Crime Fiction Links of the Week for December 28, 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 the best crime books of 2024, season 2 of Squid Game and much more.
 

Crime fiction in general: 

• Several crime fiction writers share their favourite crime novels to read around Christmas.
• Eleanor Davis explains how Christmas murder mysteries became a tradition in the UK. 
• Curtis Evans profiles Fredric Brown and his affinity for circusses.
  
• Amanda Craig shares her appreciation for the work of Joan Aiken for what would have been her hundredth birthday.  
• British mystery writer Catherine Aird has died aged 94.
  

  

Best of 2024:

• Sonja van der Westhuizen shares her five favourite crime novels of 2024. 
• Sandra Mangan shares her five favourite crime novels of 2024.
  
• Ben Boulden shares his favourite crime novels of 2024.
  
• Kevin Burton Smith shares his favourite crime novels of 2024.
• Jim Thomsen shares his favourite crime novels of 2024. 
• Eric Beetner shares his favourite crime novels of 2024.
  
• Marilyn Brooks shares her favourite mysteries of 2024. 
• Lauren Puckett-Pope shares her favourite mysteries and thrillers of 2024. 
• CrimeReads shares their favourite non-fiction crime books of 2024.
  

 

 Film and TV: 

• Leslie Felperin calls Invitation to a Murder a not very mysterious historical crime mystery. 
• Paul Levinson calls Juror #2 a Hitchcockian courtroom drama.
  
• Danette Chavez declares that Get Millie Black ends with a Dickensian twist
  
• Cath Clarke calls Detained a twisty noir film that flirts with ridiculousness 
• Jay Snow declares that Missing You misses the usual charm of Netflix’s Harlan Coben adaptations
  
• Ignatiy Vishnevetsky calls Santosh a subverted police procedural that crumbles into predictable moralizing
  
• Lucy Mangan compares the crime comedy Bad Tidings to Home Alone. 
• Phil Hoad calls Rippy a horror drama about a kangaroo in the frame for murder, which brings earnestness and maudlin backstory where none is needed 
  
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on episodes 2 and 3 of Dexter: Original Sin.
• Ellen E. Jones interviews Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, star of Nickel Boys, Lovecraft Country, NCIS LA and many others.
  
• Dale Berning Sawa interviews Anna Sawai, one of the stars of Shogun. 
• Will Tavlin talks about the rise and fall of Netflix and why so many of its movies and TV shows feel so generic. 
  
• William Hughes reports about a conflict between Barbara Broccoli, head of Eon Productions who produce the James Bond movies, and Amazon which purchased longtime distributor MGM.  
• British director Jack Bond has died aged 87. 
  
• Burt the Crocodile, co-star of Crocodile Dundee, has died aged 90.

 

Comments on season 2 of Squid Game:

• Michael Hogan declares that season 2 of Squid Game dials up the gore.
• Rebecca Nicholson declares that season 2 of Squid Game will make you uncomfortably bloodthirsty indeed. 
• William Hughes calls the season 2 premiere of Squid Game as tense as ever  
• Elijah Gonzales declares that season 2 of Squid Game has pacing issues, but still holds up.
  
• Germain Lussier and Cheryl Eddy share ten things they liked and three they didn’t about season 2 of Squid Game.

 

Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• SFWA issues a statement on the many issues such as censorship, persecution and war that are facing writers.
• Daniel Dern discusses how the Libby app mimics the discovery aspect of physical libraries. 
• Megan Thomas reports that reading bedtime stories to children makes them happier and healthier.

 

Awards:

• The nominations for the 2025 London Critics’ Circle Awards have been announced. 
• The shortlist for the 2025 BBC Audio Drama Awards has been announced.
  

 

Interviews: 

• Robert Justice interviews Attica Locke.
• Paul Burke interviews Alison Gaylin, 
• Murder Junction interviews Rob Parker. 
• Crime Wave interviews Rob Lopresti.
  
• Debbi Mack interviews Kerrie Droban.
  

 

Reviews:

• The Quick and the Read reviews Nobody’s Hero by M.W. Craven
  
• Mary Picken reviews Dead Man’s Shoes by Marion Todd
• Matt Pechey reviews The Devil’s Brigade by Samuel Marquis
• Marlene Harris reviews Echo by Tracy Clark
  
• BOLO Books reviews What the Wife Knew by Darby Kane. 
• Marlene Harris reviews Wedgetail by M.L. Buchman 
• Martin Edwards reviews The Three Deaths of Justice Godfrey by L.C. Tyler 
  
• Vicki Kondelik reviews The Matter of the Secret Bride by Darcie Wilde. 
• Matt Pechey reviews Murder on the Christmas Express by Alexandra Benedict
  
• Joseph B. Hoyos reviews A Slay Ride Together With You by Vicki Delany 
• Joseph B. Hoyos reviews The More the Terrier by David Rosenfelt
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel reviews The Proof In The Pudding by Rosemary Shrager
  

 

Classics reviews:

• Fiona Sturges revisits the 1920 Hercule Poirot mystery The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie.
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel revisits the 1936 Perry Mason mystery The Case Of The Stuttering Bishop by Erle Stanley Gardner
  
• In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel revisits the 1947 mystery The Silken Shroud by James Sandys
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1974 horror thriller Open Season by David Osborn. 
• Joe Kenney revisits the 1977 blaxploitation thriller The Last Shaft by Ernest Tidyman
  

 

Con and event reports:

• Emma John reports about a performance of the musical Road Show by Stephen Sondheim about two con artist brothers in London, UK.
• Brian Logan reports about Dead Hard, a stage parody of Die Hard that is currently playing in London, UK.
  

 

Research: 

• Liz Pelley reports how Spotify is using AI to scam musicians.

 

Free online fiction: 

• "The Guns of the Magi" by Scott MacLeod in Shotgun Honey. 
• "Snow in L.A." by Robert Nazar Arjoyan in Shotgun Honey.
• "Dreaming of Canada" by Richie Narvaez in Shotgun Honey.
• "What’s in the Box?" by Holly West in Shotgun Honey.
  
• "Kargin the Necromancer" by Mike McHone in Mystery Tribune.
• "Tour of Lights — a Christmas Crime" by Chris Brady in Punk Noir Magazine 
  
• "Life Sentence" by Gelian, translated by Blake Stone-Banks in Clarkesworld.