Mystery Melange

 

As many of you may already know, Mary Higgins Clark, the "Queen Of Suspense," passed away this past weekend. Simon & Schuster President and CEO Carolyn K. Reidy said that "Beginning in 1975 with the publication of Where Are The Children?, each of her 56 books has been a bestseller...[and] there are more than 100 million copies of her books in print in the United States." Higgins Clark didn't began publishing in her late 40s, but her formula of "placing her characters into perilous situations and often triumphing," proved to be a winner with her legions of fans. Higgins Clark was 92.

Northern Virginia Noir at the Bar returns February 16 at Busboys and Poets in Shirlington, co-sponsored by Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, Sisters in Crime Chessie Chapter, and Level Best Books Day. There will be readings and signings from Kathleen Barber, Karen Cantwell, Shawn Cosby, Patrick Hyde, Ellen Clair Lamb, Ken Lawrence, Shawn Simmons, and Art Taylor. Josh Pachter will also be on hand to serve as host of the proceedings.

Join a panel discussion Saturday, February 22 at Clean Prose, London's first co-working space for writers. Lucy Foley (The Hunting Party), Andrew Wilson (A Talent for Murder) and Mia Emilie (The Watchers Trilogy), will be in discussion with J C Bernthal and Brittain Bright to explore how crime and detective novels are constructed and what makes the perfect ending.

On Saturday, February 29th, at the Paisley Book Festival in the UK, the Fun Lovin' Crime Writers (composed of Mark Billingham, Stuart Neville, Val McDermid, Christopher Brookmyre, Luca Veste, and Doug Johnstone) will "murder songs for fun hither and yon" as well as sign books.

CrimeFest 2020 announced that Lynda La Plante, Laura Lippman, and Robert Goddard will be among the authors headlining the crime fiction convention this summer. Up to 150 authors will descend on Bristol appearing in over 50 panels delving into diverse topics from politics to historical crime, the golden age of crime fiction to police procedurals, serial killers to cozy crime. There will also be a panel on crime fiction reviewers, honoring the late Marcel Berlins, and a "Ghost of Honour" remembering Dick Francis. Other authors on the bill for CrimeFest's 11th year include Dreda Say Mitchell, Sarah Pinborough, Yrsa Sigurðardóttir, Lynne Truss and Zoë Sharp. Sponsored by Specsavers, CrimeFest will take place from June 4th to 7th at the Mercure Bristol Grand Hotel.

Think your book has a knock-'em-dead opening sentence? If so, you can submit it to the ThrillerFest Best First Sentence Contest. To qualify to enter, you must be an ITW member or registered for ThrillerFest XV (2020). Winners will be announced on Wednesday, July 8, 2020 at the CraftFest luncheon.

Otto Penzler has taken sole ownership of the Mysterious Press and added it to his publishing company, Penzler Publishers. Penzler founded Mysterious Press in 1975 but it has been an imprint at Grove Atlantic for the past nine years (which will bring out 10 titles this year). Beginning in 2021, the Mysterious Press will be distributed by Norton, which also distributes two other imprints of Penzler Publishers: American Mystery Classics, which is issuing hardcover and trade paperbacks of Golden Age detective novels; and Scarlet, which will release its first list of psychological and domestic suspense titles in the fall. (HT to Shelf Awareness)

It's no secret I adore libraries and librarians (thanks, Mom!). Even the humble bookmobile has a fascinating history.

It's getting harder for crime writers to keep up with all the latest technology for their books. Case in point, a new proof-of-concept study used a highly sensitive mass spectrometry method to date fingerprints. If the techniques works, crime lab scientists will be able to pin down the exact time the fingerprint was left.

This week's crime poem at the 5-2 is "Hugh Chaffin" by David Cranmer.

In the Q&A roundup, The Guardian spoke with Nora Roberts, a/k/a JD Robb, about her writing routine and how she's managed to publish 220 novels in two different genres; The Telegraph of India featured an interview with Ann Cleves about her writing and the "recipe for creating the perfect sleuth"; and C.J. Tudor chatted with Crime by the Book about The Other People, her inventive new thriller following a father on the hunt for his missing daughter.