Sunday, 17 March 2013

jamesdean_murderpastdue
As a critic of mystery fiction, I have been guilty in the past several years of not giving as much attention as I should have to one very important category of the genre—the paperback original.

This wasn’t always the case. Back when the newspaper’s books sections consisted of two whole pages—and I could review as many books a week as I could read—I tried to have a paperback roundup a few times a year.

Fortunately, Mystery Scene regularly focuses on paperback originals and this category has loyal readers. Nor do best-sellers lists ignore paperback originals.

After all, what’s more convenient than slipping a paperback into a bag to enjoy on a plane, the beach, waiting in line or wherever you are. Even handier than a tablet.

So here is an ode to the paperback original and a quick look at some authors whose works continue to elevate this category.

Alison Gaylin: Gaylin’s Into the Dark continues her series about missing persons investigator Brenna Spector, a missing persons investigator afflicted with Hyperthymestic Syndrome, a rare disorder that enables her to remember every moment of every day of her life. That can overwhelm a person, but makes for a good detective.

Wendy Corsi Staub: The prolific Staub has written 80 novels under her own name and her pseudonym Wendy Markham. Shadowkiller weaves a nightmare of terror for a young woman that reaches from New York to the Caribbean islands. Her 2012 novel Sleepwalker is a finalist for the 2013 Mary Higgins Clark Award.

Dean James: Agatha Award-winning James—not James Dean the actor—has a dual persona. As Miranda James, he writes about Charlie Harris, a widower who moves from Texas to Mississippi following the death of his wife. Subtitled “Cat in the Stack Mysteries,” the four novels in this series follow librarian Charlie and his Maine Coon cat Diesel that he walks on a leash. The novels include Murder Past Due and Out of Circulation, currently is on the best sellers list. As Dean James, he wrote four novels about Simon Kirby-Jones, an American vampire who moved to a quaint English village. Dean James also has written the Wanda Nell Culpepper series under the name of Jimmie Ruth Evans and the Emma Diamond series as Honor Hartman.

Denise Swanson: Swanson delivers lively, light and quite insightful looks at small town life in her two series. Swanson weaves her amateur sleuths into solid plots with likable characters who never slide into caricature. Swanson, who has been nominated for the Agatha Award and the Mary Higgins Clark Award, has two series. School psychologist Skye Denison who lives in a small Illinois town appears in 15 novels, the latest of which is Murder of the Cat's Meow. Devereaux Sinclair runs an old-fashioned dime store—remember them?—in her small Missouri hometown in the two novels in the Devereaux's Dime Store
Mysteries. The latest is Nickeled-and-Dimed to Death.

P.J. Parrish: Parrish, who has been nominated for an Edgar and won an Anthony, are two sisters, Kris Montee and Kelly Nichols, whose exciting, gripping stories are filled with realistic characters. Their novels’ seamless plots meld with a heart-felt look at a man who has often been an outsider and found his calling in being as a detective. Louis Kincaid, a biracial young man who grew up in foster homes, comes to grips with himself and his background in each novel. Parrish’s 10th novel in this series, Heart of Ice soars as a tale about a man reclaiming his life and how so much of what we care about can be lost by carelessness, misplaced priorities and obsession, as I said in a recent review.

mcmahonjennifer_oneleftbehind
Elaine Viets
:
Although Viets’ “Dead End Jobs” series featuring heroine Helen Hawthorne are now in hardcover, the author also writes a second series about mystery shopper Josie Marcus that are available in paperback. Viets’ trademark humor and energetic storytelling highlight this series. But the Josie Marcus series isn’t just about great shopping, it also looks at a single mother trying to support her very bright daughter while dealing with a dating life and her own mother. Although Josie’s personal life is about to change, Viets continues to give Josie challenges, and the wit it takes to make it in this world. Josie’s latest adventures are Murder Is a Piece of Cake.

Rebecca Chance: The British Chance’s novels are set in the glitzy world of fashion, trust funds and girls gone wild. Appealing characters and sly wit punctuate Chance’s novels that include Killer Heels, Bad Girls, Bad Sisters and Divas.


Trade Paperbacks
Susan Elia MacNeal: MacNeal’s debut Mr. Churchill's Secretary has been nominated for an Edgar this year. In this novel, young American Maggie Hope begins her job as a secretary to the newly appointed Prime Minister Winston Churchill in London. But Maggie’s secretarial skills aren’t her only abilities as readers find in the second in this series, Princess Elizabeth’s Spy, which also came out last year, and His Majesty’s Hope, which comes out in May 2013.

Jennifer McMahon: McMahon’s novels have landed on the New York Times best-sellers list for a good reason. She complements her expert plotting with a sincere look at the complicated nature of relationships. Her fifth novel, The One I Left Behind, is a mesmerizing psychological thriller that looks at childhood trauma and the power of the past. Throw in a hint of the gothic, and The One I Left Behind is even more fascinating.

A Salute to Paperback Writers
Oline Cogdill
a-salute-to-paperback-writers

jamesdean_murderpastdue
As a critic of mystery fiction, I have been guilty in the past several years of not giving as much attention as I should have to one very important category of the genre—the paperback original.

This wasn’t always the case. Back when the newspaper’s books sections consisted of two whole pages—and I could review as many books a week as I could read—I tried to have a paperback roundup a few times a year.

Fortunately, Mystery Scene regularly focuses on paperback originals and this category has loyal readers. Nor do best-sellers lists ignore paperback originals.

After all, what’s more convenient than slipping a paperback into a bag to enjoy on a plane, the beach, waiting in line or wherever you are. Even handier than a tablet.

So here is an ode to the paperback original and a quick look at some authors whose works continue to elevate this category.

Alison Gaylin: Gaylin’s Into the Dark continues her series about missing persons investigator Brenna Spector, a missing persons investigator afflicted with Hyperthymestic Syndrome, a rare disorder that enables her to remember every moment of every day of her life. That can overwhelm a person, but makes for a good detective.

Wendy Corsi Staub: The prolific Staub has written 80 novels under her own name and her pseudonym Wendy Markham. Shadowkiller weaves a nightmare of terror for a young woman that reaches from New York to the Caribbean islands. Her 2012 novel Sleepwalker is a finalist for the 2013 Mary Higgins Clark Award.

Dean James: Agatha Award-winning James—not James Dean the actor—has a dual persona. As Miranda James, he writes about Charlie Harris, a widower who moves from Texas to Mississippi following the death of his wife. Subtitled “Cat in the Stack Mysteries,” the four novels in this series follow librarian Charlie and his Maine Coon cat Diesel that he walks on a leash. The novels include Murder Past Due and Out of Circulation, currently is on the best sellers list. As Dean James, he wrote four novels about Simon Kirby-Jones, an American vampire who moved to a quaint English village. Dean James also has written the Wanda Nell Culpepper series under the name of Jimmie Ruth Evans and the Emma Diamond series as Honor Hartman.

Denise Swanson: Swanson delivers lively, light and quite insightful looks at small town life in her two series. Swanson weaves her amateur sleuths into solid plots with likable characters who never slide into caricature. Swanson, who has been nominated for the Agatha Award and the Mary Higgins Clark Award, has two series. School psychologist Skye Denison who lives in a small Illinois town appears in 15 novels, the latest of which is Murder of the Cat's Meow. Devereaux Sinclair runs an old-fashioned dime store—remember them?—in her small Missouri hometown in the two novels in the Devereaux's Dime Store
Mysteries. The latest is Nickeled-and-Dimed to Death.

P.J. Parrish: Parrish, who has been nominated for an Edgar and won an Anthony, are two sisters, Kris Montee and Kelly Nichols, whose exciting, gripping stories are filled with realistic characters. Their novels’ seamless plots meld with a heart-felt look at a man who has often been an outsider and found his calling in being as a detective. Louis Kincaid, a biracial young man who grew up in foster homes, comes to grips with himself and his background in each novel. Parrish’s 10th novel in this series, Heart of Ice soars as a tale about a man reclaiming his life and how so much of what we care about can be lost by carelessness, misplaced priorities and obsession, as I said in a recent review.

mcmahonjennifer_oneleftbehind
Elaine Viets
:
Although Viets’ “Dead End Jobs” series featuring heroine Helen Hawthorne are now in hardcover, the author also writes a second series about mystery shopper Josie Marcus that are available in paperback. Viets’ trademark humor and energetic storytelling highlight this series. But the Josie Marcus series isn’t just about great shopping, it also looks at a single mother trying to support her very bright daughter while dealing with a dating life and her own mother. Although Josie’s personal life is about to change, Viets continues to give Josie challenges, and the wit it takes to make it in this world. Josie’s latest adventures are Murder Is a Piece of Cake.

Rebecca Chance: The British Chance’s novels are set in the glitzy world of fashion, trust funds and girls gone wild. Appealing characters and sly wit punctuate Chance’s novels that include Killer Heels, Bad Girls, Bad Sisters and Divas.


Trade Paperbacks
Susan Elia MacNeal: MacNeal’s debut Mr. Churchill's Secretary has been nominated for an Edgar this year. In this novel, young American Maggie Hope begins her job as a secretary to the newly appointed Prime Minister Winston Churchill in London. But Maggie’s secretarial skills aren’t her only abilities as readers find in the second in this series, Princess Elizabeth’s Spy, which also came out last year, and His Majesty’s Hope, which comes out in May 2013.

Jennifer McMahon: McMahon’s novels have landed on the New York Times best-sellers list for a good reason. She complements her expert plotting with a sincere look at the complicated nature of relationships. Her fifth novel, The One I Left Behind, is a mesmerizing psychological thriller that looks at childhood trauma and the power of the past. Throw in a hint of the gothic, and The One I Left Behind is even more fascinating.

Wednesday, 13 March 2013

soderbergalex_andalucianfriend
As a screenwriter, Alexander Söderberg wrote adaptations of novels, such as those by Camilla Läckberg and Åke Edwardsson, for Swedish television. Söderberg now makes his debut as a novelist with the newly released The Andalucian Friend.

In The Andalucian Friend, a Swedish nurse becomes involved with an attractive patient who, unknown to her, heads a crime syndicate. This quiet nurse is suddenly at the center of a global turf war that includes Spanish drug runners, German gangsters, Russian hit men, and Swedish cops. And the gangsters aren't the most amoral.

Here’s a quick question and answer interview with Alexander Söderberg.

Q: What myths about Sweden does your novel refute?
A: It’s interesting, I don’t think of my novel as making any grand statements about Sweden. Sweden is just one piece of a rather large puzzle in The Andalucian Friend. I think of this book more in terms of the characters, and the consequences of their decisions, than where it’s set.


Q: Who do you read?
A:
While writing, I usually don’t read much. Favorite authors come and go. And so do genres. When it comes to crime and thrillers, Lehane and Ellroy are great but many more as well. There is an abundance of good writers. When it comes to more literary books I appreciate JM Coetzee. The other day I read a book about trees. It is called Wildwood: A Journey Through Trees by the late Roger Deakin. Amazing in a way that one can’t explain. Just beautiful.

Q: What legacy do you hope your novels leave?
A:
Enjoy the read, and go on with your life as it was before.

Q: Your criminals are involved in a global turf war. What did you base this on?
A:
As I got to know the characters, it became clear to me how they would act, whether admirably or not.

Q: What is the status of the screen version of The Andalucian Friend?
A:
A screenwriter is writing as we speak. Can’t wait to read it.

The Andalucian Friend Debuts
Oline Cogdill
the-andalucian-friend-debuts

soderbergalex_andalucianfriend
As a screenwriter, Alexander Söderberg wrote adaptations of novels, such as those by Camilla Läckberg and Åke Edwardsson, for Swedish television. Söderberg now makes his debut as a novelist with the newly released The Andalucian Friend.

In The Andalucian Friend, a Swedish nurse becomes involved with an attractive patient who, unknown to her, heads a crime syndicate. This quiet nurse is suddenly at the center of a global turf war that includes Spanish drug runners, German gangsters, Russian hit men, and Swedish cops. And the gangsters aren't the most amoral.

Here’s a quick question and answer interview with Alexander Söderberg.

Q: What myths about Sweden does your novel refute?
A: It’s interesting, I don’t think of my novel as making any grand statements about Sweden. Sweden is just one piece of a rather large puzzle in The Andalucian Friend. I think of this book more in terms of the characters, and the consequences of their decisions, than where it’s set.


Q: Who do you read?
A:
While writing, I usually don’t read much. Favorite authors come and go. And so do genres. When it comes to crime and thrillers, Lehane and Ellroy are great but many more as well. There is an abundance of good writers. When it comes to more literary books I appreciate JM Coetzee. The other day I read a book about trees. It is called Wildwood: A Journey Through Trees by the late Roger Deakin. Amazing in a way that one can’t explain. Just beautiful.

Q: What legacy do you hope your novels leave?
A:
Enjoy the read, and go on with your life as it was before.

Q: Your criminals are involved in a global turf war. What did you base this on?
A:
As I got to know the characters, it became clear to me how they would act, whether admirably or not.

Q: What is the status of the screen version of The Andalucian Friend?
A:
A screenwriter is writing as we speak. Can’t wait to read it.

Sunday, 10 March 2013

levine_paul.jpg
What do you get when you put together Ridley Pearson, Jacqueline Winspear, Patricia Smiley, James O. Born, Paul Levine, (left) and Cornelia Reed?

You get a highly entertaining blog called NakedAuthors.com in which each author had his or her own day to post and used that forum to write some unexpected musings.

How unexpected?

Born once wrote about Susan Boyle, when she was first on Britain’s Got Talent. Winspear tackled body scanners at the airport. Reed wrote about beauty tips from Doris Day that lead to her discussion about "odd little lines and giblets from books" she'd read.

The blog's subtitle—The Naked Truth About Literature & Life—made a lot of sense.

These naked authors had fun with the blog and seemed to love going off in tangents. And while at first it seemed odd to have authors who write such different books blogging together, it made sense in the context of the genre. After all, most mystery writers love diversity in stories and authors.

But in March 2010, the naked authors called it quits.

Too much to do—books to write, personal duties to take care of, and, of course, that general excuse, life itself.

But now they are back.

Three years after calling a halt, the naked authors are getting the band back together and hitting the road. Or, just writing
together again.

And I, for one, am glad to see this blog again.

Naked Authors Bare It All, Again
Oline Cogdill
naked-authors-bare-it-all-again

levine_paul.jpg
What do you get when you put together Ridley Pearson, Jacqueline Winspear, Patricia Smiley, James O. Born, Paul Levine, (left) and Cornelia Reed?

You get a highly entertaining blog called NakedAuthors.com in which each author had his or her own day to post and used that forum to write some unexpected musings.

How unexpected?

Born once wrote about Susan Boyle, when she was first on Britain’s Got Talent. Winspear tackled body scanners at the airport. Reed wrote about beauty tips from Doris Day that lead to her discussion about "odd little lines and giblets from books" she'd read.

The blog's subtitle—The Naked Truth About Literature & Life—made a lot of sense.

These naked authors had fun with the blog and seemed to love going off in tangents. And while at first it seemed odd to have authors who write such different books blogging together, it made sense in the context of the genre. After all, most mystery writers love diversity in stories and authors.

But in March 2010, the naked authors called it quits.

Too much to do—books to write, personal duties to take care of, and, of course, that general excuse, life itself.

But now they are back.

Three years after calling a halt, the naked authors are getting the band back together and hitting the road. Or, just writing
together again.

And I, for one, am glad to see this blog again.