It’s a funny thing to go to a mystery conference and discover that everyone on the streets outside is drunk at nine o’clock in the morning, while everyone inside the conference is stone-cold sober. But that’s what happens when a conference—the second annual Murder and Mayhem in Chicago—is held on… Read more
We're thrilled to welcome Lori Rader-Day and Dana Kaye to CrimeHQ as they discuss the upcoming Murder and Mayhem in Chicago crime fiction conference. Lori Rader-Day: When you approached me about the idea of bringing Murder and Mayhem to Chicago, it seemed like such a natural fit. Chicago is such a… Read more
Marilyn Hartman used to think that she could not go on. Just idly going about life like it was nothing but an awful song. But some people are just meant for traveling—like it was the meaning of true love. So she reached out to the open sky and its everlasting… Read more
Although we all have to patiently wait until August 30th for Louise Penny’s upcoming Inspector Gamache novel, A Great Reckoning, that doesn’t mean we can’t fan the flames and add to the excitement. Watch below as Jeffrey Brown of PBS NewsHour interviews Louise Penny about her upcoming novel for Book… Read more
In 1886, H.H. Holmes constructed what would become his “Murder Castle” in Chicago, just prior to the World’s Fair. This block-long hotel featured doors leading to brick walls, stairs that led to nowhere, secret vaults and gas chambers, and a basement full of torture and body disposal equipment. If you've… Read more
Saving Sophie by Ronald H. Balson is a legal thriller about a Chicago attorney whose daughter is kidnapped and taken prisoner to Palestine (available September 15, 2015). Jack Sommers was just an ordinary attorney from Chicago. That is, until his wife passed away, his young daughter was kidnapped, and he… Read more
Brush Back by Sara Paretsky is the 18th novel featuring Chicago private eye V.I. Warshawski, who'll reluctantly investigate the case of a hateful woman from the old neighborhood, convicted of killing her own daughter decades ago (available July 28, 2015). No one would accuse V. I. Warshawski of backing down… Read more
We've already highlighted 5 of the biggest mystery fan conventions of 2015, but lucky for us, there are tons more great conferences happening all over, including regional or specialty crime fiction events with their own focuses and unique twists. So here's another bunch of terrific happenings to consider, and we'd… Read more
“Cuanto,” the fourth episode of the season, starts with a revealing flashback. Summer is over and the Commodore dismisses Nucky (but not before Nucky sees both the Commodore’s vision for Atlantic City as well as his pornographic photo collection of young girls). Nucky, lost without a job and furious over… Read more
At the end of last week’s stellar season premiere, Nucky’s new bodyguard slices the ear off of a would-be assassin. Episode Two, “The Good Listener,” continues this auricular theme in both its visuals and its message. The opening shot is of Eli’s ear (both the outer and the inner) as… Read more
