Just Another Weekend Update Down the Pike

NYTBR: Seth Mnookin goes inside John Darnton’s murder mystery version of the Times; Tom LeClair has some grievances with MAN IN THE DARK; Christopher Hitchens on BHL; and Amy Finnerty has her say on Chelsea Cain’s new thriller SWEETHEART.

And in Week in Review, A.O. Scott on David Foster Wallace.

WaPo Book World: Jonathan Yardley has his say on THE GIVEN DAY; Robert Olen Butler on writing by dreams and instinct; and Ron Charles applauds a new change in direction for Francine Prose.

LA Times: Richard Rayner travels back in time to the crimes of AMERICAN LIGHTNING; Sonja Bolle on a YA parody of reality television; Scott Timberg considers the legacy of Michael Dibdin; and Susan Salter Reynolds is wowed by Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum’s new collection of linked stories.

G&M: Chris Scott wanders through the fires of Papua New Guinea with Kira Salak; A psychiatrist tries to expose the dark side of medication for moods; and Margaret Cannon has her say on crime fiction by Richard Montanari, Kathy Reichs, Pat Capponi, Tess Gerritsen, Deborah Crombie and Amy MacKinnon.

Guardian Review: Alasdair Gray reacts to Rodge Glass’s just published biography of himself, which Iain Sansom reviews approvingly; Andrew Marr raves about Ian Rankin’s post-Rebus caper; Matthew Lewin reviews new thrillers by Faye Kellerman, Catherine Sampson, William Brodrick and James Lee Burke; and Christopher Tayler on the loss of DFW.

Observer: Tom Stoppard explains why the War on Terror worries him; Joshua Ferris reminisces about interviewing David Foster Wallace as a college student; and Euan Ferguson is knocked for six by A MOST WANTED MAN.

The Times: Stephen Amidon falls all over himself to praise HOMICIDE; Marcel Berlins rounds up crime and thrillers by Ian Rankin, Kathy Reichs and Val McDermid; Doug Johnstone sits down with Arnaldur Indridason to talk about crime fiction in Iceland; and Bryan Appleyard sings the praises of Marilynne Robinson.

The Scotsman: Andrew Davidson discusses THE GARGOYLE with the Scottish crowd; Adrian Turpin looks at the current status of the Wigtown Festival; and Tom Adair examines Peter Ackroyd’s reinvention of Victor Frankenstein.

The Telegraph: Susanna Yager reviews recent crime novels by Teresa Solana and Kathy Reichs; the section evaluates literature’s 50 greatest villains; and a whole lot to do with John Le Carre’s new novel, A MOST WANTED MAN.

The Rest:

Oline Cogdill finds parallels between historical and contemporary, literary and thriller in Dennis Lehane’s THE GIVEN DAY.

Adam Woog also finds much to enjoy in Dennis Lehane’s historical epic.

David Montgomery rounds up recent crime fiction by Tess Gerritsen, Alafair Burke, Ellen Crosby, Alison Gaylin and William Kent Krueger.

Declan Burke reports on the crime fiction element of Books 2008 in Dun Laoghaire.

The Rocky Mountain News is pretty damn thrilled THE STORY OF EDGAR SAWTELLE is Oprah’s newest Book Club selection.

From last week: The Denver Post on mystery’s place in fiction following the pick of THE THIN MAN as the city’s newest One Book selection.

The Sydney Morning Herald’s Malcolm Knox discusses the difficulty of trying to verify truth of a memoir’s claims.

The Age’s Jane Sullivan looks at Edgar Allan Poe’s enduring legacy.

And finally, a thought from my brain this morning: if we’re in the midst of End Times, can I at least get my bookcases built and delivered to my apartment first? That would be nice.