And it’s all down to Aunt Agatha

For those who missed the rare visit by Italian bestselling crime-writer Roberto Constantini at the Italian Cultural Institute in London yesterday, we have recorded a snippet of the interview with Barry Forshaw.

The event was very well attended, including Roberto’s translator N S Thompson, and our very own Ayo Onatade from Shots eZine and Crimespree Magazine. 

During the interview we learned that Roberto is extremely well read in the genre. He read a great deal of British and American crime fiction, especially as a youth, [and in the English Language]. He has particular fondness for who he terms his Aunt Agatha [Christie]. Though, it should be noted that THE DELIVERANCE OF EVIL is far from what we term the ‘cozy’ subgenre, for it is indeed a dark and gritty contemporary thriller, and one that will make you think.

This is what Jeffery Deaver considered of this slice of Italian Noir ‘One of those rare novels that brings together the best elements of literature: it is rich with fascinating political history, filled with brilliant psychological insight into all of the characters, and a nonstop thriller that drives readers relentlessly from first page to last. Bravo, Roberto Constantini!’

Roberto’s debut is being published in the UK under the title “The Deliverance of Evil” by Quercus, the publishers of Stieg Larsson.  The Deliverance of Evil is a remarkably dark thriller which starts against the backdrop of Italy winning  the World Cup in 1982 and concludes in 2006 just as they are about to be victorious again.  A vicious murderer who first struck twenty-four years earlier is waiting to kill again.  The author combines the plotting and pace of international crime with the poise and prowess of literary fiction, striating the narrative with topical political insight.

And here’s a teaser –

Roberto Constantini was born in Tripoli.  He is the manager of the LUISS Guido Carli University in Rome, where he also teaches on the MBA programme.

Barry Forshaw’s books include Nordic Noir, British Crime Film and Italian Cinema. Other books include Death in a Cold Climate: A Guide to Scandinavian Crime Fiction, The Rough Guide to Crime Fiction, The Greenwood Encyclopedia of British Crime Fiction and large sections of Directory of World Cinema: Italy. He writes for various newspapers and magazines and edits Crime Time

You can support Shots Ezine by purchasing this stunning debut THE DELIVERANCE OF EVIL from The Shots Store Here and Barry Forshaw’s NORDIC NOIR here

Photos © 2013 Ali Karim [Top to Bottom]

Barry Forshaw and Roberto Constantini

Judith Forshaw and Ayo Onatade arrive early to get good seats

Roberto Constantini with translator N S Thompson

Introduction to crime writing

Authors M R Hall and William Ryan and literary agent David Headley are offering a day-long introduction to crime writing at Goldsboro Books, 23-25, Cecil Court, London WC2N 4EZ on 13 April 2013. 

The course, which is aimed at everyone from experienced writers to absolute beginners, has been highly recommended by The Daily Express who described it as "inspirational" and "fun". Over the course of the day, William and Matthew take attendees through the elements of a crime novel, from characterisation and plotting to choosing locations and undertaking research, while David is on hand to give advice to prospective writers on how to tackle getting published.

William's Korolev novels have been short-listed for the Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year, the Crime Writers Association New Blood Dagger and the Irish Fiction Award while Matthew's Jenny Cooper series has twice been short-listed for the CWA Gold Dagger. 

David is a respected literary agent and owner of Goldsboro Books. More details at https://www.facebook.com/HallRyanHeadley. Cost £75.

Summerhall Historical Fiction Festival

A new historical fiction festival in Edinburgh, the home of Sir Walter Scott, and of history masters Stevenson and Conan Doyle is due to take place from 12 April 2013 - 15 April 2013 at Summerhall Edinburgh’s award winning Arts Center.

Covering four days, there will be a wide range of talks and films.  The talks will cover such topics as Walter Scott and Napoleon, Witches, Pirates, Highwaywomen.... and Shakespeare, moral issues in historical fiction and Dickens.  Some of the films due to be shown include The Leopard (1963) and The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968). There is also a Hugh Buchanan exhibition that will be on display for the whole of the festival.

The speakers include Allan Massie, Owen Dudley-Edwards, Celia Rees and Andrew Williams to name a few.

The Chair is Allan Massie and the Director is Iain Gale.  For more information about the festival please go to the website.

Criminal Splatterings!!!!

Editor Jemima Forrester has pre-empted World rights for two books in a new American thriller series by debut author Mason Cross from Thomas Stofer at LBA literary agency.  THE KILLING SEASON is the first book in a brand-new series featuring Carter Blake, a bounty hunter with a shady past.  Smart, strong and intuitive, Blake is hired by the FBI to help them track down Caleb Wardell, a terrifying serial killer who has escaped from death row.  But Wardell is no stranger to Blake.  He's met him once before and, what's more, Blake had the chance to take him down then and he didn't.  Now, aided only by Special Agent Elaine Banner, Blake must use all of his expertise if he is to track down the calculating killer before it's too late.  With a faultless blend of compelling action, intelligent plotting, and well-drawn characters, THE KILLING SEASON is a polished debut thriller with a fantastic new series character.  THE KILLING SEASON will be published in April 2014 in hardback, trade paperback, and eBook

Bitter Lemon Press is delighted to announce that it has bought two interesting new novels, both set for publication in Spring 2014.  The first, BAGHDAD CENTRAL by Elliott Colla, will be published in February, and is a suspenseful mystery novel set in Baghdad in 2003, just after the "mission accomplished" pronouncements of the Bush regime.  The story follows Baghdad police inspector Khafaji who, shortly after Iraq has fallen to the US army, is pressed into service to help rebuild an Iraqi police service decimated by de-Ba'athification.  Khafaji investigates the disappearance of young women translators working for the US forces and the trail leads him through battles, bars and brothels, then back to the Green Zone where everything began.  BAGHDAD CENTRAL is a debut novel by American writer Elliott Colla, who is totally immersed in Middle Eastern affairs.  Colla teaches Arabic literature at Georgetown, and has translated many novels, stories, and poems from Arabic.  Modern Iraqi poetry plays an important role in the story of the protagonist who soon realizes that holding on to more than poetry and his daughter in pre- and post-Saddam Iraq is asking for trouble.  Bitter Lemon Press has acquired world rights from the author.

In March 2014, in the year when football's World Cup comes to Rio and 2 years before the Olympics come to town, Bitter Lemon Press will publish HOTEL BRASIL by Frei Betto – a colourful, witty mystery novel about a series of murders that take place in a run-down family hotel.  According to the police, the first victim was stabbed in the heart before the head was separated from the body.  As the investigation continues other hotel clients are decapitated, usually with the head found delicately balanced on the knees of the sitting victim.  A classical whodunit crime novel, HOTEL BRASIL, is also an opportunity for the author Frei Betto – a former Dominican friar, a political prisoner in the 1970s under the dictatorship, a union activist, and then an adviser to President Lula da Silva - to describe Brazilian society, especially those at the edge, like the many street children in the novel, who are found on the beaches, in the favelas, and in prisons.

With very little signs of the “Scandinavian Crime wave” losing it’s touch and with theatre goers still waiting for the second instalment of the American adaptation of book 2 in the Millennium trilogy, there is a very interesting article in Word and Film about the Americanisation of the Scandinavian Crime Wave.  The whole article can be read here.

With ITV announcing a sixth series of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple the Independent have produced a blaggers guide to Agatha Christie.  You can read the whole guide here.

Huge congratulations go to crime writer Lynda La Plante who has been awarded Honorary Fellowship by the Forensic Science Society.  Lynda La Plante is the first layperson to ever be given a Fellowship.  The full article can be read in the Independent.  The Forensic Science Society was founded in 1959 and is the international body for forensic scientists, scene of crime officers, police and those working in related disciplines.

So who are the best 30 literary detectives of all time?  According to Shortlist they don’t include the likes of Harry Bosch, Nero Wolfe or even Kinsey Milhone!  The list does on the other hand include Miss Marple, Sherlock Holmes, Chief Inspector Dalgliesh, Inspector Morse, Chief Inspector Wexford, Phillip Marlowe, and Sam Spade!  Whom do you think should be on the list?

Classic thriller writer Dennis Wheately’s books are being revived.  According to the Bookseller Bloomsbury Reader are reviving the works.  The first 20 will be released in October in both the UK and the US with the books The Devil Rides Out, The Forbidden Territory and To the Devil a Daughter being published in paperback as well.

Can one actually believe this?  According to the Guardian a cinemagoer in New Zealand was given a refund because an explosion that was shown in the trailer of the Jack Reacher film did not make the cut.  I am not sure what to make of this?  Is this to be first of many?

Laura Wilson’s recent round up of crime fiction novels can be found in the Guardian.

With BBC4 getting ready to show the first of a five two part adaptations of Scandinavian author Arne Dahl on television on Saturday 6 April 2013, there is an interesting article in the Telegraph about the forthcoming series and the fact that they are not as dark as one would expect.  If you want to read a bit more about him then I would suggest that you also read Barry Forshaw’s excellent new book Nordic Noir as well.

Very interesting article in the Telegraph about Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl.  Only sad thing in my opinion is that it appears that only now have others aside from genre readers just realised how good this book is.  Most of us read it last year when it first came out.  And another thing, why do they have to compare it to Fifty Shades?  They are two different books.

Don’t know how I managed to miss this!  Author Derek B Miller talks about his job as an International Affairs Specialist and a novelist, which of the two is the most important and the role of a storyteller in both. 

I am sure that I am not the only one who is waiting with baited breath to see the film of S J Bolton’s Sacrifice.  It is therefore extremely pleasing to hear from the author and read on her blog that the film is in pre-production and that lead cast members have been announced.  Connie Nielsen, Charles Dance and Rupert Graves are to star in the Hollywood film adaptation.

If you haven’t seen, it then see below for the trailer for Lauren Beukes’s novel The Shining Girls.

1931: He's the perfect killer.  Unstoppable.  Untraceable.  He thinks.
1992: They say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.  Tell that to Kirby Mazrachi, whose life was shattered after a brutal attempt to murder her.  As Kirby investigates, she finds the other girls - the ones who didn't make it. 
The evidence is ... impossible.  But for a girl who should be dead, impossible doesn't mean it didn't happen...

Awards and Nominations

A rather belated round up of recent awards and nominations!

Awards –

The winners of the Left Coast Crime Awards were given out on Saturday 23 March 2013. Winning title in bold.

The Lefty for best humorous mystery novel since 1996:
Cruising in Your Eighties Is Murder by Mike Befeler (Five Star)
Swift Run by Laura DiSilverio(Minotaur)
December Dread by Jess Lourey (Midnight Ink)
Trail of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz (Simon & Schuster)
The Girl Next Door by Brad Parks (Minotaur)
Fit To Be Dead  by Nancy Glass West (Southwest Publications)
    
The Bruce Alexander Memorial Historical Mystery Award for mystery novels covering events before 1960.   

The Twelve Clues of Christmas by Rhys Bowen (Berkley Prime Crime)
 A City of Broken Glass by Rebecca Cantrell (Forge)
Live by Night by Dennis Lehane (William Morrow)

Dandy Gilver and an Unsuitable Day for a Murder by Catriona McPherson (Minotaur)
Elegy for Eddie by Jacqueline Winspear (HarperCollins)

The Rocky for best mystery novel set in the Left Coast Crime Geographical Region:
Buffalo Bill’s Dead Now by Margaret Coel (Berkley Prime Crime)
Hush Money by Chuck Greaves (Minotaur)
Wicked Eddies by Beth Groundwater (Midnight Ink)
Sonora Crossing by Darrell James Midnight Ink)
As the Crow Flies by Craig Johnson (Viking)

The Watson for mystery novel with best sidekick:
In a Witch’s Wardrobe by Juliet Blackwell (Obsidian)
Taken by Robert Crais (Putnam)
Fun House  by Chris Grabenstein, (Pegasus)
When the Past Haunts You by L.C. Hayden, (CreateSpace)

Brouja Brouhaha by Rochelle Staab (Berkley Prime Crime) 

The 2013 Dilys Award was won by Peter Robinson for his novel Before the Poison.  The Dilys Award has been given annually since 1993 by the IMBA (Independent Mystery Booksellers Association) to the mystery title of the year which the member booksellers have most enjoyed selling. The Dilys Award is named in honour of Dilys Winn, the founder of the first specialty bookseller of mystery books in the United States

Detective fiction writer Petros Markaris was honoured with the Quais du Polar Festival 2013 Award.  It was announced on March 29 by the President of the Jury for the Crime Novel (European Crime Fiction Jury), Jean-Louis Debre during a formal ceremony held in the city of Lyon. Also honoured was P D James who was give the Medal of Honour of the city by the Mayor of Lyon.  The ceremony was also attended by Henning Mankell, Harlan Coben, Qiu Xialong and a number of other famous crime writers.

Nominations

The nominees for 2013 ITW (International Thriller Writers) Awards have been announced.

BEST HARDCOVER NOVEL
The Trinity Game by Sean Chercover (Thomas & Mercer)
Spilled Blood by Brian Freeman (SilverOak)
Catch Me by Lisa Gardner (Dutton Books)
The Survivor by Gregg Hurwitz (St. Martin’s Press)
Defending Jacob by William Landay (Delacorte Press)

BEST FIRST NOVEL
Don’t Ever Get Old by Daniel Friedman (Minotaur Books)
The Professionals by Owen Laukkanen (Putnam Adult)
The Expats by Chris Pavone (Crown)
The 500 by Matthew Quirk (Reagan Arthur Books)
                                 Black Fridays by Michael Sears (Putnam Adult)


BEST SHORT STORY
“The Devil to Pay” by David Edgerley Gates – (Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine)
“The Street Ends at the Cemetery” by Clark Howard – (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine)
“The Consumers” by Dennis Lehane – (Mulholland Books)
“The History Lesson” by Gordon McEachern – (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine)
“Lost Things” by John Rector – (Thomas & Mercer)


BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL NOVEL
Pines by Blake Crouch (Thomas & Mercer)
Lake Country by Sean Doolittle (Bantam)
And She Was by Alison Gaylin (Harper)
The Wicked Girls by Alex Marwood (Penguin Books)
Night Blind by Michael W. Sherer (Thomas & Mercer)

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL
Don’t Turn Around by Michelle Gagnon (HarperCollins)
If We Survive by Andrew Klavan (Thomas Nelson)
False Memory by Dan Krokos (Hyperion Books CH)
Crusher by Niall Leonard (Delacorte Books for Young Readers)
Dark Eyes by William Richter (Razorbill)

BEST E-BOOK ORIGINAL NOVEL
Pandora’s Temple by Jon Land (Open Road E-riginal)
Blind Faith by CJ Lyons (CJ Lyons)
Huntress Moon by Alexandra Sokoloff (Alexandra Sokoloff)
Dead End Deal by Allen Wyler (Astor + Blue Editions)
Dead Wrong by Allen Wyler (Astor + Blue Editions)

The 2013 Thriller Award Winners will be announced at ThrillerFest VIII, July 13, 2013, at the Grand Hyatt (New York City). Congrats to all.

The Bloody Words Bony Blithe Award nominations have been announced and the winner will be announced on Wednesday 29 May 2013 in Toronto.

Threaded for Trouble by Janet Bolin (Berkley Prime Crime)
Food for the Gods by Karen Dudley(Ravenstone)
A Small Hill to Die On by Elizabeth J. Duncan (Minotaur)
A Private Man by Chris Laing (Seraphim)
Blood Bath & Beyond by Michelle Rowen (NAL Obsidian)
The Mastersinger from Minsk by Morley Torgov (Dundurn)

The 2013 Barry Awards have been announced.  The winners will be announced September 19, 2013 at the Opening Ceremonies of Bouchercon 2013 in Albany, New York  -

Best Novel
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (Crown)
The Black House by Peter May (Silver Oak)
Trust Your Eyes by Linwood Barclay (NAL)
Defending Jacob by William Landay (Delacorte)
Live by Night, Dennis Lehane (Morrow)
Dead Scared by S.J. Bolton (Minotaur)

Best First Novel
The Yard by Alex Grecian (Putnam)
A Killing in the Hills by Julia Keller (Minotaur)
Sacrifice Fly by Tim O’Mara (Minotaur)
The Dark Winter by David Mark (Blue Ridge Press)
Black Fridays by Michael Sears (Putnam)
The Professionals by Owen Laukkanen (Putnam)

Best Paperback Original
Pago Pago Tango by John Enright (Thomas & Mercer)
Mr. Churchill’s Secretary by Susan Elia McNeal (Bantam)
Blessed are the Dead by Malla Nunn (Washington Square)
The Other Woman’s House by Sophie Hannah (Penguin)
Bloodland by Alan Glynn (Picador)
Beneath the Abbey Wall by A.D. Scott (Atria)

Best Thriller
The Last Refuge by Ben Coes (St. Martin’s)
The Right Hand  by Derek Haas (Mulholland)
The Fallen Angel by Daniel Silva (Harper)
A Foreign Country by Charles Cumming (St. Martin’s)
House Blood by Mike Lawson (Atlantic Monthly)
Red Star Burning by Brian Freemantle (Minotaur)

The Strand Magazine Critics Awards nominations have been announced.  The winners will be announced on 9 July 2013.

Best Novel:
The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye (Putnam)
Broken Harbour by Tana French (Viking)
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (Crown)
Defending Jacob by William Landay (Delacorte)
Live by Night by Dennis Lehane (Morrow)

Best Debut Novel:
A Land More Kind Than Home by Wiley Cash (Morrow)
The Yard by Alex Grecian (Putnam)
The Expats by Chris Pavone (Crown)
Disappeared by Anthony Quinn (Mysterious Press/Open Road)
The 500 by Matthew Quirk (Hachette)

Faye Kellerman will be presented with The Strand’s Lifetime Achievement award “for excellence in crime writing.”

The 2013 Spinetingler Awards have been announced.

The nominations are as follows:-

Best Novel: New Voices

A Land More Kind Than Home by Wiley Cash

Cold Quiet Ground by Clayton Lindemuth

The Devoted by Eric Shapiro

Flashover by Gordon Highland

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Ghosting by Kirby Gann

Last Call for the Living by Peter Farris

The Ninth Step by Grant Jerkins

Nearly Nowhere by Summer Brenner

The Professionals by Owen Laukkanen

Best Novel: Rising Star/Legend

Capture by Roger Smith

The Cold Cold Ground by Adrian McKinty

Dare Me by Megan Abbott

Edge of Dark Water by Joe R. Lansdale

Kings of Cool by Don Winslow

Lake Country by Sean Doolittle

The Last Kind Words by Tom Piccirilli

Live By Night by Dennis Lehane

Tumblin’ Dice by John McFetridge

What it Was by George Pelecanos

Best Novella/Short Novel

A Woman and a Knife by Matthew C. Funk

Bang Bang You’re Dead by Nick Quantrill

Driven by James Sallis

Driving Through the Desert by Donna Lynch

Driving Alone by Kevin Lynn Helmick

Die, You Bastard Die! by Jan Kozlowski

Lost Things by John Rector

Best Anthology/Short Story Collection

Beat to a Pulp 2: Round 2

Crime Factory: Hard Labour

Lonely No More by Seymour Shubin

Red Heads Die Quickly by Gil Brewer

Roachkiller by Ritchie Navaez

Short Stack

Sleepwalking by Ray Nayler

Shotgun Honey Presents: Both Barrels (vol 1)

Shoebox Train Wreck by John Mantooth

Ugly Behavior by Steve Rasnic Tem

Best Short Story on the Web

Angel of Hospitality by Ken Bruen

Amputee by Pete Risley

Crooked Ladder by Terry Butler

The Death of Newark by Michael A Gonzales –

if i ever get off this mountain/Coming Down the Mountain by Brian Panowich

Marbles by Alex Mattingly

Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Art Taylor

The New Sleep by Daniel Mkiwa

Slick Texas Money by Frank Wheeler Jr.

The Tractor Thief’s Jacket by Gita M. Smith

The Wait by Chris Benton

Best Cover 

To vote in each category please go here.