My Charmer on I SO DON'T DO FAMOUS

I’m no writer and I’m certainly no reviewer but when I heard Barrie Summy’s latest book, I SO DON'T DO FAMOUS, is out, I had to give her and her work some well-deserved praise!

The first book in the series, I SO DON'T DO MYSTERIES, with its witty engaging characters and clever storyline is just as enjoyable for adults as it is for its target audience of young teens. I’m far behind in reading the others, SPOOKY and MAKEUP, but I definitely plan to makeup for lost time and read them all.

When Ava is older and has become a bookworm just like her father, I'm sure she will love reading these fun Sherry (Sherlock) Holmes Baldwin mysteries. --Denise

Bogart in the News

Here's looking at you, Bogie and DVD Extra: Double Bogie -- at the circus and murdering Stanwyck in a gothic 'thriller.'

Film Noir

Masters of Darkness and Light: Film Noir’s Unheralded Geniuses by Jake Hinkson at Criminal Element.

What Are You Working On?

Today was productive with the completion of two short stories. The first is a Gideon Miles adventure called "New Dog, Old Tricks" that will be part of a western anthology in July. The other is "Clouds in a Bunker" that deals with a dementia addled patient holding the police at bay in a fallout shelter. I had been working on both for months and it was rewarding to bring 'em to a close.

What are you working on?

JOE HANNIBAL NOW ON KINDLE

From Wayne D. Dundee:

I am pleased and excited to be able to announce that the back list of Joe Hannibal novels are now being re-issued as eBooks, starting with first in the series, THE BURNING SEASON, currently available on Amazon Kindle. Up until now, unfortunately, many of these books have been out of print. The older titles will start coming out an on average of two a month and then, in August, an original, never-before-published title --- GOSHEN HOLE --- will be available.

Click here for more information.

And check out Joe Hannibal at BEAT to a PULP with "Massacre Canyon" and "Apache Fog."

Mystery Scene Spring Issue

What a top looking issue! From Kate Stine:

Hi everyone,

If you haven't read Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next bibliomysteries, then you're in for a real treat. Tom Nolan gives an introduction to the whimsical world of Thursday Next, literary detective in this issue. (Here's some advice for newbies, though: start with the first book in the series, The Eyre Affair.)

Have you ever wondered about the loyal wife, silently standing by her disgraced husband, usually a politician, on the evening news? The Good Wife places that enigmatic figure at the center of one of the most enjoyable dramas on TV. It's full-bodied, nuanced storytelling - and possibly features the only time in history that a steamy sex scene has had National Public Radio's evening news as a soundtrack. Find out more in Matt Zoller Seitz's thoughtful article.

Novelist Kelli Stanley is making a splash and her conversation with Oline Cogdill reveals why. It's not every woman who is equally comfortable discussing ancient Roman curse tablets, the second Sino-Japanese War, segregated 1970s Florida, and comics!

Also, Art Taylor talks with Louis Bayard about his acclaimed literary-themed thrillers, the latest of which, The School of Night, focuses on a secret, possibly heretical, society of scientists and artists in Elizabethan England.

Theatrical crime is running rampant across the country and Wm. F. Hirschman has tracked down some of the top perpetrators on Broadway and in regional theater for us. Don't miss his list of classic crime plays - they make good reading!

There's lots more in the new issue. Hope you enjoy!

Sincerely,
Kate Stine
Editor-in-Chief

The Anthony Nominees

Many fine choices in here and BIG conrats to Chris F. Holm, Hilary Davidson, The Rap Sheet, and Needle: A Magazine of Noir.

The Anthony Nominees

Best Novel:
• Bury Your Dead, by Louise Penny (Minotaur)
• I’d Know You Anywhere, by Laura Lippman (Morrow)
• Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter, by Tom Franklin (Morrow)
• The Lock Artist, by Steve Hamilton (Minotaur)
• Faithful Place, by Tana French (Viking)


Best First Novel:
• Rogue Island, by Bruce DeSilva (Forge)
• The Poacher’s Son, by Paul Doiron (Minotaur)
• Snow Angels, by James Thompson (Putnam)
• Damage Done, by Hilary Davidson (Forge)
• The Sherlockian, by Graham Moore (Twelve)


Best Paperback Original:
• The Hanging Tree, by Brian Gruley (Touchstone)
• Expiration Date, by Duane Swierczynski (Minotaur)
• Drive Time, by Hank Phillipi Ryan (Mira)
• Long Time Coming, by Robert Goddard (Bantam)
• Vienna Secrets, by Frank Tallis (Random House)


Best Short Story:
• “The Frame Maker,” by Simon Wood (The Back Alley)
• “Homeless,” by Pat L. Morin (from Mystery Montage; Top)
• “Scent of Lilacs,” by Doug Allyn (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, September/October 2010
• “Swing Shift,” by Dana Cameron (from Crimes by Moonlight, edited by Charlaine Harris; Berkley)
• “The Hitter,” by Chris Holm (Needle Magazine)
• “So Much in Common,” by Mary Jane Maffini (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, September/October 2010


Best Graphic Novel:
• A Sickness in the Family, by Denise Mina (Vertigo Crime)
• Beasts of Burden, by Jill Thompson and Evan Dorkin (Dark Horse)
• Richard Stark’s Parker, Vol. 2: The Outfit, by Darwyn Cooke (IDW)
• The Chill, by Jason Starr (Vertigo Crime)
• Scalped Vol. 6: The Gnawing, by Jason Aaron (Vertigo)
• Tumor, by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Noel Tuazon (Archaia Studios Press)


Best Critical /Non-Fiction (tie for 5th):
• Agatha Christie’s Secret Notebooks: 50 Years of Mysteries in the Making, by John Curran (Harper)
• Thrillers: 100 Must Reads, edited by David Morrell and Hank Wagner (Oceanview Publishing)
• Sherlock Holmes for Dummies, by Steven Doyle and David A. Crowder (Wiley/For Dummies)
• The Wire: Truth Be Told, by Rafael Alvarez (Grove Press)
• Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and His Rendezvous with American History, by Yunte Huang (Norton)


Best Web site/Blog:
• Jen’s Book Thoughts, edited by Jen Forbus
• Stop, You’re Killing Me!, edited by Stan Ulrich and Lucinda Surber
• The Rap Sheet, edited by J. Kingston Pierce
• The Sirens of Suspense
• Spinetingler Magazine, edited by Sandra Ruttan

Hat tip: Bill Crider