And the Wolf Shall Inherit the Weekend Update

A point for anyone who gets the title reference without prompting…

Before turning to the papers, my latest column is online (unlike June’s, which mysteriously never made it to the Sun’s website) and I review new releases by John Harvey, Daniel Silva, Louise Penny, Kay Hooper and Gary Disher.

NYTBR: Rachel Donadio actually has an essay worth reading, about why the Long Tail theory isn’t necessarily applicable in publishing; Madison Smartt Bell has many good things to say about Jennifer Egan’s THE KEEP; Francis Crick is the subject of a “judicious biography” that makes only very small missteps; and Gary Kamiya has many good things to say about Scott Smith’s THE RUINS (which I’ll finally get a chance to read soon.)

WaPo Book World: Stephen Amidon totally gets what George Pelecanos is doing in THE NIGHT GARDENER; Craig Davidson kicks back and has a good time with Jeff Shelby’s new PI novel; Tim Page rounds up the latest in books on classical music composers; and Frances Itani responds to the musical allusions in Katharine Weber’s TRIANGLE.

G&M: Paula Todd falls for the illusions Louise Welsh presents in THE BULLET TRICK; Caroline Adderson wishes Jean McNeil’s new novel had undergone another draft for more polishing; and Nader Hashemi wonders what books will rise out of the latest Middle East conflict.

Guardian Review: Edna O’Brien gives James Joyce his due for the one and only play he wrote; Conrad Williams’ examination of a concert pianist in crisis sounds totally up my alley; and Matthew Lewin rounds up new thrillers by James Lee Burke, Dan Fesperman, Dean Koontz and Elisabeth Hyde.

Observer: Kate Kellaway talks with Meg Rosoff, who truly personifies “overnight literary sensation”; Robert McCrum pays tribute to Julian McLaren-Ross; and Jonathan Rendall’s advice to those seeking the answers to adoption secrets? Don’t bother, unless you want an identity crisis.

The Times: Ian Marchant’s one-man quest to save the British boozer charms Francis Gilbert; Irvine Welsh gets the bad review of bad reviews for his new novel; and Erica Wagner wonders how literary discoveries will change now that everything’s gone electronic.

The Scotsman: Jed Rubenfeld talks to Jackie McGlone of Freud, his debut novel, and his friendly competition with his wife over NYT bestsellerdom; Greg Sandow delves into the next round of a long-running Stravinsky biography by Stephen Walsh; Irvine Welsh makes friends from continent to continent, as Craig MacLean discovers; and Gerald Kaufman reviews the latest in crime fiction by Richard Kunzmann, Donna Leon and Craig Russell.

The Rest:

Hooray for the Atlantic Monthly for rerunning its article on Charles Willeford, whose Miami-based crime novels are wonderful, weird and so incredibly noir. Check it out.

Oline Cogdill has good things to say about Daniel Judson’s new novel and less impressive thoughts on Cody McFadyen’s debut.

David Montgomery’s in the Philly Inquirer this week, reviewing Daniel Silva’s new spy novel, THE MESSENGER. Also in the same paper, Patrick Kurp isn’t as impressed with Dan Fesperman’s latest, THE PRISONER OF GUANTANMO.

Hallie Ephron reviews new mystery novels by Lawrence Block, Richard Yancey and Phillip Margolin for the Boston Globe.

In the Sunday Herald, Lin Anderson reveals what’s in store for her latest novel, and Kathleen McGowan spreads her bullshit “I’m descended from Jesus and Mary” theory to the UK.

The Chicago Sun-Times’ books editor, Cheryl Reed, meets husband-and-wife writers Sharon & Steve Fiffer – she a cozy writer, he a biographer.

Jennifer Egan’s happy to fly under the radar with her work, as she tells Newsday’s Helen Eisenbach.

The Cumberland News talks to Reginald Hill about the rules of detective fiction – and why he breaks them all the time.

Adrian Hyland speaks with the Sydney Morning Herald about why he wrote his debut novel from the point of view of a young Aboriginal woman – when he is nothing of the sort.

Did Dava Sobel change the nature of non-fiction? The Melbourne Age hypothesizes this in their profile of the bestselling author.

And finally, more proof of Mel Gibson’s asshole personality.