Weekend Update, Part I: earlier mystery-related news

Now that the hangover’s subsided, the resolutions have been slowly abandoned, and the sense of hope grows after what was most certainly a tumultuous year for all (and certainly for me) it’s time to get back into the swing of things at Casa Idiosyncratic.

As we ring in this new year, first, a little catch-up on various links and things I’ve noted during the hiatus, but of course, didn’t get around to posting until now:

Might as well begin with Marilyn Stasio. Is she listening to me, or was it just a really slow week over at Planet NYTBR, because her year-ending column is decidedly midlist-driven, looking at new releases by Karen Novak, Colin Cotterill, and a double dose by Michael Pearce.

I’m not sure why the Sun-Sentinel keeps reviewing books so much later than the publication dates, but Oline Cogdill’s thumbs up for Michael Koryta’s debut effort is no doubt welcome at any day.

Dick Adler’s final roundup of 2004 for the Chicago Tribune features releases by Eleanor Taylor Bland, Jim Kelly, Gay Longworth, Robert S. Levinson, Jo Bannister, Michael Prescott & J. Carson Black.

Hallie Ephron, in her latest column for the Boston Globe, reviews the latest by Jonathan Kellerman, Ruth Rendell and Peter Clement. Interestingly, in the daily paper, Ed Siegel is less than impressed with Rendell’s efforts in THE ROTTWEILER.

The Globe also interviews Harvard B-School prof Jeffrey Cruikshank, who has turned his experience into a mystery novel with, well, a very similar title.

Still keeping the Boston theme, the Herald’s Rosemary Herbert really digs Patrick Hasburgh’s satirical mystery ASPEN PULP, which probes the life of the rich, famous and incredibly cynical.

The Modesto Bee profiles teacher-turned-crime writer Gillian Roberts, someone who’s been around for years but somehow keeps flying under the radar.

T Jefferson Parker’s CALIFORNIA GIRL racked up raves all year, so it’s no surprise his hometown paper, the San Diego Tribune, would do the same, as does Dick Lochte writing for the LA Times.

Brad Thor reveals his favorite reads of the year for an interesting source–the Japan Daily Times.

The California Literary Review provides a brief history of the works of Paul Auster.

And finally, Jon L. Breen reaches out to another publication, writing about the rising popularity of historical mysteries for the Weekly Standard.