RSS feed for all content appearing in the blog river, with links back to the site http://www.criminalelement.com/ Thu, 17 May 2012 05:33:08 +0000 Joomla! 1.5 - Open Source Content Management en-gb http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/5tBWzp5JuUM/you-cant-forget-it-chinatown-noir-detective-new-york-city-john-geraci-film <p><img alt="Chinatown (1974)" class="blog-pic-right-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/05.09-05.15/Geraci-Chinatown-post-250.jpg" title="Chinatown (1974)" />It’s been nearly thirty-eight years, yet Roman Polanski’s <em>Chinatown</em> remains easily the best detective movie of all time. Not only because of its signature closing line, or the <em>tour de force</em> performance by Jack Nicholson, or Faye Dunaway and John Huston showing their acting chops, or the way Polanski uses the camera to give us Jake’s perspective, or the picture-perfect scenes of L.A. in the 1930s with the cars, clothes or, even that haunting opening saxophone solo, darkly sexy and still elegiac.</p><p>It’s all those highly visible qualities and more. The <em>more</em> being the hidden meanings that suddenly gleam, capturing our vision, much like the set of bifocal eyeglasses that Jake sees shining in the murky depths of the Mulwray’s salt water pool.</p><p>[I’m pretty sure the face of pure evil is John Huston in <em>Chinatown </em>. . .]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/you-cant-forget-it-chinatown-noir-detective-new-york-city-john-geraci-film">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=5tBWzp5JuUM:Wp50m39OvGc:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=5tBWzp5JuUM:Wp50m39OvGc:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=5tBWzp5JuUM:Wp50m39OvGc:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=5tBWzp5JuUM:Wp50m39OvGc:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=5tBWzp5JuUM:Wp50m39OvGc:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=5tBWzp5JuUM:Wp50m39OvGc:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=5tBWzp5JuUM:Wp50m39OvGc:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=5tBWzp5JuUM:Wp50m39OvGc:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/5tBWzp5JuUM" height="1" width="1"/> John Geraci Published Wed, 16 May 2012 18:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/you-cant-forget-it-chinatown-noir-detective-new-york-city-john-geraci-film http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/you-cant-forget-it-chinatown-noir-detective-new-york-city-john-geraci-film http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/5Eh6dn_EV9k/fresh-meat-dont-ever-get-old-by-daniel-friedman-funny-thriller-nazi-gold-mystery-terrie-farley-moran <p><img alt="Don’t Ever Get Old by Daniel Friedman" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/05.09-05.15/Moran-Dont-Ever-Get-Old.jpg" style=" height: 378px; width: 250px;" title="Don’t Ever Get Old by Daniel Friedman" /><strong><em>Don’t Ever Get Old</em> by Daniel Friedman is a funny thriller featuring a feisty retiree who can still kick some serious butt (available May 22, 2012).</strong></p><p>I can’t think of a more unlikely hero than Baruch “Buck” Schatz. Okay, so he spent decades in the Memphis PD and was quite the hotshot detective—that ended in 1973. And yeah, he had what it took to survive as an American GI in a German POW camp—but that was more than sixty years ago. The guy is eighty-seven years old. Should he even still be driving a car?</p><p>Here’s how Buck sees himself:</p><blockquote><p>Rose and I buried our only son six years ago. He was fifty-two, and he’s gone. We’re still here. Dragging that reality around gets exhausting. I was a hard man, once. Immovable, like the face of a mountain. But wind and rain can erode even granite if they have enough years to do it. No matter how tough you think you are, if you live long enough, eventually you get all squishy.</p></blockquote><p>[But not this ol’ guy!]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/fresh-meat-dont-ever-get-old-by-daniel-friedman-funny-thriller-nazi-gold-mystery-terrie-farley-moran">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=5Eh6dn_EV9k:lg-DynQocII:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=5Eh6dn_EV9k:lg-DynQocII:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=5Eh6dn_EV9k:lg-DynQocII:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=5Eh6dn_EV9k:lg-DynQocII:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=5Eh6dn_EV9k:lg-DynQocII:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=5Eh6dn_EV9k:lg-DynQocII:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=5Eh6dn_EV9k:lg-DynQocII:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=5Eh6dn_EV9k:lg-DynQocII:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/5Eh6dn_EV9k" height="1" width="1"/> Terrie Farley Moran Published Wed, 16 May 2012 18:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/fresh-meat-dont-ever-get-old-by-daniel-friedman-funny-thriller-nazi-gold-mystery-terrie-farley-moran http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/fresh-meat-dont-ever-get-old-by-daniel-friedman-funny-thriller-nazi-gold-mystery-terrie-farley-moran http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/coo7UJ8X5P0/death-and-destruction-network-cancellations-tv-fall-2012- <p><img alt="Maria Bello as Jane Timoney in Prime Suspect" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/05.16-05.22/Nimble_Cancellations.jpg" style="height: 324px; width: 250px;" title="No more prime time Prime Suspect, American style." />We told you about <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/cbs-cancel-csi-miami-unforgettable-police-procedural-caruso-horatio-cain-sunglasses-elementary-vegas-golden-boy-tv-crime-hq#5214">CBS canceling <em>CSI: Miami</em>, <em>Unforgettable</em> and <em>NY-22</em></a>, but of course networks all like to do things at the same time, so here are the crime shows that have gone belly up on the other networks and won’t be returning.</p><p><strong>ABC</strong>: <em>Missing</em> and <em>Charlie’s Angels</em> (blogger Rachel Hyland <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2011/11/should-i-watch-the-episode-two-test-part-3">knew that one would fail by episode 2</a>)<br /><br /><strong>NBC</strong>: <em>Awake</em>, <em>Harry’s Law</em>, <em>The Firm</em> (<a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/01/did-you-watch-the-series-premiere-of-the-firm">our commenters were split on the pilot</a>), and <em>Prime Suspect</em> (<a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2011/09/primally-bummed-about-prime-suspect">which created controversy</a>)<br /><br /><strong>FOX</strong>: <em>Alcatraz </em>(blogger <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/01/1963-alcatraz-shares-issues-with-age-of-telegraph">Clare Toohey didn’t care for this one</a>) and<em> </em><em>The Finder</em></p><p>How do you feel about the cancellations?&nbsp; Anything you’re going to miss, or is it “good riddance to bad rubbish?”</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/death-and-destruction-network-cancellations-tv-fall-2012-">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=coo7UJ8X5P0:UXeK3npc0hQ:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=coo7UJ8X5P0:UXeK3npc0hQ:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=coo7UJ8X5P0:UXeK3npc0hQ:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=coo7UJ8X5P0:UXeK3npc0hQ:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=coo7UJ8X5P0:UXeK3npc0hQ:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=coo7UJ8X5P0:UXeK3npc0hQ:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=coo7UJ8X5P0:UXeK3npc0hQ:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=coo7UJ8X5P0:UXeK3npc0hQ:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/coo7UJ8X5P0" height="1" width="1"/> Crime HQ Published Wed, 16 May 2012 17:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/death-and-destruction-network-cancellations-tv-fall-2012- http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/death-and-destruction-network-cancellations-tv-fall-2012- http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/AJazf6R9Tfc/the-cult-of-daryl-dixon-a-lesson-in-mass-appeal-thriller-comics-walking-dead-zombies-angie-barry <p><img alt="Daryl Dixon of AMC’s Walkind Dead" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/05.09-05.15/Barry-Cult-of-Daryl-Dixon-475.jpg" style="height: 317px; width: 475px;" title="There’s just something about a redneck with a crossbow..." />He’s a bad-tempered, foulmouthed redneck. He rides a hog, frequently has dead squirrels hanging from his belt, and isn’t afraid to get his hands bloody. And he happens to have a very vocal bunch of fans—most of them ladies.</p><p>Daryl Dixon has become an unlikely hero and stand-out addition to <em>The Walking Dead</em> TV series. For a guy that never bathes, there are certainly a lot of women who’d like to throw themselves into his arms. And in many ways, he illustrates the power a fanbase has over entertainment today.</p><p>Just what makes Daryl so darn appealing? I’ll readily admit that out of the cast of characters, he’d be my number one choice for a survival partner. There’s his vast well of useful knowledge—Daryl grew up poor in a rural area, and often had to hunt for his own food, which is handy in a world without refrigeration. He’s the sort of tracker that would put Prince Humperdinck of <em>The Princess Bride</em> to shame, and no mean fighter, either. There’s the Harley, the jacket, and the antisocial air for those who enjoy a bad boy. Not to mention the crossbow, for those stealth shots in the nick of time.</p><p>[Who needs a 24-hour deli when you have Daryl?]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/the-cult-of-daryl-dixon-a-lesson-in-mass-appeal-thriller-comics-walking-dead-zombies-angie-barry">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=AJazf6R9Tfc:onFEIUFIFRw:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=AJazf6R9Tfc:onFEIUFIFRw:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=AJazf6R9Tfc:onFEIUFIFRw:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=AJazf6R9Tfc:onFEIUFIFRw:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=AJazf6R9Tfc:onFEIUFIFRw:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=AJazf6R9Tfc:onFEIUFIFRw:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=AJazf6R9Tfc:onFEIUFIFRw:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=AJazf6R9Tfc:onFEIUFIFRw:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/AJazf6R9Tfc" height="1" width="1"/> Angie Barry Published Wed, 16 May 2012 14:30:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/the-cult-of-daryl-dixon-a-lesson-in-mass-appeal-thriller-comics-walking-dead-zombies-angie-barry http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/the-cult-of-daryl-dixon-a-lesson-in-mass-appeal-thriller-comics-walking-dead-zombies-angie-barry http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/LdhXjQnDyB8/no-place-is-safe-the-perils-of-interstellar-crime-nasa-black-hole-leslie-gilbert-elman <p><img alt="Computer-Simulated image of a black hole flare" class="blog-pic-left-align " src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/05.16-05.22/AMCoffee_Black-Hole-Crime-475.jpg" style="height: 267px; width: 475px;" /></p><p><em>So there I was, just wandering around minding my own business when all of a sudden this enormous, dark . . . thing . . . comes out of nowhere. I’m telling you it was massive—no, supermassive. Next thing I knew, I was being ripped to shreds. Thing just chewed me up and spit me out . . . 2.7 billion light-years away from earth this happened. . . . I tell ya, no place is safe anymore.</em></p><p>Why limit yourself to terrestrial crime, when there’s a whole universe of murder and mayhem to explore?</p><p>A team of astronomers from The Johns Hopkins University, NASA’s Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, and other astronomic research institutions reported an interstellar crime last week. A supermassive black hole, lying in wait like a vast outer space mugger, literally killed a star, gobbled up some of its remains, and spewed the rest back out into space.</p><p>Investigators believe the victim might have met its assailant before. It’s likely that the star was robbed of its hydrogen-filled envelope during a previous encounter with the black hole. This time around, the black hole attacked the star’s helium core effectively ending its life.</p><p>“It is like we are gathering evidence from a crime scene,” <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/jpl/news/galex20120502.html" target="_blank">says astronomer Suvi Gezari, who led the Hopkins team</a>. “Because there is very little hydrogen and mostly helium in the gas we detect, we know from the carnage that the slaughtered star had to have been the helium-rich core of a stripped star.”</p><p>Take that <em>C.S.I.</em>!</p><hr /><p><strong>Leslie Gilbert Elman</strong> is the author of <em><a href="http://bit.ly/rGsLdY">Weird But True: 200 Astounding, Outrageous, and Totally Off the Wall Facts</a></em>. Follow her on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/leslieelman">@leslieelman</a>.</p><p>Read all of <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/Leslie%20Gilbert%20Elman#filter">Leslie Gilbert Elman’s posts for Criminal Element</a>.</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/no-place-is-safe-the-perils-of-interstellar-crime-nasa-black-hole-leslie-gilbert-elman">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=LdhXjQnDyB8:4WfhZwXRkpg:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=LdhXjQnDyB8:4WfhZwXRkpg:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=LdhXjQnDyB8:4WfhZwXRkpg:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=LdhXjQnDyB8:4WfhZwXRkpg:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=LdhXjQnDyB8:4WfhZwXRkpg:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=LdhXjQnDyB8:4WfhZwXRkpg:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=LdhXjQnDyB8:4WfhZwXRkpg:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=LdhXjQnDyB8:4WfhZwXRkpg:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/LdhXjQnDyB8" height="1" width="1"/> Leslie Gilbert Elman Published Wed, 16 May 2012 13:45:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/no-place-is-safe-the-perils-of-interstellar-crime-nasa-black-hole-leslie-gilbert-elman http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/no-place-is-safe-the-perils-of-interstellar-crime-nasa-black-hole-leslie-gilbert-elman http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/3McHnoE5iEY/fresh-meat-the-dead-of-summer-by-mari-jungstedt-anders-knutas-sweden-mystery-nordic-jordan-foster <p><img alt="The Dead of Summer by Mari Jungstedt" class="blog-pic-left-align " src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/05.09-05.15/Foster_FM-Mari-Jungstedt-Dead-of-Summer.jpg" style="height: 333px; width: 250px;" /><strong><em>The Dead of Summer </em>by Mari Jungstedt is </strong><strong>the 10th book of the Anders Knutas series of Swedish</strong><strong> police procedural mysteries (available May 15, 2012).</strong></p><p>Crime fiction generally is not the best place to look for a vacation spot. If Hannibal and Clarice had transported their bloody tango on the sands of some tropical beach, readers probably wouldn’t be queuing up to follow suit. So why is it that, despite the body count, I’d gladly take a holiday on Gotland, the Swedish island where Mari Jungstedt sets her whodunits?</p><p>[Because you’re crazy?]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/fresh-meat-the-dead-of-summer-by-mari-jungstedt-anders-knutas-sweden-mystery-nordic-jordan-foster">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=3McHnoE5iEY:ARGft-Wdv0Q:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=3McHnoE5iEY:ARGft-Wdv0Q:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=3McHnoE5iEY:ARGft-Wdv0Q:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=3McHnoE5iEY:ARGft-Wdv0Q:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=3McHnoE5iEY:ARGft-Wdv0Q:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=3McHnoE5iEY:ARGft-Wdv0Q:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=3McHnoE5iEY:ARGft-Wdv0Q:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=3McHnoE5iEY:ARGft-Wdv0Q:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/3McHnoE5iEY" height="1" width="1"/> Jordan Foster Published Tue, 15 May 2012 18:30:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/fresh-meat-the-dead-of-summer-by-mari-jungstedt-anders-knutas-sweden-mystery-nordic-jordan-foster http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/fresh-meat-the-dead-of-summer-by-mari-jungstedt-anders-knutas-sweden-mystery-nordic-jordan-foster http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/0vAmWdFEwjY/now-win-this-richard-lloyd-parrys-people-who-eat-darkness <p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/peoplewhoeatsweepstakes"><strong>CLICK HERE TO ENTER for a chance to win a trade paper-back copy of <em>People who Eat Darkness </em>by Richard Lloyd Parry.</strong></a></p><p><img align="left" alt="People Who Eat Darkness by Richard Lloyd Parry" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/sweepstakes/People-Who-Eat-Darkness250x377.jpg" title="People Who Eat Darkness by Richard Lloyd Parry" /><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/peoplewhoeatsweepstakes"><strong>Click here to enter for a chance to win!</strong></a></p><p>NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.&nbsp;A PURCHASE DOES NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCE OF WINNING. You must be 18 or older and a legal resident of the 50 United States or D.C. to enter.&nbsp;Promotion begins May 15, 2012, at 12 pm ET, and ends May 22, 2012, 11:59 am ET. Void in Puerto Rico and wherever prohibited by law.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/page/official-rules-people-who-eat-sweepstakes" style="text-decoration: none; " target="_blank">Click here for&nbsp;details and official rules</a>.</p><p>[About the book...]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/now-win-this-richard-lloyd-parrys-people-who-eat-darkness">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=0vAmWdFEwjY:hk3SXohYzeA:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=0vAmWdFEwjY:hk3SXohYzeA:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=0vAmWdFEwjY:hk3SXohYzeA:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=0vAmWdFEwjY:hk3SXohYzeA:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=0vAmWdFEwjY:hk3SXohYzeA:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=0vAmWdFEwjY:hk3SXohYzeA:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=0vAmWdFEwjY:hk3SXohYzeA:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=0vAmWdFEwjY:hk3SXohYzeA:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/0vAmWdFEwjY" height="1" width="1"/> Crime HQ Published Tue, 15 May 2012 17:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/now-win-this-richard-lloyd-parrys-people-who-eat-darkness http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/now-win-this-richard-lloyd-parrys-people-who-eat-darkness http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/8u_qmw16vCA/ew-and-also-ow-public-naked-unicycling-is-illegal <p><img alt="Joseph Farley" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/05.09-05.15/Nimble_Naked-Unicycle.jpg" style="height: 313px; width: 250px;" title="Stay away from this man’s unicycle." />The headline pretty much says it all: “Police Arrest Naked Man Riding Unicycle Over Texas Bridge.” But in case you were wondering, no, he wasn’t drunk. And no, he’s not a kid. That’s him at left in his mug shot (courtesy of <a href="http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/texas/naked-unicycle-rider-arrested-657309" target="_blank">The Smoking Gun</a>, the mug shot experts, who also have the dashcam record of the incident).</p><p>Joseph Farley is forty-five years old and apparently enjoys “the experience of naked unicycling.”</p><p>He doesn’t seem to care what other people enjoy, however. Or, more to the point, what they probably <em>don’t</em> enjoy, like being forced to watch him take his afternoon constitutional with his dangly bits swaying hither and yon.</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/ew-and-also-ow-public-naked-unicycling-is-illegal">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=8u_qmw16vCA:fYPCrYINhOw:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=8u_qmw16vCA:fYPCrYINhOw:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=8u_qmw16vCA:fYPCrYINhOw:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=8u_qmw16vCA:fYPCrYINhOw:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=8u_qmw16vCA:fYPCrYINhOw:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=8u_qmw16vCA:fYPCrYINhOw:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=8u_qmw16vCA:fYPCrYINhOw:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=8u_qmw16vCA:fYPCrYINhOw:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/8u_qmw16vCA" height="1" width="1"/> Crime HQ Published Tue, 15 May 2012 13:45:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/ew-and-also-ow-public-naked-unicycling-is-illegal http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/ew-and-also-ow-public-naked-unicycling-is-illegal http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/5Nx_yq0kLG0/down-dog-bbc-new-sherlock-holmes-encounters-the-hounds-of-baskerville <p><img alt="Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes" class="blog-pic-right-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/05.09-05.15/Elman_New-Sherlock-Hound-Cumberbatch-Holmes.jpg" style="height: 247px; width: 250px;" title="A case, a case, my kingdom for a case!" />“<em>A 20-year-old disappearance.&nbsp; A monstrous hound. Wouldn’t miss this for the world.</em>”</p><p>Literally climbing the walls—or at least the furniture—for lack of a case (it’s positively been <em>minutes</em> since his last one!) Sherlock is bored /nonplussed/ repelled /intrigued by the scenario Henry Knight presents to him: 20 years earlier, Henry’s father was mauled to death by a “gigantic hound” at a place called Dewar’s Hollow. Henry, just a little boy at the time, saw the whole thing happen. Now he’s gone back to visit the site—on the advice of his therapist, no less—and he’s seen the hound again. If he’s to unravel this mystery and come to terms with his childhood trauma, he’ll need more than a shrink to help him: he’ll need Sherlock Holmes.</p><p>Upon a nanosecond’s reflection, Sherlock agrees to take the case, and before you can say “weekend in the country,” he and Watson are off to the wilds of Dartmoor in the picturesque county of Devon.</p><p>[Emphasis on “wilds” . . .]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/down-dog-bbc-new-sherlock-holmes-encounters-the-hounds-of-baskerville">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=5Nx_yq0kLG0:cJ2VWDWayVw:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=5Nx_yq0kLG0:cJ2VWDWayVw:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=5Nx_yq0kLG0:cJ2VWDWayVw:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=5Nx_yq0kLG0:cJ2VWDWayVw:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=5Nx_yq0kLG0:cJ2VWDWayVw:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=5Nx_yq0kLG0:cJ2VWDWayVw:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=5Nx_yq0kLG0:cJ2VWDWayVw:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=5Nx_yq0kLG0:cJ2VWDWayVw:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/5Nx_yq0kLG0" height="1" width="1"/> Leslie Gilbert Elman Published Mon, 14 May 2012 23:30:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/down-dog-bbc-new-sherlock-holmes-encounters-the-hounds-of-baskerville http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/down-dog-bbc-new-sherlock-holmes-encounters-the-hounds-of-baskerville http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/syeo3pUqIh4/cbs-cancel-csi-miami-unforgettable-police-procedural-caruso-horatio-cain-sunglasses-elementary-vegas-golden-boy-tv-crime-hq <p><img alt="David Caruso as CSI:Miami’s Horatio Caine" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/05.09-05.15/David-Caruso-Csi-Miami-Sunset.jpg" style="height: 250px; width: 250px; " title="So many one-liners left unsaid!" />Caine disappears into the sunset?! Considering its crime shows, CBS has just announced that it’s pulling down the shades on Poppy Montgomery’s <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/tuesday-night-television-unforgettable-body-of-proof-detective-shows" target="_self"><em>Unforgettable</em></a>, which wasn’t unpopular, but suffered in comparison to blockbusting shows. Rookie cop drama <em>NYC-22</em> also fell off the pier and, after a gigundous ten seasons, stalwart <em>CSI: Miami</em>.</p><p>Still enjoying a place in the sun are several upcoming crime series, including the modern Sherlock-in-NYC of <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/tags/Elementary"><em>Elementary</em></a>, <em>Vegas</em> (perhaps sadly, not with awesome Dan Tanna, but a 1960s crime drama based on a real sheriff), and cop-to-commissioner story <em>Golden Boy</em>.</p><p>Perhaps you’d argue, but if Archie Bunker’s chair belongs in the Smithsonian, don’t Horatio Caine’s shades? Of course, we’ll always savor Scott D. Parker’s spirited explanation of <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2011/05/questions-about-csimiamis-season-nine-finale" target="_self">why <em>CSI:Miami </em>was beloved by its fans</a>, but if you haven’t seen this in a while, let’s enjoy this sunset-kissed montage together.</p><p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="271" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_sarYH0z948?rel=0" width="475"></iframe></p><p>Hat tips: <em><a href="http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2012/05/unforgettable-and-a-gifted-man-canceled-by-cbs-rob-also-gone.html" target="_blank">Zap2it</a></em> and <em><a href="http://www.omnimysterynews.com/2012/05/telemystery-cbs-orders-3-and-cancels-3.html" target="_blank">Omnimystery News</a></em></p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/cbs-cancel-csi-miami-unforgettable-police-procedural-caruso-horatio-cain-sunglasses-elementary-vegas-golden-boy-tv-crime-hq">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=syeo3pUqIh4:GRzNkjvEDTY:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=syeo3pUqIh4:GRzNkjvEDTY:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=syeo3pUqIh4:GRzNkjvEDTY:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=syeo3pUqIh4:GRzNkjvEDTY:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=syeo3pUqIh4:GRzNkjvEDTY:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=syeo3pUqIh4:GRzNkjvEDTY:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=syeo3pUqIh4:GRzNkjvEDTY:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=syeo3pUqIh4:GRzNkjvEDTY:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/syeo3pUqIh4" height="1" width="1"/> Crime HQ Published Mon, 14 May 2012 19:30:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/cbs-cancel-csi-miami-unforgettable-police-procedural-caruso-horatio-cain-sunglasses-elementary-vegas-golden-boy-tv-crime-hq http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/cbs-cancel-csi-miami-unforgettable-police-procedural-caruso-horatio-cain-sunglasses-elementary-vegas-golden-boy-tv-crime-hq http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/I_r2wvYBia8/westerns-of-the-sixties-hombre-classics-film-jake-hinkson <p><img alt="Hombre means man... Paul Newman is The Man..." class="blog-pic-right-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/05.09-05.15/Hinkson-Hombre-Paul-Newman.jpg" style=" height: 188px; width: 250px;" title="Hombre means man... Paul Newman is The Man..." />By March of 1967 things were falling apart. America was in the midst of massive cultural changes, and while the summer of love was fast approaching, beyond it waited the violent turbulence of 1968. In Hollywood, things had never been more uncertain. The old studio system had come crumbling down. Splintered into pieces by a Supreme Court anti-monopoly ruling, weakened by the emergence of television, and shaken by the deaths of many of its moguls, directors, and stars, the Dream Factory was a shell of its former self.<br /><br />One bright spot in ’60s film was the career of Paul Newman. A star since the late ’50s, he’d emerged alongside other Method actors like Brando, Clift, and Dean, but as the ’60s progressed he’d only seen his star rise. Behind him lay <em>The Hustler</em> and <em>Hud</em>, and ahead of him was the smash hit <em>Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid</em>, but it was 1967 that marked his transformation into something more than an actor. In 1967, Newman underwent a process to which only a few actors are subject: he became the movie embodiment of an idea.</p><p>[An icon in a time of upheaval . . .]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/westerns-of-the-sixties-hombre-classics-film-jake-hinkson">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=I_r2wvYBia8:542jdzLGH3k:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=I_r2wvYBia8:542jdzLGH3k:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=I_r2wvYBia8:542jdzLGH3k:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=I_r2wvYBia8:542jdzLGH3k:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=I_r2wvYBia8:542jdzLGH3k:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=I_r2wvYBia8:542jdzLGH3k:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=I_r2wvYBia8:542jdzLGH3k:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=I_r2wvYBia8:542jdzLGH3k:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/I_r2wvYBia8" height="1" width="1"/> Jake Hinkson Published Mon, 14 May 2012 14:30:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/westerns-of-the-sixties-hombre-classics-film-jake-hinkson http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/westerns-of-the-sixties-hombre-classics-film-jake-hinkson http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/neMUFsnFpUE/walt-disneys-taxi-driver-mash-up-video <p>In the world of mash-ups, there’s weird and then there’s Walt Disney’s <em>Taxi Driver.</em></p><center><p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="356" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/37154658?byline=0&amp;portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="475"></iframe></p></center><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/walt-disneys-taxi-driver-mash-up-video">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=neMUFsnFpUE:KeIlOB-ZVvQ:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=neMUFsnFpUE:KeIlOB-ZVvQ:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=neMUFsnFpUE:KeIlOB-ZVvQ:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=neMUFsnFpUE:KeIlOB-ZVvQ:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=neMUFsnFpUE:KeIlOB-ZVvQ:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=neMUFsnFpUE:KeIlOB-ZVvQ:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=neMUFsnFpUE:KeIlOB-ZVvQ:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=neMUFsnFpUE:KeIlOB-ZVvQ:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/neMUFsnFpUE" height="1" width="1"/> Crime HQ Published Mon, 14 May 2012 13:45:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/walt-disneys-taxi-driver-mash-up-video http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/walt-disneys-taxi-driver-mash-up-video http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/GaltlwMpxEo/americas-most-famous-feud-comes-to-the-history-channel-the-hatfields-and-the-mccoys-bill-paxton-kevin-costner-western-historical <p><img alt="Bill Paxton in The Hatfields and the McCoys" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/05.09-05.15/Nimble_Hatfields-McCoys-Bill-Paxton.jpg" style="height: 243px; width: 250px;" title="Bill Paxton" />Memorial Day is a day to remember. This year, the History Channel wants you to remember one of bloodiest feuds in history, that between the Hatfield family and the McCoy family. Perhaps you don’t recall the exact details of the feud, in which case you may want to check out <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2011/12/family-can-be-murder-the-hatfields-and-the-mccoys">Tony Hays’s excellent refresher</a>.</p><p>Below, you will find the theatrical trailer for the miniseries. (As an aside, I really like this trend of doing television trailers for big premieres in the theater.) And the History Chanel has poured serious bucks into the production. It stars Kevin Costner, Bill Paxton, Tom Berenger, Powers Boothe, and Mare Winningham. That’s some star power for a miniseries!</p><p>So, will you watch?</p><p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="271" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/IYIWdXYm8bc?rel=0" width="475"></iframe></p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/americas-most-famous-feud-comes-to-the-history-channel-the-hatfields-and-the-mccoys-bill-paxton-kevin-costner-western-historical">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=GaltlwMpxEo:u1O1OPBxvng:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=GaltlwMpxEo:u1O1OPBxvng:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=GaltlwMpxEo:u1O1OPBxvng:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=GaltlwMpxEo:u1O1OPBxvng:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=GaltlwMpxEo:u1O1OPBxvng:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=GaltlwMpxEo:u1O1OPBxvng:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=GaltlwMpxEo:u1O1OPBxvng:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=GaltlwMpxEo:u1O1OPBxvng:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/GaltlwMpxEo" height="1" width="1"/> Crime HQ Published Sun, 13 May 2012 17:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/americas-most-famous-feud-comes-to-the-history-channel-the-hatfields-and-the-mccoys-bill-paxton-kevin-costner-western-historical http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/americas-most-famous-feud-comes-to-the-history-channel-the-hatfields-and-the-mccoys-bill-paxton-kevin-costner-western-historical http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/RGNynnfLOxo/cryptos-conundrum-new-excerpt-thriller-noir-espionage-chase-brandon-cia- <p><img align="left" alt="" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/excerpts/Brandon-Cryptos-Conundrum-250-correct.jpg" /><strong>An excerpt of<em> The Cryptos Conundrum</em>, a speculative, time-slip thriller by Chase Brandon (available June 19, 2012).</strong></p><p><em>A fifteen-foot tall steel sculptur</em>e <em> sculpture stands in the courtyard of the Central Intelligence Agency building, engraved with a message no one can decipher. One man knows exactly what the statue says. Dr. Jonathan S. Chalmers heads a CIA working group tasked with protecting the greatest secret the U.S. government has ever kept—and planning for its consequences. He alone knows the full story of the threats that face America: threats that have shaped the country’s past, present, and future. If Chalmers can’t save America, nobody can.</em></p><p><br /><strong>Chapter 1</strong><br /><em>Verdun, France. February 26, 1916</em><strong> </strong></p><p>The cordite-clouded sky flashed sparks of primordial fire. And Earth’s anvil shook with concussions that pounded his body and soul as though smithed by Thor’s angry-red hammer. In terrified awe, Dr. Jonathan S. Chalmers, Jr., watched as blinding artillery bursts and dismembering det­onations reinforced the enemy’s specter of Death that he felt already over­shadowed him.</p><p>Cold, wet, wounded, and a lifetime’s distance from his family in New York, Chalmers gripped the steel barrel and bloodstained stock of his 8mm French Lebel, but he would gladly have swapped the rifle for a crys­tal brandy snifter.</p><p>A brilliant mathematician, Chalmers was a scholar and gentleman com­pletely out of his affluent Long Island element. Against reasonable odds or definable logic, he was also a private in the U.S. Army and at present trapped in a gash of dangerous dirt between France and Germany known as the Western Front. Here, a form of human slaughter called trench war­fare raged unabated with the rising sun of each new day in a world at war with itself.</p><p>[Read the full excerpt of <em>The Cryptos Conundrum </em>by Chase Brandon]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/05/cryptos-conundrum-new-excerpt-thriller-noir-espionage-chase-brandon-cia-">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=RGNynnfLOxo:qfdgl47Wk5o:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=RGNynnfLOxo:qfdgl47Wk5o:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=RGNynnfLOxo:qfdgl47Wk5o:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=RGNynnfLOxo:qfdgl47Wk5o:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=RGNynnfLOxo:qfdgl47Wk5o:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=RGNynnfLOxo:qfdgl47Wk5o:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=RGNynnfLOxo:qfdgl47Wk5o:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=RGNynnfLOxo:qfdgl47Wk5o:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/RGNynnfLOxo" height="1" width="1"/> Chase Brandon Excerpts Tue, 15 May 2012 17:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/05/cryptos-conundrum-new-excerpt-thriller-noir-espionage-chase-brandon-cia- http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/05/cryptos-conundrum-new-excerpt-thriller-noir-espionage-chase-brandon-cia- http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/8KP5bLUnubk/mother-knows-best-moms-favorite-crime-fiction-detective-police-procedurals-traditional-cozy-mystery-thrillers-noir-historical-westerns-deborah-lacy <p><img alt="Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark, both plunged into the world of mystery—and one of them was a favorite for the moms!" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/05.09-05.15/Lacy-Mother-Knows-Best-MHC-and-Daughter.jpg" title="Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark, both plunged into the world of mystery—and one of them was a favorite for the moms! " />“Listen to your mother.”&nbsp; Excellent words of advice, so today on the occasion of Mother’s Day, we are going to give some of our mothers the opportunity to make crime fiction book and TV recommendations. &nbsp;Of course, it just wouldn’t be right unless I started with my own lovely and talented mother whose favorite authors consistently deliver . . .</p><p><strong>Great Characters and Gripping Suspense</strong></p><p>My mom’s absolute top three authors are <strong><a>Mary Higgins Clark</a><a href="http://maryhigginsclark.com/" target="_blank">,</a> <a href="http://www.tessgerritsen.com" target="_blank">Tess Gerritsen</a> </strong>and <strong><a href="http://www.harlancoben.com" target="_blank">Harlan Coben</a></strong>.</p><p>“All three of them need to write faster,” she says. “I read much faster than they write.”</p><p>[Don’t we all?]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/mother-knows-best-moms-favorite-crime-fiction-detective-police-procedurals-traditional-cozy-mystery-thrillers-noir-historical-westerns-deborah-lacy">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=8KP5bLUnubk:2Xq7_1jj458:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=8KP5bLUnubk:2Xq7_1jj458:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=8KP5bLUnubk:2Xq7_1jj458:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=8KP5bLUnubk:2Xq7_1jj458:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=8KP5bLUnubk:2Xq7_1jj458:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=8KP5bLUnubk:2Xq7_1jj458:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=8KP5bLUnubk:2Xq7_1jj458:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=8KP5bLUnubk:2Xq7_1jj458:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/8KP5bLUnubk" height="1" width="1"/> Deborah Lacy Published Sun, 13 May 2012 14:30:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/mother-knows-best-moms-favorite-crime-fiction-detective-police-procedurals-traditional-cozy-mystery-thrillers-noir-historical-westerns-deborah-lacy http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/mother-knows-best-moms-favorite-crime-fiction-detective-police-procedurals-traditional-cozy-mystery-thrillers-noir-historical-westerns-deborah-lacy http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/eskLFHfeYyQ/before-killing-joel-kinnaman-made-easy-money-noir-thriller-jens-lapidus-leslie-gilbert-elman <p><img alt="" class="blog-pic-left-align " src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/05.09-05.15/Elman_Jens-Lapidus-475.jpg" />Recently, CrimeHQ’s own <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/Laura%20K.%20Curtis#filter">Laura K. Curtis</a> hosted a discussion with Swedish crime writer <strong>Jens Lapidus</strong>. He was in New York to promote the U.S. release of his novel <em>Easy Money</em>, the first in his “Stockholm Noir” trilogy, which also includes <em>Never F*ck Up</em> and <em>Life Deluxe</em>.</p><p>Lapidus is a criminal defense attorney in Stockholm whose clients include some serious heavies not unlike the drug lords and Mafiosi in his books. If you like your crime fiction blunt like your murder weapons, Lapidus will appeal to you. It’s safe to say he knows whereof he writes.</p><p>Originally published in 2006, <em>Easy Money</em> (<em>Snabba Cash</em> in Swedish) was a best seller in Sweden. Not surprisingly, that success led to a movie adaptation of the book.</p><p>But this might be a surprise:</p><p>Take a good look at that photo of the actor starring as Johan “JW” Westlund in <em>Snabba Cash</em>.</p><p>Yes, fans of <em>The Killing</em> . . . it’s Holder!</p><p>Joel Kinnaman, aka Detective Stephen Holder of the Seattle P.D., was born and raised in Sweden and he’s appeared in a number of TV shows and films there, including police series <em>Johan Falk</em>. <em>Snabba Cash</em> seems to have been his calling card for Hollywood.</p><p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="271" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/guuiDfwulc4?rel=0" width="475"></iframe></p><p>Want to see more? <em>Easy Money</em>/<em>Snabba Cash</em> is set to be released in the United States in July, and as we speak (according to IMDB) Kinnaman is finishing up production on <em>Easy Money II</em> in Sweden. Meanwhile, there have been rumors of a possible U.S. remake of <em>Easy Money</em> starring Zac Efron floating around since the Swedish film came out in 2010. And Joel Kinnaman’s next film project is a retooling of <em>RoboCop</em>. (Bet <em>he’d</em> have no trouble finding out who killed Rosie Larsen!)</p><hr /><p><strong>Leslie Gilbert Elman</strong> is the author of <em><a href="http://bit.ly/rGsLdY">Weird But True: 200 Astounding, Outrageous, and Totally Off the Wall Facts</a></em>. Follow her on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/leslieelman">@leslieelman</a>.</p><p>Read all <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/Leslie%20Gilbert%20Elman#filter" target="_self">posts by Leslie Gilbert Elman for Criminal Element</a>.</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/before-killing-joel-kinnaman-made-easy-money-noir-thriller-jens-lapidus-leslie-gilbert-elman">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=eskLFHfeYyQ:bTByXIWj4zY:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=eskLFHfeYyQ:bTByXIWj4zY:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=eskLFHfeYyQ:bTByXIWj4zY:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=eskLFHfeYyQ:bTByXIWj4zY:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=eskLFHfeYyQ:bTByXIWj4zY:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=eskLFHfeYyQ:bTByXIWj4zY:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=eskLFHfeYyQ:bTByXIWj4zY:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=eskLFHfeYyQ:bTByXIWj4zY:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/eskLFHfeYyQ" height="1" width="1"/> Leslie Gilbert Elman Published Sat, 12 May 2012 17:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/before-killing-joel-kinnaman-made-easy-money-noir-thriller-jens-lapidus-leslie-gilbert-elman http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/before-killing-joel-kinnaman-made-easy-money-noir-thriller-jens-lapidus-leslie-gilbert-elman http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/jjB-oAgBHJ4/thriller-noir-true-crime-nonfiction-fresh-meat-people-who-eat-darkness-richard-z-santos-richard-lloyd-parry <p><img alt="People Who Eat Darkness by Richard Lloyd Parry" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.18-04.24/Santos-People-Who-Eat-Darkness-by-Richard-Lloyd-Parry.jpg" style="height: 377px; width: 250px;" title="People Who Eat Darkness by Richard Lloyd Parry" /><strong><em>People Who Eat Darkness</em> by Richard Lloyd Parry is the true crime story of Lucie Blackman, who stepped out on the streets of Tokyo and disappeared in the summer of 2000 (available May 22, 2012).</strong></p><p>The research montage. <em>CE </em>readers know what I’m talking about. Whether it’s Cumberbatch sherlocking around a crime scene, the <em>Doctor Who</em> or <em>Torchwood</em> gang banging away on impossible, alien computers, or the <em>CSI</em> crew banging away on even <em>more</em> impossible, alien computers, the research montage is a key part of crime and science fiction television. Usually the montage has some sort of fast-paced electronic music thumping underneath it and shocking clues are unearthed.</p><p>Research is cool.</p><p><strong>Richard Lloyd Parry</strong>’s <em>People Who Eat Darkness</em> is a testament to research, and how it can be used to completely immerse a reader in a dark tale. <em>Darkness</em> tells the true story of Lucie Blackman, a twenty-one-year-old British woman abducted in Tokyo in 2000. This book isn’t only the story of Blackman’s disappearance; it’s also the story of her entire life, her family’s life, the life of her killer and, to a lesser extent, a history of Japan. This massive book is built on a foundation of interviews, newspaper articles, trial transcripts, official evidence, and tons of endnotes. Parry is the Tokyo bureau chief of <em>The Times </em>(London) and the man knows how to layer information, often dense historical information, in a way that pulls the reader deep into the mystery.</p><p>[Some of the scariest stories happen in real life...]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/thriller-noir-true-crime-nonfiction-fresh-meat-people-who-eat-darkness-richard-z-santos-richard-lloyd-parry">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=jjB-oAgBHJ4:xR8ZbrMN-uY:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=jjB-oAgBHJ4:xR8ZbrMN-uY:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=jjB-oAgBHJ4:xR8ZbrMN-uY:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=jjB-oAgBHJ4:xR8ZbrMN-uY:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=jjB-oAgBHJ4:xR8ZbrMN-uY:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=jjB-oAgBHJ4:xR8ZbrMN-uY:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=jjB-oAgBHJ4:xR8ZbrMN-uY:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=jjB-oAgBHJ4:xR8ZbrMN-uY:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/jjB-oAgBHJ4" height="1" width="1"/> Richard Z. Santos Published Sat, 12 May 2012 15:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/thriller-noir-true-crime-nonfiction-fresh-meat-people-who-eat-darkness-richard-z-santos-richard-lloyd-parry http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/thriller-noir-true-crime-nonfiction-fresh-meat-people-who-eat-darkness-richard-z-santos-richard-lloyd-parry http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/Odcu8QcHwjM/fresh-meat-stolen-prey-by-john-sandford-prey-series-police-procedural-thriller <p><img alt="Stolen Prey by John Sandford" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/05.09-05.15/Amper-Stolen-Prey-by-John-Sandford.jpg" title="Stolen Prey by John Sandford" /><strong><em>Stolen Prey</em> by John Sandford is </strong><strong>the 22nd book of the <em>Prey</em> series, </strong><strong>an edgy police procedural featuring Lucas Davenport (available May 15, 2012).</strong></p><p>Is it just me, or has Lucas Davenport lost a little something off his fastball? In <em>Stolen Prey</em>, 22nd in John Sandford’s <em>Prey</em> series, Lucas has to puzzle out the connections between a horrific murder and the theft of millions of dollars. But he doesn’t seem up to the task. During his daily run, Lucas muses:</p><blockquote><p>He was getting older, with almost as much gray hair as black at his temples, with the beginnings of what would someday be slashing lines beside his mouth, but right now, on this spring day, he could run five miles in a little less than thirty minutes, even on wet city streets; and at home, there were four people who loved him.</p><p>As much as he could have hoped for.</p></blockquote><p>Maybe so, but this reader had hoped for more.</p><p>[Don’t give up hope yet!]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/fresh-meat-stolen-prey-by-john-sandford-prey-series-police-procedural-thriller">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=Odcu8QcHwjM:Nh0ITY4hm50:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=Odcu8QcHwjM:Nh0ITY4hm50:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=Odcu8QcHwjM:Nh0ITY4hm50:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=Odcu8QcHwjM:Nh0ITY4hm50:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=Odcu8QcHwjM:Nh0ITY4hm50:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=Odcu8QcHwjM:Nh0ITY4hm50:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=Odcu8QcHwjM:Nh0ITY4hm50:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=Odcu8QcHwjM:Nh0ITY4hm50:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/Odcu8QcHwjM" height="1" width="1"/> Susan Amper Published Fri, 11 May 2012 18:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/fresh-meat-stolen-prey-by-john-sandford-prey-series-police-procedural-thriller http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/fresh-meat-stolen-prey-by-john-sandford-prey-series-police-procedural-thriller http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/qeIii9t4QWA/now-win-this-bruce-desilvas-cliff-walk <p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/cliffwalksweepstakes"><strong>CLICK HERE TO ENTER for a chance to win an Uncorrected Advanced Reader’s Copy of <em>Cliff Walk</em> by Bruce DeSilva.</strong></a></p><p><img align="left" alt="Cliff Walk by Bruce DeSilva" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/sweepstakes/DeSilva-Cliff-Walk250x379.jpg" title="Cliff Walk by Bruce DeSilva" /><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/cliffwalksweepstakes"><strong>Click here to enter for a chance to win!</strong></a></p><p>NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.&nbsp;A PURCHASE DOES NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCE OF WINNING. You must be 18 or older and a legal resident of the 50 United States or D.C. to enter.&nbsp;Promotion begins May 11, 2012, at 12 pm ET, and ends May 18, 2012, 11:59 am ET. Void in Puerto Rico and wherever prohibited by law.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/page/official-rules-cliff-walk-sweepstakes" style="text-decoration: none; " target="_blank">Click here for&nbsp;details and official rules</a>.</p><p>[About the book...]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/now-win-this-bruce-desilvas-cliff-walk">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=qeIii9t4QWA:zjZajw4kX2s:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=qeIii9t4QWA:zjZajw4kX2s:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=qeIii9t4QWA:zjZajw4kX2s:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=qeIii9t4QWA:zjZajw4kX2s:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=qeIii9t4QWA:zjZajw4kX2s:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=qeIii9t4QWA:zjZajw4kX2s:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=qeIii9t4QWA:zjZajw4kX2s:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=qeIii9t4QWA:zjZajw4kX2s:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/qeIii9t4QWA" height="1" width="1"/> Crime HQ Published Fri, 11 May 2012 17:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/now-win-this-bruce-desilvas-cliff-walk http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/now-win-this-bruce-desilvas-cliff-walk http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/6piSCGlrqi0/cliff-walk-new-excerpt-bruce-desilva-liam-mulligan-series-prostitution-journalist-traditional-mystery-thriller <p><img align="left" alt="" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/excerpts/De-Silva-Cliff-Walk-250.jpg" /></p><p><strong>An excerpt of <em>Cliff Walk</em>, a Liam Mulligan thriller by Bruce DeSilva (available May 22, 2012).</strong></p><p id="yui_3_3_0_1_1336059059145_2841"><em>Prostitution has been legal in Rhode Island for more than a decade; Liam Mulligan, an old-school investigative reporter at a dying Providence newspaper, suspects the governor has been taking payoffs to keep it that way. But this isn’t the only story making headlines . . . a child’s severed arm is discovered in a pile of garbage at a pig farm. Then the body of an internet pornographer is found sprawled on the rocks at the base of Newport’s famous Cliff Walk.</em></p><p><em>At first, the killings seem random, but as Mulligan keeps digging into the state’s thriving sex business, strange connections emerge. Promised free sex with hookers if he minds his own business—and a beating if he doesn’t—Mulligan enlists Thanks-Dad, the newspaper publisher’s son, and Attila the Nun, the state’s colorful Attorney General, in his quest for the truth. What Mulligan learns will lead him to question his beliefs about sexual morality, shake his tenuous religious faith, and leave him wondering who his real friends are.</em></p><p><br /><strong>Chapter 1</strong></p><p>Cosmo Scalici hollered over the grunts and squeals of three thousand hogs rooting in his muddy outdoor pens. “Right here’s where I found it, poking outta this pile of garbage. Gave me the creeps, the way the fingers curled like it wanted me to come closer.”</p><p>“What did you do?” I hollered back.</p><p>“Jumped the fence and tried to snatch it, but one of the sows beat me to it.”</p><p>[Read the full excerpt of <em>Cliff Walk</em> by Bruce DeSilva]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/05/cliff-walk-new-excerpt-bruce-desilva-liam-mulligan-series-prostitution-journalist-traditional-mystery-thriller">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=6piSCGlrqi0:ZNHcO6xcWI0:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=6piSCGlrqi0:ZNHcO6xcWI0:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=6piSCGlrqi0:ZNHcO6xcWI0:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=6piSCGlrqi0:ZNHcO6xcWI0:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=6piSCGlrqi0:ZNHcO6xcWI0:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=6piSCGlrqi0:ZNHcO6xcWI0:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=6piSCGlrqi0:ZNHcO6xcWI0:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=6piSCGlrqi0:ZNHcO6xcWI0:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/6piSCGlrqi0" height="1" width="1"/> Bruce DeSilva Excerpts Fri, 11 May 2012 14:30:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/05/cliff-walk-new-excerpt-bruce-desilva-liam-mulligan-series-prostitution-journalist-traditional-mystery-thriller http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/05/cliff-walk-new-excerpt-bruce-desilva-liam-mulligan-series-prostitution-journalist-traditional-mystery-thriller http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/G7xlHxsd2JY/have-you-seen-the-avengers-movie-1978-tv-superheroes-comics <p>Last weekend, <em>The Avengers</em> broke box office records. So maybe you want another Avengers-style treat. Some enterprising soul has created this hilarious trailer out of silly ’70s television superhero shows. It’s the perfect start to a weekend!</p><p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="352" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/x0jBF912xYY?rel=0" width="475"></iframe></p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/have-you-seen-the-avengers-movie-1978-tv-superheroes-comics">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=G7xlHxsd2JY:FZg5EPYOAKM:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=G7xlHxsd2JY:FZg5EPYOAKM:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=G7xlHxsd2JY:FZg5EPYOAKM:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=G7xlHxsd2JY:FZg5EPYOAKM:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=G7xlHxsd2JY:FZg5EPYOAKM:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=G7xlHxsd2JY:FZg5EPYOAKM:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=G7xlHxsd2JY:FZg5EPYOAKM:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=G7xlHxsd2JY:FZg5EPYOAKM:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/G7xlHxsd2JY" height="1" width="1"/> Crime HQ Published Fri, 11 May 2012 13:45:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/have-you-seen-the-avengers-movie-1978-tv-superheroes-comics http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/have-you-seen-the-avengers-movie-1978-tv-superheroes-comics http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/ooKZbN0jB_0/crime-and-horror-with-a-four-color-twist-hack-slash-and-fatale-comics <p><img alt="Hack Slash...killing Chucky" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/05.09-05.15/Richards_Crime-Horror-Comics-Chucky.jpg" style="height: 294px; width: 250px;" title="I have *always* wanted to do that to Chucky." />In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Publisher William Gaines’s EC Comics began a new line of titles that included several different genres, most notably crime and horror. The comics featured stunning art and tightly plotted tales that often incorporated twist endings. They were violent, lurid, and fun, so naturally they incensed alarmist academics and politicians looking for something to blame all of society’s ills on. In 1954, a number of publishers banded together to create the Comics Code Authority as a way of satisfying a hysterical public that believed comic books were turning adolescents into violent criminals</p><p>The Comics Code Authority contained strict regulations on what could be published in Code-approved books and these regulations basically prohibited EC from continuing to publish most of their best selling crime and horror titles. As time wore on though the code began to become looser and gradually lost power. These days, there are a number of crime and horror comics. There are even a few titles that combine those two genres together to tell fun, frightening, and intriguing stories. <strong>Tim Seeley</strong>’s long-running <em>Hack/Slash</em> series and <strong>Ed Brubaker</strong> and <strong>Sean Phillips</strong>’s fifteen-issue epic <em>Fatale</em> both exemplify this kind of work, though in very different ways.</p><p>Seeley’s <em>Hack/Slash</em> series was born in 2004 out of his love for good and so-bad-they’re-good horror films, specifically those of the slasher sub-genre like <em>Halloween</em>, <em>Friday the 13th</em>, and <em>A Nightmare on Elm Street</em>. These tend to involve some form of serial killer stalking a group of restless teenagers until one of their number, usually a female, fights back and destroys the killer.</p><p>[Bring on the slashers!]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/crime-and-horror-with-a-four-color-twist-hack-slash-and-fatale-comics">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=ooKZbN0jB_0:hOywAYLsHME:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=ooKZbN0jB_0:hOywAYLsHME:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=ooKZbN0jB_0:hOywAYLsHME:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=ooKZbN0jB_0:hOywAYLsHME:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=ooKZbN0jB_0:hOywAYLsHME:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=ooKZbN0jB_0:hOywAYLsHME:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=ooKZbN0jB_0:hOywAYLsHME:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=ooKZbN0jB_0:hOywAYLsHME:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/ooKZbN0jB_0" height="1" width="1"/> Dave Richards Published Thu, 10 May 2012 18:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/crime-and-horror-with-a-four-color-twist-hack-slash-and-fatale-comics http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/crime-and-horror-with-a-four-color-twist-hack-slash-and-fatale-comics http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/zSBmSdfsghs/chelsea-cain-gretchen-lowell-gets-a-tv-show-thriller-laura-k-curtis <p><img alt="Chelsea Cain’s Heartsick" class="blog-pic-right-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/05.09-05.15/Nimbke_Chelsea-Cain-FX.jpg" style="height: 381px; width: 250px;" title="Too brutal for TV?" />Last night I was on Twitter and friend and blogger Tara Gelsomino mentioned that FX had greenlit a television series about a female serial killer. The conversation then went like this:</p><blockquote><p><strong>laurakcurtis</strong>: So . . . like a female Dexter, or more like a Chelsea Cain character?<br /><strong>taragel</strong>: Actually is an adaptation of the Cain novels, FX greenlit<br /><strong>laurakcurtis</strong>: Whoa. That’s pretty grim for TV.&nbsp; But could be cool if done right.<br /><strong>taragel</strong>: Fitting that it’s FX taking it on, I think. Closest you’ll get to premium cable.<br /><strong>laurakcurtis</strong>: Indeed.&nbsp; And FX does <em>Justified</em>, so they might manage it.<br /><strong>taragel</strong>: And Sons of Anarchy.</p></blockquote><p>For those of you unfamiliar with <a href="http://chelseacain.com/" target="_blank"><strong>Chelsea Cain</strong></a>, her series is about Gretchen Lowell, a female serial killer, and Archie Sheridan, the Portland detective she captured and tortured and with whom she maintains a relationship of sorts. It’s very, very dark stuff.</p><p>According to Cain’s site,</p><blockquote><p>The plan is for <em>Heartsick</em> to be season one, season two would be <em>Sweetheart</em>, etc.&nbsp; They would be short seasons, like 13 episodes.</p></blockquote><p>We should note that before this series was a glimmer in anyone’s eye, blogger Tara Gelsomino (taragel above) posted her own <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2011/05/fantasy-casting-chelsea-cains-heartbreaker-series" target="_self">Chelsea Cain Heartbreaker Series Fantasy Casting</a>, with her choices for Gretchen, Archie, and young journalist Susan Ward. Tara’s wishing to see this series on screen was ahead of the curve, but now that the show’s a reality, we want to know your picks, too!</p><p>For those of you who know the books, what do you think? Can a network pull this off and make it as original and compelling as the books for a full season of television or more?</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/chelsea-cain-gretchen-lowell-gets-a-tv-show-thriller-laura-k-curtis">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=zSBmSdfsghs:Bf1orcWXJUY:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=zSBmSdfsghs:Bf1orcWXJUY:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=zSBmSdfsghs:Bf1orcWXJUY:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=zSBmSdfsghs:Bf1orcWXJUY:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=zSBmSdfsghs:Bf1orcWXJUY:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=zSBmSdfsghs:Bf1orcWXJUY:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=zSBmSdfsghs:Bf1orcWXJUY:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=zSBmSdfsghs:Bf1orcWXJUY:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/zSBmSdfsghs" height="1" width="1"/> Laura K. Curtis Published Thu, 10 May 2012 17:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/chelsea-cain-gretchen-lowell-gets-a-tv-show-thriller-laura-k-curtis http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/chelsea-cain-gretchen-lowell-gets-a-tv-show-thriller-laura-k-curtis http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/_qQd0kPK9G0/the-revival-house-twilight-1998-detective-police-thriller-noir-film-recommendations-femme-fatale-cold-case <p><img align="left" alt="" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.18-04.24/Beetner-Revival-House-Twilight-.jpg" /><em>Shining a light on underrated crime films. The coulda-beens and shoulda-beens you ought to know about.</em></p><p><strong>Tonight’s Screening: <em>Twilight</em> (1998)</strong></p><p>Poor <em>Twilight</em>. Never a big hit when it was released, and thus proving to Hollywood accountants that movies starring people over 50 will never do well, it has since been relegated to forever being confused for that <em>other</em> Twilight movie and feeling the anger of every tween girl who got confused when accidentally adding the Paul Newman-starring film to their Netflix queue.&nbsp;</p><p><em>Twilight </em>plays as a sort of spiritual cousin to Newman’s <em>Harper</em> from the 1960s. It is a swan song, in a way, to a classic style of mystery. A little slower, less sex and car chases. Newman gets to play a retired cop and investigator who is friends with Gene Hackman as an aging, cancer-stricken movie star. Susan Sarandon is Hackman’s trophy wife, starting to feel her age as well. And let’s not forget James Garner as a pal of Newman’s. Not exactly a cast for the teen set.</p><p>[I don’t know about you, but I’ll take Paul Newman any day!]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/the-revival-house-twilight-1998-detective-police-thriller-noir-film-recommendations-femme-fatale-cold-case">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=_qQd0kPK9G0:AfcOyU-jTdA:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=_qQd0kPK9G0:AfcOyU-jTdA:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=_qQd0kPK9G0:AfcOyU-jTdA:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=_qQd0kPK9G0:AfcOyU-jTdA:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=_qQd0kPK9G0:AfcOyU-jTdA:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=_qQd0kPK9G0:AfcOyU-jTdA:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=_qQd0kPK9G0:AfcOyU-jTdA:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=_qQd0kPK9G0:AfcOyU-jTdA:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/_qQd0kPK9G0" height="1" width="1"/> Eric Beetner Published Thu, 10 May 2012 14:30:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/the-revival-house-twilight-1998-detective-police-thriller-noir-film-recommendations-femme-fatale-cold-case http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/the-revival-house-twilight-1998-detective-police-thriller-noir-film-recommendations-femme-fatale-cold-case http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/Rn7u6W5uRWM/honest-abe-abraham-lincoln-invent-facebook-1845-social-media-likes-pages-friends-gazette-patent-historical-mystery-crime-hq <p><img alt="Abe Lincoln pioneered Social Media in 1845, devising a system Like Facebook! By Crime HQ." class="blog-pic-left-align " src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/05.09-05.15/Facebook-Abe-Lincoln-Patent.jpg" style="height: 277px; width: 475px; " />You know how we adore history’s mysteries around here, and new research shows that Honest Abe was the proto-Zuckerberg of the 19th century, even conceiving of Pages and Friends! Head over to<a href="http://natestpierre.me/2012/05/08/abraham-lincoln-patent-facebook/" target="_blank"> Nate St. Pierre</a>’s blog for all the fascinating detail about our 16th president’s social media prescience, discovered while investigating also-intriguing evidence of a relationship between him and consummate showman P.T. Barnum. But here’s a nibble about Abe’s entrepreneurial notion—submitted to the U.S. Patent Office and denied (boo, h8ers)—that each town could have its own Gazette full of Personal Pages:</p><blockquote><p>The whole Springfield Gazette was one sheet of paper, and it was all about Lincoln . . . The first column underneath his picture contains a bunch of short blurbs about what’s going on in his life at the moment—work he recently did, some books the family bought, and the new games his boys made up. In the next three columns he shares a quote he likes, two poems, and a short story about the Pilgrim Fathers. I don’t know where he got them, but they’re obviously copied from somewhere. In the last three columns he tells the story of his day at the circus and tiny little story about his current life on the prairie . . .</p><p>Lincoln was requesting a patent for “The Gazette,” a system to “keep People aware of Others in the Town.” He laid out a plan where every town would have its own Gazette, named after the town itself. He listed the Springfield Gazette as his Visual Appendix, an example of the system he was talking about. Lincoln was proposing that each town build a centrally located collection of documents where “every Man may have his own page, where he might discuss his Family, his Work, and his Various Endeavors.”</p></blockquote><p>Furthermore, Lincoln devised how Friending would operate under his system—making the comparison between The Gazette and Facebook even more provocative—but you’ll have to go over to Nate’s to read about that. And while you’re there, congratulate him and Matt of the Lincoln Museum on their jaw-droppingly nifty bit of original historic detection! Abraham Lincoln, not only as brilliantly sharp as a newly honed axe, but way ahead of his time.&nbsp;</p><p>We LIKE!</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/honest-abe-abraham-lincoln-invent-facebook-1845-social-media-likes-pages-friends-gazette-patent-historical-mystery-crime-hq">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=Rn7u6W5uRWM:wS0Ye72arPA:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=Rn7u6W5uRWM:wS0Ye72arPA:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=Rn7u6W5uRWM:wS0Ye72arPA:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=Rn7u6W5uRWM:wS0Ye72arPA:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=Rn7u6W5uRWM:wS0Ye72arPA:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=Rn7u6W5uRWM:wS0Ye72arPA:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=Rn7u6W5uRWM:wS0Ye72arPA:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=Rn7u6W5uRWM:wS0Ye72arPA:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/Rn7u6W5uRWM" height="1" width="1"/> Clare Toohey Published Thu, 10 May 2012 13:45:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/honest-abe-abraham-lincoln-invent-facebook-1845-social-media-likes-pages-friends-gazette-patent-historical-mystery-crime-hq http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/honest-abe-abraham-lincoln-invent-facebook-1845-social-media-likes-pages-friends-gazette-patent-historical-mystery-crime-hq http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/JQL_0xPeUVY/weird-news-four-news-stories-that-sound-stranger-than-fiction-china-inspector-chen-just-plain-strange-detective-police-procedurals-thriller-noir-traditional-cozy-mysteries-true-crime-nonfiction <p><img alt="Bo Xilai, once a top Party Official in China, no disgraced after wife suspected in murder case." class="blog-pic-right-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/05.09-05.15/Proffitt-Nimble-Stranger-than-Fiction-Murder.jpg" title="No the top dog any more..." />Is it just me or do recent events in the news seem like they were ripped from the pages of a mystery novel? I love a good mystery, and of course reality is much more, well, <em>real</em> than anything I could find in books, but recently, I feel like the truth has been stranger than fiction—or at least as good as.</p><p><strong>Ain’t No Party Like the Communist Party</strong></p><p>Back in April, Bo Xilai, a Chinese Party official with hopes of becoming one of the top dogs in party politics, was thrown into the papers after his wife was accused of killing a British businessman. It got stranger when the deceased businessman, one Mr. Neil Heywood, was revealed to have been threatening to expose Xilai’s wife’s plot to move money abroad—money she may or may not have collected by misbegotten means. Seems like a plot straight out of Inspector Chen.</p><p>[What do the National Archives, China and the Great Bambino have in common...? They’re on this list!]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/weird-news-four-news-stories-that-sound-stranger-than-fiction-china-inspector-chen-just-plain-strange-detective-police-procedurals-thriller-noir-traditional-cozy-mysteries-true-crime-nonfiction">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=JQL_0xPeUVY:tyM2xC0ilgs:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=JQL_0xPeUVY:tyM2xC0ilgs:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=JQL_0xPeUVY:tyM2xC0ilgs:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=JQL_0xPeUVY:tyM2xC0ilgs:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=JQL_0xPeUVY:tyM2xC0ilgs:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=JQL_0xPeUVY:tyM2xC0ilgs:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=JQL_0xPeUVY:tyM2xC0ilgs:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=JQL_0xPeUVY:tyM2xC0ilgs:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/JQL_0xPeUVY" height="1" width="1"/> Jennifer Proffitt Published Wed, 09 May 2012 18:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/weird-news-four-news-stories-that-sound-stranger-than-fiction-china-inspector-chen-just-plain-strange-detective-police-procedurals-thriller-noir-traditional-cozy-mysteries-true-crime-nonfiction http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/weird-news-four-news-stories-that-sound-stranger-than-fiction-china-inspector-chen-just-plain-strange-detective-police-procedurals-thriller-noir-traditional-cozy-mysteries-true-crime-nonfiction http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/MGGElH-q2do/the-five-points-of-new-york-city-historical-crime-leanna-renee-heiber <p><img alt="Leanna Renee Heiber" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/05.02-05.08/Heiber_Five-Points-Dressing-Up.jpg" style="height: 228px; width: 250px;" title="The author in her Victorian finest." />As a licensed New York City tour guide, whenever I waxed rhapsodic about my particular area of interest, nineteenth century New York City, tourists assumed everything about New York City then—and even now—was summed up in the film <em>Gangs of New York</em>. Well. . .&nbsp; <em>no</em>. The storylines presented in <em>Gangs of New York</em> only scratch a fictional surface of Five Points history. The fullness of the Five Points can’t be summed up in mere pages, but here’s a glimpse.</p><p>[Get an early feel for where <em>Copper</em> will be set . . .]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/the-five-points-of-new-york-city-historical-crime-leanna-renee-heiber">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=MGGElH-q2do:o2stbEqOxpU:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=MGGElH-q2do:o2stbEqOxpU:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=MGGElH-q2do:o2stbEqOxpU:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=MGGElH-q2do:o2stbEqOxpU:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=MGGElH-q2do:o2stbEqOxpU:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=MGGElH-q2do:o2stbEqOxpU:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=MGGElH-q2do:o2stbEqOxpU:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=MGGElH-q2do:o2stbEqOxpU:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/MGGElH-q2do" height="1" width="1"/> Leanna Renee Hieber Published Wed, 09 May 2012 18:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/the-five-points-of-new-york-city-historical-crime-leanna-renee-heiber http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/the-five-points-of-new-york-city-historical-crime-leanna-renee-heiber http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/rZV_e61ooZE/wheres-the-love-for-and-in-hardboiled-what-is-noir-max-allan-collins <p><img alt="Serie Noire novel" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/05.09-05.15/Collins_Love-hardboiled-serie-noire.jpg" style="height: 343px; width: 225px;" title="Truly *noire*." />You don’t see the term “hardboiled” much any more. “<em>Noir</em>” has supplanted it, co-opted from the French film critics who intended it for the American crime films made during and shortly after World War II. Those critics had co-opted the term from<em> Serie Noire</em>, the black-covered paperbacks from publisher Gallimard that reprinted the likes of <strong>Dashiell Hammett</strong>, <strong>Raymond Chandler</strong>, <strong>James M. Cain</strong>, and <strong>Mickey Spillane</strong>.</p><p>Hardboiled, as early as twenty years ago, became a dirty word in publishing. Cozy mysteries were outselling hardboiled, and likely still are. So the appropriation of “<em>noir</em>” was a hipper, more elegant-sounding way to rebrand the tough stuff.</p><p>[A dead rose by any other name is just as black, er, <em>noir</em> . . .]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/wheres-the-love-for-and-in-hardboiled-what-is-noir-max-allan-collins">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=rZV_e61ooZE:IFmUYxih4rw:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=rZV_e61ooZE:IFmUYxih4rw:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=rZV_e61ooZE:IFmUYxih4rw:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=rZV_e61ooZE:IFmUYxih4rw:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=rZV_e61ooZE:IFmUYxih4rw:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=rZV_e61ooZE:IFmUYxih4rw:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=rZV_e61ooZE:IFmUYxih4rw:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=rZV_e61ooZE:IFmUYxih4rw:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/rZV_e61ooZE" height="1" width="1"/> Max Allan Collins Published Wed, 09 May 2012 14:30:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/wheres-the-love-for-and-in-hardboiled-what-is-noir-max-allan-collins http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/wheres-the-love-for-and-in-hardboiled-what-is-noir-max-allan-collins http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/wJ_8bp7SX_I/listen-up-earprints-identify-burglar-true-crime-leslie-gilbert-elman <p><img alt="The ear, via Science Direct" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/05.09-05.15/AMCoffee_Earprints.jpg" style="height: 334px; width: 250px;" title="Hear no evil" />If you’re the type who likes to listen at keyholes, there’s something you need to hear: Police in Kiel, Germany, identified a burglar by the <em>earprints</em> he left at crime scenes.</p><p>Before he entered a home, the 33-year-old burglar would press his ear against the front door, listening for signs that the house was occupied. If it wasn’t, he’d break in and help himself to jewelry, cash, and other loot. What he didn’t realize was what he’d left behind: an earprint as unique and incriminating as any fingerprint or DNA evidence could be.</p><p>Now, we hear that thanks to those earprints the police can link him to 96 burglaries accounting for more than half a million dollars worth of stolen goods.</p><p>Sounds like the jig is up.</p><p><em><span style="font-size: 12px;">Hat tip: <a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,830659,00.html" target="_blank">Spiegel Online</a>. Image via <a href="http://ars.sciencedirect.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0379073803005176-gr3.gif" target="_blank">sciencedirect.com</a></span></em></p><hr /><p><strong>Leslie Gilbert Elman</strong> is the author of <em><a href="http://bit.ly/rGsLdY">Weird But True: 200 Astounding, Outrageous, and Totally Off the Wall Facts</a></em>. Follow her on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/leslieelman">@leslieelman</a>.</p><p>See all posts by <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/Leslie%20Gilbert%20Elman#filter">Leslie Gilbert Elman for Criminal Element</a>.</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/listen-up-earprints-identify-burglar-true-crime-leslie-gilbert-elman">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=wJ_8bp7SX_I:NZNvsM97j58:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=wJ_8bp7SX_I:NZNvsM97j58:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=wJ_8bp7SX_I:NZNvsM97j58:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=wJ_8bp7SX_I:NZNvsM97j58:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=wJ_8bp7SX_I:NZNvsM97j58:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=wJ_8bp7SX_I:NZNvsM97j58:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=wJ_8bp7SX_I:NZNvsM97j58:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=wJ_8bp7SX_I:NZNvsM97j58:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/wJ_8bp7SX_I" height="1" width="1"/> Leslie Gilbert Elman Published Wed, 09 May 2012 13:45:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/listen-up-earprints-identify-burglar-true-crime-leslie-gilbert-elman http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/listen-up-earprints-identify-burglar-true-crime-leslie-gilbert-elman http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/wE8RXCyc4NQ/castle-season-four-finale-always-nathan-fillion-stana-katic-by-deborah-lacy <p><img alt="Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic" class="blog-pic-left-align " src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/05.02-05.08/Lacy_Castle-Season-Finale-Beckett-and-Fillion.jpg" style="height: 267px; width: 475px;" />If you haven’t watched all of this season of <em>Castle</em> yet, stop reading and go catch up. This episode is worth it.</p><p><strong>Who Killed Beckett’s Mother?</strong></p><p>We start out with a recap from seasons past to remind us how we got here. Flashes of Beckett’s dead mother fill the screen. Captain Montgomery reminds Kate that these guys, “. . . are coming to kill you and I’m not going to let them . . .” Then we see Roy Montgomery fulfilling this promise with his own death.</p><p>[Death is only the beginning]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/castle-season-four-finale-always-nathan-fillion-stana-katic-by-deborah-lacy">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=wE8RXCyc4NQ:xBZDISQtgbo:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=wE8RXCyc4NQ:xBZDISQtgbo:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=wE8RXCyc4NQ:xBZDISQtgbo:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=wE8RXCyc4NQ:xBZDISQtgbo:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=wE8RXCyc4NQ:xBZDISQtgbo:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=wE8RXCyc4NQ:xBZDISQtgbo:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=wE8RXCyc4NQ:xBZDISQtgbo:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=wE8RXCyc4NQ:xBZDISQtgbo:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/wE8RXCyc4NQ" height="1" width="1"/> Deborah Lacy Published Tue, 08 May 2012 18:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/castle-season-four-finale-always-nathan-fillion-stana-katic-by-deborah-lacy http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/castle-season-four-finale-always-nathan-fillion-stana-katic-by-deborah-lacy http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/nmDx8bWJx00/now-win-this-brothers-of-baker-street <p style="margin: 14px 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 16px; "><strong>Sorry, this sweepstakes has ended.</strong></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 16px; "><strong>Stay tuned on our&nbsp;<a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/features/series/sweepstakes" target="_self">Sweepstakes</a>&nbsp;page for more offers!</strong></span></p><p><img align="left" alt="The Brothers of Baker Street and The Baker Street Letters by Michael Robertson" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/sweepstakes/Robertson-Baker-Street-Brother250x190.jpg" title="The Brothers of Baker Street and The Baker Street Letters by Michael Robertson" /><strong>Click here to enter for a chance to win!</strong></p><p>NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.&nbsp;A PURCHASE DOES NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCE OF WINNING. You must be 18 or older and a legal resident of the 50 United States or D.C. to enter.&nbsp;Promotion begins May 8, 2012, at 12 pm ET, and ends May 15, 2012, 11:59 am ET. Void in Puerto Rico and wherever prohibited by law.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/page/official-rules-brothers-of-baker-street-sweepstakes" style="text-decoration: none; " target="_blank">Click here for&nbsp;details and official rules</a>.</p><p>[About the books...]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/now-win-this-brothers-of-baker-street">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=nmDx8bWJx00:e4ZHmc8JZVc:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=nmDx8bWJx00:e4ZHmc8JZVc:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=nmDx8bWJx00:e4ZHmc8JZVc:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=nmDx8bWJx00:e4ZHmc8JZVc:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=nmDx8bWJx00:e4ZHmc8JZVc:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=nmDx8bWJx00:e4ZHmc8JZVc:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=nmDx8bWJx00:e4ZHmc8JZVc:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=nmDx8bWJx00:e4ZHmc8JZVc:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/nmDx8bWJx00" height="1" width="1"/> Crime HQ Published Tue, 08 May 2012 17:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/now-win-this-brothers-of-baker-street http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/now-win-this-brothers-of-baker-street http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/9ctqkK4uiNM/the-baker-street-letters-excerpt-traditional-mystery-sherlock-holmes-michael-robertson <p><img alt="The Baker Street Letters by Michael Robertson" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/excerpts/BakerStreetLetters-by-Michael-Robertson-250.jpg" title="The Baker Street Letters by Michael Robertson" /><strong>An excerpt of <em>The Baker Street Letters,</em> the first in a contemporary, traditional mystery series by Michael Robertson.</strong></p><p><strong>[Like the excerpt? <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/now-win-this-brothers-of-baker-street">Enter to win both this book and the sequel</a>!]</strong></p><p><em>In Los Angeles, a geological surveyor maps out a proposed subway route—and then goes missing. His eight-year-old daughter in her desperation turns to the one person she thinks might help—she writes a letter to Sherlock Holmes.</em></p><p><em>That letter creates an uproar at 221b Baker Street, which now houses the law offices of attorney and man-about-town Reggie Heath and his hapless brother Nigel. Instead of filing the letter as he’s supposed to, Nigel decides to investigate. Soon he’s flying off to L.A., inconsiderately leaving a very dead body on the floor in his office. Big brother Reggie follows Nigel to California, as does Reggie’s sometime lover, Laura—a quick-witted stage actress who’s captured the hearts of both brothers.</em></p><p><em>When Nigel is arrested, Reggie must use all his wits to solve a case that Sherlock Holmes would have savored, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle fans will adore.</em></p><p><br /><strong>Prologue</strong><br /><em>Los Angeles, 1997</em></p><p>He only wanted just one cigarette.</p><p>He knew he shouldn’t, and not just because both of his ex-wives used to say so or because his doctor still said so.</p><p>He knew he shouldn’t because the company rules for sandhogs on the new subway dig said so.</p><p>But the rules hadn’t been pulling twelve-hour shifts.</p><p>And the hot permits for acetylene torches had already been granted, so he knew there wasn’t any flammable gas.</p><p>And he really only needed just one.</p><p>[Read the full excerpt of <em>The Baker Street Letters</em> by Michael Robertson]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/05/the-baker-street-letters-excerpt-traditional-mystery-sherlock-holmes-michael-robertson">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=9ctqkK4uiNM:SE1IW0Y_AKs:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=9ctqkK4uiNM:SE1IW0Y_AKs:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=9ctqkK4uiNM:SE1IW0Y_AKs:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=9ctqkK4uiNM:SE1IW0Y_AKs:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=9ctqkK4uiNM:SE1IW0Y_AKs:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=9ctqkK4uiNM:SE1IW0Y_AKs:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=9ctqkK4uiNM:SE1IW0Y_AKs:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=9ctqkK4uiNM:SE1IW0Y_AKs:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/9ctqkK4uiNM" height="1" width="1"/> Michael Robertson Excerpts Tue, 08 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/05/the-baker-street-letters-excerpt-traditional-mystery-sherlock-holmes-michael-robertson http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/05/the-baker-street-letters-excerpt-traditional-mystery-sherlock-holmes-michael-robertson http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/cUT1zZHJaxk/tom-selleck-jesse-stone-benefit-of-the-doubt-trailer-cbs-tv-movie-police-procedural-new-england-robert-b-parker-crime-hq <p><img alt="Tom Selleck as Jesse Stone, police chief of Paradise, Massachusetts" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/05.02-05.08/Jesse-Stone-Tom-Selleck.jpg" style="height: 285px; width: 250px; " title="Tom Selleck as Jesse Stone, police chief of Paradise, Massachusetts" />The next installment of the Jesse Stone movies airs on CBS Sunday, May 20th. These films&mdash;starring and produced by Tom Selleck and based upon the novels by <strong>Robert B. Parker</strong>&mdash;have consistently been fan favorites among book-to-screen TV adaptations. But will <em>Jesse Stone: Benefit of the Doubt</em> be the last one?</p><p>According to Jay Bobbin at <em><a href="http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2012/03/tom-selleck-most-likely-ending-his-jesse-stone-run-on-cbs.html" target="_blank">Zap2it</a></em>, maybe, and almost certainly at CBS. Selleck explains:</p><blockquote><p>“Bless them, they’ve done eight of these and they always perform far above what’s normally in the time slot, but they are constantly perplexed: ‘We’re not in the two-hour movie business.’ That being said, that’s not the end of Jesse, or at least I don’t think so. There are a lot of other entities, whether cable or even feature films, but this is most likely the last one on CBS. I’m not done with the character, though.”</p></blockquote><p>So, enjoy the next movie (and the trailer below) because there are doubts as to where Jesse will turn up next!</p><p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="271" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/i_EJk6pyDew?rel=0" width="475"></iframe></p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/tom-selleck-jesse-stone-benefit-of-the-doubt-trailer-cbs-tv-movie-police-procedural-new-england-robert-b-parker-crime-hq">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=cUT1zZHJaxk:BshyJnK1fXY:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=cUT1zZHJaxk:BshyJnK1fXY:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=cUT1zZHJaxk:BshyJnK1fXY:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=cUT1zZHJaxk:BshyJnK1fXY:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=cUT1zZHJaxk:BshyJnK1fXY:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=cUT1zZHJaxk:BshyJnK1fXY:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=cUT1zZHJaxk:BshyJnK1fXY:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=cUT1zZHJaxk:BshyJnK1fXY:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/cUT1zZHJaxk" height="1" width="1"/> Crime HQ Published Tue, 08 May 2012 13:45:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/tom-selleck-jesse-stone-benefit-of-the-doubt-trailer-cbs-tv-movie-police-procedural-new-england-robert-b-parker-crime-hq http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/tom-selleck-jesse-stone-benefit-of-the-doubt-trailer-cbs-tv-movie-police-procedural-new-england-robert-b-parker-crime-hq http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/xqAEr0hU66E/brainy-sexy-cool-season-2-new-sherlock-holmes-begins-a-scandal-in-belgravia-episode-1-leslie-gilbert-elman <p><img alt="Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman" class="blog-pic-right-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/05.02-05.08/Elman_New-Sherlock-Holmes-Watson-Scandal.jpg" style="height: 174px; width: 250px;" title="BFFs" /><em>“What are you typing?”</em><br /><em>“A blog”<br />“About?”<br />“Us.”<br />“You mean me.”<br />“Why?”<br />“You’re typing </em>a lot<em>.”</em></p><p>Sherlock and Watson (as if you couldn’t guess).</p><p>As we begin Season 2 of <em>Sherlock</em> on <em>Masterpiece Mystery</em>, Holmes has become an Internet phenomenon. He’s learning to deal with the fame.</p><p>Meanwhile, my friends at CrimeHQ have presented me with the monumental task of blogging about the new series of <em>Sherlock</em> airing on PBS this month.</p><p>Monumental for two reasons:</p><p>1) The deeply Sherlockian, immensely talented <strong>Lyndsay Faye</strong> watched the U.K. feed of <em>Sherlock</em> Season 2 and provided commentary here. With my limited knowledge of the <strong>Arthur Conan Doyle</strong>/Sherlock Holmes canon, there is no way I can surpass her insights. (<a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/01/bbcs-sherlock-season-2-a-scandal-in-belgravia">Here’s what she said about “A Scandal in Belgravia.”</a>)</p><p>2) I’m dazzled by “A Scandal in Belgravia” (Season 2, Episode 1) and I’m still trying to sort it all out. If Dr. Watson has trouble keeping up, where does that leave me?</p><p>With those caveats in place, I commence.</p><p>[Yes, do get on with it. . .]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/brainy-sexy-cool-season-2-new-sherlock-holmes-begins-a-scandal-in-belgravia-episode-1-leslie-gilbert-elman">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=xqAEr0hU66E:9-x1-owxoxU:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=xqAEr0hU66E:9-x1-owxoxU:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=xqAEr0hU66E:9-x1-owxoxU:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=xqAEr0hU66E:9-x1-owxoxU:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=xqAEr0hU66E:9-x1-owxoxU:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=xqAEr0hU66E:9-x1-owxoxU:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=xqAEr0hU66E:9-x1-owxoxU:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=xqAEr0hU66E:9-x1-owxoxU:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/xqAEr0hU66E" height="1" width="1"/> Leslie Gilbert Elman Published Mon, 07 May 2012 23:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/brainy-sexy-cool-season-2-new-sherlock-holmes-begins-a-scandal-in-belgravia-episode-1-leslie-gilbert-elman http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/brainy-sexy-cool-season-2-new-sherlock-holmes-begins-a-scandal-in-belgravia-episode-1-leslie-gilbert-elman http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/qRbijj4-37U/new-longmire-trailer-we-cant-wait-tara-gelsomino-western <p><img alt="Walt Longmire" class="blog-pic-right-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/05.02-05.08/Longmire-New-Trailer.jpg" style="height: 260px; width: 250px;" title="Rough and ready." />Hold on to your ten-gallons, pardners, because A&amp;E TV is cowboy-ing up. The cable network, better known for its reality shows like <em>Storage Wars</em> and <em>Hoarders</em>, will air a new scripted Western series, <em>Longmire</em>, based on <strong>Craig Johnson</strong>’s bestselling mysteries, this summer (the premiere is Sunday, June 3, 10 pm).</p><p>Featuring Australian actor Robert Taylor (<em>The Matrix</em>), as the stoic Sheriff Walt Longmire of Absaroka County, Wyoming, the series promises breathtaking western vistas, solid mysteries, pulse-pounding action, and a host of colorful characters causing mischief. Not the least of which are Walt’s new volatile deputy&nbsp; Victoria “Vic” Moretti (played by <em>Battlestar Galactica</em>’s, Katee Sackhoff), and his best friend Henry Standing Bear (film, TV actor, and amateur chef Lou Diamond Phillips).</p><p>[I long, you long, we all long for Longmire!]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/new-longmire-trailer-we-cant-wait-tara-gelsomino-western">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=qRbijj4-37U:8HuB-MHleT8:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=qRbijj4-37U:8HuB-MHleT8:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=qRbijj4-37U:8HuB-MHleT8:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=qRbijj4-37U:8HuB-MHleT8:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=qRbijj4-37U:8HuB-MHleT8:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=qRbijj4-37U:8HuB-MHleT8:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=qRbijj4-37U:8HuB-MHleT8:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=qRbijj4-37U:8HuB-MHleT8:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/qRbijj4-37U" height="1" width="1"/> Tara Gelsomino Published Mon, 07 May 2012 17:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/new-longmire-trailer-we-cant-wait-tara-gelsomino-western http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/new-longmire-trailer-we-cant-wait-tara-gelsomino-western http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/Pn5j6qmIAjQ/johnny-depp-in-the-dark-shadows-jonathan-frid-thriller-comedy-film-deborah-lacy <p><img alt="Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Michelle Pfeiffer in the remake of Dark Shadows" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.25-05.01/Lacy-Dark-Shadows-Poster-250.jpg" title="Will Johnny Depp succeed in this remake or fall into the Dark Shadows of Jonathan Frid?" />It’s hard to keep a good vampire down and Barnabas Collins is one of the best. Gothic soap opera, turned horror-classic, <em>Dark Shadows,</em> ran daily on ABC from 1966-1971 with its mega popular 200-year old vampire named Barnabas Collins, fabulously portrayed by Jonathan Frid (<a href="http://www.tor.com/blogs/2012/04/dark-shadows-original-barnabas-collins-jonathan-frid-passes-away" target="_blank">who passed away on April 15, 2012</a>.) And now, coming May 11, Johnny Depp stars as his own version of Barnabas Collins in a new movie version of <em>Dark Shadows</em>, directed by Tim Burton, co-starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Helena Bonham Carter.</p><p>Depp has a tough act to follow. Jonathan Frid’s Barnabas was so beloved that at one point he was getting 5,000 fan letters a week. <em>Shadows</em> fans complained bitterly once the show was taken off the air, even disrupting a taping of its replacement show—<em>Password</em>. Two <em>Dark Shadows</em> movies were made, NBC aired a short-lived revival in 1991, and in 2004, the WB filmed a pilot for another revival that didn’t make the schedule. Even after being off the airways for more than 40 years, <em>Dark Shadows </em>still has a cult following including its own <a href="http://www.darkshadowsfestival.com/" target="_blank">festival</a> (Jonathan Frid was the guest of honor in 2011), multiple fan sites, and <a href="http://www.collinwood.net/" target="_blank">fanzines</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>You have to wonder if the <em>Twilight</em> characters will retain their popularity to the year 2052 and beyond.</p><p>[We’re guessing not...]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/johnny-depp-in-the-dark-shadows-jonathan-frid-thriller-comedy-film-deborah-lacy">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=Pn5j6qmIAjQ:pbGd6xkNNp8:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=Pn5j6qmIAjQ:pbGd6xkNNp8:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=Pn5j6qmIAjQ:pbGd6xkNNp8:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=Pn5j6qmIAjQ:pbGd6xkNNp8:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=Pn5j6qmIAjQ:pbGd6xkNNp8:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=Pn5j6qmIAjQ:pbGd6xkNNp8:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=Pn5j6qmIAjQ:pbGd6xkNNp8:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=Pn5j6qmIAjQ:pbGd6xkNNp8:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/Pn5j6qmIAjQ" height="1" width="1"/> Deborah Lacy Published Mon, 07 May 2012 14:30:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/johnny-depp-in-the-dark-shadows-jonathan-frid-thriller-comedy-film-deborah-lacy http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/johnny-depp-in-the-dark-shadows-jonathan-frid-thriller-comedy-film-deborah-lacy http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/kaOJeDjIhHs/what-if-hitchcock-had-directed-james-bond <p><img alt="Hitchcock Bond mashup" class="blog-pic-right-align " src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/05.02-05.08/AMCoffee_Bond-Hitchcok-250.jpg" style="height: 293px; width: 250px;" />Over at the endlessly fascinating <a href="http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/05/hitchcock-for-bond.html">Letters of Note</a>, they have a telegram from <strong>Ian Fleming</strong> to <strong>Eric Ambler</strong>, asking Ambler to see whether his friend Alfred Hitchcock might be interested in directing the first Bond flick. Hitch was busy with <em>Psycho</em>, so the answer was no, but isn’t it something to imagine?</p><p>You can read the whole telelgram at Letters of Note. In part, it reads:</p><p>WOULD HITCHCOCK BE INTERESTED IN DIRECTING THIS FIRST BOND FILM IN ASSOCIATION WITH XANADU QUERY PLENTIFUL FINANCE AVAILABLE STOP</p><p>Ah, yes. Plentiful finance. Those were the days.</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/what-if-hitchcock-had-directed-james-bond">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=kaOJeDjIhHs:_DbUD2j7vUw:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=kaOJeDjIhHs:_DbUD2j7vUw:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=kaOJeDjIhHs:_DbUD2j7vUw:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=kaOJeDjIhHs:_DbUD2j7vUw:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=kaOJeDjIhHs:_DbUD2j7vUw:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=kaOJeDjIhHs:_DbUD2j7vUw:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=kaOJeDjIhHs:_DbUD2j7vUw:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=kaOJeDjIhHs:_DbUD2j7vUw:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/kaOJeDjIhHs" height="1" width="1"/> Crime HQ Published Mon, 07 May 2012 13:45:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/what-if-hitchcock-had-directed-james-bond http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/what-if-hitchcock-had-directed-james-bond http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/vuFEvLx7too/copper-bbc-america-teaser-4-seconds-revolver-lips-eyes-police-new-york-1864-crime-hq <p>Our pals at <a href="http://www.omnimysterynews.com/2012/05/brief-teaser-video-for-bbc-americas.html?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+mysterybooks+%28Omnimystery+News%29" target="_blank"><em>Omnimystery News</em></a>, who brought this funny teaser to our attention, note wryly that it’s “really <em>really</em> brief.”</p><p>That’s one way to put it! Mostly big words and names spelled in red letters, as for actual footage of the look and feel of the show, don’t blink or you’ll miss four whole seconds of a slivered face. Revolver, lips, eyes, not to mention some distressed wood framing it and a hint of mustache. Okay, he’s right-handed. There’s also a shout for police.&nbsp; Unless there’s something subliminal, guess we’re not good enough detectives to deduce anything further, and we’re not sure it merits the Zapruder treatment.&nbsp; What do you take away?</p><p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="271" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/STlopK4gFnI?rel=0" width="475"></iframe></p><p>We’ve been unabashed about our anticipation for <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/tags/Copper" target="_self"><em>Copper</em> here at Criminal Element</a>. In return for this teaser, we’re happy to tease back, because this stingy clip is a bit ridiculous. We sure hope BBC America will get more generous with the sights and sounds already!</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/copper-bbc-america-teaser-4-seconds-revolver-lips-eyes-police-new-york-1864-crime-hq">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=vuFEvLx7too:ga63U_fU5So:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=vuFEvLx7too:ga63U_fU5So:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=vuFEvLx7too:ga63U_fU5So:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=vuFEvLx7too:ga63U_fU5So:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=vuFEvLx7too:ga63U_fU5So:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=vuFEvLx7too:ga63U_fU5So:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=vuFEvLx7too:ga63U_fU5So:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=vuFEvLx7too:ga63U_fU5So:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/vuFEvLx7too" height="1" width="1"/> Crime HQ Published Sun, 06 May 2012 23:30:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/copper-bbc-america-teaser-4-seconds-revolver-lips-eyes-police-new-york-1864-crime-hq http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/copper-bbc-america-teaser-4-seconds-revolver-lips-eyes-police-new-york-1864-crime-hq http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/8nqwhXEsies/dont-cry-tai-lake-new-excerpt-qiu-xiaolong-inspector-chen-international-crime-china <p><img alt="Don’t Cry, Tai Lake by Qiu Xiaolong" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/excerpts/Xialong-Dont-Cry-Tai-Lake-250.jpg" style=" height: 380px; width: 250px;" title="Don’t Cry, Tai Lake by Qiu Xiaolong" /><strong>An excerpt from <em>Don’t Cry, Tai Lake</em>, a police procedural in the Inspector Chen series by Qiu Xiaolong (available May 8, 2012).</strong></p><p><em>Chief Inspector Chen Cao of the Shanghai Police Department is&nbsp;offered a bit of luxury by friends and supporters within the Party—a week’s vacation at a luxurious resort near Tai Lake, a&nbsp;week where he can relax, and recover, undisturbed by outside demands or disruptions. </em></p><p><em>Unfortunately, the once beautiful Tai Lake, renowned for its clear waters, is now covered by fetid algae, its waters polluted by toxic runoff from local manufacturing plants. Then the director of one of the manufacturing plants&nbsp;responsible for the pollution is murdered and the leader of the local ecological group is the primary suspect of the local police.&nbsp;Now Inspector Chen must tread carefully if he is&nbsp;to uncover the truth&nbsp;behind the brutal murder and find a measure of justice for both the victim and the accused.</em></p><p><br /><strong>Chapter 1</strong></p><p>Chief Inspector Chen Cao of the Shanghai Police Bureau found himself standing in front of the gate to the Wuxi Cadre Recreation Center.</p><p>His vacation in the city of Wuxi was totally unexpected. Earlier that Sunday morning, Chen was in Zhenjiang, attending an intensive political seminar for emerging Party officials training for “new responsibilities,” when he got a phone call from Comrade Secretary Zhao, the former second secretary of the Central Party Discipline Committee. Though retired, Zhao remained one of the most influential figures in Beijing. Zhao was too busy to take a vacation arranged for him at the center in Wuxi, so he offered it to Chen instead.</p><p>[Read the full excerpt of <em>Don’t Cry, Tai Lake</em> by Qiu Xiaolong]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/05/dont-cry-tai-lake-new-excerpt-qiu-xiaolong-inspector-chen-international-crime-china">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=8nqwhXEsies:SCSRi3tkHq8:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=8nqwhXEsies:SCSRi3tkHq8:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=8nqwhXEsies:SCSRi3tkHq8:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=8nqwhXEsies:SCSRi3tkHq8:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=8nqwhXEsies:SCSRi3tkHq8:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=8nqwhXEsies:SCSRi3tkHq8:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=8nqwhXEsies:SCSRi3tkHq8:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=8nqwhXEsies:SCSRi3tkHq8:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/8nqwhXEsies" height="1" width="1"/> Qiu Xiaolong Excerpts Sun, 06 May 2012 17:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/05/dont-cry-tai-lake-new-excerpt-qiu-xiaolong-inspector-chen-international-crime-china http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/05/dont-cry-tai-lake-new-excerpt-qiu-xiaolong-inspector-chen-international-crime-china http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/2BJhxe3y4hc/in-plain-sight-is-in-the-rearview-mirror-series-finale-what-did-you-think-terrie-farley-moran <p><img alt="Mary Shannon, In Plain Sight" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/05.02-05.08/Moran_In-Plain-Sight-Series-Finale.jpg" style="height: 254px; width: 250px;" title="She’s in mourning...as are we viewers." />During the first few days of May, I wandered around the <em>In Plain Sight</em> website, clicking here and there, remembering this and that. It was kind of like visiting the house you grew up in right before your parents move to Boca. You know that nothing will ever be the same, so you try to memorize everything.</p><p>And finally, it was here—the goodbye episode. Our last glimpse inside the life of Mary Shannon, U.S. Marshal. <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/01/the-end-of-mary-shannon-is-in-plain-sight">Crime HQ speculated back in January</a> that Mary had a lot of issues to be resolved in the eight episodes of season five. In the countdown to the finale, Mary struggles with parenting even though Norah’s father, Mary’s longtime ex-husband Mark, is a very participatory dad. Then, Mary accidently discovers Stan’s romance with the lovely dance instructor, Lia. And we see broad hints at Washington D.C.’s plans for major changes at Albuquerque WITSEC. Then, in “The Merry Wives of WITSEC,” protecting a witness who has two simultaneous families brings up all of Mary’s issues about her father’s abandonment thirty years before. Marshall reminds Mary of his oft-repeated mantra, “Sometimes you just have to let go.”</p><p><img alt="Mary and Marshall of In Plain Sight" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/05.02-05.08/Moran-in-plain-sight-finale-mary-marshall.jpg" style="height: 241px; width: 250px;" title="Did they or didn’t they?" />And what about Mary and Marshall? Could there possibly be any hope for a romantic ending? Well, when Marshall gets engaged to Abigail at the end of this episode, I felt a twinge of “Abandon hope all ye who enter here.” &nbsp;Still . . . maybe, I thought . . . we had four episodes to go.</p><p>(Spoilers ahead!)</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>[The end, alas, the end. . .]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/in-plain-sight-is-in-the-rearview-mirror-series-finale-what-did-you-think-terrie-farley-moran">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=2BJhxe3y4hc:eSKd6l3V2SY:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=2BJhxe3y4hc:eSKd6l3V2SY:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=2BJhxe3y4hc:eSKd6l3V2SY:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=2BJhxe3y4hc:eSKd6l3V2SY:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=2BJhxe3y4hc:eSKd6l3V2SY:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=2BJhxe3y4hc:eSKd6l3V2SY:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=2BJhxe3y4hc:eSKd6l3V2SY:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=2BJhxe3y4hc:eSKd6l3V2SY:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/2BJhxe3y4hc" height="1" width="1"/> Terrie Farley Moran Published Sat, 05 May 2012 21:30:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/in-plain-sight-is-in-the-rearview-mirror-series-finale-what-did-you-think-terrie-farley-moran http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/in-plain-sight-is-in-the-rearview-mirror-series-finale-what-did-you-think-terrie-farley-moran http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/dPlZ3stZqyg/transcending-genre-why-transcend-lasagna-tropes-conventions-literary-snobs-crime-fans-reviews-critics-readers-clare-toohey <p>At its heart, lasagna is a simple dish in concept. But if you have a version you love—your grandma’s or uncle’s, favorite checked-tablecloth joint’s, even favorite freezer box’s—you can taste the differences. Subtleties come alive in the taster’s experience, appreciable, even if not specifically definable. Crime stories across all subgenres (heck genre fiction in general) get castigated for being “formulaic.” But many of us fans view each subgenre as a beloved basic recipe, one that invites endless tinkering among aficionados.</p><p>That’s why “transcending lasagna” is how I think of the persistently irritating tendency of non-genre readers and writers to bestow “It transcends genre!” as a compliment.</p><p><img alt="Trascending Genre is like Transcending Lasagna" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/05.02-05.08/Transcending-Genre-Lasagna.jpg" style="height: 148px; width: 475px; " title="All recognizably lasagna yet simultaneously unique expressions" /></p><p>I’ve actually come to think of that phrase as a Big. Red. Flag.</p><p>WARNING, UNSATISFYING CONTENT AHEAD!</p><p>[Genre fans have been fed this line too many times. . .]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/transcending-genre-why-transcend-lasagna-tropes-conventions-literary-snobs-crime-fans-reviews-critics-readers-clare-toohey">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=dPlZ3stZqyg:0Lsog4pJo2M:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=dPlZ3stZqyg:0Lsog4pJo2M:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=dPlZ3stZqyg:0Lsog4pJo2M:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=dPlZ3stZqyg:0Lsog4pJo2M:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=dPlZ3stZqyg:0Lsog4pJo2M:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=dPlZ3stZqyg:0Lsog4pJo2M:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=dPlZ3stZqyg:0Lsog4pJo2M:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=dPlZ3stZqyg:0Lsog4pJo2M:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/dPlZ3stZqyg" height="1" width="1"/> Clare Toohey Published Sat, 05 May 2012 21:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/transcending-genre-why-transcend-lasagna-tropes-conventions-literary-snobs-crime-fans-reviews-critics-readers-clare-toohey http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/transcending-genre-why-transcend-lasagna-tropes-conventions-literary-snobs-crime-fans-reviews-critics-readers-clare-toohey http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/V4XkjABhKCM/havana-requiem-new-excerpt-detective-traditional-mysteries-thrillers-legal-wranglings-paul-goldstein-cuba <p><img align="left" alt="" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/excerpts/Goldstein-Havana-Requiem-250.jpg" /><strong>An excerpt of <em>Havana Requiem</em>, a legal thriller set in Cuba by Paul Goldstein (available May 8, 2012).</strong></p><p><em>Fueled by alcohol and legal brilliance, Michael Seeley once oversaw his law firm’s most successful litigation. Until it all fell apart. Recklessness and overreach cost him his wife, his job, and likely the life of his last client, a Chinese dissident journalist. After two sober years practicing small-town law in upstate New York, Seeley has earned back most of what he lost: the partnership in his Manhattan law firm, if not his corner office; the wary respect of most of his partners; the lucrative clients—but not the gin-sharpened passion. </em></p><p><em>Then the renowned Cuban musician Héctor Reynoso enters his office with a simple request: help him and six other composers who defined Cuba’s musical golden age of the 1940s and 1950s—the music that made the Buena Vista Social Club internationally famous—reclaim the copyright to their work. </em></p><p><em>When Reynoso goes missing, Seeley’s reluctant promise to help draws him progressively deeper into Havana’s violent underbelly and a decades-long conspiracy that runs from the partners in his firm to the U.S. State Department to Cuba’s security police, who are willing to do anything to suppress the truth. In the heat of Havana, Seeley will lose himself to his worst and best passions as his pursuit of justice becomes a desperate gambit to save not only his composers but the stunning Amaryll, who is playing her own dangerous game.</em></p><p><br /><strong>Chapter 1</strong></p><p>The man could have climbed from the frame of an ancient newsreel: a sharecropper escaping the Depression-era South with the last scraps of his possessions; a skin-and-bones survivor fleeing yet another sub-Saharan catastrophe. His suitcase, scuffed and worn, was a cardboard imitation of tweed and leather straps, but the way the old man clutched it to his chest, the valise held his most precious belongings. Black but light-skinned, erect as a recruit, he waited inside the office doorway, intelligent eyes darting about, undecided between entering and escaping. Was it apprehension that Michael Seeley detected, or just curiosity? Fear that Seeley wouldn’t take him as a client, or that he would?</p><p>[Read the full excerpt of <em>Havana Requiem</em> by Paul Goldstein]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/05/havana-requiem-new-excerpt-detective-traditional-mysteries-thrillers-legal-wranglings-paul-goldstein-cuba">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=V4XkjABhKCM:8EDF1xs6Hps:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=V4XkjABhKCM:8EDF1xs6Hps:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=V4XkjABhKCM:8EDF1xs6Hps:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=V4XkjABhKCM:8EDF1xs6Hps:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=V4XkjABhKCM:8EDF1xs6Hps:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=V4XkjABhKCM:8EDF1xs6Hps:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=V4XkjABhKCM:8EDF1xs6Hps:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=V4XkjABhKCM:8EDF1xs6Hps:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/V4XkjABhKCM" height="1" width="1"/> Paul Goldstein Excerpts Sat, 05 May 2012 17:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/05/havana-requiem-new-excerpt-detective-traditional-mysteries-thrillers-legal-wranglings-paul-goldstein-cuba http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/05/havana-requiem-new-excerpt-detective-traditional-mysteries-thrillers-legal-wranglings-paul-goldstein-cuba http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/eF-WvDsC3t8/huzzah-free-comic-book-day-approaches-detective-westerns-cozy-traditional-just-for-fun-kid-friendly-crime-comics <p><img alt="Cowboy by Nate Cosby and drawn by Chris Eliopoulos" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/05.02-05.08/COWBOY-by-Nate-Cosby-Chris-Eliopoulos.jpg" title="Cowboy by Nate Cosby and drawn by Chris Eliopoulos" />Yes, Marvel’s <em>Avengers</em> comes out today, but the comic book world is only just getting going this weekend. If you really want to get into that comic book groove, then tomorrow you&rsquo;ll be celebrating <a href="http://www.freecomicbookday.com/Home/1/1/27/992" target="_blank">Free Comic Book Day!</a> Thousands of stores are now participating worldwide, giving away millions of comics each year. So use the participating <a href="http://www.freecomicbookday.com/storelocator" target="_blank">store locator</a> and start reading! Maybe it&rsquo;s all the talk about <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/features/series/justified" target="_self"><em>Justified </em></a>and <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/the-magnificent-seven-an-iconic-western-historical-terrie-farley-moran-shane-high-noon-film-old-west" target="_self"><em>The Magnificent Seven</em></a>, but the comic above caught our eyes right away.</p><p><a href="http://cowboycomic.net/" target="_blank"><em>Cow Boy </em></a>is written by <strong>Nate Cosby</strong> &amp; drawn by <strong>Chris Eliopoulos. </strong>It’s about a 10 year-old turned bounty hunter, determined to send his entire outlaw family to jail.&nbsp; This one will be part of a unique giveaway by Archaia, who’s including it with other comics in a <em>hardback volume</em>. But wherever you are and whatever injustice or payback story floats your boat, don’t forget to pick up your free comics tomorrow!</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/huzzah-free-comic-book-day-approaches-detective-westerns-cozy-traditional-just-for-fun-kid-friendly-crime-comics">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=eF-WvDsC3t8:XsN-fjVaajc:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=eF-WvDsC3t8:XsN-fjVaajc:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=eF-WvDsC3t8:XsN-fjVaajc:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=eF-WvDsC3t8:XsN-fjVaajc:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=eF-WvDsC3t8:XsN-fjVaajc:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=eF-WvDsC3t8:XsN-fjVaajc:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=eF-WvDsC3t8:XsN-fjVaajc:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=eF-WvDsC3t8:XsN-fjVaajc:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/eF-WvDsC3t8" height="1" width="1"/> Crime HQ Published Fri, 04 May 2012 19:30:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/huzzah-free-comic-book-day-approaches-detective-westerns-cozy-traditional-just-for-fun-kid-friendly-crime-comics http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/huzzah-free-comic-book-day-approaches-detective-westerns-cozy-traditional-just-for-fun-kid-friendly-crime-comics http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/538U6Mhoa9s/would-your-mummy-like-a-zombie-puppy-ereader-case-win-contest-sweepstakes-crochet-felt-undead <p><img alt="Zombie puppy ereader cover" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/05.02-05.08/AMCoffee_Zombie-Puppy-Ereader.jpg" style="height: 338px; width: 250px;" title="Contain your enthusiasm for all things undead!" />One of the saddest things about eReaders is their lack of personality. Once upon a time, when you spied someone on the plane, train, or bus reading a novel, you could get an inside look at their taste. But now, all books look the same. No cracked and crumbling font on the spine, no blazing inferno on the cover lets others know you’re a fan of all things spooky.</p><p>However, there’s no reason to leave your zombie fandom out of the eBook experience! This (very imperfectly crocheted) cover will fit a Kindle 3 Keypad or any of the smaller readers. (It will fit the Kindle Fire tightly, but the Nook Color is too big.)&nbsp;</p><p>Of course, the envelope shape lends this piece to more uses as well...perhaps you could keep your love letters from the Undead inside, or any other treasure you wish to keep away from prying eyes.</p><p><strong>WARNING:</strong> This is a crocheted piece made of wool with buttons. <strong>IT IS DECORATIVE, NOT PROTECTIVE</strong><strong>.</strong> Sharp items in your bag will still poke through to your eReader and while it has some cushioning, it won’t protect your eReader if you drop it. We take no responsibility for the safety of your device.</p><p>Mother’s Day is coming...and we’ll be drawing the winner’s name in time for you to tell her whether she’s getting something really special...</p><p><strike><em><strong>To enter for a chance to win the hand-crafted “Zombie Puppy” eReader case, make sure you’re a registered member of the site, and then simply leave a comment below.</strong></em></strike></p><p><strike>NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A purchase does not improve your chances of winning. Sweepstakes open to legal residents of fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia, who are 18 or older. To enter, fill out entry at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/would-your-mummy-like-a-zombie-puppy-ereader-case-win-contest-sweepstakes-crochet-felt-undead">http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/would-your-mummy-like-a-zombie-puppy-ereader-case-win-contest-sweepstakes-crochet-felt-undead</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;beginning at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) May 4, 2012. Sweepstakes ends at 12:59 p.m. ET on May 11, 2012 (the “Promotion Period”). Void outside of the 50 US and DC and where prohibited by law. Please see full details and official rules at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/page/official-rules-zombie-ereader-case-sweepstakes">http://www.criminalelement.com/page/official-rules-zombie-ereader-case-sweepstakes</a>. Sponsor: Macmillan, 175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010</strike></p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/would-your-mummy-like-a-zombie-puppy-ereader-case-win-contest-sweepstakes-crochet-felt-undead">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=538U6Mhoa9s:amsWRTabbK4:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=538U6Mhoa9s:amsWRTabbK4:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=538U6Mhoa9s:amsWRTabbK4:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=538U6Mhoa9s:amsWRTabbK4:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=538U6Mhoa9s:amsWRTabbK4:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=538U6Mhoa9s:amsWRTabbK4:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=538U6Mhoa9s:amsWRTabbK4:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=538U6Mhoa9s:amsWRTabbK4:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/538U6Mhoa9s" height="1" width="1"/> Laura K. Curtis Published Fri, 04 May 2012 18:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/would-your-mummy-like-a-zombie-puppy-ereader-case-win-contest-sweepstakes-crochet-felt-undead http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/would-your-mummy-like-a-zombie-puppy-ereader-case-win-contest-sweepstakes-crochet-felt-undead http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/5FspLkMGiwM/nameless-in-newark-meeting-brad-parks-by-joan-tuohy-carter-ross-series-traditional-mystery <p><img alt="Brad Parks" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.18-04.24/Tuohy_Brad-Parks.jpg" title="Brad Parks" />It’s always fun to find a new author; someone who’s created an environment and characters outside our usual reading zone. The irony of this particular case is that I found <a href="http://www.bradparksbooks.com/" target="_blank"><strong>Brad Parks</strong></a> almost exactly where he should have been found: walking down a street in Newark, New Jersey, the haunt of his newspaper reporter protagonist, Carter Ross. I guess it was serendipity that had us each park our cars almost simultaneously in front of the venue that had been chosen for his Meet the Author site, a local bar on Halsey Street. I had seen his picture so he was easy to spot and since we were both early and nobody has ever called me shy, I introduced myself. I found him friendly, open and charming.</p><p>[In this case, we think you can judge a book by its cover. . .]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/nameless-in-newark-meeting-brad-parks-by-joan-tuohy-carter-ross-series-traditional-mystery">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=5FspLkMGiwM:ldOLbedEZk4:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=5FspLkMGiwM:ldOLbedEZk4:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=5FspLkMGiwM:ldOLbedEZk4:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=5FspLkMGiwM:ldOLbedEZk4:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=5FspLkMGiwM:ldOLbedEZk4:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=5FspLkMGiwM:ldOLbedEZk4:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=5FspLkMGiwM:ldOLbedEZk4:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=5FspLkMGiwM:ldOLbedEZk4:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/5FspLkMGiwM" height="1" width="1"/> Joan Tuohy Published Fri, 04 May 2012 17:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/nameless-in-newark-meeting-brad-parks-by-joan-tuohy-carter-ross-series-traditional-mystery http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/nameless-in-newark-meeting-brad-parks-by-joan-tuohy-carter-ross-series-traditional-mystery http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/o6-oMDVzW-0/the-revival-house-state-of-grace-1990-detective-police-thrillers-noir-mob-eric-beetner <p><img alt="" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.18-04.24/Beetner-State-of-Grace-Poster.jpg" /><em>The Revival House: shining a light on underrated crime films. The coulda-beens and shoulda-beens you ought to know about.</em></p><p><strong>Tonight’s Screening: <em>State of Grace</em> (1990)</strong></p><p>There is so much to love about <em>State of Grace</em>, and almost all those things are what made it a flop at the box office. It didn’t even crack the 2 million mark. Granted those were 1990 dollars, but even back then under 2 mil put it at #156 for the year. Right in the neighborhood of flop city.</p><p>The trials and travails of the Irish mob in New York is rich, untapped territory and <em>State of Grace</em> takes us deep inside a crime organization undergoing growing pains and struggling to prove itself with the big dogs on the street—the Italians. The first and only produced screenplay by Dennis McIntyre (who I will assume is Irish) is a twisty and tense thriller that plays out slowly and draws you in like quicksand.</p><p>[Quicksand never felt so good . . .]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/the-revival-house-state-of-grace-1990-detective-police-thrillers-noir-mob-eric-beetner">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=o6-oMDVzW-0:r8hSuvW77Uw:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=o6-oMDVzW-0:r8hSuvW77Uw:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=o6-oMDVzW-0:r8hSuvW77Uw:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=o6-oMDVzW-0:r8hSuvW77Uw:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=o6-oMDVzW-0:r8hSuvW77Uw:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=o6-oMDVzW-0:r8hSuvW77Uw:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=o6-oMDVzW-0:r8hSuvW77Uw:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=o6-oMDVzW-0:r8hSuvW77Uw:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/o6-oMDVzW-0" height="1" width="1"/> Eric Beetner Published Fri, 04 May 2012 14:30:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/the-revival-house-state-of-grace-1990-detective-police-thrillers-noir-mob-eric-beetner http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/the-revival-house-state-of-grace-1990-detective-police-thrillers-noir-mob-eric-beetner http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/LMan9rpSPIk/watson-the-puppy-detective-stories-police-procedurals-traditional-mystery-cozy-bbc-sherlock-sherlock-holmes-dr-john-watson-just-for-fun <p><img alt="" class="blog-pic-left-align " src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.25-05.01/Sherlock-and-Watson-the-Puppy.jpg" /></p><p>Yes, I really did name my puppy after Sherlock Holmes’s assistant Watson. And yes, this was an excuse to look at pictures of Benedict Cumberbatch without his shirt. Enjoy.</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/watson-the-puppy-detective-stories-police-procedurals-traditional-mystery-cozy-bbc-sherlock-sherlock-holmes-dr-john-watson-just-for-fun">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=LMan9rpSPIk:fwoql5skpyE:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=LMan9rpSPIk:fwoql5skpyE:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=LMan9rpSPIk:fwoql5skpyE:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=LMan9rpSPIk:fwoql5skpyE:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=LMan9rpSPIk:fwoql5skpyE:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=LMan9rpSPIk:fwoql5skpyE:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=LMan9rpSPIk:fwoql5skpyE:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=LMan9rpSPIk:fwoql5skpyE:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/LMan9rpSPIk" height="1" width="1"/> Jennifer Proffitt Published Fri, 04 May 2012 13:45:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/watson-the-puppy-detective-stories-police-procedurals-traditional-mystery-cozy-bbc-sherlock-sherlock-holmes-dr-john-watson-just-for-fun http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/watson-the-puppy-detective-stories-police-procedurals-traditional-mystery-cozy-bbc-sherlock-sherlock-holmes-dr-john-watson-just-for-fun http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/mhgTJgJ2d1k/spinetingler-award-winners-donald-ray-pollock-anthony-neil-smith-david-cranmer-scott-d-parker <p><img alt="Donald Ray Pollack, The Devil All The Time" class="blog-pic-left-align " src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/05.02-05.08/Nimble_Spinetingler-Pollock.jpg" style="height: 303px; width: 200px;" />One of coolest things about the Spinetingler Awards is the recognition that there’s not just one great book a year and that comparing relative newcomers to the field to legends is a tough bet. Thus the categories of “New Voice” (those who have published 1-3 books), “Rising Star” (4-8 books) and “Legend” (9+ books). We told you about the <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/03/2012-spinetingler-award-nominees-announced-were-delighted-and-conflicted">Spinetingler nominees</a> back in March, and yesterday the winners were announced. Congratulations to all on a fine job!</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Best Novel: New Voice<br />— <em>The Devil All the Time</em> by<strong> <a href="http://donaldraypollock.com/" target="_blank">Donald Ray Pollock</a></strong></p><p>Best Novel: Rising Star<br />—<em> All the Young Warriors</em> by<strong> <a href="http://anthonyneilsmith.typepad.com/" target="_blank">Anthony Neil Smith</a></strong></p><p>Best Novel: Legend<br />—<em> A Drop of the Hard Stuff</em> by<strong> <a href="https://lawrenceblock.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Lawrence Block</a></strong></p><p>Best Short Story Collection<br />—<em>Volt</em> by<strong> <a href="http://alanheathcock.com/" target="_blank">Alan Heathcock</a></strong></p><p>Best Anthology<br />—<em>Beat to a Pulp: Hardboiled</em> edited by <strong><a href="http://davidcranmer.blogspot.com/">David Cranmer</a> </strong>&amp;<strong> <a href="http://scottdparker.blogspot.com/">Scott D. Parker</a></strong></p><p>Best Mystery/Crime Comic or Graphic Novel<br /><em>— 99 Days</em> by <strong>Matteo Casali &amp; Kristian Donaldson</strong></p><p>Best Crime Fiction Publisher<br />— New Pulp Press</p><p>David Thompson Community Leader Award<br />—<a href="http://www.elizabethawhite.com/" target="_blank"> Musings of an All Purpose Monkey</a> (<strong>Elizabeth White</strong>)</p><p>Best Zine<br />— <a href="http://www.thecrimefactory.com/" target="_blank">Crime factory</a></p><p>Best Short Story on the Web<br />— “<a href="http://thecrimefactory.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/CFIssue008.pdf">Either Way it Ends with a Shovel</a>” by<strong> <a href="http://davidjameskeaton.com/">David Jones Keaton</a></strong> from Crimefactory (link is to a pdf of the full issue)</p><p>Best Cover<br />— <em>Noir at the Bar</em></p><p>and last, but definitely not least...</p><p>The Fireball Award for Best Opening Line<br />— “This is Detroit, so welcome to the jungle.” from <em>In Nine Kinds of Pain</em> by <strong><a href="http://leonardfritz.com/" target="_blank">Leonard Fritz</a></strong></p><p>Again, congratulations to all and may you keep our spines a-tingle for years to come!</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/spinetingler-award-winners-donald-ray-pollock-anthony-neil-smith-david-cranmer-scott-d-parker">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=mhgTJgJ2d1k:xDt34Nfdpuw:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=mhgTJgJ2d1k:xDt34Nfdpuw:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=mhgTJgJ2d1k:xDt34Nfdpuw:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=mhgTJgJ2d1k:xDt34Nfdpuw:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=mhgTJgJ2d1k:xDt34Nfdpuw:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=mhgTJgJ2d1k:xDt34Nfdpuw:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=mhgTJgJ2d1k:xDt34Nfdpuw:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=mhgTJgJ2d1k:xDt34Nfdpuw:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/mhgTJgJ2d1k" height="1" width="1"/> Crime HQ Published Thu, 03 May 2012 18:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/spinetingler-award-winners-donald-ray-pollock-anthony-neil-smith-david-cranmer-scott-d-parker http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/spinetingler-award-winners-donald-ray-pollock-anthony-neil-smith-david-cranmer-scott-d-parker http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/SqozMQhO868/lady-go-die-new-excerpt-pi-private-detective-noir-historical-mickey-spillane-max-allan-collins-mike-hammer <p><img alt="Lady, Go Die! by Max Allan Collins and Mickey Spillane, the lost Mike Hammer novel" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/excerpts/Lady-Go-Die-by-Mickey-Spillane-and-Max-Allan-Collins-250.jpg" style=" height: 354px; width: 250px;" title="Lady, Go Die! by Max Allan Collins and Mickey Spillane, the lost Mike Hammer novel" /><strong>An excerpt of <em>Lady, Go Die!</em>, the lost Mike Hammer novel, a private detective thriller by Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins (available May 8, 2012).</strong></p><p><em>Mickey Spillane’s lost 1940s Mike Hammer novel, written between&nbsp;</em>I, the Jury<em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;</em>My Gun Is Quick <em>and never before published! Completed by Spillane’s friend and literary executor Max Allan Collins, </em>Lady, Go Die!<em> is finally making its way into print almost 70 years after its inception!</em></p><p><em>When Hammer and Velda go on vacation to a Long Island beach town, Hammer becomes embroiled in the mystery of a missing well-known New York party girl who lives nearby. When the woman turns up naked—and dead—astride the statue of a horse in the town square, Hammer feels compelled to investigate.</em></p><p><br /><strong>Chapter 1</strong></p><p>Pulling the trigger had been easy. Living with it had been hard. Crazy rage got replaced with a joyless emptiness. No emotion, no feeling. I felt as dead as the one I’d shot.</p><p>I had evened the score for a friend but the cost had been high—a woman I loved was dead, and the bullet that sent the killer to hell had along the way punched a gaping hole in my soul. I tried to fill it with booze, or at least cauterize the damn thing, spending most of my evenings at Joe Mast’s joint, trying not to fall off a bar stool and usually failing. But it hadn’t worked. Nothing worked.</p><p>[Read the full excerpt of <em>Lady, Go Die!</em> by Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/05/lady-go-die-new-excerpt-pi-private-detective-noir-historical-mickey-spillane-max-allan-collins-mike-hammer">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=SqozMQhO868:asArITD5MiE:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=SqozMQhO868:asArITD5MiE:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=SqozMQhO868:asArITD5MiE:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=SqozMQhO868:asArITD5MiE:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=SqozMQhO868:asArITD5MiE:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=SqozMQhO868:asArITD5MiE:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=SqozMQhO868:asArITD5MiE:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=SqozMQhO868:asArITD5MiE:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/SqozMQhO868" height="1" width="1"/> Max Allan Collins Excerpts Thu, 03 May 2012 17:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/05/lady-go-die-new-excerpt-pi-private-detective-noir-historical-mickey-spillane-max-allan-collins-mike-hammer http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/05/lady-go-die-new-excerpt-pi-private-detective-noir-historical-mickey-spillane-max-allan-collins-mike-hammer http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/iEbauv_Q0Ig/traditional-historical-mysteries-in-the-aftermath-of-wwi-victoria-janssen <p><img alt="World War I soldiers in a trench. " class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.18-04.24/Janssen-World-War-I-Mysteries-soldiers-475.jpg" style="height: 319px; width: 475px;" />The period immediately following World War I was a time of particular social turmoil, involving issues such as labor, class, and colonialism. People were changed as individuals, too. Former soldiers had to deal with their return from battle to families who might not understand them any longer. Those who’d stayed on the home front had to adapt to changes necessitated by the death or disablement of so many men. And women who had been vital to industry and the food supply during the war were forced back into their traditional roles by the soldiers’ return.</p><p>A basic theme of the mystery genre as a whole is society and its morals and ethics. Perhaps that’s why so many historical mystery series have been set in the aftermath of World War I—it’s a perfect venue for examining issues that are crucial to the genre itself. I’m discussing those series that specifically provide some insight into postwar society, or that I particularly enjoyed.</p><p>[Does mystery still abound in a postwar world?]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/traditional-historical-mysteries-in-the-aftermath-of-wwi-victoria-janssen">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=iEbauv_Q0Ig:_A8muFd_QcM:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=iEbauv_Q0Ig:_A8muFd_QcM:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=iEbauv_Q0Ig:_A8muFd_QcM:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=iEbauv_Q0Ig:_A8muFd_QcM:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=iEbauv_Q0Ig:_A8muFd_QcM:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=iEbauv_Q0Ig:_A8muFd_QcM:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=iEbauv_Q0Ig:_A8muFd_QcM:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=iEbauv_Q0Ig:_A8muFd_QcM:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/iEbauv_Q0Ig" height="1" width="1"/> Victoria Janssen Published Thu, 03 May 2012 14:30:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/traditional-historical-mysteries-in-the-aftermath-of-wwi-victoria-janssen http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/traditional-historical-mysteries-in-the-aftermath-of-wwi-victoria-janssen http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/4xwVtsMXOew/three-reasons-not-to-involve-your-dog-in-criminal-activities <p>From the amazing and hilarious (if rude, crude, and occasionally completely unacceptable) Tumblr, <a href="http://textfromdog.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Texts from Dog</a>.</p><p><img alt="Text from Dog: Reward scheme comic" class="blog-pic-left-align " src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/05.02-05.08/AMCoffee_text-from-dog-reward.jpg" style="height: 375px; width: 250px;" /></p><p><strong>1. He doesn’t understand the concept of money or ownership. </strong>Well, except that he will happily “mark” anything you steal, which will lead the police right to both of you when his DNA shows up everywhere.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><img alt="Text From Dog Cartoon: Gandalf" class="blog-pic-right-align " src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/05.02-05.08/AMCoffee_Text-from-dog-gandalf.jpg" style="height: 375px; width: 250px;" /><strong>2. He is easily distracted, regardless of what he’s supposed to be doing. </strong>Unless, of course, you are stealing something edible, in which case the bounty won’t make it to your car.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><img alt="Text From Dog cartoon: Zombie Pigeon and Batdog" class="blog-pic-left-align " src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/05.02-05.08/AMCoffee_Text-from-dog-zombie-pigeon.jpg" style="height: 375px; width: 250px;" /><strong>3. Regardless of what he believes, he does not have superpowers.</strong> And, really, do you want the molding corpses of smaller animals along for the ride when you take off, tires screeching, Batdog’s ears flying back as he sticks his head out the window?</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/three-reasons-not-to-involve-your-dog-in-criminal-activities">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=4xwVtsMXOew:xa9yX6ljt0I:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=4xwVtsMXOew:xa9yX6ljt0I:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=4xwVtsMXOew:xa9yX6ljt0I:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=4xwVtsMXOew:xa9yX6ljt0I:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=4xwVtsMXOew:xa9yX6ljt0I:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=4xwVtsMXOew:xa9yX6ljt0I:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=4xwVtsMXOew:xa9yX6ljt0I:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=4xwVtsMXOew:xa9yX6ljt0I:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/4xwVtsMXOew" height="1" width="1"/> Crime HQ Published Thu, 03 May 2012 13:45:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/three-reasons-not-to-involve-your-dog-in-criminal-activities http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/three-reasons-not-to-involve-your-dog-in-criminal-activities http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/kkjZt4-OZuw/the-dark-knight-is-rising <p>The third (and final) trailer for <em>The Dark Knight Rises</em> is out. The movie comes to theaters July 20, and there has been a full court press on teasers and trailers. I have to admit, it&rsquo;s working on me slowly but surely. What about you?</p><p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="271" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/M-mf5IyVIAc?rel=0" width="475"></iframe></p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/the-dark-knight-is-rising">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=kkjZt4-OZuw:2_OTn5UC3hU:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=kkjZt4-OZuw:2_OTn5UC3hU:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=kkjZt4-OZuw:2_OTn5UC3hU:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=kkjZt4-OZuw:2_OTn5UC3hU:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=kkjZt4-OZuw:2_OTn5UC3hU:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=kkjZt4-OZuw:2_OTn5UC3hU:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=kkjZt4-OZuw:2_OTn5UC3hU:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=kkjZt4-OZuw:2_OTn5UC3hU:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/kkjZt4-OZuw" height="1" width="1"/> Crime HQ Published Wed, 02 May 2012 18:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/the-dark-knight-is-rising http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/the-dark-knight-is-rising http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/EIwp9Ecr5fk/nero-wolfe-rex-stout-private-investigator-classic-traditional-mystery-chuck-greaves <p><img alt="Rex Stout in 1969 /photo Bruce Davidson" class="blog-pic-right-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/05.02-05.08/Rex-Stout-1969-Bruce-Davidson.jpg" style="height: 367px; width: 250px; " title="Rex Stout circa 1969 /photo Bruce Davidson" />Auctorial influence is a tricky thing, even for those writers whose style or choice of subject is consciously patterned (admittedly or otherwise) after another writer’s work. When confronted with the question of influence, I usually mention <strong>Nelson DeMille</strong>, because it was his John Corey novels, beginning with <em>Plum Island</em>, that convinced me both that I wanted to write crime fiction, and that I could probably do so with some degree of proficiency.</p><p>But if you were to take a tissue sample of my writing and centrifuge it and place it under a microscope, I suspect the DNA would match to an earlier point in the crime fiction genome. To my teens, in fact, when I read, if not all, then certainly a majority of the fifty or so Nero Wolfe detective novels authored by mystery grand-master <strong>Rex Stout</strong>.</p><p>[What’s a master without acolytes?]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/nero-wolfe-rex-stout-private-investigator-classic-traditional-mystery-chuck-greaves">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=EIwp9Ecr5fk:CNsEJFEyE8s:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=EIwp9Ecr5fk:CNsEJFEyE8s:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=EIwp9Ecr5fk:CNsEJFEyE8s:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=EIwp9Ecr5fk:CNsEJFEyE8s:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=EIwp9Ecr5fk:CNsEJFEyE8s:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=EIwp9Ecr5fk:CNsEJFEyE8s:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=EIwp9Ecr5fk:CNsEJFEyE8s:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=EIwp9Ecr5fk:CNsEJFEyE8s:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/EIwp9Ecr5fk" height="1" width="1"/> Chuck Greaves Published Wed, 02 May 2012 17:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/nero-wolfe-rex-stout-private-investigator-classic-traditional-mystery-chuck-greaves http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/nero-wolfe-rex-stout-private-investigator-classic-traditional-mystery-chuck-greaves http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/9mDH-2uDoKs/top-five-detectives-john-connolly-michael-connelly-t-jefferson-parker-konrath-george-chesbro-kristin-centorcelli <p><img alt="Ever Dead Thing by John Connolly, Book 1 in the Charlie Parker Series" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.18-04.24/Centorcelli-Top-5-Detectives-Charlie-Parker.jpg" title="Ever Dead Thing by John Connolly, Book 1 in the Charlie Parker Series" />Sure, most of us aren’t the serial killers, jewel thieves, or mobsters we read about, but we still wouldn’t want anyone poking their noses into our business. Literature is filled with sleuths we wouldn’t want anywhere near our dirty laundry, but they’re oh so fun to read about. Let’s have a look at the top five I wouldn’t want on my case, should I have done something . . . slightly less than legal.</p><p><strong>1. </strong><strong>Charlie Parker (The Charlie Parker<em> </em>series by John Connolly)</strong></p><p>Charlie’s been through just about the most heartbreak that you could imagine, with the murder of his wife and child. He carries this heartache with him through every case he tackles, and the ghosts of his family always seem to be just outside his line of vision. Charlie is willing to make some hard decisions in order to do the right thing, and his sense of right and wrong almost verges on righteousness.&nbsp; He will do anything, and I mean anything, to keep those he loves safe, and if a case is brought to his attention that he’s willing to take on, especially one involving a child, watch out, he’s unstoppable.</p><p>[What other unstoppable forces are on this list?]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/top-five-detectives-john-connolly-michael-connelly-t-jefferson-parker-konrath-george-chesbro-kristin-centorcelli">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=9mDH-2uDoKs:apfZV9gWKDc:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=9mDH-2uDoKs:apfZV9gWKDc:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=9mDH-2uDoKs:apfZV9gWKDc:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=9mDH-2uDoKs:apfZV9gWKDc:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=9mDH-2uDoKs:apfZV9gWKDc:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=9mDH-2uDoKs:apfZV9gWKDc:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=9mDH-2uDoKs:apfZV9gWKDc:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=9mDH-2uDoKs:apfZV9gWKDc:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/9mDH-2uDoKs" height="1" width="1"/> Kristin Centorcelli Published Wed, 02 May 2012 14:30:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/top-five-detectives-john-connolly-michael-connelly-t-jefferson-parker-konrath-george-chesbro-kristin-centorcelli http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/top-five-detectives-john-connolly-michael-connelly-t-jefferson-parker-konrath-george-chesbro-kristin-centorcelli http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/E8zRh9b92rs/cake-or-death-eddie-izzard-enduring-question-lego-humor-deborah-lacy <p>For your entertainment and morning coffee pleasure, a brilliant Lego re-enactment of the Eddie Izzard bit where he explains why the Spanish Inquisition (which, as we all know, no one ever expects) would never have worked in England: the Church of England is too moderate and its inquisitors would have offered everyone the hideously difficult choice between cake and death.</p><p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/rZVjKlBCvhg?rel=0" width="420"></iframe></p><hr /><p>Deborah Lacy is an avid mystery reader and aspiring novelist.&nbsp; You can follow her on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/quippy" target="_blank">@quippy.</a></p><p>Read all of <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/Deborah%20Lacy#filter">Deborah Lacy’s posts for Criminal Element</a>.</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/cake-or-death-eddie-izzard-enduring-question-lego-humor-deborah-lacy">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=E8zRh9b92rs:liZFxvQyMtY:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=E8zRh9b92rs:liZFxvQyMtY:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=E8zRh9b92rs:liZFxvQyMtY:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=E8zRh9b92rs:liZFxvQyMtY:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=E8zRh9b92rs:liZFxvQyMtY:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=E8zRh9b92rs:liZFxvQyMtY:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=E8zRh9b92rs:liZFxvQyMtY:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=E8zRh9b92rs:liZFxvQyMtY:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/E8zRh9b92rs" height="1" width="1"/> Deborah Lacy Published Wed, 02 May 2012 13:45:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/cake-or-death-eddie-izzard-enduring-question-lego-humor-deborah-lacy http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/cake-or-death-eddie-izzard-enduring-question-lego-humor-deborah-lacy http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/B8XBqZcjNcM/noir-short-fiction-long-island-kaylie-jones-anthology <p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/longislandnoirsweepstakes"><strong>CLICK HERE TO ENTER for a chance to win a trade paperback copy of <em>Long Island Noir</em>, edited by Kaylie Jones.</strong></a></p><p><img align="left" alt="Long Island Noir by Kaylie Jones" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/sweepstakes/Jones-Long-Island-Noir250x395.jpg" title="Long Island Noir by Kaylie Jones" /><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/longislandnoirsweepstakes" target="_blank"><strong>Click here to enter for a chance to win!</strong></a></p><p>NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.&nbsp;A PURCHASE DOES NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCE OF WINNING. You must be 18 or older and a legal resident of the 50 United States or D.C. to enter.&nbsp;Promotion begins May 1, 2012, at 12 pm ET, and ends May 7, 2012, 11:59 am ET. Void in Puerto Rico and wherever prohibited by law.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/page/official-rules-the-long-island-noir-sweepstakes" style="text-decoration: none; " target="_blank">Click here for&nbsp;details and official rules</a>.</p><p>[About the book...]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/noir-short-fiction-long-island-kaylie-jones-anthology">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=B8XBqZcjNcM:5rwT5XmyQ58:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=B8XBqZcjNcM:5rwT5XmyQ58:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=B8XBqZcjNcM:5rwT5XmyQ58:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=B8XBqZcjNcM:5rwT5XmyQ58:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=B8XBqZcjNcM:5rwT5XmyQ58:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=B8XBqZcjNcM:5rwT5XmyQ58:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=B8XBqZcjNcM:5rwT5XmyQ58:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=B8XBqZcjNcM:5rwT5XmyQ58:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/B8XBqZcjNcM" height="1" width="1"/> Crime HQ Published Tue, 01 May 2012 17:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/noir-short-fiction-long-island-kaylie-jones-anthology http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/noir-short-fiction-long-island-kaylie-jones-anthology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/XxtwmH_SVPY/fresh-meat-body-in-the-boudoir-by-katherine-hall-page-cozy-traditional-mystery-laura-k-curtis <p><em><img alt="Katherine Hall Page, The Body in the Boudoir" class="blog-pic-left-align " src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.25-05.01/Page_Body-in-the-Boudoir.jpg" style="height: 378px; width: 250px;" /></em><strong><em>The Body in the Boudoir</em> by <a href="http://www.katherine-hall-page.org/" target="_blank">Katherine Hall Page</a> is the twentieth in her Faith Fairchild caterer and reverend’s wife cozy mystery series (available May 1, 2012).</strong></p><p>What do you want when you pick up a traditional mystery? I am sure the answers vary some from person to person, but for me some of the big selling points of this kind of story are a solid sense of place, a few offbeat characters, and—sorry, culinary cozy haters!—delectable treats. I’d never read Katherine Hall Page’s Faith Fairchild series, but it took only a few pages into <em>The Body in the Boudoir</em>, the latest in the series, for me to realize it would have all three.</p><p>[Why <em>do</em> corpses and caterers go together so well, anyway?]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/fresh-meat-body-in-the-boudoir-by-katherine-hall-page-cozy-traditional-mystery-laura-k-curtis">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=XxtwmH_SVPY:12rBKR7jh2g:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=XxtwmH_SVPY:12rBKR7jh2g:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=XxtwmH_SVPY:12rBKR7jh2g:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=XxtwmH_SVPY:12rBKR7jh2g:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=XxtwmH_SVPY:12rBKR7jh2g:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=XxtwmH_SVPY:12rBKR7jh2g:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=XxtwmH_SVPY:12rBKR7jh2g:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=XxtwmH_SVPY:12rBKR7jh2g:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/XxtwmH_SVPY" height="1" width="1"/> Laura K. Curtis Published Tue, 01 May 2012 16:30:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/fresh-meat-body-in-the-boudoir-by-katherine-hall-page-cozy-traditional-mystery-laura-k-curtis http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/fresh-meat-body-in-the-boudoir-by-katherine-hall-page-cozy-traditional-mystery-laura-k-curtis http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/6xih_HEwQvI/thriller-noir-getaway-excerpt-lisa-brackmann-espionage-drugs-mexico <p><img alt="Getaway by Lisa Brackmann" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/excerpts/Getaway-by-Lisa-Brackmann-250.jpg" title="Getaway by Lisa Brackmann" /><strong>An excerpt from <em>Getaway</em>, a thriller set in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, by Lisa Brackmann (available May 1, 2012).</strong></p><p><em>Michelle Mason tells herself she’s on vacation. A brief stay in the Mexican resort town of Puerto Vallarta. It’s a chance to figure out her next move after the unexpected death of her banker husband, who’s left behind a scandal and a pile of debt. The trip was already paid for, and it beats crashing in her sister’s spare room. When a good-looking man named Daniel approaches her on the beach, the margaritas have kicked in and she decides: why not? </em></p><p><em>But the date doesn’t go as either of them planned. An assault on Daniel in her hotel room, switched cell phones, and an encounter with a “friend” of Daniel’s named Gary gets Michelle enmeshed in a covert operation involving drug runners, goons, and venture capitalists. Michelle already knows she’s caught in a dangerous trap. But she quickly finds that running is not an option. If she’s not careful, she’ll end up buried in the town dump with the rest of the trash. Now she needs to fight smart if she wants to survive her vacation.</em></p><p><strong>Chapter 1</strong></p><p>Michelle dropped the sarong she’d started to tie around her waist onto her lounge chair. Nobody cared what her thighs looked like.</p><p>Sand burned the soles of her feet as she walked down to the water. Look at these people, she thought. Foreigners, mostly. Like her. Older, a lot of them. Sagging, leathered skin, the ones who’d been here awhile. Pale tourists, big-bellied, pink-faced, glowing with sunburn. A family of locals—Mexicans anyway, who knew if they were really from here? Dark, short, and blocky, eating shrimp on a stick from the grill down the beach, giant bottles of Coke tucked in a Styrofoam cooler.</p><p>Out of shape. Lumpy. Flabby. Aging.</p><p><em>Nobody cares.</em></p><p>And her thighs weren’t bad, anyway.</p><p>[Read the full excerpt of <em>Getaway</em> by Lisa Brackmann]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/05/thriller-noir-getaway-excerpt-lisa-brackmann-espionage-drugs-mexico">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=6xih_HEwQvI:7-UInzLrFsQ:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=6xih_HEwQvI:7-UInzLrFsQ:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=6xih_HEwQvI:7-UInzLrFsQ:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=6xih_HEwQvI:7-UInzLrFsQ:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=6xih_HEwQvI:7-UInzLrFsQ:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=6xih_HEwQvI:7-UInzLrFsQ:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=6xih_HEwQvI:7-UInzLrFsQ:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=6xih_HEwQvI:7-UInzLrFsQ:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/6xih_HEwQvI" height="1" width="1"/> Lisa Brackmann Excerpts Tue, 01 May 2012 14:30:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/05/thriller-noir-getaway-excerpt-lisa-brackmann-espionage-drugs-mexico http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/05/thriller-noir-getaway-excerpt-lisa-brackmann-espionage-drugs-mexico http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/0r7SVBCFXjw/gambling-on-or-with-sherlock-holmes-slot-machine <p><img alt="Sherlock at the Murder Mansion Slot Machine" class="blog-pic-left-align " src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.25-05.01/AMCoffee-Sherloc-Slot-Machine-475.jpg" style="height: 147px; width: 475px;" />Last week I was away. Our timeshare offers many things my normal life does not—beaches, drinks with umbrellas in them, someone else making the beds, and gambling. Now, I am not a big gambler. I play penny slots. I sometimes bet as much as fifty cents on a single bet. Woohoo!</p><p><img alt="Sherlock at the Murder Mansion Slot Machine" class="blog-pic-left-align " src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.25-05.01/AMCoffee-Sherlock-Slot-Machine.jpg" style="height: 303px; width: 200px;" />But the thing I like best about the penny slots are the bonus rounds. Since slot machines went electronic with touchscreens, these can be very elaborate...ordering food off a menu, picking pirates who will dance for you, having your “rich uncle” read his will to tell you what you’ve been left, even going into the hospital and getting a bill for services rendered.</p><p>And on this trip...I solved mysteries on a game called Sherlock at the Murder Mansion. If you get to the bonus round, you get to attempt to “solve a murder.” You have five possible weapons and five suspects. You choose one of each. If you miss, the game gives you a clue you can use to help you the next round. (The clues are things like “the knife was used only for cooking.”) It’s actually quite a bit of fun! Silly, I know, but more entertaining than just watching the wheels go round and round.</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/gambling-on-or-with-sherlock-holmes-slot-machine">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=0r7SVBCFXjw:GuMsY-uPnn0:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=0r7SVBCFXjw:GuMsY-uPnn0:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=0r7SVBCFXjw:GuMsY-uPnn0:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=0r7SVBCFXjw:GuMsY-uPnn0:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=0r7SVBCFXjw:GuMsY-uPnn0:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=0r7SVBCFXjw:GuMsY-uPnn0:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=0r7SVBCFXjw:GuMsY-uPnn0:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=0r7SVBCFXjw:GuMsY-uPnn0:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/0r7SVBCFXjw" height="1" width="1"/> Laura K. Curtis Published Tue, 01 May 2012 13:45:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/gambling-on-or-with-sherlock-holmes-slot-machine http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/gambling-on-or-with-sherlock-holmes-slot-machine http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/qBWHi9f3Q0M/congratulations-2011-agatha-award-winners-cozy-margaret-maron-rhys-bown-sara-j-henry-dana-cameron-leslie-budewitz-chris-grabenstein <p><img alt="Malice Domestic" class="blog-pic-left-align " src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.25-05.01/Agatha-Awards-Malice-Domestic.jpg" style="height: 170px; width: 225px; " />This past weekend was the <a href="http://www.malicedomestic.org/agathaawards.html" target="_blank"><em>Malice Domestic</em></a> conference, whose motto is “If traditional mysteries are your cup of tea...” And, as they do annually, they gave out the Agatha Awards for the best published in 2011:</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><img alt="Three Day Town by Margaret Maron" class="blog-pic-left-align " src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.25-05.01/Agatha-Three-Day-Town-Margaret-Maron.jpg" style="height: 364px; width: 250px; " /></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><u>Best Novel:</u> <em>Three Day Town</em> by <strong>Margaret Maron</strong></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><img alt="Learning to Swim by Sara J. Henry" class="blog-pic-left-align " src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.25-05.01/Agatha-Learning-to-Swim-Sara-J-Henry.jpg" style="height: 386px; width: 250px; " /></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><u>Best First Novel:</u> <em>Learning to Swim</em> by <strong>Sara J. Henry</strong></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><img alt="Books, Crooks, and Counselors by Leslie Budewitz" class="blog-pic-left-align " src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.25-05.01/Agatha-Books-Crooks-Counselors-Leslie-Budewitz.jpg" style="height: 375px; width: 250px; " /></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><u>Best Non-Fiction:</u> <em>Books, Crooks and Counselors: How to Write Accurately About Criminal Law and Courtroom Procedure </em>by <strong>Leslie Budewitz</strong></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><img alt="Disarmed by Dana Cameron, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazone, June 2011" class="blog-pic-left-align " src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.25-05.01/Agatha-Disarming-Dana-Cameron-EQMM-June-2011.jpg" style="height: 333px; width: 250px; " /></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><u>Best Short Story:</u> “Disarming” by <strong>Dana Cameron</strong>, <em>Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine </em></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><img alt="The Black Heart Crypt by Chris Grabenstein" class="blog-pic-left-align " src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.25-05.01/Agatha-Chris-Grabenstein-The-Black-Heart-Crypt.jpg" style="height: 377px; width: 250px; " /></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><u>Best Children’s/Young Adult:</u> <em>The Black Heart Crypt</em> by <strong>Chris Grabenstein</strong></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><img alt="Naughty in Nice by Rhys Bowen" class="blog-pic-left-align " src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.25-05.01/Agatha-Naughty-in-Nice-Rhys-Bowen.jpg" style="height: 403px; width: 250px; " /></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><u>Best Historical Novel:</u> <em>Naughty in Nice</em> by <strong>Rhys Bowen</strong></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>This is always a fun conference with a special appeal for cozy and traditional mystery lovers, and the winners are voted by attendees. Congratulations to all the winners and nominees!</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/congratulations-2011-agatha-award-winners-cozy-margaret-maron-rhys-bown-sara-j-henry-dana-cameron-leslie-budewitz-chris-grabenstein">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=qBWHi9f3Q0M:Agct_rPSUQ8:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=qBWHi9f3Q0M:Agct_rPSUQ8:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=qBWHi9f3Q0M:Agct_rPSUQ8:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=qBWHi9f3Q0M:Agct_rPSUQ8:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=qBWHi9f3Q0M:Agct_rPSUQ8:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=qBWHi9f3Q0M:Agct_rPSUQ8:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=qBWHi9f3Q0M:Agct_rPSUQ8:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=qBWHi9f3Q0M:Agct_rPSUQ8:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/qBWHi9f3Q0M" height="1" width="1"/> Crime HQ Published Mon, 30 Apr 2012 19:30:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/congratulations-2011-agatha-award-winners-cozy-margaret-maron-rhys-bown-sara-j-henry-dana-cameron-leslie-budewitz-chris-grabenstein http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/congratulations-2011-agatha-award-winners-cozy-margaret-maron-rhys-bown-sara-j-henry-dana-cameron-leslie-budewitz-chris-grabenstein http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/iAUFdSMre68/long-island-noir-mastermind-excerpt-anthology-reed-farrel-coleman <p><img alt="Long Island Noir, edited by Kaylie Jones" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.18-04.24/Long-Island-Noir.jpg" title="Long Island Noir, edited by Kaylie Jones" /><strong>“Mastermind” by Reed Farrel Coleman appears in <em>Long Island Noir</em>, an anthology of short crime fiction set in Nassau and Suffok counties of New York, edited by Kaylie Jones (available April 30, 2012)</strong>.</p><p><em>Selden</em></p><p>Jeff Ziegfeld was always the exception to the rule: the dumb Jew, the blue-collar Jew, the tough Jew. No matter the Zen of the ethnic group the wheel of fortune got you born into, dumb and poor was the universal formula for tough. And he had to be tough because it’s hard to be hard when your name is Jeffrey Ziegfeld. Didn’t exactly make the kids on the block shit their pants when someone said, “Watch out or Ziggy’ll kick your ass.” He was extra tough because his dad liked to smack him around for the fun of it, all the time saying, “Remember, dickhead, no matter how strong you get, I’ll always be able to kick your ass. I grew up the last white kid in Brownsville. And where’d you grow up? Lake Grove, a town with no lake and no grove. What a fucking joke. Kinda like you, huh, kid?”</p><p>J-Zig, as one of the other inmates at the jail in Riverhead had taken to calling him, could trace what had gone wrong with his life back to before he was born. Neither one of his parents had ever gotten out of high school or over moving out of Brooklyn. Long Island was a rootless, soulless place where everyone except the Shinnecock, the East End farmers, and the fishermen came from Northern Boulevard or the Grand Concourse or Pitkin Avenue. And even the natives were trading in their roots and souls for money. All the goddamned Indians wanted to do was run slot machine and bingo parlors.</p><p>[Read the complete story: “Mastermind” from <em>Long Island Noir</em>]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/04/long-island-noir-mastermind-excerpt-anthology-reed-farrel-coleman">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=iAUFdSMre68:ndnsLvXcoAE:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=iAUFdSMre68:ndnsLvXcoAE:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=iAUFdSMre68:ndnsLvXcoAE:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=iAUFdSMre68:ndnsLvXcoAE:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=iAUFdSMre68:ndnsLvXcoAE:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=iAUFdSMre68:ndnsLvXcoAE:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=iAUFdSMre68:ndnsLvXcoAE:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=iAUFdSMre68:ndnsLvXcoAE:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/iAUFdSMre68" height="1" width="1"/> Reed Farrel Coleman Excerpts Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/04/long-island-noir-mastermind-excerpt-anthology-reed-farrel-coleman http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/04/long-island-noir-mastermind-excerpt-anthology-reed-farrel-coleman http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/Ysfxf3qb2vA/traditional-mysteries-cozy-historical-fresh-meat-fatal-induction-western-bernadette-pajer-professor-bradshaw-victoria-janssen <p><img alt="Fatal Induction by Bernadette Pajer" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.18-04.24/Janssen-Fatal-Induction-by-Bernadette-Pajer-250.jpg" style="height: 387px; width: 250px;" title="Fatal Induction by Bernadette Pajer" /><strong><em>Fatal Induction</em> by Bernadette Pajer is the second in her Professor Ben Bradshaw series of historical mysteries (available May 1, 2012).</strong></p><p><em>The race to win an electrical competition incites Professor Bradshaw’s obsession for invention in this sequel to </em>A Spark for Death<em>, but the search for a child who may have witnessed a murder forces him to transform his contest entry into a trap to catch a killer.</em></p><p><em>Fatal Induction</em> is the second in <strong>Bernadette Pajer’s</strong> series about Ben Bradshaw, who serves as Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Washington.&nbsp; I have not yet read the first book in the series, <em>A Spark of Death</em>, but there was enough detail in <em>Fatal Induction</em> to bring me up to speed on the various secondary characters and how Bradshaw had fallen into investigation.</p><p>I chose the book because the series is set in 1901, when many of the devices we take for granted today—or have abandoned in favor of better alternatives—were new and exciting.&nbsp; I loved having a historical view of what it might have felt like to live in that era and deal with such rapidly changing technology—sort of like today, in fact.&nbsp;</p><p>[Getting a taste for history’s mysteries. . .]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/traditional-mysteries-cozy-historical-fresh-meat-fatal-induction-western-bernadette-pajer-professor-bradshaw-victoria-janssen">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=Ysfxf3qb2vA:feXit-lMRXE:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=Ysfxf3qb2vA:feXit-lMRXE:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=Ysfxf3qb2vA:feXit-lMRXE:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=Ysfxf3qb2vA:feXit-lMRXE:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=Ysfxf3qb2vA:feXit-lMRXE:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=Ysfxf3qb2vA:feXit-lMRXE:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=Ysfxf3qb2vA:feXit-lMRXE:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=Ysfxf3qb2vA:feXit-lMRXE:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/Ysfxf3qb2vA" height="1" width="1"/> Victoria Janssen Published Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:30:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/traditional-mysteries-cozy-historical-fresh-meat-fatal-induction-western-bernadette-pajer-professor-bradshaw-victoria-janssen http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/traditional-mysteries-cozy-historical-fresh-meat-fatal-induction-western-bernadette-pajer-professor-bradshaw-victoria-janssen http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/iiXdRt50ADI/cupcakes-for-the-bibliophiles-in-all-of-us-detective-police-traditional-cozy-mystery-thrillers-noir-historical-westerns-true-crime-nonfiction-just-for-fun-food-fatale-mario-puzo-steig-larsson-alice-sebold <p><img alt="Book Cupcakes from London Bakery, Victoria’s Kitchen" class="blog-pic-left-align " src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.25-05.01/MC-Book-Cupcakes.jpg" title="Book Cupcakes from London bakery, Victoria’s Kitchen" /></p><p>This gives a whole new meaning to “devouring books.” These cupcakes are from London bakery <a href="http://www.victorias-kitchen.com/cake-gallery/?pid=139" target="_blank">Victoria’s Kitchen</a> and look good enough to eat. We’re torn between wanting to gobble these up and shelving them!</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/cupcakes-for-the-bibliophiles-in-all-of-us-detective-police-traditional-cozy-mystery-thrillers-noir-historical-westerns-true-crime-nonfiction-just-for-fun-food-fatale-mario-puzo-steig-larsson-alice-sebold">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=iiXdRt50ADI:e89EeUdsSTs:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=iiXdRt50ADI:e89EeUdsSTs:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=iiXdRt50ADI:e89EeUdsSTs:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=iiXdRt50ADI:e89EeUdsSTs:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=iiXdRt50ADI:e89EeUdsSTs:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=iiXdRt50ADI:e89EeUdsSTs:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=iiXdRt50ADI:e89EeUdsSTs:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=iiXdRt50ADI:e89EeUdsSTs:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/iiXdRt50ADI" height="1" width="1"/> Crime HQ Published Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:45:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/cupcakes-for-the-bibliophiles-in-all-of-us-detective-police-traditional-cozy-mystery-thrillers-noir-historical-westerns-true-crime-nonfiction-just-for-fun-food-fatale-mario-puzo-steig-larsson-alice-sebold http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/cupcakes-for-the-bibliophiles-in-all-of-us-detective-police-traditional-cozy-mystery-thrillers-noir-historical-westerns-true-crime-nonfiction-just-for-fun-food-fatale-mario-puzo-steig-larsson-alice-sebold http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/sBx0toTMxLw/sherlock-goes-to-bollywood-detective-police-traditional-mysteries-jennifer-proffitt-bbc-holmes-film-adaptation-elementary-tarquin-hall <p><img alt="" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.25-05.01/Nimble-Indian-Sherlock.jpg" title="Holmes Away from Home: Anil Kapoor (Slumdog Millionaire) could be the next Sherlock." />Sherlock has seen a few different incarnations lately. I’m mostly thinking about the modernization with the wonderful <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/features/series/bbcs-new-sherlock">Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock</a> and the action hero we see in Robert Downey Jr.’s Holmes and soon <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/02/cbs-flips-sherlocks-script-lucy-liu-as-joan-watson">Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu will enter the Sherlock universe.</a> But there’s one more new Sherlock that will join the ranks—Indian Sherlock.</p><p>While the movie so far is being called <em>The Indian Sherlock</em> it’s looking more like Sherlock-esque detecting in modern India. The way the character is described he’s not really going to be anything like the Sherlock we’ve come to know and love—quite the opposite. According to a <a href="http://india.nydailynews.com/article/ea1ff8fdddc1a0e3e0e5593fb9302666/jhakaas-kapoor-set-to-play-indian-sherlock" target="_blank">NY Daily News article</a> our Indian Sherlock, Vish Puri, is “portly, persistent and unmistakably Punjabi.”</p><p>Now to some, that name might sound familiar. That’s because he is. The screenplay for <em>The Indian Sherlock</em>, is based on the <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2011/05/africa-india-and-alexander-the-great">novels by Tarquin Hall. </a></p><p>The man producers hope to play Vish Puri, Anil Kapoor, is a semi-familiar face outside of the Indian film industry as he was in 2008’s <em>Slumdog Millionaire</em>. Anand Tucker is the director behind <em>The Indian Sherlock </em>and is equally familiar to American audiences as he directed <em>Leap Year</em> and <em>Shop Girl</em> a few years back.</p><p><br />There seem to be a lot of variables still up in the air about this particular Sherlock movie, but it’s definitely got us thinking! What about you? What do you think about a Holmes away from Baker Street?<br />&nbsp;</p><hr /><p>Jennifer Proffitt is a Midwest transplant to New York City. She spends most of her time reading and writing about romance and watching crime shows, but you can follow her other adventures on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/#/JennProffitt" target="_blank">@JennProffitt</a>.</p><p>Read all <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/Jennifer%20Proffitt#filter" target="_self">Jennifer Proffitt’s posts on Criminal Element</a>.</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/sherlock-goes-to-bollywood-detective-police-traditional-mysteries-jennifer-proffitt-bbc-holmes-film-adaptation-elementary-tarquin-hall">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=sBx0toTMxLw:w5fhe_95Cy0:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=sBx0toTMxLw:w5fhe_95Cy0:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=sBx0toTMxLw:w5fhe_95Cy0:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=sBx0toTMxLw:w5fhe_95Cy0:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=sBx0toTMxLw:w5fhe_95Cy0:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=sBx0toTMxLw:w5fhe_95Cy0:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=sBx0toTMxLw:w5fhe_95Cy0:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=sBx0toTMxLw:w5fhe_95Cy0:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/sBx0toTMxLw" height="1" width="1"/> Jennifer Proffitt Published Sun, 29 Apr 2012 17:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/sherlock-goes-to-bollywood-detective-police-traditional-mysteries-jennifer-proffitt-bbc-holmes-film-adaptation-elementary-tarquin-hall http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/sherlock-goes-to-bollywood-detective-police-traditional-mysteries-jennifer-proffitt-bbc-holmes-film-adaptation-elementary-tarquin-hall http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/89Z9AFQsIeg/the-magnificent-seven-an-iconic-western-historical-terrie-farley-moran-shane-high-noon-film-old-west <p><img alt="The Magnificent Seven" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.18-04.24/Moran-Magnificent-Seven250.jpg" title="The Magnificent Seven" />For most fans, <em>High Noon</em> (1952), <em>Shane</em> (1953), and <em>The Magnificent Seven</em> (1960) are the Trifecta of excellence in Western movies. Which of the three is the greatest western ever made? Over the past forty or so years, I have spent many an hour in heated discussions regarding just that question.</p><p>Earlier this year, Jake Hinkson <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/01/high-noon-at-60">provided a thoughtful examination of <em>High Noon</em></a> in honor of the film’s sixtieth anniversary. This movie comes from the school of “a man’s got to do what a man’s got to do,” a common western theme. &nbsp;Newly married town marshal Will Kane (Gary Cooper) quits his job only to learn that an arch-enemy is coming to town to kill him. In spite of his wife’s pleading and in spite of no one in the town being willing to help him, Kane does “what a man’s got to do,” and stands alone to fight.</p><p>[Which in the trifecta of Westerns will prove to be the fastest gun in the West?]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/the-magnificent-seven-an-iconic-western-historical-terrie-farley-moran-shane-high-noon-film-old-west">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=89Z9AFQsIeg:Lpr2kkfONvo:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=89Z9AFQsIeg:Lpr2kkfONvo:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=89Z9AFQsIeg:Lpr2kkfONvo:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=89Z9AFQsIeg:Lpr2kkfONvo:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=89Z9AFQsIeg:Lpr2kkfONvo:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=89Z9AFQsIeg:Lpr2kkfONvo:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=89Z9AFQsIeg:Lpr2kkfONvo:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=89Z9AFQsIeg:Lpr2kkfONvo:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/89Z9AFQsIeg" height="1" width="1"/> Terrie Farley Moran Published Sun, 29 Apr 2012 15:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/the-magnificent-seven-an-iconic-western-historical-terrie-farley-moran-shane-high-noon-film-old-west http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/the-magnificent-seven-an-iconic-western-historical-terrie-farley-moran-shane-high-noon-film-old-west http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/wEh8t4y7qM4/what-would-you-do-if-darth-vader-got-on-your-subway-car-deborah-lacy-detective-police-traditional-cozy-thrillers-noir-historical-westerns-true-crime-nonfiction-humor-just-for-fun-star-wars-ghostbusters <p>Anything can happen in New York City and <a href="http://improveverywhere.com/" target="_blank">Improv Everywhere</a>, a NYC-based self-proclaimed, “prank collective” helps make that a reality.&nbsp;</p><p>Their motto is, “We Cause Scenes.”&nbsp;</p><p>They have completed more than 100 missions involving tens of thousands of undercover agents.&nbsp; So what would you do if Darth Vader entered your subway car, or ghosts invaded the New York Public Library? Check out the videos below to see what happened…</p><p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/J5gCeWEGiQI?rel=0" width="475"></iframe></p><p>“We came, we saw, we kicked its ass!”</p><p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wKB7zfopiUA?rel=0" width="475"></iframe></p><p><br /><span style="font-size: 12px;"><em>Video courtesy of <a href="http://improveverywhere.com/2010/07/14/star-wars-subway-car/" target="_blank">Improv Everywhere.</a></em></span></p><hr /><p>Deborah Lacy is an avid mystery reader and aspiring novelist.&nbsp; You can follow her on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/#/quippy" target="_blank">@quippy.</a></p><p>Read all <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/DeborahLacy#filter">Deborah Lacy’s posts for Criminal Element</a>.</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/what-would-you-do-if-darth-vader-got-on-your-subway-car-deborah-lacy-detective-police-traditional-cozy-thrillers-noir-historical-westerns-true-crime-nonfiction-humor-just-for-fun-star-wars-ghostbusters">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=wEh8t4y7qM4:EX7t3bWcGoc:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=wEh8t4y7qM4:EX7t3bWcGoc:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=wEh8t4y7qM4:EX7t3bWcGoc:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=wEh8t4y7qM4:EX7t3bWcGoc:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=wEh8t4y7qM4:EX7t3bWcGoc:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=wEh8t4y7qM4:EX7t3bWcGoc:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=wEh8t4y7qM4:EX7t3bWcGoc:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=wEh8t4y7qM4:EX7t3bWcGoc:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/wEh8t4y7qM4" height="1" width="1"/> Deborah Lacy Published Sat, 28 Apr 2012 17:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/what-would-you-do-if-darth-vader-got-on-your-subway-car-deborah-lacy-detective-police-traditional-cozy-thrillers-noir-historical-westerns-true-crime-nonfiction-humor-just-for-fun-star-wars-ghostbusters http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/what-would-you-do-if-darth-vader-got-on-your-subway-car-deborah-lacy-detective-police-traditional-cozy-thrillers-noir-historical-westerns-true-crime-nonfiction-humor-just-for-fun-star-wars-ghostbusters http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/jdBiPOKWwdY/detective-stories-police-procedurals-traditional-cozy-thrillers-noir-true-crime-nonfiction-the-poisoners-bookshelf-william-i-lengeman <p><img align="left" alt="" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.11-04-17/Lengeman-The-Poisoners-Bookshelf250.jpg" />If you’re going to get bumped off outside the pages of a mystery novel, chances are pretty good that you won’t be the victim of poison. It’s more likely that you’ll be shot, stabbed, or clubbed. As of 2008, according to the Department of Justice, the most popular methods of doing away with someone in the United States were guns, knives, and blunt objects, in that order. Poisoning fell into the sixth-ranked <em>All Other</em> category along with other miscellaneous means of mayhem such as explosives and narcotics.</p><p>According to another source, in 2009 nearly 15,000 emergency room visits were caused by “drug-related intentional poisonings.” Pharmaceutical and illicit drugs were involved in many of these cases, oftentimes in combination with alcohol, but the report gave no indication of whether any cases involved such good old-fashioned mystery novel standbys as arsenic, strychnine, and so on.</p><p>[Don’t try this at home...]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/detective-stories-police-procedurals-traditional-cozy-thrillers-noir-true-crime-nonfiction-the-poisoners-bookshelf-william-i-lengeman">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=jdBiPOKWwdY:1Bn_mWUCcmo:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=jdBiPOKWwdY:1Bn_mWUCcmo:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=jdBiPOKWwdY:1Bn_mWUCcmo:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=jdBiPOKWwdY:1Bn_mWUCcmo:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=jdBiPOKWwdY:1Bn_mWUCcmo:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=jdBiPOKWwdY:1Bn_mWUCcmo:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=jdBiPOKWwdY:1Bn_mWUCcmo:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=jdBiPOKWwdY:1Bn_mWUCcmo:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/jdBiPOKWwdY" height="1" width="1"/> William I. Lengeman III Published Sat, 28 Apr 2012 16:15:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/detective-stories-police-procedurals-traditional-cozy-thrillers-noir-true-crime-nonfiction-the-poisoners-bookshelf-william-i-lengeman http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/detective-stories-police-procedurals-traditional-cozy-thrillers-noir-true-crime-nonfiction-the-poisoners-bookshelf-william-i-lengeman http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/zglHHrbUu7E/is-that-a-pipe-in-your-pocket-or-are-you-just-happy-to-see-me-detective-mysteries-historical-traditional-bbc-sherlock-dr-john-watson-holmes-just-for-fun <p><img alt="" class="blog-pic-left-align " src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.25-05.01/Nimble-Sherlock-Pickup-Lines-Moriarty.jpg" /></p><p>A few weeks ago we presented to you the <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/03/benedict-cumberbatch-otter-weasel-sherlock">Cumberb-otter sensation.</a> Now we’re gearing up for a whole new season of Sherlock on PBS in just about a week and as we prepared our pipes and hunting hats, we happened to Google Sherlock and what to our wondering eyes should appear but... Sherlock pick-up lines. It tickled us so much that we thought we’d share a few here. Give us your best Sherlock Pick-Up Lines in the comments!</p><p>[I would follow you anywhere, even with a psychosomatic limp.]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/is-that-a-pipe-in-your-pocket-or-are-you-just-happy-to-see-me-detective-mysteries-historical-traditional-bbc-sherlock-dr-john-watson-holmes-just-for-fun">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=zglHHrbUu7E:ITKTefp2gfE:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=zglHHrbUu7E:ITKTefp2gfE:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=zglHHrbUu7E:ITKTefp2gfE:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=zglHHrbUu7E:ITKTefp2gfE:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=zglHHrbUu7E:ITKTefp2gfE:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=zglHHrbUu7E:ITKTefp2gfE:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=zglHHrbUu7E:ITKTefp2gfE:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=zglHHrbUu7E:ITKTefp2gfE:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/zglHHrbUu7E" height="1" width="1"/> Crime HQ Published Fri, 27 Apr 2012 18:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/is-that-a-pipe-in-your-pocket-or-are-you-just-happy-to-see-me-detective-mysteries-historical-traditional-bbc-sherlock-dr-john-watson-holmes-just-for-fun http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/is-that-a-pipe-in-your-pocket-or-are-you-just-happy-to-see-me-detective-mysteries-historical-traditional-bbc-sherlock-dr-john-watson-holmes-just-for-fun http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/HLape5ZBk8Y/2012-edgar-awards-the-glamorous-side-of-crime-leslie-gilbert-elman-true-detective-police-traditional-cozy-thrillers-noir-historical-westerns-nonfiction-mystery-writers-of-america-mo-hayder-martha-grimes-lori-roy <p><img alt="Mo Hayder takes home the Edgar for Best Novel" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.25-05.01/Elman-Edgars-Cropped-Mo-Hayder-Best-Novel-Winner.jpg" title="Mo Hayder takes home the Edgar for Best Novel. Photo by Steven Speliotis/MWA" />Authors aren’t used to being gawked at. But gather them together in a fancy ballroom and something magical happens: You soon discover that they gawk at each other.</p><p>“Isn’t that <strong>Linda Fairstein</strong>?” whispered the woman next to me, an award-winning author herself.</p><p>Um. . . yes. Yes, it <em>was</em> Linda Fairstein.</p><p>And the woman opposite me with the glasses, and the blunt cut hair, and the lusciously low-pitched speaking voice, that was <strong>S.J. Rozan</strong>.</p><p>The tall—very tall—handsome man in the tux: <strong>Lee Child</strong>.</p><p>The stunning auburn-haired woman in the silver sequined dress, with legs to die for and a smile you could swear actually twinkles in the light—that’s <strong>Sandra Brown</strong>. Now, shush! She’s heading to the podium . . .</p><p>[Behave yourself and later you’ll have cake . . .]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/2012-edgar-awards-the-glamorous-side-of-crime-leslie-gilbert-elman-true-detective-police-traditional-cozy-thrillers-noir-historical-westerns-nonfiction-mystery-writers-of-america-mo-hayder-martha-grimes-lori-roy">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=HLape5ZBk8Y:Tl7MgsecH0k:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=HLape5ZBk8Y:Tl7MgsecH0k:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=HLape5ZBk8Y:Tl7MgsecH0k:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=HLape5ZBk8Y:Tl7MgsecH0k:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=HLape5ZBk8Y:Tl7MgsecH0k:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=HLape5ZBk8Y:Tl7MgsecH0k:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=HLape5ZBk8Y:Tl7MgsecH0k:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=HLape5ZBk8Y:Tl7MgsecH0k:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/HLape5ZBk8Y" height="1" width="1"/> Leslie Gilbert Elman Published Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:15:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/2012-edgar-awards-the-glamorous-side-of-crime-leslie-gilbert-elman-true-detective-police-traditional-cozy-thrillers-noir-historical-westerns-nonfiction-mystery-writers-of-america-mo-hayder-martha-grimes-lori-roy http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/2012-edgar-awards-the-glamorous-side-of-crime-leslie-gilbert-elman-true-detective-police-traditional-cozy-thrillers-noir-historical-westerns-nonfiction-mystery-writers-of-america-mo-hayder-martha-grimes-lori-roy http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/eZ5vL06Jd3o/detective-police-procedurals-traditional-cozy-thriller-hush-money-chuck-greaves-excerpt-legal-wrangling <p><img alt="Hush Money by Chuck Greaves" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/excerpts/Greaves-Hush-Money250.jpg" title="Hush Money by Chuck Greaves" /><strong>An excerpt from <em>Hush Money</em>, a legal thriller by Chuck Greaves (available May 8, 2012).</strong></p><p><em>A newly minted member of Henley &amp; Hargrove, Pasadena’s oldest and snobbiest law firm, Jack MacTaggart is assigned to handle an insurance claim on behalf of socialite Sydney Everett.&nbsp;Hush Puppy, Sydney’s champion show horse, has died unexpectedly, and attending veterinarian George Wells confides to Jack that the great horse’s death was anything but natural.</em></p><p><em>Jack’s investigation leads him into the high-stakes world of professional show jumping and down a path to romance, intrigue, and an old blackmail scheme that further implicates his client. After Jack reports his findings, another body is discovered. And this one is human.</em></p><p><em>Framed for the murder, with his job on the line and with&nbsp;the police&nbsp;leading a rush to judgment, Jack’s only hope for exoneration is to catch&nbsp;the killer himself.&nbsp; And with the help of an unlikely confederation of allies and enemies, victims and suspects, Jack&nbsp;races toward&nbsp;a final showdown where all the scores, both old and new, are finally settled.</em></p><p><br /><strong>Chapter 1</strong></p><p>It was a Thursday afternoon, almost five o’clock, and I was typing feverishly in the knowledge that by 5:01, Bernadette would be long gone. Reliability is a rare quality in a legal secretary, and when it came to quitting time, Bernie Catalano was a regular Old Faithful.</p><p>I was drafting a letter to the local claims manager of the Hartford Allied Insurance Company, which had issued a policy of health insurance to my client, Victor Tazerian. Victor was a fifty-four-year-old Armenian trash hauler whose leukemia was temporarily in remission. Hartford Allied, to the bewilderment of the Tazerian family, was refusing to pay for a new but promising medical procedure that involved harvesting and freezing Victor’s own bone marrow while he was healthy, so that it later could be transplanted back into his body when the cancer made its inevitable return.</p><p>[Read the full excerpt of <em>Hush Money</em> by Chuck Greaves]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/04/detective-police-procedurals-traditional-cozy-thriller-hush-money-chuck-greaves-excerpt-legal-wrangling">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=eZ5vL06Jd3o:VuYOAVVKFkc:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=eZ5vL06Jd3o:VuYOAVVKFkc:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=eZ5vL06Jd3o:VuYOAVVKFkc:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=eZ5vL06Jd3o:VuYOAVVKFkc:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=eZ5vL06Jd3o:VuYOAVVKFkc:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=eZ5vL06Jd3o:VuYOAVVKFkc:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=eZ5vL06Jd3o:VuYOAVVKFkc:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=eZ5vL06Jd3o:VuYOAVVKFkc:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/eZ5vL06Jd3o" height="1" width="1"/> Chuck Greaves Excerpts Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/04/detective-police-procedurals-traditional-cozy-thriller-hush-money-chuck-greaves-excerpt-legal-wrangling http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/04/detective-police-procedurals-traditional-cozy-thriller-hush-money-chuck-greaves-excerpt-legal-wrangling http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/ImffXOfyasg/zombies-cozy-jessica-fletcher-murder-she-wrote-mash-up-traditional-fan-art-adam-carlson <p><img alt="" class="blog-pic-left-align " src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.25-05.01/zombie-jessica-fletcher-adam-carlson.jpg" /></p><p>Despite the indisputable visual evidence of our <em><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/sherlock-john-zombie-cumberbatch-freeman-holmes-mash-up-art-jason-welborn-horror-mystery" target="_self">Sherlock</a></em> and <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/horror-walking-dead-justified-art-andy-hunter-zombies-western-win-this-now" target="_self"><em>Justified</em> zombie mash-ups</a>, some people will still claim that certain things don’t mix. Ah, but the heady thrill of challenge is exactly what master mash-up site <em><a href="http://www.draw2d2.com/" target="_blank">Draw2D2</a></em> is all about. And as we near the end of <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/tags/Undead%20April" target="_blank">Undead April</a>, artist <a href="http://www.carlsonillustration.com/" target="_blank"><strong>Adam Carlson</strong></a> is raising the degree of difficulty, combining the queen of cozy, Jessica Fletcher of <em>Murder, She Wrote </em>herself, with zombies!</p><p>Adam loves to work with ink, old-school. From the bicycle with the wicker basket to the kitten in the tree to the way our sleuth uses her brains to create a diversion (see what we did there), this piece is a gorgeous Maine moose-load of awesome! Yes, Jessica will make darn sure Cabot Cove survives the horde, but only one <strong>registered</strong> commenter will triumph in our contest for this super-boss piece of original art.</p><p><strike><em><strong>To enter for a chance to win the original artwork, “Zombies, She Wrote” by Adam Carlson, make sure you’re a registered member of the site, and then simply leave a comment below.</strong></em></strike></p><p><strike>NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A purchase does not improve your chances of winning. Sweepstakes open to legal residents of fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia, who are 18 or older. To enter, fill out entry at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/zombies-cozy-jessica-fletcher-murder-she-wrote-mash-up-traditional-original-art">http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/zombies-cozy-jessica-fletcher-murder-she-wrote-mash-up-traditional-original-art</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;beginning at 8:45 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) April 27, 2012. Sweepstakes ends at 11:59 a.m. ET on May 4, 2012 (the “Promotion Period”). Void outside of the 50 US and DC and where prohibited by law. Please see full details and official rules at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/page/official-rules-zombies-she-wrote-comment-sweepstakescrim">http://www.criminalelement.com/page/official-rules-zombies-she-wrote-comment-sweepstakescrim</a>. Sponsor: Macmillan, 175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010</strike></p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/zombies-cozy-jessica-fletcher-murder-she-wrote-mash-up-traditional-fan-art-adam-carlson">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=ImffXOfyasg:GVQoaMIkeOM:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=ImffXOfyasg:GVQoaMIkeOM:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=ImffXOfyasg:GVQoaMIkeOM:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=ImffXOfyasg:GVQoaMIkeOM:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=ImffXOfyasg:GVQoaMIkeOM:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=ImffXOfyasg:GVQoaMIkeOM:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=ImffXOfyasg:GVQoaMIkeOM:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=ImffXOfyasg:GVQoaMIkeOM:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/ImffXOfyasg" height="1" width="1"/> Crime HQ Published Fri, 27 Apr 2012 13:45:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/zombies-cozy-jessica-fletcher-murder-she-wrote-mash-up-traditional-fan-art-adam-carlson http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/zombies-cozy-jessica-fletcher-murder-she-wrote-mash-up-traditional-fan-art-adam-carlson http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/vFZDAvewTa0/poe-tastic-weekend-ahead-the-raven-premiere-and-edgar-awards-preparations-galore-detective-stories-police-traditional-cozy-mysteries-thriller-noir-historical-true-crime-nonfiction-edgar-allen-poe-film <p>Quoth the Raven “And the winner is...” The end of this week is turning out to be a Poe-tastic one. Tonight our very own <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/Leslie%20Gilbert%20Elman#filter">Leslie Gilbert Elman</a> will be <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/01/edgar-award-nominees-announced">attending the Edgar Awards</a> and giving you the juiciest tidbits and winners tomorrow.</p><p>Also on Friday, Edgar Allen Poe is making an appearance. . .this time at the box office! Yes, if you haven’t heard, there’s a thriller called <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/recycling-writers-into-action-heroes-movies-cusack-raven-royal-honour-society">The Raven starring Poe as the hero </a>(John Cusack plays Poe, we’ll see how that turns out!).</p><p>So in honor of such a wonderfully Poe-filled weekend here’s the trailer for The Raven. Remember to look back here tomorrow for the winners of the Edgar Awards.</p><p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/MiAJFkX95gE" width="475"></iframe></p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/poe-tastic-weekend-ahead-the-raven-premiere-and-edgar-awards-preparations-galore-detective-stories-police-traditional-cozy-mysteries-thriller-noir-historical-true-crime-nonfiction-edgar-allen-poe-film">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=vFZDAvewTa0:492M79ONymY:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=vFZDAvewTa0:492M79ONymY:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=vFZDAvewTa0:492M79ONymY:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=vFZDAvewTa0:492M79ONymY:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=vFZDAvewTa0:492M79ONymY:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=vFZDAvewTa0:492M79ONymY:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=vFZDAvewTa0:492M79ONymY:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=vFZDAvewTa0:492M79ONymY:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/vFZDAvewTa0" height="1" width="1"/> Crime HQ Published Thu, 26 Apr 2012 18:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/poe-tastic-weekend-ahead-the-raven-premiere-and-edgar-awards-preparations-galore-detective-stories-police-traditional-cozy-mysteries-thriller-noir-historical-true-crime-nonfiction-edgar-allen-poe-film http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/poe-tastic-weekend-ahead-the-raven-premiere-and-edgar-awards-preparations-galore-detective-stories-police-traditional-cozy-mysteries-thriller-noir-historical-true-crime-nonfiction-edgar-allen-poe-film http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/nrK63Uj-Tfc/cozy-mystery-historical-mysteries-fresh-meat-the-solitary-house-lynn-shepherd-victoria-janssen-charles-dickens-london <p><img alt="The Solitary House by Lynn Shepherd" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.11-04-17/Janssen-FM-Solitary-House-by-Lynn-Shepherd-250.jpg" style="height: 373px; width: 250px;" title="The Solitary House by Lynn Shepherd" /><strong><em>The Solitary House</em> by Lynn Shepherd, is a historical mystery set in the world of Charles Dickens’s<em> Bleak House </em>(available May 1, 2012). </strong></p><p><em>London, 1850. Charles Maddox had been an up-and-coming officer for the Metropolitan police until a charge of insubordination abruptly ended his career. Now he works alone, struggling to eke out a living by tracking down criminals</em></p><p><em>Charles has been approached by Edward Tulkinghorn, the shadowy and feared attorney, who offers him a handsome price to do some sleuthing for a client. Powerful financier Sir Julius Cremorne has been receiving threatening letters, and Tulkinghorn wants Charles to—discreetly—find and stop whoever is responsible.</em></p><p><em>But what starts as a simple, open-and-shut case swiftly escalates into something bigger and much darker.</em></p><p><em>The Solitary House</em> (UK title: <em>Tom-All-Alone’s</em>) by <strong>Lynn Shepherd</strong> is an interesting literary take on London in 1850, and by “literary” I mean freely interacting with other fiction in a way that’s both an homage and a metatextual exploration. Aside from being a detective novel on its own, it includes events and characters from <strong>Charles Dickens</strong>’s novel <em>Bleak House</em>, as well as cameos by Dickens himself and by <strong>Wilkie Collins</strong>, author of <em>The Moonstone</em>, usually cited as the first detective novel in English. It’s a very different and much more elaborate novel than I was expecting.</p><p>[Prepare to expect the unexpected...]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/cozy-mystery-historical-mysteries-fresh-meat-the-solitary-house-lynn-shepherd-victoria-janssen-charles-dickens-london">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=nrK63Uj-Tfc:2FJlhGkSp8Y:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=nrK63Uj-Tfc:2FJlhGkSp8Y:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=nrK63Uj-Tfc:2FJlhGkSp8Y:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=nrK63Uj-Tfc:2FJlhGkSp8Y:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=nrK63Uj-Tfc:2FJlhGkSp8Y:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=nrK63Uj-Tfc:2FJlhGkSp8Y:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=nrK63Uj-Tfc:2FJlhGkSp8Y:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=nrK63Uj-Tfc:2FJlhGkSp8Y:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/nrK63Uj-Tfc" height="1" width="1"/> Victoria Janssen Published Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:30:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/cozy-mystery-historical-mysteries-fresh-meat-the-solitary-house-lynn-shepherd-victoria-janssen-charles-dickens-london http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/cozy-mystery-historical-mysteries-fresh-meat-the-solitary-house-lynn-shepherd-victoria-janssen-charles-dickens-london http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/YADqTs6hb6I/exclusive-outtakes-from-steve-ulfelder-the-whole-lie <p><img alt="The Whole Lie by Steve Ulfelder" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/excerpts/Ulfelder-The-Whole-Lie250.jpg" style="height: 376px; width: 250px;" title="The Whole Lie by Steve Ulfelder" /><strong>As a special appetizer for the release of Steve Ulfelder’s <em>The Whole Lie (</em>available May 8, 2012), Criminal Element has three exclusive outtakes from the book, handpicked by the author and edited for your consumption. Enjoy!</strong></p><p><em>Conway Sax is finally within the grasps of normalcy until Savannah Kane, a woman from his past shows up again. Conway helped her disappear seven years ago, but almost as soon as she’s back in his life, she’s found brutally murdered, and one of the suspects is none other than the wannabe Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts.</em></p><p>***Reader Beware! These deleted scenes may contain spoilers, they are designed to be spoiler-free, but if you are spoiler-sensitive, turn back now or<strong> </strong>check out the exclusive excerpt of <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/04/thriller-noir-detective-the-whole-lie-steve-ulfelder-excerpt-conway-sax-mystery">Chapters 1-3 from The <em>Whole Lie</em> by <span id="cke_bm_96S" style="display: none;">&nbsp;</span><span style="display: none;">&nbsp;</span></a><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/04/thriller-noir-detective-the-whole-lie-steve-ulfelder-excerpt-conway-sax-mystery">Steve Ulfelder. <span id="cke_bm_96E" style="display: none;">&nbsp;</span></a><span style="display: none;">&nbsp;</span></p><p>[From the mind of the writer to you...]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/04/exclusive-outtakes-from-steve-ulfelder-the-whole-lie">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=YADqTs6hb6I:ZN95ypRO9Zk:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=YADqTs6hb6I:ZN95ypRO9Zk:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=YADqTs6hb6I:ZN95ypRO9Zk:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=YADqTs6hb6I:ZN95ypRO9Zk:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=YADqTs6hb6I:ZN95ypRO9Zk:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=YADqTs6hb6I:ZN95ypRO9Zk:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=YADqTs6hb6I:ZN95ypRO9Zk:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=YADqTs6hb6I:ZN95ypRO9Zk:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/YADqTs6hb6I" height="1" width="1"/> Steve Ulfelder Excerpts Thu, 26 Apr 2012 17:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/04/exclusive-outtakes-from-steve-ulfelder-the-whole-lie http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/04/exclusive-outtakes-from-steve-ulfelder-the-whole-lie http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/V0yoommS8NE/robocop-marge-gunderson-fargo-dont-stop-believing-movie-mash-up-music-video-journey-crime-hq <p>Whether damaged cops stuffed into cyber-shells or morning-sick police chiefs looking for a Radisson, heroes know you can’t stop believing! Yes, there’s a fair smattering of baddies, too, from Dr. Horrible to the Joker, but this mashed-up message is one of hope!</p><p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="352" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kVm8GRXvUhA?rel=0" width="475"></iframe></p><p>We admire the fruits of the compulsion that must’ve driven this video’s creators, are grateful not to be so afflicted, and gladly Rock On!</p><p>via <em><a href="http://blastr.com/2012/04/han-solo-and-robocop-sing.php" target="_blank">Blastr</a></em></p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/robocop-marge-gunderson-fargo-dont-stop-believing-movie-mash-up-music-video-journey-crime-hq">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=V0yoommS8NE:1ZWl4MIucEg:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=V0yoommS8NE:1ZWl4MIucEg:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=V0yoommS8NE:1ZWl4MIucEg:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=V0yoommS8NE:1ZWl4MIucEg:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=V0yoommS8NE:1ZWl4MIucEg:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=V0yoommS8NE:1ZWl4MIucEg:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=V0yoommS8NE:1ZWl4MIucEg:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=V0yoommS8NE:1ZWl4MIucEg:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/V0yoommS8NE" height="1" width="1"/> Crime HQ Published Thu, 26 Apr 2012 13:45:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/robocop-marge-gunderson-fargo-dont-stop-believing-movie-mash-up-music-video-journey-crime-hq http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/robocop-marge-gunderson-fargo-dont-stop-believing-movie-mash-up-music-video-journey-crime-hq http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/ciXlwlfq8nk/worst-teacher-of-the-year-award-virginia-teacher-pulls-gun-in-classroom-criminally-stupid-guns <p><img alt="So not hot for teacher! Manuael Ernest Dillow mug shot ofter pulling gun on students." class="blog-pic-right-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.25-05.01/Proffitt-Nimble-Teacher-Pulls-a-Gun.jpg" title="So not hot for teacher!" />Most of us have had the gamut of high school and college teachers—from the very worst to the very best. But this guy takes the cake. In our most recent edition of the criminally stupid, we have <span class="yom-figure yom-fig-right" id="yui_3_4_0_26_1335288553363_289" style="width: 310px;"><span class="legend" id="yui_3_4_0_26_1335288553363_291">Manuael Ernest Dillow who allegedly fired blanks (yes, folks, from a loaded gun, although one that was not capable of firing live rounds) at 12 vocational school students while teaching a welding class. </span></span></p><p><span class="yom-figure yom-fig-right" style="width: 310px;"><span class="legend">Reports have varied as to whether he actually fired the blanks towards to students or just brandished the gun, but either way </span></span>it’s definitely not okay to bring a gun into the classroom. I’ve certainly known some teenagers and young adults who should be scared straight, but I’m pretty sure that no matter what these 12 students did (or even just one of them), none of them deserved this scare tactic.</p><p>Do you think this guy is criminally insane or was just trying to make a very big point?<br />&nbsp;</p><p><span style="font-size: 12px;"><em>Image via <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/virginia-teacher-arrested-allegedly-firing-blanks-students-164758793.html" target="_blank">Yahoo!</a></em></span></p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/worst-teacher-of-the-year-award-virginia-teacher-pulls-gun-in-classroom-criminally-stupid-guns">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=ciXlwlfq8nk:YjdH9yoNZu8:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=ciXlwlfq8nk:YjdH9yoNZu8:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=ciXlwlfq8nk:YjdH9yoNZu8:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=ciXlwlfq8nk:YjdH9yoNZu8:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=ciXlwlfq8nk:YjdH9yoNZu8:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=ciXlwlfq8nk:YjdH9yoNZu8:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=ciXlwlfq8nk:YjdH9yoNZu8:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=ciXlwlfq8nk:YjdH9yoNZu8:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/ciXlwlfq8nk" height="1" width="1"/> Jennifer Proffitt Published Wed, 25 Apr 2012 18:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/worst-teacher-of-the-year-award-virginia-teacher-pulls-gun-in-classroom-criminally-stupid-guns http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/worst-teacher-of-the-year-award-virginia-teacher-pulls-gun-in-classroom-criminally-stupid-guns http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/HrX7MbZVGaY/horror-the-walking-dead-zombie-thriller-comic-tyrese-daryl-carol-christopher-morgan <p><img alt="Carol and Daryl in AMC’s Walking Dead" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.18-04.24/Morgan-Carol-Daryl-WD250x162.jpg" style=" height: 162px; width: 250px;" title="Carol and Daryl in AMC’s Walking Dead" />The folks over at Criminal Element’s sister site Heroes and Heartbreakers love their HEAs. Here at Crime HQ, on the other hand, we know that “happily ever after” is not realistic: things almost always end in death for someone. So when the H&amp;H folks say the <a href="http://www.heroesandheartbreakers.com/blogs/2012/04/the-walking-dead-a-budding-romance-or-just-wishful-thinking" target="_blank">Daryl/Carol budding romance in <em>Walking Dead</em></a> is reason to hope in the Zombie Apocalypse, we, dear readers, know the real score. As in any good noir story, no apocalypse has a happy ending. Not for anyone.</p><p>The thing is, while I love Daryl, I understand the character that he is replacing from the comics. You see in <strong>Robert Kirkman</strong>’s comic canon, Daryl doesn’t yet exist. Instead Rick’s ally and resident badass is Tyreese, an ex-pro football player turned car salesman. Yeah, Tyreese is a little on edge, but he is mostly put together, and he <em>does </em>develop a relationship with Carol, but things don’t end too well . . .</p><p>[Do they ever? SPOILER ALERT...]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/horror-the-walking-dead-zombie-thriller-comic-tyrese-daryl-carol-christopher-morgan">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=HrX7MbZVGaY:LO5_WCP4tjs:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=HrX7MbZVGaY:LO5_WCP4tjs:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=HrX7MbZVGaY:LO5_WCP4tjs:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=HrX7MbZVGaY:LO5_WCP4tjs:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=HrX7MbZVGaY:LO5_WCP4tjs:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=HrX7MbZVGaY:LO5_WCP4tjs:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=HrX7MbZVGaY:LO5_WCP4tjs:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=HrX7MbZVGaY:LO5_WCP4tjs:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/HrX7MbZVGaY" height="1" width="1"/> Christopher Morgan Published Wed, 25 Apr 2012 17:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/horror-the-walking-dead-zombie-thriller-comic-tyrese-daryl-carol-christopher-morgan http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/horror-the-walking-dead-zombie-thriller-comic-tyrese-daryl-carol-christopher-morgan http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/FNO7eSaI-B8/detective-stories-police-procedurals-traditional-cozies-thriller-noir-writing-the-world-love-and-crime-italian-style-leslie-elman-italy-andrea-camilleri-inspector-montalbano-series-leslie-gilbert-elman <p><img alt="Andrea Camelleri" class="blog-pic-right-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.11-04-17/Elman-Andrea-Camilleri-250.jpg" title="Why so serious?" />There’s a delicious thrill that comes with embarking on a new relationship, when everything is fresh and surprising, and nothing would please you more than being with your new infatuation morning, noon, and night. You become traveling companions and spend lazy Sundays curled up together on the sofa at home. Bliss!</p><p>And yet . . .</p><p>Even as you savor this joy, thorny doubt prickles the back of your mind. <em>Slow down,</em> it says. Pace yourself. Take time to savor every moment you’re together. The road ahead might seem endless, but it won’t be long before you find yourself revisiting old territory where things are familiar and you know what’s waiting for you around every bend.</p><p>That’s sort of where I am right now with <strong>Andrea Camilleri</strong>.</p><p>He’s utterly unaware of this, of course. But if he knew, I don’t think he’d mind.</p><p>[That’s what <em>you</em> think...]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/detective-stories-police-procedurals-traditional-cozies-thriller-noir-writing-the-world-love-and-crime-italian-style-leslie-elman-italy-andrea-camilleri-inspector-montalbano-series-leslie-gilbert-elman">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=FNO7eSaI-B8:hUhyNgDOw7M:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=FNO7eSaI-B8:hUhyNgDOw7M:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=FNO7eSaI-B8:hUhyNgDOw7M:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=FNO7eSaI-B8:hUhyNgDOw7M:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=FNO7eSaI-B8:hUhyNgDOw7M:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=FNO7eSaI-B8:hUhyNgDOw7M:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=FNO7eSaI-B8:hUhyNgDOw7M:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=FNO7eSaI-B8:hUhyNgDOw7M:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/FNO7eSaI-B8" height="1" width="1"/> Leslie Gilbert Elman Published Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:30:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/detective-stories-police-procedurals-traditional-cozies-thriller-noir-writing-the-world-love-and-crime-italian-style-leslie-elman-italy-andrea-camilleri-inspector-montalbano-series-leslie-gilbert-elman http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/detective-stories-police-procedurals-traditional-cozies-thriller-noir-writing-the-world-love-and-crime-italian-style-leslie-elman-italy-andrea-camilleri-inspector-montalbano-series-leslie-gilbert-elman http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/u7ggMO1gbTg/check-in-mail-puppy-bulldog-humor-threats-cozy-cute <p><img alt="via Animals Talking in All Caps tumblr" class="blog-pic-left-align " src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.25-05.01/MC-Puppy-Check-in-Mail.jpg" style="height: 714px; width: 475px; " />LOOKING FOR YOUR MAIL, PAUL? BECAUSE I’M LOOKING FOR MY MONEY.</p><div class="CAPTION"><p>YOU’VE GOT THREE DAYS. AFTER THAT YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO PICK UP YOUR TEETH WITH BROKEN FINGERS.</p><p>THREE DAYS. DON’T DOUBT ME.</p><p><span style="font-size:14px;">The chilling reality of puppy extortion via <em><a href="http://animalstalkinginallcaps.tumblr.com/post/10020135477/looking-for-your-mail-paul-because-im-looking" target="_blank">Animals Talking in All Caps</a></em>.</span></p></div><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/check-in-mail-puppy-bulldog-humor-threats-cozy-cute">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=u7ggMO1gbTg:MddDKgb6vCY:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=u7ggMO1gbTg:MddDKgb6vCY:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=u7ggMO1gbTg:MddDKgb6vCY:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=u7ggMO1gbTg:MddDKgb6vCY:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=u7ggMO1gbTg:MddDKgb6vCY:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=u7ggMO1gbTg:MddDKgb6vCY:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=u7ggMO1gbTg:MddDKgb6vCY:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=u7ggMO1gbTg:MddDKgb6vCY:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/u7ggMO1gbTg" height="1" width="1"/> Crime HQ Published Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:45:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/check-in-mail-puppy-bulldog-humor-threats-cozy-cute http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/check-in-mail-puppy-bulldog-humor-threats-cozy-cute http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/86mTm7jrIUI/traditional-mysteries-cozy-fresh-meat-drop-dead-chocolate-jessica-beck-leigh-neely-excerpt-fresh-meat-food-recipe-leigh-neely <p><img alt="Drop Dead Chocolate by Jessica Beck" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.11-04-17/Neely-Drop-Dead-Chocolate-by-Jessica-Beck.jpg" title="Drop Dead Chocolate by Jessica Beck" /><strong><em>Drop Dead Chocolate</em> by Jessica Beck is a cozy mystery, </strong><strong>the seventh in the Donut Shop Mystery Series</strong><strong> set in North Carolina (available April 24, 2012). </strong></p><p>Suzanne Hart, the wonderful donut maker in April Springs, North Carolina, is truly excited when her mother decides to run against the town’s crooked mayor, Cam Hamilton. Dorothy Hart’s ire is stirred up when the mayor wins a bid for a county job—something Dorothy clearly sees as a conflict of interest.</p><p>The smug politician thinks there’s no way Dorothy can get the required signatures on her petition to run for mayor by the cutoff that afternoon. Not only does she make the deadline, she has more signatures than she would ever need as a great many people in town are pleased to see someone honest run for mayor.</p><p>[It’s a job to die for...]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/traditional-mysteries-cozy-fresh-meat-drop-dead-chocolate-jessica-beck-leigh-neely-excerpt-fresh-meat-food-recipe-leigh-neely">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=86mTm7jrIUI:nEFGi0ixDqQ:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=86mTm7jrIUI:nEFGi0ixDqQ:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=86mTm7jrIUI:nEFGi0ixDqQ:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=86mTm7jrIUI:nEFGi0ixDqQ:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=86mTm7jrIUI:nEFGi0ixDqQ:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=86mTm7jrIUI:nEFGi0ixDqQ:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=86mTm7jrIUI:nEFGi0ixDqQ:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=86mTm7jrIUI:nEFGi0ixDqQ:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/86mTm7jrIUI" height="1" width="1"/> Leigh Neely Published Tue, 24 Apr 2012 18:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/traditional-mysteries-cozy-fresh-meat-drop-dead-chocolate-jessica-beck-leigh-neely-excerpt-fresh-meat-food-recipe-leigh-neely http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/traditional-mysteries-cozy-fresh-meat-drop-dead-chocolate-jessica-beck-leigh-neely-excerpt-fresh-meat-food-recipe-leigh-neely http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/x-VsNDtOQVc/thriller-noir-patient-zero-jonathan-maberry-excerpt-zombies-paranormal-joe-ledger-series <p><img alt="Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/excerpts/Maberry-Patient-Zero250.jpg" title="Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry" /><strong>An excerpt from <em>Patient Zero</em>, the first in the Joe Ledger Echo Team paranormal crime series by Jonathan Maberry. </strong></p><p><em>When you have to kill the same terrorist twice in one week there’s either something wrong with your world or something wrong with your skills . . . and there’s nothing wrong with Joe Ledger’s skills.&nbsp; And that’s both a good, and a bad thing.&nbsp; It’s good because he’s a Baltimore detective who has just been secretly recruited by the government to lead a new task force created to deal with the problems Homeland Security can’t handle. This rapid response group is called the Department of Military Sciences or the DMS for short. It’s bad because his first mission is to help stop a group of terrorists from releasing a dreadful bioweapon that can turn ordinary people into zombies. The fate of the world hangs in the balance. . .</em></p><p><br /><strong>Chapter 1</strong></p><p>When you have to kill the same terrorist twice in one week, then there’s either something wrong with your skills or something wrong with your world.</p><p>And there’s nothing wrong with my skills.</p><p>[Read the full excerpt of <em>Patient Zero</em> by Jonathan Maberry]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/04/thriller-noir-patient-zero-jonathan-maberry-excerpt-zombies-paranormal-joe-ledger-series">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=x-VsNDtOQVc:-Rw1Am7rKnk:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=x-VsNDtOQVc:-Rw1Am7rKnk:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=x-VsNDtOQVc:-Rw1Am7rKnk:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=x-VsNDtOQVc:-Rw1Am7rKnk:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=x-VsNDtOQVc:-Rw1Am7rKnk:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=x-VsNDtOQVc:-Rw1Am7rKnk:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=x-VsNDtOQVc:-Rw1Am7rKnk:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=x-VsNDtOQVc:-Rw1Am7rKnk:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/x-VsNDtOQVc" height="1" width="1"/> Jonathan Maberry Excerpts Tue, 24 Apr 2012 17:30:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/04/thriller-noir-patient-zero-jonathan-maberry-excerpt-zombies-paranormal-joe-ledger-series http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/04/thriller-noir-patient-zero-jonathan-maberry-excerpt-zombies-paranormal-joe-ledger-series http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/oTeumOtQ6yY/paranormal-thriller-horror-jonathan-maberry-joe-ledger-echo-team <p style="margin: 14px 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 16px; "><strong>Sorry, this sweepstakes has ended.</strong></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 16px; "><strong>Stay tuned on our&nbsp;<a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/features/series/sweepstakes" target="_self">Sweepstakes</a>&nbsp;page for more offers!</strong></span></p><p><img alt="Assassin’s Code by Jonathan Maberry" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/sweepstakes/Mayberry-Joe-Ledger-Sweepstakes250x369.jpg" style=" height: 369px; width: 250px;" title="Assassin’s Code by Jonathan Maberry" /><strong>Click here to enter for a chance to win!</strong></p><p>NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.&nbsp;A PURCHASE DOES NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCE OF WINNING. You must be 18 or older and a legal resident of the 50 United States or D.C. to enter.&nbsp;Promotion begins April 24, 2012, at 12 pm ET, and ends May 1, 2012, 11:59 am ET. Void in Puerto Rico and wherever prohibited by law.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/page/official-rules-joe-ledger-series-sweepstakes" style="text-decoration: none; ">Click here for&nbsp;details and official rules</a>.</p><p>[About the books...]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/paranormal-thriller-horror-jonathan-maberry-joe-ledger-echo-team">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=oTeumOtQ6yY:SA3pSVdOLO4:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=oTeumOtQ6yY:SA3pSVdOLO4:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=oTeumOtQ6yY:SA3pSVdOLO4:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=oTeumOtQ6yY:SA3pSVdOLO4:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=oTeumOtQ6yY:SA3pSVdOLO4:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=oTeumOtQ6yY:SA3pSVdOLO4:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=oTeumOtQ6yY:SA3pSVdOLO4:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=oTeumOtQ6yY:SA3pSVdOLO4:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/oTeumOtQ6yY" height="1" width="1"/> Crime HQ Published Tue, 24 Apr 2012 17:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/paranormal-thriller-horror-jonathan-maberry-joe-ledger-echo-team http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/paranormal-thriller-horror-jonathan-maberry-joe-ledger-echo-team http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/CRkYxjjexp0/mwa-best-novel-nominees-edgar-awards-handicapping-published-2011-thrillers-detectives-japan-norway-england-scotland-jordan-foster <p><img alt="" class="blog-pic-right-align " src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.18-04.24/Edgar-Award-Statue-Matt-Peyton-Photography.jpg" style=" height: 159px; width: 100px;" />For the first time in recent memory (read: more than a decade), none of the Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Award nominees for Best Novel have ever been nominated before. On April 26th, one of them will be announced from the stage at New York’s Grand Hyatt Hotel and take a first walk with this bust of Edgar Allan Poe. (Of course, some nominees may have practiced the victory walk in private, substituting a water bottle for Poe’s lovely ceramic visage.)</p><p>The last year a first-time nominee won the Best Novel prize was back in 2007, when<strong> Jason Goodwin</strong>’s <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2011/04/the-janissary-tree-excerpt" target="_self"><em>The Janissary Tree</em></a> took home the prize. 2007 was also a good year for other first-timers, with four of the six nominees logging their first nomination. This year’s crop of nominees is widely varied, but I like to think of them as a five-volume set of How-To manuals:</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><img alt="The Ranger by Ace Atkins" class="blog-pic-left-align " src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.18-04.24/Best-Novel-Edgars-The-Ranger-Ace-Atkins.jpg" style="height: 369px; width: 250px; " />Volume One) <u>How to Clean Up Your Home Town</u></p><p>by Quinn Colson, recently retired U.S. Army Ranger from <strong>Ace Atkins</strong>’s aptly titled <em>The Ranger</em>.</p><p>Subsections include “Mississippi Law 101, Or Welcome to Hill Country,” “If You Think That Suicide is Really a Murder, You’re Probably Right,” and “Good-bye Meth Dealers.”</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>[Complete the set in our easy five-payment plan!]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/mwa-best-novel-nominees-edgar-awards-handicapping-published-2011-thrillers-detectives-japan-norway-england-scotland-jordan-foster">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=CRkYxjjexp0:RAv2CrhTl-E:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=CRkYxjjexp0:RAv2CrhTl-E:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=CRkYxjjexp0:RAv2CrhTl-E:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=CRkYxjjexp0:RAv2CrhTl-E:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=CRkYxjjexp0:RAv2CrhTl-E:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=CRkYxjjexp0:RAv2CrhTl-E:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=CRkYxjjexp0:RAv2CrhTl-E:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=CRkYxjjexp0:RAv2CrhTl-E:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/CRkYxjjexp0" height="1" width="1"/> Jordan Foster Published Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:30:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/mwa-best-novel-nominees-edgar-awards-handicapping-published-2011-thrillers-detectives-japan-norway-england-scotland-jordan-foster http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/mwa-best-novel-nominees-edgar-awards-handicapping-published-2011-thrillers-detectives-japan-norway-england-scotland-jordan-foster http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/rxsO52fSIhg/will-csi-gil-grissom-hurt-people-cinemax-tv-series-crime-hitman-william-petersen-clare-toohey <p><img alt="Willam Petersen / Pure People, Abaca" class="blog-pic-right-align " src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.18-04.24/MC-William-Petersen-CSI-Hurt-People.jpg" style="height: 366px; width: 250px; " />Can you stand to see Gil Grissom go bad? Willam Petersen is set to executive-produce and star in his first TV series since leaving <em>CSI</em> in 2009.&nbsp; According to <a href="http://%20http://www.tvguide.com/News/William-Petersen-Pilot-1046265.aspx" target="_blank"><em>TV Guide</em></a>, in the new series <em>Hurt People</em>:</p><blockquote><p>Petersen will play Hollis Brown, a longtime hitman employed by the crime family that killed his wife. Brown is tasked with finding his estranged daughter who’s determined to destroy the people responsible for her mother’s death.</p></blockquote><p>This character seems to fall on the opposite side of the prison bars as Petersen’s usual roles (Will Graham was even the hero way back in <em>Manhunter</em>). But since he’s always been fun to watch, we think we actually might be looking forward to seeing him hurt people!</p><p>What about you? Rather than collecting insects, can you envision him squashing people like bugs?</p><p><span style="font-size:12px;">Image via<em> <a href="http://www.purepeople.com/media/william-petersen_m207139" target="_blank">Pure People</a>.</em></span></p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/will-csi-gil-grissom-hurt-people-cinemax-tv-series-crime-hitman-william-petersen-clare-toohey">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=rxsO52fSIhg:XA_7MlP69Tw:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=rxsO52fSIhg:XA_7MlP69Tw:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=rxsO52fSIhg:XA_7MlP69Tw:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=rxsO52fSIhg:XA_7MlP69Tw:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=rxsO52fSIhg:XA_7MlP69Tw:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=rxsO52fSIhg:XA_7MlP69Tw:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=rxsO52fSIhg:XA_7MlP69Tw:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=rxsO52fSIhg:XA_7MlP69Tw:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/rxsO52fSIhg" height="1" width="1"/> Clare Toohey Published Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:45:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/will-csi-gil-grissom-hurt-people-cinemax-tv-series-crime-hitman-william-petersen-clare-toohey http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/will-csi-gil-grissom-hurt-people-cinemax-tv-series-crime-hitman-william-petersen-clare-toohey http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/PeIwHnJENrU/fresh-meat-one-red-bastard-by-ed-lin-mystery-police-procedural-china-mao-dirk-robertson <p><em><img alt="One Red Bastard by Ed Lin" class="blog-pic-left-align " src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.18-04.24/Robertson_Ed-Lin-One-Red-Bastard.jpg" style="height: 377px; width: 250px;" /></em><strong><em>One Red Bastard</em> by <a href="http://www.edlinforpresident.com/" target="_blank">Ed Lin</a> is a police procedural in 1976’s New York City, set against the backdrop of America’s relationship with Taiwan and Beijing, China (available April 24, 2012).</strong></p><p>There’s a lot in a name.</p><p>Mao’s, for one, carries some weight, punching well beyond the grave. Even those unfamiliar with most Chinese history are not likely to say <em>Mao who</em>? In <em>One Red Bastard</em>, <strong>Ed Lin</strong> has Mao’s daughter’s Chinese representative murdered. Bad enough, but this is not in China. It is New York in 1976, and the finger of suspicion is pointed firmly at Lonnie, the girlfriend of detective-in-training Robert Chow.</p><p>“If a daughter turns out badly, she’ll go to another family anyway, but having a bad son is serious” reads the proverb on the opening page.</p><p>[And there’s more serious trouble ahead. . .]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/fresh-meat-one-red-bastard-by-ed-lin-mystery-police-procedural-china-mao-dirk-robertson">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=PeIwHnJENrU:c1PSGmBDsV4:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=PeIwHnJENrU:c1PSGmBDsV4:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=PeIwHnJENrU:c1PSGmBDsV4:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=PeIwHnJENrU:c1PSGmBDsV4:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=PeIwHnJENrU:c1PSGmBDsV4:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=PeIwHnJENrU:c1PSGmBDsV4:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=PeIwHnJENrU:c1PSGmBDsV4:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=PeIwHnJENrU:c1PSGmBDsV4:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/PeIwHnJENrU" height="1" width="1"/> Dirk Robertson Published Mon, 23 Apr 2012 17:30:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/fresh-meat-one-red-bastard-by-ed-lin-mystery-police-procedural-china-mao-dirk-robertson http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/fresh-meat-one-red-bastard-by-ed-lin-mystery-police-procedural-china-mao-dirk-robertson http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/HlB52EqClVU/thriller-noir-evil-dark-jason-gustainis-excerpt-paranormal-occult-crimes-unit-investigation <p id="yui_3_3_0_1_1334251926502_2053"><img alt="Evil Dark by Justin Gustainis" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/excerpts/Gustainis-Evil-Dark-Excerpt-250.jpg" style="height: 410px; width: 250px;" title="Evil Dark by Justin Gustainis" /><strong>An excerpt from <em>Evil Dark</em>, a paranormal hard-boiled police procedural by Justin Gustainis (available April 24, 2012).</strong></p><p><em>“My name’s Markowski. I carry a badge. Also, a crucifix, some wooden stakes, a big vial of holy water, and a 9mm Beretta loaded with silver bullets...”</em></p><p id="yui_3_3_0_1_1334251926502_2051"><em>A series of seemingly motiveless murders of supernatural creatures points to a vigilante targeting the supe </em>[supernatural]<em> community. Markowski wouldn’t normally have much of a problem with that, but his daughter may be next on the killer’s list...</em></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The city is Scranton. The name is Markowski. I carry a badge. The monsters from your nightmares are real, all of them. If you live in my town, protecting you from them—and vice versa—is my job.</p><p>That’s pretty much all you need to know about who I am and what I do.</p><p>There are a few things in this life that I really hate, and two of them are fairies and heights.</p><p>[Read the full excerpt of <em>Evil Dark</em> by Justin Gustainis.]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/04/thriller-noir-evil-dark-jason-gustainis-excerpt-paranormal-occult-crimes-unit-investigation">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=HlB52EqClVU:JAfa1dUHx-U:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=HlB52EqClVU:JAfa1dUHx-U:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=HlB52EqClVU:JAfa1dUHx-U:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=HlB52EqClVU:JAfa1dUHx-U:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=HlB52EqClVU:JAfa1dUHx-U:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=HlB52EqClVU:JAfa1dUHx-U:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=HlB52EqClVU:JAfa1dUHx-U:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=HlB52EqClVU:JAfa1dUHx-U:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/HlB52EqClVU" height="1" width="1"/> Justin Gustainis Excerpts Mon, 23 Apr 2012 17:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/04/thriller-noir-evil-dark-jason-gustainis-excerpt-paranormal-occult-crimes-unit-investigation http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/04/thriller-noir-evil-dark-jason-gustainis-excerpt-paranormal-occult-crimes-unit-investigation http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/aTeL1IjrlYk/fresh-meat-long-island-noir-anthology-crime-short-stories-kathleen-ryan <p><img alt="Long Island Noir, edited by Kaylie Jones" class="blog-pic-left-align " src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.18-04.24/Long-Island-Noir.jpg" style="height: 394px; width: 250px; " /><strong><em>Long Island Noir</em> is an anthology of short crime fiction, all set in Nassau and Suffolk counties of New York, edited by Kaylie Jones (available April 30, 2012)</strong>.</p><p>The counties of Nassau and Suffolk (collectively known as Long Island) have patiently waited their turn in the Akashic Books Noir series since their neighbor to the west, Brooklyn, started the frenzy in 2004.</p><p><em>Long Island Noir</em> has been worth the wait.</p><p>Edited by <strong>Kaylie Jones</strong>, this volume features original stories by writers—veteran and emerging—with personal and professional ties to Long Island: Jules Feiffer, Matthew McGevna, Nick Mamatas, Kaylie Jones, Qanta Ahmed, Charles Salzberg, Reed Farrel Coleman, Tim McLoughlin, Sarah Weinman, JZ Holden, Richie Narvaez, Sheila Kohler, Jane Ciabattari, Steven Wishnia, Kenneth Wishnia, Amani Scipio, and Tim Tomlinson.</p><p>Many of the tales will evoke memories of actual events for native Long Islanders. They did for me. Some are disguised, while others are clearly identified. Either way, the pages are locally authentic. Current and displaced Long Islanders will recognize the lingo and locations, while folks who’ve never visited will identify with the longing and lusting experienced by many of the characters.</p><p>[Give Us that Long Island Kiss Goodbye. . .]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/fresh-meat-long-island-noir-anthology-crime-short-stories-kathleen-ryan">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=aTeL1IjrlYk:P3V-Zp4a65Y:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=aTeL1IjrlYk:P3V-Zp4a65Y:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=aTeL1IjrlYk:P3V-Zp4a65Y:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=aTeL1IjrlYk:P3V-Zp4a65Y:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=aTeL1IjrlYk:P3V-Zp4a65Y:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=aTeL1IjrlYk:P3V-Zp4a65Y:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=aTeL1IjrlYk:P3V-Zp4a65Y:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=aTeL1IjrlYk:P3V-Zp4a65Y:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/aTeL1IjrlYk" height="1" width="1"/> Kathleen A. Ryan Published Mon, 23 Apr 2012 14:30:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/fresh-meat-long-island-noir-anthology-crime-short-stories-kathleen-ryan http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/fresh-meat-long-island-noir-anthology-crime-short-stories-kathleen-ryan http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/K03YLF3_-vE/horror-zombies-the-horde-france-international-zombi-2-italy-movies <p><img align="left" alt="La Horde starring Claude Perron, Jean-Pierre Martins, and Eriq Ebonuaney" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.18-04.24/AMCoffee-La-Horde-175x237.jpg" title="La Horde starring Claude Perron, Jean-Pierre Martins, and Eriq Ebonuaney" />We’ve talked about various kinds of <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/search?searchword=zombies&amp;ordering=&amp;searchphrase=all&amp;areas[0]=blogs&amp;areas[1]=stories" target="_self">zombies here at Criminal Element,</a> and it would be remiss of us to leave out the international zombie. Now the zombie craze isn’t solely a American thing. Though George Romero did his part in making the zombie we all know and love a household-monster on par with Universal’s Fearsome Foursome (Dracula, Wolfman, Frankenstein, and Mummy), certain international outlets have taken the sub-genre and run with it.</p><p>One such international movie is <em>La Horde, </em>or in the event you don’t speak French, <em>The Horde</em>. The movie is about a group of policemen out for vengeance after a brother-in-blue dies at the hands of a drug dealer who’s fortified his position in an abandoned building, natch. Now what elevates this from Crime/Action-Movie to campy greatness is the addition of the Zombie Apocalypse. I swear, you’d think the undead were like pepper at this point: just add liberally to any trope and BAM!</p><p>That being said, the movie isn’t terrible and could have stood on its own without the undead menace, but then you’d just have a less martial-arts filled version of <em>The Seige</em>.</p><p>It would also be incredibly negligent of us not to mention the Italians, who have comepletely mastered the B-Movie style zombie. Their movies go from the somewhat good <em>[REC]</em> series to the ridiculously gore filled <em>Zombi 2, </em>directed<em> </em>by what I can only assume is Italy’s version of Roger Corman, Lucio Fulci. The incredible scene below is taken from that film and features a zombie fighting a shark. Just watch the little undead lamprey go!</p><p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="352" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/uOSN2s8FY8Q" width="475"></iframe></p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/horror-zombies-the-horde-france-international-zombi-2-italy-movies">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=K03YLF3_-vE:Q8cmSSHR2kM:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=K03YLF3_-vE:Q8cmSSHR2kM:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=K03YLF3_-vE:Q8cmSSHR2kM:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=K03YLF3_-vE:Q8cmSSHR2kM:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=K03YLF3_-vE:Q8cmSSHR2kM:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=K03YLF3_-vE:Q8cmSSHR2kM:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=K03YLF3_-vE:Q8cmSSHR2kM:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=K03YLF3_-vE:Q8cmSSHR2kM:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/K03YLF3_-vE" height="1" width="1"/> Christopher Morgan Published Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:45:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/horror-zombies-the-horde-france-international-zombi-2-italy-movies http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/horror-zombies-the-horde-france-international-zombi-2-italy-movies http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/WKlgwdRnkw8/thriller-noir-detective-the-whole-lie-steve-ulfelder-excerpt-conway-sax-mystery <p><img alt="The Whole Lie by Steve Ulfelder" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/excerpts/Ulfelder-The-Whole-Lie250.jpg" title="The Whole Lie by Steve Ulfelder" /><strong>An excerpt from The Whole Lie, a thriller by Steve Ulfelder (available May 8, 2012).</strong></p><p><em>Conway Sax, the no-nonsense auto mechanic with a knack for solving difficult problems for the Barnburners, the renegade AA group who saved his life, is back in </em>The Whole Lie<em>.&nbsp; And for once, he thinks normalcy is within reach. He’s opening a new garage, and he’s finally moved in with longtime girlfriend Charlene. The end of his parole is finally in sight. Then along comes Savannah Kane: smart, smoky, and a pusher of men’s buttons. Seven years ago, Conway helped her disappear—but not before they had a sizzling, knock-down-drag-out affair. Now she’s returned with a shocking revelation: she’s the mother of a six-year-old boy. Savvy claims her son’s father is billionaire Bert Saginaw, but Conway (not to mention Charlene) knows she’s looking for more than just a family reunion.&nbsp;</em></p><p><em>Saginaw wants to be Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts. Savvy wants to get paid. Conway wants nothing to do with either of them. But when Savvy turns up brutally murdered, he has no choice but to sort lies from truth</em><em>—</em><em>even though doing so may cost him his freedom, his lover, and his life.</em></p><p><br /><strong>Chapter 1</strong></p><p>When Savvy Kane walked into my shop, I was wrestling the rotted muffler from a Maxima. It’s not a pretty job. Rust flakes, road crud, frozen bolts. Cursing is involved.</p><p>As I gave a final twist, the customer door swung open.</p><p>I looked.</p><p>I looked again.</p><p>My jaw dropped.</p><p>The muffler dropped.</p><p>It weighed thirty pounds, and every one of them landed on my right boot.</p><p>[Read the full excerpt of <em>The Whole Lie</em> by Steve Ulfelder]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/04/thriller-noir-detective-the-whole-lie-steve-ulfelder-excerpt-conway-sax-mystery">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=WKlgwdRnkw8:m-3J3JLLgLY:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=WKlgwdRnkw8:m-3J3JLLgLY:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=WKlgwdRnkw8:m-3J3JLLgLY:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=WKlgwdRnkw8:m-3J3JLLgLY:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=WKlgwdRnkw8:m-3J3JLLgLY:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=WKlgwdRnkw8:m-3J3JLLgLY:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=WKlgwdRnkw8:m-3J3JLLgLY:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=WKlgwdRnkw8:m-3J3JLLgLY:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/WKlgwdRnkw8" height="1" width="1"/> Steve Ulfelder Excerpts Sun, 22 Apr 2012 17:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/04/thriller-noir-detective-the-whole-lie-steve-ulfelder-excerpt-conway-sax-mystery http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/04/thriller-noir-detective-the-whole-lie-steve-ulfelder-excerpt-conway-sax-mystery http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/DG3iRo-aIjE/the-muppets-take-on-brenda-leigh-johnson-the-closer-deborah-lacy <p>It seems we aren’t the only ones suffering during this split season hiatus of <em>The Closer. </em>The gang over at <em>Sesame Street </em>put together this lovely spoof, where bright pink Brenda Leigh puppet teaches everyone to close cases—suit cases, glass cases, pencil cases—because it’s important to take care of your things. &nbsp;</p><p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="271" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/JIX0LsYuUHA?rel=0" width="475"></iframe></p><p>I wonder if <em>The Closer</em> will retaliate with a Sesame Street parody? Perhaps something along the lines of Flynn and Provenza singing the rubber ducky song?</p><hr /><p>Deborah Lacy is an avid mystery reader and aspiring novelist.&nbsp; You can follow her on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/quippy" target="_blank">@quippy.</a></p><p>Check out all of <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/Deborah%20Lacy#filter">Deborah Lacy’s posts for Criminal Element</a>.</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/the-muppets-take-on-brenda-leigh-johnson-the-closer-deborah-lacy">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=DG3iRo-aIjE:xNSs60rtyp8:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=DG3iRo-aIjE:xNSs60rtyp8:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=DG3iRo-aIjE:xNSs60rtyp8:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=DG3iRo-aIjE:xNSs60rtyp8:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=DG3iRo-aIjE:xNSs60rtyp8:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=DG3iRo-aIjE:xNSs60rtyp8:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=DG3iRo-aIjE:xNSs60rtyp8:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=DG3iRo-aIjE:xNSs60rtyp8:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/DG3iRo-aIjE" height="1" width="1"/> Deborah Lacy Published Sat, 21 Apr 2012 17:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/the-muppets-take-on-brenda-leigh-johnson-the-closer-deborah-lacy http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/the-muppets-take-on-brenda-leigh-johnson-the-closer-deborah-lacy http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/LzTvtOp5VW4/more-bang-for-your-zombie-buck-undead-primer-horror-paranormal-walking-dead-christopher-morgan <p><img alt="Weird Tales Magazine, The original primer on all things zombie" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.18-04.24/Morgan-Weird-Tales200x303.jpg" style=" height: 303px; width: 200px;" title="Weird Tales Magazine, The original primer on all things zombie" />Okay, so for the past month <em>Criminal Element</em> has been talking zombies. We’ve visited the shambling dead’s <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/cobwebs-of-the-crypt-the-evolution-of-the-zombie-thriller-horror" target="_blank">humble beginnings</a> and talked about what makes them <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/my-first-undead-love-how-i-fell-for-horror-thriller-dracula-dana-fredsti" target="_blank">better than Dracula</a>, we’ve even gathered together info to help you determine if you could <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/could-you-survive-zombie-apocalypse-humor-horror-thriller-undead" target="_blank">survive the zombie apocalypse</a>. (Let’s be honest, if you’ve made it this far into the month your odds are pretty good.)</p><p>I’d like to take some time now to point out a few lesser known or less mainstream additions to zombie media. My knowledge is by no means all-encompassing, these are just some of my favorites.</p><p>[Now, bring out ’cha dead…]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/more-bang-for-your-zombie-buck-undead-primer-horror-paranormal-walking-dead-christopher-morgan">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=LzTvtOp5VW4:-VTnQLRD_sc:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=LzTvtOp5VW4:-VTnQLRD_sc:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=LzTvtOp5VW4:-VTnQLRD_sc:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=LzTvtOp5VW4:-VTnQLRD_sc:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=LzTvtOp5VW4:-VTnQLRD_sc:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=LzTvtOp5VW4:-VTnQLRD_sc:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=LzTvtOp5VW4:-VTnQLRD_sc:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=LzTvtOp5VW4:-VTnQLRD_sc:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/LzTvtOp5VW4" height="1" width="1"/> Christopher Morgan Published Sat, 21 Apr 2012 15:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/more-bang-for-your-zombie-buck-undead-primer-horror-paranormal-walking-dead-christopher-morgan http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/more-bang-for-your-zombie-buck-undead-primer-horror-paranormal-walking-dead-christopher-morgan http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/HW_sTtDRZjM/fangtastic-fakes-monsters-too-good-to-be-true <p><img alt="Recognize this critter?" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.18-04.24/Nimble_Monster-Fakes-Hodag.jpg" style="height: 188px; width: 250px;" title="Have you seen me?" />As we roll toward the end of Undead April here at Crime HQ, we want to remind you that although zombies undeniably exist, not every monster out there is real. Courtesy of our friends over at Blastr, here are <a href="http://blastr.com/2012/04/19-big-monster-finds-that.php">Sixteen Big Monster Finds that Turned Out to be Big Monster Fakes</a>. Some you may recognize, some you may not. You can find out all the details over on Blastr, so here we’ll just give you a selection of their names. (My personal favorite is the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus.)</p><p><img alt="The Feejee Mermaid" class="blog-pic-right-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.18-04.24/Nimble_Monster-Fakes-Feejee.jpg" style="height: 233px; width: 250px;" title="I don’t think this is what Disney had in mind." />The Cardiff Giant<br />The Feejee Mermaid<br />The Furry Trout<br />The Martian Monkey<br />The Giant Penguin<br />The Hodag<br />The Jenny Haniver<br />The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus<br />The Pickled Dragon<br />Modern Day Diplocaulus<br />The Loch Ness Flipper Photo</p><p>So, what do <em>you</em> think is out there? What’s real and what’s fake? What hides in the dark corners of <em>your</em> bedroom at night?</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/fangtastic-fakes-monsters-too-good-to-be-true">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=HW_sTtDRZjM:TJ7lnsUsC6g:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=HW_sTtDRZjM:TJ7lnsUsC6g:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=HW_sTtDRZjM:TJ7lnsUsC6g:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=HW_sTtDRZjM:TJ7lnsUsC6g:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=HW_sTtDRZjM:TJ7lnsUsC6g:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=HW_sTtDRZjM:TJ7lnsUsC6g:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=HW_sTtDRZjM:TJ7lnsUsC6g:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=HW_sTtDRZjM:TJ7lnsUsC6g:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/HW_sTtDRZjM" height="1" width="1"/> Crime HQ Published Fri, 20 Apr 2012 18:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/fangtastic-fakes-monsters-too-good-to-be-true http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/fangtastic-fakes-monsters-too-good-to-be-true http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/iWGWM-sV_IQ/fresh-meat-every-last-secret-by-linda-rodriguez <p><em><img alt="Linda Rodriguez: Every Last Secret" class="blog-pic-left-align " src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.18-04.24/Holm_Rodriguez-Every-Last-Secret.jpg" style="height: 377px; width: 250px;" /><strong>Every Last Secret</strong></em><strong> by Linda Rodriguez, a traditional mystery featuring half-Cherokee campus cop Marquitta “Skeet” Bannion, is the winner of the Malice Domestic Best First Mystery award (available April 24, 2012).</strong></p><p><em>Every Last Secret</em> by <strong>Linda Rodriguez</strong> is a dark, twisty, turny tale of love, lies, loss, and murder on a quiet college campus. Corruption, fraud, violence, pedophilia, misogyny, blackmail, and murder<span style="font-style: italic;">—</span><em>Every Last Secret</em> has it all (and then some!). Sounds like a pretty gripping tale, right?</p><p>And gripping, it is. But the most compelling thing about <em>Every Last Secret</em> isn’t the plot—it’s the way in which Rodriguez chooses to tell her tale. Every last detail is filtered through the eyes—and the mood—of her main character, Choteau University’s chief of police Marquitta “Skeet” Bannion: every person, every set piece, every action. Rodriguez doesn’t just occasionally state how Skeet feels about an object or a circumstance—she <em>shows</em> you with practically every sentence she writes, the end result being a richness and intensity you might not expect to find in your average mystery or thriller.</p><p>[A depth of character, a depth of description...]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/fresh-meat-every-last-secret-by-linda-rodriguez">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=iWGWM-sV_IQ:2yMVHV1DGMc:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=iWGWM-sV_IQ:2yMVHV1DGMc:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=iWGWM-sV_IQ:2yMVHV1DGMc:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=iWGWM-sV_IQ:2yMVHV1DGMc:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=iWGWM-sV_IQ:2yMVHV1DGMc:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=iWGWM-sV_IQ:2yMVHV1DGMc:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=iWGWM-sV_IQ:2yMVHV1DGMc:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=iWGWM-sV_IQ:2yMVHV1DGMc:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/iWGWM-sV_IQ" height="1" width="1"/> Katrina Niidas Holm Published Fri, 20 Apr 2012 17:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/fresh-meat-every-last-secret-by-linda-rodriguez http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/fresh-meat-every-last-secret-by-linda-rodriguez http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/sMY-MvJn8Ho/detective-stories-police-procedurals-romantic-suspense-fresh-meat-silenced-allison-brennan-lois-karlin-fbi-lucy-kincaid-series <p><img alt="Silenced by Allison Brennan" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.18-04.24/Brennan-Silenced250%20.jpg" title="Silenced by Allison Brennan" /><strong><em>Silenced </em></strong><strong>by Allison Brennan is a romantic thriller, fifth in the Lucy Kincaid crime series (available April 24, 2012).</strong></p><p>In <em>Silenced</em>, agent Lucy Kincaid nearly loses her grip on her climb toward acceptance in the FBI’s ranks. The troubled past that has driven her to succeed now threatens to derail her.</p><p>As <a href="http://www.allisonbrennan.com/" target="_blank"><strong>Allison Brennan</strong>’s</a> Kincaid series enters its third year, <em>Silenced</em> returns us to DC, where Kincaid takes on Washington insiders with fierce resolve and anger-driven courage.</p><p>The book moves from the city’s idyllic Rock Creek Park, to a brothel all but sanctioned by social workers, to a mountain compound where a religious cult controls members with drugs and terror. The “silencing” of the title goes well beyond the dead, as Brennan skillfully weaves present-day intrigue with the dark pasts of several young women.</p><p>[Will Lucy’s past come back to haunt her?]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/detective-stories-police-procedurals-romantic-suspense-fresh-meat-silenced-allison-brennan-lois-karlin-fbi-lucy-kincaid-series">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=sMY-MvJn8Ho:f8zO1qjJHcY:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=sMY-MvJn8Ho:f8zO1qjJHcY:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=sMY-MvJn8Ho:f8zO1qjJHcY:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=sMY-MvJn8Ho:f8zO1qjJHcY:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=sMY-MvJn8Ho:f8zO1qjJHcY:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=sMY-MvJn8Ho:f8zO1qjJHcY:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=sMY-MvJn8Ho:f8zO1qjJHcY:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=sMY-MvJn8Ho:f8zO1qjJHcY:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/sMY-MvJn8Ho" height="1" width="1"/> Lois Karlin Published Fri, 20 Apr 2012 14:30:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/detective-stories-police-procedurals-romantic-suspense-fresh-meat-silenced-allison-brennan-lois-karlin-fbi-lucy-kincaid-series http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/detective-stories-police-procedurals-romantic-suspense-fresh-meat-silenced-allison-brennan-lois-karlin-fbi-lucy-kincaid-series http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/MTkjE3b8Doc/horror-walking-dead-justified-art-andy-hunter-zombies-western-win-this-now <p><img alt="" class="blog-pic-left-align " src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.18-04.24/AMCoffee_Givens-and-Grimes-Zombi-Saloon-Andy-Hunter.jpg" /></p><p>Two great shows. Two great characters. In this week’s fan-tabulous artistic mash-up from <a href="http://www.andyjhunter.com" target="_blank"><strong>Andy Hunter</strong></a> at <a href="http://www.draw2d2.com">Draw2D2</a> we have RG-squared. Raylan Givens of <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/features/series/justified"><em>Justified</em></a> and Rick Grimes of <em>The Walking Dead</em> meet up for a quick shot before heading out to bag some zombies.</p><p>Have we turned you into a slavering, drooling, shuffling meat-bag of desire yet? Have no fear, you have the chance to win a copy of this original work (hi-res, poster or portrait-sized, your choice)! Simply log in, comment on this post and tell us what you like best about this marvel of mash-up mania! We’ll pick one winner at random.</p><p><em><strong>To enter for a chance to win the original art titled “Givens and Grimes Zombie Saloon” by Andy Hunter, make sure you’re a registered member of the site, and then <u>log in</u> and leave a comment below. (You will know you are logged in if your name appears in black above your comment; if it appears in red, you are not logged in.)</strong></em></p><p>NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A purchase does not improve your chances of winning. Sweepstakes open to legal residents of fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia, who are 18 or older. To enter, fill out entry at <a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/horror-walking-dead-justified-art-andy-hunter-zombies-western" target="_blank">http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/horror-walking-dead-justified-art-andy-hunter-zombies-western</a>&nbsp; beginning at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) April 20, 2012. Sweepstakes ends at 11:59 a.m. ET on April 27, 2012 (the “Promotion Period”). Void outside of the 50 US and DC and where prohibited by law. Please see full details and official rules at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/page/official-rules-the-zombie-western-comment-sweepstakes">http://www.criminalelement.com/page/official-rules-the-zombie-western-comment-sweepstakes</a>. Sponsor: Macmillan, 175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/horror-walking-dead-justified-art-andy-hunter-zombies-western-win-this-now">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=MTkjE3b8Doc:8DbXe3hq0wI:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=MTkjE3b8Doc:8DbXe3hq0wI:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=MTkjE3b8Doc:8DbXe3hq0wI:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=MTkjE3b8Doc:8DbXe3hq0wI:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=MTkjE3b8Doc:8DbXe3hq0wI:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=MTkjE3b8Doc:8DbXe3hq0wI:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=MTkjE3b8Doc:8DbXe3hq0wI:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=MTkjE3b8Doc:8DbXe3hq0wI:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/MTkjE3b8Doc" height="1" width="1"/> Crime HQ Published Fri, 20 Apr 2012 13:45:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/horror-walking-dead-justified-art-andy-hunter-zombies-western-win-this-now http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/horror-walking-dead-justified-art-andy-hunter-zombies-western-win-this-now http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/kpan0kZFcXs/first-look-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-graphic-novel-stieg-larsson-denise-mina-noir-thriller <p><img alt="The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson and Denise Mina" class="blog-pic-right-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.18-04.24/Nimble_Denise-Mina-Steig-Larsson-Girl-Dragon-Tattoo-Comic.jpg" style="height: 375px; width: 250px;" title="Smokin’ hot." />Back in December, we told you that <strong>Denise Mina</strong> had taken on the project of adapting Steig Larsson’s work for graphic novels. The full comic of <em>The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo</em> won’t be out until November, but as of yesterday <a href="http://www.comixology.com/Girl-With-the-Dragon-Tattoo-Special-1/digital-comic/FEB120294" target="_blank">ComiXology</a> has a free first chapter preview (you do have to create an account to download it, but it doesn’t cost anything).</p><p>It’s hard to tell much from a single chapter, but the text is intriguing and the artwork is very detailed (you have to zoom to see it in the electronic version). Would it be even cooler if the whole thing looked like the cover? You betcha. But it’s pretty nifty anyway, and since it’s free, now’s the time to check it out if you’re curious.</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/first-look-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-graphic-novel-stieg-larsson-denise-mina-noir-thriller">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=kpan0kZFcXs:tBeStQZczUA:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=kpan0kZFcXs:tBeStQZczUA:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=kpan0kZFcXs:tBeStQZczUA:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=kpan0kZFcXs:tBeStQZczUA:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=kpan0kZFcXs:tBeStQZczUA:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=kpan0kZFcXs:tBeStQZczUA:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=kpan0kZFcXs:tBeStQZczUA:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=kpan0kZFcXs:tBeStQZczUA:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/kpan0kZFcXs" height="1" width="1"/> Crime HQ Published Thu, 19 Apr 2012 18:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/first-look-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-graphic-novel-stieg-larsson-denise-mina-noir-thriller http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/first-look-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-graphic-novel-stieg-larsson-denise-mina-noir-thriller http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/VQ3s2Jn3U9c/thriller-historical-the-sea-witch-excerpt-stephen-coonts-military-wwi-wwii-terrorism-aviation-novella <p><img alt="The Sea Witch by Stephen Coonts" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/excerpts/Coonts-Sea-Witch250.jpg" title="The Sea Witch by Stephen Coonts" /></p><p><strong>An excerpt from <em>The Sea Witch</em> by Stephen Coonts, a collection of three military thrillers: two historical and one contemporary (available May 8, 2012). </strong></p><p><em>This novella collection gathers&nbsp; three evocative tales&nbsp;from </em>New York Times<em> best-selling author Stephen Coonts into one cohesive volume.&nbsp; Here is Coonts doing what he does best—writing about men and women at war.</em></p><p><em>The Sea Witch . . .</em></p><p><em>When a young Dauntless dive-bomber pilot is&nbsp;sacked for reckless behavior, he’s reassigned to&nbsp;a Black Cat squadron as the copilot of a giant Catalina seaplane, The Sea Witch.&nbsp; He’s thrown into a whole new world, where a Catalina carries five tons of bombs, a half-dozen machine guns, and a crew that walks a fine line between valor and a death wish.</em></p><p><em>A daring&nbsp;night bombing&nbsp;mission against Rabaul forces the crew of The Sea Witch&nbsp;to band together as never before.&nbsp; Each man will soon find out what he’s made of . . . and not everyone will make it back alive.</em></p><p><br /><strong>Chapter 1</strong></p><p>“I’m looking,” the skipper said, flipping through my logbook, “but I can’t find any seaplane time.” The skipper was Commander Martin Jones. His face was greasy from perspiration and he looked exhausted.</p><p>“I’ve had four or five rides in a PBY,” I told him, “but always as a passenger.” In fact, a PBY had just brought me here from Guadalcanal. It departed after delivering me, some mail, and a couple of tons of spare parts.</p><p>[Read the full excerpt of <em>The Sea Witch</em> by Stephen Coonts...]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/04/thriller-historical-the-sea-witch-excerpt-stephen-coonts-military-wwi-wwii-terrorism-aviation-novella">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=VQ3s2Jn3U9c:p8OJeO3w7Lo:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=VQ3s2Jn3U9c:p8OJeO3w7Lo:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=VQ3s2Jn3U9c:p8OJeO3w7Lo:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=VQ3s2Jn3U9c:p8OJeO3w7Lo:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=VQ3s2Jn3U9c:p8OJeO3w7Lo:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=VQ3s2Jn3U9c:p8OJeO3w7Lo:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=VQ3s2Jn3U9c:p8OJeO3w7Lo:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=VQ3s2Jn3U9c:p8OJeO3w7Lo:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/VQ3s2Jn3U9c" height="1" width="1"/> Stephen Coonts Excerpts Thu, 19 Apr 2012 17:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/04/thriller-historical-the-sea-witch-excerpt-stephen-coonts-military-wwi-wwii-terrorism-aviation-novella http://www.criminalelement.com/stories/2012/04/thriller-historical-the-sea-witch-excerpt-stephen-coonts-military-wwi-wwii-terrorism-aviation-novella http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/JjotWrekEmU/my-first-undead-love-how-i-fell-for-horror-thriller-dracula-dana-fredsti <p><img alt="Edgar Allan Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart" class="blog-pic-right-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.11-04-17/Fredsti_Dracula-Poe.jpg" style="height: 333px; width: 250px;" title="Perfect bedtime far for young children!" />Even as a very young child, I had a morbid sensibility.&nbsp; This may have had something to do with my granddad on my father’s side; his idea of a good bedtime story for me and my sister at ages three and six (respectively) was <em>The Tell-Tale Heart</em> by <strong>Edgar Allan Poe</strong>.&nbsp; Grandpa read with great flair, building up the tension of the story to a hair-raising degree.&nbsp; I loved every minute of it.&nbsp;</p><p>My cousins Mark and Amy (on my mom’s side of the family) were also expert storytellers, most notably ghost stories. I’d get Mark in trouble by begging him to tell me a spooky story and then have nightmares after the fact.&nbsp; I loved every minute of it, even the nightmares.&nbsp; My guilt over getting Cousin Mark in trouble was never strong enough to stop me from repeating the process. I had great persuasive powers as Mark never refused to tell me a scary story. Er . . . sorry, Cousin Mark! Amy, for some reason, never got in trouble for telling me tales like The Hookman, Squish-Thump, Bloody Mary, or the Scythe Killer. Go figure.</p><p>[Squish-Thump, squish-thump, squish-thump...]</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/my-first-undead-love-how-i-fell-for-horror-thriller-dracula-dana-fredsti">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=JjotWrekEmU:pycnlnW-fYA:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=JjotWrekEmU:pycnlnW-fYA:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=JjotWrekEmU:pycnlnW-fYA:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=JjotWrekEmU:pycnlnW-fYA:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=JjotWrekEmU:pycnlnW-fYA:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=JjotWrekEmU:pycnlnW-fYA:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=JjotWrekEmU:pycnlnW-fYA:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=JjotWrekEmU:pycnlnW-fYA:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/JjotWrekEmU" height="1" width="1"/> Dana Fredsti Published Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:30:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/my-first-undead-love-how-i-fell-for-horror-thriller-dracula-dana-fredsti http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/my-first-undead-love-how-i-fell-for-horror-thriller-dracula-dana-fredsti http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/m8wtEV1Canw/cops-rescue-blind-novelist-chapter-police-fingerprint-tech-impressions <p><img alt="Pen Out of Ink: Stab Nearby Person for Blood" class="blog-pic-right-align " src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.11-04-17/AMCoffee-Out-of-Ink.jpg" style="height: 206px; width: 250px; " />The Dorset Police Department performs under pressure—the more, the better! According to <em><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-17694236" target="_blank">BBC News</a></em>:</p><blockquote><p class="introduction">Part of a novel lost when a blind woman’s pen ran out without her knowing has been salvaged with the help of a forensic police team in Dorset.</p><p>Trish Vickers, from Charmouth, had written 26 pages of her first novel.</p><p>But when she asked her son to read it back to her there was nothing but blank pages.</p><p>They called staff in the fingerprint bureau who volunteered their time and revealed the missing words by shining a crime light on the indentations.</p><p>Staff used the tool’s bright light on the pages as it enhanced the shadows left by the pen strokes.</p><p>Kerry Savage, from Dorset Police, said: “Fortunately apart from one line we managed to retrieve the whole lot.”</p></blockquote><p>Kudos to the cops, for protecting (the manuscript) and serving (the story)! At the link, you can read more about Ms. Vickers, whose modesty about her work-in-progress makes her sound like a pro already.</p><p><em><span style="font-size:12px;">Image concept: totally <a href="http://memebase.com/vote/page/3461/" target="_blank">Memebase</a>, but their type was too small.</span></em></p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/cops-rescue-blind-novelist-chapter-police-fingerprint-tech-impressions">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=m8wtEV1Canw:i6IX_sJNJr8:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=m8wtEV1Canw:i6IX_sJNJr8:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=m8wtEV1Canw:i6IX_sJNJr8:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=m8wtEV1Canw:i6IX_sJNJr8:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=m8wtEV1Canw:i6IX_sJNJr8:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=m8wtEV1Canw:i6IX_sJNJr8:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=m8wtEV1Canw:i6IX_sJNJr8:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=m8wtEV1Canw:i6IX_sJNJr8:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/m8wtEV1Canw" height="1" width="1"/> Crime HQ Published Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:45:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/cops-rescue-blind-novelist-chapter-police-fingerprint-tech-impressions http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/cops-rescue-blind-novelist-chapter-police-fingerprint-tech-impressions http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~3/w1V0XwqxO9E/a-falsely-monstrous-crime-fake-frankenstein-posters-classic-horror <p><img alt="Fake Frankenstein poster" class="blog-pic-left-align caption" src="http://www.criminalelement.com/images/stories/04.18-04.24/Nimble_Fake-Frankenstein-Poster.jpg" style="height: 384px; width: 250px;" title="He can use it to decorate his cell." />Nice poster, right? It’d be pretty cool to have such a vintage item hanging in your house. But would you pay $5000 for it? If you did, would it matter to you if you found out it was not vintage at all? And how long would you expect the creator of the fraudulent poster to go to jail for for committing such a crime?</p><p>Well, the answer to that last question appears to be six-and-a-half years. Kerry Haggard of Georgia was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison for faking vintage horror movie posters and selling them on eBay. Since he’s apparently bilked buyers out of more than a million bucks at this, it’s hard to feel too sorry for him, but still. . . imagine saying to your cellmate when he asks what you’re in for, “I sold some fake horror movie posters.”</p><p>That’s not going to earn you much prison cred.</p><p><a href="http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/a-falsely-monstrous-crime-fake-frankenstein-posters-classic-horror">Read the full article</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=w1V0XwqxO9E:bGQ4EuktkRo:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=w1V0XwqxO9E:bGQ4EuktkRo:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=w1V0XwqxO9E:bGQ4EuktkRo:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=w1V0XwqxO9E:bGQ4EuktkRo:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=w1V0XwqxO9E:bGQ4EuktkRo:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=w1V0XwqxO9E:bGQ4EuktkRo:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?a=w1V0XwqxO9E:bGQ4EuktkRo:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/criminalelementpartial?i=w1V0XwqxO9E:bGQ4EuktkRo:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/criminalelementpartial/~4/w1V0XwqxO9E" height="1" width="1"/> Crime HQ Published Wed, 18 Apr 2012 18:00:00 +0000 http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/a-falsely-monstrous-crime-fake-frankenstein-posters-classic-horror http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/04/a-falsely-monstrous-crime-fake-frankenstein-posters-classic-horror