In the Footsteps of Mary Russell: Laurie R. King’s Fictional Worlds

Laurie R. King hardly needs an introduction to readers of any persuasion. From contemporary mysteries to historicals to post-apocalypse scenarios, King has delivered a score of entertainments and mainstream novels since publication of her first work, A Grave Talent, in 1993. That novel featured her San Francisco lesbian cop, Kate Martinelli, and won King an [...]

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A “Long, Dark Winter”: Jim Thompson’s Finnish Noir

Bartender, bouncer, construction worker, photographer, rare coin dealer, soldier and wrestling announcer–add to these the title of AUTHOR. Jim Thompson has led a varied career, one taking him from his native Kentucky to Finland where he has lived for over a decade, and a publishing contract with northern Europe’s largest publisher, WSOY, for a series [...]

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Maisie Dobbs to the Rescue: Jacqueline Winspear’s England

Jacqueline Winspear, author of the popular Maisie Dobbs series set in interwar England, is our latest guest on Scene of the Crime. Winspear hit the ground running with this series: her first installment, the 2003 Maisie Dobbs, became a bestseller, won accolades from reviewers, and earned Winspear the prestigious Agatha Award for Best First novel, [...]

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Editing the Scene: Peter Joseph of St. Martin’s Press

Peter Joseph, editor extraordinaire at St. Martin’s Press, is our guest today on Scene of the Crime. He is, as one of his writer’s noted, an editor “of sagacity and wit.” Okay, full disclosure. I wrote those words in the acknowledgment page of Requiem in Vienna; Peter is my editor on the Viennese Mystery series. [...]

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America’s Answer to Swedish Noir: Brian Freeman’s Duluth

Brian Freeman is the international bestselling author of psychological suspense novels featuring detective Jonathan Stride. Set in Duluth, Minnesota, Freeman’s books have been sold in 46 countries and 17 languages and have won kudos from people such as bestselling author Michael Connelly, who noted of Freeman, “This guy can tell a story.”  Ditto from Nelson [...]

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Rhys Bowen’s 30′s England and New York 1900: “Setting is of primary importance to me.”

Rhys Bowen is the Agatha and Anthony Award-winning author of the Molly Murphy Mystery series set in New York at the turn of the last century. Nine books and growing that series has garnered rave reviews since its 2001 inception with Murphy’s Law, about which a Publishers Weekly reviewer noted, “Conveys a nice sense of [...]

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Crime in the Key of Jazz–David Fulmer’s Storyville Novels

Shamus Award winner David Fulmer joins us today on Scene of the Crime to discuss New Orleans a the turn of the twentieth century. That–and more specifically the famous Storyville district–is the setting for his excellent series of novels featuring Creole detective Valentin St. Cyr. The series began with Fulmer’s first novel, Chasing the Devil’s [...]

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