Crimespree Magazine

Today we’re joined by Gayle Trent, whose book Dead Pan is being released in November by Bell Bridge Books, a subsidiary of BelleBooks. Dead Pan is the second book in the Daphne Martin cozy mystery series and features an amateur sleuth who is a full-time cake decorator.



In the first book, Murder Takes the Cake, Daphne moved back to her native Virginia and was anxious about starting life over without a husband but with a new career goal. In Dead Pan, Daphne is still getting her business off the ground but has become known as something of a detective to some of the residents of Brea Ridge. When a young man dies after becoming ill (not from the cake, we hope!) at a Christmas party, his mother asks Daphne to help determine what happened.



Jon: Tell us a little more about Dead Pan.



Gayle: When the book opens, a police officer is questioning Daphne about a cake she took to the Brea Ridge Pharmaceutical Company Christmas party. Many people at the party got sick, but most recovered after being treated with a vaccine manufactured by the company. Only one, Fred Duncan, went into a coma and died. Coincidence? Or did somebody have it in for Fred?

Jon: What would you like to overhear people saying about your book?

Gayle: "I laughed so hard when--" A local book club selected Murder Takes the Cake as one of their books; and when I attended the meeting, I was delighted to hear that they thought this or that part was funny. I also love it when people say, "I never guessed ______ was the villain." Also, there was a review where a woman said she loved the main character's relationships with various members of her family--that they were beautifully or realistically drawn. I felt like, "Oooh, she got it!" Actually, I'll take anything that's not negative. :-)

Jon: What inspired you to write Dead Pan?

Gayle: I was reading an article in Wired magazine about clinical drug tests. I did some further investigation, and I came across some fascinating stuff I was able to work into the storyline for Dead Pan.

Jon: Any advice for other writers?

Gayle: Read the genre and the publisher they're interested in writing for. For instance, when my agent pitched my first three chapters of an embroidery mystery to the editor at NAL/Penguin, the editor said she liked it but didn't love it. I needed to revise it to make her love it in order for her to buy the book. I asked my agent who the editor had published recently. With two names in hand, I went to the bookstore and bought two books. I read them and found they were more descriptive than my own books which tend to be more plot driven. I went back, added more description and gave the heroine a bit more spunk, and the book sold. The first one is due to be released in August of 2010. You just have to be flexible.

Jeff VanderMeer

I’ve started this blog entry several times because I’m about to have a noir-influenced novel out after writing several classified strictly as “fantasy—and I’m painfully aware of coming off like “that guy.” You know “that guy”—the writer who switches genres and suddenly he’s also a huge convert to that genre in other ways. He writes articles and does interviews where he pledges his allegiance to his new paradigm and also gives half-arsed opinions on X, Y, and Z...and then six months later he’s on to something else shiny-shiny that catches his eye. Meanwhile, the true insiders—the core readers, reviewers, and influencers in that genre—are rolling their eyes and thinking “this guy doesn’t know crap.” I hate that guy, because I’ve seen that guy come galloping up on his white steed and assailing the ramparts of the fantasy genre more than once—probably about a dozen times. I don’t want to be that guy.



What I do want to say is that I’ve been an avid mystery reader—noir, police procedurals, hardboiled, you name it (although I tend toward the darker stuff)—since I was a teen and first encountered Raymond Chandler. I also reviewed mysteries for Publishers Weekly for seven years, and I can tell you that many times there was no greater joy than that gig, because they sent me fiction by so many writers I’d never read before. I discovered Ken Bruen and John Burdett and newcomer Francis Lin that way. I read so many mysteries between the PW gig and my own reading that when I visited Los Angeles for the first time we were driving down Mulholland and I started getting this strange sense of deja vu. About places and side streets I’d never seen before. Suddenly, I realized that I’d read so many LA detective novels that I was having flashbacks to scenes in books. Is that nuts? Maybe, but it was one of the best literary moments of my life. Totally cracked me up.



Give me a messed up detective (or cop) down on his luck, a difficult, morally ambiguous case with no apparent closure, and a bunch of leads that take him (or her) into the seedy underbelly of a city...and I’m in hog heaven. If it all ends in disaster and our anti-hero manages to just escape with his life, but keeps carrying on carrying on, all the better. Any variation on this works for me, which is why I love Derek Raymond, Ross MacDonald, the early Scudder novels (he was never the same after he got control of his alcoholism), Ray Banks, Mo Hayder’s first two novels, Henning Mankell and Meg Gardiner’s grimmer stuff, and that awesome duo of Maj Sjowall & Per Wahloo who brought us the morose detective Beck. There’s also a certain Mr. Piccirilli—as newbies, we both came out of the horror genre—whose The Cold Spot is an instant neo noir classic for me. Then there are the really cool weird noir writers that excite me: Brian Evenson (Brotherhood of Mutiliation in Last Days, anyone?), Jack O’Connell, Paul Auster.



I like mystery fiction for, well, the mystery, of course, but also because it acknowledges the imperfections of people, institutions, and the world in general. It doesn’t gloss over those aspects of society we’d prefer to forget. Sure, maybe it over-emphasizes or even glamorizes those aspects at times, but it still gives us a window into a side of life with which most of us aren’t familiar. Or maybe I just get joy out of being down there in the grit and the grime without having to take a sucker-punch to the gut myself.





To which you might well say, “Yeah, but w are you doing a guest post for CrimeSpree?” They asked because I’ve written a novel with a fantasy setting that uses a ton of tropes from noir and hardboiled fiction. There’s an impossible murder case, a detective in a tight spot, a girlfriend who might or might not be on the level, a friend who might be an informant—all of which plays out against a visionary fantasy setting with spies and rebels.



I’ve never before written a novel that could legitimately be called “noir” or “neo noir”. Why now? It just happened that way—this particular novel required those elements. But I’m glad because it’s allowed me to express an aspect of my pleasures as a reader that hadn’t previously appeared in my fiction. That gives me a lot of satisfaction, and made me develop some writing chops I didn’t have before.



Of course, it could all go south, couldn’t it? That’d be the noir way—real life mimicking fiction, like sussing out Los Angeles from stuff read in books. But, you know what? If I have to skip town, that’s okay. I can always lie low in the next burg over, maybe even pick up some work as an unlicensed PI. When they find me face-down in that crappy by-the-hour motel right off the highway, I know at the very least you’ll want to find out who did it.


More Here:
http://www.finchthenovel.com/

Here's some of our favorite bookstores and their best sellers for August

Aunt Agatha's:

THE AMATEURS, Marcus Sakey (signing)
THE SILENT HOUR, Michael Koryta (signing)
HEAVEN'S KEEP, WIlliam Kent Krueger
AWAKENING, S.J. Bolton
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, Steig Larson (PB)


Mysterious Bookshop in New York:
Hardcover:
1. The Defector - Daniel Silva
2. Rules of Vengeance - Christopher Reich
3. Rain Gods - James Lee Burke
4. Mortal Friends - Jane Stanton Hitchcock
5. Angel With Two Faces - Nicola Upson

Paperback:
1. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
2. L'Assassin by Peter Steiner
3. Dexter in the Dark by Jeff Lindsay
4. Bury Me Deep by Megan Abbott
5. A Most Wanted Man by John Le Carre


Moonstone Mystery Bookstore:

We have done a bang up business on "The Girl Who Played With Fire."
In paperback, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" is far and away the winner.
After that, "Indian Bride" by Karin Fossum, "Voices" by Arnaldur Indridason.
After that, it's series; e.g., we sold a lot of the Vintage editions of Ross Macdondald's Lew Archer, but not one more than others. Also, Vintage editions of the Martin Beck series by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo.


Mysterious Galaxy:

Dead Until Dark-Charlaine Harris
New Tricks-David Rosenfelt
Secondhand Spirits-Juliet Blackwell
Spackled and Spooked-Jennie Bentley
Lie Down With the Devil-Linda Barnes


Once Upon a Crime

EVIL FOR EVIL
James R. Benn
2009
SOHO Books

Book four in the Billy Boyle WWII series is a real winner. This series has been consistently well written and entertaining.
EVIL FOR EVIL opens with Billy being sent to Northern Ireland to recover some stolen guns and hopefully keep them from falling into the wrong hands. The Germans hope that hostilities in Northern Ireland will distract the British and so Billy’s mission is important on a number of levels. With the help of an undercover operative he investigates but finds many suspects on all sides. The seriousness of his mission escalates as the body count rises.

Benn writes about this era in history like someone who lived it, his research must be intense because the writing is detailed and full. He also does a wonderful job with the mystery neither giving anything away yet playing fair with the reader. Suspenseful to the end. Another great book from Benn.
Jon Jordan

Labels: reviews

They’re Here!!!

Keeping secrets in this house is never easy and when we first heard of Will Dennis’s concept for a format that would marry some of today’s best Comic creators and Mystery writers we were excited beyond belief at Crimespree. And yes, we’ve been beating the drum for a long time… But now finally, tonight, in New York City, the line is launched and Vertigo Crime is a reality.
Two books were heralded in today, Filthy Rich by Brian Azzarello & Dark Entries by Ian Rankin. For our crime fans, the name Rankin means police procedural. For comic fans, you’d be hard pressed to find a writer you’re more familiar with than Mr. Azzarello. The Formula is complete and the mission has begun…

In celebration of tonight’s launch I spent the hour between eight and nine reading Filthy Rich. If this were poker I’d be all in .

It is the story… of a boy… who thinks his life is over. A wunderkind, the next greatest foot ball hero until bad choices and an even badder Dame, Junk is all that… The character is so full of fatal flaws and a less than stellar history that save for the comic environment he’d scream of over indulgence. This book is definitely not that. With Azzarello’s words marrying to Victor Santos’s art this is a classic tale of noir. The difference is between the fabulous dialog and the amazing art there is little interpretation to be done, only story enjoyment with a truth purer than white and a black that will never leave you. You’ll never be in better hands. Every wrong choice is felt, every punch landed.


Rankin is my favorite writer, my favorite Scot man and just a brilliant individual who embraces pop culture more reverently than we here at Crimespree. Dark Entries tells a compelling story from the point of view of one of D.C.’s favorite characters, John Constantine (a.k.a. Hellblazer). Reality TV is hell and in this tale it’s coming to you in the form of a reality show where the haunted house starts being … well… haunted. It’s up to John to save the day. The marriage of art and words in the second title is not, perhaps, as wonderful as in that of Filthy Rich… but then Sir Ian had never written a comic before. Werther Dell’Edrea tries an entirely new concept with Hellblazer art. Would he have dared with a lesser penman at the helm?

Years (and I’m telling you it feels like decades when we’re about to burst with the news) after our first hint of the new line VERTIGO CRIME, tonight they celebrate in New York…. And today, in the mail… an Advanced Reader’s copy of The Chill arrived… written by Jason Starr (PANIC ATTACK) and drawn by Mick Bertilorenzi. This is not a box of our favorite things; This is the conspiracy that will marry the prose and graphic novel form for all of those who prefer a little black in our fiction.

Ruth Jordan



Buy Filthy Rich
Buy Dark Entries

BERKLEY GROUP AUTHOR CHARLAINE HARRIS'S ENTIRE SOOKIE STACKHOUSE SERIES HITS THE AUGUST 9th NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LIST

An Unprecedented Nine Titles - Eight Paperbacks and One Hardcover -
On List Simultaneously

New York, NY (August 5, 2009) - Berkley Publishing Group author Charlaine Harris, the bestselling writer of the Sookie Stackhouse novels that are the basis for HBO's hit television show True Blood, makes an impressive showing on the August 9th, 2009 New York Times Bestseller List with each of the nine books in her series appearing on the list simultaneously.

Eight of the Sookie Stackhouse titles are currently available in paperback and will appear on this Sunday's mass market fiction bestseller list in the following positions:

" #5 Dead Until Dark (Ace Books, 2008)
" #6 From Dead to Worse (Ace Books, 2009)
" #8 Club Dead (Ace Books, 2003)
" #9 Living Dead in Dallas (Ace Books, 2002)
" #11 Dead to the World (Ace Books, 2005)
" #12 Dead as a Doornail (Ace Books, 2006)
" #13 Definitely Dead (Ace Books, 2007)
" #15 All Together Dead (Ace Books, 2008)

Dead and Gone (Ace Books, 2009), the ninth and most recent book in the series, will hold the #11 slot on this weekend's New York Times hardcover fiction bestseller list. The hardcover debuted at #1 on the May 24th bestseller list and has spent a total of 12 weeks (and counting) on the list.

This unprecedented showing comes on the heels of Harris's recent appearance at Comic-Con International in San Diego, CA where she met fans and signed hundreds of books. About 800 fans showed up in hopes of scoring one of 150 tickets to Charlaine's afternoon autographing session on July 24th. The excitement continued the next day when Harris participated in a panel discussion with the cast and creator of True Blood. Harris answered several fan questions and thrilled the audience of 5,000 with the announcement of a new three book contract, promising that Sookie Stackhouse's adventures will continue into 2014.

The Sookie Stackhouse series began in 2001 with the publication of Dead Until Dark. Not a traditional mystery, nor pure fantasy or romance, Dead Until Dark and its sequels broke genre boundaries to appeal to a wide audience of readers. Each subsequent book about the telepathic barmaid and friend to vampires, werewolves, and various other odd creatures, has drawn more readers. There are currently more than 10 million copies of the nine-book series in print in the U.S.- a number that is growing exponentially each week.

Charlaine Harris has been a published novelist for over twenty-five years. A native of the Mississippi Delta, she now lives in southern Arkansas with her husband and family. In addition to the Sookie Stackhouse series, Harris also wrote the Aurora Teagarden and Lily Bard mysteries and is currently working on the Harper Connolly mystery series.

The votes are in the winners have been determined.
Each Category will also have the four runners up, the winners in bold with an asterisk.

Favorite book of 2008
*Trigger City – Sean Chercover*
YELLOW MEDICINE - Anthony Neil Smith
Envy The Night - Michael Koryta
CHASING DARKNESS by ROBERT CRAIS
Toros & Torsos by Craig McDonald



Best in an ongoing series
*CHASING DARKNESS by ROBERT CRAIS*
TRIGGER CITY – Sean Chercover
Toros & Torsos - Craig McDonald
The Duffy Dombrowski Mystery Series by Tom Schreck
Another Thing to Fall – Laura Lippman


Favorite comics writer
*Brian Azzarello*
Tim Broderick
B. CLAY MOORE
Ed Brubaker
Jason Aaron

Favorite original Paperback (mass market or trade)
*Money Shot – Christa Faust*
Severance Package - Duane Swierczynski
GO GO GIRLS – Victor Gischler
The Stolen – Jason Pinter
The Evil That Men Do – Dave White


Favorite Mystery Bookstore

*ONCE UPON A CRIME, Minneapolis *
The Mystery Bookstore – (Los Angeles)
Murder by the book – Houston
Centuries & Sleuths, Forest Park, IL
M IS FOR MYSTERY, San Mateo, California

Congratulations to all nominees and the winners!
And thanks for voting!


And here is the signing schedule for our Chicago Comic Con booth this coming weekend.
Booth # 1433

Friday

Raymond Benson 1:00 – 3:00+
Brian Azzarello – 4:00 – 5:00
Marcus Sakey 4:00 – 5:00
B Clay Moore 2:00-3:00
RD Hall 12:00 – 1:00


Saturday

Raymond Benson 1:00 – 3:00+
Brian Azzarello 2:00 – 3:30
Jason Aaron 11-12
B Clay Moore 11:00 -12:00
Mark Kidwell 3:30 – 4:30
RD Hall 3:30 – 4:30

Sunday:
RD Hall – 12:00 – 1:00


Also, Friday at 4:00 pm there will be a panel moderated by myself with four of our Comics nominees, Brian Azzarello, Jason Aaron, B Clay Moore and Tim Broderick. Also featuring for the first time at a comic convention, Mr. Marcus Sakey, whose new book THE AMETUERS launches on Thursday.

THE ADVOCATE (Echelon) by Teresa Burrell is a nice blend of a legal thriller and the suspense of a fmily secrets mystery. Sabre Orin Brown is a Juvenile court attorney working a messy case custody case that has her digging for answers. Well drawn characters and a plot that grips like a vise grips pliers this is a great beach read.

Tom Bradby’s latest, BLOOD MONEY is a thriller/procedural set on wall street in 1929. Deaths that at first appear to be suicides of bankers soon turn up ties to Lucky Luciano. A well researched and perfectly plotted period book set in new York during a truly exciting time this is a real gem with all the elements need for a perfect crime fiction tale.

CRIMINAL TENDENCIES edited by Lynne Patrick is an anthology from Crème de la Crème (Available from DuFour editions in the US) which is donating some of the proceeds to Breast Cancer research. Among the authors involved are Peter Lovesy, Sophie Hannah, Reginald Hill, Val McDermid, Zoe Sharp and Peter James among others. A forweard by Mark Billingham rounds this out and makes it a damn heavy weight collection.

CROSSING THE CENTERLINE(Echelon) is the debut novel form Allan E. Ansorge. It’s a tightly plotted highly entertaining read that has a great cast of characters, and we do mean characters!. Carl Fletcher is retired from the sheriff’s department after a hit and run accident, now running a chart boat. But after an attempt on his life it looks like the hit and run that killed his fiancée and cost him the use of a leg was no accident. With help from an ex-partner and a crazy old lady among others Carl is going to find the answers. Ansorge has got some skills and they are nicely displayed here. We can’t wait for the next one.

Here in the US we didn’t get enough of a chance to read Iain McDowall as only his first three books were released here. They were damn good and I seek them out from UK sources now. ENVY THE DEAD (Piatkus) is McDowall’s sixth book and it may be his best yet. DI Jacobson and DS Kerr are working a case that started back in the eighties with the murder of Claire Oldham, a girl who was in the middle of protests and anti war actions. Years later her murderer is found to be innocent with new forensics. Someone doesn’t buy it and Martin Grove is shot dead. Jacobson and Kerr must now step in and wade through the past while keeping an eye on the present to find a killer. Dark and extraordinary this book is a real gem, as are McDowall’s earlier books. Find this book, read it and savor every word.

THE EXTRA (Minotaur Books) by Elizabeth Sims is another in her series featuring amateur sleuth Rita Farmer. Working on a movie as an extra dressed like a cop Rita stumbles across an assault and steps in to help. Things lead her back to a place she turned to for help years ago, a mission run by the assault victim’s grandmother, the it’s a different place now and something is wrong. Rita steps in to help. Written with a strong voice and wonderful characters THE EXTRA as a book that goes down easy, like a perfect cup of coffee.

Chris Knopf has quietly been getting better and better with each book and HARD STOP (permanent Press)is really a masterful piece of work. Book four in the series with Sam Acquillo opens with Sam walking in on a burglar. After subduing and stopping the intruder questions ensue and Sam discovers his old boss needs a favor, which would normally be a big NO for Sam, but an attractive offer is made. A missing persons case with corporate ties has Sam with his hands full. Knopf does great characters and he really makes you feel like you are right there in the Hamptons. Wonderful summer read.

HELL’S FIRE (Pegasus Books) was covered last year when it came out in the UK, but it is now out here in the states so there is no excuse not to pick up this great book by Christopher (Chris) Simms. A wonderful dark procedural with religious crimes and secrets that are truly spooky. DI Spicer is a great character and we can’t praise Simms work enough. See in the reviews for his latest UK release.


Religious thrillers can be hit or miss, but THE HOLY BULLET (Putnam) by Luis Miguel Rocha is definitely right on target. Set in the Vatican after the murder of Pope John Paul the first this book races through action with a wide cast including rogue priests, a jaded journalist and secret organizations. This is no Da Vinci Code clone, but a truly wonderful book that is completely engrossing.

Henry Perez makes his debut with KILLING RED (Pinnacle) in spectacular fashion. A reporter is called to death row to interview a man about to be killed for grisly crimes. When he discovers that the crimes are being repeated he’s working against the clock to stop the new horror. Perez writes like a man possessed and this book is a top notch read. We look forward to more from Henry Perez

Has Elmore Leonard ever written a book that wasn’t great reading? I don’t think so. His latest, ROAD DOGS (William Morrow) takes the fun factor up a few notches by bringing together character from three previous books, Jack Foley from OUT OF SIGHT, Dawn Navarro from RIDING THE RAP and Cundo Rey of LABRAVA. Loaded with misadventures in a caper, trust and mistrust and Leonard’s usual wonderful plotting and dialogue this is a pure 100 proof drink of a book.

It is impossible to keep up with all the new authors hitting the market each year. Brett Battles landed smack in the middle of the crime fiction scene with his debut THE CLEANER. His third book, SHADOW OF BETRAYAL (Delecorte) is just out and it is an absolute pleasure to read. Battles has a true gift for writing thrillers and this book should put him on everyone’s list. Jonathan Quinn is a freelance operative who is one of the true good guys. In this latest tale Quinn is brought in to stop a terrorist group abducting kids but the waters are quickly muddied and trust is at a minimum. A true race oagainst time thriller from page one this is a perfect summer read.


SHANGHAIED (Bleak House) is the fourth book from Eric Stone and proves once and for all he is worthy of all the acclaim he’s been getting. Ray Sharp is living in a Hong Kong now controlled by the Chinese and it’s a different world than the one he was used to. SHANGHAIED moves like a speed boat though crystal clear water and this book will grab you and not let go. Nobody is writing books in Asia as well as Stone, and he is a must buy author.

David Morrell has never written a book that I didn’t love and read in almost one sitting. Since moving to Vanguard Press he seems to have revved up the motor into an even higher gear and his last three books were amazing. This summer we have THE SHIMMER shipping in July. An interesting combination of aspects of Close Encounters and conspiracy thrillers we see a man searching for his missing wife who may have been drawn to a strange phenomenon in a small Texas town. Crazed man goes crazy and shoots people, old government secrets unfold and the action never stops. Morrell is THE master of the thriller, period.

Bantam Press UK has just released the latest by Simon Kernick, TARGET. For some reason his first three which were released here didn’t do well enough for St. martin’s to keep publishing them but I will tell you it’s worth your time to find a place in the UK to order from. Kernick is a mad noir genius. The target in question here is a writer named Rob Fallon who during a night of drinking ends up going home with a girl and see her murdered. He escapes and get the police, but she is gone and everything is clean. Is he going nuts or is someone out to get him next? Kernick is someone you really have to read. GET THIS BOOK.

TETHERED(Shaye Areheart Books) came out last year in Hard cover, and is now out in trade from Three Rivers Press, perfect to take with you where ever you may be going. Amy MacKinnon writes a deliberately paced book with some dark aspects to it. Clara Marsh likes her job in a funeral home, but a couple chance encounters put her on to a child pornography ring. Assisting local cop Detective Mike Sullivan, Clara helps to uncover the truth. With a wonderful characters and a easy pace this is a dark but wonderful debut.

Jeff Abbott has been getting better and better with each novel and his latest, TRUST ME(Dutton) is a masterpiece. Encompassing a different perspective on the war on terror, TRUST ME features an analyst who follows terror on the web, Luke Dantry. Luke works quietly at home for his step father tracking groups who may be dangerous. He discovers that he is on to something big when he is taken and left for dead. He is on the run trying to stay ahead of his abductors and find the truth before something horrible happens. Abbott’s writing is truly compelling and the depth of the story makes it important not to read too fast, but it’s also impossible not to. This is a real winner.

Alexandra Sokoloff once again keeps sleep from coming with this “read in one sitting” book. THE UNSEEN (St. Martin’s Press) is set at Duke University and uses the Rhine experiments as it’s spark. Laurel wants to duplicate the experiment but is unaware of just how horribly it ended the first time. Sokoloff has delivered a book that is both suspenseful and creepy as Hell. Read this book, but leave the lights on.


WHERE THE DEAD LAY (Bantam/Transworld UK) is the sequel to last year’s debut by David Levien, CITY OF THE SUN. Ex cop and reluctant PI Frank Behr is back in a case which is very personal. A friend is murdered and there is no evidence, and just as he gets his teeth into the case he is asked to take a job finding two missing detectives from a private firm. Sinking into the underbelly of Indianapolis Frank finds himself in a dark place populated by gamblers, transients and mobsters. Behr is character that will stick with, his troubled past and quest for peace and justice make him a perfect reluctant hero.


Crimespree Issue #31 is available now

You can subscribe here: I need Crimespree

Academy Chicago Re-releases Next Two Titles in Charlie Chan Mystery Series

AVAILABLE NOW:
Behind That Curtain, The Black Camel, The House Without a Key and The Chinese Parrot

“It takes a special kind of wit to resurrect Charlie Chan, as Academy Chicago has done…”
–Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review

Earl Derr Biggers’ crackling six-volume series featuring the clever, chubby Chinese Detective of the Honolulu Police Department continues with the re-release of Behind That Curtain and The Black Camel.

In the third installment, BEHIND THAT CURTAIN (Paperback, 324pp., $14.95, 9780897335843), Charlie Chan finds himself back in San Francisco working with an inspector from Scotland Yard to investigate a series of murders in which each victim is found wearing ominous Chinese slippers.

In THE BLACK CAMEL (Paperback, 337pp., $14.95, 9780897335850), Charlie Chan is aided by a mysterious fortune teller named Tarneverro the Great to solve the murder of a glamorous Hollywood movie star who has been killed on location in Honolulu.

The two remaining Charlie Chan novels will be published this fall by Academy Chicago.

PRAISE FOR ACADEMY CHICAGO’S CHARLIE CHAN RE-RELEASES

“It takes a special kind of wit to resurrect Charlie Chan, as Academy Chicago has done…ingenious puzzle mysteries written by Earl Derr Biggers in the 1920s.” –Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review

“Reading these books is a definite pleasure. Author Biggers is a smooth strategist, clever plotter and keen observer, and the novels give the same escapist tingle as the best of Agatha Christie.” –Burl Burlingame, Honolulu Star-Bulletin

“…the early Chan novels combine solid entertainment value with a quest..to portray both Hawaii’s culture and Asian Americans’ place with in said culture in a positive light.” –Sarah Weinman, Los Angeles Times

“…old-fashioned mystery fun…” –ForeWord Magazine

CHARLIE CHAN NOVELS COMING SOON FROM ACADEMY CHICAGO PUBLISHERS

Labels: Academy Chicago, Charlie Chan, Earl Derr Biggers

MURDER AND MAYHEM IN MUSEKEGO 5

NOVEMBER 14TH

MUSEKEGO PUBLIC LIBRARY

Registration is now open

This year’s line up is as follows:

Megan Abbott
Tasha Alexander
Brian Azzarello
Deb Baker
Cara Black
Michael Black
Jan Burke
James O. Born
C. J. Box
Joanna Slan Campbell
David Case
Sean Chercover
Blake Crouch
Shirley Dammsgaard
Jeffery Deaver
Barry Eisler
Jamie Freveletti
Brent Ghelfi
Andrew Grant
Libby Fischer Hellman
Julie Hyzy
Laura Lippman
Joe Konrath
Michael Koryta
Sam Reaves
Linda Richards
Sandra Ruttan
Marcus Sakey
Tom Schreck
F. Paul Wilson


There will be a Friday night meet and greet with a panel on the 13th at the library.

Saturday will be a series of panels and interviews and registration includes lunch.

Each year this event gets more and more popular so register early!

TO REGISTER YOU CAN GO RIGHT HERE:
http://www.murderandmayheminmuskego.com/murderandmayheminmuskegoregistration.htm

Our latest issue, 31, is at the binders as I type and will be shipping the week of July 13th.

We're really happy with this issue and a big part of that starts on the cover. I'm the first to admit that I love everything written by Brian Azzarello, but July is pretty significant. he has the last trade collection of 100 Bullets out, a short story in Uncage Me, the latest anthology from Jen Jordan (order Uncage Me now!) and his run on Batman in the Wednesday comics has just started. He also has some exciting things coming up and he talks about it right here in Crimespree with our pal Sean Chercover.
Now, as much as I love these guys, I like hanging out with them and I love seeing them around, I would really rather have them both writing all the time so I have more to read, so it was a difficult decision to ask them both to stop writing long enough to do this, but the end result is really something special.

We also have a whole lot of other Crimespree goodness in this issue for you.
Here's the line up:
Editorial By Jen Jordan
News Bites
Ayo Onatade talks about Crimefest
Married Amateur Sleuths by EJ Rand
FICTION- Bullies By Bryon Leigh

BRIAN AZZARELLO Interview by Sean Chercover

Malice Domestic Through New Eyes by Joanna Campbell Slan
FICTION –Murder in the University By Larry Lefkowitz
Interview with Frankie Y Bailey by Jon Jordan
Blake Crouch interviewed By Hank Wagner
The New Black; Sean Black by Interview by Russel D McLean
Footprints: Gerald A Browne byRuth Jordan
Craig’s Joint by Craig McDonald
Dialogue With Declan by Declan Burke
Reed Farrel Coleman
Mickey Mouse Meets Gangster by Christy Hintz
Rosemary Harris Interview by Amy Alessio
Crime and Idiocy-All Nude Edition by Jen Jordan
Eye On Hollywood by Jeremy Lynch
DVD Reviews
Lisa Unger Interview by Jon Jordan
Sunshine and Crime by Michael Lister
Getting Tough for a Change by Chester Campbell
Audio Books coverage
Buzz Bin (what’s on the shelves)
Crimespree on Tap a new feature with authors talking about libations this month by Nate Flexer
Book Reviews

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We're not sitting on our backsides either now that this one is done. I'm in the process of doing 6 interviews, including Mike Carey, Robert Ward, Rick Geary, and more. Ruth is also interviewing Gerald Browne!

We'll be at Bouchercon.
August 6th -9th
We'll also be at Chicago Comic Con, also known as Wizard World Chicago with some of our friends, including Brian Azzarello, Tim Broderick, Jack Kilborn, RD Hall, Mark Kidwell, B. Clay Moore and Jason Aaron and Raymond Benson and Marcus Sakey. We'll have a booth over in the Exhibitor area right as you walk in.

Shout! Factory

I owe someone at the Shout! Factory a thank you. Parker Lewis is one of those show I forgot about but loved watching, and now these lovely people have put it on disc.

Originally airing in September of 1990 Parker Lewis was the perfect lead in to the New Fox network Sunday nights. Parker is a High School junior and he and his buds make the most of everything. It’s kind of a variation on the cool high school kid as seen in Ferris Bueller and other movies, but very quickly it becomes apparent that this is something wholly its own.

A typical episode has them on an adventure and it almost always include the use of cool tech and ingenuity. In episode 11 they duck into a locker to escape something and discover a secret door to an abandoned radio station. They clean it up and go on the air as Radio Free Flamingo, playing classic rock and dispensing advice. Another episode has them trying to help freshman bud Jerry win the Science Fair, not knowing the principal has bet against them.

Part of what makes this work is the cast. Corin Nemec stars as Parker, you may remember him from later in his career when he was in Stephen King’s The Stand, or maybe Stargate SG1. His pals Mikey and Jerry are played by Billy Jayne and Troy W Slaten. The school tough guy is Abraham Benrubi who plays Larry. Benrubi was Jerry on E.R. These four guys together on the screen is magic and always funny. They have great timing together and working together must have been great because they seem to be genuinely friends. The cast is rounded out by principal Musso , Melanie Chartoff, parents played by the hilarious Timothy Stack and Mary Ellen Trainor.

Another piece to the puzzle of why this worked so well was the look of the show that the directors created. Cool angles, creative use of dollies to move characters with the camera and wonderful sound effects added to give it a cartoony feel at times.

I was 26 when this first aired and high school was a bit behind me, but the show brought it all back as did rewatching it on DVD, and it brought back the fun stuff that made me almost miss high school, almost.

There is a feature on the set with up dated interviews with the cast and it’s cool to see their take on the show 19 years later.
All in all I’d call Parker Lewis Can’t Lose a lost gem and I’m glad it’s back and can’t wait for the next set.

Buy Parker Lewis Can't Lose: The Complete First Season

We have a few extra arcs and we're going to use them as prizes.

The next five people to subscribe or renew could win one of the following:

DILLINGER'S WILD RIDE - non fiction
Steve Martini - GUARDIAN OF LIES
Allan Guthrie - THE SLAMMER
Chris Grabenstein - MIND SCRAMBLER
Libby Hellman (editor) - CHICAGO BLUES


First five and then these are out the door.

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I've been a fan of these books since I first stumbled across THE MYSTERY OF MARY ROGERS a few years ago at Once Upon A Crime bookstore in Minneapolis. I recognized the artwork right away as Rick Geary and that alone was enough to make me pick it up, and then I saw that he was doing graphic novels based on true crime stories and I was hooked.

NBM/ComicsLit has a whole series of these books, listed on the website.

The latest is FAMOUS PLAYERS and is a true Hollywood mystery surrounding the still unsolved case of William Desmond Taylor's murder. Taylor was a director back in the golden age of cinema and was making a real name for himself at the time the studios were just becoming powerful and forming companies we still know today. He was found dead on his living room floor by a man servant and from the beginning it looks like the case was destined to be unsolved. Suspects are plentiful, but sloppy police work and a lack of authority over the studios and the minions of Hollywood doomed the case from the start.

Geary in FAMOUS PLAYERS, like his other works in this line does his homework. He takes facts from numerous sources and gels them into a single narrative to give us as coomplete a picture as he can. I appreciate that he doesn't seem to pick any foavorites as to who may have actually done the deed.
The artwork, also by Geary has a comfortable feel to it and no one looks really sinister, hich aids in the who really done it appeal of the book. It's all line art and he brings a depth to the wrok that is easy to get lost in.


These books are all wonderful and they are books that I have re-read a number of times. I also think that they would really appeal to fans of Max Allan Collins series with Nate Heller.

If you enjoy true crime, mysteries, or just great comics, check these out, and start with Famous Players.

Buy Famous Players, the Mysterious Death of William Desmond Taylor (Treasury of Victorian Murder (Graphic Novels))
Also available :
Buy Jack the Ripper
Buy The Mystery of Mary Rogers
Buy The Lindbergh Child
Buy The Fatal Bullet
Buy The Beast of Chicago: An Account of the Life and Crimes of Herman W. Mudgett
Buy The Borden Tragedy

You’ve been to the gas pump and the price is still hovering at 50 dollars a tank and not the seventy you’ve been afraid of. Spring was cold with the only advantage being those gas and electric bills were low despite increased cost. Fresh produce is here and that means the grocery bills have taken a dip. What am I getting at? Well, none of us have extra money right now, but for those of us who’ve planned out how much we’re going to need, it almost feels like there’s a surplus flowing (at least and heaven forbid until the truck says I’ve had enough). So buy a book. Did you pick up the Connelly or the Child yet? Are you caught up with Sookie Stackhouse? Last week hubby picked up the Entertainment Weekly, looked at the best sellers and declared, “Holy S8#t, look at this list, It’s true when all goes to pot, people turn to the Crime Novel.”

But go beyond that best seller list, help create a strong sales base for a great book.



TREAT YOURSELF; Out this week is TRUST NO ONE by Gregg Hurwitz. Jon gave you his opinion right here and my review is in the magazine for all to see. Those of you who know of my penchant for this writer may be going what else do you recommend Ruth? Ready to move on. But let me say again, a writer I’ve loved from the beginning has hit a stride. The story is about a man who’s been escaping his past for half a life time. Full of politics, terrorist threats, a “non” love story, and a past that may not be as it seems, Hurwitz plays every chord and you’ll kick yourself if you miss it. This book, is for me, like Rankin’s BLACK BOOK, Lippman’s SUGARHOUSE. When I read it months’ ago I facebooked and people agreed, Hurwitz has hit the mainstream while remaining true to himself as a writer.
Get Trust No One

And now you can get a signed copy of Greg Rucka’s WALKING DEAD. He’s been on an abbreviated tour, due entirely to the economy. Go to his website for a list of bookstores with signed copies. This book sits with me still and for anyone who loves a great mystery is a must book.
Get Walking Dead

Also, if you’re a Jeffrey Deaver fan and even if you’re not ROADSIDE CROSSES is a must read. I’m always wary of saying, “It’s my favorite in forever” but if you’re a Deaver fan you’ll understand. His books hit different points and in this book about the blogosphere he peppers information with a great mystery in perfect proportions.
Get Roadside Crosses

Once again I’ll mention the Adrian McKinty’s FIFTY GRAND. Here’s a writer with chops to spare. This book, about a murder in Colorado and its international repercussions will win over anyone not already a fan.

Get Fifty Grand


And I’ve been working on a piece about Elaine Viets for two months now. Why isn’t it done? Well, every time I get stuck in my “article” I pick up another book. For those of you who like a great cozy, everything this woman has written is outstanding. Pick up her newest, KILLER CUTS and visit the blog again, I should get this article done before too much longer. I only have three books...
Get Killer Cuts: A Dead-End Job Mystery

We get a lot of books to review. More and more lately we are getting true crime books. Strange I know, a magazine called Crimespree getting true crime books. I've been a reader of true crime since right after I started reading fictional crime. Some of it's quite well done, other screams of sensationalism. I know longer get those paperbacks at the grocery store with a few black and white photos in the middle, I find most of them bore me. I do still enjoy the bigger books and the famous cases.

Here's a few we've been sent recently.

My number one pick came in last year but I loved it. Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34 from Penguin is a great book. Hell, it inspired a movie and stars Johnny Depp. There are a lot of Dillinger books out there, some good, some not so much. But this book does more than report facts, it tells the story. It is a terrific look at one of America's most notorious outlaws. See the movie, but read the book!
BUY Public Enemies RIGHT NOW!!!

EVIL is a over sized trade paperback with a gorgeous layout. It covers cases from Abe Lincoln to the unabomber and all points in between. Lots of photos connecting it all and it has a real nice angle on the cases presented. It's from Hammond a division of Langenscheidt Publishing and is written by Colin Wilson with Damon Wilson. Wilson and Wilson will turn up with a long list if you Google books they've done and they are obviously authorities on true crime. I especially love the suggested reading at the back.
BUY - Evil: Spine Tingling Stories of Murder and Mayhem (Hammond Atlas)


THE MAD ONES is a book by Tom Folsom from Weinstein books. The story of hipster mob boss Joe Gallo. At his peak in the 60's and 70's Gallo was a unique man and this book seems to celebrate that. Maybe too much, maybe not. But it is informative and interesting and really entertaining. And like all good true crime, loaded with photos. Cool photos daddy-io.
BUY The Mad Ones: Crazy Joe Gallo and the Revolution at the Edge of the Underworld





WYATT EARP SPEAKS (Fall River) is written by Wyatt Earp and friends and edited by John Richard Stephens. A look at the other side of crime this book uses Wyatt's own words to tell his tales and it's a great look at the realities of the legend. I've sen the movies and liked a lot of them, but finding the truth behind the fiction was satisfying and actually makes me respect the man more. This would be a great book to give a s a gift.
Buy Wyatt Earp Speaks!






MURDERS UNSPEAKABLE by Georgina Lloyd is a book for die hard fans of true crime. It didn't grab me, and not just because it has no photos. It's dry and it is rather typical of the books I stopped buying. It seems like sensationalism to me. I do like the cover. And I'm not saying don't buy it, but this really is only for the true aficionados.

Crimespree is now available to download to your kindle
Issue 29
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Issue 30
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Both are up now, with more to come.

UpDate: My 2003 book, INTERROGATIONS is now on kindle as well
Download INTERROGATIONS

Labels: Kindle

Here are a few of the fine books coming from Minotaur Books this summer.
Also keep your eyes open for Joseph Finder's VANISHED in Aug!

THE ASSAILANT by James Patrick Hunt is a police procedural which is a study in suspense. While tracking a killer Lt. Hastings is frustrated by slow movement on the case, so is the killer who decides to move things a long by contacting the police. Escorts are dropping and Hastings needs to put a stop to this cat and mouse game with a suspect whop enjoys what he does a little too much. Dark fun with great characters.
Buy the The Assailant
Buy last summer book by Hunt; Goodbye Sister Disco




AWAKENING by S.J. Bolton is everything I love about British books, Gothic and creepy, great characters and a wonderful small village setting.Clara Benning lives and works in a small village as a vet for wild animals. She likes her job and is good at it working day to day saving badgers and other critters injured in the area. The book opens with a typical starting day going south quickly as she is called in to rescue an infant from a venomous snake. She soon discovers that there is a rash of the snake incidents and there is obviously something behind them besides nature striking back, this is confirmed when she captures a deadly snake native only to Australia. She teams up with a strange neighbor to discover what is going on and as it’s a small town feathers are ruffled as they uncover some old secrets. Danger ensues. Bolton is a strong writer and this story drew me in quick because the characters are compelling and real. She does a job with the suspense worthy of Hitchcock and keeps you on edge right to the end. She also manages to make feel damn uneasy and , well the only word for it is squirmy. A truly masterful piece of work.
Buy Awakening
Buy her first book; Sacrifice

Steve Hockensmith's series with Big Red and Old Red solving mysteries out west because they love Sherlock Holmes is such a great series. Book four is out in Huky and it is another winner. The boys are heading to Texas to find out what really happened to a girlfriend who was murdered.
You can Buy The Crack in the Lens
and his earlier books as well
Buy Holmes on the Range
Buy On the Wrong Track
Buy The Black Dove



DOPE THIEF by Dennis Tafoya is a crime fiction book that plays on the idea that if you rob bad guys they won't go to the cops. The main characters Ray and Manny aren't hardened criminals and it is easy to want to like them. But like most plans of this sort things go wrong. Tafoya does a nice job of increasing the tension with our boys on the run and wronged drug dealers on their tail. The book also explores the whys of the criminal endeavor and lets us look in to the Ray's head to see his reasons for taking this crazy chance.
A very nice debut novel for this author.
Buy Dope Thief


THE EXTRA (Minotaur Books) by Elizabeth Sims is another in her series featuring amateur sleuth Rita Farmer. Working on a movie as an extra dressed like a cop Rita stumbles across an assault and steps in to help. Things lead her back to a place she turned to for help years ago, a mission run by the assault victim’s grandmother, the it’s a different place now and something is wrong. Rita steps in to help. Written with a strong voice and wonderful characters THE EXTRA as a book that goes down easy, like a perfect cup of coffee. This is on the heels of last year's The Actress.
Buy The Extra (A Rita Farmer Mystery)
Buy The Actress (A Rita Farmer Mystery)



LAST KNOWN ADDRESS is the latest from Theresa Schwegel. Detective Sloane Pearson is a cop who is used to getting treated like she's inferior because she's blond, but in her latest case she does a bit more to cause problems at work. In particular while working a rape case she tells a reporter that they have a serial rapist on the loose and causes a panic. The only thing she can do to redeem herself is catch the bad guy.
Schwegel is a great new author and this latest is fast paced and edge of your seat reading.
Buy Last Known Address
Get her earlier books too:
Buy Probable Cause
Buy Officer Down
Buy Person of Interest


Alexandra Sokoloff once again keeps sleep from coming with this “read in one sitting” book. THE UNSEEN (St. Martin’s Press) is set at Duke University and uses the Rhine experiments as it’s spark. Laurel wants to duplicate the experiment but is unaware of just how horribly it ended the first time. Sokoloff has delivered a book that is both suspenseful and creepy as Hell. Read this book, but leave the lights on.
Buy The Unseen
Also by Alexandra: Buy The Harrowing Buy The Price

We're celebrating 5 years of Crimespree and as part of that we're offering a special offer

If you subscriber or renew your subscription before June 10th we'll add an extra issue to your subscription and enter you to win a cool and styling Crimespree T shirt.

You can become a subscriber here: http://www.crimespreemag.com/subscribe.html

Here's what the publisher has to say:

Legendary comic writer Mark Waid teams up with the critically-acclaimed artist of BOOM!'s own hit, TALENT!, Paul Azaceta. Outside New York City is Potter's Field, where the unnamed dead are buried. Now, a mysterious man has taken it upon himself to name the unnamed in this cemetery! Using a network of underground operatives who don't know each other, he fights to save the unsaved and solve the mysteries of the unjustly slain!

What I've got to say is that I love this book. Mark Waid must surely love the same crime fiction I do, either that or we share a birth sign or something. This is the kind of story I love.

A man who is referred to only as John Doe has taken it upon himself to discover who is buried in the unmarked graves in New York's Potter's Field. He also then avenges their deaths. Part of doing this includes our mystery man having a network of people who he calls upon for help, a device used by The Shadow and other great heroes. But because of the skills that Waid has our man isn't necessarily a hero, but maybe a man driven by his own past to atone for something. he's at once complex and yet easy to understand. A true conundrum of a character. His skills at solving these mysteries is classic PI style detective work and his solutions resemble that of some of my favorite complex character from crime fiction.

The artwork is wonderfully moody and gitty and perfect for this. Paul Azaceta is really going to be a name people recognize more and more.

I hope to see a lot more of this series. This hardcover collects Potter's Field #1-3 and Potters Field: Stone Cold and it's published by BOOM! STUDIOS

Buy Potter's Field