Agatha Award Nominees

The Agatha Award nominations are out from Malice Domestic. Malice, as it afectionately known, is a conference for traditional and cozy mysteries held every year in Bethesda, MD. This year it will be held April 29th - May 1st. Congratulations to all who were nominated. It's especially great to see Catriona McPherson, Hank Phillipi Ryan, Susanna Calkins, Laurie R,. King, Art Taylor, Ellen Byron, Terrie Farley Moran and Amanda Flower on this list. Good luck everyone. 

Best Contemporary Novel

Annette Dashofy, Burned Bridges    (Henery Press)

Margaret Maron,    Long Upon the Land (Grand Central Publishing)

Catriona McPherson, The Child Garden (Midnight Ink)

Louise Penny, Nature of the Beast (Minotaur Books)

Hank Phillipi Ryan, What You See (Forge Books)

Best Historical Novel

Rhys Bowen, Malice at the Palace (Berkley)

Susanna Calkins, The Masque of a Murderer (Minotaur Books)

Laurie R. King,    Dreaming Spies (Bantam)

Susan Elia Macneal, Mrs. Roosevelt’s Confidante (Banntam)

Victoria Thompson, Murder on Amsterdam Avenue (Berkley)

Best First Novel

Tessa Arlen, Death of a Dishonorable Gentleman (Minotaur Books)

Cindy Brown, Macdeath (Henery Press)

Ellen Byron, Plantation Shudders (Crooked Lane Books)

Julianne Holmes, Just Killing Time (Berkley)

Art Taylor, On the Road with Del and Louise (Henery Press)

Best Non-Fiction

Zack Dundas, The Great Detective: The Amazing Rise and Immortal Life of Sherlock Holmes    (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

Martin Edwards, The Golden Age of Murder: The Mystery of the Writers Who Invented the Modern Detective Story    (HarperCollins)

Kathryn Harkup,    A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie    (Bloomsbury USA)

Jane Ann Turzillo, Unsolved Murders and Disappearances in Northeast Ohio (Arcadia Publishing)

Kate White (Editor), Harlan Coben (Contributor) and Gillian Flynn (Contributor), The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook: Wickedly Good Meals and Desserts to Die For (Quirk Books)

Best Short Story

Barb Goffman, “A Year Without Santa Claus?” (AHMM)

Edith Maxwell, “A Questionable Death” History& Mystery, Oh My (Mystery & Horror, LLC)

Terri Farley Moran, “A Killing at the Beausoleil” (EQMM)

Harriette Sackler, “Suffer the Poor” History& Mystery, Oh My (Mystery & Horror, LLC)

B.K. Stevens, “A Joy Forever” (AHMM)

Best Children’s/Young Adult

Blue Balliett, Pieces and Players (Scholastic Press)

Joelle Charbonneau, Need (HMH Books for Young Readers)

Amanda Flower, Andi Unstoppable    (Zonderkidz)

Spencer Quinn, Woof (Scholastic Press)

B.K. Stevens, Fighting Chance: A Martial Arts Mystery (Poisoned Pen Press)

Book Review: Death in A Major

Kerry Hammond is here today to review the second book in the Music Lover’s Mystery series by Sarah Fox.

Death in A Major by Sarah Fox was released in Kindle Edition on January 5, 2016, and comes out in Paperback on February 23. It is published by Witness Impulse, a division of Harper Collins, and is the second in the Music Lover’s Mystery series. I read the first in the series, Dead Ringer, and reviewed it here on Mystery Playground. I really enjoyed the book and when I found out there was a second in the series, I asked for a chance to read and review it.

Midori Bishop is a violinist with the Point Grey Philharmonic Orchestra and when she’s not playing or teaching, she’s getting involved in solving murders. In her defense, she has nothing to do with the mysterious deaths; she just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The latest suspicious death occurs at a post-concert event. Archibald Major is a wealthy local with a nasty temper who treats his family horribly. When he drops dead at the reception, everyone thinks it’s a heart attack. When it officially becomes murder, Midori is determined to stay out of it. Those plans change when Jordan, one of her students, who happens to be the dead man’s grandson, asks for her help.

What follows is a well-written whodunit with characters to whom the reader can relate. I enjoyed the unraveling of the clues and the family secrets at the heart of the mystery. Midori is a great protagonist, equal parts curious and clever. She even wins over Detective Salnikova, who is constantly trying to get her to keep her nose out of the investigative work. There is a little bit of romance as Midori tries to figure out where her heart lies. I won’t give any more information on that angle, though. No spoilers here.

This book was provided to Mystery Playground by the publisher. The review is fair and independent.

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XFiles "Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster" Review

Mia Giannotti, who runs the Target Addict blog, is here today to tell us how she feels about the latest episode in the new X Files reboot. You can see her review of the first two episodes here. 

Last night's installment of The X-Files - dubbed "Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster" - was actually a love letter to their faithful fans. A not so subtle nod to all the crazy "monster episodes" from the run of the first series, in this episode Mulder and Scully are chasing not a Were-Wolf but a "Were-Man": a creature that starts out a monster and is magically transformed to a man (instead of vice-versa).  At one point in the action, Scully proclaims "I had forgotten how much fun these cases can be!", and I couldn't agree more. 

This episode was chock-filled with references to the history of the show. Some were obvious, like when Mulder drinks himself into a stupor in the graveyard, only to be being jogged awake by his ringtone - the theme song for The X-Files. Others were more subtle, like when an encounter with a suspect turns violent and Scully tells Mulder not to worry. "Don't forget," she says. "I'm immortal." This was a wink to the classic episode "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose," in which Clyde hinted that Scully was immortal. And some of the easter eggs were for for die hard fans only, like the scene with the gravestone for "Kim Manners", which was the name of a director from the original series who has since passed away. 

The character at the beginning of the episode who is sniffing paint to get high is played by Tyler Labine, who also played a stoner in "Quagmire" from Season 3 of The X-Files that just happened to be directed by ... Kim Manners.

This episode proved that at their best, Mulder and Scully can ooze chemistry and comedy at the same time. Alas, with only 2 episodes left of this current run, this will probably be the only laugh out loud episode of the bunch, but if future seasons are developed I'd love to see more comedic narratives like this one.

Q&A with Michael Sears

I recently caught up with Michael Sears, the author of Saving Jason, about his books, his Wall Street career and his stint as a soap opera extra. Here's what he had to say.

One of the things I love most about your books is your protagonist's relationship with his autistic son. What made you decide to create an autistic character? How do you go about your research for that character?

Thank you. The father and son relationship is my favorite part to write. The decision to use autism came from two directions. I am familiar with some people on the spectrum -- both in my extended family and friends' families and have had a fascination about it for some time. I have done extensive reading, mostly from the parents' points of view, but also books by Temple Grandin and others.  I claim no medical or scientific expertise and refuse to join in any of the political debates (other than to say that I am thoroughly convinced that vaccines have nothing to do with it). But I do understand the challenges of parenting such a child. Not only the day-to-day trials, but the fears for the future. Many fans have approached me at signings with tales of their children, grandchildren, students, etc. I am always touched by their gratitude for compassionately bringing their troubles to light.

The other direction was a character device. Jason, in his past life as a Wall Street hotshot, is notably lacking in heart. Very much a loner, he cannot see how this holds him back as a person. I needed to provide him with a challenge to his humanity, to his ability to love. For all those who have taken on the challenge of loving an ASD child, I have the greatest respect. You understand the meaning of love.

You used to work on Wall Street, now you write about it. What drove you to make this transition? How does it inform your writing? How long does it take you to write a book? 

I have always liked writing and knew that I was good at it. But the idea of writing for a living, supporting a family, and saving for retirement on the meager proceeds from a writing career frightened me. I am not a fast writer. I am not a plotter. I enjoy wallowing in the process too much to hammer out two or three books a year, along with articles, essays, etc. I admire those who can -- Isaac Asimov, Charles Dickens, Henry Fielding, and a long list of modern writers who have become friends -- but I work at a different pace. These days, takes me about a year to write a book.

My first book, BLACK FRIDAYS, grew out of an experience I have talked about before. I picked up the Wall Street Journal one morning and read a story about a giant conspiracy in the foreign exchange markets. I knew some of those names from my very first job downtown. I vowed to write a story about it someday -- having to do with the conflicts of temptation and guilt. Knowing myself well enough to realize that I was never going to be very good at non-fiction, I began playing around with the idea of a novel. The project got shelved any number of times, but eventually, with the help of a terrific workshop, great agent, and world's greatest editor, Jason and the Kid came to print.

You’ve published three books in this series. Which of the three was the hardest to write and why?

SAVING JASON was the toughest. The three previous books became progressively harder as I set my goals higher. In SJ I wanted to begin exploring more personal issues with Jason, specifically his growing responsibilities to his son and to Skeli. Somehow I lost my way. After ten months (and a very generous extension of my deadline) I had to throw it all out and start over.  But nothing is ever truly lost (thanks to the Cloud!) and I saw the book I wanted to write quite clearly. I wrote it in five months, and while my BLACK FRIDAYS is my first born, and thus my favorite, I think that SAVING JASON is a far superior book.

Your bio says that in your former life you were a professional actor and you appeared in every single soap opera on the air in the course of one year. Can you tell us which soap operas and which was your favorite experience?

I don't think that this was a unique claim for actors working in New York in the mid-to-late seventies. Kojak had shut down and Law & Order was still far in the future. There were many fun moments, and a lot of boredom, too. All My Children was always fun because of the crowd of fans that was always outside. The stars were smart. They waited until the crowd thinned out before heading home. Extras, and day players, on the other hand, could walk out and be treated like stars! Other highlights? I was an extra one day in a restaurant scene and realized that the strolling musician was Bucky Pizzarelli, one of my favorite jazz guitarists. Then there was the time I played a cop and had to stay in uniform all day. I rode the elevator down to the cafeteria, used the men's room, read a paperback while waiting -- all the normal things I would have done on any other work day. Only everyone I ran into stared at me like I was there to put them in cuffs and take them away.

What are you working on right now? When will we see the next Jason Stafford novel? 

I am working on a one-off (a non-financial thriller, but featuring the same domestic reality that I try to bring to the Jason books) that I have to get out of my system and then I will get right back to Jason and the Kid. There will certainly be more stories from them.

You can read an excerpt of Saving Jason here. And you can see my review of the book here. 

Crime & Beyond Book Club Reads Jo Nesbo

Kerry Hammond is here today with her report from the Denver-based Crime & Beyond book club. Their latest read is Jo Nesbo’s Blood on Snow.

Jo Nesbo is a book club favorite and we’ve read several books in the Harry Hole series. This month, we read the author’s most recent standalone book, Blood on Snow. This book takes place in Oslo, Norway and follows Olav, a “fixer” for one of the city’s top crime bosses. There’s more to Olav than meets the eye, though. He’s good at his job, which means his skills are in demand, but he seems to have a soft side. This sentimental part gets him into trouble with his boss when he is hired to kill the boss’s wife and instead falls in love with her.

Olav’s misstep puts him in danger, and in the middle of a power struggle between rival criminals. As he tries to figure out how to get out of the situation he’s gotten himself into, we learn more about what makes him tick and how he became a hired killer.

Our book club loves Nesbo’s Harry Hole series, but there are a few members who find the scenes in those books to be too graphic. In an interview with the author, he admits that his books tend to show the darker side of Oslo. Our club agreed that Blood on Snow was less graphic, yet well-written, and a good example of the reason we keep reading the author’s work.

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