Crime Fiction Links of the Week for April 24, 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 Big Sky, Mare of Easttown, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Sasquatch and much more.

Crime fiction in general:

• Crime by the Book shares the most anticipated crime novels for spring and summer 2021.
• Alison Flood shares the best recent thrillers. 
• Crime Reads shares ten new crime novels and thrillers coming out this week.
• Crime Reads shares the best crime novels coming out in paperback this month.
  
• Crime Reads shares seven debut crime novels to read this month. 
• Molly Odintz shares the best international crime novels for April.
  
• Paul French explores crime novels set in Milan, Italy. 
• Zhanna Slor shares seven suspense novels about immigrant life.
  
• Crime by the Book recommends five suspense novels set in the world of academia. 
• Amy Suiter Clarke asks how crime writers can imagine public safety without police.  
• Bonnie MacBird discusses the artistic side of Sherlock Holmes.
  
• Crossexamining Crime ranks the Jane and Dagobert Brown mysteries by Delano Ames.
• Gina Arnold talks about the Raymond Chandler project.
• Crossexamining Crime examines in which rooms of the house murders are most likely to occur in Agatha Christie's mysteries.
• Crossexamining Crime also examines where a murder is most likely to occur in an Agatha Christie mystery outdoors.
  

 

Film and TV:

• Saloni Gajjar calls Cruel Summer a riveting but convoluted thriller. 
  
• Cath Clarke calls Fear of Rain a lurid horror thriller that explores stereotypes about mental illness. 
• Charles Pulliam-Moore calls the new Kung Fu shining, if not exactly subtle. 
  
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on Home Before Dark. 
• Toby Moses and readers of The Guardian share their throughts on the latest episode of Line of Duty. 
• Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on The Irregulars.  
• Ellen E. Jones calls Accused of Murdering Our Son: The Steven Clark Story a bizarre true crime mystery.
  
• Brian Greene revisits the 1953 spy thriller Pick-up on South Street.
  
• Mike D'Angelo revisits the 1986 crime movie Blue Velvet.
• Craig D. Lindsay revisits the 1992 movie Batman Returns and the 2012 movie The Dark Knight Rises.    
• Sabina Stent explains why the 1999 version of The Thomas Crown Affair is a masterpiece of cinematic surrealism. 
• David Masciotra revisits the 2003 neo-noir movie Out of Time.
  
• Charles Bramesco revisits the 2007 crime movie Before the Devil Knows You're Dead.
• Jason Diamond reports that the longrunning 1970s crime drama Columbo has found new fans due to the covid pandemic.
• Mark Aldridge traces Hercule Poirot's first appearances on TV and radio. 
• Nosheen Iqbal interviews Daniel Kaluuya, star of Get Out and Judah and the Black Messiah.
  
• Sandy Ferber revisits the original Twilight Zone. 
•  E. Alex Jung interviews Mads Mikkelsen, star of Rogue One, Hannibal, Casino Royale, Doctor Strange and many others.
• Ben Child reports that after the success of the so-called "Snyder cut" of Justice League, fans are hoping for a new Batman movie starring Ben Affleck. 
  
• Monte Hellman, director of Two-Lane Blacktop and Cockfighter and producer of Reservoir Dogs, has died aged 91.
  

 

Comments on Big Sky:  

• Allison Shoemaker shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Big Sky.
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Big Sky.
  

 

Comments on Mare of Easttown:

• Joel Golby calls Mare of Easttown a bleak but smart new crime drama. 
• Lucy Mangan calls Mare of Easttown a crime drama which leaves you wanting more. 
  
• Joshua Alston shares his thoughts on the first episode of Mare of Easttown. 
• David Bianculli shares his thoughts on Mare of Easttown. 

 

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

• Andy Welch shares his thoughts on "Truth", the latest episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
• Sulagna Misra shares her thoughts on "Truth".
• Germain Lussier shares his thoughts on "Truth".
• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on "Truth". 
• Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on "Truth". 
• Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on "Truth". 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw shares her thoughts on "Truth".
  
• James Whitbrook shares some background information on the character played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus in "Truth". 
• Joanna Robinson wonders whether Julia Louis-Dreyfus' character will play a bigger role in the future. 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw takes a look at the character of Joaquin Torres in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
  
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw explains that some of the issues with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier may be due to a deleted subplot. 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw declares that Captain America's shield is the Marvel Cinematic Universe's best MacGuffin.
  
• James Whitbrook reports that the success that Ed Brubaker, Steve Epting, Frank D'Aramata and Randy Gentle, who created the character of the Winter Soldier for Marvel Comics, barely profit from the success of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
• Brian Kahn points out how WandaVision illuminates the many problems with US suburbs.
  

 

Comments on Sasquatch:

• Katie Rife points out that Sasquatch is actually a true crime documentary rather than about cryptozoology.
• Cheryl Eddy interviews Joshua Rofé, director of Sasquatch.
  

 

Awards: 

• The finalists for the 2021 ITW Thriller Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2021 Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing have been announced.
• The winners of the 2021 Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Readers Awards have been announced.
  
• The winners of the 2021 Los Angeles Times Book Prizes have been announced. 
  
• The winners of the 2021 Golden Reel Awards have been announced.
• The shortlist for the 2021 International Booker Prize has been announced. 
  
• Crime fiction writer Deon Meyer will be named a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in France. 

 

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• D.J. Palmer shares the four enduring elements to writing enduring fiction. 
• Len Tyler shares his new ten rules for writing mysteries.
  
• C.S. Harris declares that the characters are the secret to keeping a long-running series fresh. 
• D.J. Palmer shares some tips for writing about mental illness.
  
• Carole Johnstone discusses the Georgian mansion which inspired her novel Mirrorland. 
• Katherine Dean Mazerov talks about researching her latest crime novel.
  
• Lincoln Michel explains why novels are the length they are.
  
• The Author's Guild has released a model book contract and a model literary translation contract.
  
• Adam Whitehead reports that Disney are about to come to an agreement with Alan Dean Foster regarding unpaid royalties. 
• Mike Glyer reports that Devi Pillai has been promoted to President and Publisher of Tom Doherty Associates. 
• Alison Flood reports that book sales have increased by a third after bookshops were allowed to reopen in the UK.
  
• Christina Goldbaum and Kimon de Greef report about a devastating wildfire in South Africa which destroyed the library of the University of Cape Town and its unique collection of African movies and books.
  
• Mike Glyer offers an update on the state of the Uncle Hugo's and Uncle Edgar's bookstores which burned down during the riots in Minneapolis, Minnesota, following the death of George Floyd due to police brutality last year.
  

 

Interviews:

• Cullen Gallagher interviews Wallace Stroby.
  
• Alan Petersen interviews Frank H. Jordan. 
• John A. Hoda interviews Simon McCleave. 
• Paul Burke interviews Nick Rennison.
  
• Queer Writers of Crime interviews Joseph R.G. DeMarco.
  

Reviews:

• Janet Webb reviews Flight by Laura Griffin.
• The Eloquent Page reviews The April Dead by Alan Parks.
  
• BOLO Books reviews The Last Thing to Burn by Will Dean. 
• Claire Fullerton reviews When the Stars Go Dark by Paula McLain. 
• Vicki Weisfeld reviews Long Bright River by Liz Moore.
  
• Lesa Holstine reviews Death Washes Ashore by Patricia Skalka
  
• Lesa Holstine reviews On an Outgoing Tide by Caro Ramsay. 
• Sonja van der Westhuizen reviews This Land is No Stranger by Sarah Hollister and Gil Reavill.
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Mirrorland by Carole Johnstone.
  
• Lesa Holstine reviews What You Never Knew by Jessica Hamilton. 
• Joe Hartlaub reviews Heaven's a Lie by Wallace Stroby.
  
• Lesa Holstine reviews A Man Named Doll by Jonathan Ames. 
• Sandra Mangan reviews The Embalmer by Alison Belsham.
  
• The Real Book Spy reviews The Devil's Hand by Jack Carr. 
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Whisper Down the Lane by Clay McLeod Chapman. 
• Beth Kanell reviews The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex.
  
• Crime by the Book reviews Her Three Lives by Cate Holahan. 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Vanished by James Delargy.
  
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline.
• Sara Townsend reviews The Starlings of Bucharest by Sarah Armstrong.
  
• BOLO Books reviews The Appeal by Janice Hallett. 
• Jake Kerridge reviews Mr. Campion's Coven by Mike Ripley 
• L.J. Hurst reviews Two-Way Murder by E.C.R. Lorac. 
• Alistair Duncan reviews The Three Locks by Bonnie MacBird. 
• Kirkus reviews Dance With Death by Will Thomas.
  
• Janet Webb reviews Death with a Double Edge by Anne Perry. 
• Lesa Holstine reviews The Vanishing Museum on the Rue Mistral by M.L. Longworth. 
• Mystery Tribune reviews The Department of Sensitive Crimes by Alexander McCall Smith.
  
• Janet Webb reviews Murder at Wedgefield Manor by Erica Ruth Neubauer. 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Death by Chocolate Snickerdoodle by Sarah Graves.
  
• The Eloquent Page reviews The Best Thing You Can Steal by Simon R. Green.  
• Liz Bourke reviews The Witness for the Dead by Katherine Addison. 
  
• Judith Reveal reviews Tiger Girl and the Candy Kid: America’s Original Gangster Couple by Glenn Stout.

 

Classics reviews:

• Crossexamining Crime revisits the 1932 mystery The Edge of Terror by Brian Flynn. 
• Bitter Tea and Mystery revisits the 1936 Hercule Poirot mystery Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie. 
• Bitter Tea and Mystery revisits the 1936 Nero Wolfe mystery The Rubber Band by Rex Stout.
  
• Publishers Weekly revisits the 1941 mystery The Odor of Violets by Baynard Kendrick. 
• Martin Edwards revisits the 1944 crime novel The Dark Page by Samuel Fuller.
  
• Crossexamining Crime revisits the 1950 mystery Corpse Diplomatique by Delano Ames. 
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1950 heist novel The Violent Ones by E. Howard Hunt. 
• B.V. Lawson revisits the 1955 Inspector Maigret mystery Maigret Sets a Trap by Georges Simenon.
  
• James Reasoner revisits the 1957 crime novel So Young, So Wicked by Jonathan Craig a.k.a. Frank E. Smith.
  
• Alan Cranis revisits the 1963 crime novel Run If You're Guilty and the 1966 crime fiction collection Never Be Caught by James McKimmey. 
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1968 historical war novel The Long Tattoo by Eric Corder a.k.a. Jerrold Mundis.
  
• Paul Burke revisits the 1969 psychological mysteries The Plastic Nightmare and While Love Lay Sleeping by Richard Neeley.
• Joe Kenney revisits the 1977 crime novel The Soul Hit by Charles Haas and Tim Hunter.
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1980 suspense novel Hot Summer Night by Elston Barrett a.k.a. Frank E. Smith.
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1986 men's adventure novel The Hard Corps by Chuck Bainbridge a.k.a. William Fieldhouse.
• Anthony Perconti revisits the 1987 noir story "The Pit" by Joe R. Lansdale.
  

 

Con and event reports:

• Fraser Massey reports about the latest virtual First Monday Crime event.
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel shares the program for the virtual 2021 Bodies from the Library conference.
• William Patrick Maynard looks ahead at Pulp Adventurecon in Dania Beach, Florida.

 

Research:

• Alexandra Wilson talks about her experiences as a black barrister who got mistaken for a defendant three times on the same day.
• Audrey Clare Farley discusses the forced sterilization of heiress Ann Cooper Hewitt in 1936 and how the case shed a light on racist eugenics laws.
• Kate Summerscale talks about spiritualist hoaxes and fraud in the 1930s.
• Cate Holahan talks about the dangers associated with smart home devices.
• Amy Rivers discusses the forensic research she did for her crime novel Complicit.
  

Free online fiction:

• "Looking for Katie Showalter" by Andrew Welsh-Huggins in Tough. 
• "Sam's Guy" by Justin Thurman in Mystery Tribune. 
• "My Coffee Date with Death" by Jonathan Ferrini in Mystery Tribune.
  
• "Assault with a Deadly Glue Gun" by Lois Winston in Mysteryrat's Maze Podcast. 
• "No Other Choice" by Curtis Ippolito in Shotgun Honey. 
• "The Four-One-One" by Russell W. Johnson in Punk Noir Magazine. 
• "Blossom" by Amy Grech in Punk Noir Magazine.
  
• "Made in Idaho" by Russell Thayer in Punk Noir Magazine. 
• "Rabbit in the Hole" by S.M. Fedor in Punk Noir Magazine.
  
• "A Beginner's Guide to Wing Walking" by Roy Christopher in Punk Noir Magazine.
  
• "Scenes from the War: 21st Century Slave Catchers" by Tia Ja'nae in Punk Noir Magazine.
• "Sonnet for a Convenience Store Robbery" and "Ocean Street" by C.W. Blackwell in Punk Noir Magazine.
• "False Identity" by B. Sedgwick in The Five-Two.