Carola Dunn Literary Salon June 11

Join Mystery Readers NorCal for a Literary Salon with mystery author Carola Dunn on Thursday, June 11, at 7 p.m. in Berkeley, CA. Carola Dunn is anything but Superfluous. Superfluous Women, the latest in her Daisy Dalrymple series, is just out in the US and will be out in July in the UK.

Carola Dunn is the author of over 50 books: 22 mysteries in the Daisy Dalrymple series, set in England in the 1920s; 3 Cornish mysteries, set around 1970; and 32 Regencies, not counting numerous novellas. She was born and grew up in England. After graduating from Manchester University, she set off around the world, but only made it halfway, to Fiji, before turning back to get married. She lived in Southern California for 20 years, before moving to Eugene, Oregon, where she now lives.

Read several Daisy Dalrymple stories for free HERE.

To RSVP, please make a comment below with your email address. I'll send more information on location, etc.

Cartoon of the Day: Dear Departed Books

From Tom Gauld

2015 Bony Blithe Award Winner

The Bony Blithe Award for best Canadian Light Mystery 2015:

Cathy Ace for The Corpse with the Platinum Hair (Touchwood Editions)

The Bony Blithe Award was created by the Bloody Words Board to shine a spotlight on light mysteries, an area of the genre that is often overlooked.The award for "mysteries that make us smile" celebrates traditional feel-good mysteries ranging from cozies to capers to light-hearted humor.

Arthur Ellis Awards: Crime Writers of Canada

Crime Writers of Canada 2015 Arthur Ellis Awards for Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing. Congratulations to all! 

Best Novel
C.C. Humphreys, Plague, Doubleday Canada

Best First Novel 
Steve Burrows, Siege of Bitterns, Dundurn Press

Best Novella
Jas. R. Petrin, A Knock on the Door, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine

Best Short Story 
Margaret Atwood, Stone Mattress, McClelland & Stewart 

Best Nonfiction Book 
Charlotte Gray, The Massey Murder, HarperCollins

Unhanged Arthur for Best Unpublished First Crime Novel
Strange Things Done by Elle Wild

Best Book in French 
Andrée Michaud, Bondrée, Editions Québec Amérique

Best Juvenile/YA Book 
Sigmund Brouwer, Dead Man's Switch, Harvest House

CWC 2015 Derrick Murdoch Award Winner, Sylvia McConnell

2015 Maine Literary Award for Crime Fiction

2015 Maine Literary Awards.  

Crime Fiction Book Award Winner: Kate Flora for And Grant You Peace.

Congratulations, Kate!

San Francisco's First Bookstore

Walking through Chinatown this morning, I came upon this plaque.

Cartoon of the Day: The Court Hearing

Another great comic from Rhymes with Orange:

2015 Harper Lee Prize Finalists for Legal Mysteries

The American Bar Association's ABA Journal and the University of Alabama Law School announced the finalist for the 2015 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction.  The annual award for legal fiction--authorized by Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird)--“is given to a book-length fictional work that ‘best exemplifies the role of lawyers in society, and their power to effect change.’  annual award for legal fiction--authorized by Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird)--“is given to a book-length fictional work that ‘best exemplifies the role of lawyers in society, and their power to effect change.’

Finalists:

My Sister’s Grave, by Robert Dugoni (Thomas & Mercer)
Terminal City, by Linda Fairstein (Dutton)
The Secret of Magic, by Deborah Johnson (Putnam)

Barbecue Mysteries for Memorial Day!

Hope you're having a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend. I posted my updated Memorial Day Crime Fiction list the other day, so I thought I'd update my Barbecue Mysteries list, too. Let me know any titles I've missed, and I'll add them.

So many ways one can murder someone at a barbecue, from the sauce to the skewers to the grill. Here's an updated short list of Barbecue Mysteries. Let me know if I've forgotten any titles!

Barbecue Mysteries

Delicious and Suspicious, Hickory Smoked Homicide, Finger Lickin' Dead, Rubbed Out by Riley Adams  (Elizabeth Craig Spann) - The Memphis BBQ Mystery Series
Bad Move by Linwood Barclay
Murder Well-Done by Claudia Bishop
Topped Chef by Lucy Burdette
Several of the recent Dan Rhodes books by Bill Crider
Murder at the Blue Ridge Barbecue Festival by Gene Davis
The Grilling Season by Diane Mott Davidson
Memphis Ribs by Gerald Duff
Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich
The Politics of Barbecue by Blake Fontenay
The Big Barbecue by Dorothy B. Hughes
The Sheriff and..  (series) by D. R. Meredith
Say Your Sorry by Michael Robotham
The King is Dead by Sarah Shankman
Stiffs and Swine by J.B. Stanley
Revenge of the Barbecue Queens by Lou Jane Temple
Barbecue by A. E.H. Veenman
Death on a Platter by Elaine Viets

Short Stories: "Gored" by Bill Crider in Murder Most Delicious
Young Readers: The Barbecue Thief by Starike

Want a little chocolate on the barbie this weekend? 
Check out recipes on my other blog: DyingforChocolate.com

S'mores on the Grill  
Banana Boats
3 Savory Chocolate Barbecue Sauces
Spicy Chocolate Rub
Cocoa Spiced Salmon Rub 
Scharffen Berger Cacoa Nib Rub for Tri Tip

Conan Doyle Estate Sues Miramax Over Mr. Holmes

The Hollywood Reporter reports that the Conan Doyle estate is suing Miramax over the film Mr Holmes because it allegedly infringes works about the detective still in copyright.

The heirs of Sherlock Holmes author Arthur Conan Doyle have apparently accepted an appellate judge's conclusion that most of the Sherlock stories are in the public domain. However, that's not stopping the Doyle Estate from filing a new lawsuit targeting Miramax and others over the coming film, Mr. Holmes, which features the famous detective near the end of his life.

On Thursday, a copyright and trademark lawsuit was lodged in New Mexico federal court that alleges that Mr. Holmes treads upon the last ten of Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, published between 1923 and 1927.

In a prior dispute with a Holmes expert (Les Klinger!), the Doyle Estate attempted to argue that it would be unfair to separate out the copyrighted elements from the post-1923 stories from the character traits of the detective that were described prior to 1923. Seventh Circuit Judge Richard Posner rejected that argument, and also ordered the Doyle estate to pay its legal adversary more than $30,000 in legal fees, but still left open an avenue where the Doyle Estate could attempt to protect the latter works.

The lawsuit attempts to take this opportunity.

According to the complaint, Doyle's public domain works "make references to Holmes’s retirement," but the ones still in copyright tell "much more about Sherlock Holmes’ retirement and later years," such as the detective's attempt to solve one last case, how he "comes to love nature and dedicates himself to studying it," and how Holmes develops "a personal warmth and the capacity to express love for the first time."

Read more here.

HT: Doc Quatermas

DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY LONGLIST

British Crime Writers Association Dagger in the Library Longlist.  The Dagger in the Library is presented to authors in appreciation of their body of work, not any individual novel.


Mark Billingham
Ann Cleeves 
Christopher Fowler 
Elly Griffiths
Elizabeth Haynes 
Susan Hill
Peter James
Simon Kernick
Peter May
Phil Rickman
Tim Weaver 

Finalists will be decided by a panel of judges including previous winner Sharon Bolton, CWA Director Lucy Santos, and a group of UK librarians and will be revealed on Monday 8th June, with the winner being announced at the CWA Annual Awards dinner on 30th June.

HT: The Rap Sheet

Cartoon of the Day: Rhetorical Questioning

Love Rhymes with Orange:

Memorial Day Mysteries - Memorial Day Crime Fiction

Memorial Day aka Decoration Day is a day of remembrance of those men and women who who fell protecting us, of those who didn't come home. Many people go to cemeteries and memorials on the last Monday in May, and there's a tradition to fly the flag at half mast. Memorial Day in the U.S. is part of a three day holiday weekend. Many think of this weekend as the beginning of Summer, a time for Barbecues, the Beach, the Cabin, and S'mores.

But in memory of all who served their country and didn't come back, here's a list of Mysteries set during Memorial Day Weekend (and a few others). Here's an updated list. Let me know if I've forgotten any titles. You may also want to check out my Veterans Day Mystery List.

Memorial Day Mysteries

Memorial Day by Vince Flynn
The Decoration Memorial Day War by David H. Brown
Flowers for Bill O'Reilly: Memorial Day by Max Allan Collins
Absolute Certainty by Rose Connors
One Was a Soldier by Julia Spencer Fleming (not technically Memorial day, but it fits the theme)
Memorial Day by Harry Shannon
Beside Still Waters by Debbie Viguie
Shadows at the Fair by Lea Wait
The Memorial Day Mystery short stories on the web.

For the young set: The Mystery of the Memorial Day Fire by Kathryn Kenny, a Trixie Belden mystery.

Have a good holiday. Be safe and Remember.

Cartoon of the Day: A Baking Crime

Today is National Baking Day. Rhymes with Orange is one of my favorite comics. Love this one..so apt for Baking Day and Mystery Fanfare!

Scribe Award Nominations: International Association of Media Tie-In Writers

The International Association of Media Tie-In Writers announced
the Scribe Award Nominees for 2015.

Acknowledging excellence in this very competitive field, IAMTW's Scribe Awards honor licensed works that tie in with other media such as television, movies, gaming, or comic books. They include original works set in established universes, and adaptations of stories that have appeared in other formats and cross all genres.

The Scribe Award winners will be announced at ComicCon San Diego in July.

BEST ORIGINAL NOVEL – GENERAL

24: *Deadline* by James Swallow
Murder She Wrote: *Death of a Blue Blood* by Don Bain
Mike Hammer: *King of the Weeds* by Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins
Homeland: *Saul’s Game* by Andrew Kaplan
The Killing: *Uncommon Denominator* by Karen Dionne

BEST ORIGINAL NOVEL – SPECULATIVE

Sleepy Hollow: *Children of the Revolution* by Keith R. A. DeCandido
Grimm: *Chopping Block* by John Passarella
Star Trek: *Disavowed* by David Mack
Star Trek: *Foul Deeds Will Rise* by Greg Cox
Grimm: *The Killing Time* by Tim Waggoner
Pathfinder: *The Redemption Engine* by James Sutter
Fringe: *Sins of the Father* by Christa Faust

ADAPTED NOVEL – GENERAL AND SPECULATIVE

*Dawn of the Planet of the Apes* by Alex Irvine
*Noah* by Mark Morris
*War of the Worlds: Goliath* by Adam Whitlach

YOUNG ADULT – ALL GENRES, ORIGINAL AND ADAPTED

Spirit Animals: *Blood Ties* by Garth Nix and Sean Williams
Battletech: *The Nellus Academy Incident* by Jennifer Brozak
*Penguins of Madagascar *by Tracey West

SHORT STORIES

Pathfinder: *Hunter's Folly* by Josh Vogt
Mike Hammer: *It's in the Book* by Max Collins and Mickey Spillane
Stargate: *Perceptions* by Diana Botsford
Pathfinder: *Queen Sacrifice* by Steven Savile
Tales of Valdemar: *Written in the Wind* by Jennifer Brozek

AUDIO

Dark Shadows: *The Darkest Shadow* by Nev Fountain
Dark Shadows: *The Devil Cat* by Mark Thomas Passmore
Blake’s 7: *Fortuitis* by George Mann
Doctor Who: *Iterations* of I by John Dorney
Pathfinder Legends: *The Skinsaw Murders* by Cavan Scott

HT: Lee Goldberg

Mapback Monday! Helen McCloy's The Goblin Market

Mapback Monday is back! I've been meaning to post more of these wonderful Dell Mapback Paperbacks from my collection.

Here's a great Mapback paperback-- Helen McCloy's The Goblin Market. The title and quotation are from Christina Rossetti's poem "Goblin Market." The novel was first published in 1942, but by Dell as a Mapback paperback in 1943.

I'm a big fan of Helen McCloy and her Dr. Basil Willing. The Goblin Market is set during WWII (1942) on the island of Santa Teresa in the Caribbean. This is a spy novel and involves codes and ciphers (cablese), as the foreign correspondents send cables to the home office. And, McCloy adds a good chapter on howcablese works. Helen McCloy was herself a newspaper correspondent in Paris, so she knows whereof she writes. I like the feminist and psychological elements of this novel. I also like that The Goblin Market foreshadows my favorite McCloy, Through a Glass, Darkly.

Cartoon of the Day: Novelist

2015 Petrona Award for the Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year

On 16 May 2015, at the Gala Dinner at CrimeFest, Bristol, Petrona Award judges, Barry Forshaw, Dr Katharina Hall and Sarah Ward, announced the winner of the 2015 Petrona Award for the Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year.

The winner was THE SILENCE OF THE SEA by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir translated by Victoria Cribb and published by Hodder & Stoughton.

The trophy was presented by the Godmother of modern Scandinavian crime fiction, Maj Sjöwall, co-author with Per Wahlöö of the Martin Beck series.

As well as the trophy, Yrsa Sigurðardóttir receives a pass to and a guaranteed panel at next year's CrimeFest.

CrimeFest Awards!

 
THE 2015 CRIMEFEST AWARDS. 

The winners were announced at the CRIMEFEST Gala Awards Dinner tonight.

The Audible Sounds of Crime Award for the best unabridged crime audiobook first published in the UK in 2014 in both printed and audio formats, and available for download from audible.co.uk, Britain’s largest provider of downloadable audiobooks. Courtesy of sponsor Audible UK, the winning author and audiobook reader share the £1,000 prize equally and each receives a Bristol Blue Glass commemorative award.

Robert Galbraith for The Silkworm, read by Robert Glenister (Little, Brown Book Group)

The eDunnit Award for the best crime fiction ebook first published in both hardcopy and in electronic format in the British Isles in 2014. The winning author receives £500 and a Bristol Blue Glass commemorative award.

Charles Cumming for A Colder War (HarperCollins)
                                                                                                                     
The Goldsboro Last Laugh Award for the best humorous crime novel first published in the British Isles in 2014. The £500 prize is sponsored by Goldsboro Books, the book collector's bookseller. The winner also receives a Bristol Blue Glass commemorative award.

L. C. Tyler for Crooked Herring (Allison & Busby)

The H.R.F. Keating Award for the best biographical or critical book related to crime fiction first published in the British Isles between 2013 - 2014. The award is named after H.R.F. ‘Harry’ Keating, one of Britain’s most esteemed crime novelists, crime reviewers and writer of books about crime fiction. The winning author receives a commemorative Bristol Blue Glass award.

Clare Clarke for Late Victorian Crime Fiction in the Shadows of Sherlock (Palgrave, 2014)

HT: Ali Karim who not only announced the awards but posted videos on his Facebook page of the acceptance speeches.

CWA International Dagger Shortlist

The CWA International Dagger Shortlist was announced tonight at CrimeFest.

Falling Freely, As If In A Dream by Leif GW Persson (tr Paul Norlen)
Camille by Pierre Lemaitre (tr Frank Wynne)
Cobra by Deon Meyer (tr K.L Seegers)
Arab Jazz by Karim Miské (tr Sam Gordon) (review to be published shortly)
The Invisible Guardian by Dolores Redondo (tr Isabelle Kaufeler)
Into a Raging Blaze by Andreas Norman (tr Ian Giles)

HT: Karen Meek at EuroCrime

Cartoon of the Day: Palindrome

Culinary Crime I: Mystery Readers Journal (31:1)

The latest issue of the Mystery Readers Journal: Culinary Crime I (Volume 31:1) is now available as a PDF. Hardcopy to follow shortly. To order a print copy go HERE and scroll down. If you contributed to this issue, don't fear! Culinary Crime II will be out this summer. We're still looking for more Author! Author! essays for this issue. Let me know if you'd like to contribute!


Culinary Crime I
Volume 31, No. 1, Spring 2015

Buy this back issue! Available in hardcopy or as a downloadable PDF.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ARTICLES

• My Criminal Cookbook Collection by Mary Anderson Seeger
• Food… It's Complicated by Jill Vassilakos-Long
• What Exactly Is a Red Herring? by Kate White

AUTHOR! AUTHOR!

• Bad Taste Leads to Crime by Katherine Hall Page
• Food for Thoughts by J.L Abramo
• Food as Memory and Murder by Ellie Alexander
• Murder in Provence by Julianne Balmain
• Fat Cats and Dessert Bars by Janet Cantrell
• Bon Appétit by R.E. Conary
• Murder On The Menu by Matt Coyle
• I'm a Good Eater by Lesley A. Diehl
• Eating Up Mystery by Vinnie Hansen
• Food Is a Family Affair by Kari Larsen
• Don't Read While Hungry by Edith Maxwell
• How Five Authors Became Serial Killers by Lise McClendon
• Is It Dinner Time Yet? by Mary McHugh
• Will Write for Foodies: Mystery Lovers Kitchen
• Historic Haute Cuisine by Amy Myers
• You Are What You Eat by Russell Hill
• Mysteries, Fudge and Vacation Spots by Nancy Coco
• Welcome to My Luau by Neil Plakcy
• Dying for a Daiquri? by Cindy Sample
• When in Rome… Eat as the Romans Ate by Steven Saylor
• Food Fights by B.K. Stevens
• Mangia! by David P. Wagner
• Kitchen Nightmares—Mystery Style by Tracy Weber
• How I Use Food in My Books by Reba White Williams

COLUMNS

• Murder in Retrospect: Reviews by L.J. Roberts and Lesa Holstine
• Crossword: Hail to the Chef by Verna Suit
• Children's Hour: Food Mysteries by Gay Toltl Kinman
• Crime Seen: A Cook's Tour of Christie and CSI by Kate Derie
• In Short: Food and the Mystery by Marvin Lachman
• Really Murderous Menus by Cathy Pickens
• From the Editor's Desk by Janet Rudolph

Photo a Day: Film Noir, Coppola's Director's Cut Wine

Film Noir: Director's Cut! Francis Coppola Wine

Cartoon of the Day: Tell-Tale Heart

Eddie Muller hosts Summer of Darkness on TCM

Film Noir Foundation Eddie Muller will host TCM's Summer of Darkness this June and July, during which TCM will dedicate 24 hours each Friday to a lineup comprised exclusively of film noir. 

Muller will present four movies each night during prime-time, 36 films in all, as host of TCM's "Friday Night Spotlight." In addition to serving as on-air host, the "Czar of Noir" also chose the films he'll be presenting. Muller will be presenting the TCM broadcast premieres of two FNF restorations, Norman Foster's Woman on the Run (1950) on June 5, the opening day of Summer, and Bryon Haskin's Too Late for Tears (1949) on July 17.

Muller's other selections include thematic groupings that focus on San Francisco, wartime noir, John Alton, the King Brothers, and much more. Visit the official Summer of Darkness website for the full schedule.

Cartoon of the Day: Cellphone

COLIN COTTERILL LITERARY SALON: Tuesday, May 26

Join Mystery Readers NorCal for an International Literary Salon with Colin Cotterill, author of Six and a Half Deadly Sins (Soho) and 9 previous books in the Dr. Siri Paiboun Series. All of the books are set in Laos.

Date: Tuesday, May 26, 2015, 7 p.m.
Location: Berkeley, CA (please leave a comment below with email for address)

Colin Cotterill lives in Thailand, where he teaches at the University. Collin Cotterill has received the Dilys Award and a Barry Award nomination. He was the 2011 Bouchercon International Guest of Honor. Colin is a great speaker with a wide range of interests.

Space limited. Please RSVP.

Cartoon of the Day: Apostrophe. Happy Mother's Day!

This is just perfect for Mother's Day...or Mothers' Day!

HT: Sal Towse

BRAM STOKER AWARDS 2015

The Horror Writers Association, the premier organization of writers and publishers of horror and dark fantasy, today announced the 2015 winners of the Bram Stoker Award®. Named in honor of the author of the seminal horror novel Dracula, the Bram Stoker Awards® are presented annually for superior writing in eleven categories including traditional fiction of various lengths, poetry, screenplays and non-fiction.

The HWA also presents a Lifetime Achievement Award to living individuals who have made a substantial and enduring contribution to the genre. This year’s Lifetime Achievement recipients are Jack Ketchum and Tanith Lee.

The presentation of the Bram Stoker Awards® occurred during the World Horror Convention in Atlanta, Georgia on the evening of Saturday, May 9, 2015. The awards presentation was also live-streamed online.

Superior Achievement in a Novel
Steve Rasnic Tem – Blood Kin (Solaris Books)

Superior Achievement in a First Novel
Maria Alexander – Mr. Wicker (Raw Dog Screaming Press)

Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel
John Dixon – Phoenix Island (Simon & Schuster/Gallery Books)

Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel
Jonathan Maberry – Bad Blood (Dark Horse Books)
 
Superior Achievement in Long Fiction
Joe R. Lansdale – “Fishing for Dinosaurs” (Limbus, Inc., Book II) (JournalStone)

Superior Achievement in Short Fiction (Tie)
Usman T. Malik – “The Vaporization Enthalpy of a Peculiar Pakistani Family” (Qualia Nous) (Written Backwards)
Rena Mason – “Ruminations” (Qualia Nous) (Written Backwards)

Superior Achievement in a Screenplay
Jennifer Kent – The Babadook (Causeway Films)

Superior Achievement in an Anthology
Ellen Datlow – Fearful Symmetries (ChiZine Publications)

Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection
Lucy A. Snyder – Soft Apocalypses (Raw Dog Screaming Press)

Superior Achievement in Non-Fiction
Lucy A. Snyder – Shooting Yourself in the Head For Fun and Profit: A Writer’s Survival Guide (Post Mortem Press)

Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection
Tom Piccirilli – Forgiving Judas (Crossroad Press) 

For all the nominees, go HERE.

Cartoon of the Day: Witness Protection Program

From Bizarro:

Mother's Day Mysteries//Mother's Day Crime Fiction

Mother's Day: So many Mothers in Mysteries, but the following is just a sampling with emphasis on the Mother's Day Holiday. If I listed all the mysteries and crime fiction with famous and infamous mothers, the list would be way too long. Be sure and scroll down to the Psycho Trailer!

MOTHER'S DAY MYSTERIES

Angel at Troublesome Creek by Mignon F. Ballard
How to Murder Your Mother-in-Law, Mum's the Word by Dorothy Cannell
Mother's Day Murder by Wensley Clarkson
A Holiday Sampler by Christine E. Collier
A Catered Mother's Day by Isis Crawford 
A Darkly Hidden Truth by Donna Fletcher Crow
Motherhood is Murder (Short Stories) by Mary Daheim, Carolyn Hart, Shirley Rousseau Murphy and Jane Isenberg
Murder Can Upset Your Mother by Selma Eichler
Bon Bon Voyage by Nancy Fairbanks
Murder for Mother: Short Story collection, edited by Martin S. Greenberg
Murder Superior by Jane Haddam
The Mother’s Day Murder by Lee Harris
"Pull my Paw"(short story) by Sue Ann Jaffarian
Mother’s Day by Patricia MacDonald
Mother's Day by Dennis McDougal
Mother’s Day Murder by Leslie Meier
Mother's Day Out by Karen MacInerney (not on Mother's Day exactly)
Mom, Apple Pie & Murder: A collection of New Mysteries for Mother’s Day, edited by Nancy Pickard
Mother’s Day by Joshua Quittner and Michelle Slatalla
A Mother's Day Murder by Genevieve Scholl

True Crime: 
The Mother's Day Murder by Wensley Clarkson

And, over at KingsRiverLife, there are several original Mother's Day mystery short stories.

Who's your favorite Mother in Crime Fiction?

MTV Show based on Megan Abbott's The Fever

Entertainment Weekly reports that Megan Abbott is developing an MTV show based on her novel The Fever. She's working with Sarah Jessica Parker's Pretty Matches Productions and producer Karen Rosenfelt (The Book Thief, The Devil Wears Prada, and Twilight). Abbott will write the pilot episode.

READ MORE HERE.

Congrats, Megan!

2015 Anthony Award Nominee Short Stories: Read Now

Well, isn't this a wonderful idea! All of the Anthony Award Short Story Nominees are available to read for free on the Bouchercon 2015 Website. 

Go here and scroll down to the Short Story category.

Read them all and make an informed decision before voting--and an enjoyable experience, too!

Cartoon of Day: Mystery

Bitter Lemon Press Fall Female Crime Writers List

This press release just crossed my desk. I haven't read any of the books yet, but I can't wait! They all appeal to me. I love International Mysteries, and these have the added bonus of being by female authors. O.K. I may be prejudiced about that. The first title grabbed my fancy because it's by a Brazilian writer, and will be translated by the same person who translated Rubem Fonseca's novels. Fonseca is a favorite of mine. Of all the books written by these authors, I have only read Claudia Piniero's Thursday Night Widows, but I look forward to reading her new mystery--and the rest of the crime fiction on the Fall list. I also trust Bitter Lemon Press. Love their books.

So, to the publicists and publishers out there, eblasts do work!

Independent publisher Bitter Lemon Press has announced their autumn publishing program, revealing a stellar line-up of bestselling female crime writers. The publisher, which celebrated its 10th anniversary last year, has always been proud of its reputation for representing writers from many different parts of the world, but this is the first time they have published three such talented, successful women all in one publishing season. Bitter Lemon is distributed by Consortium Books in the U.S.A.
 
Kicking off the list in September 2015 will be Patricia Melo, Brazil’s most celebrated crime writer, whose new novel The Body Snatcher is a story of drug dealing gone wrong, police corruption and macabre blackmail. Described by Cosmopolitan Brazil as "an explosive mixture of dread, greed and corruption", this book is a mix of conspiracy, sex, betrayal of the living and desecration of the dead, and also a ruthless portrait of contemporary Brazil. Patricia Melo is an author and playwright born in Sao Paolo in 1962, now living in Switzerland. Her novels Lost World, The Killer, In Praise of Lies and Inferno were published in English by Bloomsbury to rave reviews. In 1999, Time included her among the fifty "Latin American Leaders for the New Millennium." Her works have also been translated into Italian, Spanish, and Dutch. The Body Snatcher will be translated by Clifford E. Landers, who previously translated novels by Rubem Fonseca, Jorge Amado, João Ubaldo Ribeiro, and Paulo Coelho.

Best-selling Turkish author Esmahan Aykol’s atmospheric Divorce Turkish Style follows in October 2015. This will be the third in the murder mystery series featuring Kati Hirschel, the crime bookstore owner and accidental investigator. Kati Hirschel is a funny, feisty and sexy heroine who, as usual, gets involved in a case that is none of her business. When the wife of a wealthy industrialist is found dead in her beautiful Istanbul apartment, Kati suspects murder and begins her maverick investigation. The first two books – Hotel Bosphorus and Baksheesh were also published by Bitter Lemon Press, and have been published in Turkish, German, French and Italian. Esmahan Aykol was born in 1970 in Edirne, Turkey, and lives in Istanbul and Berlin. During her law studies she was a journalist for a number of Turkish publications and radio stations. After a stint as a bartender, she turned to fiction writing. The new book will be translated by Ruth Whitehouse whose translations of shorter works have been broadcast on BBC Radio 4.
 
In February 2016, Bitter Lemon Press will publish South America’s bestselling crime writer, and winner of the Clarin Prize, Claudia Piñeiro. Her new novel, Betty Boo, is set in contemporary Buenos Aires, and is the story of an intelligent and sensitive woman seeking to save her career and love life, while caught up in the spiral of a large-scale criminal cover-up. This is Claudia Piñeiro’s fourth novel and it was made into the film Betibú which was recently screened at the London Film Festival. It follows Crack in the Wall, Thursday Night Widows, and All Yours, also published by Bitter Lemon. The translator of Betty Boo, Miranda France, is the author of two acclaimed volumes of travel writing: Don Quixote's Delusions and Bad Times in Buenos Aires. She has translated Claudia Piñeiro’s previous novels into English.

Publisher and co-founder of Bitter Lemon Press, Francois von Hurter, said: “We are very proud to bring these three women crime writers from Brazil, Turkey and Argentina to English speaking readers this autumn. It is part of our mission as an independent press to introduce new voices from across the globe. We are delighted to publish three of the most successful women writing in the crime genre today.”

ANTHONY AWARD NOMINATIONS

Nominees for the 2015 Anthony Awards. Nominees were selected by attendees of 2014 Bouchercon in Long Beach and registrants of 2015 Bouchercon in Raleigh.  Awards will be determined by Bouchercon attendees in Raleigh, October 8-11. Congratulations to all!

Best Novel

Lamentation - Joe Clifford [Oceanview]
The Secret Place - Tana French [Hodder & Stoughton/Viking]
After I'm Gone - Laura Lippman [William Morrow]
The Long Way Home - Louise Penny [Minotaur]
Truth Be Told - Hank Phillippi Ryan [Forge]

Best First Novel

Blessed Are the Dead - Kristi Belcamino [Witness Impulse]
Ice Shear - M.P. Cooley [William Morrow]
Invisible City - Julia Dahl [Minotaur]
The Life We Bury - Allen Eskens [Seventh Street]
The Black Hour - Lori Rader-Day [Seventh Street]

Best Paperback Original

Stay With Me - Alison Gaylin [Harper]
The Killer Next Door - Alex Marwood [Penguin]
The Day She Died - Catriona McPherson [Midnight Ink]
World of Trouble - Ben H. Winters [Quirk]
No Stone Unturned - James W. Ziskin [Seventh Street]

Best Critical or Non-Fiction Work

The Figure of the Detective: A Literary History and Analysis - Charles Brownson [McFarland]
Death Dealer: How Cops and Cadaver Dogs Brought a Killer to Justice - Kate Clark Flora [New Horizon]
Dru's Book Musings - Dru Ann Love [http://drusbookmusing.com]
Poe-Land: The Hallowed Haunts of Edgar Allan Poe - J.W. Ocker [Countryman]
Writes of Passage: Adventures on the Writer's Journey - Hank Phillippi Ryan, ed. [Henery]

Best Short Story

"Honeymoon Sweet" Murder at the Beach: The Bouchercon Anthology 2014 - Craig Faustus Buck [Down & Out]
"The Shadow Knows" Chesapeake Crimes: Homicidal Holidays - Barb Goffman [Wildside]
"Howling at the Moon" Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Nov 2014 - Paul D. Marks [Dell]
"Of Dogs & Deceit" Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Nov 2014 - John Shepphird [Dell]
"The Odds Are Against Us" Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Nov 2014 - Art Taylor [Dell]

Best Anthology or Collection

FaceOff - David Baldacci, ed. [Simon & Schuster]
Murder at the Beach: The Bouchercon Anthology 2014 - Dana Cameron, ed. [Down & Out]
Trouble in the Heartland: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Bruce Springsteen - Joe Clifford, ed. [Gutter]
In the Company of Sherlock Holmes: Stories Inspired by the Holmes Canon - Laurie R. King & Leslie S. Klinger, eds. [Pegasus Crime]
Carolina Crimes: 19 Tales of Love, Lust, and Longing - Karen Pullen, ed. [Wildside]

2015 Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Longlist

Once again I have more books to add to my every increasing TBR list. Here's the Longlist for the 2015 Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award. This award was created to celebrate the best in British and Irish crime writing. Novels must have been published between May 2014 and April 2015.

• Eeny Meeny, by M.J. Arlidge (Michael Joseph)
• The Facts of Life and Death, by Belinda Bauer (Black Swan)
• The Ghost Runner, by Parker Bilal (Bloomsbury)
• The Strangler Vine, by M.J. Carter (Fig Tree)
• The Axeman’s Jazz, by Ray Celestin (Mantle)
• Personal, by Lee Child (Bantam)
• The Killing Season, by Mason Cross (Orion)
• Bryant & May: The Bleeding Heart, by Christopher Fowler (Bantam)
• The Outcast Dead, by Elly Griffiths (Quercus)
• The Telling Error, by Sophie Hannah (Hodder & Stoughton)
• Darkness, Darkness, by John Harvey (Arrow)
• Someone Else’s Skin, by Sarah Hilary (Headline)
• The Devil in the Marshalsea, by Antonia Hodgson
(Hodder & Stoughton)
• Entry Island, by Peter May (Quercus)
• Disappeared, by Anthony Quinn (Head of Zeus)
• Saints of the Shadow Bible, by Ian Rankin (Orion)
• The Farm, by Tom Rob Smith (Simon & Schuster)
• A Lovely Way to Burn, by Louise Welsh (John Murray)

HT: TheRapSheet

Cartoon of the Day: Texting

Agatha Award Winners 2015

The winners of the Agatha Award Winners 2015 were announced at Malice Domestic. Congratulations to all.

Best Contemporary Novel
Truth Be Told by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Forge Books)

Best Historical Novel
Queen of Hearts by Rhys Bowen (Berkley)

Best First Novel
Well Read, Then Dead by Terrie Farley Moran (Berkley Prime Crime)

Best Nonfiction
Writes of Passage: Adventures on the Writer's Journey by Hank Phillippi Ryan (ed) (Henery Press)

Best Short Story
"The Odds are Against Us" by Art Taylor (EQMM)

Best Children's/Young Adult
The Code Buster's Club, Case #4, The Mummy's Curse by Penny Warner (Egmont USA)

Sara Paretsky was presented with Malice Domestic's Lifetime Achievement Award for her many contributions to the mystery fiction genre.

Ruth Rendell: R.I.P.

Sad news. Ruth Rendell has died at the age of 85. Be sure and scroll down for a video interview with Peter Kemp.

Read Val McDermid's Guardian Obit here.

From BBC News.

Ruth Rendell wrote more than 60 novels in a career spanning 50 years, her best-known creation being Inspector Wexford, which was turned into a highly successful TV series.

Rendell, one of Britain's best-selling contemporary authors, also wrote under the pen-name Barbara Vine. Born in Essex, she is credited with bringing a social and psychological dimension to crime fiction.

Publisher Penguin Random House said Rendell, who suffered a stroke in January, died in London on Saturday morning. "We are devastated by the loss of one of our best-loved authors," the publisher said in a statement.

Penguin Random House chair, Baroness Gail Rebuck, said Rendell was admired throughout publishing for her "brilliant body of work". "An insightful and elegant observer of society, many of her award-winning thrillers and psychological murder mysteries highlighted the causes she cared so deeply about."

Rendell's first Wexford book, From Doon with Death, was published in 1964, beginning a series of more than 20 starring Inspector Reginald Wexford, played in the TV series by George Baker.

Many of her works were translated into more than 20 languages and adapted for cinema and TV, attracting worldwide sales of 60 million. She was the author of more than 20 standalone novels, whose protagonists were often on the margins of society, and was awarded the Crime Writers' Association Cartier Diamond Dagger for excellence in crime writing.

Her final novel, Dark Corners, is due to be published in October.

Rendell began her writing career as a reporter on an Essex newspaper. However, she was forced to resign after filing a story about a local sports club dinner that she hadn't attended. Her report failed to mention that the after-dinner speaker had died half-way through the speech. 

KENTUCKY DERBY CRIME FICTION & MORE!

The 141st Kentucky Derby takes place today. To celebrate, I've dusted off last year's list of Kentucky Derby mysteries and added a few more titles. You'll want to read some horse-racing mysteries to get in the mood and enjoy the day --  or watch the movie The Kentucky Derby (1922). It's full of grit and crime. Have a piece of Derby Pie (recipes on DyingforChocolate.com), filled with chocolate, bourbon and pecans-- and, since it's also National Truffles Day, make some Mint Julep Truffles or Kentucky Derby Bourbon Truffles. Planning on attending the Kentucky Derby this year? Don't forget your hat: "Crowning Glory: The Art of Kentucky Derby Hats"

Kentucky Derby Mysteries
King of the Roses by V.S. Anderson
Triple Crown by Jon Breen
Death in Lilac Time by Frances Crane  
Triple Cross by Kit Ehrman
Intercept by Mary Jane Forbes
Silent Partner by Karen Jones
Snip by Doc Macomber
Murder at the Kentucky Derby by Charles Parmer
Dark Horse by Bill Shoemaker (Triple Crown)
The Accurst Tower by John Winslow

Kentucky Derby Short Stories
"The Gift" by Dick Francis is set at the Kentucky Derby. It is in the collection Field of Thirteen. "The Gift" first appeared as "A Day of Wine and Roses" in Sports Illustrated, 1973.
Derby Rotten Scoundrels: A Silver Dagger Anthology, edited by Jeffrey Marks
Low Down and Derby, a collection of fast paced mystery stories set around the Kentucky Derby, by fifteen authors from the Ohio River Valley Chapter of Sisters in Crime, edited by Abigail Jones.
Murder at the Races, a collection of Short Stories including "A Derby Horse", edited by Peter Haining.

Children's Mysteries
The Mystery at the Kentucky Derby by Carole Marsh

Non-Fiction
Great Horse Racing Mysteries: Tales from the Track by John McEvoy
Dancer's Image: The Forgotten Story of the 1968 Kentucky Derby (and 5 other non-fiction books about Thoroughbread racing and equine law) by Milton Toby

And there once was a thorough-bred named Mystery Novel. He did not win the Kentucky Derby.

Movies
The Kentucky Derby (1922)

Authors who Write Horse Mysteries 
(not necesssarily about the Kentucky Derby)
Gabriella Herkert, Sasscer Hill, Jody Jaffe, Bruce Alexander, Fern Michaels, Carolyn Banks, Michelle Scott, Laura Crum, J.R. Lindermuth, William Murray, Mary Monica Pulver, Rita Mae Brown, Janet Dawson, Maggie Estep, Dick Francis, John Francome, Alyson Hagy, Michael Kilian, Peter Klein, Lynda La Plante, John McEvoy, Jassy Mackenzie, Nicholas Reeves, Bill Shoemaker, Laura Young, Lyndon Stacey, JD Carpenter, Lisa Wysocky, Sally Wright

OTHER HORSE MYSTERIES!
Murder at the Racetrack, edited by Otto Penzler

INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE DAY!

Don't forget. Tomorrow, May 2,  is Independent Bookstore Day! Bookstores across the country will be celebrating with readings, talks, special programs, contests, gifts, and more! Check your local Indie Bookstore.