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

Netflix's feature adaptation of Ruth Ware bestselling novel, The Woman in Cabin 10, has added a slate of actors alongside star Keira Knightley. Joining two-time Oscar nominee Knightley are Guy Pearce, Hannah Waddingham, David Ajala, Gitte Witt, Art Malik, Daniel Ings, David Morrissey, Christopher Rygh, Paul Kaye, Kaya Scodelario, Lisa Loven Kongsli, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw. The Woman in Cabin 10 follows a journalist who witnesses a passenger being thrown overboard a luxury yacht at night — only to be told that it didn’t happen as all the passengers and crew are accounted for. Despite no one believing her, she continues to look for answers, putting her own life in danger.

Emmy nominee D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai (Reservation Dogs) has joined the cast of Darren Aronofsky's crime thriller, Caught Stealing, from Sony Pictures. Based on the book by Charlie Huston, Caught Stealing follows Hank Thompson (Austin Butler), a burned-out former baseball player, as he’s unwittingly plunged into a wild fight for survival in the downtown criminal underworld of ’90s NYC. In addition to Butler, Woon-A-Tai joins the previously announced cast of Vincent D’Onofrio, Zoë Kravitz, Regina King, Matt Smith, Liev Schreiber, Will Brill, Bad Bunny, and Griffin Dunne.

TELEVISION/STREAMING

Acorn TV, the AMC Networks-owned streamer, has greenlit Art Detectives starring Stephen Moyer (True Blood) as art-loving DI Mick Palmer of the Heritage Crime Unit police department. Alongside straight-talking DC Shazia Malik, played by Nina Singh (The Lazarus Project), the pair solve murders connected to the world of art and antiques, from Old Master paintings, to Banksy street art, medieval manuscripts and collectible vinyl. In the series, the artfully astute detectives encounter a fake Vermeer, Viking gold, a rare Chinese vase, and items rescued from the Titanic. Palmer navigates these cases while managing a budding romance with museum curator Rosa, played by Sarah Alexander (Coupling), and the sudden reappearance of his charismatic father, Ron, played by Larry Lamb (Gavin & Stacey), who just happens to be one of Britain’s most notorious forgers.

Robocop continues to progress through the development process at Amazon MGM Studios. Veteran Peter Ocko (Lodge 49) has been tapped as writer, executive producer, and showrunner on the potential series, based on the MGM movie franchise, with horror master James Wan on board to executive produce through his Atomic Monster banner. The series will follow the premise of the films, focusing on a giant tech conglomerate which collaborates with the local police department to introduce a technologically advanced enforcer to combat rising crime — a police officer who’s part man, part machine.

MGM+ has ordered a 10-part series based on the English folktale Robin Hood to air in 2025. The series comes from Jonathan English (Librarians: The Next Chapter), showrunner John Glenn (SEAL Team), and Lionsgate Television. The series, which will begin production in Serbia at PFI Studios in February 2025, is a modern take on the classic tale of the roguish outlaw hero who stole from the rich and gave to the poor, and the epic love story between him and a courageous and daring Marian. Following the Norman invasion of England, Rob – a Saxon forester’s son – and Marian, the daughter of a Norman lord – fall in love and work together to fight for justice and freedom. As Rob rises as the leader of a band of rebel outlaws, Marian infiltrates the power at court, and both work together to thwart royal corruption and bring peace to the land.

Guy Ritchie's Young Sherlock series has cast the title character’s older brother, with Max Irons (Condor) set to play Mycroft Holmes opposite Hero Fiennes Tiffin’s Sherlock. Inspired by Andy Lane’s book series, Young Sherlock is described as an irreverent, action-packed origin story of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s beloved detective in a re-imagining of this iconic character. At age 19, Sherlock Holmes (Fiennes Tiffin) is disgraced, raw, unfiltered, and unformed, when he finds himself caught up in a murder mystery at Oxford University which threatens his freedom. Diving into his first-ever case with a wild lack of discipline, Sherlock manages to unravel a globe-trotting conspiracy that will change his life forever.

Netflix has unveiled three new Nordic originals as part of its 2025 slate, including the Swedish crime series, Synden, written and directed by Peter Grönlund, whose credits include Goliat and Beartown. The series follows the perpetually angry, odd, but highly intelligent investigator Dani (Krista Kosonen) who is teamed up with newly graduated police colleague Malik (Mohammed Nour Oklah) to investigate the murder of a teenager found dead at a farmhouse on the Bjäre peninsula. The investigation propels Dani and Malik toward the center of a dark family feud that has been going on for generations and revolves around Patriarch Elis (Peter Gantman).

PODCASTS/RADIO

Suspense Magazine Radio had two recent interviews of interest, one with Jeffery Deaver and Isabella Maldonado about their new collaborative novel, Fatal Intrusion, which features Homeland Security agent Carmen Sanchez who pairs up with Professor Jake Heron, a brilliant and quirky private security expert, to solve a series of murders across Southern California; and Tasha Alexander, chatting about the 18th book in her Lady Emily series, Death by Misadventure.

Speaking of Mysteries spoke with Andrew Bridgeman about his debut thriller, Fortunate Son, in which Ben Danvers thinks his biggest challenge is giving a presentation to the executives at his company. Then he finds he isn’t who he grew up thinking he was—and people want to kill him

On the latest Spybrary Spy Podcast, guest host David Clark is joined by author and investigative journalist Tim Tate to dissect his latest espionage non-fiction book, To Catch A Spy, which examines the enigmatic and controversial history surrounding Roger Hollis, the former MI5 Director.

Kate Rhodes chatted with Paul Burke on Crime Time FM about her new thriller, The Stalker; the Isles of Sicily mysteries; stalking; and Cambridge.

The Red Hot Chili Writers spoke with suspense thriller writer, T.M. Logan, about his new book, The Dream Home, comparing him to the suave conmen who starred in the film Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

The Cops and Writers welcomed attorney and author Mark Bruce, who won the Black Orchid Novella Award and has appeared four times in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine.

THEATRE

Oscar-nominated Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) will make her debut at London’s National Theatre in 2025 in the new play, Inter Alia, by Suzie Miller. The playwright also created Prima Facie, the legal drama that catapulted Jodie Comer to Olivier and Tony Award trophies. Pike has been cast as a British High Court judge forced to reckon with conflict in her private and professional life. Justin Martin is set to direct after having also helmed Prima Facie, about a criminal defense lawyer who is sexually assaulted.

 

Mystery Melange

The winner of this year's Crime Cologne Award for a German-language mystery is Die Spiele by Stephan Schmidt. The honor has been presented as part of the Crime Cologne conference since 2015 and is intended to honor a work from the previous year that is linguistically, thematically, and psychologically convincing - and at the same time offers exciting entertainment at an outstanding level. A four-member jury, consisting of Mike Altwicker, Judith Merchant, Birgitt Schippers, and Margarete von Schwarzkopf, selected the novels. The winner receives 3,000 euros (approximately $3,300 USD).

Elly Griffiths, who writes the Dr. Ruth Galloway Mysteries, the Brighton Mysteries, and the Justice Series, has won Author of the Year at the Booksellers Association Conference Awards. The awards honor key figures in the book industry and the work they do to support UK bookshops. The winners were selected by 489 booksellers from across the UK.

Mystery Writers of America's 2025 Barbara Neely Scholarship, an award named after the late trailblazing Black crime novelist chosen as a Grand Master by MWA in 2019, is now open for applications from authors who are Black, American citizens, and age 18 or older. Applicants must submit a brief biography, competed application form, a five-page sample of their writing in the crime genre, a 300-500-word statement, and a copy of their CV/resume highlighting their education/writing career. The deadline is November 8, 2024. Two scholarships of $2,000 will be awarded, one for an aspiring Black writer who has yet to publish in the crime or mystery field, and another for Black authors who have already published in crime or mystery.

NoirCon is moving from the East Coast to the West Coast this year, landing in Palm Springs from November 7-10. The event includes a variety of panels and speakers, classic film screenings with special guests, notable author events, in-person book signings, and more. The conference will also hand out the Jay and Deen Kogan Award for Excellence posthumously to Jim Nisbet, to be accepted by his widow, artist Carol Collier. The award reflects the preservation of literary excellence and achievement, and recipients have devoted a lifetime to cultivating a greater appreciation and pride in America's literary heritage by writing, and/or publishing the most authoritative editions of America's best and most significant writing within the genre of noir.

Banned Book Week (#BannedBooksWeek) is being commemorated this week by the American Library Association and a variety of organizations around the U.S. In a time of deep political divides, library staff across the country are facing an overwhelming number of book ban attempts. In 2023 alone, the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 1,247 efforts to censor books and other resources in libraries—an increase of 65% from the year before. In total, 4,240 unique book titles were targeted, many of them representing LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC voices and experiences. Even crime fiction books have been challenged through the years at some point, including Arthur Conan Doyle’s A Study in Scarlet, Edgar Allan Poe’s The Tell Tale Heart, and Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl.

Bedford Square Publishers announced that Maxim Jakubowski has joined as Editor-at-Large to acquire new titles both for the Bedford Square and the No Exit Press imprints. Jakubowski is a well-known novelist, critic, and reviewer, as well as editor of several award-winning anthologies and owner of London bookshop Murder One. Maxim spent several decades in publishing roles in France and at Virgin, Rainbird and Ebury Press, where he commissioned many important bestsellers and created several major crime imprints, including the now legendary Black Box Thrillers and Blue Murder. The first titles he will bring to the list will include the highly controversial French prize-winner Emma Becker’s La Maison; works by the king of the French locked-room mystery, Paul Halter, and the master of Western noir, Scott Phillips; and Keith Donohue’s The Motion of Puppets, which US critics have described as "Stephen King meets Toys."

The Strand Mystery Magazine published a rarely seen essay this week from the 1930s, written by crime author G.K. Chesterton. He remains best known for his Father Brown mysteries, but he was also founding president of the Detection Club, a gathering of novelists whose original members included Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, and AA Milne among others. In the essay he wrote, "Detective fiction had grown a little dull," and proceeded to opine about new ways to tell crime stories.

Elizabeth Foxwell, editor of Clues: A Journal of Detection, announced a call for papers on the theme of "reappraising James Ellroy," in honor of the 30-year anniversary of James Ellroy’s American Tabloid in 2025. Guest Editors will be Nathan Ashman (University of East Anglia) and Steven Powell (University of Liverpool). The proposal deadline is March 1, 2025. For more information, follow this link.

Mystery Readers Journal editor, Janet Rudolph, is seeking articles, reviews, and author essays for the upcoming issue, "Mysteries Set in London." Author essays are first person, about yourself, your books, and the "London" connection. Reviews are for books both in and out of print that are set in London. Author essays and articles should be 500-1,000 words, and reviews 50-250 words. The deadline is November 1, 2024.

In April 2015, B.K. Stevens debuted the blog series "The First Two Pages," hosting craft essays by short story writers and novelists analyzing the openings of their own work. The series continued until just after her death in August 2017, at which point Art Taylor took over at the helm. This week, Art welcomed Avram Lavinsky for the first post in a series celebrating the latest music-themed anthology from editor Josh Pachter: Friend of the Devil: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Grateful Dead, coming out next week from Down and Out Books. In addition to Lavinsky, the anthology includes stories from Bruce Robert Coffin, James D.F. Hannah, Vinnie Hansen, James L’Etoile, G.M. Malliet, Twist Phelan, Faye Snowden, Joseph S. Walker, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine editor Linda Landrigan (with her first published story), and more.

In the Q&A roundup, James R. Benn, author of the Billy Boyle World War II series, historical mysteries set within the Allied High Command during the Second World War, applied the Page 69 Test to The Phantom Patrol, the nineteenth installment of the series; and Vicki Delany, author of over 40 novels in various crime genres, also took up the Page 69 challenge to the newest novel in her Year-Round Christmas mystery series, A Slay Ride Together With You.

Ned Kelly Kudos

The Australian Crime Writing Association announced the winners of the 2024 Ned Kelly Awards. The awards are Australia’s oldest recognition honoring published crime fiction and true crime writing in the categories of Best Crime Fiction, Best Debut Crime Fiction, Best True Crime, and Best International Crime Fiction. Entries are accepted for books published in the 12 months prior to March 1st of each year. Congratulations to all the winners and finalists!

Best Crime Fiction:  Darling Girls - By Sally Hepworth

 

Also nominated:

 

Killer Traitor Spy - By Tim Ayliffe
Dark Corners - By Megan Goldin
Dark Mode - By Ashley Kalagian Blunt
The Seven - By Chris Hammer
Ripper - By Shelley Burr
The Tea Ladies - By Amanda Hampson
Everyone on this Train is a Suspect - By Benjamin Stevenson

Best International Crime Fiction:  The Only Suspect - By Louise Candlish

Also nominated:

 

Birnam Wood - By Eleanor Catton
Dice - By Claire Baylis
Resurrection Walk - By Michael Connelly
The Search Party - By Hannah Richell
Zero Days - By Ruth Ware

Best Debut Crime Fiction:  Murder in the Pacific: Ifira Point - By Matt Francis

Also nominated:

Four Dogs Missing - By Rhys Gard
Gus and the Missing Boy - By Troy Hunter
Lowbridge - By Lucy Campbell
The Fall Between - By Darcy Tindale
The Beacon - By P.A. Thomas
Violet Kelly and the Jade Owl - By Fiona Britton

Best True Crime:  Crossing the Line - By Nick McKenzie

Also nominated:

Killing for Country – By David Marr
The Murder Squad - By Michael Adams
Reckless - By Marele Day
The Teacher’s Pet - By Hedley Thomas

Sleuthfest Postponed

 The organizers of the Sleuthfest Conference, which was scheduled for this week, September 26-29, in St. Petersburg, Florida, announced that due to Hurricane Helene, they are postponing the event until May 14-18, 2025. They indicated that current hotel reservations will be automatically cancelled by the Hilton Bayfront, and registrants should watch their email for additional information, including the opportunity to keep your registration for the new dates or receive a refund. The posting on the official website and on Facebook added, "Words can’t describe our disappointment, but we look forward to seeing you next May!"

Sunday Music Treat

This week (September 26) marks the anniversary of the birth of American composer George Gershwin (b.1898; d.1937). Although he's best known for his large-scale works, including his concertos for piano and orchestra such as the iconic Rhapsody in Blue, he did write a few solo piano works. Here's a recording of Gershwin himself playing the Three Preludes from 1926: 

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

Aaron Eckhart will star in the action thriller, Scorpion, directed by Jesse V. Johnson (Chief of Station) and written by Corey Large (Detective Knight trilogy) and Ed Drake (Gasoline Alley). Scorpion follows a CIA assassin who goes into hiding after taking the rap for a failed mission. But when he re-emerges, the past also comes back to haunt him, and in order to protect his daughter, he needs to take down the agency boss who set him up. Further casting information is yet to be announced.

Sam Richardson is set to join the cast of the thriller, Sacrifice, joining Chris Evans, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Salma Hayek Pinault. Based on a script by Romain Gavras (co-written with Will Arbery) who will also direct, the story is set at a high-end charity gala that is raided by a violent group of radicals on a mystical quest to fulfill a prophecy.

Josh O’Connor is set to star in The Mastermind, written and directed by Kelly Reichardt. Production is expected to start sometime this year on the film, which centers on an audacious art heist amidst the backdrop of the Vietnam War.

TELEVISION/STREAMING

After being in the works since last year, Amazon Prime Video has officially ordered a series adaptation of Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta novels, with Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis set for the lead roles. Amazon has greenlit two seasons of the series, titled Scarpetta, and added five additional cast members, Ariana DeBose (West Side Story) Bobby Cannavale (The Irishman), Simon Baker (Boy Swallows Universe), Rosy McEwen (Blue Jean), and Jake Cannavale (American Sports Story). Liz Sarnoff will serve as writer, executive producer, and showrunner. The mystery-thriller series follows Kay Scarpetta (Kidman), the Chief Medical Examiner, as she returns to Virginia and resumes her former position with complex relationships, both personal and professional – including her sister Dorothy (Curtis), with plenty of grudges and secrets to uncover.

ITV has greenlit the espionage thriller, Betrayal, starring and produced by Vigil’s Shaun Evans, which is set in the clandestine world of MI5. The story follows John Hughes (Evans), who joined MI5 during the war on terror and was at the forefront of averting the biggest terrorist plots on UK soil. Now in his mid 40s and married with two children, he’s struggling to adapt to the new MI5, where threats to national security have changed and he’s forced to confront the values of a progressive work environment.

Max has picked up for development an untitled a law enforcement drama loosely inspired by Geraldine Hart's experiences as an FBI agent and police commissioner. Eileen Myers (The Night Agent) is writing the pilot for the series, which follows a legendary FBI agent who returns to her hometown on Long Island to clean up mob corruption and quickly finds that the rot is even deeper and darker than she thought. Before long, she's facing down nefarious entities from all sides.

Monster series co-creator Ryan Murphy announced that Charlie Hunnam will star in Season 3 at Netflix as Ed Gein, the notorious serial killer. Gein, who also hailed from Wisconsin like Jeffrey Dahmer, became infamous in the 1950s when authorities discovered he'd not only killed multiple people, he'd dug up graves from a cemetery near his home and fashioned all manner of household items and clothing from human remains. Gein’s case served as an inspiration for several major pop culture characters later on, including Norman Bates in Psycho and Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs. Season 1 of Monster focused on serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, while Season 2 follows the Menendez brothers and the murder of their parents.

Max has canceled the latest iteration of the mystery-thriller series, Pretty Little Liars, after two seasons. The drama focused on a group of teenage girls enduring and investigating their own mysteries and starred Bailee Madison, Chandler Kinney, Zaria, Malia Pyles, Maia Reficco, Mallory Bechtel, Sharon Leal, Alex Aiono, Jordan Gonzalez, and Elias Kacavas. This was the fourth TV series in the Pretty Little Liars franchise, which are all based on or inspired by the book series written by Sara Shepard, with the others airing on Freeform (formerly ABC Family).

Hallmark's annual "Countdown to Christmas" lineup has been announced, with 47 all-new original movies spread across its networks including Hallmark Mystery.

PODCASTS/RADIO

Speaking of Mysteries welcomed Taylor Moore to discuss Cold Trail, the fourth installment in his series featuring Garrett Kohl, in which someone is blowing up natural gas facilities that may, or may not, have something to do with ecological demonstrators.

Spybrary Spy Podcast host Shane Whaley sat down with legendary actor Gary Oldman, who portrays the enigmatic Jackson Lamb in the hit TV adaptation of Mick Herron's Slow Horses. Oldman revealed how Jackson Lamb first appeared on his radar and the differences working with spy authors Mick Herron and John le Carré on Slow Horses and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

On Crime Time FM, Craig Sisterson chatted with Attica Locke about her new novel, Guide Me Home; screenwriting and TV; the Crime Writers of Color; and Texas.

Meet the Thriller Author spoke with David Ellis, a judge and an Edgar-award-winning author of ten novels of crime fiction, as well as eight bestselling books co-authored with James Patterson.

This week’s episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features Debbi Mack's interview with crime writer Tom Fowler, author of the John Tyler thrillers and the CT Ferguson crime fiction series.

The latest Cops and Writers podcast featured bestselling author, drummer, and former Police Chief Rick Porrello. His first nonfiction book on organized crime, The Rise and Fall of the Cleveland Mafia, was based on family research into the murders of his grandfather and three uncles, all of whom, he learned, were mob leaders killed in Prohibition-era violence. HIs second book, To Kill the Irishman—the War that Crippled the Mafia, was made into the movie Kill the Irishman, starring Ray Stevenson, Vincent D’Onofrio, Christopher Walken, and Val Kilmer.

On Read or Dead, Katie McLain Horner and Kendra Winchester discussed mystery/thriller books for Hispanic Heritage Month.

A new Mysteryrat's Maze Podcast is up, featuring the first chapter of Four Pieces of Evidence by Pamela Ebel, read by actor Sean Hopper.

Mystery Melange

The six finalists for this year's Booker Prize include Rachel Kushner's Creation Lake, a romantic spy thriller which sees an American woman infiltrate a radical anarchist collective in rural France, and Percival Everett's James, a retelling of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written from the perspective of the runaway slave, Jim. Kushner, Everett, and the four other finalists will vie for the £50,000 (roughly $65,800 USD) top prize, with the winner to be revealed November 12.

Bestselling author Nelson DeMille, who grew up on Long Island and earned a Bronze Star in Vietnam before turning to a writing career, has died at the age of 81. He made his literary debut in 1974 with the novel, The Sniper, which introduced Joe Ryker, a tough New York police detective, a character who would return in several more novels. DeMille was known for his series of books featuring U.S. Army investigator Paul Brenner, introduced in the 1992 novel, The General’s Daughter, which was adapted into a 1999 film starring John Travolta. The author's most recent book, Blood Lines, co-written with his son Alex DeMille, was published last year. Many of his fellow authors have taken to social media to pay tribute to DeMille for his generosity, kindness, and sense of humor.

The latest print edition of Clues: a Journal of Detection (vol. 42, no. 2) is a themed issue on BIPOC female detectives in a global context, guest edited by Sam Naidu (Rhodes University, South Africa). Naidu discusses the rationale for and content of the issue, including articles on the TV series Brooklyn Nine-Nine and the work of Eleanor Taylor Bland, Oyinkan Braithwaite, K’im Ch’aehu?i, Maria L. M. Fres-Felix, Pauline Hopkins, Tiffany D. Jackson, Vaseem Khan, Angela Makholwa, Marcia Muller, BarbaraNeely, Nnedi Okorafor, and Kwei Quartey.

In homage to the 1964 classic film, Goldfinger, the prestigious Burlington Arcade in Mayfair, London, has created a unique James Bond experience – The 007, open from September 18 until December 31. Three handcrafted golden hanging sculptures, inspired by the iconic Aston Martin DB5, are seen careering down the centre of the Arcade. As visitors walk underneath, a bespoke carpet features famous lines from the film. Other highlights include iconic movie props including Oddjob’s hat, a Fort Knox gold bar, Goldfinger’s golf shoes and the spyhole clock from his private plane, never before exhibited. There's also a chance to bid on a limited number of The Macallan’s highly collectible 60th Anniversary Decades whisky sets, with all proceeds being donated to charity. Plus, speaking of libations, there are two exclusively designed bars where fans may enjoy a dash of 007 with signature cocktails specially created in partnership with Belvedere, Blackwell Rum, Champagne Bollinger, and Macallan.

The CBC profiled Winnipeg, Ontario's crime bookstore, Whodunit, which houses more than 23,000 new and used novels and has been in business for over thirty years. The bookstore hosts a Mystery Reading Club and has featured readings and signings by various mystery authors through the years.

One of the latest themed book recommendation lists over at Crime Reads comes from Sofie Kelly: "Librarians on the Case." I have a soft spot for this one, as my mother was a librarian. For those hungry for more, here's a list of more bookish sleuths via Mystery Fanfare.

In the Q&A roundup, Richard Osman talked to Lee Child about class, success and the secret to great crime writing; author Julia Dahl chatted with Nerd Daily about her psychological thriller, I Dreamed of Falling, which follows the death of a young mother and how it triggers an avalanche of secrets in a small Hudson Valley town; and Tara Laskowski interviewed Josh Pachter, editor and author of over a hundred crime short stories and the 2023 novel, Dutch Threat.

Author R&R with Hannah D Sharpe

Hannah D Sharpe is an American domestic suspense author. She enjoys creating morally ambiguous female characters with stories that incorporate mental health awareness and struggles that women face today. Hannah also has an MSN Ed, with a background in emergency medicine, nursing education, and health insurance and a focus on underserved communities. Hannah lives in Northwest Washington State with her husband, three children (ages 10, 7, and 5), and a moody orange tabby cat. When not working, writing, and juggling the family’s extracurricular activities, you can find Hannah delving into the next home project while getting lost in an audiobook.

Between Lies and Revenge, Hannah's debut domestic suspense novel, centers on a daring jewel heist that becomes a lifeline for two women entangled in a web of deceit, pushing them to the brink of trust and betrayal in their quest for redemption and survival.

Hannah stops by In Reference to Murder to take some Author R&R about writing and researching the book:

 

It may or may not come as a surprise that my debut novel Between Lies and Revenge is not the first novel I’ve written. The unpublished manuscripts gathering proverbial dust in a folder on my desktop were the most valuable research I’ve done to date.

To write a compelling story requires research long before research for the novel is addressed. This begins with reading avidly in the genres of interest. Reading as a writer goes beyond pleasure by adding research in structure, pacing, character development, and layering of story. In addition to reading published books, it is important for a writer to connect with other writers and find critique partners, beta readers, and writing groups, where the writer not only receives feedback, but gives it to others. By reading other writers works and offering valuable feedback the writer becomes knowledgeable in recognizing mishaps, developmental opportunities, and the steps in which a writer can take to get their work from an initial draft to published.

I have traditionally been a pantser—learning my story as I draft—which meant researching a lot while I was drafting Between Lies and Revenge. There was rarely a writing session in which I didn’t need to pull up Google. Google and the internet have always been my primary go to for research, with anxiety and three children who are now ages 5, 7, and 10 (younger when writing this novel). Additionally, I’m fortunate to have obtained a master’s degree in nursing, which was, in itself, an education about research collection and validation, and came in handy when researching the following for Between Lies and Revenge:

Gemology / Lapidary – I know nothing about the craft of jewelry making, repair, and evaluation and appraisal. However, my character, Elle, made it clear early on that she does. This meant many, many, Google rabbit holes. I spent a long time learning about equipment, processes, education and training, and industry specific terms. I then crosschecked information between sources to determine whether the information found was the most reliable and widely known. This research didn’t end with my first draft, but continued through every edit up until the end, verifying the information I had on the page and strengthening it with new details.

Infertility – Despite having my own experience with infertility, and being a nurse, I needed to delve deep into research for this topic, as I wanted to make sure my novel portrayed the most up-to-date and accurate information. For those who experience infertility and seek fertility assistance, the journey is very personal and becomes deeply engrained. Getting the details right were imperative, especially knowing my character, Olivia, would have a journey that was unique to her, as fertility treatments are personalized and specific as decided by the individual and their provider. This meant going above and beyond the Google search and into professionally published research, as well as speaking to individuals who went through fertility treatments different than mine and reaching out to nurses and physicians who specialize in obstetrics and gynecology. I was also open to feedback and did not become defensive when the information I had on the page was interpreted as inaccurate. Instead, I went back through the research process to verify details, correct inaccuracies, and make sure it all aligned throughout the different stages of editing.

Multi-Level Marketing (and its dark side) – I did a deep dive into research on this component of my story long before I knew I would write this novel. I spent the early years after my children were born longing for a community of moms and having a desire to fit in somewhere. I hadn’t yet found the writing community, but on my phone, right in front of my face, there was a world that said it offered what I was looking for and was wrought with positivity. Desperate to be within these inner circles and to create true connections, I joined various MLMs, and supported many more, slipping into debt and hiding spending from my husband. It wasn’t until I was trying to step away and recover from the impact it all had on my mental health that I decided to incorporate this thread into my writing as a type of therapy. Once I’d committed, I spoke to others who had similar experiences as me, and even read a fantastic non-fiction on the topic of the dark side of MLMs, the hold they have on women, and the use of toxic positivity to mask the wrongs they make (Hey, Hun by Emily Lynn Paulson).

There were many other, smaller components, that required online research as well, such as how long a person can be missing before being reported deceased, and by whom. I also needed to become familiar with Leesburg, VA, and NYC, as I’ve never been to either place. However, in my research I felt like I’d come to know Leesburg well. I also had a writing friend who lives in Virginia verify details, such as the weather and how the grass looks at the end of August, because the east coast is drastically different than the west coast (where I live).

My research on how to structure and pace a novel came full circle when I had an unscheduled edit that I refer to as my “surprise edit” eight months before my novel was scheduled to be released. I’d been given examples of novels that had done what I was trying to do throughout the edit process, and it wasn’t until I’d fully learned what it was like to edit with a publishing house and an editorial team, that I could truly embrace what needed to be done. I knew that my knowledge and the research I’d done wasn’t enough, so I reached out to a critique partner who had been studying the structure and pacing of novel writing for many years, and with her help we rearranged the entire first half of the novel, strengthening the pacing exponentially.

The biggest advice I can give to writers is to be open and receptive to feedback, because you don’t know what you don’t know until you learn otherwise. And when you know that you don’t know, you can begin to learn and research, then do it again, and again, and again, until you have a finished product you can be proud of.

 

You can learn more about Hannah Sharpe via her website and follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads. Between Lies and Revenge is available from Simon & Schuster 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

Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Bullet Train), Tom Hardy (Venom), and director Cary Fukunaga (No Time To Die) are teaming up for the adaptation of Jo Nesbø's crime thriller, Blood On Snow, with Nesbø scripting the project (and revisions by Ben Power). The story unfolds in 1970’s Oslo and centers on Olav (Taylor-Joynson), a fixer for a high-profile crime kingpin, who falls for the wife of his client, Hoffman (Hardy). When Hoffman orders the wife to be murdered, Olav’s principles clash with his loyalties, and instead of pulling the trigger, he hatches a scheme that makes him Hoffman’s next target. With nowhere safe to turn, Olav forms an uneasy alliance that places him at the heart of Oslo’s deadly gang war. Once a violent enforcer, Olav’s choice makes him an unlikely hero in a world where no good deed goes unpunished.

Nate Mann (Masters of the Air), Shay Mitchell (Pretty Little Liars) and Tony Award winner Andrew Burnap (The Inheritance) have signed on to star in The Up and Comer, a new thriller directed by Chris Long (The Americans). Based on the novel from New York Times bestseller Howard Roughan, who also adapted the screenplay, the film delves into the seemingly perfect life of Philip Randall (Mann), a brilliant attorney poised to become the youngest partner at his prestigious firm. Philip’s idyllic world begins to unravel when a former prep-school classmate (Burnap) threatens to reveal a devastating secret involving another woman (Mitchell). Suddenly caught in a high stakes game of blackmail, murder, and revenge, he’s forced to risk everything, only to face the greatest danger of all — winning.

Radio Silence is producing a feature version of writer-director Colleen McGuinness's Oscar-qualifying short, Loser, which McGuinness will also write and direct. Loser follows Alice, a brilliant but troubled physicist, as she attempts to heal her trauma by using time travel. However, she gets caught in a twisty, cat-and-mouse game of murder and violence in New York City.

Michael B. Jordan, following in the footsteps of Steve McQueen and Pierce Brosnan, is set to star in and direct a remake of The Thomas Crown Affair for Amazon MGM. The original film starred McQueen as an art thief who falls in love with an insurance investigator, played by Faye Dunaway, hired to track him down. John McTiernan then directed a remake in 1999 starring Brosnan and Rene Russo in the lead roles. Drew Pearce will write the script for the new version from a previous draft by Wes Tooke and Justin Britt-Gibson.

The Third Man returns to U.S. and British movie theaters in September as StudioCanal and Rialto Pictures mark the film’s 75th anniversary. The Carol Reed classic had its world premiere at the Ritz Cinema in Hastings, England, on September 1, 1949. Five months later, The Third Man had its U.S. premiere on February 2, 1950. Directed by Reed and written by Graham Greene, The Third Man stars Joseph Cotten as Holly Martins, an American writer of Westerns, who arrives in post-war Vienna to visit his old friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles). On arrival, he learns that his friend has been killed in a street accident. Further, military police chief Major Calloway (Trevor Howard) informs him that Lime was a black marketeer wanted by the police.

TELEVISION/STREAMING

The first contemporary television adaptation of Georges Simenon’s beloved novels about the streetwise Parisian Chief Inspector Jules Maigret is headed to PBS. Maigret will be played by Benjamin Wainwright (Belgravia: The Next Chapter), with Stefanie Martini (Last Kingdom) playing his wife, Madame Louise Maigret. The adaptation reframes Maigret as an unconventional young detective and a rising star in the Police Judiciaire with an uncanny ability to get under the skin of the criminals he is chasing and a matchless knowledge of Paris and its inhabitants. Faithfully and lovingly married to Madame Maigret, Maigret heads the elite police unit known as La Crim, responsible for investigating all serious crime in and around Paris. The previous Maigret TV adaptation aired on ITV for two seasons from 2016, starring Rowan Atkinson.

Michael Harney (Orange is the New Black) has been cast in Prime Video's The Better Sister starring Jessica Beal and Elizabeth Banks. Based on the novel by Alafair Burke, The Better Sister meditates on the terrible things that drive sisters apart and ultimately bring them back together. Biel leads the cast as Chloe, who moves through the world with her handsome lawyer husband Adam and teenage son Ethan by her side while her estranged sister Nicky (Banks) struggles to stay clean and hustles to make ends meet. When Adam is brutally murdered, the prime suspect sends shockwaves through the family, laying bare long-buried secrets.

CSI creator Anthony E. Zuiker has been tapped as writer, executive producer, and showrunner for The Quiet Tenant, a limited series adaptation of the suspense debut novel by Clémence Michallon. The Quiet Tenant is a psychological thriller about kidnapper and serial killer, Aidan Thomas, narrated by those closest to him: his 13-year-old daughter, his girlfriend, and the one victim he has spared. It explores the psychological impact of Aidan’s crimes on the women in his life — and the bonds between those women that give them the strength to fight back.

Sad news for Bosch: Legacy fans after the announcement was made that the series will end with its forthcoming third season, set to premiere in March 2025. The drama was based on Michael Connelly's novels and featured Titus Welliver as Harry Bosch, a retired LAPD detective now working as a private investigator, and his daughter Maddie (Madison Lintz), a rookie cop. The show is a sequel to Bosch, which ran for seven seasons on Prime Video. This may not be the last appearance of Bosch, however, as there is another upcoming series starring Maggie Q that's based on Connelly's Detective Renée Ballard series, a spinoff character from the author's Bosch novels.

A new arrival to Netflix is Black Mass, based on Gerard O’Neill’s 2001 book, Black Mass: The True Story of an Unholy Alliance Between the FBI and the Irish Mob. It stars Johnny Depp in the biographical crime film as Irish mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger, the brother of a state senator (played by Benedict Cumberbatch), who became an FBI informant to help take down a rival Italian Mafia family invading his turf. The drama was directed by Scott Cooper (The Pale Blue Eye), and features an ensemble cast that also includes Joel Edgerton, Kevin Bacon, Jesse Plemons, Dakota Johnson, Adam Scott, Corey Stoll, David Harbour, Juno Temple, and Bill Camp.

PODCASTS/RADIO

On Crime Time FM, Abir Mukherjee chatted with Paul Burke about his thriller, Hunted, in which two parents facing catastrophe must find their lost children, who are suspects following a terrorist bombing, before the unthinkable can happen.

The Red Hot Chili Writers spoke with writer Gareth Rubin about his new book, Holmes & Moriarty, and examined innovative literary structures such as Tête-bêche and Mise en Abyme.

The Cops and Writers podcast featured guest Marique Bartoldus, a retired 20-year veteran of the NYPD, who discussed her new book about her experiences and what it's like to be a female detective on the mean streets of New York City.

Pick Your Poison host, Dr. Jen Prosser, looked at a phrase that strikes fear into the hearts of toxicologists; what was in the state poison Athens used for capital punishment; and how people become sick after eating quail.

The Bloody Best

The winners were revealed for the 2024 McIlvanney Prize and Bloody Scotland Debut Prize on the opening night of the Bloody Scotland crime writing festival friday evening. The McIlvanney Prize is awarded to the best Scottish Crime book of the year (renamed in 2016 in memory of William McIlvanney, often described as the "Godfather of Tartan Noir"), and the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize is awarded to the best first-time crime novelist. Congrats to all the winners and finalists!

McIlvanney Prize:  The Cracked Mirror, by Chris Brookmyre (Abacus)

Also shorlisted:

• Past Lying, by Val McDermid (Sphere)
• Hunted, by Abir Mukherjee (Vintage)
• A Spy Like Me, by Kim Sherwood (HarperCollins)
• A Divine Fury, by D.V. Bishop (Pan Macmillan)
  

Debut Prize:  The Silent House of Sleep, by Allan Gaw (SA Press)

Also shortlisted:

• Crow Moon, by Suzy Aspley (Orenda)
• Dark Island, by Daniel Aubrey (Harper North)
• Blood Runs Deep, by Doug Sinclair (Storm Publishing)
• Double Proof, by Martin Stewart (Polygon)

Author R&R with donalee Moulton

donalee Moulton is an award-winning freelance journalist who has written for print and online publications across North America, including The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, Lawyer’s Daily, National Post, and Canadian Business. Her short stories have been shortlisted for a Derringer Award and an Award of Excellence from the Crime Writers of Canada. Other short stories have been published recently in After Dinner Conversation, The Antigonish Review, and Queen’s Quarterly. Her first mystery novel, Hung out to Die, was published in 2023, and the latest, Conflagration!, won the 2024 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense (Historical Fiction).

Conflagration! is set on a warm spring day in April 1734, as a fire rages through the merchants’ quarter in Montréal. Within hours, rumors run rampant that Marie-Joseph Angélique, an enslaved Black woman fighting for her freedom, had started the fire with her white lover. Less than a day later, Angélique is in prison, her lover nowhere to be found. Though she denies the charges, witnesses claimed Angélique was the arsonist even though no one saw her set the fire. In an era when lawyers are banned from practicing in New France, Angélique is on her own. Philippe Archambeau, a court clerk assigned specifically to document her case, believes Angelique might just be telling the truth, but time is running out as Archambeau searches for answers. Will the determined court clerk discover what really happened the night Montreal burned to the ground before it’s too late?

donalee stops by In Reference to Murder to take some Author R&R about writing and researching the book:

The trial and tribulations of researching life – and death – in 1734

My second mystery novel, Conflagration!, is my first historical mystery. My publisher has a series of historical mysteries than span Canada from coast to coast. When she unexpectedly lost her Quebec writer, she offered me the opportunity to write the book and step back to 1734 when the colony of New France was ruled by King Louis XV. It was an opportunity I embraced. With trepidation.

At readings and book clubs, I joke that I am not from Quebec, I do not speak French as more than 80% of Quebecers do, and I do not write historical mysteries. So, of course, I said “yes” when my publisher offered me the opportunity to write Conflagration!. I am grateful I did.

What scared me most about writing the book was getting something wrong. Misspeaking. Misunderstanding. Misconstruing. The foundation for Conflagration! (and for all historical mysteries) is accuracy.  As a freelance journalist, I am used to writing on topics that I know little (and sometimes, nothing) about. I have written articles on everything from buying cyber insurance to surviving a helicopter crash to paying the tooth fairy. I know how to research, how to interview people, how to find people to interview, and how to find accurate sources of information. For the most part though, the research I’ve done was contemporary or contemporary adjacent. It wasn’t from 300 years ago.

Conflagration! chronicles the arrest, trial, and subsequent execution of Marie-Joseph Angélique, an enslaved Black woman accused of setting the lower town of Montreal on fire. When the flames were finally squelched, forty-six homes and buildings were gone. The quarter, where the merchants lived and ran their businesses, was destroyed. Fortunately, no one died.

I had never heard of Angélique, had never read her story in the many history classes I took throughout school and university. I was not alone in this lack of knowledge. That is because Angélique’s story is also the story of slavery in Canada, and for centuries we have avoided the topic or rewritten the facts to shape the narrative. Fortunately, Angélique’s story is more well known in Quebec, where a plaque has been erected in her memory in Old Montreal.

As I delved into the events of April 10, 1734, I discovered others had gone before me. There were books, websites, articles, documentaries, and shorts. I embraced them all. Some of these sources also referenced court documents, meticulously recorded, albeit in French. One site translated those documents although translations from old French to modern English are not always clear and understandable. The golden rule in journalism is you must have at least two sources before you use any information. I also embraced this rule.   

As nerve-wracking as ensuring my story accurately referenced the trial transcripts and sequence of events from the first flames to Angélique’s final breath, I discovered that the justice system was only one element of research required. At one point, I had my main character, Philippe Archambeau, a court clerk assigned specifically to document Angélique’s case, get up early and make himself a cup of coffee. Then I asked myself, “Did they drink coffee in New France in 1734?” (They did, but tea was more common.)

This issue of everyday life came up in a myriad of ways. Philippe goes to put on boots. (Did they wear boots three hundred years ago? What kind?) His wife, Madeleine, is making supper. (How do you make supper when there are no stoves, no ovens, no electricity? What do you eat?)

The answers to these and a multitude of other questions were answered thanks to reliable sources on the internet, books written by authoritative sources, individuals knowledgeable about aspects of the story, the time, the history – and more.

I owe them all a debt of gratitude.

 

You can learn more about donalee and her books via her website and follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Goodreads. Conflagration! is now available via all major booksellers in ebook and print.

Mystery Melange

The organizers of the annual Bloody Scotland international crime-writing festival announced their shortlist of five titles for this year's McIlvanney Prize, including: A Divine Fury, by D.V. Bishop (Pan Macmillan); The Cracked Mirror, by Chris Brookmyre (Sphere); Past Lying, by Val McDermid (Sphere); Hunted, by Abir Mukherjee (Vintage); and A Spy Like Me, by Kim Sherwood (HarperCollins). The finalists, and also authors shortlisted for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize, will lead a torchlit procession from Stirling Castle to the Albert Halls on the festival’s opening night of Friday, September 13, where the winner will be revealed. Presented annually since 2012, the McIvanney Prize is named in honor of Scottish author William McIlvanney, who passed away in 2015, with previous recipients including Chris Brookmyre, Peter May, Denise Mina, Alan Parks, and last year's winner, Squeaky Clean by Calum McSorley.

The longlist was revealed for the Petrona Award 2024, which honors the best crime fiction from Scandinavia. This year, ten crime novels from Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden will be competing for the title, including a mix of newer and more established authors, including previous Petrona Award winners, Jørn Lier Horst and Yrsa Sigurðardottir.

Registration is now open for Mystery Writers of America's MWA-U October 9th online Zoom session with Jeffery Deaver, who will be discussing "Writing a Commercial Thriller." The event is free to current MWA members and offered to nonmembers for $20. Jeffery Deaver is the author of 48 novels, 100 short stories, a nonfiction law book, who has received or been shortlisted for dozens of awards. His book A Maiden’s Grave was made into an HBO movie starring James Garner and Marlee Matlin (retitled Dead Silence). His novel The Bone Collector was a feature release from Universal Pictures, starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. NBC television recently aired the nine-episode prime-time series, Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector, based on Deaver's book series, and the new CBS show, Tracker, is based on his novel, The Never Game, featuring his character Colter Shaw.

A group of 20-plus bestselling crime fiction authors are teaming up for a free online event as they talk about their books and answer your questions about their careers, books, or writing habits. Viewers can view the event live on YouTube Wednesday, September 18th at 5 PM PT/8 PM ET. Anyone who signs up beforehand can let them know if you have a question for one of the participating authors, including Megan Abbott, Lee Child, Michael Connelly, Laura Lippman, Walter Mosely and more. Note that this is also a politically-themed event, which is why it's titled "Crime Fiction for Harris."

The publisher Hard Case Crime announced that the story of iconic fictional sleuth, Sam Spade, will be continued by prize-winning crime writer Max Allan Collins. The Return of the Maltese Falcon will be released in January 2026, when the original Dashiell Hammett classic featuring Spade, The Maltese Falcon, enters the public domain. Hammett's novel, released in 1930, is known to movie fans for the 1941 adaptation starring Humphrey Bogart and is widely regarded as a model for the modern hard-boiled detective novel. According to Hard Case Crime, Collins’s new book will bring back Spade and Joel Cairo among other Hammett characters, and "a mysterious new femme fatale." Collins, whose Road to Perdition was adapted into a film starring Tom Hanks and Paul Newman, has a long history of working with famous literary detectives. He took over the Dick Tracy comic strip in the late 1970s after creator Chester Gould retired, and he was later authorized to continue Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer series. Jeff Pierce over at The Rap Sheet blog, has more about Collins and his other various latest endeavors.

It's long been a mystery of sorts that the creator of the scientifically minded Sherlock Holmes was also fascinated with the paranormal. Recently, six handwritten letters and notes from Arthur Conan Doyle to Captain John Allen Bartlett sold for £2,800 plus buyers premium of 30% at auction. The archive variously discussed spiritual matters, including one which references a letter to Captain Bartlett from Harry Houdini (1874-1926), and Conan-Doyle's reaction to it. Bartlett used the pseudonym John Alleyne when writing his poetry, lyrics and short stories, and was also an active spiritualist. It was his belief in psychic or paranormal phenomenon that linked Bartlett to Conan-Doyle and Houdini, with whom he almost certainly attended some seances. It was around this time that Houdini was unsuccessfully trying to convince Conan-Doyle that the seances were a magician's "allusions not the conversations with the dead he wanted to believe."

In the Q&A roundup, Matthew D. Saeman chatted with Lisa Haselton about his new suspense thriller, To Preserve, Protect and Destroy, featuring NASA geologist Terrence Sullivan; the New York Times (paywall) interviewed Liane Moriarty, author of the bestselling Big Little Lies and Apples Never Fall, both adapted for television; and Self Publishing Review spoke with Karl Wegener, a former Russian linguist, intelligence analyst, and interrogator who served in the U.S.military and the Intelligence Community during the Cold War, about his new novel, Operation Nightfall: The Web of Spies.

Author R&R with Richard Snyder

Richard Snyder is a new author and a writer of spy fiction. It’s a good fit for him since he is a former intelligence officer who uses his background and experience to feature the unpredictability and moral chaos of intelligence operations. He is currently working on a trilogy that follows the professional life of a young spy—Owen Roberts—from the beginning of his career to its end. Two of his three novels have been published and the third is being written as we speak.

In his debut novel, The Clandestine Education of Owen Roberts, the Iraq War is a raging storm of blood and violence, the Service is fighting for its survival on and off the battlefield, and an Iranian diplomat in Paris reaches out to a retired spy. What follows is a tale of self-discovery in the ruthless world of espionage as Owen operates in a sphere of deceit and self-delusion, all while trying to come up with a moral code that he can live by.

The second novel in the Owen Roberts’ trilogy, Defector in Paradise, is a political/spy thriller that takes place during an election year. Tragic circumstances force Owen to team up with a cagey Soviet defector to expose one of the Cold War’s last and biggest secrets: the identity of a high-level mole operating within the US government who has his sights set on the White House.

At its heart, Defector in Paradise is a novel about the unimaginable manipulation of American politics and the actions of those who refuse to believe truths they cannot accept.

Richard Snyder stops by In Reference to Murder to take some Author R&R about writing and researching his novels:

Being a new author, one of the first things I had to figure out was the right balance between the use of factual or historical research and just plain old storytelling. Which was more important to me in telling spy stories that merge the past with the present in a believable and dramatic manner? And, believe it or not, two quotes from vastly different personalities helped guide me along the way. One was from Albert Einstein, who once said “that imagination was more important than knowledge.” And the other was from Elmore Leonard, one of America’s best crime fiction writers, who said when asked about the reason for his success: “I just leave out the parts that no one reads.”

In my first novel, The Clandestine Education of Owen Roberts, I needed to understand the complexity of life in Baghdad during the war, and I mean every aspect of life in that war-torn city. It was part of the backdrop and the narrative of one of the key characters. I needed an insider’s perspective so I read multiple books written by those with boots on the ground that gave me the authenticity I needed, the kind of stuff where truth is stranger than fiction, where people saw things with their own eyeballs. I didn’t use online resources very much, but I did use online mapping tools to validate physical locations as well as the time and distance traveled by characters in the book. What I learned most about the value of research in writing my first novel was that it helped me connect the dots of my storyline between the past and the present, and that I wanted to use my research in a way where I didn’t lose my reader’s attention. I didn’t want my research to become ‘one of the parts’ that no one reads. 

 In my sequel, Defector in Paradise, I used mostly online resources and my own personal knowledge and experience because of the esoteric origins of some of the key plot lines. I wasn’t going to find the kind of information I needed in libraries or elsewhere for this novel. I came to appreciate how research can be a two-edged sword: too much reliance on research can constrain how your story evolves, but research can also open doors to new storytelling possibilities that you were not aware of previously. I came away with the understanding that your ‘research’ should fit the story and not the other way around. I don’t know if it is that way with everyone, but that is what works for me.

In bringing my comments to a close, I would say that how you use your research is more important than where you get it from as long as you are dealing with trusted sources of information. For the most part, I like folding my historical research into a character’s dialogue when possible because it seems more natural that way and reads less like a history lesson. There are parts of my novels, however, where I strayed from this preference, but only because I thought the reader would find the historical detail of interest.

I know there are many more research sources available to writers that I have not discussed in my post, but I know other writers posting In Reference to Murder have done a good job of doing that. As I said at the beginning, I am a new author, so every time I pick up the pen or type on the computer I am learning something new about myself, my craft, the research that goes into writing a novel, and the difficult but rewarding art of writing fiction.

 

You can learn more about Richard Snyder and his writing via his website. The Clandestine Education of Owen Roberts and Defector in Paradise are available via all major booksellers.

The Barry Best

Thanks to some recent travel, I'm a bit behind on crime fiction awards news, but the mystery magazine, Deadly Pleasures, announced the winners of its annual 2024 Barry Awards. The honor has been handed out since 1997 for outstanding crime fiction titles and is named after Barry Gardner (1939–1996), an American literary critic. The winners were revealed at the Opening Ceremonies of the Nashville Bouchercon on August 29, 2024. Congrats to all!

Best Mystery or Crime Novel: Dennis Lehane, Small Mercies (Harper)

Also nominated:

Lou Berney, Dark Ride (Morrow)
S.A. Cosby, All the Sinners Bleed (Flatiron)
Eli Cranor, Ozark Dogs (Soho Crime)
Jordan Harper, Everybody Knows (Mulholland)
Adrian McKinty, The Detective Up Late (Blackstone)

Best First Mystery or Crime Novel:  I.S.  Berry The Peacock and the Sparrow (Atria)

Also nominated:

Michael Bennett, Better the Blood (Atlantic Monthly Press)
Bruce Borgos, The Bitter Past (Minotaur)
Amy Chua, The Golden Gate (Minotaur)
Deepti Kapoor, Age of Vice (Riverhead)
Nina Simon, Mother-Daughter Murder Night (Morrow)
Iris Yamashita, City Under One Roof (Berkley)

Best Paperback Original Mystery or Crime Novel:  Jake Needham, Who the Hell Is Harry Black (Half Penny)

Also nominated:

Mia P. Manansala, Murder and Mamon (Berkley)
Rick Mofina, Everything She Feared (Mira)
Jesse Sutanto, Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers (Berkley)
Vanda Symon, Expectant (Orenda)
Scott Von Doviak, Lowdown Road (Hard Case Crime)

Best Thriller:  Mick Herron, The Secret Hours (Soho Crime)

Also nominated:

Mark Greaney, Burner (Berkley)
John Lawton, Moscow Exile (Atlantic Monthly)
Anthony McCarten, Going Zero (Harper)
T.J. Newman, Drowning (Avid Reader Press)
Ruth Ware, Zero Days (Gallery/Scout Press)

Davitt Delectations

Sisters in Crime has announced the winners of the 24th Davitt Awards for the best women’s crime and mystery books by Australian authors. The Davitts are named after Ellen Davitt, the author of Australia’s first mystery novel, Force and Fraud, in 1865. The awards are handsome wooden trophies featuring the front cover of the winning novel under perspex. Congrats to the winners and finalists!

Adult Novel: When One of Us Hurts, by Monica Vuu (Pan Macmillan Australia)

Also nominated:

• The Chasm, by Bronwyn Hall (HQ Fiction)
• The Tea Ladies, by Amanda Hampson (Penguin Random House)
• The Half Brother, by Christine Keighery (Ultimo Press)
• Prima Facie, by Suzie Miller (Pan Macmillan Australia)
• Exquisite Corpse, by Marija Pericic (Ultimo Press)
• The Fall Between, by Darcy Tindale Penguin Random House)
  

Young Adult Novel: Eleanor Jones Is Not a Murderer, by Amy Doak (Penguin Random House)

Also nominated:

• Some Shall Break, by Ellie Marney (Allen & Unwin)
  

Children’s Novel: The Wolves of Greycoat Hall, by Lucinda Gifford (Walker)

Also nominated:

• Copycat, by Kelli Anne Hawkins (HarperCollins Australia)
• The First Summer of Callie McGee, by Alison Tait (Scholastic Australia)
• This Camp Is Doomed, by Anna Zobel (Penguin Random House)
  

Non-fiction Book:  The Schoolgirl, Her Teacher and His Wife, by Rebecca Hazel (Penguin Random House)

Also nominated:

• Reclaim: Understanding Complex Trauma and Those Who Abuse, by Ahona Guha (Scribe)
• Ghosts of the Orphanage, by Christine Kenneally (Hachette Australia)
• Obsession, by Nicole Madigan (Pantera Press)
  

Debut Book: The Half Brother by Christine Keighery (Ultimo Press)

Readers' Choice:  The Benevolent Society of Ill-Manner Ladies by Alison Goodman (Berkley)

Mystery Melange

As I previously noted, last week's Bouchercon revealed winners of the Anthony Awards and Shamus Awards. But the top honorees of the Barry Awards were also announced during the opening ceremonies. The Barry Award is a crime literary prize awarded annually since 1997 by the editors of Deadly Pleasures, an American quarterly publication for crime fiction readers (from 2007 to 2009 the award was jointly presented with the publication Mystery News). The prize is named after the American literary reviewer, Barry Gardner. As posted on social media, this year's winner of Best Mystery or Crime Novel is Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane; Best First Mystery or Crime Novel is The Peacock and the Sparrow by I.S. Berry; Best Paperback original is Who the Hell is Harry Black? by Jack Needham; and Best Thriller is Secret Hours by Mick Herron.

The recent Killer Nashville conference in Nashville, TN, revealed the winners of both the Silver Falchion Awards for published works and the Claymore Awards for unpublished manuscripts. You can see the full list winners and nominees here, including the overall Best Book of 2023, Ghost Tamer by Meredith R. Lyons. The conference also handed out the 2024 John Seigenthaler Legends Award to Charles Todd, New York Times bestselling author of the Inspector Ian Rutledge Series and the Bess Crawford series. (Charles Todd is the pen name of Caorline Todd, who passed away in 2021, and her son, Charles.)

It's always nice to see crime fiction authors supporting their local libraries, including the Chilterns Crime Quarterly, which began last year as a series of "meet the author" events during the UK's National Crime Writing Week, and featured authors Denise Beddows, Joanna Wallace, Dan Malakin, Louise Burfitt-Dons, and JA Marley. It grew out of the decision by Buckinghamshire Unitary Authority to defund local libraries, and Beddows's subsequent idea to make popular writers accessible to readers on a more affordable basis, while also raising much-needed funds to help keep the libraries going. The next event will be Saturday, October 14 with Steph Broadribb, MJ Arlidge, SJ Benett, Dave Sivers and Morgen Bailey taking part.

The National Trust in the UK is hosting a range of writing workshops at Agatha Christie’s holiday home in Greenway in September to encourage the next generation of budding writers. The events will include a crime fiction workshop with Cate Quinn, bestselling thriller writer and journalist. Lauren Hutchinson, Senior Marketing and Communications Officer, noted that "The house and garden at Greenway inspired Agatha Christie in a number of her novels, and it continues to inspire people today."

In the Q&A roundup, Rob Starr spoke with Shots Magazine about the importance of having female led characters in crime novels; and author and journalist Fiona Barton chatted with Deborah Kalb about her new novel, Talking to Strangers, the second installment in Barton's Detective Inspector Elise King series.

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

Stephen King’s The Running Man recently got the green light at Paramount Pictures and will start production in November. Set in a dystopian, 2025 America, the story centers on Ben Richards (Glen Powell), a desperate man who participates in violent reality show, "The Running Man," in order to win enough money to treat his gravely ill daughter. The show follows Richards being chased by numerous hunters sent to kill him. King first published the novel under his pseudonym Richard Bachman in 1982, and five years later, it was adapted into a movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and directed by Paul Michael Glaser. According to an insider with knowledge of the project, the new movie is "a more faithful adaptation" of King’s novel.

Liberty Hobbs, an actor who has appeared in The Syndicate and Grey’s Anatomy, has set up a production outfit and is planning an adaptation of J. A. Baker’s thriller novel, The Perfect Parents. The book depicts a seemingly perfect British family hiding a dark secret:  Jackson Hemsworth is an abusive and controlling patriarch, who dies in a joint suicide pact with his wife Lydia; but as the Hemsworth children return to their family home after their parents’ deaths, they must try to make sense of their last act and unravel the grim history of their home, Armett House.

Australian filmmaker Justin Kurzel's crime thriller, The Order, based on the 1989 non-fiction book, The Silent Brotherhood by Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt, made its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival with a nine-minute ovation. The Order charts how a series of bank robberies and car heists frightened communities in the Pacific Northwest during the 1980s. It centers around a lone FBI agent (Jude Law) who believes the crimes were not the work of financially motivated criminals, but rather a group of dangerous domestic terrorists, namely the white supremacist gang known as "The Order" and its leader (Nicholas Hoult).

Leo Woodall (One Day) and Academy Award winner Dustin Hoffman (Rain Man) have signed on to star in Tuner, a new crime thriller directed by Oscar winner Daniel Roher (Navalny). Written by Roher and Robert Ramsey, the film tells the story of a talented piano tuner whose life is turned upside down when he discovers his meticulous skills for tuning pianos can equally be applied to cracking safes.

Grammy Award winner Bad Bunny is the latest to join Austin Butler in Darren Aronofsky’s crime thriller, Caught Stealing, for Sony Pictures. Aronofsky will direct the feature, which is based on the book by Charlie Huston, who is also writing the script. The film follows Hank Thompson (Butler), a burned-out former baseball player, as he’s unwittingly plunged into a wild fight for survival in the downtown criminal underworld of '90s New York City. The cast also includes Zoë Kravitz, Regina King, Matt Smith, Liev Schreiber, and Will Brill.

Oscar nominee Barry Keoghan (Saltburn) has joined the cast of Netflix’s highly anticipated Peaky Blinders feature, joining star Cillian Murphy in the Tom Harper-directed film. Netflix greenlighted the project in June with Oppenheimer Oscar winner Murphy returning to the iconic role of Tommy Shelby, leader of the eponymous Birmingham gangster family, a role he played on the BBC TV series from 2013-2022.

A silent Sherlock Holmes film starring Arthur Conan Doyle’s favorite impersonator of the famous sleuth, Eille Norwood, is to be screened for the first time since its release in 1922, following its extensive restoration by the BFI national archive. Titled The Golden Pince-Nez, it is a classic case of Holmes detection, based on a Conan Doyle short story that was first published in The Strand Magazine in 1904. The Golden Pince-Nez was among 45 episodes – each lasting up to 30 minutes – that Norwood made between 1921 and 1923, as well as two features. The restoration world premiere will be held on October 16 as part of the BFI London film festival.

TELEVISION/SMALL SCREEN

A TV series based on Kimberly Belle’s thriller novel, The Paris Widow, is in the works. The adaptation kicks off a first-look deal signed between producers Brittany A. Little and Larissa Bell and Little Bell Productions and Universal Television. The Paris Widow novel centers on a dream vacation that turns deadly when secrets from the past catch up to a married couple in Paris.

Chad Stahelski, director of the John Wick franchise, has acquired rights to bestselling author Jonathan Maberry’s Joe Ledger book series through his 87Eleven Entertainment production company to develop for television. The Joe Ledger thriller series consist of 10 novels and various offshoots. Its protagonist, Joe Ledger, is a psychologically fractured Baltimore detective secretly recruited by the government to lead a new task force called the Department of Military Sciences to face off against terrorists using bleeding-edge science weapons. Along with his combat dog Ghost, his team of tier-one special operators, and the resources of the mysterious Mr. Church, Joe faces off against the threats no other team is able to stop.

In a very competitive situation, Hulu has landed the drama, The Spot, starring and executive produced by Oscar and Emmy winner Kate Winslet (Mare of Eastown, Mildred Pierce), with a straight-to-series order. The project comes from Ed Solomon (Full Circle, Men in Black), A24, and 20th Television. Created and written by Solomon, who will serve as showrunner, The Spot follows a successful surgeon (Winslet) and her school teacher husband who suspect she might be responsible for a child’s hit-and-run death. While looking into the matter, dark secrets are revealed that will test their relationship as they confront the possibility of hidden guilt and betrayal.

Eight years after the end of The Good Wife, Robert King and Michelle King are developing another legal drama for CBS. Tentatively titled Cupertino, after the city in California known as the headquarters of Apple, the project is described as a "David vs. Goliath legal show set in Silicon Valley."

Acorn TV and Channel 5 have renewed The Madame Blanc Mysteries for a fourth season. The seven-part series, starring and created by Sally Lindsay, will kick off with a Christmas special at the end of the year. Lindsay returns as Jean White, an antiques expert who moved to France after suspicions arose of how her husband died, and uses her skills to become a PI aiding the local police and simultaneously bonding with the town's popular taxi driver. Steve Edge (Murder They Hope) also stars as Jean's sidekick and potential love interest.

Netflix has canceled Dead Boy Detectives after one season. Based on the comics of the same name by Neil Gaiman and part of The Sandman Universe, Dead Boy Detectives followed Edwin Payne (George Rexstrew) and Charles Rowland (Jayden Revri), "the brains" and "the brawn" behind the Dead Boy Detectives agency. Teenagers born decades apart who find each other only in death, Edwin and Charles are best friends and ghosts…who solve mysteries.

Deadline posted a handy list of premiere dates for new and returning series on broadcast, cable, and streaming in U.S. markets, and Paul Hirons via The Killing Times had a preview of crime dramas coming up in the UK.

PODCASTS/RADIO

Meet the Thriller Writer chatted with Jeffery Deaver and Isabella Maldonado about their new collaboration, Fatal Intrusion, which pits a Homeland Security investigator and her former quarry against a ruthless ring of serial killers making their way through California.

On Speaking of Mysteries, renowned Sherlockian, Les Klinger, discussed Sherlock Holmes and the Telegram from Hell, with author Nicholas Meyer, whose latest novel features an "undiscovered manuscript" by Dr. John H. Watson. The novel follows Sherlock Holmes and Watson as they cross the Atlantic at the height of World War I in pursuit of a mysterious coded telegram.

The Red Hot Chili Writers welcomed mystery writer, Tom Mead, to talk about his latest book, Cabaret Macabre, and his fascination with locked room mysteries; and they also discussed diamond heists and the recently discovered 2,492-carat diamond in Botswana, the world's second largest diamond.

On Crime Time FM, Antonia Senior, a writer, critic, journalist, and podcaster, chatted with Paul Burke about Spymasters, the book and the podcast; the Cambridge Five; and historical fiction.

This week’s episode of the Crime Cafe podcast featured Debbi Mack's interview with crime writer, Catherine Rymsha, about her debut crime novel, Stunning.

The Cops and Writers podcast welcomed Steve Stratton, award-winning author, Green Beret, and former Secret Service Agent, to discuss his newest book, Shadow Sanction.

A new Mysteryrat's Maze Podcast episode is up, featuring the first chapter of Going Home by Sharon Marchisello as read by actor Amelia Ryan.

The Pick Your Poison podcast covered an over-the-counter drug that is lethal to pets; an important toxicology tool that was plotted on a cocktail napkin; and the medical use of a barbiturate coma.