Our mailing service is shipping the latest issue, as I type it should be on trucks driven be dedicated postal workers. 

Jeremy Lynch did a really nice interview with Don Winslow and the guest editorial from Jen Forbus is terrific.

In this issue we have:.

GUEST EDITORIAL by Jen Forbus

LEGACY OF RICHARD STARK

HANGING WITH AYO - Q & A WITH JUSSI ADLER-OLSEN

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A SPY

LOSES CONTROL OF HIS MIND by Keith Thomson                                  

FICTION: THE BOXER by Sean Monaghan             

COVER STORY

DON WINSLOW INTERVIEWED by Jeremy Lynch                                   

5 QUESTIONS, 5 ANSWERS with Sophie Hannah                  

Let’s Twist Again by Hank Phillipi Ryan

Footprints: The Spider , Master of Men

This Time It’s Personal by Dave Zeltserman

CREATING INDIAN COUNTRY NOIR by  Sarah Cortez

RESPONSIBLE, CREATIVE, LOYAL by Libber Fischer Hellmann

Reed Farrel Coleman – TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING

CRAIG’S JOINT: ELLROY’S DARK PLACES by Craig McDonald

FICTION: THE NICKEL by Gay Degani                                       

EYE ON HOLLYWOOD by Jeremy Lynch                        

SCIENCE FICTION NOIR by By Maxim Jakubowski

DVD REVIEWS

BUZZBIN - book coverage

BOOK REVIEWS

CRIMESPREE ON COMICS

COOKING WITH CRIMESPREE by Alison Janssen

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CRIMESPREE ISSUE 35

Two hours ago the binder taped up the last box and loaded into the back of a truck, twenty minutes ago the boxes were dropped off here, and now we have issue 35 in our crime-stained hands. Once packed up for the mailing service they should see the post office by Friday and then off into the world to make it on there own. Issue 35 has a great cover story with CARA Black, one of our all time favorite ladies of mystery who has just published novel #10!
Here's the rundown on contents:
FROM THE EDITOR BY RUTH JORDAN
VIEWER MAIL (NEW) -NEWS BITS
THE HOT TICKET BY TONY PERONA
WHEN THE POLICE ARE GANGSTERS BY PAT BROWN
FOOTPRINTS: AGATHA CHRISTIE BY RUTH JORDAN
ISTANBUL: CRIMES OF SULTANS AND DETECTIVES BY AYO ONATADE
CRIMESPREE ON TAP: BY BLAKE CROUCH
CLASSIFIED DOSSIER: JAMES BOND’S (LITERARY) AGENT BY RAYMOND BENSON COVER STORY - CARA BLACK INTERVIEWED
FICTION: BRONX SUMMER 1971 BY STEVEN TORRES
NO SUCH THING AS SMOOTH SAILING BY JP WHITE
TWO DECADES OF NOIR IN FEST BY MAXIM JAKUBOWSKI
DIALOGUE WITH DECLAN BY DECLAN BURKE
GREAT PIS ON FILM BY MICHAEL A BLACK
CRAIG’S JOINT BY CRAIG MCDONALD
REED FARREL COLEMAN
MACHISMO BY STEVEN TORRES
THE MARY SUE METASCRIPT: MEMOIR OF A GRAPHIC NOVEL BY JON EVANS
AMY’S MYSTERIES FOR TEENS BY AMY ALESSIO
SUNSHINE AND CRIME BY MICHAEL LISTER
CRIME AND IDIOCY BY JEN JORDAN
EYE ON HOLLYWOOD BY JEREMY LYNCH
DVD REVIEWS
INTERVIEW WITH PETER MILLIGAN BY JON JORDAN
AUDIO BOOKS ~ BUZZ BIN AND BOOK REVIEWS
THE BRONX KILL PREVIEW FROM VERTIGO CRIME
CRIMESPREE ON COMICS
COOKING WITH CRIMESPREE WITH JERI WESTERSON!!!

So if you need to hook up with a subscription or a renewal go here:
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As an added springtime with Cara bonus, anyone subscribing or renewing between now and April 1st will get a bonus 7th issue added to their subscription

Andrew Grant Interview

This interview ran in Crimespree Magazine issue 29

Andrew Grant's first book, EVEN is in stores now. (And signed copies available at some great independent bookstores, like Mystery One in Milwaukee)

He was recently featured in the New York Times with his brother Lee Child. (But we interviewed him first!




Jon Jordan: Even comes out May 12th, is this the first book you wrote, or the first one you sold?

Andrew Grant: Both!

JJ: How long did it take to write EVEN?

AG: The basic ideas for EVEN were taking shape in my head for a couple of years before I quit my job, but once I was ‘free’ it took me almost exactly eight months to write the book.

JJ: It feels like a series to me, is that the case?

AG: Yes. Right from the outset EVEN was conceived as the first in a long-running series. I hope the world will want to see a lot more of David Trevellyan…

JJ: How did you decide on the type of character to write? Is it based on what you enjoy reading and watching?

AG: Every decision relating to EVEN was based on what I like to read. My plan was simple - to put in lots of the things that I enjoy in thrillers, and none of the things that I don’t.

JJ: And on that subject, what do you enjoy reading?

AG: Anything and everything! Books, magazines, catalogues, cereal packets…
As a kid I would devour endless Alistair MacLean / Douglas Reeman type action adventure stories. Later I moved onto cold war / spy series by the likes of Len Deighton and John leCarré, passed through the obligatory Thomas Harris-inspired serial killer phase, and more recently have been hooked by authors such as Michael Connelly, Sandra Brown, Thomas Perry, John Sandford, Nelson DeMille, Jeffery Deaver, Dennis Lehane, Vince Flynn, Lisa Gardner, Harlan Coben , Tess Gerritsen, Mark Billingham and Ridley Pearson.

JJ: What kind of movies do you like?

AG: I like movies in which the writer and director try to find new or unusual ways to tell their story – for example Memento with Guy Pearce and Joe Pantoliano, where a twist of the plot leads them to start at the end and move backwards in time…

JJ: Your bio says you worked in telecommunications, of course that’s also what Trevellyan says in the beginning of EVEN. So what exactly does “telecommunications” mean?

AG: In my case, it’s what you have to do to pay the bills after running a small, independent theatre company for eighteen months!
“Telecommunications” covers a multitude of sins, from the mundane to the top-secret. For my part, I was always involved in the ‘business’ side of the industry – dealing with companies and government departments rather than individuals and households. For the first dozen or so years I worked directly with clients such as banks, insurance companies and other agencies, and in the final phase of my career I was responsible for developing specialized management information packages for each of them. It was a truly crazy environment, so all in all, I found corporate life to be an excellent training ground for creating a fantasy world of my own…

JJ: What are you working on now?

AG: The second David Trevellyan thriller. Still in New York, still in danger, and still on the wrong side of the lines, can Trevellyan placate his bosses and find a way back into the fold? Or will the situation call for the kind of justice he can best dispense when he acts alone?

JJ: Any thoughts on going out on your first author tour? Have you heard any tips from anyone?

AG: I love the idea of going out on tour. After spending years presenting superficial details about a faceless corporation’s products and services, I can’t wait for the opportunity to talk in depth about something I care about so passionately. As for advice, I’ve been told to wear comfortable shoes and not to expect much sleep!

JJ: Where are you on research? Are you a hands on researcher or more of a Google guy?

AG: I like both. For straightforward facts – such as the location of a particular Magritte painting or the correct format for the social security numbers I used in EVEN – you really can’t beat the internet. On the other hand, I think that anything to do with atmosphere or emotion has to be experienced firsthand to be convincing.

So there you go, a quick interview with a great new author, now go forth and Buy EVEN by Andrew Grant

The Crimespree Awards

Award nominations

It’s that time of year when we ask our readers to nominate books and authors for the Annual Crimespree awards. We give the awards out at Bouchercon and this year that means Indianapolis.

You can nominate up to 5 in each category.
Books must have been published in 2008


Favorite book of 2008

Best in an ongoing series

Favorite Graphic Novel or comics writer

Favorite original Paperback (mass market or trade)

Favorite Mystery Bookstore


Voting is open to anyone.

Email your nominations to Jon@crimespreemag.com.
Deadline for nominations will be July 31st 2009

Special Holiday Offer

We have a special Holiday Offer to make.

If you get someone a subscription to Crimespree for the holidays we will add an extra issue to your subscription extending it to 7 issues instead of 6.


We will also enter you into a drawing for a Crimespree T-Shirt


http://www.crimespreemag.com/subscribe.html


And we are also offering a discount on the Crimespree T Shirts, get two for $35, shipping in the US included.


Both of these offers are good till December 31st.


Any questions just shoot off an email to
Jon@crimespreemag.com

Crimespree Magazine issue 23 - Shipping Monday

In this next issue:
From The Editor by Ruth Jordan
Newsbits – happenings around the mystery world
Lori Avocado in Alaska
Small Publisher Spotlight: Busted Flush
Fiction: THE BEWITCHED by by James Patrick Hunt

Cover story: Crimedogs
Anthony Neil Smith, Victor Gicshler and Sean Doolittle

Crimespree on the Road: Love is Murder
Sex Drugs rock and roll...and a comic Thriller by Raymond Benson
The Parisian Jungle; French Crime fiction Jean-Marc Lofficier
Interview with Ben Leroy
Eye On Hollywood Jeremy Lynch.
DVD Reviews
Fiction: THE MEDIUM AND THE MAN by Tony Perona
Michael Stanley Intervied By Pat and Gary from Once Upon a Crime
Reed Farrel Coleman:Back to the Future by Gary Shultze
B. Clayton Moore interviewed by Jon Jordan
Reed Farrel Coleman
Spencer Fleming for Hire
Patry Francis Interviewed
Midwest Literary Festival by Ron Edison
Julie Hyzy interviewed by James Dasner
Jewish Boys do Ride Motorcycles by Ken Issacson
Crime and Idiocy #3
Authors and DVDs
The Buzz Box
Book Reviews
Comics Spotlight
Cooking With Crimespree, the Sean Chercover edition


If you need to subscribe just go here:
Subscribe to Crimespree

ON HOLIDAYS, NEWSPAPERS, 07’S BEST OF AND THE YEAR TO COME

hi all from the Crimespree desk. I’ve taken over the ‘puter tonight and I’m “working” so naturally I have an urge to blog. I think it must be those recessive writer genes.


Happy Holidays!!


I’ll let Jon give you the blow by blow on all things Christmas but guys? Five days to go and all gifts but 2 are purchased and wrapped, decorating, baking, candy making and dipping scratched off except for Jon’s chocolate covered potato chips. We’re going into true holiday mode. Company is coming and going, we’re to-ing and fro-ing and all is well in our own little corner of mystery. As I hope it is in yours.


Newspapers……


This next bit is fairly close to what is known as B.S.P. but really it’s meant as an observation from the sidelines. I got a call from Jen4 last Saturday, my name was in a book review. I was declared “notable” in the Chicago Tribune. I have to say the warm fuzzies are staying with me (and for those of you who know Jon, yes he bought up every print copy left on the newsstand and no, I don’t scrapbook). EXPLETIVE DELETED was an ambitious project edited by my very own JEN4 and she included a story I wrote, took one look at, and knew had no publishing possibilities. That’s my own personal F@#K. I thought she was pretty darned kind to include it and worried over calls of the “N”(epotism) word. For that alone, “notable” was cool. But to see my name mentioned with the other contributors? Mind blowing. And now I know a little of the feeling writers must feel when mentioned and/or compared with others. And it’s way cool. Especially in a year where any mail I’ve gotten on things jotted down (print or net) have been on obituaries. Is this my forte? I guess we’ll all find out together.


I see best of lists beginning to appear on the internet and I confess, I’m a peeker. So I’m not sure where I’ll end up and thought I’d mention just a few books that inspired before I’m tainted by others opinions.


Ruth’s OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD…..


I can’t mention Laura Lippman who continues to be even better with every book but whom about I cannot be objective anymore. Read everything. Enjoy it all. Watch her growth. So…


First , that dreaded last week of Dec. release date made a truly great Crime Fiction book go not unheralded, but strangely unremembered last year and out of real competition this year. FIND ME by Carol O’Connell is a wonderful book. I’ve been mostly hot on the Mallory character since her inception but FIND ME brought us back to the sociopath Mallory is and took us all on a roadtrip that won’t be forgotten soon.


The long delayed American release of the GRAVE TATTOO by Val McDermid took a bit of wind out of all the hype but all the hype was well deserved and 2007 was when it came out. Outside of her Jordan/Hill series this is a book that takes place in several different locations, in several different timelines, with several different P.O.V. And yet GRAVE is an effortless read. Not many could do this but it is unsurprising that McDermid can. She is an unstoppable force.


March saw a fellow Scotsman’s book come out stateside as well. It was on my list last year and will remain on the list forever. THE NAMING OF THE DEAD by Ian Rankin is a must read in any year. EXIT MUSIC (U.K. 2007) is a great note for Rebus to go out on but every note is in play while reading NAMING.


THE WATCHMAN. Robert Crais has married his highly successful thrillers with the Elvis and Joe we all fell in love with. Combining all of his skills, this may be my favorite Crais read of all time. I suspect he’ll make me eat these words at some future point in time.


In the names I cannot understand missing files I’ll include:
Colin Cotterill(ANARCHY & OLD DOGS), Greg Rucka (PATRIOT ACTS), Michael Koryta (A WELCOME GRAVE),Mike Harrison (RUBY TUESDAY) & Vicki Hendricks(CRUEL POETRY).


THE “WOO” has legs, versatility, and depth file:


Could two books be more unalike then John Connolly’s THE UNQUIET and Charlaine Harris’s ALL TOGETHER DEAD? Not Really. Connolly’s thoughtfully drawn out story of decades of secrets and Harris’s seemingly “lite” story of a gal on an adventure may both get the woo label but THE UNQUIET is so literary in themes it cries for the author to be the next Jonathan Lethem inductee into the hallowed halls of literature that appeals to the masses and the other? Harris proves it is possible to laugh your way through a well crafted mystery until it is time to cry. Two very credible scribes writing beyond labels in very different ways.


Denis Mina’s Paddy series ( THE LAST BREATH) is still my favorite series of this decade. Several months after reading Greg Hurwitz’s THE CRIMEWRITER I can still quote passages. Declan Hughes(THE COLOR OF BLOOD) is huge in this house. Likewise fellow Irishman Ken Bruen. PRIEST is a book to break the heart. Bruen is a writer who makes that okay.


In the new kids category…. coming in early and giving “Killer Year” credibility are Sean Chercover (BIG CITY, BAD BLOOD) and Marcus Sakey (THE BLADE ITSELF). The joy of reading WHEN ONE MAN DIES by Dave White, a truly outstanding first mystery, after pub date was a highlight of my reading year. From Bleak House, two stood tall this year. Craig MacDonald’s HEAD GAMES & Bill Bryant’s KEEP IT REEL. Neither are new writers, but they are new to print and both delivered the goods. The folks at Bleak House continue to find talent. My other fav first has to be LAST RITUALS by Yrsa Siurardottir, although a translation it is my first experience with the author and I say it counts. (I didn’t read the Hart book yet).


Short Stories:


Three stand tallest for me (well four really but see the second part of this long winded blog) Hellman’s CHICAGO BLUES, Penzler’s THE BIG BOOK OF PULPS and Akashic’s WALL STREET NOIR.


Non-Fiction
okay, so the book about the serial killer guy who worked in L.A. and his home town that everyone is talking about? I threw it across the room when the author started to get clever, moving back and forth between timelines and adding too many point of view. It is a fascinating tale, but it did not sing out in execution the way two others did for me. First up is THE DAUGHTERS OF JUAREZ. The horror of it is awe inspiring. The culpability we all share when we buy a car or baby powder is horrific. Theresa Rodriguez deserves a lot of recognition for telling a story no one wants to hear. And my second selection? Published in 2006 (okay I was late finding it) THE PHILOSOPHY OF NEO NOIR is a must read for all who’ve ever taken part in the debate “what is noir?”. And for giggles, from the same press (University of Kentucky Press), I recommend THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE X-FILES (and yes the “N” (epotism) word applies here.


And with that I’ll leave you all with the words you can never go wrong with Bill James…


Ruth

The Crimespree Bouchercon Party 2007

Hello Everyone,
E-mail invites have gone out but just in case Crimespree missed you or your E-mail doesn't care for invitations sent out en masse here it is. We've scheduled the event so that everyone can attend the Bouchercon Guest of Honor event at eight p.m.
Speaking of Guests of Honor, we will be giving out the annual Crimespree Awards at the party and we're pleased to say that all but one of our award winners will be in attendance. This years award winners are

Best Book of 2006
Sean Doolittle - THE CLEANUP

Best Ken Bruen Book of the Year
Ken Bruen-AMERICAN SKIN

Best Continuing Series
Lee Child-Jack Reacher Series

Crimespree Contributor of the Year- Anthony Rainone

& with a drum roll

THE JACK REACHER AWARD WINNER
CHARLAINE HARRIS
when Crimespree created the Reacher Award it's intent was to honor an author who seemed to proportionately give back to the community more and more even as their sales increased. Whether Ms. Harris is giving advice to a new writer, encouraging a first time author, catching up with folks she's known for the twenty years she's been in this business, signing an autograph, or through the books themselves enriching the life of a single reader there is no doubt she gives back many times every day. We are happy to add Charlaine's name to the two who have gone before (Lee Child & Michael Connelly). In mystery there are many special people and Charlaine Harris is and individual who teaches the rest of us through her actions and words every day.

Open the invite in a seperate window or tab to see it full size.

Win a whole lot of books just by subscribing

Midnight Ink books has sent us a box full of books. To enter the drawing all you have to do is subscribe to Crimespree Maqgazine. If you are already subscribing you can renew early, or buy a gift subscription for someone else.

To subscribe just go here: Subscribe to Crimespree

Here'e a list of the books we have to give away, and they are all signed first printings.

Richard B Schwartz – FROZEN STARE

Richard B Schwartz – THE LAST VOICE YOU HEAR

Lynn Sholes & Joe Moore – THE LAST SECRET

J.B. Stanley – CARBS AND CADAVERS

Jess Lourey – MAY DAY

Candy Calvert – DRESSED TO KEEL

A.J. Diehl – THE MINDBOX

Kit Frazier – SCOOP

Sue Ann Jaffarian – TOO BIG TO MISS

Mark Terry – DEVILS PITCHFORK

Chuck Zito – HABIT FOR DEATH

Karen McInerney – MURDER ON THE ROCKS

Deb Baker – MURDER PASSES THE BUCK

Elena Santangelo – POISON TO PURGE MELANCHOLY

Julia Buckley – THE DARK BACKWARD

Clyde Ford – DUECE’S WILD

M.J. Zellnik – MURDER OF THE PORTLAND VARIETY

M.J. Zellnik – A DEATH AT THE ROSE PAPERWORKS

Richard Greener – THE KNOWLAND RETRIBUTION

Amy Patricia Meade – MILLION DOLLAR BABY

and either:

Clyde W. Ford – THE LONG MILE

or

Lynn Sholes & Joe Moore – THE GRAIL CONSPIRACY

This contest will be good till June 10th.

There will also be 5 runners up who will get a random arc of our choice.