Archive for the ‘Linda L. Richards’ Category

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 | 1,464 Comments »

Linda L. Richards and the economy

Thursday, April 16th, 2009

“In this economy…”

OK, so how many times a day do you hear this phrase from newscasters, friends, waiters, sales people or even just floating through your brain like some modern-day mantra.

Makes you wish you had the theme song to The Beverly Hillbillies instead of this terror-inducing phrase in your head.

lindar.jpgHopefully, “in this economy….” will not stop you from buying books, preferably mysteries, and mystery-oriented magazines.

So it should come as no surprise how Linda L. Richards’s newest Kitty Pangborn novel Death Was in the Picture feels so contemporary, even though the novel is set in 1930.

But what’s a Great Depression between friends?

Richards’s heroine Kitty has to deal with some of the same financial situations that her readers do in reality.

Sure, the financially strapped hero/heroine is a staple of the mystery genre.

Very few sleuths are wealthy, unless they are a Lord or something.

But very few exist in an economy that we have now.

Can you say Bernie Madoff?

Kitty came from a fairly affluent family, but the 1929 crash hit her family hard. Her father committed suicide.

While she still lives in the family home, she takes in boarders to make ends meet.
deathwas.jpg

The scenes in which Kitty saves money, trims little things here and there will hit home with many readers.

When she is given money by a client to buy new clothes, she’s both giddy with excitement and frightened by spending all that cash on just clothes, instead of, say, for food.

In Mystery Scene‘s Winter Issue 2009 (No. 108), Kevin Burton Smith presents an insightful article about Richards, delving into how she made the secretary to a private detective the lead character.

I, too, found this quite interesting. (By the way, here’s a link to my review of Death Was in the Picture.)

After all, most of us – well, we women readers anyway – knew that Effie Perrine, Della Street and Peggy (on Mannix) were the real reasons those private detectives were so successful.

Like many mystery writers, Linda L. Richards includes a lot of layers in her novels.

And like most historical mysteries, her plots are a mirror to contemporary times.

Posted in Great Depression, Historical Mystery, Linda L. Richards, PI | 1,774 Comments »