BunzelGram August 31, 2020 Issue #7 |
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Most mystery and thriller fans (and writers) are fascinated by true crime stories, which is why this week I included a story about Kristin Smart, the Cal Poly student who disappeared 24 years ago and whose remains are thought to be buried somewhere on, or around, the university’s campus. In future issues of BunzelGram I’ll provide updates on this story (and others) as new developments emerge. Meanwhile, please let me know what stories you like or don’t like, tell your friends, and if you prefer not to receive it any longer, please feel free to opt out. —Reed Bunzel |
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Print Book Sales Dipped Slightly Last Week Mixed news last week on book sales, as Publishers Weekly reported a slight unit sales decrease in print books, which dipped 0.9% from the week before. The good news continues to be that through August 22, sales were up 5.6% over the comparable period a year ago. Takeaway: Covid-19 quarantining has led people to actually purchase and read more books than they did before the virus. The small weekly dip was attributed to cooling of sales of Stephenie Meyer’s YA novel Midnight Sun after an explosive start three weeks ago, and a 47% drop in Sean Hannity’s Live Free Or Die. Juvenile nonfiction sales slipped 1.4% last week, although the segment is still up nearly 29% in the year-to-date period. Meanwhile, the juvenile fiction category was flat for the week, while the adult fiction segment fell 5.1%. | | |
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Update: Police Again Are Digging For Kristin Smart’s Remains Dozens of sheriff’s deputies and FBI agents once again are digging at various locations around Cal Poly San Luis Obispo University, looking for the body of Kristin Smart, the 6-foot-1 swimmer who disappeared after attending a Memorial Day fraternity party in 1996. After allegedly drinking too much, she passed out on the lawn of an off-campus house connected to Kappa Chi, and later was seen being led away by a fellow student named Paul Flores. When questioned by police, Flores insisted he said goodbye to Smart at her dorm, and then went back to his own room. Cadaver dogs later led authorities to Flores’ bed, and he remains a suspect in her disappearance/murder, although he has never been charged. New evidence in the crime was collected last April, and this Daily Beast article from last week updates the story. | | |
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Why The Sting Is A Perfect Movie You may have noticed that I have this thing about perfect movies, and I recently highlighted one of them—The Sting—as the best “caper movie” of all time. This beautiful example of cinematic artistry, directed by George Roy Hill, is faultless in its acting, writing, cinematography, and the effortless manner in which it weaves its way through a complicated scam to pull off the ultimate “long con.” It is magical to watch and, whether you see the final (and largely unexpected) twist coming, its three Hollywood icons—Paul Newman, Robert Redford, and Robert Shaw—command the screen, portraying characters full of grit and grift. Employing a stylized version of the “play within a play” convention that Shakespeare utilized in several of his works, The Sting is all about duping two audiences—that in the film, and that watching the film. It’s a masterpiece that CrimeRead’s Olivia Rutigliano calls “a grandiose, totally convincing performance that, if it goes well, will only be recognized as artificial by a second, external crowd: us, the spectators.” | | |
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Video Streaming Continues To Grow Among Viewers COVID-19 has catapulted streaming to become the present, and perhaps the future, of content consumption—and perhaps creation as well. According to Nielsen’s August 2020 Total Audience Report, streaming among over-the-top (OTT) capable homes accounted for 25% of consumers’ collective time spent with the television last quarter. It also has solidified among consumers 55 and older, who often are the last to adopt new technologies. Additionally, the amount of time people are spending in front of the TV screen viewing streamed content continues to grow. Nielsen’s Streaming Meter indicates that, in Q2 2020, streaming comprised one-fourth of all television minutes viewed, with Netflix being the largest contributor to streaming share at 34%, followed by YouTube at 20%. | | |
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Left Coast Crime Delayed Until 2022 Organizers of the popular Left Coast Crime writers conference revealed last week that next year’s meeting will be postponed a full year, and now will take place April 7-10, 2022, still in Albuquerque. "The Left Coast Crime committee is making this decision now because we cannot count on having favorable government policies and the hotel's ability to provide necessary services by next spring, as well as the willingness of our Left Coast Crime community to travel with confidence,” conference co-chairs Lucinda Surber and Stan Ulrich announced. “We've been in continual conversations with hotel personnel and sought assurances from the State of New Mexico, but no one can say when conventions can resume, even in 2021." The annual conference will still be held at the Hyatt Regency Albuquerque; guests of honor and plans for the Lefty Awards have not changed. | | |
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60 Years In, Mockingbird Is As Relevant Today As It Was In 1960 I recently revisited Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, a novel on the reading list my sophomore year in high school, and I instantly recalled why I fell in love with it the first time around. When describing this work of art, “genuine” is the first adjective that comes to mind, followed closely by honest, heartfelt, explosive, profound and, of course, Pulitzer. To me it resonates more deeply than any other American novel, and was at the core of my conscience when I began writing Seven-Thirty Thursday, my 2019 novel that attempts to speak to bigotry, murder, and racial injustice in the South. (In no way does my effort come close to touching Mockingbird, published 60 years ago but just as relevant today as it was when Lippincott released it.) Much has been written about Lee and her “novel for the ages,” but this profile published by Smithsonian several years ago captures the essence of a book that routinely finishes second to the Bible as the one volume every civilized person should read. | | |
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Gone Too Soon: Chadwick Boseman “A gentle soul and a brilliant artist, who will stay with us for eternity through his iconic performances over his short yet illustrious career,” Denzel Washington said in a statement following Chadwick Boseman’s death from colon cancer on Friday. I was as stunned as most Wakanda believers when I read the news of his passing early Saturday morning, and I still find myself reflecting not just on a life cut way too short, but a career that was just beginning to propel an exceptional actor to the entertainment stratosphere. I had already mentally "fantasy-cast" him in the film version of an upcoming thriller to be released next year (publication date to be announced), and felt a strong kinship and connection with him. Boseman (born here in SC) was everything Mr. Washington said of him, and more: A distinguished artisan whose radiance will inspire and enlighten us all for many generations to come. | | |
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“Raw, irreverent, and witty, Reed Bunzel’s story of a tattooed war vet turned temporary private eye snaps, crackles, and pops with authenticity. War-tested, street smart, and sassy, 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 "It may be hot in South Carolina, but Iraq War vet and crime scene clean-up specialist Jack Connor is nothing but cool. Tightly plotted and skillfully written, Carolina Heat makes clear that Reed Bunzel has created a winning series." —Alafair Burke | | |
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