Crime Fiction Links of the Week for January 29, 2022

 

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 Ozark, Trigger Point, Nightmare Alley,  The Afterparty, The Batman, The Woman In The House Across The Street From The Girl In The Window, the Chinese edit of Fight Club and much more.

Crime fiction in general:

• Alison Flood offers a round-up of the best recent thrillers.
  
• Crime Reads shares ten new crime novels coming out this week. 
• Janice Hallett celebrates the revival of fair play mysteries. 
• Heather Gudenkauf shares great thrillers set during blizzards. 
• Traci Hall explains why Scotland is the perfect cozy mystery setting.
• Kristi DeMeester talks about Southern Gothic and how growing up in the US South has influenced her writing.
  
• Paul Vidich shares his love for New York City. 
• Erin Young explains why she set her novel The Fields in Iowa.
  
• Eliza Jane Brazier shares nine crime novels that pit the haves against the have-nots. 
  
• Rick Mofina talks about crime novels based on real cases and crimes inspired by fiction.
  
• Sally J. Morgan recalls that a brush with serial killers Fred and Rosemary West inspired her novel Toto Among the Murderers. 
• Molly Templeton explains how she tracks her reading. 
  
• Bradley K. McDevitt profiles Edgar Allan Poe. 
• Curtis Evans profiles John Rhode a.k.a. John Street.
  
• David Masciotra shares his appreciation for the works of Japanese noir author Fuminori Nakamura. 
• Keith A. Gordon shares a tribute to Andrew Vacchs.
  

 

Best of 2021:

• Suspense Magazine shares their favourite crime novels and thrillers of 2021.
  
• Mary Picken shares her favourite crime novels of 2021. 
• Rosemary Kayes shares her favourite mysteries and crime novels of 2021.
• The Unseen Library shares their favourite Australian crime novels of 2021.
  

 

Film and TV: 

• Lucy Mangan calls The Responder a tour de force police drama and praises the performance of Martin Freeman. 
• Garrick Webster shares his thoughts on Reacher.
  
• Fraser Sherman shares his thoughts on the James Bond film No Time To Die.  
• Benjamin Lee calls Emily the Criminal a taut thriller. 
• A.A. Dowd calls 892 a 1990s style hostage thriller.
  
• Edward Tew calls Calibre a tense thriller from Scotland. 
• Cheryl Eddy calls Watcher an uneasy thriller and exploration of female paranoia.
  
• Peter Bradshaw praises Sean Penn's performance in the con artist film Flag Day.
  
• Peter Bradshaw calls Black Medusa a vengeance noir thriller from Tunisia.
  
• Benjamin Lee calls Resurrection a misfiring thriller.  
• Leslie Felperin calls One Shot a schlocky but mesmerising thriller.
  
• Phil Hoad calls Confession a talky church thriller. 
• Jason Shawhan calls Clean a visually elegant but verbally clunky action thriller.
  
• Benjamin Lee calls Fresh a sly and gory dating thriller.
• Lisa Wong Macabasco calls Nanny a promising but jumbled thriller about immigrant domestic workers.
• Peter Bradshaw calls Mass an impeccably acted school shooting drama. 
• Charles Bramesco calls The Fallout a surprisingly restrained drama about a school shooting. 
• Adrian Horton calls Navalny a shocking documentary about the poisoning of the Russian opposition politician.
  
• Martin Edwards shares his thoughts on the suspense drama Dangerous Lies.
• Dean E.S. Richards shares his thoughts on The Unforgiveable.
• Tim Lewis interviews Caitríona Balfe, star of Outlander and Belfast. 
• Tim Baysinger reports that the legal drama Bull will end after six seasons. 

 

Comments on Nightmare Alley: 

• Peter Bradshaw calls Nightmare Alley a class act.
  
• Ryan Gilbey interviews Guillermo Del Toro, director of Nightmare Alley.
  
• Ryan Gilbey interviews David Strathairn, one of the stars of Nightmare Alley.
• Watch director Guillermo Del Toro and star Bradley Cooper break down a scene from Nightmare Alley.
  
• Christian Zilko reports that Guillermo Del Toro, director of Nightmare Alley, hasn't used a real gun on set since 2007.
  

 

Comments on Ozark: 

• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the first half of season 4 of Ozark. 
  
• Zoe Williams interviews Jason Bateman, star of Ozark.

 

Comments on Trigger Point: 

• Joel Golby declares that Trigger Point may not be a great thriller, but at least the bomb defusing scenes are so detailed that viewers could do it themselves after watching. 
• Lucy Mangan calls Trigger Point utterly preposterous but a blast. 
• Paul Hirons shares his thoughts on the first episode of Trigger Point.
  
• Inspired by Trigger Point, Michael Hogan wonders why shocking early deaths of seemingly important characters became popular on TV. 

 

Comments on The Afterparty: 

• Olivia Rutigliano calls The Afterparty a millennial whodunnit. 
• Rebecca Nicholson calls The Afterparty smart, star-studded and classy to a fault, but still dragging.  
• Lisa Weidenfeld declares that The Afterparty serves up a buffet of genres and stars to mixed effect.
  

 

Comments on The Woman In The House Across The Street From The Girl In The Window: 

• Saloni Gajja calls The Woman In The House Across The Street From The Girl In The Window a contrived parody of psychological thrillers.
• Chitra Ramaswamy calls The Woman In The House Across The Street From The Girl In The Window a bewilderingly bad spoof.
  
• Audra Schroeder declares that there really is no reason to parody The Woman in the Window.  
  

 

Comments on The Batman:

• Ben Child expects The Batman to be seriously messed up, which he enjoys. 
  
• Johnny Davis interviews Matt Reeves, director of The Batman.

 

Comments on the Chinese edit of Fight Club:

• The Guardian reports that Fight Club has been given a new ending in China where the authorities win. 
• Catherine Shoard reports that Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk actually likes the Chinese cut of the movie, since it is closer to the end of the novel.

 

Awards:

• The 2022 Margery Allingham Short Mystery Prize is open for submissions.
• The finalists for the 2022 BBC Audio Drama Awards have been announced. 
• The nominations for the 2022 Directors Guild of America Awards have been announced.
• The nominations for the 2022 Producers Guild of America have been announced.

 

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Mikaella Clemets interviews various authors about their writing process and whether they see scenes or images in their mind. 
• Lincoln Michel explains why you need to read fiction to write fiction.
• William L. Hahn talks about writer's block.
• Joanna Schaffhausen talks about writing series that will have readers coming back for more.
• Juneau Black explains how to create non-human characters with plenty of personality.
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch shares an overview over new and old tools to help indie publishers.
• Jim Milliot shares some statistics on the state of the book trade in the US.
  

Interviews: 

• Christian Fuller interviews Peter James.
  
• The Red Hot Chilli Writers interview Graig Robertson and Amy McCulloch.
  
• House of Mystery Radio interviews Judy Penz Sheluk. 
• Richie Narvaez interviews Gabriel Valjan.
  
• Nancie Clare interviews P.J. Tracy. 
• Alan Petersen interviews Nick Petrie.
  
• House of Mystery Radio interviews Ron Katz.
• House of Mystery Radio interviews Glen Erik Hamilton.
  
• Wrong Place, Write Crime interviews Rhonda Armbrust.
• Janet Emson interviews Sarah Bonner.
  
• John A. Hoda interviews Judy Murray.
• Paul Burke interviews Adam Lebor. 
• Dwyer Murphy interviews John Darnielle.
  

Reviews:

• Mary Picken reviews The Heretic by Liam McIlvanney.
• Tod Goldberg reviews Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka.
  
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel reviews Black Run by D.L. Marshall.
• Raven Crime Reads reviews Dead End Street by Trevor Wood.
• Mishka Rao reviews The Pine Barrens Strategem by Ken Harris.
  
• Blue Book Balloon reviews All the White Spaces by Ally Wilkes.
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Hour of the Assassin by Matthew Quirk. 
• Grab This Book reviews Dead Souls by Angela Marsons
  
• The Unseen Library reviews Unforgiven by Sarah Barrie. 
• Coot's Reviews reviews A Thousand Steps by T. Jefferson Parker.
  
• BOLO Books reviews The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf. 
• Nancy Carty Lepri reviews The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf. 
• Sandra Mangan reviews The Long Weekend by Gilly Macmillan.
  
• Adam Colclough reviews Our Friends in Beijing by John Simpson. 
• Michelle Carpenter reviews Good Rich People by Eliza Jane Brazier. 
• Punk Noir Magazine reviews Parochial Pigs by James Jenkins.
  
• Kirkus reviews Chloe Cates Is Missing by Mandy McHugh. 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Replacement Wife by Darby Kane. 
• John Valeri reviews The Other Family by Wendy Corsi Staub. 
  
• Sonja van der Westhuizen reviews The Village by Caroline Mitchell. 
• Coot's Reviews reviews The Fields by Erin Young. 
• Angie Barry reviews The Runaway by Nick Petrie.
  
• BOLO Books reviews The Accomplice by Lisa Lutz.
  
• Erica Wagner reviews The Sentence by Louise Erdrich. 
• Paul Burke reviews Quicksilver by Dean Koontz. 
• Mike Parker reviews Real Easy by Marie Rutkoski.
  
• Becky LeJeune reviews Demon by Matt Wesolowski. 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Devil House by John Darnielle.
  
• Doreen Sheridan reviews The Torqued Man by Peter Mann. 
• Men Reading Books reviews Targeted by Stephen Hunter. 
• The Real Book Spy reviews End of Days by Brad Taylor.
  
• Mary Picken reviews Anatomy of a Heretic by David Mark. 
• Janet Webb reviews A Valiant Deceit by Stephanie Graves. 
• Gail Byrd reviews Where There's a Will by Sulari Gentill. 
• Grab This Book reviews The Key in the Lock by Beth Underdown.
  
• Beth Kanell reviews The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections by Eva Jurczyk. 
• Lesa Holstine reviews The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections by Eva Jurczyk.  
• Doreen Sheridan reviews The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections by Eva Jurczyk.  
• Kirkus reviews The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections by Eva Jurczyk.   
• For Winter Nights reviews The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett. 
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel reviews The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett.
  
• Lesa Holstine reviews The Appeal by Janice Hallett. 
• Angela Gualteri reviews Comeuppance Served Cold by Marion Deeds. 
  
• Randy Money revisits The Angel of the Crows by Katherine Addison. 
  
• Lesa Holstine reviews Mermaid Confidential by Tim Dorsey.
• Stephen Dankner reviews Cloudy With a Chance of Murder by Gerald Elias.
  
• Beth Kanell reviews Reader, I Buried Them and Other Stories by Peter Lovesey.
• The Quick and the Read reviews After Agatha: Women Write Crime by Sally Cline.
  

 

Classics reviews:

• Publishers Weekly revisits the 1929 mystery Murder on B Deck by Vincent Starrett.
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1932 Vee Brown hardboiled crime story "The Crime Machine" and the 1933 Vee Brown hardboiled novella "The Price of Silence" by Carroll John Daly. 
  
• Glen Usher revisits the 1936 supernatural thriller "Black Wind Blowing" by Robert E. Howard. 
• Happiness is a Book revisits the 1937 Adelaide Adams mystery Murder a la Richelieu a.k.a. The Hotel Richilieu Murders by Anita Blackmon.
• Vintage Pop Fictions revisits the 1943 crime novella Once Is Enough by David Wright O'Brien.
• Martin Edwards revisits the 1950 suspense novel Cat and Mouse by Christianna Brand.
  
• Vintage Pop Fictions revisits the 1952 noir novel Tears Are For Angels by Paul Connolly a.k.a. Thomas Wicker.
  
• Vintage Pop Fictions revisits the 1959 noir novel The Widow by Orrie Hitt.
  
• Vintage Pop Fictions revisits the 1962 Mike Hammer detective novel The Girl Hunters by Mickey Spillane. 
• Vintage Pop Fictions revisits the 1966 Nick Carter: Killmaster novel The Mind Poisoners by Lionel White. 
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1975 Arrow heist novel Wine, Women... and Death by Walter Deptula Jr. 
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1976 Steve Savage spy novel The Omega Assignment by David Lewis a.k.a. Patton D. Lewis. 
• Joe Kenney revisits Mercenary Kill, a 1982 novel in The Terminator men's adventure series by John Quinn a.k.a. Dennis Rodriguez. 
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel revisits the 1992 historical mystery The Plymouth Cloak by Kate Sedley. 
• B.V. Lawson revisits the 1995 non-fiction book Science and the Detective: Selected Reading in Forensic Science by Brian D. Kaye. 
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 2004 John Blake detective novel Little Girl Lost by Richard Aleas a.k.a. Charles Adai.
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 2005 thriller Company Man a.k.a. No Hiding Place by Joseph Finder.

Crowdfunding:

 

Con and event reports:

• Michael Dirda reports about the exhibition Sherlock Holmes in 221 Objects at the Grolier Club in New York City.
  
• Mark Lawson reports about Whodunnit (Unrehearsed) 2, an improvised charity play where various famous actors will be solving a murder mystery on stage in London without a script or rehearsals.
• Ryan Gilbey calls the stage version of the 1987 thriller Fatal Attraction, which is currently playing in Brighton, UK, forgettable.
• Chris Wiegand reports that a musical called Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Tommy Shelby will open this fall in Birmingham, UK.
  

 

Research:

• Cathy Packard explains how the FBI's Art Crime Team operates.
  
• David S. Rudolf talks about abuse of power in the US legal system.
  
• Stephanie Graves chronicles how the MI9 used prisoners of war to gather intelligence in WWII.
• Minami Funakoshi discusses how languages handle gender and especially non-binary gender.
  
• Associated Press reports that a truck carrying one hundred monkey to a lab has crashed near Danville, Pennsylvania, and that several of the monkeys have gone missing. 

Free online fiction:

• "Shore Leave" by Adam Leeder in Mystery Tribune.
  
• "The Walk in the Forest" by Alzo David-West in Mystery Tribune. 
• "Gunshot" by Robert Bates in Mystery Tribune.
• "Abrasions and Lacerations" by Lissa Marie Redmond in Mystery Tribune.
  
• "Essence" by Ruth Rouff in Mystery Tribune.
• "A Matter of Business" by Ted Flanagan in Mystery Tribune.
• "Random Bad Man" by Brian Beatty in Mystery Tribune.
• "Rules of Gardening" by Bern Sy Moss in Mystery Tribune.
• "The Whispered Word" by Ellery Adams in Mysteryrat's Maze Podcast.
• "Midnight Special" by Mark Atley in Punk Noir Magazine.
• "Delicacy" by Peter Mladinic in The Five-Two.
  

 

Trailers and videos: 

• Watch a trailer for season 21 of Law and Order.
  
• Watch a trailer for Murderville.
• Watch a trailer for Uncharted.