Smatterings, the Sweltering Edition

The Washington Post has a great piece on George Pelecanos, and while it doesn’t reveal a lot that’s new, it does illustrate a divide between where Pelecanos wants to go and what his publisher wants from him.

Also in the Post is Patrick Anderson’s perplexed take on Christopher Reich’s THE RULES OF DECEPTION, the subject of the WSJ’s most recent video interview.

Oline Cogdill has a short review of Chris Grabenstein’s HELL HOLE and has some fun with inside jokes in mystery novels.

Paul Goat Allen rounds up crime fiction offerings from Nathan Singer, Duane Swierczynski, Daniel Judson, Lucie Whitehouse, Julia Spencer-Fleming and Sydney Bauer.

Paula Woods likes the villain more than the sleuth in Nigel McCrery’s STILL WATERS.

Susanna Yager reviews new crime novels by Johan Theorin and Meg Gardiner for the Telegraph.

Also at the Telegraph, Jake Kerridge has one last Harrogate dispatch.

Michael Berry has his say on new SF-ish titles by David Schwartz, Victor Gischler and Nancy Kress.

Joseph Epstein praises the mock self-help books of Stephen Potter, which I read as a kid and think are genius.

Megan Abbott talks of noir, both film and novel, to the Queens Courier.

PW’s Jordan Foster interviews Mo Hayder about her new thriller RITUAL.

Steve Weinberg makes the case for Doug Cummings’ crime novels in the Chicago Sun-Times.

The Vancouver Sun reports back on the Symposium of the Book and its mystery-centric theme.

The Palm Beach Post looks at James O. Born’s migration from FDLE agent to crime writer. (via)

Kathryn Taylor has written a roman a clef about leaving her marriage to James Taylor for a stopover in Venice, but you wouldn’t know that from the way Knopf marketed the book.

Margo Rabb’s essay on YA/adult crossover has already been much linked, but it’s worth looking at in the hopes of convincing people to create some kind of “all ages” category for kids and snobs to browse together.

Also in the New York Times Book Review, Kathryn Harrison has her say on Natsuo Kirino’s REAL WORLD and Marilyn Stasio reviews the non-fiction murder mystery THE SUSPICIONS OF MR. WHICHER.

Ben MacIntyre explains why readers love mysteries – in fiction and in real life – so damn much.

Acknowledgments and blurbs from an academic standpoint.

The good, bad and ugly of book titles.

And finally, yes. Yes it is.