Weekend Smatterings
Having spent yesterday watching four of the five best picture nominees in one sitting (oddly enough, from least to most favorite) my brain resembles overcooked meat coming off a George Foreman Grill. Hence no full-blown Weekend Update this time around. Besides, most of the food for thought probably centers around the Telegraph’s choices of “50 crime writers to read before you die” and who didn’t get picked. Otherwise:
My review of Scott Heim’s new novel WE DISAPPEAR appears in the LA Times. Heim talks with Christopher Castellani of the Boston Globe about how the novel came to be, and why it took so long to write.
Oline Cogdill has good things to say about James O. Born’s BURN ZONE.
David Montgomery rounds up new thrillers by Robert Ferrigno, Alex Berenson, William Bernhardt, Christa Faust and T. Jefferson Parker.
Marilyn Stasio feels generally favorable towards new books by Peter Robinson, April Smith, Jacqueline Winspear and Jonathan Barnes.
Hallie Ephron looks at new mystery titles by Adrian Hyland, Valerie Wilson Wesley and Elizabeth Becka.
Dick Adler returns to the Chicago Tribune pages with a review of Henry Kisor’s new novel CACHE OF CORPSES.
The Guardian’s Matthew Lewin looks at recent thrillers by Sophie Hannah, Jack Ross, John Macken and David Ignatius.
At the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Bob Hoover chats with Elizabeth George and Charles Todd about being Americans who write British-set mysteries. He also gets the Brit perspective from John Harvey and Peter Robinson.
And finally, Nick Antosca tracks political contributions by writers. Oh and there’s a “side” benefit of total lack of privacy by would-be stalkers, which was also pointed out by Mark Athitakis, whose new blog American Fiction is now on my daily reading list.