Mystery Melange

 

The shortlist for the 2021 Petrona Award for Best Translated Scandinavian Crime Novel was announced today (with the winner to be presented on November 4). The six titles from Iceland, Norway, and Sweden include:

• A Necessary Death by Anne Holt, tr. Anne Bruce (Corvus; Norway)
• Death Deserved by Jørn Lier Horst and Thomas Enger, tr. Anne Bruce (Orenda Books; Norway)
• The Secret Life Of Mr. Roos by Håkan Nesser, tr. Sarah Death (Mantle; Sweden)
• To Cook A Bear by Mikael Niemi, tr. Deborah Bragan-Turner (MacLehose Press; Sweden)
• The Seven Doors by Agnes Ravatn, tr. Rosie Hedger (Orenda Books; Norway)
• Gallows Rock by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir, tr. Victoria Cribb (Hodder & Stoughton; Iceland)

Romance, crime, and science fiction novels are among the five shortlisted books for the £20,000 Kindle Storyteller Award, which this year received a record number of submissions. The two crime fiction titles include JD Kirk's An Isolated Incident, the 11th installment in his DCI Jack Logan series, and Rachel McLean's The Corfe Castle Murders. You can see the full list of finalists here. The winner will be announced in October.

Tomorrow is the last day to bid on items in the Authors for Voices of Color auction, which is raising money for racial-justice non-profits in the publishing, education, and literacy arenas. Authors, editors, and other publishing professionals are donating items and services to raise funds for organizations that amplify voices of color. The inaugural auction, which ended in August 2020, raised more than $14,000. There are several genres included, and you can check out the thriller offerings via this link.

Join award-winning mystery authors Naomi Hirahara and Walter Mosley for an online discussion October 3 about their critically acclaimed novels. Hirahara’s latest mystery, Clark and Division, revolves around a Japanese American family building a new life in 1940s Chicago after their release from mass incarceration during World War II. Mosley’s indefatigable detective, Easy Rawlins, returns in Blood Grove, solving a new mystery on the streets of Southern California in 1969. The talk is sponsored by the Brooklyn Book Festival and will be moderated by Dwyer Murphy, editor in chief of CrimeReads.

There are a few more Noir at the Bar events coming up soon, starting off with Noir at the Bar Edinburgh at the Rose St Theatre Café with authors Alison Belsham (Her Last Breath), Sharon Bairden (Sins of the Father), Alex Nye (Arguing with the Dead), Sandra Ireland (Bone Deep), and Jackie MacLean (DI Donna Davenport series). Columbia, South Carolina, will be holding its first Noir at the Bar event on October 27 (lineup here); and the next Noir at the Bar Dallas is set for November 7 (lineup here) at the Wild Detectives bookstore.

Titan Books is releasing a new collaboration with editor Maxim Jakubowski for the first retrospective of the Crime Writer Association's Dagger Award-winning short stories. The 19 tales in Daggers Drawn bring together some of the greatest names in crime fiction to deliver a cutthroat collection of serial killers, grizzled detectives, drug dealers and master forgers. To coincide with the release, contributors Larry Beinhart, Danuta Kot, Lauren Henderson, and Martin Edwards will join Jakubowski for a live panel on Saturday, October 2, 2021, which will be streamed via Facebook Live.

To celebrate the launch of David Marcum's Sherlock Holmes and The Eye of Heka, Mystery Scene magazine readers are being invited to a chance to win $100 worth of Sherlockian tales from MX Publishing, the home of the largest Sherlock Holmes catalog in the world, with more than 400 Sherlock Holmes novels, biographies, graphic novels and short story collections. To enter, simply sign up for the magazine's free newsletter on the bottom of their home page.

There is some sad news to report following the loss of another mystery author: Frank Wheeler Jr. has passed away only a few months following a surprise cancer diagnosis at the age of 43. Jed Ayres has a personal tribute up at Hardboiled Wonderland.

The Black Cat web site has been around for almost four years now, serving up a weekly buffet of new and classic mysteries—and more recently science fiction—to thousands of readers each week. Rather than continue to release all these novels and stories as individual ebooks, they have decided to bundle them up into a convenient weekly e-magazine beginning with Black Cat Weekly #1, the September 5, 2021 issue. To celebrate, they're including double the usual word count, with three complete novels, seven short stories, and even a "true crime" feature by Erle Stanley Gardner, creator of Perry Mason. The subgenres cover the gamut, from traditional mysteries to contemporary detectives, to psychic detectives (in the case of Frank Lovell Nelson’s story, a telepathic detective, the first of 12 stories featuring Carlton Clarke from 1908, all of which will run in the Black Cat’s pages).

Cross-Examining Crime published the transcription of a talk recently given at the Paignton Zoo as part of the International Agatha Christie Festival, featuring some of the ways in which animals have made themselves at home with classic crime writers and in the mysteries their owners created. The roster has several books from the Golden Age, including the Queen of Crime herself, Agatha Christie, with a few more contemporary takes. The stories include a variety of titles, all of which included animals used as pets, muses, plot devices, or even murder weapons.

This week's crime poem at the 5-2 is "Would You Like Fries With That" by Charles Rammelkamp.

In the Q&A roundup, Criminal Element's J.B. Stevens interviewed Mark Westmoreland, author of the debut book, A Violent Gospel; the Stiletto Gang's Lynn McPherson interviewed fellow "Gangster," Cathy Perkins about her books, being a contributing editor for The Big Thrill, and writing through chemotherapy; and Writers Who Kill's E. B. Davis chatted with Rhys Bowen about God Rest Ye, Royal Gentlemen, which is Bowen’s fifteenth Royal Spyness mystery.

Media Murder for Monday

It's the start of a new week and that means it's time for a brand-new roundup of crime drama news:

THE BIG SCREEN/MOVIES

Spider-Man: Homecoming director, Jon Watts, is writing, directing, and producing a movie that will bring George Clooney and Brad Pitt together again. According to The Hollywood Reporter, once the project was made known, just about every studio and streaming service jumped in to bid on it. Details about the movie itself are being held close to the vest, but the movie is apparently about two "lone wolf fixers" who get assigned to the same job.

Harry Potter screenwriter, Steve Kloves, has found a more adult project to take on, as he is set to adapt Flynn Berry’s New York Times bestselling novel, Northern Spy, for Netflix. The story is set in the midst of renewed sectarian violence in Northern Ireland and follows a woman who learns that her younger sister has not only been working for the IRA but also has become an MI5 informer. To protect her family, the older sister helps pass information to MI5, but the IRA eventually tries to conscript her.

Kevin Hart and F. Gary Gray are teaming up on the drama, Lift, for Netflix, a heist film that Netflix acquired last March as a spec script by Dan Kunka. Hart will play a master thief who is wooed by his ex-girlfriend and the FBI to pull off an impossible heist with his international crew on a 777 flying from London to Zurich.

Although Chris Hemsworth’s black ops mercenary character, Tyler Rake, appeared to have met his end at the close of Extraction, the actor confirmed today that he will be back for Extraction 2, as Netflix unveiled a teaser for the sequel. Hemsworth will re-team on the follow-up film with director Sam Hargrave, as well as producers Joe and Anthony Russo. The original action-thriller penned by Joe Russo was based on the graphic novel, Ciudad, and followed Rake’s efforts to rescue Ovi Mahajan (Rudhraksh Jaiswal)—the son of an Indian crime lord—and watched as his mission went awry after he was double-crossed.

Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians), Noomi Rapace (Prometheus), Sam Neill (Jurassic Park), and Daniela Melchior (Suicide Squad) have been quietly filming the action film, Assassin Club, in Italy. Camille Delamarre (Transporter: Refueled) is directing the movie, which has just wrapped shooting in Turin. Assassin Club takes place in the world of international spies and elite assassins where Morgan Gaines (Golding) is the best of the best. When Morgan is hired to kill six people around the world, he soon discovers all the targets are also assassins unknowingly hired to kill each other. Rapace plays Falk, the only assassin with skills to match his own. Under the guidance of his mentor Jonathan Caldwell (Neill), Morgan must defeat Falk and the other assassins to keep himself and his girlfriend Sophie (Melchior) alive.

TELEVISION/STREAMING SERVICE

Yesterday producer, Matthew James Wilkinson, is teaming up with Poldark and Endeavour exec producer, Tom Mullens, on a TV adaptation of Scottish author Iain Banks’s thriller novel, The Business. The project follows Kate Telman, a working-class Glaswegian who has risen through the ranks to become a senior executive in a secretive super-corporation, known only as "The Business." Telman discovers that The Business is planning to buy a small country in order to secure a seat on the UN and that, despite the benevolent image and democratic structure it presents to the world, the company will stop at nothing to increase its influence. So begins a dangerous personal reckoning as Telman travels the globe, determined to uncover the conspiracy at the heart of the shady company she works for.

Chicago Med and Arrow star, Colin Donnell, is set to lead Peacock’s Australia-set crime drama, Irreverent. The series will also feature PJ Byrne, Kylie Bracknell, Briallen Clarke, Tegan Stimson, Ed Oxenbould, Wayne Blair, Russell Dykstra, Calen Tassone, and Jason Wilder as series regulars. Irreverent follows a criminal from Chicago who bungles a heist and is forced to hide out in a small Australian reef town in Far North Queensland posing as the new church Reverend. Donnell will play Mack/Paulo, a skilled and articulate mediator who keeps the peace between organized crime families in Chicago. After a mediation goes badly wrong, Mack flees to a remote beach town in tropical Australia where he is forced to assume the identity of a Reverend in order to stay ahead of the people who want him dead.

NBC has ordered the thriller, The Endgame, from executive producers Julie Plec and Justin Lin. The series stars Morena Baccarin and Ryan Michelle Bathe as a criminal mastermind and the FBI agent trying to stop her plan. Plec will executive produce with Nicholas Wootton, and Jake Coburn, who will both write the series. As the logline states, it's "a pulse-pounding, high-stakes thriller about Elena Federova (Baccarin), a recently captured international arms dealer and brilliant criminal mastermind who even in captivity orchestrates a number of coordinated bank heists, and Val Turner (Bathe), the principled, relentless, and socially outcast FBI agent who will stop at nothing to foil her ambitious plan."

Netflix has opted not to renew the geopolitical espionage thriller, Hit & Run, co-created, executive produced and headlined by Lior Raz, for a second season. The news comes a month and a half after the release of Season 1, which ended with a major cliffhanger. Hit & Run, which also starred Sanaa Lathan, Kaelen Ohm, Moran Rosenblatt, and Gregg Henry, was well received by critics and viewers. But the sprawling drama, filmed in New York and Israel, is expensive, and due to the COVID-related industry shutdown, the nine-episode Season 1 took three years to produce. Hit & Run centers on Segev (Raz), a happily married man whose life is turned upside down when his wife is killed in a mysterious hit-and-run accident in Tel Aviv. Grief-stricken and confused, he searches for his wife’s killers, who have fled to the U.S. With the help of an ex-lover, Naomi Hicks (Lathan), he uncovers disturbing truths about his beloved wife and the secrets she kept from him.

Starz has put in development Lagordiloca, a drama series that chronicles the rise of street journalist, Priscilla Villarreal, as she capitalizes on the power of livestream reporting to expose corruption, cartels, and serial killers in the border town of Laredo, Texas. The project, Inspired by Skip Hollandsworth’s and Leif Reigstad’s articles about Villarreal in Texas Monthly, comes from playwright, film/TV writer, and filmmaker Hilary Bettis, who is penning the adaptation. A modern-day folk hero tale, Priscilla’s use of social media pushes the boundaries of freedom of speech and press to the extreme, shaking the community’s foundation to its core.

Season 9 of The Blacklist, which will be the NBC drama’s first year without now-exited star Megan Boone, will open its October 21 premiere with a time jump that will pick up with Raymond Reddington (James Spader) two years after the death of Elizabeth Keen (Boone). Per NBC, "In the two years following the death of Elizabeth Keen, Raymond Reddington (James Spader) and the members of the FBI Task Force have disbanded, their lives now changed in unexpected ways and with Reddington’s whereabouts unknown. Finding themselves each at a crossroads, a common purpose compels them to renew their original mission: to take down dangerous, vicious and eccentric Blacklisters. In the process, they begin to uncover lethal adversaries, unimaginable conspiracies, and surprising betrayals that will threaten alliances and spur vengeance for the past, led by the most devious criminal of them all – Raymond Reddington."

Steve Coogan (Philomena) has been cast as Jimmy Savile in the BBC One drama, The Reckoning. Savile rose from working-class origins to become one of the biggest stars of British television, but faced rumors of misconduct during his career. After his death in 2011, the full extent of his crimes, which included sexually abusing hundreds of child victims, was revealed. The controversial TV project will be directed by Sandra Goldbacher (Ordeal by Innocence). The production team said they are working closely with people whose lives were impacted by Savile to ensure their stories are told with sensitivity and respect. The series will look into the way Savile used his celebrity and powerful connections to conceal his wrongdoings and to hide in plain sight.

PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO/AUDIO

It Was a Dark & Stormy Book Club welcomed Stephanie Kane, an attorney and author of legal thrillers. In 2020, she published Quiet Time, a mystery novel based on her own life as a witness to the murder of her future mother-in-law, a case that resulted in the killer being set free. In 2021, she published Cold Case Story, a true-crime account that ultimately led to a reopening of the case and prosecution of the perpetrator thirty years after the crime.

Thriller and horror author Dan Padavona was the latest guest on My Favorite Detective Stories, chatting about his Wolf Lake series, his Darkwater Cove series, and the Scarlett Bell series.

Read or Dead discussed books that will take you on "a twisty, turn-y journey."

On Wrong Place, Write Crime, Owen Mullen stopped by to discuss his new book, The Accused.

Meet the Thriller Author welcomed Scott Shepherd, a veteran writer/producer/show-runner of programs such as The Equalizer and Miami Vice, to talk about his debut crime novel, The Last Commandment.

On CrimeTime FM, Fiona Cummins (When I Was Ten) and David Fennell (The Art of Death) discussed why we’re so intrigued by serial killers, what makes a good thriller, and which fictional murderer they’d be most afraid to be stranded on a desert island with.

The Cozy Ink Podcast host, Leah Bailey, compiled a list of author interviews she's done with books that contain not only excellent culinary delights, but also the recipes to create them yourself.

Mystery Melange

 

Congratulations to Robbie Morrison, who won the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize for Crime Novel of the Year 2021 with Edge of the Grave. Craig Russell also won the McIlvanney Prize for Crime Novel of the Year 2021 with Hyde. The latter prize was named for the late William McIlvanney, whose last book, The Dark Remains, has just been published posthumously with the help of bestselling Scottish crime writer, Ian Rankin.

HarperFiction has revealed the three winners of the Killing It Competition for Undiscovered Writers, launched in January of this year. The competition is designed to find unpublished writers from Black, Asian, and minority ethnic backgrounds, and was judged by editorial director Phoebe Morgan, commissioning editor Kathryn Cheshire, assistant editor Sophie Churcher, and guest judge Ayo Onatade. Each winner will receive a comprehensive editorial report and mentoring. The winners include Rama Varma, for The Banana Leaf Murder; Stacey Thomas for The Revels; and Shabnam Grewal for Secrets and Shame.

Gillian Flynn, the author of acclaimed psychological thriller, Gone Girl, is to launch her own imprint with new US indie press Zando. Along with actor and producer Lena Waithe, Flynn is a founding partner of the press, which aims to collaborate with creators, authors, and platforms to obtain and publish titles. Flynn will be involved in every stage of the publishing process for her imprint, including acquisition, editing and publication. She will publish her Zando list under the name Gillian Flynn Books, releasing four to six titles over three years. Gillian Flynn Books is expected to include both fiction and non-fiction, featuring narrative non-fiction and true crime.

Mystery Readers Journal editor, Janet Rudolph, has extended the submission deadline for the upcoming issue on "Cold Case Mysteries." Interested authors still have time to submit their proposed reviews, articles, and Author! Author! essays by October 10.
 

The Atlantic's Alyse Burnside profiled the "dark reality behind cozy mysteries," and how the genre’s popularity can feel like a relic of a bygone era—but these books share DNA with today’s bloodier thrillers.

The New York Times took a look ahead to "20 New Works of Fiction to Read This Season," a list that includes State of Terror, a political thriller by Hillary Clinton and Louise Penny; the Korean murder mystery, Lemon; and Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead.

The novel that is thought to have inspired Agatha Christie is getting a UK publication date in October by Dean Street Press. The Invisible Host, a 1930 murder mystery by two US journalists, has remarkable parallels with Christie’s most successful work. Dean Street Press describes The Invisible Host as "the widely suspected inspiration" for And Then There Were None, and an "innovative and most unusual mystery from the golden age of crime fiction."

Just a reminder that censorship and book banning is alive and well in the 21st century: a southern Pennsylvania school district was forced to reverse a wide-ranging ban on books following protests and criticism that every author on that list involved a Black voice or subject. Crime fiction author, Brad Meltzer, whose picture book I am Rosa Parks was one of the banned titles, said he sat in the virtual Central York school board meeting "to stop this book ban," and read the board his titles including both I am Rosa Parks and I am Dr King to the board. "When you’re banning Dr King and Rosa Parks, you’re on the wrong side of history," said Meltzer.

This week's crime poem at the 5-2 is "Or So It Seemed" by Nancy Scott.

In the Q&A roundup, Sara Gran talked with CrimeReads about "Publishing, Sex Magic, and Ownership for Authors" and starting her own publishing company; Craig Johnson also stopped by CrimeReads to discuss spirituality, the West, and the plight of missing and murdered indigenous women, one of whom was the inspiration for the newest Longmire novel, Daughter of the Morning Star; and the BBC spoke with LJ Ross, a successful self-published author of 18 books including the DCI Ryan series, and a series with forensic psychologist Dr Alexander Gregory.

Media Murder for Murder

It's the start of a new week and that means it's time for a brand-new roundup of crime drama news:

AWARDS

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences handed out the 73rd primetime Emmy Awards last night. There weren't very many crime drama winners this year, with most of the nods going to The Crown for, well, just about everything. However, Mare of Easttown had several nods:  Kate Winslet won Best Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie for her role as Mare Sheehan; Evan Peters won Outstanding Supporting Actor for his role as Detective Colin Zabel; and Julianne Nicholson won an Outstanding Supporting Actress award for her role as Lori Ross.

THE BIG SCREEN/MOVIES

Megan Fox has been set to star with Tyson Ritter in the feature thriller, Johnny And Clyde, a "new take on the famous Bonnie and Clyde story." The movie will follow the two eponymous serial killers, madly in love and on an endless crime spree, who have their sights set on robbing a prosperous casino run by crime boss Alana (Fox) and her head of security (Ritter). The movie is currently in production in Rhode Island with the roles of Johnny and Clyde to be cast "imminently."

Bridget Regan and Patrick Heusinger (Jack Reacher: Never Go Back) have signed on to star alongside Katherine Castro in Weak, a new thriller from writer-director, J.S. Mayank. The film is inspired by a true story and follows an investigation involving two women: Audra (Castro), who’s suffering from depression, and her friend, Jen (Regan), who’s trying to help her cope with the mental health issues. Upon their visit to a gun range, an unexpected turn of events leads to a surprising and horrifying revelation.

Winona Ryder is starring alongside Dermot Mulroney, John Gallagher Jr., Owen Teague, and Brianne Tju in The Cow, described as "a mystery thriller" that marks the feature directing debut of Eli Horowitz, co-creator of Amazon’s anthology series, Homecoming. However, plot details are being kept under wraps about the script, which was co-penned by Horowitz and Matthew Derby.

Netflix is teaming up with Vishal Bhardwaj Films for the espionage feature, Khufiya. Based on the spy novel, Escape to Nowhere, by Amar Bhushan, as well as true events, the film tells the story of Krishna Mehra, an intelligence operative at India’s Research and Analysis Wing who is assigned to track down the mole selling defense secrets.

Travis Fimmel, Brady Noon, and Frances Fisher have been added to the cast of Rust, the feature Western that stars Alec Baldwin and is written and directed by Joel Souza (Crown Vic). The story centers on infamous Western outlaw, Harland Rust (Baldwin), who's had a bounty on his head for as long as he can remember. When his estranged 13-year-old grandson Lucas (Noon) is convicted of an accidental murder and sentenced to hang, Rust travels to Kansas to break him out of prison. Together, the fugitives must outrun the legendary U.S. Marshal, Wood Helm, and bounty-hunter, Fenton "Preacher" Lang (Fimmel), who are hot on their tail.

TELEVISION/STREAMING SERVICES

Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton’s HiddenLight Productions have optioned film and TV rights to Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs series. Hillary, who has made no secret of her love of the mystery series throughout the years, told attendees at the Royal Television Society Cambridge Convention last week how much she and Chelsea love the character and her journey during a time of "great social upheaval."

Mark Gordon Pictures is moving along with its series adaptation of Norman Mailer’s spy epic, Harlot’s Ghost. Éric Rochant (who is also developing a global spy thriller with Snowpiercer producer Tomorrow Studios), will write, direct, executive produce, and showrun the project. Harlot’s Ghost, which was published in 1991, is a fictional chronicle of the CIA and centers on Harry Hubbard, the son and godson of CIA legends. His journey to learn the secrets of his organization—and his own past—takes him through the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the "momentous catastrophe" of the Kennedy assassination. All the while, Hubbard is haunted by women who were loved by both his godfather and President Kennedy.

Hulu has given a formal green light to Career Opportunities In Murder & Mayhem (working title), a pilot headlined by Mandy Patinkin and Violett Beane. Joining the duo as series regulars are Lauren Patten, Hugo Diego Garcia, Angela Zhou, and Rahul Kohli. Written by Stumptown duo, Mike Weiss and Heidi Cole McAdams, and to be directed by Marc Webb, the project asks the question, "How do you solve a murder in a post-fact world? Especially when sailing the Mediterranean on an ocean liner filled with the wealthy and powerful?" Everyone on board is hiding something…but is one of them a killer? That’s what the "World’s Once Greatest Detective," Rufus Cotesworth (Patinkin), and his protégé, Imogene (Beane), aim to discover.

Idris Elba will officially reprise his role as the brilliant detective John Luther for a Luther movie at Netflix and will be joined in the cast by Cynthia Erivo and Andy Serkis. Neil Cross, the series creator of Luther, will return to write the script for the movie, and Emmy nominee Jamie Payne is set to direct. The film will continue the events of the "Luther" saga, which aired in 2010 and ran for five seasons on the BBC. Other plot details, however, are being kept under wraps.

Emily Deschanel has been cast as the lead in Netflix’s limited series adaptation of Devil in Ohio. The eight-episode thriller is based on a book of the same name by Daria Polatin, which is inspired by a true story. The series will be written, executive produced, and showrun by author Polatin and follows hospital psychiatrist, Dr. Suzanne Mathis, whose world is turned upside down when she shelters a mysterious cult escapee.

The CW has acquired Professionals, a loose remake of the Christian Slater-fronted action movie, Soldiers of Fortune, which was made for the Scandinavian SVOD service, Viaplay. The series stars Smallville’s Tom Welling as Vincent Corbo, a top-tier security operative paid to protect the interests of rich and powerful clients by any means necessary. After a next-gen medical satellite explodes on launch, Corbo is hired by the rocket’s designer, billionaire futurist Peter Swann (Brendan Fraser), who suspects sabotage. Complicating Corbo’s new gig is his former paramour and now Swann’s fiancée, medical visionary Dr. Grace Davila (Elena Anaya), who is racing to help stave off a global catastrophe. Even worse, Corbo must also contend with a rogue Europol agent (Ken Duken), who is hell-bent on busting him for past sins.

The real-life story about $70 billion in bonds that went missing in downtown Manhattan during Hurricane Sandy is being loosely adapted as a series for Netflix. Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad) is among the cast in Jigsaw, an eight-part heist action drama that the streamer says takes a "nonlinear approach to storytelling in a way where viewers are in control." Spanning a quarter-century, Jigsaw centers on the largest heist ever attempted and the vengeance, scheming, loyalties, and betrayals that surround it.

The Hulu series, Only Murders in the Building, has officially been renewed for a second season. The comedic murder-mystery series follows three strangers—Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short), and Mabel (Selena Gomez) who share an obsession with true crime and suddenly find themselves wrapped up in one when a grisly death occurs inside their exclusive Upper West Side apartment building. As they record a podcast to document the case, the three unravel the complex secrets of the building which stretch back years. Soon, the endangered trio comes to realize a killer might be living amongst them as they race to decipher the mounting clues before it’s too late.

Freeform has ordered an untitled Hitchcockian nanny-drama pilot that follows a young woman as she's thrust into a world of old money and deadly secrets. Andrea Londo plays Elena, who at first seems like just a wholesome, friendly young woman trying to get a job as the live-in nanny to a wealthy widower (Warren Christie) and his young son at the Greybourne. However, she’s not the wide-eyed innocent she seems to be. Once Elena is ensconced in this world, she’ll discover she’s not the only one with dark secrets or a hidden agenda.

Netflix has given a series order to the legal drama, Partner Track, with Arden Cho set to star. Based on Helen Wan’s 2013 novel of the same name, Partner Track centers on Ingrid Yun (Cho), an idealistic young lawyer who struggles with her moral compass and her passions as she fights to climb the partner track at an elite New York City law firm. Bridgerton’s Julie Anne Robinson will direct the first two episodes of the series.

Law & Order: SVU’s Demore Barnes reacted to news of his upcoming exit from the long-running NBC series, sharing on social media that he’s proud of his work but in the dark about the shift in casting, adding "I don't know why this happened." Barnes and co-star Jamie Gray Hyder, who play Deputy Chief Christian Garland and Officer Kat Tamin, respectively, are departing Law & Order: SVU ahead of its Season 23 premiere next Thursday. Barnes and Hyder were introduced in Season 21 as recurring characters, and both were promoted to series regulars for Season 22. Barnes said his character was the "first Black deputy chief in SVU history."

PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO/AUDIO

Colson Whitehead joined NPR's Fresh Air to discuss his latest novel, Harlem Shuffle, and the extensive background research he conducts whenever he works on a book.

Writer Types regular host, Eric Beetner, was joined by guest co-host, Frank Zafiro, and guests Amanda Jayatissa (My Sweet Girl); Swedish author Tove Alsterdal (We Know You Remember); and Suruthi Bala & Hannah Maguire from the podcast Redhanded! and its associated book (Redhanded: An Exploration of Criminals, Cannibals, Cults, and What Makes a Killer Tick).

Nadine Matheson—author of The Jigsaw Man—was interviewed by Robert Justice for Crime Writers of Color. When bodies start washing up along the banks of the River Thames, DI Henley fears it is the work of Peter Olivier, the notorious Jigsaw Killer. But it can’t be him; Olivier is already behind bars, and Henley was the one who put him there. The race is on to find the killer before more bodies are found.

A new Mysteryrat's Maze Podcast is up featuring the first chapter of Murder Under a Blue Moon by Abigail Keam, as read by actor Brianne Vogt Debbas.

The All About Agatha podcast hosted their own event at the recent International Agatha Christie Festival in Torquay, revisiting Christie's first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles.

Speaking of Mysteries welcomed Amanda Jayatissa to discuss her debut thriller, My Sweet Girl, which centers on Paloma, who thought her perfect life would begin once she was adopted and made it to America, but she’s about to find out that no matter how far you run, your past always catches up to you.

Lisa Regan stopped by Meet the Thriller Author to discuss her Detective Josie Quinn series, including the latest installment, Her Deadly Touch.

CrimeTime FM's Paul Burke chatted with Simon Scarrow about his new-to-paperback thriller, Blackout; the importance of teaching and understanding history; challenging views of the past; and writing historical fiction.

Over the past two weeks, the Cozy Ink podcast highlighted cozy mysteries featuring cats and dogs. This week, host Leah Bailey tackled cozy mysteries that feature a variety of animals.

James Swallow returned to Wrong Place, Write Crime to talk about his new Marc Dane novels, his Star Trek tie-in novels, and some writing theory (including making location an integral part of the book). Regular host, Frank Zafiro, was also joined by Writer Types host, Eric Beetner, as they chatted about other recommended books and the craft of writing.

Mystery Melange

This year's shortlists were revealed for the Ngaio Marsh Awards that honor the best crime, mystery, or thriller novels written by a New Zealand citizen or resident and published in New Zealand during the previous year. The winners will be announced at a special streaming event on Saturday October 30, held in association with the WORD Christchurch festival.

Best novel:

The Murder Club (Nikki Crutchley, Oak House Press)
Sprigs (Brannavan Gnanalingam, Lawrence and Gibson)
The Tally Stick (Carl Nixon, RHNZ Vintage)
The Secrets of Strangers (Charity Norman, A&U)
Tell Me Lies (J P Pomare, Hachette)

Best first novel:

The Girl in the Mirror (Rose Carlyle, A&U)
The Beautiful Dead (Kim Hunt)
Where the Truth Lies (Karina Kilmore, S&S)
For Reasons of Their Own (Chris Stuart, Original Sin)
While the Fantail Lives (Alan Titchall, Devon Media)

Best nonfiction (biennial):

Weed: A New Zealand story (James Borrowdale, Penguin)
Rock College: An unofficial history of Mount Eden Prison (Mark Derby, Massey University Press)
From Dog Collar to Dog Collar (Bruce Howat)
Gangland (Jared Savage, HarperCollins NZ)
Black Hands: Inside the Bain family murders (Martin Van Beynen, PRHNZ).

Best YA novel:

Katipo Joe (Brian Falkner, Scholastic NZ)
Red Edge (Des Hunt, Scholastic NZ)
A Trio of Sophies (Eileen Merriman, Penguin)
Deadhead (Glenn Wood, OneTree House).

 

The ten finalists were announced for the 2021 Amazon Publishing New Voices Award. The Capital Crime advisory board along with Amazon Publishing editor, Victoria Haslam, and Thomas & Mercer author, Tariq Ashkanani, will decide on the winner in the coming weeks.

The San Francisco Public Library, in partnership with the NorCal Chapter of Mystery Writers of America, hosted a panel last evening with Michael Nava curating a panel of Latinx authors discussing their books, writing, and their inspirations. Participating authors included Alex Segura, Raquel V. Reyes, Richie Narvaez, and Lucha Corpi. You can catch a replay of that event here.

The Guardian's Dalya Alberge recently made note of Dutch author Willem Frederik Hermans, a writer of spy thrillers during the mid twentieth century. His novel, The Darkroom of Damocles, was published before John le Carré's iconic work, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, and Hermans long maintained that le Carré plagiarized from his work.

Janet Rudolph posted an updated short list of mysteries that take place on Rosh Hashanah, the Days of Awe, and/or Yom Kippur.

In honor of Dame Agatha's birthday, Liberty Hardy compiled some of the best references to Agatha Christie in contemporary literature and pop culture.

And you thought humans were the only ones on this planet to commit crimes.

This week's crime poem at the 5-2 is "Susan Smith's Dream" by Sally Weston Ziph.

In the Q&A roundup, Colson Whitehead spoke with CrimeReads about why he wrote a heist novel to tell the story of New York; the Stiletto Gang chatted with Debra Sennefelder, author of the Food Blogger Mystery series and the Resale Boutique Mystery series, both published by Kensington; Writers Who Kill chatted with Nupur Tustin about her Celine Skye Psychic Mysteries and her Joseph Haydn Mysteries; Frances Hight stopped by CrimeScene to discuss her short crime fiction and her debut novel, West Texas Dead; and J.B. Stevens interviewed Tori Eldridge, author of The Ninja Betrayed, the third book in her Lily Wong series, for Criminal Element.

Author R&R with Charles Salzberg

Charles Salzberg has been a Visiting Professor at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, and has taught writing at Sarah Lawrence College, Hunter College, the Writer's Voice, and the New York Writers Workshop, where he is a Founding Member. His freelance work has appeared in such publications as Esquire, New York Magazine, GQ, Elle, Redbook, Ladies Home Journal, The New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times Book Review. He's also the author of the Henry Swann detective series: Swann Dives In; Swann's Last Song, which was nominated for a Shamus Award for Best First PI Novel; and Swann's Lake of Despair.

In his latest book, Canary in the Coal Mine, PI Pete Fortunato works out of a friend’s real estate office after spending a mysteriously short, forgettable stint as a cop in a small upstate New York town. He lives from paycheck to paycheck, so when a beautiful woman wants to hire him to find her husband, he doesn’t hesitate to say yes.

Within a day, Fortunato finds the husband in the apartment of his client’s young, stud lover—shot once in the head, case closed. But when his client’s check bounces and Albanian gangsters kidnap him in hopes he’ll lead them to a large sum of money the dead man allegedly stole, he begins to realize he’s been set up to take the fall for the murder and theft. In an attempt to get himself out of a jam, Fortunato winds up on a wild ride that takes him down to Texas where he searches for his client’s lover who he suspects has the money and holds the key to solving the murder.

Charles Salzberg stopped by In Reference to Murder to take some Author R&R about researching and writing the book:

 

Researching: My Dirty, Little Secret

Years ago, I became friends with a guy I met when we worked the two lowest jobs at New York magazine. I was in the mailroom; he worked the photostat machine. Both aspiring writers, we quickly bonded and formed a writer’s group. A year or two later, his first novel was picked up by a prestigious publisher and he was, understandably, over-the-moon.

In his novel, which takes place in Alabama where he grew up in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s, he mentions blue mailboxes. One day, he gets a call from the copyeditor informing him that during that era all mailboxes around Mobile were grey. They asked him to change it.

It seemed silly to me at the time. It’s fiction, right? So, what difference does it make if the mailboxes in his novel are blue or grey or polka-dot?

Over the years, as I began to get my own novels published, I realized it wasn’t silly at all. Facts do matter, even in fiction and there’s a practical reason why they do. What writer hasn’t received an email from a reader that goes something like, “I read your book and loved it, but on page 137 you said that 88^th Street runs east but it really runs west...”

That’s not the only reason accuracy is important. If readers can’t rely on the author to get facts right, it renders the whole work suspect.

Case in point. Bob Dylan’s memoir, Chronicles. On the first page, Dylan writes, “…then down to Jack Dempsey’s restaurant on 58^th and Broadway…” Only Dempsey’s wasn’t on 58^th Street, it was on Broadway between 49^th and 50^th streets (I used to pass it every day one summer when I worked as a messenger in the Garment District). If Dylan and his editors can’t get this fact right, how can we trust anything Dylan writes?

This is one reason why doing research, even when it comes to fiction, is essential.

Back when I was making a living as a magazine journalist, I developed my own approach to research. The temptation, especially when starting out, is to research the heck out of everything. But I soon learned there’s a risk with over-researching. The result can be that you get so bogged down in research that when it comes time to write the article, you’re overwhelmed to the point of freezing up, not knowing how you’re going to squeeze everything into your 2,000-word limit. So, you quickly learn to limit the amount of research you do.

I found the less research I did the better interviewer I became. If I knew too much about a subject going into the interview, I ran the risk of not asking the right questions, because I already knew the answers. Instead, I’d keep asking questions until I reached the point where I could successfully channel that information into prose my readers could understand.

I have friends who do just the opposite. They’re more comfortable doing heavy research. Their argument, and it’s a valid one, is that the more they know the less likely they’ll “miss” something important to ask. There’s no right or wrong, but rather it’s a matter of style.

When it comes to fiction, the goal is to create a world that makes sense, while at the same time keeping readers turning pages to find out what’s going to happen next. The last thing you want is readers getting stuck on that “fact” that’s not true, like where Jack Dempsey’s restaurant really was.

And so, if you’re wise, you’re obliged to get the facts right. In Canary in the Coal Mine, for instance, Pete Fortunato, a down and out PI, runs afoul of the mob. I needed to find a group that was especially violent and ruthless. The only way to do that was to research, which ultimately led me to the Albanian mob, a group so violent and unpredictable that even the Mafia won’t deal with them.

Fortunato suffers from anger management issues and insomnia (not a good combination). So, I had to research anger management groups to see the kinds of exercises he would have been put through. I also quizzed friends who suffer from insomnia to find out what that’s like.

For me, research often has to do with geography. I like writing about places I’ve never been—so Wikipedia, Google and Google maps come in very handy. My first crime novel, Swann’s Last Song, was written before the Internet was around. I wanted parts of the novel to take place in Los Angeles, the wilds of Mexico and Berlin. Only trouble was, I’d never been to any of those places. So, I interviewed friends who’d been there. I pored over maps. I read magazine articles. And then I sat down and plunked Swann into those places.

My best friend, who’d actually been to L.A. read the manuscript and asked, “When were you in L.A.?” “Never,” I replied. “Then how did you capture it so well?” Easy. Research. And after the book came out, I was invited to a small book club. One of the women, who was from Mexico, said to me, “you really got the Mexico part so well. When were you there?” She was surprised when my answer was, “Never.” And I can thank the research I did for that.

Oh, in case you’re wondering, I did absolutely no research for this essay.

 

You can learn more about Charles Salzberg at his website and follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Canary in the Coal Mine is now available via Down & Out Books and is available in digital and paperback formats in all major online and brick-and-mortar bookstores.

Author R&R with Vicki Delany

Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers and a national bestseller in the U.S. She has written more than forty books, from clever cozies to Gothic thrillers to gritty police procedurals, to historical fiction and novellas for adult literacy. She is currently writing four cozy mystery series: the Tea by the Sea mysteries for Kensington; the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series for Crooked Lane Books; the Catskill Resort mysteries for Penguin Random House; and the Lighthouse Library series (as Eva Gates) for Crooked Lane. Vicki is a past president of the Crime Writers of Canada and co-founder and organizer of the Women Killing It Crime Writing Festival, and she is also the recipient of the 2019 Derrick Murdoch Award for contributions to Canadian crime writing. 

Delany's latest novel, Deadly Summer Nights, is the first installment in a new historical cozy series. It’s the summer of 1953, and Elizabeth Grady is settling into Haggerman’s Catskills Resort. As a vacation getaway, Haggerman’s is ideal, and although Elizabeth’s ostentatious but well-meaning mother is new to running the resort, Elizabeth is eager to help her organize the guests and the entertainment acts. But Elizabeth will have to resort to untested abilities if she wants to save her mother’s business. When a reclusive guest is found dead in a lake on the grounds, and a copy of The Communist Manifesto is found in his cabin, the local police chief is convinced that the man was a Russian spy. But Elizabeth isn’t so sure, and with the fate of the resort hanging in the balance, she’ll need to dodge red herrings, withstand the Red Scare, and catch a killer red-handed.

Vicki stops by In Reference to Murder to talk about writing and researching her books:

 

Researching the 1950s is surprisingly easy. After all, so many people still alive were there. I will confess that even I was there, although not paying attention to the political and social customs and issues of the time.

When I set about writing the first in my Catskills Summer Resort mysteries, I had a wealth of information to draw upon. There are hundreds of movies made during the time period available on streaming networks or YouTube. Not historical re-enactments in the style of Bridgerton or Outlander, but movies that were contemporary when they were filmed.

I loved watching Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing, Esther Williams in the water, gritty hard-boiled detectives like Sam Spade in the Maltese Falcon (although that was made in 1941). Movies are a fantasy, sure, but they are also reflective of their times. Nightly entertainment in a grand fashion was a key part of vacationing at the big hotels in the Catskills, so that forms an important part of my book and some key scenes are set in the ballroom. I watched the dance movies to help set the mood in the ballroom of my Catskills Hotel. I listened to big band music by the likes of Glenn Miller. I studied the clothes, the furniture, the tilt of a cigarette in the mouth of a sophisticated woman and watched peoples’ expressions and listened to the slang or formal speech patterns. 

All of which helped me, I hope, to create the feel of the times, particularly in those minor but important details such as the cut of a character’s dress or her hair style or what she might order from the bar.

People who were there often say the most important part of any Catskills vacation was the food, both quality and quantity. Thus, descriptions of food are vital in the book for helping set the mood. I read a lot of cookbooks from the era and looked at design magazines, many of which are available online. I can’t say I tried cooking anything I read about though. Jell-O salads with canned pineapple just doesn’t appeal.

As for the specific history of the Catskills at the time of the famous resorts, there’s a lot of first-hand information available. Family vacation shots and publicity photos are easy to find on the Internet. And a photo, as has been said, is worth a thousand words. 

But when an old picture isn’t enough, many people have very fond memories of the times they spent at the great hotels, or cheap bungalow colonies, either as guests or as employees, or children of owners and employees.  “Mountain Rats” the latter called themselves and have written about it. 

I relied on Growing up at Grossinger’s by Tania Grossinger, Catskills Culture by Phil Brown, and It Happened in the Catskills by Myrna Katz Frommer & Harvey Frommer as sources.

The Catskills in the 1950s:  girdles and stockings, fancy cocktails, grand ballrooms, cigarette smoke (and more cigarette smoke), angel food cake and Cheez Whiz on celery sticks, Reds under the beds and slow-moving fans. Comedians and big bands and glamorous singers. Paddle boats and bellhops, tomato cocktails and Jell-O salads, swimsuit competitions and unattended children.

I hope you’ll take a trip back in time with Elizabeth Grady and Olivia Peters and enjoy your time at Haggerman’s Catskills Resort. It is, after all, 1953.  Now, please light me another cigarette and then fetch me a martini, while I help myself to a slice of that pineapple upside down cake.

 

You can learn more about Vicki Delany and her books via her website, and follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Goodreads. Deadly Summer Nights will be launched tomorrow and available via all major booksellers.

Media Murder for Monday

It's the start of a new week and that means it's time for a brand-new roundup of crime drama news:

THE BIG SCREEN/MOVIES

Morgan Freeman, Al Pacino, Helen Mirren, and Danny DeVito will headline the cast in the next project from director Taylor Hackford, a film titled Sniff. Based on a script by Tom Grey, the story is described as "a stylish reinvention of the film noir." When two residents at a retirement community die under suspicious circumstances, retired detective Joe Mulwray (Freeman) is pulled back into the action by his former partner, William Keys (DeVito) as they uncover a hidden underworld of sex, drugs, and murder in the high-end luxury retirement community controlled by kingpin, Harvey Stride (Pacino), and his femme fatale enforcer, "The Spider" (Mirren).

John Lithgow has joined the cast of Sharper, the Apple Original Films thriller being directed by The Crown helmer, Benjamin Caron. Julianne Moore, Sebastian Stan, Justice Smith, and Briana Middleton also star in the film, set to begin principal photography this week in New York City. The project, which will premiere in theaters and globally on Apple TV+, is based on a script by Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka and unfolds within the streets of New York City, from the penthouses of Fifth Avenue to the shadowy corners of Queens. Motivations are suspect and expectations are turned upside down when nothing is as it seems.

Filming has begun in the UK on the spy thriller, Argylle. The film, based on the soon-to-be-launched spy novel of the same name from author Ellie Conway, follows the world’s greatest spy, known as "Argylle," as he is caught up in a globe-trotting adventure. The movie will be the first of at least three films in the franchise and is set in America, London, and multiple locations across the world. Henry Cavill takes on the titular role, headlining a cast that also includes Sam Rockwell, Bryce Dallas Howard, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O’Hara, John Cena, and Samuel L. Jackson.

TELEVISION/STREAMING SERVICE

ViacomCBS and MTV Entertainment Studios have struck an exclusive overall deal with Emmy-nominated actor David Oyelowo and his wife, actress, writer, and producer Jessica Oyelowo, for original scripted and unscripted series via their Yoruba Saxon productions. In their first project under the pact, David Oyelowo is attached to star in the titular role in Bass Reeves, a limited series about the legendary African-American lawman of the wild West. Reeves was known as the greatest frontier hero in American history and is also believed to be the inspiration for The Lone Ranger. He worked in the post-Reconstruction era as a federal peace officer in the Indian Territory, capturing over 3,000 of the most dangerous criminals without ever being wounded.

Best-selling crime author, Ian Rankin, has written a TV series for Channel 4 in the UK that will see members of the public take on the role of detective and lead their own investigations. Murder Island, which was filmed during the summer and airs next month, will blend fact, drama, and competition formats. Filmed on the remote Scottish island of Gigha, the six-part series is based around a murder plot, written and developed by Rankin, that stars a group of amateur detectives who will compete to solve a crime and build a "watertight case" that can stand up in court. Contestants on Murder Island will be overseen by some of the UK's leading senior investigating officers.

The BBC unveiled the cast for the upcoming six-part period drama, The Gallows Pole, based on the novel of the same name by Benjamin Myers. The Gallows Pole fictionalizes the remarkable true story of the rise and fall of David Hartley and the Cragg Vale Coiners. Set against the backdrop of the coming industrial revolution in 18th century Yorkshire, the drama follows the enigmatic David Hartley (Michael Socha), as he assembles a gang of workers to embark upon a revolutionary criminal enterprise that will capsize the economy and become the biggest fraud in British history. Also starring are Thomas Turgoose, George MacKay, Tom Burke, Sophie McShera, Cara Theobold, Yusra Warsama, Eve Burley, Nicole Barber Lane, Samuel Edward-Cook, Anthony Welsh, Joe Sproull, Adam Fogerty, and Fine Time Fontayne.

British actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge has exited Amazon’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith series due to creative differences with fellow star and executive producer, Donald Glover. According to those close to the project, Waller-Bridge’s departure is amicable and her role will be re-cast. The series, based on Doug Liman’s feature starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, is a joint production between New Regency and Amazon Prime Video. The story of a married couple who discover they are spies hired to assassinate each other was first released in 2005 but somewhat overshadowed by the romance between the two leads.

Steve Howey has landed the male lead in True Lies, the CBS drama pilot adaptation of James Cameron’s 1994 action comedy movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis. Written by Matt Nix and to be directed by Anthony Hemingway, the pilot’s plot is true to its movie roots: Shocked to discover that her bland and unremarkable computer consultant husband (Howey) is a skilled international spy, an unfulfilled suburban housewife is propelled into a life of danger and adventure when she’s recruited to work alongside him to save the world as they try to revitalize their passionless marriage.

PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO/AUDIO

James Ellroy, the "demon dog" of American crime fiction, is doubling down on the world of podcasting. It was announced in April that he was working on a true crime audio series titled Hollywood Death Trip, and now he's partnering with podcasting firm Audio Up to adapt his American Tabloid novel into a scripted podcast. The 12-part series is set to launch on July 4, 2022, with casting to begin immediately.

On the Crime Cafe podcast, Debbie Mack interviewed Mark Edward Langley, author of the Arthur Nakai Mystery Series set in New Mexico.

Writer Types featured an end-of-the-summer blowout with five amazing authors including Matthew Fitzsimmons (Constance); Rachel Howzell Hall (These Toxic Things); Taylor Moore (Down Range); Tessa Lunney (Autumn Leaves, 1922); and Elisabeth De Mariaffi (The Retreat).

Michael Craft was the featured guest on Queer Writers of Crime. Michael is the author of seventeen novels, four of which have been honored as finalists for Lambda Literary Awards, and his 2019 mystery, ChoirMaster, was a Gold Winner of the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award.

Read Or Dead talked about books featuring cults and people who become a part of them.

Margaret Mizushima was the guest on Speaking of Mysteries, discussing Striking Range, the seventh installment in her Timber Creek K-9 mystery series, in which Timber Creek County Deputy Mattie Cobb braves ice storms and murderers while looking into the death of a young woman and the kidnappers of the woman’s newborn

Meet the Thriller Author welcomed Andrews & Wilson, the bestselling co-author team of multiple covert ops and action-adventure thriller novels including Tier One and Sons of Valor. Brian Andrews is a US Navy veteran and former submarine officer, while Jeffrey Wilson has worked as an actor, firefighter, paramedic, jet pilot, and diving instructor, as well as a vascular and trauma surgeon.

Pauline Rowson stopped by My Favorite Detective Stories to chat with host, John Hoda, about her three seaside-themed thriller series.

Sunday Times bestseller, Samantha Downing (My Lovely Wife) joined CrimeTime FM to discuss what makes a great plot twist and also "pantsing."

Since last week's Cozy Ink podcast focused on mysteries with cats, this week's program gives equal time to the dogs.

Author R&R with Lorie Lewis Ham

Lorie Lewis Ham lives in Reedley, California and has been writing ever since she was a child. Her first song and poem were published when she was thirteen, and she has gone on to publish many articles, short stories, and poems throughout the years, as well as write for a local newspaper and publish six mystery novels. For the past eleven years, Lorie has been the editor-in-chief and publisher of Kings River Life Magazine, and she also produces Mysteryrat’s Maze Podcast.

Her latest novel, One of Us, is the first in the new Tower District Mystery Series set in Fresno's dining, arts, and entertainment hub. It centers on children’s book author, Roxi Carlucci, who finds herself starting over again after her publisher drops her book series. With no income, she has to pack up her life on the California Coast, along with her pet rat Merlin, and move in with her cousin, P.I. Stephen Carlucci, who lives in Fresno. 

Stephen talks Roxi into helping out with a community theatre production, which is also a fundraiser for a local animal rescue. Little did she know that someone would be murdered during a rehearsal, and that she and Stephen would be hired to find the killer. The culprit has to be one of Roxi’s new acquaintances, since the theatre was locked at the time of the murder, but no one seems to have a motive. Could the local gossip website hold any clues? Can Roxi and Stephen stop the killer before he strikes again?

Lorie stops by In Reference to Murder to take some Author R&R about writing and researching her novels:
 

My books tend to rely heavily on the old adage “write what you know.” A lot of that comes from the fact that I prefer to sit down and write the first draft without doing a lot of research and editing—then later do what research is needed to fill in the gaps. Writing what I know makes that possible. I am very much a pantser! The only real exception is information I need for the murder.

My first book series was published in the early 2000s and featured a gospel singing amateur sleuth named Alexandra Walters. I spent over 20 years singing gospel music with my family. It was set in a fictional version of my hometown. The new book, One of Us, is set in one of my favorite local places to hang out in, the Tower District of Fresno, CA.

When I first decided to start a new series, I was going to have my main character Roxi Carlucci run a small animal rescue—I ran one out of my home for over 10 years. But by the time I actually got around to working seriously on the first book, the mystery book world had been flooded with books involving animal rescue, so I decided to change things up a bit—although there is an animal rescue connection in the book. The plot of the book involves community theatre—something else I have a connection to. And by the end of the book, Roxi becomes a podcaster—something I have been doing for the past three years with my podcast, Mysteryrat’s Maze.

Roxi also works as a part time P.I. with her cousin Stephen, which isn’t something I have done, but it is something I did a lot of research on for my first series in which Stephen also appears. The Carlucci family has ties to the Mafia, something I also did a great deal of research on for my first series. Now saying I did research into those things may seem to contradict what I first said, but the difference is that they were things I already had an interest in and already knew something about.

When it comes to the mystery side of things there is still a certain amount of “write what you know” as well. As soon as I was old enough that I didn’t need my parent’s permission, I went on several ride-alongs with the local police department—partially because I wanted to be a mystery writer, but also because I considered becoming a cop. For those same reasons, I took some Criminal Justice classes at community college—funny enough I knew enough from all of my mystery TV watching and reading that the classes were a breeze.

For the rest of the details of the crime I have a wonderful library of How Dunnit Books and a couple of great resources I can go to and say—“Hey if this happened how do you…?” One is a former chief of police, and the other many of you may know, mystery author D.P. Lyle.

For any other little things along the way, I am thankful for the internet! Especially during a pandemic. While finishing One of Us I went online several times to double check details about the Tower District like street names and business names, since I couldn’t go there in person. So for me, research is mostly what I know and what I already love!
 

You can learn more about Lorie and her book One of Us on her website mysteryrat.com and find her on Twitter and Facebook. One of Us is available on Amazon; for the Nook and paperback on Barnes and Noble.com; and on Kobo. You can also hear an excerpt from One of Us read on the Mysteryrat's Maze podcast via this link.

Mystery Melange

 

Here's one crime-themed conference I had overlooked:  The Perfect Crime Writing Festival 2021 will be held on Saturday, November 13th in Liverpool, UK. The in-person event will feature panels including Ann Cleeves, Sophie Hannah, Elly Griffiths, Mel Sherratt, M W Craven, David Jackson, Martin Edwards, Margaret Murphy, Caz Finlay, Rhiannon Ward, Susanna Beard, Amanda Brooke, Heather Burnside, Barry Forshaw, and Prof James Grieve. There will also be a chance to mix with fellow attendees and author guests, buy the latest crime fiction releases from the featured authors, and have your books signed. (HT to Shots Magazine)

Also, the BAD Sydney Festival is featuring some online events this month ahead of the in-person conference in December. Coming up soon are Scottish author Val McDermid, dubbed the Queen of Crime, who will discuss her latest novel, 1979, with Sydney Morning Herald crime fiction reviewer, Sue Turnbull, on September 15; U.S. author Karin Slaughter discusses her latest thriller, False Witness, with fellow author Andy Muir on September 22; and Ann Cleeves, whose works have been adapted into hit TV shows Vera and Shetland, will join Turnbull online to talk about The Heron’s Cry on the 29th.

Collins Crime Club has scooped a new book by Martin Edwards, billed as the first major history of crime fiction in 50 years. Scheduled for publication in May 2022, the book traces the evolution of the crime fiction genre from the 18th century to the present. Publisher David Brawn noted: "In what will surely be regarded as his magnum opus, Martin Edwards has thrown himself undaunted into the breadth and complexity of the genre to write an authoritative – and readable – study of its development and evolution. With crime fiction being read more widely than ever around the world, and with individual authors increasingly the subject of extensive academic study, his expert distillation of more than two centuries of extraordinary books and authors – from the tales of E T A Hoffmann to the novels of Patricia Cornwell – into one coherent history is an extraordinary feat and makes for compelling reading."

A rarely seen picture of Agatha Christie and her second husband on their honeymoon forms part of a new exhibition opening in Torre Abbey, Devon, this month. This latest exhibition uses her own words, photographs, letters and poetry to tell the story of her second marriage to archaeologist Max Mallowan. Mathew Prichard, Agatha Christie's grandson said: "What better place to launch a new Agatha Christie exhibition than at Torquay during the Agatha Christie festival?...This new exhibition covers the years after 1930 and my grandmother's second marriage to archaeologist Max Mallowan." The exhibit, titled Agatha Christie: Destination Unknown includes poetry, pictures, and archaeology and runs from September 11 to November 28, while the International Agatha Christie Festival runs from September 11 to September 18.

It's nice to see community "one read" events popping up around the globe. The 15th One Book One Valley community read program this month in Conway, New Hampshire, will be featuring Paul Doiron, who writes the Mike Bowditch series of crime novels.

If you're in the St. Louis, Missouri, area this weekend, check out this interactive murder mystery for a good cause.

In an essay for The Bulwark, Bill Ryan profiled the late, great Donald Westlake (a/k/a Richard Stark), who had far more to offer than just his stories featuring Parker, the sociopathic thief.

Writing for CrimeReads, Nick Rennison took at look at the "American rivals of Sherlock Holmes": the early days of American detective fiction and the sleuths who competed with Arthur Conan Doyle's iconic Holmes for mystery readers.

On Creative Boom, Emily Gosling discussed an illustrated Chinese edition of Raymond Chandler's The Long Goodbye from artist Klaus Kremmerz. The work draws on 1950's "hard-boiled crime" and Californian artist Ken Price, known for his abstract ceramic sculptures resembling blobs, geodes, and surreal take on crockery. (HT to Elizabeth Foxwell)

Apparently, September is National Library Card Sign-Up Month. I still maintain there's no better value in the universe than a free library card, the true portal to other worlds.

This week's crime poem at the 5-2 is "Robbin' Hoodie" by Jim George.

In the Q&A roundup, the NYT spoke with S.A. Cosby, author of noir crime novels, who "claims the rural South as his own"; the NYT also interviewed Colson Whitehead who won back-to-back Pulitzers for The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys and takes a detour with his new crime novel, Harlem Shuffle; Scottish author Ian Rankin explained to The Express about how the frustrations of being a special needs parent fuel his writing; and the Nerd Daily spoke with Australian attorney-turned-author Lisa Ellery about her debut thriller, Private Prosecution.

Author R&R with Larry (and Rosemary) Mild

Rosemary Mild (a graduate of Smith College and former assistant editor of Harper's) and Larry Mild (digital systems and instrument designer for major Government contractors in the signal analysis field), are cheerful partners in crime who recently released Death Rules the Night, their fourth Dan & Rivka Sherman Mystery Series. The Milds are also coauthors of the popular Paco & Molly Mysteries; Hawaii adventure/thrillers Cry Ohana and Honolulu Heat; and three volumes of short stories, many of which appear in anthologies.

Making use of his past creativity and problem-solving abilities, Larry naturally drifted into the realm of mystery writing, where he also claims to be more devious than his partner-in-crime and best love, Rosemary. So he conjures up their plots and writes the first drafts, leaving Rosemary to breath life into their characters and sizzle into their scenes. A perfect marriage of their talents.

In Death Rules the Night, reluctant sleuths Dan and Rivka yearn for a tranquil life as owners of The Olde Victorian Bookstore in Annapolis, Maryland. When copies of a tell-all book on the prominent Atkins family go missing from the bookstore, from all the local libraries, and even from the author's bookshelves, Dan wants to know why. But the price of "why" brings threats, stalking, break-ins—and a brutal murder. He and Rivka fear for their lives.  

The Atkins family secrets are weaving a sinister web. Tom Dwyer, a retired truck driver, is ready to confess to a crime that he and Frank Mulhaney, another driver, committed twenty years ago. Frank plots revenge on Tom. Bookstore clerk, Ivy, hears ugly gossip aimed at derailing her wedding. Will the family secrets finally see the light of day? And will the killer ever be caught?

Larry stops by In Reference to Murder today to take some Author R&R on researching and writing mysteries:

 

A Little Research Goes a Long Way

Researching for a novel can be fun. Who doesn’t like to learn a little something every day? An era of history, a science fact, a bit of poetry, a touch of foreign language, a dash of art, a part of the anatomy—endless tidbits that can enhance and add credibility to what we authors write.

But beware of the consequences that I fell victim to by researching too much. You ask: How much is too much? In my earliest attempts at novel writing, I got so wrapped up in the research, showing off my erudition, that I allowed it to deteriorate my plot. I took the research so far, adding fact after fact, that I had to keep modifying the plot, molding it to the research until I was unsure whether I was writing fiction or nonfiction. My first and second attempts at a novel went south. Did I learn my lesson? Finally, yes. Now I include only the relevant research that fortifies the plot, engages the reader, and moves the story forward.

For years the general guideline has been “Write about what you know”—so you don’t have to delve deeply into a subject where only genuine scholars mine.

Rosemary, my wife and coauthor, and I draw heavily on our own personal experience, but only as a starting point. We’ve published short stories set in countries where we’ve traveled: Japan, Cambodia, Thailand, England, and Italy. But we’ve also ventured into the future with a sci-fi novella. Aside from personal experience, where do we get our research? Like most authors, often we rely on the Internet, the dictionary, and thesaurus. Local newspapers are filled with police beats and extensive accounts of crimes. For a particular setting, the local papers can provide authentic flavor.

Six of our seven mystery novels are set in Maryland, where we lived for most of our married lives. Our newest, just out, is Death Rules the Night, our fourth Dan & Rivka Sherman Mystery. Reluctant sleuths Dan and Rivka, owners of The Olde Victorian Bookstore, find themselves stymied. Copies of a tell-all book about a famous Annapolis family have disappeared from the bookstore, from all libraries, and even from the dead author’s bookshelves. Dan wants to know why. But the price of “why” brings threats, stalking, break-ins—and a brutal murder. He and Rivka fear for their lives. The prominent Atkins family—and their eighteenth-century house—harbor secrets unknown even to the three unhappy sisters living there. As I invented the story, I gave it credibility by incorporating historical research: the fictional Atkins family’s “role” in the American Revolution, the Underground Railroad, and Prohibition, as well as eighteenth and nineteenth century architecture relating to the family house.

How do we keep from going overboard in our research? In Hot Grudge Sunday, our second Paco & Molly Mystery, our detective and gourmet cook are on their honeymoon at the national parks out West. They’d rather smooch than sleuth, but conspirators and thieves disrupt their bliss. Rosemary and I took this fabulous tour ourselves and drew on our own photos, maps, and tour brochures to be accurate. But we had to rein in our research to keep from sounding like a travelogue instead of an edge-of-your-seat mystery. For accuracy, we called a park ranger at Yellowstone and she allowed us to send her a copy of some of our dramatic scenes. In one, we had a suspect’s wrists handcuffed in front of her on the bus. The ranger wrote back, “No way” and corrected other details as well.

My inspirations come from unexpected places. In Death Goes Postal, our first Dan & Rivka Sherman Mystery, I focused the plot on rare fifteenth-century printing artifacts that led to a trail of hair-raising violence. I chose that subject because, in my seventh-grade shop class, I learned about Printing. But as I did the research I needed, I worked hard to build a strong, suspenseful plot and fresh, realistic characters. We created Dan and Rivka as a Jewish couple in their mid-fifties, very much like us in personality. So I wove together what we knew about Historic Annapolis and Bath, England, plus some esoteric research that gave depth to the story. But we took off from there, with a plot involving stalking, kidnapping—and murder.

Of course, I wound up with a pile of factual data I couldn’t possibly squeeze in. Was the time wasted? Yes, in terms of that particular novel. No, in terms of making me a more rounded person. Whatever research I do, it now depends on two words: credibility and enhancement. Will it add either to a gripping plot or to fleshing out the characters?

 

You can learn about the Milds and their books via their website, or follow them on Facebook or LinkedIn. Death Rules the Night is available in print to order from all major booksellers.