Crime Fiction Links of the Week for July 1, 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 Hijack, the new Famous Five, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, season 6 of Black Mirror, the ongoing WGA strike, the debate about AI writing and art programs, tributes to Julian Sands and Alan Arkin and much more:

Crime fiction in general:  

• Crime Reads shares their favourite crime novels of 2023 to date.
  
• Crime Reads shares ten new crime novels coming out this week.
  
• C.K. Connor shares fifteen cozy mysteries coming out in the second half of 2023. 
• Katie Garner lists four popular mystery tropes and explains why they are popular.
  
• Julia Seales lists game-changing women detectives. 
• Heather Chavez talks about memorable fictional killers and assassins with a code.
  
• Catherine McKenzie shares thrillers where the setting is a pivotal character.
  
• Paul French lists crime novels and mysteries set in Bologna, Italy. 
• David Bell shares five great thrillers featuring domineering parents.
  
• Mark Dawidziak shares his ten favourite Edgar Allen Poe short stories.  
• Ed Pilkington reports that early drafts and notes for the 1966 true crime novel In Cold Blood by Truman Capote have been published. 
• Kate Dwyer talks about the growing popularity of short novels and novellas. 
• Lincoln Michel explains how novellas came to be published as standalones rather than in magazines or as part of collections.
• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon about overambitious beach reads.

 

Film and TV:

• Camestros Felapton shares his thoughts on the Australian crime drama Deadloch.
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Silo.  
• Max Gao declares that Warrior is back with a vengeance for season 3.
• Cath Clarke calls La Syndicaliste a blood-boiling injustice drama from France.
  
• Phil Hoad calls The Gates a confused science fiction horror thriller about a serial killer's spirit on a rampage.  
• Leila Latif calls the documentary Secrets of the Bay City Rollers one of the most disturbing accounts of abuse in the pop world imaginable
  
• Mark Benedict revisits the 1973 thriller Don't Look Now. 
  
• Randee Dawn explains that made for TV movies are making a comeback.   
• Josef Adalian reports that fans of Turner Classic Movies are right to worry about the future. 
  
• Scott Huver explains why Turner Classic Movies matters more than ever.
• Maureen Dowd calls for Warner Bros. to save Turner Classic Movies. 
• Stuart Heritage discusses the strange advertising campaign for Extraction 2, which involves sweat running from a billboard. 
• Nellie Andreeva reports that Magnum P.I. will end after season 5. 
• Andrew Pulver reports that actor Idris Elba has spoken out about the racist backlash, when he was in the running to play James Bond.
  
• Actor Frederic Forrest who appeared in The Conversation, Apocalypse Now, The Two Jakes, Music Box, The Don Is Dead, Hammett and many others, has died aged 86. 
  

 

Tributes to Alan Arkin and Julian Sands:

• Actor Alan Arkin, star of Gross Pointe Blank, Wait Until Dark, The Seven Percent Solution, Edward Scissorhands, The Rocketeer, Gattaca, Catch-22, Freebie and the Bean, The Return of Captain Invincible and many others, has died aged 89. 
• Ryan Gilbey shares an obituary for Alan Arkin. 
• Peter Bradshaw remembers Alan Arkin. 
• Greg Whitmore shares photos from Alan Arkin's lengthy career.
  
• Richard Sandomir reports that the remains of actor Julian Sands, star of The Killing Fields, Arachnophobia, Gothic, Murder on the Moon, Warlock, Naked Lunch, Boxing Helena, The Phantom of the Opera, Ocean's Thirteen and many others, who vanished while hiking in California, have been found dead aged 65. 
• Ryan Gilbey shares an obituary for Julian Sands. 
• Peter Bradshaw remembers Julian Sands. 
• Actor Gabriel Byrne remembers his friend and frequent co-star Julian Sands. 
• Director Mike Figgis remembers his friend Julian Sands.
  
• The Guardian shares photos from Julian Sands' lengthy career.
  

 

Comments on Hijack: 

• Saloni Gajjar calls Hijack a ridiculous but fun thriller. 
• Lucy Mangan calls Hijack a daft plane thriller and praises the performance of Idris Elba.
  
• Joel Golby calls Hijack a boring thriller and wonders why Idris Elba's character has no luggage.
  

 

Comments on the new Famous Five:

• Catherine Shoard reports that Danish director Nicholas Winding Refn will reinterprete Enid Blyton's beloved children's mystery series The Famous Five for the BBC and ZDF.
• Stuart Heritage wonders what Nicholas Winding Refn, who is known for more extreme material, will make of The Famous Five.
  

 

Comments on Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning:

• Christopher McPherson explains why Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning had to be split into two movies. 
• Tim Lewis interviews Simon Pegg, star of the Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, World's End, the Mission Impossible series and one of only two people worldwide to have appeared in Star Wars, Star Trek and Doctor Who. 

 

Comments on Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny: 

• Lauren Coates calls Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny a warmed over sequel that wastes the talents of its cast.
  
• Peter Bradshaw finds much to like about Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. 
• Emmet Asher-Perrin declares that Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny ends far better than it begins.
  
• Germain Lussier interviews James Mangold, director of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. 
• Joy Press interviews Phoebe Waller-Bridges, who plays Helena in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. 
• Molly Edwards interviews Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall, producers of the Indiana Jones movies.
  
• Germain Lussier lists twelve things to remember before Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny comes out.
  
• William Hughes revisits the much maligned 2008 movie Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and finds it better than its reputation.
  
• Sabina Graves ranks Indiana Jones imitators from worst to best. 
• Meilan Solly shares the real history behind the Antikythera mechanism, the titular dial from Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
  
• Watch a video of Harrison Ford and Phoebe Waller-Bridges, stars of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, playing with Indiana Jones toys.
  

 

Comments on season 6 of Black Mirror:

• Natalie Zutter shares her thoughts on season 6 of Black Mirror.
• Kayleigh Dray praises how the Black Mirror episode "Loch Henry" explores how problematic the true crime genre is.

 

Comments on the ongoing WGA strike:

• Peter White reports about the struggle of animation writers to be covered by the WGA and not the lower paid Animation Guild.  
• Katie Kilkenny and Tyler Coates report how a letter signed by many high-profile actors urging the actors' union SAG-AFTRA to strike, if demands are not met, came together.
  
• Max Kim reports that Netflix is increasingly turning to South Korean writers and creators for new films and series to circumvent the WGA, but South Korean creators are increasingly complaining about exploitation, too.
• Kirsten Chuba reports that comedy and late night show writers are returning to stand-up comedy clubs during the ongoing WGA strike. 
• Carolyn Giardina reports that the Cinematographers Guild, which is currently not on strike, has created a hardship fund for those of its members impacted by the ongoing WGA strike. 
  

 

Awards:

• The winner of the 2023 Hammett Awards has been announced.
  
• The shortlist for the 2023 Bloody Scotland Debut Prize and the longlist for the 2023 McIlvanney Prize have been announced.
• The longlist for the 2023 Ngaio March Awards has been announced.
  

 

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• David Housewright explains whether series characters can and should evolve over time. 
• Christina Lynch talks about the difficulties of teaching and writing at the same time, 
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch talks about niche marketing.
  
• Victoria Strauss shares some advice what to do when copyright trolls come for you.
  
• Alexandra Alter and Elizabeth A. Harris report about the phenomenon of Goodreads review bombings of books that haven't been published yet. 
• Lincoln Michel points out that Goodreads has no interest in doing anything about the review bombing campaigns on their site. 
• Gareth L. Powell notes that star ratings are meaningless.
  
• Katherine McLaughlin shares the nine most beautiful bookstores in the world.
• Leah Rachel von Essen talks about the restructuring of Barnes & Noble.
  
• Ella Creamer celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the feminist small press Virago. 
• Matthew Weaver reports that the Metropolitan Police has admitted to downloading data from the phone of French editor Ernest Moret, when he was arrested on suspicion of terrorism while en route to the London Book Fair. 
• Danika Ellis reports that book bans are driving young people away from libraries and reading.
  

 

Comments on the AI controversy: 

• Doc Burford notes that using ChatGPT and other AI writing programs does not give anybody an edge, but makes them unhireable.
• Camestros Felapton takes a look at signs that the Kindle store is being flooded with AI-generated spam books. 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw also reports about the AI spam book phenomenon.

 

Interviews: 

• The Red Hot Chilli Writers interviews Mark Billingham. 
• Ayo Onatade interviews Chris Brookmyre. 
• Sandra Mangan interviews Sarah Hilary.
  
• Robert Justice interviews Alessandra Harris. 
• Paul Burke interviews Sheila Bugler.
  
• Anthony Cummins interviews Eliza Clark. 
  
• Runalong the Shelves interviews Marion Womack.
• Arianna Reiche and C.J. Leede interview each other.
  

Reviews:

• John Valeri reviews The Only One Left by Riley Sager
  
• Gwen Moffat reviews Zero Days by Ruth Ware. 
• Mary Picken reviews Conviction by Jack Jordan. 
  
• Carole Tyrell reviews Conviction by Jack Jordan. 
• Matt Rowland Hill reviews Penance by Eliza Clark. 
• Janet Webb reviews Dead Man’s Wake by Paul Doiron
  
• Jen Lucas reviews The Generation Killer by Adam Simcox.
  
• Mary Picken reviews After That Night by Karin Slaughter. 
• Heather Fitt reviews After That Night by Karin Slaughter. 
  
• Jen Lucas reviews After That Night by Karin Slaughter. 
  
• Mary Picken reviews Night Will Find You by Julia Haeberlin. 
• Paperback Warrior reviews Beneath Cruel Waters by Jon Bassoff. 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews The Bone Riddle by Sara E. Johnson
  
• Marlene Harris reviews Hex by Anna Hackett. 
• Paul Burke reviews The End of Us by Olivia Kiernan.
  
• Joseph B, Hoyos reviews The Three Deaths of Willa Stannard by Kate Robards 
• Tony R. Cox reviews The Truth About Her by Annie Taylor. 
• Mandie Griffiths reviews The Girls on Chalk Hill by Alison Belsham.
  
• Becky LeJeune reviews The Girls of Summer by Katie Bishop. 
• Vicki Weisfeld reviews The Good Ones by Polly Stewart 
• Adam Colclough reviews The Clearing by Simon Toyne.
  
• Grab This Book reviews The Hotel by Louise Mumford. 
• Mandie Griffiths reviews The Curator by M.W. Craven. 
• Mary Picken reviews Fearless by M.W. Craven. 
• Jen Lucas reviews Fearless by M.W. Craven.  
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel reviews Fearless by M.W. Craven.  
  
• Jeff Ayers reviews The Senator’s Wife by Liv Constantine
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Murder of Anton Livius by Hansjörg Schneider, translated by Astrid Freuler
  
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel reviews The Trial by Rob Rinder. 
• Mary Picken reviews The Rule of Three by Sam Ripley.
  
• Mary Picken reviews The Square of Sevens by Laura Shepherd-Robinson.
  
• Gayle Surrette reviews A Tempest at Sea by Sherry Thomas. 
• Paul Burke reviews The Birdcage Library by Freya Berry 
  
• Blue Book Ballon reviews The Fascination by Essie Fox. 
• Sandra Mangan reviews Voices of the Dead by Ambrose Parry  
• Lesa Holstine reviews A Newlywed’s Guide to Fortune and Murder by Dianne Freeman
  
• Doreen Sheridan reviews The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies by Alison Goodman
• Lesa Holstine reviews A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales
• Maureen Carlyle reviews A Very Lively Murder by Katie Watson.
  
• Crossexamining Crime reviews Anxious People by Fredrik Backman, translated by Neil Smith 
• Sonja van der Westhuizen reviews After She Wrote Him by Sulari Gentill
  
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Murder Off the Books by Tamara Berry
  
• Marlene Harris reviews Hiss Me Deadly by Miranda James. 
• Lesa Holstine reviews Hiss Me Deadly by Miranda James.  
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Blueberry Blunder by Amanda Flower and tries a recipe from the book.
• Mandie Griffiths reviews The Moose Paradox by Antti Tuomainen, translated by David Hackston
• Blue Book Balloon reviews The Moose Paradox by Antti Tuomainen, translated by David Hackston
• Ian Mond reviews Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah  

 

Classics reviews:

• Martin Edwards revisits the 1931 mystery The Missing Moneylender a.k.a. The Man Who Was Dead by W. Stanley Sykes.
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1945 noir novelette "Night Time Is Murder Time" by Bruno Fisher.
• Crossexamining Crime revisits the 1954 mystery Dishonoured Bones by John Trench.
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1955 noir novel A Most Contagious Game by Samuel Grafton.
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1957 noir novel The Short Night by Russell Turner a.k.a. Leonard S. Zinberg. 
• B.V. Lawson revisits the 1962 Inspector Gideon mystery Gideon's Fire by J.J. Maric a.k.a. John Creasey.
  
• Joe Kenney revisits the 1974 The Liquidator men's adventure novel The Cocaine Connection by R.L Brent a.k.a. Larry Powell.
  
• Joe Kenney revisits the 1979 romantic suspense novel Call Me a Cab by Donald E. Westlake. 
• Happiness is a Book revisits the 1985 Vejay Haskell mystery The Bohemian Connection by Susan Dunlap.
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel revisits the 1988 mystery The Mill House Murders by Yukito Ajatsuji, translated by Ho-Ling Wong
  

Con and event reports:

• Martin Edwards reports about the 2023 Bodies from the Library conference at the British Library in London, UK. 
• Crossexamining Crime reports about the 2023 Bodies from the Library conference.
  
• Joy Kluver reports about the Crime in the Library event at Wimbledon Library in Wimbledon, UK.
• Ayo Onatade shares the program for the 2023 Capital Crime festival in London, UK.
  

 

Research: 

• Michael Finkel profiles art thief Stéphane Breitwieser.
• Mark O'Connell remembers Irish double murderer Malcolm Macarthur, who was arrested directly next to his grandparents' home.
• Karlijn Korpershoek reports how a former jungle prison in Kourou, French Guiana, became the launch site for ESA rockets.  
• Tim Newcomb reports that an archaeologist claims to have found evidence for the existence of the Viking city of Jomsborg, which was believed to be mythological.
• Archaeology World reports that a couple in Norway has found a Viking grave under their house during renovation work.
  
  

Free online fiction: 

• "A Secret Plan to Win The War" by Zachary Vasquez in Tough.
  
• "Bargain Time" by Blu Gilliand in Shotgun Honey 
• "The Regular" by Jay Butkowski in Shotgun Honey.
  
• "McCain, the Stranger" by Thomas Burchfield in Mystery Tribune.
• "Factory Settings" by Edward St. Boniface in Mystery Tribune. 
• "Renovated to Death" by Frank Anthony Polito in Mysteryrat's Maze Podcast.
• "Cat Nap" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. 
  
• "Seventy-Eight Dollars" by Peter Mladinic in The Five-Two. 
  

 

Trailer and videos: 

• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Dark Winds.
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of The Lincoln Lawyer.