Crime Fiction Links of the Week for January 27, 2018

It's time again for Crime Fiction Links of the Week, our weekly round-up of interesting links about crime fiction from around the web, this week with The Alienist, Altered Carbon, McMafia, Waco, the nominees for the Barry Awards and much more.

Crime fiction in general:

• Laura Wilson offers a round-up of the best recent crime novels.
  
• Crime by the Book lists their essential nordic noir reads.
• Margot Kinberg takes a looks at crime novels set at or featuring airports.
• Billy J. Stratton points out that sexual violence in Hollywood has been a subject of crime fiction longer before it became a hotly debated topic in reality.
• Tim Adams profiles Daniel Mallory.
• Brad at Ah, Sweet Mystery Blog shares his favourite Agatha Christie mysteries. 
• Jake Hinkson revisits the 1931 Inspector Maigret mystery The Grand Banks Café by Georges Simenon.
  
• Doctor Science shares the John Donne test, via which she evaluates mysteries.

Film and TV:

• Oline Cogdill shares her appreciation for Major Crimes and explains why she is sad that the series was cancelled.
• Alex McLevy calls Steven Soderbergh's crime series Mosaic one of the best mini-series of the year.  
• Crime Fiction Lover shares their appreciation for the Swedish crime drama Rebecka Martinsson: Arctic Murders.
• David Stubbs shares his thoughts on the latest episode of McMafia.
• Francis Lawrence, director of the upcoming spy film Red Sparrow, responds to the Black Widow comparisons. 

Comments on The Alienist:

• Genevieve Valentine declares that The Alienist suffers in comparison with Mindhunter which told a similar story.
• Jake Nevins declares that The Alienist is short on thrills and fails to excite in spite of good production values.
• Farid Ul Haq shares his thoughts on the first two episodes of The Alienist. 

Comments on Altered Carbon:

• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw calls Altered Carbon part derivative noir detective story and part interested tale of doomed freedom fighters.
• Jahkotta Lewis calls Altered Carbon a mix of Ghost in the Shell and Blade Runner with many similar issues.
• Carina Nilma calls Altered Carbon a nuanced and detailed Blade Runner for the small screen. 
• S.C. O'Donnell calls Altered Carbon the perfect series for Westworld fans. 
• Andrew Liptak calls Altered Carbon Netflix's first big prestige SFF show.

Comments on Waco:

• Charles Bramesco calls Waco a shallow disappointment that doesn't offer anything new.
• Alex McLevy likes Waco somewhat better, because the mini-series matches his personal view of the events fairly closely.
• Ardi Alspach takes a look at the two true crime books on which Waco is based.
  

Awards:

• The nominees for the 2018 Barry Awards have been announced. 
• The nominees for the 90th Academy Awards have been announced
• Nomiations are open for the 2018 Ngaio Marsh Awards.
• The Staunch Literary Prize for thrillers that avoid sexual violence against women has been launched.

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Chuck Wendig shares his thoughts on imposter syndrome. 
• Oky Akhigbe shares thirteen ways to beat writer's block.
• Writer Emma Straub talks about her troubled relationship with her father, writer Peter Straub.
• Arielle Contreras shares some tips for writing a memoir.
• Jeff Tanyard shares some tips for writing stronger blurbs.
• The Puppet Show shares the writers A to Z of fears and phobias.

Interviews:

• Jacob Collins interviews C.J. Tudor.
• Victoria Goldman interviews Eva Dolan.
• Victoria Goldman interviews Kate Rhodes.
  

Reviews:

• Ardi Alspach reviews A Treacherous Curse by Deanna Raybourn. 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Her Beautiful Monster by Adi Tantimedh. 
• The Quiet Knitter reviews The Coroner's Daughter by Andrew Hughes.
• Vicki Weisfeld reviews Robicheaux: You Know My Name by James Lee Burke.
• Crime Fiction Lover reviews Scorched Earth by David Mark.
• Jacob Collins reviews Hell Bay by Kate Rhodes.
• Deborah Lacy reviews Hidden Depths by Ann Cleeves. 
• Catherine Turnbull reviews If I Die Before I Wake by Emily Koch.
• Kristin Centorcelli reviews In a Cottage in a Wood by Cass Green.
• Richard Z. Santos reviews Into the Black Nowhere by Meg Gardiner. 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Now We Are Dead by Stuart MacBride.
• Hank Wagner reviews Heaven's Crooked Finger by Hank Early.
• Jean Gazis reviews A Season to Lie by Emily Littlejohn.
• Janet Webb reviews Need to Know by Karen Cleveland. 
• Eileen Brady reviews Killing Pace by Douglas Schofield. 
• Jen Lucas reviews The Photographer by Craig Robertson.
• A Life in Books reviews Sisters: A Tale of Obsession by Lily Tuck.
• Mal McEwan reviews Savages: The Wedding by Sabri Louatah, translated by Gavin Bowd.
• Vicki Weisfeld reviews Crazy Rhythm by T.W. Emory.
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Key Lime Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke and tries a recipe from the book. 
• Victoria Goldman reviews This is How It Ends by Eva Dolan. 

Con and event reports:

• Jamie Bernthal reports about a performance of The Comedy About a Bank Robbery by the Mischief Theatre in London, UK.
  

Research:

• The Puppet Show shares a guide to vulnerable witnesses.
• Alyssa Pereira reports that at least one of three men who escaped Alcatraz in 1962 may still be alive. 
• John Ferguson reports that new forensic technology has helped to put a drug gang behind bars. 

Free online fiction:

• "Freedom Bird" by Thomas Pluck at Criminal Element.
• "Cutting Corners" by Dick Carmel at Akashic Books.
• "Hehua" by Millie Ho in Fireside Fiction.
  

Odds and ends: 

• Watch a trailer for Seven Seconds.
• Watch a trailer for Waco.