B.V. Lawson's Blog, page 50

Friday's "Forgotten" Books - The Cape Cod Mystery

At this time of year, my thoughts turn to summer vacations that bubble up from my memories of bygone days. My family always managed to travel somewhere, like the year we made it up to Cape Cod and rented a beach-side cabin. So naturally, a book I came across in the library titled The Cape Cod Mystery by Phoebe Atwood Taylor ended up in my book bag.



Phoebe Atwood Taylor (1909-1976) was born in Boston, the child of Cape Cod natives who were also descendants of Mayflower Pilgrims. After Taylor married a Boston surgeon, they had a summer home on the Cape, which explains why the author would choose that setting for her first novel, published in 1931 when she was all of 22. She puts that inside knowledge to good use in recreating the local culture there in the 1930s and 1940s.



Taylor has my undying respect for her work ethic of writing her novels between midnight and three a.m. after her "housekeeping day" had ended, although her habit of waiting to start a book until three weeks before the publisher's deadline would give me a heart attack. (The Passing Tramp has a nice rundown of her interesting family.)



The Cape Cod Mystery was fairly successful in its day, selling 5,000 copies, and introduced  the "Codfish Sherlock", Asey Mayo, who went on to star in 24 of Taylor's novels. Mayo retired in Cape Cod, following his world travels as a sailor,  to serve as a general assistant to the heir of Porter Motors. He uses his wits and wit to solve murders with the help of a very fast car.



In the novel, the muckraking author, philanderer and occasional blackmailer Dale Sanborn is murdered one hot August weekend, leaving behind a long list of enemies, including an old girl friend, his fiancee, an outraged husband, a long-lost brother and a few more. Asey Mayo gets involved when his friend and mentor Bill Porter is accused of the crime, even though Mayo only has one clue to go on:  a sardine can.



There are a few oddities, such as the narrator being not Mayo but rather Prudence Whitsby, who has a cottage on Cape Cod she shares with her niece and a cook (and also serves as the sight where the victim was murdered). Taylor wrote Mayo with a very heavy Coddish (Codlian?) accent that sometime a bit difficult to wade through, particularly when he's offering up his homespun sayings like "They ain't many whys without becauses."



The earlier Mayo titles are a little darker (it's been suggested this was due to the Depression at the time), but as the series went on, the tone apparently lightened enough that critic Dilys Winn called Taylor "the mystery equivalent to Buster Keaton," and one reviewer added that Asey Mayo does for Cape Cod what Travis McGee does for Southern Florida. Apparently Margaret Mitchell (Gone With the Wind) was even a fan of Taylor's Mayo character, encouraging Taylor to "pack the books with Cape Cod details."



The Cape Cod Mystery has been reissued several times, most recently as part of Otto Penzler's American Mystery Classic series.

          

Canadian Accolades

Crime Writers of Canada (CWC) announced the winners for the 2023 Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing. Since 1984, Crime Writers of Canada has recognized the best in mystery, crime, and suspense fiction, and crime nonfiction by Canadian authors, including citizens abroad and new residents. On behalf of CWC, Hyacinthe Miller, Board Chair, noted that “This year’s Awards of Excellence is the biggest ever, with over 200 entries in ten categories. Our thanks to everyone who entered and our thirty volunteer judges, who adjudicated the submissions.” Congrats to all the winners and finalists!

 

Best Crime Novel - sponsored by Rakuten Kobo, with a $1000 prize: Anthony Bidulka, Going to Beautiful, Stonehouse Publishing

Also nominated:

Linwood Barclay, Take Your Breath Away, William Morrow
Nicole Lundrigan, An Unthinkable Thing, Viking Canada
Catherine McKenzie, Please Join Us, Simon & Schuster Canada
Shelly Sanders, Daughters of the Occupation, HarperCollins Canada

Best Crime First Novel - sponsored by Melodie Campbell, with a $1000 prize: Sam Shelstad, Citizens of Light, TouchWood Editions

Also nominated:

T. Lawrence Davis, The Pale Horse, Friesen Press
Bill Edwards, Killer Time, Friesen Press
Adam Frost, The Damned Lovely, Down and Out Books
M.Z. Urlocker, The Man from Mittelwerk, Inkshares, Inc.

The Howard Engel Award for Best Crime Novel Set in Canada - sponsored by Charlotte Engel and CWC, with a $500 prize: Joanne Jackson, A Snake in the Raspberry Patch, Stonehouse Publishing

Also nominated:

A. J. Devlin, Five Moves of Doom, NeWest Press
S. M. Freedman, Blood Atonement, Dundurn Press
Maureen Jennings, Cold Snap, Cormorant Books
Amy Tector, The Foulest Things, Keylight Books

The Whodunit Award for Best Traditional Mystery - sponsored by Jane Doe, with a $500 prize: Thomas King, Deep House, HarperCollins Canada

Also nominated:

Alice Bienia, Knight in the Museum, Cairn Press
Anne Emery, Fenian Street, ECW Press
Mary Jane Maffini, Death Plans a Perfect Trip, Beyond the Page
Iona Whishaw, Framed in Fire, Touchwood Editions

Best Crime Novella - sponsored by Mystery Magazine, with a $200 prize: Alexis Stefanovich-Thomson, The Man Who Went Down Under, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazines

Also nominated:

M.H. Callway, Amdur's Ghost, In the Spirit of 13,Carrick Publishing
Hilary Davidson, Dangerous to Know, A Grifter's Song Vol. 8, Down & Out Books
Julie Hiner, Dead End Track , Julie Hiner
Matt Hughes, The Emir's Falcon, Shadowpaw Press Premiere

Best Crime Short Story - sponsored by Mystery Magazine, with a $300 prize: Craig H. Bowlsby, The Girl Who Was Only Three Quarters Dead, Mystery Magazine

Also nominated:

M.H. Callway, Must Love Dogs - or You're Gone, Red Dog Press
Blair Keetch, To Catch a Kumiho, In the Spirit of 13, Carrick Publishing
Sylvia Maultash Warsh, The Natural Order of Things, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
Donalee Moulton, Swan Song, Cold Canadian Crime, Crime Writers of Canada

Best French Crime Book (Fiction and Nonfiction): Richard Ste-Marie, Monsieur Hämmerli, Éditions Alire

Also nominated:

Geneviève Blouin, Le Mouroir des anges, Éditions Alire
Isabelle Lafortune, Chaîne de glace, Éditions XYZ
Guillaume Morrissette, Le dernier manège, Saint-Jean éditeur
Suzan Payne, Modus operandi, Éditions Perce-Neige

Best Juvenile or YA Crime Book (Fiction and Nonfiction) - sponsored by Shaftesbury, with a $500 prize: Jo Treggiari, Heartbreak Homes, Nimbus Publishing Limited

Also nominated:

Natasha Deen, Lark Steals the Show , Orca Book Publisher
Marthe Jocelyn, Aggie Morton Mystery Queen: The Seaside Corpse , Tundra Books
H.N. Khan, Wrong Side of the Court , Penguin Teen
Wesley King, Butt Sandwich & Tree , Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

The Brass Knuckles Award for Best Nonfiction Crime Book - sponsored by David Reid Simpson Law Firm, Hamilton, with a $300 prize: Rosemary Sullivan, The Betrayal of Anne Frank: A Cold Case Investigation, HarperCollins Canada

Also nominated:

Michael Arntfield, How to Solve a Cold Case: And Everything Else You Wanted to Know About Catching Killers, HarperCollins Canada
Sharon Anne Cook and Margaret Carson, The Castleton Massacre, Dundurn Press Ltd.
Harley Rustad, Lost in the Valley of Death, Knopf Canada - Penguin Random House Canada
Sarah Weinman, Scoundrel, Knopf Canada - Penguin Random House Canada

The Award for Best Unpublished Manuscript - sponsored by ECW Press, with a $500 prize: Mary Keenan, Snowed

Also nominated:

Jan Garnett, No Safe House
Joanne Kormylo, Two Knots
Joel Nedecky, The Broken Detective
Michael Pennock, The Peaks

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Mystery Melange

The Nebula Awards sponsored by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and celebrating "the writers of the most outstanding speculative fiction," announced this year's winners. There are several titles of note for crime fiction fans among the finalists and winners, including Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk, winner of Best Novella, which is about a magical detective who dives into the affairs of Chicago's divine monsters to secure a future with the love of her life; and "Murder by Pixel: Crime and Responsibility in the Digital Darkness," by S.L. Huang, a finalist in the Best Novelette category. You can check out all the finalists and winners here.

The Chicago Tribune reported that after "more than 30 years of reading books, loving books, selling books, and hosting authors and readers, Centuries & Sleuths Bookstore in Forest Park, Ill., has been put up for sale. Owner Augie Aleksy and his wife are in their 70s and ready for a quieter retirement. He added that the decision was not prompted by any pandemic-related business troubles: "It was surprising, but 2021 was one of the best years we've ever had. A lot of customers bought gift certificates for family and friends. A lot of people were cooped up and doing more reading. There was a real hunger for reading." The bookstore, which has a focus on crime fiction and historical fiction, will remain open while seeking a buyer, with store events scheduled into the summer and beyond.

On May 2, 2023, the Writers Guild of America went on strike, noting that "Writers are facing the most comprehensive assault on compensation and working conditions that they have seen in a generation...The studios have taken advantage of the transition to streaming to underpay entertainment industry workers, including writers in every area of work. Like too many working people across our economy, as corporate profits grow, writers are just not keeping up."  Mystery Writers of America released a statement in solidarity with the WGA that they support the right of writers in all genres to be treated as professionals. "We support our many members who are also WGA members. We stand with the WGA."

The Golden Donut submission deadline has been extended to June 24 due to an online technical glitch. The contest, which is sponsored by the Writers' Police Academy conference, is open to all writers who are tasked with creating a micro-fiction story of exactly 200 words, including the title. Stories are judged by the editors at Bookouture, a division of Hachette UK, with the top five stories to be posted in the fall on The Graveyard Shift blog. Entrants may submit up to three stories per submission fee.

This week's crime poem at the 5-2 Weekly is "Secrets" by Charmaine Arjoonlal.

In the Q&A roundup, Author Interviews chatted with Samantha Jayne Allen, author of the Annie McIntyre Mysteries and the latest installment, Hard Rain; Crime Fiction Lover spoke with Elle Marr about her latest psychological thriller, Lovely Bones; and crime fiction writer Dennis Lehane was interviewed by Boston Magazine about his decade in Hollywood and his first new book in six years.

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Author R&R with Simon Marlowe

British author, Simon Marlowe, often uses the thriller genre to tell stories which combine realism with a blend of the surreal. He published his debut novel, Zombie Park, in 2017, an intense and darkly comic drama set in a dysfunctional psychiatric hospital during the social and economic turmoil of the 1980s. Since then, Simon has published short stories and flash fiction while completing his second novel, The Dead Hand of Dominique. This is a post-Brexit crime thriller that centers on Steven Mason, a young career villain, and his journey through the underbelly of London and Essex searching for answers to his boss’s AWOL mistress and a way out of a heartless world to fulfill his own dreams. Marlowe's latest novel, Medusa and the Devil, continues the adventures of Steve Mason.

In Medusa and the Devil, Essex rogue Steven Mason has decamped to the Mediterranean, to escape his low life gangster world and start afresh. Keeping his head down while still laundering money for his old boss, Steven’s plans go awry when a former associate turns up and asks him to retrieve an unassuming ivory sculpture. As the story unfolds and Steven unexpectedly finds himself embroiled in an illegal immigration case, his attention turns to more pressing issues—being buried six feet under but still breathing.

Simon Marlowe stops by In Reference to Murder to talk about researching and writing the book:

Medusa And The Devil (Pub Cranthorpe Millner 23rd May 2023) is book two of my darkly comic crime thriller trilogy Mason Made, and starts with the protagonist, Steven Mason, six feet under. The only problem is, he’s not dead. And that posed a question for me, one that initiated my first bit of research for this novel: how long can you survive buried alive in a coffin? I won’t spoil the outcome for you, but it is long enough for Steven to tell the story of his latest villainous adventure on a Mediterranean island.

Perhaps the best example I can give regarding my current approach to research and storytelling can be found in a key narrative event in Medusa. I had always envisioned a sea journey for my central characters that was going to be a choppy ride, in part because I’d had such an experience on a catamaran crossing the Med—and that was a vomit fest. What I didn’t know was anything about sailing, and our plucky involuntary sailors needed to sail. I knew this had to sound convincing, because imagination might get me through the storm, but it wouldn’t pass muster with anyone who had a crow’s-nest knowledge of the task of sailing. I read articles about sailing, making notes on the technical side and experiences of navigating storms and capsizing. Once I had enough detail, I could write this section of the novel by blending, or integrating, fact with fiction, the technical with the narrative, so much so that I could even enable the central character to tutor others in how to sail.

However, this approach of research integrated into the storytelling was not on my radar when I started seriously committing to fiction and creative writing. For instance, I did no research for my first novel, Zombie Park (Pub Matador 2017). It was based on my experiences of working in a psychiatric hospital in the mid-1980s. I fictionalized some things, dramatized others, and let loose a few surreal literary flourishes to create a mega-busting epic that was so intense even I struggle to re-read it! It took me seven years to write because I was also learning how to write, having earlier dropped out of my Masters in Creative Writing (there’s probably a good plot there for a self-conscious-author-led murder mystery!)

Anyway, I sold a few copies, and was resolute about using my life experience as the basis for my further fiction. Why? Because the thought of research tended to send shivers down my spine—I had spent far too long in academic study and believed that fiction meant the application of the imagination. It was only through my attempts to produce a second novel that I began to realize that things were not that simple. A failed novel followed next (which will never see the light of day) before I finally reached an understanding of what my creative writing was naturally suited to in terms of genre, and that research was necessary if the narrative required it, and if I wanted authenticity to back up some of the surreal and thematic content.

The Dead Hand of Dominique (Pub Cranthorpe Millner Nov 2021) was the result and is the first novel in this comic crime thriller trilogy. But my approach to research has evolved. I don’t head to the Reading Room at the British Library and emerge months later with a Pukka Pad full of illegible notes. Instead, I search for articles and news stories that give me just enough substance, however tenuous, to hopefully convince the reader that what they are reading is probable, likely, or just about possible. I also like to have sources that can be used to prove that fact is stranger than fiction. I haven’t yet resorted to producing documentary evidence when a reviewer has doubted the integrity of the plot, although I have been tempted. I would also like to add that, in The Dead Hand of Dominique, a process for smuggling illegal immigrants that I had invented without reference to news stories became a news story six months later! ‘Intriguing, don’t you think, Dr Watson…’

Finally, the preparation starts way back. My process of writing a novel does not consist of a eureka moment wherein I bury myself in my author grotto, emerging, bruised and battered, with a literary masterpiece (if only!). There is inspiration, the sparking of ideas, but those ideas take time to brew, ferment and mature. In other words, the process of transforming my ideas into a novel can take months, even years. I use a notebook (one of the few good pieces of advice I gleaned from my creative writing course), so I am constantly jotting down and developing story ideas.

Therefore, for me, the key preparation is thinking.

But not all ideas come to fruition, especially if I think the research required to realize the story is too great. That is where the conflict comes in for me. If there is too much research, and not enough scope for the imagination, I will abandon the project—at least for the time being anyway. As such, I like to believe it is in the hands of the author to convince the reader that a character can commit some egregious act, given certain predispositions and the right circumstances. Also, descriptively, I tend not to spend a lot of time on a murderous act, but I appreciate there is literary mileage in exploring how difficult it can be to murder someone.

That’s not to say I have experience of being overtly murderous. But, as someone who has done far too many jobs, I have had the experience of working with murderers—in a professional sense and not as an accomplice! And the murderers I have come across were all obsessed with their life sentences, perceiving the time they had to spend incarcerated as an injustice. They were generally evasive, with an inability to empathize. And dare I say it, they were also quite boring, ‘trapped people’ who were damaged beyond repair.

And that isn’t very exciting.

Which brings me to one more point I would like to make. Crime thriller authors, and I include myself in this category, make murder interesting. I use it as a vehicle to produce drama, to hopefully say other things that are more important—at least that’s what I try to do.

And with that, I must go and see my neighbour, who has been annoying me about the height of my garden hedge. In fact, I’m just going to take a hammer with me, not to use, of course, but this guy… I mean… he kind of deserves it…

You can learn more about Simon Marlowe and his writing via his website and follow him on various social media platforms. Medusa And The Devil is now available from Cranthorpe Millner Publishers and via all major booksellers.

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Media Murder for Monday

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

Isla Gie (The Sandman) will star alongside Martin Freeman (Sherlock) in the upcoming feature film adaptation of Alan Bradley's bestselling novel, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie: A Flavia de Luce Mystery. Adapted by Susan Coyne, the story follows the adventures of 11-year-old Flavia de Luce (Gie), who is both an amateur detective and an aspiring chemist with a passion for poison. When she discovers a dead body in her family’s decaying British manor house and her father is accused of the murder, Flavia launches her own investigation to uncover family secrets and bring the true murderer to justice. The film will be directed by Emmy and BAFTA-nominated director, Bharat Nalluri (Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day).

American Beauty and The Walking Dead actress, Thora Birch, will make her feature directorial debut on an adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s 2004 crime novel, Mr. Paradise. The works of Leonard (1925-2013), one of the masters of the hard-boiled crime novel, have previously been the inspiration for movies such as Jackie Brown, Get Shorty, Out of Sight, 3:10 to Yuma and the TV series, Justified. The story for Mr. Paradise centers on Kelly, an aspiring model, who witnesses a murder and gets caught in a web of intrigue.

Shia LaBeouf has joined the action thriller, Mace, directed by Jon Amiel from a script by David Chisholm. Mace is the harrowing story of two very different types of cops—a veteran officer Mace (LaBeouf), dangerous and corrupt, and Virgil Woods (Trevor Jackson), a young rookie who believes that he can change the system that fosters cops like Mace from within. It’s inspired by the recent racial injustice on the streets of America, with Woods refusing to be bullied and pitting his principles against the amoral Mace—risking everything to stop Mace from destroying the city by unleashing a gang war to cover up his crimes.

Martin Scorsese and the cast of Killers of the Flower Moon, which is based on David Grann's book of the same name, received a golden reception and enthusiastic standing ovation at the film's premiere at Cannes. The real-life story chronicles members of the Osage Native American tribe in Oklahoma in the 1920s, who are murdered after oil is found on their land, prompting the FBI to investigate.

TELEVISION/STREAMING

The story of the horrific murders of four students in the Idaho college town of Moscow in November 2022 is in the works for the page and the small screen. Bestselling author, James Patterson, and award-winning journalist, Vicky Ward, are teaming up on a nonfiction book about the crime, and Skydance Television is optioning the rights to the book for development as a docuseries. The book, which does not yet have a title or release date, will be published by Little Brown and Company, which stated that Patterson and Ward will give a dramatic account of the murders and the investigation of suspect, Bryan Kohberger. Patterson and Ward will draw from dozens of exclusive interviews, extensive on-the-ground reporting, upcoming court transcripts, and also will attend Kohberger’s trial. Kohberger was indicted last week on burglary and four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, and Kaylee Goncalves.

ABC has handed a series order to Drew Goddard’s pilot, High Potential, starring Kaitlin Olson. The drama is based on the popular French detective series HIP (High Intellectual Potential) and follows Morgan (Olson), a single mom with three kids and an exceptional mind, who helps solve an unsolvable crime when she rearranges some evidence during her shift as a cleaner for the police department. When they discover she has a knack for putting things in order because of her high intellectual potential, she is brought on as a consultant to work with a by-the-book seasoned detective Karadec (Daniel Sunjata), and together they form an unusual and unstoppable team. The series also stars Javicia Leslie as Daphne, Deniz Akdeniz as Lev "Oz" Osman, Amirah J as Ava, Matthew Lamb as Elliot, and Judy Reyes as Selena.

FX has announced the summer premiere dates for some of its most critically-beloved shows including the return of Justified: City Primeval on July 18, with Timothy Olyphant returning as Rayland Givens. Having left the hollers of Kentucky fifteen years ago, Givens now lives in Miami, a walking anachronism balancing his life as a U.S. marshal and part-time father of a 15-year-old girl. A chance encounter on a desolate Florida highway sends him to Detroit where he crosses paths with Clement Mansell, a/k/a The Oklahoma Wildman, a violent, sociopathic desperado who’s already slipped through the fingers of Detroit’s finest once and aims to do so again. Mansell’s lawyer, formidable Motor City native, Carolyn Wilder, has every intention of representing her client, even as she finds herself caught between cop and criminal, with her own game afoot as well. These three characters set out on a collision course in classic Elmore Leonard fashion, to see who makes it out of the City Primeval alive.

PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO/AUDIO

A new Mysteryrat's Maze Podcast is up featuring the prologue and first chapter of Last Liar Standing by Danielle Wong, as read by actor Molly Heng.

Read or Dead regular host, Kendra Winchester, and special guest Liberty Hardy, discussed mysteries and thrillers for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month 2023.

On the Crime Writers of Color podcast, Robert Justice interviewed Cheryl Head, author of the Charlie Mack Motown Mysteries and her new standalone novel, Time’s Undoing.

On the All About Agatha podcast, co-hosts Jenni Bishop, Tina Hodgkinson, and Emma (last name withheld) stopped by for a discussion about ableism in Agatha Christie's novels.

On Crime Time FM, Tim Weaver (the David Raker series) and Heather Critchlow (Unsolved) joined Victoria Sellman to discuss the topics of missing persons in crime fiction and going off the grid.





There's a new podcast titled Pick Your Poison, hosted by "JP," an ER doctor and toxicologist with a passion for poisons. She’s been interviewed as a toxicology expert for television, online, radio, and print media. Her work ranges from cocaine, sports supplements, internal concealment of drugs for smuggling, to suicide, and has been recognized both nationally and internationally.

THEATRE

A Nancy Drew musical adaptation, Nancy Drew and the Mystery at Spotlight Manor, is in development, featuring music by Tony, Emmy, Grammy, and Oscar winner Alan Menken, lyrics by Tony nominee Nell Benjamin (Legally Blonde; Mean Girls), and a book by two-time Oscar winner Sarah Kernocha. Three-time Tony winner and Pulitzer Prize recipient, James Lapine, will direct. Lapine said, "After 175 Nancy Drew mysteries that span from her small town of River Heights to exotic locales around the world, the teen detective is about to tackle perhaps the most exotic locale of all to her: a musical theatre camp, Spotlight Manor. Alan, Nell, Sarah, and I have been having a ball letting Nancy and her pals take to the stage and sing for the first time." (HT to Shelf Awareness)

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Friday's "Forgotten" Books - Fool's Gold

Edward John "Ted" Wood, was born in Sussex, England in 1931 and served in the RAF following the Second World War. In 1954 he emigrated to Canada and was a Toronto police officer for three years before switching to advertising and copyrighting. The dual law enforcement/writing experience prompted him to pen several published crime fiction (and non-genre) short stories and a teleplay.



His first novel was Dead in the Water in 1984, a police procedural that won the Scribner's Crime Novel Award and was a finalist for the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel. It was the first of what became a series featuring policeman Reid Bennett, an ex-marine and Vietnam vet, who relocated to the small fictional Canadian resort town of Murphy's Harbour after he took a bad rap for murdering two guys to prevent a rape. He's aided by his trusty German Shepherd, Sam, who serves as companion and protector.



In Fool's Gold, the fourth novel in the series (also nominated for an Arthur Ellis Award), gold found in the mountains of Canada prompts a sudden influx of prospectors, chopper pilots, construction workers and drifters, all hoping to get rich quick. It also brings the dead body of geologist Jim Prudhomme, who's found mauled beyond recognition presumably by a bear, even though bear attacks in that area are rare. But the mystery increases when a witness claims to have seen Prudhomme days after the murder, and then Prudhomme turns up dead for real. As Bennett digs deeper, he doesn't discover gold but rather a plot to defraud the gold mine. With the help of the local police chief out for one last big case and a beautiful motel keeper with secrets of her own, Bennett races to get to the bottom of the scheme, dodging blackmailers, vengeful miners, and a mounting body count.

 

A tendency to skirt the rules makes Bennett take chances that aren't always credible, but Woods' plots are known for their many twists and turns, and also witty dialogue and elements of suspense. Fans of the series are particularly fond of Sam, who Publisher's Weekly described as "…a multi-talented utility infielder who can 'keep,' 'track,' 'seek,' 'fight,' 'guard,' sniff out cocaine and corpses, save lives and generally pinch-hit for a dozen patrolmen."



Woods went on to write 10 Bennett novels in all (from 1984 to 1995) and three novels featuring private eye John Locke from 1986 to 1991 (written under the pen name Jack Barnao). Woods also also served as president of the Crime Writers of  Canada from 1987 to 1988.

          

Mystery Melange

The British Book Awards, or "Nibbies," were handed out this week. The Crime and Thriller Book of the Year was won by Janice Hallett’s The Twyford Code, in which a teacher's former pupil tries to find out why the teacher disappeared after finding a secret code in a famous children’s author’s work. The other finalists included Bamburgh by LJ Ross; Murder Before Evensong by Reverend Richard Coles; The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman; The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley; and Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister.

This past Saturday, Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore of San Diego, California, celebrated 30 years of "magic, martians, and mayhem, embracing the store's history while celebrating the future."  Festivities included author panels on the importance of independent bookstores and on genre fiction; a story time; games; and of course, cake. The store is also offering 30th anniversary mugs, tote bags, T-shirts, and sweaters. (HT to Shelf Awareness)

The "Noir at the Terroir" event will be held June 9 at the Valley Road Vineyards, 9264 Critzers Shop Road, in Afton, Virginia. Wine by the glass and bottle will be available for purchase, and you can bring a picnic supper or order pizza from Sal's of Crozet by calling 540-456-6350 on June 8. Authors scheduled to read from their works include Paul Awad, Matthew Iden, Kristin Kisska, Lisa Nanni-Messegee, Adam Meyer, Kathryn O'Sullivan, and Josh Pachter.

The Sisters in Crime's Innocence Project Auction begins today, and if you haven't already headed on over to check out the offerings, you can follow this link and bid through May 21. The project hopes to raise $35,000 "to restore freedom for the innocent, transform the systems responsible for their unjust incarceration, and advance the innocence movement."

China Daily brings word that the National Museum of Classic Books in Beijing is hosting an exhibition on Sherlock Holmes until November 2. Authorized by The Conan Doyle Estate, the exhibition includes crime scenes from the Holmes canon and a late-19th-century Chinese newspaper that printed Holmes tales translated into Chinese. According to Gu Heng, director of the National Library of China's exhibition department, the library has in its collections many versions of the Holmes books. These include early English, Chinese from different eras, as well as Japanese and French versions, a number of which can be seen at the exhibition. (HT to The Bunburyist)

Agatha Christie's Burgh Island in South Devon, where the author wrote several novels (and The Beatles also stayed), can be yours for the sum of £15 million (about $18.7 million US). Described as "the best hotel west of The Ritz" by its current owner, Giles Fuchs, the island served as a writer’s retreat where Dame Agatha was inspired to write And Then There Were None and Evil Under The Sun.

Can You "Match The Mystery Novel to Its Opening Line?" Try this fun little quiz from BookRiot.

This week's crime poem at the 5-2 Weekly is "Hawk's Day in Court" by Peggy Landsman.

In the Q&A roundup, Public Radio East chatted with journalist Tim Rodriguez about his new mystery novel, Never is Now; and author Michelle Gagnon spoke with The Nerd Daily about her latest novel, Killing Me, along with inspiration, writing, and much more.

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Author R&R with Verlin Darrow

Verlin Darrow is a psychotherapist who lives with his psychotherapist wife in the woods near the Monterey Bay in northern California. They diagnose each other as necessary. Verlin is a former professional volleyball player (in Italy), unsuccessful country-western singer/songwriter, import store owner, and assistant guru in a small, benign spiritual organization. He has also turned his hand to writing crime fiction, with his latest title just released, Murder for Liar.

In Murder for Liar, private investigator-turned-psychotherapist Tom Dashiel doesn’t know it yet, but he’s hurtling towards discovering where his threshold lies—the point of no return for his sanity.  So begins a surreal spiral when George Arundel enters Tom’s Santa Cruz office on a Tuesday afternoon in April. To say George Arundel is a puzzle is an understatement:  the local psychiatrist who referred Arundel to Tom described him—rather astutely—as "a substantial challenge."  Working to treat the enigmatic Arundel, Tom soon realizes he has been tasked to treat a client unlike any he’s ever encountered.

But how is George Arundel related to the uncanny coincidences Tom begins to encounter?  Are these mere coincidences…or something else?  Could a young woman named Zig-Zag really be an angel?  How could a dog—a rather cute one at that—reveal one of the most important clues? What’s the deal with that alluring, albeit mercurial, woman named Dizzy?  And what’s Arundel’s connection to the escalating spate of unsolved murders plaguing the typically calm but always colorful Santa Cruz community? Swept up in a perilous world where nothing is as it seems, Tom struggles to make sense of the decidedly dangerous, downright deadly scheme in which he has somehow unwittingly become a key player. Tom is about to discover that in this treacherous reality, the truth is far, far stranger than fiction…but the real danger is not knowing which is which. 

Verlin Darrow stops by In Reference to Murder to talk about writing the book:

 

My need to research/prepare/plan varies a great deal from book to book. In general, as a distinctly seat of the pants writer, my plots flow after an initial notion or two occurs to me. And the characters say or do what they will, usually guided by God knows what. My first drafts are mostly comprised of dialogue and plot, so I need to add description, inner monologues, and all the rest later.

About a quarter of my projects have legs and make it past the first fifty pages, and all the early chapters need major revising. So this is a hit or miss process for me. When it hits, then research and preparation sometimes comes into play. Or not.

In my latest mystery novel, for example—Murder For Liar—the protagonist is a psychotherapist in Santa Cruz, California. So am I. Almost all the dialogue in sessions, especially with the bizarre client who draws Tom Dashiel into a baffling conspiracy, is drawn from my actual experience. Minus the murders, I have worked with some unusual, difficult to help clients in a variety of settings. Who would believe that someone would be deathly afraid of walking under trees because a bat might be in one, and it might be rabid, and it might drool, and the drool might fall into the client’s mouth? I’m not making that up. I wish I were for my client’s sake.

In this and other challenging therapy sessions, I know what went through my mind, so I’m able to realistically get into the head of the first person protagonist. I’m glad I’m not actually him—that our similarities as people are superficial now. But his depression, alienation, and cluelessness—his starting point in the book before he begins to transform—were the cornerstones of my much younger self. I believe I can accurately convey what it’s like to have these problems as well. So I didn’t need to do research about these central elements of my book.

Without divulging too much of the twisting mystery, I feel comfortable writing that some of the characters espouse eccentric, mystical spiritual beliefs, which drive their behaviors. Once again, for better or worse in this case, I can draw from personal experience to give the reader an authentic feel for dealing with these folks.

Quite a few years ago, after several years as a spiritual seeker and a pilgrimage around the world, I helped found a small, relatively benign cult, serving as the assistant guru—running a branch office, if you will. Ironically, when the head of our group sent me to graduate school to become a therapist, I learned that he had a delusional disorder, and I graduated myself and all the other members back into the world.

I think another author would’ve needed to do a great deal of research about the psychology of zealots, and how they speak about what they believe. I guess this is a case of my writing what I know. One of the reasons I chose to do this is that I consider my expertise in these arenas to be relatively rarified in the author world. I don’t mean to imply it’s better or any more valuable—just less common.

Of course, the meat and potatoes of a mystery is the mystery itself, and here’s where I needed to start googling like mad. I needed to be well-schooled in means, motive, and opportunity to create believable action. I never worked with murderers as either a therapist or a spiritual teacher. If I was going to imagine one (or more than one—no giveaways here), that character(s) needed to match up with reality. I also needed to look up hallucinogenics, a specific medical condition, angel and demon names, an arcane book, and several other details essential to the plot.

Here’s part of the blurb for Murder For Liar: “Private investigator-turned-psychotherapist Tom Dashiel doesn’t know it yet, but he’s hurtling towards discovering where his threshold lies—the point of no return for his sanity.”

Pushed to his limits, Tom has to learn how to accommodate all sorts of intense, confusing experiences in order to survive. So like most books, there’s an arc of change—how and why does the main character change because of what happens? In my case, letting readers such as my wife and others examine my ms helps a lot to ascertain if I’ve done a good job with this. Does Tom seem different as the novel progresses? Are the changes believable? Putting your self in his shoes—as authors must—can you see yourself responding similarly? Believability is essential in a mystery, especially one with an outlandish plot. It’s very challenging to know how a reader will experience the plot twists, the choices various characters make, and the solution to the mystery. So I needed outside eyes.

What else do I have to share? I guess I would add that over-preparing can be a problem, stifling the free flow of ideas, however misguided or inaccurate they might be. I find that writing something and then fixing it later works much better than halting my word production to delve into the real story about something. Almost everything can be fixed later if you can put aside your ego and let go of the original version you’ve created. Occasionally, I’ve had to toss entire sections of a ms because they just didn’t make sense in the light of day—and the glow of Google on my iMac. That wasn’t fun, but it also wasn’t any sort of tragedy.

The  main thing I’ve learned is that everyone has his or her own process—whether it’s about writing, grieving, or anything else. Some authors research and plan a lot. Some don’t. Once you discover what works for you, trust it. Second-guessing or comparing your process to others’ when you’ve got something that works is counterproductive.

Thank you for the opportunity to share all this.

 

You can learn more about Darrow and his books via his website and follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads. Murder for Liar is now available via and all major booksellers.

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Media Murder for Monday

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

Nicolas Cage and writer-director, Andrew Niccol, are set to re-team with Vendôme Pictures (the Academy Award winning studio behind CODA), on Lords of War, a sequel to the 2005 crime thriller, Lord of War, which starred Cage as Yuri Orlov, a composite character based on numerous arms dealers. In Lords of War, Yuri Orlov (Cage), the world’s most notorious gunrunner, discovers he has a son, Anton (Bill Skarsgård), who isn’t trying to right his father’s wrongs — he’s trying to top them. Not only selling guns but the "trigger pullers" too, Anton is amassing a mercenary army to fight America’s Middle East conflicts. This is the story of Yuri and Anton’s bitter rivalry — even at odds over the same woman. Who will prevail when father and son go to war?

Idris Elba is set to star in, produce, and direct the action-thriller, Infernus. Elba will play Donovan Kamara, a U.N. human rights activist sent to investigate reports of refugees being illegally detained inside a U.S. black site prison. A seemingly simple task turns deadly when the world’s most dangerous inmates break free. Kamara must work to safely extricate the refugees, all while going head-to-head with a brilliant criminal mastermind. Based on a story by Tom Boyle and screenplay by Robert Mark Kamen, the film is due to go into production on October 9th in London. While most filming will be done in London, additional principal photography will take place in the new TD Akuna Studios in Ghana,

Star Wars actor, Daisy Ridley, is set to star in the action-thriller, Cleaner, from Casino Royale and Golden Eye filmmaker, Martin Campbell. The timely action-thriller, set in present-day London, will see 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.

Mel Gibson is returning to the director’s chair for the first time since 2016 Oscar winner Hacksaw Ridge with Flight Risk, which will star Oscar nominee, Mark Wahlberg. Based on Jared Rosenberg’s 2020 Blacklist script, the film will see Wahlberg play a pilot transporting a dangerous criminal for trial. Additional casting is underway. 

TELEVISION/STREAMING

CBS has ordered three new series from this year’s crop of pilots, including two crime dramas, Elspeth and Matlock, the latter of which is a reboot of the classic series that starred Andy Griffith. In the new Matlock project, Kathy Bates stars as brilliant septuagenarian Madeline Matlock, who after achieving success in her younger years, rejoins the work force at a prestigious law firm where she uses her unassuming demeanor and wily tactics to win cases and expose corruption from within. The cast also includes Skye P. Marshall as Olympia, Jason Ritter as Julian, David Del Rio as Billy, and Leah Lewis as Sarah. In Elsbeth, Carrie Preston returns as Elsbeth Tascioni (The Good Wife). After her successful career in Chicago, the astute but unconventional attorney utilizes her singular point of view to make unique observations and corner brilliant criminals alongside the NYPD. Wendell Pierce also stars as Captain CW Wagner, with Carra Patterson as Officer Kaya.

Fans of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan will be happy to hear the premiere date was announced for the fourth season of the popular Prime Video series starring John Krasinski, although season 4 will be the shortest, consisting of six episodes to be released two at a time starting on June 30, leading to the series finale on July 14. The fourth and final season of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan finds the titular character on his most dangerous mission yet: facing an enemy both foreign and domestic. As the new CIA Acting Deputy Director, Jack Ryan is tasked with unearthing internal corruption, and in doing so, uncovers a series of suspicious black ops that could expose the vulnerability of the country. The series also stars Wendell Pierce as James Greer, Michael Kelly as Mike November, and Betty Gabriel as CIA Acting Director Elizabeth Wright, with Abbie Cornish returning as Cathy Mueller. Joining the cast this season are Michael Peña as Domingo Chavez and Louis Ozawa as Chao Fah.

There's good news and bad news for Walker fans: The CW has given a 13-episode Season 4 order to Walker, starring Jared Padalecki, to air in 2023-24 broadcast season. However, the network also canceled the Walker prequel, Walker Independence after only one season. The former is a re-imagining of the popular CBS drama Walker, Texas Ranger, and centers on Cordell Walker (Padalecki), a widower and father of two with his own moral code who returns home to Austin after being undercover for two years, only to discover there’s harder work to be done at home. The prequel is set in the late 1800s and follows an affluent Bostonian named Abby Walker (Katherine McNamara), whose husband is murdered in front of her while on their trek out West. Consumed by a need for vengeance, Abby crosses paths with Hoyt Rawlins (Matt Barr), described as a "lovable rogue in search of a purpose," and the pair soon find themselves in Independence, Texas, where they encounter a diverse and eclectic cohort of citizens hiding from their demons and chasing their dreams, all while becoming agents of change themselves in the small town.

CBS cancelled S.W.A.T., and then, after a successful social media campaign by lead actor, Shemar Moore, CBS un-cancelled the show. Moore expressed frustration via his IG account that CBS had promised the show would "have time to say goodbye." The drama was then picked up for 13 more episodes, which will give Moore’s Hondo and crew a chance to say farewell to their devoted fans.

CBS is axing freshmen crime dramas East New York and True Lies after one season. The CBS dramas’ Season 1 finales will now mark the end of both shows, airing Sunday, May 14, and Wednesday, May 17, respectively. East New York followed the officers and detectives of the NYPD’s 74th precinct in Brooklyn, headed up by Deputy Inspector Regina Haywood, the newly promoted commanding officer. True Lies, a reboot of the successful film from James Cameron, revolved around a suburban housewife who discovers her computer consultant husband is an international spy, a discovery that sets them on a path to save the world and their marriage.

The CW has picked up both seasons of 61st Street, the dramatic thriller starring Courtney B. Vance and Aunjanue Ellis, in partnership with AMC Networks, which canceled the series amid the company’s cost-cutting drive in January. Season 1 will air at its new home this fall followed by its sophomore season in 2024. 61st Street tells the story of Moses Johnson (Tosin Cole), a promising Black high school athlete who is swept up into the infamously corrupt Chicago criminal justice system. Taken by the police as a supposed gang member, he finds himself in the eye of the storm as cops and prosecutors seek revenge for the death of an officer during a drug bust gone wrong. The AMC Studios series also stars Mark O’Brien, Holt McCallany, Tosin Cole, Andrene Ward-Hammond, and Bentley Green.

A trailer was released for the popular PBS crime drama, Grantchester, which is set to return for an eighth season on MASTERPIECE PBS, premiering Sunday night, July 9th at 9/8c. The six new episodes of Grantchester will range from Speedway to spies, exploring the lives of invisible women and the very visible problems caused by Leonard's new vocation which may, once again, find him battling the law. Exploring faith, forgiveness, and redemption – this explosive series tests Will and Geordie to the limit.

AMC has released a teaser trailer for the second season of Dark Winds, based on the Leaphorn & Chee crime fiction series by Tony Hillerman. In the new season, Lt. Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) reunites with Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon), his former deputy turned private eye when their separate cases bring them together in pursuit of the same suspect. Jessica Matten returns as Sgt. Manuelito. Guest stars include Jeri Ryan (Star Trek: Picard) and Nicholas Logan (Dopesick). 

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The Crème de la crème at CrimeFest

The winners of the 16th CrimeFest awards, honoring the best crime books released in the UK last year, were revealed at a ceremonial dinner tonight as part of the annual crime fiction festival in Bristol, UK. Congratulations to all the winners and the nominees!

Specsavers Debut Crime Novel Award: A Flicker in the Dark, by Stacy Willingham (HarperCollins)

Also nominated:

A Good Day to Die, by Amen Alonge (Quercus)
Bad for Good, by Graham Bartlett (Allison & Busby)
The Maid, by Nita Prose (HarperCollins)
Ashes in the Snow, by Oriana Rammuno, translated by Katherine Gregor (HarperCollins)
Kalmann, by Joachim B. Schmidt, translated by Jamie Lee Searle (Bitter Lemon)
Dirt Town, by Hayley Scrivenor (Macmillan)
The Siege, by John Sutherland (Orion)

eDunnit Award (digital books): The Book of the Most Precious Substance, by Sara Gran (Faber and Faber)

Also nominated:

The Cliff House, by Chris Brookmyre (Abacus)
Desert Star, by Michael Connelly (Orion)
The Botanist, by M.W. Craven (Constable)
 Heart Full of Headstones, by Ian Rankin (Orion)
Nine Lives, by Peter Swanson (Faber and Faber)

H.R.F. Keating Award (biographical or critical book): The Life of Crime: Detecting the History of Mysteries and Their Creators, by Martin Edwards (Collins Crime Club)

Also nominated:

The Bloomsbury Handbook to Agatha Christie, by J.C. Bernthal and Mary Anna Evans (Bloomsbury Academic)
A Private Spy: The Letters of John le Carré, 1945-2020, by John le Carré, edited by Tim Cornwell (Viking)
Simenon: The Man, The Books, The Films, by Barry Forshaw (Oldcastle)
Gender Roles and Political Contexts in Cold War Spy Fiction,
by Sian MacArthur (Palgrave Macmillan)
Agatha Christie: A Very Elusive Woman, by Lucy Worsley (Hodder & Stoughton)

Last Laugh Award (for the best humorous crime novel): Bryant & May’s Peculiar London, by Christopher Fowler (Doubleday)

Also nominated:

The Locked Room, by Elly Griffiths (Quercus)
Bad Actors, by Mick Herron (Baskerville)
Hope to Die, by Cara Hunter (Viking)
Mr. Campion’s Mosaic, by Mike Ripley (Severn House)
The Moose Paradox, by Antti Tuomainen (Orenda)

Thalia Proctor Memorial Award for Best Adapted TV Crime Drama: Slow Horses (seasons 1 and 2), based on the books by Mick Herron. Produced by See-Saw. Shown on Apple TV+.

Also nominated:

Babylon Berlin (series 4), based on the books by Volker Kutscher. Produced by X-Filme Creative Pool, ARD Degeto Film, Beta Film, Sky Deutschland, Westdeutscher Rundfunk. Shown on Sky Atlantic.
Grace (series 2), based on the books by Peter James. Produced by ITV Studios. Shown on ITV.
Karin Pirie, based on the books by Val McDermid. Produced by ITV Studios. Shown on ITV.
Magpie Murders, based on novel by Anthony Horowitz. Produced by Britbox and Eleventh Hour Films. Shown on BritBox.
Reacher, based on the books by Lee Child. Produced by Amazon Studios, Blackjack Films, Paramount Television, and Skydance Television. Shown on Amazon Prime.
Shetland (season 7), based on the books by Ann Cleeves. Produced by Silverprint Pictures. Shown on BBC.
Vienna Blood (season 3), based on the books by Frank Tallis. Produced by Endor Productions, Seven.One Studios. Shown on BBC.

Best Crime Fiction Novel for Children (aged 8-12): The Good Turn, by Sharna Jackson (Puffin)

Also nominated:

A Girl Called Justice: The Spy at the Window, by Elly Griffiths (Quercus Children’s Books)
Where Seagulls Dare: A Diamond Brothers Case, by Anthony Horowitz (Walker)
Spark, by M.G. Leonard (Walker)
The Ministry of Unladylike Activity, by Robin Stevens (Puffin)
Alice Éclair, Spy Extraordinaire! A Recipe for Trouble, by Sarah
Todd Taylor (Nosy Crow)

Best Crime Fiction Novel for Young Adults (aged 12-16): Five Survive, by Holly Jackson (Electric Monkey)

Also nominated:

Needle, by Patrice Lawrence (Barrington Stoke)
The Butterfly Assassin, by Finn Longman (Simon & Schuster Children’s)
Truth or Dare, by Sophie McKenzie (Simon & Schuster Children’s)
I Must Betray You, by Ruta Sepetys (Hodder Children’s Books)
The Notorious Scarlett and Browne, by Jonathan Stroud (Walker)

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