Crime Fiction Links of the Week for July 22 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 The Sixth Commandment, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning, Justified: City Primeval, Beck, the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, the debate about AI writing and art programs, tributes to Jane Birkin and much more:

Crime fiction in general:  

• Crime Reads shares ten new crime novels coming out this week.
• Garrick Webster shares seven crime novels to read during the summer time.
  
• Allie Reynolds shares eight unforgettable thrillers with beach settings. 
• May Cobb shares four thrillers to beat the heat. 
• John Verdon talks about how to keep a long-running detective series fresh. 
• Ben Quinn talks about masculinity, queerness and hope in crime fiction. 
• Molly Odintz talks about new feminist thrillers featuring female serial killers. 
• Leslie Budewitz explains how layers of history add an extra dimension to contemporary mysteries and crime novels.
  
• Sara Flannery Murphy shares nine crime novels about coming home. 
• Jamie Day shares seven crime novels about parties or large events gone off the rails.
  
• Anthony Aycock shares his appreciation for the Dexter novels by Jeff Lindsay and the TV series they spawned. 
• Molly Templeton wonders if she is reading too many books at once. 
  

 

Film and TV:

• Ann Michelle Harris calls season 6 of Black Mirror a self-aware exploration of all the ways humans are awful. 
  
• Phil Hoad calls Sakra a hectic historical action romance with top-notch fight scenes. 
• Peter Bradshaw calls My Name Is Alfred Hitchcock a cheeky and insightful study of the famous director.
  
• Aidan Bryant revisits the 1990 mystery series Twin Peaks and notes that the person responsible for the premature cancellation was none other than current Disney CEO Bob Iger. 
  
• Germain Lussier revisits the 2020 science fiction thriller Tenet.
• Eric Francisco interviews Jeb Stuart, screenwriter of Die Hard. 
  
• Ben Child points out that the glut of TV shows and movies available on streaming is eating into box office grosses. 
  

 

Tributes to Jane Birkin:

• French-British actress and singer Jane Birkin, who appeared in Blow-up, Death on the Nile, Evil Under the Sun, Seven Death's in the Cat's Eye and many others, has died aged 76.
• Peter Bradshaw shares a tribute to Jane Birkin.
• Mee-Lai Stone shares photos from Jane Birkin's lengthy career.
  

 

Comments on The Sixth Commandment:

• Lucy Mangan calls The Sixth Commandment an immaculate true crime drama. 
• Paul Hirons shares his thoughts on the first episode of The Sixth Commandment. 
• Paul Hirons shares his thoughts on the second episode of The Sixth Commandment. 
• Paul Hirons interviews Éanna Hardwicke, who plays killer Ben Field in The Sixth Commandment.
  

 

Comments on Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1:

• Alasdair Stuart shares his thoughts on Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1.
  
• Tamera Jones interviews Christopher McQuarrie, director of Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning, Part 1.
• Ann Lee takes issue with the portrayal of the Asian assassin Paris, as portrayed by Pom Klementieff in Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part 1. 
• Rebecca Rubin reports that Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1 has still fallen short of box office expectations in spite of an impressive opening weekend.
  

 

Comments on Justified: City Primeval: 

• Saloni Gajjar calls Justified: City Primeval a riveting sequel. 
  
• Sophie Brookover interviews Michael Dinner, showrunner of Justified: City Primeval.
  

 

Comments on Beck:

• Chris Jenkins shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Beck. 
• Chris Jenkins shares his ten favourite Beck episodes of all time.
  

 

Comments on the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike:

• Andrew Pulver and Catherine Shoard share everything you need to know about the SAG-AFTRA strike. 
• Gene Maddaus reports which points are contentious in the negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and the studios.
  
• Dade Hayes reports that the SAG-AFTRA strike will be much more disruptive to the entertainment industry than the WGA strike. 
• Vanessa Thorpe chronicles the potential impact of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike on the entertainment business around the world. 
• Brent Lang, Tatiana Siegel and Matt Donnelly chronicle the financial and general impact of the double WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
• Andrew Webster reports that the studios wanted the right to scan an actor's likeness, pay them for a day or work and thereafter use that likeness however they see fit for all eternity.
• Joel St. Peters reports that the cast of Oppenheimer walked out of the UK premiere of the movie in London when the SAG-AFTRA strike officially began. 
• Justin Carter reports about the Haunted Mansion premiere in Disneyland in Anaheim, California, and how the studio handled not having an stars at hand to walk the red carpet.
  
• Julia Humphrey reports that several panels at San Diego Comic Con have been cancelled, because actors are unable to appear due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. 
• William Hughes also reports about the San Diego Comic Con panels cancelled due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. 
  
• Zac Ntim reports that production of Deadpool 3 has been halted due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. 
• Max Goldbart reports that Interview With the Vampire has shut down production due to the SAG-AFTRA strike.
  
• Manori Ravindran and Jennifer Maas report that season 2 of House of the Dragon can continue production in spite of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes due to filming in the UK. 
• Max Grobar reports that the TV-series Dune: The Sisterhood will continue filming in spite of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes due to filming in Hungary.
  
• Andrew Horton reports that according to actor Brian Cox, the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes could last until the end of the year. 
• Melanie Goodfellow shares writer and director Oliver Stone's thoughts on the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. 
• Max Goldbart shares actor and director George Clooney's statement on the SAG-AFTRA strike. 
• Stuart Heritage reports about the ridiculously low paycheques that actors are receiving for appearing in popular streaming series. 
• Catherine Shoard wonders whether other actors will eventually turn on the extremely high paid A-list Hollywood stars.
  
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw reports that Daredevil showrunner Steven DeKnight doesn't even get the residuals he is owed after his show was pulled from Netflix and moved to Disney Plus. 
• Lynzee Loveridge reports that David J. Fielding, the actor who portrayed the villain Zordon in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, was paid less than 1000 US-dollars for his work, even though his face was reused in every episode of the long-running series. 
• Lesley Goldberg reports that Ryan Murphy, producer of American Horror Story, American Horror Stories and American Sports Story, all of which are still in production in spite of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike, has threatened to sue WGA strike captain Warren Leight for claiming that Murphy has violated strike rules. 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw reports that Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos was mocked for his claiming that he grew up in a union household
  
• David Robb reports that some independent film productions may continue filming during the SAG-AFTRA strike, provided the producers sign interim agreements. 
• Justin Carter explains what the SAG-AFTRA strike means for so-called Actual Play shows.
  
• Cailin Huston and Abbey White report from the picket lines of the WGA and SGA-AFTRA strike in New York City. 
  
• Robert Lang shares photos of the picket lines of the SAG-AFTRA strike. 
• The Guardian shares photos of actors on the SAG-AFTRA picket lines. 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw reports that the trees outside Universal Studios in Hollywood, California, have been cut at the height of summer to harass WGA and SAG-AFTRA members picketing the studio.
  
• Anthony D'Alessandro reports that SAG-AFTRA has requested that social media influencers not promote films and TV shows by studios affected by the strike. 
• Gene Maddaus shares what is and is not allowed during the SAG-AFTRA strike for union members, journalists, film critics, cosplayers and fans. 
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw notes that film reviews, cosplay and fanfic are not violating that SAG-AFTRA strike. 
• James Whitbrook shares what fans can do to support the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
  
• Ray Greene remembers how Disney was hit by an animators strike in 1941.

 

Awards:

• The winner of the 2023 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award has been announced.
  
• The finalists for the 2023 Macavity Awards have been announced.
  
• The winners of the 2023 Imadjinn Awards have been announced. 
  
• The shortlist for the 2023 Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize has been announced.

 

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Camestros Felapton discusses what makes characters memorable.
• John David Mann explains how to write characters that feel real.
  
• Liz Nugent talks about hating writing and loving having written.
• All Things Considered explains how audiobooks are made. 
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch shares some more thoughts on niche marketing.
  
• Victoria Strauss explains how scammers are exploiting Amazon trademarks to rip off authors.
• Alice Kemp-Habib reports that there is an industry-wide mental health crisis affecting authors.
  
• Jim Milliot reports that Penguin Random House has been hit by a wave of lay-offs.
  
• Anthony Cummins praises Britain's small indie presses. 
• Brooke Leigh Howard reports that writer Ta-Nehisi Coates appeared in person at a schoolboard meeting in Lexington-Richland, South Carolina, after they tried to ban his memoir Between the World and Me.
  

 

Comments on the AI controversy: 

• Chloe Veltman reports that thousands of authors have signed an open letter protesting AI companies using their work without permission. 
• Lucy Knight also reports about the open letter signed by thousands of authors.
  
• Sheera Frenkel and Stuart A. Thompson report how fanfiction writers are fighting back against their works being used to train AI large language models.

 

Interviews: 

• The Gurdian interviews Elly Griffiths.
  
• Paul Burke interviews Walter Mosley. 
• Ona Russell interviews Michael Connelly.
  
• Steph Post interviews Meagan Lucas.
  
• Anthony Cummins interviews Colson Whitehead. 
• Dwyer Murphy interviews Colson Whitehead.  
• Lesa Holstine interviews Susan Furlong. 
• Lisa Haselton interviews Robert Creekmore.
  
• Debbi Mack interviews Addison McKnight a.k.a. Nicole Moleti and Krista Wells.
  

Reviews:

• Mary Picken reviews The Second Murderer by Denise Mina. 
• Tzer Island reviews Flags on the Bayou by James Lee Burke.
  
• Lesa Holstine reviews The Bitter Past by Bruce Borgos. 
• Vicki Weisfeld reviews Sleepless City by Reed Farrel Coleman 
• Bruce DeSilva reviews Sleepless City by Reed Farrel Coleman  
• Adam Sternbergh reviews The Stolen Coast by Dwyer Murphy. 
• Dr. Alice Violett reviews You Can't See Me by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir, translated by Victoria Cribb 
• Jen Lucas reviews A Game of Lies by Clare Mackintosh
  
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Some Shall Break by Ellie Marney
  
• Mary Picken reviews All Of Us Are Broken by Fiona Cummins. 
• Jen Lucas reviews All Of Us Are Broken by Fiona Cummins.  
• Doreen Sheridan reviews You Can Trust Me by Wendy Heard
  
• Judith Reveal reviews All the Demons Are Here by Jake Tapper. 
• John Valeri reviews Thicker Than Water by Megan Collins 
• Jen Lucas reviews The Clearing by Simon Toyne.
  
• Garrick Webster reviews The Murder of Anton Livius by Hansjörg Schneider, translated by Astrid Freuler.
  
• Becky LeJeune reviews The After-Death of Caroline Rand by Catherine Cavendish 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The After-Death of Caroline Rand by Catherine Cavendish    
• Xan Brooks reviews Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah  
• Miguel Salazar reviews Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. 
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia 
  
• Arturo Serrano reviews The Electric Detective by Peter Ward 
• Paul Burke reviews Zero Kill by M.K. Hill.
  
• Becky LeJeune reviews One by Eve Smith. 
• Marlene Harris reviews A Disappearance in Fiji by Nilima Rao 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews The Spectacular by Fiona Davis
  
• Becky LeJeune reviews The Bleeding by Johanna Gustawson, translated by David Warriner. 
• The Quick and the Read reviews The Poison Machine by Robert J. Lloyd. 
• Lesa Holstine reviews The Murder Wheel by Tom Mead. 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews The Puzzle Master by Danielle Trussoni
  
• Aunt Agatha's reviews A Cryptic Clue by Victoria Gilbert.
  
• Marlene Harris reviews The Wayward Prince by Leonard Goldberg
• Marlene Harris reviews Murder on Black Swan Lane by Andrea Penrose 
• Publishers Weekly reviews The Last Dance by Mark Billingham. 
• Sharon Richardson reviews The Last Dance by Mark Billingham. 
  
• Adam Colclough reviews The Fine Art of Uncanny Prediction by Robert Goddard.
  
• Lesa Holstine reviews Between a Wok and a Dead Place by Leslie Budewitz
  
• Joseph B. Hoyos reviews Take the Honey and Run by Jennie Marts.
• Ronan McDonald reviews A Thread of Violence: A Story of Truth, Invention and Murder by Mark O’Connell
  

 

Classics reviews:

• Crossexamining Crime revisits the 1926 Lord Peter Wimsey mystery Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L. Sayers.
• Crossexamining Crime revisits the 1930 Lord Peter Wimsey mystery Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers.
• Crossexamining Crime revisits the 1934 mystery Ten Minute Alibi by Anthony Armstrong and Herbert Shaw 
• Happiness is a Book revisits the 1936 suspense novel Fair Warning by Mignon G. Eberhart.
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1941 hardboiled detective novel Solomon's Vineyard a.k.a. The Fifth Grave by Jonathan Latimer.
  
• Crossexamining Crime revisits the 1942 Rachel Murdock mystary The Alarm of the Black Cat by Dolores Hitchens 
• Martin Edwards revisits the 1947 Inspector Charlton mystery Let X Be the Murderer by Clifford Witting.
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1951 crime novels Satan Is a Woman and 13 French Street by Gil Brewer. 
• B.V. Lawson revisits the 1958 gothic romance Nine Couches Waiting by Mary Stewart.
  
• Adam Colclough revisits the 1961 George Smiley spy novel Call for the Dead by John Le Carré.
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1981 thriller The Brigade by John Shirley. 
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1989 war novel Blood Red Sun by Stephen Mertz.
  

Con and event reports:

• Jen Lucas shares the line-up for the 2023 DESIBlitz Literature Festival in Birmingham, UK. 
  
• Martin Edwards reports about a crime writing exhibition at the Warrington Library in Warrington, UK.
• Martin Edwards reports about a visit to the home of crime fiction writer Peter Lovesey in Shrewsbury, UK. 
• Niamh Kennedy reports that more than 100 visitors were accidentally trapped during a visit to Agatha Christie's former home in Glampton, UK.
  

 

Crowdfunding:

• Pulphouse Fiction Magazine has launched its 2023 funding drive. 
• Freelance writer Jessie Kwak needs help with medical expenses following an eye injury caused by a drive-by shooting. 
  

 

Research: 

• Edward Helmore reports about the so-called Gilgo Beach serial killer.
• Jillian Lauren talks about interviewing serial killer Sam Little in prison.
  
• Lucas Ropek reports that a supposed drug trafficker has been arrested based on an AI analysis of supposedly suspicious driving patterns.
• Colin Dickey discusses how conspiracy theories led to a bomb attack in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, in December 2020.
  
• Jennifer Cody Epstein explains how Jean-Martin Charcot, director of the Parisian insane asylum Salpêtrière, exploited his overwhelmingly female patients. 
• Anika Scott chronicles the relationship between the 1933 World Fair in Chicago, Illinois, and the local mob.
  
  

Free online fiction: 

• "Chekhov’s Gun" by John Scheck in Shotgun Honey.
• "Pele's Prerogative, Part 1" by Albert Tucher in Shotgun Honey.
  
• "Sins of A Sister" by Nathaniel Neil Whelan in Mystery Tribune.
• "An Influx of Centipedes" by Carlisle Richardson in Mystery Tribune. 
• "Rideshare" by J.M. Taylor in Tough.
  
• "Messenger Bags and Murder" by Dorothy Howell in Mysteryrat's Maze Podcast.
• "Midsummer Mischief" by Sarah Das Gupta in The Five-Two.
  

 

Trailer and videos: 

• Watch a trailer for season 2 of The Lincoln Lawyer.
• Watch a trailer for Wolf. 
• Watch a trailer for A Haunting in Venice. 
• Watch a trailer for Sharksploitation.