Newsy Stuff

Newsy information that is crime fiction related!
The BBC is to make three more episodes of the hit programme of the updated version of Sherlock Holmes featuring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. The inaugural series received rave reviews.

The Wire star Idris Elba is to return in two two-hour specials of the programme Luther.

More information about Sherlock Holmes and Luther can be found here.

Sebastian Faulk’s World War 1 novel Birdsong will also be adapted for television in a two part series for the BBC.

The BBC has also announced that a conspiracy thriller co-created by novelist Ronan Bennett will be shown. The current working title for the project is called “Undisclosed” and is a taut and compelling mystery thriller revolving around Harry Venn, a small-time solicitor. Forced to delve into his murky past when asked to find a missing alibi witness, Venn soon finds himself caught up in a bigger and more complex conspiracy. Blurring the line between the political and the personal.

According to Crimetime.co.uk the finalists for the inaugural Ngaio Marsh Award have been announced! The three finalists are:-
Cut & Run by Alix Bosco (Penguin);
Burial by Neil Cross (Simon & Schuster); and
Containment by Vanda Symon (Penguin)
The award is made for the best crime, mystery, or thriller novel written by a New Zealand citizen or resident, published in New Zealand during 2009.
More information can be found here.

According to the Washington Post the acclaimed novelist and screenwriter Richard Price is to write a series of detective thrillers under the pseudonym Jay Morris. The full article can be found in the Washington Post. The article also talks about the use of pseudonyms by authors.

There is an excellent article by Otto Penzler about Noir Fiction at Huffingtonpost.com. Well worth reading for his views on what is Noir Fiction as opposed to what some readers think it is.

When the NPR asked its audience to nominate their favourite thriller novels it was a forgone conclusion that the nominations would cover a wide spectrum. Now all the votes have been calculated (over 17,000 were nominated) and the results are in. Unsurprisingly Stieg Larsson’s three books made the cut, but the overall favourite was Stephen King with six books in the list. I am pleased to see that some of my favourite novels made the list amongst them being - In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, Mystic River, by Dennis Lehane, The Maltese Falcon, by Dashiell Hammett, Gone Baby Gone, by Dennis Lehane, Shutter Island, by Dennis Lehane, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, by John Le Carre, The Poet, by Michael Connelly, The Talented Mr. Ripley, by Patricia Highsmith, Casino Royale, by Ian Fleming, What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman and The Club Dumas, by Arturo Perez-Reverte to name a few!

Nick Sayer at Hodder has acquired three new crime novels from South African crime writer Deon Meyer along with a collection of his short stories. The article can be found here. Deon Meyer is due to be the translated Guest of Honour at Crimefest 2011.

According to Locus Online the 2009 World Fantasy Award nominees have been announced.
The full list can be found here. Congratulations to all nominees but especially to China Miéville who’s novel The City and The City has been nominated for Best Novel. The awards will be presented in Columbus OH, October 28-31, 2010.

Michael Faber’s novel The Crimson Petal and the White is to be made into a television drama and will be shown on the BBC.


Exile is also a new drama series for BBC One. From the imagination of writer Danny Brocklehurst, this three-part drama is a tale of prodigal redemption, but also becomes an investigative crime story. The two investigations dovetail – the intimate story of a son returning to dissect the history of his family, and the digging into a mind blowing scandal two decades old, whose effects still live on.

To be shown on BBC Two over Christmas is “Whistle And I'll Come To You”, written by Neil Cross, who is not only a crime novelist but also the lead scriptwriter for Spooks. It is the thoroughly modern re-working of the evocative Edwardian ghost story "Oh, Whistle and I'll come to You, My Lad" by M.R. James and will be made by BBC Drama Production. Cross's adaptation delves into themes of ageing, hubris and the supernatural, whilst adding a terrifying psychological twist.

ITV have also got a number of crime fiction related programmes in the pipeline.

Injustice stars James Purefoy as William Travers, a criminal barrister who is recovering from a traumatic series of events that have shaken his belief in the legal system. James Purefoy is currently best known for playing Mark Anthony in the HBO/BBC original television series of “Rome”. Injustice is written by Anthony Horowitz. The central character, William Travers, is the opposite of what he seems - a successful criminal barrister still recovering from a traumatic series of events that have shaken his belief in the legal system. Reluctantly, he is drawn into a case that involves conspiracy and murder while at the same time being investigated by a vicious and vengeful detective. The five part series is a story of friendship, conspiracy, betrayal and murder as well as a critical look at the way the legal system operates. Injustice is due to be shown in 2011.

Suranne Jones (better known for playing Karen McDonald in Coronation Street) and Lesley Sharp (who played Joan Hunter in Channel Four’s acclaimed drama Red Riding) are due to play “Scott and Bailey” the title roles of two homicide detectives from Greater Manchester Police’s prestigious Major Incident Team. Filming is due to start in November 2010. Scott and Bailey will explore the personal and professional lives of DC Janet Scott (played by Lesley Sharp) and DC Cathy Bailey (played by Suranne Jones), both members of Greater Manchester Police's prestigious Major Incident Team. Cathy is 30, down-to-earth, noisy, argumentative and single whilst Janet is 40, a diplomat and a thinker, as well as being a wife and mother. Despite the obvious differences between them, the fact that they are often thrown together in difficult situations means they have developed a robust friendship. The series, which will be 6 x 60 minute episodes. Has been co-created by with ex-Detective Inspector Diane Taylor formerly of the Major Incident Team, Greater Manchester Police.

The Jury is a compelling series, which focuses on the everyday people who find themselves at the centre of one of the most controversial criminal re-trials of their time. Written by BAFTA winner and Oscar nominated Peter Morgan, the drama goes into production early next year (2011). The Jury is gripping, dark and emotionally charged and will deal with the story of a prisoner who has served five years of a sentence for a violent triple murder. New evidence has come to light, which calls his conviction into question, and the jurors are forced to face their prejudices as they come to grips with the complexities and unwanted attention of being a key player in such a high profile Old Bailey trial.

Peter Robinson’s Aftermath staring Stephen Tompkinson as Detective Chief Inspector Banks is due to be shown in the Autumn in a two part drama, adapted from the novel by award winning international crime writer, Peter Robinson, which tells the story of an ordinary house in an ordinary street which is about to become infamous. When two young police constables are sent to the house following a report of a domestic disturbance, they make a truly shocking discovery. Lying on the floor with a head wound and on the verge of death is Lucy Payne (Charlotte Riley). In the cellar her husband Terry (Samuel Roukin) is found crouching amid a scene of utterly appalling horror, which sears into the memories of the young officers, who realise that they have caught a serial killer. But his capture is only the beginning of a shocking investigation that will test DCI Banks to the absolute limit. Working alongside Banks is ambitious and pretty DS Annie Cabot (Andrea Lowe) - a recent and hard-working addition to his team.

Whitechapel, featuring Rupert Penry-Jones, which won rave reviews in 2009, is due to return this time focusing on a killer who is copying the crimes of the infamous Kray twins. After Jack the Ripper comes the gangster brutality of the Krays, and in Whitechapel the paranoia of this era and the faded glamour of the former East End overlords characterise the drama.

The Little House is a compelling two-part thriller which explores the psychological power struggles that takes place within one family and the lengths an obsessive mother will go to keep control of her son. The Little House drama stars BAFTA-winning actress Francesca Annis, alongside Tim Pigott-Smith, Rupert Evans and Lucy Griffiths.

The dramatisation of CWA Gold Dagger Winner Ann Cleeves Vera Stanhope series is also due to be shown in the Autumn/Winter on ITV. Vera will be four new self-contained stories. The first episode in the series is based on the Vera Stanhope story Hidden Depths. The other new episodes will be adapted from Ann's other novels, Telling Tales and The Crow Trap and the third will be an original story. Vera will be broadcast in early 2011.

ITV have also commissioned an adaptation of Kate Summerscale’s The Suspicion of Mr Whicher. More information from ITV can be found here.

On the cinema front – John Cusack is set to pay Edgar Allan Poe. The actor is set to play Poe in director James McTeigue's forthcoming "The Raven,". Not to be confused with the poem, it is a fictionalized account of Poe's mysterious last days chasing a serial killer.