The Crime Writers Association has announced the 2009 CWA Gold Dagger Awards' shortlist.  The winners will be announced on October 21, 2009 at the SpecSavers Crime Thriller Awards in London and will be shown on ITV3 later in the month.

If you like mysteries where all of the main characters are stuck in some kind of confined environment (a large, scary, old house) trying to solve some kind of crime or love the Agatha Christie novels when Poirot dramatically explains the crime's solution at the end of his books to the group of suspects, should enjoy these authors/characters:

Margery Allingham's Albert Campion 

Carolyn Hart's Henrie O'

M. C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin 

The Private Eye Writers of America announced the nominees for the 28th. Annual Shamus Awards on Friday. Eleven of the fifteen novels nominated are available at our library. Which book(s) do you choose for the three categories: Best Hardcover, Best First PI Novel, and Best Paperbook?

Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta mystery series is coming to the big screen. None other than Angelina Jolie will play Ms. Scarpetta. Producers Mark Gordon and Geyer Kosinski are hoping for a franchise out of Ms. Cornwell's books, though none of the films will necessarily follow the plotline of any particular tome. According to Variety,

This film won't be tied to a specific Cornwell mystery title. Much the way that Jason Bourne morphed into an action hero in plots not rigidly locked into the Robert Ludlum book series, the opera-loving coroner Scarpetta will be the lead in a suspense thriller in the vein of "The Silence of the Lambs" and "Seven."

In the Shadow of Gotham, Stefanie Pintoff's debut, won the first Minotaur Books/MWA Best First Crime Novel award. It's the Twentieth Century and crime detection has begun to take advantage of the new sciences available: fingerprints, profiling. Detective Simon Ziele has moved to Dobson, a small town in New York's Westchester county, a train-ride from New York City, following the tragic death of his fiance in the wreck of the steamship General Slocum in 1904. Ziele had been one of the NYC detectives called to scene to rescue survivors, but he was unable to save Rachel, his fiance.

Are you looking for someone new to read? Maybe a new mystery author? I'm hoping I'll find time to read at least one of these five titles this summer. Meredith Cole won the St. Martin's/Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery Competition. Let us know what you think.

Angel's advocate by Mary Stanton

Bait by Nick Brownlee

Hangman blind by Cassandra Clark

Question: What one crime, mystery, or thriller novel do you think has been most unjustly overlooked, criminally forgotten, or underappreciated over the years? In honor of The Rap Sheet’s first birthday, they invited more than 100 crime writers, book critics, and bloggers from all over the English-speaking world to choose crime/mystery/thriller novels that they thought had been 'most unjustly overlooked, criminally forgotten, or underappreciated over the years.' Any book you would like to add to this list?

If you're a fan of Walter Mosley and enjoy stories featuring a 'real' private eye try...Loren D. Estleman, Robert J.

Forensic science(often shortened to forensics) is the application of a broad spectrum of sciences to answer questions of interest to the legal system.  Aaron Elkins' Gideon Oliver is a forensic anthropologist, Eve Duncan featured in Iris Johansen's books is a forensic sculptor. Kathryn Fox has a new series featuring pathologist and forensic physician, Dr.

Looking for something new to read? These debut mysteries are get high marks from readers:

• Hangman Blind by Cassandra Clark
• Posed for Murder by Meredith Cole
• Dust and Shadow: An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson by Lyndsay Faye
• Starvation Lake by Bryan Gruley
• Dog on It: A Chet and Bernie Mystery by Spencer Quinn.

Greg Iles’ stories have been described as terrifying, suspenseful, and intense, words which also describe Jefferson Bass's FLESH & BONE, DEJA DEAD by Kathy Reich, Alex Kava's A PERFECT EVIL, DARKLY DREAMING DEXTER by  Jeff Lindsay, or  Karin Slaughter's BLINDSIGHTED.

If you enjoy humor with your mystery, like Tim Cockey’s or Janet Evanovich’s stories, you might try Mischief in Maggody by Joan Hess,Carl Hiaasen's Powder Burn, Biggie and the Poisoned Politician by Nancy Bell, Sanibel Flats by Randy Wayne White, Bubbles Unbound by Sarah Strohmeyer, Murder Grins and Bears It: a Yooper Mys

The general reading public seldom gets a chance to vote for their favorite book and/or author but here's your opportunity to do so. The Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel awards in July at the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate, England.  Laura Lippman, Mark Billingsham, Val McDermid, and Simon Kernick are among the 14 contenders. 

David Suchet is filming 4 new Poirot mysteries for PBS.  Hercule Poirot is Agatha Christie's famous Belgian detective.  Mr. Suchet has portrayed Poirot for 21 years on public television's Mystery! series in over 60 episodes.

Ian Rankin, author of the Rebus series, has a new series which will debut in England this Fall.  He spoke about this and his venture into music recently on Scotland on Television (stv.tv).

If you like the humor found in Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series, may we suggest:

• Murder Grins and Bears It: A Yooper Mystery by Deb Baker
• Size 12 is Not Fat by Meg Cabot
• Bubbles Unbound by Sarah Strohmeyer
• Tourist Season by Carl Hiaasen
• The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

I realize this is a blog about a blog, but if you are a reader of mysteries/crime fiction check out The Rap Sheet. It's a blog with reviews of new and forthcoming books,  interviews with authors, and crime-fiction-related Web sites. (Photo: Raymond Chandler/AP Images)

This month I will be attending a high school reunion.  I started thinking about the expectations, the memories, and just why do people go to these events?  Six mystery writers thought class reunions can stir up a great deal of feeling, perhaps even murderous thoughts...  Mrs. Murphy saves the day for postmistress, Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen, in Pawing Through the Past by Rita Mae Brown and Jo Dereske's Miss Zukas finds more than she's looking for at her 20th.

One of my favorite mystery writers, Barbara Parker, died after a long illness recently. Most of her novels were in her "Suspicion" series about Miami lawyers Gail Connor and Anthony Quintana. If you haven't read Ms. Parker's books, you'll find a strong, independent, female character in Gail Connor, a Miami attorney. Anthony Quintana was a Cuban-American, born in Cuba, whose family escaped to America in the 50s. This played a large part in the Connor-Quintana mysteries. Ms. Parker's first novel, "Suspicion of Innocence" was nominated for an Edgar Award and became a made-for-TV movie, "Sisters and Other Strangers". Ms.