Media Murder for Monday

It's the start of a new week and that means it's time for a brand-new roundup of crime drama news:


THE BIG SCREEN/MOVIES

Netflix announced they will release Enola Holmes 3 on July 1st. Philip Barantini directs the latest installment, with Millie Bobby Brown and Louis Partridge set to lead the film. Also starring in the project are Himesh Patel, Henry Cavill, Helena Bonham Carter, and Sharon Duncan-Brewster. Based on The Enola Holmes Mysteries by Nancy Springer, the film follows detective Enola Holmes to Malta, where personal and professional dreams collide in a case more tangled and treacherous than any she has faced before. The previous two films followed Enola as she followed in the footsteps of her famous brother, Sherlock Holmes (Cavill), solving mysteries all across London.


Adam Gyngell and Fred Fernandez-Armesto are set to write the English-language remake of the French thriller Boîte Noire (Black Box) for Netflix, to be helmed by Tim Fehlbaum, director of the Oscar-nominated September 5. A paranoid thriller in the tradition of The Conversation and The Parallax View, Black Box follows an NTSB black box analyst who, after being assigned to investigate the aftermath of a catastrophic plane crash, uncovers chilling audio anomalies that no one else seems willing to acknowledge. As he digs deeper for the truth, he provokes powerful forces determined to silence him before he exposes a shocking conspiracy.


Netflix unveiled a premiere date for The Whisper Man, its psychological thriller based on Alex North’s bestselling novel, starring Robert De Niro, Michelle Monaghan, and Adam Scott. The film will release globally on Netflix August 28. The story follows a widowed crime writer who, when his eight-year-old son is abducted, looks for help from his estranged father, a retired former police detective—only to discover a connection with the decades-old case of a convicted serial killer known as “The Whisper Man.” James Ashcroft (The Rule of Jenny Pen) directed from a script by Ben Jacoby and Chase Palmer, with Hamish Linklater, Owen Teague, Acston Luca Porto, and Will Brill rounding out the cast.


Chris Evans (Avengers) is joining the crime-thriller My Darling California, the next project for writer-director Elijah Bynum (Magazine Dreams). The movie stars Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty), Chris Pine (Star Trek franchise), Mikey Madison (Anora), Charles Melton (May December), and Don Cheadle (Ocean’s franchise). Evans takes over from previously announced Josh Brolin in the movie, with the latter dropping out due to scheduling. Set in 1980 Los Angeles, the film will chart how a single crime weaves together the lives of a TV host, his restless wife, a country music idol, two small-time crooks, and an ex-con, all of whom are chasing the promise of a better life. Filming is being lined up for late summer/September.


TELEVISION/STREAMING

Netflix has landed its latest Harlan Coben adaptation with a British version of  his 2007 thriller, The Woods, which was already adapted by Netflix in Poland several years ago. Tom Bateman (Based on a True Story) plays Paul “Cope” Copeland, whose sister Camille vanished from a summer camp, a loss that tore his family apart. Now a top barrister and devoted single father to 10-year-old daughter Cami, Cope appears to have rebuilt his life. But when the body of a man turns up—20 years after the man was supposedly murdered alongside Camille—Cope becomes convinced his sister may have made it out of the woods alive too. Determined to uncover the truth, Cope reunites with his first love, Lucy Silverfield (Michelle Keegan), and together they begin a search for answers, unearthing years of lies, cover-ups, and family secrets that threaten to destroy everything he has built. Other cast members include Mandeep Dhillon (MobLand), Pearce Quigley (The Gentlemen), Rade Sherbedgia (Downton Abbey), Shannon Watson (The Jetty), James Buckley (The Inbetweeners), Amelia Eve (Bly Manor), Pamela Nomvete (Nightsleeper), and Kerry Howard (Him and Her).


Last week, it was announced that Helena Bonham Carter was exiting the fourth season of The White Lotus after shooting had already begun, and this week, the production announced it had filled the unexpected vacancy with Oscar winner Laura Dern, a longtime collaborator and friend of series creator Mike White. Dern is not a complete stranger to The White Lotus; she did an uncredited voice cameo in Season 2 of the murder mystery as Abby, the estranged wife of Dominic Di Grasso (Michael Imperioli). The White Lotus Season 4 follows a new group of White Lotus hotel guests and employees over a week during the Cannes Film Festival. Dern joins the rest of the cast for the new installment, which includes Vincent Cassel, Steve Coogan, Caleb Jonte Edwards, Dylan Ennis, Corentin Fila, Ari Graynor, Marissa Long, Alexander Ludwig, Chris Messina, AJ Michalka, Kumail Nanjiani, and Nadia Tereszkiewicz.


ITV officially confirmed the highly anticipated return of its popular detective series, Grace, with a seventh series commission. The Brighton-based drama will return next year, to answer the desperate questions left hanging after series six’s unforgettable finale, which culminated in the dramatic, edge-of-your-seat kidnapping at the wedding of Roy Grace and Cleo Morey. John Simm reprises his iconic role as Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, to be joined by co-stars Richie Campbell, returning as the ever reliable DI Glenn Branson, and Zoë Tapper, who plays the newly imperilled Cleo Morey. The new series will feature four standalone films, based on characters from the best-selling Roy Grace novels by globally renowned author Peter James: When You Are Dead and Picture You Dead, with the remaining titles to be confirmed as the series is developed. The stellar supporting cast is also set to return, including Laura Elphinstone as the tenacious DS Bella Moy and Brad Morrison as DC Nick Nicholl.


Ulrich Thomsen (Banshee), Erik Svedberg-Zelman (Paradise), John Larroquette (Night Court), and Rob Yang (Succession) have joined the cast of Bishop, Prime Video‘s upcoming thriller drama series. The drama centers on homicide detective Bishop Graves (Joel Kinnaman), who will put all of his skills to the test in the hunt for an elusive killer targeting San Francisco’s moneyed class. As this increasingly audacious killer develops a devoted following among the city’s powerless, Bishop becomes convinced these murders connect back to SF’s most powerful man, his own father, Lincoln Graves (John Malkovich). In recurring roles, Thomsen will play Oliver’s uncle, and Erik Svedberg-Zelman will play Asker’s nephew. Casting announcements for Oliver and Asker have yet to be released. As guest stars, Larroquette will play a billionaire businessman and friend of Lincoln Graves, and Yang will play a successful developer and investor. The main cast also includes Jennifer Jason Leigh as Jillian Graves, Lincoln Graves’ sister, and aunt to Bishop Graves; Jordana Brewster as Kat Claiborne, a seasoned inspector at the San Francisco Police Department; Harry Treadaway as Wyatt; and Xavier Samuel as Anthony ‘Ant’ Graves, Bishop Graves younger brother.


Matlock is getting a shorter season on CBS, after the network revealed the Kathy Bates-led drama wouldn’t be returning until the mid-season, with only 13 episodes. CBS also revealed that three other projects would be coming back with fewer episodes than we’ve come to expect. Fire Country will depart the lineup early next season, with a 13-episode Season 5 order, down from 20 this season. NCIS: Origins is getting a reduced Season 3 order and will be replaced in the 10 PM time slot by NCIS: Sydney in midseason, with both Origins and Sydney each producing 10 episodes next season, down from 18 and 20, respectively, this season.


PODCASTS/RADIO/AUDIO

Five strangers are waiting on a train platform. When the train arrives in five minutes, one of them will die. That's the premise of Ilona Bannister's novel, Five. She spoke with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe on Weekend Edition Sunday.


Debbi Mack's latest guest on the Crime Cafe podcast was screenwriter, director, and producer Gregory Poirier, talking about his debut novel, A Thousand Cuts.


On the latest Crime Time FM, Andrea Mara chatted with Paul Burke about her new psychological thriller, Such a Nice Girl; redundancy-serendipity; sisters, friends, and family, and more.


Meet the Thriller Author welcomed Rea Frey, talking with host Alan Peterson about her new psychological thriller, Dear Mother.


On the Poisoned Pen podcast, Barbara Peters was in conversation with author Marie Benedict to discuss Benedict's new book, Daughter of Egypt.


Murder Junction hosts, Vaseem Khan and Abir Mukherjee, explored the early history of MI6, Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, discussed MI5's recommendations on how to be a spy, and chatted about Q's first outing as amateur detective in Vaseem's new paperback, Quantum of Menace.


Outliers' Get to Know hosts DP Lyle and Kathleen Antrim had a fun conversation with author and Killer Nashville founder, Clay Stafford.


On Pick Your Poison, Dr. Jen Prosser investigated a candy that can kill you, with a flavor so beloved, it was found in King Tut's tomb, and also, something that might make camels less thirsty.

Sunday Music Treat

Did you know there have been hundreds of piano pieces composed for the left hand only? One of the earliest dates back to 1895, but the most famous is probably Maurice Ravel's Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D. That work was composed for Paul Wittgenstein, whose right hand was amputated during the First World War. The pianist-detective in my Scott Drayco series had an injury that would lend itself to such left-hand compositions (although you'll have to read the books to find out why he finds this distasteful).

Here's Leon Fleischer playing the concerto with the Boston Symphony led by Seiji Ozawa:

 

 

Quote of the Week

 

Friday's "Forgotten" Books: The Edgar Winners

In honor of the Edgar Awards announced this week, I thought I'd highlight The Edgar Winners anthology published in 1980 and edited by Bill Pronzini. There are two dozen short stories included from writers who were awarded an "Edgar" for excellence by the Mystery Writers of America between 1948 and 1978.

As Pronzini states in his introduction, this anthology is

"The first anthology to bring together in one volume only those stories that have received the coveted Edgar as the Best Mystery Short Story of its year....These twenty-four stories include some of the finest mystery fiction to be published in the past four decades. Moreover, they represent the widest possible variety of types, themes, styles and authors—testimony to the fact that the mystery story, contrary to what certain critics would have us believe, is by no means a limited and hidebound genre."

A little history is in order, too, as the first two years of the Edgar Award for the short story were given for bodies of work; the third went to Ellery Queen's Mytery Magazine; and the next four were given to one-volume single-author collections. The current policy of honoring a single story didn't begin until 1954, and thus, Pronzini chose representative stories from the pre-1954 categories to be included here.

The stories are printed chronologically, from 1947's "The Adventure of the Mad Tea Party," by Ellery Queen (Frederic Dannay and Manford Bennington Lee), up through "The Cloud Beneath the Eave" by Barbara Owens, the winner from 1978. Other names are indeed a "Who's Who" of giants in crime fiction, short or long forms, including William Irish (a/k/a Cornell Woolrich), Lawrence G. Blochman, Philip MacDonald, Roadl Dahl, Stanley Ellin, Edward D. Hoch, Joe Gores, and Robert L. Fish. On the other hand, it's interesting to see how many of the winning stories were penned by authors who, for whatever reason, never went on to widespread name recognition, like William O'Farrell, Warner Law, and Margery Finn Brown.

The themes and styles Pronzini alluded to above range from detective stories to psychological suspense, police procedurals, character studies, morality plays, social commentaries, and "gently nostalgic glimpses of the past, even what might be termed an avant-garde literary exercise." If you're looking for a book that provides an overview of the best writing in a variety of short mystery fiction sub-genres, then this is a good place to start.

Derringer Delights

 

The Short Mystery Fiction Society (SMFS) announced the winners of the annual Derringer Awards today. The SMFS is a group of writers, readers, editors, publishers, and others dedicated to the promotion and celebration of mystery and crime short stories. Since 1998, the SMFS has awarded the annual Derringers to outstanding published short stories and people who've greatly advanced or supported the form. The Best Anthology Derringer was also presented for the first time in 2025. The winners will receive medals that are presented during Bouchercon, the World Mystery Convention. Congrats to all the winners and finalists!

Best Flash Story (Up to 1,000 words):  "The Man Under the Bridge" by Bern Sy Moss (Spillwords, 6/1/2025)

Other finalists:

• "Bradycardia" by Elizabeth Dearborn (Punk Noir Magazine, 2/4/2025)
• "Check Rear Seat" by Carl Tait (Exquisite Death, 5/1/2025)
• "It All Comes Out in the Wash" by James Patrick Focarile (Gumshoe Review, 10/31/2025)
• "Just Like Old Times" by Shari Held (Yellow Mama, 2/15/2025)

Best Short Story (1,001 to 4,000 words):  "Blind Pig" by Michael Bracken (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, September/October 2025)

Other finalists: 

• "Chains" by Frank Vatel (All Due Respect, 9/1/25)
• "Hollywood Prometheus" by Christa Faust (Crime Ink: Iconic: An Anthology of Crime Fiction Inspired by Queer Icons, Bywater Books)
• "The Artist" by Linda Ann Bennett (Midnight Schemers & Daydream Believers: 22 Stories of Mystery & Suspense, Superior Shores Press)
• "Wax On, Wax Off" by Nina Mansfield (Donna Andrews Presents Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Humorous, Wildside Press)

Best Long Story (4,001 to 8,000 words):  "Whatever Kills the Pain" by C.W. Blackwell (Whatever Kills the Pain, Rock and a Hard Place Press)

Other finalists: 

• "A Sign of the Times" by Tom Milani (Sleuths Just Wanna Have Fun: Private Eyes in the Materialistic Eighties, Down & Out Books)
• "Masterpiece" by Mark Thielman (Black Cat Mystery Magazine 16, September 2025)
• "Six-Armed Robbery" by Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier (Donna Andrews Presents Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Humorous, Wildside Press)
• "Zebra Finch" by donalee Moulton (The Most Dangerous Games, Level Best Books - Level Short)

Best Novelette (8,001 to 20,000 words):  "The Temporary Murder of Thomas Monroe" by Tia Tashiro (Clarkesworld, January 2025) (audio version)

Other finalists: 

• "Aswarby Hall" by David Dean (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, March/April 2025)
• "Loose Change from a Mini Cooper" by Frank Zafiro (Chop Shop Episode 10, Down & Out Books)
• "Saint Bullethead" by Nick Kolakowski (Fighting Words: Bruisers, Brawlers, & Bad Intentions, Leonardo Audio)
• "The High Priest of Low Men" by C.W. Blackwell (Myopic Duplicity: Do the Ends Ever Justify the Means?, Leonardo Audio)

Best Anthology (previously announced):  TIE - Hollywood Kills: An Anthology edited by Adam Meyer & Alan Orloff (Level Best Books - Level Short) and On Fire and Under Water: A Climate Change Crime Fiction Anthology edited by Curtis Ippolito (Rock and a Hard Place Press)

Other finalists: 

• Crimeucopia - The Not So Frail Detective Agency edited by John Connor (Murderous Ink Press)
• Gone Fishin': Crime Takes a Holiday, The Eighth Guppy Anthology edited by James M. Jackson (Wolf's Echo Press)
• Midnight Schemers & Daydream Believers: 22 Stories of Mystery & Suspense edited by Judy Penz Sheluk (Superior Shores Press)
• On Fire and Under Water: A Climate Change Crime Fiction Anthology edited by Curtis Ippolito (Rock and a Hard Place Press)
• SoWest: Danger Awaits! A Desert Sleuths Anthology edited by Claire A. Murray, Eva Eldridge, Suzanne E. Flaig, Denise Galley, and Sarah Smith (DS Publishing)

Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award Longlists

 

Harrogate International Festivals today announced the 18 titles longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award 2026, the UK and Ireland’s most prestigious crime fiction award, now in its twenty second year. The longlist, voted for by an academy of journalists, reviewers, booksellers, bloggers, podcasters, and industry representatives, showcases stories that transport readers from gangland Yorkshire to a haunted Dartmoor country house, from wartime Glasgow to a remote Scottish island, and features a host of remarkable sleuths – from the world’s first AI detective, to a time-travelling cold case investigator. Crime fiction fans are now invited to help whittle 18 down to 6 by voting for their favorite novels to reach the shortlist, with the winner of the coveted award announced on the opening night of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival on Thursday July 23rd.

The Longlist includes:

•  What Happens in the Dark by Kia Abdullah (HarperCollins, HQ Fiction)
•  The Midnight King by Tariq Ashkanani (Profile Books, Viper)
•  The Impossible Thing by Belinda Bauer (Penguin Random House, Bantam)
•  What The Night Brings by Mark Billingham (Little, Brown Book Group, Sphere)
•  Human Remains by Jo Callaghan (Simon & Schuster)
•  The Death of Us by Abigail Dean (HarperCollins, Hemlock Press)
•  The Chemist by A.A. Dhand (HarperCollins, HQ Fiction)
•  Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney (Pan Macmillan, Pan Fiction)
•  The Frozen People by Elly Griffiths (Quercus Books)
•  The Examiner by Janice Hallett (Profile Books, Viper)
•  The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins (Penguin Random House, Doubleday)
•  Clown Town by Mick Herron (John Murray Books, Baskerville)
•  Quantum of Menace by Vaseem Khan (Bonnier Books, Zaffre)
•  Paperboy by Callum McSorley (Puskin Press, Vertigo)
•  The Good Liar by Denise Mina (Penguin Random House, Harvill)
•  Gunner by Alan Parks (John Murray Books, Baskerville)
•  We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough (Orion Publishing Group, Orion Fiction)
•  A Schooling in Murder by Andrew Taylor (HarperCollins, Hemlock Press)

Mystery Melange

PEN America is offering the opportunity to be in your next favorite book or show via an auction to win a chance to have your name or a loved one’s name in an upcoming work by one of the participating writers and receive a signed copy. All proceeds from the auction directly support PEN America's new Author Safety Program, a program designed to protect writers facing harassment, threats, and intimidation both online and in person. The participating crime fiction authors include Lee Child, David Baldacci, and Jean Hanff Korelitz. Emmy Award-winning writer and director Scott Frank (Dept Q, Monsieur Spade) will also name a character after you (or someone you love) in his next project if you're the highest bidder. The bidding closes on May 15th.


The Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania Mystery Bookshop's one-day iScream for Mysteries conference is back this Saturday, May 2, from 11-4. New and returning authors taking part include Laura Bradford, Ellen Crosby, Barbara Early, Robert Swartwood, and more, with panels, author trivia, and book signings. For registration information, follow this link.


The third annual Murder She Wrote Festival returns to Mendocino, California from May 1-3. The event celebrates the TV series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer-turned amateur sleuth, Jessica Fletcher, which ran for 12 seasons from 1984 to 1996, and was also continued in movies and tie-in novels written by various authors, including Donald Bain, Jon Land, Terrie Farley Moran, and Barbara Early. The heroine’s fictional hometown of Cabot Cove was actually Mendocino, at least for the show’s exterior scenes, including the Blair House Inn, which represented Jessica Fletcher’s home in Cabot Cove, Maine, where the series was allegedly set.


Three of the UK’s most celebrated crime writers, Clare Mackintosh, Vaseem Khan, and Cally (C.L.) Taylor, have joined forces with UK Finance’s Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign to create a trilogy of original short stories designed to help the public spot scams. Read Between the Lies uses the power of storytelling to bring fraud prevention to life - tapping into the nation’s love of crime fiction to expose how scams really work. Each story is inspired by real fraud tactics and encourages readers to "think like a detective" and apply the same instincts they use in crime books, TV, and podcasts to everyday situations. To find out more about the Take Five to Stop Fraud’s Read Between the Lies campaign and how to protect yourself from fraud, visit this link.


Mystery Writers of American revealed the winners of the Edgar Awards last night, and in honor of that occasion, Molly Odintz of Crime Reads asked nominees to contribute to a roundtable discussion on the state of the crime world today and to weigh in on the pleasures and pitfalls of the writing life. You can read part one of that roundtable here and part two via this link.


The Folio Society is presenting a newly illustrated edition of Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd to celebrate the novel’s 100th anniversary. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was published in June 1926, six months before Agatha Christie famously vanished for eleven days. Proclaimed by the Crime Writers' Association as "the finest example of the genre ever penned," the title is consistently voted among Agatha Christie's best novels.  (HT to Shots Magazine)


On Art Taylor's "The First Two Pages" blog feature, he welcomed P.M. (Pamela) Raymond to talk about her linked-stories collection, Things Are as They Should Be and Other Words To Die For.


This week's crime poem up at the 5-2 Crime Poetry Weekly is "Senseless Acts of a Madman" by G. Emil Reutter.


In the Q&A roundup, author John Cheshire spoke with Crime Fiction Lover about his debut novel, System Lockout, which centers around a ransomware attack on National Health Services across London; Author Interviews spoke with Catherine Mack, the pseudonym for Catherine McKenzie, about This Weekend Doesn't End Well for Anyone, the new novel in her Vacation Mystery Series; and Deborah Kalb chatted with author/screenwriter Gregory Poirier, about his new Max Starkey thriller, A Thousand Cuts, and also with author/attorney Marc S. Perlman about his new espionage thriller, The Riddle of the Trees.