The Crime Lady: Latest Writings and Upcoming Events
Dear TCL Readers:
I write you in the thick of work — the copyedit and the legal read for Without Consent landed simultaneously late last week, and harmonizing all of the changes into a single coherent draft has been a real adventure. The book, of course, will be much better for all of these adjustments.
But personal and genre-related news continues to accumulate, so here’s a quick update:
I was absolutely delighted to be asked last summer to write the introduction to a new edition of one of my all-time favorite crime novels, The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey, which is published this week. That essay is now available to read at Literary Hub and CrimeReads.
I also wrote about the Welsh suspense novelist Ethel Lina White (1876-1944) for the New York Times’ “Overlooked No More” section. (I believe it should be in print this weekend, too.) There’s something of a resurgence of interest in her work, with recent reissues of The Wheel Spins (filmed by Hitchcock as The Lady Vanishes), Fear Stalks the Village, and soon, Some Must Watch (under its film adaptation title, The Spiral Staircase.) As a side note: I wrote the initial drafts of both the Tey and White essays at MacDowell, and they are published the same week.
The shortlists for the Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writers Prize have been announced, and I will be judging the winner in nonfiction. It’s a diverse list of books that will stretch my reading comfort zone, and I’m looking forward to discovering some new authors who will go on to have formidable careers.
One of the best recent developments was the recent arrival of a local independent bookstore in my neighborhood, and that store, Fountain Bookshop, Ice Cream, & Gifts, will have its official grand opening celebration on Tuesday, April 22 from 5 to 7 PM. I will be signing copies of my books alongside many other local authors. And there will be ice cream, too. The official Grand Opening party is on the 26th, concurrent with Independent Bookstore Day.
Another distinct pleasure is when I get to talk about my all-time favorite crime novel, In a Lonely Place by Dorothy B. Hughes, and so I couldn’t be more pleased to be part of this virtual event on Friday, April 25 at noon hosted by the Toronto Public Library. I’ll be discussing the novel (and, if we get to it, the movie adaptation) with film critic Adam Nayman and literary critic Michael LaPointe. Register for free here.
Saturday, April 26 is the date for the Cecilia Chorus of New York’s latest concert. I’ve been a member since 2023 and the chance to sing established and new repertoire at Carnegie Hall remains a thrill, but this month’s concert is especially meaningful. Not only will we sing Brahms’ Requiem, we will also sing the NYC premiere of The World Called by Adolphus Hailstork, set to the poem “Testimonial” by Rita Dove and composed in memory of Heather Heyer, the woman murdered in the 2017 Charlottesville riots. Dove will read the poem before we sing, and there will also be remarks by Susan Bro, Heyer’s mother. Tickets are available here, and please use this 15 percent discount code (CNY49401) to purchase them!
The mystery community has lost a number of notable people this month, including authors Peter Lovesey and Andrew Gross, illustrator extraordinaire Robert McGinnis, and Mystery Loves Company founder Kathy Harig. But it will celebrate Grand Masters John Sanford and Laura Lippman at the Edgar Awards later this month.
I won’t be around for the Edgars, alas, but it’s for a good reason: I leave that week for a monthlong fellowship at Art Omi in the Hudson Valley, where I will work on projects large and small. I can’t wait to spend time there and to meet the rest of my cohort, a stellar group of writers from all across the world.
My absolute inability to keep up with current television and film has not budged much. (Maybe when I’m at the first pass pages stage of the book?) I did see The Amateur, based on Robert Littell’s 1981 novel — one of my favorites — and I found it to be pleasingly diverting, but also all of the mixed reviews about it are correct. The cast is quite good, and every time Holt McCallany was on screen I couldn’t look away.
Finally, a new Thomas Pynchon novel this fall? And it’s a Depression-era PI tale? I am, obviously, here for this.
Back to the grind. Until next time, I remain,
The Crime Lady