And everything I had to know
I heard it on my radio
News
The California Crime Writers Conference is just around the corner! I’ll be on the Sunday morning panel dishing the deets about humor in mystery and crime. I think it’s going to be a great panel.
And speaking of panels, at Killer Nashville I’ll be on one there as well. I don’t know the details yet, but when I do, I’ll let y’all know.
I went last year and had a good time. (Picking up an award for Best Comedy in Mystery helps.) We were just climbing out of the pandemic so it was thrilling to get out and be around people.
PS: Big F@!king Deal is coming along, and I’m aiming for a late July, early August release!
Oh, L.A., You’re So You. Never Change.
So a bit of true crime! Turns out, even if something is nailed down, someone will still steal it.
Over the Hills, in Studio City, a few weeks ago, thieves stole about thirty feet of artificial turf. Basically, the guy’s front lawn. They came in the middle of the night and no one heard or saw a thing.
Maybe the turf snatchers were trying to fix up their place on the cheap. Or maybe they work for Big Lawn and they’re sending a message.
Book Recommendation
Dorothy B. Hughes isn’t talked about enough. She was writing her hardboiled and noir books when it was mostly a boys club (Looking at you, Ray and Dashiell…) She wrote most of her fourteen novels over a twelve year period, which also means she put out more than Chandler and Hammett, combined.
In A Lonely Place, which was made into a movie with Bogart, is set in post World War 2 Los Angeles. Dix Steele is a former pilot who has come to L.A. to work on his crime novel. Things take a turn when he reconnects with an old friend who is now an LAPD detective following a trail of strangled women.
Dix offers to help in anyway he can. But Dix isn’t all that he seems to be...
The book is atmospheric. Tense. Psychological. Noir. It’s a classic that is worth your time.
And that’s it! I’ll be back next month!