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A cookbook for mystery authors

Sunday, May 31st, 2009

Hey, we all have to eat, right?

And mystery readers – and authors – are just as good cooks as anyone.

That’s why I was happy to hear about the Literary Feast: the Famous Authors Cookbook, published by the King County Library System in Issaquah, Washington.

Like all libraries and their fund-raising arms, the King County Library System Foundation is always looking for new ways to raise money that will continue to bring literacy to its community.

Giving a child or an adult the incentive to read and use the library profits us all.

And mystery writers know that libraries buy books, lots of books, and have readers, lots of readers.

The Literary Feast: the Famous Authors Cookbook features many mystery writers, both hard-boiled and cozy, as well as others.

Alexander McCall Smith, dressed in a kilt!, contributes Mma. Potokwani’s Fruit Cake recipe.

J.A. Jance lends her Sugarloaf Café’s Sweet Rolls. Jance’s next book, Fire and Ice, comes out in July and feature both J.P. Beaumont and Joanna Brady.

Elaine Viets offers a fruit smoothie “mainly because I can’t cook,” she added.

Katherine Neville has Alexandra Solarin’s Boeuf Bourguignon.

Faye Kellerman offers Moon Music Ribs while Jonathan Kellerman gives a potent Midtown Manhattan.

Several years ago, I remember another cookbook that featured many mystery authors. I had a copy, used it for years and then lent it to someone and have never seen it since.

I won’t make the same mistake with this book.

Literary Feast: the Famous Authors Cookbook book is $22.95 and proceeds go to the library’s literacy and reading programs.

More information is at thriftbooks.com.

Posted in Alexander McCall Smith, Elaine Viets, Faye Kellerman, J.A. Jance, Jonathan Kellerman, Katherine Neville | 1,368 Comments »

Nevada Barr: At the parks and St. Martin’s

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

I caught just a snippet of the preview of Ken Burns’ last documatary series for PBS’ The National Parks: America’s Best Idea.The preview is airing on many PBS stations around the country. The six-week series is slated to air in September.It was filmed over the course of more than six years at some of nature’s most spectacular locales — from Acadia to Yosemite, Yellowstone to the Grand Canyon, the Everglades of Florida to the Gates of the Arctic in Alaska.The series looks breathtaking, showing America in all its glory.One of the people interviewed for the series is Nevada Barr, whose mystery series, of course, takes place at the myriad national parks.I only caught a snippet of her interview, but Barr is a champion of the national parks service, showing in vivid storytelling the beauty, history and importance of the parks. Her character Anna Pigeon is a National Park Ranger whose job takes her across the country.Barr is the winner of the Anthony, Agatha, and the French Prieu du Roman awards.Her latest novel is Borderline and it takes place at Big Bend National Park in southwest Texas. I gave it a postive review for the current issue of Mystery Scene. (Thanks, Kate, for assigning this to me.)Borderline is the 15th Anna Pigeon novel, and reached No. 7 on the New York Times best seller list.In other Nevada Barr news, the author is moving her series from her longtime publisher to Minotaur Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Press. Minotaur Books will publish the next three books featuring National Park Service law enforcement officer Anna Pigeon starting in 2010. I don’t have any idea how the publishing world works. I just review novels, interview authors and blog about the whole thing. But I think this is a real coupe for Barr’s new publisher. She is one of those authors whose novels I truly look forward to reading.The real winner here, of course, is the reader. Looks like we’ll have more of Barr’s novels to enjoy.<a href=”http://technorati.com/claim/wwni9u55rw” rel=”me”>Technorati Profile</a>

Posted in Anna Pigeon, Ken Burns, National Parks, Nevada Barr, PBS | 1,437 Comments »

Laurie King and The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

Sunday, May 24th, 2009

I wish Laurie R. King had been writing her Mary Russell novels when I was 13.That would be impossible since I have a sneaking suspicion we are around the same age.But I would have loved to have had a character like Mary Russell when I was around 13. Or 12. Or 15. Or any of those ages when I was devouring just about everything my hometown library had.I breezed through the most interesting books in the children’s library and by the time I was ready for more, there just didn’t seem to be anything that interested me.Most girls my age would have immediately latched onto Nancy Drew.I didn’t.I don’t know why, but I didn’t. Maybe my library didn’t have them. Maybe they just didn’t interest me (though I can’t imagine that). Maybe they were checked out at the time.So instead I turned to Agatha Christie, Rex Stout, Mary Roberts Rhinehart. My mother was a big mystery fan and she had these wonderful hardcovers that were something like 59 cents.They were a wonderful introduction to mysteries.If only Mary Russell would have been around. This would have been not only a heroine I could admire but also someone around my age. Someone who could have been not just a character but also a friend.I would have read every one of Mary’s adventures, probably reread them and then started on Sherlock Holmes.Fortunately, Mary Russell is around for this generation and future generations of girls. I firmly believe that these novels will go the distance – that they will be read 30 years from now, and maybe beyond that.King’s Mary Russell novels were the first ones I recommended when a friend of my husband’s asked me for mystery suggestions for her 12-year-old.They also often are the first ones I recommend when women readers say they want something intelligent but not violent. (Actually, I have a lot of mystery authors whom I can recommend who fit that criteria.)King’s Mary Russell novels go across generations.By the way, my profile of Laurie R. King is the cover of the latest issue of Mystery Scene magazine. She was a delight to chat with. Her latest Mary Russell is The Language of Bees.I also am going to start recommending The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. It’s about an 11-year-old aspiring chemist Flavia de Luce, bright, lonely girl who just feels alienated from her family.Some of the books she reads and the quotes she references are not in the lexion of most 21st century girls. But I think a bright child would enjoy the connection to Flavia.I think I would have.Tell me, do any of you have novels you read as a child or a young teen that are favorites?

Posted in Alan Bradley, Laurie R. King, Mary Russell, Sherlock Holmes | 826 Comments »

Anthony nominations announced

Wednesday, May 20th, 2009

And so begins the next round of award nominations.

The Anthony Award nominations just came out this week.

I think each author should be proud to have his or her work on this list. After all, it is not easy to rise above the other works in a year. Believe me, I know how many mysteries are published each year.

Final voting will take place during Bouchercon 2009, the 40th Annual World Mystery Convention, in Indianapolis, Indiana. The winners will be announced at a gala awards ceremony on Saturday, October 17, at the Hilbert Circle Theatre.

As usual, congratulations to each nominee and good luck.

Best Novel
Trigger City by Sean Chercover [William Morrow]
The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly [Little, Brown and Company]
Red Knife by William Kent Krueger [Atria]
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson [Knopf]
The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny [Minotaur]

Best First Novel
Pushing Up Daisies by Rosemary Harris [Minotaur]
Stalking Susan by Julie Kramer [Doubleday]
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson [Knopf]
Death of a Cozy Writer by G.M. Malliet [Midnight Ink]
Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith [Grand Central]

Best Paperback Original
The First Quarry by Max Allan Collins [Hard Case Crime]
Money Shot by Christa Faust [Hard Case Crime]
State of the Onion by Julie Hyzy [Berkley]
In a Dark Season by Vicki Lane [Dell]
South of Hell by P.J. Parrish [Pocket Star]

Best Short Story
“The Night Things Changed” by Dana Cameron from Wolfsbane and Mistletoe [Ace]
“A Sleep Not Unlike Death” by Sean Chercover from Hardcore Hardboiled [Kensington]
“Killing Time” by Jane K. Cleland from Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine (November)
“Skull and Cross Examination” by Toni L. P. Kelner from Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine (February)
“Scratch a Woman” by Laura Lippman from Hardly Knew Her [William Morrow]
“The Secret Lives of Cats” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch from Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine (July)

Best Critical Nonfiction Work
African American Mystery Writers: A Historical and Thematic Study by Frankie Y. Bailey [McFarland]
How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries by Kathy Lynn Emerson [Perseverance Press]
Anthony Boucher: A Biobibliography by Jeffrey Marks [McFarland]
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective by Kate Summerscale [Walker & Company]

Best Children’s/Young Adult Novel
The Crossroads by Chris Grabenstein [Random House]
Paper Towns by John Green [Dutton Juvenile]
Kiss Me, Kill Me by Lauren Henderson [Delacorte]
The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart [Little, Brown]
Sammy Keyes and the Cold Hard Cash by Wendelin Van Draanen [Knopf]

Best Cover Art
Death Was the Other Woman designed by David Rotstein and written by Linda L. Richards [Minotaur]
Death Will Get You Sober designed by David Rotstein and written by Elizabeth Zelvin [Minotaur]
The Fault Tree designed by David Rotstein and written by Louise Ure [Minotaur]
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo designed by Peter Mendelsund and written by Stieg Larsson [Knopf]
Money Shot designed by Steve Cooley and written by Christa Faust [Hard Case Crime]

Special Service Award
Jon and Ruth Jordan
Ali Karim
David Montgomery
Gary Warren Niebuhr
Sarah Weinman

Posted in Anthony Awards, Bouchercon | 2,898 Comments »

Traveling in Venice with Donna Leon; starting with Ian Rankin’s Edinburgh

Sunday, May 17th, 2009

Ian Rankin and other crime fiction authors have said that if one wants to really understand a country look to its crime fiction.That’s certainly true as far as I am concerned.I feel I know Edinburgh from Scottish writer Rankin’s novels about John Rebus. The same is true of Michael Connelly’s and Denise Hamilton’s visions of Los Angeles; or John Lescroart’s San Francisco; or James W. Hall’s South Florida.The list goes on and on and on…So it seems logical to me that crime fiction would inspire tours of locales mentioned in the novels.Of course, these tours would have to be tied to authors whose novels are so representative of a region.Like Ian Rankin.If you visit Edinburgh, you can find a walking tour has been set up to prowl the streets of Edinburgh mentioned in Rankin’s novels.“They take different routes each time, depending on how the guy feels,” Rankin told me during an interview last year for Mystery Scene.But usually each tour includes a stop at the Oxford Bar, where Rebus (and Rankin) has been known to frequent.Donna Leon’s novels are so closely tied to Venice that she also has inspired many a tour of this lovely Italian city.Toni Sepeda is a professor of literature and art history in Northern Italy.For years she has conducted tours of Venetian sites visited by Leon’s hero Commissario Guido Brunetti.The next stop is a tour book.Brunetti’s Venice: Walks With the City’s Best-Loved Detective, written by Sepeda with an introduction by Leon, has now been published by Grove Press. It’s $16.95 with 256 pages.Its publication coincides with that of Leon’s 18th novel, About Face.Brunetti’s Venice features description and history of the actual place mentioned in excerpts from Leon’s novels.The guide book looks rich in Venetian lore.My friend, Doreen, and her family are going to Venice this summer and are taking the guide Brunetti’s Venice with them.Maybe they will at least send me a postcard.

Posted in Ian Rankin, Michael Connelly | 1,680 Comments »

Macavity Award nominations

Friday, May 15th, 2009

We are now entering the second round of mystery oriented awards.We just found out the winners of the Edgars, the Agathas and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. (I hope everyone sent their congratulations to these winners!)Now it’s time to find out the year’s other nominees. The nominations for the Anthony, which, of course, is given out at Bouchercon, are to be announced next week to the public.(HA!….I already know one nominee and I am thrilled for this author!)Here’s the list of the Macavity Award nominations, and, boy, is it a good list!The Macavity Awards are nominated by and voted on by members of Mystery Readers International and subscribers to Mystery Reader Journal.The awards also will be presented in October at Bouchercon in Indianapolis.As ever, congratulations to all the nominees and good luck to all.Best Mystery NovelTrigger City by Sean Chercover (Wm. Morrow)Where Memories Lie by Deborah Crombie (Wm. Morrow)The Dying Breed (UK)/ The Price of Blood (US) by Declan Hughes (John Murray/ Wm. Morrow)The Draining Lake by Arnaldur Indridason (Minotaur)Curse of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz (Simon & Schuster)The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny (Minotaur)The Fault Tree by Louise Ure (Minotaur)BEST FIRST NOVELFinding Nouf by Zoe Ferraris (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (Knopf)Death of a Cozy Writer by G.M. Malliet (Midnight Ink)Calumet City by Charlie Newton (Simon & Schuster)An Innocent Client by Scott Pratt (Onyx)A Carrion Death by Michael Stanley (Harper; Headline)The Blood Detective by Dan Waddell (Minotaur) Best NONFICTION/CRITICALAfrican American Mystery Writers: A Historical & Thematic Study by Frankie Y. Bailey (McFarland)Hard-Boiled Sentimentality: The Secret History of American Crime Stories by Leonard Cassuto (Columbia Univ.)How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries by Kathy Lynn Emerson (Perseverance Press)Scene of the Crime: The Importance of Place in Crime and Mystery Fiction by David Geherin (McFarland)Edgar Allan Poe : An Illustrated Companion to His Tell-Tale Stories by Harry Lee Poe (Metro)The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective by Kate Summerscale (Walker)BEST STORY STORY“The Night Things Changed” by Dana Cameron (Wolfsbane & Mistletoe, ed. by Harris & Kelner, Penguin)”A Sleep Not Unlike Death” by Sean Chercover (Hardcore Hardboiled, ed. by Todd Robinson, Kensington)”Keeping Watch Over His Flock” by Toni L. P. Kelner (Wolfsbane & Mistletoe, ed. by Harris & Kelner, Penguin)”Scratch a Woman” by Laura Lippman (Hardly Knew Her, Wm. Morrow)”Between the Dark and the Daylight” by Tom Piccirilli (EQMM, Sep/Oct 2008) Sue Feder Memorial Historical MysteryA Royal Pain by Rhys Bowen (Berkley)Stealing Trinity by Ward Larsen (Oceanview)The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss (Thorndike/ Random House UK)Veil of Lies by Jeri Westerson (Minotaur)Company of Liars by Karen Maitland (Michael Joseph/ Delacorte)Nox Dormienda by Kelli Stanley (Five Star)

Posted in Awards | 1,713 Comments »

Charles Todd’s next adventure

Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

For years, I have been a big fan of the Ian Rutledge series written by Charles Todd. Set in post World War I era, the series is steeped in the atmosphere ofBritain during this time. More importantly, the series looks at a brilliant Scotland Yard detective who is still shell shocked from his time during the Great War. Todd has kept the high standards in this series since it began with A Test of Wills in 1997. So I am quite interested to learn that Todd will be launching a new series with A Duty to the Dead, due out in August from HarperCollins A Duty to the Dead will continue Todd’s look at the horrors of Word War I, this time through the eyes of Bess Crawford, a battlefield nurse.Todd is one of the handful of authors who have used the WWI background as a way of looking at society, survivors’ guilt and Britain during the first part of the 20th century.Todd wrote one previous standalone, The Murder Stone, about a young heiress in 1916 who returns to the rural estate where her powerful and beloved grandfather is dying of a stroke.Todd, the writing name for mother and son Charles and Caroline Todd, has made my annual list of the best mysteries for several years. Judging just from previous history, I think that readers will embrace Bess Crawford as they have Ian Rutledge. While some authors will write only one series – and carry it on for decades – I’m always enthusiastic when an author tries something new, especially when they return to their regular series.Sometimes it seems as if the author returns that regular series a little fresher, having had a nice and sometimes much needed vacation from their regular characters. I never want Michael Connelly to give up Harry Bosch, at least not for several years, but his breaks have only served to make his series even better. Connelly’s latest The Scarecrow comes out May 26Harlan Coben’s stand alone thrillers put him on best sellers lists, but he still returns to Myron Bolitar now and then. Laura Lippman’s stand alones have been some of her best work, but I always like to see what’s going on with Tess Monaghan.Other authors such as Donna Andrews, Laurie King, Charlaine Harris – dear me, the list goes on and on – have given us two or even more series.The winner in all of this has been the reader.Do you have a favorite second series from an author?PHOTO: Caroline and Charles Todd; photo courtesy HarperCollins

Posted in Charlaine Harris, Charles Todd, Donna Andrews, Harlan Coben, Laura Lippman, Laurie R. King, Michael Connelly | 2,474 Comments »

When mysteries and theater collide

Sunday, May 10th, 2009

I know I am dating myself here, but the first play I saw that had a strong mystery element to it was Sleuth, during its first round on Broadway. It was in the year 19—- (what, you think I am going to say?). It also was my first experience with Broadway and my first visit toNew York City.Sleuth was an epiphany for me – allowing me to see that deft plotting and subtle clues could be translated to the stage. (At least that is what I believe I thought; I was pretty young at the time.)What Sleuth did was give me a lifelong respect for good mystery plays. Frankly, there are not a lot out there but the ones that succeed work well.(For the record, the musical Curtains worked; Agatha Christie’s long-running The Mousetrap does not.)So it was with much skepticism and a bit of apprehension that I attended a recent performance of Jeffrey Hatcher’s Murderers, currently at the nationally known Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, Florida. Murderers runs through May 23 at the Asolo.Hatcher’s (Tuesdays With Morrie) Murderers is a sly trilogy about three people who never expected to become killers, but did.Murderers is set in a fictitious Sarasota retirement community, but the play can be appreciated no matter where you live. The three “murderers” are a 50something man who marries his girlfriend’s mother so the younger couple can avoid estate tax; a woman whose husband’s old love moves into their retirement community; and a manager at the retirement community who hates the way some of the residents are treated.The three characters’ monologues are witty, reminiscent of the kind of tongue in cheek work that Donna Andrews, Elaine Viets , Jeffrey Cohen and Harley Jane Kozak write.The Asolo’s actors are first-class, and the play hinges on professional actors. Lesser talents would not get the nuances of Murderers.Mystery fans would find much to like in Murderers. If it is done in a regional theater near you, I would love to hear your comments.While I am not a theater critic, I am married to one who is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association, whose recent conference was in Sarasota, Florida. The conference is a wonderful excuse sample an area’s best theater; in the past the conference has been held at Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco and Chicago, among other locales.PHOTOS: Bryan Torfeh, top, Mercedes Herrero, bottom, in Murderers. Asolo photos

Posted in Broadway, Donna Andrews, Jeffery Hatcher, Musicals, Plays, Theater | 1,232 Comments »

Bouchercon Update!

Thursday, May 7th, 2009

As of yesterday, 849 people are already registered to attend Bouchercon 2009, the 40th Annual World Mystery Convention, in Indianapolis, Indiana, October 15-18, 2009.

Among these 849 are 286 folks who identify themselves as authors. We have 52 librarians among our ranks. 193 folks have volunteered to help make this the ultimate celebration of the mystery genre. (Thank you!)

For a variety of reasons, there’s considerable nervousness out there about the viability of events such as Bouchercon. We’re doing all we can to make Bouchercon 2009 a success, and we’re thrilled that 849 people are already committed to joining us. 849 puts us a little ahead of the pace of the 2008 Bouchercon at this time last year. Especially in this economy, we couldn’t be more pleased.

If you’re not already registered, we encourage you to sign up today so as not to miss out on all that Bouchercon has to offer. Our host hotel, the Hyatt Regency Indianapolis, is full, but we have plenty of space available in two lovely overflow hotels, the Westin and the Embassy Suites, each of which is very close by. Our pre-conference trip to the Lilly Library is full, but there’s still plenty of space available in Sisters in Crime’s incredible SinC into Great Writing pre-conference. Our ghost walk is full, but we’re looking at the possibility of adding a second tour so put your name on the waiting list now. There’s still room for you at our elegant, once-in-a-lifetime Rex Stout dinner.

Please visit www.bouchercon2009.com where you’ll find up-to-date information, including a newly posted note about the beginning of the programming process, and where you can register online.

We look forward to seeing you all in Indianapolis in October!

Posted in Bouchercon, Jim Huang | 1,877 Comments »

The Edgars, L.A. Times awards

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

So many awards were presented this past weekend that we haven’t had time to catch up with any of them.

As you saw on the previous post, Kate and Brian have already posted the Agatha winners. And as you also saw, Kate and Brian were the proud winners of the Poirot Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Mystery at Malice Domestic.

So let’s play catch up with some other winners from this over-packed weekend.

First, the Edgar winners, given by the Mystery Writers of America:

BEST NOVEL WINNER:
Blue Heaven by C.J. Box , left, (St. Martin’s Minotaur)

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR
The Foreigner by Francie Lin (Picador)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
China Lake by Meg Gardiner (New American Library – Obsidian Mysteries)

BEST FACT CRIME
American Lightning: Terror, Mystery, the Birth of Hollywood, and the Crime of the Century by Howard Blum (Crown Publishers)

BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL
Edgar Allan Poe: An Illustrated Companion to His Tell-Tale Stories
by Dr. Harry Lee Poe (Sterling Publishing – Metro Books)

BEST SHORT STORY
“Skinhead Central” – The Blue Religion by T. Jefferson Parker (Hachette Book Group – Little, Brown and Company)

BEST JUVENILE
The Postcard by Tony Abbott (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

BEST YOUNG ADULT
Paper Towns by John Green (Penguin Young Readers Group – Dutton Children’s Books)

BEST PLAY
The Ballad of Emmett Till by Ifa Bayeza (Goodman Theatre, Chicago, IL)

BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY
“Prayer of the Bone” – Wire in the Blood, Teleplay by Patrick Harbinson (BBC America)

BEST MOTION PICTURE SCREENPLAY
In Bruges, Screenplay by Martin McDonagh (Focus Features)

ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD
“Buckner’s Error” – Queens Noir by Joseph Guglielmelli (Akashic Books)

GRAND MASTER
James Lee Burke
Sue Grafton

RAVEN AWARDS
Edgar Allan Poe Society, Baltimore, Maryland
Poe House, Baltimore, Maryland

THE SIMON & SCHUSTER – MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD
The Killer’s Wife by Bill Floyd (St. Martin’s Minotaur)

OK, that list is over.

Now for the 2008 Los Angeles Times Book Prize winners.

Yes, I am aware that the 2008 Los Angeles Times Book Prize has winners in categories other than mystery/thriller. But I am only going to mention the mystery/thriller category.

And, for a full disclosure: I was a judge for this category along with my lovely colleagues Sarah Weinman and Dick Adler. We three made our decision in early Februrary so that should show you how well we can keep a secret!

2008 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for mystery/thriller goes to:

Michael Koryta, right, Envy the Night (Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Minotaur)

Posted in Awards, Edgar Allan Poe Awards, Mystery Writers of America | 2,436 Comments »

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