Crime Fiction Links of the Week for September 23, 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 season 3 of Only Murders in the Building, A Haunting in Venice, The Continental, Expend4bles, Spy Kids: Armageddon, season 3 of Reservation Dogs, the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, the debate about AI-generated writing and art and much more:

Crime fiction in general:  

• Crime Reads shares ten new crime novels coming out this week.
• Sarah Pekkanen shares her favourite recent thrillers. 
• George Easter shares the best mysteries and crime novels of 2023 to date.
  
• Maggie Giles shares ten thrillers with twists you won't see coming. 
• Queer Crime Writers share LGBTQ+ mysteries and crime novels coming out this fall.
  
• Deborah J. Ledford talks about crime and other novels by Native American writers. 
• Paul French takes a look at crime fiction set in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. 
• Brooke Robinson shares crime featuring interpreters, transcribers, forensic linguists and other law enforcement professionals who are not police officers or lawyers. 
• Mia P. Manansala shares mysteries featuring crime solving aunties.
  
• Manning Wolfe talks about characters faking their own death. 
• Steve Vertlieb profiles Robert Bloch.
  
• Cara Hunter talks about the enduring appeal of the Agatha Christie stlye closed circle crime.
  
• Dave Bradley shares some cocktail recipes inspired by Agatha Christie's novels. 
• Janet Beard explains that murder ballads were the original true crime genre. 
• Mystery writer James Hayman, author of the McCabe and Savage series, has died aged 92.
  

 

Film and TV:

• Benjamin Lee calls The Royal Hotel a feminist thriller that starts strong but can’t stay the course
• Martin Edwards calls See How They Run an enjoyable homage to Agatha Christie. 
• Peter Bradshaw calls The Lesson an amusing but contrived literary thriller about family tragedy and vengeful ambition
• Benjamin Lee calls Accused an anxiety-inducing social media pile-on thriller 
• Alex Wallace calls The Equalizer 3 a thoughtful, beautifully shot and bloody action thriller. 
  
• Saloni Gajjar calls The Irrational an average and formulaic crime drama.
  
• Peter Bradshaw calls Fear the Night an atrocious home invasion thriller
• Owen Gleiberman calls Poolman an absurdist disaster of a Los Angeles set noir movie.
  
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on season 1 of Wilderness. 
• Garrick Webster shares his thoughts on the Australian crime drama Black Snow.
  
• Rebecca Nicholson wonders whether there is any point to the true crime documentary The Russell Murders: Who Killed Lin and Megan? 
• Nick Kolakowski shares seven iconic car chases from crime movies.
  
• The AV-Club share their seventeen favourite TV villain redemption arcs.  
• Terence Towles Canote celebrates the sixtieth anniversary of the 1963 crime drama The Fugitive. 
• Omair Alavi revisits the 1972 crime drama Banacek.
  
• Ben Gilbert interviews Ralph Macchio and Robert Mark Kamen, star and creator of the 1984 martial arts movie The Karate Kid. 
• Bill Koenig celebrates the ninetieth birthday of actor David McCallum, best known for his roles in The Man from U.N.C.L.E., NCIS and Sapphire and Steel
   

Comments on season 3 of Only Murders in the Building: 

• Saloni Gajjar shares her thoughts on "Sitzprobe", the latest episode of Only Murders in the Building.
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on "Sitzprobe".
  

 

Comments on A Haunting in Venice: 

• Olivia Rutigliano calls A Haunting in Venice the best of the Kenneth Branagh Hercule Poirot films. 
• Leah Schnelbach calls  A Haunting in Venice a mystery wrapped inside a gothic horror story.
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel is pleased that Kenneth Branagh chose to adapt a lesser known Hercule Poirot mystery for A Haunting in Venice.

 

Comments on The Continental: 

• Sam Barsanti calls The Continental an okay John Wick prequel, but takes issue with the casting of Mel Gibson. 
• Alison Herman declares that The Continental isn't worth a watch - and not just because of Mel Gibson. 
• Graeme Virtue also takes issue with the casting of Mel Gibson in The Continental.
  
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the first episode of The Continental.
  

 

Comments on Expend4bles:

• Courtney Howard calls Expend4bles an expendable sequel. 
• Peter Bradshaw calls Expend4bles a tired sequel whose digital effects could have been shot on an iPhone

 

Comments on Reservation Dogs: 

•  Manuel Betancourt shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Reservation Dogs.
•  Noetta Harjo shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Reservation Dogs.
  

 

Comments on Spy Kids: Armageddon: 

• Adrian Horton calls Spy Kids: Armageddon an amiable Netflix reboot
• Matthew Jackson declares that Spy Kids: Armageddon features the same formula, a different family and is still fun.

 

Comments on the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike:

• David Robb reports that SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher has urged members to approve strike authorization against video game companies
  
• Gavia Baker-Whitelaw reports that Drew Barrymoore has apologised for restarting her daytime talkshow during the WGA strike and that other daytime talkshows have stopped production as well.
• Arwa Mahdawi also reports about Drew Barrymore's apology.

 

Awards:

• The winners of the 2023 McIlvanney Prize and Bloody Scotland Debut Prize have been announced.
• The winner of the 2023 Lindisfarne Prize has been announced. 
• The winners of the 2023 Colorado Gold Rush Awards have been announced.
  
• The shortlist for the 2023 Booker Prize has been announced.  
• The longlist for the 2023 US National Book Awards has been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2023 Grand prix de littérature américaine have been announced.
  

 

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Michael Craft explains how subplots and plot filaments lend texture and depth to any novel
  
• Adam McPhee talks about his experiences in slush reading. 
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch talks about sales platforms and what to do when they go away or change.
  
• Victoria Strauss reports about a fake film company scam.
  
• Locus reports about some new developments at Saga Press. 
• Jim Milliot reports that Nihar Malaviya has been officially named CEO of Penguin Rnadom House.
  
• Jess Bacon wonders if BookTok is sucking the joy out of reading.
  
• Ella Creamer reports that four large publishers have sued the file sharing platform Library Genesis for copyright infringement.  
• Ella Creamer reports that new guidelines urge UK libraries not to avoid controversial books and ideas
  
• Andrew Albanese reports that a US Federal Judge has officially blocked the Texas book rating law.
  
• Abbey White reports that several celebrities have signed an open letter denouncing book bans and their chilling effect.
  

 

Comments on the AI controversy: 

• Wealth of Geeks reports that actor Stephen Fry says that an AI system was trained to mimic his voice, based on the Harry Potter audiobooks he narrated. 
• Alexi Duggins also reports about Stephen Fry being upset at an AI system stealing his voice.
  
• The Authors Guild announces that the Authors Guild and seventeen high profile authors, including George R.R. Martin, John Grisham, David Baldacci, Victor LaValle, Sylvia Day and Michael Connelly, has filed a class action lawsuit against Open AI. 
• Ella Creamer reports that Amazon is restricting people to publishing no more than three books per day via its KDP platform to crub the rise of low quality AI generated books. 
• Naman Ramachandran reports that Indian actor Anil Kapoor has won a landmark lawsuit against using AI using his likeness.

 

Interviews: 

• Craig Sisterson interviews Denise Mina. 
• Erik Pedersen interviews Lou Berney. 
• The Guardian interviews Jo Nesbø
  
• Eli Cranor interviews Nina Simon.
  
• Debbi Mack interviews Matt Witten.
• The Red Hot Chilli Writers interview A.J. West.
• Lisa Haselton interviews Nancy M. Bell.
  
• E.B. Davis interviews Kait Carson.
  
• Molly Odintz interviews Anjili Babbar.
  

Reviews:

• Lesa Holstine reviews Dark Ride by Lou Berney
  
• Mary Picken reviews The Raging Storm by Ann Cleeves. 
• Aunt Agatha's reviews The Raging Storm by Ann Cleeves. 
• Jonathan Cowie reviews Untamed Shore by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. 
  
• Joseph B. Hoyos reviews Malibu Burning by Lee Goldberg
• Jen Lucas reviews The Opposite of Lonely by Doug Johnstone
  
• Michael J. McCann reviews The Longmire Defense by Craig Johnson. 
• Marlene Harris reviews Fury Brothers by Anna Hackett
  
• Gabino Iglesias reviews The Enchanters by James Ellroy.
• Gabino Iglesias reviews Holly by Stephen King. 
• Ali Karim reviews Holly by Stephen King. 
  
• Tzer Island reviews The Traitor by Ava Glass.
• BOLO Books reviews Truth To Be Told by Kia Abdullah. 
• Aubrey Nye Hamilton reviews: Perfectly Nice Neighbors by Kia Abdullah 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews I Did It For You by Amy Engel
• Doreen Sheridan reviews One Night by Georgina Cross
  
• Matt Pechey reviews One Last Kill by Robert Dugoni. 
  
• Jen Lucas reviews Cover the Bones by Rachel Amphlett
  
• Blue Book Balloon reviews The Graveyard Shift by Maria Lewis
• Mike Parker reviews The Graveyard Shift by Maria Lewis
• Laura Wilson reviews The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith
  
• Roseanna Pendlebury reviews Lavender House by Lev A. C. Rosen 
  
• Crime by the Book reviews The September House by Carissa Orlando.
• The Quick and the Read reviews The Safe House by Cameron Ward
• Mandie Griffiths reviews Auld Acquaintance by Sofia Slater
• Sonja van der Westhuizen reviews The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons by Karin Smirnoff 
  
• Kirkus reviews Boomtown by A.F. Carter. 
• Bidisha Mamata reviews Rouge by Mona Awad  
• Vicki Weisfeld reviews The Plinko Bounce by Martin Clark
• Stephanie Merritt reviews The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff  
• Beejay Silcox reviews The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff 
  
• The Quick and the Read reviews The Turnglass by Gareth Rubin  
• Marilyn Brooks reviews Clark and Division by Naomi Hirahara. 
• Lesa Holstine reviews The Golden Gate by Amy Chua.
  
• Publishers Weekly reviews Proud Sorrows by James R. Benn. 
• Carol Westron reviews Rusted Souls by Chris Nickson 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews The Puzzle Of Blackstone Lodge by Martin Edwards
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel reviews Murdering The Messenger by Michael Jecks
  
• Pam Guynn reviews Enola Holmes and the Mark of the Mongoose by Nancy Springer
• Lesa Holstine reviews Murder at Midnight by Katharine Schellman
• Lesa Holstine reviews The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman
  
• Beth Kanell reviews The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp by Leonie Swann, translated by Amy Bojang.
• Lesa Holstine reviews Murder and Mamon by Mia P. Manasala 
• Lesa Holstine reviews Murder on the Orient Express: The Graphic Novel by Agatha Christie; adapted and illustrated by Bob Al-Greene.
  
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Agatha Whiskey by Colleen Mullaney and tries a recipe from the book.
  
• Ali Karim reviews Word Monkey by Christopher Fowler. 
  
• Publishers Weekly reviews Son of the Old West: The Odyssey of Charles Siringo: Cowboy, Detective, Writer of the Wild Frontier by Nathan Ward
  

 

Classics reviews:

• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1933 gothic suspense novel He Arrived at Dusk by R.C. Ashby
• Happiness is a Book revisits the 1959 mystery Black Is the Fashion For Dying a.k.a. The Mink Lined Coffin by Jonathan Latimer.  
• Martin Edwards revisits the 1959 Carolus Deene mystery Our Jubilee Is Death by Leo Bruce.
  
• James Reasoner revisits the 1961 crime novel Any Man's Girl by Basil Heatter.
• Cora Buhlert revisits the 1967 caper novel God Save the Mark by Donald E. Westlake.   
• Joe Kenney revisits the 1974 Aquanauts men's adventure novel Operation Mermaid by Ken Stanton a.k.a. Manning Lee Stokes.
• B.V. Lawson revisits the 1983 crime fiction collection Exeunt Murderers by Anthony Boucher.
  
• Lucia Graves revisits the 2001 biblio-mystery The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón 
  
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel revisits the 2007 historical mystery Medicus by Kate Downie.
  

Con and event reports:

• Mark Lawson calls the play Anthropology by Lauren Gunderson, which is currently playing in London, UK, a clever AI missing person mystery. 
• Arifa Akbar shares her thoughts on the musical adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca, which is currently playing in London, UK, and praises the performance of Kara Lane as Mrs. Danvers.
  

 

Research: 

• Julian E. Barnes reports that the CIA has disclosed the identity of the second operative involved in the so-called "Argo operation", where a fake movie team allegedly filming an adaptation of Roger Zelazny's Lord of Light was sent into Iran to rescue US hostages in 1979. 
• Maya Yang reports about a hidden stash of fentanyl found underneath a daycare center in New York City, where one small child died after accidental exposure to the drug. 
• Felix Francis talks about the biggest gambles in horse racing.
  
• Laura Shepherd-Robinson talks about London's Bartholomew Fair in the eighteenth century.
  

 

Free online fiction: 

• "Hangman’s Whisper" by Jonathan Newman in Shotgun Honey.
  
• "The Contract Killer Employee Manual" by Mike McHone in Shotgun Honey.
• "Sleep Like a Baby" by Julie Hastrup in Shotgun Honey.
• "Sleep Rough" by Brandon Barrows in Shotgun Honey.
  
• "For the Turtles" by Matt Dodge in Shotgun Honey.
  
• "Murder Faux Paws" by T.C. LoTempio in Mysteryrat's Maze Podcast.
  
• "Footwork" by M.E. Proctor in Mystery Tribune.
• "The Deep Drive" by Roxanne Patruznick in Tough. 
• "Just Another Pretty Face" by Jess Chua in Guilty.
  
• "Drinking in the Afternoon" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
  

 

Trailer and videos: 

• Watch a trailer for season 3 of Lupin.
• Watch a trailer for Payback.