Mystery Melange

The Los Angeles Times Book Prize competition announced finalists in various categories, including the five top Mystery/Thriller novels first published in 2014 (with winners announced on April 18, during the L.A. Times Festival of Books):

• Dry Bones in the Valley, by Tom Bouman (Norton)
• The Painter, by Peter Heller (Knopf)
• After I’m Gone, by Laura Lippman (Morrow)
• Sins of Our Fathers, by Shawn Lawrence Otto (Milkweed)
• The Girl with a Clock for a Heart, by Peter Swanson (Morrow)

Left Coast Crime starts tomorrow, so if you happen to be in town for the conference in Portland, Oregon, check out a Noir at the Bar event tonight at the Church Bar (2600 NE Sandy Blvd., Portland) at 6 p.m. Authors scheduled to take part include Hilary Davidson, Johnny Shaw, Todd Robinson, Lou Berney, J. David Osborne, Blake Crouch, Barry Graham, and S.G. Redling.

On the other side of the Pond, Bookseller Waterstones and HarperCollins are sponsoring the free Killer Crime Festival 2015 this Friday, March 13, where authors Ian Rankin, Val McDermid, Ann Cleeves and more will participate in events in cities including London, Liverpool, Edinburgh and Plymouth. (Hat tip to Crime Fiction Lover.)

A new crime fiction conference, Deal Noir, will take place at The Landmark Centre in the UK city of Deal, Kent, on March 28. The full-day conference will feature some of the UK's most popular authors who will be speaking on various aspects of crime fiction, as well as interactive sessions where the audience will have a chance to put their questions to the panel. Scheduled authors include Catherine Aird, Simon Brett, Mark Billingham, and many more.

Sherlocked is an official Sherlock Convention from Massive Events, in association with Hartswood Films and Showmasters Ltd. It's scheduled for Friday 24th April to Sunday 26th April 2015 at The ExCeL in London and provides the "the opportunity to immerse yourself in the world of the TV show Sherlock, featuring cast and creators from the show and Sherlock himself, Benedict Cumberbatch."

The Washington Post profiled mystery author Todd Downing (1902-1974), an Oklahoman who was part Choctaw and set nearly all his mysteries in Mexico. Blogger Curt Evans has helped to bring Downing's works back to light on his blog and in a biographical treatment via Coachwhip Publications. Coachwhip has also reissued several of Downing’s mysteries, many of which feature Hugh Rennert, a U.S. customs agent.

There’s good news for mystery lovers in the Library Journal's recent annual survey. Over 90% of the libraries surveyed said mysteries are among their top-circulating genres, both in print and ebook formats. Libraries also reported their budgets have increased, which many mean even more mystery books are coming to local library shelves. (Hat tip to author Peter DiChellis.)

A crime jury made up of the some of Germany's leading crime fiction reviewers picked their top crime fiction titles from around the globe published in 2014.

Sophie Hannah, author of the new Poirot novel sanctioned by the Agatha Christie estate, talked with The Telegraph about how crime writers in the UK are forced to set novels in fictional towns to escape judgments about their characters' background and social standing because of Britain's obsession with class.

In a story straight out of a Dan Brown novel, a €100,000 ransom was demanded by thieves who stole an extremely rare handwritten letter by renaissance artist Michelangelo.

This week's featured crime poem at the 5-2 is "Get to Smashing" by Scott Wozniak."

The Q&A roundup includes a Huffington Post chat with C. J. Box, the bestselling author of 16 Joe Pickett novels; Lauren Carr dropped by Omnimystery News to discuss her Mac Faraday mystery series; and Dennis Lehane spoke with the Tampa Bay Times about his latest novel World Gone By and why we love outlaws.