B.V. Lawson's Blog, page 40
October 25, 2023
Macavity Mastery
Best Mystery Novel: A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny (Minotaur)
Other finalists:
Back to the Garden by Laurie R. King (Bantam)
Two Nights in Lisbon by Chris Pavone (MCD)
A Heart Full of Headstones by Ian Rankin (Little, Brown)
Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn (Berkley)
Secret Identity by Alex Segura (Flatiron Books)
Best First Mystery: The Maid by Nita Prose (Ballantine)
Other finalists:
Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz (Atria/EmilyBestler)
Five Moves of Doom by A.J. Devlin (NeWest Press)
Shutter by Ramona Emerson (Soho Crime)
Devil’s Chew Toy by Rob Osler (Crooked Lane Books)
The Verifiers by Jane Pek (Vintage Books)
Best Mystery Short Story: “Beauty and the Beyotch” by Barb Goffman (Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine, Jan 2022)
Other finalists:
“The Landscaper’s Wife” by Brendan DuBois (Mystery Tribune, Aug/Sep 2022)
“First You Dream, Then You Die” by Donna Moore (Black is the Night, Titan Books)
“Schrödinger, Cat” by Anna Scotti (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Mar/Apr 2022)
“Stockholm” by Catherine Steadman (Amazon Original Stories)
“The Angel of Rome” by Jess Walter (The Angel of Rome and Other Stories, Harper)
“My Two-Legs” by Melissa Yi (Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Sep/Oct 2022)
Best Mystery Critical/Biographical: The Life of Crime: Detecting the History of Mysteries and Their Creators by Martin Edwards (Collins Crime Club)
Other finalists:
The Bloomsbury Handbook to Agatha Christie edited by Mary Anna Evans & J.C. Bernthal (Bloomsbury Academic)
The Crime World of Michael Connelly: A Study of His Works and Their Adaptations by David Geherin (McFarland)
Agatha Christie: An Elusive Woman by Lucy Worsley (Pegasus Crime)
Sue Feder Memorial Award for Best Historical Mystery: Lavender House by Lev AC Rosen (Forge)
Other finalists:
The Lindbergh Nanny by Mariah Fredericks (Minotaur)
In Place of Fear by Catriona McPherson (Hodder & Stoughton)
Anywhere You Run by Wanda M. Morris (William Morrow)
The Secret in the Wall by Ann Parker (Poisoned Pen Press)
One-Shot Harry by Gary Phillips (Soho Crime)
October 23, 2023
Media Murder for Monday
[image error]It's the start of a new week and that means it's time for a brand-new roundup of crime drama news:
THE BIG SCREEN/MOVIES
The crime thriller, In The Hand of Dante, has secured an interim agreement to resume production with stars Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa, and Gerard Butler. Helmed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Julian Schnabel, the picture is based on Nick Tosches’s novel of the same name. Currently in production in Italy, the story follows the original manuscript of Dante's Divine Comedy as it mysteriously pops up on the black market. Isaac plays Nick, a weary scholar brought in by New York City’s organized crime elements for the purpose of authentication. It’s when Nick decides to fence the manuscript, however, that he’s put on a dark and violent path from a metaphorical Hell into Paradise with his love, Giulietta.
Pierce Brosnan, Samuel L. Jackson, and Brandon Lessard are in Montana shooting Unholy Trinity, a Western directed by Richard Gray (Robert the Bruce), which has secured a SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreement. Described as a tale of revenge, dark secrets, and buried treasures, the film is set against the turbulent backdrop of 1870s Montana. It picks up in the moments before the execution of Isaac Broadway, as he gives his estranged son, Henry (Lessard), an impossible task: murder the man who framed him for a crime he didn’t commit. Intent on fulfilling his promise, Henry travels to the remote town of Trinity, where an unexpected turn of events traps him in town and leaves him caught between Gabriel Dove (Brosnan), the town’s upstanding new sheriff, and a mysterious figure named St. Christopher (Jackson).
The official trailer for the psychological thriller, Eileen, was released. Based on the 2015 novel by Ottessa Moshfegh, Eileen features Thomasin McKenzie as Eileen Dunlop, a young prison secretary in 1960s Boston. Living a dull, routine existence with her alcoholic father (Shea Whigham), there isn't much in Eileen's life for her to get excited about — until the glamorous new prison psychologist Dr. Rebecca Saint John (Anne Hathaway) arrives. Eileen quickly strikes up a friendship with the stylish, sophisticated Rebecca, thrilled to have found a companion. However, things soon take a dark turn, pulling Eileen into sinister secrets that will change her life. Eileen arrives in theatres Dec. 1.
TELEVISION/SMALL SCREEN
Sherlock co-creators Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat have adapted Arthur Conan Doyle's short story, "Lot No. 249" as Gatiss's annual Christmas ghost story for the BBC. Kit Harington (Game of Thrones) and Freddie Fox (Slow Horses) are attached to star. Lot No. 249 follows a group of Oxford students, one of whom undertakes experimental research into the secrets of Ancient Egypt and becomes the talk of the college. As the synopsis reads, "Can these experiments truly breathe life to the horrifying bag of bones which is the mysterious Lot. No 249?"
Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent has cast an all-Canadian ensemble. The series, which is based on the Dick Wolf-created franchise, has cast Aden Young (Rectify), as Detective Sergeant Henry Graff, Kathleen Munroe (City on Fire) as Detective Sergeant Frankie Bateman, Karen Robinson (Schitt’s Creek) as Inspector Vivienne Holness, K.C. Collins (The Cleaning Lady) as Deputy Crown Attorney Theo Forrester, Nicola Correia-Damude (Shadowhunters) as Forensic Pathologist Dr. Lucy Da Silva, and Araya Mengesha (Nobody) as tech expert Mark Yohannes. The series, which is produced by Lark Productions and Cameron Pictures for Citytv, follows two elite detectives from the Specialized Criminal Investigations unit as they probe high-profile crimes and homicides in metro Toronto. The 10-part series, currently filming in Toronto, is set to air in spring 2024.
Peacock unveiled the official teaser and premiere date for Season 2 of Dr. Death starring Edgar Ramírez and Mandy Moore. All eight episodes will drop Thursday, Dec. 21 on the streamer. Season 2 is based on the "Miracle Man" season of the Wondery podcast and follows Paolo Macchiarini (Ramírez), a superstar celebrity surgeon who ascended to global fame after performing the world’s first synthetic organ transplant. When investigative journalist Benita Alexander (Moore) approaches him for a story, the line between personal and professional begins to blur, changing her life forever. As she learns how far Paolo will go to protect his secrets, a group of doctors halfway across the world make shocking discoveries of their own that call everything about Paolo into question
PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO/AUDIO
NPR spoke with John Grisham, who is out with his latest legal thriller, The Exchange, a sequel to 1991's The Firm, which was the novel that turned the author into a superstar bestseller.
Michael Connelly chatted with Parade Magazine about the second season of Bosch: Legacy on Amazon Freevee, his new novel which pairs Bosch and his half-brother Mickey Haller again, and more.
In the latest episode of the Spybrary Podcast, host Adam Brookes interviews Liza Mundy, author of Code Girls and The Sisterhood: The Secret History of Women and the CIA.
A special episode of BBC Scotland’s The Big Scottish Book Club, hosted by Damian Barr, will be available on BBC iPlayer this month. The episode focuses on crime fiction and television adaptations, with Barr interviewing Ann Cleeves (author of the Shetland and Vera series), about her new novel, The Raging Storm. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Trainspotting, Irvine Welsh is also featured on the episode to talk about The Long Knives and ITV’s Crime, an adaptation of Welsh’s eponymous novel. Leading actor of the Karen Pirie series Lauren Lyle also speaks about bringing Val McDermid’s character to life.
On Crime Time FM, Harriet Crawley chatted with Paul Burke about her spy-thriller-love-story, The Translator, and about living in Russia.
Crime Cafe featured Debbi Mack's interview with crime writer Kristen Bird about her latest novel, I Love It When You Lie.
It Was a Dark and Stormy Book Club featured Robert Bryndza and his latest work, which is his first standalone thriller, Fear The Silence.
On Read or Dead, Katie McLain Horner and Kendra Winchester discussed great picks for book clubs.
Related StoriesMedia Murder for Monday
October 20, 2023
Friday's "Forgotten" Books: The Edgar Winners
[image error]The Edgar Winners anthology was published in 1980 and edited by Bill Pronzini. There are two dozen short stories included from writers who were awarded an "Edgar" for excellence by the Mystery Writers of America between 1948 and 1978.
As Pronzini states in his introduction, this anthology is
"The first anthology to bring together in one volume only those stories that have received the coveted Edgar as the Best Mystery Short Story of its year....These twenty-four stories include some of the finest mystery fiction to be published in the past four decades. Moreover, they represent the widest possible variety of types, themes, styles and authors--testimony to the fact that the mystery story, contrary to what certain critics would have us believe, is by no means a limited and hidebound genre."
A little history is in order, too, as the first two years of the Edgar Award for the short story were given for bodies of work; the third went to Ellery Queen's Mytery Magazine; and the next four were given to one-volume single-author collections. The current policy of honoring a single story didn't begin until 1954, and thus, Pronzini chose representative stories from the pre-1954 categories to be included here.
The stories are printed chronologically, from 1947's "The Adventure of the Mad Tea Party," by Ellery Queen (Frederic Dannay and Manford Bennington Lee), up through "The Cloud Beneath the Eave" by Barbara Owens, the winner from 1978. Other names are indeed a "Who's Who" of giants in crime fiction, short or long forms, including William Irish (a/k/a Cornell Woolrich), Lawrence G. Blochman, Philip MacDonald, Roadl Dahl, Stanley Ellin, Edward D. Hoch, Joe Gores, and Robert L. Fish. On the other hand, it's interesting to see how many of the winning stories were penned by authors who, for whatever reason, never went on to widespread name recognition, like William O'Farrell, Warner Law, and Margery Finn Brown.
The themes and styles Pronzini alluded to above range from detective stories to psychological suspense, police procedurals, character studies, morality plays, social commentaries, and "gently nostalgic glimpses of the past, even what might be termed an avant-garde literary exercise." If you're looking for a book that provides an overview of the best writing in a variety of short mystery fiction sub-genres from the 20th century, then this is a good place to start.
October 19, 2023
Mystery Melange
Emma Styles won the £10,000 Wilbur Smith adventure writing prize with her "impressive" and "adrenaline-fuelled" debut novel, No Country for Girls. The Thelma and Louise-styled adventure thriller was also shortlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger Award, the Davitt Award for Best Adult Crime Novel, and the Ned Kelly Award for Best Debut Crime Fiction. The annual Prize has three distinct categories designed to provide opportunities to published, unpublished and young writers. It is open to writers of any nationality, writing in English. Across the categories, the Prize received over 1,000 submissions from 67 different countries. (HT to Shots Magazine)
Texas Monthly profiled Houston's Murder by the Book, one of the nation's oldest and largest mystery specialty bookstores, established in 1980 by Martha Farrington and purchased by McKenna Jordan in 2009. The store also hosts bestselling authors on book tours, such as Don Winslow and Lou Berney and has a book subscription service. McKenna Jordan has a theory about the current popularity of crime fiction, or at least of “cozies,” mystery novels that tend to be less explicit and more old-fashioned, in which the nasty stuff occurs off the page. “Sales uptick in more difficult times, when maybe the overall climate that you’re living in is more stressful,” she says.
Speaking of cozies, Jane Sullivan, writing for the Sydney Morning Herald, offered up another opinion piece about whether Richard Osman’s cozy books a boon or disaster for crime fiction (after a BBC editorial expressed the same reservations, which I noted back in September), but the subgenre has been steadily gaining new fans over the past several years. The Critic magazine argued that the cozy side of crime fiction, as reflected in the Golden Age of "traditional" crime stories, was actually more authentic than its “gritty” successors. Meanwhile, Forbes Magazine recently offered up a list of "5 Cozy Mystery Series To Satisfy Your Wanderlust."
A new anthology of crime fiction is raising funds for polio eradication. The idea for the anthology of short stories, published in July 2023 as An Unnecessary Assassin, came to former librarian Lorraine Stevens last year at a literary festival in Yorkshire, England. The project includes stories by Ann Cleeves, Lee Child, David Penny, G.L. Waring, Chris McGeorge, Robert Scragg, F.D. Quinn, Judith O’Reilly, and Jim Taylor. Proceeds will be matched 2-to-1 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
In the Q&A roundup, The Express chatted with Scottish author Val McDermid about her latest novel featuring cold case investigator Karen Pirie; the roots of her tabloid nickname; why Big Daddy might have regretted taking her on; and the vile abuse of women in the public eye. Lisa Haselton interviewed co-authors Breakfield and Burkey (Charles Breakfield and Rox Burkey) about their new technothriller, Enigma Tracer, the first of a planned trilogy in the "Enigma Heirs" series. Victoria Dowd spoke with Crime Time about her novel, Murder Most Cold, inspired by Golden Age Detective novels, Agatha Christie, and locked room mysteries. And The Real Book Spy welcomed New York Times bestselling author Simon Gervais to discuss The Last Guardian, his latest thriller featuring former secret service agent, Clayton White.
Related StoriesMystery Melange
October 16, 2023
Media Murder for Monday
[image error]It's the start of a new week and that means it's time for a brand-new roundup of crime drama news:
THE BIG SCREEN/MOVIES
Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap and Brad Pitt’s Plan B production company are in talks to co-produce a remake of the classic 1934 comedy mystery, The Thin Man, after the rights recently became available. Previously, Rob Marshall and Johnny Depp were set to direct and star, respectively, in a remake, until Warner Brothers scrapped that project in 2012. Based on the Dashiell Hammett crime novel, The Thin Man is a murder mystery about a husband and wife who partner up to find a missing acquaintance, later discovered to be murdered. Directed by W. S. Van Dyke, the 1934 film starred William Powell as husband Nick Charles and Myrna Loy as wife Nora Charles and was nominated for four Academy Awards, including best picture and best actor for William Powell. (It was followed by five sequels.)
James Patterson is teaming up on a novel with the estate of the late author, Michael Crichton, based on an unfinished manuscript by Crichton set to be released by Hachette in June of 2024. The story centers around a once-in-a-century volcano eruption of Hawaii’s Mauna Loa volcano, which threatens a secret cache of chemical weapons that can destroy not only the island but the world. Like Chrichton's Jurassic Park, Eruption is planned to be the first book in a series, and it it's expected that as Deadline states, "we can expect a monster screen auction to erupt early next year."
Jhené Chase has been tapped to direct the forthcoming Christmas serial killer thriller, Santa’s List. Per Deadline: "The film is set in Deep Haven, which is known for its world-renowned Santa Claus festival that keeps the small town alive all year round. But beneath all the Christmas Spirit, tinsel, and lights, there’s a darkness lurking. And this year, the 12 days of Christmas get turned upside down. After the murder of her best friend, big city detective, Eve, is lured back to her hometown to solve the crime. With each passing victim, the killer seems to be closer to home than ever. Will she solve what 'my true love gave to me' before it’s too late or will Santa check the final name off his list?"
Reptile co-stars Alicia Silverstone and Karl Glusman have been set to lead The Bird and the Bee, a sexually charged thriller that marks Justin Kelly‘s third film for Yale Productions. Written by Atlantis actor Jack Donnelly, the film was shot under a SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreement and wrapped production this week. The story follows a successful executive (Silverstone) as she fights back a scorned younger lover (Glusman) who takes his obsession too far.
Taz Skylar is set to co-star opposite Daisy Ridley in the action-thriller, Cleaner, with Martin Campbell directing. The film will shoot at the top of 2024 and falls under the British Equity act allowing it to shoot during the current SAG strike. The story sees radical activists take over an energy company’s annual gala at the Shard – the tallest skyscraper in Western Europe – seizing 300 hostages in order to expose the corruption of the hosts. Their just cause is hijacked by a zealous extremist within their ranks, who is ready to murder everyone in the building to send his anarchic message to the world. It falls to an ex-soldier turned window cleaner, Joey Locke (Daisy Ridley) – suspended 90 stories up on the outside of the building – to save those trapped inside and take down the killers, whilst also finding a way to bring the corrupt energy moguls to justice.
TELEVISION/SMALL SCREEN
Bruna Papandrea‘s Made Up Stories, Erik Feig’s Picturestart, and Fifth Season have acquired the rights to author Jessica Knoll's bestselling thriller novel, Bright Young Women, to develop as a television series. Knoll will pen the adaptation and serve as executive producer. Inspired by real-life events, the novel tells the story of the women whose lives were forever changed by Ted Bundy’s cross-country killing spree. Opening on the night of Bundy’s 1978 attack on a Florida State University sorority house in the early morning hours, the novel follows sorority president Pamela Schumacher as she seeks answers to questions that remain even after four decades. It culminates in a new narrative about the so-called brilliant and charismatic serial killer from Seattle — one that suggests that it was the women whose lives he cut short who were the exceptional ones.
Fox Entertainment has struck a first-of-its-kind drama development deal with a trio of production companies, Eagle Eye, Clapperboard, and Aux Singuliers. With the latter two of those, Clapperboard and Aux Singuliers, Fox is working on Dead Space [working title] from Young Wallander scribe Ben Harris. Grounded in the reality of the current space race, the series attempts to redefine the traditional police procedural as it explores the complex moral, political, and real legal machinations after a murder is committed aboard the International Space Station. It is said to follow in the footsteps of the BBC’s Vigil, which took a similar approach to a murder mystery on a Navy submarine.
CBS Studios is continuing its push into international drama with the Icelandic-based The Darkness. Lena Olin stars as Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir in the series, based on Ragnar Jónasson’s thriller books. It follows Hermannsdóttir as she investigates a shocking murder case while coming to terms with her own personal traumas. Faced with an impending early retirement and forced to take on a new partner, Hulda is determined to find the killer, even if it means putting her own life in danger. Sam Shore (Mystic) will write and Lasse Hallström will direct the six-part drama.
Peacock has renewed the dark comedic thriller series Based on a True Story starring Kaley Cuoco and Chris Messina for a second season. The show is a satire of the true crime genre with elements that are loosely inspired by true events. Season 1 is about Ava (Cuoco) and her husband Nathan (Messina), a down-on-their-luck couple, whose lives collide with an infamous serial killer terrorizing Los Angeles. They seize the unique opportunity to capitalize on America’s obsession with true crime by making a podcast with the killer.
Netflix dropped a new trailer for Bodies, which is based on the mind-bending graphic novel by Si Spencer and described as a police procedural with a twist. When a body – the same body – is found on Longharvest Lane in London’s East End in 1890, 1941, 2023, and 2053, one detective from each period must investigate. As connections are drawn across the decades, the detectives soon discover their investigations are linked, and an enigmatic political leader – Elias Mannix (Stephen Graham) – becomes increasingly central. Did he have a part to play in the murder? Or is something far more sinister at play? To solve the mystery, our four detectives must somehow collaborate and uncover a conspiracy spanning over 150 years. The series also stars Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, Shira Haas, and Amaka Okafo and premieres October 19th.
PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO/AUDIO
On the latest episode of The Red Hot Chili Writers, Vaseem Khan and Abir Mukherjee interviewed historical crime writer, Nev March; discussed the unsolved Bombay Rajabai Clocktower Deaths; and debated research about the happiest times in our lives - and in the lives of orangutans.
On Crime Time FM, Leonora Nattrass chatted with Paul Burke about her historical mystery thriller, Scarlet Town; Laurence Jago; 18th century history; rotten boroughs; and sapient hog.
It Was a Dark and Stormy Book Club spoke with Desmond Ryan, author of the Mary Margaret O'Shea mystery series.
A new Mysteryrat's Maze podcast is up featuring the mystery short story, "The Perfect Patsy," written by Bern Sy Moss and read by actor Jessica Williams.
This week's Pick Your Poison podcast took a look at a poison that makes you mad as a hatter and also its brand-new antidote; and a medicine that comes from a bean used in African witchcraft trials.
Related StoriesMedia Murder for Monday
October 12, 2023
Mystery Melange
The winner of the Petrona Award 2024, announced today, goes to Pascal Engman for Femicide tr. Michael Gallagher (Sweden). The Petrona Award was established to celebrate the work of Maxine Clarke, one of the first online crime fiction reviewers and bloggers, who died in December 2012. Maxine, whose online persona and blog was called Petrona, was passionate about translated crime fiction but in particular that from the Scandinavian countries. The award is open to crime fiction in translation, either written by a Scandinavian author or set in Scandinavia, and published in the UK in the previous calendar year. The other shortlisted authors and titles include Anne Mette Hancock – The Corpse Flower tr. Tara F Chace (Denmark); Håkan Nesser – The Axe Woman tr. Sarah Death (Sweden); Petra Rautiainen – Land of Snow and Ashes tr. David Hackston (Finland); Joachim B Schmidt – Kalmann tr. Jamie Lee Searle (Switzerland); Lilja Sigurðardóttir – Red as Blood tr. Quentin Bates (Iceland); and Gunnar Staalesen – Bitter Flowers tr. Don Bartlett (Norway).
The New England Clam Bake, one of the last mystery writer/fan conferences of the year, is headed to Boston November 10-12. The Guest of Honor this year is Deborah Crombie, with other featured authors to include EA Aymar, Kate Flora, Hallie Ephron, Doug Grad, Naomi Hirahara, Gabino Iglesias, BJ Magnani, Paula Munie, Cythina Pelayo, Barb Ross, and Hank Phillippi Ryan. The interviews and panels will include a mix of virtual online events and in-person events. For more information or to register, follow this link.
A few other one-day conferences of note in November: Men of Mystery returns to Long Beach, California on November 4, with special guests Matthew Quirk, Marc Cameron, Joe Ide, Leslie S. Klinger, and Matt Coyle; and the Midwest Mystery Conference (formerly Murder and Mayhem in Chicago) arrives in the Windy City on November 11. Plus Iceland Noir heads to Reykjavík November 15-18, with a special appearance by Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny (co-authors of State of Terror) on November 19.
CrimeFest, one of Europe’s leading crime writing conventions, is offering a bursary for a crime fiction writer of color to attend its festival next May. The bursary will cover the cost of a full weekend pass to the convention, a night’s accommodation at the Mercure Bristol Grand Hotel, and a guaranteed panel appearance. Eligible authors must have published at least one English language book in traditional print by a British commercial publisher. CrimeFest launched the bursary in 2021 with the first award going to Saima Mir to attend the 2022 convention, for her debut novel, The Khan, which was a Sunday Times Crime Novel of the Year.
James Patterson is once again supporting independent booksellers through his Holiday Bookstore Bonus Program. This year the bestselling author has increased his contribution, pledging $300,000 to be distributed in $500 increments to 600 booksellers from ABA member bookstores. Nominations can be made through an online nomination form that asks the question: "In 250 words or less, why does this bookseller deserve a holiday bonus?" Booksellers can self-nominate to be considered for a bonus, or they can be nominated by bookstore customers, owners, employees, managers, fellow booksellers, publishing professionals, or authors. The deadline to nominate is November 15, with bonuses to be distributed in December.
In the Q&A roundup, Lisa Haselton interviewed thriller author Austin S. Camacho about his new Hannibal Jones Mystery, Subtle Felonies; and Agatha Award-nominee Allison Brook spoke with Writers Who Kill's E.B. Davis about her Haunted Library mysteries.
Related StoriesMystery Melange
October 9, 2023
Media Murder for Monday
[image error]It's the start of a new week and that means it's time for a brand-new roundup of crime drama news:
THE BIG SCREEN/MOVIES
Terence Winter, the master of the gangster genre known for his work on The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire, and more, is teaming up with Academy Award-nominated producer Rachel Winter (Dallas Buyers Club) to develop a feature adaptation of A Murder in Hollywood: The Untold Story of Tinseltown’s Most Shocking Crime. Marking the latest work of non-fiction from New York Times bestselling author Casey Sherman, the book chronicles the deadly love affair between screen legend Lana Turner and her gangster boyfriend, Johnny Stompanato. It will be published through Sourcebooks early next year.
Amazon MGM Studios and Miramax released a trailer for the action film, The Beekeeper, which hits theaters January 12, 2024. It stars Jason Statham as a former operative of a powerful and clandestine organization known as "Beekeepers." He single-handedly takes on a sinister organization that wronged a friend in a series of violent encounters that end up having national stakes. Emmy Raver-Lampman, Josh Hutcherson, Bobby Naderi, Minnie Driver, Phylicia Rashad, and Jeremy Irons also star.
Vertical has picked up domestic distribution rights for Fast Charlie (adapted from Victor Gischler’s thriller novel, Gun Monkeys), a crime caper that stars Pierce Brosnan and also the late James Caan in his final performance. Per the logline, "Charlie Swift [Brosnan] is a fixer with a problem: the thug he’s whacked is missing his head and Charlie will only be paid if the body can be identified. Enter Marcie Kramer [Morena Baccarin], the victim’s ex-wife and a woman with all the skills Charlie needs."
TELEVISION/SMALL SCREEN
Starz has handed an eight-episode series order to the thriller drama, The Hunting Wives, based on the novel by May Cobb, which marks Starz’s first new series pickup since the end of the writers' strike. The Hunting Wives tells the story of Sophie O’Neil and her family’s move from the East Coast to deep-red East Texas, where she succumbs to socialite Margo Banks's irresistible charms—and finds her life consumed by obsession, seduction, and murder.
Boiling Point writer Roanne Bardsley is penning a TV adaptation of the Claire McGowan thriller, What You Did, for the BBC. The book charts the reunion of six university friends together again after 20 years apart. Host Ali finally has the life she always wanted, a career she can be proud of and a wonderful family with her college boyfriend, now husband. But that night her best friend makes an accusation so shocking that nothing will ever be the same again, as she staggers in from the garden, bleeding and traumatized, claiming that she has been assaulted—by Ali’s husband, Mike.
Sky Studios is developing a prequel series to Gomorrah and Romanzo Criminale, two of the most successful Italian TV series of all time. Inspired by Roberto Saviano’s bestseller, the untitled Gomorrah prequel will spotlight the criminal rise of Pietro Savastano, from when he was a kid on the streets to becoming the most important and ruthless mafia boss in Naples. Gomorrah ran for five seasons on Sky between 2014 and 2021, totalling 58 episodes, while a 2008 film of the same name was loosely based on the book. Meanwhile, Romanzo Criminale will focus on the years before the rise of the Banda della Magliana criminal organization, as recounted in the two seasons of the original series. Also on board for the prequel project is the "father" of the historical series, Giancarlo De Cataldo, judge and author of the novel of the same name that inspired the drama.
Hugh Dennis and Kate Robbins have boarded the Channel 4/Starz drama, The Couple Next Door, which stars Sam Heughan and Eleanor Tomlinson. The thriller series follows Tomlinson’s character, Evie, and Pete (Harry Potter star Alfred Enoch), who move into an upscale neighborhood and find themselves in a world of curtain twitching and status anxiety. They find friendship in the shape of the couple next door, alpha traffic cop Danny (Heughan) and his wife, glamorous yoga instructor Becka (Jessica De Gouw), but after Danny and Evie share a passionate night together, there is trouble ahead.
Netflix released a trailer for PLUTO, a murder mystery in a futuristic world where robots and humans have a strained relationship. Based on "The Greatest Robot on Earth" story from the Astro Boy manga, PLUTO follows an inspector, Gesicht (Shinshû Fuji), as he tries to track down a serial killer picking off both robots and humans alike. PLUTO is streaming on Netflix from Oct. 26.
Hulu released a teaser trailer for The Artful Dodger, starring Thomas Brodie-Sangster, David Thewlis, and Maia Mitchell, which is set to premiere Wednesday, November 29. Billed as an irreverent follow-up to Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist, exploring the adult double life of the famous prince of thieves, the series is set in 1850s Australia where Jack Dawkins, aka young rogue The Artful Dodger (Brodie-Sangster), is now all grown up and has transferred his skills as a pickpocket to the nimble fingers of a surgeon. His past returns to haunt him with the arrival of Fagin (Thewlis), luring him back into a world of crime, while the local governor’s daughter (Mitchell), who is determined to become the colony’s first female surgeon, appears to be a greater threat, at least to his heart.
Apple TV+ released a first look at Criminal Record, the streamer's London-set crime thriller series starring Doctor Who alum Peter Capaldi and The Good Fight's Cush Jumbo as detectives in a tug of war over a historic murder conviction. The eight-episode series will launch with the first two episodes on Friday, January 12, 2024, followed by one new episode each Friday through February 23. Criminal Record is described as a powerful, character-driven thriller set in the heart of contemporary London where an anonymous phone call draws two brilliant detectives (Capaldi and Jumbo) into a confrontation over an old murder case.
The official trailer for Black Cake offers a glimpse of a family drama that spans both countries and decades — and involves a murder. Based on the book by Charmaine Wilkerson, the series tells the story of the recently deceased Elanor Bennett, who left her adult children Byron and Benny a USB drive containing information about her past. This causes the pair to discover a wealth of secrets about their mother, starting in late 1960s Jamaica, with a murder, runaway bride, and a mysterious disappearance. Black Cake arrives November 1 on Hulu.
PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO/AUDIO
Lou Berney, author of the award-winning November Road, joined CBS Saturday Morning to discuss his new thriller novel, Dark Ride, which came after years of struggle and tells a new kind of story for him.
The latest episode of The Crime Cafe features Debbi Mack's interview with crime writer Brian Lebeau, whose debut novel is A Disturbing Nature.
On Crime Time FM, Doug Johnstone chatted with Paul Burke about his new novel, The opposite of Lonely; the Skelfs; Sci-Fi; mathematical modelling; and being the writer in residence at a funeral parlor.
It Was a Dark and Stormy Book Club discussed Horror or Spooky reads appropriate for October.
On Spybrary, thriller author Alex Gerlis talked about espionage, WW2, and historical accuracy.
CRIMINAL MISCHIEF: The Art & Science of Crime Fiction, hosted by Dr. DP Lyle, featured a topic of interest to historical crime writers, namely the medical treatments available in Ancient Egypt.
On Writer's Detective Bureau, Detective Adam Richardson answered questions about California’s Alcoholic Beverage Control agency; who investigates murders involving the military; and the surprising limitation on Tribal Police law enforcement powers.
A new episode of Mysterious Journey, a podcast of short radio plays produced by the Artists' Ensemble Theater, features "Poirot and the Body on the Train" (based on Agatha Christie's short story, "The Plymouth Express"). A body is found under a train seat, and Hercule Poirot is called upon to investigate.
The latest Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine podcast featured the story of two former high school football stars who return to their old stomping grounds for a big payday, in Eli Cranor's "Double Fly Rocket 87" from the January/February 2022 issue. Cranor is a former professional football player whose novel Don't Know Tough won the 2023 Edgar Award for Best First Novel.
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October 7, 2023
October 6, 2023
Friday's "Forgotten" Books: Widows Wear Weeds
[image error]Erle Stanley Gardner (1889 – 1970) was an American lawyer and author best known for the Perry Mason series of legal detective stories that spawned a series of Hollywood films of the 1930s; and then a titular radio program, which ran from 1943 to 1955; then finally a long-running CBS-TV series starring Raymond Burr in the title role; and most recently, a series on HBO starring Matthew Rhys.
But Gardner also wrote some shorter pieces and numerous other novels including a two-part series with amateur detective Gramps Wiggins, a two-parter with freelancer Terry Clane, and a longer series with DA Doug Selby. His longest non-Perry Mason series were the thirty novels featuring the mismatched private detective team of Bertha Cool and Donald Lam, written under the pen name of A. A. Fair. A TV pilot was aired in 1958 by CBS, starring former jockey Billy Pearson as Lam and Benay Venuta as Cool, although it was never developed into a series.
Cool is a 60ish, overweight widow who opened her detective agency after the death of her husband in 1936. She has white hair and "greedy piggish eyes," with all the novels agreeing she is extremely avaricious and miserly and isn't overly concerned with ethics, or, as she freely admits, "I'll handle any disbarred lawyer." Her employee, Lam, is a recently suspended attorney who is a bit on the short side (about 5'6", weighs 130 pounds soaking wet) and is a "cocky little bastard" (Gardner once said he was modeled after his literary agent).
[image error]Widows Wear Weeds dates from 1966 and is the twenty-seventh installment in the Cool and Lam series. It starts out with Lam and his secretary, Elsie Brand, enjoying a coffee break when restaurant owner Nicholas Bafflin approaches Lam and wants to hire him to pay off a man who is blackmailing a famous movie star. Lam meets the blackmailer, Starman Calvert, gets the photo negatives and a receipt for the money (a confession), and leaves. Baffin thanks Lam by giving them a free meal, and he invites Sergeant Frank Sellers to join them.
But during the meal, Lam is called to the phone and on his way back to the table has to back up into the curtain for booth 13 in order to let a waitress with a full tray pass him. Soon afterward, when a waitress discovers a murdered man in booth 13, Sgt. Sellers vamooses because he'd been drinking champagne and was on duty, and two eyewitnesses claim they saw Lam exit the murder booth. When the victim is discovered to be the blackmailer, Lam is left as a suspect without Sellers to back him up. As Cool and Lam dig deeper, they aren't entirely sure what Baffin's game really was other than the blackmail scheme was a set up. But why? And why would a man risk his marriage by pretending to be having an affair and being blackmailed? The list of suspects turns out to be pretty long, including desperate waitresses, corrupt politicians, one frantic cop, and the deceased's missing widow.
The book is a fast-moving, quick read, with a lot of humor and snappy, sharp dialogue, or as Kirkus Reviews noted, "Tried and true and tricky."
A fun little note: Erle Stanley Gardner had an amazing sales record. At the height of his popularity in the mid-1960s he was selling an average of 26,000 copies of his novels a day, making him one of the world's best selling author's, easily outstripping at the time Agatha Christie and Barbara Cartland combined.
October 5, 2023
Mystery Melange
This week marks the annual Banned Books Week, launched in 1982 by the American Library Association in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in libraries, bookstores, and schools. There are hundreds, if not thousands of events scattered throughout the U.S. in support of the event, which this year takes on even more urgency in the face of recent politically motivated book bans. Florida implemented more bans than any other state in the country, accounting for more than 40% of all bans in the U.S, and yesterday several authors including Michael Connelly announced a drive to take a stand against censorship in the state's schools and libraries. Connelly, who was raised in Florida, invested $1 million to a new advocacy center PEN America hopes to open in Florida by the end of the year.
The Crime Fiction Lover Awards are back for the third year running, celebrating the best in crime fiction. Readers are encouraged to nominate your favorite books, authors, and shows across six main categories, including Book of the Year, Best Debut, Best in Translation, Best Indie Novel, Best Author, and Best Crime Show. This year will also see the debut of a new award chosen by the editorial team called the Life of Crime Award to an author who has made an outstanding contribution to the genre during their career.
The shortlists were announced for the Wodehouse comic fiction prize, which rewards witty writers with champagne and a pig named after their book. One of this year's contenders is Murder at Crime Manor, by Fergus Craig, a crime fiction parody and the follow-up to his 2021 book, Once Upon a Crime. Craig’s "detective Roger LeCarre is lovable, funny and absurd," said judge and broadcaster James Naughtie. "This book is Wodehousian in spirit and style. You laugh out loud, and you wonder how it is that in a staged country-house setting, where murder is done, you can still care. And then you realise that you’ve enjoyed it. A fictional romp to savour." The winner will be announced in November at a reception in London.
For the first time, Crime Time will bring its no-holds-barred Christmas Debate to a live audience, with Financial Times crime fiction critic and writer Barry Forshaw acting as Master of Ceremonies. The Crime Time Christmas Debate sees reviewers go head-to-head as they battle it out to choose the best crime novel of the year. Initially an online event, this year the illustrious panel will debate their top picks in front of a live audience at Waterstones Islington on November 9th. On the panel are: Guardian crime critic, Laura Wilson; Telegraph book critic, Jake Kerridge; Sunday Express deputy editor and crime fiction critic, Jon Coates; Sunday Times bestselling author and Crime Time FM presenter, Victoria Selman; Shots blog crime critic and festival organizer, Ayo Onatade; critic and ex-CWA Chair, Maxim Jakubowski; and critic and Crime Time FM presenter, Paul Burke. Tickets are £5 and available via this link.
This month marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of the Dorothy L Sayers novel, Whose Body?, which introduced her hero Lord Peter Wimsey, and launched a series of 11 novels that changed the detective genre forever. As The Telegraph noted in its tribute, "Sayers’s enchanted world of Bright Young Things and Bloomsbury Bohemians, a world in which a successful author could afford to take a six-month holiday, is now steeped in nostalgia. But she was also commenting on Britain in the 1930s; she sharply observes the poverty of the era, and the rise of both Communism and Fascism."
First edition crime novels owned by the late Rolling Stones drummer, Charlie Watts, were sold for record prices at auction. They included a first edition of the Sherlock Holmes tale, The Hound Of The Baskervilles, which sold for £214,200, setting a new world auction record for a printed book by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The book was inscribed by a personal message on the title page from Conan Doyle himself, who wrote: "I perambulated Dartmoor before I wrote this book." (Watts lived 10 miles from the location of the book’s Devonshire setting.) Additionally, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s acclaimed novel, The Great Gatsby, first published in 1925, received the highest bid, at £226,800.
In the Q&A roundup, Lisa Haselton interviewed thriller author Val Collins about the newest novel in her Aoife Walsh series, Dying to Tell; and Donna Leon spoke with The Washington Post about how she never planned to write crime fiction, and yet this year published her 32nd mystery novel featuring Venetian police detective Guido Brunetti.
