Newsy Stuff

According to Nordic Bookblog The Best Swedish Crime Novel for 2010 has been won by Leif G.W. Persson with his novel Den döende detektiven (The Dying Detective).

As can be expected with the run up to the end of the year, “the best books of the year” are still being revealed. Margaret Cannon has revealed in the Globe and Mail what is called the deathly dozen for 2010. The full list can be found here and it includes such luminaries as Carl Hiaasen , Louise Penny, Philip Kerr, Michael Connelly and Giles Blunt to name some of them.

The Guardian has also selected its best books of the year and I have to admit to being profoundly disappointed with the number of crime novels that made the list. The only two novels to make the list were C J Sansom’s Heartstone and the excellent The Ghost of Belfast (aka The Twelve) by Stuart Neville. It makes me sometimes wonder whether or not people actually read crime novels. I know that they do. The full list can be found here.

Laura Wilson’s crime fiction review round-up can also be found in The Guardian. She reviews the new Anne Holt novel, Edward Wright’s From Blood, Aline Templeton’s Cradle to Grave and Horace McCoy’s 1935 novel They Shoot Horses, Don’t They (reissued by Serpent’s Tail).

The Daily Telegraph have published Part 1 of their fiction books of the year. Sadly, like The Guardian so far only two crime novels have been suggested. Sadie Jones nominates The Existential Detective by Alice Thompson (Two Ravens Press), whilst Mark Billingham puts forward Truth by Peter Temple (Quercus).

The Independent have also released a list of their books for Christmas. The full list can be found here. In the list crime fiction critic Barry Forshaw nominates (under crime and thriller) his selection which includes Heartstone by C J Sansom, Jo NesbØ’s The Snowman and The Holy Thief by William Ryan amongst others.

In the New York Times Jane Maslin has listed her fiction books of 2010. The full list can be found here and includes Don Winslow’s Savages and Lee Child’s 61 Hours.

Excellent article on the Scandinavian invasion by Jordan Foster can be found in Publishers Weekly.

Don’t know how this was missed by Jordan Foster has also interviewed Denise Mina for Publishers Weekly.

The BBC’s version of Douglas Adams's Dirk Gently is due to be shown on BBC4 on Thursday 16 December 2010 at 9:00pm. Hopefully it will be received a lot better than 2005's Hitchhiker's Guide movie.

Faster the latest film featuring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Billy Bob Thornton has just been released. The trailer can be seen below.

After being seen in a number of family (and sometimes annoying) films. Johnson is making his way back into action films where he initially made his name.

In Faster After 10 years in prison, Driver (Dwayne Johnson) has a singular focus - to avenge the murder of his brother during the botched bank robbery that led to his imprisonment. Now a free man with a deadly to-do list in hand, he's finally on his mission...but with two men on his trail - a veteran cop (Billy Bob Thornton) just days from retirement, and a young egocentric hitman (Oliver Jackson-­Cohen) with a flair for the art of killing and a newfound worthy opponent. Whilst already released in the United States, it is not due for release in the UK until February 2011.