ATLANTIC CRIME: a new imprint of Grove Atlantic

Grove Atlantic is launching Atlantic Crime, a new imprint bringing together all our mystery, crime, and thriller titles! 

For more than two decades, Grove Atlantic has established an incredible roster of crime writers from around the world, including powerhouse authors such as James Lee Burke, Donna Leon, and Val McDermid. They've won three Edgar Awards and over the last few years, they've been busy finding the next wave of voices who will be mainstays in the crime fiction space for years to come. 

Senior Editor: Joe Brosnan, Atlantic Crime

Check out some of their list here!

NOIR CITY SEATTLE: It's All About the Women

NOIR CITY returns to Seattle. 

Winsome to Wicked … It’s All About the Women 

NOIR CITY: Seattle, February 14-20, at a new venue — SIFF Cinema Downtown (2100 4th Street). This year’s program shines a spotlight on women whose cinematic legacy is entwined with the rise of film noir. Twelve of the eighteen films screening will be presented in glorious 35mm, including the Film Noir Foundation’s restoration of Cry Danger (1951). NOIR CITY: Seattle is also proud to screen the new 4K restoration by Universal Pictures of Robert Siodmak’s Phantom Lady (1944). Many of the festival films feature the actresses profiled in Eddie Muller’s 2002 book Dark City Dames: The Wicked Women of Film Noir, which is being reissued in April 2025 in a revised and expanded edition. 

Opening Night starts at 5:30 p.m. with a special performance by the Dmitri Matheny Quintet performing jazz from the silver screen. Lyrical flugelhornist Matheny will be joined by his all-star band prior to the screening of The Narrow Margin (1952). FNF founder and TCM host Eddie Muller will present all festival screenings opening weekend, February 14-16. Local noir experts and authors Vince and Rosemarie Keenan will take over hosting duties February 17-20.

Cartoon of the Day: Westminster Cat Show

 One of my all time favorites! 

Cartoon of the Day

From The New Yorker

 

SUPER BOWL CRIME FICTION AND OTHER FOOTBALL MYSTERIES: Super Bowl Sunday!

Super Bowl Sunday! I'm stoked, of course, because my original home team will be playing! Go, Eagles (or Iggles as they say in Philly)!!!

There's lots of real crime surrounding the Super Bowl: drugs, money, gambling, egos, and so much more. All fodder for the crime writer. So in 'honor' of Sunday's Super Bowl Game, I've updated my short lists of Super Bowl and other Football Mysteries. This is in no way a definitive list -- just some football crime fiction for you to enjoy in case you're not watching the Super Bowl! As always, I welcome additions!

If you're interested in other Sports Mysteries and essays on Football Mysteries, Mystery Readers Journal has had several Sports Mysteries issues. The last Sports Mysteries Issue of MRJ was Volume 25:4 (Winter 2009-2010). Available as PDF download

Super Bowl Mysteries

The Hidden Key by George Harmon Coxe
Super-Dude by John Craig
Cover-Up: Mystery at the Super Bowl by John Feinstein (YA)
Black Sunday by Thomas Harris
Paydirt by Paul Levine
The Last Super Bowl by Robin Moore & David Harper
4th and Fixed by Reggie Rivers
Murder at the Super Bowl by Fran Tarkenton and Herb Resnicow
Life's Work by Jonathan Valin
Killerbowl by Gary K. Wolf

Movie:  
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)
 
Other Football Mysteries (not including British Football, of which there are many titles)

The Professor by Robert Bailey
Memory Man; The Might Johns by David Baldacci

Rough and Tumble by Mark Bavaro
Pass Judgment by Jerry Brewer
Sweeper by Steve Bruce 
Deal Breaker by Harlan Coben
Coliseum by Barney Cohen
Et Tu Brady by Joseph Collum

Football is Murder by Kathy Cranston
All Saints Day: A New Orleans Football Mystery by Sean Patrick Doles
Backfield Boys by John Feinstein

Under the Stadium Lights by Hunter Mills Gallo

Day of the Ram by William Campbell Gault
Murder at Cleaver Stadium by Douglas Lee Gibboney
Quarterback Trap by Dallas Gorham
Double Reverse; Ruffians by Tim Green
Playing for Pizza; Bleachers by John Grisham
Bleeding Maize and Blue by Susan Holtzer
Crown of All Virtues by Reece Kepler
The Prophet by Michael Koryta
Two-Minute Warning by George LaFountaine
Bump and Run by Mike Lupica
The Draft by Wil Mara
Dead Ball Foul by Kayla McGrady
A Cardinal Offense by Ralph McInerny
Parker's Blood by William Miller
Foul Play; Dead Ball; Off Side; Killer Pass; Foul Play: Own Goal by Tom Palmer

12th of Never by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
The Jook by Gary Phillips
Foul by Will J. Robson

Winter and Night by S. J. Rozan
A Nutcracker Nightmare by Christina Romeril
Sudden Death by David Rosenfelt
Marked Man; Red Card by Mel Stein

The Footballer by Ben Stevens
The Football Manager Murders by Chris Tookey
A Touch of Death by Charles Williams

Short Stories:  

The Mighty Johns, edited by Otto Penzler

Nonfiction: 
Scoreboard, Baby: A Story of College Football, Crime and Complicity by Ken Armstrong and Nick Perry (winner of the 2011 Edgar for Best Fact Crime)
All-American Murder by James Patterson & Alex Abramovich

Children's:

Bones and the Football Mystery by David A. Adler, Barbara Johansen Newman (Illustrator)
The Mystery of the Stolen Football by T. J. Edwards, Charles Tang (Illustrator)
The Big Bling Blitz; The Two-Minute Warning by David A. Kelly

The Football Fiasco by Mike Lupica
Courtney Case and the Missing Football by Jeannie Meekins

The Case of the Baffled Barrister: Guest Post by Andrew McAleer

There can be no question about it whatsoever—the evidence is all in! 

…Or is it? 

Traditional legal fiction enthusiasts would likely agree well beyond a reasonable doubt that Perry Mason is Raymond Burr and Raymond Burr is Perry Mason. Burr did such a masterful job portraying the world’s cleverest and cunning attorney that it’s nearly impossible to separate fact from fiction. I mean…who wouldn’t want a real Perry Mason a.k.a Raymond Burr representing them on a murder beef?   

It doesn’t matter that Burr never passed the bar or practiced law—he’s Perry Mason in the eyes of legal drama connoisseurs. From 1957-1966 and then 1985-1993, Burr’s command courtroom presence, encyclopedic knowledge of criminal procedure, and destructive cross-examination complemented with his basso voice, got his clients out of every conceivable criminal jam possible. Okay so Mason pretty much handled murder cases exclusively, but no reason to quibble here on a legal technicality. That’s Burr’s job. 

…Or is it?

If you’re inclined to side with Burr, you’d better first listen to this surprise witness’s testimonial evidence before committing fully. 

Bailiff, call the next witness! 

Hollywood-Walk-of-Fame Star and Emmy Award-winning actor – Raymond Burr!
            

According to the 1963 Celebrity Register, Burr jested about his inability to present a complicated legal criminal defense. “I’ve never managed to solve any of the cases until I read them through. In fact, I’ve often been puzzled about who committed the crime after we finished shooting the script.”
            

Oh well, maybe Burr wasn’t the great barrister we imagined, but he does top the honesty charts and, as any good lawyer fresh out of law school will advise you, the truth will always set you free. After all, honesty is the best policy.

…Or is it? 

***

 
Andrew McAleer is the author of the Henry von Stray British classic mystery adventures and served in Afghanistan as a U.S. Army Historian before returning to public service in the criminal justice system. The latest von Stray mystery, "The Singular Case of the Bandaged Bobby” appears in Mystery Magazine (September 2024). Von Stray’s A Casebook of Crime (January 2025 Level Best Books). Instagram: @mcaleermysteries