Bookstore Sales Fell A

Dismal 28.3% in 2020

The total number of print book sold in the U.S. increased 8.2% in 2020, but most of that gain came from online suppliers, while bookstore sales dropped 28.3% vs. the year before, nearly devastating the bricks-and-mortar segment of the industry. One silver lining to that dark cloud, according to Publishers Weekly, was that December 2020 bookstore sales were down “only” 15.2%, with sales of $879 million vs.  $1.04 billion in December 2019. That was the smallest decline since last February, when sales slipped 0.7% before the global pandemic struck. In March, sales fell 33.2% as retail lockdowns kicked in, then plunged 74.2% in April as stay-at-home orders fully took hold. May sales were slightly better, falling 60% from May 2019. Bookstore sales declines generally eased as 2020 moved toward the end of the year, as November sales were down just 21.5%, following a 28.9% decline in October. For the full year, bookstore sales were $6.34 billion compared to $8.84 billion in 2019.

Move Over, Writer’s Block:

“Writer’s Blockdown” Is Here

We all know the term “writer’s block,” but the Covid-19 pandemic this year introduced us all to the concept of “blockdown.” One would think that spending a long stretch of time at home provides a solid opportunity to write, but many authors have found that “forced incarceration” is causing them to struggle not only with their craft, but often their sanity. As this article in The Guardian points out, whether it’s dealing with home schooling, the same four walls, or anxiety caused by the news, many writers find the stories just aren’t coming. “Stultified is the word,” says prize-winning novelist Linda Grant. “I can’t connect with my imagination. I can’t connect with any creativity. My whole brain is tied up with processing what’s going on in the world.” Author William Sutcliffe agrees, noting that, “Of all the people to be complaining about not being able to work, writers feel like the strangest group, because compared to everyone else our lives have changed the least. It’s interesting to see why it’s pushed so many off kilter.” And science fiction writer Jon Courtenay Grimwood adds, “It’s weird as all hell. We spent our lives saying if only we could be locked away in a cave then inspiration and deadlines would be no problem, and then it happens and it’s a disaster.”

Ten Cold Cases That Saw

Big Breaks in 2020

According to the FBI, 250,000 murders have yet to be solved in the U.S., a number that increases by about 6,000 each year. Unsolved cases mean mounting caseloads, which drain resources and result in higher costs for agencies with limited budgets. In recent years, however, there’s been a glimmer of hope for the loved ones of cold case victims, as advances in DNA technology—combined with meticulous detective work—have given investigators that one break they needed. As Inside Edition reported in late December, law enforcement officials increasingly are working with laboratories that specialize in this technology to find genetic matches between DNA collected at crime scenes and DNA testing results found on genetic genealogy sites. This was exactly how police finally nabbed the Golden State Killer, who investigators identified as Joseph James DeAngelo, and charged him with 13 murders and nearly 50 rapes in a crime spree that began in the 1970s. Since 2018, police forces have been able to identify suspects in at least 28 cold case murder and rape cases with the help of DNA testing. Here are ten cold cases to have seen breaks over the past year.

French Connection Chase Scene

Was Filmed Illegally, Without Permits

Forget Bullitt for a second: in my opinion, The French Connection features one of the most harrowing—and dangerous—chase scenes ever filmed. The set-up: Detective Jimmy Doyle (Gene Hackman) hurtles down crowded NYC streets in a brown Pontiac to catch a bad guy who's commandeered an elevated subway train above him. As Bob Sorokanich writes in this article in Road And Track, “It's a lurid orgy of screeching tires, darting traffic, and considerable impacts, much of it shot on busy city streets with no traffic control, putting unsuspecting drivers and pedestrians literally in the center of the deadly high-speed action.” The NYPD did clear traffic for approximately five blocks in each direction of the shoot, and permission was given to control the traffic signals on those streets where the the chase car was running. Director William Friedkin illegally continued the chase into sections with no traffic control, where stunt driver Bill Hickman actually had to evade real traffic and pedestrians. Many of the (near) collisions in the movie were real and not planned, including the crash of a white Ford (above left) that happened to drive into the middle of the shoot. Read more about the shooting here, and watch Friedkin’s recollections about the scene here.

Was Body Heat The Greatest

Erotic Thriller Ever Filmed?

Quick answer: No. I know Body Heat has been hailed by many moviegoers and critics as a steamy and gritty masterpiece, a seductive and sensual example of sex noir at its finest. Even writer Dan Sheeran describes the film in a recent CrimeReads article as the best erotic movie thriller ever made. To make his case for why film fans “should revisit [the] 1981 neo-noir classic, and then go buy some wind-chimes,” he offers this definition of the genre: “An erotic thriller is a movie in which forbidden/illicit romance or sexual fantasy is central to the core dramatic conflict of the narrative. If the protagonists of a film destroy themselves (physically, morally, spiritually), and one another, because of their insatiable carnal desires, well, there’s a good chance that film is an erotic thriller. [And Body Heat] is a hallucinatory masterpiece of pure filth.” But it’s not, and here’s why: 1) The film supposedly takes place during a steamy Florida summer, but it was shot in the middle of winter—sans heat. 2) The chemistry between William Hurt and Kathleen Turner seems forced and lacks sizzle. 3) It was Lawrence Kasdan’s directorial debut, and it shows. 4) It tries too hard to be what it’s not. And 5) It’s riddled with potholes, both major and minor. Tell me I'm wrong.

10 Amazing Female-Led

Revenge Thrillers

When we think of action thrillers, more often than not we recall books and films that have males in the lead. Jason Bourne, James Bond, Jack Reacher. It’s time to think again, since there actually are a number of films wherein a strong woman character drives the storyline and knocks the crap out of those who stand in her way. I'm not talking about any sort of thriller, however; female-led revenge thrillers are powerful flicks that feature different dynamics than those typically starring a male. As criminologist and author Meah Peers recently wrote in a ScreenRant article, “Revenge thrillers are full of suspense and drama, and are bound to both disturb and entertain its viewers. It's time to celebrate some pretty powerful women leads, while still enthralling movie lovers. For fans of the genre, not all thrilling stories about revenge are critically-acclaimed, or hit their audience with a bang.” To help you filter out those that don't make the grade, Peers offers this list of ten great female-led revenge thrillers—some popular, and some hidden gems.

The Essential Crime Novels

And Thrillers Of Malta

The island nation of Malta (actually, three islands, including Gozo and Comino) has been fought over as long as humans have been marauding and pillaging the Mediterranean. It’s also served as the setting for dozens of novels and films, everything from Thomas Pynchon’s V. to A.J. Quinnell’s The Perfect Kill to Steve Berry’s The Malta Exchange. CrimeReads’ Paul French explores why we’re so attracted to this tiny country that sits at a crossroads equidistant between southern Europe and north Africa. “Now part of the European Union, Malta’s economy relies on tourism as much as anything these days,” he writes. “The Maltese flag includes the Cross of St George medal, awarded to the entire island by Great Britain’s King George VI for Malta’s resistance to the Nazis in World War Two. [And] the Maltese language reveals its cosmopolitan history—Maltese borrows from Sicilian, Arabic, a little French influence, and a bit of English thrown in too.” Whatever the influences, Malta continues to give us the stuff that intrigue, suspense, and chicanery are made off.

Skeleton Key

Is Now Available

"Raw, irreverent, and witty, Jack Connor is someone you want with you in a foxhole or the bloody back roads of South Carolina." —Former Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen

“Sweeps you in with intrigue and authority and never lets you go.”—Michael Connelly

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“Bunzel peels away the layers of mystery like a master of the genre”—T. Jefferson Parker

“Lights up the Southern sky with taut, exciting action.”

—Michael McGarrity