Criminal Splatterings

Congratulations go to Irish writer Louise Phillips whose second  novel The Doll’s House won the  Ireland AM Crime Fiction Book of the Year at the Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Awards.   The award was given out on Wednesday 26 November 2013.

According to The Bookseller Company Pictures have optioned the TV rights to William McIlvanney's Laidlaw trilogy.  McIlvanney, who is often referred to as 'the father of Tartan Noir', was also named writer of the year at the Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland awards last night. 

James Carol’s debut novel Broken Dolls  which is due to be published by Faber in January 2014 has according to The Bookseller been optioned by Sprout Pictures an independent film and TV company run by Stephen Fry.

A radio drama from the makers of hit Danish TV series Borgen will be, according to the BBC be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 from December.  Borgen: Outside the Castle is set against the backdrop of the first series of the political TV drama, which saw Birgitte Nyborg, played by Sidse Babett Knudsen, become prime minister.

According to the BBC Silent Witness: Legacy won the award for Best TV Drama at The European Science TV and New Media Awards 2013.  The European Science TV and New Media Awards ceremony took place at Lisbon's Pavilion of Knowledge, Ciência Viva on Friday 22 November 2013.  Silent Witness returns early 2014 for its 17th series.

Fans of Breaking Bad who are missing the series would be pleased to learn that a companion book to the series is due to be published.  Entitled  Wanna Cook? The Complete, Unofficial Breaking Bad Companion it is to be published by Myrmidon.  More information can be found here.

According to Booktrade info, Little, Brown Book Group is to be the main UK publisher for Patricia Highsmith, author of the iconic novels The Talented Mr Ripley and Strangers on a Train.

The Three by Sarah Lotz has been according to Booktrade.info optioned by Company Pictures.  Company Pictures will adapt The Three and its sequel as a sequence of event TV mini-series.

With the list of books to be given away for World Book Night 2014 being announced on 22 November 2014 it is pleasing to see a number of crime books on the list.  The crime books on the list are A Perfect Murder by Peter James, Today Everything Changes by Andy McNab, Theodore Boone by John Grisham, Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith, Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch, After the Funeral by Agatha Christie,  Geezer Girls by Dreda Say Mitchell.  The full list can be read here on the press release.

The video for the new Jack Ryan movie has been released.  It can be seen below.

 Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit is to be directed by Kenneth Branagh (who will also star), Keira Knightly and Kevin Costner.  The film will be released in the UK on 31 January 2014.

According to Digital Spy there could be a Sin City television show coming shortly after the film Sin City: A Dame to Kill For has been released.  The last time this was mentioned was back in 2005.  Sin City: A Dame to Kill For is due for release in the UK on 29 August 2014.  More information can also be found on the Indiewire.com blog.

According to Screenrant Ben Affleck and Matt Damon will be collaborating on the film adaptation of another lesser-known DC comic property, Sleeper.  Sleeper is a noir fantasy comic book series – written by Ed Brubaker and illustrated by Sean Phillips and Jim Lee – that was published from 2003-05. The series revolves around Holden Carver, a law enforcement operative who goes undercover in order to infiltrate a dangerous organization, let by the WildC.A.T.s comic book series antagonist, TAO.

Christopher McQuarrie is according to Screenrant to direct Colin Firth in the film adaptation of French author Jean-Patrick Manchette Three to Kill.  Three to Kill revolves around a businessman who finds himself caught in the sights of two ruthless killers after witnessing a murder.

Channel 5 have picked up Played, a. dramatic series about elite undercover cops who pose as drug dealers, paid assassins, gun runners and gangsters to infiltrate criminal worlds and collect evidence. The  13 x 1 hour programmes is said to be a sassy crime procedural drama.

According to the Guardian the RSC’s adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall has already sold out.

Over on the Guardian film blog they have listed ‘their’ top ten noir films.  The list is quite interesting.  There are some films there that even I have not heard of.  Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep takes the top spot with another favourite of mine The Third Man coming in at number 6.

If like me you enjoyed JJ Connolly’s Layer Cake then you will be interested to know that according to the Guardian, Jason Statham is set to take on the role of the unnamed criminal protagonist originally played by Daniel Craig.  Viva La Madness will be based on a screen play of the novel adapted by the author JJ Connolly.

Laura Wilson’s crime fiction review round-up can be found in the Guardian where she reviews  Where the Dead Men Go by Liam McIlvanney, The Black Life by Paul Johnston, The Edge of Normal by Carla Norton, The Last Winter of Dani Lancing by PD Viner and I Was Jack Mortimer by Alexander Lernet-Holenia.

Barry Forshaw in The Independent has listed his crime books of the year.  Good to see Denise Mina’s The Red Road in the list along with Malcolm McKay’s The Necessary Death of Lewis Winter and Terry Haye’s I Am Pilgrim.  Also interesting to note what is not on the list.

Patricia Cornwell is in the news again claiming to have unearthed new evidence to suggest that painter Walter Sickert was in fact Jack the Ripper.  According to the Telegraph the author plans to publish 11 years worth of research which backs up her claims.