B.V. Lawson's Blog, page 2

Friday's "Forgotten" Books: The Problem of Cell 13

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Jacques Heath Futrelle (1875-1912) was an American journalist and mystery writer who worked for the Atlanta Journal, where he began their sports section and met his great love and fellow writer, Lily May ("May") Peel. Soon after, Futrelle was off to Boston to join the editorial staff the Boston Post, but he missed Peel too much to stay. Before taking a job with the New York Herald, Jacques and May married in Georgia in July 1895, and after their honeymoon, the couple settled in to enjoy the New York literary life, including neighbors such as Edith Wharton and O. Henry. Inspired by his love of mysteries, especially the Sherlock Homes stories, Futrelle turned his own hand to penning short crime fiction in his spare time.



After emotional exhaustion following a period covering the Spanish-American War, Futrelle took a break from journalism to work as a two-year contract as a theatrical manager. He and May moved to Richmond, Virginia, where Jacques traveled for the small repertory company and tried his hand at dramatic writing. At the end of his stint with the theater, Jacques took a job at the Boston American newspaper, although he also continued to write short stories.



In 1906 Futrelle decided to leave journalism to turned his hand to writing fiction full time and became especially known for his series of stories featuring the "Thinking Machine," Professor Augustus S. F. X. Van Dusen ("a Ph.D., an LL.D., an F.R.S., an M.D., and an M.D.S."), who first appeared in 1905 in a serialized version of "The Problem of Cell 13." That was to be followed by The Chase of the Golden Plate (1906), The Simple Case of Susan (1908), The Thinking Machine on the Case (1908), The Diamond Master (1909), Elusive Isabel (1909), and The High Hand (1911).



In April of 1912, after celebrating his birthday in London following a publishing deal, Futrelle and his wife began their return journey from Europe to New York, booking their trip on the RMS Titanic. Though May made it into a life boat after the ship struck an iceberg on April 15, Jacques Futrelle died in the sinking. As the legend goes, after Futrelle ensured that his wife got on a lifeboat, he was last seen speaking on deck and smoking cigars with philanthropist John Jacob Astor, who also perished in the tragedy. Two more Thinking Machine novels were published posthumously, My Lady’s Garter in 1912 (which his widow inscribed "to the heroes of the Titanic, I dedicate my husband's book") and Blind Man’s Bluff in 1914. Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine also published some uncollected stories in 1949 and 1950.



"The Problem of Cell 13" is a short story by Jacques Futrelle, first published in 1905 and later collected in The Thinking Machine (1907), which was featured in crime writer H. R. F. Keating's list of the 100 best crime and mystery books ever published. The story was also selected by science fiction author Harlan Ellison for Lawrence Block's Best Mysteries of the Century. It's seen by some crime fiction historians as a forerunner of the "locked room" detective story, and like many others of Futrelle's work, deals with an "impossible" scenario.



"The Problem of Cell 13" features Augustus S. F. X. Van Dusen as the protagonist, although part of the story is seen through the POV of a prison warden. The story is set in motion after a scientific debate with two men, Dr. Charles Ransome and Alfred Fielding, which leads Van Dusen to insist that nothing is impossible when the human mind is properly applied. To prove it, he agrees to take part in an experiment where he'll be incarcerated in a prison for one week and escape on his own devices. He enters cell No. 13 with only three special requests: that his shoes should be polished, that he be provided with tooth-powder, and that he also be given 25 dollars (2 notes of 10 dollars and 1 note of 5 dollars). The only escape routes are a window with iron bars or having to walk through seven different doors to freedom.



Needless to say, mission is ultimately accomplished (with a little bit of aid from his confederate, newspaper reporter Hutchinson Hatch, and some rats), and Van Dusen also indirectly manages to get an inmate to confess to a crime he committed, something the police detectives hadn't even been able to do. When the warden wonders what would have happened if key elements of Van Dusen's escape hadn't been available, the "Thinking Machine" simply states there were also two other ways he could have done it - leaving those details to the speculation of the police and the reader.



The story was adapted for U.S. television by Arthur A. Ross in 1962 as part of the Kraft Mystery Theater series and won the 1963 Edgar Award for Best Episode in a TV Series. Other adaptations included "Cell 13" in 1973 for the British series The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes featuring Douglas Wilmer (known for playing Sherlock Holmes in 1960s BBC productions), as well as couple of radio plays and a 2011 stage version.



Although not terribly well known today, Futrelle's work is still well regarded as part of the early Golden Age of crime fiction. His work has influenced many writers since, including John Dickson Carr, who referenced him in 1938's The Crooked Hinge, and Max Allan Collins, whose 1999 novel The Titanic Murders had Futrelle investigating a series of murders taking place the doomed ship. Jon Jermey and Mike Grost have more details on Futrelle and the scientific side of his writing over on the GA Detection website.

          

Mystery Melange

 

Benjamin Franklin altered book by Dawn Morehead
 

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The shortlist for the 2025 McIlvanney Prize has been announced. The prize recognizes excellence in Scottish crime writing and is named in memory of William McIlvanney, often described as the godfather of Tartan Noir. This year's finalists include: The Midnight King by Tariq Ashkanani; The Good Father by Liam McIlvanney; Paperboy by Callum McSorley; The Good Liar by Denise Mina; and Midnight and Blue by Ian Rankin. The winner of the prize will be announced on the opening night of the Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival in Stirling on September 12.

The Barry Awards were part of the slate of awards handed out at this past weekend's Bouchercon Conference (I previously reported on the Shamus Awards, Anthony Awards, and Derringer Awards). The Barrys were created by Deadly Pleasure Magazine in honor of f Barry Gardner, who was "arguably the best fan reviewer on the planet," and celebrate the best crime fiction titles of the previous year. (HT to the Gumshoe Site.) This year's winners include: Best Mystery Novel - The Waiting by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown); Best First Mystery Novel - Ordinary Bear by C.B. Bernard (Blackstone); Best Paperback Original Novel - Double Barrel Bluff by Lou Berney (Morrow Paperbacks); and Best Action Thriller - Hero by Thomas Perry (Mysterious Press). For a list of all the finalists, head on over to this link.

As part of the Isle of Wight Literary Festival in the UK, there will be a panel titled, "Red Wine and Bloody Murder" on Sunday 12th October 2025 4:30PM. The event features Graham Barlett, an ex-policeman who writes crime novels and advises other crime writers, award-winning crime writer Martin Edwards, and Vaseem Khan, creator of the popular Malabar House series, in a lively debate chaired by Angela Buckley.

The San Francisco Literary Festival is including a Murder at the Museum event on Sunday October 19, 2025, featuring award-winning crime fiction writers Cara Black, Marcie Rendon, Domenic Stansberry, and Jody Weiner, all spinning murderous tales starring dramatically different protagonists. Tickets include entry to the Counterculture Museum located at the corner of Haight and Ashbury.

On Saturday, October 25th at 1pm, Eastford Public Library in Eastford, Connecticut, will host a Murder Mystery Mania author event with a panel to include Sarah Stewart Taylor, Tessa Wegert, Sarah Strohmeyer, and Lucy Burdette talking thrillers, suspense, crime fiction, and cozy mysteries. Book Club On the Go will also be on hand for sales and signings.

The Mystery & Detective Fiction Area of the Popular Culture Association invites proposals for papers for the 56th annual conference in Atlanta, Georgia, April 8-11, 2026, to be held at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis. They're seeking proposals from researchers, academics, graduate students, and independent scholars for scholarly discussions on all aspects and periods of mystery and detective fiction. If you're interested, you can submit a 250-300 word abstract via this link. The deadline for submissions is November 30, 2025. (Note that you must be a member of PCA in order to submit.)

In honor of CrimeCon, which was held in Denver, Colorado, this past week, McFarland, a leading independent publisher of academic and general-interest nonfiction books, is running a sale on its true crime titles Use coupon code CRIMECON25 to save 20 percent through the end of September. (HT to Elizabeth Foxwell)

This week's crime poem up at the 5-2 Crime Poetry Weekly is "Fumata Bianca - Surrender" by Kevin Scheepers.

In the Q&A roundup, Ken Jaworowski, an editor at The New York Times as well as being a playwright and an amateur boxer, applied the Page 69 Test to his new crime novel, What About the Bodies; Peter Colt, an Army Reserve veteran and police officer, also applied the Page 69 Test to Cold Island, the first in his thriller novel series featuring Massachusetts State Police detective Tommy Kelly; Slow Horses author Mick Herron spoke with The Guardian about false starts, surprise inspirations, and why he never looks inside Jackson Lamb’s head; thriller author Karen Charles chatted with Lisa Haselton about her new psychological thriller, A Glimpse Too Far; and Hank Phillippi Ryan spoke with Deborah Kalb about Ryan's new novel All This Could Be Yours.

         Related StoriesMystery Melange 

Author R&R with donalee Moulton

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[image error]donalee Moulton is an award-winning freelance journalist who has written articles for print and online publications across North America including The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, Lawyer’s Daily, National Post, and Canadian Business. In addition to writing nonfiction books, she’s penned stories that were shortlisted for Derringer and Crime Writers of Canada awards. Her first mystery book, Hung out to Die, was published in 2023. A historical mystery, Conflagration!, followed in 2024 and won the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense (Historical Fiction). donalee has two books out in 2025, Bind and Melt, the first two books in the Lotus Detective Agency series.

[image error]In her latest novel, Melt, Luke Castle is arrested for transporting narcotics in the back of a food truck. He confesses, but everyone knows the teenager is not the mastermind behind the $6 million in cocaine nestled among 150 sacks of flour. The lead prosecutor, the defense attorney, and the reluctant detective first class who are all hauled into the judge’s office, admit the kid is innocent. The problem is his professed guilt—a confession he refuses to recant. But why is Luke Castle lying? Enter three yogis with a penchant for solving crime who are asked to help figure out what is going on with Luke Castle, bringing new approaches and new ways of ingratiating themselves with the likely suspects: a drug lord, the drug lord’s sons, a bitter daughter-in-law, and a rebellious younger brother. Lending a helping hand brings them together in unexpected and ultimately profound ways.

donalee stops by In Reference to Murder to talk about writing a series:

 

Getting serious about writing a series

By donalee Moulton

I have a new book out—and with the publication of Melt, I officially have something else. My first series: the Lotus Detective Agency. Melt is the second book to feature Charlene, Lexie, and Woo Woo, three women who meet in a yoga studio and go on to discover they have a penchant for more than downward dogs.

When I wrote Bind, the first book that brought these women together, I knew it would be a series. I do not know why I knew that, but it was a feeling I didn’t question. That feeling also shaped how the first book unfolded, knowing a second would soon be in the works. I could give some things away; I couldn’t give everything away. What happened in the first book had to be the reality on which the second book would be founded.

While each book must stand on its own, they are indelibly interconnected. The women grow as detectives. They refine their skills, and their collaboration. Their friendship also deepens. There’s also a romance that blossoms in the pages of Bind and is more firmly rooted in Melt. There is also a dog whom I’ve become quite fond of.

I realized that the style and tone of the first book, my voice, must also be the same in book two. Readers expect consistency, within reason. What resonated with them in the first book should be found in the second, third and subsequent books. Personalities do not abruptly change unless this is part of the plot and clearly spelled out. Lighthearted stories do not suddenly become dark without buildup and explanation.

That said, sequels cannot be mere reproductions of the original. There must be growth, there must be new challenges, there must be hiccups, stumbles, and imperfections that will further be explored in future books.

Logic must also prevail. My three women are not in law enforcement and have no background in crime solving. As I result, I didn’t feel they could realistically help to solve a murder in book one, or book two. Their credibility and expertise had to develop over several hundreds of pages. Now they’re ready.

The real question is: Am I? I’ve discovered the joy of writing a series also comes with angst. I feel an obligation to get it “right” for readers who have embraced Bind and Melt. I also feel an obligation to Charlene, Lexie, and Woo Woo.

And, of course, I’ll need another one-word title that reflects what goes on inside a yoga studio and what happens outside that studio when a crime has been committed.

You can learn more about donalee and her books via her website and follow her on Facebook, Goodreads, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Bluesky. Melt, and its predecessor, Bind, are available via all major booksellers.

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Media Murder for Monday

[image error](As a reminder: this blog will move to a new URL as of October 1st.)

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

John Swab has been tapped to helm the Netflix thriller, Fast and Loose, starring Will Smith, a film project that also sees Smith reuniting with his Bad Boys producer Jerry Bruckheimer after Michael Bay left the project due to creative differences. The film is about a man who wakes up in Tijuana with no memories. As he pieces together his past, he learns he’s been living two lives: one as a crime kingpin and the other as an undercover CIA agent. The film is based on a script by Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber, Eric Pearson, and Dave Callaham.

Oscar-winning actor Jeremy Irons is returning to the Miramax and Amazon MGM Studios action movie sequel, The Beekeeper 2. In the original movie, Irons played Wallace Westwyld, a former CIA director serving as the head of security for Danforth Enterprises. Directed by Timo Tjahjanto and written by Kurt Wimmer, the project stars Jason Statham as the former agent of the secretive Beekeepers organization who embarks on a ruthless revenge mission, unleashing his lethal skills against those who wronged him.





TELEVISION/STREAMING

After a decade's absence, SkyShowtime is resurrecting the Polish crime drama The Cop, focused on the Homicide Department of the Warsaw Metropolitan Police. The Cop. A New Chapter (sic) will launch on October 16 in over 20 territories on SkyShowtime, which is a joint venture between Comcast and Paramount. Time has moved on, but the Homicide Department continues to be busy in the new series. Joining the seasoned detectives Banas (Maciej Stuhr) and Józwiak (Jacek Braciak) is a young, ambitious police officer, Tamara Rudnik (Nela Maciejewska). Per the synopsis: "Right from the start, Rudnik is thrown into the heart of the brutal Warsaw underworld, where the lines between good and evil often blur dangerously. As each investigation raises more questions than answers, the officers must face not only ruthless criminals but also their own inner demons."

Sian Clifford (Fleabag) and Mark Bonnar (Dept. Q) have joined Season 2 of the BBC's crime comedy-drama, Ludwig. The series stars David Mitchell in the title role of John "Ludwig" Taylor, a reclusive puzzle-designer who seeks to unravel the mystery of his twin brother James's disappearance by taking his brother's identity as DCI on Cambridge's major crimes squad. In Season 2 he no longer has to masquerade as his brother, but his twin is still missing. Now that he’s an official employee of the station, John is forbidden from using any police resources to look for his brother or uncover exactly what he was investigating. The show also stars Anna Maxwell Martin, Dipo Ola, Dylan Hughes, Dorothy Atkinson, Ralph Ineson, and Karl Pilkington.

NCIS is crossing over with its Origins prequel series this fall, bringing the shows together across timelines in a special episode set for Nov. 11. A logline for the crossover reads: "Gibbs and team investigate the small-town death of a naval officer in the '90s on NCIS: Origins—a case that’s unexpectedly re-opened in the present day on NCIS. The 1990s-set spinoff is also set to honor one of the franchise’s most beloved characters this season. CBS previously announced a tribute episode to Ducky (the late David McCallum) that will also air this fall and feature the return of Adam Campbell as a young version of the character.

Nick Gehlfuss (Chicago Med) and Michael Michele (New York Undercover) are set as leads alongside Tom Ellis on CBS’s upcoming crime drama series, CIA. The FBI offshoot 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 (Gehlfuss) 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. Michele is believed to be playing the series’ third lead, the head of the CIA’s New York Station. CIA is scheduled to debut in midseason 2026.





PODCASTS/RADIO/AUDIO

Ayesha Rascoe spoke with author Ken Jaworowski on NPR's Author Interviews about his new book What About The Bodies, a thriller in which three characters' troubles converge in a small Rust Belt town.

On Crime Time FM, Donna Morfett chatted with Paul Burke about her novel, The Masquerade of Murder; Luton & Dunstable; revenge on the page; misogyny; and self publishing.

Cops and Writers host, Patrick J. O'Donnell, welcomed three authors who write crime thrillers with K9s: Jodi Burnett, Kathleen Donnelly, and Margaret Mizushima.

On Read or Dead, Katie McLain Horner and Kendra Winchester discussed dark academia novels.

         Related StoriesMedia Murder for Monday 

Anthony Awards in Abundance

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The Bouchercon Crime Fiction Conference, "Blood on the Bayou: Case Closed," announced the winners for the annual Anthony Awards during the convention in New Orleans this weekend. Congrats to all the winners and finalists! 

 

Best Hardcover Novel :  The God of the Woods, by Liz Moore (Riverhead)

Other finalists:

Missing White Woman, by Kellye Garrett (Mulholland)
he Grey Wolf, by Louise Penny (Minotaur)
Alter Ego, by Alex Segura (Flatiron)
California Bear, by Duane Swiercynski (Mulholland)

Best First Novel :  You Know What You Did, by K.T. Nguyen (Dutton)

Other finalists:

The Mechanics of Memory, by Audrey Lee (CamCat)
Ghosts of Waikiki, by Jennifer K. Morita (Crooked Lane
Good-Looking Ugly, by Rob D. Smith (Shotgun Honey
Holy City, by Henry Wise (Atlantic Monthly Press)

Best Paperback/E-book/Audiobook : Echo, by Tracy Clark (Thomas & Mercer)

Other finalists:

The Last Few Miles of Road, by Eric Beetner (Level Best)
Served Cold, by James L’Etoile (Level Best)
Late Checkout, by Alan Orloff (Level Best)
The Big Lie, by Gabriel Valjan (Level Best/Historia)

Best Historical :  The Murder of Mr. Ma, by John Shen Yen Nee and S.J. Rozan (Soho Crime)

Other finalists:

The Lantern’s Dance, by Laurie R. King (Bantam)
The Witching Hour, by Catriona McPherson (Mobius)
The Bootlegger’s Daughter, by Nadine Nettmann (Lake Union)
The Courtesan’s Pirate, by Nina Wachsman (Level Best/Historia)

Best Paranormal:  A New Lease on Death, by Olivia Blacke (Minotaur)

Other finalists:

Five Furry Familiars, by Lynn Cahoon (Kensington Cozies)
Exposure, by Ramona Emerson (Soho Crime)
Lights, Cameras, Bones, by Carolyn Haines (Minotaur)
Death in Ghostly Hue, by Susan Van Kirk (Level Best)

Best Cozy/Humorous :  Cirque du Slay, by Rob Osler (Crooked Lane)

Other finalists:

A Cup of Flour, a Pinch of Death, by Valerie Burns (Kensington Cozies)
A Very Woodsy Murder, by Ellen Byron (Kensington Cozies)
Ill-Fated Fortune, by Jennifer J. Chow (Minotaur)
Scotzilla, by Catriona McPherson (Severn House)
Dominoes, Danzón, and Death, by Raquel V. Reyes (Crooked Lane)

Best Children’s/Young Adult Novel :  When Mimi Went Missing, by Suja Sukumar (Soho Teen)

Other finalists:

The Big Grey Men of Ben MacDhui, by K.B. Jackson (Reycraft)
The Sasquatch of Harriman Lake, by K.B. Jackson (Reycraft)
First Week Free at the Roomy Toilet, by Josh Proctor (Level Elevate)
The Sherlock Society, by James Ponti (Aladdin Paperbacks)

Best Critical/Nonfiction : The Serial Killer’s Apprentice , by Katherine Ramsland and Tracy Ullman (Crime Ink)

Other finalists:

Writing the Cozy Mystery: Authors’ Perspectives on Their Craft, edited by Phyllis M. Betz (McFarland)
Some of My Best Friends Are Murderers: Critiquing the Columbo Killers, by Chris Chan (Level Best)
On Edge: Gender and Genre in the Work of Shirley Jackson, Patricia Highsmith, and Leigh Brackett, by Ashley Lawson (Ohio State University Press)
Abingdon’s Boardinghouse Murder, by Greg Lilly (History Press)

Best Anthology/Collection:  Tales of Music, Murder, and Mayhem: Bouchercon Anthology 2024, edited by Heather Graham (Down & Out)

Other finalists:

Murder, Neat: A Sleuthslayer’s Anthology, edited by Michael Bracken and Barb Goffman (Level Short)
Scattered, Smothered, Covered & Chunked: Crime Fiction Inspired by Waffle House, edited by Michael Bracken and Stacy Woodson (Down & Out)
Eight Very Bad Nights: A Collection of Hanukkah Noir, edited by Tod Goldberg (Soho Crime)
Friend of the Devil: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Grateful Dead, edited by Josh Pachter (Down & Out)

Best Short Story :  “Something to Hold Onto,” by Curtis Ippolito (from Dark Yonder, Issue 6, edited by Katy Munger and Eryk Pruitt; Thalia Press)

Other finalists:

“A Matter of Trust,” by Barb Goffman (from Three Strikes—You’re Dead, edited by Donna Andrews, Barb Goffman, and Marcia Talley (Wildside Press)
“Twenty Centuries,” by James D.F. Hannah (from Eight Very Bad Nights: A Collection of Hanukkah Noir, edited by Tod Goldberg; Soho Crime)
“Satan’s Spit,” by Gabriel Valjan (from Tales of Music, Murder, and Mayhem: Bouchercon Anthology 2024, edited by Heather Graham; Down & Out)
“Reynisfjara,” by Kristopher Zgorski (from Mystery Most International, edited by Rita Owen, Verena Rose, and Shawn Reilly Simmons; Level Short)

          

Davitt Delights

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Sisters in Crime Australia announced the winners of the Davitt Awards for best crime books by Australian women. The awards are named after Ellen Davitt, author of Australia’s first mystery novel, Force and Fraud, in 1865. Congratulations to all the winners and finalists!

Adult Crime Novel:  To the River by Vikki Wakefield

Other finalists:

The Rewilding by Donna M. Cameron
Safe Haven by Shankari Chandran
What I Would Do to You by Georgia Harper
Highway 13 by Fiona McFarlane

Best Nonfiction: To the River by Vikki Wakefield

Other finalists:

In Bad Faith by Dassi Erlich
Crimes of the Cross by Anne Manne

Best Young Adult: Into the Mouth of the Wolf by Erin Gough

Other finalists:

Look Me in the Eye by Jane Godwin

Children's Crime Novel: The Midwatch by Judith Rossell

Other finalists:

utlaw Girls by Emily Gale & Nova Weetman
Queen of the Dogs by Joe Weatherstone

Best Debut Crime Book:  What I Would Do To You by Georgia Harper
Kerry Greenwood Readers Choice Award: What Happened To Nina? by Dervla McTiernan
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Shamus Superiority

(Reminder: As of October 1st, this blog will move to a new URL:  https://inreferencetomurder.blogspot....)

 

The winners of The Private Eye Writers Of America 2025 Shamus Awards, for private eye novels and short stories first published in the United States in 2024, were announced at the 2025 Bouchercon Opening Ceremonies, held in New Orleans, Louisiana. Congrats to all the winners and finalists!

 

BEST PI HARDCOVER :  Trouble in Queenstown by Delia Pitts (Minotaur Books)

Other finalists:

Kingpin by Mike Lawson (Atlantic Monthly Press) 
The Hollow Tree by Phillip Miller (Soho Crime)
Farewell, Amethystine by Walter Mosley (Mulholland Books) 
Death and Glory by Will Thomas (Minotaur Books)

BEST ORIGINAL PI PAPERBACK :  Call of the Void by J.T. Siemens (NeWest Press)

Other finalists:

Geisha Confidential by Mark Coggins (Down & Out Books)
Quarry’s Return by Max Allan Collins (Hard Case Crime)
Not Born of Woman by Teel James Glenn (Crossroad Press)
Bless Our Sleep by Neil S. Plakcy (Samwise Books)
The Big Lie by Gabriel Valjan (Level Best Books)

BEST FIRST PI NOVEL:   Twice the Trouble by Ash Clifton (Crooked Lane Books)

Other finalists:

The Devil’s Daughter by Gordon Greisman (Blackstone Publishing) 
Fog City by Claire M. Johnson (Level Best Books) 
The Road to Heaven by Alexis Stefanovich-Thomson (Dundurn Press) 
Holy City by Henry Wise (Atlantic Monthly Press)

BEST PI SHORT STORY:   “Deadhead” by Tom Andes (Issue 10.1: A Case of KINK - Cowboy Jamboree Magazine) 

Other finalists:

“Alibi in Ice” by Libby Cudmore (July/August 2024, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine)  
“Drop Dead Gorgeous” by M.E. Proctor (Janie’s Got a Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Music of Aerosmith – White City Press) 
“Under Hard Rock” by Ed Teja (Black Cat Weekly #164) 
“The Five Cent Detective” by S.B. Watson (Crimeucopia: Great Googly-Moo!) 

THE EYE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD:  Christine Matthews

 

          

Quote of the Week

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         Related StoriesQuote of the Week 

Friday's "Forgotten" Books: Exeunt Murderers

In honor of the annual Bouchercon Crime Fiction Conference this weekend in New Orleans:

Author, editor, and reviewer Anthony Boucher (1911-1968) seemed headed into the sciences until he was bitten by the literature bug, selling his first story when he was 15, "Ye Goode Olde Ghoste Storie," published in Weird Tales in January 1927. He would later add that in retrospect the story was so bad, the editor must have had a "sadistic grudge against the readers."



After his college career, he turned his hand to detective fiction in 1937, with a standalone followed by one series with amateur criminologist Fergus O'Breen and the other Sister Ursula of the Order of Martha of Bethany (published under the pen name H.H. Holmes). Although a moderate success as a novelist, he found his true calling when he started reviewing mysteries and science fiction for the San Francisco Chronicle, followed by editing anthologies and translating other books. He landed a job as the regular mystery fiction critic for the New York Times in 1951, a job he held for close to 17 years.



His contributions to the genre didn't end there—he was a founding member of the Mystery Writers of America, a charter member of the Baker Street Irregulars in San Francisco and wrote scripts for Sherlock Holmes and Ellery Queen radio programs, co-edited the True Crime Detective magazine, wrote a monthly review column for Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, and created a regular mystery-review show for the public radio station KPFA.



His dozens of short stories reflect his multi-faceted interests outside literature, with one of the editors to the Boucher collection Exeunt Murderers, Francis M. Nevins, Jr., adding that Boucher wrote mysteries delving into "religion, opera, football, politics, movies, true crime, record collecting and an abundance of good food and wine along with clues and puzzles and detection." (Nevin's co-editor for this collection was the prolific Martin H. Greenberg.)



Many Boucher stories pivot around talented and brilliant amateur sleuths, although the first third of Exeunt consists of nine stories featuring former police Lieutenant Nick Noble, once a rising star in the force until he took the rap for a bad cop. The second part is a series of Sister Ursula stories grouped under the title "Conundrums for the Cloister." Although technically an amateur, Sister Ursula is the daughter of a police chief who'd once planned on entering the field herself until poor health changed her plans. These stories mirror Boucher's own life in two ways—he was a devout Catholic who also struggled with poor health his entire life, ultimately dying of lung cancer at the age of 57. Part Three of Exeunt is "Jeux de Meurtre," narrated by both cops and amateurs, and in one case, the murderer.



These are thoroughly enjoyable stories, and it's almost a shame that he spent so much of his time on other projects (in a poll in 1981, Boucher's novel Nine Times Nine was voted in the top ten "best locked room mysteries" of all time). But it is that very legacy of support to the crime fiction community that his namesake annual Bouchercon convention celebrates, and so we'll just have to be content with the body of work we have from someone who managed to pack more into a half-century than most people do with decades more.

          

Mystery Melange

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Book art by Emma Taylor

 

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The Joffe Books Prize is still seeking submissions through September 30. Now in its fifth, year, the prize was created to discover and launch unagented crime writers from Black, Asian, Indigenous, and minority ethnic backgrounds. All crime genres are welcome from "electrifying psychological thrillers, to cosy mysteries, gritty police procedurals, twisty chillers, unputdownable suspense mysteries and shocking domestic noirs." The winner will be offered a two-book publishing deal with Joffe Books, £1,000 cash prize, and an £25,000 Audible audiobook contract for the first book. (HT to Shots Confidential)

The William F. Deeck-Malice Domestic Grant Program for Unpublished Writers is also still accepting applications through November 1. Each year, the Malice Domestic conference sponsors the grant, designed to foster quality literature in the Malice Domestic tradition and assist the next generation of traditional mystery writers on the road to publication. The grant includes a $2,500 cash award and a comprehensive registration to Malice Domestic, including two nights' lodging at the convention hotel. Applications should include the first three chapters of your work in progress, a brief synopsis, author bio, and a statement about how the grant would be utilized. Authors must have not been published in the mystery genre in any way prior to submitting for the Malice Grant.

Organizers of the NoirCon festival are seeking raffle items—signed books, manuscripts, character naming, meet-the-author dinners, theatre tickets, artwork, or "jewel-encrusted statues of birds covered in black lacquer"—to help fund a new project:  For 2026, NoirCon is partnering with Desert Noir, a new initiative dedicated to crime fiction and non-fiction stories that are ripe for screen adaptation and ideally suited to be shot against the dramatic backdrop of the Mojave Desert. The initiative will feature two annual awards honoring the best noir fiction and non-fiction adaptation project set in the desert; two mentorship labs for screenwriters; and matchmaking assistance for writers and screenplay writers to connect with international producers, distributors, and platforms. Raffle items can be sent to: NoirCon 2025 West, c/o 9711 Troon Ct, Desert Hot Springs, CA 92240-1248.

The identity of a mystery writing duo, whose first novel sparked a nine-way auction between major publishers is to be revealed at the Bloody Scotland crime writing festival later this month. Evelyn Clarke, a pseudonym for a pair of authors behind much-anticipated novel, The Ending Writes Itself, is to be unmasked on the opening night of the festival. One of the authors is understood to be a New York Times bestselling author ("many times over"), while both are said to have been writing books for over a decade. Publisher HarperCollins, which won a nine-way auction to acquire the book, has described The Ending Writes Itself as "the biggest book of 2026." The story follows six authors on a private island located in Scotland with 72 hours to write the ending of a book by the late Arthur Fletch, a bestselling author.

Via Mystery Fanfare comes the sad news that Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, 82, an author of science fiction, horror, and mystery, passed away on August 31. She wrote over 80 novels and 70 short works of fiction and was probably best known for her Saint-Germain historical vampire series and spin off Olivia De Clements. She also wrote several mysteries with Bill Fawcett under the name Quinn Fawcett, including the Charlie Spotted Moon mystery series.

Art Taylor's The First Two Pages welcomed Anne Laughlin with the first of a series of essays about stories from Crime Ink: Iconic: An Anthology of Crime Fiction Inspired by Queer Icons, co-edited by John Copenhaver and Salem West. Anne is the author of seven crime novels, mostly set in her native Chicago.

This week's crime poem up at the 5-2 Crime Poetry Weekly is "The High Cost of Savings" by Anonymous.

In the Q&A roundup, Joanna Schaffhausen took the Page 69 Test to Gone in the Night, her fifth Detective Annalisa Vega novel; and Simon Ball, professor of international history and politics at the University of Leeds applied the Page 99 Test to his new book, Death to Order: A Modern History of Assassination.

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