THE MOST AWARDED MYSTERY NOVELS:

1. A Place of Execution - Val McDermid (2000)
ANTHONY WINNER,
MACAVITY WINNER,
DILYS WINNER,
LA TIMES WINNER,
Edgar Nominee

2. Mystic River - Dennis Lehane (2001)
ANTHONY WINNER,
MACAVITY WINNER,
BARRY WINNER,
DILYS WINNER,
Hammett Nominee

3. The James Deans - Reed Coleman (2005) for Paperback Original
ANTHONY WINNER,
BARRY WINNER,
SHAMUS WINNER,
Edgar Nominee,
Macavity Nominee

4. The Lincoln Lawyer - Michael Connelly (2005)
MACAVITY WINNER,
SHAMUS WINNER,
Edgar Nominee,
Anthony,
Dagger Nominee,
LA Times Nominee,
Gumshoe Nominee

5. City of Bones - Michael Connelly (2002)
ANTHONY WINNER,
BARRY WINNER,
Edgar Nominee,
Macavity Nominee,
Dagger Nominee,
Gumshoe Nominee

6. Winter and Night - S.J. Rozan (2002)
EDGAR WINNER,
MACAVITY WINNER,
Shamus Nominee,
Anthony Nominee,
Barry Nominee

7. Silent Joe - T. Jefferson Parker (2001)
EDGAR WINNER,
LA TIMES WINNER,
Macavity Nominee,
Barry Nominee,
Gumshoe Nominee,
Hammett Nominee

8. California Girl - T. Jefferson Parker (2004)
EDGAR WINNER,
Anthony Nominee,
Macavity Nominee,
Gumshoe Nominee,
Hammett Nominee

9. The Guards - Ken Bruen (2003)
SHAMUS WINNER,
Edgar Nominee,
Macavity Nominee,
Barry Nominee

_

10. The Bottoms - Joe R. Lansdale (2000)
EDGAR WINNER,
Anthony Nominee,
Macavity Nominee,
Hammett Nominee

_

• The Edgar Allan Poe Award® is awarded every April by the Mystery Writers of America (MWA). Eligible novels must be published in the U.S. in English and nominated by the publisher.
• The Anthony Award, named for mystery reviewer Anthony Boucher, is bestowed every summer at the Boucheron World Mystery Convention. Eligible books must be published in the U.S. in English and nominated by a Bouchercon registrant.
• The Shamus Award is given by the Private Eye Writers of America (PWA). Eligible novels feature a professional private investigator (someone not employed by the government or police).
• The Macavity Award, named for the "mystery cat" of T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, is bestowed annually at Bouchercon by Mystery Readers International (MRI).
• The Barry Award, named for fan reviewer Barry Gardner, is bestowed annually at Bouchercon by fan-oriented Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine (DP).
• The DILYS Award has been given annually since 1993 by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association to the mystery titles of the year which the member booksellers have most enjoyed selling.
• The Los Angeles Times Book Prize is awarded every Spring, highlighting the newspaper's annual Festival of Books. Eight panels of three judges each provide all nominations and choose both finalists and winners.
• The Hammett Prize is awarded annually by The North American Branch of the International Association of Crime Writers for literary excellence in the field of crime writing.
• The Gumshoe Award is given annually by Mystery Ink magazine to recognize the best achievements in crime fiction.

Jack Taylor is a man beset by demons and an internal wrath that few can truly appreciate when we are first introduced to him in the madhouse.  Slowly he comes back to himself and is released into the world where he is thrown into the confrontational arms of his guardian angel, a Ban Garda by the name of Ridge, with whom Taylor shares a love/hate relationship.  Ridge informs him of the decapitation of a priest in a Galway confessional and this noir mystery is off and running with Jack nurturing his rage while hunting both a stalker and a priest killer.

Bruen makes you feel the need to feed the alcoholic beast and the horror of a fury buried deep with no physical outlet.  He takes you deep inside Taylor’s mind and doesn’t let you go until the end when you finally feel you can breathe again.  What a ride!  I finished it in one sitting.

My Rating: 

The book is narrated by Nick, an ex-bouncer, who is something like Jack Taylor by the book's end.  He's the only character the least bit likable, and that's not just a trick of the point of view, I think; he's the underdog despite his size and violence.  His neighbor, Dex, is a bit of a wired sociopath, interesting and all over the place.  LIsa-- talkative, pretty, black, hard, and the instigator for a poorly conceived kidnapping plot that is the book's center-- doesn't really hold together as a character for me.   Nor does the Rilke-quoting kidnap victim.  (It probably didn't help that I was reading Rilke but thinking Rimbaud for the first half of the book).

The first part of the book reads quickly as Bruen deftly paints his three characters.  The plot is unlikely in the extreme, rather like Bust with some brains in London, but there's really little suspense and empathy for me, particularly in the middle of the book.   Inspector Brant himself does appear briefly in a late scene in the book, and London noir is a feature that appeals, but it is following Nick through the third (and last) part of the book that's the most fun. 

As with other characters, Nick has an internal soundtrack of country, pop, and rock songs. Nick's sometime girlfriend Bonny jumps off the page. There are riveting moments, but none that relate to the central plot, I think.

I'm not done with Bruen yet.  I'm on to London Boulevard, which I believe may be made into a movie, and the White Trilogy. I haven't decided about the other Max and Angela books.

Priest, just nominated for a 2008 Edgar award, is a wonderful book, with, I think, some differences from the others in the Jack Taylor series. 

The writing, still economical and fraught with emotion (often rage), has a different rhythm to it, with, it seems, longer sentences and  paragraphs and more description.  Some of the verbal ticks and tricks, like

the spaced lists,
the far-ranging quotes,
the extremely terse dialogue,

are somewhat less evident. At times Jack seems more reflective, softer.  Friendship seems more important to him, and he manages to really connect with several new characters-- a desolute priest who appears only briefly; the young policewoman Ridge, who becomes more than a source of information to Jack: and, most importantly, Cody, an appealing twenty-something Jack begins to regard as a son. There is an elegiac tone to his thinking of some of his dead, particularly Mrs. Bailey and his father. He thanks some people; he cuts at least one character a break.  It's only a sometime thing, but Jack does change.

Of course, this isn't the Disney channel and Jack's edge, his rage, and his violence are still there.  Some of that he seems to attribute to his current stage of sobriety.  Many of the themes in earlier novels are repeated-- the betrayal of trust; the diminishment of the church; the Irish economic tiger which leaves Jack's generation bereft and isolated; the importance of the written word; and the lure of dark side.  The guards remain a tantalizing regret and a menace to Jack.  The biggest problems unresolved at the end of The Dramatist, such as Jack's future relationship with Jeff and Cathy, remain unresolved.  In fact, the last page of this book is the inciting incident of a next.  With Jack, just when you think it can't get any worse, it does. 

The story itself here involves a decapitated priest found in a confessional, a backlog of destroyed lives in his wake.  There's also stalker, a sniper, and the usual suspects.  It's a page-turner; not because of the murder, but what the events show us about Jack. His story remains compelling, however brooding and depressing the emotional landscape.

With this post the Carnival arrives in Germany. As the majority of its regular attendants will not be so familiar with the German language I try to stick with English.

On the previous outing Barbara Fister's Place presented a truckload of links to blogs and if you followed the earlier editions of the carnival (-> summaries) you know that a large range of topics had already been covered and a huge number of blogs that deal with crime fiction had been referred to.

Therefore it isn't easy to present something new. Most of the keepers of blogs work hard to present regularly new topics and new posts. As a result readers are at a certain risk to forget last week's post, not to mention last month's post although these posts had thrilled them so much. Therefore my question to you: Which older post would you like to see in a blog museum ?

Let me refresh your memory and bring to your mind some older posts or web articles which delighted me (or us). [For those of you who wonder whether there are any German crime fiction writers and blogs related to crime fiction I will present at the end of this post a small assortment.]

Although this is all about crime fiction books, it seems to me that recommendations for books (compared to the books themselves) will not be remembered. Still, I'm thankful for Linda L. Richards small note on Clyde W. Ford's The Long Mile and where it usually takes several articles to attract a reader to a book this single one for The Power of the Dog in January Magazine by Anthony Rainone did the job. Sometimes posts and resulting discussions help to understand a book or its reception better. Peter Rozovsky's post about Peter Temple's Broken Shore was very helpful in this aspect (and it reminds us that sometimes the commentators deliver the icing).

Thomas H. Cooks is one of the best US-American crime fiction authors but it seems as if he is known to a small number of readers only. Kacey Kowars conducted a wonderful insightful and understanding interview with Cook that gives many informations about his early novels. Not so much an interview as a dialog is the talk between Andrew Vachss and Joe R. Lansdale about Vachss' Two Trains Running.

Sarah Weinman's blog is obvious good for several reasons but the yearly debates about the nominees of the Edgar Awards are always a highlight. The discussion in 2006 is in hindsight especially inspiring, it not only features the usual topics (e.g. Lippman's is missing) but also exhibits an engaged discussion. A fine post that was transformed by the comments was Paul Guyot's What's your point ?. It helps readers to understand some issues of the writing process and demonstrates the struggle of writers with their subject. Declan Burke, Grand Vizier of CAP let us take a look into his toolbox and gives us some ideas how authors choose names for their characters.

Obviously, there are not only tons and tons of books we didn't know but sometimes it seems whole chapters of the book of crime fiction are unknown to us. Brian Lindenmuth's already previously mentioned article about the landmarks of black crime fiction as much as Lee Horsley's text about its historical and literary aspects inform us about one important chapter of this ever fascinating book. Female authors arrived in the middle of the genre and constitute nowadays an important part of crime fiction. Damian Seaman's fine Femme fatale points out the once shaky start of the involvement of females with the genre.

Literature is more than entertainment and fun, it is also business. Jim Huang's essay is not only about small brick and mortar stores but even more about the relationship between publishers and booksellers. Something that do affect (us) readers very much. The ever thoughtful Barry Eisler analyzed in a series of posts on Buzz, Balls & Hype the possible future of the business and Neil Nyren shared some helpful and interesting informations about inside stuff.

Barry Eisler tackles in his rare posts on his own blog serious matters. Two articles analyzed the US-situation on guns. At least I got the point - but I don't get it. Some blogs hide their intentions in very artisanal posts. At Naked Authors, where they have writers who use pictures as well and as many as words you learn that Purple Hearts are nowadays sometimes out of stock.

P.J. Parrish who lately post less often than would please us follow on their blog the failed attempts of fellow-authors who try to get their hands on good sex. Brilliantly put was Barbara Fister's discription on the not-so-lucky situations of writers. And a class of their own are Ken Bruen's regular posts on murderati, not only are they poetic and profound but they offer also a wealth of tips on others writers. As it seems not fair to single out one of those posts I give you all of them.

So, dear carnival aficionado/aficionada did you get lost in the museum ? I help you out, but let's detour to some blogs in German. Ludger Menke's Krimiblog is on the loose since 2005, it covers a wide rage of topics, as does watching the detectives, the blog of Dieter Paul Rudolph (a young hopeful writer) that leans more towards the literary side, though. But if we really need background information on literature and scientific stuff we read Joachim Linder's NuT (Notizen und Texte).

The hub of the German crime fiction web-world are the Alligatorpapiere. They list und link on a daily basis relevant information and reviews, usually from newpapers, but bloggers receive nowadays more attention. Axel Bussmer's Kriminalakte is one of those blogs, it features a wide range of topics, one of its main subjects is crime fiction on TV, Margit Breuss is an Austrian psychiatrist who covers on her blog krimi.krimi Austrian culture, psychiatry and crime fiction. Henny Hidden, the Krimilady present regularly reviews and at Krimikiste Kristine Greßhöner broadcasts her lovely voice via podcasts, she reviews books from a wide range of German and International Authors.

There are not many crime fiction authors in Germany who blog regularly, Jan Seghers is one of them, although his short clipped posts don't allow comments and don't invite discussions; Henrike Heiland is another one, on her blog she describes a lot of small funny or interesting encounters of her life.

There you are. Hope to meet you next time, when Sandra Ruttan will host the Crime Fiction Carnival.

Bernd Kochanowski

pictures

1. Louvre by ancama_99

2. The Lecture table, Library, Utrecht by Eric

3. Ufo Crash Site, Universum, Bremen by cloud nine

4. #7 Dan Flavin, Lehnbachhaus by yushimoto_02

In Martyrs, especially, Jack doesn't really, in the neat and tidy sense, solve anything. He does some interviewing and instigating, but he's no detective.  There's really no whodunit?  We pretty much know who's responsible for what, and there's an amazing amount of guilt to go around.  Information often comes in lightning-like installments from Cathy or Brendan; nature and time are often allowed to take their course, and often that's the only resolution we have.  People might punished, not for the crimes they did commit, but for those they're framed  for.   Jack, his own worst critic, readily admits his mistakes in foresight, follow-through, or judgment.  It's hard to disagree, but it's not the point.

These books are absolutely riveting.  Jack is compelling.  The pace seems intense, the revelations profound.  But it's not based on the "mystery";  it's all in the character and the sense of place.   

Jack is clear-eyed and sober, and, if not signing happy songs in the street, he seems reasonably content at times.  Unresolved problems and annoyances drift in and out of view and prey on his mind: his tense relationship with his horrid mother and her failing health; his strained friendships with Cathy, who has assisted him with research in the past,  and her husband Jeff, the barman who has become his best friend; the swan boy from The Killing of the Tinkers; and his love for  Ann Henderson, recently married to a brutal guard who figures prominently in the story.  There are new things, too:  a vigilante group called the Pikemen; a new relationship with a strong and interesting woman named Margaret; new living arrangements at the old-fashioned Bailey's Hotel, which come with warm friendships with Mrs.  Bailey, the eighty-something-year-old owner, and with Janet, her equally ancient cleaner; and an unwelcome request from Jack's former drug dealer to look into the death of his sister, labeled a "death by misadventure" by the guards.  Because a volume of Synge's Complete Plays and Poems, including Playboy of the Western World, was found under her body, Jack finds it likely something more was involved.  It becomes clear after another girl meets a similar fate with a copy of Playboy, a passage highlighted, found under her body as well.

The title character and the case of these mysterious deaths is important but hardly central to the novel; weeks go by when Jack does nothing about this case. It is Jack's life, his viewpoint, that holds the narrative together, and Bruen brings us Jack's life with great economy and poetry.  Jack's is a riveting story.

It's not the first Jack Taylor book I've read, which is too bad.  It would have been a pleasure to read these in order but,  I happened upon the  Killing of the Tinkers first. And I'd read some of Bruen's London Brant books before.  But this one is stunning.  Jack is the real deal, an incredibly interesting and real character who gets involved in riveting enigmas, yet whose character, friendships, and personal life remain the center of these books.  The dialogue is terse but friendly; characterization seems effortless and economic, but creates people you feel you know well and care about.  The idiom and geography transport you.  In all, Bruen creates as vivid a world and character as you can imagine. I've been to Galway, but that lovely tourist city is hardly the place of memory, pain, and darkness Jack inhabits.  When Anne Henderson, who becomes the love of his life, presents him with her problem, Jack, as always, must confront his past and his personal demons to make any headway.  As always, any progress comes at great cost.  That the violence of these stories does not seem gratuitous is probably an indication of how deeply we are involved in Jack's world.

Ken Bruen in Wilkepedia 
the novels

I wonder exactly how the logistics of writing a novel with another person works.  My guess is that Bruen and Jason Starr alternate chapters or points of view.  The novel has some drive and interest, but overall, it seems to me to be an exercise in writing a certain genre without a central focus or intent. It's not that I always dislike noir, but I should have known straight from the cover (yick) that this was not my book.

Anyway, imagine my surprise when I found it would cost about $34 minimum for a used copy of A White Arrest.  Or $32 for the McDead, I'm not sure what for the Alien thing, and almost $50 for the combined White Trilogy.  I checked  the local libraries and used book stores, but no luck.  I guess I can try inter-library loan or wait until the books are re-released, which some booksellers seem to indicate will happen.  But all that takes so much planning and doesn't smell of instant gratification, which is what, after all, a mystery fix is all about.  Oh, well...

Kein Wunder, wenn man sich den Text der ersten Strophe ansieht:

I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that's real
The needle tears a hole
The old familiar sting
Try to kill it all away
But I remember everything

Monahan is set to make his directorial debut on the crime drama later this year from a his adapted screenplay.

The novel "revolves around a South London criminal who, after release from prison, tries to give up the gangster life by becoming a handyman for a reclusive young actress," states Variety.

• William Monahan has teamed with Quentin Curtis to acquire rights to the Ken Bruen novel "London Boulevard." Monahan has nearly completed the script, and plans to make his directing debut on the crime drama this fall. "London Boulevard" revolves around a South London criminal who, after release from prison, tries to give up the gangster life by becoming a handyman for a reclusive young actress. Monahan will produce with Curtis, with whom he also acquired the John Pearson book "The Gamblers," with Monahan planning to write that script for Warner Bros.

• Universal is developing a feature called "Kill the Messenger" based on the true story of journalist Gary Webb. The San Jose Mercury News reporter committed suicide after being the target of a smear campaign when he linked the CIA to a scheme to arm Contra rebels in Nicaragua and import cocaine into California. Peter Landesman will write the screenplay, based on the two books the studio optioned: "Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion," by Webb, and Nick Schou's "Kill the Messenger: How the CIA's Crack-Cocaine Controversy Destroyed Journalist Gary Webb." Scott Stuber will produce with Nick Wechsler; Naomi Despres and Landesman will be exec producers.

• Sundance Channel has landed Elvis Costello as host of a weekly music-variety talkshow to kick off in December, signing Elton John as an executive producer. Called "Spectacle: Elvis Costello with..." the series emerged as the highlight of an upfront press briefing in New York by Sundance, which also said that it would renew its music series "Live From Abbey Road" for another 12 hours and its two-celebrity interview series "Iconoclasts" for a fourth season of six fresh hours. As host of the news conference, Larry Aidem , president and CEO of Sundance, forestalled any questions about the proposed sale of Sundance by joking that some of the potential buyers include Wal-Mart, Denny's and US Air. Sundance executives have neither confirmed or denied the reports that Sundance is on the market for between $400 million and $500 million, with rumored purchasers including

• Bosnian helmer Danis Tanovic ("No Man's Land") is preparing his next pic, "Triage," which again deals with dilemmas in times of war, this time about the allocation of medical resources. Pic's main producers are Ireland's Stradbrook Prods./Parallel Films, along with France's ASAP and Spain's Freeform Films. "Triage" has snatched 650,000 euros ($1.1 million) from pan-European funding body Eurimages, which at its latest award session distributed $5.6 million for 10 projects.

• Four years after she made her debut with hit movie "The Ketchup Effect," helmer Teresa Fabik is prepping her soph effort. Written by Fabik, "Princess" centers around an overweight 18-year-old girl whose size makes it tough for her to be socially accepted. Pic is produced by Sandra Harms for production company Breidablick. Fabik is scouting the country for a lead actress for the production to start in the summer. No budget is disclosed yet, according to Harms.

PROJECT UPDATES

• Al Roker could soon be ready to play the "Feud." The "Today Show" weatherman has been in negotiations with FremantleMedia North America about hosting its upcoming celeb edition of "Feud" for NBC. He'd follow in the footsteps of ayem colleague Meredith Viera, who hosts the syndie version of "Who Wants to Be A Millionaire". Roker's reps have been talking to Fremantle for more than a week. However, as of late Tuesday, reps for both the Peacock and the studio insisted no deal was in place.

• Billy Crudup has been set to play FBI director J. Edgar Hoover in "Public Enemies," the Michael Mann-directed crime drama for Universal that stars Johnny Depp as John Dillinger. Mann has also set Stephen Lang to play Winstead, the leader of the Texas Rangers who joins the manhunt for John Dillinger and his gang. Christian Bale and Marion Cotillard also star.

• Thomas Haden Church will star with Kate Hudson in "Big Eyes." Church will play Walter Keane, who became a celebrity in the 1950s and '60s because of a series of paintings of big-eyed children that became a mass-market phenomenon. Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski will direct the fact-based drama from their own script.

• Animated family fare "Alpha and Omega," about two kidnapped wolves trying to get back their pack, has cast Justin Long and Hayden Panettiere as the two lupine lead voices, with Christina Ricci, Danny Glover, Dennis Hopper and Larry Miller also set. Pic is directed by Anthony Bell ("The Boondocks") and Ben Gluck ("Brother Bear 2") from a screenplay by Chris Denk based on a story by Steve Moore (co-creator of "Open Season").  "Alpha" marks first team-up of Lionsgate and Crest Animation Productions for multi-picture deal.

• Paul Schneider and Kerry Fox have joined the cast of Jane Campion’s “Bright Star,” a period pic about English poet John Keats and his secret love affair with the girl next door. “Bright Star” is an ill-fated romance toplining Ben Whishaw as Keats and Aussie thesp Abbie Cornish as Fanny Brawne, the poet’s muse. The passionate relationship was cut short when Keats died aged just 25. Schneider will play Keats’ best friend, Charles Armitage Brown, and Fox will play Fanny’s mother.

ACQUISITIONS/ FESTIVAL NEWS

• The Wachowskis will bring “Speed Racer” to close this year’s Tribeca Film Fest on May 3. “Speed Racer” blends the Wachowskis’ signature visual effects into a family-friendly action pic starring Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, Susan Sarandon, Matthew Fox and John Goodman. Joel Silver, who previously teamed with the Wachowskis on “The Matrix” trilogy, is producer for Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow. As previously announced, fest will open April 23 with Universal’s Tina Fey comedy “Baby Mama.”

• Silvio Berlusconi’s Mediaset has picked up a package of Hollywood pics from Milan-based distributor Mondo Home Entertainment.  The deal, which shows the broadcaster's appetite for product despite recent four-year output deals with Warner Bros. and Universal, includes DTT rights that will feed the group’s recently launched Mediaset Premium Gallery channels. Package includes "Hairspray," Rob Zombie's "Halloween" and "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium." Besides titles that have already played theatrically in Italy, the 12-pic deal includes options on the upcoming releases of its subsidiary Moviemax, including ""Nim's Island," "Gracie," "Shrooms," "King of California" and "Incendiary." Guglielmo Marchetti of Mondo said the agreement was "confirmation of the profitable and satisfactory collaboration" between the two companies that begun in 2002, besides being proof that Mondo has been acquiring its Hollywood product wisely.

• Paris-based sales company Celluloid Dreams has taken worldwide rights outside North America to “Nerakhoon” (The Betrayal) the directorial debut 23 years in the making of highly-regarded d.p. Ellen Kuras. A three-time Sundance cinematography winner, renowned for her hand-held shooting style, Kuras has worked with Rebecca Miller (“Personal Velocity”), Martin Scorsese (“No Direction Home: Bob Dylan”), Julian Schnabel (“Lou Reed’s Berlin”), Spike Lee (“Summer of Sam”) and Michel Gondry (“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “Be Kind, Rewind”). Co-directed and edited by Thavisouk Phrasavath, “Betrayal” is narrated by Phrasavath, who tells stories about his mother’s and his own life in war-ravaged Laos and their experiences as immigrants in New York.

BUSINESS NEWS

• One of the boldest moves in Gotham exhibition this decade is taking shape along a quiet stretch of West 23rd Street. The Clearview Chelsea West Cinemas, a somewhat unlikely center of gravity for the film biz in recent years, has been acquired by the School of Visual Arts. The school, which signed a 26-year lease to operate the site, is renaming it the Visual Arts Theater and renovating inside and out under the guidance of noted designer Milton Glaser. Tonight's premiere of "Cook County" in the Gen Art Film Festival, will mark the end of the 1963 theater's days as a commercial house. After several months of rehab, a new repertory/special event venue will hope to satiate the screen-starved Manhattan industry.

• "Alvin and the Chipmunks" bounded off shelves Tuesday to become the fastest selling DVD of the year. Fox Home Entertainment said it sold more than 2.6 million "Chipmunk" discs its day in stores. That tally outpaced first-day DVD sales for "I Am Legend" and "Enchanted." "Alvin and the Chipmunks" generated more than $350 million at the worldwide box office. Fox is promoting the disc with a Get Munk'd mall tour, which is averaging north of 2,500 fans, a Fox rep noted. The stage show concert series is skedded for 8 additional markets including Chicago, Seattle, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Atlanta, St. Louis, San Diego and Salt Lake City.

• Italian television regulator Agcom has ordered Silvio Berlusconi's Tg4 channel to end broadcasting bias in favor of the former premier, or face a $400,000 fine. The warning comes just two weeks ahead of the country's general election in which the media tycoon is seeking re-election, this time as head of the new center-right PDL (People's Party for Freedom). Tg4, which is part of Berlusconi's Mediaset broadcasting empire, has been criticized before over political bias. In the latest incident, Agcom found "disparites in the treatment" of the PDL and its main rival, the Democratic Party, while surveying output between March 18 and March 26. Agcom said it had "formally ordered" the channel to "correct the imbalance that it detected between coverage of the PDL and the PD (the Democratic Party)." Mediaset declined to comment.

STRIKE NEWS/ LABOR ISSUES

• The American Federation of Television & Radio Artists will launch negotiations with the majors for a new primetime contract on April 28 -- less than two weeks after the Screen Actors Guild starts bargaining, saying the window gives SAG "significant time" to work out a deal. The move adds pressure on SAG leaders to make hefty progress during the next few days in their informal discussions with News Corp. prexy Peter Chernin and Disney CEO Robert Iger. Those talks, which have been in progress over a few weeks, are aimed at sorting out the sticky issues and establishing the parameters for the formal negotiations to follow. Chernin, Iger and SAG brass met Wednesday for a candid where-do-we-go-from-here sesh. Previous meets aren't believed to have been notably productive as guild toppers held back specifics of SAG's proposal. With AFTRA staking out April 28, SAG could pay a steep price if formal bargaining, which starts April 15, bogs down. The Writers Guild of America had that problem when the majors opted to focus on cutting a deal with the Directors Guild after talks with the striking writers imploded. Chernin and Iger played a similar behind-the-scenes role in helping smooth the way toward the directors and writers pacts in January and February, respectively. Biggest sticking point is expected to be SAG's push for sweetened DVD residuals, something that was sought but proved a non-starter for the WGA and DGA in their bargaining. The AFTRA announcement, made Wednesday afternoon by president Roberta Reardon, comes a day after SAG announced its start date with the AMPTP and four days after the angry bust-up of the 27-year SAG-AFTRA bargaining partnership.

INDUSTRY MOVES

• Rick Sands ended his two-plus year stint at MGM by stepping down from his chief operating officer post Wednesday. The studio said Sands is leaving to pursue other opportunities in entertainment and content. Sands declined comment. The move had been expected ever since Mary Parent took the reins of MGM's worldwide motion picture group earlier this month, thus taking over many of Sands' duties (Daily Variety, March 26).

• The Argentinean government has named Gabriel Mariotto chief of the federal broadcasting regulator Comfer, effective April 1. Previously the No. 2 at the federal government's Media Department, Mariotto replaces Julio Barbaro, who resigned after four years for undisclosed reasons. The government is trying to improve administration at Comfer by moving it under the umbrella of the Media Department, which oversees state media company Sistema de Medios Publicos. Latter controls pubcaster Canal 7, a radio broadcaster and a newswire.

• China's top search engine Baidu has announced two top-level hires in China as the Nasdaq-listed firm continues its expansion in the world's fastest-growing major Internet market. Baidu said it has appointed Ye Peng as chief operating officer, effective April 25. Late last month, Baidu named Jennifer Li as chief financial officer, following the death of previous CFO Shawn Wang in an accident during the Christmas holidays. Ye joins Baidu from Apple China, where he served as country general manager. He previously worked for SatCom as managing director and for Motorola Mobile Business North Asia, as well as Nortel China and Nortel.

• Continuing its expansion, Los Angeles- and London-based sales company IM Global has added IM Global Television to its roster of international sales operations, with Gavin Reardon as prexy of the new division. The unit will acquire and license a wide range of TV and digital broadcast content, including made-for-TV movies, miniseries, episodic, reality and animated programming for international distribution. IM Global TV also kicks off with a film library of more than 100 titles. Reardon was most recently prexy of ... And Action! Distribution.

TECHNOLOGY/ MILTI- PLATFORM CONTENT

• For signs of lingering impact from this year's Writers Guild strike, look no further than NBC's 2008-2009 lineup. Now that issues revolving around scribes and the Internet have been cleared for the time being, NBC Digital Entertainment is moving Peacock properties online in a big way. Net announced plans to run original "Heroes," "Chuck" and "The Office" webisodes beginning in July. Net also announced a "30 Rock" online initiative -- dubbed "30 Rock 360" -- that mirrors web platforms for "The Office," "Heroes" and "Lipstick Jungle."

• MTV Networks Latin America is launching preschooler-targeted channel Nick Jr. in the region. The likes of "Dora the Explorer," "Go Diego," and "Go! The Wonder Pets!" will be on 24 hours a daystarting in July. MTV has clinched carrier deals with Cablevision and satcaster Sky TV in Mexico. Other pacts, still under negotiation, will be announced shortly. "Nick Jr. programs had a two-hour block on Nickelodeon, but it made sense to expand it to 24 hours when we saw that 70% of preschoolers in the region already recognized Nick characters," said MTV Latin America prexy Pierluigi Gazzolo. "Moreover, we found that most preschoolers prefer to watch their programs over and over again." Launch will coincide with the debut of Nick Jr.'s broadband site, NickTurbo Jr., designed to offer children a multiplatform "Nickelodeon experience" through online and broadband content Nick Jr. will be the first channel to offer multiplatform content via online, video on demand and broadband to preschoolers in Latin America.

WEBSITES TO WATCH

http://www.scifi.com/battlestar/

Don't forget to check out the 8-minute catch up reel of Battlestar Galactica on SciFi.com before the final season begins on Sc Fi on Friday night at 10 pm ET. It's inspired, of course, by the 7 minute Sopranos.

http://www.joinred.com/

Environmental journalist Simran Sethi, host of Sundance Channel's multiplatform The Green initiative, has created a new web series set to launch on Earth Day (April 22) called The Good Fight, muckraking into local environmental issues. Also look for digital tie-ins to the new Elton John/Elvis Costello series Spectacle: Elvis Costello with ..., including a partnership with Product RED to raise awareness and funds for The Global Fund.

http://m.tvguide.com/

Web-enabled mobile phone users can enjoy a much improved TV Guide WAP site this week, designed to bring many of the customizable features and much of the editorial content from TV Guide.com to mobile handsets. Highlights include breaking news, show previews and recaps of shows set by the users.

http://www.deadcelldeadfriend.com/

Jessica Rose, no doubt lonely since her stint as LonelyGirl15 ended, landed another acting gig on a web thriller on the way from 60Frames called Blood Cell. It looks like what the Blair Witch Project might have been if David Cronenberg directed it.

http://www.riverwired.com/

Social Networking community RiverWild is greening up its act with a selection of best-of-web environmental content including top-rated videos, award-winning games and articles from some of the web's more talented writers, bloggers, photographers, videographers and filmmakers.

SOURCES:

www.variety.com
www.cynopsis.com

Its a tale of violence, sex, and double crosses.  Everything good noir should be.

I'd been seeing and hearing about Hard Case Crime for a while, but this was the first of their books I picked up.  If you are a fan of noir, classic or neo, this publisher probably has something you're looking for.

They publish out of print stories by classic authors like Erle Stanley Gardner, as well as new stuff by writers like Stephen King.  It's a great idea whose time has come.  These are books that are fun to read without requiring too much mental commitment.

Most days that's about the best I can hope for.

A couple of weeks ago I was rummaging through a nearby Big Lots and came across a box full of paperbacks.  Included in that number were the five Hard Case books pictured above.  I'm working through "Top of the Heap" right now.  Reviews will be forthcoming.

In the meantime, grab some Hard Case Crime and toss back a slug of rye with your favorite dame.

You'll be glad you did.

Declan Burke, Ire, Blogger und Autor hat einen Vorschlag. Wie Declan berichtet, findet in Dublin am 19.01 im James Joice Centre, 35 North Great George’s Street, Dublin 1 eine Lesung/Performance des The Shoestring Collective statt. Eintritt ab 19:50, Kosten 10€, also weniger als der Flug dorthin mit Ryan Air.

Dort liest auch Colm Keegan, von Declan gepriesen als "Ireland’s first and possibly only ever crime poet,". Ein Beispiel seines Schaffens soll denn nun folgen:

One Kick
One kick, one tiny flick
Of his two year old foot
And I was hooked
No matter what
His mother did
My chubby, soccer-mad little kid
Would feel my care
Forever
But I never,
Saw a day like this
When his broken mother’s courtroom kiss
Would be all he’d have
For the next ten years
No sun-filled summers,
No glittering careers
Just tears
And regret
For the man he bet,
And the way
one flick
One drunk and deadly
too strong kick
Can crush a skull

Wer denn nun schon in Dublin ist, mag vielleicht weiter nach Galway wollen, dort wo der Meister himself lebt und ganz aktuell darüber berichtet, dass es in Galway Anfang Januar geschneit hatte - es schneit sonst nie dort an der Westküste Irlands !

Ansonsten schreibt Bruen über die Mühen und Leiden des Schreibens: "There are mornings, when I see a ton of email, I give a sigh of relief as it means I can defer actual writing for a bit." und über die Belohnungen: "Then sometimes, not too often, you hit on magic, the words jell, the writing sings and you don’t need a critic or another person to tell you it’s good.

You know and there is no better feeling on the whole planet.

In its very rarity, lies its conviction."

Und wer sich auf den Besuch vorbereiten mag, wird interessiert vernehmen, dass nicht nur ich sondern auch Glen Harper ganz aktuell ein Buch der Serie um DS Brant von Bruen besprochen hat. Bei Harper war es Ammunition.

Nun kann der Flug mit den kleinen Maschinen von Dublin Richtung Galway recht unsanft verlaufen, wer das besser übersteht, als einstens eine Studienfreundin, der mag sich vielleicht mit jemanden unterhalten. Ein Thema für den Smalltalk hält Sandra Ruttan bereit. Die nimmermüde Editorin von Spinetingler und mit irischen Wurzel versehene Bloggerin informiert über die unterschiedlichen religions-phänomenologischen Charaktertypen von BHs

"There are the Catholic, the Salvation Army, the Presbyterian, and the Baptist types. [...]"

[...]

The Catholic type supports the masses.
The Salvation Army type lifts the fallen,
The Presbyterian type keeps them staunch and upright, and
The Baptist makes mountains out of mole hills.

Und sie spricht über die Bedeutung der Bezeichnungen der Größen A, B, C, D, DD, E, F, G, and H - wie gesagt -> hier.

Gute Reise wünscht

bernd

Seltsame Dinge geschehen: Jack Taylor, in Galway lebender Held von Ken Bruens Gnaden und vormals alkohol-, koks- und zum Schluss auch tablettenabhängig, ist clean. Schon seit Wochen. Angefangen hat's damit, dass sein Dealer ins Gefängnis kam, aber Taylor meint es erst, er besucht sogar regelmässsig die Sonntagsmesse und wird dort zum Abschluss vom Prister verabschiedet.

Sein Dealer hatte eine Schwester, die, so behauptet er, ermordet wurde. Treppensturz, unter ihr ein Buch von John Millington Synge. Wie immer muss Taylor zum Jagen getragen werden und hat gar kein Interesse, sich mit dem Verdacht seines Dealers zu beschäftigen. Aber irgendwie lässt er sich dann doch emotional erpressen und siehe da: Er findet einen zweiten, identischen Fall. 

Seine ehemaligen Kollegen von der Polizei interessiert's nicht und schon ist er mitten drin im Schlamassel, denn Aufgeben tut Jack Taylor nie.

Im Vergleich zu den vorigen Bänden der Jack Taylor Reihe besitzt The Dramatist einen ordentlichen Plot. Aber, auch hier geht es in erster Linie wieder um Taylor. Das Leben fern der Flasche wäre ja ein Grund, den Alltag auch wieder in den Griff zu kriegen. Jedoch: Rückschläge bleiben nicht aus und deshalb (wir haben es ja mit einem Alkoholkranken zu tun) juckt es ihm mehrfach in den Fingern, wieder zur Flasche zu greifen.

Im Vergleich zu den früheren Büchern der Serie ist es auch ein Buch mit irischen Wurzeln: Taylor hört auf der Strasse Dialoge in gälischer Sprache und hat John Millington Synge im Kopf, dessen Theaterstück The Playboy of the Western World die katholische Welt Irlands wegen dessen blasphemischer Darstellung des Landlebens im Westen Irlands, Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts so erregte.

Fast könnte man meinen, dass Bruen sich im Gefolge Synges sieht, über den W.B. Yeats schrieb:

He was the more hated because he gave his country what it needed, an unmoved heart.

Mit "an unmoved heart", zumindest was Taylor betrifft, hat Bruen auch The Dramatist geschrieben. Ohne Alkohol scheint dessen Welt fast noch schwärzer zu sein.

bernd 

Bestes Buch:

The Dramatist 
von Ken Bruen  

Die weiteren Kandidaten in dieser Kategorie waren:

• The Darkest Place, von Daniel Judson
• The Do-Rei-Me, von Ken Kuhlken
• Vanishing Point, von Marcia Muller
• Days of Rage, von Kris Nelscott

The Dramatist ist ein weiteres wunderbares Buch aus der Jack Taylor Serie, eine Besprechung des Buches folgt die Tage.

Bestes Taschenbuch Original:

An Unquiet Grave
von P.J. Parrish 

Die weiteren Kandidaten in dieser Kategorie waren:

• Hallowed Ground, von Lori G. Armstrong,
• The Prop, von Pete Hautman
• Crooked, von Brian M. Wiprud
• The Uncomfortable Dead (deutsch: Unbequeme Tote), von Paco Ignacio Taibo II und Subcomandante Marcos

Auch An Unquiet Grave ist Teil der ungelesenen Bücher, die noch in meinem Regal liegen. Das Schwesternpaar, das unter dem Pseudonym P.J. Parrish schreibt, hatte früher auch schon den Anthony gewonnen - die Besprechung des Vorgängerbuches gibt es -> hier.

Bestes Erstes Buch:

The Kind of Blood
von Declan Hughes

Die weiteren Kandidaten in dieser Kategorie waren:

•  Lost Angel, von Mike Doogan
• A Safe Place for Dying, von Jack Fredrickson
• Holmes on the Range, von Steve Hockensmith
• 18 Seconds, von George D. Shuman

-> Irland steht Kopf, nehme ich an: Zwei Preise für das kleine Land, welches anscheinend ein großes Reservoir an frischen Stimmen besitzt (auch dieses Buch liegt schon in meinem Regal).

Beste Kurzgeschichte:
The Heart Has Reasons, von O’Neil De Noux

The Hammer :
Shell Scott von Richard S. Prather

Der "Hammer" ist ein neuer Preis, benannt nach Mickey Spillanes Mike Hammer und soll literarische Privatdetektive würdigen. Shell Scott ist einer der galanten Ritter; mit ihm (so glaube ich) wird eines der Rollenvorbilder von Lee Childs Jack Reacher -> ausgezeichnet. 

(Auch hier ein Dank an Rap Sheet)