Presumed Innocent, And Dead

My two most recent mysteries—SEVEN-THIRTY THURSDAY and HURRICANE BLUES—deal specifically with racial inequities of the American legal system. Recently, best-selling author (and one of my favorite novelists) John Grisham addressed these same issues in an article published by the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting, noting that “The glaring truth is that black suspects are treated differently than white suspects. Racism is a huge factor in every aspect of criminal justice — profiling, arrests, bail, prosecution, trials, convictions, sentencing. Race is a significant reason for wrongful convictions."

Baltimore: The Most Corrupt

Police Force In America?

The recent murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis sparked an international protest against police use of excessive force in the apprehension and detention of African American suspects. Unfortunately, Floyd’s death was reminiscent of the 2015 death of Freddie Gray at the hands of the Baltimore Police -- which authors . Baynard Woods and Brandon Soderberg characterize in their new book “I Got a Monster" as "America's Most Corrupt Police Squad. [Full story: Crime Reads]

How Authors Feel About

Writing Recurring Characters

Millions of “genre” readers can’t wait for the next book in their favorite author’s series to be released, but sometimes the thrill isn’t quite so great for the writer him/herself. While my fourth Jack Connor novel SKELETON KEY launches Q1 2021, I have to admit I enjoy writing “one-offs” from time to time. As Lee Child said after passing the Jack Reacher reins to his brother Andrew Grant earlier this year, “I’ve been doing it 24 years now and I couldn’t do it anymore.” [Full story: Irish Times]

Film Classic: Night Of The Hunter

Ask one hundred avid moviegoers to name their favorite crime films, and few will mention the 1955 classic “The Night of the Hunter.” The only film directed by Charles Laughton, it stars Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, and Lillian Gish, and was adapted from the Davis Grubb novel of the same title by James Agee. Loosely based on the 1932 murders of two widows and three children in West Virginia, “Hunter” often is cited today by critics as one of the greatest of all American films, with Roger Ebert calling it "one of the most frightening of movies, with one of the most unforgettable of villains, and it holds up well after four decades.”

Colson Whitehead Receives 2020

Library of Congress Fiction Prize

The Library of Congress announced last week that Colson Whitehead, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novels The Nickel Boys and The Underground Railroad, will receive the 2020 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction. “Colson Whitehead’s work is informed by probing insights into the human condition and empathy for those who struggle with life’s sometimes harrowing vicissitudes,” Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden said. “He has expanded the scope of historical events, transforming them into metaphors for today’s world.”

Strand Awards Nominees Announced

The Strand Magazine last week announced its nominations for the 2020 Strand Critics Awards, which recognize excellence in the field of mystery fiction and publishing. This year's nominees for Best Mystery Novel are: Big Sky, by Kate Atkinson (Little, Brown); The Lost Man, by Jane Harper (Flatiron); The Sentence Is Death, by Anthony Horowitz (Harper); Lady in the Lake, by Laura Lippman (Morrow); Heaven, My Home, by Attica Locke (Mulholland); and The Border, by Don Winslow (Morrow)

An Intimate Look At Bonnie Parker

Bonnie Parker will live in infamy for the crimes she committed with Clyde Barrow, but few people know she won first place in a spelling bee, wrote ballads, was married at fifteen, and bore just a passing resemblance to Faye Dunaway. In a new article in Crime Reads, novelist Christina Schwarz writes about her research into the woman behind the gun, the subject of her latest novel titled Bonnie.