Mystery Melange

Members of the Crime Writers' Association (CWA) in the UK voted for their choice for best crime novel ever, and the winner is . . . The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie. Christie was also chosen as the "best crime writer of all time." Other contenders included Arthur Conan Doyle, Raymond Chandler, Thomas Harris and Wilkie Collins.

Early bird registration for the Malice Domestic 26 conference is the end of the year, after which rates will go up on January 1st. Everyone who registers before the end of the year will receive an Agatha Nomination Ballot in the beginning of 2014. Malice Domestic is also participating in Maryland Public Television's Holiday Gift Auction which helps support programming, outreach and education. Two comprehensive registration passes for Malice 26 (and other great items) are up for auction.

UK crime writer Ann Cleves and publisher PanMacmillan are sponsoring a writing contest for British residents. Entrants will have the chance to collaborate with Cleeves herself on a short story, and the winning work will be published in an anthology she is putting together.

Suspense Magazine's November issue takes a loot at authors Sara Paretsky, Adam Nevill, Phil Rickman, Susan Boyer, and debut author T.L. Costa. There are also excerpts of James Patterson and Anne Rice's latest work, short stories, articles, Lisa Gardner explaining how to submit your manuscript, and Donald Allen Kirch talks "Stranger than Fiction."

The Mysterious Bookshop announced it's getting on board with the new eBook retailer, Zola Books, something of a trend among indie bookstores. Zola works by curating book lists from readers and a computer-generated recommendation system. Users have the opportunity to connect with their favorite authors, brick and mortar bookstores and publishers though interactive profile pages (similar to Facebook). the eBooks are compatible in all formats, and eventually, readers will be able to subscribe to their favorite bookstore, which will receive a percentage of profits from eBooks sold.

This week's featured crime poem over at the 5-2 is "Wet Wind Distribution" by David S. Pointer; the weekly Beat to a Pulp short fiction offering is "A Day on the River, A Night in the Mountains" by Dyer wilk.

The Q&A roundup this week includes Ian Rankin, chatting with Crime Fiction Lover about his latest novel featuring the Edinburgh Inspector Rebus; and Marilyn Meredith stopped DV Berkom Books for an interview about her two mystery series.

Amazon selected its picks for the Top 20 best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense novels of the year, topped by Stephen King's Joyland.

Like to have a cuppa tea while you read your favorite books? The Prologue Tea Company has a line of teas based on literary classics (even a Sherlock Holmes version).