee-directed Gemini Man, now set for October 4, 2019. The Gemini Man project stars Will Smith and is being produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and executive produced by Don Murphy. The story centers on an assassin who faces off against himself, a clone who is 25 years younger and in his prime.
If you like heist movies, Mashable compiled a video compilation of clips from the "Top 10 of all time."
TELEVISION/STREAMING SERVICES
CBS is adapting J.D. Barker's novel The Fourth Money, which was published last month, into a series written and produced by Taylor Elmore (Justified, Limitless) and directed by Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man). The story centers on the Four Monkey Killer who has terrorized the residents of Chicago. When his body is found, the police quickly realize he was on his way to deliver one final message, one which proves he has taken another victim who may still be alive. As the lead investigator on the 4MK task force, Detective Sam Porter knows even in death, the killer is far from finished.
BBC Studios is lining up TV adaptations of author Ken Follett’s World War II novel Jackdaws and Frederick Forsyth’s terrorist thriller The Kill List. Jackdaws will be pitched to partners as a returning series rather than as a one-off, with the action moved back several years from the book, with Follett’s approval, to provide room for the story to develop over multiple seasons. A film version of The Kill List was in the works, but BBC Studios is prepping a TV series based on the 2013 novel, which may be Forsyth’s last as he switches his focus to nonfiction.
The Beeb also announced more of the cast for Ordeal By Innocence, the first Agatha Christie adaptation under a 2016 deal struck between BBC One and Agatha Christie Productions for seven dramas based on the author’s works. Bill Nighy, Catherine Keener, Matthew Goode, and Ed Westwick were added to the adaptation of the tale of the murder of wealthy philanthropist at her family estate, Sunny Point.
UK's Channel 4, meanwhile, is prepping a new six-part crime thriller set in 2003 Baghdad after the fall of Saddam Hussein, Baghdad Central, adapted from a book by Elliott Colla.
Also coming soon from Channel 4 is the child kidnap drama Kiri from Harry Potter and National Treasure writer Jack Thorne. The four-part drama stars Sarah Lancashire and examines the abduction and death of a young black girl named Kiri who is soon to be adopted by her white foster family. Lancashire plays experienced social worker Miriam, who is blamed for Kiri's disappearance.
Capa Drama, the French production company behind costume drama Versailles and International Emmy-winning series Braquo, is developing Dolce Vita, a fantasy thriller set in 1950s and ’60s Italy, and Thanksgiving, a spy drama. Dolce Vita will depict an imaginary war between the Vatican and a powerful clan of vampires that has been raging for centuries and follows a character propelled into the midst of the war while a string of religious crimes shakes modern Italy’s Golden Age. Thanksgiving is a spy drama centering on the marriage between a Frenchman and American woman who are keeping secrets from each other.
Matt Nicholas’ Rebel Maverick has acquired rights to Nightmare in Detroit: A Rebellion and Its Victims, to develop as a TV mini or event series. The 1968 book by Burleigh Hines and former CBS News President Van Gordon Sauter documents the July 1967 Detroit riots and its victims.
Ava DuVernay (Queen Sugar) is teaming with Participant Media, Harpo Films and Tribeca Productions to bring the notorious true story of the Central Park Five jogger case to Netflix for premiere in 2019. The five-episode narrative limited scripted series is based on the true story of the 1989 case of five teenagers who were wrongfully convicted of raping a woman in New York’s Central Park.
Former Training Day star Katrina Law is set as the female lead opposite Sean Bean in Crackle’s upcoming drama series The Oath, executive produced by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson (Power) and his G-Unit Film & Television. Written and created by former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Joe Halpin (Hawaii Five-O, Secrets and Lies), the 10-episode original series explores a world of gangs made up of those sworn to protect and defend and sheds light on corrupt and secret societies that are nearly impossible to join. Only a select few make the cut – but once inside, members will do what they must to protect one another from enemies on the outside and from within their own ranks.
A trailer was released for Jason Bateman’s upcoming drama Netflix series Ozark, which takes place in the dark and dangerous world of drug-money laundering. The present-day story revolves around financial planner Marty Bird (Bateman), his wife Wendy (Laura Linney) and their family’s sudden relocation from the suburbs of Chicago to a summer resort community in the Missouri Ozarks. Rather than the familiar skyscrapers and trading floors, Ozark explores capitalism, family dynamics and survival through the eyes of anything-but-ordinary Americans.
PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO
Louise Penney joined CBS Sunday Morning for a discussion about how she overcame alcoholism and turned to writing crime novels, as well as the recent death of late husband.
Debbie Mack's Crime Cafe is back for its Third Season, which kicks off with a discussion with thriller author Sue Coletta about her Mayhem series, Grafton County series and more. (Alternate link if you don't have iTunes.)
A Stab In The Dark host Mark Billingham spoke with Sherlock’s Mark Gatiss about his love of horror, Agatha Christie and how he and Steven Moffat came up with the idea for a modern Sherlock Holmes. Plus, Paul Hirons, also chatted with Murdoch Mysteries' Hélène Joy.
The BBC's Becky Want spoke with JP Delaney, author of the psychological thriller, The Girl Before.
The Radio 2 Book Club host Simon Mayo welcomed journalist and debut author, John Marrs to discuss his new psychological thriller The One.
Crime reviewer and presenter Jake Kerridge is the subject of the latest podcast on Spybrary, discussing the Waterstones promotion Summer of Spies in the run-up to the new John Le Carré novel in September. (HT to Shots)
2nd Sunday Crime welcomed Cara Black to talk about her 17th installment in the Aimee LeDuc series.
Hosts Steve Cavanagh and Luca Veste of Two Crime Writers and a Microphone welcomed special guest, Rowan Coleman, talking about how she started writing, growing up with dyslexia, time travel, and interrupting dogs. They also included a tribute to the amazing Helen Cadbury after her incredibly sad passing last week.
Episode 7 of the Writer Types podcast featured authors Laura Lippman, Brett Battles, Richard Lange, and Sam Wiebe, as well as a short story by Holly West.
Book Riot's Read or Dead podcast hosts Katie and Rincey look at the mystery and thriller books in Amazon's Best Books of the year so far list and question if some of the books on there are actually mysteries.
GAMES
Robert Kirkman's dark comic heist Thief of Thieves is the next Skybound comic to be turned into a video game. The publisher's interactive arm has partnered with Rival Games to tell a story about Celia, protégé of the comic's master thief, Redmond (aka Conrad Paulson).
Related StoriesMedia Murder for Monday
July 8, 2017
July 7, 2017
FFB: Death and the Sky Above
Paul Winterton (1908-2001), the son of a journalist and member of Parliament, was educated at the London School of Economics and London University, receiving his B.Sc. in political science and economics in 1928. He was on the staff of The Economist for four years and worked for fourteen years for the London News Chronicle as reporter and foreign correspondent. He served in the Moscow office from 1942 to 1945, where he was also the correspondent of the BBC's Overseas Service.
After the war, he turned to full-time writing of detective and adventure novels and produced more than fifty books and numerous short stories under the pen names of Roger Bax and Paul Somers, although the majority were published under his Andrew Garve pseudonym. His work, translated into over twenty languages and adapted for TV, included varied backgrounds from his many travels, such as Russia, newspaper offices, the West Indies, sailing, the Australian outback, politics, mountaineering and forestry. Dr. Robin Winks, Yale historian and an expert on detective fiction, once wrote ''Garve's sense of place is uncanny."
Garve was also known for never repeating a plot, and 1953's Death and the Sky Above follows the plight of Charles Hilary, the henpecked husband of the bitter, alcoholic and vindictive Louise who won't grant Charles the divorce he wants so he can be free of his marital prison. One fateful day, he leaves for a cricket match and makes plans to be with Kathryn Forrester, a successful news reporter who loves Charles so much she's willing to leave her career and move to France to be with him.
But when Louise is found murdered and Charles' many letters pleading for a divorce are discovered, he's arrested for her murder and scheduled to be executed by hanging. A prison fire enables him to escape with Kathryn, but in their attempt to cross the Channel, their boat capsizes and Charles is recaptured. Resourceful journalist Kathryn works feverishly to prove his innocence as the clock ticks away toward her lover's last day on Earth, but no one will listen...
Several of Garve's novels were adapted for the screen, including Megstone Plot, made into the 1959 movie A Touch of Larceny starring James Mason and George Sanders, and one of the author's pseudonymous Roger Bax books became the 1953 movie Never Let Me Go with Clark Gable and Gene Tierney. Death and the Sky Above was made into an installment of NBC's "Kraft Mystery Theater" in December 1961 starring Peter Williams, Petra Davies and Ursula Howells and directed by Robert Lynn.
Winterton/Garve also served the crime fiction community in another important role, as a founding member and first joint secretary of the Crime Writers' Association, along with Elizabeth Ferrars.
July 6, 2017
The 'Zine Scene
Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine's July/August double issue includes publication of the Black Orchid Award Novella winning story. Plus, there's a baseball-themed story fit for summer, "The Making of Velveteen Dream" by Chris Muessig, and new short fiction from Jay Carey, John M. Floyd, and R.T. Lawton.
Wildside Press announced they're launching a new publication titled Black Cat Mystery Magazine. Named in honor of the company mascot, BCMM will focus on contemporary and traditional mysteries, as well as thrillers and suspense stories. The first issue will be released in September and feature stories by Art Taylor, Meg Opperman, John Floyd, Josh Pachter, Barb Goffman, and Alan Orloff, among others.
Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine's summer issue has a new spy story by Jeffery Deaver, “Hard to Get,” taking readers to Eastern Europe where a new American agent encounters his attractive Russian counterpart. Also, detective Kennedy in Paul Charles’s “Harry Potter and the Shadow of the Forger’s Throne” investigates the murder of a book collector, and Julius Katz that of a literary agent in Dave Zeltserman’s “Julius Katz and the Terminated Agent.” Plus a trip on the road and in Hollywood past and present in the Department of First Stories’ “The Fast and the Furriest” by Pat H. Broeske, and much more.
Mystery Scene's summer Issue #150 features an interview by Oline Cogdill with Scott Turow on the 30th publication anniversary of Presumed Innocent; one of the founding members of Sisters in Crime, Sara Paretsky, talks about why such an organization was needed then and remains essential today; Cheryl Solimini profiles Linda Greenlaw, an author who was also the only female swordfishing boat captain on the East Coast of the United States, featured in the book and film The Perfect Storm; Jake Hinkson has a feature on Eddie Muller, who has earned the sobriquet "The Czar of Noir"; Ann Whetstone takes a look at train mysteries; Kevin Burton Smith takes a look at locked room and other impossible crime stories featuring private eyes; Craig Sisterson catches up with Michael Connelly as he debuts a series featuring Renee Ballard, an LAPD cop working the night shift; Hallie Ephron talks about following in the literary footsteps of her celebrated family; and Tom Nolan chats with Denise Mina who has some interesting thoughts on the high art/low art debate in literature.
Mystery Weekly's latest print edition has new short crime fiction from Melanie Atherton Allen, Kevin Z. Garvey, Tapanga Koe, J. Michael Major, Bruce Harris, Thom Bennett, Peter DiChellis, Tom Tolnay, and Rhonda Howard.
The new issue of Noir City has "many and varied delights: headshrinkers, a hammer-wielding murderess, the King of Capers, a strange cult that begat a noir legend, more Bs than you ever bargained for … and even an appearance by The Boss." The edition also has the debut of a new regular feature, The Dark Page, dedicated to contemporary crime fiction and penned by crime and mystery writer Eric Beetner. He kicks it off by interviewing one of the most prolific and knowledgeable figures in the business, Anthony Award-winning novelist and historian Bill Crider.
Over My Dead Body is an online 'zine that had taken a bit of a break, but is back again with new book reviews and short stories.
Suspense magazine's summer edition includes Interviews with Catherine Finger, Harley Muzak, Wendy Webb, Karen Dionne, Adam Mitzner, James Hayman, Kenneth Johnson, Nicci French, and Laurie R. King. The magazine also has a new section by bestselling author Alan Jacobson, “The Writer’s Toolkit,” with everything you need to know to put yourself on the best path. Dennis Palumbo also has a great article about "Envy," Anthony Franze continued his "Rules of Writing" with C.J. Box, plus there are pages of book reviews, short stories and more.
Issue Two of the gritty new crime publication Switchblade Magazine just hit the streets in print (an ebook format is on the way) with 12 sharp and deadly hard luck-tales. Authors offering up their short fiction include William Dylan Powell, Renee Asher Pickup, Peter DiChellis, Carmen Jaramillo, Paul Greenberg, Charles Roland, S. E. Bailey, Rob T. White, Ashley Erwin, J. L. Boekestein, Scotch Rutherford, and Stephen D. Rogers.
Related StoriesThe 'Zine SceneCoffee Table CrimeStorypalooza
July 5, 2017
Mystery Melange
The Macavity Award finalists were announced this past weekend, in the categories of Best Novel, Best First Novel, Best Short Story, Best Nonfiction, and Best Historical Novel. The annual awards are nominated by members of Mystery Readers International, subscribers to Mystery Readers Journal and friends of MRI. The winners will be announced at opening ceremonies at Bouchercon in Toronto, Thursday, October 12. For a complete list, follow this Mystery Fanfare link.
Wordcrafters is sponsoring a conference August 25-27 in Eugene, Oregon, titled Behind the Book: The Mechanics of Murder. HIghlights include the keynote address and a workshop by Katherine Ramsland, a forensic psychologist and best-selling author 59 books; a keynote and workshop by D.P. Lyle, forensic MD and award-winning author of 15 books; and CSI: EUGENE — a hands-on crime lab with forensic analyst Lisa Pope of Eugene Police Department.
Open Road Integrated Media has created a new website titled Murder & Mayhem, which they hope will deliver "the best in mystery and thrillers—from forgotten masterpieces to the latest in heart-pounding fiction and twisted suspense." To celebrate the website's launch, they are offering a giveaway of 10 books in the Jason Bourne series—including The Bourne Initiative, which was just published this month.
Tech Republic has a nice article titled "Hacking the Nazis: The secret story of the women who broke Hitler's codes." Of the 10,000-plus staff at the Government Code and Cypher School during World War II, two-thirds were female. Three veteran servicewomen explain what life was like as part of the code-breaking operation during World War II, which was featured in the TV series The Bletchley Circle on ITV and PBS.
A big happy 150th birthday to Canada! In honor of the event, Crime Fiction Lover has a curated list of some of the best Canadian crime novels of all time.
Brian Busby profiled thriller author Kenneth Orvis (1923- ) and the "Very Bad Career Move" that altered the course of his literary output and why you probably haven't heard of him.
Another bit of sad author news: Crime writer Helen Cadbury has passed away at the age of 52 following a battle with cancer. Her debut crime novel, To Catch A Rabbit, was published in 2013, and was a joint winner of the Northern Crime Award. The second in the series, Bones in the Nest, followed in July 2015, with one more volume still to be published.
Several studies recently have shown just exactly how good reading is for the brain - if it's a paper book. Reading in print helps with comprehension, empathy, and even helping to prevent dementia.
Speaking of print books, you think you're a book hoarder? (Looking at my bookshelves, here...) Maybe not as much as you think.
Here's an interesting question that may soon be coming to a court near you or make an interesting sci-fi crime book: "Who's Guilty When a Brain-Controlled Computer Kills?"
Via The Conversation: Sherlock Holmes and the case of the forged Stradivari: did we miss a vital clue for 130 years?
And from Mental Floss comes this: there was one instance when a hysterical news media—and even Agatha Christie herself—became alarmed that she may have taken things too far in one of her books.
The latest edition of Mike Ripley’s "Getting Away with Murder" column in Shots takes a look at news books from Paul Cleave, Michael Connelly, Bonnie MacBird, Peter Murphy, Simon Scarrow, Holly Seddon, and more.
This week, the featured crime poem at the 5-2 is "And That's the Way It Went" by J.H. John.
In the Q&A roundup, Don Winslow took the New York Times' "By the Book" quick interview challenge; Publishers Weekly had another quickie Q&A with "Four Questions for James Patterson"; Kate Carlisle, the bestselling author of the Bibliophile Mysteries and the Fixer-Upper Mysteries (as seen on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries) stopped by the blog, A Slice of Orange; the Crime Warp welcomed Theakston's Crime New Blood author Jane Harper, author of The Dry; and the Mystery People grilled John Connolly about his latest Charlie Parker novel, Game Of Ghosts.
Related StoriesMystery Melange
July 4, 2017
July 3, 2017
Media Murder for Monday
Monday greetings! It's time for the latest roundup of crime drama news, from stage to screen:
MOVIES
Fans of Don Winslow's latest novel, The Force, were rightfully pleased when news broke a few months ago that Fox was making the book into a film. However, they're going to have to wait a while since the studio has set a March 1, 2019, release date for the project. With Logan director James Mangold at the helm and David Mamet adapting the script, the story centers on a corrupt sergeant at the NYPD’s most elite crime-fighting unit who must choose between his family, his partners, and his life.
The UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive noir series is highlighting films by women crime writers like Vera Caspary, one of several female pulp fiction writers who churned out genre stories, a list that includes Dorothy B. Hughes, Patricia Highsmith, Charlotte Armstrong, Elizabeth Sanxay Holding and Dolores Hitchens. Series curators Kathy Geritz and Judy Bloch were inspired by a pair of recent book projects edited by Sarah Weinman, the two-volume set Women Crime Writers: Eight Suspense Novels of the 1940s & 50s and an anthology of short crime fiction, Troubled Daughters, Twisted Wives: Stories from the Trailblazers of Domestic Suspense. (HT to SF Gate)
A scathing political thriller co-written by France's new Prime Minister Edouard Philippe is to be made into a film. In the Shadows, set during the final days of a neck-and-neck French presidential election, is being adapted for the screen by French actor Guillaume Gallienne.
Focus Features has bought an untitled original pitch for a contemporary political drama from Maggie Betts (Novitiate), who’ll direct and also co-write the script with Andy Bellin.
A trailer was released for The Foreigner, a new action-thriller starring Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan. The film was directed by Martin Campbell, who also directed the Bond films Casino Royale and GoldenEye. Chan plays a humble London businessman, whose long-buried past erupts in a revenge-fueled vendetta when the only person left for him to love — his teenage daughter — is taken from him in a senseless act of politically-motivated terrorism. In his relentless search for the identity of the terrorists, Quan is forced into a cat-and-mouse conflict with a British government official (Brosnan), whose own past may hold clues to the identities of the elusive killers.
A trailer was also released for the indie thriller Good Time, which has Pattinson racing against the clock through New York City to save his brother, who's been locked up at Rikers.
Studiocanal UK has released a new trailer for the heist film Logan Lucky, starring Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, and Daniel Craig, Katie Holmes, Katherine Waterston, Riley Keough, Hilary Swank, and Sebastian Stan in a story about the shenanigans perpetrated by the famously unlucky Logan brothers.
TELEVISION/STREAMING SERVICES
Johnny Depp will produce a new TV series that's based on the James Renner book True Crime Addict: How I Lost Myself in the Mysterious Disappearance of Maura Murray. The book follows Renner's obsession with the disappearance of a popular UMass student named Maura Murray, and the new clues he dug up in the case. It also examines how his work interfered with his personal life that began to unravel as he hunted for the truth.
Sony Pictures Television Networks has ordered Carter, a police-procedural series starring Jerry O’Connell and Sydney Poitier. The drama will air on SPTN’s international networks, including AXN. Carter features O’Connell as a detective on a hit American TV show who is forced to return to his hometown after an embarrassing public meltdown in Hollywood. Once back, Carter taps into his acting experience to become a real-life detective, partnering with long-time friend and no-nonsense veteran of the force, Sam St. Clair (Poitier).
YouTube has given a series order to Impulse, a thriller drama from Universal Cable Productions and executive producer Doug Liman. The series is based on the third novel in the Jumper series by Steven Gould and tells the story of Henry (Maddie Hasson), a rebellious 16-year-old girl who has always felt different from her peers and has longed to escape from her seemingly quaint small town. Henry soon discovers she has the extraordinary ability to teleport. The new series is slated to premiere on subscription-video service YouTube Red in 2018.
The third season of AMC's critically acclaimed series Better Call Saul came to an end last week on what seemed to be the death of a major character and a whole lot of stories still unfinished. The season ended without news of a renewal, leaving actors and fans up in the air, but now, AMC has made an announcement that they've officially renewed Better Call Saul for Season 4.
Hawaii Five-0 Season 8 is going to look a lot different thanks to the news that original cast members Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park will not be returning. Both actors were seeking deals for equal pay, but were unable to make those deals work. Kim and Park were believed to be making 10-15 percent less than co-stars Alex O'Loughlin and Scott Caan.
Oscar-winning Moonlight actor Mahershala Ali is in early negotiations to star in a potential third season of HBO’s praised drama series True Detective. Although a third season has not yet received a formal green light, Ali’s casting likely would make that more likely.
Game Of Thrones alum Tom Wlaschiha has been tapped to co-star in TNT’s hourlong mystery drama pilot The Deep Mad Dark, produced by John Wells. In the pilot, written by Megan Martin and directed by Niels Arden Oplev, Wlaschiha will play the mysterious character of Joda, who beguiles and threatens the order of his neighbor, Dr. Polly Lewis.
The Good Wife alum Josh Charles is the latest to join the cast of Dick Wolf-Rene Balcer’s limited series Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders. He’ll play Dr. Jerome Oziel, the Menendez brothers’ controversial psychiatrist, who plays a pivotal role in the case.
Penn Badgley (Gossip Girl) is making a return to TV in new Lifetime thriller, You, starring as obsessive bookstore manager Joe Goldberg, who uses social media and the internet to make the woman of his dreams, Beck, fall in love with him. But it's not long before Joe goes to extreme lengths to make himself a part of Beck's life, quietly taking care of any problem or person that threatens to stand in their way – even if it means murder. The series is based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Caroline Kepnes.
Julian Gale (Enrique Murciano), who joined the cast of the The Blacklist in Season 5, recently tweeted that he would not be returning to the show, and it sounds like it might not have been entirely his decision. The Blacklist premieres Wednesday, October 4th on NBC.
Rob Lowe’s A&E mystery reality series The Lowe Files will premiere on A&E August 2. The nine-episode series follows Lowe and his two sons, Matthew and John Owen, as they travel the country exploring infamous unsolved mysteries.
PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO
Don Winslow has been in the news quite a bit lately after the release of his critically-acclaimed latest novel, The Force. He joined Slate's podcast The Gist to discuss writing cop fiction in the age of Black Lives Matter and about the deep research that goes into writing modern crime fiction.
PBS Newhour's Book Shelf segment welcomed Scott Turow, whose new thriller was inspired by a war-crime mystery.
The BBC's Becky Want spoke with author Martina Cole about her latest thriller, Get Even.
Radio Times featured a "Dark Chick List" podcast that included a review of the latest novel from The Girl on the Train author, Paula Hawkins; Cardiff-based authors Kate Hamer and B.E. Jones discussing their new works; and Sarah Pinborough on reader reactions to her surprising and successful creepy thriller, Behind her Eyes.
Steve Cavanagh and Luca Veste, hosts of Two Crime Writers and A Microphone, welcomed special guest Clare Mackintosh, who talked about her bestseller I Let You Go, as well as ditching the difficult second book, twists and reveals, pressure, reviews, and much more.
A Stab in the Dark's Paul Hirons sat down with double CWA Dagger winner, Bill Beverly, to talk about his debut novel, Dodgers, his influences for this exceptional coming-of-age tale, and the state of America today.
THEATER
British actor Jonno Davies will make his New York debut this fall in a stage adaptation of A Clockwork Orange, based on the novel by Anthony Burgess that also inspired Stanley Kubrick's film, Playbill reported. Davies will reprise his role from the acclaimed London run of the Alexandra Spencer-Jones production. Performances, which begin September 2 at New World Stages and open officially September 25, are scheduled to run through January 6, 2018. Additional casting and creative team will be announced at a later date.
The Houston, Texas Alley Theatre will present the comedy thriller Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps from July 21 to August 20. Using over 150 eccentric characters (played by four actors) the play is about a man with an ordinary life who meets a woman with a strong accent who says she's a spy. When he takes her home, she is murdered. Soon, a mysterious organization called "The 39 Steps" is hot on the man's trail in a nationwide manhunt that climaxes in a death-defying finale.
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