Mystery Melange

The shortlist was announced for a controversial new prize which recognizes thriller novels in which no women are beaten, stalked, sexually exploited, raped or murdered. The Staunch Book Prize was founded by Bridget Lawless in order to create an alternative to the “overload of violence towards women in fiction.” The six nominations include Anna Porter’s The Appraisal; If I Die Tonight by A L Gaylin; East of Hounslow by Khurrum Rahman; On the Java Ridge by Jock Serong; The Kennedy Moment by Peter Adamson; and Cops and Queens by Joyce Thompson, who is currently seeking a publisher.

Ruth McIver has won the Richell Prize for Emerging Writers for her "atmospheric and chillingly entertaining" crime novel, I Shot the Devil. The Richell Prize, supported by Hachette Australia, Guardian Australia and the Emerging Writers’ festival, was established in 2015 and is open to emerging writers of both fiction and narrative non-fiction. The winner receives $10,000 and a 12-month mentorship with publisher Hachette Australia.

The 10th Annual Goodreads Choice Awards have announced the contenders, including the twenty semifinalists for Best Mystery & Thriller. Readers can vote during the process to weed the lists down to semifinalists and the finalists, who will be announced on December 4. To see the list of all fifteen books and to vote, hop on over to this Goodreads link.

Several authors are auctioning character names in upcoming books in an effort to raise funds for the charity Freedom from Torture. Along with Margaret Atwood, Julian Barnes, and others, thriller writer Lee Child is also offering a chance to name a character in his next book, with money raised from the auction used to help survivors of torture rebuild their lives. "Torture victims are the most damaged and demoralised people among us, so any move to embrace, console and help them is to be applauded and supported," Child said of his decision to choose this above other charity requests he receives.

Suspense Magazine is dedicating the fall issue to the late Anthony Bourdain, who was not only a travel and food journalist but also a crime fiction author. The magazine speaks with Joel Rose, Bourdain's co-writer and long time friend, on the graphic novel, "Hungry Ghosts." The issue also has an interview with former Federal Prosecutor and author Allison Leotta; Dennis Palumbo offers up, "When your writing doesn't love you back"; plus, Kaye George, J.B. Toner, Phillip Frey and John Sims-Jones share exclusive short stories.

Thriller writer James Patterson has launched an interactive novel titled The Chef in the UK with Facebook's Creative Shop and experiential content producer 1stAveMachine. Designed for use on mobile and social media, the adapted novel's narrative unravels in a series of interactive audio and visuals in Facebook Messenger. It reads like a chat conversation, but at key moments, the narrative switches to a video, image, or audio recording.

Dr. Rachel Franks, an instructor with a Ph.D in crime fiction, created a brief primer on Australian Crime Fiction for the blog Punk Noir Magazine.

Rare-book theft has been in the news a lot lately, but Raptis Rare Books in Palm Beach, Florida, is the first bookseller in the United States to employ a new loss prevention technology known as synthetic DNA. The technology comes from SelectaDNA, whose vice president Joe Maltese, explained, "Each application of Synthetic DNA generates a unique code, providing clients with the ability to identify and recover lost or stolen rare books." Raptis places a letter R in each of their books, "stamped" in the synthetic DNA serum, which helps them identify each unique item. The serum stamp can last five years inside of a book and can also be incorporated into an alarm system that sprays attempted burglars, leaving a trace on their skin that can be identified up to six weeks later.

As if you didn't need more reasons to like Canada's personable Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, he dressed up as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's beloved character Sherlock Holmes for Halloween, donning the fictional detective's signature deerstalker hat, pipe, and clue-hunting magnifying glass.

The latest poem at the 5-2 crime poetry weekly is "Trump and the Mail Bombs" by Robert Cooperman.

In the Q&A roundup, Promoting Crime Fiction blog host Lizzie Hayes chatted with TV journalist and women's fiction author Kate Helm about first crime novel, The Secrets You Hide; Criminal Element spoke with Julie Hyzy about her latest novel, Virtual Sabotage, which marks her transition from cozies to thrillers; and the Mystery People welcomed Timothy Hallinan, promoting the release of Nighttown, the latest book in his Junior Bender series.