Mystery Melange

The Southwest Florida Reading Festival in Fort Myers, Florida, this Saturday, March 1st, will feature several panels related to crime fiction. Tracy Clark and Stephen Mack Jones will start off at 10:30 by discussing the "Midwest Crime Scene," followed by Eli Cranor and R.J. Jacobs speaking on "It’s all in the Details." After lunch, Elinor Lipman and Annabelle Tometich will talk about "Misdemeanors, Felonies & Hilarious Hijinx," and then wrapping things up, Reed Farrel Coleman and Alison Gaylin will chat about "Mystery, Mayhem & Masterminds."

On Saturday, March 15th, the Tucson Festival of Books in Arizona has an all-start lineup of mystery and thriller authors, including Sandra Brown, Tess Gerritsen, Rachel Howzell Hall, JA Jance, Craig Johnson, William Kent Krueger, T. Jefferson Parker, Don Winslow, and more. General Admission and Fast Passes are still available.

If you find yourself Downunder over the next month or so, you can catch a couple of crime fiction panels. The first is March 4, Books in Bars - Criminal Minds author panel with Ashley Kalagian Blunt, Ali Lowe, B.M. Carroll, and Laura McCluskey in conversation with Kate Horan. The second takes place on Wednesday, May 14 in Cambridge, New Zealand, as Culprits in Cambridge - Mystery in the Library features two-time Ngaio finalist Nikki Crutchley chairing a panel with writers Zoë Rankin and Jen Shieff, and police detectives turned writers Angus McLean and Chook Henwood.

Fans of true crime, take note: Hosts of many popular true crime podcasts will headline a murder-themed cruise next year that's being billed as a first-of-its kind immersive mystery experience at sea. Currently scheduled to take part are America’s Most Wanted host John Walsh; Hannah Maguire and Suruthi Bala from RedHanded; Scaachi Koul and Sarah Hagi from Scamfluencers; Aaron Habel and Justin Evans from Generation Why; Carl Miller of Kill List; Hollywood & Crime host Tracy Pattin; and Chris Stewart from Law & Crime. The four-night cruise will sail from Miami, Florida, to Nassau, Bahamas in January 2026.

In honor of Mardi Gras, which this year falls on Tuesday, March 4, Janet Rudolph updated her list of Mardi Gras/Carnevale mysteries, mostly set in New Orleans, but with a few other countries and cities, as well.

On Art Taylor's blog, "The First Two Pages" (a feature originally created by the late B.K. Stevens) continues a celebration of the new—and eighth—Guppy Anthology, Gone Fishin’. Edited by James M. Jackson and published by Wolf’s Echo Press, the new collection features stories by members of the Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime. The book is subtitled Crime Takes a Holiday, and as the press materials clarify, crime also "Steals, Disrupts, Upends, Wrecks, Destroys and/or Shatters a Holiday" as well. After hosting Cindy Martin last week with an essay on her story, "Salt, Sand, Slay," Kate Fellowes is featured this week with her story, "Pier Pressure."

The Guardian reported on the CIA book smuggling operation that helped bring down communism.

In the stranger than life department, a clandestine workshop has been discovered in Rome where fakes of paintings by some of the world’s most famous artists, including Pablo Picasso and Rembrandt, were produced before being sold online.

In the Q&A roundup, Crime Fiction Lover spoke with Simon McCleave about his Ruth Hunter series of police procedurals, which are being adapted for TV, and his latest novel, Marshal of Snowdonia, the first in a new series; debut thriller author R. John Dingle chatted with Lisa Haselton about his new psychological thriller, Karma Never Sleeps; and Lisa Black applied the Page 69 Test to the fourth title in the forensic Locard Institute series, Not Who We Expected.

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

ITN Distribution has acquired North American rights to the thriller, Joe Baby, starring Dichen Lachman, Willa Fitzgerald, Ron Perlman, and Harvey Keitel. The film "follows a money collector (Lachman) for a private investigator hired to track down 10 million dollars stolen in a dodgy real estate deal, opening a complex can of worms." Kelly Hu, Kenneth Choi, Corin Nemec, David Lipper, Dan Bakkedahl, and Jason London round out the key cast. The film is based on Drew Fine’s novel, with the screenplay adaptation by Todd Samovitz.

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Wonder Man) has closed a deal to star opposite Mark Wahlberg in the crime thriller, By Any Means. The actor steps into the lead role originally to have been played by Sterling K. Brown, who departed the project due to scheduling conflicts. By Any Means is based on the incredible true story of the notorious mafia hitman who was hired by Hoover’s FBI off-the-books and partnered with a young Black special agent to hunt down those responsible for the murders of civil rights leaders in 1966 Mississippi.

MRC and T-Street productions are putting together the crime drama, A Place in Hell, featuring Fair Play director Chloe Domont, and starring Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea) and Daisy Edgar-Jones (Twisters). Details are sketchy, but the project is described as a thriller following two women at a high-profile criminal law firm.

TELEVISION/STREAMING

Great news for Blue Bloods fans: one of the drama’s signature characters, Donnie Wahlberg’s Danny Reagan, will be back on CBS with a new cop show in a new city. CBS has given a straight-to-series order to Boston Blue (working title), a universe expansion of the long-running Blue Bloods, for the 2025-2026 broadcast season. In the new series, from writers Brandon Sonnier and Brandon Margolis (S.W.A.T.), Wahlberg will reprise his role as NYPD Detective Danny Reagan as he takes a position with Boston PD. Once in Boston, he is paired with Detective Lena Peters, the eldest daughter of a prominent law enforcement family.

Miss Scarlet has been renewed for a sixth season on Masterpiece PBS and UKTV, with Kate Phillips once again reprising her role as the title character. Other members of the returning cast include Tom Durant-Pritchard as DI Alexander Blake, Cathy Belton as Ivy, Paul Bazely as Clarence, Simon Ludders as Mr. Potts, Tim Chipping as Detective Phelps, and Ansu Kabia as Moses Valentine. Joining the cast for the new season are Sam Buchanan as Detective George Willows, who joins Scotland Yard after rising through the police ranks, and Grace Hogg-Robinson as Isabel Summers, an ambitious young woman who joins the Clerical Office alongside Ivy.

Masterpiece on PBS has just unveiled the first look at Benjamin Wainwright (Belgravia: The Next Chapter) as Paris’s most renowned detective, Chief Inspector Jules Maigret, in the upcoming contemporary adaptation of Georges Simenon's iconic Maigret novels. PBS have put a new spin on the legendary sleuth, as the upcoming series re-positions him as an up and coming star in the Police Judiciaire — someone who is methodical, voracious in his approach, and with a knack of getting inside the minds of criminals. Joining Wainwright in the cast are Stefanie Martini, who plays Madame Louise Maigret, along with Blake Harrison, Reda Elazouar, Kerrie Hayes, Shaniqua Okwok, Rob Kazinsky, and Nathalie Armin as Prosecutor Mathilde Kernavel.

The BBC announced the return of the mystery drama series, Vigil. Suranne Jones and Rose Leslie return as DCI Amy Silva and DI Kirsten Longacre, whose new case takes them to a remote Arctic research station, where a member of a covert British special forces mission has been shot dead. Amy and Kirsten will need to catch the killer and diffuse a potential international confrontation, driven by a land-grab for energy and resources in the changing polar climate, with both their careers and relationship on the line. Premiering in 2021, when Silva was enlisted to solve a murder on a navy submarine in Scottish waters, Vigil was nominated for Best Drama Series at the 2022 BAFTA Television Awards, and went on to win the International Emmy for Best Drama Series.

CBS is sticking with its solid crime and adventure drama lineup by ordering more seasons of Elsbeth, Fire Country, Tracker, and its three NCIS series. The network already gave a full-season order to Matlock, and has announced it has ordered the Fire Country spinoff, Sheriff Country, with Morena Baccarin. The original FBI series was already renewed through the 2026-2027 broadcast season, but there's no word yet on the status of FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International, as well The Equalizer and Watson.

PODCASTS/RADIO

Gigi Pandian returned to the Crime Writers of Color podcast to talk with Robert Justice about the latest installment of the Secret Staircase Mysteries and to give an update on her Accidental Alchemist and Jaya Jones series.

Crime Time FM welcomed Tod Lending to talk about The Umbrella Maker's Son; the Holocaust; interior character; documentary film; and storytelling.

The first Mysteryrat's Maze podcast episode of 2025 features the first chapter of Tragedy in Tahoe by Rachele Baker, as read by actor Ariel Linn.

Katie McLain Horner and Kendra Winchester recommended books set in the locations of their 2025 vacations, on the Read or Dead podcast.

Mystery Melange

This is a virus-induced (RSV?) somewhat truncated "Melange" today. More next week!

The Los Angeles Times announced the finalists for this year's Book Prize, including those in the Mystery/Thriller category: Christopher Bollen, Havoc; Michael Connelly, The Waiting: A Ballard and Bosch Novel; Attica Locke, Guide Me Home: A Highway 59 Novel; Liz Moore, The God of the Woods; and Danielle Trussoni, The Puzzle Box. (Here's a version without the paywall) Winners will be revealed during a ceremony on April 25, at the University of Southern California’s Bovard Auditorium as part of the 30th Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.

As part of the Left Coast Crime in Denver, Colorado, Crooked Lane authors will be featured in a Noir at the Bar/Bookstore on Friday, March 14 at 6PM at Tattered Cover for live readings and giveaways. Authors taking part include Wes Browne, Mindy Carlson, Maria Kelson, Alex Kenna, Jennifer K. Morita, Cayce Osborne, and D.M. Rowell, moderated by David Heska Wanbli Weiden.

The Five-Two's original twelve-year run ended because submissions dried up, but editor Gerald So announced he may start up the online crime poetry publication again. He's seeking "honest, powerful reactions to what you see as crime, couched in poetic technique and figurative language" (to avoid receiving a content warning or being taken down by Google). If he accepts enough poems, The Five-Two will relaunch Monday, April 7, 2025 as part of National Poetry Month. The submission deadline is Monday, March 24, 2025, and you can read the full guidelines here.

In the Q&A roundup, D.W. Layton chatted with Lisa Haselton about his new political thriller, Otello’s Oil — A Saga of Blood & Oil; Sherry Rankin, whose novel, Strange Fire, won the 2017 CWA Debut Dagger Award, applied the Page 69 Test to her thriller, The Killing Plains; and Crime Fiction Lover interviewed British Irish author Kerry J. Donovan about his fugitive hero Ryan Kaine thriller series and more.

Author R&R with D.W. Layton

D.W. Layton's life has been a journey as adventurous as the stories he writes. Inspired by James Michener's The Drifters, he set out to explore the world after college, experiencing life as a vagabond. He ran with the bulls in Pamplona, stomped grapes in Greece, and pulled giant crab pots from the depths of the Bering Sea. After law school, he attended Cambridge University, earning an advanced degree in international law, and spent over 35 years in practice, often representing governments in disputes at the World Trade Organization in Geneva. In addition to his legal career, Layton has always been passionate about the arts, even appearing in two operas at the Kennedy Center. He and his wife of over 45 years split their time between homes in Florida and the South of France, enjoying a life rich in culture and adventure. His debut novel is Otello's Oil. 

Otello’s Oil is the first of the "Saga of Blood & Oil" duology set at the beginning of the next decade when the global demand for oil is increasing, supplies are limited, and competition for what’s left keen. The story begins when the US Secretary of State invites Kuwait’s Oil Minister to dinner in Georgetown followed by opera at the Kennedy Center. In Act III of Giuseppe Verdi’s Otello a shot is fired, but no one hears a thing. The Minister slumps in his seat. Blood oozes from his chest. The Secretary was only inches away. Was she the target? Was she in love with her guest? Elliot Jones, a Special Agent with the US Diplomatic Service, is tasked with finding out. He soon discovers that the Oil Minister was in the crosshairs of a global battle among the super powers for energy.

The idea for writing Otello’s Oil first came to Layton thirty years ago. Back then he was a lawyer at the US Department of Commerce in Washington and a friend introduced him to the Washington Opera Company. One thing led to another and soon he appeared as a supernumerary in Aida, followed a few years later by, Otello, in which Layton was cast as the captain of the guards. In the opening scene of that opera, as the curtain jumps skyward and the orchestra explodes into Verdi’s opening Esultate in C-sharp major, Layton led the other guards at a full sprint across the front of the stage and up the stairs of the castle to see if they could spy Otello’s ships returning from battle. It was commonplace then, as it is now, for dignitaries and other VIPs to attend the opera in Washington. More often than not they would sit in the front row.

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

Otello’s Oil

I wrote Otello’s Oil in less than a year. How is that possible? Well, as a lawyer, you learn to write fast. No client, no matter how wealthy or how important the case, is going to pay for a brief or memorandum that takes years and years to write. Nor is any judge or arbitrator going to sit around and wait for you to finish a filing at your leisure. I also made a point in Otello’s Oil of writing about things I know. The examples are legion: the assassin from Egypt had the same part in Otello that I did, I used to own the same car, a 1954 Jaguar XK120, as that driven by DSS Agent Alice Lake, and Mrs. Layton and I once stayed in the same hotel room in Bali that US Secretary of State Lynne Farnsworth and her Qatari lover stayed in.

Otello’s Oil is also an international political thriller. The settings are, inter alia, an international diplomatic conference in Jakarta, the U.S. Mission in Geneva, and the White House. These are all places I have been and all things I have done in the course of my legal career. As a result, I did not have to perform that much research to write Otello’s Oil. Yes, I had to make sure my dates and details were accurate. For example, if I said Lynne Farnsworth, before she became the Secretary of State, was Majority Staff Director for the Senate Finance Committee, I had to make sure Senator Lugar, her sponsor, was chairman of the committee at that time. But for most everything else, I was able to write about things I generally know.

The only time I had to perform extensive research was when the story went far afield from my personal experiences. For example, I was never a Navy Seal. Indeed, I have never served in the military. And I’ve certainly never been the head of Egypt’s Bureau of Homeland Security, inside the Al-Seif Palace in Kuwait City, or inside private rooms in the Kremlin. On those occasions I needed to perform very detailed research. Thus, I would read books on the subject. Watch podcasts. Basically, devour anything I could so that my story and its details were accurate.

The ultimate goal being to write a story that was believable to as many readers as possible -- both the initiated and the uninitiated. I don’t want readers who are versed in these subjects and places to say: “that’s not right” or “that would never happen.” In this regard, I try to write like Tom Clancy did. Almost like I am writing historical fiction, or as I prefer to think of it – “contextually accurate fiction.”

St. Crispin’s Eulogy

The next book in the "Saga of Blood & Oil" is tentatively entitled St. Crispin’s Eulogy. Students of history and readers of Otello’s Oil will know that the Kuwaiti Oil Minister was killed on St. Crispin’s Day, October 25. St. Crispin’s Day is famous primarily because of the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 when the English army, led by King Henry V, achieved a decisive victory over the numerically superior French forces. St. Crispin’s Day is also well known because of William Shakespeare’s play Henry V, which includes the famous “St. Crispin’s Day Speech”:

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother.

I like this title because the readers of St. Crispin’s Eulogy will learn that the Kuwaiti Oil Minister was not the only person killed on October 25 at the hands of forces aligned with the global fossil fuel industry and its supporters. A group of idealistic and mainly young investigators in London who are trying to shed light on the labor practices and abuses taking place in the oil fields of the Gulf will also be killed on that day.

St. Crispin’s Eulogy will be both a sequel, a midquel, and a prequel to Otello’s Oil. It will, among other things, force my protagonist, Elliot Jones, to see Farnsworth’s Qatari lover, Saman Khalil Al-Fhani, in a new light. In fact, Jones will save Fhani’s life and expose the truth behind the deaths on St. Crispin’s Day.

You might think writing the second book would be easier than writing the first. It will not. In Otello’s Oil I could take the story anywhere I wanted. I wrote, as it were, on a "blank slate." In St. Crispin’s Eulogy the story must align in every respect with Otello’s Oil. Yes, the story will grow and the drama will increase, but it can’t conflict with anything in Otello’s Oil.

One Last Personal Observation

I think I may have been a teacher in an earlier life. I love to teach, to help people understand things. Over the years, I have taught classes and spoken at conferences hosted by countless organizations, including Georgetown University, American University, George Mason University, the American Bar Association, the Foreign Ministry of Iceland, the Foreign Ministry of Mexico, the Federation of Industries of the State of Sao Paulo, and the Foreign Ministry of the former Soviet Union. This probably explains, as much as anything does, why I take the time in my books to teach the reader a little something about everything from the Five Eyes Alliance exposed by Edward Snowden to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It also explains why I delight in reviews that describe Otello’s Oil as "uncommonly sophisticated" and "educational."

 

You can learn more about D.W. Layton and his writing at his website or by following him on Facebook, Instagram, Goodreads, and LinkedIn. Otello’s Oil is now available through all major booksellers, including 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

Julia Roberts is teaming up with director James Gray to tackle an adaptation of bestselling author Peter Swanson’s forthcoming novel, Kill Your Darlings. The story is a murder mystery told in reverse and centers on Tom and Wendy Graves, a couple married for over 25 years who appear to have a picture-perfect life, but beneath the surface, they harbor a shocking secret. The story moves backward through time to witness key moments from the couple’s lives—their fiftieth birthday party, buying their home, Jason’s birth, the mysterious death of a work colleague—all painting a portrait of a marriage defined by a single terrible act they plotted together many years ago.

Paramount Pictures has acquired the rights to Thomas Ray‘s novella, Silencer, enlisting Ben Jacoby (The First Omen) to adapt it for the big screen. The story follows a CIA field agent who is sent to bring in the ultimate CIA target who’s been out in the cold for decades. An operative who dates back to the dark times of MK Ultra, the target is a silencer — someone who can read minds, and wipe them from a distance, making him impossible to find or catch. Jacoby is also co-writer on The Whisper Man,the adaptation of the novel by Alex North, which has been greenlighted at Netflix with Robert De Niro on board to star.

Miles Teller (Whiplash) is set to star with Oscar winner Casey Affleck (Manchester By The Sea) in the manhunt thriller, Wild Game, from Oscar-nominated screenwriter Jason Hall (American Sniper) who will direct. The film is adapted by Hall from the novel of the same name by Frank Bergon, based on true events. The synopsis reads: "When Fish and Game officer Jack Irigaray (Casey Affleck) joins a routine poacher arrest in the Black Rock Desert, a deadly encounter with renegade Claude Dallas (Miles Teller) shatters his reality and propels him into a relentless quest for vengeance — one that blurs the line between justice and obsession."

Yorgos Lanthimos is reportedly set to write and direct Fatale, an adaptation of Jean-Patrick Manchette’s assassin thriller novel. The story centers on female assassin Aimé. Whether you call her a cold-hearted grifter or the soul of modern capitalism, there’s no question that Aimée is a killer and a professional one. Now she’s set her eyes on a backwater burg, where she plans to pose as an innocent newcomer to town while sniffing out old grudges and engineering new opportunities. But then something snaps: the master manipulator falls prey to a pure and wayward passion.

A first look was revealed for Rebecca Zlotowski’s French-language murder mystery movie, Vie Privée, starring Jodie Foster alongside a host of top French talent including Daniel Auteuil and Virginie Efira. Foster stars in the film as renowned psychiatrist Lilian Steiner who mounts a private investigation into the death of one of her patients, whom she is convinced has been murdered. Foster, who speaks fluent French, has appeared in a handful of French-language films, but Vie Privée marks her first French-language role in two decades after Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s wartime romance A Very Long Engagement in 2005.

TELEVISION/STREAMING

Emmy nominee Blair Singer (Bull) has landed a script commitment at Fox for Cold Blooded Liar, a one-hour procedural mystery thriller series based on the international bestseller of the same name by Karen Rose. The drama is set in postcard-perfect San Diego, where strong-willed homicide detective Kit McKittrick uses her ferocious determination and heightened empathy from her foster kid background to solve the most chilling murder cases the city has ever seen. As she confronts some of the darkest corners of humanity, she meets a handsome, insightful psychologist named Sam Reeves, and together, their partnership develops into a transformative bond.

Apple TV+ has landed the rights to High Wire, the thriller novel from international bestselling Australian author Candice Fox, for development as a TV series. Ridley Scott’s Scott Free is set to produce under their first-look deal with Apple TV+. High Wire takes readers on a high-octane journey through the Australian outback and centers on Harvey Buck, a former soldier racing against time to reach his dying girlfriend. Along the way, he encounters Clare Holland, a traveler stranded after her car breaks down. Offering her a ride, Harvey unwittingly plunges them both into a nightmare: they are ambushed by a vengeful crew and forced into bomb vests, compelled to commit a series of increasingly dangerous missions under threat of detonation.

Oscar, BAFTA, and Tony Award-winner Catherine Zeta-Jones has landed her next high-profile TV project, an adaptation of Aidan Truhen's thriller, The Price You Pay. Zeta-Jones is starring in and producing Kill Jackie [working title], in which the novel’s lead Jack has switched from man to woman for the TV version. Zeta-Jones will play Jackie Price, who has lived a wealthy, luxurious existence for the last 20 years—travelling the world, selling fine art using sophisticated tax loopholes and, above all, trying to stay anonymous after escaping a dangerous past as an international cocaine dealer. But just as life starts to feel a little boring, it takes a sudden lethal turn when she discovers that The Seven Demons, a squad of the world’s most terrifying hitmen, have been hired to kill her.

Sean Bean has been tapped to star opposite Jack Patten in MGM+'s upcoming series, Robin Hood. The series is set following the Norman invasion of England and follows Rob (Patten), a Saxon forester’s son, and Marian, the daughter of a Norman lord, who 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, as both work together to thwart royal corruption and bring peace to the land. Bean will play the Sheriff of Nottingham who is envisioned as a statesman, a strategist, and a builder of Nottingham itself, who navigates the dangerous tides of power, facing not only an outlaw in the woods but also the ambitions of Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Norman Barons that surround him.

Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones) has officially joined the series regular cast of the Showtime Original Series Dexter: Resurrection, from executive producer and showrunner Clyde Phillips. Production began in New York last month and will premiere this summer. No official synopsis for the Michael C. Hall-led series has been revealed, but it’s the continuation of Dexter: New Blood set in the present day. Dinklage will portray Leon Prater, a billionaire venture capitalist. To the world, Leon is a generous philanthropist, but behind his polished exterior lies dark intrigue. 

BritBox International is serving up a crime procedural series using classic Italian cuisine as the basis for each episode’s murder mystery. A Taste for Murder will star Downton Abbey actor Phyllis Logan alongside Warren Brown (The Responder) and Cristiana Dell’Anna (Gomorrah). Each episode of the series will feature a murder mystery connected in some way to Italian cuisine. Brown is DCI Joe Mottram, a star detective with the Metropolitan police who, after a personal tragedy, retreats to Capri in Italy with his daughter to stay with his Italian in-laws for the summer. Logan is Elena Da Vinale, the witty matriarch of the family, front-of-house manager of the family restaurant, and mother to DCI Joe’s late wife. Gomorrah star Dell’Anna plays Inspector Lara Sarrancino, an ambitious and no-nonsense detective with the State Police in Naples.

PODCASTS/RADIO

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly spoke with writer Jo Nesbo about his new thriller, Blood Ties, which features two brothers with a dark history—standing in contrast to the setting, a pretty little spa town.

Meet the Thriller Author welcomed Gregg Hurwitz to the podcast to discuss his writing and his 24 thrillers, including the Orphan X series.

On Crime Time FM, Graeme Macrae Burnet chatted with Paul Burke about the concluding volume of the Gorsky trilogy, A Case of Matricide; Simenon; Zola; small town France; and Kilmarnock.

Write Place, Wrong Crime's Frank Zafiro spoke with DM Barr (Dawn Barclay), who shared her wide range of work in crime fiction and non-fiction alike.

Murder Junction welcomed Simon Mayo, radio broadcasting legend, to discuss his latest thriller, Black Tag, the legend of convict King Dick, and his fondest memories from his famous radio "Confessions" segment.

On Crime Cafe, host Debbi Mack chatted with educator and crime writer Michael Kaufman about his Jen Lu series, which features a brain implant character named Chandler.

On Pick Your Poison, Dr. Jen Prosse investigated a toxin in the local diet that affected Arctic explorers in the 1800s but not native people; which body part reflects brain swelling; and what the ancient Egyptians used to treat night blindness.

Mystery Melange - Valentine's Edition

Grove Atlantic Press is launching a new crime fiction imprint, Atlantic Crime, led by senior editor Joe Brosnan. The imprint will release approximately 18-24 titles per year, with Grove Atlantic’s current crime fiction backlist of more than 300 titles also moving to the new imprint. Atlantic Crime is scheduled to publish five frontlist releases in its inaugural season this fall: The Predicament by William Boyd, Silent Bones by Val McDermid, The Whisper Place by Mindy Mejia, and We Had a Hunch by Tom Ryan. The imprint will make its official debut on September 2 with What About the Bodies, Ken Jaworowski's second novel (his first, Small Town Sins, published by Holt in 2023, was an Edgar Award nominee).

On the Postman on Holiday blog, Lou Armagno made note of the 100th anniversary of the first Charlie Chan novel, The House Without a Key. It was serialized in the Saturday Evening Post over seven-weekly editions, beginning January 24th, 1925, before being released as a mystery novel by Bobbs-Merrill publishers later that year. Chan's creator, the author Earl Derr Biggers, only wrote six novels in the series, but the beloved Hawaiian-Chinese detective has been adapted into hundreds of movies and TV and radio programs in the years since.

In a guest post for The Rap Sheet, Mark Coggins made note of the surprising fact that Raymond Chandler, known for his hard-boiled novels set in Los Angeles, actually lived and worked in San Francisco before fellow detective author, Dashiell Hammett, who is more associated with that city. As it turns out, both authors had connections to architect Albert Pissis, who designed a number of important buildings in the years before and after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

Noir at the Bar heads to Roma's Garden in Nacogdoches, Texas, on March 7th. Authors scheduled to read from their works include Joe R. Lansdale, Jim Nesbitt, VP Chandler, Tim Bryant, Reavis Wortham, and James King.

Janet Rudolph updated her list of Valentine's Day Crime Fiction with mysteries that take place on or around Valentine's Day.

Mystery Lovers' Kitchen included some Valentine's reads and eats, past and present, including Cleo Coyle's Easy Double Chocolate Brownie Muffins; Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake via Maddie Day; a Dark Chocolate Cake with Pomegranate Glaze, courtesy of Lucy Burdette; and Gluten Free Linzer Hearts from Libby Klein.

In the Q&A roundup, Lisa Haselton chatted with cozy mystery author Marlene M. Bell about her new novel, A Hush at Midnight; El Pais spoke with Kate Atkinson, who reflected on her career and the value of giving fiction distance from contemporary issues to ensure it stands the test of time; E. B. Davis interviewed Debra H. Goldstein about her collection of mystery short stories, With Our Bellies Full and the Fire Dying; and Crime Fiction Lover welcomed Yorkshire-based writer Nick Boreham to discuss his debut crime novel, Jurymen May Dine.

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

Two-time Oscar nominee John Travolta (Pulp Fiction), Emmy and Tony winner Mandy Patinkin (Homeland), and SAG nominee Dermot Mulroney (August Osage County) have been set to headline the JFK thriller, November 1963, from two-time Oscar nominee Roland Joffé (The Killing Fields). The film sheds light on the crime group, the Chicago Outfit, and their alleged involvement in the assassination and draws directly from first-hand accounts, including insights from the family of crime boss Sam Giancana. John Travolta will star as Johnny Roselli, a key figure in organized crime and the Outfit’s man on the West Coast and in Vegas. Mandy Patinkin will star as Anthony Accardo, a powerful and calculating head of the Chicago Outfit, considered one of the most powerful crime bosses in America at the time. Dermot Mulroney will step into the role of Chuckie Nicoletti, Sam Giancana’s bodyguard and the Outfit’s most notorious South Side hit man.

Netflix and AGBO's adaptation of the Alex North novel, The Whisper Man, is gaining steam with Robert De Niro set to star in the crime thriller. James Ashcroft is on board to direct, with Ben Jacoby and Chase Palmer adapting the script. Based on North’s New York Times bestselling novel, The Whisper Man revolves around a widower crime writer who, after his 8-year-old son is abducted, looks to his estranged father, a retired former police detective, for help, only to discover a connection with the decades-old case of a convicted serial killer known as “The Whisper Man.”

Samuel L. Jackson (The Piano Lesson) and Daveed Diggs (Nickel Boys) are set to star in a new hit man thriller from filmmaker Ernest Dickerson (Juice) and Gringo scribe Matthew Stone. Jackson plays Morris Stokes, a recently retired and very opinionated hit man for mob boss Easy-A. When his nephew Leslie (Diggs), is implicated in the theft of the mob’s earnings, Morris gets a call from his old boss that forces him off the golf course and back into action to negotiate one last job: he’s got the weekend to help the kid recover the stolen money or put a bullet in him. Complicating things is the fact that Leslie has a baby on the way

Ben Affleck and Gillian Anderson are set to star in the kidnapping thriller, Animals, for Netflix, with Affleck also directing. Matt Damon was originally attached to star in the film but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts with Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. The film follows a mayoral candidate and his wife who must get their hands dirty to save their son after he is kidnapped.

TELEVISION/STREAMING

BAFTA-winner Nick Leather's next project, an as-yet untitled TV series, will reveal the inner workings of UK's National Crime Agency (NCA), told through a story about the 2020 infiltration of the encrypted phone-system EncroChat and how it gave the agency a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to decimate the criminal underworld. There have been more than 3,400 arrests so far including almost 13,300 years of combined sentencing, and the operation is still ongoing.

Bergerac is returning with a 2025 makeover and plenty of global networks are welcoming the iconic detective back. The original series starred John Nettles as the titular crime fighter, Jim Bergerac, and ran for nine seasons between 1981 and 1991. Unlike that show, which had a new storyline in each episode, the modern series from writer Toby Whithouse follows one character-led murder mystery. Bergerac begins the series as a broken man, grappling with grief and alcoholism following his wife’s death. His mother-in-law (Zoe Wanamaker) is concerned he is not putting his daughter (Chloé Sweet Love) first, and when a woman from a wealthy Jersey family is murdered, he has to go through personal struggles to become the formidable investigator he was. Philip Glenister also stars.

The story of California’s most notorious female serial killer, Dorothea Puente, is being turned into a TV series by former Sony Pictures Television Studios President Jeff Frost through his new production company, Bristol Circle Entertainment. The potential series is based on the life of Puente, who opened a boarding house in Sacramento in the 1980s, inviting the poor, the mentally infirm, and homeless to live there, often for free. Hailed as a generous benefactor, Puente, then in her 50s, was in reality murdering her boarders and continuing to cash their social security checks. After evading suspicion for years, in part because of her disarming, matronly demeanor, Puente was ultimately arrested. After a wild trial, she was convicted for three of the murders and spent her last years in prison.

PODCASTS/RADIO

On the latest Read or Dead, Katie McLain Horner and Kendra Winchester recommended mysteries and thrillers for Black History Month.

Authors on the Air welcomed Kate Alice Marshall to discuss her new chilling thriller, A Killing Cold.

On Crime Time FM, Anna Sharpe (aka Anna Mazzola) chatted with Craig Sisterson about her new legal thriller, Notes on a Drowning; contemporary vs. historical fiction; misogyny; childhood reading; and condensing the law.

Mystery Melange

Mark Schuster posted in the Short Mystery Fiction Society group the finalists for the inaugural SMFS Derringer Award for Best Anthology. Voting will be held from April 1, 2025, to April 29, 2025, along with the other Derringer categories (those finalists are yet to be announced), with winners revealed May 1. The shortlist includes:

• Devil's Snare: Best New England Crime Stories 2024 edited by Susan Oleksiw, Ang Pompano, Leslie Wheeler
• Friend of the Devil: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Grateful Dead edited by Josh Pachter
• Larceny & Last Chances: 22 Stories of Mystery & Suspense edited by Judy Penz Sheluk
• Murder, Neat: A SleuthSayers Anthology edited by Michael Bracken and Barb Goffman
• New York State of Crime: Murder New York Style 6 edited by D.M. Barr and Joseph R.G. De Marco
• The 13th Letter edited by Donna Carrick

 

Submissions to he Eleanor Taylor Bland Award for Emerging Crime Writers of Color, sponsored by Sisters in Crime, will be accepted through March 31. This $2,000 grant is intended to support the recipient in crime fiction writing and career development activities. The grantee may choose to use the grant for activities that include workshops, seminars, conferences, retreats, online courses, and research activities required for completion of the work. You do not have to be a member of Sisters in Crime to apply for this grant, but you can't have published two novels or ten or more short stories. For more information, follow this link.

Noir Con is sponsoring Dancing on the Edge of the Abyss: Goodisville 2025, to be held on Sunday, March 2nd, from 12 noon to 5:30 pm ET. David L. Goodis was a prolific writer, churning out numerous novels, movies, screenplays, pulps, and short stories. He is considered to be one of the greatest noir masters that include Jim Thompson, Chester Himes, and Charles Willeford, with work characterized by a gritty, cynical, and often fatalistic tone, exploring themes of despair, loneliness, and the underbelly of his favorite city, Philadelphia. Participants will gather at Philadelphia's Fishtown Crossing, with a bus ride to some of Goodis’s favorite haunts and his final resting place, special guest appearances, birthday cake, door prizes, Special Commemorative Goodis Swag, and more.

Bloody Scotland announced Ian Rankin will serve as their first ever guest programmer. Sir Ian is working with the Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival programming team as they prepare the line-up for the event, which returns to Stirling in September. He's working with them to share his personal passions and put his unique spin on one of the UK’s largest crime fiction festivals. All will be revealed when the program launches in June 2025. On joining, Sir Ian said: "Bloody Scotland manages to remain the world’s friendliest and most inclusive crime fiction festival while also attracting the biggest and brightest names in the business to the city of Stirling. It’s epic!" Bloody Scotland will be held 12th-14th September 2025.

Noir at the Bar heads to Swampscott, Massachusetts at Cafe Avellino on February 20th at 6pm. Authors scheduled to participate include Kate Flora, Connie Hambley, Tom Davidson, Bonnar Spring, Zakariah Johnson, Gabriela Stiteler, Sally Milliken, E. Chris Ambrose, Stephen D. Rogers, and Norman Birnbach.

In the Q&A roundup, Michael Cannell, author of five non-fiction books, applied the Page 99 Test to his latest book, Blood and the Badge: The Mafia, Two Killer Cops, and a Scandal That Shocked the Nation; thriller author Luis Figueredo chatted with Lisa Haselton about his new medical legal novel, When Canaries Die; Tova Mirvis spoke with the The Boston Globe about writing her first mystery/thriller, We Would Never; and Seattle Magazine interviewed Kirsten Sundberg Lunstrum about her first novel, Elita, "a Northwestern take on Nordic Noir" set during a Seattle winter in 1951.

Agatha Award Finalists for 2025

The annual Agatha Awards celebrate the traditional mystery, best typified by the works of Agatha Christie. The genre is loosely defined as mysteries that contain no explicit sex, excessive gore, or gratuitous violence, and would not be classified as "hard-boiled." ​Everyone who is registered for the Malice Domestic conference or becomes a Friend of Malice of any given year will receive a nomination ballot in early January, with finalists voted on during the convention. Winners are announced at the Agatha Awards Banquet on Saturday night during Malice, which this year will be held from April 25-27, 2025 in Bethesda, MD. Congrats to all!

 

Best Contemporary Novel

• A Collection Of Lies by Connie Berry
• A Midnight Puzzle by Gigi Pandian
• A Very Woodsy Murder by Ellen Byron
• Fondue Or Die by Korina Moss
• The Dark Wives by Ann Cleeves

Best Historical Novel

• Hall Of Mirrors by John Copenhaver
• The Last Hope by Susan Elia MacNeal
• The Paris Mistress by Mally Becker
• The Wharton Plot by Mariah Fredericks
• To Slip The Bonds Of Earth by Amanda Flower

Best First Novel

• A Deadly Endeavor by Jenny Adams
• Ghosts Of WaikīkĪ by Jennifer K. Morita
• Hounds Of The Hollywood Baskervilles by Elizabeth Crowens
• Threads Of Deception by Elle Jauffret
• You Know What You Did by K.T. Nguyen

Best Short Story

• "A Matter Of Trust" by Barb Goffman, Three Strikes—You're Dead
• "Reynisfjara" by Kristopher Zgorski, Mystery Most International
• "Satan’s Spit" by Gabriel Valjan, Tales of Music, Murder and Mayhem: Bouchercon 2024
• "Sins Of The Father" by Kerry Hammond, Mystery Most International
• "The Postman Always Flirts Twice" by Barb Goffman, Agatha and Derringer Get Cozy

Best Non-fiction

• Abingdon's Boardinghouse Murder by Greg Lilly
• Agatha Christie, Marple: Expert On Wickedness by Mark Aldridge
• Some Of My Best Friends Are Murderers: Critiquing The Columbo Killers by Chris Chan
• The Bookshop: A History Of The American Bookstore by Evan Friss
• Writing The Cozy Mystery: Authors' Perspectives On Their Craft Edited by Phyllis M. Betz

Best Children’s/YA Mystery

• First Week Free At The Roomy Toilet: A June Knight Mystery by Josh Pachter
• Sasquatch of Harriman Lake by K.B. Jackson
• Sid Johnson & The Well-Intended Conspiracy by Frances Schoonmaker
• The Big Grey Man Of Ben Macdhui by K.B. Jackson
• The Sherlock Society by James Ponti

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

Olivia Cooke (House of the Dragon) has joined the cast of Anton Corbijn’s thriller, Switzerland, starring Helen Mirren as crime novelist and Tom Ripley creator, Patricia Highsmith. The movie was adapted by Australian writer Joanna Murray-Smith from her play of the same name, revolving around Patricia Highsmith’s encounter with an ambitious young literary agent, played by Alden Ehrenreich (Oppenheimer). Set in 1995, an aging Patricia Highsmith is living a secluded existence in the Swiss Alps with only her cats for company. When a pushy young man turns up at her residence, sent by her New York publisher to persuade her to write a final book in her best-selling Tom Ripley series, it becomes clear he is on a more sinister mission.

Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired North American rights to the action-caper, Killing Mary Sue, starring Sierra McCormick (American Horror Stories), Dermot Mulroney (My Best Friend’s Wedding), Sean Patrick Flanery (The Boondock Saints), Jason Mewes (Clerks), Martin Kove (Cobra Kai) and Kym Whitley (Rango). Written and directed by James Sunshine, Killing Mary Sue is about a corrupt senator who arranges for the murder of his biggest liability, his erratic burnout stepdaughter, only for her to unwittingly discover her natural talent as an untouchable killer.

In the wake of Den Of Thieves: Pantera grossing close to $50M globally, talks are already underway for a Den of Thieves 3. Right now, Gerard Butler is expected to return to both star in and produce the third installment, and Lionsgate is in talks with franchise creator Christian Gudegast to return to write and direct as well. The plan is for actor O’Shea Jackson Jr. to also return in the proposed follow-up. The original film centered on the clash between an elite unit of the LA County Sheriff's Department and the state's most successful bank robbery crew as the outlaws plan a seemingly impossible heist on the Federal Reserve Bank.

Sony Pictures has set a release date for Darren Aronofsky’s upcoming thriller, Caught Stealing, for August 29. Based on the book of the same name by Charlie Huston, the film stars Austin Butler as Hank Thompson, a burned-out former baseball player, who is unwittingly plunged into a wild fight for survival in the downtown criminal underworld of '90s NYC. Zoë Kravitz, Regina King, Liev Schreiber, Matt Smith, and Bad Bunny also star.

TELEVISION/STREAMING

Just a week after Rupert Murdoch's apology and settlement with Prince Harry, ITV has unveiled a phone hacking drama series starring David Tennant as investigative journalist Nick Davies. ITV and Australian streamer Stan have spent the past year quietly filming, editing, and laying the groundwork for The Hack, which comes from the storied creative trio of multi-BAFTA Award winner Jack Thorne, director Lewis Arnold (Sherwood) and producer Patrick Spence (Mr Bates vs the Post Office). Set between 2002 and 2012, The Hack interweaves two real-life stories, the work of Davies, who uncovered evidence of phone hacking at Murdoch’s now-defunct News of the World, and the story of the investigation into the unsolved murder of private investigator Daniel Morgan, led by former Met Police Detective Chief Superintendent Dave Cook (played by Robert Carlyle).

Paramount+ dropped a new trailer for its upcoming crime drama series, Happy Face, and set a premiere for March 20. The drama is inspired by the true-life story of Melissa Moore and taken from her podcast and the autobiography, Shattered Silence. At 15, Moore discovered her beloved father was the prolific serial killer known as Happy Face, and the series follows Melissa (played by Annaleigh Ashford) and her incarcerated father, known as the Happy Face Killer (Dennis Quaid). After decades of no contact, he finally finds a way to force himself back into his daughter’s life. In a race against the clock, Melissa must find out if an innocent man is going to be put to death for a crime her father committed. Throughout, she discovers the impact her father had on his victims’ families and must face a reckoning of her own identity.

Lesley Manville and Tim McMullan are set to reprise their roles as Susan Ryland and Atticus Pünd in Marble Hall Murders, an adaptation of the third and final installment in Anthony Horowitz’s Susan Ryeland series. The story picks up with Susan (Manville) returning to England where she is drawn into a new Atticus Pünd mystery — this time written by a new, young writer. "Pünd’s Last Case” is a story set in 1955 in a villa in Corfu – but the identity of a real killer is hidden in the book. McMullan (The Crown) plays Atticus, the literary detective who steps out of the books to help Susan unravel the real-life mystery of who killed Miriam Crace, the most famous children’s author in the world.

Annette Bening (Apples Never Fall) is set to star alongside Anya Taylor-Joy in Lucky, Apple TV+’s limited series from creator/executive producer Jonathan Tropper and executive producer Reese Witherspoon. Based on Marissa Stapley’s bestselling novel and Reese’s Book Club pick of the same name, Lucky stars Taylor-Joy as the eponymous heroine, a young woman who left behind the life of crime she was raised in years ago, but must now embrace her darker, criminal side one final time in a desperate attempt to escape her past. Bening will play Priscilla, a dangerous mob leader.

Suranne Jones and Jodie Whittaker are teaming on an ITV heist thriller about two skilled confidence tricksters separated by a 10-year prison sentence. Jones will play Bert, who has spent the last decade in a Spanish prison cell with a burning desire to pull off one final job that will prove her worth. Whittaker is Sam, her partner, who for the past decade has been content to live a life of quiet anonymity in the hills of Southern Spain. The story begins as Sam anxiously waits for Bert to be released from a maximum-security prison on grounds of compassionate discharge. On the pretext of one final, multi-million-pound art heist, Bert attempts to lure Sam out of retirement, but at what cost?

Peacock has given a series order to a new crime drama called Superfakes from the Emmy Award-winning Alice Ju (Beef). Superfakes follows a small-time Chinatown counterfeit luxury item dealer who enters a dangerous black market underworld in order to fund a life of suburban respectability for her family. Ju will serve as showrunner, writer, and executive producer

PODCASTS/RADIO

On the Crime Wave podcast, Scott Turow talked about life, writing, and Presumed Guilty, the long-anticipated third thriller in his Rusty Sabich series.

Crime Cafe host Debbi Mack welcomed internationally bestselling crime writer Gregg Hurwitz to discuss his writing and his Orphan X series.

Crime Time FM host Paul Burke chatted with Stella Rimington about the zeitgeisty new thriller, The Hidden Hand; the Chinese threat; MI5; sexism, and more.

Murder Junction (formerly The Red Hot Chili Writers) hosts Vaseem Khan and Abir Mukherjee spoke with journalist and crime writer Jonathan Whitelaw about his latest book, The Garden Club Murders; discussed some fun facts about bingo; and delved into the true crime case of a stolen Churchill painting taken from an Ottawa hotel.

On the Spybrary podcast, The Sunday Times chief political commentator and spy fiction fan, Tim Shipman, interviewed David McCloskey, ex-CIA analyst turned award-winning spy novelist. They discussed McCloskey's journey from a promising debut author to an international expert on espionage; his new podcast, The Rest Is Classified; and his reflections on Syria and the fall of Assad. They also talked about the development of McCloskey's protagonist, Artemis Proctor, in his latest book, The Seventh Floor, and McCloskey revealed more about the actual Seventh Floor at the CIA's HQ in Langley.

Meet the Thriller Author's Alan Peterson interviewed Jerri Williams, a former FBI special agent turned bestselling author of FBI Myths and Misconceptions: A Manual for Armchair Detectives and host of the popular podcast, FBI Retired Case File Review.

The Michael Shermer Show welcomed Dr. Rachel Toles, a licensed forensic psychologist, as they delved into the psychology of criminals, addressing the motivations behind some of the world’s most notorious killers. Her expertise spans trauma, addiction, and impulse control, culminating in her upcoming U.S. theater tour, The Psychology of a Murderer. Through captivating case studies, Toles sheds light on the dark corners of human behavior.

On Thinking Allowed, Laurie Taylor explored the fascination for true crime stories, joined by Jennifer Fleetwood, Senior Lecturer in Criminology at City, University of London, whose latest book, What We Talk About When We Talk About Crime, considers the remarkable rise in the number of people who speak publicly about their experience of crime.

On the Pick Your Poison podcast, Dr. Jen Prosser featured the antidote that has caused more deaths than the toxin itself and the type of bite that has been mistaken for appendicitis.