Mystery Melange

Marlon James became the first Jamaican author to win the prestigious Man Booker Prize with his literary crime novel, A Brief History of Seven Killings, inspired by the attempted assassination of the legendary singer Bob Marley in the 1970s. (Hat top to Craig Sisterson.) As The Guardian noted, James said he nearly gave up writing after his first novel, John Crow’s Devil, was rejected 78 times by publishers.

Another Bouchercon has come and gone, but the glow of the awards lingers on. The annual conference sees the handing out of the Macavity, Shamus, Barry, and Anthony Awards, each honoring some of the finest crime fiction of the year. The Macavity Novel of the Year went to Alex Marwood for The Killer Next Door (for all the winners and finalists, follow this link); the Barry Award for Best Novel was Natchez Burning by Greg Iles (check out the other nods here); the Shamus Award for Best Hardcover was handed out to Hounded by David Rosenfelt (see other winners/finalists here); and the Anthony Award for Best Novel went to After I'm Gone by Laura Lippman (for the rest, clickee here).

John le Carré will reveal his "secret world" in the memoir The Pigeon Tunnel, to be published in 2016. The book will detail the real-life experience of spying for MI5 and MI6 and how they inspired his thrillers.

HarperCollins signed a deal with novelist Sophie Hannah for a second Hercule Poirot title, The Closed Casket. Hannah's first Poirot mystery, The Monogram Murders, was the first authorized reboot of one of Christie’s characters and has been translated into 34 languages.

Minnesota Public Radio's "The Thread" weekly feature tackled the question of "Why aren't there more evil women characters in literature?" The topic was inspired by a recent post by crime writer Melanie McGrath in Aeon magazine, wondering why female thrill-killers are rare in crime fiction.

Here's some good news regarding censorship: libraries and bookshops in New Zealand are celebrating as they put Ted Dawe’s award-winning coming-of-age novel Into the River back on shelves after a ban was reversed. The government's restriction order was originally imposed after a campaign by a conservative religious lobby group.

The Guardian and Observer critics chose a list of the "Top 10 film noir," starting off with They Live by Night at number ten and moving down to ... well, you'll find out when you read the article, although you probably have your own favorites (chime in with the comments, if you do).

If you're going through Sherlock withdrawal waiting for the next season in the BBC series, Mashable selected "3 Streaming Shows for Sherlock Fans" for you.

Think your favorite bookstore is the best? The London Book Fair announced a search for the world’s best bookstore and has posted an online form where you can nominate a store (with submissions accepted through January 16). Entree will be judged in a range of areas, "including customer service, staff knowledge, events, display, outreach, atmosphere, innovation, imagination, incorporation of digital, style and flare."

This week's crime poem at the 5-2 is "Snipping Buttons" by Nancy Scott, and the pulp of the month at Beat to a Pulp is "Little Troubles" by Steve Weddle.

In this Q&A roundup, Linda O. Johnston stopped by Omnimystery News to talk about Knock on Wood, the second in her Superstition series; Crime Watch's 9mm Interviews welcomed British author Matthew Frank to discuss his series with London detective Joseph Stark, a veteran of the Afghan war; Crime Watch also scatted with New Zealand thriller writer Thomas Ryan; The Mystery People grilled author and journalist R.G. Belsky about his series with Gil Malloy, a disgraced journalist for the New York Daily News, and they also spoke with Wallace Stroby, author of the Crissa Stone novels.