Happy New Year!

and especially -

Historic Reading Posters - January, A Year of Good Reading Ahead

New Reviews on Euro Crime

Normal service is slowly being resumed starting with a couple of new reviews on the Euro Crime website.

We have another new reviewer for Euro Crime and Terry Halligan's first review is of 'The Last Secret of the Temple' by Paul Sussman. In addition, Karen Chisholm reviews 'Spider Light' by Sarah Rayne.

If you're in the UK and interested in reviewing British and other European crime fiction drop me an email at karen@eurocrime.co.uk.

Competition - last call...

The contest to win a copy of the new Martyn Waites book will close on Sunday night so do pop over and enter. No geographical restrictions...

Normal blogging and website updates should resume on Sunday.

Happy Christmas!!

and I hope there's also plenty of:


Time for Reading

Looks like this cat's had too much turkey:

Cat Reading

Mike Ripley's Shots column for December...

is now online. One thing he comments on is how the percentage of British crime wrtiting published each year is dropping:

"Five years ago the number of new crime titles by Brits represented 57% of the total titles published in the UK and it stayed around that figure until this year when it dropped to an estimated 52%.

It is just possible that 2007 will see the home-grown share of the market (in titles if not sales) drop below the 50% mark for the first time."

It's the last Christmas Crime (for 2006)

I couldn't leave out Agatha Christie!!

Synopsis from amazon.co.uk: It is Christmas Eve. The Lee family reunion is shattered by a deafening crash of furniture, followed by a high-pitched wailing scream. Upstairs, the tyrannical Simeon Lee lies dead in a pool of blood, his throat slashed. But when Hercule Poirot, who is staying in the village with a friend for Christmas, offers to assist, he finds an atmosphere not of mourning but of mutual suspicion. It seems everyone had their own reason to hate the old man! To mark the 80th anniversary of Hercule Poirot's first appearance, and to celebrate his renewed fortunes as a primetime television star, this title in a collection of facsimile first editions is the perfect way to experience Agatha Christie. Reproducing the original typesetting and format of the first edition from the Christie family's own archive, this book sports the original cover which has been painstakingly restored to its original glory.

Dorothy L Sayers home - for sale

Thanks to Hope McIntyre aka Caroline Upcher who mentioned this on DorothyL the other day.

"A truly magnificent and elegant former rectory with splendid views over farmland to the front, standing majestically within gardens and grounds of approximately two acres.

This breathtaking Grade II Listed residence has undergone an intense programme of modernisation, refurbishment and improvement works while in current vendor's ownership. This substantial home now proudly offers many period features along with modern conveniences such as a superb indoor heating swimming pool and gas fired central heating system.

Bluntisham House, formerly Bluntisham Rectory, was the home of the famous author, Dorothy L Sayers and one of the doorways is reputed to have been brought over from Oliver Cromwell's house at Huntingdon."

More Estate Agent details and photos here,

It's Christmas Crime (7) - Ann Cleeves

I recently listened to this on audio and it was extremely gripping. It opens on New Year's Eve...

Synopsis from amazon.co.uk: "It is a cold January morning and Shetland lies buried beneath a deep layer of snow. Trudging home, Fran Hunter's eye is drawn to a vivid splash of colour on the white ground, ravens circling above. It is the strangled body of her teenage neighbour Catherine Ross. As Fran opens her mouth to scream, the ravens continue their deadly dance ...The locals on the quiet island stubbornly focus their gaze on one man - loner and simpleton Magnus Tait. But when police insist on opening out the investigation a veil of suspicion and fear is thrown over the entire community. For the first time in years, Catherine's neighbours nervously lock their doors, whilst a killer lives on in their midst."

Read Sunnie Gill's review for Euro Crime here and CrimeFic Reader's analysis, on her It's a Crime blog.

More on 'Waking the Dead'...

Digital Spy reports that Waking the Dead is going interactive.

"BBC One's new series of Waking The Dead, which begins in early January, will be supported by an interactive TV and broadband service, giving viewers a greater understanding of forensic and detection methods included in the show.

Following the second part of the two-part stories viewers can, for the first time, be transported behind the scenes and into the world of the cold case unit by pressing the red button or visiting the show's website.

Viewers will be presented with the CCHQ evidence board and given the opportunity to discover more about the week's story, by moving around the board and clicking on a piece of evidence they'd like to investigate further."

In addition the BBC press release confirms that "Tara FitzGerald (Sirens, Brassed Off, The Virgin Queen) joins the cast of Waking The Dead as Eve Lockhart, the new forensic scientist, when the six-part series returns to investigate more dark, gripping tales of murder mystery."

"In the first two-part story, Boyd and his team, Grace (Sue Johnston), Spence (Wil Johnson), Stella (Felicite du Jeu) and Eve, find themselves investigating pagan and druid rituals, stigmata, Irish travellers and bare knuckle boxing."

It's Christmas Crime (6) - Gilbert Adair

I mentioned this a couple of months ago and I've got it from the library now. I've read a few pages and it seems worth pursuing and I plan to, once I've finished the other two books I've got on the go. I tend to read serially rather than in parallel, usually. (It's one of those dinky sized hardbacks too, very nice.)

Synopsis from amazon.co.uk: "It is Boxing Day circa 1935. The place is a snowed-in manor on the very edge of Dartmoor. It is a Christmas house-party. And overhead, in the attic, the dead body of Raymond Gentry, gossip columnist and blackmailer, shot through the heart. But the attic door is locked from the inside, its sole window is traversed by thick iron bars and, naturally, there is no sign of a murderer or a murder weapon. Fortunately (though, for the murderer, unfortunately), one of the guests is the formidable Evadne Mount, the bestselling author of countless classic whodunits. In fact, were she not its presiding sleuth, "The Act of Roger Murgatroyd" is exactly the type of whodunit she herself might have written."

It's Christmas Crime (5) - Jill McGown

Here's one I've mentioned before, which I read earlier in the year. I didn't write a review but I do strongly recommend it, especially to lovers of unbreakable alibis. The UK title for 'Murder at the Old Vicarage' is 'Redemption' and the library edition of it has Christmas tree baubles on the front but the cover's not on amazon.

Brief synopsis from amazon.co.uk: "Snow began to isolate the village and by the time the body in the vicarage was discovered, Byford was cut off altogether. A domestic murder - Chief Inspector Lloyd thought it would be an open and shut case but it turned out to be much more complicated."

This is the second of the Lloyd and Hill series and fans are eagerly awaiting the fourteenth, hopefully in 2007,

On Jill McGown's website she answers questions about the title change and the connection to Agatha Christie.

Last minute Christmas present suggestion...

I spotted this on thriller.startpagina.nl a comprehensive page of links to the crime and mystery world, under their category of 'games'. Released today in the UK (but more easily available in the US I imagine) you can now help Poirot to solve 'The Murder on the Orient Express'.

From the manufacturers website: "Climb aboard the luxurious train and become part of the famous murder mystery as you play the video game adaptation of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express. Famed game designer Lee Sheldon and AWE Games have teamed up once again to bring mystery adventure fans the second game in the Agatha Christie series.

Staying true to the novel, players will step on to the lavish, richly appointed train that departs Istanbul hurtling toward Paris. The train is filled with passengers, one of whom is the high profile Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. A passenger recognizes him, asks for protection, but is turned down. The next day that individual is found dead.

Players take on the role of Antoinette Marceau, a new character, who works alongside Poirot to investigate the savage murder. With a train filled of suspects, Antoinette will need every tip that she can garner from Poirot in order to pinpoint the killer."

David Suchet is Poirot (thankfully) though it doesn't look much like him and there is a surprise ending....


Or there's 'And Then There Were None', released earlier in the year.

Manufacturer's description: "Based on the best selling mystery novel of the same name, And Then There Were None allows players to immerse themselves in the rich world of Agatha Christie.

10 people, strangers to each other are invited to a lavish estate on a remote island. Through a recording their mysterious host accuses each of his guests of murder and proceeds to exact justice. The tension mounts as, one by one, the number of people are reduced through the ingenious plotting of the unseen killer.

Prepare to play the 11th character where only your detective wits can save you now."

On the website you can see a list of characters, scenes and links to a trailer for both games.

It's Christmas Crime (4) - Georgette Heyer

'Envious Casca' was first published in 1941 and is the second in the Inspector Hemingway series. As well as her many regency novels, Heyer wrote 12 detective novels, including four featuring Inspector Hemingway and four with Superintendent Hannasyde.

Synopsis from amazon.co.uk: "It is no ordinary Christmas at Lexham Manor. Six holiday guests find themselves the suspects of a murder enquiry when the old Scrooge, Nathaniel Herriad, who owns the substantial estate, is found stabbed in the back. Whilst the delicate matter of inheritance could be the key to this crime, the real conundrum is how any of the suspects could have entered the locked room to commit this foul deed. For Inspector Hemingway of Scotland Yard, 'tis the season to find whodunit."

A fan based website for Georgette Heyer is here. Isn't the cover delightful?

This week's updates to the Euro Crime website

Just a reminder that there's still time to enter the competition to win one of six copies of Martyn Waites' 'Bone Machine' (*no* geographical restrictions apply.)
---
This week's updates on Euro Crime are:

1. The 'Reviews' page has been updated with reviews of :
'Raven Black' by Ann Cleeves , reviewed by Sunnie Gill and
'Looking Good Dead' by Peter James, reviewed by Maxine Clarke aka Petrona.

2. The 'Authors' (490 sites) page has been updated.

3. The 'New Releases' pages have been updated.

4.a) In 'Books' there are now bibliographies for 980 authors (5465 titles
with links to 851 reviews) - I've added bibliographies for the following:
Gilbert Adair, Rankin Davis, Brian McGilloway, Georges Perec, Matt Benyon
Rees, Luis Miguel Rocha, Philip Sington, William Sutton and Elizabeth
Wilson.

4.b) In 'Books' I've updated the bibliographies (ie added new titles) for:
Boris Akunin, Jo Bannister, Rhys Bowen, Kate Charles, Ake Edwardson, Roger Jon Ellory, Penelope Evans, Susan Hill, Lee/L M Jackson, Michael Jecks, Alison Joseph, Adrian McKinty, The Medieval Murderers, Denise Mina, Dreda Say Mitchell, Sarah Rayne, Rob/Robert Ryan, Chris Simms, Alexander McCall Smith and Martyn Waites.

It's Christmas Crime (3) - Carola Dunn

'Mistletoe and Murder' by Carola Dunn is the eleventh in the Daisy Dalrymple series, which currently numbers fifteen.

Synopsis from amazon.co.uk: "In December 1923, Daisy Dalrymple Fletcher yields to the demands of her mother and the needs of her writing career and brings her family to an old Cornish estate for Christmas. The estate, occupied by the poor relations of the ancestral lord, has a rich history of lore, ghost stories, and festering resentments - some or all of which leaves them all trapped in a house with a corpse and a murderer."

You can read two short stories featuring Daisy here and here.

It's Christmas Crime (2) - Ngaio Marsh

'Tied Up in Tinsel' was Ngaio Marsh's 27th Inspector Roderick Alleyn story and was first published in 1972.

Synopsis from amazon.co.uk: "Christmas time in an isolated country house and, following a flaming row in the kitchen, there's murder inside. When a much disliked visiting servant disappears without trace after playing Santa Claus, foul play is at once suspected -- and foul play it proves to be. Only suspicion falls not on the staff but on the guests, all so unimpeachably respectable that the very thought of murder in connection with any of them seems almost heresy. When Superintendent Roderick Alleyn returns unexpectedly from a trip to Australia, it is to find his beloved wife in the thick of an intriguing mystery..."

It's Christmas Crime (1) - Anne Perry

Over the next few days I'll be listing a few books set over the Christmas-New Year period. First off is the latest Christmas book from Anne Perry, 'A Christmas Secret'.

Synopsis from amazon.com: "Dominic Corde is thrilled to “fill the robe” as substitute vicar in the village of Cottisham, while the Reverend Wynter is away on a three-week Christmas holiday. Glad to escape his dreary London flat and a less-than-satisfying job as church curate, Dominic and his beloved wife, Clarice, set off for what they hope will be a lovely winter getaway.

Upon arrival, in the midst of a frigid, exceptionally snowy season, Dominic and Clarice are welcomed by warm, hospitable neighbors and enchanted by the cozy, inviting vicarage. Everything seems almost too perfect. Dominic’s only concern is how he will be received by the congregation, who hold the Reverend Wynter in such high regard. But as Clarice soon discovers, she and Dominic have much more dire matters to worry about. It turns out that the Reverend Wynter isn’t on holiday at all–and that something very sinister has transpired.

As a blizzard leaves Cottisham treacherously snowbound and the isolated village swirls with unsavory secrets, Dominic and Clarice suddenly find themselves in deadly danger."

You can read an excerpt on the Random House webage. The other Christmas novellas are: 'A Christmas Journey', 'A Christmas Visitor' and 'A Christmas Guest'.

Another competition (not mine this time)

As well as Euro Crime's own competition which ends at the end of the year, so does author James Twining's competition. What you can win:

Star in the next Tom Kirk adventure

Always wanted to be a master thief, a deadly assasin or femme fatale?? Well here's your chance!

All you need to do to make your guest appearance between the pages of the next Tom Kirk adventure, is sign up to the jamestwining.com newsletter (click button below) to be entered into the Prize Draw on 31 December 2006.

The lucky winner will be selected at random and will then have the opportunity to have one of the characters in the book named after him or her, as well as have sight of early drafts of the manuscript.

You just need to sign up for his newsletter and the full rules and a link are here on his website.

Design me a cover - must be mostly blue and have a tree on it...

M (Mick) Herron's third Zoe Boehm offering came out on 24 August 2006 from Constable & Robinson.
Lesley Horton's book, which I've mentioned recently, came out on 1 Dec from Orion.

Is it just me or is there a certain similarity to the covers?

Synopsis from amazon.co.uk of 'Why We Die':"When Tim Whitby checks into a hotel, he's not intending to check out again - but then he meets Katrina Blake, a woman in need of rescue. When Arkle, Baxter and Trent inherit the family business, they're not planning on making a go of it - there are quicker ways of getting rich, if you're not squeamish about the violence involved. And when Zoe Boehm agrees to track down the masked men who robbed Harold Sweeney's jewellery shop, she's hoping to pay off the taxes she's avoided. She's not expecting to wind up in a coffin. But Arkle has a crossbow; Tim has a life that's run out of purpose, and even battered Katrina has her secrets. And death, like taxes, can't be avoided forever."

Donna Moore 'On the Bubble' with Elaine Flinn

Unfortunately I missed this when it first came out so a belated link to Elaine Flinn's, 'on the bubble' gruelling interview of debut author Donna Moore.

Synopsis from amazon.com: "On her latest case, wisecracking Private Investigator, Helena Handbasket, is faced with a lot of tough questions. Did Robin Banks have a hand in the theft of Evan Stubezzi's jewels? And if so, was the hand one of those packed in ice in the freezer box that was delivered to his brother, Owen? Is there a serial killer on the loose? Or are all those handless corpses with scarlet fish sewn into their chest cavities purely coincidental? What shoes should you wear for a meeting with a killer? Why does her next-door neighbour smell of cheese? Which of her true loves is her real true love? And, more importantly, is there anything in the fridge for dinner? Can our man-loving, cocktail-loving, food-loving, not-so-very-intrepid heroine answer these questions-any of them-without leaving a cliché unturned?"

'Go to..' is published by Point Blank and you can read the Prologue aka (Why The Hell Isn't This Called Chapter One?) here.