L.A. Times Book Prize

Finalists Announced

The finalists for the 41st Los Angeles Times Book Prizes were last week, and I offer heartfelt congratulations to those writers nominated in the mystery-thriller category:

• A Beautiful Crime, by Christopher Bollen
• Blacktop Wasteland, by S.A. Cosby
• And Now She’s Gone, by Rachel Howzell Hall
• Little Secrets, by Jennifer Hillier
• These Women, by Ivy Pochoda

Winners will be announced in a live-streamed virtual ceremony on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter on April 16, the day before the 26th Los Angeles Times Festival of Books kicks off its second virtual event during the ongoing pandemic.

Rethinking The Role Of

Police In Crime Fiction

It’s a universal truth in both real life and crime fiction: if a dead body found is found with a knife in his/her back in the middle of library, the police must be called. Or must they? That’s the question posed by author Nicole Glover, who says that, while cops are the voice of reason tasked with solving crimes, in many communities the arrival of uniformed authority is not always seen as a good thing. “Police bring guns, they bring tempers, they bring biases and prejudices that increase the danger of certain situations,” she writes in this article in CrimeReads. “The police are called on as a one-size-fits-all solution, for any kind of trouble from domestic violence, to truancy, to mental health episodes, all things, quite frankly, the police are not trained to handle when many reach for guns and tasers as their only answer … [However], a story without the police, without relying on an imperfect justice system, instead centers on the people impacted by the case. It allows us to see other ways that concepts of justice and truth can be seen, and even how revenge can be framed.”

Classic Detective Series You’ve

Always Been Meaning To Read

As we move into the second year of the Covid-19 pandemic it seems as if we all have more time to do things, but little motivation to do them. As a writer I’m now working on my fourth book of the last twelve months, but have barely touched the growing pile of novels I promised myself I’d read. In fact, as time wears on, that pile seems more and more daunting by the day. That’s why I groaned when I came across this list of classic detective series that I’ve mostly never read, and probably should. Sure, maybe a book or two from an author here or there, but—except for the Hardy Boys and I was a kid—I’ve never read the full collection of any of the legendary crime writers. As CrimeReads’ Olivia Rutigliano notes, this list includes mystery series written during the late nineteenth century through the first half of the twentieth—think Sherlock Holmes, and Hercule Poirot, Nero Wolf—and excludes the late-modernist tales of such characters as Kinsey Millhone and Henry Tibbett. So many classics, so little time.

The Great Filling Station Holdup:

Stories Inspired By Jimmy Buffett

Anyone who knows me well knows I’m a Parrothead. I own all his albums, have read all his books, and can’t count the number of times I’ve seen him live (including two private concerts on St. John). I invented a bar called Jimmy's Buffet that you'll find in two of my Jack Connor books, and I even have a Parrothead license plate on my car, with proceeds going to Alzheimer’s research. That’s why I was surprised that I didn’t know about the crime anthology titled after one of his songs—The Great Filling Station Holdup: Crime Fiction Inspired By The Songs Of Jimmy Buffett—16 short stories presented by editor Josh Pachter, each based on a song from one of the twenty-eight studio albums Jimmy released during his career. These include Leigh Lundin’s take on “Truckstop Salvation,” M.E. Browning’s interpretation of “Einstein Was a Surfer, and Bruce Robert Coffin’s “Incommunicado.” As the book jacket says, "Mix yourself a boat drink, ask Alexa to put on a buffet of Buffett tunes, kick back, and enjoy!”

Never, Ever Stay At The

Tangiers Hotel In Las Vegas

Any viewer of the now-cancelled CBS crime series CSI knows that the deadliest hotel in all of Las Vegas is the Tangiers, built and owned by casino mogul Sam Braun. Over the program’s 15-year run dozens of guests and employees have been murdered within its walls, everyone from a lifeguard drowned in the pool, to a conventioneer found dead in his bed. Interestingly, the Tangiers also was the name of the hotel featured in Martin Scorsese’s 1995 crime film Casino, starring Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, and Joe Pesci, and based on the life and times of renowned gambler and casino operator Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal. Both hotels are fictional, of course, as CSI was shot primarily in and around Santa Clarita, CA, while Scorsese used the interior of the old Riviera and Landmark hotels, and the exterior of the Las Vegas Hilton (now the Westgate). As a frequent visitor to Vegas (all business, no play) I’ve stayed at all three, and never once did I see a body or experience a deadly explosion, as occurred in the CSI series finale.

Bosch Spinoff Picked Up By IMDb TV

I’ve been a huge fan of Harry Bosch ever since I picked up a paperback copy of The Concrete Blonde in 1995. Since then, I’ve read every one of Michael Connelly’s books, and I'm thrilled that IMDb TV has picked up a spinoff of the long-running Amazon crime drama Bosch, with stars Titus Welliver, Mimi Rogers, and Madison Lintz reprising their roles from the original series. The as-yet untitled series will follow Harry Bosch, played by Welliver, as he embarks on the next chapter of his career and finds himself working with his one-time enemy and top-notch attorney Honey “Money” Chandler, played by Rogers. “I am beyond excited by this and I think the fans that have called for more Bosch will be, as well,” Connelly said when the new show was announced. “To continue the Harry Bosch story and see him team up with ‘Money’ Chandler will be more than I could have ever wished for.” Disclaimer: A few years ago, Connelly generously provided marvelous cover blurbs for two of my Jack Connor books (please see, below), and I will be eternally grateful.

Skeleton Key—#4 In The Jack Connor Series—Is Now Available

“Sweeps you in with intrigue and authority and never lets you go. I want to go riding with Jack Connor again.” —Michael Connelly

"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

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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