Don’t Ever Get Old by Daniel Friedman is a funny thriller featuring a feisty retiree who can still kick some serious butt (available May 22, 2012).

I can’t think of a more unlikely hero than Baruch “Buck” Schatz. Okay, so he spent decades in the Memphis PD and was quite the hotshot detective—that ended in 1973. And yeah, he had what it took to survive as an American GI in a German POW camp—but that was more than sixty years ago. The guy is eighty-seven years old. Should he even still be driving a car?

Here’s how Buck sees himself:

Rose and I buried our only son six years ago. He was fifty-two, and he’s gone. We’re still here. Dragging that reality around gets exhausting. I was a hard man, once. Immovable, like the face of a mountain. But wind and rain can erode even granite if they have enough years to do it. No matter how tough you think you are, if you live long enough, eventually you get all squishy.

[But not this ol’ guy!]

During the first few days of May, I wandered around the In Plain Sight website, clicking here and there, remembering this and that. It was kind of like visiting the house you grew up in right before your parents move to Boca. You know that nothing will ever be the same, so you try to memorize everything.

And finally, it was here—the goodbye episode. Our last glimpse inside the life of Mary Shannon, U.S. Marshal. Crime HQ speculated back in January that Mary had a lot of issues to be resolved in the eight episodes of season five. In the countdown to the finale, Mary struggles with parenting even though Norah’s father, Mary’s longtime ex-husband Mark, is a very participatory dad. Then, Mary accidently discovers Stan’s romance with the lovely dance instructor, Lia. And we see broad hints at Washington D.C.’s plans for major changes at Albuquerque WITSEC. Then, in “The Merry Wives of WITSEC,” protecting a witness who has two simultaneous families brings up all of Mary’s issues about her father’s abandonment thirty years before. Marshall reminds Mary of his oft-repeated mantra, “Sometimes you just have to let go.”

And what about Mary and Marshall? Could there possibly be any hope for a romantic ending? Well, when Marshall gets engaged to Abigail at the end of this episode, I felt a twinge of “Abandon hope all ye who enter here.”  Still . . . maybe, I thought . . . we had four episodes to go.

(Spoilers ahead!)

[The end, alas, the end. . .]

For most fans, High Noon (1952), Shane (1953), and The Magnificent Seven (1960) are the Trifecta of excellence in Western movies. Which of the three is the greatest western ever made? Over the past forty or so years, I have spent many an hour in heated discussions regarding just that question.

Earlier this year, Jake Hinkson provided a thoughtful examination of High Noon in honor of the film’s sixtieth anniversary. This movie comes from the school of “a man’s got to do what a man’s got to do,” a common western theme.  Newly married town marshal Will Kane (Gary Cooper) quits his job only to learn that an arch-enemy is coming to town to kill him. In spite of his wife’s pleading and in spite of no one in the town being willing to help him, Kane does “what a man’s got to do,” and stands alone to fight.

[Which in the trifecta of Westerns will prove to be the fastest gun in the West?]

A Teeny Bit of Trouble is a cozy southern mystery by Michael Lee West (available April 10).

To celebrate March Madness, Criminal Element had their own clichés of crime death brackets. The final bracket had serial killers facing off against cooking cozies. I voted to get rid of the serial killers once and for all. I’m appalled that many of you actually want to kill the cooking cozies.

Obviously you’ve never met Teeny Templeton, who first appeared in Gone with a Handsomer Man written by Michael Lee West, and now is back again.

Sure, Teeny is a super cook, excellent baker and can develop recipes that will melt in your mouth and harden your arteries all at the same time. But that is only a small part of her life.

[Wait. That’s not enough?!]

Was it really just a couple of months ago that we were all fussing about the abundance of good crime television on Tuesday nights? White Collar, (USA) Justified (FX) and Southland (USA) were all competing for real or DVR time, unless we resolved the conflicts with On Demand.

Being a DVR person myself, I whined in the comments of that January post complaining that the three cable programs we were trumpeting were only part of my problem. 

… [W]hat about the networks?? Unforgettable on CBS and Body of Proof on ABC.

Here is what my DVR schedule looked like: 10 pm Unforgettable and Body of Proof, 11 pm Justified; midnight Southland; 1 am White Collar. I was exhausted just doing the programming…Now I have to find time to watch it all.

[It’s all so good...]

Death of an Artist by Kate Wilhelm is a stand-alone psychological thriller (available March 27, 2012).

Kate Wilhelm’s work covers an extraordinary range across the genres of science fiction, fantasy and mystery. In 1977, the World Science Fiction Society presented a Hugo Award for best novel to Wilhelm for her post-apocalyptic Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang, and in 2003 she was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame. She has long focused on mystery writing, particularly in the Constance and Charlie series and her novels featuring Barbara Holloway.

Death of an Artist  is a stand-alone, but the main characters could easily return in another book. There are so many wounded people living in this novel, it’s difficult for the reader to unravel the individual problems pulling everyone together and at the same time pushing them apart. The death of tortured but brilliant artist, Stefi, leads her mother, Marni, and her daughter, Van, to Tony Mauricio, a wanderer who stops in the small Oregon town of Silver Bay and picks up a job in woodworking to keep his hands busy while he wrestles the demons he carries from his haunted past as a New York police detective.

[Demons haunt everyone here]

Hush Now, Don’t You Cry by Rhys Bowen is the eleventh book in the Molly Murphy mystery series (available March 13, 2012).

My first introduction to Rhys Bowen came when I began reading her delightfully entertaining series featuring Constable Evan Evans and the sleepy Welsh village of Llanfair. My personal favorite? Evan Can Wait. Then along came the Mollie Murphy series set at the dawn of the 1900s, which brought to life the strong willed and energetic Molly, who, in the first book of the series, Murphy’s Law, is forced, under a murderous cloud, to leave her native Ireland using a false identity, only to run smack into murder on Ellis Island just on the edge of New York City, where she hopes to make a home and build a life for herself. Well, Molly gets out of that scrape, and meets a handsome Irish American police captain in the bargain.

[It’s been a long, complicated trip...]

When I finally have an hour to sit down and I want to watch a well-crafted mystery, I often turn to that excellent series with the mystery writer/amateur sleuth who gets involved in all kinds of hijinks. I check my DVR list to see what she’s been up to lately. Are you startled by the pronoun “she?” Perhaps you thought I was talking about Richard Castle.

While I adore Castle, I’m actually referring to his mystery writing forerunner, a retired, but by no means retiring, schoolteacher, who has a knack for writing mysteries. And, in just under an hour, she solves murders without either forensics or undue violence. I’m never sure whether murder follows or precedes her, but I assure you there are murders aplenty.

[Murder by typewriter . . .]

Jacques Futrelle, a journalist and fiction writer, was born to French Huguenot parents in Pike County, Georgia in 1875. As a young man he moved to Boston and worked at The Boston American, where many of his stories first appeared. Over his brief career, Futrelle’s detective fiction featured many sleuths such as Fred Boyd, Doctor Spence, and Garron and Louis Harding, all of whom have been long forgotten. Still, his mystery novels received wide acclaim, especially The Diamond Master (1909) and My Lady’s Garter (1912).

Futrelle’s most famous creation, Professor S.F.X. Van Dusen, known as The Thinking Machine, still has a readership today. Van Dusen is a scientist who possesses a peculiar and decidedly unemotional personality combined with a superior intellect that he applies in a most technical manner to solving crimes. A newspaper reporter, Hutchinson Hatch, functions as Van Dusen’s assistant and often is the one who introduces the mystery to the professor. In “The Problem of a Dressing Room,” Van Dusen confidently says he can’t play chess but that he could defeat a master player if he had only a few hours of instruction. The test ensues and Van Dusen beats his opponent. The man responds, “Mon Dieu! You are not a man; you are a brain—a machine—a thinking machine.”

And the nickname was born.

[Is anyone else imagining The Thinker?]

In October 2010 I was in San Francisco for Bouchercon, the annual four-day gala conference for mystery writers and fans. One night, amidst the crowds milling around the hotel atrium, I bumped into a man who was dapper, polite and funny. He introduced himself as mystery writer Steven M. Forman. We talked about all the writers’ angst we shared and told a few glory stories as well. We exchanged cards and a few months later I got a Facebook friend request from Steve and cheerfully accepted. If you are not Facebook friends with Steve Forman, you are missing the best one-line groaners ever!

So when I heard that the third book in Steve’s Boca Knights series, the aptly named Boca Daze, was soon to be released, I asked for an early peek and the chance to let you all know if Steve is as entertaining in thre- hundred plus pages as he is in one-liners on Facebook. The answer is an unequivocal YES.

[Bring on the funny!]

If you, loyal mystery fan, are weary of reading books dripping with blood and gore, stuffed with violence and vulgarity, cozy novels are likely to be your cup of tea. Can’t you picture yourself snuggled by the fire, an afghan tossed casually across your lap? Perhaps a kitten nestles across the top of the chair or a puppy lies at your feet. You pick up the book on the side table and within a page or two you are in the light and airy world of the cozy novel, where every story has an emphasis on the puzzle or who-done-it aspect rather than on the salacious details of the murder itself.

The crime solver is an amateur sleuth, usually a woman, who is thrust into the aftermath of the murder. It’s possible that she or a friend discovers the body; perhaps a relative or dear friend is accused of the murder; or the victim is someone the amateur sleuth knows and the circumstance of murder arouses her curiosity which is another key component of the cozy mystery. Imbued with an innate nosiness, the amateur sleuth is not above snooping and actively seeks out gossip for any nugget of a clue it may provide. She persistently asks questions that she has no business asking, and generally doesn’t stop until she gets an answer.

[Curiosity killed the cat...]

I met Blaize Clement in 2006, a little more than a year after her first book in the Dixie Hemingway series, Curiosity Killed the Cat Sitter, was published. She was a presenter on a panel for new writers. I was a new writer and very impressed with her advice. In a kind yet firm voice Blaize emphatically told us to believe in the importance of our work and to protect the integrity of what we write. I had only to read a few chapters of her first book to recognize that she practiced what she preached. Her writing is crisp and clear, with shades of gritty darkness brightened by straight forward humor and the always delightful animals Dixie hangs out with in the course of each book.

[None too cozy, despite the cats.]

Who doesn’t have a favorite O. Henry story? One that draws the reader in with a light, almost effortless touch. One that follows every joggle and turn, eventually leading to a final jolting twist at the end. O. Henry had a way of making the conclusion of a story so satisfying that the reader would lean back in his chair and chuckle with the words, “I should have known; but how could I possibly guess?” rolling through his mind.  Of course every December millions of readers pick up a well worn copy of a short story collection and re-read “The Gift of the Magi,” a small Christmas story written to emphasize love and sacrifice. A similar theme is evident in “The Last Leaf” when an old painter sacrifices his health by supporting the recovery of a young woman who is seriously ill. He also wrote a number of romantic tales like “A Cupid a la Carte.”

[There’s nothing like a classic...]

I recently bought a Kindle Fire. (Don’t ask, I have no idea how it works; haven’t yet opened the box.) The first thing I did when I got home was to log onto the Kindle website and spend nearly an hour browsing the short mystery fiction collection. Giddy with the prospect of so many short stories available to me, I had trouble making a priority list of what I wanted to read. My predicament reminded me of Elizabeth White’s post here some months ago. Elizabeth mentioned she’d been reading a lot of short stories lately and that she was pleased with what seems to be their increasing availability.

[Why read short?]

All right, so we all hang out at a place called Criminal Element and talk about topics that are in any way crime related—fiction and non-fiction. Whether the subject is paranormal or suspense, humorous or noir, thriller or cozy, we hanker to know everything about it. We’re not only interested Joe Friday style, “Just the facts, ma’m.” We also love the “what ifs.” Questions like who should play Jack Reacher in the movies? Should Inspector Lewis and Doctor Hobson get a bit, er, chummier? Was Jane Austin poisoned?  Who gets to ask Mark Harmon the really cool questions? And even where do you get those oh-so-cool Crime Scene Tape scarves for winter?

So with our addiction to crime so palpable, I ask, who among you needs a body bag? An evidence kit? A set of toe tags? A bio-foam footwear impression kit? Search no more. An intriguing web store, Crime Scene Evidence Files, sells “forensic supplies and detective clothing to the public.” Well, if you clicked over, and are so busy ordering fingerprinting equipment that you never got back here, you are among the truly obsessed, and may never learn that I am anxiously awaiting delivery of my super special crime scene band-aids.

According to Terrie, writing short mystery fiction is nearly as much fun as hanging out with any or all of her seven grandchildren. She is editor of the recently released anthology, Murder New York Style: Fresh Slices, but refuses to wear the thong. 

Mignon F. Ballard has long entertained readers with her cozy mysteries featuring Augusta Goodnight, a temporary guardian angel. Last year, in the highly acclaimed cozy, Miss Dimple Disappears, Ballard introduced us to another affable series character, Miss Dimple Kilpatrick, a no-nonsense first grade teacher in a small southern town during World War Two. In Miss Dimple Rallies to the Cause, we continue to see the effects of war on small-town America.

In early autumn 1943, just as planning has begun for the war bond rally, the town of Elderberry, Georgia has closed the schools for a few days while children, mothers and teachers are all picking cotton at a local farm, hoping to get it to the gin before the rains come. The young men have long gone to war, so it’s up to those left behind to be sure the things that need doing get done.

First grade teacher Miss Dimple Kilpatrick is instructing her students to pick cleanly.

“Just lift the fluffy cotton out of its cup,” she told one overly enthusiastic picker who was snatching entire bolls and cramming them into his bag. Her father, she remembered, had referred to that as “lazy man’s picking.”

“This way,” she continued, demonstrating to her class, “somebody won’t have to come behind you and separate the bolls before the cotton goes to the gin.”

[Nobody on the homefront could afford laziness...]

Last June, while we were all fascinated by the capture of Whitey Bulger, the 81 year old Boston gangster who was finally caught after leading the Most Wanted list for more than a decade, Criminal Element posted an excerpt from Howie Carr’s true crime book, Hitman, the story of Johnny Martorano, whose “partnership with Whitey Bulger and the infamous Winter Hill Gang led to twenty murders.” Then Howie Carr himself explained how perfectly the George V. Higgins novels, starting with The Friends of Eddie Coyle, parallel and predict the life and crimes of Whitey Bulger.

And now according to Deadline, two of Boston’s most famous Hollywood stars are bringing Whitey Bulger to the big screen. Ben Affleck will direct, co-star and produce with Matt Damon, who’ll portray Bulger. (It’s easier to imagine when you see Bulger as a young man.) Casey Affleck will also have a role in the film.

And I’m betting that Damon and the Afflecks will use their Boston roots to thrill us all with an intimate hometown spin on Whitey Bulger’s story.

Photo via ETOnline.com.

According to Terrie, writing short mystery fiction is nearly as much fun as hanging out with any or all of her seven grandchildren. She is editor of the recently released anthology, Murder New York Style: Fresh Slices and blogs at Women of Mystery.

In 2008, Elizabeth J. Duncan became the first Canadian writer to win the St. Martins/Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery Novel competition. Her book—the highly entertaining The Cold Light of Mourning—is set in Llanelen, Wales near magnificent Conwy Castle constructed at the end of the thirteenth century. Now, this area isn’t overly far from Holyhead, the Welsh port for the ferry that runs to and from Dun Laoghaire (Dun Leary) Ireland, which was scenery for parts of Benjamin Black’s Elegy for April,  an audiobook I recently enjoyed. So when I was settling in to read Duncan’s newest book, A Killer’s Christmas in Wales I prepared a double-large cup of tea, kicked back in my recliner, and pretended to be crossing the Irish Sea on a seriously gray Celtic morning.

[It’s gloom that makes a glow more welcome. . .]

Ten or more years ago, I came across the first book in the Sam McCain series written by an already favorite author of mine, Ed Gorman. The Day The Music Died, is set in 1958 and the title  refers to the snowy plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper just a few hours after the fictional Sam drove a long way to see what turned out to be their final show. Sam’s home, Black River Falls, is small town Iowa and reflects an Ozzie and Harriet kind of life, but just after hearing about the plane crash, Sam discovers what may be a murder-suicide. And the investigation is on! I was immediately captivated and have followed Sam and Black River Falls in each succeeding novel.

[And the beat goes on...]

Each December many families gather around the television, or go to a school pageant or community theater and watch some version of A Christmas Carol written by Charles Dickens. And when the show is over, the audience is left with a feeling of good cheer and a determination to be extra nice to everyone they love. Some may even ponder the genius of an author who could have such a profound and lasting effect on generations during the holiday season.

[No! Don’t start with the Christmas stories yet!]