Crime Fiction Links of the Week for March 18, 2023

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 Poker Face, the series finale of Endeavour, Luther: The Fallen Sun, Boston Strangler, Scream VI, tributes to John Jakes and much more:

Crime fiction in general:  

• Laura Wilson shares a round-up of the best recent crime novels and thrillers.
  
• Crime Reads shares ten new crime novels coming out this week. 
• Lisa Levy shares five psychological thrillers to read this month.
  
• Jesse Q. Sutanto shares her favourite feel-good crime novels of the year. 
• Ward Larsen shares his favourite aviation thrillers.
  
• Ian Moore talks about the importance of setting.
  
• Paul French lists crime novels set in Kyoto, Japan. 
• George Easter talks about the recent trend of "How to...?" mystery titles. 
• Marion Deeds shares her five favourite fantasy heists. 
  
• James R. Benn talks about the inspiration for his stories. 
• Charlotte Duckworth talks about the inspiration for her crime novel The Wrong Mother. 
• L.C. North talks about the inspiration for her novel The Ugly Truth.
  
• Curtis Evans profiles Elisabeth Sanxay Holding.
  
• Deuce Richardson profiles Peter Beresford Ellis a.k.a. Peter Tremayne and Peter MacAlan. 
• Alyson McCabe remembers Dilys Winn who opened Murder Ink, the first mystery bookshop in the US, in New York City in 1972. 
  
• Japanese writer and Nobel Prize winner Kenzaburo Oe has died aged 88. 
  

 

Tributes to John Jakes: 

• John Jakes, prolific author of historical fiction, crime fiction, westerns and SFF and creator of Brak the Barbarian, has died aged 90. 
• Robert D. McFadden remembers John Jakes. 
• Mike Barnes remembers John Jakes. 
• Cora Buhlert remembers John Jakes as an SFF writer.

 

Film and TV:

• Peter Bradshaw declares that Marlowe looks good, but lacks spark. 
• Tomris Laffly calls Inside a cunning and immersive art heist thriller. 
• Olivia Rutigliano has some questions about Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre. 
• Paul Levinson finds part 2 of season 4 of You better than part 1.
  
• Peter Bradshaw calls Pearl an extraordinary historical slasher horror film.  
• Manuel Betancourt calls Moving On a lukewarm revenge comedy. 
• Jack Seale calls Swarm a cold and dull serial killer satire.
• Leila Latif calls Agent Elvis a hilarious and foul-mouthed animated adventure.  
• Matt Schimkovitz shares his thoughts on the latest episode of the new Perry Mason. 
• Dorothy Shrewsbury shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Unforgotten.
  
• Paul Hirons shares his thoughts on the series 1 finale of Better.
  
• Paul Hirons shares his thoughts on the latest episodes of Paris Police 1905. 
• Louis Staples wonders why British television is full of corrupt cops right now. 
• Scott Tobias discusses how Hollywood handled the Iraq War.
  
• Cheryl Eddy calls Satan Wants You a fascinating and chilling documentary about the Satanic panic of the 1980s.  
• Hector DeJean talks about the difficulties and detective work required to find good pop culture before the Internet. 
  
• Saloni Gajjar interviews Bob Odenkirk, star of Better Call Saul. 
• Ryan Gilbey interviews Alexander Skarsgard, star of True Blood, The Northman, Big Little Lies, War on Everyone and many others. 
  
• Chris Godfrey interviews Djimon Hounsou, who appears in Shazam! Fury of the Gods, several Marvel movies, Blood Diamond and many others.
  
• Kris Vyas-Myall and Fiona Moore revisit the 1968 science fiction spy series The Prisoner.  
• Martin Edwards revisits the 2015 suspense movie A Bigger Splash.
  
• Sam Adams reports that "peak TV" and the golden age of streaming services is over and muses about what will replace it. 
• Helena Horton reports that the BBC will not air a documentary on the decline of British wildlife by Sir David Attenborough for fears of a rightwing backlash. 
• Mark Lawson shares a list of British TV shows that were pulled because of controversies, censorship and other issues. 
• Director John Boorman is upset that films are mostly shot electronically and no longer on physical celluloid these days.  
• Lucy Clark reports that Sam Neill, who appeared in the Jurassic Park movies, Merlin, The Hunt for Red October, Event Horizon, Peaky Blinders and many others, is suffering from stage 3 blood cancer. 
  
• Ryan Gilbey shares an obituary for Robert Blake.  
• Lance Reddick, star of The Wire, the John Wick movies, Lost, Fringe, Bosch and many others, has died aged 60.
  

 

Comments on Poker Face: 

• Saloni Gajjar declares that Poker Face ends its first season in a blaze of glory.
• Justin Hairston offers a road map of season 1 of Poker Face.
• Camestros Felapton ranks the episodes of season 1 of Poker Face.

 

Comments on Luther: The Fallen Sun:

• Murtada Elfadi declares that Idris Elba is the best reason to watch Luther: The Fallen Sun.  
• Paul Levinson calls Luther: The Fallen Sun excellent, in all sorts of ways, for all kinds of reasons

 

Comments on the series finale of Endeavour: 

• Mark Lawson calls the final episode of Endeavour a perfect finale.
• Chris Jenkins finds the final episode of Endeavour somewhat disappointing. 
• Chris Jenkins ranks every series of Endeavour.
  
• Chris Jenkins wonders how the adventures of Endeavour Morse might continue.
  

 

Comments on Boston Strangler:

• Peter Bradshaw calls Boston Strangler a fierce serial killer story. 
• Brent Simon calls Boston Strangler a muddled true crime film.
  

 

Comments on Scream VI: 

• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel calls Scream VI one of the best in the series.
  
• J.R. Forasteros notes that the Scream series has run out of things to parody and has to venture into new territory with Scream VI.
  
• Germain Lussier interviews Scream VI directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett and producer Chad Villella,
• Anthony D'Alessandro reports that Scream VI is about to have a record-breaking opening weekend.

 

Awards:

• The shortlists for the various awards handed out at CrimeFest have been announced.
  
• The finalists for the 2022 Hammett Prize have been announced.
• The finalists for the 2023 ITW Thriller Awards have been announced.
  
• The winners of the 2023 Glencairn Glass Crime Short Story Competition have been announced.
  
• The finalists for the 2022 Australian Romance Readers Awards have been announced.   
• The winners of the 2023 Spur Awards have been announced.
  
• The finalists for the 2023 Lambda Literary Awards have been announced.
• The finalists for the 2022 Foreword Indies Book of the Year Award have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2023 Razzie Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2023 Academy Awards have been announced with lots of love for Everything Everywhere All At Once and some love for crappy WWI dramas.
• Cora Buhlert shares her thoughts on the 2023 Oscar winners.
  
• Steve Rose talks about several cases where Oscars were sold or stolen.
   

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• J.A. Jance talks about creating believable characters.
  
• Connor Sullivan talks about the joys of researching your next novel. 
• Frederick Weisel explains what he learned from book clubs reading his books. 
• Jason Sanford discusses the devastating impact that Amazon ending Kindle Newsstand could have on genre magazines. 
• Neil Clarke weighs in on the impending end of Kindle Newsstand. 
• Theo Downes-Le Guin reports that a few words in the children's books written by his mother Ursula K. Le Guin have been altered. 
  
• Lucy Knight explains what sensitivity readers really do.
  
• Zoe Dubno claims that publishers are using sensitivity readers to protect their bottom lines.
  
• Jennifer Schuessler shares tips from rare book librarians for handling rare and valuable books.
• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon about the perfect café for writers.
• Sarah Shaffi reports that Filippo Bernadini, who stole several unpublished manuscripts, just wanted to read the books before anybody else did. 
• Curtis Evans remembers Rupert Heath, the late publisher of Dean Street Press.
  

 

Interviews: 

• Criminal Element interviews P.J. Tracy.
• Elise Cooper interviews Charles Todd.
  
• Nancie Clare interviews Cara Black. 
• It Was a Dark and Stormy Book Club interviews Jennifer Herrera. 
• E.B. Davis interviews Joyce St. Anthony. 
• Mary Picken interviews Livi Michael.
  
• Eli Cranor interviews Nita Prose. 
• Criminal Element interviews Gigi Pandian.
  
• Kendra Winchester interviews Liberty Hardy. 
• Marco della Cava interviews James Patterson. 
  

Reviews:

• Sandie Herron reviews The Dead Will Tell by Linda Castillo.
  
• Jen Lucas reviews Where Demons Hide by Douglas Skelton.
  
• Mary Picken reviews So You Shall Reap by Donna Leon. 
• Sandra Mangan reviews The Kind Worth Saving by Peter Swanson.
  
• John Valeri reviews The Angel Maker by Alex North. 
• Jen Lucas reviews The Space Between Us by Doug Johnstone. 
• Becky LeJeune reviews The Space Between Us by Doug Johnstone. 
  
• Martin Edwards reviews Showstopper by Peter Lovesey. 
• Mary Picken reviews I Will Find You by Harlan Coben. 
• Mary Picken reviews The Ugly Truth by L.C. North.
  
• Mandie Griffiths reviews Death at Paradise Palms by Steph Broadribb.
• Mandie Griffiths reviews Whisper of the Seals by Roxanne Bouchard, translated by David Warriner
  
• Becky LeJeune reviews The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz. 
• Kevin Tipple reviews The Darkest Game by Joseph Schneider.
  
• Kathy Reel reviews Hide by Kiersten White.  
• Mary Picken reviews The Half-Burnt House by Alex North.
  
• Colin Grant reviews Fire Rush by Jacqueline Brooks.
• Lucy Hughes-Hallett reviews Tomás Nevinson by Javier Marías
• Vicki Weisfeld reviews The Lost Americans by Christopher Bollen.
  
• Beth Kanell reviews Night Flight to Paris by Cara Black.
• Marlene Harris reviews A Tempest at Sea by Sherry Thomas. 
• Suzi Feay reviews A Wild and True Relation by Kim Sherwood.
  
• Lesa Holstine reviews A Sinister Revenge by Deanna Raybourn.
  
• Crossexamining Crime reviews A Meditation on Murder by Robert Thorogood. 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Lemon Curd Killer by Laura Childs and tries a recipe from the book. 
• Jen Lucas reviews Dark Deeds Down Under, edited by Craig Sisterson.
  
• Randy Money reviews The Life of Crime by Martin Edwards.
  

 

Classics reviews:

• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1936 noir novel Double Indemnity by James M. Cain.
• Crossexamining Crime revisits the 1937 Spike Tracy mystery Murder Makes Murder by Harriette Ashbrook.
• B.V. Lawson revisits the 1938 mystery The Port of London Murders by Josephine Bell.
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel revisits the 1939 Inspector Eliot mystery The Black Spectacles by John Dickson Carr.
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1940 noir novel The Bride Wore Black by Cornell Woolrich.
• Happiness is a Book revisits the 1948 Garth and Whittaker mystery The Five Matchboxes by John Russell Fearn.
  
• Crossexamining Crime revisits the 1957 Mrs. Norris mystery Death of an Old Sinner by Dorothy Salisbury Davis.
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1963 crime novel Homicide Handicap by Bob McKnight. 
• Martin Edwards revisits the 1981 suspense novel The House of Care by W.J. Burley.
  

Con and event reports:

• Sarah Shaffi shares the line-up of the 2023 Hay Festival in Hay-on-Wye, Wales.
  
• Sarah Shaffi reports that the 2023 Hay Festival in Hay-on-Wye, Wales, will host the inaugural Eurovision Books Contest.
• Arturo Serrano reports about the 2023 conference of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs in Seattle, Washington.
  

 

Research: 

• Claire O'Brien shares observations from a career in death investigation.
  

 

Free online fiction: 

• "Where’d You Get That Ringtone?" by Gordon Grice in Shotgun Honey.
• "It Cannot Stay the Same" by Jake Spann in Shotgun Honey.
  
• "The Black Fork" by Anthony Barton in Guilty.
  
• "Kimchi Kitty" by Martin Limón in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine's Podcast
• "Bloody Lip" by Stephen J. Golds in Punk Noir Magazine. 
• "Piece of Slime" by Patrick Whitehurst in Punk Noir Magazine.
  
• "Venom" by Charles Rammelkamp in The Five-Two.