Crime Fiction Links of the Week for April 3, 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 series 4 of Unforgotten, series 6 of Line of Duty, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, season 2 of City on a Hill, Original Gangster and much more.

Crime fiction in general:

• Crime Reads shares ten new crime novels and thrillers coming out this week. 
• Crime Reads shares ten crime novels to read this April.
  
• Crime Reads shares the best reviewed crime novels of March 2021.
  
• Paul French discusses mysteries set in Bangalore, India. 
• Laura Griffin shares the best thrillers set in Texas. 
• Melissa Febos recounts how mysteries and crime novels by female writers helped her to overcome the patriarchy in her own life.
  
• Kate Disabato shares her favourite crime fiction and thriller plot twists without spoilers.  
• Erica Ruth Neubauer shares her favourite historical mysteries set in the 1920s.
  
• Elisa Shoenberger shares seven thrilling SFF murder mysteries. 
• Shelley Nolden shares eight medical thrillers.
  
• Victoria Helen Stone shares six books which explore the impact of violence. 
• Miranda Smith talks about mothers and daughters in crime fiction.
  
• Paula Munier wonders why so many mysteries feature golden retrievers. 
• Craig Sisterson explains how mysteries for children made him fall in love with the genre.
  
• S. Craig Zahler shares his appreciation for the works of Harry Stephen Keeler. 
• January Magazine reports that eleven lost novels by 19th century journalist and novelist Nellie Bly have been rediscovered and will be republished.  
• Daisy Buchanan wonders why there aren't more mainstream novels which deal with sexual desire from a female perspective and manages to miss the entire romance genre.  
• Alison Flood reports that according to his son Nick Cornwell a.k.a. Nick Harkaway, spy fiction author John Le Carré was an Irish citizen at the time of his death, having renounced his British citizenship over Brexit. 
• Children's book author Beverly Cleary has died aged 104.
  

 

Film and TV:

• Dwyer Murphy shares some international thrillers to watch this Easter weekend.
  
• Paul Levinson calls The Cry a taut thriller with one flaw. 
• Gwen Ihnat declares that The Irregulars show the more gruesome side of the Sherlock Holmes story.
  
• Peter Bradshaw calls Rose: A Love Story a claustrophobic survival thriller. 
• Saloni Gajjar shares her thoughts on the true crime drama The Serpent.
  
• Danette Chavez shares her thoughts on the premiere of Law & Order: Organized Crime.
  
• Alex McLevy shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Clarice.
  
• Alani Vargas shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Batwoman.  
• Mike Stotter shares his thoughts on season 20 of Midsomer Murders. 
• Romesh Raganathan finds that many modern crime dramas simply have too much suspense for his taste.
  
• Rich Pelley wonders why Bond villains inevitably go for complicated death traps and why James Bond always escapes. 
• The Columbophile shares the most chilling murders in Columbo. 
  
• K.A. Laity revisits the 1941 noir movie I Wake Up Screaming.
  
• Victoria Wiet revisits the 1961 noir movie Victim.
  
• Cheryl Eddy revisits the 1986 slasher movie April Fool's Day.  
• Oliver Macnaughton revisits the 1991 adaptation of Tom Wolfe's novel Bonfire of the Vanities and wonders why it was such a failure.
  
• Martin Edwards revisits the 1996 TV adaptation of the Ruth Rendell novella Heartstones. 
• Tom Breihan revisits the 2008 Batman movie The Dark Knight.
  
• Keith Roysdon revisits the 2010 crime drama Justified and finds that the relationships between the characters are what makes it special. 
• Chris Edwards revisits the 2017 cyberpunk thriller Ghost in the Shell and finds it better than its reputation.  
  
• Tara Brady interviews Tahar Rahim, star of The Mauritanian. 
• MeTV explains why the crime drama Mannix was cancelled in 1975 and that it had nothing to do with low ratings.
  
• Sam Barsanti reports that Kenneth Branagh's adaptation of Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile has been delayed again, supposedly because of the pandemic, but likely because of the rape accusations against star Armie Hammer. 
• Actor Richard Gilliland, best known for McMillan & Wife, has died aged 71.
  

 

Comments on series 6 of Line of Duty:

• Sarah Hughes shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Line of Duty. 
• Ed Power shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Line of Duty.
  
• Charlotte Dean interviews Vicky McClure, one of the stars of Line of Duty.
  

 

Comments on the series 4 finale of Unforgotten:

• James Donaghy shares his thoughts on the series 4 finale of Unforgotten. 
• Paul Hirons reports that Unforgotten is the most watched crime drama in the UK at the moment. 
• Paul Hirons also reports that Unforgotten has been renewed for a 5th series.
  

 

Comments on season 2 of City on a Hill:

• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the first episode of season 2 of City on a Hill. 
• Scott von Doviak shares his thoughts on the first episode of season 2 of City on a Hill.
  

 

Comments on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general (spoilers): 

• Andrew Welch shares his thoughts on "The Star Sprangled Man", the latest episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
• Germain Lussier shares his thoughts on "The Star Sprangled Man".
• Sulagna Misra shares her thoughts on "The Star Sprangled Man".
• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on "The Star Sprangled Man". 
• Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on "The Star Sprangled Man".
  
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw discusses the relationship between Sam and Bucky in "The Star Sprangled Man".
• James Whitbrook also discusses the relationship between Sam and Bucky.
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw takes a look at the character of John Walker in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw also illuminates the background of the character Isaiah Bradley in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
• Richard Newby discusses the character of Isaiah Bradley as well as the treatment of racism in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
  
• Noah Berlatsky is bothered by the way The Falcon and the Winter Soldier treats racism. 
• Charles Pulliam Moore declares that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier talks both too much and not enough about racism. 
• Princess Weekes also discusses the treatment of racism in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. 
• Kaila Hale-Sterne discusses the depiction of PTSD in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. 
• Princess Weekes discusses what makes someone Captain America inspired by The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. 
• Germain Lussier interviews Wyatt Russell who plays John Walker in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
  
• Inspired by The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Rosie Knight wonders just how superheroes earn their money and how this could be fixed.
• Camestros Felapton points out that Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame work better has a TV mini-series than as two overlong films.
• Steve J. Wright points out that the post-Thanos world in the Marvel movies make no sense.
  

Comments on Original Gangster:

• Cath Clarke calls Original Gangster a shallow and brutish crime drama and a career low for Steve Guttenberg. 
• Hadley Freeman interviews Steve Guttenberg, star of Original Gangster. 

 

Awards: 

• The finalists for the 2020 Hammett Prize have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2020 Nero Wolfe and Black Orchid Novella Awards have been announced.
  
• The winners of the 2021 Pinckley Prizes for Crime Fiction and True Crime Writing have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2021 ibpa Benjamin Franklin Awards have been announced.
  
• The winners of the 2021 British Audio Drama Awards have been announced.  
• The longlist for the 2021 International Booker Prize has been announced. 
  

 

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Alan Parks shares the three things he learned in his writing career. 
• Allison Brennan shares some tips for handling pacing. 
• Allison Brennan explains how she choreographs the action scenes in her novels. 
  
• Joy Kluver talks about fictional and real settings. 
• Saima Mir recounts how her British Pakistani heritage influenced her writing.
  
• File 770 reports about an uproar about applying the #OwnVoices hashtag to fiction.
  
• Edward Helmore reports about a conflict in PEN International about their manifesto "The Democracy of Imagination".
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch talks about the pitfalls of having a book optioned for a movie or TV production.
• Elizabeth A. Harris reports about the curious phenomenon of BookTok.
  

 

Interviews:

• Nancie Clare interviews Jacqueline Winspear. 
• Rick Pullen interviews Michael Koryta.
  
• Paul Murphy interviews Paul Vidich. 
• Wishful Endings interviews Allison Brennan. 
• Craig Sisterson interviews Stephen Mack Jones.
  
• Alan Petersen interviews Dean Koontz. 
• Suspense Radio interviews Dean Koontz.
  
• Sonja van der Westhuizen interviews Kotaro Isaka.
• Queer Writers of Crime interviews William D. Prystauk.
  

Reviews:

• Runalong the Shelves reviews Quiet in Her Bones by Nalini Singh
• Ray Palen reviews Black Coral by Andrew Mayne.
  
• No More Grumpy Bookseller reviews Hotel Cartagena by Simone Buchholz, translated by Rachel Ward.
• Paul Burke reviews Bad Penny Blues by Cathi Unsworth.
  
• Raven Crime Reads reviews The April Dead by Alan Parks.
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Distant Dead by Heather Young.
  
• Janet Webb reviews The Lost Village by Camilla Sten. 
• No More Grumpy Bookseller reviews The Lost Village by Camilla Sten.
• For Winter Nights reviews The Castaways by Lucy Clarke. 
• Angie Barry reviews The Drowning Kind by Jennifer McMahon. 
• Mik Brown reviews The Girl in the Missing Poster by Barbara Copperthwaite.
  
• Ayo Onatade reviews The Untameable by Guillermo Arriage. 
• Vicki Weisfeld reviews Red Widow by Alma Katsu.
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Six Stories by Matt Wesolowski.
  
• BOLO Books reviews Deity by Matt Wesolowski. 
• Stephanie Merritt reviews The Manningtree Witches by A.K. Blakemore.  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Repentance by Eloísa Díaz.
• Doreen Sheridan reviews By Way of Sorrow by Robyn Gigl. 
• Angie Barry reviews A Wicked Conceit by Anna Lee Huber.
  
• Stephen Thornley reviews The Plague Letters by V.L. Valentine. 
• Mike Parker reviews The Water Rituals by Eva García Sáenz, translated by Nick Caistor.
  
• Jon Morgan reviews Blackout by Simon Scarrow. 
  
• Lesa Holstine reviews The Hiding Place by Paula Munier. 
• Janet Webb reviews Cat's Meow by Dane McCaslin.
  
• Sandie Herron reviews A Cat on the Case by Clea Simon. 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder by Joanne Fluke and tries a recipe from the book.
  
• Jon Morgan reviews What Abigail Did That Summer by Ben Aaronovitch 
• Publishers Weekly reviews Among Thieves by M.J. Kuhn. 
  
• Paul di Filippo reviews The Complete Ivy Frost by Donald Wandrei.
• Sarah Watling reviews The Disappearance of Lydia Harvey by Julia Laite.
  

 

Classics reviews:

• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1940 vigilante story Alias the Masked Detective by C.K. M. Scanlon a.k.a. Norman Daniels.  
• Crossexamining Crime revisits the 1942 mystery Requiem for Robert by Mary Fitt. 
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1942 Luther McGavock hardboiled detective story "Let the Dead Alone" by Merle Constiner. 
• Crossexamining Crime revisits the 1946 mystery The Case of Caroline Animus by Dana Chambers a.k.a. Albert Fear Leffingwell.
• Edmund White revisits the 1955 psychological thriller The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith.
  
• B.V. Lawson revisits the 1960 suspense novel Sylvia by E.V. Cunningham a.k.a. Howard Fast.
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1960 crime novel Death of a JD by John Conzales a.k.a. Robert Morton Terrall. 
• Martin Edwards revisits the 1964 mystery The Death of Solomon Grundy by Julian Symons.
  
• Aubrey Hamilton revisits the 1967 spy fiction collection Game Without Rules by Michael Gilbert. 
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1973 gothic novel The Secret of Devil's Cave by Jennifer Hale a.k.a. Frank E. Smith.
• Mike Parker revisits the 1980 caper novel Castle in the Air by Donald E. Westlake.
  

 

Con and event reports:

• Ayo Onatade reports that the 2021 St. Hilda's Crime Fiction Weekend in Oxford, UK, will take place, though no one knows whether virtually or in person.
• Janet Rudolph looks ahead at the virtual Gwyl Crime Cymru Festival.
• Ayo Onatade shares the program for the virtual Locked Up Festival 2.
  

 

Research:

• Sofia Quaglia reports how false memories can be implanted in people and then reversed. 
  
• Anita Sethi interviews Stuart Lawrence, brother of Stephen Lawrence, the black teenager who was murdered in a racist attack in London in 1993. 
• Shelly Ellis discusses three real life cases where bigamy led to murder.
  
• Will Staples offers a glimpse into the world of international animal trafficking. 
• Courtney Linder explains how hackers can pick locks just by listening.
  
• Brian Ashcraft reports about a daring robbery of Pokémon cards in Tokyo, Japan.
  

Free online fiction:

• "Etta at the End of the World" by Joseph S. Walker in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine Podcast. 
• "Karaoke" by Jim Mountfield in Shotgun Honey.
  
• "The Fighting Squid" by J.B. Stevens in Shotgun Honey.
• "Hungry" by Alice Ash in The Irish Times.
• "The Influencer" by Christina MacKinnon in Mystery Tribune.
• "Leaving Home" by J.W. Langley in Mystery Tribune.
• "All Things Serve the Beam" by Beau Johnson in Punk Noir Magazine. 
• "Switchblade" by Mehmet Akgönül in Punk Noir Magazine. 
• "Poor Little Bear" by Kristin Garth in Punk Noir Magazine.
  
• "Wheelie Queen" by Charles Rammelkamp in The Five-Two.
  

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch another trailer for The Suicide Squad.