Mystery Morsels

The San Francisco Chronicle Online featured the article "S.F. is crime central - on the printed page," which starts with the premise that modern crime fiction was born in a small apartment at 891 Post St. in San Francisco,  where Dashiell Hammett wrote The Maltese Falcon, and proceeds with the sweeping statement that "A case can easily be made that more crime fiction is now produced in the Bay Area than in any other metropolitan region in the world." Well maybe, maybe not, and I'm sure other cities like New York or Chicago might take exception to that, but San Fran does boast Bill Pronzini, Marcia Muller, Jerry Kennealy, Joe Gores, Mark Coggins, Renay Jackson, Cornelia Read, Domenic Stansberry, Rhys Bowen, Jim Nisbet, Robin Burcell, Tim Maleeny, Jacqueline Winspear, and David Corbett, among others. Corbett doesn't believe he'd be as productive anywhere else. "I couldn't do this in my hometown of Columbus, Ohio," he says. "I would either have killed myself from boredom by now or gone on a homicidal rampage."

From San Fransisco moving across the Bay (St. Andrew's Bay), Scotland on Sunday interviewed author Stuart MacBride about his latest book, Flesh House, which features a serial killer and some graphic details, unusual procedure for him. "I try to make each novel as different as I can," he explained. "Previously I have done very little 'on-screen' violence. It's been alluded to and then we see the aftermath, and how it affects people. This is the first time it's been done 'on screen' and I'm a little worried to see how it's gone down. One of my test readers had nightmares for weeks afterwards." The article points out how MacBride has been grouped with contemporaries Alan Guthrie and Alex Gray under the "tartan noir" label, which he's come to accept. "There is quite a distinctive feel to Scottish crime fiction," he says. "Very darkly comedic stuff comes through, combined with a strong suspicion of authority."