Criminally Good Verse

If you happen to be in the New York City area tonight, hop on over to the The Cornelia Street Cafe in Greenwich Village for readings from the recently published fourth annual The Lineup: Poems on Crime. Anthology contributors Jeanne Dickey, Caitlin Elizabeth Thomson, Sarah Cortez, Reed Farrel Coleman and Richie Narvaez (Coleman and Narvaez also co-edited the book with Gerald So), will be on hand. You can purchase one of limited copies there or at the Mysterious Bookshop. If you do plan on attending, reserve a spot by calling (212) 989-9319 (the $7 cover includes a free drink).

Media Murder for a Memorial Day Monday

MOVIES

Here’s your first look at the David Fincher-directed The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara.

It appears that Hollywood has a formula for movies. No! Who would have guessed?  Actor Tom Jane was as-good-as-signed to costar in Headshot, the hitman thriller with Sylvester Stallone, as a cop who would team up with Sly’s paid assassin. But apparently the studio believes he’s too pigmentally-challenged and want someone more “ethnic” (whatever that means, these days) to meet their success formula.

TV

Edward James Olmos (Battlestar Galactica) has joined the cast of Dexter, playing a brilliant, charismatic professor of religious studies.  Also, Billy Brown (Lights Out) is set for a recurring role on the show, playing Mike Cutler, a no-nonsense Chicago homicide detective who transfers to Miami Metro.

Paget Brewster has made it official that she’s returning to Criminal Minds. Meanwhile, new regular for 2010-2011, Rachel Nichols, is leaving and there’s still no word on whether or not Thomas Gibson will be returning.

Another crime drama cast shake-up: Christopher Meloni is leaving Law and Order: Special Victims Unit after 12 years with the show. Fellow cast-partner Mariska Hargitay had already announced a decreased role for next year, and expressed her sadness at Meloni’s departure.

Bones spin-off The Finder is already having casting issues, as well. Saffron Burrows, who was to play a cocky bar owner and helicopter pilot opposite star Geoff Stults, is leaving the show and her role is being recast.

Is AMC’s crime drama The Killing being renewed? As of Friday of last week, no news had been announced. Speculation is that the network is still deciding in which direction to take next season, rather that if there will be a next season.

The Guardian makes note of a new boxed-set you should add to your shopping (or wish) list, what they call an “endlessly twisting police procedural” that is every bit the equal of The Wire or The Killing. It’s called Spiral and produced and set in Paris.

PODCASTS/RADIO

If you haven’t had your Michael Connelly fix lately, he’s making the Australia podcast rounds. First in Sydney and then in Melbourne.

Deaver. Jeffery Deaver appears on a Telegraph videocast from the Hay Festival in the UK.

THEATER

The Brooklyn Academy of Music 2011 Next Wave Festival is celebrating its 150th anniversary with a16-month-long series of events, starting in September. There are many interesting events of all stripes lined up, including the New York premiere of The Infernal Comedy: Confessions of a Serial Killer, starring Mr. Malkovich as Austrian criminal and author Jack Unterweger.

Lyricist Kellen Blair and composer Joe Kinosian have teamed up for the quirky Murder for Two, a musical mystery for one piano and two actors who play an officer masquerading as a full detective, an embittered widow, a squabbling married couple, and an entire boys choir. The world premiere is currently underway at the Chicago Shakespeare Festival, with additional productions in San Francisco and New York coming soon.

Bestselling Mysteries and Thrillers in Indie-land

The top-25-selling print book titles for the two-month period ending May 17, based on sales at hundreds of independent bookstores nationwide, as reported by the American Booksellers Association:

1. The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party by Alexander McCall Smith, Pantheon
2. The Man From Beijing by Henning Mankell, Vintage
3. A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear, Harper
4. The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith
5. Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson, Reagan Arthur Books
6. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley, Bantam
7. Drawing Conclusions by Donna Leon, Atlantic Monthly
8. The Mapping of Love and Death by Jacqueline Winspear, Harper Perennial
9. A Question of Belief by Donna Leon, Penguin
10. The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag by Alan Bradley, Bantam
11. This Body of Death by Elizabeth George
12. The Shadow of Your Smile by Mary Higgins Clark
13. I’ll Walk Alone by Mary Higgins Clark, S&S
14. Maisie Dobbs (Book One) by Jacqueline Winspear, Penguin
15. The Ice Princess by Camilla Lackberg, Free Press
16. Worth Dying For by Lee Child, Dell
17. The Devil’s Star by Jo Nesbo, Harper
18. Sixkill by Robert B. Parker, Putnam
19. Cold Wind by C.J. Box, Putnam
20. A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley, Delacorte
21. The Black Cat by Martha Grimes, Signet
22. One of Our Thursdays Is Missing by Jasper Fforde, Viking
23. U Is for Undertow by Sue Grafton, Berkley
24. One Was a Soldier by Julia Spencer-Fleming
25. Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell, Vintage

BEA-ware

The annual Book Expo America is underway at the Jarvis Center in New York City. If have a chance to stop by, check out the Mystery Writers of America booth with tons of author signings, starting off with Hilary Davidson and Megan Abbott this morning and continuing through today and tomorrow.

For other author sightings and tons of information about current and up-and-coming crime fiction, look for the dozens of publishers with crime fiction/mystery titles out on the Exhibitor Floor.

If you're there tomorrow between 4 and 5 p.m., you might be able to get tickets for the Audio Publishers Association Author Tea with Karin Slaughter, Tony Horwitz and Brad Meltzer. 

To keep up with general BEA happenings, you can follow @BookExpoAmerica or the #BEA11 hashtag on Twitter or BEA on Facebook. GalleyCat also has a Cheat Sheet for you.

Media Murder for Monday

MOVIES

The just-wrapped Cannes Film Festival gave the Palme d'Or to Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life, but also handed out awards for some crime/thriller movies. Best Director honors went to Denmark's Nicolas Winding Refn for Drive, his U.S.-produced action-thriller set in Los Angeles starring Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan. The Grand Prix award was a tie between two films, which included the contemplative police procedural Once Upon a Time in Anatolia. The Jury Prize went to the French film Poliss, which follows a group of individuals and officers working in and around a child-protection unit in Paris.

Age of Heroes just opened in the UK. It's based on a true story about the formation and one of the missions of author Ian Fleming's covert 30 Assault Unit, a precursor for the elite forces in the U.K. James Bond is thought by many to be a composite of half a dozen 30AU officers.

Warner Brothers picked up the movie rights to the Gregory McDonald mystery novels featuring investigative reporter Fletch, previously made into films starring Chevy Chase in the 1980s. The studio is negotiating with David Mandel, one of the writers on Sacha Baron Cohen's upcoming comedy The Dictator, to write the Fletch "re-imagining" (not, apparently a remake per se). McDonald's first two novels in the series won unprecedented back-to-back Edgar Awards.

Stanley Tucci and Cloris Leachman have joined the cast for the remake of Gambit (originally starring Michael Caine and Shirley MacLaine back in 1966), about a British art curator Harry Deane (Colin Firth) who devises a finely-crafted scheme to con England's richest man and avid art collector, Lionel Shabandar, (Alan Rickman) into purchasing a fake Monet painting. Deane recruits a Texas rodeo queen (Cameron Diaz) to pose as a woman whose grandfather liberated the painting at the end of WWII. 

Director Peter Berg and actor Taylor Kitsch (Friday Night Lights) are on board for the film adaptation of Marcus Luttrell's book Lone Survivor. The story details a 2005 covert mission undertaken by the author and fellow Navy SEALs who struggled to survive an attack by Taliban forces. The mission went wrong after their presence was given away, and Luttrell was the only one who made it out alive.

The graphic novel/media/short story/game boundaries are getting blurred more and more these days, with crossovers from comics into the other genres and vice versa. Now a Sony PlayStation game, the Gangs of London, is going to be made into a movie in the UK. The plot centers on London's underworld, gangs and violent battles.

It's really hard not to think this is going to be a train wreck, but MGM and Screen Gems have hired Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa for a remake of the film based on the Stephen King novel Carrie (originally played by Sissy Spacek). King has mixed feelings and suggests Lindsay Lohan would be perfect for the role.

TV

The BAFTA awards for television, the UK's version of the Emmys, were handed out yesterday. BBC's Sherlock won the award for Best Drama and Martin Freeman won the Supporting Actor award for his role as Dr. Watson. The Best International program award was given to the Danish series Forbrydelsen, airing in the UK as The Killing (and the basis for for AMC's show by that same title airing in the U.S.).

Confused about which shows got axed, which pilots made the cut, and when all the shows will be airing in the fall? TV Guide has a handy grid for you. Or you can read this scorecard.

Meanwhile, farther north, the CBC has ordered the pilot Cracked, a character-driven police drama from indie producer White Pines Pictures written by Tracey Forbes (Flashpoint, The Bridge). It is inspired by Calum de Hartog, who worked for 10 years as a Toronto beat cop, and "follows police and psychiatric nurses in an Abnormal and Violent Crimes Unit looking for the bad guy in a world of emotionally disturbed people."

PODCASTS

If you've been following the podcast series of Mark Coggins's novel The Immortal Game over at Crimewav, Part 14 is up (and note the "adult situations" caution).

THEATER

The stage play based on John Grisham's 1989 novel A Time to Kill opened this weekend on Washington, D.C.'s Arena Stage. The play, which focuses on the trial of a poor black father who publicly guns down the rednecks who raped his young daughter, is the biggest commercial project Arena has undertaken to date.

“What One Man Can Invent Another Can Discover”

Happy 152nd birthday to Arthur Conan Doyle (May 22, 1859). The BBC has posted the three 90-minute episodes that will comprise season 2 of the Sherlock Holmes series starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes and Martin Freeman as Dr. John Watson.

• "A Scandal In Belgravia" by show creator (and Doctor Who producer) Steven Moffat.
• "The Hounds of Baskerville" by Mark Gatiss.
• "The Reichenbach Fall" by Stephen Thompson.

United in Strength

 

As we gear up for Memorial Day, it's worth remembering that 5,885 U.S. troops have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom since 2011.

"History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid." Dwight D. Eisenhower

Mystery Melange

If you're looking for flash fiction markets featuring crime stories, there's a relatively new kid on the block, Shotgun Honey, operated by Kent Gowran, Ron Earl Phillips and Sabrina Ogden. They're looking for crime/hardboiled/noir stories of 700 words—"Short, Concise and Complete. If it has to go over, it better be damn good." You'll find stories already featured from the likes of Keith Rawson, Sandra Seamans, Kieran Shea, Anthony Neil Smith and other fine folks.

Speaking of short stories, L.A. Noire, an anthology based on the video game of that title, was recently published with offerings from Joyce Carol Oates, Francine Prose, Lawrence Block, Joe Lansdale, Duane Swierczynski, Megan Abbott and Andrew Vachss. BoingBoing posted Hard Case Crime publisher Charles Ardai's introduction to the anthology.

Giveaways! You can win a copy of Laura Lippman's I'd Know You Anywhere over at the Rap Sheet, but the deadline is this Sunday, May 22; Murder, Mystery and Mayhem is offering an advanced reading copy of Cold Wind by C.J. Box (enter by May 30); and Euro Crime notes that Random House is running a competition during each day of CrimeFest for residents of the UK and Ireland.
 
And speaking of CrimeFest—it starts today in Bristol in the UK, with several fun panels and the evening CrimeFest Pub Quiz. Featured guests for the conference include Lindsey Davis, Peter James, Deon Meyer and Christopher Brookmyre. The Shots Magazine blog plans to have coverage for those of us who are desk-bound.

Two interesting anthologies coming out soon; Declan Burke is editor of the first one, titled Down These Green Streets, "a collection of essays, interviews and short stories about Irish crime writing by the Irish crime writers themselves." Burke also notes on his blog the upcoming release of a similar book on Scottish crime fiction, titled Dead Sharp, featuring in-depth interviews with Scotland's bestselling crime writers.

Want to get a jump on fall and start penciling in your calendar? Omnimystery News and Crimepree Magazine have posted some previews of new (and one returning) crime drama, including Alcatraz, Charlie's Angels, The Finder, Grimm, Person of Interest, Prime Suspect and The Glades.

Mystery Scene magazine has an in-depth interview with author Sara Paretsky, with the 2011 MWA Grand Master discussing "what it takes to be a female shamus—and writer—in a man's world."

The Mystery Writers of America now has a YouTube page. Visit this link to see videos from this year's Edgar Awards Banquet.

There's a celebratory day set aside for just about everything, including museums (something I celebrate every day, or at least whenever I get the chance here in D.C.). Janet Rudolph took the opportunity of International Museum Day to profile some crime museums.

The International Mystery Writers' Festival had a bang-up initial few years, but has been struggling ever since with funding in its home town of Owensboro, Kentucky. The past two years, the conference has been on-again, off-again, depending upon the winds of financial fortunes at the time, and now it appears it's off again, at least until 2012.The producing organization, RiverPark Center is taking advantage of a grant to retire their outstanding construction debt, but as it's a challenge grant, the organization has to spend all its time raising the cash instead of staging the festival. Since the state has confirmed a pledge to contribute another challenge grant to help fund the 2012 festival, it's currently scheduled for June next year.

Some of the Best

 

Each month, the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association features a member bookstore and its bestseller list. Front and center for April is Murder by the Book in Portland, Oregon, with its top hardcover, trade paperback and mass market sales:

HARDCOVER

1. Carola Dunn, ANTHEM FOR DEAD YOUTH 
2. Julia Spencer-Fleming, ONE WAS A SOLDIER  
3. Michael Connelly, THE FIFTH WITNESS  
4. Tie: Anne Perry, TREASON AT LISSON GROVE
   Jacqueline Winspear, A LESSON IN SECRETS  
5. Susan Wittig Albert, MOURNING GLORIA 

TRADE PAPERBACK

1. Camilla Lackberg, THE ICE PRINCESS
2. Ann Littlewood, DID NOT SURVIVE
3. Susan Isaacs, AS HUSBANDS GO  
4. Steve Hamilton, THE LOCK ARTIST
5. Donna Leon, A QUESTION OF BELIEF

MASS MARKET PAPERBACK

1. Camilla Lackberg, THE ICE PRINCESS  
2. Louise Penny, STILL LIFE 
3. Sarah Graves, CRAWL SPACE 
4. Charlaine Harris, DEAD IN THE FAMILY 
5. J.A.Jance, QUEEN OF THE NIGHT

Media Murder for Monday

MOVIES

Johnny Depp and Rob Marshall have both signed on for a film adaptation of The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett. Screenwriter Jerry Stahl (Permanent Midnight) is also on board. The last movie version was in1934, a comic turn starring William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles. No word on exactly what form this version will take, but Marshall said "We are looking forward to working with Warner Bros. to create a reinvention of a beloved story."

The Cannes Film Festival turned a little chilly this year with a large Scandinavian contingent. In addition to movies by three Nordic directors, a first for the festival, there were other Scandinavian films represented, thanks to the success of Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy. Film rights were snapped up for Jo Nesbø's novel The Snowman, featuring his detective Harry Hole, and a film already based on a Nesbø book, Headhunters, is being screened at the festival. Kenneth Branagh is in talks to adapt Henning Mankell's novel Italian Shoes. There's also a screening of an upcoming adaptation of the Swedish crime series The Fjallbacka Murders by author Camilla Lackberg.

Sam Worthington will star and F. Gary Gray direct The Last Days of American Crime based on the graphic novel written by Rick Remender. Worthington plays a career criminal who must pull off one last heist before the government's new form of legal form of mind control—making it impossible for people to commit unlawful acts—goes into effect.

The 39 Clues, the bestselling young-adult Scholastic Media book series, online game and card collection, is turning into a live-action movie directed by Brett Ratner. It was bought by DreamWorks partners Stacey Snider and Steven Spielberg, with Spielberg set to direct, but he's apparently too busy.

A film directed by Ben Hibon and scheduled for release in 2012 re-imagines Peter Pan as a darker-edged story blended with detective fiction. The plot centers on Hook (Aaron Eckhart), a troubled former police detective obsessed with tracking down a strange, childlike kidnapper who's been swiping and killing kids. Sean Bean is also in the cast in the role of Smee, chief detective on the force and Hook's last remaining friend.

Julie Andrews, Gemma Arterton, Matthew Goode, and Gabriel Byrne have been added to the cast of the upcoming film based on Agatha Christie's book Crooked House. It's set to start filming this summer in the U.S.

TV

Jennifer Love Hewitt is in talks to replace the departing Mariska Hargitay Law & Order: SVU. Meanwhile, SVU's male star Christopher Meloni still has no deal for next season.

Over at Criminal Element, Tara Gelsomino summarizes the new crime dramas popping up in the fall TV schedule, now that most of the network upfronts have been announced. This means it's time for the networks to post their fall schedules, which NBC did yesterday and Fox today.

After lengthy negotiations, Criminal Minds co-star Shemar Moore got a hefty pay raise to return to the CBS crime drama next season. Thomas Gibson is now the only remaining cast member without a contract to return.

PODCASTS

NPR reviews Pete Hamill's Tabloid City and also has an interview with the author. You can also read an excerpt on the link page.

Craig Ferguson hosted crime writer Lawrence Block on his late-night show, promoting his new novel, A Drop of the Hard Stuff.

NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday took a look at infamous crime stories included in Popular Crime, with the author of the new book, Bill James.

THEATER

The world premiere of The Detective's Wife by Keith Huff runs May 24 through July 31 at the Writers' Theater in Glencoe, just outside Chicago, Illinois. Penned by playwright Keith Huff (award-winning writer for AMC's Mad Men), the plot hinges on Alice Conroy, the mother of two grown children, owner of a book store and wife of a Chicago homicide detective. When her husband is gunned down on the job, she is determined to find out who did it and why.

Ken Ludwig's play Post Mortem is being staged at the Oyster Mill Playhouse in East Pennsboro Township, Pennysylvania. The play is set in April 1922 at the Connecticut country estate of an actor, William Gillette, who is famous for portraying Sherlock Holmes. Guests who were present a year ago when another guest allegedly committed suicide have reassembled on the anniversary of that tragedy, only Gillette believes it was murder, not suicide, and uses his faux-Holmsian experience to try to prove it.

An Old Peculier List

The 2011 Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year longlists were announced today. Simon Theakston, T&R Theakston executive director, said: "I'm delighted to see such a wide range of authors on this year's longlist. It's particularly exciting to see many new names emerging who will hopefully continue to fly the flag for British and Irish crime writing for many years to come." The longlisted and shortlisted titles will also be featured in a UK-wide library campaign.

The public (this means you) can vote for your favorite novel through June 5th. The top six votegetters become the shortlist, to be announced June 27th, and the winner from that group will be chosen by a panel of judges including this year's Festival chair Dreda Say Mitchell; the journalist and novelist Henry Sutton; the winner of a Daily Mirror reader competition; and Simon Theakston, Executive Director of T&R Theakston Ltd. 

Here's the longlist, in alphabetical order by author's last name:

Blacklands by Belinda Bauer (Corgi)
From the Dead by Mark Billingham (Sphere)
Blood Harvest by S J Bolton (Corgi Books)
61 Hours by Lee Child (Bantam Books)
Winterland by Alan Glynn (Faber)
A Room Swept White by Sophie Hannah (Hodder)
The Woodcutter by Reginald Hill (Harper Fiction)
Rupture by Simon Lelic (Picador)
Sister by Rosamund Lupton (Piatkus)
Dark Blood by Stuart MacBride (Harper Fiction)
Fever of the Bone by Val McDermid (Sphere)
Fifty Grand by Adrian McKinty (Serpent's Tail)
Still Bleeding Steve Mosby (Orion)
The Twelve by Stuart Neville (Vintage)
Random by Craig Robertson (Simon & Schuster)
The Holy Thief by William Ryan (Pan Books)
The Anatomy of Ghosts by Andrew Taylor (Michael Joseph)
A Capital Crime by Laura Wilson, (Quercus)

‘Zine Scene, Part Deux

I realize I neglected to include one very important publication in yesterday's post about recent mystery-related magazines, namely, the always-wonderful Mystery Readers Journal. The London Mysteries Part I edition is out, with Part II due in early July. The two online features include "Masquerading in Secret London" by Texas-accented Deborah Crombie (Superintendent Duncan Kincaid/Inspector Gemma James series) and "The Most Peculiar Detectives" by Christopher Fowler (the Bryant & May series).

The print edition includes columns on "The Devil's Home on Leave: Derek Raymond's Factory Series" by Dan Fleming, "The Law in London" by Jim Doherty, and more, with essays aplenty by Carola Dunn, Martin Edwards, Charles Todd, Jacqueline Winspear and other excellent authors. You can purchase a hard copy or a downloadable PDF. 

Editor Janet Rudolph is always looking for interested writers and novelists who want to contribute essays and articles for upcoming issues, which include "Animal Mysteries" due August 1st and "Shrinks (and other mental health professionals)" due November 1st. Check the guidelines page for more details.

‘Zine Scene

New May editions of several crime fiction magazines (print and online) are out, with more scheduled for later in the month:

The latest print issue of Mystery Scene features Tom Nolan introducing the whimsical and entertaining world of Thursday Next, literary detective, in Jasper Fforde's bibliomystery series; Matt Zoller Seitz reviews the TV drama The Good Wife; Novelist Kelli Stanley chats with Oline Cogdill on everything from ancient Roman curse tablets to the second Sino-Japanese War to segregated 1970s Florida and even comics; Art Taylor talks with Louis Bayard about his acclaimed literary-themed thrillers, the latest of which, The School of  Night, focuses on a secret, possibly heretical, society of scientists and artists in Elizabethan England; And Williams F. Hirschman tracks down some of the top classic crime plays on Broadway and in regional theater.

  Suspense Magazine features interviews with features interviews with Michael Palmer, Daniel Palmer, Isaac Marion, Taylor Stevens, and Jacqueline Lepore; Tess Gerritsen and David Morrell discuss "Where is Publishing Headed?"; author Dr. D.P. Lyle takes you inside the coroner's office; and there's an exclusive first look at Sick by Brett Battles. Note, too, that on the magazine's blog, they just announced that they are becoming an all-digital blog and discontinuing the print versions.

Gumshoe Review Online's May edition has interviews with Brian Freeman (The Bone House) and Parnell Hall (The KenKen Killings) by Gayle Surrette & Joseph B. Hoyos. You'll also find the usual mix of book reviews, lists of releases and news items.

NoirJournal 40 for May has a detailed review of the Jack Starr novels by Max Allan Collins and their "tribute to the old-time funny papers and those who created them, costumed as murder mystery."

Drowning in Contests

Well, maybe not drowning per se, but I always like to point out noteworthy story contests, especially those that don’t require a fee to enter. Naomi Johnson has announced that the Drowning Machine blog is once again holding its Watery Grave Invitational contest. It’s a different type of competition in three phases:  (1) If you have a story published online in the past year (4/10 – 4/11) you can enter; (2) If your story is picked in the second round, you and some pre-invited writers will have your names tossed into a hat and 10 chosen at random; (3) The final round is when those lucky 10 have two weeks to write a brand new story on a given theme.

Midwestern Gothic is sponsoring its first-ever short fiction contest. The catch is, you must use their photo prompt and you must have a connection to the Midwest in some fashion (school, work, born/raised/died here/etc.). If you qualify, you can read all the rules via the link above. (Hat tip to Sandra Seamans.)

Canadians have an opportunity just for them: unpublished authors can enter the 2011 Scene of the Crime Short Mystery Story Contest, held in conjunction with that annual conference. Read the submission guidlines then hurry your entry, because they’re due June 1st.

Another opportunity for an unpublished writer comes via the Love is Murder mystery conference, already taking entries for their 2012 competition. You have a little bit more time to hone your submission for this one, since stories aren’t due until October 15th. The winner will be published in “a major (unnamed) crime fiction magazine.”

Media Murder for Monday

MOVIES

 
Mark Wahlberg and Stephen Levinson have joined the production team behind the upcoming Paramount crime drama When Corruption Was King. Frank Baldwin is adapting the script for the film, based on the Robert Cooley novel. It's about a southside Chicago lawyer who becomes the mob's most trusted attorney until he turns state witness and brings the organization down. No director, cast or production start date just yet.

The release date has been announced—March 9, 2012—for the Edgar Allan Poe film starring John Cusack as the author, a murder suspect who works with a Baltimore police inspector in order to clear his name and rescue his kidnapped fiancée.

Warner Bros looks to be the winner in a bidding war for Father Daughter Time: A Tale of Armed Robbery and Eskimo Kisses, about a man who goes on the lam with his daughter, his accomplice on a three-state crime spree. Matt Damon is also rumored to be working on this picture as its star and eyeing it as the vehicle for his potential feature directing debut.

David Boreanaz (Bones) and Walton Goggins (Justified) are set to star in the independent film Officer Down, written by John Chase. The two actors join already-signed Stephen Dorff, Dominic Purcell, Stephen Lang, James Woods and AnnaLynne McCord. The film centers on a doctor and security guard whose dreams at night consist of what the other person did during the day. They meet when the security guard murders his wife, is then hit by a car and brought into the doctor's emergency room. 

TV

The 10th season premier of USA's Law & Order: Criminal Intent, featuring the return of stars Vincent D'Onofrio and Kathryn Erb, drew 5.1 million viewers (up 43 percent over last year), and fueled growing rumors the show may return for an 11th round after all. Show creator Dick Wolf said he hopes  "enough fans will come out so the powers that be reconsider their decision."

Even as Danny Cohen, the new head of BBC One, says he wants to reduce the number of detective shows on the network, they seem to be doing just fine on both the BBC and ITV. The Shadow Line on BBC Two, a seven-part noir thriller starring Christopher Eccleston as a morally confused cocaine baron and Chiwetel Ejiofor as aloof Detective Jonah Gabriel, drew three million viewers for its debut. ITV's Vera, starring Brenda Blethyn as Det Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope, and Case Sensitive, with Olivia Williams as Det Superintendent Charlie Zailer, also both had impressive numbers.

And more wonderful news comes as novelist Colin Dexter, creator of Inspector Morse (played on TV by the late John Thaw), is reportedly in advanced talks on a prequel that would "explore the hard-drinking, opera-mad detective's time as an Oxford undergraduate and chronicle his entry into the force." The leads are yet to be cast, but the new series is expected to air next year, marking the 25th anniversary of the first Inspector Morse episode.

It's time again for TV network upfront season, where the fall schedules are announced. So far, Lifetime has announced the new shows The Protector, a police procedural starring Sons of Anarchy's Ally Walker, and the cop drama Against The Wall, starring Rachael Carpani (NCIS: Los Angeles); and A&E added a miniseries based on the 1977 medical thriller Coma by Robin Cook. (Hat tip to Omnimystery News.)

Author Chris Ewan has signed a development deal to bring his Good Thief's Guide series of comic mystery novels, featuring the adventures of struggling crime writer and globetrotting thief-for-hire Charlie Howard, to television in the UK.

Jacqueline Bisset has signed on for a multi-episode arc on Rizzoli & Isles, playing Constance Isles, Maura's elegant adoptive mother. Fox News anchor Bill O'Reilly is also going to make a guest appearance in an upcoming episode, appearing as himself and playing a potential murder suspect.

THEATER

Minnesota based playwright, Joseph Goodrich, has received permission from the Ellery Queen (Dannay/Lee) estate to write a screenplay based on the Queen novel Calamity Town!  No producer has been lined up yet, and everything is still apparently quite preliminary.

The musical Curtains is currently being staged at the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey. Created by John Kander, Fred Ebb and Rupert Holmes (along with Peter Stone, who came up with the concept and the original book), Curtains is a murder mystery set backstage at a 1950s Broadway-bound musical. It debuted on Broadway in 2007, two and a half years after Ebb's death, and its star, David Hyde Pierce, won the Tony Award for best actor in a musical.

Another Bookstore Departure

The San Francisco Mystery Book Store is closing at the end of the month. It’s been a landmark for more than 30 years, with current owner Diane Kudisch running it for close to ten of those years. On the Noe Valley blog she posted a farewell:

A final message to all of my loyal customers. I will be closing the San Francisco Mystery Book Store effective May 31, 2011. My landlords will be renovating the building and thus, I would need to find a new location. Since my current landlords have been SO very generous over the years, I know finding a place which has such a low rent would be next to impossible. I have LOVED my 10+ years here, having the most fun spending time with customers, turning them on to amazing books, mostly out of the ordinary and hopefully have introduced people to new and interesting series.

I will still be in the biz. I am holding on to my seller’s permit and I will continue to sell online, but more about that later. I have set up a contact with someone in the UK (no, not the Duchess of Cambridge) who will be able to supply me with amazing novels by amazing authors who are not available here in the US as well as keep you up to date with new releases. Now that I will no longer have a storefront, I will also be reviewing books, and making ‘yes’ and ‘no’ recommendations.

Starting Saturday, May 7th, all inventory (including first editions) will be half price. Please stop in and say hello, or goodbye and perhaps even purchase a few books.

Thanks, Diane

To Be Continued…

Having different authors take over a series isn't new in the world of fiction, even mystery fiction. Both the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew series have been going strong for over 80 years, written by a continuing roster of dozens of authors during that time. Robert Goldsborough, with the approval of the estate of Rex Stout, penned seven Nero Wolfe mysteries following Stout's death, and in 1998, Jill Paton Walsh won acclaim for completing Dorothy L. Sayers' unfinished Lord Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane novel, Thrones, Dominations, writing two more Wimsey novels since.

But the pace of literary continuations seems to have picked up lately. The late Joe Gores wrote a prequel published in 2009 to Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon, titled Spade and Archer. Following the death of Dick Francis last year, Dick's son Felix, who co-authored the last three of the horse-racing themed mysteries with his father, announced he'd be continuing that franchise.

Just this year:  Ian Fleming Publications chose thriller writer, Jeffery Deaver, to write a soon-to-be-released James Bond book; Anthony Horowitz was selected by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's estate to continue the Sherlock Holmes series with a new title coming out in the Fall; author Trevanian's assassin Nicholai Hel, the hero of 1979's Shibumi, was resurrected by Don Winslow; and Robert B. Parker's estate recently announced that Ace Atkins would continue the Spencer series, with Michael Brandman doing the same for Parker's Jesse Stone franchise. (Note that Robert B. Parker himself was commissioned to complete the eighth Philip Marlowe novel, Poodle Springs, left unfinished at the time of Raymond Chandler's death.)

Although many of the writers involved in taking over another's series are fine authors in their own right, it's rather curious that this seems to be an accelerating trend. Perhaps it's just temporary or perhaps we'll see even more of these in the next few years, time will tell.

Now it's your turn to weigh in: which series would you like to see picked up by another author so the character can have new adventures? (Extra credit for coming up with your own ideas about which authors you'd like to see do the honors, and mentioning them in the comments.) Who knows? Maybe you'll give publishers out there some ideas…

Mystery Melange

Omnimystery News has posted their monthly feature Firsts on the First, "introducing readers to new series characters who will make their mysterious American debut during May." For a list of all new mysteries in May, they've got that covered, too.

The mystery conference Killer Nashville is starting an e-magazine and is seeking submissions for book reviews, how-to articles, interesting mystery/suspense-related facts and activities, and more. There is no payment for free web or newsletter displays, but there is a payment for compilations or articles that are sold.

Some festival news includes one report and one preview. The report is from the recent Los Angeles Times Festival of Books and a look at the panel "Mystery: Organized Crime" with April Smith, T. Jefferson Parker, Stuart Neville and Attica Locke. The preview looks ahead to the upcoming Bristol Crime Fest with featured authors Peter Guttridge, Janet Laurence, Peter James, Belinda Bauer, Lindsey Davis and more. The Gala Dinner will be hosted by Don Winslow and the winners of the eDunnit Award, the Last Laugh Award and the Audible Sounds of Crime Awards will be announced.

Sometimes I think Jeff Pierce over at the Rap Sheet and I are on the same cosmic wave length, because we sometimes seem to come up with some of the same ideas at the same time. I was going to post a list of all the crime fiction awards to date for the year, but since he beat me to it (and saved me some time), check out his Eyes on the Prizes wrap-up on the Kirkus Reviews site. Another good list (and lots of other crime fiction news) was posted by Ayo Onatade at the always excllent Shotsmag Confidential blog.

Most of the big publishing houses have established some sort of crime fiction web presence, and now Penguin Group has created a multi-genre site for authors called Book Country, where "aspiring genre novelists can post chapters and manuscripts and receive critiques from other writers." There are also articles about publishing and promotion for writers. One of the more controversial moves might come down the road, if Book Country starts offer self-publishing services for a fee.

Speaking of self-publishing, the Wall Street Journal made note of a reporter who self-published a book filled with product placements and ads for companies that helped finance and market the popular book, Harry Hits the Road: Adventures in Love, Labor and Modern Manhood. Wave of the future? Isn't it bad enough writers have to spend so much time already as publicists, marketers and everything else that now they have to get into product placement?

The Thriller Writers of America site has continuing book giveaways. As a matter of fact, they even call it the Neverending Book Giveaway. Just post a reply on the page for each contest, and you're entered. While you're there, you can also sign up for the International Thriller Writers' free monthly email with news about upcoming thrillers and more giveaways, including the chance to win an entire box full of new releases.

And don't forget (if you didn't already know) that the Mystery Writers of America has a monthly drawing for one lucky winner to receive approximately two dozen books, often signed by the authors.

Libraries in the Storm

The continuing news about the loss of life and livelihoods coming from the tornado-struck areas last week is heartbreaking. Now, Library Journal reports that at least six libraries in Alabama were heavily damaged, and two or three of them may be a total loss. The affected libraries are Pell City Library; The Carl Elliott Regional Library System in Jasper; The Killen Public Library; The Ragland Public Library; The Cordova Public Library; and the Pratt City Branch of the Birmingham Public Library.

The Pratt City Branch in Birmingham may have to be demolished, although they were able to save around 22,000 books. Pleasant Grove Library director Donna Sartain reported that Canatha Earley, a long-time board member and volunteer honored only last year as a Library Champion, was among the tornado’s victims. There are more sad stories from libraries in other states affected, although in many cases the libraries that escaped unscathed have been serving as important community resources in the aftermath, providing a respite for those who lost homes and Internet access and electricity to charge computers and cellphones.

For those wishing to offer assistance to libraries in Alabama, contact Rebecca Mitchell, the state librarian, at rmitchell@apls.state.al.us, and for information on how to help all tornado victims, contact the Red Cross.

Media Murder for Monday

MOVIES

After the 1990s and forays into the Batman franchise, director Joel Schumacher (Veronica Guerin, A Time to Kill) has been getting back to his suspense-thriller genre roots, the latest project being The Hive. The script, writen by Rich D'Ovidio (Exit Wounds), centers on an emergency operator who must confront a killer from her past to save a young girl's life.

Is director Paul Greengrass taking over for Oliver Stone in the film adaptation of John D. MacDonald's The Deep Blue Good-By? Stone had teamed up with Leonardo DiCaprio, who is serving as producer and wants to star, but everyone's schedules seem to be getting in the way. DiCaprio still wants to star in the film, with the working title Travis McGee, which centers on the MacDonald's iconic Florida-based "salvage consultant."

Actor Russell Crowe may be looking to star and direct the hostage thriller 77, based on a story by crime writer James Ellroy (L.A. Confidential) and a script by David Matthews. The film is based on the true story of the 1974 shootout between the LAPD and the Symbionese Liberation Army (best known as the group that kidnapped Patty Hearst) and connects it with an unsolved murder of a police officer.

TV

John Grisham's novel The Firm, already made into a 1993 movie, is also set to become the basis for a TV series. NBC is currently in negotiations to pick up the 22-episide series to air on Sony's AXN networks. Casting is underway, with production expected to begin in July. The series picks up 10 years after the events in the 1993 feature left off and reintroduces Mitch McDeere, who brought down a prestigious Memphis law firm operating as a front for the Chicago mob, as he and his family emerge from isolation after 10 years in the Federal Witness Protection Program.

Actress Elisabeth Harnois (Miami Medical) will be joining the cast of CSI as a regular. Originally signed to guest star only in the May 5th episode as the estranged daughter of Conrad Ecklie (Marc Vann), who works for the LAPD, she's been signed up as a full-blown regular status on the show.

Actress Lauren Stamile (Derek's psycho ex-girlfriend Rose on Grey's Anatomy) is also becoming a regular. In her case, it's with the upcoming fifth season of Burn Notice, playing a CIA agent looking into the murder of a fellow operative. Her investigation leads her to cross paths with Michael (Jeffrey Donovan). 

There's some bad blood in the NCIS creative family. Don Bellisario, creator of both NCIS and JAG, has filed a lawsuit against CBS Studios about his right to be compensated for NCIS: Los Angeles
due to a contractual "first opportunity" rights provision.

Want to have some hints for the upcoming CBS crime show season finales? Here are a few micro-spoilers from TVLine.

PODCASTS AND VIDEO

Author John Lamb, formerly one of the toughest cops in Oceanside, California, and now the creator of the Teddy Bear Mystery series, talks about his career shift and writing for the AARP-sponsored series My Generation appearing on PBS.

Some Top Notch Thrillers

Mike Ripley passed along a notice about the latest titles from the Top Notch Thriller imprint of Ostara Publishing (edited by Ripley), whose aim is to revive great British thrillers which don't deserve to be forgotten. In its first 18 months, Top Notch Thrillers has reissued 16 titles from the 1960s and 1970s, including books by John Gardner, Brian Callison, Duncan Kyle, Francis Clifford, Victor Canning and Geoffrey Household, with four more to be added this year. 

One of the latest reissues is the third in the "Quiller" series by Adam Hall, a/k/a Elleston Trevor, The Striker Portfolio. Quiller is an early antecedent to tough-guys Jack Reacher and Jason Bourne, the type who head into danger unarmed and alone. In The Striker Portfolio, we find Quiller in West Germany investigating the crashes of 36 military aircraft patrolling NATO's front line, as he tries to unravel a conspiracy and survive on both sides of the Iron Curtain. Before it's all over, Quiller is involved in "one of the most detailed car chase sequences in spy fiction," and earns his code name that ends with the suffix "9," which means "reliable under torture," which brings to mind the newly-revamped Bond movies starring Daniel Craig.

Another recently-featured title is The Eliminator by Andrew York (a/k/a Christopher Nicole), the first of seven books featuring British Security Service assassin Jonas Wilde, who cultivates the air of a "gentleman-yachtsman and slightly seedy playboy." The book was filmed as Danger Route in 1967 starring Richard Johnson, Gordon Jackson and Diana Dors.