Mystery Melange - Holiday Edition

Janet Rudolph is continuing her Crime for the Holidays lists of Chanukah and Christmas themed mysteries, over on the Mystery Fanfare blog. The latter list has grown so large that it's split into multiple parts. Here's the first installment, Christmas Books by Authors A-E, following by authors F-L, and finally those that fall under M-Z. She even has a separate list of Winter Solstice Mysteries.

I've reported on this before, but Smithsonian Magazine recently took note of how "Iceland’s Christmas Book Flood Is a Force of Nature," and definitely a tradition I'd love to see embraced everywhere. Bibliophiles the world over cherish the legend of Jólabókaflóð, Iceland’s "Christmas book flood" in which publishers release new titles in time for the holidays. As the legend goes, each and every citizen of the uniquely literary nation gifts and receives books, and on December 24 everybody curls up with steaming cups of hot chocolate and plenty of reading with family and friends.

The Mysteryrat's Maze Podcast has been featuring Christmas-themed episodes this month. The first is the mystery short story, "The Afternoon Before Christmas" by Mark Murphy, as read by actor Sean Hopper; the second is the "Saint Nicked," written by Herschel Cozine (first published by Untreed Reads) and read by actor Larry Mattox.

Kings River Life also has several Christmas mystery short stories for the holiday season, including "Police Navidad" by Josh Pachter; "Bring It" by Terry Shames; "Santa's Helper" by John M. Floyd; and "Home for Christmas" by C.B. Peterson.

Charles Dickens, already a bestselling author of novels such as Oliver Twist, visited the United States just before the Civil War in 1842 and was not impressed. He didn't set foot back on American soil until a quarter-century later, lured by the tireless efforts of James T. Fields, the exclusive American publisher of Dickens's literary works. The resulting tour was a little like the Beatles U.S. event a century later, with crowds camped in frigid streets all night for one-dollar tickets that scalpers sold for $10. Dickens performed alone behind a podium without the aid of scenery, props, music, amplification, or costumes, including a December 1867 version of his abridged A Christmas Carol. One critic wrote that Dickens "dazzles you with 20 personalities."

The Brazos Bookstore in Houston, Texas, shared a photo on Instagram of its Lone Star state alternative to a snowman, noting: "We don't get snow (usually) in Houston, but there's always enough supplies to make a boxman! Everyone, we'd like to introduce you to Bertram the Boxman!" Inspired by that, fellow Houston bookstore, Murder by the Book, posted an image of its own version, Sherlock Boxman.

Did you know that "Carol of the Bells" comes from Ukraine? Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych wrote "Shchedryk" in 1916, originally as a winter folk song. The Ukrainian National Chorus brought it to the U.S. a few years later when they performed it at Carnegie Hall in October 1922 as part of a cultural diplomacy tour of the U.S. Later, American composer Peter Wilhousky gave the song its English lyrics and title in 1936, creating the contemporary Christmas staple. And now, a century after the song's North American debut and during Ukraine's latest fight for freedom, Ukrainian musicians brought "Shchedryk" back to Carnegie Hall earlier this month when the Shchedryk Children's Choir, along with several choruses and soloists, performed a concert of Ukrainian carols.

The authors at Mystery Lovers Kitchen have some suggestions for your holiday baking, including Sparkly Christmas Cookies from Peg Cochran; Candy Cane Frosting, courtesy of Cleo Coyle; Cranberry Sauce Bread via Maddie Day, Professor Plum Cake by Maya Corrigan, Abby L. Vandiver's Christmas Cookies, and many more.

Ever wonder where Advent Calendars come from? Did you know there were literary versions?Ever wonder where Advent Calendars come from? Did you know there were literary versions?

Need a little diversion when you have a few minutes between holiday parties, baking, reading, TV watching, etc.? The UK's intelligence service, Government Communications Headquarters (commonly known as GCHQ) has released its second annual GCHQ Christmas Challenge with a series of seven fiendish brainteaser puzzles (based on the seven disciplines of languages, engineering, codebreaking, analysis, maths, coding and cyber security) and a final twist: once you solve all seven puzzles, you'll need to think outside the box, using the design on the front of the card to assemble the answers.

 

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

Michael Keaton, James Marsden, Marcia Gay Harden, Suzy Nakamura, Joanna Kulig, Ray McKinnon, John Hoogenakker, Lela Loren, and Al Pacino are set to star in the noir thriller, Knox Goes Away, which Keaton is directing. Keaton plays John Knox, a contract killer diagnosed with a fast-moving form of dementia. He vows to spend his final days attempting to redeem himself by saving the life of his estranged adult son (Marsden). He finds himself in a race against the authorities as well as the ticking clock of his own rapidly deteriorating mind.

Jack Huston is set to make his feature directorial debut with Day of the Fight, a project that will re-team him with his Boardwalk Empire colleague, Michael Pitt, who will star. Huston will also write and produce the movie about a once-celebrated boxer who takes a redemptive journey through his past and present, on the day of his first fight since leaving prison. Production is underway in New York and New Jersey. Day of the Fight will also star One Night in Miami's Nicolette Robinson, Oscar winner Joe Pesci, John Magaro, and Ron Perlman.

Legendary Entertainment and AfterShock Media have closed a deal for a feature adaptation of the latter’s graphic novel, Party & Prey, from creators Steve Orlando and Steve Foxe. Patrick Brice (Creep) has been tapped to direct from a script by Rob Forman (iZombie).  Published in 2021, the graphic novel is billed as "a social horror-thriller with a bold genre twist." It tells the story of Alan, a wealthy, older gay man, who meets a confident and attractive young man named Scott at a nightclub. Their chemistry leads them to end up at Alan’s house, where the men’s dark secrets are laid bare and they have a night together neither of them expected.

TELEVISION/STREAMING

CBS has ordered its first series for the 2023-24 season, titled It’s The Never Game, a new drama that will star and be executive produced by Justin Hartley. Based on the bestselling novel by Jeffery Deaver, The Never Game features Hartley as lone-wolf survivalist, Colter Shaw, who roams the country as a "reward seeker," using his expert tracking skills to help private citizens and law enforcement solve all manner of mysteries while contending with his own fractured family. Robin Weigert, Abby McEnany, Eric Graise, Fiona Rene, and Academy Award Winner Mary McDonnell will also star.

NBC is developing The Chase, a crime drama from Supergirl alumna, Azie Tesfai, and Universal Television. Written and executive produced by Tesfai, The Chase follows undercover CIA agent, Robert, who falls for his target, Katherine, which sets in a motion a Bonnie-and-Clyde style escape. But the plan goes sideways when they’re captured by the American government and forced to use their opposing assets and skills to find some of the most wanted criminals in the world, all while learning the other person isn’t who they first thought.

PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO/AUDIO

NPR's Fresh Air interviewed director Rian Johnson about making his latest "Agatha Christie-style whodunit," Glass Onion.

The latest episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features Debbi Mack's interview with crime writer, Chip Jacobs. His latest book is The Darkest Glare: A True Story of Murder, Blackmail, and Real Estate Greed in 1979 Los Angeles.

The It Was a Dark and Stormy Book Club Elves settled in for a long winter's tale and shared what they've read recently, including The Case of the Ghost of Christmas Morning (Anty Boisjoly Mysteries #2) by P.J. Fitzsimmons, and What Child is This? (A Sherlock Holmes Adventure #5) by Bonnie MacBird.

On Read or Dead, Katie McLain Horner and Kendra Winchester discussed their favorite mysteries and thrillers of 2022.

On Crime Time FM, authors Araminta Hall (Hidden Depths), Erin Kelly (The Skeleton Key), and CL Taylor (The Guilty Couple) chatted with Victoria Selman about why women are drawn to crime fiction; reflections on violence in society; gaslighting; frenemies; media coverage; and whether women have fair representation in the press.

Mystery Melange

Nina Bhadreshwar has won the 2022 Little, Brown UEA Crime Fiction Award with her debut novel, The Day of the Roaring. The annual award is given to the best book by a graduating student from UEA’s Creative Writing Crime Fiction MA. Bhadreshwar wins the £3,000 prize, which was chaired by Sphere Fiction publishing director Ed Wood and judged by a diverse panel of Little, Brown staff. The runner up, Kat Latham, was highly commended for her novel, No Man’s Land. Previous winners included Femi Yayode (Lightseekers; published by Raven) and Emma Styles (No Country for Girls; Sphere).

Here's some conference good news: Not only will CrimeFest in Bristol celebrate its 15th anniversary in 2023, Specsavers has renewed its title sponsorship of the event through 2025. The convention has grown to be one of the biggest crime fiction conventions in Europe and will convene at the Mercure Bristol Grand Hotel from May 11-14, 2023, with headline authors to be announced in the New Year. The conference will also once again sponsor the CrimeFest bursary in 2023 for a crime fiction author of color, which includes attendance fees and a guaranteed panel appearance.

James Patterson has been hired to complete an unfinished Michael Crichton book. The late author’s estate provided Patterson with over 100 pages of a novel about the imminent eruption of Hawaii’s Mauna Loa volcano, which threatens a secret cache of deadly chemical weapons. Ironically, the volcano did start erupting just last month. The author’s widow, Sherri Crichton and chief executive of CrichtonSun, a company that oversees the estate, found the manuscript after his death. She said, "Michael had been working on this book for years, it was his passion project and centered in the place that inspired him the most, Hawaii." She also noted her late husband had conducted extensive research including interviews with volcanologists and location scouting. Crichton died in 2008, leaving behind a career of books including Jurassic Park, The Andromeda Strain, Congo and Sphere, many adapted for TV and film.

Mystery Readers Journal has released its Winter 2022 issue, themed around Legal Mysteries, with columns, reviews, and Author! Author! essays. You can catch a sneak peak online (and order a print or PDF copy) with two free articles, "Grief, Loss and a Con Man Changed My Life" by Steve Cavanagh and "Writing What You Know—Sort of" by Martin Edwards.

As the end-of-the-year best books list continue apace, Barry Forshaw offered up his "End-of-Year Crime Round-Up" for The Financial Times, and Michael Dirda chose "14 mystery books to savor during the long nights of winter" for The Washington Post.

Writing for MSN Online, Nick Kolakowski investigated "The Enduring Mystery of Edgar Allan Poe’s Macabre Death," a real-life puzzle that endures.

Val McDermid, Ian Rankin, Sophie Hannah, Mark Billingham, Dreda Say Mitchell, Ann Cleeves, Sara Paretsky, David Baldacci, and other crime authors revealed their favorite detectives for The Guardian, from Lew Archer to Phillip Marlowe.

This week's crime poem at the 5-2 weekly is "Jeffrey Epstein Speaks From the Grave" by Tom Barlow.

In the Q&A roundup, Indie Crime Scene chatted with John Yearwood, whose novel, Jar of Pennies, was a featured new release in October; Crime Fiction Lover spoke with physician Cristina LePort about her debut medical thriller, Dissection; and Criminal Element had a Q&A with Peter Blauner, author of the historical suspense novel, Picture in the Sand, set in part during the filming of Cecil B. DeMille's classic The Ten Commandments in Egypt in the 1950s.

Author R&R with Mark Ellis

UK-based Mark Ellis is former barrister and entrepreneur turned thriller writer and creator of DCI Frank Merlin, an Anglo-Spanish police detective operating in World War 2 London. Mark grew up under the shadow of his parents’ experience of the Second World War: his father served in the wartime navy and died a young man, and his mother told him stories of watching the heavy bombardment of Swansea from the safe vantage point of a hill in Llanelli, Wales. As a consequence, Mark has always been fascinated by WW2 and the fact that while the nation was engaged in a heroic endeavor, crime flourished—murder, robbery, theft, rape and widespread looting. This was an intriguing, harsh and cruel world, the world of DCI Frank Merlin.

Dead in the Water is the fifth and latest installment in the Frank Merlin series, set in 1942 with the war still raging. A mangled body is found in the Thames River just as some items of priceless art go mysteriously missing. What sinister connection links the two? Following a twisting trail of secrets, Merlin and his team must investigate a baffling and deadly puzzle.

Mark Ellis stops by In Reference to Murder to take some Author R&R about researching and writing the series:

 

The Importance of Research in my Writing

I am the author of a detective series set in World War Two London. My hero is Detective Chief Inspector Frank Merlin, a police officer working out of Scotland Yard. There are 5 books in the series to date,  and I’m currently working on the sixth. The Embassy Murders (formerly titled Princes Gate) kicked off the series with Merlin investigating deaths at Joe Kennedy’s London American Embassy in January 1940. The series then progressed to the latest, fifth book, Dead In The Water, set in August 1942, when Merlin investigates a number of deaths linked to Nazi-stolen art. The next book will take Merlin on to early summer 1943.

When I took up crime writing I chose wartime London for a number of reasons. One was that it was a period which had not been covered very much recently in crime fiction. Another was that I found out there had been a crime boom during the war. Crime grew by approximately sixty per cent in England and Wales between 1939 and 1945. Criminals benefited from the blackout, rationing and the black market, the growing market for vice, and the general civil disarray caused by bombing and the war. It seemed to me this would be a great time in which to set a detective series.

I am very keen on achieving historical accuracy in my books. I aim to transport readers to another very different time and place and in my view this cannot be done successfully without accuracy and authenticity. As to the research process I use to achieve this, it has changed a little over time. When I began writing in the early 2000s, I relied very heavily on libraries. In particular I spent a lot of time at the British Public Records Office in Kew, London, where amongst much other helpful information, they hold copies of all the newspapers printed in the war. However as the internet grew, I found that I could increasingly get much of that information online, and the balance of my research process changed, both in terms of sources and procedure.

Having built up a good detailed general knowledge of the period, my main focus now is the specific timeline of the story. Merlin 6, as mentioned above, will be set in early summer 1943. Before starting to write this autumn I spent around 3 months immersing myself in May and June 1943. I began by trawling through the internet searching for any information connected to that time. Then I did the same with my own wartime library of histories, biographies, autobiographies, diaries and literature of the period by authors like Graham Greene, Evelyn Waugh and Elizabeth Bowen. Public libraries still play a part if I encounter gaps. Of course, the research process hasn’t stopped completely now I am writing. There are always facts to verify, and geographical locations to check out.

Good research is crucial, but it is important for the author to remember that the story is the most important thing. There is often a temptation to show off the depth of research done. Many readers enjoy learning new facts in historical fiction books but authors should not overdo it and allow the fruits of research to overwhelm the story. I try hard not to leave myself open to that criticism.

PS I’ve been asked to say who I would consider for the part of Frank Merlin if my series was filmed. This is not so unlikely an event as I have had tv/movie interest from the BBC and others. I like a British actor called Luke Evans who has a Hollywood pedigree (Beauty and the Beast, Midway, The Hobbit). He has similar looks and build to Merlin, as does another possibility, the experienced British actor, Orlando Bloom. Both are the right age.

 

You can learn more about Mark Ellis and his books via his website, and follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Dead in the Water is available now from Headline Publishing and 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

Following the success of their Ocean’s Eleven movies, Matt Damon and Casey Affleck are taking on an another heist film, The Instigators, with Doug Liman (who directed Damon in the Bourne Identity films) also on board to helm the project for Apple Original Films. Damon and Casey's brother, Ben Affleck, are producing through their newly announced banner, Artists Equity, along with Jeff Robinov and John Graham's Studio 8, and Kevin Walsh's The Walsh Company. The film, which was penned by Chuck MacLean and developed by Robinov, Graham, and Casey Affleck, follows two thieves who must go on the run with the help of one of their therapists after a robbery goes awry.

Netflix released a trailer for The Pale Blue Eye based on Louis Bayard's 2006 novel, which acts as an alternative origin story for Edgar Allan Poe. Adapted and directed by Scott Cooper, the film stars Christian Bale and hits select theaters December 23 before landing on the streamer beginning January 6. Set in the 1830s, Bale plays a local detective tasked with solving the grisly murder of a cadet at then-fledgling West Point. That’s where he meets Poe (Henry Melling), an eccentric cadet with a disdain for the rigors of the military and a penchant for poetry, and engages him to help pursue the case. The cast also includes Gillian Anderson, Lucy Boynton, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Toby Jones, Harry Lawtey, Simon McBurney, Hadley Robinson, Timothy Spall, Joey Brooks, Brennan Cook, Gideon Glick, Fred Hechinger, Matt Helm, Jack Irving, Steven Maier, Charlie Tahan, and Robert Duvall.

TELEVISION/STREAMING

FX has given a pilot order to The Border, a drama based on the third book in Don Winslow’s bestselling Cartel Trilogy, from Daniel Zelman, (Damages, Bloodline), Shane Salerno (Salinger, Avatar sequels, and FX Productions). E.J. Bonilla is set to lead the cast, which also includes Frank Blake, Annie Shapero, Sebastián Buitrón, and Luis Bordonada. The Border is an epic saga that reveals the dark truths about America’s failed fifty-year war on drugs, exploring the myths of the drug war through the intertwining narratives of characters on both sides of the Mexican-American border.

Better Call Saul producer, Gordon Smith, is adapting The Destroyer book series (which was first published in 1971) for Sony Pictures Television. Originated by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir, The Destroyer books are about a U.S. government operative named Remo Williams, a former Newark cop framed for a crime and sentenced to death. His death is faked by the government so he can be trained as an assassin for CURE, a secret organization set up to defend the country by working outside the law. The books were previously adapted as a 1985 feature film, Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins.

In his first major foray into TV, Jake Gyllenhaal is in negotiations to star in and executive produce Presumed Innocent, Apple TV+’s upcoming limited series from David E. Kelley, J.J. Abrams, and Warner Brothers TV. The series is inspired by the courtroom thriller novel of the same name by Scott Turow, which was published in 1987 and turned into a 1990 feature starring Harrison Ford. It tells the story of a horrific murder that upends the Chicago Prosecuting Attorneys’ office when one of its own is suspected of the crime. Gyllenhaal will play Rusty Sabich, the fervent prosecutor suspected of killing a close colleague when the evidence begins to point to him.

CBS is developing Citizen Jane, a drama from the co-creators of Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol and Jay Beattie and CBS Studios. In Citizen Jane, written by Beattie, a law school dropout turned citizen sleuth—haunted by her sister’s unsolved murder—partners with a jaded homicide detective seeking redemption to solve cold cases and deliver justice across the country. 

Taron Egerton and the creators behind Apple TV+’s Black Bird are re-teaming on the crime series, Firebug, inspired by events surrounding notorious California arsonist, John Leonard Orr. Former firefighter Orr was an arson investigator for the Glendale Fire Department in Southern California. Initially hired to understand and track down cases of arson, he became a convicted serial arsonist himself. He was found to be the cause of a spate of high-profile fires across California in the 1980s and ’90s that led to tens of millions of dollars' worth of damage and four deaths.

Colin Callender’s production company, Playground, has optioned the crime novel, The Wicked Girls, to develop as a limited TV series. Filmmaker Richard Shepard (Ugly Betty) is attached to write and direct, while also serving as an executive producer alongside Callender, Scott Huff, and David Stern. The book was written by Alex Marwood and tells the story of journalist Kirsty Lindsay, who reports on a series of attacks on female tourists in a seaside town.

Hulu’s limited series based on Rebecca Godfrey’s book, Under The Bridge, has added to its cast. Emmy winner Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife) is set as a lead, along with Vritika Gupta, Javon "Wanna" Walton, and Aiyana Goodfellow. They join previously announced series stars Riley Keough, Izzy G, Chloe Guidry, and Ezra Faroque Khan. The book is based on the 1997 true story of fourteen-year-old Reena Virk (Gupta) who went to join friends at a party and never returned home. Seven teenage girls and a boy were accused of the savage murder, and the resulting investigation reveals startling truths about the unlikely killer.

Alona Tal, Johnny Ray Gill, and Eloise Mumford have joined the cast of Amazon’s Cross in series regular roles. They will star opposite Aldis Hodge, who plays the titular forensic psychologist character in the series, which is based on the best-selling Alex Cross book series by James Patterson. Tal will play Kayla Craig, a brilliant, determined, and abrasive FBI agent with a sharp sense of humor who aims to recruit Cross into the bureau; Gill will play Bobby Trey, a deadly and cunning ex-police officer; and Mumford will play Shannon Witmer, a frustrated dreamer with artistic aspirations.

Netflix released a trailer for the spy thriller, Treason, from Bridge of Spies' writer Matt Charman. The limited series explores the trials, tribulations, and treasonous actions of MI6 agent, Adam Lawrence (Charlie Cox), who finds himself taking over as Chief after his predecessor was poisoned. Treason also stars Olga Kurylenko as Kara, a Russian spy who Lawrence shares history with, and Oona Chaplin as Maddy, Lawrence's wife.

A teaser trailer was also released for Perry Mason Season 2, starring Matthew Rhys in a gritty new murder mystery conspiracy featuring the scion of a powerful oil family.

PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO/AUDIO

It was a Dark and Stormy Book Club took at look at The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Annotated, the definitive edition from Mysterious Press of Robert Louis Stevenson’s immortal tale of depraved murder and unrelenting horror. The edition is introduced by Joe Hill, annotated by Edgar-winner Leslie S. Klinger, and illustrated with over 100 color images.

On Crime Time FM, Barry Forshaw chaired a panel of top critics and writers about their picks for the Best Crime Novels of 2022. The panelists included Laura Wilson (Guardian critic, novelist) , Maxim Jakubowski (editor, publisher, writer, bookseller), Jake Kerridge (crime fiction critic for the Telegraph), Ayo Onatade (critic at ShotsBlog), Victoria Selman (novelist and Crime Time presenter), and Paul Burke (reviewer and Crime Time host).

The Red Hot Chili Writers spoke with Lord Peter Hains, politician and thriller writer, to discuss wildlife poaching, apartheid protests, and the different forms of meditation.

Mystery Melange

The winner of the 2022 Petrona Award for the Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year is Fatal Isles by Maria Adolfsson, translated from the Swedish by Agnes Broomé and published by Zaffre. Maria Adolfsson will receive a trophy, and both the author and translator will receive a cash prize. The other finalists include: Helene Flood - The Therapist (tr. Alison McCullough); Ruth Lillegraven - Everything is Mine (tr. Diane Oatley); Anders Roslund - Knock Knock (tr. Elizabeth Clark Wessel); Lilja Sigurðardóttir - Cold as Hell (tr. Quentin Bates); Antti Tuomainen - The Rabbit Factor (tr. David Hackston).

Although there hasn't been an official announcement yet following the recent Wolfe Pack Literary Society awards dinner on December 3, Michael Sears posted on Facebook that his novel, Tower of Babel, was named 2022 winner of the Society's annual Nero Wolfe Award. Jacqueline Freimor also posted that she won the Black Orchid Novella Award with "The Case of the Bogus Cinderellas," which will be published in the July/August issue of Alfred HItchcock's Mystery Magazine.

The UK-based Crime Fiction Lover site announced the winners of their second annual Crime Fiction Lover Awards across six categories. Best Novel Winner was The Locked Room by Elly Griffiths; Best Novel Editor’s Choice: The Shadows of Men by Abir Mukherjee; Best Debut Winner: A Christmas Murder of Crows by DM Austin; Best Debut Editor’s Choice: Bad for Good by Graham Bartlett; Best in Translation Winner: The Dark Flood by Deon Meyer, translated by KL Seegers; Best in Translation Editor’s Choice: The Old Woman with the Knife by Gu Byeong-Mo, translated by Chi-Young Kim; Best Indie Novel Winner: The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill; Best Indie Novel Editor’s Choice: Five Moves of Doom by AJ Devlin; Best Author: Elly Griffiths; Best Author Editor’s Choice: Steve Cavanagh.

On Sunday, December 11th in Minneapolis, Michael Allan Mallory will serve as moderator for a panel of mystery writers following the 2 p.m. performance of Theater in the Round's production of The Mysterious Affair at Styles. Members of the Twin Cities chapter of Sisters in Crime, including Julie Holmes, Christine Husom, and Sherry Roberts, will participate in the post-show panel about why we love mystery and the role of women in the creation of the genre.

Washington, DC.s Virtual Noir at the Bar is returning Sunday, December 11, at 7 pm ET. The event will be hosted by E.A. Aymar and feature readings from authors May Cobb, Kelly J. Ford, Jordan Harper, Wanda Morris, Raquel Reyes, and Johnny Shaw. Music will also be provided by local jazz star Sara Jones and a custom cocktail by celebrity mixologist Chantal Tseng. Even if you can't attend in person, you can register and watch via Crowdcast.

The New York Times released a list of its choices for Best Thrillers of 2022, including Janice Hallett’s The Appeal; J.M. Lee’s Broken Summer, which has been translated from the Korean by An Seon Je; Adam Hamdy's The Other Side of Night; Sascha Rothchild's Blood Sugar; Dervla McTiernan’s The Murder Rule; and Adrian McKinty’s The Island. Sarah Weinman also picked her best of the best among the mystery titles of 2022 for the NYT; The Guardian published its list of the Best Crime and Thriller Books of 2022; the SunSentinel's Oline Cogdill also chose her picks for the best mystery books of the year; and the Herald Scotland's reviewer, Barry Didcock, listed his pick of the best Scottish novels of 2022.

Kate Jackson a/k/a "The Armchair Sleuth" over at the Cross-Examining Crime blog is putting together a listing for the blog's Reprint of the Year awards, drawing from over 160 possible reprints to choose from that will be voted on by participating bloggers and blog readers. The winner(s) will be announced later this month. In the meantime, you can check out the blog link that includes a listing of all the available titles, including many classics and several titles I was unaware were being re-released this year.

Artificial Intelligence is getting more advanced all the time, but there are still hordes of moral and ethical challenges associated with these technologies. In a Mashable review of the new, and wildly popular online ChatGPT, it was noted that when other similar chat-bots were asked questions related to cold-case murder suspects, they seemed "all too eager to throw innocent people under the bus for such a crime without hesitation."

This week's crime poem at the 5-2 weekly is "Gulp" by Eric D. Goodman.

Author R&R with Tessa Wegert

Tessa Wegert is a journalist and former digital media strategist. Her business and marketing articles have appeared in such publications as Forbes, The Huffington Post, Adweek, and The Economist. She grew up in Quebec near the border of Vermont and now lives with her husband and children in Coastal Connecticut, where she writes while studying martial arts and dance. Tessa is also the author of the Shana Merchant series of mysteries, beginning with Death in the Family. The latest installment in that series is The Kind to Kill. 

In The Kind to Kill, a missing tourist spells trouble for former NYPD detective Shana Merchant, who is now a skilled Senior Investigator keeping New York's beautiful Thousands Islands community safe. As she investigates the disappearance, the case threatens to destroy not just the annual Pirate Days celebration but what remains of Shana's reputation, revealing secrets she's tried to keep hidden.

Tessa stops by In Reference to Murder for a little Author R&R about the book:

 

True Crime in Fiction: A Killer in the Family

In recent years, we’ve seen a pretty sizeable uptick in thrillers with true crime themes. Chalk it up to North America’s true crime podcast obsession, the glut of new docuseries available on Netflix, or cyclical trends—whatever its origins true crime is booming, and weaving it into crime fiction makes perfect sense.

There’s a true crime connection with The Kind to Kill, my latest thriller, too. In the book, New York State Police Senior Investigator Shana Merchant’s secret is finally out: she’s related to a notorious serial killer, and the man she’s been hunting for years was once her closest friend. I did a lot of research on true crime while writing—you’ll see local journalist Jared Cunningham mention a few real-life cases in his conversations with Shana—but this is a book that looks at true crime through a different lens. Instead of solely focusing on the victim and killer, it also explores the killer’s family.

When the news gets out that Shana has blood ties to Blake Bram, she quickly becomes a pariah. Even members of her own family, who are related to Bram too, opt to shut her out. Exploring true crime from the point of view of the killer’s family fascinated me, and Shana provided the perfect entry point for this analysis. What would it feel like to discover a relative had committed a brutal crime? How would that revelation affect someone who was duty-bound to uphold the law? These were the questions I wanted to address. In the end, it didn’t surprise me that Shana’s struggle to accept the truth and reconcile it with her profession and deep-seated desire to protect others became the heart of this story about resentment, redemption, and the darkest family secrets of all.

 

You can find out more about Tessa and her books via her website and follow her on Facebook and Twitter. The Kind to Kill is available in ebook and print formats from Severn House and 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

Following a competitive bidding war with several studios and streamers involved, Amazon Studios has landed the film, Red Shirt, to star Channing Tatum. Based on an original pitch by Simon Kinberg (who also produced Sherlock Holmes, among others), the project will also see David Leitch on board to direct. Plot details are being kept under wraps other than the story being described as "an international spy thriller" and a "new spin on James Bond" with the potential to become a franchise.

TELEVISION/STREAMING SERVICES

Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) will star in and executive produce the upcoming Miramax TV limited series, The Christie Affair, based on Nina de Gramont’s best-selling novel. The story centers around Agatha Christie’s real-life eleven-day disappearance In 1926 when her husband’s affair became public. In this reimagining, told through the eyes of her husband’s mistress, Nan O’Dea (Ridley), Nan and Agatha become entwined in each other’s lives in ways neither expected.

Bestselling author David Baldacci’s Atlee Pine books are headed to television via Amazon Studios, which is developing an untitled drama series based on the novels. The project follows exceptional FBI agent, Atlee Pine, as she finds herself at a crossroads in her life and career and she has to go back and solve the one case that has shaped her entire existence — the disappearance of her twin sister thirty years ago. If the project moves forward, it will mark the second series based on Baldacci books following TNT’s King and Maxwell, which was an adaptation of the Sean King and Michelle Maxwell book series.

A series adaptation of E. Lockhart’s YA suspense thriller, We Were Liars, has also landed at Amazon for development. Julie Plec and Carina Adly MacKenzie (Roswell, New Mexico co-creator) are adapting the book. We Were Liars is an amnesia thriller set on a privately owned island off the coast of Massachusetts. Focusing on the theme of consequences of one’s mistakes, the series follows the wealthy, seemingly perfect Sinclair family, who spend every summer sitting gathered on their private island. However, not every year is the same: When something happens to Cadence Sinclair during the summer of her 15th year, she and the other three "liars" — Johnny, Gat and Mirren — re-emerge two years later to prompt Cadence to remember the incident.

The very-busy Amazon Studios strikes again with Scarlett Johansson's first major foray into television as she gets set to star in and executive produce Just Cause, a thriller limited series based on John Katzenbach’s 1992 novel. In the straight-to-series TV adaptation, the book’s male protagonist, Miami newspaper editorial writer, Matt Cowart, is undergoing a gender swap, with Johansson playing the series’ female lead Madison "Madi" Cowart, a struggling reporter for a Florida newspaper sent to cover the final days of an inmate on death row. Johannson, a two-time Oscar nominee and a Tony winner, has a personal connection to the title: at age 10, she appeared in Warner Bros.’ 1995 feature adaptation of Katzenbach’s book in only her second film role, playing the daughter of the main character (portrayed by Sean Connery).

Robert De Niro has signed on to star in the new Netflix limited political thriller series, Zero Day. The project comes from the team behind Narcos (executive producer, writer, and showrunner Eric Newman, and Noah Oppenheim, the president of NBC News and Jackie screenwriter). There are currently no exact details on the limited series’ plot, although the show is set to center around political themes, with De Niro playing a former U.S. president. 

Paramount’s UK network Channel 5 has unveiled a four-part thriller, Black Cab, with Robert Glenister (Sherwood), Suzanne Packer (In My Skin), and Sean Pertwee (Gotham) starring. Black Cab will follow Glenister as a down-and-out Liverpool taxi driver, who begins to form an unhealthy obsession with a late-night radio talk show host (Pertwee). Nick Saltrese (A Prayer Before Dawn) has penned the series and Diarmuid Goggins (Bulletproof) is directing.

African streamer, Showmax, is producing Crime and Justice Lagos, which follows the activities of the fictional Serious and Special Crimes Unit working in the Nigerian capital, led by Deputy Commissioner of Police Femi Biboye (William Benson). The show will debut on December 8, with Folu Storms and Jammal Ibraham also starring as the heads of an elite team of detectives.

Ryan Eggold (New Amsterdam) and Isaiah Mustafa (It: Chapter 2) will star opposite Aldis Hodge in Amazon’s Alex Cross series, Cross, in series regular roles. Eggold will play Ed Ramsey, who is initially a fan of Cross (Hodge) but soon becomes a formidable adversary. Mustafa will play John Sampson, Alex’s partner on the force and best friend of 30 years. Cross is created by producer and writer Ben Watkins and based on the best-selling book series by James Patterson. The title character of Alex Cross is a detective and forensic psychologist, uniquely capable of digging into the psyches of killers and their victims, in order to identify — and ultimately capture — the murderers.

PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO/AUDIO

Louise Penny was interviewed on CBS Sunday Morning about her new Inspector Gamache novel, A World of Curiosities and how a painting and forgiveness inspired the 18th novel in the Gamache series.

A new Mysteryrat's Maze Podcast is up featuring an excerpt from the first chapter of Lost and Found in Harlem by Delia C. Pitts, as read by actor Theodore Fox.

The Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine podcast featured a 1950s holiday story told by Hollis Seamon, a frequent contributor to EQMM whose story, "Black Swallowtail," finished in third place for 2021's EQMM Reader's Award. "Book Lovers" is a story that is sure to entertain mystery fans and lovers of classic literature alike. 

Crime Time FM welcomed Vaseem Khan (The Lost Man of Bombay) and Janice Hallett (The Twyford Code) to discuss cozy crime; warmth and humor in the murder mystery; how every novel needs an elephant, and more.

Spybrary spoke with the former UK Home Secretary and best-selling author, Alan Johnson, about how his background as Home Secretary helped him to write his fiction books Late Train to Gipsy Hill and One of Our Ministers is Missing.

All About Agatha featured a discussion of Parker Pyne, a detective featured in a series of short stories by Agatha Christie.

On Read or Dead, Katie McLain Horner and Kendra Winchester discussed true crime for a (belated) Nonfiction November.

Mystery Melange

At the ceremony revealing the winners of 2022's An Post Irish Book Awards, it was announced the Crime Fiction Book of the Year was won by Breaking Point by Edel Coffey. The other finalists in the category include Remember My Name by Sam Blake; Run Time by Catherine Ryan Howard; The Accomplice by Steve Cavanagh; The Interview by Gill Perdue; and Hide and Seek by Andrea Mara.

British author, Stuart Turton, was awarded Germany’s 2022 Viktor Crime Award for The Devil and Dark Water. Other shortlisted authors/titles included Kazltes Herz (Cold Heart) by Henri Faber and Horvath und die verschwundenen Schüler (Horvath and the Missing Students) by Marc Hofmann. The award has been handed out since 2018 and was announced at Mord am Hellweg, which has been dubbed "Europe’s largest international crime film festival.”

Icelandic crime novelist Ragnar Jónasson's novel, Snjóblinda (Snow Blind), was voted the best crime novel published in France in the last 50 years, by French book aficionados. Ragnar accepted the award last Wednesday in Paris. The French publisher, Points, which specializes in paperbacks, and the periodical, Le Point, decided to present special literary awards to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the magazine. In the literary works category, the winner was Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens.

Voting continues for the final round of the Goodreads Choice Awards competition, which includes ten titles in the Best Mystery & Thriller category. Readers can vote through December 4, with winners announced Thursday, December 8.

Submissions to the 2023 Louie Award competition, sponsored by the Australian Crime Writers Association, will be accepted through Friday, December 30. The Louie prize celebrates microfiction of less than 500 words that is focused on a specific theme, which this year is "Locked." ACWA members can entry for the chance to win a $750 cash prize. Last year's award was won by Hayley Young for her crime story, "I’m Not Telling." (HT to the Rap Sheet)

Mechanicsburg Mystery Bookshop will host a virtual cozy mystery event via Zoom on Sunday, December 4th, 2022, at 2:00 pm Eastern. Authors scheduled to participate include Marilyn Levison, Heather Weidner, Jackie Layton, Sarah E. Burr, and Alice Adler. This is a free event although reservations are required so that each person receives the code to sign in.

Kirkus Reviews released its Best Mysteries and Thrillers list for 2022. You can check out all ten titles via this link.

The multidisciplinary conference, Crime Fiction and Democracy, intends to explore the complex, multifaceted relationship between crime fiction and democracy from the late 19th century to the present. It's being organized by the Centre de Recherches Anglophones (Université Paris Nanterre) and Queen’s University Belfast, and will be held Université Paris Nanterre June 22-23, 2023. Conference organizers are inviting proposals for 20-minute papers, either in English or French, focusing on the multiple connections between democracy and crime fiction throughout the world, and seeking, if possible, a broad analytical approach rather than the analysis of single works. (HT to Shots Magazine)

Congrats to Elizabeth Foxwell, whose The Bunburyist blog passed its 1 millionth view since its debut in 2005. You can check out her top ten most-read blog entries, counting to #1, "The dozen best detective short stories ever written," as selected by author-critics such as Anthony Boucher, John Dickson Carr, August Derleth, Howard Haycraft, Ellery Queen, James Sandoe, and Vincent Starrett.

This week's crime poem at the 5-2 Weekly is "After Party" by Katherine Heil.

In the Q&A roundup, Lisa Haselton chatted with Mystery author Jessica Stilling about her new literary fiction, Between Before and After. Haselton also interviewed author Jennifer Juvenelle about her new psychological thriller, Daughter of Belial.