It’s difficult now to imagine watching a crime film set to the jaunty live piano playing that accompanied most early 20th Century silent movies. Without soundtrack and score music, some of our most cherished crime thrillers would be different animals altogether. Imagine Pulp Fiction’s pawn-shop S&M dungeon scene without the… Read more
Every mystery lover knows that the theme music for a TV series helps to sets the mood for the viewer. A solid theme song certainly plays an important role in the success of any series. The musical intro adds to the show, evoking a sense of expectation. The right music… Read more
Alex Segura might be the nicest guy in crime fiction. He cheers on his fellow writers and enthusiastically recommends books, comics, and music. In his entertaining newsletter, Stuff & Nonsense, he chats with all sorts from the crime fiction and comic worlds. By day, he is Senior Vice President of… Read more
Confession time: I had Adrian McKinty in mind when I conceived of doing this column. I basically harassed his publishers about it, when I found out he would be spending some time in New York City, where I live. Of course, when you are interviewing an Irish crime writer whose… Read more
The glory of the historical mystery is in recreating a time and place both familiar and new. Too often (for me, at least), I find the details in historical fiction maddening and anachronistic, a result of superficial research or the easy belief in old tropes about a period. Happily, William… Read more
Young Americans by Josh Stallings is a glitter rock disco heist story set in the 1970's (available November 20th). 1976 New Year's Eve, San Francisco. A Firebird transports a crew of glitter kids away from the city. Forget the trunk full of cash and illegal firearms. Forget the disco heist… Read more
Casually, contorno is a “side dish,” but that phrase isn't reverent enough for Hannibal 3.05's ode to accompanying women. I've pointed out other instances in which the women in this show just won't go along, and instead run on their own tracks. In this episode, we're reminded how each acts… Read more
Rainy Day Women by Kendall Kay is the 2nd Austin Starr mystery set in 1969 amidst the Charles Manson murders and the Woodstock Music Festival (available July 7, 2015). In 1969, during the week of the Manson murders and Woodstock, Austin Starr, the intrepid amateur sleuth with an infant in… Read more
Bone to be Wild by Carolyn Haines is the 15th cozy mystery in the Sarah Booth Delaney series where the Mississippi private detective must investigate threats made against a famous blues band (available May 19, 2015). You can’t think of the blues without dames like Ella Fitzgerald, Bessie Smith, Dinah… Read more
Falling in Love by Donna Leon is the 24th mystery in the Commissario Guido Brunetti series set in Venice (available April 7, 2015). The mystery in Falling in Love, the 24th in Donna Leon’s Commissario Guido Brunetti series, is centered on diva soprano Flavia Petrelli, last seen in 1996's Acqua… Read more
