Crime Fiction Links of the Week for May 6, 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 Blue Lights, Saint X, The Diplomat, the new Fatal Attraction, the WGA strike and much more:

Crime fiction in general:  

• Crime Reads shares the best new crime novels coming out in May.
  
• Crime Reads shares ten new crime novels coming out this week. 
  
• Amanda Quick shares ten modern gothic novels.
• Lucy Connelly explains why setting is so important for cozy mysteries.
  
• Curtis LeBlanc explains why carnivals are great settings for crime fiction. 
• Burt Weissbourd explains why Seattle, Washington, is a great setting for thrillers.
  
• Paul French shares crime fiction set on Gibraltar. 
• Joanne Harris praises older women protagonists in crime fiction. 
• Kara Thomas talks about the challenges of writing YA mysteries. 
• Laura Jarratt talks about writing at the edges of the crime genre.
  
• Susan Isaacs explains why it took her forty-five years to write a mystery series. 
• Oris Aigbokhaevbolo talks about the "death" of Nigerian literature.
• Molly Templeton points out that a reader is not a consumer of books.  
• The Shift reports that Swedish crime writer Håkan Nesser is in legal trouble for alleged tax evasion.
• Sheila Halladay remembers her late husband Peter Robinson. 
  

 

Film and TV:

• Dwyer Murphy shares new crime shows to watch in May. 
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the first two episodes of Citadel.
  
• Aaron Halls calls Love and Death a compelling take on a well-trodden true crime story. 
• Jack Seale declares that the latest adaptation of Henry Fielding's Tom Jones should sizzle, but that there is absolutely no chemistry between the leads.
  
• Leslie Felperin calls A Small Fortune a predictable thriller from Canada. 
• Phil Hoad calls Born to Fly China's answer to Top Gun, which manages to be even more propaganda laden than its US counterpart. 
• Matt Schimkovitz shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Barry. 
• Hattie Lindert shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Yellowjackets,  
• Karen E. Olson shares her thoughts on the animated mystery series Harriet the Spy.
  
• Chris Murphy interviews Joseph Lee, one of the stars of Beef. 
• Christina Izzo interviews Edie Falco who plays Carmela Soprano in The Sopranos.
• Zach Vasquez takes a look at the various film adaptations of the noir novels of Dorothy B. Hughes. 
• Katharine Coldiron revisits the 1990 musical police procedural TV show Cop Rock.
  

 

Comments on Blue Lights: 

• Paul Hirons shares his thoughts on the series 1 finale of Blue Lights.
  
• Rebecca Nicholson calls Blue Lights on of the best shows on TV.
  

 

Comments on Saint X: 

• Adrian Horton calls Saint X a thriller that aims high but does not deliver. 
• Max Gao calls Saint X a muddle psychological thriller that can't figure out what it wants to say.
  

 

Comments on The Diplomat:

• Keith Roysdon calls The Diplomat a new breed of political and marital thriller.
• Paul Levinson calls The Diplomat West Wing meets James Bond. 
• Lucy Mangan praises the performance of Keri Russell in The Diplomat.
  

 

 Comments on the new Fatal Attraction:

• Chitra Ramaswamy calls the new Fatal Attraction less sexy than the 1987 version, but just as sexist.
• Joel Golby praises the performances of Joshua Jackson and Lizzy Caplan in the Fatal Attraction remake.
  

 

Comments on the strike of the Writers Guild of America:

• John Koblin, Brooks Barnes and Nicole Sperling report about the impending screenwriters' strike in Hollywood.
• Joy Press and Natalie Jarvey report about the end of the golden age of streaming TV, the impact on screenwriters and the impending writers' strike.
• Nadia Khomani and Edward Helmore report that the Writers Guild of America have begun their strike. 
• Tom Tapp explains why the WGA is striking, what the stakes and issues are and what the effect on viewers will be. 
• Michael Schulman explains why TV writers are so miserable and why they are striking.
• David Robb interviews Meredith Stiehm, president of the Writers Guild of America. 
• Animation writer and longtime WGA member Craig Miller shares his experiences at the previous WGA strikes in 1988 and 2008 and how he expects this strike to pan out.
• Linda Codega explains what the WGA strike means for movie and TV viewers.
• Peter White reports that the first casualties of the WGA strike are the various late night talkshows on US TV, which have to stop production immediately. 
• Mary Kate Carr reports that Jenna Ortega, star of Wednesday, has become a target for the ire of striking WGA writers, following some comments about being forced to alter scripts.
  
• Heidi MacDonald explains how the WGA strike will affect the comics industry and the convention circuit. 
• Matt Schimkovitz reports that actress Drew Barrymore has dropped out of the 2023 MTV Awards in solidarity with the striking writers. 
• Adam B. Vary reports that The Rings of Power will finish filming its second season without the showrunner or any of the writers in set due to the WGA strike. 
  

 

Awards:

• The winners of the 2023 Agatha Awards have been announced.
• The winners of the 2023 Derringer Awards have been announced. 
• The winners of the 2023 Pulp Factory Awards have been announced.
  
• The winner of the 2023 Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Competition has been announced.
• Peter Vidich shares some insights into being an Edgar Award judge. 

 

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Tania James explains what it means to be a writer. 
  
• Taylor Adams talk about incorporating your real fears into fiction. 
• Hanna Lee shares a tool that allows writers to calculate when their book will earn out. 
• Alina Adams talks about a book marketing scam. 
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch points out that Amazon is having some troubles and implores writers to go wide.
  
• PEN America shares some numbers regarding book banning attempts in the US. 
• Tovia Smith reports that library funding is fast becoming "the nuclear option" in the battle over book bans in the US. 
  
• Emma Smith points out that trying to censor books may only make them more popular.
  
• Mark Roth-Whitforth shares a proposal to include a clause into book contracts to make sure that a book cannot be used to train AI chatbots. 
  
• Charlotte Colombo explains that Elon Musk's latest changes to the Twitter verification system has left small creators with a difficult choice, either be viewed as the sort of person who'd pay for Twitter or be punished by the algorithm. 
• Emily Temple shares ten of the best independent bookstores in the English speaking world.

 

Interviews: 

• Jimmy Fallon interviews S.A. Cosby and Questlove. 
• Ali Karim interviews Dennis Lehane.
  
• The Red Hot Chilli Writers interview Sophie Hannah. 
• Deborah Kalb interviews David Unger.
  
• Garrick Webster interviews J. Paul Rieger.
  
• Xan Brooks interviews Mat Osman, brother of Richard Osman.
• The Guardian interviews Dreda Say Mitchell.
  

Reviews:

• Mandie Griffiths reviews Expectant by Vanda Symon.
  
• Lesa Holstine reviews Hallowed Ground by Linda Castillo.
• Mike Parker reviews Scorched Grace by Margaret Douaihy.
• Aunt Agatha's reviews Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane.
  
• Grab This Book reviews The Monk by Tim Sullivan. 
• West Word Reviews reviews The Detective by Ajay Chowdhury. 
  
• Gayle Surrette reviews Identity by Nora Roberts. 
• Joseph B. Hoyos reviews Beware the Woman by Megan Abbott. 
• Kirkus reviews The Girl by the Bridge by Arnaldur Indridason, translated by Philip Roughton.
• The Plain Spoken Pen reviews Dead in the Water by Mark Ellis.
  
• Mandie Griffiths reviews The Vanishing Triangle by Claire McGowan
  
• Paul Burke reviews Cast a Cold Eye by Robbie Morrison,
  
• Jen Lucas reviews Look Both Ways by Linwood Barclay. 
• AnnaBookBel reviews Viper's Dream by Jake Lamar.
  
• Marlene Harris reviews The Way of the Bear by Anne Hillerman.
  
• The Quick and the Read reviews Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger
  
• Sandra Hoover reviews The Eden Test by Adam Sternbergh.
  
• Joy Kluver reviews Eighteen Seconds by Louise Beech. 
• Steve Donoghue reviews Going Zero by Anthony McCarten. 
• Jeff Ayers reviews The Last Word by Taylor Adams.
  
• Publishers Weekly reviews Below the Line by Lowell Cauffiel.
  
• Jen Lucas reviews Skin Deep by Antonia Lassa, translated by Jacky Collins.
  
• BOLO Books reviews We Love To Entertain by Sarah Strohmeyer. 
• Publishers Weekly reviews Bad, Bad Seymour Brown by Susan Isaacs. 
• Lou Jacobs reviews For You and Only You by Caroline Kepnes.
  
• Sharon Mensing reviews The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth.
  
• Lesa Holstine reviews The Bride Wore White by Amanda Quick. 
• Open Book Society reviews Murder on Bedford Street by Victoria Thompson.
  
• Kathy Reel reviews The Case of the Absent Heirs by Cathy Ace. 
• Erica Wagner reviews The Ghost Theatre by Mat Osman. 
  
• Lesa Holstine reviews Nonna Maria and the Case of the Stolen Necklace by Lorenzo Carcaterra
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice For Murderers by Jesse Q Sutanto 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Good Dog, Bad Cop by David Rosenfelt
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Four Parties and a Funeral by Maria DiRico and tries a recipe from the book.
• Blaine DeSantis reviews Ukulele of Death by E.J. Cooperman. 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Fateful Words by Paige Shelton
  
• Ajay Chowdhury reviews On His Majesty's Secret Service by Charlie Higson.
  
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Flux by Jinwoo Chong
  

 

Classics reviews:

• Martin Edwards revisits the 1932 mystery Obelists at Sea by C. Daly King.
  
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel revisits the 1935 Hercule Poirot mystery The Three Act Tragedy a.k.a. Murder in Three Acts by Agatha Christie.
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel revisits the 1935 mystery Death of an Author by E.C.R. Lorac. 
• AnnaBookBel revisits the 1940 spy novel Journey Into Fear by Eric Ambler.
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1948 gothic suspense novel The Bleeding House by Hilda Lawrence. 
• B.V. Lawson revisits the 1959 Detective Inspector Curwen mystery Find the Innocent by Roy Vickers.
  
• Happiness is a Book revisits the 1965 Inspector Manton mystery The Anxious Conspirator by Michael Underwood.
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1970 gothic romance Mistress of Orion Hall by Claudette Nicole a.k.a. Jon Messman.  
• Crossexamning Crime revisits the 2007 Mr. Monk mystery Mr. Monk and the Blue Flu by Lee Goldberg.
  

Con and event reports:

• Martin Edwards shares his experiences at the 2023 Edgar Awards ceremony in New York City and at the 2023 Malice Domestic in Bethesda, Maryland.
  
• Paul Burke reports about the Gwyl Crime Cymru Festival in Aberystwyth, Wales.
  
• John O'Neill shares his experiences at the Windy City Pulp & Paper Convention in Lombard, Illinois. 
• Robert Booth reports about Dismissed by Daniel Rusteau, a play about knife crime in the UK which is currently playing in London, UK.

 

Research: 

• Pete Earley chronicles life inside a US Supermax prison. 
• Trish Esden explains how people can get scammed or conned at a flea market.
  
• Simon Hattenstone chronicles the crackdown on protesters against King Charles III in the UK, even if the protests were very mild.
  

 

Free online fiction: 

• "Chloroform" by Jolie Lindholm in Shotgun Honey.
  
• "Suspected Suicide in Local Cemetery" by Bill Jones in Mystery Tribune.
• "Hate Crime" by Jennifer Lagier in The Five-Two.
  
• "Slow Movin' Outlaw" by Joseph Walker in Tough.
  
• "Knowing Jack" by Kristine Grayson.
  

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for High Desert.
• Watch a trailer for City on Fire. 
• Watch a trailer for Class of '09. 
• Watch a trailer for season 3 of Top Boy.
  
• Watch a trailer for Ghosts of Beirut. 
• Watch a trailer for White House Plumbers.