Meme, Myself, and I

• Lee Goldberg passes along word of “a fun and fascinating BBC radio documentary on Leslie Charteris,” the half-Chinese, half-English creator of Simon Templar, aka “The Saint.”

• I already knew about Raymond Chandler’s “Ten Commandments for the Detective Novel” and S.S. Van Dine’s “Twenty Rules for Writing Detective Stories.” But Monsignor Ronald Knox’s “Ten Rules of Detective Fiction?” Those are new to me. According to Sharon Wildwind of Poe’s Deadly Daughters, Knox (1888-1957) was a British-born Catholic priest and spiritual retreat leader, who wrote at least half a dozen mysteries “at a time when the puzzle mystery--long on complex, twisty plots and short on characterization--was all the rage in Britain.” In 1928, it seems, he published his Decalogue of the Mystery: The Ten Rules of Detective Fiction. The funniest sanction, and the one most indicative of Knox’s time: “No Chinamen.” Hmm. He must’ve despised Earl Derr Biggers’ Charlie Chan. Wildwind offers Knox’s commandments, with interpretations, here.

• Jeff Abbott (Panic) gets a grilling at Lance Carter’s Murder & Mystery Books 101. You’ll find the results here.

• William Landay, whose second novel, The Strangler, reached bookshelves earlier this year, is already offering the last line of his next novel at the Esquire magazine Web site, along with some clues about the plot and intent of that next book. (Via Sarah Weinman.)

• British writer Judith Cutler puts her latest novel, Cold Pursuit, through Marshal Zeringue’s Page 99 Test wringer. Her realizations can be found here.

• Have you read Frank Tallis’ series (Mortal Mischief, Vienna Blood) featuring turn-of-the-last-century Viennese psychologist Dr. Max Lieberman? I have and have quite enjoyed it. Now, Euro Crime’s Karen Meek brings word that not only does Tallis have a third Lieberman installment due out next January (Fatal Lies), but he’s just sold three more books in that series to British publisher Century. More on all that here.

• The August issh of ThugLit is up, offering new hard-hitting fiction from Greg Bardsley (“Big Load of Trouble”), Tim Murr (“Another Place, Another Time”), Kim Cushman (“Ghost Highway”), and others.

• Why don’t good reviews sell more books? David J. Montgomery has a few thoughts to share on that subject.

• The Guardian’s Chris Wiegand took advantage of Harlan Coben’s presence at England’s Harrogate Crime Writing Festival to ask him about the French movie that was made from Tell No One, his changing perceptions of series protagonist Myron Bolitar, and why he “feel[s] no particular attachment to his chosen genre.” You’ll find the full Guardian piece here.

• Finally, Declan Burke of Crime Always Pays has tagged The Rap Sheet as a “schmooze-worthy” blog. This apparently means that those of us here are “exceptionally adept at creating relationships with other bloggers by making an effort to be part of a conversation, as opposed to a monologue.” (For more explanation, look here.) Although I am not usually one to participate in chain letters, memes, and such, I’ll be a good sport and name five other blogs I think are deserving of the “schmooze-worthy” label:

-- Clayton Moore’s Bang!
-- Anthony Rainone’s Criminal Thoughts
-- Ben Hunt’s Material Witness
-- The group blog Poe’s Deadly Daughters
-- And, of course, Bill Crider’s Pop Culture Magazine

I guess that means I’ve done my duty. I know I am probably forgetting to mention somebody, and so there’s likely a blogger out there feeling slighted at not being “tagged.” But heck, there’s always next time, right?