Crime Fiction Links of the Week for February 3, 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 McMafia, Lies We Tell, Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams, Waco, the nominees for the Agatha Awards and much more.

Crime fiction in general:

• Barry Forshaw and Louise Rhind-Tutt take a look at the current state of thrillers and crime fiction.
• Jason Stager profiles New Zealand crime writer Ben Sanders.
• Jamie Bernthal revisits Agatha Christie's classic 1926 mystery The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.
  

Film and TV:

• Sam Wollaston declares that the gothic thriller Requiem is heavy with clichés. 
• Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya shares her thoughts on the latest episode of How to Get Away with Murder.
• Evan Narcisse share his thoughts on episodes 1 and 2 of the parallel universe spy thriller series Counterpart.  
• Clare Longrigg shares her thoughts about the mafia drama Maltese.
• Ardi Alspach shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Waco.
• Charles Bramesco explains what Waco and other TV shows get wrong about cults.
• Peter Foy shares his appreciation for the British crime drama The End of the F***ing World (sic). 
• Rebecca Nicholson shares her thoughts on the documentary Death Row 2018.
• Eric Adams interviews Vince Gilligan, creator of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. 
• Lilly Greenblatt reports that actor Daniel Dae Kim, who appeared in Lost and Hawaii Five-O, will produce First Rule of Ten, a crime series about a Buddhist monk solving crimes.
• Steve Vertlieb remembers film composer Miklos Rozsa.

Comments on McMafia: 

• David Stubbs shares his thoughts on the latest episode of McMafia.
• Jack Seale complains that McMafia and Next of Kin, another British prestige drama, are very slow.
  

Comments on Lies We Tell:

• Peter Bradshaw declares that in spite of its talented cast, Lies We Tell is a leaden drama lacking thrillers.
• Stuart Jeffries explains how Mitu Misra, director and writer of Lies We Tell, managed to persuade Harvey Keitel and Gabriel Byrne to star in his debut film.
  

Comments on Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams:

• Paul Levinson offers an episode by episode review of Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams.
• Evan Narcisse ranks all episodes of Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams

Awards:

• The nominees for the 2018 Agatha Awards have been announced.
• The longlist for the 2018 Jhalak Prize for Book of the Year by a Writer of Colour has been announced. 
• Sophie Hannah criticises the establishment of the Staunch Prize for thrillers without violence against women.

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• The Puppet Show shares a guide to crime writing courses in 2018. 
• Laura Lippman shares five writing tips.
• Tracee De Hahn talks about researching her novel A Well-Timed Murder. 
• Claudie Arsenault explains how she found new passions and hobbies via researching her novels. 
• Patty Janssen explains that time is the secret ingredient to overnight success.
• Aidan Doyle shares his experiences crowdfunding a genre anthology.
• Tracy Cooper-Posey explains how distributing her books wide raised her sales.
• Patty Janssen shares some tips regarding what to look for in a book cover designer.
• The BBC takes a look at stereotypical book cover designs for various genres.
  

Interviews:

• Jim Ruland interviews Tod Goldberg.
• Victoria Goldman interviews Matt Wesolowski.
  

Reviews:

• Allison Brennan reviews Dark in Death by J.D. Robb.
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Killed in Action by Michael Sloan. 
• Michael Patrick Hicks reviews The Night Trade by Barry Eisler. 
• Damp Pebbles reviews The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor.
• Sara Kippur reviews The Perfect Nanny a.k.a. Lullaby by Leila Slimani, translated by Sam Taylor.
• John Valeri reviews Vanished by Karen E. Olson.
• Karen McMillan reviews See You in September by Charity Norman.
  
• Live and Deadly reviews London Rules by Mick Herron.
• Danielle Antosz reviews Killer Choice by Tom Hunt.
• Compulsive Readers reviews An Evil Mind by Chris Carter. 
• Janet Webb reviews Breaking Point by Allison Brennan. 
• Marina Sofia reviews Hell Bay by Kate Rhodes. 
• Crime Fiction Lover reviews A Cold Day in Hell by Lissa Marie Redmond. 
• Crime Fiction Lover also reviews This Is How It Ends by Eva Dolan.
• Sandy's Book a Day reviews The Agency by Ian Austin.
• Crime Fiction Lover reviews The Photographer by Craig Robertson. 
• Meghan Harker reviews The Burial Society by Nina Sadowsky.
• Doreen Sheridan reviews The Grave's a Fine and Private Place by Alan Bradley. 
• Raven Crime Reads reviews Miss Blaine's Prefect and the Golden Samovar by Olga Wojtas.
• Liz Bourke reviews The Murders of Molly Southbourne by Tade Thompson.  
• John Valeri reviews Curses, Boiled Again by Shari Randall.
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Carrot Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke and tries out a recipe from the book.
  

Con reports: 

• The Publishers Association of New Zealand reports about Rotorua Noir, a new crime fiction festival in Rotorua, New Zealand.
• Mike Glyer shares the line-up for the 2018 Philip K. Dick Film Festival in New York City. 
  

Research:

• Mary Beard asks who is to blame for committing a crime, the criminal or the society that shaped them.
  

Free online fiction:

•  "The Sparrow" by Kristen Petry at Akashic Books. 
• "Edge of the Abyss" by Tyler Auffhammer in Crimson Streets.

Odds and ends:

• Watch a trailer for The Hurricane Heist.
• Watch a trailer for Castle Rock.