Crime Fiction Links of the Week for January 16, 2021

 

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 best mysteries and thrillers of 2020, a look ahead at 2021, series 10 of Death in Paradise, The Pembrokeshire Murders, The Marksman, Outside the Wire, The Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer, tributes to John Lutz and much more.

Crime fiction in general:

• Crime Reads shares ten new crime novels coming out this week. 
• Crime Reads shares the best new crime novels available in paperback this January.
  
• Lisa Levy hosts a roundtable about the state of crime fiction in California in two parts.
• Crossexamining Crime asks several mystery writers about the legacy of golden age crime fiction.
  
• Christopher Fowler explains why humour is an integral part of crime fiction.
• Amy Stewart points out that all epistolary novels are mysteries. 
• Emma Rous shares the ten best dinner parties in modern crime fiction. 
• Victoria Gosling points out that diamonds often are the ultimate Macguffin in crime fiction.
  
• Sulari Gentill talks about the most unbreakable rule of crime fiction, that you can't kill the dog. 
• Una Mannion talks about crime novels featuring children who are left to raise themselves. 
• Frederick Weisel takes a look at crime fiction writers, characters and actors who suffered from dementia.
  
• Tim Glister talks about the challenges of writing crime fiction set in the 1960s.
  
• Nick Petrie shares nine great science fiction thrillers.
• Jeff Noon explains how he came from writing science fiction to writing crime fiction.
  
• Val McDermid talks about her literary influences.
  
• Joanne Hichens talks about growing up in apartheid South Africa and shares her experiences with white supremacy.
  
• Carmen Maria Machado talks about the twisted brilliance of Patricia Highsmith for her 100th birthday. 
• Mark Brown wonders why Mills & Boon romance novels are so popular and interviews some of their authors.
  
• Kristie Lim reports that a rare second edition of the classic gothic novel The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe has been discovered in a library in Perth, Australia. 
• Christi Carras reports that Stacey Abrams, US political activist and romantic suspense writer, will publish a new thriller in May.
  
• Urban crime fiction author Eric Jerome Dickey has died aged 59.
• Crime fiction writer John Lutz has died aged 81.
• J. Kingston Pierce remembers John Lutz.
  

 

Best of 2020:

• Crime by the Book shares their favourite crime novels of 2020.
• Raven Crime Reads shares their favourite crime novels of 2020.
• Joy Kluver shares her ten favourite crime novels of 2020.
• Glen Davis shares his favourite crime novels of 2020.
• Olivia Rutigliano shares the fifteen best crime and mystery TV series of 2020.
  

A Look Ahead at 2021: 

• Crime by the Book looks ahead at the crime novels coming out in 2021. 
• J. Kingston Pierce takes a look at the crime novels coming out in early 2021.
• Gwilym Mumford takes a look ahead at the TV series coming out in 2021.

 

Film and TV:

• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw calls Lupin France's answer to Sherlock. 
• Leslie Felperin finds the heist thriller The Doorman quite silly, but was impressed by Ruby Rose's performance. 
• Ellen E. Jones declares that the drug-smuggling thriller Imperial Blue is remarkably eurocentric in spite of being set in Uganda.
  
• Ellen E. Jones calls Recon a flat adaptation of a celebrated war novel.
  
• Peter Bradshaw calls The Mauretanian a Guantanamo drama that provides few answers. 
  
• Leslie Felperin calls Daniel a terrifying true tale about an ISIS captive.
  
• James Donaghy shares his thoughts about the latest episodes of the French crime drama Spiral. 
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Your Honor.
• Sarah Hughes wonders why the programming of the UK TV channel ITV is so heavy on crime dramas. 
• Sandra Mangan looks ahead at two new documentaries about Agatha Christie. 
• Martin Edwards compares filmic depictions of Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey.
• Kimberley Truhler takes a look at the iconic outfits worn by Gene Tierney in the 1944 noir thriller Laura.
  
• Charles Bramesco revisits the 2007 thriller I Know Who Killed Me and points out that it is not a bad movie.
  
• George Bass interviews Franka Potente and Moritz Bleibtreu, the stars of the 1998 alternate reality crime movie Run, Lola, Run.  
• Arnold Schwarzenegger has a message for Donald Trump and all Americans and brandishes Conan's sword to reinforce it.
• Actor Macaulay Culkin has joined calls to digitally remove Donald Trump's cameo from Home Alone 2. 
  
• Steven Morris reports that the Paignton Picture House, a historical cinema in Paignton, Devon, UK, which once was patronised by Agatha Christie, will be restored to its former glory. 
  
• Country singer and actor Ed Bruce, who's best known for his role on Maverick, has died aged 81.
• Horror and action movie actress Julie Strain has died aged 58. 

 

Comments on series 10 of Death in Paradise:

• Rebecca Nicholson calls series 10 of Death in Paradise cozy and refreshingly free of darkness.
• Sirin Kale traces how Death in Paradise quietly became one of the biggest hits on British TV.
  

 

Comments on The Pembrokeshire Murders:

• Rebecca Nicholson calls The Pembrokeshire Murders a gripping crime drama that focusses on the victims. 
• Martin Edwards shares his thoughts on The Pembrokeshire Murders.
  

 

Comments on The Marksman:

• Ignatiy Vishnevetsky declares that Liam Neeson moves into Clint Eastwood territory with his latest thriller The Marksman. 
• Marah Eakin interviews Liam Neeson, star of The Marksman.
  

 

Comments on The Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer:

• Adrian Horton calls The Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer a distrubing true crime series. 
• Stuart Jeffries declares that The Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer offers a peek into the abyss. 
• Katie Rife declares that The Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer is really about family. 

 

Comments on Outside the Wire:

• Benjamin Lee calls Outside the Wire a competent thriller that toys with big ideas.
  
• Mike D'Angelo calls Outside the Wire Training Day meets The Terminator, but less fun than either.
• Watch a clip from Outside the Wire.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Andrea Hull declares that the new year is the perfect time to start writing. 
• Beverley D'Silva explains why being creative is good for you. 
• Sarah Gailey launches the Building Beyond project.
  
• David C. Smith explains why he writes. 
• P.J. Tracy explains why people watching is a useful activity for writers. 
• Lee Goldberg talks about the thrills of researching your fiction.
  
• The Emperor's Notepad shares some tips for writing dense description. 
• Carlyn Robertson offers a look at BookBub's best performing ads.of 2020.
  
• Alison Flood reports that independent bookshops in the UK report the highest numbers since 2013, in spite of the pandemic.
• Mike Glyer shares an update about the status of Uncle Hugo's and Uncle Edgar's, the science fiction and mystery specialty bookshops burned down during the riots in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
• Mina Blyly-Strauss, daughter of Uncle Hugo's and Uncle Edgar's owner Don Blyly, has started the Uncles Stories project to collect stories from customers, authors and staff about the two beloved bookstores. 
  
• Jennifer Karr shares her thoughts on Little Free Libraries.
  

 

Interviews:

• Lee Child and Paraic O'Donnell interview each other.
  
• Nancie Clare interviews Lee Goldberg.
• Suspense Magazine interviews John Connolly.
• Charlotte Higgins interviews Mick Herron.
• John Hoda interviews Andy Maslen.
• Marshal Zeringue interviews Monica Rodden. 
• Marshal Zeringue interviews Molly MacRae.
• E.B. Davis interviews Jane Willan. 
  
• John Wisniewski interviews Indy Perro.
• Crime Spree Magazine interviews Nick Mamatas.

Reviews:

• Joy Kluver reviews The Last Thing to Burn by Will Dean.
• Allison Brennan reviews Deep Into the Dark by P.J. Tracy.
• Lesa Holstine reviews Deep Into the Dark by P.J. Tracy.
• Vicki Weisfeld reviews Waiting for the Night Song by Julie Carrick Dalton.
  
• Crime by the Book reviews Bloodline by Jess Lourey. 
• No More Grumpy Bookseller reviews Unspeakable Things by Jess Lourey. 
  
• Sandra Mangan review Trust by Chris Hammer. 
• Catherine Turnbull reviews The Captive by Deborah O'Connor.
  
• Raven Crime Reads reviews Black Irish Blues by Andrew Cotto.
  
• Crime by the Book reviews The Butterfly House by Katrine Engberg. 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews The Butterfly House by Katrine Engberg. 
• No More Grumpy Bookseller reviews The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins. 
• No More Grumpy Bookseller reviews The Perfect Guests by Emma Rous.
  
• For Winter Nights reviews Shiver by Allie Reynolds. 
• Sandra Mangan reviews Take Me Apart by Sara Sligar.
  
• Raven Crime Reads reviews Without a Trace by Mari Hannah.
• Lesa Holstine reviews A Deadly Edition by Victoria Gilbert.
• Lesa Holstine reviews A Curious Incident by Vicki Delany.
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Bait and Witch by Angela M. Sanders. 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews A Catered Book Club Murder by Isis Crawford and tries a recipe from the book. 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Robert B. Parker's Someone to Watch Over Me by Ace Atkins.
  

Classics reviews:

• James Reasoner revisits the 1927 horror thriller Seven Footprints to Satan by A. Merritt.   
• Martin Edwards revisits the 1934 Sir Henry Merrivale mystery The Plague Court Murders by Carter Dickson a.k.a. John Dickson Carr.
  
• Crossexamining Crime revisits the 1945 suspense novel The Red Right Hand by Joel Townsley Rogers.
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1945 horror thriller novella "Bones Will Tell" by Bruno Fisher.   
• Lesa Holstine revisits the 1950 Miss Marple mystery A Murder Is Announced by Agatha Christie. 
• Crossexamining Crime revisits the 1957 Jane and Dagobert Brown mystery She Wouldn't Say Who by Delano Ames. 
• Paperback Warrior revisits Nympho Lodge, a 1959 Tokey Wedge detective novel by Jack Lynn a.k.a. Max Van DerVeer. 
• B.V. Lawson revisits the 1966 suspense novel I Start Counting by Audrey Erskine Lindop.
  
• Howling Frog Books revisits the 1966 science fiction detective novel Watchers of the Dark by Lloyd Biggle Jr. 
• Joe Kenney revisits The Glass Cipher, a 1967 novel in The Adjusters spy fiction series by Peter Winston.
  
• Izzy Reads revisits the 1968 science fiction noir novel Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep? by Philip K. Dick. 
• Paperback Warrior revisits Hunting Lure, a 1989 novel in the Decoy police thriller series by Stephen Robertson a.k.a. Robert W. Walker.
  

 

Con and event reports:

• Katherine Cowdrey reports that Publishers Weekly is launching the virtual US Book Show, a new book fair to replace the permanently cancelled Book Expo America. 
• Molly Odintz reports that the house in Falls River, Massachussets, where Lizzie Borden may or may not have murdered her father and stepmother, now a museum, is for sale.
  

 

Research:

• Jessica Lussenhop reports about the case of mentally ill abuse victim Lisa Montgomery who murdered a pregnant woman to cut the baby out of her womb and was executed by Donald Trump during his last few days in office.
• Tori Telfer also discusses the sad life, the crime and death of Lisa Montgomery. 
• Ben Machell reports about Stephen Jackley, bank robber and modern day Robin Hood.
  
• Olivia Rutigliano talks about the 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre.
  

 
Free online fiction:

• "The Noble Bachelor" by Terence Faherty in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine.
  
• "The World's Champion Ball-Bouncer" by Patricia Highsmith in The Guardian. 
• "Denied" by Karen Harrington in Shotgun Honey.
  
• "In the Frame" by Linda McMullen in Shotgun Honey. 
• "A Long Night" by John Wolf in Tough.
  
• "The Graveyard Shift" by Matthew Wilson in Mystery Tribune.
• "Left Unspoken" by Nicholas Tomsko in Mystery Tribune.
• "Mask Rebels" by Robert Petyo in Flash Bang Mysteries.
• "Free Delivery" by Max Thrax in The Five-Two.
  

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for The Doorman.
  
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Snowpiercer.