Congrats go to author, critic, and crime fiction historian Martin Edwards, who has been named the 2020 recipient of the Diamond Dagger, the highest honor in British crime writing, as presented by the UK's Crime Writers’ Association. The award is given to those whose careers have been marked by sustained excellence and who have made a significant contribution to crime writing published in the English language. Edwards joins such icons and past recipients as Ruth Rendell, Lee Child, Ann Cleeves, Ian Rankin, PD James, Colin Dexter, Reginald Hill, Lindsey Davis, Peter Lovesey, and John Le Carré.
But we had some sad news this week, too, with the loss of Clive Cussler, who passed away at the age of 88. Cussler published more than 80 books, including the thrillers starring his protagonist Dirk Pitt, a marine engineer, government agent and adventurer. An enthusiastic underwater explorer himself, Cussler also helped discover more than 60 shipwreck sites with his organization, the National Underwater and Marine Agency, named after the fictional agency that employs Pitt. Tributes continue to pour in from various news organizations as well as friends and colleagues on Twitter and Facebook. Here are links to profiles from Hollywood Reporter and The Guardian.
Janet Rudolph, over on her Mystery Fanfare blog, also reported on the death of mystery author Walter Satterthwait who passed away Sunday at the age of 73. Satterthwait penned six novels featuring Santa Fe private detective Joshua Croft, as well as other series, standalone titles, and short stories. His novel, Escapade, was an Agatha Award nominee in 1995.
There are several Sherlockian groups around the world, and if you're in Anacortes, Washington, you can catch up with the Anacortes Sherlock Holmes Society, which meets every first Monday at 5 p.m. at the WheelHouse. Coming up on March 3 is a discussion of "The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor." If you're looking for a Sherlock-themed event near you, check out this Sherlockian Calendar list or check this list of Sherlockian societies around the world.
Registration has opened for the MurderCon/Writers' Police Academy. The 2020 lineup includes all new classes and hands-on workshops with material that's typically offered only to law enforcement investigators. Plus, attendees will get the chance to "solve" a murder. This year's Guest of Honor is David Baldacci, with Special Guests pathologist Dr. Judy Melinek, TJ Mitchell and Ray Krone, death row exoneree and co-founder of Witness to Innocence.
In honor of the late Mary Higgins Clark, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine's blog had a guest post by Kevin Mims who discussed Clark’s career in the context of publishing trends and changing social dynamics for women writers in the 1970s.
The latest issue of Mystery Scene magazine is out with a feature profile of Nick Petrie and his new series with Peter Ash, a veteran struggling with PTSD; Michael Mallory gives us a cast list in "Ready for a Close-up: Crime Writers Caught on Camera"; Mystery Scene critics offer up their "Fave Raves of the Year," and much more.
Was Edgar Allan Poe murdered? One of the most mysterious aspects of Poe’s legacy is his untimely death at the age of 40 after being found delirious and in "great distress" on the streets of Baltimore. Many believe that the author’s death was suicide, but researchers at Lancaster University are challenging the notion that Poe killed himself. The study’s authors performed a computational analysis of his writing and concluded that Poe’s "psychological markers" of depression just aren’t consistent with someone interested in taking their own life.
This week's crime poem at the 5-2 is "Scarlet flies on white" by Duane Spurlock.
In the Q&A roundup, the Mystery People's Scott Montgomery chatted with Don Bentley about his debut novel, featuring Matt Drake, a former ranger pulled back into a mission for The Defense Intelligence Agency; the MP's Scott Butki also interviewed Kathleen Barber about her second thriller, Follow Me; E.B. Davis interviewed Agatha nominee Annette Dashofy, for the Writers Who Kill blog; and the LA Review of Books spoke with Wendy Heard about her latest gritty crime novel, The Kill Club, which follows a young woman caught in the middle of chaos and involved with a murder club.
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