Crime Fiction Links of the Week for May 8, 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 series 6 finale of Line of Duty, Mare of Easttown, Wrath of Man, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Monster and much more.

Crime fiction in general:

• Crime Reads shares ten crime novels, mysteries and thrillers to read this May.
  
• Crime Reads shares ten new crime novels coming out this week. 
• Rhys Bowen shares his favourite series of international crime novels. 
• Michelle Dunne celebrates the new wave of Irish crime fiction by women authors. 
• Sharon Dempsey explains how Northern Irish crime fiction deals with the so-called "troubles" and what came after. 
• Jason M. Hough asks why so many crime novels are set in the Pacific Northwest of the US.
  
• Paul French talks about crime fiction from Mongolia.
  
• Clare Whitfield shares a list of fictional murderers hiding in plain sight. 
• Elizabeth Penney shares a list of cozy mystery series that celebrate the pleasures of domesticity.
  
• Ferrett Steinmetz implores people not to feel guilty about all the books they haven't read yet.  
• Rick Pullen profiles Harlan Coben.
  
• Vanessa Thrope explains why Len Deighton's spy novels still resonate today and also reveals that Len Deighton drew a long-running cooking/recipe comic srip. 
• Lydia Spencer-Elliott talks about reading tastes and dating.  
• Spy fiction writer and former CIA officer Jason Matthews has died aged 69.
  

Film and TV:

• Martin Edwards calls Enola Holmes a pleasant way to pass the time.
• Craig D. Lindsey declares that the thriller Above Suspicion is beneath everybody involved.
  
• Paul Levinson calls the TV version of The Mosquito Coast edgy, attractive, enlightened and important. 
• Phuong Le calls End of Sentence a masterclass in understated acting.
• Cath Clarke has mixed feelings about the adventure drama Once Upon a River.
  
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on Tenet. 
• Martin Edwards shares his thoughts on The Neighbour a.k.a. Last Days of Summer. 
• Alex McLevy shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Clarice.
• Adrian Horton declares that the true crime documentary The Sons of Sam: A Descent into Darkness illuminates the famous serial killer case through one man's obsession with the case.
• Saloni Gajjar calls The Crime of the Century an incisive but fragmented documentary about the opoid crisis in the US.  
• Garrick Webster looks ahead at the Danish crime drama Blinded: Those Who Kill. 
• Catherine McKenzie revisits the 1949 noir movie D.O.A.
  
• Mike D'Angelo revisits the 1974 thriller The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. 
• Peter Bradshaw revisits the 1995 cyberpunk crime film Johnny Mnemonic. 
  
• New on Netflix revisits the 2007 true crime movie Zodiac. 
• Mike Sacks interviews John Swartzfelder, writer of many classic episodes of The Simpsons.
• Several Guardian writers share what annoys them about TV. 
  
• Tim Adams reports that The Irregulars has been cancelled after only one season.  
• Costume designer Anthony Powell, best known for his work on Death on the Nile, Hook, 101 Dalmatians and many others, has died. 
  
• Actor Nathan Jung, who appeared in Star Trek, The A-Team and many others, has died aged 74.
  

 

Comments on the series 6 finale of Line of Duty (spoilers):

• Lucy Mangan calls the series 6 finale of Line of Duty audacious, deranged and reverse-ferretting. 
• Phil Harrison shares his thoughts on the series 6 finale of Line of Duty and explains why the series should end here.
  
• Toby Moses and readers of The Guardian share their thoughts on the series 6 finale of Line of Duty. 
• Simon Duke reports about the identity of "H", the mysterious antagonist of Line of Duty and why the reveal left many viewers dissatisfied. 
• Simon Duke also shares angry viewer reactions to the Line of Duty series finale.
  
• Inspired by the Line of Duty series 6 finale, Stuart Heritage asks why great TV shows so often don't end well. 
• Inspired by the Line of Duty series 6 finale, Alasdair Stuart talks about hypertime and how fanfiction can provide more satisfying alternatives.
  
• Lucy Campbell reports that the series 6 finale of Line of Duty has been the most watched drama in the UK since 2002 and that there is a possibility that there will be a series 7.
  

 

Comments on Mare of Easttown:

• Joshua Alston shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Mare of Easttown.  
• Emma Brockes declares that Kate Winslet's performance as the titular character in Mare of Easttown represents the anger and feeling of being fed-up that many women experience.
  

 

Comments on Monster:

• Vikram Murthi accuses the courtroom drama Monster of crimes against nuance and subtlety.
• Benjamin Lee calls Monster a wrenching but uneven courtroom drama.
  

 

Comments on Wrath of Man: 

• Benjamin Lee calls Wrath of Man a forgettable but entertaining thriller.
• Jesse Hassenger calls Wrath of Man a cheap, but satisfying thriller.
  
• Marah Eakin interviews Josh Hartnett, one of the stars of Wrath of Man.
• Marah Eakin interviews Scott Eastwood, another one of the stars of Wrath of Man.  
• Marah Eakin interviews Holt McCallany, yet another one of the stars of Wrath of Man. 

 

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

• Cheryl Morgan shares her thoughts on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
  
• Charles Pulliam-Moore discusses how The Falcon and the Winter Soldier handles racism.
• Sam Barsanti muses about the sexual orientation of Bucky Barnes in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
• Germain Lussier shares twelve fascinating facts about The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. 
• Brian Hiatt explains that Benedict Cumberbatch almost appeared as Doctor Strange in WandaVision.
  
• Watch a trailer for Marvel's upcoming movies.
  

 

Awards: 

• The longlist for the 2021 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year has been announced.
• The finalists for the 2021 Anthony Awards have been announced. 
  
• The winners of the 2021 Derringer Awards have been announced.
• The finalists for the 2021 Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Best Published Novel Award have been announced.
  

 

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Carter Wilson explains that crime fiction writers can kill off dogs (in writing, not in reality), as long as it serves the story.
• Writer and taekwondo instructor Melissa Koslin shares the top seven fight scene mistakes in fiction. 
• Gin Phillips explains how she uses childhood memories for worldbuilding and scene setting. 
  
• Nicole Kornher-Stace shares some worldbuilding tips. 
• B.M. Carroll discusses the background of her legal thriller You Had It Coming.
  
• Jeremy DeSilva illuminates the link between walking, thinking and creativity.
• Claire Kirch reports about the #DisneyMustPay joint taskforce formed by SFWA and several other writers' organisations. 
• Publishers Weekly reports about Independent Bookstore Day.
  

 

Interviews:

• Robert Justice interviews Alyssa Cole. 
• Phil Williams interviews Don Winslow and Anthony Horowitz. 
• Graeme Thomson interviews Mark Billingham. 
• Eli Cranor interviews Stephen Mack Jones.
  
• Nick Harkaway interviews Aidan Truhen. 
• Otto Penzler interviews Linwood Barclay.
  
• Alan Petersen interviews Clare Whitfield. 
• Marshal Zeringue interviews Anne Hillerman.
  
• Alison Flood interviews Torri Newman. 
• Lisa Haselton interviews R.G. Belsky.
• Publishers Weekly interviews Robert Dugoni. 
  
• Suspense Radio interviews Christine Feehan. 
  
• Brad Shreve interviews Robin Gigl. 
• Wrong Place, Write Crime interviews Carmen Jaramillo.
• John A. Hoda interviews Sheldon Siegel.
• The Real Book Spy interviews Jack Carr.
  

Reviews:

• Janet Webb reviews What the Devil Knows by C.S. Harris. 
• Paul Burke reviews A Certain Man's Daughter by Timothy J. Lockhart. 
• Aunt Agatha's reviews Thief of Souls by Brian Klingborg. 
• Kirkus reviews The Paris Labyrinth by Gilles LeGardinier, translated by Kate Robinson.
  
• Doreen Sheridan reviews People of Abandoned Character by Clare Whitfield.
• For Winter Nights reviews Nightshade by E.F. Thomson.
• Craig Sisterson reviews Dead of Winter by Stephen Mack Jones.  
• Lauren Jackson reviews Whisper Down the Lane by Clay McLeod Chapman.
  
• For Winter Nights reviews The Whole Truth by Cara Hunter.
• Kirkus reviews Girl, 11 by Amy Suiter Clarke. 
  
• Crime by the Book reviews The Girl Who Died by Ragnar Jonasson. 
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Silenced by Sólveig Pálsdóttir, translated by Quentin Bates.
• Beth Kanell reviews Stung by William Deverell.
  
• Marla Warren reviews Find You First by Linwood Barclay. 
• Geza Tatrallyay reviews The Secret Life of Dentists by W.A. Winter. 
• BOLO Books reviews The Anatomy of Desire by L.R. Dorn.
• Sonja van der Westhuizen reviews The Lost Village by Camilla Sten, translated by Alexandra Fleming.
  
• No More Grumpy Bookseller reviews Her Last Holiday by C.L. Taylor. 
• Hephzibah Anderson reviews We Run the Tides by Vendela Vida. 
• Rebecca Nesvet reviews Lady Joker by Kaoro Takamura, translated by Marie Iida and Alison Markin Powell.
  
• Sandie Herron reviews Red Knife by William Kent Krueger. 
  
• Lesa Holstine reviews Secret Mischief by Robin Blake. 
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Chaos on CatNet by Naomi Kritzer.  
• Blue Book Balloon reviews Eye of the Sh*tstorm by Jackson Ford.
• The Real Book Spy reviews Black Ice by Brad Thor.
  
• For Winter Nights reviews The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood. 
• Crossexamining Crime reviews The Love Detective by Angela Dyson. 
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel reviews Farewell, My Herring by L.C. Tyler. 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Knitty Gritty Murder by Peggy Ehrhart and tries a recipe from the book. 
  
• Lesa Holstine reviews Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manasala.
  
• Lesa Holstine reviews The Curse of the Cherry Pie by Amy Patricia Meade.
• Blue Book Balloon reviews The Lynmouth Stories by Lucy V. Hay.
• Paperback Warrior reviews The King of Horror and Other Stories by Stephen Mertz.
  
• BOLO Books reviews How to Write a Mystery, edited by Lee Child and Laurie R. King.
  

 

Classics reviews:

• L.R. Dorn revisits the 1925 true crime novel An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser.
• Martin Edwards revisits the 1944 mystery Murder After Christmas by Rupert Latimer a.k.a. Algernon Victor Mills.
  
• Crossexamining Crime revisits the 1947 mystery Crime is of the Essence by Joe Csida.
• Crossexamining Crime revisits the 1947 suspense novel The Unsuspected by Charlotte Armstrong.
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1949 hardboiled story "The Kid I Killed Last Night" by Donald King a.k.a. Day Keene a.k.a. Gunnar Hjortsberg. 
• Alan Cranis revisits the 1955 heist novel The Big Caper and the 1960 heist novel Steal Big by Lionel White. 
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1960 spy novel It's Murder, McHugh by Jay Flynn. 
• Paperback Warrior revisits Bait Money, a 1973 heist novel in the Nolan series by Max Allan Collins.
• Joe Kenney revisits The Xander Pursuit, a 1974 novel in The Peacemaker men's aventure series by Adam Hamilton a.k.a. Marilyn Granbeck. 
  
• Joe Kenney revisits Dead End, a 1975 novel in the Kill Squad men's adventure series by Marc Cruz a.k.a. Dan Streib.
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits Manhattan Revenge, a 1984 novel in The Specialist men's adventure series by John Cutter a.k.a. John Shirley.
• B.V. Lawson revisits the 1995 police procedural Monkey Puzzle by Paula Gosling.
  

 

Con and event reports:

• Ayo Onatade shares the program for St. Hilda's Crime Fiction Weekend in Oxford, UK.
  

 

Crowdfunding:

• Monica Louzon analyses Kickstarter anthologies launched in 2020.
  

 

Research:

• Brian Klingborg talks about Chinese serial killers and why it is so difficult to find reliable information about them.
  
• George Dvorsky reports that an Egyptian mummy initially assumed to be a male priest is actually a pregnant woman, the first pregnant mummy ever found.
• Bob Calhoun recounts the cursed history of the Emmanuel Baptist Church in San Francisco, California.
• George Dvorsky reports that archaeologists have managed to identify a member of the doomned 1845 Franklin expedition using forensic techniques.
• Alex Daniel interviews Christopher Marinello, a detective who specialises in recovering stolen artwork.
  

Free online fiction:

• "The Interpreter and the Killer" by Jeff Soloway in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine Fiction Podcast. 
• "The Key Witness" by Grant Tracey in Tough. 
• "Copycat" by Al Kanach in Shotgun Honey.
  
• "Not a Penny More" by Jon Land in Mysteryrat's Maze Podcast. 
• "The Hidden Staircase" and "The Bungalow Mystery" by Kristin Garth in Punk Noir Magazine.
• "Lou Lost in the World" by M.E. Proctor in Punk Noir Magazine.
• "Suspended" by Mark Renney in Punk Noir Magazine.
• "An Appointment with Transit Authority" by Cody Sexton in Punk Noir Magazine.
• "When the Walls Come Falling Down" by Peter Kelly in Punk Noir Magazine.
• "The Family Man" by James Lilley in Punk Noir Magazine.
• "Collect the Reward for the Crime You Helped to Commit" by Stephen J. Golds in Punk Noir Magazine.
• "The Last Windmill" by Pamela Ebel in The Five-Two.
  

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for Once Upon a River.
• Watch a trailer for The Sons of Sam: A Descent Into Darkness.