PaperBack: “South of the Bordello”

Part of a series honoring the late author and blogger Bill Crider.



South of the Bordello, by “Rod Gray,” aka Gardner F. Fox
(Belmont Tower, 1973). Originally published in 1969, this novel was one of 18 featuring “sexpionage” agent Eve Drum, known as the “Lady from L.U.S.T.” (League of Undercover Spies and Terrorists). Paul Rader painted a number of covers for the first series of these paperbacks, but the artist behind the front displayed above is Ron Lesser. “The model,” he tells me, “was Lisa Karan. She was the least self-conscious of any model I ever used. Loved to pose naked. I photographed her in a clutch with [male model] Steve Holland; I thought she was going to swallow him. Bob [McGinnis] used her a lot also. Very sexy and a very nice lady.”

A later, Australian edition of South of the Bordello is here.

Well Worth Remembering

One of the unwelcome responsibilities essential to the full practice of journalism is penning obituaries. I had hoped to reserve these announcements of recent passings for my next news wrap-up. But since it’s clear that other obligations will inhibit my penning that post at any time soon, allow me to lay out the information now.

• Author Patti Abbott spread word this morning that Pennsylvania short-story writer Sandra J. Seamans died on May 23 at age 68. Abbott notes that “Seamans served the writing community selflessly by posting contests and calls for stories on her blog, My Little Corner. She wrote wonderful stories herself until the dual deaths in 2015 of her husband and mother. She never bounced back from her grief. I am sure she died before her time due to that blow. A collection of her stories [Cold Rifts] was published as an e-book by Snubnose Press, but when the press closed, her e-book disappeared. Some are lucky enough to have it on their e-reader.” Seamans’ official obit can be found here; look here for a 2012 interview with her.

• The Gumshoe Site reported earlier that American-born novelist W. Glenn Duncan passed away on May 7 “in Australia (where he emigrated in 1975 with his wife and three children) ‘after a long struggle with health issues.’ The former journalist and pilot wrote six books featuring Rafferty, [a] tough ex-cop private eye in Dallas, Texas, which started with Rafferty's Rules (1987) and ended with Fatal Sisters (1990, all six from Fawcett/Gold Medal). The sixth Rafferty novel won the 1991 Shamus Award for best paperback. His son W. Glenn Duncan, Jr. has continued the Rafferty [series] with False Gods (d square publishing e-book, 2018). Duncan Sr. was 78.”

• Finally, I received a note recently from Oakland, California, author Mark Coggins—creator of the August Riordan P.I. series—saying that his China-born wife of almost 20 years, Lin “Linda” Zhou, died on April 14, 2019, at age 49. “The cause,” he explained, “was complications from an autoimmune disease.” An obituary of Zhou, a software quality assurance specialist, can be found on Coggins’ Web site.

I offer my condolences to all three families.

An Impressive Showing of Female Talent

As many of you are no doubt aware, the organization Sisters in Crime Australia employs its annual Davitt Awards to honor excellence in crime fiction and non-fiction written by women. Those commendations have been given out since 2001, and are named for Ellen Davitt (1812-1879), Australia’s first crime novelist.

Winners of the 2019 Davitts are to be chosen late this summer. But in the meanwhile, we now have a longlist of titles under consideration. A very long longlist, by any standards. “A record 127 books are in contention for Sisters in Crime Australia’s 19th Davitt Awards for best crime and mystery books by Australian women,” explains a press announcement. “This figure tips last year’s record by 16. An astonishing 73 adult crime novels have been entered. Almost half—49 books in total—are debut offerings.”

“It’s not just a crime wave—it’s a tsunami,” enthuses Davitt judges’ “wrangler,” Jacqui Horwood. The SinC press release goes on:

Horwood said that a number of trends were already evident in this year’s Davitt entries.

“Crime continues to move from the mean streets of Australia’s major cities to small towns and the outback as evident in the books by Jane Harper, Aoife Clifford, Sandi Curtis, Sue Williams and Ellie Marney,” she said.

“Historical mysteries are increasingly popular with books such as Deborah Burrows’ ‘Ambulance Girl’ series set in the London Blitz and M J Tjia’s series featuring the 1860s’ London Eurasian courtesan sleuth. Often these books have a foot in both the past and present. L J M Owen’s novels skip from ancient cultures to modern-day Canberra while Kirsty Manning’s The Jade Lily is set in both wartime Shanghai and 2016 Melbourne and Toni Jordan’s book is located in 1938 New York and 1986 Brisbane.”

What Sisters in Crime calls ‘Tropic Noir’ is also in vogue, Horwood said.

“Crime has moved to the Tropics with Caroline de Costa’s series in Cairns and Candice Fox’s Crimson Lake books set nearby. Out in the Pacific, B M Allsop’s self-published police procedurals set in Fiji have met with much acclaim,” she said.

A shortlist of works contending for this year’s Davitt Awards is expected to be ready by early July.

(Hat tip to In Reference to Murder.)

Revue of Reviewers, 5-27-19

Critiquing some of the most interesting recent crime, mystery, and thriller releases. Click on the individual covers to read more.

Speaking of Writers …

There have been plenty of author interviews posted online recently. I won’t endeavor to catalogue them all, but let me point you to at least a few notable ones: Hilary Davidson talks about her new novel, One Small Sacrifice, with Speaking of Mysteries host Nancie Clare; Jeffery Deaver is quizzed by the Reading and Writing Podcast on the subject of The Never Game, his first novel starring missing-persons specialist Colter Shaw; in an exchange with The Guardian, James Ellroy covers subjects ranging from his forthcoming book, This Storm, to his distaste for Raymond Chandler’s fiction and his continuing fondness for Ed McBain’s work; Amanda Quick (aka Jayne Krentz) answers some questions from Crimespree Magazine regarding her recent mystery/espionage yarn, Tightrope; and Casey Cep, the author of Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee, chats with Longreads about Lee’s failed but fascinating attempt to compose a true-crime book like Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood.

Canada Hosts the Arthurs

I wish I’d been in Toronto, Ontario, last evening to attend the Crime Writers of Canada’s presentation of its 2019 Arthur Ellis Awards, for several friends and associates of The Rap Sheet were among the winners. Here’s the full list of honorees.

Best Crime Novel:
Though the Heavens Fall, by Anne Emery (ECW Press)

Also nominated: Cape Diamond, by Ron Corbett (ECW Press); The Winters, by Lisa Gabriele (Doubleday Canada); Kingdom of the Blind, by Louise Penny (Minotaur); and The Girl in the Moss, by Loreth Anne White (Montlake Romance)

Best First Crime Novel:
Cobra Clutch, by A.J. Devlin (NeWest Press)

Also nominated: Operation Wormwood, by Helen C. Escott (Flanker Press); Full Disclosure, by Beverley McLachlin (Simon & Schuster Canada); Why Was Rachel Murdered?, by Bill Prentice (Echo Road); and Find You in the Dark, by Nathan Ripley (Simon & Schuster Canada)

Best Crime Novella (aka the Lou Allin Memorial Award):
Murder Among the Pines, by John Lawrence Reynolds (Orca)

Also nominated: The B-Team: The Case of the Angry First Wife, by Melodie Campbell (Orca); and Blue Water Hues, by Vicki Delany (Orca)

Best Crime Short Story: “Terminal City,” by Linda L. Richards (from Vancouver Noir, edited by Sam Wiebe; Akashic)

Also nominated: “A Ship Called Pandora,” by Melodie Campbell (Mystery Weekly Magazine); “The Power Man,” by Therese Greenwood (from Baby It’s Cold Outside, edited by Robert Bose and Sarah L. Johnson; Coffin Hop Press); “Game,” by Twist Phelan (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine); and “Wonderful Life,” by Sam Wiebe (from Vancouver Noir)

Best Crime Book in French: Adolphus—Une enquête de Joseph Laflamme, by Hervé Gagnon (Libre Expression)

Also nominated: Un dernier baiser avant de te tuer, by Jean-Philippe Bernié (Libre Expression); Ces femmes aux yeux cernés, by André Jacques (Éditions Druide); Deux coups de pied de trop, by Guillaume Morissette (Guy Saint-Jean Éditeur); and Rinzen la beauté intérieure, by Johanne Seymour (Expression Noir)

Best Juvenile/Young Adult Crime Book:
Escape, by Linwood Barclay (Puffin Canada)

Also nominated: The House of One Thousand Eyes, by Michelle Barker (Annick Press); Call of the Wraith, by Kevin Sands (Aladdin); The Ruinous Sweep, by Tim Wynne-Jones (Candlewick Press); and The Rumrunner's Boy, by E.R. Yatscoff (TG & R)

Best Non-fiction Crime Book:
The Real Lolita: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel that Scandalized the World, by Sarah Weinman (Knopf)

Also nominated: Dying for a Drink: How a Prohibition Preacher Got Away with Murder, by Patrick Brode (Biblioasis); The King of Con: How a Smooth-Talking Jersey Boy Made and Lost Billions, Baffled the FBI, Eluded the Mob, and Lived to Tell the Crooked Tale, by Thomas Giacomaro and Natasha Stoynoff (BenBella); The Boy on the Bicycle: A Forgotten Case of Wrongful Conviction in Toronto, by Nate Hendley (Five Rivers); and Murder by Milkshake: An Astonishing True Story of Adultery, Arsenic, and a Charismatic Killer, by Eve Lazarus (Arsenal Pulp Press)

Best Unpublished Manuscript (aka the Unhanged Arthur):
The Scarlet Cross, by Liv McFarlane

Also nominated: Hypnotizing Lions, by Jim Bottomley; Omand’s Creek, by Don Macdonald; One for the Raven, by Heather McLeod; and The Book of Answers, by Darrow Woods

In addition, the CWC presented Ontario author Vicki Delany with this year’s Derrick Murdoch Award for special achievement.

As a CWC news release, the Arthur Ellis Awards (taking their name from the pseudonym of Canada’s official hangman) recognize “the best in mystery, crime, and suspense fiction and crime non-fiction by Canadian authors.” Congratulations to all of the nominees!

Bits of Bliss in Bristol

CrimeFest 2019 may have ended in Bristol, England, almost two weeks ago, but that’s no reason to forget about it. At least not yet. Rap Sheet contributor Ali Karim has promised us a full, if belated, report on that three-day event (May 9-12) at some point in the very near future. And in the meantime, we have collected a variety of his latest CrimeFest photographs for posting today.

These include candid snapshots of some of the numerous authors who attended, a couple of pictures from the convention’s panel discussions, and two images captured during the Saturday night ticket-holders-only hoopla, the CrimeFest Awards Dinner. Even if you weren’t able to attend this year’s gala gathering, you should glean from all of these a basic understanding of what it entailed. Enjoy!


Icelandic author Yrsa Sigurðardóttir (The Absolution) practices her penmanship for the benefit of one of her many fans.

The Mercure Bristol Grand Hotel hosted this year’s gathering.

Scottish novelist Michael J. Malone (In the Absence of Miracles) pals around with U.S. writer Jeffrey Siger (Murder in Mykonos).

Meeting this personable trio on the streets of Bristol, you’d never know they were fully capable of plotting murder. Left to right: novelists Cathy Ace, Steve Mosby, and Christopher Huang.

Prolific British “queen of crime” Martina Cole chats with her longtime friend, The Rap Sheet’s own Ali Karim.

Telegraph books critic Jake Kerridge (shown in this photo on the far right) moderates a lively Friday panel discussion titled “Crime Fiction Legacies: Desmond Bagley, Campion, Holmes, and More.” With him, left to right: Shots columnist Mike Ripley; author Bonnie MacBird (The Devil’s Due); and David Brawn, the publishing director of Estates at HarperCollins.

CrimeFest organizers Donna Moore and Adrian Muller.

Noted raconteur Mike Ripley was on hand during these festivities to promote his non-fiction book Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang: The Boom in British Thrillers from Casino Royale to The Eagle Has Landed.

Ali Karim with Corrine Turner, the managing director of Ian Fleming Publications and the chair of judges for the Crime Writers’ Association’s Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award.

The distinguished lineup for a Scandinavian crime-fiction panel discussion called—what else?—“Scandi Is Dandy”: Alex Dahl, Jørn Lier Horst, Antii Tuomainen, and Yrsa Sigurðardóttir, with moderator Kevin Wignall on the extreme right.

Robert Wilson, author of the Javier Falcón and Charles Boxer mysteries, alongside Zoë Sharp, creator of the Charlie Fox series.

M.W. “Mike” Craven, author of The Puppet Show, with Felix Francis (Crisis), who’s successfully stepped into the shoes left behind by his mystery-writing father, Dick Francis.

New Zealand-rooted blogger Craig Sisterson stops for a photo with British thriller writer Mick Herron (Joe Country).

Norwegian crime-fictionist Jørn Lier Horst, whose tale The Katharina Code won the 2019 Petrona Award for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year, embraces editor, translator, and reviewer Kat Hall (left) as well as Karen Meek, the editor of Euro Crime.

Here’s a dapper, delighted pair: Journalist-author Peter Guttridge is all smiles at the CrimeFest Awards Dinner, alongside Tony Mulliken, owner of the London-based Midas PR agency.

(All photos in this post copyright © Ali Karim 2019.)

Maine Attractions

B.V. Lawson’s In Reference to Murder brings word about this year’s finalists for the Maine Literary Awards. There are more than a dozen classifications of contenders, but only three works vying in the Crime Fiction category: Beyond the Truth, by Bruce Coffin; Stowed Away, by Barbara Ross; and Death and a Pot of Chowder, by Lea Wait (writing as Cornelia Kidd).

The winners of these prizes are to be announced during a ceremony on Thursday, June 13, at the Bangor Public Library.

13 Is a Lucky Number, Right?

Whether or not it’s a scientific fact, it is anecdotally indisputable that the older one becomes, the less one is conscious of time’s relentless passage. I am reminded of this every May 22, when I sit down to celebrate another dozen months in the “life” of The Rap Sheet. Incredibly, it was 13 years ago today—on Arthur Conan Doyle’s birthday, by coincidence—that this blog debuted, being a necessary reworking of an irregular newsletter I’d been writing for January Magazine.

Although I am frustrated on occasion by not having the freedom, energy, or financial resources to do much more with this blog, I am proud to see that it remains popular. What you’re reading right now, for instance, is the 7,503rd post to appear here. And the Blogger software tells me that The Rap Sheet has enjoyed almost 6.3 million pageviews over its history. That’s remarkable, considering it took most of the first half decade just to reach 1 million; we’ve increased that pageview count sixfold over the last eight years.

Thanks to all of you who have followed The Rap Sheet during its electronic existence. It’s been a largely marvelous, fulfilling trip, and one that—barring some disaster—won’t end anytime soon.

OK, Maybe I’ll Watch This One

During my youth, I was an almost indiscriminate viewer of television programs. Crime dramas, situation comedies, game shows, Saturday afternoon film reruns—it hardly mattered what was playing, I watched it. Yet over the last decade or so, I’ve pretty much given up on the small screen. Yes, I periodically tune in to the Amazon and Netflix streaming services, but outside of the Masterpiece Mystery! series, I almost never watch TV network offerings any longer.

However, the trailer for Stumptown, an ABC crime series touted during the recent TV upfronts and currently slated for broadcast at 10 p.m. on Wednesdays, may cause me to break my network fast.

Embedded below, it not only features a hilarious car fight scene set to Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline,” but stars Canadian actress Cobie Smulders (who I always thought was underused in How I Met Your Mother) as Dex Parios, a sharp and ass-kicking Portland, Oregon, private eye who was originally introduced in a limited graphic-novel series by Greg Rucka. Very promising, I’d say.

Translators in the Spotlight

As if there hasn’t been enough recent news regarding crime-fiction prizes of one sort or another, here comes word that five books—none of them brand-new in English—have been shortlisted for the 2019 Iceland Noir Award for best crime novel in Icelandic translation, aka the Icepick. They are:

• Double Indemnity, by James M. Cain;
translated by Þórdís Bachmann
• The Devotion of Suspect X, by Keigo Higashino;
translated by Ásta S. Guðbjartsdóttir
• A Stranger in the House, by Shari Lapena;
translated by Ingunn Snædal
• Three Days and a Life, by Pierre Lemaitre;
translated by Friðrik Rafnsson
• After the Fire, by Henning Mankell;
translated by Hilmar Hilmarsson

The winner is expected to be announced in November.

Pick Your Peculier Preference

Get ready to vote for your favorite book among a half-dozen nominees shortlisted for the 2019 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award. Just about five weeks ago, a longlist of 18 contenders—including works by Ann Cleeves, William Shaw, Stuart Turton, and C.J. Tudor—was announced. But that has now been trimmed by two-thirds, leaving the following yarns still in contention:

• Broken Ground, by Val McDermid (Little, Brown)
• Snap, by Belinda Bauer (Transworld)
• Thirteen, by Steve Cavanagh (Hachette)
• London Rules, by Mick Herron (John Murray)
• The Quaker, by Liam McIlvanney (HarperCollins)
• East of Hounslow, by Khurrum Rahman (HarperCollins)

As a British weekly called the Scarborough News explained in April, “This year marks the 15th year of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award. The prize was created to celebrate the very best in crime fiction and is open to UK and Irish crime authors whose novels were published in paperback from May 1, 2018 to April 30, 2019.” Among the previous recipients are Mark Billingham, Denise Mina. R.J. Ellory, Sarah Hilary, Lee Child, and Stav Sherez.

The winner of this contest will be determined by a panel of judges, as well as by an online public vote. That latter balloting is set to begin on Monday, July 1, and will close on Sunday, July 14. During those two weeks, the Theakston Brewing Company will post a link here for everyone wishing to let their opinions be known.

A final champion is to be declared on Thursday, July 18, during a special ceremony on the opening night of the 17th annual Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate, England.

Revue of Reviewers, 5-17-19

Critiquing some of the most interesting recent crime, mystery, and thriller releases. Click on the individual covers to read more.