In Reference to Murder

Lionized Lefties

The Lefty Awards were presented at Left Coast Crime 2025 on Saturday, March 15, at the Westin Denver Downtown in Denver, Colorado. Congratulations to all the winners and finalists!

 

Lefty Nominees for Best Humorous Mystery Novel:  Rob Osler, Cirque du Slay (Crooked Lane Books)

Also nominated:

• Ellen Byron, A Very Woodsy Murder (Kensington Books) 
• Jennifer J. Chow, Ill-Fated Fortune (St. Martin’s Paperbacks)
• A.J. Devlin, Bronco Buster (NeWest Press)
• Catriona McPherson, Scotzilla (Severn House)
• Richard Osman, We Solve Murders (Pamela Dorman Books / Viking)

Lefty Nominees for Best Historical Mystery Novel: (Bill Gottfried Memorial) for books covering events before 1970: John Copenhaver, Hall of Mirrors (Pegasus Crime)

Also nominated:

• Robert Dugoni, A Killing on the Hill (Thomas & Mercer)
• Dianne Freeman, An Art Lover’s Guide to Paris and Murder (Kensington Books)
• Laurie R. King, The Lantern’s Dance (Bantam Books)
• Laura Jensen Walker, Death of a Flying Nightingale (Level Best Books / Historia)

Lefty Nominees for Best Debut Mystery Novel:  Jennifer K. Morita, Ghosts of Waikiki (Crooked Lane Books)

Also nominated:

• Peter Malone Elliott, Blue Ridge (Level Best Books)
• Cindy Goyette, Obey All Laws (Level Best Books)
• Audrey Lee, The Mechanics of Memory (CamCat Books)
• K.T. Nguyen, You Know What You Did (Dutton)

Lefty Nominees for Best Mystery Novel:  James L’Etoile, Served Cold (Level Best Books)

Also nominated:

• Claire Booth, Home Fires (Severn House)
• Margot Douaihy, Blessed Water (Zando, Gillian Flynn Books)
• Rob Hart, Assassins Anonymous (G.P. Putnam’s Sons)
• Leslie Karst, Molten Death (Severn House)
• Duane Swierczynski, California Bear (Mulholland Books)

Media Murder for Monday

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

THE BIG SCREEN/MOVIES

Walden Media and Akiva Goldsman‘s Weed Road Pictures are making the Cold War thriller, Billion Dollar Spy, with Russell Crowe and Harry Lawtey set to star. Oscar-winning writer Stephen Gaghan (Traffic; Syriana) wrote the most recent draft, originally adapted from the bestselling book by David E. Hoffman. Set against the high-stakes backdrop of the late Cold War, Billion Dollar Spy follows real-life Adolf Tolkachev (Crowe), an ordinary man who risks everything to pass thousands of pages of top-secret Soviet intelligence to the U.S. Despite repeated rejections by a wary CIA, Tolkachev persisted, embodying the courage to stand against a regime that betrayed its own people. Finally finding an ally in CIA agent Tom Lenihan (Lawtey), Tolkachev was able to fundamentally shift the balance of power, proving that true patriotism lies not in blind allegiance but in the willingness to challenge a government when it strays from its ideals. In an era when resistance and bravery are more relevant than ever, his story still resonates deeply.

Chloë Grace Moretz (Kick-Ass) has been set to star in serial-killer thriller, The Edge Of Normal, the first English-language feature from director Carlota Pereda (Piggy). The film was written by Matt Venne (Dexter: Resurrection) with revisions by Lori Evans Taylor (Final Destination: Bloodlines), based on Carla Norton’s novel of the same name from St. Martin’s Press. The synopsis reads: "Reeve LeClaire is still haunted from when she was held captive as a teenager by a sadistic man, but when her psychiatrist asks her to mentor a newly rescued survivor, she’s pulled into a chilling game of cat-and-mouse—one that threatens to drag her back into the nightmare she barely escaped."

TELEVISION/STREAMING

Matthew Macfadyen has been cast as George Smiley in a new TV series based on the novels of John le Carré that will be produced by the late author’s sons (who also produced the award-winning adaptation of his novel, The Night Manager, and are currently working on two sequel series to the hit show). A middle-aged, podgy, balding man described by his own wife as "breathtakingly ordinary," Smiley is also a ruthlessly clever spymaster working in the British secret service during the cold war. The project is described as an amalgamation of a number of le Carré’s novels, including The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and The Honorable Schoolboy, as well as others, along with some unpublished work.

Emmy winner David E. Kelley, who created Netflix's The Lincoln Lawyer based on Michael Connelly’s novels, is helping bring another popular book character by a bestselling author to the streamer, teaming up with Harlan Coben to adapt his Myron Bolitar novels as a TV series. The project has been a priority for Netflix when it re-upped its overall deal with Coben in 2022. The original pact gave the streamer access to 14 Coben books to develop into English-language and foreign-language series as well as films. The 2022 pact added 12 more titles: Coben’s signature 11-book Myron Bolitar series as well as the stand-alone 2021 novella, Win, for an adaptation as an ongoing, U.S.-based series. The books’ title character is a former top basketball player-turned-owner of an agency representing sports stars and celebrities.

Following the success of the limited series, The Perfect Couple, starring and executive produced by Nicole Kidman, Netflix is developing a second installment. Like the first season, the followup will be based on a Nantucket-set book by best-selling author Elin Hilderbrand, this time her 2024 novel, Swan Song. The new season will have a new writer/showrunner, Joanna Calo, with most of the executive producing team returning, including Kidman. The story is set around a 22-million-dollar summer home purchased by the mysterious Richardsons who throw lavish parties, flirt with multiple locals, flaunt their wealth with not one but two yachts, and raise impossible hopes of everyone they meet. When their house burns to the ground and their most essential employee goes missing, the entire island is up in arms. The sequel's lead characters, Leslee and Bill Richardson, are spiritual successors to Season 1’s Greer (Kidman) and Tag (Liev Schreiber) Winbury.

Mistletoe Murders is returning for a second season on Hallmark+. The holiday whodunnit stars Sarah Drew (Grey’s Anatomy) as Emily Lane, a small-town shop owner with a secret past. The series also features Peter Mooney (Rookie Blue) as local detective Sam Wilner and Sierra Marilyn Riley as his teenaged daughter Violet, who works at Emily’s store. The rest of the cast includes Jean Yoon (Kim’s Convenience), Lara Amersey (Operation Nutcracker) and Kylee Evans (Good Witch). Shooting will begin later this year for a 2025 holiday season premiere.

Canadian author Ian Hamilton’s Ava Lee novels are being given the small screen treatment by Robin Cass and Robert Munroe, who signed a deal for seventeen of the Ava Lee novels plus four Uncle Chow Tung prequel books. A globe-traveling enigma, Ava Lee is an unexpected heroine—a formidable forensic accountant, a fearless sleuth and a master of an ancient martial artform, Bak Mei, historically taught only to males. She is a true original as she outruns, outsmarts and outpaces the most dangerous criminals in the world.


PODCASTS/RADIO

Talking Book Publishing hosts Kathleen Kaiser and Adanna Moriarty sat down with Jane Howatt, author of Jigsaw and Jane: 13 Years of Murder and Mayhem with Badge Number One. Jane shares the incredible story of how a single newspaper article led her into the world of homicide detective John St. John, the LAPD’s legendary investigator known as "Jigsaw John." What started as an ambitious attempt to write a book turned into a transformative journey that brought Jane face-to-face with crime scenes, victims' families, and even serial killers.

Murder Junction welcomed thriller writing legend Scott Turow to talk about his new book, Presumed Guilty, and also discussed the true story behind the classic Presumed Innocent and Turow's short-lived career as a screen extra.

On Crime Time FM, Ajay Chowdhury chatted with Craig Sisterson about his new novel, The Shadow, which follows Detective Kamil Rahman, who has handed in his resignation to the Met and set up a detective agency with his friend Anjoli after a bruising encounter with a terrorist group.

Debbi Mack's latest guest on the Crime Cafe podcast was Carter Wilson, author of 10 award-winning psychological thrillers.

Wrong Place, Write Crime explored Claire Booth's background and novels, including her Sheriff Hank Worth series.

Authors on the Air host Matthew V. Clemens and author Lauren Willig discussed her latest novel, The Girl From Greenwich Street, based on a real-life murder trial where Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr served as part of the defense team.

On the Pick Your Poison podcast, Dr. Jen Prosser investigated a poison that causes septic shock, a famous scientist who died after exposure, and a medical treatment that requires a doctor’s note to get through airport security after receiving it.

Author R&R with Brandi Bradley

Brandi Bradley is an indie author and educator who lives in the great city of Atlanta, Georgia. She writes short stories and novels about crime, family drama, flea markets, cowboys, rowdy girls, and gossip. She has had short stories and essays published in Juked, Louisiana Literature, Carve, and Nashville Review. She teaches writing at Kennesaw State University. Mothers of the Missing Mermaid (2023) is her debut novel of secrets by the sea in Destin. Bradley’s second book, Pretty Girls Get Away With Murder is being released today.

About the book: When a young entrepreneur is killed, everyone in town points fingers at his picture-perfect fitness influencer ex-girlfriend, Gabbi – including the victim's best friend, Jenna. As detective Lindy D'Arnaud and her partner Boggs search for a motive, they begin to wonder if this is a case of jealous violence or something much deeper. In Lindy's personal life, things aren't much clearer. When Lindy's wife's ex-boyfriend–and sperm donor to their baby–decides to move back to town, she finds herself competing for her wife's affection. Told through the shifting perspectives of Lindy, Gabbi, and Jenna, "Pretty Girls Get Away With Murder" is a page-turner brimming with quick wit and juicy gossip.

Brandy stops by In Reference to Murder to take some Author R&R about writing and researching the book:

 

Pretty Girls Get Away With Murder is about the murder of an up-and-coming small town entrepreneur, Ethan Moll, but it’s really about the women he surrounded himself with before he died, and the woman who solves the case.

When working on this novel, I kept recalling how a writing instructor once told me to make sure I include something in my books that’s just for me, something that makes me smile. Because writers get so much feedback on what works, what doesn’t work, what people want, what readers want, what agents want, and after a while it’s like your book is no longer your own, because you are trying to make everyone else like it. She suggested that I always keep something in it just for me.

For Pretty Girls Get Away With Murder, because so much of it is about a drive to reinvent oneself, I allowed one of my characters to live their glow-up journey out in the open. I thought it would be fun to show someone under the influence of a self-help personality.

I read lots of self-help books: self-help for creativity, self-help for writers, self-help for spirituality, self-help for productivity, self-help for finances. I enjoy hearing tips and tricks and figuring out whether it works for my life. But some of the fun of self-help is the personalities of these people who write books designed to tell absolute strangers how that person should live their life. These are people who say they have all the answers.

And that takes such chutzpah.

One of my characters – and one of the more fun chapters to write – stumbles upon a lecture led by a self-help personality and she gets recruited into this person’s orbit. It was so fun to develop this hybrid character of different self-help personalities– these people who are charismatic and exacting, but also clearly making money. While my character waits for her book to be signed she is surrounded by tables full of not only books, but affirmation decks, journals, workbooks, bookmarks, flyers for additional events. She’s singled out by a member of the staff and is invited to an “intensive” retreat. It’s all very love-bombing, but also empowering for this character. I mean, who doesn’t like to be told they are smart and can do anything they set their mind to? Even if it comes with an undertone of “all of this for $19.95.”

I also wanted to show how parts of the self-help guidance worked for her. As the story progressed, I could pepper in how the character returns to this self-help personality’s products when she needs answers – she’s got audio books, she’s got physical books flagged and annotated, she quotes this person. She was able to change some negative patterns in her life. And it was fun having other characters eye-roll at her new self-satisfied attitude where she thinks she has all the answers, too.

When writing that scene, or actually just while writing this novel, I revisited a lot of old self-help audio books and listened to them while commuting around town. Which had a double benefit, because the person on the audio is telling me I’m pretty and smart and can crush all my goals, but then I would hear an affirmation or interesting quotable line and think, “Oh, that would be so good for the book!”

When I think of research, I flashback to my school days looking up academic articles on JStor and Academic Search Complete, but the truth is everything around me is research. The self-help books, the true crime podcasts I listen to, the stories my best friend tells me when we have one of our three-hour conferences, the crime story long reads my husband sends me with the comment, “relevant to your interests.” All of it goes through my brain, churns around, and comes out as new stories. And this kind of “research” is far more fun than googling answers.

 

You can learn more about Brandi Bradley via her website and follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and Tiktok. Pretty Girls Get Away With Murder is now available via all major booksellers.

Mystery Melange

Mount Rushmore Made From Old Phone Books by Long-bin Chen

Wyoming's Craig Johnson, author of the "Longmire" series, is the 2025 winner of the Owen Wister Award, the highest honor given by Western Writers of America in recognition of lifetime contributions to the genre. Originally given for "best book of the year," it was expanded in 1967 to include anyone advancing Western literature. Previous winners include Tony Hillerman, Elmore Leonard, and Loren D. Estleman.

Foreword Book Reviews announced the finalists for the INDIES Book of the Year Awards, including the dozen titles in both the Mystery and Thriller categories. Winners in each genre, along with Editor’s Choice Prize winners and Foreword’s Indie Publisher of the Year, will be announced in June 2025.

Several crime writers are putting together an auction for trans rights, with all proceeds going to the Transgender Law Center, an organization providing legal protections for trans adults and youth in the United States. The auction runs March 26-April 1, and includes writers like David Baldacci, Gillian Flynn, Roxane Gay, Ann Cleaves, S.A. Cosby, Megan Abbott, Kellye Garrett, Louise Penny, Alex Segura, Robyn Gigl, Gigi Pandian, and a lot more donating prizes for the cause. Check out all of the participating writers (as well as agents, organizations, bookstores, and more) and prizes via this link.

Alex Mattingly (aka Craig Francis Coates) is establishing a new crime/mystery publication for short fiction. Cold Caller is currently seeking stories of 2-6,000 words about "bad decisions and worse consequences; unlucky losers who can't catch a break; grifters and con men convinced they're about to score big; good men and women who have very good reasons to do terrible things." For more information, follow this link.

Mystery Readers Journal is seeking articles, reviews, and author essays about mysteries that focus on retail sales (shops, stores, and retail sales settings). Author Essays (500-1,000 words) are first person, about yourself, your books, and the "Retail Sales" connection, while articles on the topic should also be 500-1,000 words, and reviews 50-250 words.

Janet Rudolph posted a list of St. Patrick's Day themed Crime Fiction and mysteries.

This is almost more of a Media Murder for Monday item, but The John Wick Experience, based on the $1 billion-grossing "John Wick" movie franchise, is now open to the public. The 12,000-square-foot an immersive attraction is located at AREA15 (where Universal will soon open a year-round horror experience) and includes more than a dozen highly themed cinematic rooms, live interactions and interactive gameplay, two themed bars, and a retail shop.


In the Q&A roundup, Author Interviews spoke with Clea Simon, author of three nonfiction books and 32 cozy mysteries and suspense novels, most recently the psychological suspense title, The Butterfly Trap; mystery author Darlene Dziomba chatted with Lisa Haselton about her new cozy release, Assault & Gobblery; Tessa Wegert, author of the Shana Merchant series, stopped by Promoting Crime Fiction to discuss her writing and her latest book, The Coldest Case; and David Ellis, a Judge and an Edgar-award-winning author of ten novels of crime fiction, as well as eight books co-authored with James Patterson, stopped by WGN radio to talk about his writing style and how he goes about writing crime novels.

Media Murder for Monday

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

THE BIG SCREEN/MOVIES

White Lotus star Michelle Monaghan and Severance star Adam Scott are set to join Robert De Niro in the movie adaptation of the Alex North novel, The Whisper Man. James Ashcroft is set to direct, with Ben Jacoby and Chase Palmer adapting the script. The story revolves around a widower crime writer who looks to his estranged father, a retired former police detective, for help after his 8-year-old son is abducted, only to discover a connection with the decades-old case of a convicted serial killer known as “The Whisper Man.”

TELEVISION/STREAMING

Charlie B. Foster is set to recur in Scarpetta, Prime Video‘s upcoming thriller series starring Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis. The actor, who is Jodie Foster's son, plays Wingo, an assistant in the morgue. Based on Patricia Cornwell’s hit books, the series follows Kay Scarpetta (Kidman), the Chief Medical Examiner, as she returns to Virginia and resumes her former position with complex relationships, both personal and professional – including her sister Dorothy (Curtis) – with plenty of grudges and secrets to uncover. Foster joins previously announced cast members Bobby Cannavale, Simon Baker, Rosy McEwen, Jake Cannavale, Ariana DeBose, and Hunter Parrish.

Paramount+ has officially renewed Criminal Minds: Evolution, starring Joe Mantegna, A.J. Cook, Paget Brewster, and Kirsten Vangsness, for a fourth season. The early pickup for the Criminal Minds sequel comes ahead of the crime drama’s Season 3 premiere, which has been set for May 8. The 10-episode third season will feature a time jump, picking up six months after prisoners attack the notorious Sicarius Killer, Elias Voit, leading his restless followers on the dark web to begin wreaking havoc all over the country. In order to stop this nefarious group from killing more innocents, the BAU is forced to work alongside an increasingly unpredictable Voit who has his own agenda.

Netflix has officially greenlit Nemesis, the story of two men on either side of the law:  expert criminal, Coltrane Wilder and brilliant police detective, Isaiah Stiles. According to the logline: "What starts as a series that aims to subvert the heist genre at every turn, amped with thrilling life-or-death stakes, family dynamics, and explosive action, actually gives birth to an exploration of what drives us, sustains us, and ultimately destroys us." Matthew Law (Abbott Elementary) and Y’Ian Noel (Lady in the Lake) have been tapped for the two leads. Rounding out the cast are two Power alums, Domenick Lombardozzi and Jonnie Park, as well as Cleopatra Coleman (Black Rabbit), Tre Hale (All-American) and Ariana Guerra (CSI: Vegas).

British crime thriller Unforgotten has been renewed for season 7. The program follows a team of London detectives led by DCI Cassie Stuart (Nicola Walker in Series 1–4), DCI Jessie James (Sinéad Keenan in Series 5-6) and DI Sunny Khan (Sanjeev Bhaskar) as they solve cold cases of disappearance and murder. Each series deals with a new case, introducing seemingly unconnected characters who are gradually revealed to have some relationship with the victim. As the murder mystery unfolds, the emotional ramifications of the crime on the lives of those affected are also explored. Keenan and Khan are both expected to return for the seventh season.

Prime Video has officially released the trailer for the third and final season of Bosch: Legacy. The series will debut with four episodes on March 27, followed by two new episodes every Thursday until the series finale on April 17. Based on Michael Connelly’s bestselling novels, Desert Star (2022) and The Black Ice (1993), the final season will see Harry Bosch (Titus Welliver) facing one of his most challenging cases yet, the murder investigation of Kurt Dockweiler, which unearths dangerous secrets.

The deep cuts on CBS's series slate include two high-profile cancellations, the FBI spinoffs, FBI: Most Wanted, which is ending after six seasons, and FBI: International, canceled after four seasons. Both Wolf Entertainment/Universal television series are headlined by big stars, Dylan McDermott (Most Wanted) and Jesse Lee Soffer (International), who had moved to the offshoots from other Dick Wolf shows, Law & Order: Organized Crime and Chicago P.D., respectively. The cancellations leave the highly rated mothership FBI, now in its seventh season on CBS, and a potential new offshoot, FBI: CIA, now in development. It is unclear whether Universal TV and Wolf Entertainment will shop the two FBI spinoffs, which still deliver solid viewership numbers, to other platforms.

PODCASTS/RADIO

The Sidedoor podcast focused on "Poison and Poisonability" with guests Kristen Frederick-Frost, curator of science at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, Lisa Perrin, author and illustrator of The League of Lady Poisoners, and Deborah Blum, author of The Poisoner's Handbook. When we think of serial killers, we tend to think of men—Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Jack the Ripper. But in the 1800s, the deadliest killers often wore corsets. In fact, so many women were arrested for serial poisoning that the era became known as the “Golden Age of Arsenic.” How did these women evade capture for so long? And how did their murders help give rise to modern criminal forensics?

On Read or Dead, Katie McLain Horner and honorary "reading assassin" Liberty Hardy talk about mysteries with feminist themes for Women’s History Month.

The BBC's Shedunnit podcast featured a look at "The Mystery Short Story: a consideration of crime fiction’s more compact incarnation."

Paul Burke reviewed twelve of the latest crime fiction titles on Crime Time FM.

Barry Bonanza

Deadly Pleasures Magazine announced this year's finalists for the Barry Awards. The winners will be voted on by subscribers and readers of the magazine and presented at this year’s Bouchercon in New Orleans during its Opening Ceremonies on Thursday, September 4, 2025. Congratulations to all the finalists!

Best Mystery Novel

THE WAITING, Michael Connelly
SPIRIT CROSSING, William Kent Krueger
THE GOD OF THE WOODS, Liz Moore
MIDNIGHT AND BLUE, Ian Rankin
CALIFORNIA BEAR, Duane Swierczynski
ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK, Chris Whitaker

Best First Mystery Novel

THE EXPECTANT DETECTIVES, Kat Ailes
PAPER CAGE, Tom Baragwanath
ORDINARY BEAR, C. B. Bernard
IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE, Jo Callaghan
FIRST LIE WINS, Ashley Elston
LISTEN FOR THE LIE, Amy Tintera

Best Paperback Original Mystery Novel

DOUBLE BARREL BLUFF, Lou Berney
ALL THE RAGE, Cara Hunter
SMOKE KINGS, Jahmal Mayfield
SOMEONE SAW SOMETHING, Rick Mofina
WORDHUNTER, Stella Sands
SIN CITY, James Swain

Best Action Thriller

ASSASSIN EIGHTEEN, John Brownlow
FIRST STRIKE, Stephen Leather
THE SEVENTH FLOOR, David McCloskey
HUNTED, Abir Mukherjee
HERO, Thomas Perry
THE PRICE YOU PAY, Nick Petrie

 

Mystery Melange

Benjamin Franklin altered book by Dawn Morehead

Joseph Wambaugh, former member of the Los Angeles Police Department turned author, passed away last week of esophageal cancer at the age of 88. Wambaugh joined the LAPD in 1960 and served for 14 years, and his perspective on police work inspired his first novel, The New Centurions, which was published early in 1971 to critical acclaim and popular success. He went on to publish sixteen novels and five nonfiction works, several of which were made into films and television adaptations. He won three Edgar Awards and was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America and received The Strand Mystery Magazine award for lifetime achievement.

The Audio Publishers Association announced the winners in 28 categories for the 30th annual Audie Awards for audiobooks and spoken-word entertainment, including mysteries and thrillers. The winner of the mystery category was Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera, narrated by Will Damron and January LaVoy (Macmillan Audio), while the thriller winner was Lone Wolf by Gregg Hurwitz, narrated by Scott Brick (Macmillan Audio). You can see all the finalists in those categories here.

NoirCon announced that this year's conference will once again be heading west again from the gritty streets of Philadelphia to the even grittier streets of the California desert. The 9th NoirCon will be held at the Palm Springs Cultural Center, Thurs-Sun, October 23-26, 2025, and feature movie screenings, special guests, informative panels, and unique noir-related events. Organizers will be partnering again with The Best Bookstore in Palm Springs.

Noir at the Bar heads to Roma's in downtown Nacogdoches on Friday, March 7 at 6:30 pm. Authors scheduled to participate currently include Joe R Lansdale, VP Chandler, Jim Nesbitt, Reavis Wortham, Tim Bryant, and James W. King.

There will also be a Noir at the Bar at Elaine's Restaurant in Alexandria, Virginia, on April 24th at 7 p.m., hosted by Alan Orloff. Other authors scheduled to read from their works include E.A. Aymar, Chris Chambers, Tara Laskowski, Adam Meyer, Tom Milani, K.T. Nguyen, Art Taylor, and Stacy Woodson.

The deadline is fast approaching for applications to Sisters in Crime's Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award, an annual grant of $2,000 for an emerging writer of color. This grant is intended to support the recipient in crime fiction writing and career development activities. The grantee may choose to use the grant for workshops, seminars, conferences, retreats, online courses, and research required for completion of the work. Submissions for the 2025 award are due March 31. For more information, follow this link.

Applications are now open for the Jane Gregory Bursaries which offer three under-represented writers a unique opportunity to attend the Creative Thursday writing day at the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival 2025 in Harrogate, UK. Creative Thursday is an immersive day of workshops and talks led by industry experts and bestselling crime writers including Vaseem Khan, Mick Herron, Will Dean, and Laura Shepherd Robinson, taking place July 17, 2025, the opening day of the Theakston Old Peculier festival. One of the bursaries will also include a Weekend Break Package with accommodation and tickets to all Festival main stage events. Applications from under-represented writers, who may lack opportunities due to disabilities, identity, health or social circumstances, are welcomed via this link. The deadline is Friday, April 18th.

Lee Child’s first autobiographical collection, Reacher: The Stories Behind the Stories, will be published by Transworld in September. Sarah Adams, fiction and brand publisher, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Otto Penzler, of New York-based Mysterious Press, in a collection of origin tales for all of Lee Child’s solo-written Reacher novels. Editions will also include an introduction and new Jack Reacher story from Child, along with an afterword by Penzler, exploring the importance of the character and novels within contemporary crime fiction. The stories were originally published by Penzler's Mysterious Bookshop as forewords to 100-copy-run limited editions of the novels, and this is the first time they have been published as a collection for a global audience.

Scandinavian crime fiction is hot these days, and Amandine Enard-Hauger compiled a list of 12 must-read books by Arnaldur Indridason, the master of Icelandic crime fiction. Ever since Jar City (2000), his first international success, Indridason has grown into as a major voice in Scandinavian crime fiction with his minimalist, hard-hitting style that captures the darkness of human souls and the weight of the past, two recurring themes in his work.

A new statue of crime writer Agatha Christie in a south Devon town is due to be unveiled later this year by journalist and BBC Radio 2 presenter Jeremy Vine. The statue, by local artist Elisabeth Hadley, will be the focal point of Torquay's £4m new harborside plaza. The unveiling will coincide with an Agatha Christie festival, Spring Gathering, in April. The statue of the author, known for her detective novels featuring characters such as Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, should have been unveiled last year, but delays to the harborside project meant the event had to be pushed back. The author was born in Torquay in 1890 and kept ties to Devon throughout her life.

In the Q&A roundup, Author Interviews spoke with Clea Simon, author of three nonfiction books and 32 cozy mysteries and suspense novels, most recently the psychological suspense The Butterfly Trap; mystery author Darlene Dziomba chatted with Lisa Haselton about her new cozy release, Assault & Gobblery; and Tessa Wegert, author of the Shana Merchant series, stopped by Author Interviews to discuss her writing and her latest book, The Coldest Case.

Author R&R with donalee Moulton

donalee Moulton is an award-winning freelance journalist who has written articles for print and online publications across North America including The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, Lawyer’s Daily, National Post, and Canadian Business. donalee’s first mystery book Hung out to Die was published in 2023. A historical mystery, Conflagration!, was published in 2024 and won the 2024 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense (Historical Fiction). A short story, “Swan Song,” was one of 21 selected for publication in Cold Canadian Crime and also shortlisted for an Award of Excellence. donalee’s short story “Troubled Water” was shortlisted for a 2024 Derringer Award and a 2024 Award of Excellence from the Crime Writers of Canada. 

In donalee's new mystery novel, Bind, a watch goes missing from a changing room at a gym—an expensive watch with a loud, arrogant owner. The theft connects three yogis in a way full lotus never could. As the search for a thief unfolds, so do seemingly unrelated questions:  Why does Lexie have such an intense interest in a much-younger trainer at the gym? Who is the unnamed, unknown man who keeps leaving Charlene messages? Why does no one know Woo Woo lives in a mansion?

donalee stops by In Reference to Murder to take some Author R&R about researching and writing the book:

 

The ties that bind us – to research

My third mystery, Bind, is out in the world. Here’s the pitch:

Everything that happens in a yoga studio is not Zen. Sometimes it’s grand larceny. Three yogis, two cops, and one damn cute dog join forces to discover who’s stolen a Patek Philippe watch from what was supposed to be a secure locker.  Time is ticking.

As I was writing Bind, indeed, as I was envisioning what the book would be, I patted myself on the back for picking a theme, a location, and characters I was more familiar with than in my previous two books. Less research, less investigation, less fact checking. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

My first mystery, Hung Out to Die, follows Riel Brava, born and bred in Santa Barbara, California, and transplanted to Nova Scotia where he is CEO of the Canadian Cannabis Corporation. It’s business as usual until Riel finds the company’s comptroller hanging by a thread. Actually, several threads. It doesn’t take the police long to determine all is not as it appears. Riel is drawn into helping solve a murder. He’d rather not. His reluctance, in part, has to do with the fact that he is a psychopath. The nicer kind, not the serial killer kind.

To make Riel and the murder realistically come to life, I spent a lot of time researching cannabis production, psychopathy, death by hanging, and upscale coffees. I even spent some time exploring the inner workings of a donair. Riel eats his first in the book; I’ve never had one.

In a twist, my second book, Conflagration!, is a historical mystery that centers around Marie-Joseph Angélique, an enslaved Black woman accused of setting the lower town of Montreal on fire in 1734.  Philippe Archambeau, a court clerk assigned specifically to document her case, believes Angelique might be innocent. Or not. A reticent servant, a boisterous jailer, and three fire-scorched shingles prove indispensable in his quest to uncover what really happened.

Of course, the reality of history and the mystery I created immersed me in life nearly three hundred years ago. It also required learning about the French justice system of 1734 and specifically the trial of Angélique.

You can see why I patted myself on the back when the idea for Bind took hold in my imagination. A watch goes missing from a changeroom at a gym – an expensive watch with a loud, arrogant owner. The theft connects three yogis in a way full lotus never could. As the search for a thief unfolds, so do seemingly unrelated questions. Why does Lexie have such an intense interest in a much-younger trainer at the gym? Who is the unnamed, unknown man who keeps leaving Charlene messages? Why does no one know Woo Woo lives in a mansion?

I thought research would be minimal. The women in the book are my age, they live in my neighborhood, they do yoga – like me. What more could there be to research? Plenty as it turned out. One of the main characters, Lexie, is a comedian with a popular podcast, so now I’m learning about podcasts. Another main character, Charlene, is an auditor, and suddenly I’m delving into what auditors do exactly and how they do it. Another character, Woo Woo, is a reflexologist…. Well, you get it.

It’s authenticity that makes writing come to life, and authentic writing requires writers to hunker down and delve into worlds they don’t know well and don’t know at all. I mean who knew a watch could cost $100,000. I had no idea. I do now.

 

You can learn more about donalee and her writing via her website and follow her on Facebook, Goodreads, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Bluesky. Bind is now available via all major booksellers.

Topmost Thrillers

The International Thriller Writers announced the finalists for the 2025 Thriller Awards. Winners will be revealed at ThrillerFest XX on Saturday, June 21, 2025 at the New York Hilton Midtown, New York City. Congratulations to all!

 

BEST STANDALONE THRILLER NOVEL

• Kimberly Belle — THE PARIS WIDOW (Harlequin – Park Row)
• Will Dean — THE CHAMBER (Emily Bestler Books)
• T.J. Newman — WORST CASE SCENARIO (Little, Brown & Co.)
• Jason Rekulak — THE LAST ONE AT THE WEDDING (Flatiron Books)
• Lisa Scottoline — THE TRUTH ABOUT THE DEVLINS (Penguin/Putnam)

BEST STANDALONE MYSTERY NOVEL

• Libby Cudmore — NEGATIVE GIRL (Datura Books)
• Laura Dave — THE NIGHT WE LOST HIM (Simon & Schuster)
• Kellye Garrett — MISSING WHITE WOMAN (Mulholland Books)
• Harry Hunsicker — THE LIFE AND DEATH OF ROSE DOUCETTE (Oceanview Publishing)
• Dervla McTiernan — WHAT HAPPENED TO NINA? (William Morrow)
• Lori Roy — LAKE COUNTY (Thomas & Mercer)

BEST SERIES NOVEL

• David Baldacci — TO DIE FOR (Grand Central Publishing)
• Eric Beetner — THE LAST FEW MILES OF ROAD (Level Best Books)
• Ann Cleeves — THE DARK WIVES (Minotaur)
• Meg Gardiner — SHADOWHEART (Blackstone Publishing)
• Iris Johansen, Roy Johansen — FLASHBACK (Grand Central Publishing)
• Isabella Maldonado — A FORGOTTEN KILL (Thomas & Mercer)

BEST FIRST NOVEL

• Kate Brody — RABBIT HOLE (Soho Crime)
• Jaime deBlanc — AFTER IMAGE (Thomas & Mercer)
• Carinn Jade — THE ASTROLOGY HOUSE (Atria)
• Alejandro Nodarse —BLOOD IN THE CUT (Flatiron Books)
• Marie Tierney — DEADLY ANIMALS (Henry Holt & Co.)

BEST AUDIOBOOK

• Sally Hepworth — DARLING GIRLS (Macmillan), Narrated by Jessica Clarke
• Jon Lindstrom — HOLLYWOOD HUSTLE (Dreamscape Media), Narrated by Jon Lindstrom
• Kate Alice Marshall — NO ONE CAN KNOW (Macmillan Audio),      Narrated by Karissa Vacker
• Hilton Reed — BEYOND ALL DOUBT (Dreamscape Media), Narrated by George Newbern
• Amy Tintera — LISTEN FOR THE LIE (Macmillan),      Narrated by January LaVoy and Will Damron
  

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

• Adam Cesare — INFLUENCER (Union Square & Co., LLC)
• Ripley Jones — THE OTHER LOLA (Wednesday Books)
• Marisha Pessl — DARKLY (Delacorte)
• Natalie Richards — 49 MILES ALONE (Sourcebooks Fire)
• Melanie Sumrow — GIRLS LIKE HER (Balzer + Bray)

BEST SHORT STORY

• Stefanie Leder — "Not a Dinner Party Person" (Soho Crime)
• Twist Phelan — "Double Parked" (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)
• Ivy Pochoda — Jackrabbit Skin (Amazon Original Stories)
• Lisa Unger — The Doll's House (Amazon Original Stories)
• Joseph S. Walker — "And Now, an Inspiring Story of Tragedy Overcome" (Wildside Press)

Media Murder for Monday

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

THE BIG SCREEN/MOVIES

Amazon MGM Studios and Safehouse Pictures are developing a film adaptation of Lincoln Child's series of novels featuring Jeremy Logan. The film will center on Logan, who is a self-proclaimed "enigmatologist," an investigator who works to debunk the paranormal and unexplained using modern science. The Jeremy Logan books include Child’s novels Deep Storm, Terminal Freeze, The Third Gate, The Forgotten Room, Full Wolf Moon, and Chrysalis. Jeremy Lott and Cory Goodman (the duo who are also adapting the comic series Proof for Fox) are writing the script.

Academy Award Winner Al Pacino is set to join the upcoming hostage thriller, Dead Man’s Wire, to be directed by Academy Award nominee Gus Van Sant. He joins previously announced Bill Skarsgard, Dacre Montgomery, Myha’la, Cary Elwes, and Colman Domingo. The project centers on Anthony G. "Tony" Kiritsis, 44, who enters the office of Richard O. Hall, president of the Meridian Mortgage Company, and takes him hostage with a sawed-off 12-gauge shotgun rigged with a "dead man’s wire" from the trigger to Tony’s own neck. It's based on a the true story of the stand-off that took the world by storm as Tony demanded $5 million, no charges or prosecution, and a personal apology from the Halls for cheating him out of what he was "owed." 

TELEVISION/STREAMING

AMC has renwed Dark Winds for a fourth season. The series, which is based on Tony Hillerman’s Leaphorn & Chee books, follows Lt. Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon), Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon) and Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten) of the Navajo Tribal Police solving mysteries on their reservation as it is besieged by increasingly violent crimes in the 1970s. The third season, which premieres on March 9, picks up six months after the events of Season 2 and follows Leaphorn and Chee as they investigate the disappearance of two boys, with only an abandoned bicycle and blood-stained patch of ground left in their wake. Meanwhile, Manuelito attempts to settle into her new life 500 miles from home with the Border Patrol, but stumbles across a conspiracy involving human and drug smuggling with far-reaching implications.

The Reacher spinoff series centered on Frances Neagley at Amazon Prime Video has added five series regulars. Now officially titled Neagley, the series will star Greyston Holt (The Night Agent) as Detective Hudson Riley; Jasper Jones (King Ivory) as Keno; Adeline Rudolph (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) as Renee; Matthew Del Negro (Mayor of Kingstown) as Pierce Woodrow; and Damon Herriman (Justified) as Lawrence Cole. The five new additions join previously announced series lead Maria Sten, who will reprise the role of Neagley from Reacher, who is a private investigator in Chicago. When she learns a beloved friend from her past has been killed in a suspicious accident, she becomes hell-bent on justice. Using everything she’s learned from Jack Reacher and her time as a member of the 110 Special Investigators, Neagley puts herself on a dangerous path to uncover a menacing evil.

Apple TV+ has picked up Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed, a 10-episode series starring Emmy Award winner Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black). The half-hour darkly comedic thriller, written and executive produced by creator and showrunner David J. Rosen (Citadel), follows a newly divorced mom (Maslany) who falls down a dangerous rabbit hole of blackmail, murder, and youth soccer. Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed will be directed and co-executive produced by David Gordon Green (Nutcrackers).

PODCASTS/RADIO

On the Culture Point podcast, author and screenwriter Walter Mosley joined Aaron Philip Clark to discuss his recent book, Been Wrong So Long it Feels Like Right, the third novel in the King Oliver series. The pair also talked about the array of characters that populate Mosley's fiction, such as Easy Rawlins and Mouse, explored what makes Joe Oliver a hero, and learned about Mosley's upcoming projects.

Meet the Thriller Author celebrated ten years of the podcast with a look back and highlights.

Debbi Mack chatted with Priscilla Paton on the Crime Cafe podcast about her Twin Cities mysteries and the inspiration behind her dual detectives Eric Jansson and Deb Metzger.

On Crime Time FM, Tania Malik chatted with Paul Burke about her novel, just out in the UK, Hope You are Satisfied; Dubai; the immigrant experience; spooks, smugglers and tourists.

Murder Junction hosts Vaseem Khan and Abir Mukherjee spoke with crime writer Nina Badhreshwar about her debut novel, The Day of the Roaring, and discussed some fun facts about Sheffield.

On the Pick Your Poison podcast, Dr. Jen Prosser investigated which toxin causes excruciating pain and death in minutes, which one has been treated with amputation, and when petroleum jelly (brand name Vaseline) is used to treat poisoning.