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Match 26th, 2020

Seems like we are settling in for the long haul here. Maybe you’ll find some solace in the normalcy of routine. It’s Thursday, here’s the most crime fiction news per word on the web.

Here are 3 crime fiction links, 2 quotes, and 1 question for this week:

3 LINKS

• Polygon has a good mix of old and new thrillers worth checking out on Netflix and Hulu. I knew or had seen most of these other than BURNING but would gladly watch most again.
  

• The Seattle Times recommends 5 streaming movies you can watch now based on crime fiction novels. No big surprises. OUT OF SIGHT or DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS are great re-watches.

• Some are using this quarantine time to dive into big epic books but if you want to go the other way, here are 20 books across genres including many small mysteries that you can read in a day or two.

2 QUOTES

A couple quotes from King’s THE STAND because….you know:

• “No one can tell what goes on in between the person you were and the person you become. No one can chart that blue and lonely section of hell. There are no maps of the change. You just come out the other side. Or you don’t.”

• “The beauty of religious mania is that it has the power to explain everything. Once God (or Satan) is accepted as the first cause of everything which happens in the mortal world, nothing is left to chance…logic can be happily tossed out the window.”

1 QUESTION

• In the last two weeks, the only time I’ve been out of the house is to walk the dog. What are the best crime fiction audiobooks that you’ve listened to?
  

Until next Thursday, happy reading,

Mike

Author the Max Strong thriller series

March 19th, 2020

We’ve made it to another Thursday. I hope you and your family are safe and healthy and finding ways to deal with this new normal.

Maybe this week’s edition of 3-2-1 Thursday will help take your mind off things. As promised, here’s the most crime fiction news per word on the web.

Here are 3 crime fiction links, 2 quotes, and 1 question for this week:

3 LINKS

• NPR talks to David Simon about adapting Phillip Roth’s alternative history THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA.

• If you’ve exhausted the classics or haven’t read up in genre lately, here is a good list of 10 recent detectives you might try out.

• Book Riot highlights 9 books (fiction and non-fiction) that feature female spies in the lead role. I can second the rec for Atkinson and Fesperman. The rest are new to me.

2 QUOTES

A couple quotes from (fictional) private detectives:

• “Dead men are heavier than broken hearts.” Raymond Chandler (The Big Sleep)

• “The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.” Sherlock Holmes”

1 QUESTION

• In these strange times, I’m reaching for comfort and routine. What book in your favorite genre do you recommend re-reading?
  

Until next Thursday, happy reading,

Mike

Author the Max Strong thriller series

March 12th, 2020

We’ve made it to another Thursday. Maybe it’s time to escape into a better world in a book. Stay safe.

Maybe this week’s edition of 3-2-1 Thursday will help take your mind off things. As promised, here’s the most crime fiction news per word on the web.

Here are 3 crime fiction links, 2 quotes, and 1 question for this week:

3 LINKS

• At CrimeReads Michael Koryta (or is he channeling Scott Carson here?) and Alma Katsu talk pen names, the supernatural, the creeping past, and the resurgence of horror.

• Inspired by his own new novel, Peter Swanson looks at 8 more almost perfect (fictional) murders.

• One tiny area of the economy that corona is not hurting is epidemic fiction apparently. The Guardian reports on the sales resurgence of Camus, King, Dean Koontz and others.

2 QUOTES

A couple quotes from King’s THE STAND:

1 QUESTION

• Definitely feels like we could all use some self-care in these strange times. For me, that means a familiar series or book. What is your go-to “comfort food” book or series?
  

Until next Thursday, happy reading,

Mike

Author the Max Strong thriller series

March 5th, 2020

We’ve made it to another Thursday. If you watch the news, sometimes that doesn’t feel it might happen. Hopefully the coronavirus hasn’t gotten you too stressed our depressed. If it is, maybe it’s time to crack open a good book.

Maybe this week’s edition of 3-2-1 Thursday will help take your mind off things. As promised, here’s the most crime fiction news per word on the web.

Here are 3 crime fiction links, 2 quotes, and 1 question for this week:

3 LINKS

• William Gibson is an author primarily know for sci-fi and cyberpunk but has managed to gain a very good critical reputation outside of the genre strait jacket. The New Statesman has a deep dive on his latest along with an interview/profile.
  

• This was new to me. Criminal Element looks back at the almost unbelievable story of how Norman Mailer almost killed his wife (wife #2) in 1960.

• CrimeReads does a deep dive on the classic noir DOUBLE INDEMNITY through the prism of redemption and forgiveness. I need to re-watch this.

2 QUOTES

Film noir offers some of my favorite crime quotes:

1 QUESTION

• I was in a bit of reading slump earlier this year but now I find myself reading four books at once. Or trying to. I generally have one fiction and non-fiction going at once but it’s rare to have more than one fiction title going unless one is on audio. Do you you read one book at a time or can do you juggle a few depending on your interests?

Until next Thursday, happy reading,

Mike

Author the Max Strong thriller series

February 27th, 2020

We made it to another Thursday! It’s slowly getting warmer and the light is lasting longer here in the Northeast. If you consume a lot of mysteries and thrillers via audio the fact that you don’t have to turn on the lights to read doesn’t matter as much. Or maybe the increased light has you getting outside more and looking for lighter fare than dark winter reading. Feels like we are coming out the seasonal tunnel a bit.

Enough rambling, on to this week’s edition of 3-2-1 Thursday. As promised, let me try for the most crime fiction news per word on the web.

Here are 3 crime fiction links, 2 quotes, and 1 question for this week:

3 LINKS

• Interesting lunch read from the New Yorker. Not sure you’d file this under true crime per se but a good read nonetheless: Was the World’s Oldest Person a Fraud?

• Did you know Harlan Coben also has a growing streaming footprint? A number of his books have been adapted for film or direct to streaming. CFL checks out his latest adaptation, The Stranger, on Netflix.

• A little adjunct to the crime fiction genre but interesting nonetheless. Mental Floss looks at 14 true crime songs that mine the traditional murder ballads to fresher headlines.

2 QUOTES

A couple of creepy murder ballad lyrics this week:

1 QUESTION

•  I tend to enjoy David Baldacci on audio. I also tend to enjoy the suspense of psychological thrillers more on audio? Do you find some mystery or thrillers actually work better as audto books?

Until next Thursday, happy reading,

Mike

Author the Max Strong thriller series

February 20th, 2020

Happy Thursday! I hope you are tucked into a good book as we close in on the weekend. It’s school vacation week here in the Northeast and I’ve been taking full advantage of the library to keep the girls occupied during our mostly stay-cation. Is there a better human invention/concept than the public library? Ok, there probably is but I really, really like the library and how it continues to evolve in today’s digital society. Susan Orlean’s THE LIBRARY BOOK is a great recent read for bibliophiles that explores not just the LA library fire but also how library are adapting and remaining relevant in our current culture.

Enough rambling, on to this week’s edition of 3-2-1 Thursday. As promised, let me try for the most crime fiction news per word on the web.

Here are 3 crime fiction links, 2 quotes, and 1 question for this week:

3 LINKS

• For it’s 125th birthday the NY Public Library selected 125 from the last 125 years that they love. Any guesses on which 7 mysteries and thrillers made the list?
  

• One more with the library theme this morning, BookRiot has 5 memorable real-life library heists, including the tale of the book bandit and the badass librarian.
  

• On it’s tenth anniversary, /Film looks back at Martin Scorsese’s adaptation of Dennis Lehane’s twisty, gothic, mental health puzzler of a novel SHUTTER ISLAND. I remain a fan of both the book and movie.

2 QUOTES

A couple of quotes about libraries this week:

1 QUESTION

• One of my favorite libraries is the Boston Public Library in Copley Square. I love buying lunch nearby and eating it, while reading a book of course, at one of the tables in the courtyard. Do you have a favorite library? What is your favorite part?

Until next Thursday, happy reading,

Mike

Author the Max Strong thriller series

February 13th, 2020

Happy Thursday! I hope the weather where you are is better than here. We’ve got rain, sleet, snow and just bleak skies. So…perfect reading weather. Funny how sometimes a book won’t click with you but the audio version does. I found myself putting aside THE HUNTING PARTY last year after 50 pages but gave it another shot on audio and now can’t stop listening. Sometimes audio gives that little nudge to keep going.

On to this week’s edition of 3-2-1 Thursday. As promised, let me try for the most crime fiction news per word on the web.

Here are 3 crime fiction links, 2 quotes, and 1 question for this week:

3 LINKS

• CrimeReads looks at the debt today’s true crime podcasters owe to Charles Dickens and his 1841 murder story BARNABY RUDGE. Feel like I need to read BARNABY RUDGE now.
  

• The LA Review of Books takes a long look at Norton’s recent adaptation of Lethem’s MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN through the lens of the past and present New York City. You can stream
  

•  The Guardian looks at the revered Japanese detective novelist Seishi Yokomizo finally getting his Golden age detective some English language adaptations (at least in the UK).

2 QUOTES

A couple of quotes from James M. Cain this week:

• ‘I loved her like a rabbit loves a rattlesnake.’

• ‘They threw me off the hay truck about noon.’

1 QUESTION

• Do you listen to audio books at normal playback speed or do you like to speed it up?

Until next Thursday, happy reading,

Mike

Author the Max Strong thriller series

February 6th, 2020

Welcome to another Thursday! I hope you’re neck deep in a good book. I’m really enjoying the audio book version of Lucy Foley’s THE HUNTING PARTY. It’s one of those audio productions that uses different narrators for different characters. I’m usually not a big fan of those but in this case, a group of friends stuck during a snowstorm, it works well.

On to this week’s edition of 3-2-1 Thursday. As promised, the most crime fiction news per word on the web.

Here are 3 crime fiction links, 2 quotes, and 1 question for this week:

3 LINKS

• The biggest news in the crime fiction world was the passing of mystery thriller doyenne Mary Higgins Clark. The AV Club, among many others, has a quick obit that highlights how much Clark did before she became a best-selling novelist.

• CrimeReads checks in with three of 2019’s ‘breakout’ crime writers in Adrian McKinty, Rob Hart, and Steph Cha to see how life is different at the start of this year versus last.

• The nominees for the 2020 Barry Awards were announced. Strong fields in all the big categories but Best Novel looks deep and good luck picking Best of the Decade.

2 QUOTES

Quotes from crime writers this week.

• ‘If in doubt, have two guys come through the door with guns.’ RAYMOND CHANDLER

• ‘The crime novel is the great moral literature of our time.’ JEAN-PATRICK MANCHETTE

1 QUESTION

• Do you need a body or crime to happen in the first page or chapter or are you okay with the slow build thriller/mystery/suspense story? Hit reply or leave a comment and let me know!

Until next Thursday, happy reading,

Mike

Author the Max Strong thriller series