Mystery Melange

Book sculpture "The Old House" by Su Blackwell

Frances's oldest and most coveted literary prize the Goncourt Award has been given to 62-year crime writer Pierre Lemaitre for his lost-generation novel Au revoir la-haut (Goodbye Up There), about people displaced during the First World War.

Bestselling crime authors Michael Connelly and Martin Cruz Smith "will reveal how they've kept readers at the edge of their seats for decades" at a talk in New York on December 4. For ticket information, check out the New York Public Library information page.

One of the remaining "Big Five" publishers, Randon House (or "Random Penguin," as many like to call it), is pulling together crime fiction-related titles from across its various publishing divisions to create the website Dead Good. The site "creates one crime brand for all of Random House" and will cover film and TV as well as books.

The British Library is going to publish two more rare Golden Age novels. They are the first two published detective stories by John Bude, one of the founders of the Crime Writers' Association, and will feature introductions by author Martin Edwards.

To commemorate the winner of the Deanston Scottish Crime Book of the Year 2013, Malcolm Mackay's How a Gunman Says Goodbye, Deanston Single Malt Scotch Whisky is offering a bottle of 12 year old whisky by all the nominated authors. (Hat tip to Mystery Fanfare.)

The Q&A roundup this week includes Jeffery Deaver talking with fellow author Declan Burke about Deaver's latest book, The Kill Room; Carolyn Hart joined the Femmes Fatales for a discussion about "classic mysteries"; and Carolyn Mulford stopped by Writers Who Kill to chat about her "Show Me" series.

Stumped about what to serve up for your Thanksgiving dinner? The Mystery Lover's Kitchen has a few recipe ideas including this one for Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing. Or, how about some pumpkin French Toast for Thanksgiving morning?