Win a copy of DEATH MESSAGE, Mark Billingham

#crimefiction

I have discovered I have two copies of DEATH MESSAGE so am using the paperback size one for this competition.

You have until end of Saturday 9 May to enter.

You will need to visit Mark Billingham's own site to get information for the answers
If more than one person gives the correct answer, I will draw the name out of a hat.
I am willing to send the book anywhere, but it will come by snail mail.

The questions
1. How many novels does Mark Billingham list on his site?
2. What is the name of Billingham's detective?
3. Who has been killed in the Prologue of DEATH MESSAGE?
Download the first chapter at http://www.markbillingham.com/message.html

Ready to enter?

DON"T give the answer in comments!
I have set up a special form on Google Docs. No logging in, should just be accessible from here in your browser.
By all means leave me a comment here to let me know you've entered.

And the winner of Billingam's DEATH MESSAGE was..

For the last week I have run a small competition where entrants could win a copy of Mark Billingham's DEATH MESSAGE.

The competition closed on May 9.

There were 4 entrants with correct answers:
Sunnie, Luanne, Dorte, and Tim.
The "cat's paw" has chosen Sunnie as the winner.

The questions and answers
1. How many novels does Mark Billingham list on his site?
answer: 8
2. What is the name of Billingham's detective?
answer: Detective Inspector Tom Thorne
3. Who has been killed in the Prologue of DEATH MESSAGE?
answer: Angies & Robbie

Download the first chapter at http://www.markbillingham.com/message.html

Meeting up at Melbourne Writers Festival (MWF)

I couldn't really say that I have much problem in coming up with a topic to blog about but I couldn't resist pointing you to this site, called Blaugh.

I had originally hoped to get to MWF for most of last week, but eventually only made it on Friday night. I got to the Ned Kelly Awards just in time to see the first announced.

• Best Non-Fiction
  RED CENTRE, DEAD HEART, Evan McHugh
• Best First Fiction
  THE LOW ROAD, Chris Womersley
• Best Fiction
  SHATTER, Michael Robotham
• Marele Day was given a lifetime award in recognition of her role in creating the Ned Kelly awards.

I ran a poll on this blog some weeks back to see if we could pick the Ned Kelly winners.
So which ones did we pick? Well, we didn't do very well as it happens, except for Michael Robotham with SHATTER which I always believed deserved to win.

On Saturday morning I went to a session called "Genre Jumper- Kate Atkinson" and am now reading her latest WHEN WILL THERE BE GOOD NEWS?
She also signed a copy of the book for me.

On Saturday a bunch of us from oz_mystery_readers and members of 4MA in Australia went out to lunch. 15 of us altogether and it was great to catch up. Last year at MWF about 10 of us caught up for dinner, so this is now well on the way to becoming an annual occasion.

On Saturday evening I went to "It May not Leave a Scar" - Robert Drew, John Clanchy, and William McInnes. As a result today I've read John Clanchy's short story anthology VINCENZO'S GARDEN. Not crime fiction except for one lovely story called "Radinsky's Will" which would sit

comfortably in any crime fiction anthology. I'll post a review of VINCENZO'S GARDEN later this week.

On Sunday morning I went to a session called "Liars make the best writers" with Mark Billingham, Matt Condon, and Michael Robotham (replacing Delia Falconer).

This was a really wonderful session - these authors are all entertaining in their own way, and they really sparked off each other.

So here are the authors I caught up with to chat with:

Michael Robotham

Mark Billingham (the "odd" one out in this list, but he's a friend of Michael's)

Adrian Hyland

Phillipa (PD) Martin

Leigh Redhead

Katherine Howell

I didn't really need to acquire any more books but I came home with

WHEN WILL THERE BE GOOD NEWS?, Kate Atkinson

VINCENZO'S GARDEN, John Clanchy

BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE MUSEUM, Kate Atkinson

THE FIRST FINGERPRINT, Xavier-Marie Bonnot

DEATH MESSAGE, Mark Billingham

A SHORT HISTORY OF TRACTORS IN UKRAINIAN, Marina Lewycka (not crime fiction at all, just a title I've seen interesting reviews of)

GHOST LINES, Nick Gadd

Catching up at MWF has become an annual event for some of us, but I do stand with some of my original criticisms of the programme on offer this year. As it was I eventually only came over for the second weekend, but even so I did only attend 3 events and only 2 of those were crime fiction.
My friends who came from Tasmania, Newcastle and Darwin for the week had nothing to attend at the beginning of the week, Monday to Wednesday, simply because there were no events on for the general public on those days.

Top reads 2005 - 2010, British and Australian crime fiction

I began my "books read" database in 2005 and it now contains 662 records, all crime fiction.
Of the 70 books that have scored a rating of 5,
9 are Australian:

Katherine    Howell    FRANTIC    2007
Gabrielle    Lord    DIRTY WEEKEND    2005
Barry    Maitland    NO TRACE    2004
P.D.    Martin    FAN MAIL    2008
Michael    Robotham    THE NIGHT FERRY    2007
Michael    Robotham    SHATTER    2008
Michael    Robotham    BLEED FOR ME    2010
Peter    Temple    THE BROKEN SHORE    2005
Peter    Temple    TRUTH    2009

and 25 are British

Kate    Atkinson    Case Histories    2004
Mark    Billingham    Scaredy Cat    2002
Mark    Billingham    Lifeless    2005
Stephen    Booth    ONE LAST BREATH    2004
Stephen    Booth    SCARED TO LIVE    2006
Simon    Brett    THE HANGING IN THE HOTEL (Audio)    2004
Ken    Bruen    The Killing of the Tinkers    2003
Tracy    Chevalier    The Virgin Blue    2002
R.J.    Ellory    A QUIET BELIEF IN ANGELS    2007
Nicci    French    Secret Smile    2004
Reginald    Hill    THE WOOD BEYOND    1996
Reginald    Hill    THE DEATH OF DALZIEL    2007
Reginald    Hill    A CURE FOR ALL DISEASES    2008
P. D.    James    The Lighthouse    2005
Lynda    La Plante    ABOVE SUSPICION    2004
Peter    Lovesey    THE SUMMONS    1995
Peter    Lovesey    THE VAULT    1999
Peter    Lovesey    THE HOUSE SITTER    2003
Peter    Lovesey    THE CIRCLE    2005
Peter    Lovesey    THE SECRET HANGMAN    2007
Peter    Lovesey    SKELETON HILL    2010
Ian    Rankin    EXIT MUSIC    2007
Peter    Robinson    STRANGE AFFAIR    2005
C.J.    Sansom    Dissolution    2003
Barbara    Vine    THE MINOTAUR    2005

Review: THE SOUNDS OF CRIME, Maxim Jakubowski (editor)

UNABRIDGED Audio book from Audible.com (I purchased it)
by Lawrence Block, Val McDermid, Mark Billingham, Peter James, Christopher Fowler, Maxim Jakubowski (editor)

Narrated by Buffy Davis, Eve Karpf, Mike Grady, Eric Meyers, John Hasler

LENGTH: 2 hrs and 46 mins

AUDIBLE RELEASE DATE: 09-01-10

Publisher's blurb:
an exclusive collection of five brand new short stories by some of the best crime writers around. Using the theme of 'audio', this unique collection features brand new stories by Lawrence Block, Peter James, Val McDermid, Mark Billingham, and Christopher Fowler. By turns gripping, puzzling and sinister,The Sounds of Crime will chill your blood from the first spoken word to the last.

My take: each of these short stories was just 30 mins  and it was interesting to see what each author had chosen to do. I don't think I would rank any of the stories in the author's best work, but they whiled away the driving time.

My rating: 4.2 

Awards Shortlists - Similarities and Differences

This is a very exciting time of the year for crime fiction readers.
The British Crime Writers Association have already announced the CWA shortlists for International, Shortstory, Library, and Debut daggers, and will in a month or so announce those for the Gold, John Creasey, and Ian Fleming Steel daggers; the Harrogate Festival in the UK teams up with Theakston's Old Peculier to pick a Crime Novel of the Year; with Bouchercon coming at Indianaopolis in October, the Barry, Anthony, and Macavity shortlists have been announced; and just recently the winner of Canada's Arthur Ellis award was announced. I imagine that soon the shortlists for Australia's Ned Kelly awards will be revealed. Let's not forget either the Edgar Awards and the Agatha Awards both announced earlier this year.

Even if you are one that says you are not influenced by awards, and are often profoundly disappointed when you read the winner, it gives pause for thought when the same authors and titles crop up again and again doesn't it?
Keeping up with all the awards is fairly difficult, but if you want a list of most awarded books, not necessarily crime fiction, and slightly out of date, then Fantastic Fiction has one.

In the crime fiction genre, given that the various awards have slightly different criteria, then synchronising them is a bit of a battle, but I've tried.
I've listed the shortlisted nominees by title, then author, and then the award nominated for.
Where the award already decided, there is an * next to the award acronym.
I have trawled 17 different awards, and come up with a list of nearly 100 books, and I've linked to the few that I've read.
Even so I can't help feeling that there is something I've missed, and and "eagle eye" will spot it.

The key for the lists is
ABFN-Anthony Best First Novel;
ABN-Anthony Best Novel;
ABPO-Anthony Best Paperback Original;
AEBFN-Arthur Ellis Best First Novel;
AEBN-Arthur Ellis Best Novel;
AgBFN-Agatha Best First Novel;
AgBN-Agatha Best Novel;
BBB-Barry Best British;
BBN-Barry Best Novel;
BBPO-Barry Best Paperback Original;
BBT-Barry Best Thriller;
CWAID-CWA International Dagger;
EBFNAA-Edgar Best First Novel by an American Author;
EBN-Edgar Best Novel;
EBPO-Edgar Best Paperback Original;
MBFN-Macavity Best First Novel;
MBN-Macavity Best Novel
TOP-Theakston Old Peculier Best Novel

The nominations
A CARRION DEATH, Michael Stanley -BBF, MBFN
A CURE FOR ALL DISEASES, Reginald Hill -TOP
A CURE FOR NIGHT, Justin Peacock -EBFNAA
A ROYAL PAIN, Rhys Bowen -AgBN
A SIMPLE ACT OF VIOLENCE, R.J. Ellory -BBB
AN INNOCENT CLIENT, Scott Pratt -MBFN
ARCTIC CHILL, Arnaldur Indriðason -CWAID
BAD LUCK AND TROUBLE, Lee Child -TOP
BENEATH THE BLEEDING, Val McDermid -TOP
BLEEDING HEART SQUARE, Andrew Taylor -BBB
BLUE HEAVEN, C.J. Box -EBN*
BROKEN SKIN, Stuart MacBride -TOP
BRUNO, CHIEF OF POLICE, Martin Walker -BBB
BUCKINGHAM PALACE GARDENS, Anne Perry -AgBN
BUFFALO JUMP, Howard Shrier -AEBFN*
CALUMET CITY, Charlie Newton -MBFN, EBFNAA
CHILD 44, Tom Rob Smith -ABFN, BBF
CHINA LAKE , Meg Gardiner -EBPO*
CITY OF THE SUN, David Levien -BBF
COLLISION, Jeff Abbott -BBT
CURSE OF THE SPELLMANS, Lisa Lutz -MBN, EBN
DAWN PATROL, Don Winslow -BBN
DEAD MAN’S FOOTSTEPS, Peter James -TOP
DEATH MESSAGE, Mark Billingham -TOP
DEATH OF A COZY WRITER, G. M. Malliet -ABFN, MBFN, AgBFN*
ECHOES FROM THE DEAD, Johan Theorin -BBPO, CWAID
ENEMY COMBATANT, Ed Gaffney -EBPO
ENVY THE NIGHT, Michael Koryta -BBN
EXIT MUSIC, Ian Rankin -TOP
FINDER, Colin Harrison -BBT
FINDING NOUF, Zoe Ferraris -MBFN
FRIEND OF THE DEVIL, Peter Robinson -TOP
GARDEN OF EVIL, David Hewson -TOP
GONE TO GROUND, John Harvey -TOP
GOOD PEOPLE, Marcus Sakey -BBT
HEADLINE: MURDER, April Lindgren -AEBFN
I SHALL NOT WANT, Julia Spencer-Fleming -AgBN
ICED UNDER, Nadine Doolittle -AEBFN
IN A DARK SEASON, Vicki Lane -ABPO
MARGARITA NIGHTS, Phyllis Smallman -AEBFN
MISSING, Karin Alvtegen -EBN
MONEY SHOT, Christa Faust -ABPO, BBPO, EBPO
NIGHT OF THUNDER, Stephen Hunter -BBT
PAPER, SCISSORS, DEATH, Joanna Campbell Slan -AgBFN
PUSHING UP DAISIES, Rosemary Harris -ABFN, AgBFN
RED KNIFE, William Kent Krueger -ABN, BBN
RITUAL, Mo Hayder -BBB, TOP
SAVAGE MOON, Chris Sim -TOP
SEVERANCE PACKAGE, Duane Swierczynski -BBPO
SHADOW, Karin Alvtegen -CWAID
SHATTER, Michael Robotham -BBB
SINS OF THE ASSASSIN, Robert Ferrigno -EBN
SIX GEESE A-SLAYING, Donna Andrews -AgBN
SOUTH OF HELL, P. J. Parrish -ABPO
STALKING SUSAN, Julie Kramer -ABFN, BBF
STATE OF THE ONION, Julie Hyzy -ABPO, BBPO
SWEEPING UP GLASS, Carolyn D. Wall -BBF
SWEETSMOKE, David Fuller -EBFNAA
TALKING TO WENDIGO, John C. Goodman -AEBFN
THE ACCIDENT MAN, Tom Cain -TOP
THE BLACK PATH, Asa Larsson -BBPO
THE BLOOD DETECTIVE, Dan Waddell -MBFN
THE BRASS VERDICT, Michael Connelly -ABN
THE CHALK CIRCLE MAN, Fred Vargas -CWAID
THE COLD SPOT, Tom Piccirilli -EBPO
THE COLOUR OF BLOOD, Declan Hughes -TOP
THE CRUEL(L)EST MONTH, Louise Penny -ABN, BBN, MBN, AgBN*
THE DECEIVED, Brett Battles -BBT
THE DIVA RUNS OUT OF THYME, Krista Davis -AgBFN
THE DRAINING LAKE, Arnaldur Indridason -BBN, MBN
THE DYING BREED (UK) / THE PRICE OF BLOOD (US), Declan Hughes -MBN
THE FAULT TREE, Louise Ure -MBN
THE FIRST QUARRY, Max Allan Collins -ABPO, BBPO
THE FOREIGNER, Francie Lin -EBFNAA*
THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE, Stieg Larsson, -CWAID
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, Stieg Larsson -ABN, ABFN, BBB, MBFN
THE K HANDSHAPE, Maureen Jennings -AEBN
THE KIND ONE, Tom Epperson -BBF, EBFNAA
THE MURDER STONE, Louise Penny -AEBN
THE NIGHT FOLLOWING, Morag Joss -EBN
THE PRICE OF BLOOD, Declan Hughes -EBN
THE PRINCE OF BAGRAM PRISON, Alex Carr -EBPO
THE REDEEMER, Jo Nesbø -CWAID
THE SURVIVOR, Tom Cain -BBT
THE TSUNAMI FILE, Michael E. Rose -AEBN
THROUGH A GLASS, DEADLY, Sarah Atwell -AgBFN
TOO CLOSE TO HOME, Linwood Barclay -AEBN*
TRANSGRESSION, James W. Nichol -AEBN
TRIGGER CITY, Sean Chercover -ABN, BBN, MBN
WHERE MEMORIES LIE, Deborah Crombie -MBN

Can you browse?

My topic today has almost nothing to do with the wonderful image to the right of a Portland Art cow, the epitome of a browser.

I think I am almost incapable of browsing. I can't be trusted to browse!!
Last night I went to the bookshop with the purpose of buying a copy of Peter Robinson's ALL THE COLOURS OF DARKNESS. What happened?
I came away with 4 books, even if one of them is a copy of the Books Alive freebie, Michael Robotham's mini-book BOMBPROOF. I wanted the Peter Robinson so I could enter the Hachette Livre competition.

So $100 lighter, I have copies of
ALL THE COLOURS OF DARKNESS, Peter Robinson
IN THE DARK, Mark Billingham
THE FORGOTTEN GARDEN, Kate Morton
and the mini-book BOMBPROOF, Michael Robotham

But you know, I can't browse in the library either. Books leap off the shelves into my arms I swear. I am constantly battling the book-bulge. Mountains of books everywhere. List and lists to read. So my strategy in the library is to deal only with the online catalogue, and confine my browsing to the lists of recommendations that flow in from all the groups I belong to and the blogs I read.
That helps a bit but just at the moment I have

• 13 library books at home
• 14 library books requested
• 82 library books on my wish list - a place the library calls "my list" where I can park the titles of books I want to read sometime
• 20 books sent to me for review
• at least 30 other books I have bought or been lent to read
• and then there are the ones I bought last night

I tell you what - does anybody have a desert island on offer?
I have enough books to last me for at least a year.
I read 9-10 books a month.. so I have about 15 months supply without thinking about the big box of second hand ones I bought at the last library sale.

Next week I'm off to Darwin for a few days for work. The best part is that means a 4 hour or so flight each way - enough for 2 books!! Isn't sad when you worry not about what clothes to take, but what books!

So are you like me, unable to walk into a book store or library without carrying at least one out with a sense of triumph that Julius Caesar would envy? So what have you acquired most recently?

Theakstons Old Peculier long list for 2008

Europe's largest crime writing festival, the Harrogate Festival, begins on Thursday 17th July this year, and runs until Sunday 20th July, at The Crown Hotel in Harrogate. As always you can expect appearances from some of the very best crime authors around. This year's special guests include Andy McNab and Jeffery Deaver, Peter Robinson and Tess Gerritsen will be facing questions from Simon Kernick and Paul Blezard, the topics under discussion will include religious symbolism and James Bond, and MC Beaton will be talking us through her own particular brand of the cosiest crime.

The Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year runs in conjunction with the Harrogate Festival and is usually an interesting list and this year's is no exception. The Harrogate Festival call it a great mix of heavyweights and rising stars. The short list is decided by the public and anybody can vote. You must vote for only one book, so I wonder which you will choose? Go to the voting page, select the book of your choice, enter your email address. If you are a resident of UK or Ireland there is a competition you can enter for a chance to win tickets to the festival, with accommodation included. The shortlist is announced at the end of June. Last year's winner was Alan Guthrie with Two-Way Split.

The 2008 longlist

Blue Shoes & Happiness Alexander McCall Smith	Christine Falls Benjamin Black	A Tale Etched in Blood and Hard Black Pencil Christopher Brookmyre	Shifting Skin Chris Simms
Sovereign CJ Sansom	One Under Graham Hurley	Darkness and Light John Harvey	Buried Mark Billingham
The Savage Garden Mark Mills	Corn Dolls Patrick Lennon	Not Dead Enough Peter James	Piece of My Heart Peter Robinson
The Death of Dalziel Reginald Hill	The Chemistry of Death Simon Beckett	Relentless Simon Kernick	Hurting Distance Sophie Hannah
The Tenderness of Wolves Stef Penney	Dying Light Stuart MacBride	The Risk of Darkness Susan Hill	The Grave Tattoo Val McDermid

It makes, if nothing else, a nice checklist of what to read in British crime fiction.

Review: THEIR LITTLE SECRET, Mark Billingham

• format: kindle (Amazon)
• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 788 KB
• Print Length: 400 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group (2 May 2019)
• Language: English
• ASIN: B07KW91G2B
• Thorne & Tanner series #16

Synopsis (author)

Sarah thinks of herself as a normal single mum. It’s what she wants others to think of her. But the truth is, she needs something new, something thrilling.

Meanwhile, DI Tom Thorne is investigating a woman’s suicide, convinced she was driven to do it by a man who preys on vulnerable women.

A man who is about to change Sarah’s life.

My Take

Although this is part of quite a long series, with several minor plot threads connecting to previous novels, it works quite well as a stand-alone.

The novel begins with the aftermath of a middle aged woman throwing herself under a train. Although this is obviously a suicide Tom Thorne becomes concerned with why she did it. He meets her sister and niece who tells him about how a con artist fleeced her of her savings. He would dearly like to find the con man and charge him with manslaughter.

In the second chapter we meet Sarah, a young mum who has just dropped her son Jamie off at his new school. She is meeting other mums for coffee and she meets an older man.

From these two starting points the novel quickly develops complexity and in surprising ways.

A very good read.

My rating: 4.5

I've also read
4.4, TALKING TO THE DEAD
4.5, RUSH OF BLOOD
 

What I read in March 2020

Travel and self-isolation have contributed to a bumper reading month, with lots of very good reads.

1. 4.5, DAY OF THE DEAD, Nicci French
2. 4.5, EVEN DOGS IN THE WILD, Ian Rankin
3. 4.7, DEATH IS NOW MY NEIGHBOUR, Colin Dexter - audio book  
4. 4.5, THE TATTOOIST OF AUSCHWITZ, Heather Morris - not crime fiction 
5. 4.5, NINE PERFECT STRANGERS, Liane Moriarty - Australian author 
6. 4.5, MR NOBODY, Catherine Steadman
7. 4.3, CHICKEN FEED, Minette Walters
8. 4.5, THE WIFE AND THE WIDOW, Christian White - Australian  
9. 4.5, THEIR LITTLE SECRET, Mark Billingham
10. 4.6. THE LONG CALL, Ann Cleeves
11. 4.5, GONE BY MIDNIGHT, Candice Fox - Australian 
12. 4.4, THE AU PAIR, Emma Rous  
13. 4.4, A MATTER OF MOTIVE, Margot Kinberg
14. 4.2, DARKNESS FOR LIGHT, Emma Viskic - Australian 
15. 4.8, BLOOD RIVER, Tony Cavanaugh - Australian 

See what others have read in the last month

So Nearly There - Crime Fiction 4.9s

This post follows up on a couple of recent ones about top crime fiction reads.
My databases ofr the last 5 years contains just over 660 books.
I have given about 10% of those a rating a 5.
But there are some that have missed out by the smallest of margins - they are the "nearly there's" that I gave 4.9 to.

So here is that list:

Australian Authors
Kerry    Greenwood    DEATH BY WATER    2005
P D    Martin    THE MURDERERS' CLUB    2006

British authors

Mark    Billingham    SLEEPY HEAD    2001
P. D.    James    THE PRIVATE PATIENT    2008
Jim    Kelly    DEATH WORE WHITE    2008
Alexander    McCall Smith    BLUE SHOES AND HAPPINESS 2006
Charles    Todd    SEARCH THE DARK    2000
Charles    Todd    A PALE HORSE (audio book) 2008

Rest of the world - translated authors marked with *

* Karin    Alvtegen  SHADOW    2007
  Michael Connelly THE CONCRETE BLONDE    1994
  Michael Connelly ECHO PARK    2006
  Leighton Gage    THE BLOOD OF THE WICKED    2008
  Randall Hicks    THE BABY GAME    2005
* Arnuldur Indridason    TAINTED BLOOD (Jar City) 2004
  Thomas Perry    VANISHING ACT    1994
* Johan     Theorin  ECHOES FROM THE DEAD    2008
* Fred    Vargas    SEEKING WHOM HE MAY DEVOUR 2004

Waiting in the Wings

I thought I'd treat you to some of the titles I intend to read - well, I have the books on my shelves but, if my current rate of consumption is any indication, it is going to take me some time.

Books I have from the library

AGATHA RAISIN AND KISSING CHRISTMAS GOODBYE, MC Beaton
ALL THINGS BRIGHT & BEAUTIFUL: MURDER IN THE CITY OF LIGHT, Susan Mitchell
AND JUSTICE THERE IS NONE, Deborah Crombie
ATONEMENT, Ian McEwan
BLEEDING KANSAS, Sara Paretsky
DEATH OF A RED HEROINE, Qui Xiaolong
DECEPTION, Denise Mina
THE DEVIL AND MARIA D'AVALOS, Victoria Hammond
ICE MOON, Jan Costin Wagner
KISSED A SAD GOODBYE, Deborah Crombie
NOT DEAD ENOUGH, Peter James
OFFICER DOWN, Theresa Schwegel
S IS FOR SILENCE, Sue Grafton
SEEKING WHOM HE MAY DEVOUR, Fred Vargas
THE SIMIAN CURVE, Mark Lalbeharry
THUMBPRINT, Friedrich Glauser
THE VIRGIN OF SMALL PLAINS, Nancy Pickard
WATER LIKE A STONE, Deborah Crombie
THE WOMAN IN THE FIFTH, Douglas Kennedy
THE YIDDISH POLICEMEN'S UNION, Michael Chabon

About to arrive from the library
GONE TO GROUND, John Harvey
WASH THIS BLOOD CLEAN FROM MY HAND, Fred Vargas

Books waiting to be read and reviewed

BAD LUCK AND TROUBLE, Lee Child
COLD IN HAND, John Harvey
CUT TO THE QUICK, Diane Emley
FAN MAIL, P.D. Martin
ILLEGAL ACTION, Stella Rimington
ISABELLA MOON, Laura Benedict
KENNEDY'S BRAIN, Henning Mankell
NEMESIS , Jo Nesbo
SACRIFICE , S. J. Bolton
THE CLEANER, Brett Battles
THE QUIET GIRL, Peter Hoeg
WILLOWS FOR WEEPING, Felicity Pulman
WRITTEN IN BONE, Simon Beckett

Others
Still reading WICKER by Kevin Guilfoile
for F2F group next Sunday: THE SPELLMAN FILES by Lisa Lutz

The rest in no particular order
BORKMANN'S POINT, Hakan Nesser
GEISHA, Arthur Golden
BABY SHARK'S BEAUMONT BLUES, Robert Fate
TRACE, Patricia Cornwell
THE DEAD POOL, Sue Walker
THE CHRISTMAS MYSTERY, Jostein Gaarder
THE CRUELLEST MONTH, Louise Penney
BLOODY HAM, Brian Kavanagh
DYING TO SIN, Stephen Booth
COLD LIGHT, John Harvey
THE SINNER, Petra Hammesfahr
HEART SICK, Chelsea Cain
SUCKED IN, Shane Maloney
SKIN AND BONE, Kathryn Fox
FRIEND OF THE DEVIL, Peter Robinson
DEATH MESSAGE, Mark Billingham
THE SLEEPING DOLL, Jeffery Deaver
NO TIME FOR GOODBYE, Linwood Barclay
THE THIRTEENTH TALE, Diane Setterfield

Sunday Salon: 26 July 2009

I noticed there quite a few new people posting in the Sunday Salon last week. That was good to see. Book blogging is certainly alive and well.
Have you come across Book Blogger Appreciation Week? Click on the logo to find out more.



For me this was a big week because on the 23rd of each month I host the Agatha Christie Reading Challenge Blog Carnival. This week was the 7th edition of the carnival.

I seem to have made a lot of posts this week. Lots of "challenges" that I am part of needed doing. I also made a decision this week to re-publish some reviews I've published over the last 3 years on another site.

This week's posts:

• Review: THE HOT TYPEWRITER, Albert Victor
  This is part of Weekly Geeks. Drop in and decide whether this is a real or a fictitious review.
• BIP #13: Blog Post Bingo, Round 2!
  The aim of the Blog Improvement Project is to improve our blogs. #13 challenged us to meet 12 criteria for posts.
• Awards - Received and Given
  This is a record of the blog awards I've been given, and handed on. Things have been a bit quiet since April until the one Cathy gave me on Saturday.
• I Keep Coming Back for More Award
• Review: INSPECTOR ANDERS AND THE BLOOD VENDETTA, Marshall Browne
• Forgotten Book: THE DARK SIDE OF THE ISLAND, Mark Hebden
  I think this truly is a forgotten book even though Mark Hebden wrote 62 crime fiction titles.
• Agatha Christie Blog Carnival #7 now posted.
• When Worlds Collide
  I am one of those lucky people whose daily work intersects with what they like to do for leisure.
• Review: ONE GOOD TURN, Kate Atkinson
• Match the cover with a title - competition
  It is not too late to enter this competition. You simple have to match some cover images up with titles. It helps if you read crime fiction though.
• ACRC Update - 21 July 2009This post and the one below are attempts to bring myself up to date with my progress so far in the Agatha Christie Reading Challenge. if you read Agatha Christie you might like to join in.
• ACRC: Short Stories, Update #4
• Did Agatha Christie change her mind about Miss Marple?

Breaking News:

• Thriller Fest Awards
• Billingham wins Theakston's Old Peculier
• Join Sisters in Crime Australia
• Davitt Awards Longlist announced
• Agatha Christie Blog Carnival #7 now posted
• Who are the people in your neighbourhood?
• 22nd Book Review Blog Carnival
• Book Blogger Appreciation Week Nominations now open
  

What I'm reading:

• now - SHADOWS STILL REMAIN - Peter de Jonge
• then - FROM DOON WITH DEATH - Ruth Rendell
• in the car - LUCIFER'S SHADOW, David Hewson

Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Announced

The short list was

Blue Shoes & Happiness Alexander McCall Smith	Buried Mark Billingham	A Tale Etched in Blood and Hard Black Pencil Christopher Brookmyre	Not Dead Enough Peter James
Sovereign CJ Sansom	One Under Graham Hurley	Dying Light Stuart Macbride	The Tenderness of Wolves Stef Penney
Piece of My Heart Peter Robinson	The Death of Dalziel Reginald Hill	The Chemistry of Death Simon Becket	Relentless Simon Kernick

And the winner was a first novel which has already found acclaim as a work of mainstream literary fiction, Stef Penny's THE TENDERNESS OF WOLVES.

Harrogate Festival looks set to have 7,000 participants. Listen to a series of interviews with Stef Penney, Zoe Sharp, and Peter Robinson.

Anthony Award nominees 2008

The 2008 Anthony Awards will be announced at Bouchercon in Baltimore at the closing brunch, so I guess that is on October 12.

The guests of honour at Bouchercon 2008 are

• Lawrence Block, Distinguished Contribution to the Genre
  
• Laura Lippman, American Guest of Honor
  
• John Harvey, International Guest of Honor
  
• Mark Billingham, Toastmaster
  
• Robert Rosenwald & Barbara Peters, Lifetime Achievement Award
  
• Thalia Proctor, Fan Guest of Honor

Shortlisted for Anthony Awards:

Best Novel:

• James Lee Burke- Tin Roof Blowdown- Simon and Schuster
• Lee Child - Bad Luck and Trouble Delacorte Press
• Robert Crais- The Watchman Simon and Schuster
• William Kent Krueger- Thunder Bay Atria
• Laura Lippman - What the Dead Know William Morrow

Best First Novel:

• Sean Chercover- Big City, Bad Blood William Morrow
• Tana French- In the Woods Viking Adult
• Lisa Lutz- The Spellman Files Simon and Schuster
• Craig McDonald- Head Games Bleak House Books
• Marcus Sakey- The Blade Itself St. Martin Minotaur

Best Paperback Original

• Megan Abbott- Queenpin Simon and Schuster
• Ken Bruen and Jason Starr - Slide Hard Case Crime
• David Corbett- Blood of Paradise Ballantine Books
• Robert Fate- Baby Shark's Beaumont Blues Capital Crime Press
• P.J. Parrish- A Thousand Bones Pocket

Maddy Van Hertbruggen the creator of 4MA has been shortlisted for a Special Services award.
4MA is a very busy and well run Yahoo list that I have been a member of for over 6 years.

See the short list for all categories here.

50 Books Read

I'm steaming along quite well this year, and have reached one of those milestones: 50

I keep a full record of categories here
The main ones are

• 2018 Aussie Author Reading Challenge: aiming for 20: currently 11
• 2018 Australian Women Writers Challenge: aiming for 20. Currently 6
• British Books Challenge 2018 currently 24
• 2018 Ebook Reading Challenge currently 13
• New to me authors - a personal challenge currently 17
• Snagged at the Library currently: 24
• Audio books: currently: 8

Looking at the ratings I've given them, you may well note that they range only from 5.0 to 4.0
To be truthful I've had a few DNFs that I have not recorded, but actually I've finished and rated over  90% of the books that I've started. I think that is because so many of the books that I tackle, I do so as a result of recommendations in book groups and by friends on line. So, in a sense, a certain amount of pre-selection has already taken place.

Here are the books

• 5.0, FORCE OF NATURE, Jane Harper
• 5.0, THE GIRL BEFORE, J P Delaney
• 5.0, ON THE JAVA RIDGE, Jock Serong
• 5.0, THE WRITING BOOK, Kate Grenville
• 5.0, THE ENORMOUS CROCODILE, Roald Dahl
• 4.9, UNDER THE COLD BRIGHT LIGHTS, Garry Disher
• 4.8, THE RUIN, Dervla McTiernan
• 4.8, THE WILDLING SISTERS, Eve Chase
• 4.7, THE STRANGER, Melanie Raabe 
• 4.7, FRIDAY ON MY MIND, Nicci French 
• 4.7, DARKTOWN, Thomas Mullen 
• 4.7, COMPANY MAN, Joseph Finder
• 4.7, MATILDA, Roald Dahl  
• 4.6, IN THE DARK, Chris Patchell
• 4.6, A SPOT OF FOLLY, Ruth Rendell
• 4.6, A IS FOR ARSENIC: THE POISONS OF AGATHA CHRISTIE, Kathryn Harkup
• 4.5, SLEEP NO MORE, P. D. James 
• 4.5, RUSH OF BLOOD, Mark Billingham
• 4.5, ACT ONE, SCENE ONE ...MURDER, A.H. Richardson 
• 4.5, DRAWING CONCLUSIONS, Donna Leon
• 4.5, THE SWITCH, Joseph Finder
• 4.5, THE LITTLE BRETON BISTRO, Nina George
• 4.5, TRULY MADLY GUILTY, Liane Moriarty 
• 4.5, DEATH OF A LAKE, Arthur Upfield 
• 4.5, RUMPOLE: THE PENGE BUNGALOW MURDERS, John Mortimer
• 4.5, DOWNFALL, Margot Kinberg  
• 4.4, THE FIX, David Baldacci
• 4.4, THE VANISHING BOX, Elly Griffiths 
• 4.4, THE BONE IS POINTED, Arthur Upfield 
• 4.4, RECALLED TO LIFE, Reginald Hill
• 4.4, THE TANGO SCHOOL MYSTERY, Peter Bartram 
• 4.4, THE MARSH KING'S DAUGHTER, Karen Dionne
• 4.4, THE TAXIDERMIST'S DAUGHTER, Kate Mosse
• 4.4, THE MALICE OF THE WAVES, Mark Douglas-Home 
• 4.4, MIDNIGHT SUN: BLOOD ON THE SNOW 2, Jo Nesbo
• 4.4, FATTY O'LEARY'S DINNER PARTY, Alexander McCall Smith
• 4.4, THE MURDER AT SISSINGHAM HALL, ClaraBenson
• 4.4, 10 SHORT STORIES YOU MUST READ THIS YEAR
• 4.4, THE INAUGURAL MEETING OF THE FAIRVALE LADIES BOOK CLUB, Sophie Green
• 4.3, MACBETH, Jo Nesbo
• 4.3, THE WORD IS MURDER, Anthony Horowitz
• 4.3, THE DETECTION COLLECTION, by members of the Detection Club  
• 4.3, BORROWED TIME, Robert Goddard 
• 4.3, TALKING TO THE DEAD, Harry Bingham
• 4.3, DADDY'S GIRL, Lisa Scottoline
• 4.2, A ROYAL MURDER, Sandra Winter-Dewhirst
• 4.2, MURDER ISN'T EASY, Richard Hull 
• 4.0, BOOKSTORE CATS, Brandon Schultz 
• 4.0, THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER'S WEB, David Lagercrantz 

Literature Maps - finding new authors

Literature Map, is a digital ‘tourist map’ of authors based on a self-adapting artificial intelligence engine that learns from the behaviour and preferences of users of the system. Type in an author name and it will display a map of other author names, spaced relative to your original selection. The closer two names are (graphically) the higher the likelihood that you’ll enjoy reading both authors.

I played around with it a bit, but it is not very good on fledgling Australian authors like Katherine howell, P.D. Martin, and Leah Giarratano..
However I did get some reasonable results for Peter Temple, Michael Robotham, Arthur Upfield, and Agatha Christie (not that I'm claiming her as Australian)

Here is the centre of the map that resulted for Michael Robotham.

The map is saying that if you like Michael Robotham then these other writers are possible likes too.
So I clicked on Mark Billingham (I know they are great friends) and then a new map generated, with this at the centre.

Click on John Harvey and another range of authors appears.

You get the idea. Unfortunately there is no tool to print out a list of the authors for you, which would be a good tool, and no connection to anything to give you a list of books, but then you can't have everything.

Sunday Salon, 3 May 2009

Hello everyone.
I hope your Sunday is going well. I've lots to pass on to you today.
There's a new poll to take part in, and a book give away for you to enter.

This week's posts

• Win a copy of DEATH MESSAGE, Mark Billingham
• How often do you write a blog post?
• April's Books, Posts & Headlines
• Thinking about.. THE WRITING CLASS, Jincey Willett
• Forgotten Book: THE WATCHER IN THE SHADOWS, Geoffrey Household
  
• Review: BLACK OUT, Lisa Unger
• The dangers of reading crime fiction
• Brunetti's Venice
• And the winner is... THE IRON HEART, Marshall Browne

Project: Collaborations in Paradise

The project is still continuing. Join nearly 20 people writing a short story collaboratively. The story is meant to be crime fiction, has opening lines written by last year's Ned Kelly Award winner, Michael Robotham, but various authors have contributed some really quirky bits. However there is nothing to stop you from introducing romance, a vampire or two, a car chase, a bit of history etc. You get my drift?

• Collaborations in Paradise - The Story - Latest version
• Contribute your bit
• Listen to the mp3 version

Breaking News

• Malice 21 Agatha Winners
• The revival of the exclamation mark!
• Edgar Winners Announced
• Nordic Glass Key Nominees
• Alexander McCall Smith on light hearted mysteries
• 16th Book Review Blog Carnival
• The Moral Riddle of AJ Raffles
• Writer's Rooms: Kirsty Brooks
• Brian McGilloway's top 10 modern Irish crime novels
• Branagh+ Wallander = BAFTA
• 2009 Nebula Awards
• Venice Panoramas for those who read Donna Leon's books
• Los Angeles Times Book Prize Winners

Last week's poll: When do you abandon a book you don't like? had 21 participants

at 20 pages - 1
at 30 pages - 4
at 40 pages - 1
at 50 pages -3
rarely - 7
rule not listed - 5

The comments
We really are a tolerant lot who try to do the right thing by our authors. We tend to believe it is our fault if we can't finish a book.

• I really struggle when it comes to giving up books. I really don't like to do it.
• I don't like to give up on books either. I have several started ages ago that I keep intending to get back to, so I can't say that I've abandoned them.
• Life is too short to read books I'm not enjoying and I do give up on some but have no rule about how many pages.
• I rarely give up on a book. Although, if I can't finish it, I might put it aside and finish it at another time.
• I have no time to waste on a book I'm really not interested in. I will abandon a book around 50 pages.
• I think there are too many books I will love out there to struggle with something I'm not enjoying. 40/50 pages and if I'm not hooked I'm done.

This week's poll: How often do you write a blog post? This is one everyone can participate in.

Currently reading:

• now - THE WRITING CLASS, Jincy Willett
• next - THE POISONING IN THE PUB, Simon Brett
• in the car - A PALE HORSE, Charles Todd

Weekly Projects I belong to:

• Weekly Geeks: this week's challenge is about Book Review Policy and Guidelines.In the right hand column I have a portlet titled Join weekly Geeks.
• Sunday Salon: this now has 375 participants. Thank goodness we don't all post every week.
• Friday's Forgotten Books: A project run by Patti Abbott where people talk about books that they read a long time ago. There's a block in the right column. See Patti's archive.

oz_mystery_readers 5 years old today

Back on 9 Feb 2003, when had I tried and tasted a number of online book discussion groups, and not found any that really did what I wanted, which was to discuss murder mystery books available in Australia, I decided to launch out and create one. I had already floated the idea with friends in a face-to-face group here in Adelaide, and so oz_mystery_readers was born.

I advertised the group among friends and email lists and it gradually grew. As happens with such groups, membership changes over time with people subscribing and unsubscribing. Some people get overwhelmed by email as a group grows, go "nomail" and promptly forget the group exists, others get the digest of daily mails, while still others just lurk.
oz_mystery_readers has really grown very slowly, but I'd guess that over time about twice as many have subscribed as are members now.
It helps also to develop a strong core of active members, which I believe we have now, and also for others to take on tasks in the group, whether it be as co-moderators or as discussion leaders.

I thought a lot about the good and bad features of other groups that I'd joined and left, and of those I'd stayed with. I must admit that a much larger US group 4MA that I discovered after I'd created oz_mystery_readers has been a constant source of inspiration and a good model of what a group can be like.

Some statistics:
Currently there are 117 members (but among them are 15 "bouncing" email addresses)
Between us, over 5 years, we have generated 9765 messages
June 2007 was our most "active" month with 418 messages - that is just over 10 a day.
Since beginning regular scheduled book discussions in December 2004 we have discussed 46 books.

We rate all discussion books and our top 10 books, in order, have been
On 5.0 (maximum points)
RAVEN BLACK by Ann Cleeves,
and DIAMOND DOVE by Adrian Hyland
then
ABOVE SUSPICION by Lynda La Plante (4.75)
Then on 4.7
FLESHMARKET CLOSE by Ian Rankin
SLEEPYHEAD by Mark Billingham
FLESH AND BLOOD by John Harvey
RED LEAVES by Thomas H. Harris
THE BROKEN SHORE by Peter Temple
On 4.6
THE DEVIL'S STAR by Jo Nesbo
NO TRACE by Barry Maitland

Our discussion books are suggested and voted on by members.
We have selection criteria for the books:
January: General suggestion
February: Non-British, Non-Australian writer
March: 1-10 General suggestion
24-30 Quiz an Author: we ask an author to join us
April: Awards month
1-10 Ned Kelly winner for best crime novel for previous year
21-30 a prize winner - the book must have won a prize
for crime/mystery fiction in the last 5 years.
May: General suggestion
June: British crime - British author or British setting or both
July: General suggestion
August: Classics month - the book should be written by a writer considered a "classic" - e.g. Agatha Christie, Simenon, Arthur Upfield, Dorothy L. Sayers
September: 1-10 General suggestion
24-30 Quiz an Author: we ask an author to join us
October: Australian writer in an Australian setting
November: General suggestion
December: Christmas, set in and around Christmas

As well as the scheduled discussions, we have a number of regular weekly activities such as Friday Recommendation, Telling Title, Peeves, Middle of the Month, Author Chat, and Who Have you Met?
At the end of each month we encourage members to tell others what they've read in the last month, with title, author, short description and rating if they've kept that much detail.
These lists are great sources of suggestions for books to look out for or avoid.

We have an activity called Quiz an Author which takes place approximately every 3 months. Our guest for a week is an Australian author who is asked to answer a mixture of pre-set and spontaneous questions.
So far our guests have been
Brian Kavanagh - author of CAPABLE OF MURDER, THE EMBROIDERED CORPSE, and recently released BLOODY HAM
P. D. Martin - author of BODY COUNT, THE MURDERERS CLUB, and recently released FAN MAIL
Adrian Hyland - author of DIAMOND DOVE (aka MOONLIGHT DOWNS), winner of the Ned Kelly best First Novel award in 2007
Our guest on 17 February will be multiple award winner Gabrielle Lord. Author of 15 books published since 1980. Books to think about: DEATH DELIGHTS, DIRTY WEEKEND and SHATTERED.

Our reading/discussion schedule for the coming months
March
1-10, EXIT MUSIC by Ian Rankin
April: Awards Month
1-10, 2007 Ned Kelly Award Winner: Best Novel
CHAIN OF EVIDENCE by Garry Disher
21-30, 2007 Duncan Lawrie International Dagger Award
WASH THIS BLOOD CLEAN FROM MY HAND by Fred Vargas

Despite the fact that this group is an Australian one, and we do promote Australian murder mystery and crime fiction, we don't read/discuss exclusively that as you can see, and our members come from all over the world.
So if you are looking for a group to join, why not oz_mystery_readers?

Top 10s in the Guardian.

For years the UK Guardian has been running a Top 10s series where authors choose their favourite books on their chosen theme. There are 250 lists on the list.

If you don't want to wade through all the lists looking for crime fiction, then here are some that came through on a Google alert today:

• Catherine Sampson's top 10 Asian crime fiction
  
• Elizabeth Kostova's top 10 books for winter nights
  
• Mark Billingham's top 10 fictional detectives
  
• Lisa Scottoline's top 10 books about justice
• Alex Barclay's top 10 psychological thrillers
• Nick Brooks' top 10 literary murderers