If you're a fan of crime fiction, Augusta, Maine, is the place to be in October. The folks at the Lithgow Library always bring in the big guns.
In the Narthex with Julia Spencer-Fleming
It's been three years since Julia Spencer-Fleming brought out a book, and her fans have been dying to know what's happened to Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstine. I'm one of the lucky few to have read Julia's forthcoming book, One Was a Soldier, and I guarantee readers won't be disappointed. Julia is at the top of her game in this one.
If you are a mystery fan—and if you're not I'm not entirely sure what you're doing here—you should visit her Web site. Over the years, Julia has interviewed a couple of dozen crime authors including Steve Hamilton, Louise Penny, Nancy Pickard, and now me. Check it out.
Another thing I love about Julia's Web site is her tagline: "Novels of faith and murder for readers of literary suspense." I can't think of a better description for her excellent series. One Was a Soldier hits bookstores on March 14.
Top 100 Mystery Novels of All Time
I got my new copy of The 3rd Degree: The Official Newsletter of the Mystery Writers of America the other day. This year marks the 65th anniversary of the Edgar Awards, and the MWA is updating a list its members put together in the 1990s of the "Top 100 Mysteries of All Time." Here is the previous list. I've read fewer of these books than I care to admit (more than a third, but less than half). I should definitely catch up on my reading before my survey arrives. What books would you add to this list? I need suggestions.
Backwoods Noir
I had never heard that term until I read a news item today about the film Winter's Bone. It turns out that backwoods noir is a recognized subcategory of crime fiction exemplified by the novels of Charles Williams, among others. Whether it describes The Poacher's Son is a question I'll leave to others. But I like the sound of it.
"Dimestore Dostoyevsky"
Love this line from Allen Barra's first-rate essay on Jim Thompson's Legacy:
Thompson’s influence on recent crime fiction is profound, including James Ellroy and even Cormac McCarthy, whose No Country for Old Men, despite its high-falutin’ title from Yeats, is Jim Thompson with an existential oil slick.
I'm not a Michael Winterbottom fan, but I like Casey Affleck (who made a surprisingly effective Patrick Kenzie) and I might make an exception for this film:
Update on 2010-06-21 00:47 by Paul Doiron
This line from Barra is pretty good, too:
No other pulp writer, not even Mickey Spillane, will give you the feeling that when you put his books down you need to wash your hands with antibacterial soap.