World of Mystery

On the awards front, St. Martin’s Press and the Mystery Writers of America announce the inaugural winner of their First Crime Novel Competition: Stefanie Pintoff, a Westchester-based …

And that means another Girl’s Guide, though belated since the fun has already begun…

Today kicks off the MWA’s annual symposium, now expanded to two days and dubbed “Crime …

Day One of the LA Times Festival of Books is wrapping up. The sun is bright and the temperature is high, leaving this LA neophyte in a state of sweat-soaked overload. So of course I can’t wait …

For those keeping score, Crais’s last three books – which include July’s CHASING DARKNESS – were published by Simon & Schuster. Before that, LA REQUIEM through THE …

Publishers Weekly’s bi-annual feature on crime fiction has a UK-centric feel to it, as Jordan Foster explains:

“We have the rope of Agatha around our necks,” notes Scottish

crime writer Val …

Passover pre-empts the Weekend Update, but before I go gorge myself on Seder food, it’s worth pointing to the London Times’ special on the top 50 Crime Writers, not only because it will …

LJ editor Wilda Williams conducts an annual survey of the current mystery market with a twist – this time her focus is on audiobooks and large print:

This June, mystery authors and fans will …

At the Barnes & Noble Review, I take the long view on Joseph Wambaugh’s career as a novelist and chronicler of the Los Angeles Police Department in order to properly assess his new book …

Meet Matt Hilton, the UK’s newest six-figure crime-writing star:

A former Cumbrian police
constable has landed an £800,000 five-book deal as a debut author,
fulfilling a lifelong dream to …

It seems fitting that as NoirCon gets underway today, today’s big film news is that Ken Bruen’s LONDON BOULEVARD will be adapted for the big screen by Oscar-winning screenwriter William …

Kyril Bonfiglioli always seems to fall out of favor, come back, fall out of favor in a repetitive cycle. At the Guardian Books Blog, Alex Larman does his best to cement the author and his witty …

When true crime writer and Crimerant co-blogger Gregg Olsen thought of ways to get the word out about his just-published second novel A COLD DARK PLACE, the idea struck him to conduct a Q&A over a …

J. Kingston Pierce has written the most amazing tribute to Arthur Lyons, author of several P.I. novels featuring Palm Springs-based detective Jacob Asch. Lyons, most recently a city councilman and …

PW’s Edward Nawotka has a great writeup this week about David Thompson and McKenna Jordan, the dynamic duo at Murder by the Book who have big plans over the next year:

Talk about being married …

This is one of the damned saddest news I’ve had to report here. Thriller writer and military veteran Andrew Britton, whose third nove THE INVISIBLE was published earlier this month, died this …

I know, it’s yet another award nomination list, but this time the Strand Magazine has assembled an impressive list of judges including David Montgomery, Hallie Ephron, Patrick Anderson, Dick …

The Yomiuri Shimbun has good reason to fete mystery novelist Jiro Akagawa – he’s just published his 500th novel:

Mystery novelist Jiro Akagawa has given a whole new meaning to the

word …

So says the title of my newest piece for the Guardian Books Blog. I’ve wanted to write about Derek Raymond (real name Robin Cook) for ages but the Telegraph’s “50 Crime Writers …

As announced today by Mystery Ink:

BEST MYSTERY

James Lee Burke – Tin Roof Blowdown (Simon & Schuster)

John Connolly – The Unquiet (Atria)

Ariana Franklin – Mistress of the …

Congrats first to Duane Swierczynski, who revealed the news yesterday that Michelle Monaghan has optioned the rights for THE BLONDE, with Paul Leyden attached to write. It also behooves me to report …

The double Booker Prize winner and multi-genre writer, who wrote many crime novels and thrillers, died last Thursday at the age of 73. Obituaries and tributes come by way of:

• The Guardian’s …

Last night the LA Times announced its Book Festival Prize finalists and the mystery/thriller category is quite interesting:

Benjamin Black, CHRISTINE FALLS: A NOVEL (Henry Holt)
Ake Edwardson, …

As there are quite a number on the crime fiction front. First, the next book from Blake Crouch:

Blake Crouch’s ABANDON, set in a remote mining town high in the Rockies where two backcountry …

As this is very good news indeed:

Russel McLean’s THE GOOD SON, introducing a troubled Scots PI, who is

dragged into a world of lies, violence, long-held secrets, and murky

criminal …

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. …

Issue #1 of the New Plots With Guns. This news makes me quite happy indeed.

On Friday, Publishers Weekly reported that four editors at the now-combined Houghton Mifflin Harcourt had been laid off, a move anticipated for quite some time after Riverdeep, Houghton …

Adam Langer’s new novel ELLINGTON BOULEVARD was a curious read for me because it takes place – literally – in my neighborhood. I explore the strange feelings it evoked in my newest …

A lively discussion is going on at David Montgomery’s blog, provoked in part by his preliminary list of favorite (and not-so-favorite) PI cliches:

• The psycho sidekick who does the dirty work …

About a year and a half or so ago I put forward the idea that crime fiction, as it is being published today, ought to be thought of in the same manner as romance novels – namely, that there are …

The Hollywood Reporter’s Paul Hyman tracks down James Patterson and finds out why he’s about to collaborate with Jane Jensen (of GABRIEL KNIGHT fame) on a video game version of the …

Last week I wrote about how crime novelist Inger Wolfe’s pseudonym bore an uncanny resemblance to Danish crime writer Inger Wolf’s real name. The pseudonymous author, who has altered this …

The North American Branch of the

International Association of Crime Writers is pleased to announce

nominees for their annual HAMMETT PRIZE for a work of literary

excellence in the field of crime …

Overlook’s done a pretty good job at getting formerly neglected espionage novelists Robert Littell and Charles McCarry back on the radar. Now it looks like that ethos will apply once more:

Jim …

The piece I wrote may have come and gone, but the speculation on Inger Wolfe’s identity continues. At one point, Michael Redhill’s Wikipedia page seemed to “out” him (though it …

Whitbread award winning author Joan Brady has won her long-running battle against a shoe manufacturing company on the grounds that toxic fumes affected her ability to work, and while I think …

Or, Jeff Pierce’s Rap Sheet headline on this story is pretty much dead-on.

Besides, want to know how celebrities become crime novelists? They hire ghostwriters.

As in, pretty much only crime fiction in this update.

Both my columns ran at the same time this weekend, so check the LA Times for my thoughts on historical thrillers with a forensic aspect, and the …

It figures that the MWA would announce the nominees for the Edgar awards as I was on a bus out of town, where internet is sporadic and nature is in rather close proximity. So look for the nominee list …

What can you say? One of the greatest mystery legends, a man who had a story in every issue of Ellery Queen for almost thirty-five years, is gone. Edward D. Hoch was 77. Jiro Kimura pays tribute, as …

Century, one of the major imprints of Random House UK, has inked a nine-month sponsorship deal with the FX channel to advertise select crime fiction authors on crime shows. The Bookseller has the …

So I wrote this speculative piece for Maclean’s* and it ruffled enough feathers that a retraction will be printed in the January 17 issue. Of course, the “all publicity is good …

The award for the mystery independent booksellers most enjoyed selling has announced its nominees:

• Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen (Berkley)
• Thunder Bay by William Kent Krueger (Atria)
• The Spellman …

At the Barnes & Noble Review, I discuss the current revival of espionage fiction. Also, the home page layout amuses me because my piece runs right underneath a picture of Malcolm MacDowell from O …

Danuta Kean talks with Martyn Waites in the Independent on Sunday and the conversation quickly turns to the question of violence in crime fiction, and why Waites blanches against its gratuitous use: …

For that seems to work for Jamie Freveletti, whom I think I met briefly at ThrillerFest and is a member of the Chicago Contingent:

Jamie Freveletti’s RUNNING FROM THE DEVIL, introducing an …

Courtesy the Rap Sheet comes the first spate of mystery genre awards, to be handed out at Left Coast Crime next month in Denver (the Dilys is on its way too, but later):

The Lefty (for the most …

At the Guardian Books Blog, I discuss last month’s WSJ article on Tom Rob Smith’s already-hyped debut thriller CHILD 44 and why it’s important to put the buzz (and his million dollar …

Though the news broke in a soft way when the Spring/Summer 2008 catalog went out to booksellers and reviewers, Soho made it official last week: they have scooped up a number of books published in the …

I realized a couple of days ago that I couldn’t remember the last time I took a blog hiatus longer than a day or two. A telling sign that it’s time for a virtual vacation. So I’m …

On the list front, we have January Magazine’s best crime fiction of 2007, and Oline Cogdill’s 20 mystery picks.

Cogdill is also blogging this week about notable crime novels she …

The Brattleboro Reformer profiles Mystery on Main Street, a new independent mystery bookshop that opened in the city just over a month ago after the owner, David Lampe-Wilson, moved to town: …

Now this is interesting news:

Two books in NYT bestselling author Walter Mosley’s new mystery series

featuring Leonid McGill, an African-American private investigator in

New York (introduced …

If you’re in the city or don’t already have plans tonight, join editrix Megan Abbott, publisher David Thompson and many writers – including Sandra Scoppettone, Rebecca Pawel, S.J. …

When the news breaks that Duane Swierczynski will be penning Marvel Comics’ relaunch of Cable, X-MEN’s mutant anti-hero, beginning in March, it doesn’t happen quietly. Rather, …

The Rap Sheet reports that Julia Spencer-Fleming took home the Nero Award last Saturday night for her most recent novel ALL MORTAL FLESH. The announcement was made during the 30th annual Black Orchid …

It is a truth universally acknowledged that every crime fiction reviewer must pen an essay about murders taking place in exotic climes. Here’s my take for the Barnes & Noble Review.

Back in 2006, Mystery Writers of America added an extra codicil for potential Edgar Award submissions. In order to be considered, “all works submitted for consideration must meet the …

The full news release is available here, but Anthony Rainone has the general highlights:

_“Mystery Writers of America to Honor Kate’s Mystery Books & the

Library of Congress, Center …

New York Magazine presents a handy guide to international sleuths ranging from the Gaza Strip to Tokyo to South Africa to St. Petersburg and back again. I love how male-centric the list is, but then, …

Reading Janet Maslin’s book reviews bears some resemblance to dead horse-beating, mostly because the horse being flogged is wondering why she can’t go back to reviewing movies, her real …

Don’t you have better things to do? I don’t find it hilarious like David Montgomery does, just perplexing.

The deal writeup for a big trilogy sale is plenty interesting:

Stieg Larsson’s THE MILLENNIUM TRILOGY, with THE GIRL IN THE DRAGON

TATTOO to be the first published from the trilogy, to Sonny …

Pronzini, the author of the Nameless Detective series and numerous other novels, will be awarded the Grandmaster designation at next year’s Edgars, to be held on May 1 at the Grand Hyatt. …

My Baltimore Sun column ran last weekend but is only now available online. In it I review new releases by Robert Harris, James Church, Ruth Weissberger and Mickey Spillane.

Tonight, along with a …

The author of A KISS BEFORE DYING, ROSEMARY’S BABY, THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL and several other bestselling novels is dead at the age of 78, according to his agent Phyllis Westberg. The cause of …

Since I’ve been hearing that several noteworthy books have not been submitted to the respective Edgar committees, let this post be a reminder – the deadline is November 30.

Library Journal devotes its most recent issue to mystery fiction, with reviews of upcoming titles, short story collections and a Q&A with Cara Black.

As for the comment about my story in …

Mike Ripley called her as the favorite and the betting proved correct, as Ariana Franklin won the Ellis Peters Historical Dagger Award for MISTRESS OF THE ART OF DEATH, her wonderful first entry in a …

As this is quite good news indeed:

A N Smith’s YELLOW MEDICINE, in which a corrupt sheriff’s deputy

confronts Malaysian terrorists in rural Minnesota, and HOGDOGGIN’, to

Benjamin …

After reading this, is it terribly perverse of me to hope that Otto Penzler could have his say about the other National Book Award nominees?

I still have to read this:

Amy Belasen and Jacob Osborn’s JENNY GREEN’S KILLER JUNIOR YEAR, a

satire in which a 16-year-old daddy’s girl from Long Island becomes an

unlikely …

Wordharvest Writers Workshops and Thomas Dunne Books
announced today that Christine Barber’s novel THE REPLACEMENT CHILD has
won the first Tony Hillerman Prize, awarded annually to the best …

John Rickards on why the Genre Has No Clothes. I’d quote from it but then this post would go on for ages so really, read the whole thing and then come back and hash it out in the backblog here. …

Yesterday Joel Rose reported on Baltimore and Philadelphia’s Poe Wars for All Things Considered. The story will not be going away anytime soon….

…form the basis of my debut in Maclean’s, Canada’s national weekly news magazine. To say it is a thrill to be included in one of my home country’s media staples is rather the …

But not without cost, as the Orlando Sentinel’s Laurin Sellers reports:

COCOA BEACH – Maureen Jennings believed there would be a happy ending.

Even as she and her two would-be rescuers …

The International Herald Tribune’s culture pages are primarily devoted to crime fiction today. First there’s John Burdett talking up his Sonchai Jitpleetcheep novels and how they fit into …

As per Variety, Martin Scorsese will direct and Leonardo DiCaprio will star in an adaptation of Dennis Lehane’s SHUTTER ISLAND. I do like what Vulture has to say about this: “It is now …

To commemorate the birth date of famed Japanese mystery writer Edogawa Rampo, one man came up with an unusual idea, reports the Yomiuri Shimbun:

Faithful reproductions of popular detective story …

Not long after the Mysterious Bookshop relocated from its longtime midtown location to TriBeCa, Otto Penzler came up with a very cool idea to generate income for the store and interest for his …

As Baltimore and Philly duke it out for dibs on Edgar Allan Poe, Matthew Pearl – whose last novel, THE POE SHADOW, speculated on the circumstances of Poe’s mysterious death at the age of …

Dennis Lehane with fiancee Dr. Angela Bernardo at Monday’s premiere for GONE BABY GONE. But what’s more interesting is this snippet from the same Boston Herald article I snatched the …

As per the Local, Sweden’s English-language web newspaper:

Swedish crime fiction writer Henning Mankell has donated 15 million

kronor ($2.3 million) for the construction of homes for orphaned …

Duane Swierczynski has a great recap of recent developments and reactions in the wake of Ed Pettit’s City Paper cover story earlier this month. My favorite of the bunch? Hands down, Philly …

Sometimes an enforced hiatus from the Internet is a good thing, so the full-on Weekend Update will return next week at the usual time and usual place.

In the meantime, check out my review of Nikita …

Olen Steinhauer shares a little bit of news. More here and here.

Consider the people involved in this film deal:

Film rights to Marcus Sakey’s debut crime thriller THE BLADE ITSELF,

about a young man who realizes his new life hinges on a terrible choice …

On the one hand, Archer Mayor is the beneficiary of good news. His 18th Joe Gunther novel, CHAT, will be the last one published by Grand Central Publishing, but St. Martin’s Press has picked up …

And if you subscribe to Publishers Lunch you’ll have seen most of them last night, but in any case, the biggest one of the week is this:

San Francisco MD Josh Bazell’s debut novel BEAT …

In this week’s Philadelphia City Paper, Edward Pettit makes a stirring argument that Edgar Allan Poe really belongs to Philadelphia – not Baltimore. Why? The bulk of his work was written …

First we have, shall we say, a rather unusual premise:

Pseudonymous Swedish author Tim Davys’ first novel AMBERVILLE, both a

plot-twisting noir and a meditation on good and evil, featuring a …

Though of course, that’s not how Holt is pitching this new series:

[

Paul Tremblay]1‘s debut mystery and start of a new series, THE LITTLE

SLEEP, pitched as The Big Sleep meets …

Weekend Update will be up later this afternoon, but first a quick look at more awards given out during Bouchercon.

First, the Shamus Awards:

BEST NOVEL: Ken Bruen, The Dramatist (St. Martin’s …

Courtesy Mystery Readers Journal, who awarded them last night:

Best Novel: THE VIRGIN OF SMALL PLAINS, Nancy Pickard (Ballantine)

Best First Novel: MR. CLARINET, Nick Stone (Penguin/Michael Joseph) …

Mystery News and Deadly Pleasures are pleased to announce the winners of the 2007 Barry Awards. The Barry Awards are named for of one of the most ardent and beloved ambassadors of mystery fiction, …

And for Kate White, it means a new publisher, new character and new scope:

NYT bestselling author and editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, Kate

White’s three new thrillers the first a stand-alone …

Early Alaska Bouchercon dispatches from:

• Jeri Westerson
• Steven Torres
• Rhys Bowen
• Laurie King
• Anna C
• Associated Press
• Daniel Hale (password protected)

More to come as the conference progresses.

Some writers get splashy book tours and accommodations at five-star hotels around the country. Still others conduct massive online marketing campaigns with every variety of Facebook, MySpace and blog …

First up is the one, the only Laura Lippman:

So, of all the strange e-mails I’ve ever gotten — I guess I should say, of

all the e-mails I’ve ever received from strangers — …

Too early to tell based off of a deal alone, but still:

Rights to NYT bestselling author Laura Lippman’s Tess Monaghan series,

to Emmy winner David Pritchard and Michael Pavone at MovieBooks, …

First, a most unusual mystery series to Penguin:

Mehmet Murat Somer’s THE KISS MURDER and THE PROPHET MURDERS, the first

in a mystery series set in Istanbul starring a transvestite nightclub …

In good, though not all that surprising news:

Author of Dead Connection, Alafair Burke’s LAST CALL, continuing with Detective Ellie Hatcher, pitting her against a serial killer targeting the …

Probably because it’s so evocative:

Christina Harlin’s MY BOSS IS A SERIAL KILLER, about a Kansas City

legal secretary who uncovers a series of murders, to Deborah Werksman

at …

More information about the audiobook thriller conceived by ITW and produced by Audible courtesy USA Today’s David Lieberman:

NEW YORK  — It’s hard to beat thriller writer Jeffrey …

Now that EXIT MUSIC is in stores in the UK, the media over there is all Rebus, all the time (the Rap Sheet has a good roundup of links to look at.) The latest piece is from the Telegraph and written …

The world of books may have lost one of its young adult greats in Madeleine L’Engle last week, but Phyllis Whitney, author of many novels for teenage girls as well as scores of romantic suspense …

The news is a long time coming but PW’s Judith Rosen has more details:

Sixty-one-year-old Kate Mattes, the Kate behind Kate’s Mystery

Books, is preparing for retirement by selling her …

Though he is an infrequent blogger, when Jim Huang speaks, one should listen. His latest essay is too long to excerpt and besides, you should really read the whole thing.

I take some exception to the BBC’s headline (what, crime fiction is supposed to die? WTF?) but BBC News Magazine’s Megan Lane has a decent piece on new crime fiction trends, including the …

If you haven’t had a chance to check out NPR’s miniseries focusing on crime novelists and their cities of choice, you can tune in to segments on Donna Leon’s Venice, John …

It took a while to become available online but Scott Timberg’s lengthy LA Times piece on Ross Macdonald – and Vintage’s plans to make the entire series available in print by early …

The sudden news via Booktrade.info:

William Heinemann and Diogenes Verlag AG report that Magdalen Nabb

sadly died suddenly at the weekend. Her funeral was held on Monday in

Florence.

Magdalen …

Call it a case of literary ping-pong, but if Stephen Miller was inspired by me to write about Dilys Winn’s groundbreaking mystery reference book MURDER INK, then I have to tip my metaphorical …

Now that the story has been picked up by almost everybody it proved a bit more difficult to find the source, but here it is:

The sighting, by the wife of Ian Rankin, creator of Detective Inspector …

It is stretching things a great deal to view tonight’s Anniversary Party in bar mitzvah-like terms. But if the Jewish rite is about moving into adulthood – or new territory – then …

The LA Times’ Scott Timberg has an in-depth piece about the life and career of Douglas Anne Munson, who wrote mystery novels as Mercedes Lambert. Though Munson died in 2003, her final …

Though I thought my LA Times column made my feelings about Warren Ellis’s CROOKED LITTLE VEIN clear, David Montgomery wondered what I thought, adding:

I found it modestly entertaining, but I …

Courtesy the Rara-Avis mailing list, a TIME Magazine piece on the state of mystery fiction from 1978:

They are the insomniac’s solace, the commuter’s opiate, everymitty’s

escape …

The Rap Sheet gets word from Mike Ripley that Rodney Wingfield, author of the Inspector Frost novels, has died at the age of 79 after a long battle with cancer. According to Ripley, “Shortly …

If you write crime fiction, want to write crime fiction or have ever entertained even the briefest notion of writing crime fiction, then you must see this interview (followed by parts two, three, four …

The Kansas City Star ran a thoughtful piece on Karen Spengler, the 55-year-old proprietor of I Love a Mystery in Mission, Kansas. Diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer in 1996, she was given about …

The Anthony Award nominations have been announced:

BEST NOVEL

ALL MORTAL FLESH, Julia Spencer-Fleming, St. Martins
THE DEAD HOUR, Denise Mina, Little Brown
KIDNAPPED, Jan Burke, Simon & …

Sun-Sentinel mystery reviewer (and one of my favorite people) Oline Cogdill is now blogging at the newspaper’s website, along with book editor Chauncey Mabe. An instant must-read.

Is it coincidence that I spend a weekend away just as Harry Potter-mania is unleashed upon the world? Actually, it is, and that’s why the Weekend Update will be delayed (or skipped altogether, …

If only I could have been at Harrogate to celebrate this in person, but instead a virtual shout-out will have to suffice. So congratulations, Mr. Guthrie, on taking home the Theakstons Old Peculier …

I wish I could say I’m surprised at the news, but I’m not. Still, only months after the shuttering of Murder Ink, the news that Black Orchid will close its E. 81st Street shop in September …

First, I got wind of this deal on Backspace and had a feeling I knew who the editor would be:

Bram Stoker Award-winner Jonathan Maberry’s PATIENT ZERO, in which a

Baltimore police detective …

Now that it’s Monday, reports are trickling in from more corners. Read perspectives from:

• Jason Pinter
• Sarah Langan (whom I twice saw and managed not to introduce myself to because I’m a …

Weekend Update to come first thing Monday morning after four days spent intermittently at the Grand Hyatt for Thrillerfest – and perhaps appropriately, this report is bulleted in scattershot …

The Private Eye Writers of America

(PWA) is proud to announce the nominees for the 26^th annual Shamus

Awards, given annually to recognize outstanding achievement in private eye

fiction. The 2007 …

Lee Goldberg, who’s on the board of the Mystery Writers of America, has revealed new changes to the active membership guidelines:

1) An author of books must have received a minimum advance of …

I wrote about it at GalleyCat already, and John Crace amusingly imagines how Faulks would write a James Bond novel; but I like Maxim Jakubowski’s take on the Guardian blog:

Even though the …

Yup, he likes it:

Boston writer Dennis Lehane is giving big ups to Ben Affleck’s
big-screen adaptation of his 1998 kidnap thriller “Gone, Baby, Gone,”
saying the Cambridge homey has made a flick …

…reported right here. Ali Karim has more over at the Rap Sheet.

In summary: Peter Temple took home the Duncan Lawrie Dagger for THE BROKEN SHORE. Gillian Flynn snagged both the Steel Dagger and …

Reading The Rap Sheet’s latest post doesn’t quite make me want to slit my wrists in protest, but you kind of have to wonder if just a leetle bit of due diligence on the production design …

If anything I’m surprised it took so long to broker (or at least to report publicly):

Linwood Barclay’s BAD MOVE, BAD GUYS, LONE WOLF, and STONE RAIN,

featuring a work-at-home …

The Bookseller has two publishing-centric features on crime & thriller imprints. Last week, they interviewed David Shelley, who refashioned Allison & Busby’s crime list before moving on …

Just to see if it lives up to whatever hype will follow suit:

 Standup comic and actor Richard Belzer’s I AM NOT A COP, featuring the

author as himself, a TV actor who gets wrapped up in …

Understandable but still sad news out of Paris:

Inspector Maigret and Inspector Clouseau are to lose their legendary,

  evil-smelling home on the banks of the Seine. The Paris Brigade …

First we have the shortlist for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year:

• All Fun and Games Until Somebody Loses an Eye, by Christopher Brookmyre
• Blood and Honey, by Graham Hurley
• …

Newly minted Chicago Sun-Times contributor Dana Kaye went to see PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 3 and suffice to say, was disappointed with the end result. The sour taste has her wondering why books deliver …

It always seemed odd that Edward Wright, after gaining critical acclaim for his John Ray Horn series (and a good deal of support from his UK publisher Orion) couldn’t find a US publisher for the …

The Crime Writers’ Association has announced the nominees for the Duncan Lawrie Dagger Awards

DUNCAN LAWRIE DAGGER:

THE FIELDS OF GRIEF, Giles Blunt (HarperCollins)
PEGASUS DESCENDING, James …

To commemorate the 1st anniversary of the Rap Sheet blog, J. Kingston Pierce invited scores of mystery community notables to send in their top “ unjustly overlooked, criminally forgotten, or …

The Palm Beach Post profiles Joanna Sinchuk, owner of Murder on the Beach, which moved to Delray Beach 5 years ago after five years in Sunny Isles Beach:

Sinchuk’s favorite outings as a …

The subject header pretty much tells the tale, but here’s the deal memo:

Author of The Blade Itself Marcus Sakey’s four books, following Ben

Sevier to Dutton, for publication beginning …

The Rap Sheet brings word that Philip R. Craig, author of the Martha’s Vineyard-set Jeff “Zee” Jackson series as well as three novels in collaboration with William Tapply, died at …

The Wall Street Journal’s Tom Nolan writes about the mini-explosion in the mystery short story as seen by the plethora of anthologies on the market, even if there are only two major magazine …

And I suspect you will, too:

Victor Gischler‘s GO-GO GIRLS OF THE APOCALYPSE, in which an

ex-insurance salesman leads a small band of survivors through a

post-apocalyptic American landscape …

The Crime Writers of Canada has selected its shortlists of nominees for the 2007 Arthur Ellis Awards:

Best Novel
• Lone Wolf, by Linwood Barclay (Bantam/RHC)
• Every Secret Thing, by Emma Cole aka …

Mystery Ink announces its Gumshoe Award winners for 2007:

Best Mystery: Julia Spencer-Fleming – All Mortal Flesh
Best Thriller: Robert Ferrigno – Prayers for the Assassin
Best European …

And possibly in chronological order, but not really:

• Boy, there were a whole lot of tuxedos this year. I wonder what the proportion was of rented versus bought.
• Dave White has wicked cool ARCs and …

I wasn’t able to attend the Symposium (damn deadlines) but Anthony Rainone makes mention of it in his Edgar Week post, and by all accounts I heard that the panels were uniformly terrific – …

…may still be true, or it may not. There’s a new edict handed down by the MWA Board:

Mystery

Writers of America (MWA) requests

that cell phones, cameras and all other electronic …

Or what I must call it: the Party of Constant Interruptions. About two hours in, it got to be a bit a joke as I would be in conversation with someone, another person would come up, apologies all round …

Mystery Writers of America and St. Martin’s Minotaur have teamed up for a new debut crime novel prize which will be formally announced later this week. The contest will award publication and a …

Publishers Weekly’s annual mystery feature is now up, focusing primarily on writers whom they call “debut” authors even though Andrew Gross is on novel number 6, at least, and …

It’s the end of April and for mystery lovers, that can only mean it’s Edgar Week. And so, like last year and the year before that (with much of the language repeating because as I said …

Or in other words, the anthology formerly known as Fuck Noir will see the light of day – as EXPLETIVE DELETED:

Crime writing is a dirty business—dealing in death, isolation, ruin and …

The Bookseller profiles Anthony Cheetham and his startup publisher Quercus, which in three and a half yeasr has built up quite the list of crime fiction titles:

The backbone of the new imprint is …

Library Journal’s annual springtime mystery feature focuses on smaller and upstart presses like Bleak House Books, Capital Crime Press and MIRA, along with established mystery-centric publishers …

Now that it’s live (and the news has leaked softly in various places) I can now reveal that I will be penning a monthly column on crime fiction, “Dark Passages,” for the Los Angeles …

Newsweek’s Malcolm Jones got John Banville and Donald Westlake together at the latter’s Manhattan apartment to talk about alter egos, crime fiction and lots more.

************From the Lipstick Chronicles comes word that one of their contributors, author Elaine Viets, suffered a stroke last night at 9 PM. The good news is that she’s expected to recover and …

Because it makes total, total sense:

NYT bestselling author and two-time Edgar winner T. Jefferson Parker’s

LA OUTLAWS, moving to Ben Sevier at Dutton, in a major deal, for seven

figures, …

Because I’d rather save my snark for more deserving targets, you know? And I really do suspect it is, once more, a case where two lines distill away all the best elements of the book:

TV …

The mystery community was saddened by the news that Donald Hamilton, creator of the Matt Helm novels, died in his birthplace of Sweden last November – though the news only got out in early …

The Sunday Telegraph has a lengthy interview with Lee Child and a spotlight on six top thriller writers in the UK, but the most intriguing part of the piece had to do with the bylined journalist in …

My review of Matt Rees’ THE COLLABORATOR OF BETHLEHEM appears in today’s edition of Newsday.

Today’s op-ed by Stanley Fish, the Davidson-Kahn professor of law at Florida International University, is behind the New York TimesSelect Wall, so I’ve decided to reprint it in full and …

The San Mateo County Times profiles San Mateo County Deputy District Attorney Al Giannini, who has provided legal advice and guidance to John Lescroart for 17 years and almost 19 books:

For 17 …

Jiro Kimura reported over the weekend that Lelia Kelly, author of three legal thrillers published by Kensington, died last week at her Atlanta residence of
complications from breast cancer. The …

Doesn’t the subject header pretty much say it all? But here’s more information as passed on by Janet Rudolph:

Left Coast Crime 2009 will take place March 7- 12, 2009 at
the Waikoloa …

As announced on Saturday during ITW’s inaugural Brunch & Bullets luncheon in LA, the nominees for the Thrillers are:

Best Novel:

False Impression, by Jeffrey Archer (St. Martin’s Press) …

If it seems like a hectic week at the offices of 175 Fifth Avenue, that’s because it is. At the same time the company brought in Jason Pinter to its editorial ranks, it also prepares to say …

Jason Pinter is moving to St. Martin’s Press. Yay!

Which also translate into Things To Look out For in 2008. First up is another prosecutor getting in on the novel-writing game:

Assistant District Attorney and then chief of Boston’s gang unit …

The International Association of Media Tie-In Writers has announced the shortlist for their first annual Scribe Awards, honoring excellence in licensed tie-in writing for books published in 2006. …

…except that this really, really sucks.

(This is part three and the last of a critical roundtable that began on Tuesday.)

Jerome Weeks: As I noted in my Newsday review, to be fair, Mr. Anderson himself points out the staggering number of …

Aside from founding and running January Magazine (host of the fantastic Rap Sheet) Linda Richards is a damn good writer in her own right. After three books featuring financial whiz-turned-sleuth …

(This is part two of a critical roundtable that began yesterday.)

Sarah Weinman: My thoughts may be a bit jumbled but I’m going to try to incorporate

initial feelings and others’ …

When I got an ARC of Washington Post critic Patrick Anderson’s new book THE TRIUMPH OF THE THRILLER, I not only knew that I would read it and likely have plenty to say on the topic, but that …

From the Orange County Register:

A public memorial tribute for Barbara Seranella, the popular Orange

County mystery writer who died Jan. 21, has been scheduled for 1 p.m.

Sunday at the Irvine …

Well this is certainly news any crime buff dreads:

SAN FRANCISCO — Call in the coppers, get Sam Spade on the case: The Maltese Falcon’s gone again.

In

a missing-bird caper reminiscent of the …

Martina Cole may not be the biggest-selling novelist in Britain, but she certainly comes close. Her publisher, Hodder Headline, now affixes her novels with the “#1 bestseller” tag before …

Since there’s been some chatter in the backblogs about it, I suppose it’s my duty to point y’all to Jeff Cohen’s intrepid interview of yours truly at Mystery Morgue and the …

A few days ago, Hard Case Crime officially announced its impending publication of DEAD STREET, a previously unpublished novel by The Mick. As the Rap Sheet found out a few months ago, the book was …

Marilyn Stasio makes an appearance in the regional section of the New York Times, talking about all manner of protagonists (the full list of those namechecked by Stasio can be found here) who make …

For me, the answer is neither, but I daresay most of the mystery community will be split between Seattle and Chicago for Left Coast Crime and Love is Murder, respectively. Expect lots of updates of …

It’s a rehashed topic, but the Guardian’s Julie Bindel at least gives the question of “what attracts so many women to writing – and reading – gruesome crime novels” …

One of my favorite writers, critics and people, Craig McDonald, has scored a two-fer of a book deal:

First there’s the fiction:

Journalist Craig McDonald’s HEAD GAMES, based on the …

Ned Bauman comments on the recent choice of Jed Rubenfeld’s THE INTERPRETATION OF MURDER by Richard & Judy and wonders what other great thinkers could make excellent sleuths:

The supreme …

My review of David Hiltbrand’s DYING TO BE FAMOUS is in the Philadelphia Inquirer, while my take on Richard North Patterson’s EXILE runs in the Washington Post.

Words fail me. They truly do. How can Barbara Seranella, one of the toughest, strongest people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting, be gone? But the bald truth is that after years of struggle with …

After leaving St. Martin’s Press in October to go to Touchstone/Fireside, Ben Sevier is moving once more. As of January 30, he’ll be a Senior Editor with Dutton, which has a nice stable of …

[Mystery

Writers of America]1 is proud to announce its Nominees for the 2007 Edgar

Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction,

television and film published or produced in …

Or to put it mildly, let the debates begin….

First off, I believe this is the first time in a very long time – perhaps ever – that six nominees have been listed for Best Novel. And …

The North American Branch of the International Association of Crime Writers has announced the 2007 Hammett Prize nominees, and they are:

GHOST DANCER, by John Case (Ballantine)

THE PRISONER OF …

Earlier this month, I reported that the author of KOCKROACH, one Tyler Knox, was really the pseudonym for William Lashner, the author of the Victor Carl legal thriller series. Over the course of the …

I like good stories. Especially stories of people who persevere and keep writing even when things aren’t looking so good on the “getting published” part. So I’m especially …

David Montgomery’s recent spate of posts on over-praising reviews are well worth reading, as they touch on a particular issue that I’ve been grappling with more of late:

A large …

Granted, I’m not totally buying John Sutherland’s argument that HANNIBAL RISING owes a lot to the fanfic that came before the finished book, but it’s an entertaining piece …

Right before New Year’s, I read Tyler Knox’s KOCKROACH, which flips the Kafka premise and opens with a cockroach waking up to discover that he has transformed into a human being. What …

Yesterday somehow got away from me, but I’m more than making up for it today (check back later for some literary detective work.)

As of this Sunday, Eddie Muller will be the San Francisco …

The Wall Street Journal’s Lauren Winner has an interesting piece on a growing trend towards the clerical mystery, made especially popular by Julia Spencer-Fleming and Katherine Hall Page. So why …

When Murder Ink opened its doors on the Upper West side in 1972, it paved territory that had never been paved before by being the first independent mystery bookstore. In 34 years, the store – …

At Murderati, Mike MacLean touches on a very pressing subject for debut and veteran author alike: where should you start your career?

“You’ve got to start out with a hit, right off the bat." …

As announced on DorothyL (which explains why it took me so damn long to post this because I get D-L news 10th-hand) the nominees for the Left Coast Crime 2007 Lefty Awards for Best Humorous Mystery …

OK, is it me, or is the publicity shot that accompanies Mosley’s interview with Radar online – a photo that predates his upcoming novel, KILLING JOHNNY FRY, by several years – seem …

And just when you thought the Scandinavian crime fiction boom had hit its peak, maybe not:

K.O. Dahl’s THE FOURTH MAN, the first of four new crime thrillers, to Peter

Wolverton at Minotaur, …

Though Elizabeth Stromme lived in the Los Angeles area, she was unusual in that her novels – written in English – were first published in French. That changed in 2003 when JOE’S …

By the end of the day, Plots With Guns will cease to exist in any format. Although Anthony Neil Smith and his trusty crew of Crimedogs shut the joint down back in ’04, the archives remained, …

Better late on this than never, but a hearty congratulations to Tess Gerritsen for scooping up the Nero Wolfe Society’s annual award for her 2005 novel VANISH. Gerritsen was in New York Saturday …

I am immediately skeptical of studies that attempt to assign behavior patterns to concrete topics, but even if these findings are more amusing that informative, it’s worth a read:

Not …

In recent weeks I have made a wonderful discovery. An Edgar-award-winning author who writes psychological thrillers with the same depth and punch as Ruth Rendell and Minette Walters with the kind of …

ITW’s sent this message around to a number of crime fiction blogs and I’ll do my part to spread the word: “The deadline for ITW award submissions has been extended to December 15th, …

As the fourth installment of Xiaolong’s Inspector Chen series hits stores, he talks with Newsweek’s Barbara Koh about modern China, comfort food and the fruits of his most recent Shanghai …

Which is my tongue-in-cheek way of saying that Katherine Neville has written a sequel to her bestselling debut novel, THE EIGHT – seventeen years after the book’s publication:

Katherine …

Jay McDonald’s author interview series at Bankrate.com continues with George Pelecanos, who talks about starting with low advances, working two jobs until THE NIGHT GARDENER finally – …

Dave Zeltserman sends word that the Psycho Noir issue, featuring the likes of Patti Abbott, Kaye George, John Basoff, Craig Corey, William Tanner, William Boyle, Richard C. Rogers, Raymond Embrack, …

As broken by the folks of CrimeSpree, the rumors are, indeed, true – the folks of Killer Year have pulled off a marvellous move, as the “class of 2007” authors comprising the group …

Thanks to Marshal Zeringue, you can now find out what books have Tuckerized me. Graham Powell is angling for similar honors:

_Please kill me in your next book, story, whatever. Make me the …

Have a mystery set in the Southwest? Looking to get it published? Then this contest might be the one for you:

WORDHARVEST Writers

workshops and Thomas Dunne Books will present a new annual award …

Remember when James Ellroy was known for being a good crime writer and only that? I know, those days are long gone, and he’s been doing the Delusions of Grandeur act for quite a number of years …

The Crime Writers of Canada’s annual awards will be adding a new category beginning next year – and in doing so, takes its cue from the CWA’s Debut Dagger (so much so that I think …

Justine Picardie already has plenty of acclaim in the literary world as author of several non-fiction works and of one novel, and more Du Maurier-specific, wrote introductions to the Virago editions …

Speaking of jaw-dropping news, Ben Sevier is leaving St. Martin’s to join Simon & Schuster, as

a senior editor at Touchstone/Fireside.  His last day in the office

will be November 8. Since …

Word comes over the transom that _Alfred Hitchcock’s

Mystery Magazine_ and The Wolfe Pack, the official Nero Wolfe society,

will sponsor a new annual writing prize, the Black Orchid Novella Award. …

Excuse me as I pick my jaw up off of the floor….

Janet Evanovich and Stephen J. Cannell’s new hardcover adventure

series, in a major deal, in a two-book deal, to Jamie Raab at Warner, …

The latest permutation in what’s often been a simmering debate in the crime fiction world – why do several female crime writers write such graphic violence? – took place some days …

And I can’t imagine a better choice, as Christa Faust reports on her blog that her new novel, MONEY SHOT, has been sold to HCC and is scheduled for release in February 2008. “Everyone who …

Now that former Dallas Morning News book critic Jerome Weeks has started blogging up a firestorm at his new address, Book/Daddy, he’s riffing on top ten lists, literary thrillers and the like. …

Bankrate.com’s latest author interview is Janet Evanovich, talking about leaving romance behind, her investment habits (conservative and steady) and what she would do differently this time out: …

If I were still living in Toronto, I’d be attending the International Festival of Authors, which kicked off its 27th year last night with a reception feting the 100th anniversary of notable …

Which is to say, the Rap Sheet blog is kicking some serious ass of late. Ellroy guest blogging, Robert Crais talking about Ross MacDonald, Ali Karim’s frenzied writeup of the CWA Short Story …

Thanks to the mad skillz of Tribe, there’s a lengthy interview with Michael Langnas, the editor-in-chief of Murdaland Magazine. He talks about current crime fiction, the response to the …

As we catch up on the latest in mystery/thriller acquisitions. First up, SMP gets a new author in a pre-empt:

Bill Floyd’s debut novel BEHIND THE DARK, about the wife of a serial

killer …

In what has to be a kind of genius move, J. Kingston Pierce has strongarmed James Ellroy into guest-blogging at the Rap Sheet. What better way to introduce himself: “’m James Ellroy, the demon …

So yesterday morning, I put up a one-line mention of Stephen King being named the Mystery Writers of America‘s newest Grandmaster. I thought it was odd that the St. Paul Pioneer Press had run …

At the Vancouver Province, medical thriller writer Daniel Kalla (whose newest novel, RAGE THERAPY, is in bookstores now) is penning a serial for the paper. He wrote the first and will write the last …

First, for those who checked up on me, thanks – I was nowhere near the building.

But as it turns out, one mystery writer was:

Mystery writer Carol Higgins Clark, daughter of author Mary …

Boy, good things are happening for Jim Huang. First he gets to co-chair the 2009 Bouchercon, and now his bookstore, The Mystery Company, is planning a big move, according to the Indianapolis Star: …

For some people, writing novels is a kind of wish fulfillment. They give their protagonists all the traits they wish they had, make them better looking, more intelligent, stronger, faster, what have …

I could blame this essay on Bouchercon, or on Ed’s post as a result of the convention. But really, the idea has been germinating my head for a while, mostly as a variant on the theme of …

The University of North Carolina, Greensboro is the lucky recipient of Edgar award winner Margaret Maron’s papers, albeit not permanently:

Mystery writer Margaret Maron has loaned her papers …

On occasion – okay, frequently – it occurs to me that the level of content here has dropped over the last few months, maybe even longer. No apologies, no excuses, but perhaps some of that …

After being in the works for quite some time, the folks at Killer Year have relaunched their website and blog and hooked up with ITW for a more formal arrangement that includes mentoring, blurbs, …

And the finalists are:

Louis Bayard, THE PALE BLUE EYE (John Murray)
Nick Drake, NEFERTITI: THE BOOK OF THE DEAD (Bantam)
Jason Goodwin, THE JANISSARY TREE (Faber & Faber)
C.J. Sansom, SOVEREIGN …

As David Montgomery already pointed out, there’s a nifty video for Michael Connelly’s ECHO PARK, which will be out in a few weeks, is vintage Connelly, and has a throwaway reference to one …

It’s making the rounds, so I figured I would do what I could to spread the word:

**

BOUCHERCON NEEDS VOLUNTEERS!**

Now is the time for all good volunteers to come to the aid of the …

Ah, it’s been a while since I rounded up deals of note. First, there’s Perri O’Shaugnessy jumping ship from longtime publisher Bantam Dell to new waters:

From Perri …

I have to agree with Jenny D on this point in that I, too, can’t really imagine what it must be like to write about a character for seventeen books and then be thinking about killing him off. …

And boy, does issue 40 feature one happenin’ lineup: Kim Harrington, Russel McLean, Daniel Hatadi, D.H. Reddall, and some blogger chick who decided that her possessed PI needed another go-round …

Leonardo Padura is dubbed the “Hammett of Havana” with good reason, as his Mario Conde novels explore the noir underbelly of his chosen city. He talks to the Guardian about how his work …

For some reason this news makes me feel a bit sad, though I suppose it’s necessary to save the home and make the estate open to the public:

EXETER, England, Sept. 11 (UPI) — Thirty …

So James Ellroy is everywhere, what with the movie of the BLACK DAHLIA in theatres imminently. The latest to interview him is the Pasadena Weekly, which reveals why he moved back to the LA area after …

Ok, so when was the last time any newspaper published a preview of a mystery convention this far in advance? I feel like I should be kidding when I say this, but I’m not. But the Madison Capital …

Summer’s gone, the kids are back to school, the rest of us are back at work…and fall means the two p’s: productivity and procrastination. In other words, the usual…

I’ve …

The subject title is rather self-explanatory.

Still on vacation, back fully on Tuesday.

If I haven’t said so before, I love Bankrate.com’s recurring feature with commercial writers where they talk finances, money management and the like. And James Lee Burke’s story, …

Well, it is if you like the pouring rain, I guess…

NYTBR: After what seems like an interminable absence, Marilyn Stasio is back – reviewing new crime fiction offerings from Minette …

Dennis Lehane was on the CBS Early Show this morning, talking to Harry Smith about Coronado. And as for the massive Boston historical epic he’s working on? Fall ’07 release, it looks like …

Now, this doesn’t exactly come as a surprise to me (as many of Rankin’s interviews – and there are many just in the Scotsman alone – touch upon his love for the format) but …

First, I must commend the New York Sun for finally making Otto Penzler’s columns available in full text format. Because that means there’s far more opportunity for immediate comment and …

At first glance, this news made me groan. Here we go again, another potential controversy served up by the Crime Writers’ Association as they attempt to get with the times, make some more money …

The author of several mysteries under her own name as well as the pseudonym Maggie Bruce has died at the age of 64 after a battle with breast cancer. Sandra Scoppettone pays tribute to her longtime …

Once the Harrogate dust had settled, one thing that kept getting referenced over and over was the “Unique Voices” panel, and specifically John Connolly’s comments on such. He’s …

Though by all accounts, this year’s ConMisterio was a big success in terms of social networking and the like (as was the inaugural event in 2005) it didn’t do so great economically – …

If you’re thinking of registering at the last minute, then you might be too late – because the conference is now sold out. But if you’re among the first 50 to get on a waiting list, …

There seems to be a real Phoenix quality to the idea of revisiting Gregory McDonald’s famed character in the movies. Kevin Smith was going to do it…now he won’t. But now it looks …

It won’t be for a while yet, but the website is up and running and the contributors’ list makes me drool:

   Daniel Woodrell – The Echo of Neighborly Bones
  …

I was all set to do this yesterday but then the Anthony Award nominations came out and that kind of distracted me. Anyway, reports and the like trickling in from:

• Charlie Williams
• John Rickards …

And I must say, the cliche is true – it really is just an honor to be nominated:

Best Mystery Novel
 Bloodlines, Jan Burke, Simon and Schuster
 Lincoln Lawyer, Michael Connelly, …

Bryon Quertermous has put together a very spiffy summer issue of Demolition, featuring new fiction from Paul Guyot, Jeff Shelby, Gerald So, Justin Porter, Steven Torres, Stephen D. Rogers, Stephen …

First, congratulations to Val McDermid for winning the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award, given out Friday night at the Harrogate Crime Festival. It’s much deserved, though I …

Which I’ll just let speak for itself, thank you very much:

Derringer Award-winning author Dave White’s WHEN ONE MAN DIES,

featuring New Jersey P.I. Jackson Donne, in a very nice deal, …

And I sure wish I could be at what the Times calls “The Hay-on-Wye of the crime world”, considering the stellar lineup of writerfolk organizer Mark Billingham has organized. And once …

As soon as the news broke, the first person I thought of was Max Allan Collins, who not only is a notable crime writer, filmmaker and graphic novelist, but was a close friend of Spillane’s since …

The best places to start for basic information are his Wikipedia entry (as well as Mike Hammer’s) and the unofficial Spillane site, which hasn’t been updated in years but has a plethora of …

Not surprisingly, considering the influence Spillane had on the genre, lots of people are blogging about the man (and that’s why this post will be updated throughout the day.) They include: …

What else can you add to the headline except that a crime writing legend has passed on? And so, I’ll repost the obit printed in today’s Myrtle Beach Sun:

Legendary mystery novelist and …

Oh man, this news just sucks in so many ways:

Dorothy Uhnak, once famous as a 125-pound New York City Transit Authority

policewoman who knocked down and arrested an armed mugger and then

better …

So I’m scrolling through Cluelass’s Bloodstained Bookshelf, looking at upcoming releases for late 2006 and early 2007. And one release in particular – James Patterson’s newest …

The stylish seven known as the Outfit debuted in mystery group blog waters yesterday, kicking things off with an introductory post from Marcus Sakey:

What you’ll find here is a little …

Too much to do today (and the rest of the week, really) so links in short order:

Clea Simon takes on the latest Dave Robicheaux novel by James Lee Burke, while Patrick Anderson approves of noirish …

I know, it’s been so long…and much to catch up with, too:

NYTBR: Marilyn Stasio’s column this week has a little of everything: heavy hitters (James Lee Burke) neglected gems (Bill …

The National Post’s Robert Fulford has a lengthy essay (though mixed take) on the work of Michael Connelly.

At January Magazine proper, Steve Miller reviews Domenic Stansberry’s THE BIG …

But it’s still funny. (link from Bookslut.)

Still not recovered from the Phoenix heat? Then keep the good times coming with these links:

• Photos from J.T. Ellison (including one I like of me, which is pretty rare) and Mike Maclean
• Roundups, …

The LA Times’ Anne Marie O’Connor profiles some of the city’s strongest additions to the genre – including Paula Woods, Gary Phillips and Naomi Hirahara –  who open …

Will Ian Rankin turn to children’s fiction when he’s done with Rebus? The Scotsman will pretty much report anything about him, of course (Rankin reads phone book! Rankin walks down …

Greetings after a sweltering, fun-filled, relaxing time at ThrillerFest. Having just walked in the door I’m a mixture of exhaustion and second-wind energy, which means – as always of late …

While I was away finding out who won the 1st annual Thriller Awards, the Daggers were given out:

Duncan Lawrie Dagger: Anne Cleeves – Raven Black (Macmillan)
Duncan Lawrie International …

I’ll be in the air on a flight across the country, where ThrillerFest – and the 100+ degree weather of Phoenix – awaits. And because I don’t feel like schlepping the laptop all …

Somehow, this bit of news seems rather fitting:

Georgetown County Council on Tuesday approved a resolution supporting

the naming of U.S. Highway 17 Business in Murrells Inlet in his honor. …

With ThrillerFest kicking off on Thursday, the Arizona Republic offers a preview of what’s happening at the inaugural conference.

The Belfast Telegraph talks to Andrew Pepper, whose debut novel …

But it sounds rather like something I really want to read:

Two South-African born professors writing as Michael Stanley’s

DETECTIVE KUBU AND A CARRION DEATH, introducing an overweight opera …