L….l…l….links

To go along with the Old Peculier Shortlist (see today’s earlier post) Yorkshire Today’s Sarah Freeman catches up with sponsor Simon Theakston, who explains why he’s so passionate about crime fiction.

Methinks Janet Maslin was expecting a slightly different book than what she got with THE HISTORIAN. So cranky, Janet! Can’t you just sit back and enjoy how it develops?

I guess it’s semi-official: Jeff Lindsay’s uber high-concept DARKLY DREAMING DEXTER (with sequel to follow in a few weeks) has been picked up as a pilot for Showtime. I dunno, if I want sociopathic antiheroes, I think I’ll watch my PROFIT DVDs over again….

Mark Timlin returns with his newest crime column for the Independent on Sunday, looking at new books by John Sandford, Chris Haslam and Gene Kerrigan, an Irish newbie Timlin hails as “tremendous.”

Nancy Drew isn’t just getting a fresh makeover all on her own — Susan Kandel and Chelsea Cain offer their own spin on the famous Girl Detective, and January Magazine’s Cindy Chow is on the case.

After winning the Orange Prize, some criticized Lionel Shriver for “actively preparing for victory.” She explains this further to the Guardian.

Speaking of awards, Justin Cartwright has a little fun with what he might have said if he’d only won a few more…

If you’re a student sitting your GCSEs and you have to pick between an extra English and media studies (where you can look at soaps, newspapers and the like) what would you pick? Not the extra English, according to a new study.

And finally, this story just gets dumber as you read on. Yeesh.