Criminal Snippets

Incredibly sad to hear via Martin Edwards blog Do You Write Under Your Own Name of the death of Stuart Pawson. I met Stuart a number of times at various CWA events and I can honestly say he was one of the nicest people to talk to.  He also wrote wonderful books.  He shall certainly be missed by a lot of us.  

Good news on the publicity front to some of our favourite PR people who have been promoted!  Congratulations go to Caitlin Raynor who has been made Deputy Communications Director at Headline. Frances Gough who has been promoted from Senior Press Officer to Publicity Manager.  More information can be found here.

Congratulations also go to Elizabeth Masters who has been made Deputy Publicity Director for Quercus.  Prior to her promotion she was PR Manager for Tinder Press at Headline.

Author James Patterson has launched a co-writing competition according to the Bookseller.  To enter the student must be enrolled in Patterson’s Masterclass and the winner will co-author a book with him.

Author C J Lyons is to have the first in a new series published by Canelo.  The book entitled Last Light will also see the re-issue of her Lucy Guardino FBI Thrillers.

Huge congratulations also go to Alex Marwood who has signed a contract for two more novels with Sphere. The Edgar and Macavity Award winning author’s latest book is the Darkest Secret.

The Bafta award-wining drama is set to return to the BBC with three new films.  The films are The Third Voice, The Lost Weekend and The Big Bang. Murder uses personal confessions to revisit the missing moments leading up to a death, in search of the truth.

The BBC have also recommissioned The Coroner and Father Brown.  The Coroner  will return in a new 10 part series that will begin shooting in South Devon later on this year whilst, Father Brown will continue for a fifth year.

According to Nordic Noir TV, BBC 4 have acquired “Modus” a new Nordic Noir crime drama. Based on the bestselling series of novels Vik/Stubø by Anne Holt, Modus is an adaptation of the fourth book Fear Not (Pengemannen’) which was written in 2009.  The UK air date is yet to be announced.
Coming to More4 on 3 March is Thicker Than Water at 10pm.  It is said to be a glorious Nordic noir with a difference, set in the enchanting Swedish archipelago. In Thicker Than Water a mother attempts to reunite her three adult children by forcing them to confront the dark family secrets that are buried in their past.  The trailer can be seen below.

The Guardian have a review of When I was Old by Georges Simenon which is a rare glimpse into his life.

Clare Clark also reviews ex-Blue Peter presenter Janet Ellis gothic debut The Butcher’s Hook. Also in The Telegraph Janet Ellis talks about going from being a Blue Peter presenter to a debut novelist.

For those of you like me that are presently enjoying the adaptation of John Le Carré’s The Night Manager you might be interested in the Guardian quiz on how much do you know about John Le Carré.  

Also in The Telegraph Tom Hiddleston who can currently be seen in The Night Manager talks about why his character could be the next Bond.

According to the Bookseller Transworld Books have won the rights to Waterstones crime buyer Joe Knobbs debut series of crime novels.  The series, set in a "sprawling, twilight northern city”, will introduce readers to Aidan Waits, a disgraced young detective, who is caught stealing drugs from evidence and subsequently blackmailed into going undercover. When an MP’s daughter runs away from home, Waits is sent to track her down and finds himself "at the centre of a storm". Uncovering the motives of those involved, he’s thrown forwards - through politicians, police and drug lords - towards "a truth he doesn’t want to know".  Volume rights for three books were acquired.  The first book in the series Sirens is due to be published in Spring 2017.

Congratulations go to C J Box for winning the 2016 Western Heritage Award for Best Novel and also Robert J Randisi who has been awarded the 2016 John Seigenthaler Legend Award.  The award is given by Killer Nashville.

According to Deadline Bill Paxton is to star in a present day reimaging of the Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke film Training Day. Set 15 years after the film, Bill Paxton is set to play one of the bad cop roles in the CBS drama pilot.

It looks as if there is going to be another remake of The Thomas Crown Affair according to Deadline.  The classic 1968 original of course featured Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway whilst the first remake in 1999 featured Pierce Brosnan (of Bond fame) and Rene Russo.  This time around hot of his brilliant acting in Creed, Michael B Jordan is set to star.  Why they need a remake I don’t know.  The original in my opinion is still the best but the 1999 version is no slouch either.

Author of The Turning Tide, Brooke Magnanti talks about her new novel in the Independent and also about real and fictional forensics.  In The Telegraph the author also talks about her mother buying all her Secret Diary of a Call Girl books which were based on her blog written using the pseudonym Belle de Jour.
Fans of Daredevil will welcome the trailer for season two that has just been released.  The trailer which can be seen below shows The Punisher and Elecktra in action.

The second season of Daredevil can be seen on Netflix from 18^th March.

A new cast list has been confirmed for the drama DCI Banks which is based on the novels of Peter Robinson. The series is comprised of 6 x 60’ original episodes inspired by the books from acclaimed novelist Peter Robinson.