Gotta get the weekend update — the belated edition

Things have been awfully crazy over at Idiosyncratic HQ — the cleaning is over, and now Passover is in full swing (for those who care: whole wheat matzah is soooooo much better.) Never mind that Something Big is in the works, but more on that soon, I hope.

I’ve also got lots to say in my newest column for the Sun, looking at the latest books by Mo Hayder, Joseph Finder, Joan Brady, Michael Baron, and Mark Haskell Smith.

So what about the rest of the Sunday papers? On we go:

NYTBR: Marilyn Stasio is extremely effusive about Donald Westlake’s new Dortmunder novel, WATCH YOUR BACK — and for good reason, too. She also looks at new books by Jan Brogan, Katherine Hall Page and Aaron Elkins.

Otherwise in the Book Review, Janet Malcolm presents a lengthy analysis of the works of Alexander McCall Smith; John Hodgman rounds up graphic novels; Sarah Glazer looks at the whole self-publishing thing, perpetuating a few myths along the way; and Jon Meacham doesn’t exactly want to party like it’s 1977.

WaPo Book World: Rodney Welch likes Wesley Stace’s change of direction from songwriter to novelist; Richard Lipez is impressed by the intelligent sleekness of Daniel Silva’s latest thriller; and Michael Dirda gets on a translation groove in reviewing this new memoir by the man who converted Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s prose into English.

Globe & Mail: On the Canadian Crime front, Ken McGoogan is most impressed with Andrew Pyper’s newest effort, THE WILDFIRE SEASON, while Lyn Hamilton can’t get enough of Giles Blunt’s depiction of intrigue in Algonquin Bay in BLACK FLY SEASON. Otherwise, Martin Levin is assaulted by Sherlockiana at every turn, Jessa Crispin is a bit underwhelmed by Marjane Satrapi’s newest graphic effort, and Joseph Boyden’s debut war novel more than lives up to its big buzz advance hype.

Guardian Review: Lots of crime-related stuff this week, including Stella Duffy’s argument that Joan Brady’s BLEEDOUT is not exactly what the publishers says it is, and Matthew Lewin’s roundup of new thrillers by Greg Iles, Harlan Coben, John Lawton and Russell Andrews. Otherwise, Margaret Atwood went to England in the 60s and all she got was a lousy T-shirt; Salman Rushdie extols the healing power of literature; and Carrie O’Grady is slightly scarred by the goings-on in Christine Pountney’s new novel.

Observer: Sue Townsend reports from the field about the election campaign; Hepzibah Anderson rounds up new first efforts, including those by Daniel Alarcon and Rattawut Lapchareonsap; Isabel Allende takes a crack at the Legend of Zorro, but doesn’t quite make her mark; and Robert McCrum eagerly awaits upcoming literary festivals.

The Times: Andy McNab, SAS dude, explains why he’s crossed over into the teen fiction market; Melissa Katsoulis likes CITIZEN GIRL for being — eh? — grown-up chick-lit; and Mark Lawson’s attempt to get funny about government makes the review yawn.

The Scotsman: With Penguin turning 70, the paper looks at the original paperback boom and what’s changed since; Pauline McLynn reveals the book that changed her life; Andrew Crumey pretty much rips Nick Hornby a new one and reveals how much the new book sucks; and Stuart Kelly declares “New Writing 13” to be a very mixed bag.

The Rest:

Oline Cogdill’s back with a couple of rave reviews for Harlan Coben’s new thriller and Jodi Compton’s sophomore effort.

Hallie Ephron returns with her crime column for the Boston Globe, looking at the latest by Peter Abrahams, Jess Walter and Kathy Lynn Emerson.

Les Roberts does the roundup thing too, looking at new stuff by Victor Gischler, Peter Abrahams and Donald Westlake.

The Chicago Sun-Times has a meaty section on Chicago-area writers, with looks at Saul Bellow, Aleksander Hemon and Stuart Dybek linked in the sidebar.

The Day (CT) chats with John Connolly about his recent short story collection and previews his next Charlie Parker novel, BLACK ANGEL.

Another day, another interview with Robert B. Parker, this one courtesy of the Contra Costa Times.

On the Holmes front: Alexandra Yurkovsky at the SF Chronicle positively sniffs at Mitch Cullin’s reworking of Sherlock Holmes (boo) while the Washington Times’ Bruce Allen is more forgiving in this compendium of recent Sherlockiana.

Darlene Jolly at the Huntsville (AL) Times takes a look at Cecelia Tishy’s return to crime fiction with a psychic detective protagonist.

Scott McLemee pinpoints what’s both cool and somewhat ephemeral about Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner’s FREAKONOMICS: it owes a hell of a lot of debt to Malcolm Gladwell.