The six finalists for this year's Booker Prize include Rachel Kushner's Creation Lake, a romantic spy thriller which sees an American woman infiltrate a radical anarchist collective in rural France, and Percival Everett's James, a retelling of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written from the perspective of the runaway slave, Jim. Kushner, Everett, and the four other finalists will vie for the £50,000 (roughly $65,800 USD) top prize, with the winner to be revealed November 12.
Bestselling author Nelson DeMille, who grew up on Long Island and earned a Bronze Star in Vietnam before turning to a writing career, has died at the age of 81. He made his literary debut in 1974 with the novel, The Sniper, which introduced Joe Ryker, a tough New York police detective, a character who would return in several more novels. DeMille was known for his series of books featuring U.S. Army investigator Paul Brenner, introduced in the 1992 novel, The General’s Daughter, which was adapted into a 1999 film starring John Travolta. The author's most recent book, Blood Lines, co-written with his son Alex DeMille, was published last year. Many of his fellow authors have taken to social media to pay tribute to DeMille for his generosity, kindness, and sense of humor.
The latest print edition of Clues: a Journal of Detection (vol. 42, no. 2) is a themed issue on BIPOC female detectives in a global context, guest edited by Sam Naidu (Rhodes University, South Africa). Naidu discusses the rationale for and content of the issue, including articles on the TV series Brooklyn Nine-Nine and the work of Eleanor Taylor Bland, Oyinkan Braithwaite, K’im Ch’aehu?i, Maria L. M. Fres-Felix, Pauline Hopkins, Tiffany D. Jackson, Vaseem Khan, Angela Makholwa, Marcia Muller, BarbaraNeely, Nnedi Okorafor, and Kwei Quartey.
In homage to the 1964 classic film, Goldfinger, the prestigious Burlington Arcade in Mayfair, London, has created a unique James Bond experience – The 007, open from September 18 until December 31. Three handcrafted golden hanging sculptures, inspired by the iconic Aston Martin DB5, are seen careering down the centre of the Arcade. As visitors walk underneath, a bespoke carpet features famous lines from the film. Other highlights include iconic movie props including Oddjob’s hat, a Fort Knox gold bar, Goldfinger’s golf shoes and the spyhole clock from his private plane, never before exhibited. There's also a chance to bid on a limited number of The Macallan’s highly collectible 60th Anniversary Decades whisky sets, with all proceeds being donated to charity. Plus, speaking of libations, there are two exclusively designed bars where fans may enjoy a dash of 007 with signature cocktails specially created in partnership with Belvedere, Blackwell Rum, Champagne Bollinger, and Macallan.
The CBC profiled Winnipeg, Ontario's crime bookstore, Whodunit, which houses more than 23,000 new and used novels and has been in business for over thirty years. The bookstore hosts a Mystery Reading Club and has featured readings and signings by various mystery authors through the years.
One of the latest themed book recommendation lists over at Crime Reads comes from Sofie Kelly: "Librarians on the Case." I have a soft spot for this one, as my mother was a librarian. For those hungry for more, here's a list of more bookish sleuths via Mystery Fanfare.
In the Q&A roundup, Richard Osman talked to Lee Child about class, success and the secret to great crime writing; author Julia Dahl chatted with Nerd Daily about her psychological thriller, I Dreamed of Falling, which follows the death of a young mother and how it triggers an avalanche of secrets in a small Hudson Valley town; and Tara Laskowski interviewed Josh Pachter, editor and author of over a hundred crime short stories and the 2023 novel, Dutch Threat.
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