Archive for March, 2010

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Left Coast Crime winners, Thriller, Lambda nominees

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

THRILLER AWARDS

Each year I make the same promise to myself — this year I have to attend Thrillerfest, sponsored by the International Thriller Writers conference. And each year, something comes up to prevent me from getting to New York City.

  As I contemplate my travel plans, here are the nominees for the 2010 Thriller Awards. These will be given during Thrillerfest July 7 to 10 in New York City.

All nominees are already winners.

2010 Thriller Awards

Best Hard Cover Novel:
VANISHED by Joseph Finder
LONG LOST by Harlan Coben
FEAR THE WORST by Linwood Barclay
THE NEIGHBOR by Lisa Gardner
THE RENEGADES by T. Jefferson Parker

Best Paperback Original:
SHADOW SEASON by Tom Piccirilli
URGE TO KILL by John Lutz
VENGEANCE ROAD by Rick Mofina
THE COLDEST MILE by Tom Piccirilli
NO MERCY by John Gilstrap

Best First Novel:
FRAGMENT by Warren Fahy
DEAD MEN’S DUST by Matt Hilton
COLLISION OF EVIL by John J. Le Beau
DRACULA: THE UN-DEAD by Dacre Stoker
RUNNING FROM THE DEVIL by Jamie Freveletti

Best Short Story:
THE DESERT HERE AND THE DESERT FAR AWAY by Marcus Sakey
A STAB IN THE HEART by Twist Phelan
AFTERSHOCK & OTHERS by F. Paul Wilson
ICED by Harry Hunsicker
BOLDT’S BROKEN ANGEL by Ridley Pearson

LEFT COAST CRIME

 One day I also plan to attend Left Coast Crime conference. The panels always look interesting and I constantly hear about what fun the conference is.
  Next year, Left Coast is in Santa Fe, one of my favorite cities.
  Meanwhile, here are the winners from the 2010 Left Coast Crime, which was held in Los Angeles: 

  THE LEFTY
 (The Lefty is an award for the most humorous mystery published in a particular year)
 2010 Winner:  GETTING OLD IS A DISASTER by RITA LAKIN

THE BRUCE ALEXANDER MEMORIAL HISTORICAL MYSTERY
(A historical mystery, covering events before 1950)
  2010 Winner:  A TRACE OF SMOKE by REBECCA CANTRELL  

  THE PANIK
(The Panik award given in honor of the late Paul Anik, Chairman of Left Coast Crime 2010 for the best Los Angeles Noir book published in 2009.)
    2010 Winner:  DEATH WAS IN THE PICTURE by LINDA RICHARDS

 LAMBDA AWARDS And since this is the season for awards in the mystery genre, here are the nominees for the Lambda Literary Awards for gay and lesbian novels. Winners will be announced at the 22nd Annual Awards, May 27 in New York at the School of Visual Arts Theater, 333 W. 23rd St.   

Lesbian Mystery
Command of Silence, by Paulette Callen (Spinsters Ink)
Death of a Dying Man, by J.M. Redmann (Bold Strokes Books)
From Hell to Breakfast, by Joan Opyr (Blue Feather Books)
The Mirror and the Mask, by Ellen Hart (St. Martin’s/Minotaur)
Toasted, by Josie Gordon (Bella Books)

Gay Mystery
All Lost Things, by Josh Aterovis (P.D. Publishing)
The Killer of Orchids, by Ralph Ashworth (State Street Press)
Murder in the Garden District, by Greg Herren (Alyson Books)
Straight Lies, by Rob Byrnes (Kensington Books)
What We Remember, by Michael Thomas Ford (Kensington Books)

Posted in Left Coast Crime, Linda L. Richards | 1,446 Comments »

Paganini’s Ghost by Paul Adam

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

Paganini’s Ghost

by Paul Adam

Minotaur Books, January 2010, $24.99

The sequel to Adam’s excellent novel The Rainaldi Quartet (2006), Paganini’s Ghost, is an equally splendid music mystery featuring violin maker Gianni Castiglione and his younger friend Antonio Guastafeste, cellist and police detective. Set primarily in Cremona and Milan, with brief excursions to Paris and London, the story opens with a young Russian virtuoso who won the Premio Paganini competition in Genoa and whose prize includes a recital in Cremona where he gets to play Paganini’s violin il Cannone (the Cannon). The violin is brought to Castiglione for repair before the performance, and he and the Russian, Yevgeny Ivanov, become friends.

The day after the big performance though, a somewhat shady French antiques dealer is found murdered and Castiglione and Guastafeste discover a gold box that had been made to hold a small, jeweled violin given to Paganini by Napoleon’s sister. An extremely complex mystery follows, with the disappearance of the Russian violinist, more deaths, a lost piece of music, and a fascinating study of the life and loves of Paganini.

Castiglione’s encyclopedic knowledge of violins and music history help Guastafeste solve the crimes. Adam has a remarkable ability to create characters that come alive on the page. The Italian settings are superb. Music lovers and mystery fans have a marvelous treat in store.

Reviewed by Mary Helen Becker

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Elmore Leonard is ‘Justified’

Sunday, March 28th, 2010

It took a long time for Elmore Leonard’s crime fiction to make a successful transition to the screen.

Notice I said successful.

Sure, there was “3:10 to Yuma” (1957 and 2007), and “Hombre” (1967), but then we had to put up with “The Big Bounce” (1969) and the even worse remake in 2004. “52 Pick-Up” (1986), “Stick” (1985) and “Glitz” (1988) started a string of dismal films based on at Leonard’s work.

 Such a pity because Leonard’s novels should be tailor-made for the big and small screen. His precise dialogue, his way of mixing dark humor in myriad situations and his wry look at crime have kept readers enthralled for decades. It wasn’t until 1995’s “Get Shorty” that Hollywood finally understood Leonard.

 Now TV has finally “got” Leonard.

  “Justified,” now on the FX channel, showcases Leonard in a way that no other TV show has. While I liked “Maximum Bob” and “Karen Sisco”, neither seemed to really capture that Leonard spirit as the first two episodes of “Justified” have. (“Justified” airs at 10 p.m. EST Tuesdays.)

  “Justified” is the story of Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant, “Deadwood”). With his Stetson and Kentucky drawl, it’s easy to dismiss Raylan.

That would be wrong.

He’s a complicated character who is a crack shot.

   Raylan has been reassigned to Kentucky, where he grew up, after a shooting incident in Miami. He expected the Marshal service to save him from his coal-mining hometown of Harlan, Ky. Instead, Harlan is now his punishment.

We’re sure to hear more about Raylan’s past, especially when his career criminal father Arlo (Raymond Barry, “Cold Case,” “Training Day”) comes on board. Raylan also has an old friend and former coal miner who’s now a bank robber, a ex-wife and assorted other friends and relations from his old days.

  “Justified” is based on Leonard’s 2001 novella “Fire in the Hole.”

    While “Justified” has a strong Western element – conjuring visions of “Gunsmoke” and the “Wild West” – it also works as a look at the angst of small towns, at policing a community where you know everyone and coming to terms with who you are.

    The plots are also darned involving and the acting first-class. As someone who grew up near Paducah, KY., the accents are dead-on. 

  “Justified” does justice to Elmore Leonard. I, for one, am hoping for a long run with Raylan and crew.

   Justified airs at 10 p.m. EST Tuesdays on the FX Channel.

Posted in TV Mysteries | 1,645 Comments »

No Mercy by Lori Armstrong

Saturday, March 27th, 2010

No Mercy
by Lori Armstrong
Touchstone, January 2010, $25.00

In this modern western with a twist, Mercy Gunderson is on furlough from the Army and back home on the family ranch in South Dakota. Her father, the local sheriff, has just died and everyone is expecting Mercy to look after both his affairs and her irresponsible younger sister. Mercy’s already heavy load gets even more worrisome when her 15-year-old nephew Levi begins running with a gang of native kids called “The Warrior Society,” and reservation teens begin turning up dead.

Frustrated when the handsome new sheriff doesn’t seem interested in the first killing, and a second killing strikes close to home, Mercy takes it upon herself to investigate. A prickly love-hate relationship develops when the sheriff resents her intrusion on his job. There’s a reason Mercy’s nickname is “No Mercy”—she’s tough. A hard drinker, a loner, and a bit psychotic, the hero of this dark, exciting series debut is a female who drives a fast sports car rather than rides a white horse, but she’s a wild west vigilante all the same.

Mercy is used to going after bad guys. In her Army job she’s a sniper trained to track and kill human prey. If she’s the one to find this local killer, she may just take him out on the spot. Author Lori Armstrong is already known for her mass market PI Julie Collins series, and she proves here with her first hardcover release that she’s just getting started.

Reviewed by Verna Suit

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The Wolf at the Door by Jack Higgins

Friday, March 26th, 2010

The Wolf at the Door
by Jack Higgins
Putnam, January 2010, $26.95

Jack Higgins kicks it old school, as in bringing back the Cold War and the troubles in Northern Ireland for the 21st century. In The Wolf at the Door, Higgins’ usual cast of characters, General Ferguson, agent Harry Miller and his ex-IRA partner Sean Dillon, and American agent Blake Johnson, find themselves the targets of several assassination attempts. The group digs deep to find a sleeper cell of the Provisional IRA they suspect may be behind the attacks, but the real cuplrit may be even more dangerous and powerful than they imagined.

Higgins comes from a school of writers who think nothing of making huge historical events and real political figures characters in their fiction, and his cast of heroes has been entertaining readers for 17 novels now. But it is this novel’s “wolf,” Yorkshire-born PIRA veteran Daniel Holley, and his role as the vengeful hunter unleashed on the “the Prime Minister’s private army” that is the heart of this story. By the end, Holley has determined there’s little difference between those who recruited him to kill and the British against whom he’s avenging his fallen comrades. In the end, the reader is forced to agree.

Reviewed by Jim Winter

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Robert Culp, star of I Spy, passes at age 79

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

Actor and screenwriter Robert Culp passed away on Wednesday at the age of 79. Over his years in television he played several roles from a Texas ranger in Trackdown to Ray’s father-in-law in Everybody Loves Raymond. But he was perhaps best known for his role as undercover agent Kelly Robinson, played opposite Bill Cosby, in the 1960s series I Spy.

His performance in I Spy as one half of the secret agent duo charged by the US government to protect America from Cold War spies and other villains, garnered him nominations for both Emmy and Golden Globe awards.

Culp died after a fall outside his home in the Hollywood Hills yesterday. Read his LA Times obituary here.



Currently all episodes of I Spy can be viewed online at hulu.com

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Posted in Uncategorized | 2,350 Comments »

THE WAGES OF SIN

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010
Comic book detective Dick Tracy was created by Chester Gould (1900-1985).

“Crime does not pay.”

—Dick Tracy’s motto in the Chester Gould comic strip

“Crime does not pay—enough.”

—motto of The Mystery Writers of America

“I think crime pays. The hours are good, you travel a lot.”

—Woody Allen, Take the Money and Run (1969)

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Posted in Quotes | 1,323 Comments »

Otto Penzler’s auction

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

   Through the years, Otto Penzler has amassed what must be the largest first-edition collection of English and American mystery fiction in the world. 

   Penzler will be auctioning off a portion of his famous 60,000 volume mystery book collection – including first editions in dust jackets of Ian Fleming’s James Bond books Casino Royale and Moonraker  on April 8th at Swann Galleries in New York City.    

    Highlights of Swann’s Otto Penzler Collection of British Espionage and Thriller Fiction sale include a top-notch run of Ian Fleming books and a first edition of Eric Ambler’s Cause for Alarm, signed and inscribed to Penzler in a scarce dust jacket. 

The sale will also feature works by Francis Beeding, John Buchan, Len Deighton, Grahame Greene, John le Carré, William Le Queux, E. Phillips Oppenheim, Baroness Orczy, Captain A. O. Pollard, Dennis Wheatley and many more.

   Penzler’s love of the genre dates back to his college years. As an English student at the University of Michigan, Penzler read all of the “difficult” books required for his studies, but later realized that he loved mystery fiction best of all.

   “I found this genre to be every bit as good and significant as other literature,” he explained in a press release. “When I founded The Mysterious Press, I wanted to help elevate mystery fiction so it would be given the level of respect it deserves.”

  And that’s exactly what Penzler has done through the years.

   I can’t imagine anyone having a more fabulous collection. The auction alone would be worth a trip to New York City.

Posted in Bookstores | 1,590 Comments »

MS Miscellany: The Reluctant Gunman

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

IMDB Trailer for Little Caesar

Edward G. Robinson didn’t really enjoy playing a gangster and hated the sound of gunfire. That posed problems for director Mervyn LeRoy during the filming of Little Caesar (1931).

“Every time he squeezed the trigger,” LeRoy said, “he would screw up his eyes. This happened take after take.”

“In the end we had to tape up his eyelids to make sure it wouldn’t show.”
—The Warner Brothers, Michael Freeland, St. Martin’s Press, 1983

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Posted in Film, Gangsters, Movies | 734 Comments »

The Parisian Prodigal by Alan Gordon

Friday, March 12th, 2010

The Parisian Prodigal

by Alan Gordon

Minotaur Books, January 2010, $25.99

A husband and wife detective team isn’t that unusual—but put them in the early 13th century in Toulouse, France and make them court jesters, and you’ve got the makings of a strange murder mystery indeed.

Theo and Claudia are not only accomplished jesters, they also belong to the super-secret Fools’ Guild, an international group that strives to maintain order in a dangerous world. Count Raimon , the ruler of Toulouse, has named Theo his Chief Fool and relies on him not only for entertainment, but for wise counsel as well.

When a visitor arrives from Paris claiming to be the Count’s brother he is jailed as an imposter. Later, on Theo’s advice, the claimant, Baudoin, is freed pending further investigation into his claim. That night, he is taken to a brothel and spends the night in the arms of the most beautiful prostitute in the city. When the following morning her dead body is found next to him in the bed with his dagger in her chest, Baudoin is arrested for her murder.

Dissatisfied by the “rush to judgment” against Baudoin, Theo and Claudia decide to investigate. Both being competitive, however, they each go about it separately in their own way, Claudia being accompanied by Helga, a 12-year-old apprentice fool. Which one will solve the case first?

In alternating points of view, we follow the pair through a complex series of adventures leading to an unexpected conclusion. This latest in a series of Fools’ Guild Mysteries is enjoyable reading, not only for the mystery, but for the sharp and witty dialogue as well.

Reviewed by Joseph Scarpato, Jr.

Alan Gordon, photo by Paul Petronella

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