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Welcome to the official home of Sarah Weinman, writer, editor, and Crime Lady.

I’m the editor of WOMEN CRIME WRITERS: Eight Suspense Novels of the 1940s & 50s (Library of America, 2015); …

 

1933

Some said he was
the greatest clarinetist to grace the Earth. Others tempered that praise,
proclaiming him to be the brightest star ever to shine upon Second Avenue. Naftule …

Remember that time, months ago, when I promised to do something with this website after years of not doing anything?

Well, man plans, God laughs, you know the drill. Here’s what else you …

Marilyn Stasio reviews new crime fiction by Paul Doiron, Michael Harvey, Donna Leon and Jassy MacKenzie for the NYTBR.

Oline Cogdill has some fun with Elaine Viets’ new “Dead End …

And here they are:

Best Novel:

Swan for the Money by Donna Andrews (St. Martin’s Minotaur)

Bookplate Special by Lorna Barrett (Berkley Prime Crime)

Royal Flush by Rhys Bowen (Berkley Prime Crime) …

So many best-of lists! So many gift guides! So many favorite books! So I’ll keep it to a minimum:

Marilyn Stasio’s notable crime fiction picks for the NYTBR are wide-ranging and expansive …

The G&M’s Margaret Cannon reviews new crime fiction by Reginald Hill, Nevada Barr, Kenneth Cameron, James W. Nichol, Jill Edmundson, Janet Kellough, and Mary Jane Maffini, among others, and …

Marilyn Stasio reviews new crime fiction offerings by Michael Connelly, Ruth Rendell, Archer Mayor, and Anders Roslund & Borge Hellstrom.

Oline Cogdill hears the McBain-like echoes in Lou …

The mystery community’s known for roughly a year that Dennis Lehane’s current work-in-progress was a return to the universe of his series characters, Boston-area private detectives Patrick …

With the 100th anniversary of Eric Ambler’s birth coming up later this month, the Guardian Review’s cover is devoted to Thomas Jones’ excellent essay on Ambler’s career and why …

Words cannot adequately convey the gist of the Letter to Booksellers on the back cover of the ARC of James Ellroy’s new novel BLOOD’S A ROVER, so here it is, verbatim:

I’m the substitute chef at Publishers Lunch this week, and added to the usual spate of deadlines means that posting here will be light for the next few days. I would be remiss in not pointing to …

It’s the news heard ‘round the publishing world (so of course, it happened while I was traveling.) There’s lots of panic and teeth-gnashing, but Colleen Lindsay also advises some …

My newest column at the Los Angeles Times has a missing persons themes running throughout, looking at new and recent books by Stewart O’Nan, Jennifer McMahon and Johan Theorin. Here’s how …

At the 2007 London Book Fair, UK literary agent Ali Gunn was shopping around a book proposal with the tag “What PRIMARY COLORS was to Capitol Hill, EGO will be to the media world.” For a …

And like everyone else, fingers crossed Gustav’s damage to the Gulf Coast is minimal and survivable.

NYTBR: Joyce Carol Oates on Curtis Sittenfeld’s supposedly controversial AMERICAN WIFE …

…well, pick your superlative. I’ll go with really, really good swimmer for now.

The coverage is pretty all-consuming, of course, but I find myself curious, so soon after number eight, …

Mickey Spillane, Evan Hunter, Robert B. Parker and Dick Cavett. Does it get any better than this? Well, it would be nice to have the whole thing, but still. (via)

Since it’s the Labor Day Weekend and all. So for now, it’s BSP time: my latest LA Times column deals with the topic of Tabloid Noir, while in Time Out New York Joshua Furst talks about his …

(Katherine Howell’s debut novel, FRANTIC, was published in Australia earlier this year. I read it at the beginning of the summer and was taken with the way she alternated female protagonists, …

Thanks for putting up with me throughout the day, and thanks to Sarah for giving me the chance. I enjoyed it, particularly the exchange of noir quotes. And, since it has been a day for quotes, …

I thought I should take advantage of this chance to promote two writing programs that have helped me immensely. The first is a week-long conference in Florida, Writers in Paradise, that was founded by …

With a noir quote and apologies for being a bit late. Excuses, excuses. It’s almost like he’s busy writing a book or something.

Don’t know if it qualifies but the director’s …

On Sunday, Tiger Woods won his 13th Major, putting him just five back of the all-time record. Now, what does this have to do with writing? To you, maybe nothing at all. To me, though, there is …

One of the most common questions any writer is asked is: what led you to this particular genre. For me, the answer begins with black-and-white movies and actors like Bogart, Mitchum, Lancaster, etc. …

Every Easter-time, between 1978-84, my mother and I used to go to Haiti for a month. My mother is Haitian and I was partly brought up there, having been taken to the country from England when I was a …

Every year at about this time I start to feel vaguely wistful for the months that have just gone by.  I go back and listen to the best songs of the summer again (Rehab, Beautiful Girls, and Hey …

Ah, New York in August, or almost. When air conditioners, even at triple overtime, never quite accomplish what they need to in cooling down those too poor to escape to outer island or generally cooler …

This morning, the 2nd annual ThrillerFest begins, and hundreds of writers, would-be writers, agents, editors, publishers and readers will convene at the Grand Hyatt for panels, parties and of course, …

My newest “Dark Passages” column is up at the LA Times, themed around crime novels that feature crime writer protagonists.

NYTBR: Marilyn Stasio reviews new crime fiction by Thomas Perry, …

Over the weekend a nice little teapot tempest brewed in several places, including the RARA-AVIS mailing list and the Rap Sheet blog. It began when Kevin Burton Smith editorialized on what he termed …

First, let me just say that if you’ve never seen The Bad Plus play live, you are missing out on something truly special. Last night’s show at the Highline Ballroom was one of the best …

I always have good intentions, and this year, as in previous years, this includes a “Girl’s Guide to BEA” that would be comprehensive, witty and informative. But instead, the …

NYTBR: Adam Begley runs off in search of Graham Greene’s Capri; Frank Rich is thrown for a loop by Don DeLillo’s FALLING MAN; Azadeh Moaveni looks for literary life in Iran; and Gershom …

Just got home. Definitely entertaining and one of the better Edgar Awards in recent years. Will have more to say tomorrow that is likely more coherent than what I said at the time. And so, the winners …

I am so pleased to see this deal reported over at Publishers Marketplace this afternoon:

Blogger Mark Sarvas’s HARRY, REVISED, about a guilt-ridden,

down-on-his-luck widower, who tries to …

NYTBR: William Vollmann shows exactly how to write a good critical review with his take on Anthony Swofford’s debut novel; Marilyn Stasio focuses her mystery attention upon Theresa Schwegel, …

You won’t get any argument from me about this – it’s excellent news:

The Crime Writers’ Association has awarded its Cartier Diamond Dagger for 2007 to the outstanding British …

It seems somehow appropriate that John Williams’ review of the UK edition

of THE BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES 2006 (I know, it perplexed me too,

but here’s why: Quercus is the UK …

Hat tip to Jaime for pointing me to sections from D.A. Pennebaker’s documentary on the original cast recording of COMPANY. Watching Elaine Stritch struggle with “The Ladies who …

Always leave on a gag…

Here’s my favourite joke of the moment, as told to me by a Scottish crimewriter with a taste for Prog Rock.

Q. What does it mean when you see Suggs coming up your …

At an event recently, Ian Rankin said that being a crime writer felt a bit like being a member of a gang; that there was always that slight element of being an outsider. Without wishing to get into …

With those responsible for such things wrestling with Bouchercon panels and having just returned from Edinburgh, with Harrogate still a very pleasant memory, I was thinking about some of the stuff …

Mark Billingham here, sending greetings from unseasonably sunny London. I’m hugely grateful to Sarah for the invitation to guest blog, and full of admiration that she has been able to dig up so many …

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Last year I was honored to be a judge for the Thriller Award of the International Thriller Writers Organization. There was some discussion over the fact that there were no women authors …

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Sometimes I wonder if anybody still reads out there. I am not referring to you, of course. Outside of my many friends in the mystery community, I really wonder how many pick up a book for …

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My name is Larry Gandle. I want to thank Sarah for giving me the opportunity to speak my mind. I guess that is what blogging is all about. It is like a therapy session where I get to talk and …

I wasn’t nervous, that was the problem. I needed to be nervous. I’d been nervous for six weeks and I was spent.

I’d been doing promotion for my new book, The Dead Hour, touring the states, …

I just want thank Sarah Weinman – I should say, Anthony Award nominee Sarah Weinman – for having me as a guest.  I really enjoyed the experience.  I also want to thank everyone …

As I said in my opening post, I’m new to the writing game, and one of the things I’m struggling a bit with is the subject of protagonist relationships.  I’ll find in otherwise good books, …

One thing that intrigues me in novels and movies is the way in which people in government are portrayed.  I’d lump them into four stereotypes: there’s the noble idealist fighting …

I want to start by thanking the delightful Sarah Weinman for having me as a guest blogger.  I’ve never blogged before (I think “blogged” is a verb), and I feel like I’m …

“I’d like to send this one out to Lou and Rachel/And all the kids in PS192/Man I swear I’d give the whole thing up for you.”

These are the last lines of what song?

And with …

Well I guess that does it for me folks.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by, especially those who took the time to comment, and big hugs to Sarah for inviting me to guest write. If you haven’t …

Oprah ain’t the only black woman struggling with her weight who has a favorite things list. The difference is, you can afford the stuff on mine. I just finished a 30 day detox fast during which …

Years ago I had a stint in Los Angeles while I toiled as a young reporter at the LA Times. Boy was I homesick.

Sticking a twenty-something native Baltimoron (who believes that if you drive too far on …

So I am on the bus on my way to work this morning and I overheard this conversation between two little boys who appeared to about 11 or 12 years old and who were showing off their cell phones to each …

I love a caper as much as the next gal.

But waking up this morning to the news out of London was terrifying. Although my last name is France (I throw in the Lisa Respers because that’s who I …

Well, it may not be too late where you are but here it’s past one AM and it’s dark. I feel like Cleavon Little in Vanishing Point, sitting in his room, throwing stuff out to the world and …

I’ve just had a look on some of the links that Sarah’s put about me in her intro. And while I notice a link for ‘entirely too much fun to be around’ is conspicuous by its …

I’ve been talking to my editor about my next novel. Not Bone Machine, the one that’s coming out in January (or April in the US) but my next one. The one I’m writing now. Due for …

Greetings one and all. Welcome to my first ever attempt to post a blog on the internet. When Sarah approached me about doing this, she asked what I was doing in August. ‘Oh you know,’ I …

While I’m off at ThrillerFest, I’m taking part in Debra Hamel’s weeklong contest as part of her “Buy a Friend a Book” campaign. The gist appears below.

Where it is indeed quite north and quite frozen, I must say. But enforced vacation is a very good thing so except for the Publishers Weekly article analysis that appears below (and of course, plenty …

The resilience of the 1947 Black Dahlia murder case is pretty astounding. With the 2003 publication of Steve Hodel’s controversial, intermittently convincing and occasionally unbelievable book, …

Thanks so much to Sarah for having me—I have to admit, I tend to be a blog lurker (blurker?) rather than a poster, so this is a new experience for me.

I see in Sarah’s kind introduction …

Well, folks, it’s closing time. Finish up the last round and let’s put the chairs up on the table, to make it easier for the cleaning crew in the morning. Last one out get the …

Well, I’m just back from reading some of the workshop entries, and yow! It was painful.

Don’t get me wrong — I love D.L.’s writing workshop, and I’ve read some great …

Hello out there in the Blogiverse.

“As you read this, I don’t want you to feel sorry for me, because, I believe everyone will die someday.

My name is Sgt. William Hart, a U.S. soldier …

Damn if I know what I’m doing here, exactly, but thanks, Sarah, for the kind words.

For those who don’t know who I am, that’s okay — I probably haven’t heard of you …

I don’t mean to prop up that one short table leg, but why do we read what we read when we read it? Why do we choose different books at different times? (I’m assuming that none of us devote ourselves …

Browsing: Barry Eisler has the third installment of his guestblog on book marketing posted today on M.J. Rose’s publishing blog, Buzz, Balls & Hype. “Smart writers understand that writing is …

Since Sarah noted the rock-chick angle, thought I’d ponder aloud: Posted late last night after coming from a grand set by the Knitters, who do a bunch of old X songs. Who’d have thought “Burning House …

Hi everyone!

Thanks for Sarah for letting me sit in (again). Any excuse to hide in my air-conditioned office and cruise the web is welcome. And before anyone makes a crack about cat writers in the …

This is possibly a  bit childish of me, and Jennifer Jordan is probably going to send me another picture of a kitten as a punishment, but what the hell.  Anyone who’s read my books …

In a case of life imitating bad art, I’ve started working as a TV writer. In my novel ‘I Love My Smith & Wesson’, a really low-concept unthrilling caper-mystery if ever there was one, my alter-ego …

Hi everyone, it’s 10:30 and time for this exhausted guest correspondent to call it a night. I’m back home, back in my underwear, and fixing to pour a bit of that John Rain-approved …

Okay, y’all (how’s that spelling?) asked for more politics (or at least that’s what I wanted to hear), so…

I’ve been thinking about what happens when a society goes to …

Good morning everyone, glad to be here as Sarah’s guest. Sarah, thanks for the great intro. I laughed at the coverboy line — anyone who could see me now, blithering, bed-headed and bleary …

Looking to take a road trip this fall?  Maybe with a literary bent?

Make plans now for the 10th Annual Texas Book Festival, running from October 28 to the 30th in Austin, the live music capital …

Donate $100 to novelist-turned gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman and get an signed, first-edition action doll.  I wonder if it smells like cigar smoke.

Am I the only one out there (other than Ken Bruen) who has read Christopher Cook’s excellent noir novel, Robbers?

Seems like every time I mention the book, all I get back is blank stares. This piece …

Anybody who has ever heard Barry Eisler speak knows about the non-fiction book he touts, On Killing : The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society, by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman.  …

Many thanks to Sarah for letting me clog up the Internet today.  I promised her to be witty, brief and on topic.  (One out of three ain’t bad.  You decide which it is.)

I know …

After only two years, the Harrogate Crime Festival has become the go-to event in the UK. And for good reason: the organizers run a tight ship and understand that they must cater to both authors and …

It’s been great fun sitting in for Sarah the last three days.  Hope the change hasn’t resulted in any nasty nitrogen bubbles going amuck in your cerebral arteries.

I’ve tried …

Just wanted to finish off a theme that’s developed over my last three days here…

Back to the Orange Prize honoring the best female writers of the year.  We’ve already addressed …

“Coming this summer, the Thriller Book Club, formed in conjunction with DearReader.com, will let readers sample, by e-mail, the opening chapters of ITW authors’ books. Each weekday, club …

As some have noted, Lionel Shriver changed her name when she was fifteen – there must be a story there.  Maybe it’s buried in the pages of her book.  Go figure.  Meanwhile …

Back from the Red Cross – a pint low.  (Can the wisecracks, Rickards!)

Sarah, ever alert, has alerted me so that I might alert you.

Just saw this deal at Publishers Marketplace posted …

Now that I have your attention with the misleading headline cribbed from Shriver’s plot.

And probably a little late to this.  Lionel Shriver won the Orange Prize today (now yesterday in …

I have sinned.  I’ve been blogging for most of the last six hours or so and have negleted to mention another unsung hero.  My good friend and fellow Dagger shortlistee, Bryon …

Lists — at least those not given to me by a certain redhead to insure that I return from the Piggly Wiggly with something other than white sugar or it’s refined, value added, artificially …

Since, here in the pixel covered hallowed halls of “Idiosyncratic Mind,“we are concerned with the art of writing and all the wealth, fame, and spiritual serenity it conveys upon its …

• An interview with Scottish crime writer and La Weinman Personal Fave ™ Carol Anne Davis at The Scotsman.

And

• Indeed, oh my God oh my God, “the bestest comic EVER” as La W so …

Sue Grafton’s interviewed on Bankrate.com, so you can find out more about her famed alphabet sleuth Kinsey Millhone AND see whether it’s time to refinance.

Grafton’s got a lot to …

M.J. Rose linked to a Wired article on her Buzz, Balls, and Hype last night, but as I was supposed to be eating dinner with my husband and kids I didn’t post it right then.

Wired quotes M.J. …

And to lead off, good lord, will Margaret Atwood’s remote book tour device ever leave the news? Maybe, but the Globe and Mail’s Rebecca Caldwell adds yet another wrinkle as she reports …

Mitch Albom, Jim Cash & Jack Epps, Judith Guest, Jim Harrison, Ernest Hemingway, Lev Raphael, Loren D. Estleman, Steve Hamilton, Elmore Leonard, Rob Kantner, Deborah Morgan, Susan Holtzer. …

I was in a cafe last night, trying to work on a story away from the seductive powers of my high speed internet connection, and I was suddenly inspired to write a poem. It’s only the second …

There are not one, but two radio stations in my area now playing nothing but Christmas music 24 freakin’ hours a day. In response to this, the weather gods have zapped us with 60 degree temps …

…that your host is a dope. Apparently I got my days mixed up and the National Book Awards will be announced tonight not last night. So sorry, this is what I get for reading McNews. On this theme …

Ok, I’m awake now and properly rested. It’s about time for a proper introduction if I haven’t scared everyone away already. I’m even going to attempt a link roundup if I can …

Thanks to the technical wizardry of Jennifer Jordan, I can now show the world the Before (carrots & potatoes only) and After (with eggplant added) pics of the vegetarian meal from the Anthony …

As Sarah mentioned earlier, my latest novel, Twisted City, was recently published. As is usually the case, while I’m out, publicizing my current book, I’m very much absorbed in the next …

The Black Orchid bookstore had a party celebrating their 10th year in business last week. I’ve been going to the BO for years and it’s undoubtedly one of the best mystery bookstores …

My guest-blogging time is up, and I want to say a HUGE thanks to Sarah for letting me do this. I had a great time.

Thank you, also, to everyone who participated in the discussion topics I posted, …

Earlier, I promised a post about “Murder for Charity” as a promotional tool. I have attempted to make a link. To see if it works, please click …

In 2002, Allison Pearson wrote a book entitled “I Don’t Know How She Does It: The Life of Kate Reddy, Working Mother.” In it, the hedge-fund managing heroine struggles mightily to …

Taking off from Sarah’s joke about the upcoming Philip Roth book, “I Hate Claire,” let’s talk about libel.

My mysteries, “Murder on Ice” and “On Thin …

Chris Rock used to have a section of his standup act about Black Men marrying white women that basically ended with: “Brother gets hit by a truck? Folks say: Wouldn’t have happened if …

Technically, I am on vacation right now. Practically, what that means is I am on vacation from my day job (I produce two, official, soap opera websites) only. Aside from the kids (note to the …

First, a word about publicity people. Despite the bad rap they seem to get in most major media, in my experience (I’ve worked in television for about ten years now), most public relations …

Thank you, Sarah, for that introduction. I am hoping the technical difficulties have been worked out, and this missive I am currently typing will actually make it onto the World Wide Web and not …

Well, that’s it from Charlie Williams. Blogging here has been an education. I feel like I’ve been in therapy for three days. Ta very much to everyone who said stuff, and everyone who just …

Publishing News reports on a self-published author who is going to launch his book on the London Underground shortly. Dunno, by Peter Inson is the story of a disaffected teenager who finds a new …

Did I say “fund my enormous appetite for cocaine” there? Ah, it’s that old devil called self-sabotage again. What I meant, of course, was “look after my family”.

Since …

Hello again. Charlie Williams again here, your friendly neighbourhood guest blogger.

As advertised previously, I was going to talk about writing and the day job – pros and cons. But I’m …

OK, not bleeding. Sweating perhaps. Sweating definitely. But it’s a good title eh?

I’ve done two public reading events so far. Like anyone else, I was wary of the whole thing beforehand. …

The BBC report that a new literary award worth £60,000 is to be launched in Swansea (Wales) this autumn. That is a serious amount of folding. The award is to be known as the “Swansea Dylan …

Good morning one and all. This is Charlie Williams, your guest blogger. To those wondering where blogmeister Sarah is – DON’T PANIC. She’s safe and well, locked up in the cellar of …

Tomorrow I intend to blog about public speaking. There was some chat on that subject here a while back, but since then I’ve done two events (and have three more planned) and I want to dredge the …

Bit of a crap heading there. But I don’t really think blogmeister Sarah invited me here because I’ve got a great haircut. It’s because I’ve recently had my first book come out. …

To get me into the spirit of things, a bit of light linkage…

On BBC Radio 4’s Front Row program last night was a little piece about Lebowski Fest 2004, which is in New York this year. …

Charlie Williams here, trying his hand at this blogging malarkey. Cheers to blogmeister Sarah for handing over the keys to her baby. I’ll try not to prang it but hey, you never know. …

another unspoken joy of the author biz is the author photo. when i signed with pantheon four books and six years ago, i gave them a photo that was four years old, but a photo i liked. now its ten …

this is a restatement of a post i made five minutes ago and think i erased, so if i didn’t, i apologize for the redundancy.

anyway… it’s wednesday and i’m on the first leg of …

Since The Halo Effect is the first book in my first eries, I’m curious to ask you all some questions.

The real struggle I’m facing is how to keep each book vital on its own and yet …

Here’s an interesting article that touches on some of what the industry is facing and why a lot of writers including me are nervous:The End of Books

Since I’m one of the dedicated readers of this blog, it’s really a pleasure to be here as stop one of my Virtual Book Tour for my new novel, THE HALO EFFECT which is the first in a …

Of all the many, many tributes that have come over the pike about the late actor, perhaps this weekend’s essay in the Glasgow Herald by Budd Schulberg, the famed author of one of the best and …