Mystery Melange

The San Marino Public Library Foundation is hosting "A Conversation with Michael Connelly" on Friday, May 30, at 7 p.m. at the San Marino Community Center. Attendees will dive into the world of crime fiction with Connelly, the best-selling author of the "Harry Bosch" and "Lincoln Lawyer" series, as Connelly shares insights into his writing process and the inspiration behind his novels. Naomi Hirahara, Edgar Award-winning mystery author, will be the interviewer for the foundation. Connelly will also be signing copies of his latest novel following the talk. Proceeds from the event, which will have limited seating, benefits the Crowell Public Library. 

On the other side of the Atlantic, Surrey Libraries will feature an "Evening with Mark Billingham and Abir Mukherjee" as they discuss crime and thrillers and the long and often difficult road of writing, on Wednesday, June 25. Billingham is best known for his series with Tom Thorne and Detective Miller, and Mukherjee for his Wyndham & Banerjee novels. Book will be available for purchase, via Waterstones. Tickets are available via this link.

Noir at the Bar heads to Knoll's Bar in Laguna Niguel, California on Sunday, May 8, from 6:30-8:30pm. Authors currently scheduled to appear and read from their works include Eric Beetner, Matt Coyle, Barbara DeMarco-Barrett, Rachel Howzell Hall, Gary Phillips, and Halley Sutton, with Arvida Book Company on hand for sales.

There will be another Noir at the Bar at the Shade Bar in New York City on June 1st. Authors currently scheduled to appear include Christa Faust, Rob Hart, Alex Segura, K.T. Nguyen, Joshua Chaplinsky, Jordan Harper, and David Heska Wanbli Weiden, with Todd Robinson (aka "Big Daddy Thug") serving as host.

Some good news from journalist Barry Forshaw: Penguin is reissuing novels by one of the greatest of American crime fiction practitioners, the iconic Elmore Leonard (1925-2013), as part of the Penguin Modern Classics Crime series. The first three titles are set to publish on June 5 of this year, including Swag, The Switch, and Rum Punch, which Quentin Tarantino filmed as Jackie Brown. As Forshaw rightly notes, the centenary of Elmore Leonard’s birth takes place later this year, making this the perfect opportunity to revisit the "unmatched brilliance of the king of crime."

As part of a continuing weekly series on Alaska history by local historian David Reamer in Alaska Life, Reamer investigated how famous hard-boiled crime author Dashiell Hammett ended up stationed on Adak during World War II.

It's that time of year when many folks start thinking about travel plans, and Paul French takes us Down Under for a look at contemporary crime fiction in Perth and Western Australia.

Writing for India Today, Aditya Mani Jha reported on "India's Crime Fiction Wave," with a look at some recent books and conferences.

If you're a crime fiction fan and live in the UK, you might want to check out the magazine, "Cozy Crime Puzzles." (HT to Cross Examining Crime)

In the Q&A roundup, Crime Fiction Lover welcomed Croatian crime writer Jurica Pavičic, whose work will appear in English translation for the first time with Red Water; and Publishers Weekly chatted with historical mystery author, Antonia Hodgson, about The Raven Scholar, the first volume of the Eternal Path trilogy, and how she plans like a raven and writes like a fox.