Media Murder for Monday

Welcome to Monday and the latest roundup of crime drama news:

MOVIES

The New York Times cited unnamed sources that Daniel Craig is returning for one more Bond film, after months of "will he or won't he" speculation. Although neither the actor nor the studio have confirmed that fact, the producers did announced that the next installment will arrive in theaters in North America on Nov. 8, 2019. The script will be written by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, who have teamed up on the screenplays for the last six Bond installments.

20th Century Fox and Chernin Entertainment announced an adaptation of Marriage Pact, the upcoming psychological suspense thriller from best-selling author Michelle Richmond. The story centers on newlyweds who decide to join an exclusive and mysterious group known only as the Pact, which they soon discover is not what it seems, and the marriage of their dreams devolves into their worst nightmare.

A bidding war for a new script for a John wick spinoff was just won by Lionsgate, who sees it as a way to expand the John Wick universe. Ballerina is written by screenwriter Shay Hatten and is said to focus on a young girl raised to be an assassin and hunts down the other assassins who are responsible for killing her family.

Jason Eisener is set to direct an untitled techno thriller penned by Simon Barrett (the logline is still under wraps) that will mark the first project from Bad Hombre, the label set up by Fede Alvarez and Good Universe to produce pics in the horror, thriller and sci-fi genres. Basu and Alvarez are also writing the Lisbeth Salander film The Girl in the Spider’s Web at Sony.

A fun fact for film purists: Just like Christopher Nolan, Kenneth Branagh is a celluloid purist who refuses to shoot in digital, so for his upcoming adaptation of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express, Branagh used the last four 65mm Panavision cameras in the world. Distributor 20th Century Fox hasn't announced a 65/70mm release, although one could certainly make a case for seeing that version in a few selected theaters.

FilmRise has debuted an official trailer for a creepy new indie thriller titled My Friend Dahmer, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year. The film is based on an acclaimed graphic novel and tells the story of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, who murdered 17 men and boys in the Midwest United States between 1978 and 1991 before being captured by police.

A trailer was released for the George Clooney-Coen Brothers picture Suburbicon, the 1950s-set film that centers on Gardner Lodge (Matt Damon), a husband and father forced to take matters into his own hands after his home is invaded by gangsters and his wife murdered for failing to repay a debt. He then finds the gangsters have gone after his son.

TELEVISION/STREAMING SERVICES

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are turning their attention to television again, landing a pilot order at Showtime for the gun violence drama City on a Hill. The project is described as a gritty thriller about severe corruption and gangs in '90s Boston and is a fictional account of the "Boston Miracle," a police operation that helped calm the street.

A drama based on the book The Old Man by Edgar Award-winning crime thriller author Thomas Perry is being pitched to all the major cable TV and streaming platforms. Old Man centers on widower Dan Chase (to be played by Samuel L. Jackson), an average Vermont retiree with a dark secret: following Chase’s involvement as a young army intelligence hotshot in a botched operation in Libya thirty five years ago, he went on the run, trying to escape people who want him dead. Just as he had begun to think he was finally safe, Chase finds himself again in the crosshairs.

Netflix has acquired rights to David Grann’s 2008 New Yorker feature "The Chameleon," in a package that has Mission: Impossible MI6 helmer Christopher McQuarrie developing to direct, with Wolf of Wall Street and The Sopranos' Terence Winter co-writing the script with Carl Capotorto. The project tells the chilling true story of Frédéric Bourdin, a young French con man who was a serial impersonator of missing teenagers. For a time during the mid-1990s, Bourdin lived with a family in San Antonio, Texas under the guise of being their long-presumed missing brother.

Netflix has picked up The Angel to develop into an original spy thriller for the streaming network. Based on Uri Bar-Joseph’s bestselling novel The Angel: The Egyptian Spy Who Saved Israel, the project will be directed by The Iceman's Ariel Vromen and tell the story of the high-ranking Egyptian official Ashraf Marwan, who became a spy for Israel despite being the son-in-law of former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser and close adviser of his successor, Anwar Sadat.

Starz has picked up the Stephenie Meyer-produced supernatural spy thriller The Rook to series, the network announced on Friday. Based on the novel by Daniel O’Malley, The Rook follows a young woman who wakes up in a London park with amnesia and is pursued by shadowy paranormal adversaries while grappling with extraordinary abilities of her own. It is set to premiere in 2018.

Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins and the film’s male lead Chris Pine are reuniting for the TNT six-episode limited drama One Day She'll Darken. The story centers on Fauna Hodel, who was given away by her teenage mother to a black restroom attendant in a Nevada casino in 1949. As Fauna begins to investigate the secrets to her past, she follows a sinister trailer that  swirls ever close to an infamous Hollywood gynecologist, Dr. George Hodel, a man involved in the darkest Hollywood debauchery and a suspect in the infamous "Black Dahlia" murder of Elizabeth Short in Los Angeles 1947. 

HBO president of programming Casey Bloys announced that the network was "much closer" to officially announcing Season 3 of True Detective after the hiring of Mahershala Ali to star. Deadwood's David Milch and True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto are working together on the third season and apparently already have five scripts in the can.

Britt Robertson has signed on to star in ABC's Shondaland drama For the People, a legal drama that follows four brand-new lawyers who work for both the prosecution and defense in the Southern District of New York Federal Court, also know as The Mother Court. Robertson will play a sensible, fiercely intelligent and independent new public defender who was driven to the law because of an injustice perpetrated on her family when she was a child.

Once Upon a Time actress Elizabeth Lail has been cast as Beck, the female lead in Greg Berlanti’s adaptation of Caroline Kepnes' 2015 novel, You. The psychological thriller tells the story of Joe, a bookstore owner played by Gossip Girl alum Penn Badgley, who uses social media and technology to feed his obsession with an aspiring writer (Lail’s Beck).

Maria Bello has joined the cast of CBS’ long-running drama NCIS as a new series regular opposite Mark Harmon for the upcoming 15th season. Bello will play an NCIS agent who was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army and served two tours in Afghanistan. After joining NCIS, she built her reputation as the agency’s premier forensic psychologist.

NBC announced that Tracy Spiridakos, who appeared in three episodes of the fourth season of NBC’s Chicago P.D., has been promoted to series regular for Season 5, continuing her role of robbery/homicide Detective Hailey Upton. The network also announced that The Flash's Jessica Camacho has signed on as a series regular in the second season of NBC’s drama series Taken, playing a scary-smart, rule-breaking former Army captain.

ABC released premiere dates for the 2017-2018 season, which includes How to Get Away with Murder, scheduled for September 28, and the new series Ten Days in the Valley on October 1. The latter stars Kyra Sedgwick as a television producer whose life gets complicated after her young daughter disappears in the middle of the night and the two worlds she tries to navigate violently collide.

A trailer was released for Absentia, which stars Stana Katic as an FBI investigator who goes missing while pursuing a serial killer in Boston and wakes up in a mysterious cabin six years later with no idea where she is or how she got there.

PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO

CBS News hosted former NYC prosecutor turned author Linda Fairstein to talk about crime fiction and her latest novel, Deadfall.

Debbi Mack interviewed crime fiction author Timothy Hallinan about his latest novel, Pulped, on the Crime Cafe podcast.

NPR's book reviewer, Maureen Corrigan, took a look at a new biography of pathbreaking African-American crime fiction author Chester Himes, whose life was "as wild as any detective story."

Host Terri Lynn Coop serves up author and publisher Jason Pintner (the Henry Parker thriller series) on The Blue Plate Special podcast.

Award-winning author, playwright and essayist Randall Silvis joined Alex Dolan on Thrill Seekers to discuss his latest novel, Two Days Gone.

Author Kathryn Lane visited with Dialogue podcast host Susan Wingate to chat about her book Waking Up in Medellin, about an American woman who partners with a CIA operative in Colombia to investigate fraud in her international corporation.

The Blue Plate Special Podcast also welcomed Steven Konkoly to discuss his espionage thrillers, the Fractured States trilogy, the Black Flagged books, and the Perseid Collapse series.

THEATER

In an unusual staged production of Sherlock Holmes, UK's Nightshade Productions is taking Sherlock Holmes: A Study In Scarlet on the road ... literally. The play will be a 90-minute immersive, promenade theatre performance that begins at the Golden Fleece Inn in York and continues through the streets, as the audience follows the characters through an adventure filled with murder, intrigue, conspiracy and revenge. The project runs nightly through August 13.

Mystery Melange

The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Festival in Harrogate announced that Scottish author Chris Brookmyre had won the Crime Novel of the Year Award for his novel, Black Widow. Other finalists included Lie With Me, by Sabine Durrant; Out of Bounds, by Val McDermid; After You Die, by Eva Dolan; Real Tigers, by Mick Herron; and Missing, Presumed, by Susie Steiner.

The winners of the Dead Good Reader Awards 2017 were also announced at the Theakston crime festival, including the The Kathy Reichs Award for Fearless Female Character:
Helen Grace by M J Arlidge; The Case Closed Award for Best Police Procedural: The Wrong Side of Goodbye by Michael Connelly; The Hidden Depths Award for Most Unreliable Narrator: The Escape by C L Taylor; The Page to Screen Award for Best Adapted Book: Never Go Back by Lee Child; and The Cat Amongst The Pigeons Award for Most Exceptional Debut: Baby Doll by Hollie Overton. 

David Llorente has won the Dashiell Hammett Award for Madrid: frontera, awarded last week at Semana Negra (crime week) in Gijon, Spain. The Hammett Award is given by AIEP (Asociación Internacional de Escritores Policíaco) for the best crime novel in Spanish. In addition, journalist and writer Miguel Barrero won the Rodolfo Walsh award for works based on real events with La tinta del calamar, which deals with the still unclarified murder of a homosexual in 1976 in Gijón; and the Silverio Memorial Award for the best debut novel was awarded to José María Espinar Mesa for The Weight of the Soul, featuring Detective Milton Vertebra. (HT to Mystery Fanfare)

Melbourne’s second Noir at the Bar will take place on Tuesday, August 15, at Grub Street Bookshop in Fitzroy. Some of Melbourne’s best noiristas will be on hand to read their crime fiction including Des Barry, Annie Hauxwell (author of the Catherine Berlin crime books), Jessica Curry, Ian Rogers (The Student) and Laura Elizabeth Woollett, whose short story collection, The Love of a Bad Man, has been published by Scribe. Author and Pulp Curry blogger Andrew Nette will be doing MC duties on the night.

Ohio State University's Thompson Library Gallery is presenting the exhibit "Hot on the Trail of Iconic Detectives," through September 17. The exhibition features detectives from dime novels, young adult books, comic books, films, and manga, including the likes of Sherlock Holmes, Nancy Drew, Dick Tracy, Coffin Ed Johnson, and Grave Digger Jones. (HT to Elizabeth Foxwell)

This October, Faber will publish Sleep No More, a new collection of short stories from the late "Queen of Crime" P D James. The six murderous short stories all have the "dark motive of revenge" at the heart of them and feature bullying schoolmasters, unhappy marriages, a murder in the small hours of Christmas Day, and an octogenarian exerting "exquisite" retribution from the safety of his nursing home.

The New York Times reported on what will likely be a more common type of crime fiction in the future, the interactive digital novel by David Wise, The Atlas Pursuit. The puzzle-story involves Nazi cryptography and a blackmail plot that could have changed the course of World War II and challenges readers to figure out rhyming riddles to unlock the password-protected chapters. Part of its storyline centers on actress Patricia Neal and author/spy Roald Dahl and sends readers across New York City to solve the story's riddles.

Will an author's next creative partner be a robot?

In honor of Raymond Chandler's birthday this past weekend (July 23), Flavorwire featured many of the snappy one-liners that made him — and his most famous character, private detective Philip Marlowe — a pulp fiction icon.

There's a mystery surrounding a famous letter allegedly written by Abraham Lincoln.

Author Kristen Lepionka chose her picks for "The Top Ten Female Detectives in Fiction" for The Guardian.

Via Strand Magazine: "Five of the Best Villains and Victims in Sherlock Holmes Stories."

Just in case you can't get enough of "listicles," The Telegraph also compiled their list of "The 50 best TV detectives and sleuths." (Your mileage may vary.)

This week, the featured crime poem at the 5-2 is "The Downfall of Duncan Scott Ford" by Tracey Ikerd.

In the Q&A roundup, the Mystery People's Crime Fiction Coordinator Scott Montgomery chatted with Jordan Harper about his debut novel, She Rides Shotgun, which follows an ex-con on a crime spree road trip with his eleven-year-old-daughter; Criminal Element welcomed Kaye George, editor of the anthology Day of the Dark, a new collection of short crime-themed stories inspired by the total eclipse that will occur on August 21st; Sterling and Stone spoke with New York Times bestselling author CJ Lyons; the Mystery People spoke with Rob Hart about The Woman From Prague, his latest novel to feature series character Ash Mckenna; and C.J. Box stopped by the Star-Telegram to chat about his new standalone novel, Paradise Valley.

Media Murder for Monday

Happy Monday to all - here's a roundup of the latest crime drama news to start off your new week:

MOVIES

Action-thriller The Hurricane Heist from director Rob Cohen (The Fast and the Furious) has landed at Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures with a target release date of the first quarter of 2018. The story follows a team of tech hackers embarking on a $600 million robbery from a coastal U.S. mint facility at the same time a disastrous Category 5 hurricane is set to strike. The remaining people left in the deserted beach town are a meteorologist (Tony Kebbel), a Treasury agent (Maggie Grace) and the meteorologist’s ex-Marine brother (Ryan Kwanten), who must not only must survive the hurricane, but also stop the mastermind thieves from accomplishing the heist of the century.

Chippendales, described as a Magic Mike meets Scarface saga of the '80s male strip club, is finally coming to the big screen. Dev Patel is in talks to play Steve Banerjee, the Bombay-born immigrant who turned an LA dive bar into a multimillion-dollar cultural zeitgeist sensation. Ben Stiller will play Nick DeNoia, an Emmy-winning producer of children’s shows who recruited the musclebound G-string clad dancers, choreographed their routines and ran a touring company of strippers. The film will explore the perversion of the American dream theme, set in the "greed is good" 1980s cultural moment — replete with drugs and excess, and even murder — that mirrored the rise of Chippendales.

Well Go USA Entertainment acquired North American rights to Triple Threat, the action thriller starring a roster of big-name international action stars including Michael Jai White, Tony Jaa, Iko Uwais, Tiger Chen, Scott Adkins and Michael Bisping. Directed by Jesse V. Johnson, the movie centers on a down-and-out band of mercenaries who take on a trio of assassins hired to take out a billionaire’s daughter intent on bringing down a major crime syndicate.

F. Scott Frazier has been hired to rewrite Tell No One, an adaptation of the bestselling thriller by Harlan Coben, updating an earlier draft was written by Argo Oscar winner Chris Terrio. The book was first turned into a hit French film by filmmaker Guillaume Canet and centers around a Alexandre, a doctor whose wife was murdered. Then, police discover two dead bodies near Alexandre's home and evidence implicating him in the crime - and Alexandre receives an email with a video showing his wife alive and well, along with a simple message: "Tell no one." With the police breathing down his neck, Alexandre goes on the run. Liam Neeson is in talks to play the central role.

Storm Reid, who headlines Disney’s A Wrinkle in Time, will star opposite David Oyelowo in Only You, the latest thriller from Blumhouse Productions. Jacob Estes wrote the script and is directing the film, which features a police officer (Oyelowo) whose family was killed, a niece (Reid) who is in danger, and a plot with time-travel elements.

Michael Fassbender hunts down a killer of women in the first trailer for The Snowman, based on the best-selling thriller by Norwegian author Jo Nesbø. Fassbender, who plays detective Harry Hole, tries to lure the maniac out with the help of a character played by Rebecca Ferguson. Directed by Tomas Alfredson, the project also stars Charlotte Gainsbourg and J.K. Simmons.

Lionsgate has unveiled a new official US trailer for the CIA action thriller Unlocked from veteran English director Michael Apted. Swedish actress Noomi Rapace stars as a CIA interrogator lured into a ruse that puts London at risk of a big biological attack, while Orlando Bloom plays an MI5 agent she works with to help figure out what's going on. The cast also stars Michael Douglas, Toni Collette, Akshay Kumar, and John Malkovich.

In the new trailer for Kingsman: The Golden Circle, Harry and Eggsy meet their American cousins, the Statesman. The trailer has footage of Channing Tatum as Agent Tequila, Halle Berry as Ginger, Pedro Pascal as Agent Whiskey, and Jeff Bridges as Agent Champagne. Julianne Moore plays Poppy, who appears to be Statesman's equivalent to Harry as the two sides team up to take down a new enemy.

The first U.S. trailer dropped for for Egyptian crime thriller The Nile Hilton Incident, a political thriller set against the back drop of the Egyptian Revolution and centering on a police office who investigates a murder at the Hilton hotel and discovers there's much more going on than it seems.

TELEVISION/STREAMING SERVICES

Amazon has struck a multi-show deal with Agatha Christie Productions for U.S. rights to the upcoming seven dramas based on the author’s works. Ordeal By Innocence is the first adaptation, which will air as a three-part miniseries starring Bill Nighy, Catherine Keener and Matthew Goode.

The Julia Roberts vehicle Homecoming has landed a two season order from Amazon after the streaming service opted to adapt the podcast of the same name from Gimlet Media. The story is described as a political thriller and centers on a caseworker at a secret government facility, her supervisor and a soldier. Roberts would play the government caseworker.

AMC is set to adapt David Cronenberg’s novel Consumed as an hourlong drama series for AMC. The project is described as a mind-bending psychological thriller that follows two journalists who set out to solve the cannibalistic murder of a controversial Parisian philosopher.

Natalie Dormer will star in Amazon's miniseries Picnic at Hanging Rock, a six-episode miniseries drama for Foxtel based on Australian author Joan Lindsay’s 1967 quasi-historical mystery novel. The story takes place in Australia on Valentine’s Day in 1900, depicting the escalating chai
n of tragic events resulting from the mysterious disappearance of three college girls and a teacher after a trip to the Victoria geological formation.

At Comic Con, Sherlock's executive producer Sue Vertue teased that "There is something we are working on in London," and fellow EP Seve Moffat added "We do have an answer but we’re not telling what it is." As Deadline further reported, Moffat hinted another installment of the BBC/PBS adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective stories was coming.

Hulu has put in development The Act, a character-based true-crime anthology series from writers Nick Antosca and Michelle Dean. Each season of the anthology series will center on one particular case, with the first installment based on Dean’s 2016 Buzzfeed article "Dee Dee Wanted Her Daughter To Be Sick, Gypsy Wanted Her Mom To Be Murdered."

After the controversial departure of Hawaii Five-0 Actors Grace Park and Daniel Dae Kim, the show announced that Ian Anthony Dale has been promoted to series regular and Meaghan Rath and Beulah Koale are set as regulars. Newcomer Rath will play Tani Rey, who McGarrett recruits after finding her working as a lifeguard at a hotel pool after she was kicked out of the Police Academy, while Koale will portray Junior Reigns, a former Navy SEAL.

Two decades after the end of his Emmy-nominated run on NYPD Blue, Jimmy Smits is returning to ABC for a major role opposite Viola Davis on the upcoming fourth season of the network’s drama series How to Get Away With Murder. Details about Smits’ season-long recurring role are not being revealed, but his character will be a prominent figure in Annalise’s (Davis) life and will have a key role in this season’s mystery.

Former Revenge regular Nick Wechsler has copped a recurring role on Season 3 of NBC’s police drama Shades of Blue, starring Jennifer Lopez and Ray Liotta. He’ll play Detective Cole, but character details are under wraps. Lopez stars as a charismatic single mother and resourceful Brooklyn detective whose lieutenant (Liotta) who often leads the team to step outside the limitations of the law.

Chicago Fire is bringing Fifty Shades of Grey's Eloise Mumford into the cast for Season 6. She'll step into the role of Hope Jacquinot, an old friend of Sylvie Brett (Kara Killmer). Hailing from a small Indiana town, she'll bring her charm, good looks and probably some drama to the Windy City.

Lieutenant Denny Woods is coming back to Chicago P.D. Mykelti Williamson is joining the cast of the NBC cop drama as a recurring in its upcoming fifth season, reprising the role he originated as a guest star in Episode 20 of the the most recent fourth season. In that episode, Voight (Jason Beghe) dug back into an old case under the watchful eye of his former partner (Williamson).

X-Files veteran Mitch Pileggi has closed a deal to return for the recently picked up 10-episode eleventh season of the Fox sci-fi drama and second as an event series. He will reprise his role as Walter Skinner, an assistant director at the FBI, which he played on the original Fox series as well as the 2016 six-episode event series revival, both from creator Chris Carter.

Psych creator Steve Franks isn't willing to settle just one movie reunion, hoping to make five more movies in the world of Shawn Spencer (James Roday). In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Franks revealed he left the series finale of the show open-ended with the intention of returning to make follow-up projects, citing The Fast and the Furious as a precedent.

A trailer for the Netflix movie Bright was shown at Comic-Con 2017. The project stars Will Smith as a human cop who's assigned an orc partner, played by Joel Edgerton. A run-of-the-mill patrol night turns into something far more dramatic when they encounter a force that could change the world. Bright hits Netflix in December.

A new trailer was released for Season 3 of Fox’s supernatural procedural series Lucifer, which will bring former Smallville star Tom Welling on board as Marcus Pierce, an accomplished police lieutenant who is everything Lucifer (Tom Ellis) is not: strategic, reserved and well-respected. But perhaps even more annoying are all the things they have in common. Both men are charming, charismatic and handsome, so when Pierce starts developing a connection with Decker (Lauren German), Lucifer’s devilish traits are inflamed.

PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO

BBC Radio's Rebecca Jones spoke with crime thriller writer Karin Slaughter about her book The Good Daughter.

Two Crime Writers and a Microphone hosts Steve Cavanagh and Luca Veste discussed the Theakstons Old Peculiar Crime Writing Festival and wecolmed Liz Barnsley of LizLovesBooks to review new books by Haylen Beck and Karin Slaughter.

Author and former jockey Sasscer Hill joined Player FM to discuss her horse racing thrillers and her admiration for the late author Dick Francis.

Skid Row Chatter host Tom Pitts welcomed Jordan Harper to discuss his first novel, She Rides Shotgun.

Twisted Web Radio presented author Gary Starta in a Q&A about his latest novel, The Killing Collective, featuring longtime detective Stanford Carter and his wife, forensic scientist Jill Seacrest.

A Stab in the Dark host and author Mark Billingham talked to actress MyAnna Buring and award-winning screenwriter, Danny Brocklehurst about Twilight, Ripper Street, and the BBC One series, In The Dark, adapted from Mark's two Helen Weeks stand-alone novels.

Read or Dead hosts Katie and Rincey talked about male writers taking on ambiguous pseudonyms, more adaptations, and gave some true crime recommendations.

Spybrary spoke with Jeremy Duns, creator of a series featuring MI6 agent Paul Dark.

The Crimetime podcast revisited the novels of Sue Grafton, went to the movies to see a film about an infant chauffeur, and talked about what makes great trash.

Mystery Melange

Congratulations go to Tana French for winning the 2017 Strand Magazine Critics Award for her novel, The Trespasser, and for Heather Young, who won Best Debut award for The Lost Girls. For all the finalists in both categories, head on over to the Strand website. (HT to the Gumshoe Site)

Congrats also to this year's winners of the ITW Thriller Awards announced at the annual Thrillerfest in New York City. Best Hardcover Novel went to Noah Hawley, Before the Fall; Best First Novel, Nicholas Petrie, The Drifter; Best Paperback Original, Anne Frasier, The Body Reader; Best Short Story, Joyce Carol Oates, "Big Momma"; Best YA Novel, A.J. Hartley, Steeplejack; Best E-Book Original Novel, James Scott Bell, Romeo's Way; Thriller Legend Award to Tom Doherty; and Silver Bullet Literary Award for charitable work to Lisa Gardner.  (HT to Mystery Fanfare)

Also just announced was the 2017 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction handed out this year to James Grippando for his book Gone Again, the 12th in the Jack Swyteck series, about the adventures of a Miami criminal defense attorney.

A new writers festival celebrating the crime genre will be held in Sydney September 2-3, 2017. The two-day festival, BAD, is founded by Denis Tracey and writer Michael Duffy, and will feature speakers from crime writing, film, investigative journalism, forensic psychology, legal experts, and law enforcement. Special guest Lee Child will discuss his Jack Reacher series in a session via Skype, with other authors scheduled to appear in person including Michael Finnane, Nikki Gemmell, Caroline Overington, James Phlan, and Michael Robotham. 

Previously unseen Agatha Christie letters, to be exhibited at the upcoming Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate July 20-23, reveal the author's temper, including disputes with her publisher and how she hated unflattering author photos. Letters between Christie and William Collins, former chairman and publisher of Collins, also discuss jacket designs, plots and publishing schedules, showing a relationship that lasted 50 years, until the author’s death in 1976.

Stuart Neville looks at the "big twist" in crime novels and wonders if or when twist fatigue will set in.

If you're a Kathy Reichs fan, Random House is celebrating the release of Two Nights by the bestselling author (best known for her Bones series) with a chance to win a storied stay in Charleston, S.C., where the novel’s mystery unfolds. The sweepstakes ends on ends on July 28, 2017. For more information, click on over here.

Global English Editing compiled a listing of which country reads the most in a study of global reading habits that also include time spent reading around the globe and other worldwide reading facts. Think the U.S. comes out in first? You might be surprised.

Ever wonder where the term "smoking gun" came from? According to Smithsonian Magazine, we might have Sherlock Holmes to thank.

Did librarians lose something special when they did away with card catalogs?

This week, the featured crime poem at the 5-2 is "Persona" by Karen Peterson.

In the Q&A roundup, Radio Times welcomed Mark Billingham on how being taken hostage informed his crime writing and the process of adapting his novels into a BBC drama series; Tom Leins takes Paul D. Brazill's "Short, Sharp Interview Challenge"; the Huffington Post spoke with award-winning Walter Mosley about writing imagination, inspiration, and his literary creation, Easy Rawlins; HuffPo also also sat down for a conversation with Richard Lange (Angel Baby, The Smack; the LA Review of Books chatted with Kristen Lepionka about her debut mystery, The Last Place You Look; Rachel Amphlett interviewed fellow author Michael Robotham about his distinguished career spanning journalism, ghost writing, and author of bestselling crime fiction; Marcus Sakey joined Criminal Element for a discussion of his new book, Afterlife; and the Mystery People snared Ace Atkins for a Q&A about his latest, The Fallen.

Media Murder for Monday

Here's a roundup of the latest crime drama news from the big and small screens:

MOVIES

Quentin Tarantino is developing a film about the notorious Manson Family murders of five people, including pregnant actor Sharon Tate. Tarantino is courting A-list talent for the ensemble cast, including his Inglourious Basterds star Brad Pitt for the role of the detective investigating the crime, and both Margot Robbie and Jennifer Lawrence for the role of Tate. Talks are also underway to snare Samuel L. Jackson and Leonardo DiCaprio for roles in the project.

Joe Pesci has officially joined Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in Martin Scorsese’s Jimmy Hoffa disappearance film The Irishman. Pesci will portray Russell Bufalino, a Mafia boss out of Pennsylvania who has been long suspected of having a hand in the Hoffa’s disappearance. Also in talks are Harvey Keitel and Bobby Cannavale, although their potential roles have not been announced.

Martin Scorsese is reteaming with Leonardo DiCaprio to develop a film adaptation of the true-crime thriller Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI. The project is based on the bestselling book by David Grann, a staff writer for the New Yorker and a script has reportedly been drafted by veteran Oscar-winning scribe Eric Roth (Forrest Gump, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button). The story focuses on a string of murders of members of the Osage nation in 1920s Oklahoma after oil was discovered beneath their land, a case that became one of the fledgling FBI’s first major homicide investigations.

Blake Lively is set to star in an espionage thriller from James Bond producers EON Productions and IM Global, titled, The Rhythm Section, an adaptation of the first book in Mark Burnell’s four novel series. The story follows heroine Stephanie Patrick, whose family dies in an airplane crash on a flight she was meant to be on. When she discovers the crash was not an accident, she seeks to uncover the truth by adapting the identity of an assassin to track down those responsible.

The Scarface reboot continues to experience a few bumps in the production road. Suicide Squad director David Ayer joined the project in May after Antoine Fuqua dropped out due to scheduling conflicts, but now Ayer, too, has decided to leave the project. Scarface is still scheduled for release on August 10, 2018, and the search for a director will ramp up in the coming days.

TELEVISION

Crime dramas were well represented in the 2017 Emmy Award nominations announced last week, almost sweeping the category of Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie, which include Ewan McGregor (Fargo); Robert DeNiro (Madoff); Riz Ahmed and John Turturro (The Night Of); and Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock), along with Geoffrey Rush (Einstein). Felicity Huffman was also nominated in the Best Lead Actress, Limited Series/Movie for her work in American Crime, along with Carrie Coon (Fargo). The list of other crime-related nods is rather long, so check out the full list at the Emmy website.

In competitive bidding, Showtime has landed Guantanamo, a drama series that will start with a 10-episode first season. Oliver Stone is poised to direct the two-hour opening episode in what marks the three-time Oscar winning filmmaker’s first foray in scripted television. Guantanamo focuses on the detainees held in the world’s most controversial prison and those who defend and condemn them.

Netflix and Canal+ in France have ordered Safe, a thriller from author Harlan Coben starring Dextrer's Michael C. Hall. Hall will play a British pediatric surgeon raising two teenage daughters, Jenny and Carrie, alone after the death of his wife. The family is seemingly safe inside a gated community when the elder daughter sneaks out to a party and a murder and disappearance follow, changing all of their lives. Amanda Abbington (Sherlock) will also star in the show.

Toni Collette's Vocab Films and RadicalMedia are adapting Julia Dahl's novel Invisible City into a series, with Collette already writing the pilot script. The actress optioned the book and will serve as executive producer along with Jen Turner. Dahl's novel centers on Rebekah Roberts, whose mother, an Hasidic Jew from Brooklyn, abandoned her Christian boyfriend and newborn baby to return to her religion. Now a recent college graduate, Rebekah has moved to New York City to follow her dream of becoming a big-city reporter, but her coverage of a story involving a murdered Hasidic woman takes her into some uneasy truths and dangerous territory.

Micheal Neeson, Lance Henriksen (Alien), and Michael Rabe (The Leftovers) have signed on to the adaptation of Big Dogs, a project based on Adam Dunn’s futuristic crime books. Also joining the cast are Manny Perez (Homeland, Luke Cage) and Brett Cullen (Narcos). The series is set in a violent, decaying New York City torn by financial collapse, race riots, and a surging crime wave, where an underworld economy of illegal, debauchery-ridden nightclubs linked by a web of taxicabs is thriving. Neeson, in his first lead role, will play Renny, a young fashion photographer moving drugs through the taxi network for the party circuit, who’s forced to step up his game to a dangerous degree by his boss, Reza, the local front man for an international crime syndicate that’s looking to take over the city.

Carter, a light-hearted detective procedural starring Jerry O’Connell as a former actor who played a detective on TV, has been picked up to air in Canada on Bravo, the specialty channel owned by Bell Media (not to be confused with the American cable channel owned by NBCUniversal). Carter follows
O’Connell’s character, Harley Carter, as somebody who goes back to his small Canadian hometown after a public meltdown. However, everybody back home mistakes him as the detective he played on TV, and while he knows he’s not a real detective, he can’t seem to stop picking up cases.

Netflix revealed new details about the third season of the drug cartel series, Narcos, which is shifting its focus to the successors of Pablo Escobar. Season three of the drug cartel series will not only introduce the successor to Pablo Escobar — Wagner Moura's famous kingpin was gunned down after a two-season manhunt — the Netflix series is also returning without half of the show's buddy-cop duo. Boyd Holbrook, who played the other real DEA agent on which the show is based, won't be returning as Steve Murphy.

Young actress Lulu Wilson has landed a series-regular spot in HBO’s Amy Adams-starring drama Sharp Objects, based on Gillian Flynn’s novel. The plot centers around Camille Preaker’s (Adams) return to her tiny hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls. Trying to put together a psychological puzzle from her past, Camille finds herself identifying with the young victims a bit too closely. The 11-year-old Wilson will play Marian Preaker, Camille’s dead sister, who appears in flashbacks to their childhood.

One of the stars of Chicago P.D. who left his series to join the new and now canceled spinoff, Chicago Justice, is returning to the fold. Jon Seda will return to Chicago P.D. in the fall when Season 5 kicks off as a regular, reprising his role of Antonio Dawson.

A&E is betting on Live PD in a big way, by ordering 100 additional three-hour live episodes of the real-time reality police docuseries, extending its run into 2018 and bringing its episode total to 142. Hosted by Dan Abrams with analysis from Tom Morris Jr., Live PD follows diverse police departments from across the country in real time as they patrol their communities on a typical Friday and Saturday night.

The first trailer was released for the new adaptation of Stephen King's Mr. Mercedes, which follows Bill Hodges (Brendan Gleeson), a retired police detective who gets drawn back into the field when demented murderer Brady Hartsfield (Harry Treadaway) starts taunting him with a series of emails. This sends Detective Hodges on an off-the-books — and at times illegal — quest to bring this criminal, who mowed down a group of people with a Mercedes, to justice.

PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO

Authors on the Air host Pam Stack welcomed award-winning and best-selling thriller author John Gilstrap to discuss his new release, Final Target, the next entry in his Jonathan Grave series.

Award winning Margaret Maron, author of twenty-seven novels and two collections of short stories, discussed her mysteries on Authors on the Air. 

Host Alex Dolan of Thrill Seekers chatted with author Riley Sager, whose debut novel, Final Girls, was called "The First Great Thriller of 2017" by Stephen King.

Player FM interviewed Jeff Cohen, author of the Asperger mystery book series.

Two Crime Writers and a Microphone hosts Steve Cavanagh and Luca Veste welcomed special guest Gerard Brennan to talk about becoming a doctor, writing short stories and how they differ from novels, and whether a MMA star has any chance against an elite boxer in the ring, among other things.

Story Works Round Table hosts Alida and Kathryn welcomed cozy mystery author, Sara Rosett, to discuss plotting mysteries.

Author R&R with J.J. Hensley

J.J. Hensley graduated with a B.S. in Administration of Justice from Penn State University and a M.S. degree in Criminal Justice Administration from Columbia Southern University before working as a police officer then a Special Agent with the U.S. Secret Service. He is the author of the novels Resolve, Measure Twice, and Chalk’s Outline, with Resolve named one of the Best Books of 2013 by Suspense Magazine and a Thriller Award finalist for Best First Novel.

Hensley's latest crime novel, Bolt Action Remedy, follows former Pittsburgh narcotics detective Trevor Galloway, who's been hired to look into the year-old homicide of a prominent businessman gunned down on his estate in Central Pennsylvania. When Galloway arrives, he determines the murder could have only been committed by someone extremely skilled in two areas: skiing and shooting. He believes the assailant should not be too difficult to identify given the great amount of skill and athleticism needed to pull off the attack. When he discovers the victim’s property is next door to a biathlon training camp, the situation becomes significantly more complicated.

Galloway makes plenty of enemies as he sifts through stories about lucrative land deals, possible drug connections, and uncovers evidence suggesting the homicide may have been elaborate suicide. As he attempts to navigate through an unfamiliar rural landscape, he does his best not to succumb to an old drug addiction, or become confused by one of his occasional hallucinations. Oh, and a Pittsburgh drug gang enforcer known as The Lithuanian—if he’s even real—is tracking Galloway and wants to take his eyes. Galloway would rather keep those. For Galloway, the problems keep piling up and somebody out there believes problems should be dealt with by employing the most permanent of remedies.

J.J. Hensley stops by In Reference to Murder today to offer up some of the background into writing and researching the novel:

 

The epiphany hit me like a shot. Ever since the publication of my first novel in 2013—which had been set against the backdrop of a marathon—I knew I wanted to write another mystery that was somehow tied to an endurance sport. However, with Resolve I had drawn upon my personal experiences with both distance running and law enforcement and the research I had to conduct was minimal. For my subsequent novels, I had to do research on addiction, sniper training, blacksmithing, and a variety of other topics, but most of the research could be conducted online and through short interviews with subject matter experts, without breaking much of a sweat. As my latest revelation settled into my mind and I decided I to integrate the sport of biathlon into a novel, I realized it would allow me to create characters who not only participated in an endurance sport but already carried guns! Perfect. A mystery in which nearly everyone has access to, and in trained in the use of, weaponry!

I thought things out and the plot for Bolt Action Remedy came into focus. Former Pittsburgh narcotics detective, Trevor Galloway, would be asked to look into a cold case in which a prominent businessman was murdered by someone who displayed great skill in two areas: skiing and shooting. Galloway would pull into the small town of Washaway Township, PA and initially conclude the suspect pool would be small, given the skills needed to pull off the crime. However, he would discover the crime scene was adjacent to a biathlon training camp, where everyone could ski and shoot, and his list of suspects would grow exponentially. Perfect.

Biathlon combines cross-country skiing and incredibly skillful shooting with highly-specialized biathlon rifles. I had first been exposed to biathlon when I was with the U.S. Secret Service and working protective operations for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. I knew from my years as a police officer and as a Special Agent with the Secret Service that shooting after running, controlling your breathing, and focusing on hitting a target when adrenaline is pummeling your physiology is beyond challenging. Needless to say, I was mesmerized by a sport in which people could ski at a breakneck pace and then fire a rifle with the goal of hitting small targets with incredible accuracy. Biathlon was perfect for what I had planned. Speed! Guns! Skill! No problem.

Well… small problem.

After my initial excitement ebbed, I realized the research I would have to conduct would be more extensive than anything I had done previously. In my previous books, I had at least a cursory knowledge of the subject matter. Bolt Action Remedy was going to present several challenges.

For one thing, I can’t ski. I don’t mean “I can’t ski” as in I am only mediocre and am somewhat uncomfortable on difficult courses. I’m not trying to be modest about my abilities. I mean “I can’t ski” as in “I CAN’T ski”. Not a bit. Also, although I have extensive experience with pistols, shotguns, and submachine guns, I have zero experience with shooting from a distance and certainly no expertise with specialized lightweight biathlon rifles.

My research for Bolt Action Remedy was going to require me to do a little more digging than I had done while writing my previous novels. I mean, this is the United States. It’s not like I can walk down to the local Biathlon store to chat about the latest ANSCHÜTZ rifle models. While biathlon is popular in certain parts of the world, it has yet to reach a wide audience in the U.S. and, while there are some online resources available to research the sport, those resources didn’t give me the depth of knowledge I was looking for to complete the book. To cover my knowledge gap, I contacted Curt Schreiner who competed in biathlon for the United States in three separate Olympic Games. Curt is with the Saratoga Biathlon Club and has forgotten more about biathlon than I could ever know. Through a series of conversations with Curt, I was able to get a feel for the sport, a sense of the camaraderie that exists among the competitors and the hard work and precision that goes into each event. I also learned that high-level biathletes have Ski Technicians who focus on things like waxing the skis to achieve the optimal result. I didn’t even know ski wax was a thing, so obviously I learned a lot from Curt. When I completed a very rough draft of Bolt Action Remedy, I sent it to him and he provided invaluable feedback that kept me from embarrassing myself in print.

Typically, I really enjoy conducting research for a book and this was no exception. I find it maddening when I’m reading a book and come across an error that could have been avoided easily if the author had conducted even minimal research. Even to this day, I conduct research on law enforcement matters even though policing is in my background. Technologies and methodologies change and crime novelists should do their best to provide an element of authenticity to their work. I’ve always believed that crime novelists can create better fiction by trying to be a bit more real. Hopefully, that is the result with Bolt Action Remedy.

 

You can learn more about Hensley and his books via his website and follow him on Twitter, Facebook and his blog. His books are available from Down and Out Books and all major booksellers.

Mystery Melange

Sisters in Crime has announced the shortlists for the 2017 Davitt Awards for the best crime books by Australian women. The shortlisted works for Best Adult Novel include Dead in the Water by Tania Chandler; Ghost Girls by Cath Ferla; The Dry by Jane Harper; Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil by Melina Marchetta; and Goodwood by Holly Throsby. For all the category shortlists, including young adult novel, children’s novel, nonfiction, and debut, follow this link to the SinC Australia website.

The winner of the Richard and Judy search for a bestseller open genre competition for first-time unpublished writers is Caz Frear's thriller Sweet Little Lies. Frear will receive representation from literary agency Furniss Lawton, a publishing contract with Bonnier Zaffre, and prime real estate in WH Smith bookstores in the UK.

UK writers, take note: you are being offered a chance to have your psychological thriller published as an ebook and win £5,000. The winner of the competition, sponsored by Quercus (publisher of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) and Psychologies magazine, will receive a publishing contract from Quercus with representation by the agency, David Higham Associates. More information here.

The Boyle Arts Festival in Ireland is sponsoring a Crimewriters Panel on July 22 made up of Declan Burke, whose most recent book was The Lost and the Blind; Louise Phillips, author of four bestselling psychological crime thrillers, each shortlisted for Best Irish Crime Novel of the Year; Arlene Hunt, creator of John and Sarah of QuicK Investigations; and Andrea Carter, who writes a series of crime novels set in Inishowen.

The UK's Crimefest has come and gone, but Ali Karim has a detailed recap on The Rap Sheet for those of us who couldn't be there in person.

The Washington Post profiled small presses that can help you think big about summer reading. Among the featured publishers were Haffner Press, known for its pulp fiction including the crime fiction of Fredric Brown and the occult detective stories of Manly Wade Wellman. Also showcased was Poisoned Pen Press specializing in older mysteries such as the American editions of the addictive British Library Crime Classics.

Now that Hillary Clinton has a little more free time on her hands, turns out she's been reading a lot of mystery novels.

The New York Times had some praise for psychological thriller author Daphne du Maurier.

As good as fingerprint technology is for catching bad guys in reality and in crime fiction and dramas, until now it hasn't been able to tell forensic experts important chemical information about that fingerprint, such as DNA or whether the person had recently come into contact with explosives. New technology developed by researchers can identify compounds (even the extremely delicate DNA molecule) at the scene of a crime.

Even an elderly grandmother's obituary can be a mystery.

This week, the featured crime poem at the 5-2 is "LeBron Airs" by Tonia Kalouria.

In the Q&A roundup, Barry Lancet spoke with the Toyko Weekender about his most recent topical thriller, The Spy Across the Table, with a plot set in North Korea and a character who is a high-level Chinese spy; D.J. Williams had "Five Questions" for his fellow thriller author, the New York Times Best-selling Gregg Hurwitz; the Crimewatch "9mm Interview Challenge" series continued with debut crime writer Kristen Lepionka, discussing her book, The Last Place You Look; Criminal Element snagged Claire Booth, author of Another Man’s Ground; and Paul D. Brazill spoke with Dana King about living and writing in Poland, working with an indie publisher, and his latest crime fiction; and Crime Fiction Lover snagged Tess Gerritsen for a chat about the latest in her Rizzoli and Isles series.

Media Murder for Monday

Hope everyone had a great weekend! It's Monday again, and that means it's time for the latest crime drama roundup: 

MOVIES

Anonymous Content has partnered with Made In Africa Films on In The Garden Of The King to be directed by Paul Ian Johnson from his own script. The story focuses on events surrounding the little-known genocide of the Congolese people by King Leopold II of Belgium between 1885-1908 and is told through the eyes of three protagonists, each living in different parts of the world in different eras: a present-day Belgian aid worker; a Victorian shipping merchant and a colonial Congo girl warrior.

Saban Films has acquired North American distribution rights to Killing Gunther, the action comedy written and directed by former Saturday Night Live regular Taran Killam and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. The plot centers on Gunther (Schwarzenegger), the world’s greatest hitman who’s also arrogant, a show-off, and steals jobs. The assassin community is tired of it and a group of eccentric killers from across the globe come together to set the perfect trap. But their plan quickly turns into a series of embarrassing fails as Gunther always appears one step ahead.

Paramount Pictures announced the premiere date for the Ang Lee-directed Gemini Man, now set for October 4, 2019. The Gemini Man project stars Will Smith and is being produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and executive produced by Don Murphy. The story centers on an assassin who faces off against himself, a clone who is 25 years younger and in his prime.

If you like heist movies, Mashable compiled a video compilation of clips from the "Top 10 of all time."

TELEVISION/STREAMING SERVICES

CBS is adapting J.D. Barker's novel The Fourth Money, which was published last month, into a series written and produced by Taylor Elmore (Justified, Limitless) and directed by Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man). The story centers on the Four Monkey Killer who has terrorized the residents of Chicago. When his body is found, the police quickly realize he was on his way to deliver one final message, one which proves he has taken another victim who may still be alive. As the lead investigator on the 4MK task force, Detective Sam Porter knows even in death, the killer is far from finished. 

BBC Studios is lining up TV adaptations of author Ken Follett’s World War II novel Jackdaws and Frederick Forsyth’s terrorist thriller The Kill List. Jackdaws will be pitched to partners as a returning series rather than as a one-off, with the action moved back several years from the book, with Follett’s approval, to provide room for the story to develop over multiple seasons. A film version of The Kill List was in the works, but BBC Studios is prepping a TV series based on the 2013 novel, which may be Forsyth’s last as he switches his focus to nonfiction.

The Beeb also announced more of the cast for Ordeal By Innocence, the first Agatha Christie adaptation under a 2016 deal struck between BBC One and Agatha Christie Productions for seven dramas based on the author’s works. Bill Nighy, Catherine Keener, Matthew Goode, and Ed Westwick were added to the adaptation of the tale of the murder of wealthy philanthropist at her family estate, Sunny Point.

UK's Channel 4, meanwhile, is prepping a new six-part crime thriller set in 2003 Baghdad after the fall of Saddam Hussein, Baghdad Central, adapted from a book by Elliott Colla.

Also coming soon from Channel 4 is the child kidnap drama Kiri from Harry Potter and National Treasure writer Jack Thorne. The four-part drama stars Sarah Lancashire and examines the abduction and death of a young black girl named Kiri who is soon to be adopted by her white foster family. Lancashire plays experienced social worker Miriam, who is blamed for Kiri's disappearance.

Capa Drama, the French production company behind costume drama Versailles and International Emmy-winning series Braquo, is developing Dolce Vita, a fantasy thriller set in 1950s and ’60s Italy, and Thanksgiving, a spy drama. Dolce Vita will depict an imaginary war between the Vatican and a powerful clan of vampires that has been raging for centuries and follows a character propelled into the midst of the war while a string of religious crimes shakes modern Italy’s Golden Age. Thanksgiving is a spy drama centering on the marriage between a Frenchman and American woman who are keeping secrets from each other.

Matt Nicholas’ Rebel Maverick has acquired rights to Nightmare in Detroit: A Rebellion and Its Victims, to develop as a TV mini or event series. The 1968 book by Burleigh Hines and former CBS News President Van Gordon Sauter documents the July 1967 Detroit riots and its victims.

Ava DuVernay (Queen Sugar) is teaming with Participant Media, Harpo Films and Tribeca Productions to bring the notorious true story of the Central Park Five jogger case to Netflix for premiere in 2019. The five-episode narrative limited scripted series is based on the true story of the 1989 case of five teenagers who were wrongfully convicted of raping a woman in New York’s Central Park.  

Former Training Day star Katrina Law is set as the female lead opposite Sean Bean in Crackle’s upcoming drama series The Oath, executive produced by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson (Power) and his G-Unit Film & Television. Written an
d created by former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Joe Halpin (Hawaii Five-O, Secrets and Lies), the 10-episode original series explores a world of gangs made up of those sworn to protect and defend and sheds light on corrupt and secret societies that are nearly impossible to join. Only a select few make the cut – but once inside, members will do what they must to protect one another from enemies on the outside and from within their own ranks.

A trailer was released for Jason Bateman’s upcoming drama Netflix series Ozark, which takes place in the dark and dangerous world of drug-money laundering. The present-day story revolves around financial planner Marty Bird (Bateman), his wife Wendy (Laura Linney) and their family’s sudden relocation from the suburbs of Chicago to a summer resort community in the Missouri Ozarks. Rather than the familiar skyscrapers and trading floors, Ozark explores capitalism, family dynamics and survival through the eyes of anything-but-ordinary Americans.

PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO

Louise Penney joined CBS Sunday Morning for a discussion about how she overcame alcoholism and turned to writing crime novels, as well as the recent death of late husband.

Debbie Mack's Crime Cafe is back for its Third Season, which kicks off with a discussion with thriller author Sue Coletta about her Mayhem series, Grafton County series and more. (Alternate link if you don't have iTunes.)

A Stab In The Dark host Mark Billingham spoke with Sherlock’s Mark Gatiss about his love of horror, Agatha Christie and how he and Steven Moffat came up with the idea for a modern Sherlock Holmes. Plus, Paul Hirons, also chatted with Murdoch Mysteries' Hélène Joy.

The BBC's Becky Want spoke with JP Delaney, author of the psychological thriller, The Girl Before.

The Radio 2 Book Club host Simon Mayo welcomed journalist and debut author, John Marrs to discuss his new psychological thriller The One.

Crime reviewer and presenter Jake Kerridge is the subject of the latest podcast on Spybrary, discussing the Waterstones promotion Summer of Spies in the run-up to the new John Le Carré novel in September. (HT to Shots)

2nd Sunday Crime welcomed Cara Black to talk about her 17th installment in the Aimee LeDuc series.

Hosts Steve Cavanagh and Luca Veste of Two Crime Writers and a Microphone welcomed special guest, Rowan Coleman, talking about how she started writing, growing up with dyslexia, time travel, and interrupting dogs. They also included a tribute to the amazing Helen Cadbury after her incredibly sad passing last week.

Episode 7 of the Writer Types podcast featured authors Laura Lippman, Brett Battles, Richard Lange, and Sam Wiebe, as well as a short story by Holly West.

Book Riot's Read or Dead podcast hosts Katie and Rincey look at the mystery and thriller books in Amazon's Best Books of the year so far list and question if some of the books on there are actually mysteries.

GAMES

Robert Kirkman's dark comic heist Thief of Thieves is the next Skybound comic to be turned into a video game. The publisher's interactive arm has partnered with Rival Games to tell a story about Celia, protégé of the comic's master thief, Redmond (aka Conrad Paulson).

 

The Latest Prose 'n Cons

 

The summer issue of Prose 'n Cons is out with a profile of true crime writer and novelist Carla Norton, who wrote a NYT bestseller on the Cameron Hooker kidnapping and bondage case titled Perfect Victim. After writing about real-life victimization took its toll, Hooker decided to switch to novels, penning two books that allow a kidnapping victim to reclaim her life on her own terms.

The issue also has a look at the upcoming PulpFest; a profile of Ray Celestin's new novel The Axeman; the best day trips and destinations for true-crime lovers; an examination of the new technique of brain fingerprinting that could help police read the minds of criminals; the lure of murder mystery parties; new short fiction from Jake Teeny and Salena Casha; and much more. You can also catch the latest News Headlines from yours truly.

The 'Zine Scene

Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine's July/August double issue includes publication of the Black Orchid Award Novella winning story. Plus, there's a baseball-themed story fit for summer, "The Making of Velveteen Dream" by Chris Muessig, and new short fiction from Jay Carey, John M. Floyd, and R.T. Lawton.

Wildside Press announced they're launching a new publication titled Black Cat Mystery Magazine. Named in honor of the company mascot, BCMM will focus on contemporary and traditional mysteries, as well as thrillers and suspense stories. The first issue will be released in September and feature stories by Art Taylor, Meg Opperman, John Floyd, Josh Pachter, Barb Goffman, and Alan Orloff, among others.

Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine's summer issue has a new spy story by Jeffery Deaver, “Hard to Get,” taking readers to Eastern Europe where a new American agent encounters his attractive Russian counterpart. Also, detective Kennedy in Paul Charles’s “Harry Potter and the Shadow of the Forger’s Throne” investigates the murder of a book collector, and Julius Katz that of a literary agent in Dave Zeltserman’s “Julius Katz and the Terminated Agent.” Plus a trip on the road and in Hollywood past and present in the Department of First Stories’ “The Fast and the Furriest” by Pat H. Broeske, and much more.

Mystery Scene's summer Issue #150 features an interview by Oline Cogdill with Scott Turow on the 30th publication anniversary of Presumed Innocent; one of the founding members of Sisters in Crime, Sara Paretsky, talks about why such an organization was needed then and remains essential today; Cheryl Solimini profiles Linda Greenlaw, an author who was also the only female swordfishing boat captain on the East Coast of the United States, featured in the book and film The Perfect Storm; Jake Hinkson has a feature on Eddie Muller, who has earned the sobriquet "The Czar of Noir"; Ann Whetstone takes a look at train mysteries; Kevin Burton Smith takes a look at locked room and other impossible crime stories featuring private eyes; Craig Sisterson catches up with Michael Connelly as he debuts a series featuring Renee Ballard, an LAPD cop working the night shift; Hallie Ephron talks about following in the literary footsteps of her celebrated family; and Tom Nolan chats with Denise Mina who has some interesting thoughts on the high art/low art debate in literature.

Mystery Weekly's latest print edition has new short crime fiction from Melanie Atherton Allen, Kevin Z. Garvey, Tapanga Koe, J. Michael Major, Bruce Harris, Thom Bennett, Peter DiChellis, Tom Tolnay, and Rhonda Howard.

The new issue of Noir City has "many and varied delights: headshrinkers, a hammer-wielding murderess, the King of Capers, a strange cult that begat a noir legend, more Bs than you ever bargained for … and even an appearance by The Boss." The edition also has the debut of a new regular feature, The Dark Page, dedicated to contemporary crime fiction and penned by crime and mystery writer Eric Beetner. He kicks it off by interviewing one of the most prolific and knowledgeable figures in the business, Anthony Award-winning novelist and historian Bill Crider. 

Over My Dead Body is an online 'zine that had taken a bit of a break, but is back again with new book reviews and short stories.

Suspense magazine's summer edition includes Interviews with Catherine Finger, Harley Muzak, Wendy Webb, Karen Dionne, Adam Mitzner, James Hayman, Kenneth Johnson, Nicci French, and Laurie R. King. The magazine also has a new section by bestselling author Alan Jacobson, “The Writer’s Toolkit,” with everything you need to know to put yourself on the best path. Dennis Palumbo also has a great article about "Envy," Anthony Franze continued his "Rules of Writing" with C.J. Box, plus there are pages of book reviews, short stories and more.

Issue Two of the gritty new crime publication Switchblade Magazine just hit the streets in print (an ebook format is on the way) with 12 sharp and deadly hard luck-tales. Authors offering up their short fiction include William Dylan Powell, Renee Asher Pickup, Peter DiChellis, Carmen Jaramillo, Paul Greenberg, Charles Roland, S. E. Bailey, Rob T. White, Ashley Erwin, J. L. Boekestein, Scotch Rutherford, and Stephen D. Rogers.