In Reference to Murder

Quote of the Week

FFB: Wycliffe and the Three Toed Pussy

For all the writers out there who are getting a late start in life, the author of my FFB pick for today should be an inspiration. W.J. Burley started his career as an engineer before going back to college to study zoology and becoming head of the biology department at Newquay School in Cornwall. But he'd always wanted to write, and finally saw his first novel published when he was 51.

He said his intention was "to write interesting detective fiction which did not exploit extreme forms of violence or sex and was relatively free of four-letter words. In doing this I thought I might help fill a gap that was left in the market by the gradual disappearance of the traditional whodunnit." His first effort, Wycliffe and the Three-Toed Pussy, was published in 1968, but it's clear Burley continued in the traditions of the Golden Age of detective fiction from the decades preceding.

The Wycliffe of the title is Detective Chief Superintendent Charles Wycliffe, a man who admits he'd never really felt like a policeman and often wondered why he joined, hating discipline, regimentation, and sometimes order—although he hates violence more. He also loses confidence in himself at the beginning of a case, "avoiding his subordinates for fear of earning their mute criticism, and, forced into their company, he became agressively dictatorial. Those who knew him shrugged. 'He'll be all right when he's run in.'"

Many of the Golden Age hallmarks are present in the novel: fair play, a rural country setting, a whodunnit-style murder, a small, closed group of suspects and the denouement at the end with Wycliffe gathering the prime suspects together. True to Burley's philosophy, there are no four-letter words and no extreme violence or sex, although sex does play a starring role in the form of the titular victim, Pussy Wells, both by her lifestyle and the double-entendre of her name.

The book opens with Wycliffe examining the body of Wells, an attractive 26-year-old who writes crossword puzzles for a living. She's been shot, and only one of her shoes and stockings removed, revealing a deformed foot with three toes. It doesn't take long in the investigation for Wycliffe to discover that Wells was a very complicated and troubled young woman, intelligent but manipulative and cruel. She was also quite promiscuous, using men as her puppets, thereby creating a ready pool of suspects in the small village of Kergwyns. As Wycliffe digs deeper, he links another murder, an attempted murder and an alleged suicide to Pussy's death, all leading to the ultimate resolution and one which leaves "a deeper impression on the superintendent than any in his experience."

Burley went on to publish another seventeen Wycliffe books, as well as six other books including one sci-fi title that Martin Edwards has mentioned in his blog (where he aptly refers to Wycliffe as the "English Simenon").  In 1993, one of the Wycliffe stories was made into a television pilot starring Jack Shepherd, and proved successful enough to inspire 37 episodes over the next five years. Unfortunately, as Edwards notes, people tend to remember Shepherd and his portrayal of Wycliffe, yet have largely forgotten W.J. Burley.

Bad is Good

The Bad Sydney Crime Writers Festival has announced the shortlist for this year’s Danger Prize, awarded for the best book, film, podcast or TV drama about Sydney and crime. Two true crime books and a short fiction collection were shortlisted for the prize, along with the podcasts The Teacher’s Pet and Who the Hell is Hamish?  

The shortlisted books are:

• Sydney Noir (ed. John Dale, Xoum)
• The Suicide Bride: A mystery of tragedy and family secrets in Edwardian Sydney (Tanya Bretherton, Hachette)
• Reasonable Doubt: Spies, police and the Croatian Six (Hamish McDonald, Doosra Media).

The Danger Prize is open to work first published or screened in the 2018/19 financial year. The winner will be announced on opening night of the Bad Sydney Writers Festival, which runs from September. 6-8 in Sydney, Australia. Also announced at the awards night will be this year’s Ned Kelly Awards for Australian crime writing. For more information on the prize and the festival, see the website.

Mystery Melange

The 25th Annual Colorado Independent Book Publishers Association EVVY Awards Banquet took place in Denver, Colorado. 1st Place Mystery/Crime/Detective Fiction went to To Paint A Murder by E.J. Gandolfo; the Merit Award for Mystery/Crime/Detective Fiction was won by And Come Day’s End by Gabriel F.W. Koch; and the Merit Award for Suspense/Thrillers Fiction was awarded to The Paymaster by Adeed Dawisha.

Tomorrow night, an Oxford Crime Evening will feature authors Cara Hunter, JP Delaney, and Mick Herron at the The Cherwell Boathouse in Oxford, UK. Hunter is the author of a bestselling series featuring DI Adam Fawley and his Oxford-based police team; Delaney's The Girl Before is being adapted for film by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment; and Herron's various novels have won or been a finalist for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger,CWA Goldsboro Gold Dagger, and Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year.

The New York Writers Workshop in NYC is presenting an Evening of Crime hosted by Christina Chiu on October 3 from 7-9 p.m. Authors scheduled to participate include Charles Salzberg, Puja Guha, Ed Lin, and Nish Amaranth. Charles Salzberg is author of the Shamus Award nominated Swann series and teaches writing the New York Writers Workshop; Puja Guha is the author of The Ahriman Legacy series; Ed Lin writes the Robert Chow crime series and is the recipient of win three Asian American Literary Awards; Nish Amarnath's crime thriller, Victims for Sale, was nominated for the Bombay Film Festival Awards.

There's still time to catch an art exhibition based on Hitchcock films that will be on view at San Diego's Subterranean Coffee Boutique until September 6. (HT to The Bunburyist)

Heads up to folks near Hillsborough, North Carolina: Noir at the Bar is heading to Yonder: Southern Cocktails & Brew on September 26. Hosted by Tracey Reynolds, authors scheduled to appear and read from their works include Judy Marie, James Maxey, Eryk Pruitt, Nesha Maren, JG Hetherton, Suzanne Adair, Thomas Fenske, and Philip Kimbrough.

There's a call for papers for a special issue of The Journal of Popular Culture, "Place, Space, and the Detective Narrative." Articles may come from any disciplinary or interdisciplinary practice on topics such as Detectives, Borders, and Migrations, Settings in Crime Narrative, Locked-Room Mysteries, and more. Abstracts of no more than 250 words are due no later than Jan 1, 2020, with selected manuscripts (of 5,000-7,500 words) expected by June 1, 2020. (HT to Shots Magazine)

In October 2019, Dean Street Press will continue their series of great golden age crime fiction, this time in the form of Brian Flynn's first ten Anthony Bathurst mysteries. Originally published in the late twenties and early thirties, they have not been reissued for over sixty years. All the ingeniously plotted novels are in the classic mold of English country house mysteries with titles like The Billiard Room Mystery and The Mystery of the Peacock's Eye. Each edition installment will feature new artwork and new introductions by crime fiction historian Steve Barge.

Writing for Crime Reads, the Rap Sheet's J. Kingston Pierce took a look at the rise of "regional" noir during the 1970s and how other regional cities became the new capitals of crime fiction.

Rob Hart also took a stab at answering the question "what is a crime book, anyway?" as he compiled a listing of "10 great books that defy all genre labels."

Have women always enjoyed reading thrillers? Book Riot investigates.

Fans of the iconic Clue board game take note: the game is getting a makeover and you can help choose the design. Hasbro is renovating the Clue mansion for the first time since the murder mystery game’s 1949 release, and fans have until September 9 to cast their vote for the winning design.

This week's crime poem at the 5-2 is "Thread Bare" by Rena J. Worley.

In the Q&A roundup, Tami Hoag dicussed her new book, The Boy, her writing process, and why she has set so many of her books in Louisiana; and David Lagercrantz, the author who continued Stieg Larsson's "Millennium" book series following Larsson's death, chatted with Deutsche Welle about exiting that series as well as his new projects.

Killer Thrillers

The annual Killer Nashville conference was held this past weekend and included the announcement of awards in various book categories. Here are this year's winners (for all the finalists, click here):

 

Silver Falchion Award: Book of the Year
Baron R. Birtcher
Fistful of Rain

Silver Falchion Award: Best Action Adventure
Baron R. Birtcher
Fistful of Rain

Silver Falchion Award: Best Cozy
Phyllis Gobbell
Treachery in Tuscany

Silver Falchion Award: Best Juvenile/Y.A.
Julieanne Lynch
Beneath the Lighthouse

Silver Falchion Award: Best Mystery
Bradley Harper 
A Knife in the Fog

Silver Falchion Award: Nonfiction
Gretchen Rose
Dancing With the Devil

Silver Falchion Award: Best Procedural
Bruce Robert Coffin
Beyond the Truth

Silver Falchion Award: Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror
Maggie Toussaint
Confound It

Silver Falchion Award: Best Short Story/Anthology
Carmen Amato
The Artist

Silver Falchion Award: Best Suspense
D.E. Funk
Silent Rage

Silver Falchion Award: Best Thriller (tie)
Michael Niemann
Illegal Holdings

Silver Falchion Award: Best Thriller (tie)
Charley Pearson
Scourge

Silver Falchion Award: Best Attending Author
Baron R. Birtcher
Fistful of Rain

In addition, Joyce Carol Oates was honored as this year's recipient of the John Seigenthaler Legends Award, bestowed upon "an individual within the publishing industry who has championed First Amendment Rights to ensure that all opinions are given a voice, has exemplified mentorship and example to authors, supporting the new voices of tomorrow, and/or has written an influential canon of work that will continue to influence authors for many years to come."

Media Murder for Monday

It's the start of a new week and that means it's time for a new roundup of crime drama news:

THE BIG SCREEN

Lionsgate has acquired rights to Deon Taylor’s psychological thriller, Fatale, written and produced by David Loughery, and starring two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank, Michael Ealy, Mike Colter, and Tyrin Turner. Fatale centers on a married man who finds himself living a nightmare as he is relentlessly compromised, out-witted and morally manipulated by a mysterious woman with whom he had a wild one-night stand. How far will he go to save his marriage from his mistake?

The Warner Brothers sequel to 2017's Murder on the Orient Express is lining up an impressive creative team. Like the first film, Death on the Nile will be directed by Kenneth Branagh who will also reprise his role as Hercule Poirot. Gal Gadot and Armie Hammer have also signed on to the cast, with Russell Brand currently circling a role in the film, as well. Michael Green, who also worked on Logan, Blade Runner 2049, and Alien: Covenant, is writing the script. Death on the Nile follows vacationing Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, who must set aside his leisure time to solve the murder of a young heiress.

Emmy nominee Rupert Friend (Homeland) and rapper-turned-actor Cliff "Method Man" Smith have joined Waldo, the Tim Kirkby-directed film based on the novel Last Looks by Howard Michael Gould. Mel Gibson and Charlie Hunnam star in the pic, about a disgraced LAPD detective (Hunnam) who’s spent the past three years living off the grid. He’s reluctantly pulled back into his old life by a former lover in order to solve the murder of an eccentric celebrity’s wife.

Aidan Quinn, who co-starred in all seven seasons of the CBS drama Elementary, has signed on to star in Spiked, an indie drama inspired by the real-life events surrounding Arizona based newspaper-publisher Joseph Soldwedel. Juan Martinez Vera wrote the screenplay and is directing the film, which centers on a migrant worker's murder that leads to a feud and a dirty fight for justice between a newspaper owner and the chief of police. Deirdre Lovejoy (Blacklist, The Wire), Danay Garcia (Prison Break), and Carlos Gomez (Law & Order True Crime) round out the cast.

Liam Neeson is set to star in The Ice Road, an action adventure film written and directed by Jonathan Hensleigh. Neeson will play a big-rig ice road driver who, after a remote diamond mine collapses in the far northern regions of Canada, must lead an impossible rescue mission over a frozen ocean to save the trapped miners. Contending with thawing waters and a massive storm, they discover the real threat is one they never saw coming.

Michael Rooker, who played Yondu in Guardians of the Galaxy, has joined the cast of Universal’s Fast & Furious 9, playing a character named Buddy in the action sequel. He joins fellow newcomer to the franchise John Cena, as well as returning stars Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Charlize Theron, Helen Mirren, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, and Ludacris.

Bond 25 finally has an official title, No Time To Die. Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga and once again starring Daniel Craig in his final outing as James Bond, No Time To Die finds Bond having left active service and enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.

Universal has set a January 15, 2021 release date for 355, the ensemble spy thriller directed and co-written by Simon Kinberg and starring Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong’o, Penélope Cruz, Diane Kruger, and Fan Bingbing. The hope is to launch a franchise based on an idea by Chastain of a Bourne Identity-like thriller focused on female spies from agencies around the world.

A trailer was released for Motherless Brooklyn, starring Edward Norton as a P.I. with Tourette syndrome trying to solve his mentor's murder.

A trailer dropped for Villains, starring Bill Skarsgård and Maika Monroe as two burglars on the lam who break into the house of a wealthy couple (Jeffrey Donovan and Kyra Sedgwick), only to find out they’re not the bad guys in this story. As they explore the house, they discover a young girl chained up in the basement, and once the home’s owners realize they know their secret, they fight back and make Skarsgård and Monroe their prisoners.

There's also a new trailer for The Report, starring Adam Driver as Daniel J. Jones who uncovers the lengths to which the nation’s top intelligence agency went to destroy evidence, subvert the law, and hide a brutal secret from the American public.

TELEVISION/STREAMING SERVICES

Netflix is teaming with Tony Ayres (The Slap) and producer David Heyman for the thriller, Clickbait. The eight-episode series, to be shot in Melbourne, "explores the ways in which our most dangerous and uncontrolled impulses are fueled in the age of social media, and reveals the ever widening fractures we find between our virtual and real life personas."

Walter Presents is launching another French crime show this autumn, the fast-paced procedural Cain, which will stream on All 4. The series stars Bruno Debrandt as a disabled detective in sunny Marseilles who wheels his way through tough investigations with wit, charm and a bit of rule-breaking.

USA Network has put in development Philly Reign, a 1980s drama executive produced by Mary J. Blige, who will not star in the title role, although she may have a supporting/recurring role. Written by JaNeika & JaSheika James, Philly Reign is inspired by the life of Thelma Wright and her self-published memoir that follows her journey from suburban housewife to drug queenpin in under five years after the death of Wright’s husband left her two choices: let her family starve—or take over the family business. With equal parts grit and grace, she forces her way to the top of the international drug game to build one of the largest cocaine and heroin operations of the 1980s.

House and The Night Manager star Hugh Laurie will play a British politician in the four-part thriller drama for the BBC, Roadkill. The project is about self-made, forceful and charismatic politician Peter Laurence (Laurie), whose public and private life seems to be falling apart—or rather is being picked apart by his enemies. As the personal revelations spiral, he is shamelessly untroubled by guilt or remorse, expertly walking a high wire between glory and catastrophe as he seeks to further his own agenda while others plot to bring him down.

Carter MacIntyre (Benched), Adam J. Harrington (Dirty John) and Terrence Terrell (Giants) are set for a recurring roles on the upcoming sixth season of Amazon’s Bosch. Based on Michael Connelly’s best-selling novels, Bosch stars Titus Welliver, as homicide Detective Harry Bosch, as well as Jamie Hector, Amy Aquino, Madison Lintz, and Lance Reddick. Both MacIntyre and Harrington will play FBI agents working murder investigations on Bosch’s turf. Terrell will play Marvel, a Jamaican gangster.

BBC One has unveiled its latest programming slate including Inside Man, a death row drama from Sherlock writer Steven Moffat, and the period thriller, Ridley Road, from Barry writer Sarah Solemani. Inside Man is a four-part mini-series where a prisoner on death row in the U.S. and a woman trapped in a cellar under an English vicarage cross paths in the most unexpected way. Ridley Road is a four-part thriller adapted from Jo Bloom’s novel, Shindler, that tells the story of the rise of fascism in 1960s London and one young woman who risked everything to fight it.

Netflix has given a series order to Agent King, an adult animated comedy series. Co-created by Priscilla Presley and John Eddie, Agent King's version of Elvis Presley sees the singer trading in his white jumpsuit for a jet pack when he is covertly inducted into a secret government spy program to help battle the dark forces that threaten the country he loves—all while holding down his day job as the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.

PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO

Slate's Studio 360 with host Kurt Andersen toured Edgar Allan Poe’s Baltimore With Laura Lippman, who explained her fascination with Poe and why Baltimore is a "good noir town."

On the latest episode of The Cracked podcast, Alex Schmidt was joined by writer, investigator, and podcast co-host Billy Jensen to talk about how one true crime writer started solving murders.

KPPS Midday Edition welcomed T. Jefferson Parker to talk about his new thriller, which is a timely tale of terrorist plots and white supremacy.

On the latest Writers Detective Bureau podcast, host and veteran Police Detective Adam Richardson took on the topics of "U.S. Marshals, the CIA, and Being Taken Downtown."

It Was a Dark and Stormy Book Club welcomed author Hank Phillippi Ryan to discuss her latest standalone thriller, The Murder List.

FFB: The FBI: A Centennial History, 1908-2008

The FBI: A Centennial History, 1908-2008, is published by the U.S. Department of Justice, so you can rightly suspect it won't include Bureau controversies, scandals or missteps. But it does trace the agency's evolution from a makeshift band of 34 investigators to a full-fledged national security and intelligence agency with 30,000 special agents (many of whom have been killed in the line of duty).

There are overviews of the gangster years, World War II, the Cold War, espionage and terrorism, and synopses and 300 photos (some not previously shown to the public) from over 40 of the Bureau's best-known cases. You can also print a PDF of the book, and then, I suppose, put your laser-paper copy on your coffee table. If you'd prefer the glossy version, order it from the GAO office.

Mystery Melange

The Australian Crime Writers Association has announced the shortlist for the Ned Kelly Awards 2019. Now in its 24th year, the awards are Australia’s oldest and most prestigious crime writing awards, with past winners including Jon Cleary, Peter Corris, Adrian McKinty, Jane Harper, Helen Garner, Peter Temple, and Michael Robotham. Here are the lists:

Best Fiction

Killshot by Garry Disher
Gone By Midnight by Candice Fox
The Spotted Dog by Kerry Greenwood
The Lost Man by Jane Harper
The Other Wife by Michael Robotham
Live and Let Fry by Sue Williams

Best first fiction

The Portrait of Molly Dean by Katherine Kovacic
The Yellow House by Emily O'Grady
The Rúin by Dervla McTiernan
Greenlight by Ben Stevenson

Best true crime

Eggshell Skull by Bri Lee
The Arsonist by Chloe Hooper
Siege: Inside the Lindt Cafe by Deborah Snow
Waiting for Elijah by Kate Wild

The winners will be announced Friday, September 6, in Sydney.

The Southern California Independent Booksellers Association has announced finalists for its 2019 book awards, winners of which will be celebrated at SCIBA's annual trade show, to be held September 27-28 in San Gabriel (HT to Shelf Awareness). The finalists in the T. Jefferson Parker Mystery Award category include:

The Feral Detective, by Jonathan Lethem
The Good Detective, by John McMahon
The Border, by Don Winslow

The Capital Crime festival will host the inaugural New Voices Awards to champion the next generation of talent in the crime and thriller community. Entries will be uploaded to Capital Crime’s website, where festival pass holders can read and vote for their favorite entries. The authors of the ten highest placed entries will be revealed on September 19, and the winner, judged by the Capital Crime team from the top ten entries, will be announced at Capital Crime’s opening night cocktail party on September 26. Submissions close at midnight on September 18.

Investigative journalist and author Dylan Howard has formed a new true-crime imprint for Skyhorse and Start called Front Page Detectives. Its first title will be Howard's Diana: Case Solved, which the publisher calls "the definitive account" of Princess Diana's death that "proves what really happened" and will "smash wide open the conspiracy of silence." Howard is also creator and narrator of the recent podcast Fatal Voyage: The Mysterious Death of Natalie Wood. Start Publishing will publish e-book versions of Front Page Detectives books. (HT to Shelf Awareness)

Crime writer and criminal attorney Olly Jarvis is launching a new true-crime website on September 9, thecrimehub.com. Content will include a series of podcast stories recorded in Los Angeles, including Murder at the Palace by Gyles Brandreth, narrated by Stephen Fry, and The Plater by Ann Cleeves, narrated by Alfred Molina. The site will also bring readers true crime interviews with leading figures from the criminal justice system. Olly’s aim is to create a place online for audio crime content: "We wanted to create something that showcased the best thriller writers, but also gave a real insight into the real world of crime detection, evidence, and jury trials and the people who work within this fascinating world," he says. (HT to Crime Fiction Lover)

For fans of real-life criminal drama, Bookriot compiled a list of "Eighteen of the Best International True Crime Books You’ve Never Heard Of."

Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times arts critic, is throwing her hat into the ring of crime fiction news and reviews for the newspaper, joining long-time columnist Adam Woog who has compiled book reviews for several years. Macdonald's first column of “The Plot Thickens" shares a few of her favorite recent reads including bestselling titles from Attica Locke, Denise Mina, and Casey Cep.

The LA Review of Books profiled Anthony Horowitz, screenwriter and author of stand-alone mystery novels and YA series as well as his new "meta detective" series in which Horowitz himself becomes a character. Or as the article says about the second installment in that series, "There’s a reality television component to his story that’s oddly reassuring and agreeable."

This week's crime poem at the 5-2 is "Investment Banking" by Richard Spillman.

In the Q&A roundup, Karin Slaughter spoke with Parade Magazine about "Why We Really Love True Crime Thrillers; Australian crime writer Sarah Bailey, author of the bestselling The Dark Lake and Into the Night, chatted with the Sydney Morning Herald about books that "changed me"; and the New York Times Magazine snagged James Ellroy to chat about his life in crime, his imaginary dog, and the need to provoke.

Author R&R with Louise Jensen

Louise Jensen has sold over a million English language copies of her International No. 1 psychological thrillers The Sister, The Gift, The Surrogate, and The Date. Her novels have also been translated into twenty-five languages, as well as featuring on the USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller’s List. Louise's fifth thriller, The Family, will be published in Autumn 2019 by Harper Collins.  Louise lives with her husband, children, madcap dog, and a rather naughty cat in Northamptonshire. 

 

In Jensen's novel, The Date, something bad has happened to Alison Taylor. Her Saturday night started normally. Recently separated from her husband, Ali has been persuaded by her friends to go on a date with a new man. She is ready, she is nervous, she is excited. She is about to take a step into her new future.

By Sunday morning, Ali’s life is unrecognizable. She wakes, and she knows that something is wrong. She is home, she is alone, she is hurt and she has no memory of what happened to her.  Worse still, when she looks in the mirror, Ali doesn’t recognize the face staring back at her. She can’t recognize her friends and family. And she can’t recognize the person who is trying to destroy her… 

Louise Jensen stops by In Reference to Murder to talk about writing and researching her novels:

 

Research is absolutely one of my favourite parts of being a writer. I love learning about new subjects and often find myself so fascinated with the information I uncover I end up over researching. The danger of finding out too many facts is the temptation to share them all in your manuscript but too much detail can slow down the pace of your story and bore readers. It’s a balancing act.

My latest novel, The Date, is about a girl, Ali, who, after a head injury, develops Prospagnosia – an incurable Face Blindness. I hadn’t heard about this condition until I watched a documentary featuring a 13 year old girl called Hannah Reid who developed the worst reported case of Face Blindness in the UK after having a virus which spread to her brain – she couldn’t recognise her parents or herself. My heart went out to her and interested in learning more, I found myself Googling her condition, reading everything I could.

Although I wanted to write a book about Face Blindness I wanted to approach it sensitively out of respect for Hannah and all the other sufferers. The emotional impact of this condition is huge and I wanted readers to really connect with Ali.

I felt Hannah was too young at the time to contact for research to I Googled ‘Prosopagnosia’ + ‘Support’ and I was directed to the website of a research centre. I asked them the medical questions I needed answering but for the emotional side of characters I wanted to speak to sufferers. As with all my books I Googled my keyword and added ‘Wordpress’ into my search. Often people are blogging about their experiences and they are the ones who are generally very happy to talk.

I found three people and chatted to them about how it really feels not being able to recognised anybody. One thing I’ve learned on my writing journey is no two people’s experience of the same event is ever the same so it’s impossible to create a character which will reflect everyone’s experience. However, I took the anxiety one person felt and mixed it with the desire to live a normal life another felt and I used bits of the third person’s recovery from a head injury. As the novel progress Ali took on her own very distinct personality. It’s important to let characters develop organically and not to try to replicate a real person and their experience.

Once the first draft was written and I was happy with the concept I was introduced to a neurosurgeon through a friend and I could fact check my hospital terminology and the tests Ali would have received before her diagnosis.

Once I’d finished editing the story I traced Hannah Read’s mum to tell her that her daughter had inspired a book and she and her family read it before publication and loved the fact I was raising awareness of such a terrible and life changing condition. I’ve since spoken to Hannah on the phone several times and I still keep up to date with the research into Prospagnosia.

It can be daunting approaching people for research, but I’ve found that most people are genuinely pleased to talk about their area of expertise or their passion.

 

You can learn more about Louise Jensen and her books via her official author website and also follow her on Facebook and Twitter. The Date and Jensen's other novels are widely available via all major book retailers.

Media Murder for Monday

It's the start of a new week and that means it's time for a new roundup of crime drama news:

THE BIG SCREEN

A spec script for the psychological thriller, Don’t Worry Darling, which will be directed by and starring Olivia Wilde, has sold to New Line after a hefty auction in which 18 different studios bid on the project. Wilde is reteaming on the project with the writer for Booksmart, Katie Silberman, who will rewrite the original script from Shane and Carey Van Dyke. Don’t Worry Darling is a psychological thriller about a 1950s housewife whose reality begins to crack, revealing a disturbing truth underneath.

District 9 writer/director Neill Blomkamp has parted ways with the Robocop sequel, Robocop Returns. MGM, the studio behind the project, still intends to proceed with the sequel, although details are sketchy at this time, including any news on a potential replacement director, writer, or any cast. Blomkamp announced his departure as being due to his shooting a new horror/thriller, adding that MGM couldn't wait and needed to start filming sooner.

Robert De Niro and Shia LaBeouf have committed to star in After Exile, with Joshua Michael Stern directing from a script by Anthony Thorne and Michael Tovo, based on true events from Tovo's life. After Exile is the story of Mike Delaney (LaBeouf) who, after being released from prison for killing an innocent man after a violent robbery, must re-enter his old life where he and his ex-criminal father (De Niro) attempt to save his younger brother from a life of drugs and crime.

Tommy Lee Jones has joined Katheryn Winnick, Aaron Eckhart, and Heather Graham in April Mullen’s conspiracy thriller, Wander. The film follows Arthur Bretnik (Eckhart), a mentally unstable private investigator, who, after being hired to probe a suspicious death in the town of Wander, becomes convinced the case is linked to the same conspiracy cover-up that caused the death of his daughter. Jones will play eccentric conspiracy theorist, Jimmy Cleats, with Graham set to play Shelley Luscomb, an attorney and close friend of Arthur. Winnick plays Elsa Viceroy, a mysterious authority figure who catches Bretnik’s attention as the investigation deepens.

Crazy Rich Asians star Henry Golding is in early talks to star in the G.I. Joe spinoff, Snake Eyes, with Robert Schwentke set to direct. Snake Eyes is a silent ninja commando who dresses in all black, never reveals his face and doesn’t speak. He stands out among the other members of his military anti-terrorist group and forms a special relationship with Scarlett, the team’s one-time only female member, while sometimes carrying out solo missions with his pet wolf, Timber. His archenemy is Storm Shadow, a ninja who is also his blood brother.

John Swab’s opioid-epidemic crime thriller, Body Brokers, has added Jessica Rothe, Owen Campbell, Thomas Dekker, Peter Greene, and Sam Quartin to the ensemble cast that includes the previously announced stars Melissa Leo, Michael K. Williams, Frank Grillo, Alice Englert and Jack Kilmer. Body Brokers is the true and untold story of the multibillion-dollar drug and alcohol treatment scheme where former drug addicts and dealers become millionaires as fly-by-night "body brokers," recruiting other addicts to seek treatment and selling these patients off to facilities paying the highest price.

TELEVISION/STREAMING SERVICES

The upcoming snowboarding thriller, Shiver, is being adapted for television after Firebird Pictures, the indie set up by Bodyguard executive producer Elizabeth Kilgarriff, snapped up the rights to Allie Reynolds’s debut novel. The book is set in the French Alps and follows five friends who reunite years after taking part in a snowboarding competition, where their friend Saskia disappeared. While in a deserted lodge on top of a mountain, the secrets of the past come to light.

Amazon Studios has acquired the worldwide rights to the dark thriller, Blow the Man Down, from first-time feature filmmakers Danielle Krudy and Bridget Savage Cole. The film is set to make its international premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival next month after having its premiere at Tribeca in April, where it won Best Screenplay. Sophie Lowe, Morgan Saylor, June Squibb, and Marceline Hugot star in the film that is set in a salty fishing village on Maine’s rocky coast and involves a stew of murder, sex, and small-town secrets.

NBCUniversal’s upcoming streaming service has given a pilot order to One of Us Is Lying, based on Karen M. McManus’s bestselling young-adult mystery-thriller novel. The project is described as "The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars" and tells the story of what happens when five strangers walk into detention and only four walk out alive. Everyone is a suspect, and everyone has something to hide.

CBS has opted not to pick up the crime drama, Instinct, for a third season, joining three other mid-season dramas at the network that are not going forward, including The Code, The Red Line, and Ransom. Based on the James Patterson novel, Instinct stars Alan Cumming as a former CIA operative who is lured back to his old life when the NYPD needs his help to stop a serial killer. Novakovic, Daniel Ings, Naveen Andrews and Sharon Leal co-star.

Netflix and A+E Networks’s Crime & Investigation have renewed the true crime documentary series, I Am A Killer, for a second season of ten episodes. It features in-depth interviews with some of the longest serving death row prisoners in America and looks at how they are treated in the prison system as well as the impact of their crimes on their communities and families.

BET Networks’s new streaming service, BET+, is ramping up production on its original content. Paula Patton is set to star in Sacrifice, a new original movie written, executive produced, and directed by Chris Stokes. Set in Los Angeles, the legal thriller stars Patton as Daniella Hernandez, a highly sought after entertainment lawyer as she navigates the nefarious lives of her rich and famous clients.

Better Call Saul alumna, Julie Ann Emery, is set for a recurring role on the upcoming sixth season of Amazon’s Bosch. Based on Michael Connelly’s best-selling novels, Bosch stars Titus Welliver as homicide Detective Harry Bosch, Jamie Hector as Jerry Edgar, Amy Aquino as Lt. Grace Billets, Madison Lintz as Maddie Bosch, and Lance Reddick as Deputy Chief Irvin Irving. Emery will play Sylvia Reece, one of the FBI agents brought in to investigate a murder on Bosch’s turf.

Arrow actress Katrina Law is heading to Hawaii Five-0 as a regular for Season 10 of the long-running CBS series. Law will play Quinn Liu, "a former Staff Sergeant with Army CID who was recently demoted for insubordination. After an explosive collision with Five-0 during a case involving veterans, Quinn becomes a loyal ally to the team. Sharp-tongued in several languages, she has a deep understanding of military culture, a mysterious past, and a deft ability to match wits with McGarrett (Alex O'Loughlin)."

Jessica Hecht (Special), Parisa Fitz-Henley (Jessica Jones), and Eddie Martinez (Orange Is the New Black) are set as leads opposite Bill Pullman, Matt Bomer, and Chris Messina on the upcoming third season of USA Network’s anthology crime thriller series, The Sinner. Season 3 follows Detective Harry Ambrose (Pullman) as he begins a routine investigation of a tragic car accident that uncovers a hidden crime pulling him into the most dangerous and disturbing case of his career.

PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO

Debbi Mack interviewed crime writer Robert Crais on the Crime Cafe podcast about his latest novel, A Dangerous Man, the 18th book in the Elvis Cole/Joe Pike series. She also chatted with crime writer Bill Brier, who spent twenty-​five years in the movie business as a cameraman, film editor, and general manager before turning his hand to writing crime fiction.

Criminal Mischief Episode #25 included "A Stroll Through Forensic Science History" with host Dr. D.P. Lyle.

The new Mysteryrat's Maze podcast featured an excerpt from A High-End Finish, the first Fixer-Upper Mystery by Kate Carlisle, as read by actor Casey Ballard.

Two Crime Writers and a Microphone hosts Steve Cavanagh and Luca Veste talked about the fact there is no book news; US tours; and general "meandering nonsense."

Read or Dead hosts Katie McClean Horner and Rincey Abraham talked about the Tiny Pretty Things adaptation; Tana French in the New Yorker; the real-life Where the Crawdads Sing mystery; and they celebrated Women in Translation month.

The latest Meet the Thriller Author podcast welcomed Vince Milam, who has lived all over the world, traipsing through the Amazon, Congo, and Papua New Guinea – all the while capturing sights, experiences, and personalities that are incorporated into his writing.

On this week's Writers Detective Bureau, host and veteran Police Detective Adam Richardson took on the topics of "Being Held Without Charges, Stalking, and Desk Pops?"

It Was a Dark and Stormy Book Club spoke with Samantha Downing, author of the USA Today and #1 International Best Seller, My Lovely Wife.

THEATER

The Marlowe Theater in the UK is the next stop for the adaptation of Paula Hawkins's psychological thriller, Girl on a Train, with a run of August 20-24.

The Milton Keynes Theatre in the UK is presenting Agatha Christie's classic play, The Mousetrap, August 19-24. The story is set during a snowstorm that traps a group of strangers with an unknown killer in their midst.

The Theatre Royal Nottingham is staging Dangerous Obsession from August 20-24. When John Barrett unexpectedly appears at the home of Sally and Mark Driscoll, it is clear he is looking for someone to take the blame for his wife’s fatal accident. Dangerously obsessed and determined to seek retribution, Barrett strips away the conflicting secrets of the Driscoll’s apparently perfect lives, until his twisted revenge climaxes in the devastating conclusion of this compulsive psycho-thriller.