Farewell and Good Night

 

Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality.
--Emily Dickinson

Here are some of the many bright lights we lost from the world of crime fiction in 2008:

Eliot Asinof, d.June 10. Famous as the author of Eight Men Out, which became the basis of the 1988 movie; wrote over a dozen books including two mystery novels. He was 88. 

Andrew Britton, d.March. The young military veteran wrote three Ryan Kealey counterterrorist operative novels. He was 27. 

William Buchan, also known as Lord Tweedsmuir, d.June 29. He wrote two thrillers including Helen All Alone (possibly the first spy novel with a woman as its protagonist). He was 92.

George C. Chesbro, d.November 18. Author of the Robert "Mongo" Frederickson private eye novels and also wrote the CIA-agent-turned-artist Veil Kendry series and the avenger John "Chant" Sinclair series (under the David Cross pseudonym). He was 68. 

Sir Arthur C. Clarke, d.March 19, 2008. Mostly known for his science fiction works, he also penned crime fiction stories. He was 90.

C. R. Corwin (pseudonym of Rob Levandoski), d.September 8. Writing as Corwin, he authored three novels in the Morgue Mama series featuring newspaper librarian Maddy Sprowls. He was 59. 

Michael Crichton, d.November 4. Wrote bestsellers Andromeda Strain and Jurassic Park and created the popular TV series ER. He was 66.

Oliver Kaufman Crawford, d.September 24. Blacklisted during the "Red Scare" of the 1950's but became a successful TV writer (Perry Mason, Fugitive, Mannix, Kojak, Ironside, Petrocelli, and The Blue Knight) and also wrote two mystery novels. He was 91. 

James Crumley, d.October 17. Created two private eye series: the Milo Milodragovitch series and the C. W. Sughrue series. He was 68.

Julius Fast, d.December 15. Won the first Edgar award for a mystery short story, mostly wrote popular nonfiction.

Elaine Flinn, d.October 25. Wrote the Molly Doyle mysteries set in Carmel, California.

Simon Gray, d.August 6. Wrote five novels, one of which was a thriller, as well as several crime-oriented plays. He was 71.

Oakley Hall, d.May 12. Wrote a number of novels, several of them mysteries, and the Ambrose Bierce series. He also used the pseudonym Jason Manor to write several mysteries featuring California private eye Steve Summers. He was 87. 

Tony Hillerman, d.October 26, 2008. Known for his series of Navajo mysteries featuring Lt. Joe Leaphorn and Sgt. Jim Chee of the Navajo Tribal Police.

Edward D. Hoch, d.January 17. Prolific short story writer of mystery fiction. He had a story in every issue of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine since the May 1973 issue. He was 77. 

Russell Warren Howe, d.December 17. Famous for his nonfiction book, Mata Hari: The True Story, he also wrote a number of crime novels and novellas. He was 83. 
Joe Hyams, d.November 8. He wrote more than 25 books, including two mystery novels. He was 85.

Donald James, pseudonym of Donald James Wheal, d.April 28. Famous as the TV scriptwriter of The Avengers and Mission: Impossible among others, he also wrote several thrillers. He was 76. 

Richard Kidd, d.July 19. Authored several juvenile mysteries. He was 56.

William Cecil Knott, d.October 24. Primarily a writer of westerns penned under the Will C. Knott name, he also wrote wrote two mystery novels under the Bill Knott name featuring Skip Tracewski. He was 81. 

Leon Lazarus, d.Nov. 28. He wrote 1,500 comic book stories for Stan Lee in the 50's and 60's and also two Nick Carter novels. He was 89. 

Jack Lynch, d.June 6. The former journalist penned the Peter Bragg private eye series. He was 78.

Arthur Lyons, d.March 21. Author of the Jacob Asch private eye series and also a founder of the Palm Springs Film Noir Festival. He was 62. 

Zekial Marko, d.May 9. He wrote the TV plays for The Rockford Files, Kolchak, and Toma, as well as the screenplay for Once a Thief, based on his own novel, Scratch a Thief, written under the John Trinian pseudonym. He authored a number of paperback mysteries. He was 74. 

Stephen Marlowe, d.February 22. He wrote the Chester Drum private series. His recent books included The Lighthouse at the End of the World (about Edgar Allan Poe, 1995). He was 79. 

Gregory McDonald, September 7, 2008. The former newspaper reporter authored The Fletch series. He was 71.

Robin Moore, d.February 21. Wrote The French Connection and The Green Berets. He was 82.

Dennis Richard Murphy, d.June 19. Wrote mystery short stories for Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, and Storyteller, with several of his stories were nominated for the Crime Writers of Canada Arthur Ellis awards. He was 64.

Rick Nelson, d.December 20. His first and last novel, Bound by Blood, a police procedural, was published this year by St. Martin's Press. He was 57. 

Meg O'Brien, d.December 6. Authored the five Jessica (Jesse) James mystery novels.

Audrey Peterson, d.February 12. After writng Victorian Master of Mystery: From Wilkie Collins to Conan Doyle, she penned the series featuring music professor Andrew Quentin and his former student Jane Winfield.  She was 87. 

Dorothy Porter, d.December 9. Won the Poetry Book of the Year for The Monkey's Mask (Hyland, 1994), a crime thriller in verse about a lesbian detective. Her latest verse novel was nominated for the 2008 Ned Kelly Award. She was 54. 

Julian Rathbone, d.February 28. Wrote the three-book series featuring Turkish policeman Colonel Nur Bey, as well as another series featuring Police Commissioner Jan Argand, and a third series featuring Renate Fechter, head of a German squad of the Eco-Cops. His most recent series featured British private eye Chris Shovelin. He was 73.

Alain Robbe-Grillet, d.February 18. His novels are considered "anti-literary" crime fiction without conventional storytelling.He was 85.

Jerry A. Rodriguez, d.June 22. A playwright whose first mystery was published in 2007, with ex-NYPD detective Nicholas Esperanza. He was 46. 

Benjamin M. Schutz, d.January 17. An expert in forensic psychology who also wrote five novels featuring Washington DC private eye Leo Haggerty (one of which won a Shamus award), as well as a stand-alone, The Mongol Reply, and a story collection. He was 58. 

Margaret Truman Daniel, d.January 29, 2008. Daughter of President Harry Truman who wrote mostly mystery novels like Murder at the White House. She was 83.

W. T. Tyler (the pen name of Samuel J. Hamrick), d.February 29. A former counterintelligence officer at the State Department who wrote seven non-series spy novels. He was 78. 

Peter Vansittart, d.October 4. He was a prolific historical novelist but also wrote a crime novel set in the fourth century BC in ancient Greece and Sicily. He was 88.

Janwillem van de Wetering, d.July 4. He wrote a the Grijpstra and de Gier novels as well as the Inspector Saito short stories under the Seiko Legru pseudonym for Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine (later put together into a collection). He was 77.

Phyllis A. Whitney, d.February 8, 2008. Authored over 70 books of adult suspense, young adult fiction, children's mystery and non-fiction about writing. She won two Edgars in the juvenile category. She was 104.

Wade Wright (pseudonym of John Wright) d.November. Wrote a number of private eye novels featuring three separate protagonists, Bart Condor, Paul Cameron, and Calhoun. None of his novels were published in the US until Ramble House issued a brand new Cameron novel, Echo of Fear, in 2007. He was 75.

Media Murder

 

Here's a roundup of news from the world of mystery fiction and crime dramas on radio, TV, film, and the stage:

On December 21st at 10pm ET, the Investigation Discovery network will premiere the new series The Shift, which follows a team of homicide detectives at the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.

WETA's Author Author! has an interview with Louis Bayard about his book The Black Tower.

On December 18, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson featured Michael Connelly, author of The Brass Verdict (hopefully they'll have the video up soon).

The Telegraph featured a piece on Dame Stella Rimington, the former director general of MI5, who was surprised when her criticisms of the television series Spooks led to the makers offering her a position as their official consultant.

The Writers Guild has nominated the writing teams for Dexter (Scott Buck, Daniel Cerone, Charles H. Eglee, Adam E. Fierro, Lauren Gussis, Clyde Phillips, Scott Reynolds, Melissa Rosenberg, Tim Schlattmann) and The Wire (Ed Burns, Chris Collins, David Mills, David Simon, William F. Zorzi, Richard Price, Dennis Lehane, George Pelecanos) in the category for best drama series.

The Guardian reviewed Hungarian film-maker Béla Tarr's adaptation of the Georges Simenon thriller The Man From London.

Director Justin Chadwick is penning an adaptation of Stef Penney's prize-winning novel The Tenderness of Wolves for Film 4 and Target Entertainment. Shooting is planned for 2009, under the direction of Justin Chadwick (The Other Boleyn Girl).

The Crimespree Cinema blog posted a link to new Photos released by Warner Brothers from the shoot for the movie Whiteout. It stars Kate Beckinsale (Underworld, Pearl Harbor) as U.S. Marshall Carrie Stetko, who has been sent to Antarctica to solve the continent's first murder.

If you live in the UK or have access to shortwave, you might try and find BBC Radio 7 and its lineup of detective shows.

The 2008 International Mystery Writers' Festival has released a CD of live radio plays recorded at the festival, Ray Bradbury's "It Burns Me Up" from a 1940's collection of noir tales and Mary Higgins Clark's "Crime of Passion."

Writers Digest TV just added three pay-per-view video workshops from Thrillerfest 2008, with Eric Van Lustbader, James Rollins, and Steve Martini.

Some International Spice for Your Holidays

For the Philadelphia Inquirer, Peter Rozovsky offered up his listing of the best international crime fiction for 2008:  

• Canada: Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, by John McFetridge
• England: Second Violin, by John Lawton 
• Iceland: The Draining Lake, by Arnaldur Indriðason 
• Ireland: The Big O, by Declan Burke; Yours Confidentially, by Garbhan Downey 
• Italy: Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio, by Amara Lakhous, "a great little novel that made book critic Carlin Romano wonder: "Do we have an Italian Camus on our hands?"
• Switzerland: The Chinaman, by Friedrich Glauser 

The Times Online reviewed several "exotic detectives": 

• Arctic Chill, by Arnaldur Indridason (with Icelandic Inspector Erlendur)
• The Pyramid, by Henning Mankell (a collection of Swedish Inspector Wallander stories)
• The Slaughter Pavillion, by Catherine Sampson (featuring Beijing private eye, a former cop called Song)
• The Maze of Cadiz, Aly Monroe (featuring British spy, Peter Cotton, sent to Franco’s Spain)
• Blood Wedding, by the husband-and-wife team who use the pen name PJ Brooke (Set in Granada and the Sierra Nevadas and centered on Sub-inspector Max Romero)
• The Mind's Eye, by Hakan Nesser (with Swedish Inspector Van Veeteren)
• A Not So Perfect Crime by Catalan novelist Teresa Solana.

And the International Noir Fiction blog takes a look at Swedish author Johan Theorin's debut novel, Echoes from the Dead.

A Visit to Blood Island

 

H. Terrell Griffin is the author of Blood Island, the third mystery in the Matt Royal series (there are details on how you can enter to win a copy of Blood Island at the end of this post). Although originally born in Georgia, Griffin moved to Florida and upon graduation from high school, enlisted in the U.S. Army. After three years of active duty, he began his studies at Mercer University and earned degrees in history and law. A board-certified trial lawyer, Griffin practiced law in Orlando for 38 years. In addition to Blood Island, Griffin is the author of Murder Key and Longboat Blues. 

I recently sent Griffin some questions about his latest novel, which deals with the very timely theme of religious zealotry—in the U.S.

IRTM: First of all, I want to congratulate you on having Blood Island selected as a Mystery/Suspense finalist for the 2008 National Best Book Award by USA Book News. Did you go out and celebrate (Bloody Mary optional, of course)?
 
HTG: Thanks. It was a great and unexpected honor. I did do a little celebration, but, like Matt Royal, I did it with Miller Lite beer.

IRTM:  Apparently the genesis for your book was based on recent events around the globe and the historical underpinnings of religious extremist movements?

 

HTG:  It was. I’m fascinated by the similarities of the radical Islamic movement of today and the Christian activities of the Middle Ages. In the political spectrum in this country today, we see both ends and every gradation possible in between. For example, on one side we have the theory that our government must teach religion in the schools and if one does not adhere to the principle of inerrancy, then one can’t be a Christian. On the other end of the spectrum is the thought that religious faith has no place in public discourse and anybody who has strong religious beliefs is a troglodyte. Religious extremism is very dangerous, no matter what faith it is based upon.

 

IRTM:  Were you worried the book might appear anti-religion or that there might be any backlash from this type of theme?

 

HTG:  That thought crossed my mind, but I think a reading of the book will allay those fears. The Rev and his cohorts are obviously disturbed people. These are the same type of people who would follow Jim Jones and drink the deadly cool-aid. These characters do not represent any mainstream religious tradition, but are just a caricature of some of the most extreme and discounted beliefs that we find on the most dangerous end of the spectrum.

 

IRTM:  Although fanaticism can appear at any time and in any place, you based this book--in fact all of your books--in Florida, albeit a fictional island in this latest novel. Do you really think something like this couple happen in that state? (I lived in Tallahassee for ten years and the fanaticism I noticed was more of the sporting variety, although religion can definitely take many forms.)

 

HTG:  Perhaps if you substitute God for Bobby Bowden, you can see how it could develop in Florida. Seriously, I think there are little pockets of extremism where ever you look. They are usually so small and impotent that they’re not much of a threat, but the nuts are out there. Florida seems to draw all kinds of strange people, and that is one reason I love it so much. The sunshine state is fertile ground for extremism. Just think about Jacksonville during the Florida-Georgia weekend, or, perhaps even worse, when the Seminoles are playing the Gators.

 

IRTM:  I like the fact that you based several of the characters in your books on your friends. That took guts. What made you decide to take that approach and how do they feel about it?

HTG:  My friends love it, but that is in part because my friends are only the good characters. With one major exception. The Reverend Robert William Simmermon in Blood Island has the same name as one of my oldest friends from college days, who was in reality a very successful lawyer in Orlando. The physical description of the Rev matches my friend. Bill Simmermon loved being the bad guy. I showed him the manuscript before it was submitted to the publisher and would not have used his name without his approval.

 In 1980, a friend named Wyatt Wyatt, who was a professor of English at the University of Central Florida, wrote a novel named Deep in the Heart, published by Atheneum. One of his characters was a lawyer named H. Terrell Griffin, and he described me in excruciating detail. I loved it. I might add that my next book, which is in the editing process now, is named Wyatt’s Revenge. A little bit of an inside joke that about 5 people in the whole world will get, but still an homage to my friend Wyatt who died several years ago.

 

IRTM:  Experts often tell you to "write what you know." Both you and your protagonist are former military and former lawyers based in Florida. How much of Matt Royal is based on you and how much is pure fiction? Where does one end and the other begin?

 

HTG:  The similarity between Matt and me is that we're both lovers of the law and a little disgusted at the turn the practice of law has taken over the past few years. When the practice of law became a business instead of a learned profession, it lost its nobility. I was lucky enough to practice in a profession for many years, but ended my career in the business of law. I tried mightily to practice honorably, and I think I succeeded. That is the core of Matt. We both live on Longboat Key (I do part-time). The similarities pretty much end there. Matt is a tough guy. My last fight occurred in the 8th grade. Matt is somewhat of a lady's man. I'm hopelessly in love with the woman I’ve been married to for almost 45 years. Matt doesn’t have a family and relies on his friends for emotional support. I have a wife, three children, a daughter-in-law who is like one of my children, and two grandchildren who give me all the emotional support I could ever need. That said, my friends are very important to me and I treasure those relationships. Finally, I think Matt and I both learned something about honor during our time in the Army. We both try to live lives based on the Army's code: "Duty, Honor, Country."

 

IRTM:  Generally, writers either love or hate research. Obviously with your legal background, you don't have to worry much about researching those aspects of your character and the plots. Are there other areas of research you've had to delve into for your books or any that you've particularly enjoyed?

 

HTG:  I weave a little history into all my books. My college major was history and during the years I practiced law, I finished most of the course work for a Master's degree in history. You can imagine that it is a field I love to delve into. I always research so that I can bring reality into the fictional account. However, I blend that history with fiction. For example, the story in Blood Island of how the island got its name is based on history, but I embellished the historical account with fiction to come up with a reason to name an island that never existed except in my imagination. When I take the characters to places I research those places, so that the street names are real, a park is where it's supposed to be, the police headquarters is located properly. On the other hand, I also embellish that, so, for example, the Orlando Church in Blood Island doesn't really exist and there is no church in the location where I placed the one in the book.

 

IRTM:  Do you have a vision for the Matt Royal series down the pike, e.g. a target number of installments for the series, certain themes you'd like to explore, or taking the character in new directions?

 

HTG:  I don’t have a target number in mind, but I think there is a lot of room to explore and expand Matt's character and Logan's and Jock's as well. Logan and Jock are based loosely on my two best friends, Miles Leavitt and John (Jock) Allred, respectively. I have taken the bare bones of their personalities and stretched their character beyond all recognition. I guess I did some of the same with Matt and myself. However, I know how these guys think, what is important to them, how they go about living their lives, their regrets, their triumphs. I want to keep expanding those characters to bring out the real Miles and Jock wrapped in the fictional characters that are so unlike the real characters. I’m not even sure that what I just wrote in this answer makes sense. I might add that my buddy Miles Leavitt died last year at the age of 61 from lung cancer. I was with him at the end and he said, "Now that I’m checking out, I guess you’ll have to kill off Logan." I told him that as long as I was able to write Logan would be alive and living well on Longboat Key. I intend to keep that promise.

I'm not sure about new directions for the characters. I think that will unfold over time as the characters grow. I do not want to end up writing by formula, so that every book is essentially the same. I'll experiment with the characters and their situations and try to keep them and their adventures fresh. I'm writing a book now with the same characters but with a shifting point of view. We'll see how it reads when I’m finished.

H. Terrell Griffin is giving away a signed copy of his book, Blood Island, to one lucky tour visitor. Go to Terry's book tour page and enter your name, e-mail address, and this PIN, 3542, for your chance to win. Entries from In Reference to Murder will be accepted until 12:00 Noon (PT) tomorrow. No purchase is required to enter or to win. The winner (first name only) will be announced on Terry's book tour page next week.