Mystery Melange - New Year's Edition

NPR reported that genre fiction and female authors topped U.S. libraries' most-borrowed lists in 2025. Liz Moore's The God of the Woods, a thriller about the disappearance of a teenager from an Adirondack summer camp, showed up on numerous most-borrowed lists. Multiple thrillers by Michael Connelly and David Baldacci appeared on the most-borrowed list of the Washington-Centerville Public Library, serving the area around Dayton, Ohio, and also the Arapahoe Libraries list in Colorado that serves communities in and around Denver. James Patterson dominated the most-borrowed list in Phoenix, with The Texas Murders, Holmes Is Missing and Raised by Wolves all on the top 10. Also on top borrowed lists were The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny, All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker, and The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon. Joining Baldacci and Patterson on the most popular borrowed authors roster were Freida McFadden and William Kent Kreuger.

On January 1, 2026, thousands of copyrighted works from 1930 enter the US public domain, along with sound recordings from 1925, many of which will be free for all to copy, share, or build upon. Several crime fiction books are included in the list of public domain works. Among the highlights are the full version of Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon; the first four titles of the Nancy Drew detective series; Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers; The Murder at the Vicarage, Agatha Christie's first Miss Marple mystery; Christie's other novels The Mysterious Mr. Quin and Giant's Bread (the latter of which she wrote pseudonymously as "Mary Westmacott"); The Documents in the Case, co-written by Dorothy L. Sayers and Robert Eustace; John Dickson Carr's first detective novel, It Walks By Night; Mystery Mile by Margery Allingham, and The French Powder Mystery by Ellery Queen.

The publisher Herb Lester has been putting out various maps, including literary-themed editions, for years. Some of their recent publications include Agatha Christie's England, a literary map of Britain focusing on 44 key sites associated with Christie and her books; This Deadly Isle, focused on Golden Age of Detective fiction with 51 locations from such mysteries chosen and described by Martin Edwards; and Maigret's Paris, a literary guide to the streets, landmarks, and mysteries of Georges Simenon’s Detective Maigret novels. Cross Examining Crime noted a brand new map that has also been released, based on the mysteries of Dorothy L. Sayers, put together by Dr. Eric Sandberg with a map designed by Chris Wilkinson. The fold-out guide introduces the settings that informed her work, showing the streets, villages and landscapes that feature in Sayers' most celebrated stories, with each place given historical background and precise literary ties.

Janet Rudolph has posted an updated list on her Mystery Fanfare blog that features mysteries, crime fiction, thrillers, and movies that take place at the New Year. 

The authors at Mystery Lover's Kitchen have shared some recipes to celebrate New Year's recently, including the traditional southern U.S. Black-Eyed Peas, via Valerie Burns; Oliebollen: a Dutch Treat from Maya Corrigan; and Gougères with French Manhattans, courtesy of Leslie Budewitz.

This week's crime poem up at the 5-2 Crime Poetry Weekly is "To My 5-Year-Old Self as I Approach 55" by Robert Plath.

In the Q&A roundup, Author Interviews welcomed Cara Black, author of twenty-one books in the New York Times bestselling Aimée Leduc series, talking about her latest novel, Huguette, and they also spoke with Cristina Kovac, author of Watch Us Fall and The Cutaway, psychological suspense/thrillers set in Washington, DC.; and PBS interviewed author David Baldacci about how writing thrillers shaped real-world conflict and resolution, and how he and his wife are working to counter toxic political discourse.

Author R&R with Thomas Roehlk

Thomas Roehlk is a retired corporate attorney from St. Charles, Illinois, who served more than 20 years as general counsel and chief compliance officer for major international corporations, including the defense sector, consumer products, transportation equipment, and financial services. A lifelong endurance athlete, he's completed over 100 marathons and ten Ironman triathlons, including marathons in every U.S. state and Canadian province. After 46 years in the Chicago metropolitan area, he and his wife now split their time between Florida and New York. 

Roehlk published his debut novel, Red Deuce, in January 2024, introducing twin sisters, Mandy Doucette, a by-the-book corporate lawyer whose work includes vetting acquisitions, and Reggie Doucette, an FBI pathologist. In the sequel, Fire Feud, construction crews uncover a skeleton at a Chicago jobsite, and attorney Mandy Doucette is called in to manage the fallout. What looks like an ancient mystery soon explodes into a modern nightmare: DNA links the remains to her own company—and to the family of her boyfriend.

Her twin sister Reggie, an FBI forensic pathologist, uncovers evidence connecting the body to a crime dating back to the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. What began as routine compliance work now threatens to expose a 140-year-old feud between two powerful families—one that has already claimed lives and is willing to claim more. As the sisters dig deeper, they find themselves pulled into a web of betrayal, fraud, and violence. Powerful men will kill to protect their legacies. The closer Mandy and Reggie come to the truth, the more dangerous their pursuit becomes.

Thomas Roehlk stops by In Reference to Murder to take some Author R&R about his writing and research:

 

My books are fiction, with stories set in places I am familiar with or can gather sufficient information about to be credible. Fortunately, my career in international corporate law enabled me to reach many interesting locations. Having a mental image of the chosen site because of having been there, and then supplemented by studies (usually electronic), is a great way to set up scenes. 

In my second book, Fire Feud, critical scenes are points in the Chicago water system. The “Deep Tunnel” of Chicago, officially the Tunnel and Reservoir Plan, is thoroughly depicted by its governmental source—the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. It conducts digital tours on a regular basis and visits to sites in person are offered. Another book feature is scenes along the Chicago River. 

A set of helpful historical books were indispensable for the pollutants and clean up of that river, including the famous reversal of the course of the river in the late 19th century. River boat tours are plentiful to give the writer insights. Murders and attempted murders in my stories on the waterways of Chicago required numerous trips. Along the North Branch of the Chicago River in my first book, Red Deuce, a murder attempt grew out of kayaking along that stretch of water. In Fire Feud, a death from falling off a balcony was set from a personal visit to such a space in Marina City. 

Finally, for the Fire Feud scenes involving the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the Chicago History Museum’s feature is very helpful, as are the many books on the subject. Most memorable is the museum depiction of the famous scene of Mrs. O’Leary’s cow kicking over a kerosene lantern and igniting the huge inferno—incorrect as it is, inasmuch as there was an official exoneration of the poor woman. That leads me to plot ideas and how to research them.

The ideas for the books grow out of historical or current situations that have been encountered. In Red Deuce, a final plot element crew directly out of the capture and prosecution of a former FBI official, Charles McGonigal, who pleaded guilty recently of spying for the Russians. The story in the New York Times of his conviction let me complete my plot and enabled me to tie in a connection to the also true life Aldridge Ames espionage case in the mid-1990s. Much had been written (and filmed) about that, so the research offerings were robust.

Also in that book was the initial corporate bribery element for which a vast treasure trove of historical examples is available through the general and business press, as well as the Justice Department’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act publicly-available resources to general statistics, individual enforcement cases and legal bases. Included amongst that public information are lists of whistleblower rewards made, the largest one of which was just under $300 million. 

Finally, in a current writing project, I was able to incorporate an impressive science-based project centering among U.S. federal atomic particle accelerators or related facilities in Chicago and other locations (South Dakota, New York, and Antarctica). Each of those facilities conveniently provides extensive public information for the voracious appetite of my plot and scene sites.

The balancing necessary to make a story work and not be overtaken by non-plot information is tricky. You need, in my opinion, to have enough description and narrative content to make the story credible, without turning it into a textbook on some subject. I must constantly resist the urge to go down the rabbit hole of personal favoritism on certain subjects. Just because I may have steeped myself in the details of some obscure object doesn’t mean I have to drag my readers through it. When there is a fine balance of background information to enable or embellish a story and not impede it or eclipse it, I declare victory.

 

You can learn more about Thomas Roehlk via his website. Fire Feud is now available via most 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

Claes Bang (The Square), Matthew Needham (Napoleon), Golden Globe winner and Emmy nominee Ving Rhames (Mission: Impossible franchise), and Joshua Orpin (Titans) have been added to the cast of Painter, the 20th action film directed by veteran stunt coordinator Garrett Warren. The project wrapped production in Serbia and has been confirmed for release on Hulu at a date not yet disclosed. As previously announced, Amber Midthunder, Walton Goggins, Florian Munteanu, and Daniel Bernhardt also star. In the film penned by Derek Kolstad (of the John Wick franchise), Midthunder plays the title character, Painter, who while being raised in the unforgiving hills of Appalachia, was molded by her adoptive father into a survivor — tough, cunning and relentless. When he’s kidnapped, she’s thrust from her mountain home into a high-stakes world of international espionage, where the clock is ticking, and saving him will take every ruthless skill she has ever learned.


The first trailer dropped for Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, Steven Knight’s big screen adaptation of his popular TV series. Directed by Tom Harper, the Knight-penned film stars Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer) in a return to the iconic role of Tommy Shelby, whom he played on the BAFTA-winning drama series from 2013 to 2022. The film also stars Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Roth, Sophie Rundle, Barry Keoghan, Stephen Graham, Jay Lycurgo, Ned Dennehy, Packy Lee, and Ian Peck. The film is set for a theatrical release in select cinemas on March 6, 2026 followed by streaming on Netflix from March 20.


Netflix dropped a trailer for its upcoming survival thriller, Apex. The film centers on an adrenaline junkie (Charlize Theron) who sets out to conquer a menacing river only to discover that nature isn't the only thing out for blood. She's soon on the run from a crazed serial killer (Taron Egerton), who’s set on hunting her down. Eric Bana (Force of Nature: The Dry 2) also stars in the project, which Baltasar Kormákur (The Deep) directed from a script by Jeremy Robbins (Aftermath; The Purge).


A slew of Amazon-owned movies and series including high-profile James Bond titles are set to stream on Netflix as part of an unexpected deal between the two streamers. Netflix will launch Die Another Day, No Time to Die, Quantum of Solace and Skyfall on January 15. Amazon insiders told Deadline that licensing the Bond catalog to Netflix is a “strategic business decision designed to broaden global reach and re-engage audiences.”


TELEVISION/STREAMING

Slow Horses headliner Hiba Bennani will star opposite Asaad Bouab in the Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation drama series, Rass Jbel. She will play female lead Yasmina in the show, which is a Moroccan adaptation of Lebanese-Syrian drama Al Hayba (الهيبة), which Cedars Art Production made back in 2017. Nora Skali, Amine Ennaji, Salwa Zarhane, Nasser Akabab and Oussama Bastaoui also star. The drama is billed as a "high-stakes saga of love, honour, and power," in which Yasmina returns from Montreal to bury her husband only to find herself unwillingly trapped in the town of Rass Jbel. Determined to stay close to her son – the heir to the formidable Fadlaoui clan – she is forced to make increasingly dangerous compromises to protect him.


Prime Video has released some first look images from the second season of Cross ahead of its Feb. 11 premiere on the streaming network. The new images show Aldis Hodge as Alex Cross, Alona Tal as Kayla Craig, Isaiah Mustafa as John Sampson, and Matthew Lillard as Lance. Cross is created by, written, executive produced, and showrun by Ben Watkins, based on the characters from James Patterson’s bestselling Alex Cross book series. The Washington, D.C.-set crime drama follows Alex Cross (Hodge), a brilliant homicide detective and forensic psychologist, uniquely capable of digging into the minds of murderers in order to identify and catch them. In Season Two, Cross is in pursuit of a ruthless vigilante who is hunting down corrupt billionaire magnates.  


PODCASTS/RADIO/AUDIO

On Crime Time FM, Ian Rankin (the John Rebus series) and Mark Billingham (Tom Thorne novels) discussed the perks and pitfalls of series fiction and what they might have done differently if they had their time again.


The Poisoned Pen podcast featured Rosie A. Point in conversation with John Charles as they chatted about the first two entries in Point's Cranberry Creek Word Search Mystery series.


Authors on the Air interviewed Jeff Circle to discuss Myopic Duplicity, a crime anthology edited by Circle that explores moral gray areas and the deadly choices people make under pressure.


Dr. Jen Prosser investigated the easily available product in the drug store that works like botulism and why enemas were used to treat brain injuries on the Pick Your Poison podcast.

Quote of the Week

 

Friday's "Forgotten" Books: Red Christmas

Most people know him as creator of the now-classic Yorkshire detective duo Andrew Dalziel and Peter Pascoe and for his Crime Writers' Association Cartier Diamond Dagger for Lifetime Achievement. But author Reginald Hill (1936-2012) was also known as Patrick Ruell, publishing eight novels under that pen name beginning with The Castle of the Demon in 1971. Whereas most of his books, including the Dalziel and Pascoe series, are police procedurals or P.I. novels, the Patrick Ruell stories are what Mike Ripley of Shots Ezine calls "slightly surreal and very funny thrillers."

In 1972's Red Christmas, a group of strangers are on a Christmas Eve trip for a Dickensian weekend at Dingley Dell. They have seemingly nothing in common: Jules and Suzie Leclerc, a French couple; Arabella Allen, a 23-year-old English lass; and Stephen Swinburne, a "young many of great beauty." They're ensconced in the Dingley Dell manor along with other guests, including a German couple dubbed "Herr Bear" and "Frau Cow" and an American party-crasher, Robert E. Lee Sawyer, all under the watchful eye of the hosts, Wardle and Boswell.

But the festivities soon take a less cheery turn when one of the servants has an accident near a quarry on the property and is taken to the hospital. Arabella soon learns that behind the facade of good-will-toward-men hides conspiracy and intrigue when she learns she's being spied upon. Things take an even nastier turn when she stumbles upon the dead body of the servant who was supposedly recuperating in the hospital. Then the grinning face of yet another corpse is seen buried beneath the ice in a skating pond just as a blizzard is blowing in — and their only means of communication with the outside world, a radio, is sabotaged. As Arabella delves deeper, aided by her growing reliance upon Boswell, who is at the center of the mystery, she finds herself in the thick of an international spy ring, with double-cross and murder all part of the game.

I rather like Robert Barnard's foreword to the Black Dagger reissue from 1995, where he says "The action is fast and furious, the characterisation light but deft, the climax thrilling and satisfying. It is, no doubt about it, a heady brew, such as might have been served at the original Dingley Dell, and just as the Christmas season. Take emergency rations and a bottle of your favorite tipple, retreat to your study and lock out the family, then settle down to a rollicking good read. With a bit of luck it will last you the whole of Christmas Day."

The omniscient head-hopping is a bit dizzying at times, but it serves its purpose of keeping you unsteady and wondering just who is telling the truth and who is not. It's an anti-Christmas romp, so to speak, although there's plenty of spiked punch and red and green in the form of blood and forests and even a Christmas tree used as a diversion. If you get your fill of overly-sweet desserts and watch It's a Wonderful Life too many times, then Red Christmas might just be the antidote.

Merry Bookmas

 

Mystery Melange - Christmas Edition

 

The Swedish Crime Academy announced their picks for top crime books of the year from a record 213 entries. The best crime novel of the year was Sot (pub. by Modernista) by Sara Strömberg. Strömberg previously won the Best Swedish Debut of the Year for Sly and Best Swedish Crime Novel of the Year for Skred. This year's best crime novel translated into Swedish was won by Sebastian Barry for Old Sins' Sake, translated by Daniel Gustafsson (pub. by Norstedts). Johan Rundberg was named the best Swedish debut of the year for The One Who Guards the Flock (pub. by Bokförlaget Forum). The best children/young adult detective novel was won by Martin Jern and Loka Kanarp for The First Case on the Golden Hill (pub. by Lilla Piratförlaget). This year, the Swedish Crime Academy also named a best non-fiction book of the year, a prize not always awarded. The prize goes to Anders Bergman for Crime Scene 1937: The Golden Age detective novel under the microscope (pub. by Aleph's Crime Library).  


The Icelandic Publishers Association has revealed the shortlists for the Icelandic Blóðdropan Crime Fiction Prize. They include Alfa by Lilja Sigurðardóttir; Allar litlu lygarnar (All the Little Lies) by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir; Eftirför (Pursuit) by Anna Rún Frímannsdóttir; Líf (LIfe) by Reynir Finndal Grétarsson; and Lokar augum blám (Closing Blue Eyes) by Margrét S. Höskuldsdóttir. The winners will be announced in February.


Speaking of Iceland, the term ‘Jólabókaflóð’ (pronounced yo-la-bo-ka-flowth) first became an Icelandic tradition during the Second World War when books became a popular Christmas gift due to the scarcity of imported goods. Today, from September to early December, new releases come out in large volumes and are featured in Bókatíðindi, an annual catalog of new releases delivered free to every household in the country. Icelanders traditionally celebrate Christmas on December 24th, exchanging gifts (including new books) after a Christmas dinner, and people then sit down with their new book and read into the night, often by candlelight and with chocolates and a glass of malt & appelsín (a combination of a local malt extract drink and orange soda). Some of the crime fiction titles featured in this year's Bókatíðindi cataloge include books by Lára Sigurðardóttir, Magnea J. Matthíasdóttir, Magnús Þór Hafsteinsson, Jón Þ. Þór, and more.

 
Over the past 20 years, thriller author James Patterson has donated millions of dollars to schools, libraries, literacy programs, and others in the book community. Recently, he's made a tradition out of sending $500 checks around the holidays to 600 independent booksellers who have been recommended by peers or patrons. "I’ve said this before, but I can’t say it enough — booksellers save lives," noted. “What they do is crucial, especially right now. I’m happy to be able to acknowledge them and their hard work this holiday season."


Each year, Kate Jackson hosts a celebration over at her blog, Cross-Examining Crime (which just turned 10 years old in 2025), of all the classic mystery titles that have been republished during the current year from the likes of the British Library, Crippen & Landru, Dean Street Press, Pushkin Vertigo, Wildside Press and more. She asks her blogging friends to nominate two of their favorite titles for the Reprint of the Year Award, and then puts the list to readers for a vote. You can vote for your favorites among the 30 titles from 24 authors, up until the poll closes on the 30th December at midnight.


Janet Rudolph has updated her list of Christmas themed mysteries, which continues to grow to such a large number, it has to be divided into separate lists. Here are the books with titles from A to E; the titles from F-L; and books with titles beginning M-Z here. She also has a separate listing for Christmas short stories, anthologies, and novellas. 


The authors at Mystery Lovers Kitchen shared some holiday recipes and reads, including Stovetop Cranberry Chicken with Holiday Spices from Cleo Coyle; Eggnog Loaf via Maddie Day; Vicki Delany’s Stained Glass Cookies; some Peppermint Bark Brownies, courtesy of Peg Cochran; Candy Cane Snowball Cookies from Kim Davis, and more.


The Mysteryrats Maze podcast featured the Christmas mystery short story "All is Bright" by Merrilee Robson, read by actor Larry Mattox and also "Peppermint Barking" by Jane Limprecht, read by actors Sean Hopper and Cymone Sandoval-Hopper.


In the Q&A roundup, Lisa Haselton chatted with mystery author Liisa Kovala about her new historical novel, Like Water for Weary Souls; Lesa Holstine spoke with Julia Buckley aka Veronica Bond about the third book in her Dinner and a Murder mystery series, Death at a Castle Christmas; and Matthew Pearl was featured at Author Interviews about his new book, The Award, which starts off as literary satire before turning into a darker psychological thriller.

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

Sony Pictures has landed the film adaptation rights to Freida McFadden’s psychological thriller, The Surrogate Mother. Journalist-turned-screenwriter Anna Klassen (The Last Sunrise) will pen the screenplay with Marc Evans (The Gorge, The Old Guard) producing. Centered on Abby, a woman who has struggled with infertility treatments and failed adoptions for years, the story presents motherhood as just out of reach for the main character, until her personal assistant Monica makes her a very generous offer that could turn this dream into reality. But it turns out Monica isn't who she says she is. The woman now carrying Abby's child has an unspeakable secret, and she'll stop at nothing to get what she wants.


The Wonder Company (Sacramento, The Astronaut) is set to adapt Jaden Payne’s murder mystery novel, There Are 3 Women & 4 Men. Set in 1970s London and Boston, the story follows an eccentric art curator, Laurent Fontaine, who invites six lucky guests to the grand re-opening of his famous art museum for a private showing. Things go from bad to worse when the guests start to realize this entire experience has actually been designed for the greatest discovery of all: one of them murdered Fontaine’s wife and he intends to find out who.


Academy Award nominee John C. Reilly (Stan & Ollie) has joined the cast of Sponsor, Apple Original Films’ psychological thriller starring and co-written by Jason Segel. Sponsor centers around Peter (Segel), who makes a big mistake when he gets behind the wheel after partying too hard. A terrible accident leaves him with a choice: prison or a recovery program. Convinced he doesn’t have a drinking problem, he begrudgingly shows up to his first meeting and searches for a sponsor. In walks the no-nonsense, charismatic yet enigmatic Jerry (Reilly), who Peter becomes convinced is the answer to his prayers. Jerry's unusual approach transforms support into a troubling situation Peter struggles to leave.


Ava DuVernay and David Oyelowo are re-teaming for the feature film, Heist of Benin. DuVernay will direct and Oyelowo will star. Set against the backdrop of contemporary London, Heist of Benin is described as a “thriller that intertwines art, love and restitution.” The duo are reuniting after previously collaborating on their Academy Award-winning film, Selma. The screenplay is by Jesse Quiñones (Calloused Hands, Cage Fighter), based on an original idea.


TELEVISION/STREAMING

Netflix has ordered a series adaptation of Liz Moore's bestselling novel, The God of the Woods. The author will serve as a co-showrunner, writer and executive producer alongside The Girl from Plainville's Liz Hannah. The God of the Woods follows the mysterious disappearance of a teenage girl, Barbara Van Laar, from a summer camp in 1975, which echoes the unsolved disappearance of her older brother 14 years prior. The series will tell the story of the wealthy Van Laars as they fight to hold their family together, unearthing devastating secrets in the process. As the past and present collide, the Van Laars’ wealth and influence unravel, revealing the damaging consequences of privilege and the abuse of power. No cast has yet been announced.


Netflix won a bidding war to nab So Far Gone, an adaptation of Jess Walter’s bestselling novel, from screenwriter Mark Bomback (Defending Jacob, The Wolverine), with a straight-to-series order. The drama follows Rhys Kinnick, a reclusive journalist whose self-imposed exile in the woods is upended when his long-estranged grandchildren arrive on his doorstep after their mother disappears. When the children are kidnapped by a cult connected to their father, Rhys must re-enter the fractured world he abandoned. Joined by a bipolar retired detective and a sharp-tongued ex-girlfriend, he embarks on a wild and suspenseful quest to save them and track down his missing daughter, rediscovering his own capacity for connection along the way.


James McAvoy’s crime series, Meantime, will begin filming in London and Glasgow in February 2026. Jon S. Baird will direct, based on a screenplay Neil Webster adapted from comedian Frankie Boyle’s crime fiction novel. The story is set in Glasgow in 2015 and follows Valium addict Felix McAveety, whose best friend Marina is found murdered in the local park. Felix goes looking for answers to questions that he quickly forgets. He thus enlists the help of a ragtag group of friends and neighbors, and their investigation sends them on a bewildering expedition that involves elements of Scottish radical politics.


Netflix has given fans a first look at Jo Nesbø's Detective Hole, a nine-part crime drama inspired by the Norwegian author's beloved book series. Slated for release on 26 March 2026, the whodunnit will follow Harry Hole, played by Tobias Santelmann (Point Break, Exit), as he rushes against the clock to catch a serial killer. To date, the only other actor to portray Harry Hole on screen is Michael Fassbender, who led the 2017 feature film, The Snowman.


Apple TV has shared a first look at its upcoming adaptation of the psychological thriller, Imperfect Women, which the streamer also revealed is set for a spring premiere. Created for television by Annie Weisman and based on Araminta Hall’s novel of the same name, the series examines a crime that shatters the lives of the decades-long friendship of three women (Kerry Washington, Elisabeth Moss and Kate Mara) and explores guilt and retribution, love and betrayal, and the compromises we make that alter our lives irrevocably. The cast also includes Joel Kinnaman, Corey Stoll, Leslie Odom Jr., Audrey Zahn, Jill Wagner, Rome Flynn, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Violette Linnz, Indiana Elle, Jackson Kelly, Keith Carradine, Ana Ortiz, and Wilson Bethel.


NCIS: Tony & Ziva will not be getting another season on Paramount+. The streamer announced it was cancelling the spinoff series starring Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo as the beloved titular characters, just two months after the release of the Season 1 finale. The series picks up after Ziva’s supposed death when Tony left the NCIS team to go raise their daughter. Years later, Ziva was discovered alive, leading her to complete one final mission with NCIS before she was reunited with Tony and their daughter in Paris. Since then – and where we find them in NCIS: Tony & Ziva – Tony and Ziva have been raising their daughter, Tali, together. When Tony’s security company is attacked, they must go on the run across Europe, try to figure out who is after them, and maybe even learn to trust each other again so they can finally have their unconventional happily ever after. The first season also starred Amita Suman, Maximilian Osinski, Julian Ovenden, Nassima Benchicou, Lara Rossi, Isla Gie, Terence Maynard, and James D’Arcy. 


MGM+ is developing a period hourlong series from Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter. Set in 1950s Los Angeles, the noir drama centers on a private investigator dealing with crime and dirty cops in the shadow of glamorous Hollywood. Sutter is writer, executive producer, and showrunner of the project. It marks his first foray into the noir genre and a return to the Los Angeles crime drama arena he got his start in as a staff writer on FX’s The Shield.


NBC is developing Spotless, a one-hour crime drama from We Were Liars writer Noah Rose Keeling and Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies showrunner Annabel Oakes. The drama follows chaotic cool mom Bridget and her awkward-but-brilliant adult daughter Marnie. The pair are expanding their crime scene cleanup business into a private eye side hustle as they navigate their "complex, but ride-or-die relationship."


Apple has cancelled the Jason Clarke-led drama series, The Last Frontier, after one season. Clarke played Frank Remnick, the lone U.S. marshal in charge of the quiet, rugged barrens of Alaska. Remnick’s jurisdiction is turned upside down when a prison transport plane crashes in the remote wilderness, setting free dozens of violent inmates. Tasked with protecting the town he’s vowed to keep safe, he begins to suspect the crash wasn’t an accident but rather the first step of a well-crafted plan with far-reaching and devastating implications.  Dominic Cooper, Haley Bennett, Simone Kessell, Dallas Goldtooth and Alfre Woodard also starred, with recurring spots for stars including John Slattery and Johnny Knoxville.  


PODCASTS/RADIO/AUDIO

Nicola Upson sat down with The Writing Life podcast's Caitlin Evans to discuss The Christmas Clue, and how she tackled balancing festive cheer with page-turning twists and deceptive characters.


Barbara Peters was in conversation with Ryan Pote (Blood and Treasure) and Steve Urszeny (Blood Oath) on the Poisoned Pen podcast.


On Crime Time FM, Joel Nedecky chatted with Paul Burke about his new noir novel, The Broken Detective; Jake Joelsen; Winnipeg; noir spirit; teaching; social critique, and family.


In the latest episode of Meet the Thriller Author, Alan Petersen sat down with Myles Dungan, an Irish historian, broadcaster, and novelist whose career spans radio, television, academia, and now historical thriller fiction.


Cops and Writers host Patrick O’Donnell spoke with retired NYPD Detective, Vic Ferrari, who moved up to the organized crime unit. Vic is now an author with nine books published, the most recent NYPD: Behind The Blue Wall Of Silence, and host of his very popular podcast, NYPD Through The Looking Glass.  


The latest guest on Authors on the Air was Paula Munier (author of the Mercy Carr Mysteries), discussing her book, The Snow Lies Deep. When Northshire’s mayor—dressed as Santa—turns up murdered after the town’s Solstice celebration, Mercy Carr, Troy Warner, and their K-9 partners, Elvis and Susie Bear, must hunt down the Yuletide Killer before another prominent citizen is targeted.


On Wrong Place, Write Crime, Frank Zafiro chatted with author Tom Goodman, who shared the true (and fictionalized) story behind his novel, Last Man Standing, a Spur Award winner, which tells the story of a bank robber who dressed up as Santa Claus.

Quote of the Week

 

Friday's "Forgotten" Books: The Oxford Book of American Detective Stories

In the 1996 anthology The Oxford Book of American Detective Stories, Tony Hillerman and Rosemary Herbert collected 33 stories that help trace the evolution of crime fiction in the U.S. from locked room mysteries, to hard-boiled tales of the '30s and '40s, to police procedurals from the latter part of the 20th century.

The book starts off with Poe and "Murders in the Rue Morge," which Hillerman notes is the basic model for the classic detective tale. He also points out how American authors tended to be ignorant of—or just plain ignore—the conventions of Ronald Knox's "Ten Commandments of Detective Writing" from 1928 as well as the philosophy of what editor/critic Jacques Brazum called "escape literature for the intellectual."

Instead of focusing exclusively on whodunit, writers like Ed McBain were more interested in why the crime had been committed, as in his story "Small Homicide," included in the anthology. Or hints of social purpose and realism, as in Anna Katherine Green's "Missing: Page Thirteen," featuring one of the earliest femle protagonists. Or a peek into social decadence and the human condition, as shown in Raymond Chandler's "I'll Be Waiting."

The goal of Hillerman and Herbert was to illustrate as many aspects of the American detective story as they could, with amateur sleuths, ethnic sleuths, regional sleuths, scientific sleuths like Arthur B. Reed's Professor Craig Kennedy, hard-boiled private eyes like Robert Leslie Bellem's Dan Turner and Navajo cops like Hillerman's own Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn in the story "Chee's Witch."

Although the editors had an educational intention in mind, they also wanted to entertain, hoping readers "will find the volume just plain fun to read." It is most definitely that, and also a reminder of all the wonderful contributions that the late Tony Hillerman himself made to enrich and promote crime fiction.

Mystery Melange

UK bookseller Waterstones has chosen as its 2025 Book of the Year the romantic-mystery, The Artist, by Lucy Steeds. Set in the 1920s in southern France, the novel explores the escalating tensions between an enigmatic painter, his niece, and a British journalist. Two of the finalists included The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson, a mix of fantasy and whodunit centered on a brutal murder at a contest to replace the emperor of Orrun, and Strange Pictures by Uketsu (author), Jim Rion (translator), a macabre and fiendishly clever interactive Japanese mystery that revolves around nine bizarre pictures full of clues. Waterstones had previously released their picks for the best Crime & Thriller titles of the year.

The inaugural Helsinki Noir festival is set for February 23 through March 1 in 2026. The festival will feature some of the top crime fiction writers from Finland as well as international authors and will include discussions and activities about crime fiction and true crime. Some of the previously announced authors scheduled to attend include Jo Nesbø, Elly Griffiths, Chris Whitaker, Stefan Ahnhem, Lilja Sigurðdardóttir, and more.


Author, blogger, and editor, Martin Edwards, is author of the Lake District mysteries and more and has received the CWA Diamond Dagger, UK crime writing's highest honor. He has also served as president of the Detection Club and recently celebrated his tenth anniversary serving in that role. The Detection Club was formed in 1930 by a group of British mystery writers, including Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, with  G. K. Chesterton serving as the first president. Under Edwards's administration, the group has published Motives to Murder, a short story collection in honor of Peter Lovesey, which yielded three stories shortlisted for the CWA Dagger, and Playing Dead, this year's collection of stories honoring Simon Brett.


In a round-robin for The Express, ten leading psychological thriller writers—Lisa Jewell, Anna Mazzola, Claire Mackintosh, Steph McGovern, Emma Curtis, Lilja Sigurðardóttir, Claire McGowan, Louise Candlish, C L Taylor, and Eve Smith—shared their picks for the best books of 2025. The Express also rounded up nine crime writers—Ian Rankin, Jane Harper, Kate Atkinson, John Connolly, Peter James, MW Craven, Janice Hallett, GD Wright, and Luca Veste—to discuss their top book picks for the year.


The CBC explored the cozy book trend getting us through the colder months, including some crime fiction titles.


The Ripley's Believe It Or Not museum in Orlando is featuring the exhibit, “True Crime: Blood, Lies and Alibis," for a limited time. The exhibition include artifacts associated with Charles Manson, O.J. Simpson, Lee Harvey Oswald, Jesse James and much more, including interactive displays.


This week's crime poem up at the 5-2 Crime Poetry Weekly is "Elegy for Fifty Cents" by Allison Whittenberg.


In the Q&A roundup, author Mike Lupica discussed Showdown (the latest installment in his continuation of Robert Parker's Spencer series), as well as immigration battles and a toxic podcaster, with Massachusetts Live; and Ace Atkins (who had written the Spencer continuation novels prior to Lupica) talked about his writing, including his latest novel, the comedic thriller, Everybody Wants to Rule the World, with both the Orange County Register and Shots Magazine.

Author R&R with Michael G. Colburn

Michael G. Colburn has studied and written about the creative process for several decades. He started several businesses and one manufacturing company based on creation and invention. He served with industry associations and was treasurer and then president of Food Service Consultants Society International. He has authored over twenty patents. His books include the bestselling Invent, Innovate, and Prosper and How Julia Found Happiness and Financial Success. He lives with his wife in Vermont, and when he is not writing, they like to travel and take long-distance walking trips, exploring paths and cultures around the world. 

Colburn recently turned his hand to writing fiction, with his first novel, Stolen Brilliance: A Lady Black Mystery, released in April 2024, and the follow-up, former street urchin Edith Black, rescued from the slums of Victorian London, who finds herself ensnared in a web of crime orchestrated by Mrs. Hill, the mastermind behind the Forty Elephants, an infamous gang of lady thieves. While perfecting her deception skills, Edie falls deeply in love with Benji, the man who once saved her. Under Mrs. Hill’s direction, she finds herself navigating crime and adventure in far-flung locations from France and South Africa to Brazil to Australia.

In Asylum Murders, Edith is now in Australia and known as Lady Edith Black. In the flickering gaslight of Victoria Parliament’s inner chambers, a prized symbol of government—the ceremonial Mace—disappears following a night of decadent indulgence involving parliamentarians and officials. Lady Black is soon drawn into the mystery, and although her past remains hidden, her talent and determination is unmatched—and her instincts tell her the Mace is merely the tip of something far darker.

The night the Mace disappears, a young woman is discovered near death. The two crimes intertwine and lead Edie to the foreboding gates of Kew Asylum, where her closest friend, Britina—a novice nun assigned to care for patients—has made a disturbing discovery: patients are vanishing without explanation. When Britina becomes a risk to a sinister plan, she is swiftly silenced, declared criminally insane, and locked away among the very souls she sought to protect. To rescue her friend, Edie must step into the asylum’s grim world of medical secrets, patient abuse, a chilling conspiracy, and enemies willing to kill to keep their secrets buried. But exposing the truth could cost more than her freedom; it could cost her life.

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

My first book in the Lady Black series, Stolen Brilliance, has just one murder, and you don’t find out who is murdered or who the murderer is until the last few pages. In book two, Asylum Murders, there are murders galore. But before we go there, I wanted to tell In Reference to Murder readers a little about me and my writing.

A long time ago,  I went to the drive-in with my parents (I was nine). We watched Trapeze starring Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, and Gina Lollobrigida. There was nothing I wanted more than to become a trapeze artist. I tried making a trapeze out of a pipe I found and clothesline rope, stringing the rope through the pipe and tying it to branches of an apple tree in the field behind our house. The branch broke on my first swing. I realized that being a trapeze artist would not happen and probably wasn’t a good career move.

In my very early teenage years, I abandoned my childhood trapeze ambitions, and I wrote out a list of things I wanted to do and to become. Somewhere in the aging process, I lost that list. I wish I still had it; it would have been fun to check things off. I wanted to retire by 40. What was I thinking? I love working, being busy, accomplishing things, but at 14, what did I know? If I retired, I could play, right? I wanted to be an artist (but I had no talent-I tried). I wanted to start businesses and run them, which I did for four decades. I wanted to be an inventor; I made my business about inventing and authored over 20 patents, which is a writing art form in itself. I wanted to fly a plane and soar in a glider. I’ve done both, but not to the extent I thought I would. 

I could still do more. I haven’t hot air ballooned yet—but there is still time. I wanted to make the Olympics—I didn’t. I wanted to be happily married and raise a wonderful child, and I’m proud to say I did that better than any other accomplishment. Now, to my point. That list included prominently that I wanted to be a writer and write fiction books. I have written a few non-fiction books since retiring, and the accomplishment felt really rewarding, but fiction…

###

My wife and I rented an apartment in Glasgow, Scotland, after a self-guided walking tour of Scottish abbeys. We like traveling and discovering new cities. We get acquainted with a new city by taking hop-on, hop-off buses, stopping to check out interesting areas. On this occasion, a young college student had prepared her English tour speech well. As we drove by the shipbuilding areas of the River Clyde, she told the story of the stolen steamship Ferret in 1890. Refurbished and leased by the shipbuilder, the ship disappeared, its location and fate unknown. It was discovered many months later in Melbourne, Australia. 

Why? What happened in those months? How was this possible? Who was responsible? I had the kernel of a fiction novel with elements of real occurrences. I began researching everything I could find. I contacted libraries and historical collections of newspapers in Scotland and Australia. The disappearance, search and eventual trial of some participants were there, along with many unanswered questions. I started developing a story and cast of characters around bits and pieces of research information. Some of my characters are real; some are not. Some events are actual; some are not. 

Lady Black was my creation stemming from one line in a newspaper article. The text read that when Henderson (real, and theft leader) boarded the Ferret with its new crew in Cardiff (before the disappearance) a tall, elegant woman he claimed was his wife accompanied him. I found no mention of her before or after this occurrence, but she is our Lady Black. 

A lot of the first section of book one, Stolen Brilliance, deals with establishing Edith Black’s history. I wanted readers to know her from childhood and how she came to be our heroine. While researching, I found that while the steamship India (Ferret renamed) was in Cape Town, South Africa, a major diamond theft occurred, a true crime that has never been solved. This was just too tempting. It became a major component of Stolen Brilliance and allowed for the creation of another character that will live on in my fiction.

From a writing standpoint, having written what I did in book one, I have characters, timeline, territory, and opportunity to create many stories that continue the saga of Lady Black, Benji Diamond, Jack Kramer, and in particular, for book two, Asylum Murders, Britina Myers, Edie’s best friend growing up in the slums of London.

In Asylum Murders, while investigating the theft of Victoria’s parliamentary Mace, a precious and symbolic representation of the political system, Edie exposes the brutal beating and rape of a beautiful prostitute, left for dead.

Britina, now assigned as a novice nun to serve the needy in the Kew Asylum, discovers that patients have disappeared and are harvested to provide specimens for medical studies and dissection. Head Nurse Kramer, aware of the threat that Britina poses, frames her for murder and has her committed as a criminally insane inmate, whom she keeps in a drug-induced stupor.

Edie risks her own life to clear Britina’s name and free her from her forced incarceration.

I hope you enjoy.

 

You can learn more about Michael G. Colburn by visiting his website and following him on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Asylum Murders is now available via Amazon.

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

Back in 2022, it was revealed that Studiocanal and The Picture Company were turning the Agatha Christie 1967 thriller classic, Endless Night, into a feature film and hired Preston Thompson to adapt it. The studio announced this week they've hired Jonathan Entwistle to direct the project, a modern, psychological thriller that serves as a reimagining of Agatha Christie’s classic novel, and that Emily Siegel will instead be adapting the script. The film follows an ambitious twentysomething hustler who ends up entangled in a web of blame and deception after he gets romantically involved with a volatile American heiress and her assistant. Back in May of this year, the BBC announced they were turning the same novel into a three-part series from an adaptation by Sarah Phelps (A Very British Scandal).

 
TELEVISION/STREAMING

Amanda Seyfried will star in and executive produce a TV adaptation of Carl Hiaasen’s Skinny Dip in the works at Amazon’s Prime Video. Produced by Warner Bros. Television, Skinny Dip hails from Once Upon a Time co-creators Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis, who serve as co-executive producers and writers. The one-hour dramedy series is described as an “action-romantic-comedy-triangle about murder, vengeance and the elusiveness of true accountability in this world.” Seyfried will star as Joey Perrone, whose second anniversary takes her by surprise. “She expected earrings, but instead, her husband Chaz had, shall we say, alternate plans,” per the official logline. After unexpectedly finding herself on the other side of those plans, she vows to get revenge and teams up with a disgraced ex-cop to make Chaz pay.


Netflix has acquired the rights to Emily Giffin’s All We Ever Wanted for a series adaptation now in development. The series logline describes the project as “A soapy and scandalous drama that uncovers the secrets and class struggles of a wealthy suburb; where a torrid love affair between a ‘have’ Mom and ‘have-not’ single Dad threatens to expose the sins and lies of all of those around them.” The project reunites Reese Witherspoon and Harlan Coben, whose co-written thriller novel, Gone Before Goodbye, was published Oct. 9, 2025 and debuted as a New York Times bestseller. All We Ever Wanted is the pair’s first series adaptation together.  


Netflix has set the big return of The Lincoln Lawyer‘s fourth season for Thursday, February 5, and released first-look images. Based on the series of bestselling novels by author Michael Connelly, the fourth season is based on the sixth book in “The Lincoln Lawyer” series, The Law of Innocence. Mickey Haller (Manuel Garcia Rulfo) faces his toughest case yet as he and his team work tirelessly to prove his innocence in the murder of a former client, Sam Scales (Christopher Thornton). To clear his name, they must unravel Sam’s final scam, forcing them to go head-to-head with the DA’s office, the FBI, and ghosts from Mickey’s own past.


Prime Video released some of the first images for Young Sherlock, starring Hero Fiennes Tiffin as Sherlock Holmes, and also revealed that the origin story from Guy Ritchie will premiere on Prime Video in 2026. Young Sherlock follows the beginnings of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s beloved detective in a re-imagining of the iconic character’s early days. Sherlock Holmes is a disgraced young man – raw and unfiltered – when he finds himself wrapped up in a murder case that threatens his liberty. His first-ever case unravels a globe-trotting conspiracy that changes his life forever. Unfolding in 1870s Oxford and adventuring abroad, the series will expose the early antics of the anarchic adolescent who is yet to evolve into Baker Street’s most renowned resident.


Tessa Thompson and Jon Bernthal (Thor: Ragnarok and Punisher) are uniting for a Netflix limited crime series titled His & Hers. Based on the novel by Alice Feeney, the series stars Thompson as reclusive news anchor Anna Andrews and Bernthal as small-town detective Jack Harper. When a brutal murder rocks their small town of Dahlonega, Georgia, the pair find themselves drawn to the case from different sides. The problem is, they're also married. But Anna and Jack's marriage is a complicated one, as the pair are estranged, and tension simmers between them in every scene. Anna is coming at the case from a journalistic angle, hoping to catch the killer and spin a compelling news story. Her investigations cause trouble for Jack, and the couple soon begins to suspect one another of being involved in this heinous crime. His & Hers also stars Pablo Schreiber, Crystal Fox, Sunita Mani, Rebecca Rittenhouse, Marin Ireland, and Poppy Liu.


Netflix‘s All The Sinners Bleed has added 11 new cast members joining the already cast Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù, John Douglas Thompson, Nicole Beharie, Daniel Ezra, Andrea Cortés, Murray Bartlett, and Leila George. The new cast included Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad) as Ezekiel Wiggins; David Lyons (Truth Be Told) as Jasper Sanderson; Donald Elise Watkins (Emergency) as Deputy Trey Avery; Mackenzie Astin (The Pitt) as Deputy Pip Collins; Jordan M. Cox (P-Valley) as Deputy Tom Sadler; Cullen Moss (Outer Banks) as Deputy Roger Simmons; Angus O’Brien (Boots) as Deputy Davy Burks; Cranston Johnson (Hap and Leonard) as Reverend Jamal Addison; Christopher Matthew Cook (High Potential) as Royce Lazare; Christopher Thornton (The Lincoln Lawyer) as Dispatcher Cam Trowder; and Bill Oberst Jr. (Criminal Minds) as Pastor Elias Hillington. From showrunner and executive producer Joe Robert Cole, who adapted S.A. Cosby’s novel of the same name for TV, All The Sinners Bleed follows Titus Crown (Dìrísù), the first Black sheriff in a small Bible Belt county. Haunted by his devout mother’s untimely death, he must lead the hunt for a serial killer who has been preying on his Black community for years in the name of God.


Down Cemetery Road, the hit UK thriller based on the book by Mick Herron and starring Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson, has been handed a second season order for Apple TV. Season 2 reunites Zoë Boehm (Thompson) and Sarah Trafford (Wilson) chasing down another twisted mystery. After a woman falls in front of a train, Zoë is called in to investigate, but this seemingly simple case soon upends her life as she and Sarah find themselves navigating the glamorous but ruthless world of black market antiquities.


Former Family Guy showrunner Steve Callaghan is spearheading the cozy crime drama, Trivia Night Mysteries. Shooting has wrapped on the 90-minute pilot, the first of a planned mystery movie series with a Q1 2026 launch planned. Filmed on location in Jefferson City, Missouri, the project stars Morgan Bradley (Heartstrings Attached) as Sara Keane, a sharp-witted fact-checker and trivia champ who turns amateur sleuth when a rival player is found murdered, and Alex Trumble (A Scottish Christmas Secret) as Reid Taggart, a charming lawyer who becomes both Sara’s partner-in-crime-solving and potential love interest. Pre-production on further installments of Trivia Night Mysteries is already underway.


Prime Video released a first look and premiere date for 56 Days (fka Obsession), the upcoming erotic thriller series based on Catherine Ryan Howard’s bestseller, starring Dove Cameron and Avan Jogia. All eight episodes of the series will drop on Wednesday, Feb. 18. Written and executive produced by Lisa Zwerling and Karyn Usher, 56 Days follows Oliver (Jogia) and Ciara (Cameron), who, after meeting randomly in a supermarket, fall for each other fast, and dangerously hard. Fifty-six days later, homicide investigators arrive at Oliver’s apartment to find an unidentified body—brutally murdered and intentionally decomposed beyond recognition. Did he kill her? Or did she kill him? Inter-cutting between an intense single day in the present investigation, and the twisted trajectory of the young lovers’ affair in the past, the series is both a crime story and a sexy, psychological thriller.


PODCASTS/RADIO/AUDIO

Barbara Peters had a holiday conversation with Cara Black (Huguette), Paula Munier (The Snow Lies Deep), and Matt Goldman (Dark Humor, of the Nils Shapiro series) on the Poisoned Pen podcast.


On the Get to Know podcast, Kathleen Antrim and DP Lyle were in conversation with best-selling author T. Jefferson Parker.


Crime Time FM host Victoria Selman was joined by Steve Cavanagh (the Eddie Flynn series), Holly Seddon (Fifty-Nine Minutes), and SR Masters (The Drop). 


Authors on the Air featured a holiday chat with David Rosenfelt about his latest book, And to All a Good Bite, book #32 in the Andy Carpenter series.


Spybrary host Shane Whaley was joined by returning guest and leading James Bond authority Ajay Chowdhury, co-author of the newly released James Bond locations guide, Darker Than the Sun. This isn't your typical location guide, though; Darker Than the Sun is an immersive, richly visual atlas that blends real geography, fictional locales, and behind-the-scenes insights into how Bond movies have mapped and redefined the spy film landscape.


On the Pick Your Poison podcast, Dr. Jen Prosser investigated what easily available product in the drug store works like botulism and why enemas were used to treat brain injuries.