Blood-Letter #176

Mar 11, 2025 | Blood-Letter, Featured Articles

March 2025

In this issue of The Blood-Letter from Friends of Mystery: Bloody Thursday guest Glen Erik Hamilton, award nominations, new books and TV, and more.

CONTENTS:
BLOODY THURSDAY

On November 21, 2024, March 27, 2025 Friends of Mystery Welcomes Glen Erik Hamilton

Glen Erik HamiltonA native of Seattle, Glen Erik Hamilton was raised aboard a sailboat and grew up around the marinas and commercial docks and islands of the Pacific Northwest. His novels (Past Crimes, Hard Cold Winter, Every Day Above Ground, Mercy River, A Dangerous Breed, Island of Thieves) have won the Anthony, Macavity, and Strand Magazine Critics awards, and been nominated for the Edgar, Barry and Nero awards. After living for many years in Southern California, he and his family have recently returned to the Emerald City and its beautiful overcast skies.

Please join us at TaborSpace, 5441 SE Belmont Street, Portland, Oregon 97215. We will be making an audio recording of the event which you will be able to access later on our website. The event is free and open to the public. A social time begins at 7:00 pm, with the program beginning at 7:30 pm. Free parking is available in the block across from the entrance. Bus line #15 will drop you off right by the door.

– Back to Top –

Spotted Owl Award Coming Soon

The committee is hard at work completing their reading and will be announcing the winner at the March meeting.

– Back to Top –

In Memoriam

Elinore RogersElinore Rogers

February 19, 1937 – October 18, 2024

Elinore Rogers, a longtime member and past president of Friends of Mystery has passed away at the age of 87.

Rogers was the facilitator of the Spotted Owl Committee for many years, holding the meetings at her home and treating her committee members to dessert and her signature iced tea as we deliberated on book ratings. Books were (and still are) given ratings of 1-4. As she told a member who was quite enthusiastic about one of the books and wanted to give it a 4+ rating, “We don’t give 4 pluses, but we appreciate your enthusiasm.”

Elinore’s Iced Tea

Lipton’s Instant Iced Tea
(decaf – unsweetened)
4 rounded tablespoons
1 packet artificial sweetener
½ gallon water
Ice cubes

Joseph Wambaugh

January 22, 1937 – February 28, 2025

Wambaugh was a member of the LAPD for 14 years, beginning in 1960 as a patrolman and working up to a detective sergeant. His first two novels, The New Centurions and The Blue Knight were published while he was still working for the LAPD. He went on to publish 14 more novels, five works of non-fiction (The Onion Field, Lines and Shadows, Echoes in the Darkness, The Blooding and Fire Lover), two television series (Police Story and The Blue Knight) and wrote the screenplays for The Onion Field, The Black Marble, the CBS mini-series Echoes in the Darkness and the NBC film Fugitive Nights: Danger in the Desert.

He was awarded the Edgar Allan Poe special award for non-fiction for The Onion Field in 1974, The Edgar Allan Poe Award for best screenplay for The Black Marble in 1981, The Rodolfo Walsh Prize for Investigative Journalism, an award from the International Association of Crime Writers for Lines and Shadows in 1989, and the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award in 2004.

– Back to Top –

Mystery Writers of America LogoEdgar Award Nominees

Best Novel

  • The Tainted Cup, by Robert Jackson Bennett
  • Rough Trade, by Katrina Carrasco
  • Things Don’t Break on Their Own, by Sarah Easter
  • My Favorite Scar, by Nicola Ferraro
  • The God of the Woods, by Liz Moore
  • Listen for the Lie, by Amy Tintera
  • The In Crowd, by Charlotte Vassell

Best First Novel by an American Author

  • Twice the Trouble, by Ash Clifton
  • Cold to the Touch, by Kerri Hakoda
  • The Mechanics of Memory, by Audrey Lee
  • A Jewel in the Crown, by David Lewis
  • The President’s Lawyer, by Lawrence Robbins
  • Holy City, by Henry Wise

Best Paperback Original

  • The Paris Widow, by Kimberly Belle
  • The Vacancy in Room 10, by Seraphina Nova Glass
  • Shell Games, by Bonnie Ristler
  • A Forgotten Kill, by Isabella Maldonado
  • The Road to Heaven, by Alexis Stefanovich-Thomson

Best Fact Crime

  • Long Haul: Hunting the Highway Serial Killers, by Frank Figliuzzi
  • The Infernal Machine: A True Story of Dynamite, Terror, and the Rise of the Modern Detective, by Steven John
  • A Devil Went Down to Georgia: Race, Power, Privilege, and the Murder of Lita McClinton, by Deb Miller
  • The Amish Wife: Unraveling the Lies, Secrets, and Conspiracy that Let a Killer Go Free, by Gregg Olsen
  • Hell Put to Shame: The 1921 Murder Farm Massacre and the Horror of America’s Second Slavery, by Earl Swift
  • The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age, by Michael Wolraich

Best Critical / Biographical

  • James Sallis: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction, by Nathan Ashman
  • American Noir Film: From The Maltese Falcon to Gone Girl, by M. Keith Booker
  • Organized Crime on Page and Screen: Portrayals in Hit Novels, Films, and Television Show, by David Geherin
  • On Edge: Gender and Genre in the Work of Shirley Jackson, Patricia Highsmith, and Leigh Brackett, by Ashley Lawson
  • Ian Fleming: The Complete Man, by Nicholas Shakespeare

Best Short Story

  • “Cut and Thirst,” Margaret Atwood, Amazon Publishing, Amazon Original Stories
  • “Everywhere You Look,” Liv Constantine, Amazon Publishing, Amazon Original Stories
  • “Eat My Moose,” Erika Krouse, Bard College, Conjunctions: 82, Works & Days
  • “Barriers to Entry,” Ariel Lawhon, Amazon Publishing, Amazon Original Stories
  • “The Art of Cruel Embroidery,” Steven Sheil, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine – July/August 2024

Best Juvenile

  • The Beanstalk Murder, P.G. Bell, Macmillan Publishers – Feiwel & Friends
  • Mystery of Mystic Mountain, Janet Fox, Simon & Schuster BFYR
  • Mysteries of Trash and Treasure: The Stolen Key, Margaret Peterson Haddix, HarperCollins – Quill Tree Books
  • The Spindle of Fate, Aimee Lim, Macmillan Publishers – Feiwel & Friends
  • Find Her, Ginger Reno, Holiday House

Best Young Adult

  • Looking for Smoke, K.A. Cobell, HarperCollins – Heartdrum
  • The Bitter End, Alexa Donne, Random House Books for Young Readers
  • A Crane Among Wolves, June Hur, Macmillan Publishers – Feiwel & Friends
  • Death at Morning House, Maureen Johnson, HarperCollins Publishers – Harper Teen
  • 49 Miles Alone, Natalie D. Richards, Sourcebooks – Sourcebooks Fire

Best Episode in a TV Series

  • Episode Five, Gregory Burke, Viaplay, Series: Rebus
  • Episode One, Tom Fontana & Scott Frank, AMC, Series: Monsieur Spade
  • Episode One, Anthony Horowitz, Masterpiece PBS, Series: Moonflower Murders
  • Mirror, Wiktor Piatkowski, Joanna Kozlowska, Katarzyna Kaczmarek, Viaplay, Series: Murderesses
  • Episode Two, Robert Thorogood, Masterpiece PBS, Series: The Marlow Club Murder

The Robert L. Fish Memorial Award

  • “The Legend of Penny and the Luck of the Draw Casino,” Pat Gaudet, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Issue: May-June 2024
  • “Head Start,” Kai Lovelace, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Issue: September-October 2024
  • “Murder Under Sedation,” Lawrence Ong, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Issue: March-April 2024
  • “The Jews on Elm Street,” Anna Stolley Persky, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Issue: September-October 2024
  • “Sparrow Maker,” Jake Stein, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Issue: November-December 2024

Sue Grafton Memorial Award

  • Disturbing the Dead, Kelley Armstrong, Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books
  • A Game of Lies, Claire Mackintosh, Sourcebooks – Sourcebooks Landmark
  • Proof, Beverly McLachlin, Simon & Schuster Canada – Simon & Schuster
  • A World of Hurt, Mindy Mejia, Grove Atlantic – Atlantic Monthly Press
  • All the Way Gone, Joanna Schaffhausen, Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books
  • The Comfort of Ghosts, Jacqueline Winspear, Soho Press – Soho Crime

Mary Higgins Clark Award

  • The Rose Arbor, Rhys Bowen, Amazon Publishing – Lake Union
  • The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco, Michelle Chouinard, Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books
  • The Mystery Writers, Sulari Gentill, Sourcebooks – Poisoned Pen Press
  • Return to Wyldcliffe Heights, Carol Goodman, HarperCollins – William Morrow Paperbacks
  • Death in the Details, KatieTietjen, Crooked Lane Books

The Lilian Jackson Braun Memorial Award

  • The Murders in Great Diddling, Katarina Bivald, Sourcebooks – Poisoned Pen Press
  • Death and Fromage, Ian Moore, Sourcebooks – Poisoned Pen Press
  • Booked for Murder, P.J. Nelson, Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books
  • Murder on Devil’s Pond, Ayla Rose, Crooked Lane Books
  • The Treasure Hunters Club, Tom Ryan, Grove Atlantic – Atlantic Monthly Press

The Ellery Queen Award

  • Peter Wolverton, VP, Executive Editor – St. Martin’s Press

The Raven Award

  • Face in a Book Bookstore & Gifts, El Dorado Hills, CA

Grand Masters

  • Laura Lippman
  • John Sandford

– Back to Top –

Malice DomesticMalice Domestic Nominees

Best Contemporary Novel

  • A Collection of Lies, by Connie Berry
  • A Midnight Puzzle, by Gigi Pandian
  • A Very Woodsy Murder, by Ellen Byron
  • Fondue or Die, by Korina Moss
  • The Dark Wives, by Ann Cleves

Best Historical Novel

  • Hall of Mirrors, by John Copenhaver
  • The Last Hope, by Susan Elia MacNeal
  • The Paris Mistress, by Mally Becker
  • The Wharton Plot, by Mariah Fredericks
  • To Slip the Bonds of Earth, by Amanda Flower

Best First Novel

  • A Deadly Endeavor, by Jenny Adams
  • Ghosts of Waikiki, by Jennifer K. Morita
  • Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles, by Elizabeth Crowens
  • Threads of Deception, by Elle Jauffret
  • You Know What You Did, by K.T. Nguyen

– Back to Top –

For Your Viewing Pleasure…

By Jeannette Voss

Case Histories - Acorn TVCase Histories (2011) – Acorn

Based on the novels of Kate Atkinson, this three episode series is set in Edinburgh and features Jason Isaacs as ex-detective turned private detective Jackson Brodie.

A Remarkable Place to Die - Acorn TVA Remarkable Place to Die (2025) – Acorn

Set in Queenstown, New Zealand, Detective Anais Mallory comes back home to lead homicide investigations and solve the mystery of her sister’s death. Four episodes.

Chaos: The Manson Murders (an Errol Morris documentary) debuted March 7th on Netflix.

Coming soon:
Bosch Legacy (the final season) – March 27th on Prime Video.

– Back to Top –

New and Noteworthy

(Summaries provided by the publishers)

An Island of Suspects by Jean-Luc BannalecAn Island of Suspects by Jean-Luc Bannalec

An August heat wave has all of Brittany in its grasp, and the only chance to cool down for Commissaire Georges Dupin is his daily swim in the ocean. Until one morning his routine is interrupted because a body has been found in the harbor with clear signs of foul play. Patric Provost was from one of the long-established families on the island of Belle-Ile, Breton’s biggest and most famous island. Provost owned and operated a company dealing in an island delicacy: the famous Bell-Ile-sheep. Dupin has barely stepped foot on the utopia-like island before it comes to light that Provost was not well liked. And someone was blackmailing him for one million euros, the deadline for payment the night before Provost’s body was caught on the buoy.

Battle Mountain by C.J. BoxBattle Mountain by C.J. Box

The campaign of destruction that Axel Soledad and Dallas Cates wreaked on Nate Romanowski and Joe Pickett left both men in tatters, especially Nate, who lost almost everything. Wondering if the civilized life left him vulnerable to attack, Nate dropped off the grid with his falcons in tow to prepare for vengeance. When Joe gets a call from the governor asking for help finding his son-in-law, who has gone missing in the Sierra Madre mountain range, he enlists the help of a local, a rookie game warden named Susan Kany.

The Quiet Librarian by Allen EskensThe Quiet Librarian by Allen Eskens

Hana Babic is a quiet, middle-aged librarian in Minnesota who wants nothing more than to be left alone. But when a detective arrives with the news that her best friend has been murdered, Hana knows that something evil has come for her, a dark remnant of the past she and her friend had shared.

Thirty years before, Hana was someone else: Nura Divjak, a teenager growing up in the mountains of war-torn Bosnia—until Serbian soldiers arrived to slaughter her entire family before her eyes. The events of that day thrust Nura into the war, leading her to join a band of militia fighters, where she became not only a fierce warrior but a legend—the deadly Night Mora. But a shattering final act forced Nura to flee to the United States with a bounty on her head.

The Frozen People by Elly GriffithsThe Frozen People by Elly Griffiths

Ali Dawson is a police officer working on cold cases; crimes so old, the joke goes, that they are almost frozen.

latest assignment is her biggest challenge to date. She must step back to the heart of the Victorian Age to clear the name of Cain Templeton – the eccentric ancestor of Tory MP Isaac Templeton, boss of Ali’s son, Finn.

Templeton was part of a sinister group called The Collectors, the rumour being that you had to kill a woman to become a member. Ali arrives in London in January 1850 and is directed to a house inhabited by artists, to be greeted by a dead woman at her feet.

Soon she finds herself in extreme danger. Even worse – she appears to be stuck, unable to make her way back to the present.

Untouchable by Mike LawsonUntouchable by Mike Lawson

Brandon Cartwright was a rich guy worth a couple billion bucks—inherited, of course—meaning he hadn’t worked a day in his life. But he sure knew how to party, and the people he rubbed shoulders with were all sorts of rich and famous: politicians and movie stars and British royalty and Russian oligarchs. So when Brendan Cartwright is executed in his own home, the cops quickly conclude that he was most likely killed by one or more of the rich, powerful people he partied with. But when John Mahoney, the former Speaker of the House, emerges from a clandestine meeting with the head of the National Archives, he learns there’s evidence suggesting that the President of the United States was somehow involved with Cartwright’s death. Mahoney needs someone who can investigate from the shadows—enter Joe DeMarco, Mahoney’s fixer.

DeMarco is no stranger to hunting down some of the very worst people Washington, DC, has to offer. In fact, he’s made a career of it. But as evidence continues to point towards the president, DeMarco is faced with an impossible situation: investigating a man who is quite literally untouchable.

Leo by Deon MeyerLeo by Deon Meyer

Detectives Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido are languishing in Stellenbosch. Run-of-the-mill police work in the leafy university town is a far cry from their previous life in Cape Town fighting crime and government corruption at the highest level. Then a student is found dead on a mountain trail, and the key suspect, a local businessman, is found murdered in what looks like a professional hit delivering a message—suffocated by fast-action filler foam sprayed down his throat.

On the other side of the country, a beautiful wildlife guide is recruited by a group of special forces soldiers to act as a honeytrap, part of a dangerous multi-million-dollar heist that goes tragically wrong. A single link connects the murdered businessman to the special forces, making Benny and Vaughn’s case all the more mysterious. Another former soldier is soon killed, as is an agent of the country’s disgraced former president; and then the heist crew reorganizes with an even more audacious theft in mind.

– Back to Top –

Share Your Member News

Friends of Mystery is happy to publish news and press releases from our members in our Member News section, with the following considerations:

  • The news must be related to mystery or true crime writing, films, and television, as well as non-fiction examinations of the mystery genre.
  • Friends of Mystery will not be able to edit announcements, and will publish them as provided.
  • Friends of Mystery will include one image with each announcement, if provided.
  • Friends of Mystery is not responsible for the content of news announcements, and we reserve the right to not publish any announcements which we feel will reflect poorly on the organization and do not advance the organization’s mission.

– Back to Top –

Buy Books by Friends of Mystery Speakers Online at Annie Bloom’s Books

If you want to order any of our speaker’s books, you can find them at our special Friends of Mystery page at Annie Bloom’s Books!

– Back to Top –

Membership Renewal

It’s never too late to consider renewing your membership to Friends of Mystery! Dues are $20.00 annually. FOM is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization. Dues and additional donations are deductible to the full extent of the law. Please mail your check, made out to Friends of Mystery, to PO Box 8251, Portland, Oregon 97207. Your newsletter will be sent electronically unless otherwise requested.

– Back to Top –

Submissions Needed

Members and readers are encouraged to submit book or film reviews, comments on authors, and recommendations for books to read or questions about mysteries, crime fiction and fact. If you have suggestions of mysteries worth sharing, please contact the editor at: jlvoss48@gmail.com.

– Back to Top –

Now that you’ve finished reading the newsletter it’s time to read a good mystery!