Crime Fiction Links of the Week for May 4, 2024

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 Shardlake, Blue Lights, The Fall Guy, Dead Boy Detectives, Shogun, Miriam: Death of a Reality Star, the cancellation of NCIS Hawai'i, tributes to C.J. Sansom and Paul Auster and much more:

Crime fiction in general:  

• Crime Reads shares ten new crime novels coming out this week.
• Criminal Element share their most anticipated crime novels for May 2024
• Molly Odintz shares upcoming YA mysteries, thrillers and horror novels.
  
• Molly Odintz hosts a roundtable about the current state of the crime novel with the finalists for the 2024 Edgar Awards in two parts.
• Peter Nichols shares crime novels with a strong sense of space and manners.
  
• Katie Tietjen talks about the three types of detective duos you'll find in historical mysteries. 
• Ava January talks about the diverse representation of women in historical mysteries.
  
• Catherine Mack wonders why there are so many fictional writers as mystery protagonists. 
• Tom Simon shares some background on the 1970s thriller series The DC Man and its author James O. Cody. 
• John MacLeod profiles Scottish crime fiction writer Bill Knox.
  
• Catherine Mack explains how she came to write travel themed cozy mysteries. 
• Molly Templeton talks about writing in the margins of books.
  
• Lucy Knight reports that according to a recent story, more than a quarter of YA readers are over 28. 
• Pulp scholar Rick Lai died aged 68.
  

Tributes to C.J. Sansom:

• C.J. Sansom, author of the Shardlake historical mysteries, has died aged 71.
• Boyd Tonkin shares an obituary for C.J. Sansom.
• J. Kingston Pierce remembers C.J. Sansom.
  

 

Tributes to Paul Auster:

• American writer Paul Auster has died aged 77.
• The Guardian shares tributes to Paul Auster from fellow writers. 
• Jonathan Lethem shares a tribute to his friend Paul Auster.
  
• Lisa Allardice remembers Paul Auster. 
• Locus remembers Paul Auster.
  
• The Guardian shares quotes by Paul Auster.

 

Film and TV:

• Catherine Bray calls Land of Bad an explosive action thriller
• Peter Bradshaw calls Love Lies Bleeding a brilliant bodybuilding noir and praises the performance of Kirsten Stewart. 
• Murtada Elfadi calls Evil Does Not Exist a complicated moral mystery that's both thriller and fable 
• Lovia Gyarkye calls Humane a tense but underbaked dystopian thriller.
  
• Chris Jenkins shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Astrid: Murder in Paris.
• Lara Rosales shares her thoughts on the latest episode of The Equalizer.
  
• Tom Philip shares his thoughts on the latest episode of The Sympathizer.
• Garrick Webster shares his thoughts on the Romanian espionage drama Spy/Master.
  
• Alexis Gunderson shares six crime series from Australia and New Zealand to enjoy.
  
• Paul Hirons reports that the British crime drama Vera will end with season 14. 
• Olivia Rutigliano revisits the 1958 noir movie Elevator to the Gallows.
  
• Martin Edwards revisits the 2001 crime drama Lloyd and Hill. 
• Paul Hirons reports that Don Gilet will be the new lead actor in Death in Paradise. 
• Christy Pina reports that two of the real life people who inspired Baby Reindeer are considering sueing writer Richard Gadd for defamation.
  
• Andrew Pulver reports that sex scenes in Hollywood movies have declined by forty percent since 2000.
  
• Andrew Pulver reports that a recent survey has found that the ideal movie running time is 92 minutes. 
• Peter Bradshaw points out that the perfect movie length depends on the movie.
   

Comments on Shardlake: 

• Joel Golby calls Shardlake a fantastically creepy murder mystery.
• Lucy Mangan calls Shardlake a magnificent historical mystery. 
• Kayleigh Dray calls Shardlake a gritty Tudor murder mystery  
• Paul Hirons shares his thoughts on series 1 of Shardlake.
  
• Lucy Webster interviews Arthur Hughes who plays Matthew Shardlake in Shardlake.

 

Comments on season 2 of Blue Lights:

• Michael Hogan shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Blue Lights. 
• Paul Hirons shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Blue Lights. 
  

 

 Comments on NCIS: Hawai'i: 

• Rick Porter reports that NCIS: Hawai'i has been cancelled after three seasons in spite of good ratings. 
• Christy Pina shares the responses of cast and crew to the surprising cancellation of NCIS: Hawai'i.
  

 

Comments on The Fall Guy: 

• Peter Bradshaw calls The Fall Guy an entertaining action film and goofy stuntman romance.
• Manohla Dargis calls The Fall Guy a skull-rattling action movie. 
• Olivia Rutigliano calls The Fall Guy a romantic comedy stunt spectacular
  

 

Comments on Dead Boy Detectives: 

• Julia Glassman declares that Dead Boy Detectives offers something much more interesting than a love triangle.
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the season 1 finale of Dead Boy Detectives.
• Melody McCune shares her appreciation for the character of Niko Sasaki in Dead Boy Detectives.

 

Comments on Shogun: 

• Haley Zapal shares her thoughts on season 1 of Shogun. 
• Aaron Jones shares his thoughts on season 1 of Shogun.
  

 

Comments on Miriam: Death of a Reality Star: 

• Rachel Aroesti calls the documentary Miriam: Death of a Reality Star as grubby as the cruel reality show that ruined her life
• Michael Hogan shares some background about the tragic life and death and Mexican transgender model Miriam Rivera and her brief career as a reality show star in the UK.
  

 

Awards:

• The winners of the 2024 Edgar Awards have been announced.
  
• The winners of the 2024 Agatha Awards have been announced.
• The winners of the 2024 Derringer Awards have been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2024 Hammett Prize have been announced.
  
• The winners of the 2024 Bafta TV Craft Awards have been announced.  
• Lucy Knight reports that the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award has been criticised for an all-white longlist.
  

 

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Steven Pressfield talks about the writer's voice.
• Matthew Wills explains why Penguin Books chose a penguin as their logo/mascot.
  
• The Guardian reports that the National Library of France has quarantined antique books believed to contain arsenic.
• Lisa O'Carroll and Philip Oltermann report about a Georgian gang which stole rare books from libraries all over Europe.

 

Interviews: 

• The Guardian interviews Abir Mukherjee.
  
• John Parker interviews John Connolly.
  
• The Red Hot Chilli Writers interview Stig Abell 
• Paul Burke interviews David Hewson. 
• Marshal Zeringue interviews Ava January.
  
• Lesa Holstine interviews Kate Michaelson.
• Stephen J. Golds interviews Kellie Scott-Reid.
  
  

Reviews:

• Grab This Book reviews Seven Days by Robert Rutherford 
• Kevin Tipple reviews Dark Storm Rising by Linda Castillo
  
• Mary Picken reviews The Instruments of Darkness by John Connolly 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews The Sleepwalkers by Scarlett Thomas
• Sandra Mangan reviews The Alone Time by Elle Marr
  
• Blue Book Balloon reviews A Spy Like Me by Kim Sherwood 
• Vicki Weisfeld reviews The Infiltrator by T.R. Hendricks 
  
• Mary Picken reviews Profile K by Helen S. Fields
• Jen Lucas reviews Profile K by Helen S. Fields
• Jen Lucas reviews He Said/She Said by Erin Kelly
  
• Mary Picken reviews Good Bad Girl by Alice Feeney 
• Jen Lucas reviews You’d Look Better As A Ghost by Joanna Wallace  
• Doreen Sheridan reviews You Know What You Did by K. T. Nguyen
  
• John Valeri reviews Don’t Turn Around by Harry Dolan 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews While We Were Burning by Sara Koffi 
• Mandie Griffiths reviews Consumed by Greg Buchanan
  
• Doreen Sheridan reviews A Killing On The Hill by Robert Dugoni
  
• Mark Yon reviews Sparks of Bright Matter by Leeanne O’Donnell 
• Michelle Carpenter reviews An Inconvenient Wife by Karen E. Olson
  
• Marlene Harris reviews Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz
• Crossexamining Crime reviews Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz
  
• Marlene Harris reviews A Murder Most French by Colleen Cambridge
  
• BOLO Books reviews Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack
• Lesa Holstine reviews Every Time I go on Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack
  
• Aunt Agatha's reviews Patchwork Quilt Murder by Leslie Meier. 
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Double Grudge Donuts by Ginger Bolton and tries a recipe from the book. 
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel reviews The Dinner Lady Detectives by Hannah Hendy 
  
• Aunt Agatha's reviews The Poison Pen by Paige Shelton. 
• Fantasy Faction reviews Murder at Spindle Manor by Morgan Stang  
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Bless Your Heart by Lindy Ryan
  

 

Classics reviews:

• Happiness is a Book revisits the 1933 mystery Murder at the Varsity a.k.a. Murder at Cambridge by Q. Patrick.
  
• Martin Edwards revisits the 1935 mystery Death of an Author by E.C.R. Lorac.
  
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel revisits the 1936 Sergeant Beef mystery Case For Three Detectives by Leo Bruce
• Crossexamining Crime revisits the 1944 Rachel Murdock mystery The Cat Wears a Noose by Dolores Hitchens
  
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel revisits the 1958 Perry Mason mystery The Case Of The Foot-loose Doll by Erle Stanley Gardner  
• Martin Edwards revisits the 1966 Ellery Queen mystery The Madman Theory by Ellery Queen a.k.a. Jack Vance.
  
• Vicki Wiesfeld revisits the 2008 cozy mystery Bruno, Chief of Police by Martin Walker 
   
  

Con and event reports:

• Arifa Akbar calls Max Webster and David Haig's stage adaptation of Minority Report, which is currently playing in London, UK, criminally undercooked.

 

Research: 

• Earl Swift reports about the peonage system and a series of murders of black people in Georgia, in 1921.
• Kerry Hakoda takes a look at serial killers operating in Alaska.
  
• Sean Patrick Cooper reports about Mark Woodsworth who was innocently convicted at age sixteen of shooting his neighbours in Chillicothe, Missouri, in 1990.
• Sean Patrick Cooper reports even more about the Mark Woodsworth case.
  
• Mick Conefrey reports about mountaineer George Mallory who vanished in 1924 while trying to climb Mount Everest and about the search for his body.
  

 

Free online fiction: 

• "Lucky" by Susan Kuchinskas in Shotgun Honey.
  
• "Apartment 11A" by Katie Brunner in Punk Noir Magazine 
• "Betrayal" by Edith Bow in Punk Noir Magazine  
• "Take It Easy" by Michel Lee Garrett in Punk Noir Magazine    
• "Broken Marriage" by Linda Kay Hardie in Punk Noir Magazine  
• "Watch It All Burn" by Casey Stegman in Punk Noir Magazine   
• "Prayers for Woodrow Munson’s Soul" by J.D. Clapp in Punk Noir Magazine   
• "All Alone on Apple Road" by Andrew Monge in Punk Noir Magazine  
• "Seconds" by Craig Terlson in Punk Noir Magazine  
  
• "Bonded in Blood" by Adam Hulse in Punk Noir Magazine  
  
• "Your Phone a Stethoscope" by Chris L. Robinson in Punk Noir Magazine 
  
• "The Two Musics" by Michael Cisco in Reactor.  
• "Second Fiddle" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
  

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for Blink Twice.
• Watch a trailer for Insomnia.