Mystery Melange

The International Thriller Writers announced the finalists for the Thriller Awards, including Best Hardcover Novel contenders Linda Castillo – Her Last Breath; Lee Child – Never Go Back; Lisa Gardner – Touch and Go; Stephen King – Doctor Sleep; Owen Laukkanen – Criminal Enterprise; Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child – White Fire; and Andrew Pyper – The Demonologist.

The International Association of Media Tie-In Writers announced the nominees for the 2014 Scribe Awards, which recognize excellence in the field of media tie-in writing (i.e., books based on movies, TV shows and games). They include such titles as Murder She Wrote: Close-Up on Murder by Donald Bain and Mr. Monk Helps Himself by Hy Conrad.

Author/blogger Mike Ripley, in cooperation with the Margery Allingham Society, has completed a partial manuscript left unfinished by Allingham's husband and writing partner. Titled Mr. Campion's Farwell, the novel from Severn House is said to serve as "a fitting tribute to the brilliance of Albert Campion, one of the brightest stars in the rich firmament of British crime writing."

Thrilling Detective celebrated its 16th anniversary with a new issue online, featuring an essay on "Timothy Webster: The Pinkerton Detective and the Civil War Spy"; a look at gay crime fiction, by Josh Lanyon; a long-lost interview with Dashiell Hammett; a look into private detectives in hip hop music by Ray Garraty; and a review of Benjamin Black's continuation of Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe series.

This week's featured crime poem over at the 5-2 is "The Stainless Steel Wallet" by Amy Holman. And don't forget to check out the latest posting in the "30 Days of The 5-2" blog tour in celebration of National Poetry Month in the U.S.

One bit of sad news this week: mystery author Harold Adams has died at the age of 91. Adams penned a series with Great Depression sleuth Carl Wilcox, as well as standalone novels, and won the Private Eye Writers of America's Shamus Award and a Minnesota Book Award.

The Q&A roundup this week includes "One Minute With: John Connolly" via The Independent; and Rachel Abbott chats with The Crime Scene blog about her series with DCI Tom Douglas.

Open Road Media prepared a handy "Edgars at a Glance" infographic in advance of the upcoming 2014 awards. They also posted a video on YouTube with sound bites from sound previous Edgar winners.