Crime Fiction Dossier

More on the Edgars

Looking at the Big 3 awards, we have:

BEST NOVEL: The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR: The Faithful Spy by Alex Berenson (Random House)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL: Snakeskin Shamisen by Naomi Hirahara (Bantam Dell Publishing – Delta Books)

I've only read one of the three: Naomi Hirahara's Snakeskin Shamisen, a book I enjoyed a lot. (I also reviewed it in the Chicago Sun-Times, although the link is no longer active.) Hirahara has been doing excellent work over the past few years, so it was pleasing to see her win.

I've heard good things about Alex Berenson's The Faithful Spy, although I never got around to reading it. I'd like to sometime, but who knows if I'll get the chance. At least my favorite first novel of the year (John Hart's King of Lies) was nominated, even if it didn't win.

As for Jason Goodwin's The Janissary Tree...Well, to be honest, I don't recall even hearing about it. (I didn't read any of the nominees in this category.) But that's part of the beauty of awards: they help call attention to books that otherwise might go overlooked.

All in all, not my favorite line-up of winners I've ever seen. But that's part of the beauty of awards as well: discussing who won, who should have won, and why. Oh, and bitching and moaning, too, of course.

Just in case you haven't had your fill of awards, we'll be announcing the winners of the Gumshoe Awards next week.

2007 Edgar Award Winners

You've probably seen these already, but just in case...

The Mystery Writers of America announced last night the winners of the 2007 Edgar Awards (for books, short stories, TV episodes, etc.) published or produced in 2006.

BEST NOVEL
The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR
The Faithful Spy by Alex Berenson (Random House)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
Snakeskin Shamisen by Naomi Hirahara (Bantam Dell Publishing – Delta Books)

BEST FACT CRIME
Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson
(HarperCollins – William Morrow)

BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL
The Science of Sherlock Holmes: From Baskerville Hall to the Valley of Fear
by E.J. Wagner (John Wiley & Sons)

BEST SHORT STORY
"The Home Front" – Death Do Us Part by Charles Ardai
(Hachette Book Group – Little, Brown and Company)

BEST JUVENILE
Room One: A Mystery or Two by Andrew Clements (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)

BEST YOUNG ADULT
Buried by Robin Merrow MacCready (Penguin YR – Dutton Children's Books)

BEST PLAY
Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure by Steven Dietz (Arizona Theatre Company)

BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY
Life on Mars – Episode 1, Teleplay by Matthew Graham (BBC America)

BEST TELEVISION FEATURE/MINI-SERIES TELEPLAY
The Wire, Season 4, Teleplays by Ed Burns, Kia Corthron, Dennis Lehane, David Mills, Eric Overmyer, George Pelecanos, Richard Price, David Simon & William F. Zorzi (Home Box Office)

BEST MOTION PICTURE SCREENPLAY
The Departed, Screenplay by William Monahan (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Top Ten Reasons to Go to Thrillerfest

ThrillerFest is only 3 months away -- are you excited yet? Dave White has shared his "Top Ten Reasons to Go to ThrillerFest" and asked others to do the same. So here goes.

1. Have a chance to buy me a drink. Who knows, maybe I'll review your next book.

2. Touch Barry Eisler's hair. He really doesn't mind if you run your fingers through it. It's quite silky.

3. Ask M.J. Rose if she's really tried out all those kinky sex things she writes about in her books. (Hint: the answer is yes.)

4. Steal ARCs. Many authors in attendance will have ARCs of their new books with them. Those same authors can frequently be found in the bar, three sheets to the wind. You do the math.

5. Meet James Patterson. I hear he's looking for another co-writer. Maybe it could be you!

6. Ask Lee Child how his last-place Yankees are doing. Oh, that's right. They're in last place.

7. See New York, one of the world's finest cities. Admittedly, I won't leave the hotel the entire time...but you could.

8. Follow agents into the bathroom and pitch them your manuscript. I've heard this is how most writers got an agent, so it should work for you, too.

9. Ask Jim Born if you can touch his gun. He'll know what you mean.

10. Did I mention you could buy me a drink?

I hope to see many of you there!

A recommended review

In the Washington Post last week, Adrian McKinty, author of the fine crime novel Dead I Way May Be (among other books), reviewed David Ignatius' Body of Lies.

I read Ignatius' book as well, and was quite impressed with it. It's a very entertaining and well researched thriller, reminiscent of the word of Frederick Forsyth and Daniel Silva.

I think I liked it a little more than McKinty did, but his critique is insightful, well written and informative. (I also agree with the minor negative critique that he makes of a few aspects of the book.)

Since I might not be reviewing the book myself, I refer you to McKinty's piece. It's well worth a read, as is Body of Lies.

St. Martin's Minotaur/Mystery Writers of America Best First Crime Novel Competition

St. Martin's Minotaur and the Mystery Writers of America have teamed up to present a new contest for unpublished writers. There aren't many requirements, other than it has to be at least 60,000 words and must feature "murder or another serious crime or crimes...at the heart of the story."

The prize is a one-book contract and $10,000 advance. You can see the complete rules on the website.

Latest Chicago Sun-Times column

My latest column ran in the Chicago Sun-Times on Sunday. (I missed it until now because initially they didn't put it up on the website, which is where I read it.)

The round-up included reviews of:

• J.D. Robb - Innocent in Death
• Chris Mooney - The Missing
• Stephen White - Dry Ice
• David Morrell - Scavenger
• Jonathan Kellerman - Obsession

Tales of the Teapot

Who says we don't give any love to the cozies on CFD?

Author Julia Spencer-Fleming, a favorite of mine and a current nominee for the Gumshoe Award for Best Mystery, conducted interviews with her fellow nominees for the Agatha Awards.

Authors Earlene Fowler, Jacqueline Winspear, Nancy Pickard and L.C. Hayden, discuss their lives, books and craft.

Check it out.

Another book review section gone

Critical Mass, the blog of the National Book Critics Circle (of which I am a member), reports that the Atlanta Journal Constitution has eliminated its book editor position, possibly signaling the end of their independent book coverage.

What often happens in situations like this is that paper will continue a modest amount of coverage with wire stories or reviews pulled from other papers like the New York Times. Either that, or sometimes they just stop writing about books altogether.

Whenever newspapers make decisions like this, it always strikes me as being not only penurious, but short-sighted. Even if the powers-that-be don't believe that coverage of literature is worthwhile as a public service, you would think they would support it as an investment in their own future profits.

If newspapers don't help to promote a culture of reading, who do they think is going to read newspapers in the future? On the other hand, by fostering and encouraging a love and respect for reading, they're creating additional consumers for their product.

People buy the newspaper for the sports section, comics, horoscopes and Dear Abby. They don't buy the paper for the editorials, the international reporting or the book reviews. But cultural coverage, like international reporting and editorials, is still a valuable part of the product that newspapers provide.

Most newspapers generate significant revenues and many are quite profitable. Yet somehow too many of them can't seem to devote even a couple of pages to reviews of books. And that's a damn shame.

Books I can't review

I receive daily emails from authors requesting book reviews. I wish I could say yes every time, but unfortunately, the answer is more often no. I receive a couple hundred books a month and review maybe ten of them if I'm lucky.

Most of the time, I don't end up reviewing a book because I ran out of space, didn't have time to read it, didn't have anything to say about it, didn't finish it, didn't like it, or assorted reasons like that. There are some books, however, that I simply can't review.

In order to save all of us some time, here are some examples of the types of books I can't review:

• Books that have already been released. If your book is available by the time you email me, it's too late. I'm always reading at least a month ahead.
• Self-published or vanity press books. This includes anything from PublishAmerica, iUniverse, Lulu, Author House, Xlibris, etc.
• Books from publishers I've never heard of. This is a more flexible rule, but if the publisher isn't included on the approved list from either MWA or ITW, chances are I can't review it.
• Books available only in electronic form.
• Books that are reprints.
• Books that aren't mysteries, thriller or suspense novels. Occasionally I do review something outside the genre, but it's rare enough that you probably shouldn't get your hopes up.
• Although it's not a rule, the chances are slim that I can review a paperback original (PBO). I review more PBOs than more critics (I think), but it still only amounts to a couple a year. So you can query about them if you want, but be prepared for me to decline.

I've dealt with many of the reasons why I can't review these books in the past, but if you have a question, feel free to post a comment and I'll try to respond.

PSA: ITW's Brunch & Bullets

The following is a public service announcement.

International Thriller Writers (ITW) presents Brunch & Bullets on May 5th in Greenwich CT at 11AM.

Where readers (young and not so young) break bread with thriller writers and live to tell the tale!

On May 5th, International Thriller Writers is honoring ITW's own R.L. Stine with a Silver Bullet Award for the amazing contribution he has made to fostering the love of reading in tens of millions of young people over the course of his wondrous career.

Special kids' meals will be available and, more importantly, so will R.L. Stine himself!

Authors in attendance for the adults in the group, will be Michael Palmer, Doug Preston, Joseph Finder, Stephen Coonts, Lincoln Child, F. Paul Wilson, Jim Fusilli, Wendi Corsi Staub, Peter Spiegelman, Peter Blauner, Chris Grabenstein, Jon Land, Carla Negers, Lawrence Light, M.J. Rose and Linda Fairstein (tentative).

Where: The Hyatt Regency Greenwich in Greenwich, Connecticut.
When: May 5th @ 11:00am - 2:30pm.
Why: To entertain and help raise money for Reading is Fundamental. 25% of the event's net proceeds will be donated to local chapters of Reading Is Fundamental.
Plus: The registration fee includes a $25 voucher good at the book signing that will close the event at 2:30.

Register here:
http://www.regonline.com/Checkin.asp?EventId=116819