B.V. Lawson's Blog, page 54

Mystery Melange

The shortlists for this year’s British Book Awards or "Nibbies" (administered by The Bookseller) have been announced, including those in the Crime & Thriller category: Bamburg by L.J. Ross; Murder Before Evensong by Reverend Richard Coles; The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman; The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley; The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett; and Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister. Winners will be announced on Monday, May 15, both in person and streamed live online.

Martin Edwards, the CWA Diamond Dagger-winning author of the Lake District Mysteries, as well as other novels and nonfiction works such as The Golden Age of Murder, , named for the past president of the Popular Culture Association (PCA). Presented by the PCA, the prize honors "'outstanding contributions to the serious study of mystery, detective, and crime fiction." Previous winners include Professor Doug Greene, Janet Rudolph of Mystery Readers International, P.D. James, H.R.F. Keating, and Julian Symons.

The inaugural Hamptons Mystery & Crime Festival (a/k/a Hamptons Whodunit), debuts April 13–16 in the Village of East Hampton, New York, led by founding Honorary Co-Chairs Alafair Burke and A. J. Finn. There will be a packed schedule of panels including Q&As with Guests of Honor, Anthony Horowitz and Michael Connelly, as well as book signings, the "The Goody Garlick" Tour, a Hamptons Crime Scenes Bus Tour, Free Escape Rooms, a Forensics World-sponsored realistic simulated crime scene challenge, and much more. For information, check out the event's official website.

Good news for book lovers: According to a Forbes Advisor analysis, based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Google Trends, bookstores are projected to be the most recession-proof type of U.S. business in 2023, followed by PR firms, interior design services, staffing agencies, and marketing consulting services.

This week's crime poem at the 5-2 weekly is "A Few Small Nips" by Jennifer Lagier.

In the Q&A roundup, Ann Cleves, creator of Vera Stanhope, Jimmy Perez, and Matthew Venn crime fiction series (all of which have been turned into TV productions) stopped by the Crime Fiction Lover blog to chat about her latest installment in the Vera series, The Rising Tide; crime writer Lynda La Plante opened up to The Express about turning 80 and why she's not ready to retire quite yet; and the Austin Mystery Writers chatted with prolific and award-winning crime short story writer, John M. Floyd.

          

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

Nathalie Emmanuel (Game of Thrones) is set to join the cast of the crime drama, The Killer, and will star opposite Omar Sy in a leading role. The two are headlining the reimagining of the 1989 John Woo film, which the director is returning to helm and produce. The original film starred Chow Yun Fat and follows an assassin who takes one last assignment in order to use his earnings to pay for the surgery that will restore the sight of a singer he blinded. The screenplay was penned by writing partners Matthew Stuecken and Josh Campbell, as well as Eran Creevy and Brian Helgeland.

Tyrese Gibson (The Fast and Furious franchise) and Harvey Keitel (Reservoir Dogs) have signed on to star in the action thriller, The Wrecker, currently shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada. Filmmaker Art Camacho is directing from an original screenplay by Niko Foster, who also stars in the film. The plot follows a dishonorably discharged ex-marine named Tony, now turned car mechanic, whose life takes an unexpected turn when his reckless brother makes a bad decision gaining the unwanted attention of a notorious crime boss.

RLJE Films has acquired the psychological thriller, Sympathy for the Devil, and will distribute the film in North America, the U.K., Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, with a release date set for July 28, 2023. Starring Nicolas Cage and Joel Kinnaman, the project tells the story of a man (Kinnaman) who is forced at gunpoint to drive a strange passenger (Cage) in a game of cat and mouse where everything is not as it seems. Yuval Adler (Bethlehem; The Operative) directed from a debut script by Luke Paradise.

TELEVISION/STREAMING

Viaplay has found its Inspector Rebus for the latest adaptation based on author Sir Ian Rankin's novels. Outlander star, Richard Rankin (no relation to the author), will play the lead in the Nordic streamer’s debut UK original, titled Rebus. Richard Rankin follows in the footsteps of fellow Scottish actors John Hannah and Ken Stott, who led the ITV version 20 years ago. Viaplay’s reboot, which is planned as a returning series and will soon unveil more of the cast, follows 40-year-old Inspector John Rebus at a psychological crossroads following an altercation with an infamous Edinburgh gangster. At odds with a job increasingly driven by technocrats, involved in a toxic affair he knows he needs to end, and all but supplanted in his daughter’s life by his ex-wife’s wealthy new husband, Rebus begins to wonder if he still has a role to play – either as a family man or a police officer.

Newly minted Oscar winner Ed Berger, director, co-writer and producer of All Quiet On the Western Front, is set to direct and executive produce Helltown, currently in development at Amazon. Oscar Isaac is in discussions to lead the series. According to the logline, the hour-long, eight-episode crime thriller follows the life of Kurt Vonnegut before he became known to the world as a renowned author. Per Amazon, "In 1969 Kurt was a struggling novelist and car salesman living life with his wife and five children on Cape Cod. When two women disappear and are later discovered murdered underneath the sand dunes on the outskirts of Provincetown, Kurt becomes obsessed and embroiled in the chilling hunt for a serial killer and forms a dangerous bond with the prime suspect." Based on the book of the same name written by Casey Sherman, the series comes from Severance co-Executive Producer, Mohamad El Masri, who will also serve as showrunner and writer.

A Monk follow-up movie is coming to Peacock. The NBCUniversal streamer has ordered Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie, starring Tony Shalhoub in a reprisal of his titular role from the USA series, along with original series cast members Ted Levine, Traylor Howard, Jason Gray-Stanford, Melora Hardin, and Hector Elizondo. In the follow-up movie, Monk, a brilliant San Francisco-based detective with obsessive-compulsive disorder, returns to solve one last, very personal case involving his beloved stepdaughter Molly, a journalist preparing for her wedding.

Christopher Reich’s Simon Riske book series is headed to the small screen on Netflix. Oscar-winning director Edward Berger is set to helm the international spy thriller, which is being written by Rowan Joffe (Tin Star; The Informer). Described as being in the vein of The Day of the Jackal and The Bourne Identity, the first season will be based on the first book in the series, The Take, centering on Simon Riske, a freelance industrial spy. Riske lives largely under the radar above his auto garage in London until he gets involved in the chase for a stolen letter that could upend the balance of power in the Western world, set against the backdrop of the greatest street heist in the history of Paris.

Amazon Prime Video has canceled Three Pines after just one season. Based on the novels by Louise Penny, the series starred Alfred Molina as Inspector Armond Gamache as he investigates cases beneath the idyllic surface of the Quebec village of Three Pines. The series had been left on a cliffhanger, with Gamache’s life on the line as his team tried to find him. The project also starred Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, and the show had garnered praise for its nuanced portrayal of Indigenous people and issues.

CBS is getting a head start on boosting the profile of its new Justin Hartley drama, now named Tracker. Previously known as The Never Game, the series is scheduled to air during the 2023-24 broadcast season, but the network’s marketing department plans to this Thursday during March Madness. Tracker, based on the bestselling novel, The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver, follows a lone-wolf survivalist named Colter Shaw (Hartley), who roams the country as a "reward seeker," using his expert tracking skills to help private citizens and law enforcement solve all manner of mysteries while contending with his own fractured family. Robin Weigert, Abby McEnany, Eric Graise, and Fiona Rene also star.

PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO/AUDIO

The latest episode of thepodcast featured Debbi Mack's interview with three of the four crime writers who've published a novel under the name Lee Anne Post, the pen name for co-authors Cathy Baldau, Tara Bell, Ginny Fite and K.P. Robbins. They've worked as reporters and editors covering various types of topics, and they have written a highly relevant novel that entertains and raises important issues, Thoughts & Prayers.

Speaking of Mysteries welcomed Alma Katsu to discuss her book, Red London, the follow-up to Red Widow. Mildly disgraced CIA agent Lyndsey Duncan is working to rehabilitate her reputation by taking an assignment in London sussing out a potential Russian defector, until she’s loaned out to MI6 in an effort to befriend the wife of a Russian oligarch and convince her to flip on her husband. The clock is ticking though, Putin’s successor in the Kremlin might have a more permanent solution

Kate Hamer, Peter Swanson, Tove Alsterdal, and Charlotte Vassell chatted with Paul Burke for a special episode of Crime Time FM featuring the four Faber authors, who have each just published a new thriller/crime novel.

On the latest Writer's Detective Bureau, Detective Adam Richardrson answered questions about financial crimes, how a detective could go about becoming a police chief in another state, and he explained what it means to be a percipient witness.

The Red Hot Chili Writers spoke with crime writer John Lincoln Williams about his new novel, punk rock [sic]; interviewing Great American Crime Writers; and his biography of pop legend, Shirley Bassey. They also talked about writers who were terrible people.

It Was a Dark and Stormy Book Club visited with Wendy Sand Eckel about her book Mystery at Windswept Farm, the third book in the Rosalie Hart Mystery Series.

Edith Maxwell, who also writes under the name Maddie Day, is the Agatha-winning author of the Quaker Midwife Mysteries. On the latest Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine podcast, she read her story "Peril in Pasadena," which features 1920s private eyes Dorothy Henderson and Ruth Skinner in a case involving a woman astronomer.

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Lauding the Leftys

During a celebratory awards banquet held Saturday evening at the Left Coast Crime convention in Tucson, Arizona, the winners of the 2023 Lefty Awards were announced in four categories. Congratulations to all the winners and finalists!



Best Humorous Mystery Novel: Bayou Book Thief, by Ellen Byron (Berkley Prime Crime)



Also nominated:

Death by Bubble Tea, by Jennifer J. Chow (Berkley Prime Crime)
 Five Moves of Doom, by A.J. Devlin (NeWest Press)
A Streetcar Named Murder, by T.G. Herren (Crooked Lane)
Scot in a Trap, by Catriona McPherson (Severn House)

Best Historical Mystery Novel (Bill Gottfried Memorial): Anywhere You Run, by Wanda M. Morris (Morrow)



Also nominated:

A Bride’s Guide to Marriage and Murder, by Dianne Freeman (Kensington)
In Place of Fear, by Catriona McPherson (Severn House)
Under a Veiled Moon, by Karen Odden (Crooked Lane)
The Secret in the Wall, by Ann Parker (Poisoned Pen Press)
Framed in Fire, by Iona Whishaw (Touchwood)

Best Debut Mystery Novel: Shutter, by Ramona Emerson (Soho Crime)

Also nominated:

Jackal, by Erin E. Adams (Bantam)
Don’t Know Tough, by Eli Cranor (Soho Crime)
Other People’s Secrets, by Meredith Hambrock (Crooked Lane)
The Bangalore Detectives Club, by Harini Nagendra (Pegasus Crime)
Devil’s Chew Toy, by Rob Osler (Crooked Lane)
The Verifiers, by Jane Pek (Vintage)

Best Mystery Novel (not in other categories): Like a Sister, by Kellye Garrett (Mulholland)



Also nominated:

Back to the Garden, by Laurie R. King (Bantam)
Dead Drop, by James L’Etoile (Level Best)
Under Lock & Skeleton Key, by Gigi Pandian (Minotaur)
A World of Curiosities, by Louise Penny (Minotaur)
Secret Identity, by Alex Segura (Flatiron)







          

Friday's "Forgotten" Books: The Port of London Murders

Josephine Bell, the pen name of  Doris Collier Ball, was born in Manchester in 1897, educated at Cambridge, and became a University College Hospital of London physician. She married a fellow physician who died at a young age in 1936, which is when Bell turned her hand to writing, even as she maintained her medical practice.



She was a co-founder of the Crime Writers' Association, serving as its chair in 1959, and also became a member of the Detection Club. She eventually closed her medical practice at age 57 but continued to write full time until she was 85, creating numerous sleuths in her more than 40 crime novels (at the rate of two a year), such as AmyTupper, Dr. David Wintingham, Dr. Henry Frost, and Scotland Yard Inspector Steven Mitchell.



Not surprisingly, her novels often feature a strong medical component, not the least of which were two of her doctor-protagonists. She also featured poison and other unusual methods of murder prominently in her plots. Bell and her family were experienced sailors, and the author drew upon this knowledge, too, using many vivid passages in her books that relate to the water and to various nautical details.



Water is certainly at the heart of the setting in Bell's novel The Port of London Murders from 1938, specifically as the title suggests, the port area of London's River Thames. It's a tough neighborhood, but the death of one Mary Holland is still a bit of a shock, even though it appears at first to be a suicide by Lysol poisoning. Tell-tale needle marks on the victim's arm lead Detective Sergeant Chandler to suspect murder tied into a drug ring—which seems even more chillingly apparent when Chandler disappears shortly after he starts to investigate, right before he's due to testify at the inquest. It's up to Inspector Mitchell of Scotland Yard to unravel the layers of deception and addiction that are exploiting rich and poor alike in a way that hasn't changed much in the seventy years since the book was written.



Bell is particularly good with settings, even the squalid ones that pop up in the novel, no doubt witnessed first-hand in her role as a physician who saw people from every walk of life. Her take on the state of medicine in her day was often somewhat bleak, as in this passage from the book—again, as true today as it was in 1938:

For the great majority of these cases, too poor to have a doctor of their own, there was little he could do...Dr. Freeman could encourage them with a bottle of medicine and help them with a pint of milk a day, but it was not in his power nor that of anyone else to effect a lasting cure of their complaints. There were others, too, not old, but equally hopeless, who attended the dispensary as regular visitors; those struck down in youth or middle age by tuberculosis, rheumatism, heart trouble, and a number of more rare diseases. They had come to the end of their resources, their insurances, and their capacity for earning. The hospitals could do nothing more for them, but they still lived, in the worse possible surroundings, and the Public Assistance saw to it that they did not die too soon.

          

Mystery Melange

The International Association of Crime Writers, North America announced the 2022 Hammett Prize Shortlist. This year's honorees include: Copperhead Road, by Brad Smith; Gangland, by Chuck Hogan; Don’t Know Tough by Eli Cranor; Pay Dirt Road, by Samantha Jayne Allen; and What Happened to the Bennetts, by Lisa Scottoline. The Hammett Prize is given for literary excellence in crime writing published in the English language in the U.S. or Canada. The winner will be announced Summer 2023. Past winners have included Elmore Leonard, Alice Hoffman, James Lee Burke, Margaret Atwood, Mary Willis Walker, Martin Cruz Smith, Gil Adamson, Megan E. Abbott, George Pelecanos, Howard Owen, Lisa Sandlin, and others.

The 2022 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards finalists were announced late last week. More than 2,500 entries spread across 55 genres were submitted for consideration, with finalists determined by Foreword Magazine’s editorial team. You can see all the categories here, and also check out the finalists in the Mystery Category and in the Thriller & Suspense Category. Winners in each genre—along with Editor’s Choice Prize winners and Foreword’s Independent Publisher of the Year—will be announced June 15, 2023.

The Lambda Literary Awards (or "Lammys") announced this year's finalists for the finest LGBTQ books of the previous year. The nods in the 2023 Best LGBTQ+ Mystery category include: A Death in Berlin by David C Dawson; And There He Kept Her by Joshua Moehling; Dead Letters from Paradise by Ann McMan; Dirt Creek: A Novel by Hayley Scrivenor; and Lavender House by Lev AC Rosen. Finalists and winners for the 35th annual Lammy Awards will be celebrated in live in New York at the Edison Ballroom as well as in an immersive virtual platform on Friday, June 9th.

Glencairn Crystal, sponsor of the McIlvanney and Bloody Scotland Debut crime writing awards, announced the winners of this year's crime short story competition, which had the theme of "Scottish Crime," meaning the story must be set in Scotland. More than 100 stories were entered in the competition, each containing no more than 2,000 words. First place went to "Dummy Railway" by Francis Crawford, and the runner up was "The Last Tram to Gorbals Cross" by Alan Gaw. Crawford receives £1,000 and publication in the May issue of Scottish Field Magazine, while Gow receives £500. Both authors will also receive a set of six bespoke engraved Glencairn glasses.

Writers Digest is sponsoring their 9th Annual Mystery and Thriller Virtual Conference March 25-26. The event aims to help authors learn the finer points of how to write within the mystery and thriller genres. The bestselling authors scheduled to lead workshops include Kate White, Jessica Strawser, Jaime Lynn Hendricks, Hank Phillipi Ryan, Jeffery Deaver, Chris Mooney, and Jesse Q. Sutanto, on such topics as "Master Pacing" and "Visual Storytelling. For more information, follow this link.

Good publishers can lift up not only authors and readers, but the entire industry, as well. A case in point is Dean Street Press, which was established in 2015 and specializes in literary, general and crime fiction, particularly golden age mysteries. The company was founded by Richard Heath, who tragically died of a heart attack last week following the death of his wife from cancer. He was only 54. Curtis Evans had a personal remembrance of Heath on Evans's crime fiction blog, The Passing Tramp.

The New York Times has a series called "Overlooked No More," a series of obituaries about remarkable people whose deaths, beginning in 1851, went unreported in The Times. One of the most recent features was for Dilys Winn, who opened Murder Ink, believed to be the nation’s first mystery bookstore, and brought fans together through interactive whodunits and other events. Winn was also the author of Murder Ink, which included offbeat essays by established figures and Winn herself (under various nom de plumes), along with character studies, photographs, quizzes and more. In 1978, the Mystery Writers of America conferred an Edgar Allan Poe award on Winn, and the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association established a Dilys Award in 1992, presented annually to the mystery title its member booksellers most enjoyed selling (an award unfortunately discontinued after 2014).

Do you recall that recent news story about a mysterious thief who stole more than 1,000 unpublished manuscripts from various publishers? Once the thief was found and charged, many people in the industry wondered about the motive since the manuscripts were never sold or published. According to court filings, the thief says he merely wanted to read books before they hit stores.

This week's crime poem at the 5-2 Weekly is "Venom" by Charles Rammelkamp.

In the Q&A Roundup, Joyce St. Anthony spoke with E. B. Davis at Writers Who Kill about her latest book, Death on a Deadline, the second book in the author's Homefront News mystery series set during WWII; and Criminal Element featured a Q&A with P. J. Tracy, author of the Detective Margaret Nolan Series.

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Thrills Galore

The International Thriller Writers announced announce the finalists for the 2023 ITW Thriller Awards. Winners will be announced at the annual conference, ThrillerFest XVIII on Saturday, June 3, 2023 at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel, New York City. Good luck to all!

BEST HARDCOVER NOVEL

 

Delilah S. Dawson – THE VIOLENCE (Del Rey)

Jennifer Hillier – THINGS WE DO IN THE DARK (Minotaur)

Alma Katsu – THE FERVOR (Penguin/Putnam)

Jennifer McMahon – THE CHILDREN ON THE HILL (Simon & Schuster)

Chris Pavone – TWO NIGHTS IN LISBON (MCD)

Catriona Ward – SUNDIAL (Macmillan)

 

BEST AUDIOBOOK

 

Kimberly Belle, Fargo Layne, Cate Holahan, Vanessa Lillie – YOUNG RICH WIDOWS (Audible)

        Narrated by Dina Pearlman, Karissa Vacker, Helen Laser, Ariel Blake

Julie Clark – THE LIES I TELL (Audible)

        Narrated by Anna Caputo, Amanda Dolan

J. L. Delozier – THE PHOTO THIEF (CamCat Publishing)

        Narrated by Rachel L. Jacobs, Jeffrey Kafer

Jennifer Hillier – THINGS WE DO IN THE DARK (Macmillan Audio)

        Narrated by Carla Vega

Minka Kent – THE SILENT WOMAN (Blackstone Publishing)

        Narrated by Christine Lakin, Kate Rudd

 

BEST FIRST NOVEL

 

Lauren Nossett – THE RESEMBLANCE (Flatiron Books)

Sascha Rothchild – BLOOD SUGAR (Penguin/Putnam)

Hayley Scrivenor – DIRT TOWN (Pan Macmillan)

Stacy Willingham – A FLICKER IN THE DARK (Minotaur)

Erin Young – THE FIELDS (Flatiron Books)

 

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL NOVEL

 

Mary Burton – THE LIES I TOLD (Montlake Romance)

Mark Edwards – NO PLACE TO RUN (Thomas & Mercer)

Minka Kent – UNMISSING (Thomas & Mercer)

Freida McFadden – THE HOUSEMAID (Grand Central Publishing)

Wanda Morris – ANYWHERE YOU RUN (William Morrow)

Holly Wainwright – THE COUPLE UPSTAIRS (Pan Macmillan)

Loreth Anne White – THE PATIENT'S SECRET (Montlake Romance)

 

BEST SHORT STORY

 

Dominique Bibeau – RUSSIAN FOR BEGINNERS (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)

Barb Goffman – THE GIFT (Down & Out Books)

Smita Harish Jain – PUBLISH OR PERISH (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)

Joyce Carol Oates – 33 CLUES INTO THE DISAPPEARANCE OF MY SISTER (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)

Anna Scotti – SCHRÖDINGER, CAT (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)

Catherine Steadman – STOCKHOLM (Amazon Original Stories)

 

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

 

Melissa Albert – OUR CROOKED HEARTS (Flatiron Books)

Gillian French – SUGARING OFF (Algonquin Young Readers)

Kate McLaughlin – DAUGHTER (Wednesday Books)

Francesca Padilla – WHAT'S COMING TO ME (Soho Teen)

Courtney Summers – I'M THE GIRL (Wednesday Books)

 

BEST E-BOOK ORIGINAL NOVEL

 

Bill Byrnes – EVASIVE SPECIES (Self-published)

Diane Jeffrey – THE COUPLE AT CAUSEWAY COTTAGE (HarperCollins)

Grant McKenzie – THE SEVEN TRUTHS OF HANNAH BAXTER (Self-published)

Rick Mofina – THE HOLLOW PLACE (Self-published)

Carrie Rubin – FATAL ROUNDS (Self-published)

 

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CrimeFest Announces the 2023 Award Shortlists

CrimeFest, one of Europe’s leading crime writing conventions, has announced the shortlists for its annual awards, now in their 16th year. Eligible titles are submitted by publishers, and a team of British crime fiction reviewers vote to establish the shortlist and the winners. The top prizes will be presented at the convention Gala Awards Dinner on May 13, 2023. Congrats to all!

SPECSAVERS DEBUT CRIME NOVEL AWARD

 

In association with headline sponsor, the Specsavers Debut Crime Novel Award is for debut authors first published in the United Kingdom in 2022. The winning author receives a £1,000 prize.

 

- Amen Alonge for A Good Day to Die (Quercus)

- Graham Bartlett for Bad for Good (Allison & Busby)

- Nita Prose for The Maid (HarperCollins)

- Oriana Rammuno (translator: Katherine Gregor) for Ashes in the Snow (HarperCollins)

- Joachim B. Schmidt (translator: Jamie Lee Searle) for Kalmann (Bitter Lemon)

- Hayley Scrivenor for Dirt Town (Macmillan)

- John Sutherland for The Siege (Orion Fiction)

- Stacy Willingham for A Flicker in the Dark (HarperCollins)

 

 eDUNNIT AWARD

 

The eDunnit Award is for the best crime fiction ebook first published in both hardcopy and in electronic format in the United Kingdom in 2022.

 

- Chris Brookmyre for The Cliff House (Abacus)

- Michael Connelly for Desert Star (Orion Fiction)

- M.W. Craven for The Botanist (Constable)

- Sara Gran for The Book of the Most Precious Substance (Faber & Faber)

- Ian Rankin for A Heart Full of Headstones (Orion Fiction)

- Peter Swanson for Nine Lives (Faber & Faber)

 

H.R.F. KEATING AWARD

 

The H.R.F. Keating Award is for the best biographical or critical book related to crime fiction first published in the United Kingdom in 2022. The award is named after H.R.F. ‘Harry’ Keating, one of Britain’s most esteemed crime novelists, crime reviewers and writer of books about crime fiction.

 

- J.C. Bernthal & Mary Anna Evans for The Bloomsbury Handbook to Agatha Christie (Bloomsbury Academic)

- John le Carré (edited by Tim Cornwell) for A Private Spy: The Letters of John le Carré 1945-2020 (Viking)

- Martin Edwards for The Life of Crime: Detecting the History of Mysteries and their Creators (Collins Crime Club)

- Barry Forshaw for Simenon: The Man, The Books, The Films (Oldcastle Books)

- Sian MacArthur for Gender Roles and Political Contexts in Cold War Spy Fiction (Palgrave Macmillan)

- Lucy Worsley for Agatha Christie: A Very Elusive Woman (Hodder & Stoughton)

 

 LAST LAUGH AWARD

 

The Last Laugh Award is for the best humorous crime novel first published in the United Kingdom in 2022.

 

- Christopher Fowler for Bryant & May's Peculiar London (Doubleday)

- Elly Griffiths for The Locked Room (Quercus)

- Mick Herron for Bad Actors (Baskerville)

- Cara Hunter for Hope to Die (Viking)

- Mike Ripley for Mr Campion's Mosaic (Severn House)

- Antti Tuomainen for The Moose Paradox (Orenda Books)

 

BEST CRIME FICTION NOVEL FOR CHILDREN

 

This award is for the best crime novel for children (aged 8-12) first published in the United Kingdom in 2022.

 

- Elly Griffiths for A Girl Called Justice: The Spy at the Window (Quercus Children's Books)

- Anthony Horowitz for Where Seagulls Dare: A Diamond Brothers Case (Walker Books)

- Sharna Jackson for The Good Turn (Puffin)

- M.G. Leonard for Spark (Walker Books)

- Robin Stevens for The Ministry of Unladylike Activity (Puffin)

- Sarah Todd Taylor for Alice Éclair, Spy Extraordinaire! A Recipe for Trouble (Nosy Crow)

 

BEST CRIME FICTION NOVEL FOR YOUNG ADULTS

 

This award is for the best crime novel for young adults (aged 12-16) first published in the United Kingdom in 2022.



- Holly Jackson for Five Survive (Electric Monkey)

- Patrice Lawrence for Needle (Barrington Stoke)

- Finn Longman for The Butterfly Assassin (Simon & Schuster Children's)

- Sophie McKenzie for Truth or Dare (Simon & Schuster Children's)

- Ruta Sepetys for I Must Betray You (Hodder Children's Books)

- Jonathan Stroud for The Notorious Scarlett and Browne (Walker Books)

          

Author R&R with Marie Still

Marie Still grew up a "Navy brat," which meant a lot of moving, but there was one constant: books. From a young age, Marie developed an obsession for the dark and more murdery side of literature, especially Stephen King, Shirley Jackson, and Margaret Atwood. That obsession with words and dark stories translated into a love of writing. Never sticking around one place for too long has given Marie the opportunity to see the world, experience different cultures, and meet many different people—all of which fuel her creativity and the characters and settings in her novels. Marie’s domestic thriller debut We’re All Lying is available March 14, 2023, while her sophomore thriller, My Darlings releases in 2024. She also writes suspenseful book club fiction under Kristen Seeley, whose debut, Beverly Bonnefinche is Dead releases September 2023.

We're All Lying follows Cass, who lives an enviable life: a successful career, two great kids, and a handsome husband. Then an email from her husband’s mistress, Emma, brings the façade of perfection crumbling around her, setting off a chain of events where buried secrets come back to haunt her. A taunting email turns into stalking and escalates into much worse. Ethan and Cass try to move on, then Emma disappears. No longer considered a victim, Cass finds herself the prime suspect and center of the investigation. Her dark secrets—including ones she didn’t know existed—threaten to destroy everything they’ve worked for. 

Marie stops by In Reference to Murder to discuss researching and writing the book:

 

As a thriller author I often get asked, “What’s wrong with you?” In fact, my husband has been scared on many occasions after reading some of my work. It’s always the spouse, though, I’d never be so careless. While a good portion of my research while writing does go into various murder methods, my favorite research is delving into the human psyche. What makes people tick? Snap? How do different personalities process trauma, stress, fear, and being pushed out of their comfort zone?

When I develop my characters, I am very careful to avoid clichés. Real humans with real nuances and flaws and backgrounds don’t act in cookie cutter ways. One of my least favorite phrases is, “I would never…” It’s so easy to observe situations from the outside and make judgement, but the real ‘never’ statement is you never know what you’ll do when emotions (rage, jealousy, deception, etc.) take over.

For this reason, I’m constantly observing humans for what they show on the outside, and who they are on the inside. Social media has made this constant character study much easier. People put more of their lives on the internet than ever before. Sometimes those lives are curated, which is also a fascinating look into the human mind. Quora and Reddit offer anonymity, which makes them two of my go-to sources to better understand people, and create characters with interesting facets.

Preventative mental health care is a subject I feel very passionately about. Additionally, portraying mental health disorders in my stories with compassion and sensitivity. There are several disorders which I have personal, lived experience with. When I don’t, I ensure I’m having conversations with those who do live with whatever I’m writing about. Additionally, I have a sister-in-law who works as a nurse practitioner in a mental health hospital who has been a wonderful resource herself, but also connecting me with psychiatrists when I have additional questions. And, I think it’s important to note, mental illness doesn’t not equate to violence. There are many people living very normal lives with psychopathy, sociopathy, and other mental health disorders.

Whether I’m online or living my life, I’m always watching. Ok that sounds a bit creepy, especially since I started out by saying I was well-versed in ways in which to murder someone. I digress. I pay close attention to how people react to stress, drama, life. I listen with a purpose to people speaking, studying how speech patterns give insight into a person’s personality. Being incredibly nosey has been one of the most useful tools as a writer. And if we ever cross paths, you may just be inspiration for one of my characters. Whether a victim or a villain, I’ll never tell. 

 

You can learn more about Marie Still and her books via her website and also follow her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads. We're All Lying is available via Rising Action Publishing and all major booksellers.

          

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

Apple Original Films is developing the thriller, Echo Valley, from a script by Mare of Easttown creator, Brad Ingelsby. Sydney Sweeney and Julianne Moore are attached to star, with Michael Pearce directing. Moore plays Kate Garrett, who is reeling from a personal tragedy and spends her days boarding and training horses at Echo Valley Farm, a secluded, picturesque property in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Late one night, her wayward daughter, Claire (played by Sweeney), arrives at her doorstep, frightened, trembling, and covered in someone else’s blood. As the logline states, "from that simple premise, Echo Valley becomes a heart-pounding thriller about just how far a mother will go to save her child."

Jason Clarke, Scott Eastwood, and Chaske Spencer have joined the cast of Wind River: The Next Chapter, the sequel to Taylor Sheridan’s 2017 crime drama. Kari Skogland will direct from a screenplay by writing partners Patrick Massett and John Zinman (Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Friday Night Lights). Starring Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen (who are not returning for the sequel), the 2017 film followed a seasoned hunter who helped an FBI agent investigate the killing of a young woman living on a Wyoming Native American reservation. The sequel also takes place on the Wind River reservation, where a series of ritualistic murders remain unsolved. Chip Hanson (Martin Sensmeier, reprising his Wind River role) is a newly minted tracker for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service recruited by the FBI to work on the case. He soon finds himself in the middle of a conflict between the law, a vigilante, and the reservation he calls home.

TELEVISION/STREAMING

David Kane, the lead writer on the BBC’s Shetland, is developing Denise Mina’s Morrow book series into a multi-season TV show. Set in Glasgow, the series consists of five books and follows DS Alex Morrow, a formidable detective who can’t face talking to her husband or bear to sleep in the family home following a recent trauma. In season one, titled Still Midnight, as Morrow investigates a crime with partner Det. Sgt. Grant Bannerman, questions arise about whether their ambitious Machiavellian boss has their backs. Morrow doesn’t have a broadcaster attached yet but Kane envisages it running for multiple seasons.

Scottish producer STV Studios has landed TV rights for Natali Simmonds’s debut, Good Girls Die Last, which will be published later this year. Good Girls Die Last is a darkly comic, feminist thriller, telling the story of Em "who, on the day of a record-breaking heatwave, is in a race against the clock to escape a gridlocked London while a serial killer stalks the streets. Em’s life has always been full of men having their own way and today, the scorched city is teeming with them but, as her troubled past returns to haunt her, she refuses to let them win."

In another blow to Hulu’s series adaptation of The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, Todd Field has exited the project on which he was to serve as director and executive producer. News of Field’s departure from the show comes just days after it was reported that series star, Keanu Reeves, had bowed out as well. The book tells the true story of Daniel H. Burnham, a demanding but visionary architect who races to make his mark on history with the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, and Dr. H. H. Holmes, America’s first modern serial killer and the man behind the notorious "Murder Castle" built in the Fair’s shadow. This is the latest chapter in the long development history of the book, which at various times has seen Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Cruise, and Martin Scorsese attached to the project.

HBO announced that season four of Bill Hader’s Barry will be its last. The series follows the misadventures of the titular character, a hired assassin who dreams of becoming an actor. The more he tries to move away from L.A.’s seedy underbelly the deeper it consumes him — and affects everyone around him. In Season 3, Barry is fully committed to untangling himself from the murder business to follow his passion to act full time. But that proves to be a job in and of itself because he knows too much. The cast also includes Henry Winkler, Stephen Root, Michael Irby, Anthony Carrigan, and Sarah Goldberg.

Hallmark Movies & Mysteries will continue its popular Aurora Teagarden Mysteries without longtime star Candace Cameron Bure, giving a green light to the prequel, Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Something New that will premiere later this year. Skyler Samuels will take over the lead role as young Aurora, while Evan Roderick will play young Arthur and Marilu Henner will reprise her role as Aida Teagarden. Something New is set in Aurora Teagarden’s post-college days when she finds herself back home in Lawrenceton. While her mother, Aida (Henner), struggles to keep her new real estate business, Aurora supports herself by working as a teacher’s assistant in a crime fiction class, and waitresses at the local diner at night, where she shares her love of researching true crime with her friend Sally and police officer Arthur (Roderick). Bure began starring in the films in 2015; her last one, Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Haunted by Murder, aired in February of last year.

PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO/AUDIO

It Was a Dark and Stormy Book Club featured the novel, The Hunter, in which reckless behavior costs former NYPD detective Leigh O’Donnell her job and her marriage. The book is by Jennifer Herrera, a former philosophy grad student turned literary agent and now author.

With Katie McLain Horner on vacation this week, Liberty Hardy joined Kendra Winchester on Read or Dead to discuss middle grade mysteries.

Cara Black stopped by Speaking of Mysteries to talk about Night Flight to Paris, the follow up novel to Three Hours in Paris, which introduced readers to Kate Rees, the Oregonian sharpshooter whose considerable skills are put to work by England during World War II.

The latest episode of Criminal Mischief : Forensic Science for Crime Writers featured Dr. DP Lyle discussing "evidence classification."

On the Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine podcast, Martin Limón's duo of military detectives George Sueño and Ernie Bascom were on the case again in "Kimchi Kitty," trying to solve the disappearance of a Korean country music star.

         Related StoriesMedia Murder for Monday 

Mystery Melange

Pulitzer Prize finalist, Megan Kate Nelson, and Emmy Award-winning director, Walter Hill, are among the 2023 Spur Award winners announced by Western Writers of America at the Tucson Festival of Books. Among the crime-themed honorees was the winner of the Original Mass-Market Paperback Novel, Dead Man’s Trail by Nate Morgan (Pinnacle/Kensington); and winner of the Traditional Novel category was The Secret in the Wall: A Silver Rush Mystery by Ann Parker (Poisoned Pen Press). Presentations are scheduled during WWA’s convention June 21-24 in Rapid City, S.D. For more details about all the winners and finalists, head on over here.

As part of the annual Oxford Conference for the Book on the University of Mississippi campus, there will be a "Noir at the Bar" March 31 at Ajax Diner. Ace Atkins will discuss crime fiction with authors Megan Abbott, S.A. Cosby, Eli Cranor, and Tyler Keith, a Southern studies alumnus who will perform with Teardrop City afterward.

Some sad news to share: Christopher Fowler, author of the Bryant & May series of detective novels, has died at the age of 69, having been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer three years ago. Fowler was best known for his Bryant & May thrillers, featuring the veteran detectives solving unusual crimes in London from the second world war to the present day. The series began with Full Dark House in 2003, and 17 more novels followed, most recently London Bridge Is Falling Down, published in 2021. Fowler's final words on his blog were: "All fun things have to come to an end. I love you all. Except for that horrible old troll – are there any other kind? There, now you have a smidgen of extra time on your hands, go have fun … and read a book.”

Cara Black, award-winning author of the Private Investigator Aimée Leduc series, applied the Page 69 Test to Night Flight to Paris, the latest installment in her World War II-set novels featuring American markswoman, Kate Rees.

This week's crime poem at the 5-2 weekly is "The Six-Shooter" by Tony Dawson.

In the Q&A roundup, Criminal Element interviewed Alex Finlay, author of Every Last Fear, which was a Goodreads Choice nominee for Best Mystery and Thriller, about his latest release, What Have We Done; and Lisa Haselton spoke with crime author, Wendy K. Koenig, about her new thriller, On The Sly, which follows a young bar owner, also the daughter of a small-town cop, who becomes the suspect in a murder investigation.

         Related StoriesMystery Melange