In Reference to Murder

Book Signing Roundup

Here's the latest monthly roundup of author book signing events at mystery book stores around the U.S. and Canada (for dates at chain stores and other venues, check out booktour.com and similar sites). Be sure and double-check dates and times with individual bookstores, as events are subject to change.

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Aunt Agatha's
Ann Arbor, MI

Author: Steve Hamilton
Title:  The Lock Artist
Event Time: Saturday, January 16, 2010 at 1:30 p.m. 

Author:  Alan Gordon
Title: The Parisian Prodigal
Event Time: Monday, January 25, 2010 at 7 p.m. 

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Book 'Em
South Pasadena, CA

Author:  Steve Hamilton
Title: The Lock Artist
Event Time:  Saturday, January 9, 3:30 p.m.

Author:  Robert Crais
Title: The First Rule
Event Time: Sunday, January 31, 4:00 p.m. 

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Booked for Murder
Madison, WI

Author:  Steve Hamilton
Title:  The Lock Artist
Event Time: Thursday, January 21, 3 p.m. drop-by

Author: Lou Berney
Title: Gutshot Straight
Event Time: Tuesday, January 26, 6 p.m.

Author:  Robin Burcell
Title:  The Bone Chamber
Event Time:  Friday, January 29, 6 p.m.
 
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Centuries and Sleuths
Forest Park, IL

Author:  Frances McNamara
Title: Death at the Fair and Death at Hull House
Event Time: Sunday, January 10, 3:00 p.m. 

Author:  Steve Hamilton
Title: The Lock Artist 
Event Time: Friday, January 22, 7:00 p.m. 

Authors:  Barbara D'Amato / Jeanne M. Dams / Mark R. Zubro
Title: Foolproof
Event Time: Saturday, January 23, 1:00 p.m.

Authors:  David Heinzmann & Lee J. Williams
Title:  A Word to the Wise
Event Time:  Sunday, January 24, 2:00 p.m. 

Author: Alan Gordon 
Title:  The Parisian Prodigal
Event Time:  Tuesday, January 26,  7:00 p.m.

Author:  Troy Taylor
Title:  Murder & Mayhem on Chicago's North Side
Event Time: Friday, January 29,  7:00 p.m.
 
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Clues Unlimited
Tucson AZ

Author:  Lori Armstrong
Title: No Mercy 
Event Time: Wednesday, January 27th at 7:00 p.m.

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M is for Mystery
San Mateo, CA
 
Author: Jasper Fforde
Title: Shades of Grey 
Event Time: Saturday, January 9th at 2 p.m.

Author: John Lescroart
Title:  Treasure Hunt
Event Time:  Wednesday, January 20th, at 7 p.m.

Author:  Jeri Westerson
Title:  Serpent in the Thorns
Event Time:   Saturday, January 23rd at 2 p.m.

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Murder by the Book
Houston, TX

Author:  Stephen Hunter
Title: I, Sniper  
Event Time: Monday, January 4, 6:30 p.m.

Author: Tami Hoag
Title:  Deeper than the Dead 
Event Time:  Tuesday, January 5, 6:30 p.m.

Author:  Lou Berney
Title:  Gutshot Straight
Event Time:  Thursday, January 7, 6:30 p.m.

Author:  Robin Burcell
Title: The Bone Chamber 
Event Time:  Saturday, January 9, 5:00 p.m. 

Authors:  T. Jefferson Parker / Steve Hamilton
Title: Iron River  /  The Lock Artist 
Event Time:  Monday, January 11, 6:30 p.m.

Author: Robert Crais
Title:  The First Rule
Event Time: Saturday, January 16, 5:00 p.m. 

Author:  John Lescroart
Title: Treasure Hunt 
Event Time:  Sunday, January 17, 2:00 p.m.

Author:  Douglas Preston
Title:  Impact  
Event Time: Monday, January 18, 6:30 p.m. 

Authors:  Steve Berry / James Rollins 
Title: The Paris Vendetta  /  Altar of Eden
Event Time:  Tuesday, January 19, 6:30 p.m. (off-site)

Author:  Charles Todd
Title:  The Red Door
Event Time: Thursday, January 21, 6:30 p.m.  

Author:  Charlie Huston
Title:  Sleepless
Event Time:  Friday, January 22, 6:30 p.m.

Author:  Ridley Pearson
Title:  Various
Event Time:  Monday, January 25, 6:30 p.m.

Author:  Jeffrey Siger
Title:  Assassins of Athens 
Event Time: Tuesday, January 26, 6:30 p.m. 

Author:  Sarah Graves 
Title:  Crawl Space
Event Time:  Thursday, January 28, 6:30 p.m.

Authors:  James W. Hall / Bob Morris
Title:  Silencer  /  Baja Florida
Event Time:  Saturday, January 30, 5:00 p.m.
 
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Murder on the Beach
Delray Beach, FL

Author:  W.E.B. Griffin
Title:   Honor of Spies
Event Time: Thursday, January 7, at 2 p.m.

Author:  Deborah Shlian / Diane Stuckart
Title: Dead Air /  Bolt From the Blue 
Event Time: Friday, January 8, 7 p.m.

Author:  Tami Hoag
Title:  Deeper Than the Dead
Event Time: Tuesday, January 12, 7 p.m.

Author:  James Hall 
Title:  Silencer
Event Time: Wednesday, January 20, 7:30 p.m.

Author: Robert Crais 
Title:  The First Rule
Event Time: Saturday, January 23, 6 p.m.
 
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Mysteries and More
Nashville, TN

Author: Alan Gordon 
Title:  The Parisian Prodigal
Event Time:  Wednesday, January 27, 6:30 p.m.

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Mysterious Galaxy
San Diego, CA

Author:  Kris Neri
Title: High Crimes on the Magical Plane  
Event Time:  Thursday, January 7, time TBA

Author:  John Crowley
Title: Various
Event Time: Friday, January 8, time TBA 

Author: Daniel Suarez
Title:  Freedom
Event Time: Saturday, January 9, time TBA 

Author:  T. Jefferson Parker
Title: Iron River
Event Time: Sunday, January 10, time TBA 

Author: Steve Hamilton
Title:  The Lock Artist 
Event Time: Sunday, January 10, time TBA

Author:  John Lescroart
Title: Treasure Hunt (The Hunt Club) 
Event Time: Friday, January 15, time TBA   

Author: Carrie Vaughn
Title:  Kitty's House of Horrors
Event Time:  Saturday, January 16, time TBA

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Mystery Bookstore
Los Angeles, CA
 
Author: T. Jefferson Parker 
Title:  Iron River
Event Time:  Friday, January 8 at 7:00 p.m.

Author: Kris Neri
Title:  High Crimes on the Magical Plane
Event Time:  Saturday, January 9 at 1:30 p.m.

Author: Lou Berney
Title: Guthsot Straight
Event Time:  Saturday, January 16 at 3:00 p.m.. 

Author: Harley Jane Kozak 
Title: Dead Ex and others
Event Time:  Wednesday, January 20 at 6:30 p.m.  (off-site)

Author:  Robert Crais
Title: The First Rule
Event Time:  Friday, January 29 at 7:00 p.m.

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Mystery Company
Carmel, IN 

Author: Alan Gordon 
Title:  The Parisian Prodigal
Event Time: Sunday, January 24, 2 pm

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Mystery Lovers Bookshop
Oakmond, PA

Author:  Sandra Ruttan
Title:  Lullaby for the Nameless
Event Time:  Saturday, Jan. 16, 2010 Coffee & Crime Breakfast, 10 a.m.

Author:  Alan Gordon
Title: The Parisian Prodigal
Event Time: Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010 Coffee & Crime Breakfast, 10 a.m. 

Author:  Sarah Graves
Title: Crawlspace 
Event Time: Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010 Coffee & Crime Breakfast, 10 a.m.  

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Once Upon a Crime Books
Minneapolis, MN

Author: Zachary Lazar
Title:   Evening's Empire
Event Time: Tuesday, January 12, 7 p.m. 

Author:  Steve Hamilton
Title:  The Lock Artist
Event Time: Wednesday, January 20, 7 p.m.

Author:  Lou Berney
Title:  Gutshot Straight
Event Time:  Monday, January 25 - 7 p.m.

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Partners & Crime
Greenwich, NY

Author: Jasper Fforde
Title:   Shades of Grey
Event Time:  Tuesday, January 5, at 7 p.m.

Author: Steve Hamilton 
Title:  The Lock Artist
Event Time:  Wed, January 6, at 5 p.m.

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Poisoned Pen
Scottsdale, AZ

Author:  Tami Hoag
Title: Deeper Than the Dead
Event Time:  Monday, January 4, 7 p.m. 

Author:  Robin Burcell / Steve Hamilton
Title: The Bone Chamber / The Lock Artist
Event Time:  Friday, January 8, 7 p.m. 

Author:  Charlie Huston / T. Jefferson Parker
Title:  Sleepless /  Iron River
Event Time:  Tuesday, January 12,  7 p.m. 

Author:  Stephen Coonts / Stephen Hunter
Title:   The Disciple / I, Sniper 
Event Time: Wednesday, January 13,  7 p.m.  

Author: Douglas Preston / John Lescroart
Title:  Impact / Treasure Hunt
Event Time:  Saturday, January 16,  2 p.m.

Author: James Rollins / Steve Berry
Title: Altar of Eden / The Paris Vendetta
Event Time: Monday, January 18,  7 p.m.

Author: Charles Todd
Title:  Red Door 
Event Time: Wednesday, January 20,  7 p.m. 

Author: Sarah Graves
Title:  Crawlspace
Event Time: Wednesday, January 27,  7 p.m. 

Author:   Lori Armstrong
Title: No Mercy
Event Time: Thursday, January 28,  7 p.m.   

Author:  Jeffrey Siger / Brian Freeman
Title:  Assassins of Athens / In the Dark
Event Time: Sunday, January 31,  2 p.m.

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Seattle Mystery Bookshop
Seattle, WA

Author: Wendy Roberts
Title: Dead and Kicking 
Event Time:  Saturday, January 9, noon

Author:  Robert Crais
Title: The First Rule   
Event Time:   Wednesday, January 13, noon

Author:  Lou Berney
Title: Gutshot Straight 
Event Time: Wednesday, January 20, noon,

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Vrooman's
Pasadena, CA

Author: Susan Kandel 
Title:  Dial H for Hitchcock
Event Time:  Tuesday, January 5 - 7:00 p.m.

Author: T. Jefferson Parker 
Title:   Iron River
Event Time:   Thursday, January 7 - 7:00 p.m.

Author:  Jasper Fforde
Title:  Shades of Grey 
Event Time:  Monday, January 11 - 7:00 p.m.

Author:   Robert Crais
Title:  The First Rule
Event Time:  Friday, January 15 - 7:00 p.m.

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END

New Mystery & Crime Fiction Novels Coming in January 2010

Due to the holidays and the large number of new releases coming out in January, I'm foregoing the usual annotated listing of books, but will point you to the several sites below that have all the details. Note there are new titles from M.C. Beaton, Robert Crais, Martin Edwards, Leighton Gage, James W. Hall, Steve Hamilton, Joan Hess, Charlie Huston, Julie Hyzy, Bill James, G.M. Malliet, T. Jefferson Parker, and the last book by the late Stuart Kaminsky, eerily titled A Whisper to the Living, featuring Inspector Rostnikov.

Here are the lists: 

Books N Bytes

Powells Books

The Bloodstained Bookshelf

Fantastic Fiction

Stop, You're Killing Me

Cozy Mysteries

Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore

Farewell and Good Night

Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality.
--Emily Dickinson

 

Here are some of the many bright lights we lost from the world of crime fiction in 2009:

Paul S. Anik, d. January 30. Co-founder of We're Dying To Meet Your Mystery Book Club in the west San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, and a book reviewer for"I Love A Mystery" Newsletter. He was 54.

J. G. Ballard, d. April 19. He wrote mostly in the sci-fi realm but he straddled the crime fiction genre, and some of his stories and books revolved around crime and violence. He was 78. 

Jay Bennett, d. June 27.  He won two consecutive Edgar Awards in the juvenile mystery category for The Long Black Coat and The Dangling Witness. Although mostly a YA author, he wrote adult mysteries such as So Sweet, So Wicked. He was 96.

James Brady, d. January 26. Perhaps best known for his long-time column in Parade magazine and as a magazine publisher, he also wrote four Beecher Stowe mystery novels set in the Hamptons. He was 80. 

Ray Browne, d. October 22.  He and his wife launched Clues: A Journal of Detection,  with academic articles on mystery fiction and writers. He was 87.

Hortense Calisher, d. January 13. She wrote primarily lilterary novels and short stories but also penned one mystery novel under the pen name Jack Fenno, The Small Bang. She was 97. 

Jacques Chessix, d. October 9. A Swiss writer who was also a poet, painter and essayist, his 22 novels wove elements of genre fiction into them, exploring the hidden dark, violent, often scandalous side of Swiss culture. He was 75.

Michael Cox, d. March 31. He wrote both nonfiction and was an editor of The Oxford Book of Victorian Detective Stories and of The Oxford Book of Spy Stories. He also wrote two crime novels set in Victorian England. He was 60.

Charles "Chuck" Crayne, d. February 16. He was a founder of the Bouchercon mystery conference. He was 71.

Lionel Davidson, d. October 21.  An ex-journalist, he won three Gold Dagger awards from The Crime Writers Association of Britain for Night of Wenceslas, A Long Way to Shiloh, and The Chelsea Murder. He also received the 2001 Cartier Diamond Dagger from CWA. He also wrote children's novels under the pseudonym of David Line. He was 87. 

Dominick Dunne, d. August 26. He was a Hollywood producer and writer who wrote about celebrity trials and penned books based on true crimes, such as The Two Mrs. Grenvilles, A Season in Purgatory, and Another City, Not My Own. He was 83. 

Philip Jose Farmer, d. February 25.  Known primarily as a science fiction writer, he also wrote mystery short stories and novels such as The Image of the Beast and The Adventure of Peerless Peer. He was 91.

Celia Fremlin, d. June 16. She won the Edgar for her first novel, The Hours Before Dawn and went on to publisher several other novels and short stories, collected in three volumes. She was 94. 

Lyn Hamilton, d. September 10. She wrote mystery novels featuring an antiques dealer (The Xibalba Murders), and several in the McClintoch archaeology series. She was 65. 

Jane Aiken Hodge, d. June 17. The American-born British writer authored a number of romantic historical novels but also contemporary mysteries like Strangers in Company and Deathline. She also penned a biography of Georgette Heyer. She was 91. 

Hans Holzer, d. April 26.  He authored well over 100 books on the supernatural and occult, including a nonfiction book on which one of the Amityville movies was based. He also wrote three mystery novels featuring psychic detective Randy Knowles. He was 89.

Roy Hoopes, d. December 1. He won the Edgar Award in the Critical/Biographical category for his biography of James M. Cain. He was 87.

Jack D. Hunter, d. April 13. The former WWII US Army counterintelligence officer wrote The Blue Max, later made into a movie starring George Peppard. He also wrote other books featuring that same protagonist, German pilot Bruno Stachel, as well as over a dozen other spy/action thrillers. He was 87.

H. Paul Jeffers, d. December 4. He wrote three novels in the Harry MacNeil private eye series and three in the St. John Bogdanovic police detective series. He also penned the Nick Chase series under the pen name Harry Paul Lonsdale and the Kate Fallon series using the M. T. Jefferson pseudonym. He was 75. 

J. D. F. Jones, d. March 4. An editor at The Financial Times, he also wrote three thrillers under the pen name of  David Jordan, featuring Tom Kane and Condon.  He was 69. 

Thierry Jonquet, d. August 12. The French author was known for roman noir and juvenile books. One of his novels, City Lights Noir, has been translated into English and is in development by film director Pedro Almodovar. He was 55. 

Stuart Kaminsky, d October 9. He won the 1989 best novel Edgar from the MWA for A Cold Red Sunrise, featuring the Moscow Police Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov, and had several other series characters including Toby Peters, a 1940's Hollywood private eye; Abe Lieberman, an old Chicago cop; and Lew Fonesca, process server. He also wrote tie-in novels for CSI: New York and the Rockford Files, and served as Grandmaster of the Mystery Writers of America in 2006. He was 75.

Norman Katkov, d. September 13. He was a screenwriter for many well-known TV shows such as Mission Impossible, Ironside, and Mannix, but also wrote crime novels including Blood and Orchids and The Judas Kiss. He was 91.

Elmer Kelton, d. August 22. He mostly wrote westerns, but many of those were crime-oriented. He was 83. 

Jack Lewis, d. May 24. In addition to be a screenwriter, movie stuntman, and co-founder of Gun World magazine, he wrote several western novels and four mystery novels, one featuring journalist Sam Light and three featuring stuntman Charlie Cougar. He was 84.

Hugh Leonard, d. February 12.  Famous as a writer of Da and other plays, he also wrote crime plays such as Kill and The Mask of Moriarty (a Sherlockian pastiche). He was 82.

Larry Maddock (the pen-name of Jack Jardine), d. April 14. He penned sci-fi novels and mystery stories for Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine during the 60's and also authored four novels in the Agent of T.E.R.R.A. series, featuring time-traveling secret agent Hannibal Fortune and his alien associate Webley. He was 77. 

Malcolm MacPherson, d. January 17.  He was a former Newsweek reporter who wrote several non-fiction books as well as crime novels such as the neo-Nazi thriller Protege, the computer techno-thriller The Lucifer Key, and Deadlock, a courtroom thriller. He was 65. 

Norma Fox Mazer, d. October 16. Author of more than 25 books for young adults and children, she received two Lewis Carroll Shelf Awards, a Newbery Honor Book award, and an Edgar Award in the juvenile mystery fiction category for Taking Terri Mueller. She was 78.

John Mortimer, d. January 16. He started his career as a famous barrister in the UK and went to write several screenplays and TV plays. He also wrote a number of novels and short stories, including the bestselling Horace Rumpole of the Old Bailey series. He was 85. 

Paul Nathan, d. December 12. He was a columnist for Publishers Weekly but also wrote short stories, articles, mystery novels (the Bert Swain series), and plays including Ricochet which won the 1981 Edgar in the play category. He was 96.

Sister Carol Anne O'Marie, d. May 27. She was a nun of Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in Los Angeles and the author of the Sister Mary Helen mystery novels. She was 75. 

Barbara Parker, d. March 7. Her first suspense novel, Suspicion of Innocence was her master's thesis and featured Miami lawyers Gail Connor and Anthony Quintana. She authored seven additional "Suspicion" novels and five stand-alones. She was 62.

James Pattinson, d. October 18. The prolific British author wrote more than 100 books of thrillers and sea novels, including a couple of series characters, Sam Grant and Harvey Landon. He was 94. 

Lawrence Payne, d. February 23. He first rose to fame as detective Sexton Black on British TV, then at 40, turned to writing crime novels featuring three series protagonists: Chief Inspector Sam Birkett; John Tibbet, a British amateur sleuth; and Mark Savage, a British private eye in London. He was 89. 

Gordon Philo, d. January 24. A respected Secret Intelligence Service officer, he also wrote mysteries under the pseudyonum Charles Forsyte  with his wife Vicky Galsworthy, featuring Inspector Richard Left. Forsyte also penned The Decoding of Edwin Drood, completing Charles Dickens's unfinished novel. He was 89. 

James Purdy, d. March 13.  He wrote over two dozen novels, including crime novels, such as Malcolm and Cabot Wright Begins. He was 94. 

Diana Raymond, d. February 16. A poet and novelist, her crime novels include such titles as Incident on a Summer's Day. She also completed her cousin Pamela Frankau's posthumous crime novel, Colonel Blessington. She was 92. 

Budd (Wilson) Schulberg, d. August 5.  He was most famous for being the screenwriter behind On the Waterfront (1954) and A Face in the Crowd (1957), but also wrote several stories and novels including crime fiction.He was 95.

Johannes Mario Simmel, d. January 1. He was an ex-journalist whose spy thrillers were bestsellers in Germany. A few were translated into English, such as The Cain Conspiracy. He was 84. 

Dick Stodghill, d. November 8. Another former journalist-turned novelist, as well as an ex-Pinkerton detective, he wrote many short stories which were published in magazines such as Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hichcock's Mystery Magazine, and Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine, some featuring private eye Jack Eddy. He was 84. 

William G. Tapply, d. July 28. He wrote a series of mysteries featuring Boston attorney Brady Coyne. He was 69. 

Robert Terrall, d. March 27. He wrote five mystery novels under his own name, as well as three Harry Horne mysteries under the pen name John Gonzales, and five Ben Gates private eye novels written as Robert Kyle. He ghost-wrote 24 Michael Shayne novels under the "Brett Halliday" name. He was 94. 

John Updike, d. January 27. Author of over 50 books of fiction, essays and poetry, he was best known for The Witches of Eastwick and his series of literary novels featuring Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom. He did write a pseudo-crime novel, The Terrorist and a mystery story, "Beck Noir," published in The New Yorker and later The Best American Mystery Stories 1999. He was 76. 

Merry Christmas and Happy Reading to All!

Mystery Melange, Christmas Edition

The 2009 Best Books listings keep pouring in. Here are a few from some crime fiction authors and reviewers (hat tip to Jen Forbus) including Mike Ripley's Shots of the Year, Sarah Weinman's Best of 2009, Michael Koryta's Last Minute Shopping, Marcus Sakey's Best Reads of the Year, Dick Adler's Best Mysteries and Thrillers for the B&N site, Oline Cogdill's Best, and Lesa Holstine's Favorites.

Galley Cat compiled some links to holiday-themed web videos, with season's greetings from bestselling Penguin novelist Charlaine Harris and Nora Roberts. Likewise, Simon & Schuster has some of its authors talking about their favorite holiday movies, including bestselling novelists Vince Flynn, Sandra Brown and Stephen King.

Crimewav has a link to a free PDF Holiday Book Sampler, "In the Nick of Time," excerpts from a dozen new novels and nonfiction books by New York Times bestselling authors.

JA Konrath has been compiling a list of Resolutions for Writers for several years, and not only does he have his 2010 offering up, but he includes the archives, as well.

Marcia Muller recounted personal holiday memories for Bookreporter (hat to to Elizabeth Foxwell at Bunburyist).

Likewise, Louise Penny, author of the Inspector Gamache series set in Quebec, shared a Sutton Christmas Miracle with the Globe and Mail.

The Baltimore Sun's Read Street blog offered up a poignant Letter to Santa from indie bookstores.

Janet Rudolph completed her monumental Christmas-themed mysteries listing, available in five parts: Part One, A-D; Part Two, E-H; Part Three, I-N; Part Four, O-R; and Part Five, S-Z.

For fans of the 1980s TV series Twin Peaks, here's a little slice of pie titled The Twelve Days of Christmas, with cast members in character from the show providing the music, accompanied by appropriate video.

Deck Us All With Boston Charlie

The Pogo comic strip (1948-1975) by Walt Kelly was a favorite in our household as I was growing up, and has also influenced many of the best-known animators and strips, especially those in the satirical vein. Here's a little Christmas classic from all the gang in the Okefenokee Swamp:

Time Vampires

Galley Cat had an interesting post on "How to Turn off the Internet While Writing on Your Computer," which came after a week of visitor feedback debating the Internet's detrimental effects on a writer's ability to focus.

GC references an essay by Bradley Robb who compiled a list of programs that will reduce your computer basically to just a writing tool which minimizes the distractions afforded by web surfing. For those of us older than dirt, these programs actually harken back to the days of good ole DOS and Basic. Sarah Weinman also weighed in via the May issue of Poets and Writers with her essay titled "Are Authors Who Twitter any Fitter?" where she says, "As with any social network, it's easy to burn precious hours reading relatively useless information, and Twitter can prove distracting for writers struggling to finish their books."

But the point is valid: how do you find the time to write in a world of increasing electronic noise from news groups, news sites, blogs, Facebook, Goodreads, Library Thing, Crimespace, Twitter, Linked In, etc., etc., all demanding attention like a herd of hungry puppies? Should you go back to the old-fashioned typewriter? Invest in a word-processor-only device? Be like my hubster and offer to unplug the router for several hours? I'd love to hear anyone's suggestions on how to find more balance in your writerly life, i.e. how to stay connected without becoming a hermit.

Media Murder for Monday

MOVIES

• Slash Film has an early review of Shutter Island. The movie, which is based on Dennis Lehane's novel and stars Leonardo DiCaprio, won't be officially released until February 10th.

• Sony Pictures has picked up the screen rights for the English-language version of Stieg Larsson's Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It was already made into a Swedish-language movie by Yellow Bird Productions, who will also partner with Sony for the Hollywood-ized project. It also seems likely Sony will eventually bring the complete trio of Larsson's Millennium Trilogy of novels to the big screen. Meanwhile, the original Swedish flick will be released by Music Box Films in the U.S. in March and is being screened in Los Angeles this week.

• Vigorous Pictures has optioned the film rights to the espionage thriller The Last Spymaster by Gayle Lynds, as well as Jonathan Green's nonfiction work, Murder in the High Himalaya: Loyalty, Tragedy and Escape From Tibet (scheduled to be released in June 2010). Producer Jon Furay added that "We're fortunate to have raised development money in tough economic times."

• The Hollywood Reporter has video online from the Sherlock Holmes premiere in London with stars Robert Downey, Jr., Jude Law, and Rachel McAdams. It also has a review of the film, saying that "Guy Ritchie's flamboyant, scorched-earth style ill fits Arthur Conan Doyle's creation, but few among modern moviegoers will care." For more Sherlock goodness, AudioFile Magazine is offering free downloads of three Sherlock Holmes audio books from now through December 29th.

TV

• The new FX drama Lawman, starring Timothy Olyphant as a sheriff tracking down bad guys, has had a name change to Justified to avoid confusion with the reality show Steven Seagal: Lawman. TV Squad has a sneak preview on its web site. The series debuts in March.

• Crminal Minds 2 seems to be a done deal between CBS and producer ABC Studios which has begun looking for cast members to fill out the show's roster.

• The new NBC  husband-and-wife spy drama from J.J. Abrams and Josh Reims has cast Boris Kodjoe of Soul Food fame in the husband role (the wife has yet to be selected) and Gerald McRaney as a CIA boss who oversees the married duo. Most people may recall McRaney from Major Dad, but some of us still think of him as half of the Simon and Simon brotherly private-eye series.
  

• CSI creator and executive producer Anthony Zuiker is developing a new show for CBS titled Cyber Crimes. It's about a "newly formed government agency that fights the modern onslaught of Internet- and technology-driven offenses."

• Pam Wechsler is developing a drama for Lifetime which centers on a team of victim witness advocates. "They are the unsung heroes of the criminal justice system," said Wechsler, herself a former prosecutor.

WEB

• John Grisham was featured on NPR's Diane Riehm Show as he stopped by to discuss his new collection of short stories, Ford County.

Friday's Forgotten Books

Jean Catherine Potts (1910-1999) started out writing mystery short stories, many of which appeared in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine and Woman's Day. In 1954 she had her first novel published, Go, Lovely Rose, which won the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America. That was followed by 14 additional novels published in over seven foreign languages. One of those later novels,The Evil Wish, was an Edgar finalist in 1963 and optioned to be made into a movie starring Barbara Stanwyck and Sir Ralph Richardson, although that project apparently fell through.

Most of Potts' books are out of print now. Home is the Prisoner was released as part of the Black Dagger Crime Series by the Crime Writers' Association and their attempt to make hard-to-find exemplary works in various crime fiction subgenres available. It tells the story of Jim Singley, who spent six years in jail for manslaughter, as he returns to the small town and scene of the crime where almost no one—including his son, ex-wife, and former mistress—are glad to see him. Potts uses shifting third-person POVs, including Singley's friend Judge Mack McVey and thirteen-year-old Cleo, the daughter of the man Singley is supposed to have killed and whose testimony kept him from the death penalty. 

The late Edward D. Hoch, a prolific short-story writer himself, once said that Potts' ''characterization was perhaps her strongest suit, and she was especially good with her small-town, middle-American settings.'' This is certainly the case with Home is the Prisoner, where the shifting POV's allow the reader to see inside the minds and secrets of the various characters, allowing the story to slowly unfold as a rather poetic multi-layered psychological study. As one example, these thoughts from Cleo:

"Because Mother, for all her dependence, was not communicative. Or maybe just not articulate. Anyway, there was a lot of uncharted territory in her geography, great areas that Cleo knew absolutely nothing about. Had not wanted to know about. Jim Singley, for instance. They had both steered clear of him — Cleo out of a rich hash of emotions that included adolescent squeamishness, wrenched loyalties, shame and shock, not to mention her own privately owned nightmare. And Mother out of — what? Cleo discovered in herself a sudden, engulfing curiosity. It broke over her like a wave, carrying, as a wave carries shell fragments, seaweed and sand, its load of remembered gossip and prying, lip-licking questions."

In Potts' fictional world there are no true good or bad characters, just many shades of gray, but she writes them in a way that makes you care about them, warts and all.

IMBA Bestsellers for November

Here's the latest listing of bestselling books at Independent Mystery Booksellers Association stores:

Hardcovers

1 –  Michael Connelly, 9 Dragons, Little Brown
2 –  Charlaine Harris, Grave Secret, Berkley
3 –  Clive Cussler and Justin Scott, The Wrecker, Putnam
4 –  David Baldacci, True Blue, Grand Central
5 –  Steig Larsson, The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, Quercus
6 –  tie
       John Connolly, The Gates, Atria
       Carolyn Hart, Merry, Merry Ghost, Morrow
       Greg Bear, Mariposa, Vanguard
       Emily Arsenault, The Broken Teaglass, Delacorte
10 – Martin Limón, G.I. Bones, Soho

Softcovers

1 –  Lorna Barrett, Bookplate Special, Berkley
2 –  Steig Larsson, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Vintage
3 –  Donna Andrews, Six Geese A-Slaying, St. Martin’s
4 –  P.D. James, The Private Patient, Vintage
5 –  Carolyn Hart, Ghost at Work, Avon
6 –  Susan Kandel, Dial H for Hitchcock, Harper
7 –  Spencer Quinn, Dog On It, Atria
8 –  Gail Carriger, Soulless, Orbit
9 –  Maggie Sefton, Fleece Navidad, Berkley
10 – tie
      Josh Bazell, Beat the Reaper, Back Bay
      Keith Raffel, Smasher, Midnight Ink
      Louise Penny, Still Life, St. Martin’s
      Elaine Viets, The Fashion Hound Murder, Berkley