SORROW LAKE is reviewed by MYSTERY PEOPLE

The United Kingdom is a hotbed for crime fiction these days. The genre receives very good coverage from the Guardian and Telegraph newspapers, and Stirling hosts the well-attended Bloody Scotland conference each year. Numerous bloggers feature crime fiction news and reviews, and one of the best and most-respected of these is MYSTERY PEOPLE.

This blog is run by Lizzie Hayes, who was a founder of the group Mystery Women in 1997. When this group closed down, Ms. Hayes founded Mystery People in 2012. As a lover of crime fiction, she has been a tireless supporter of the genre. She maintains two blogs, Mystery People and Promoting Crime Fiction.

I'm pleased that SORROW LAKE has been reviewed for Ms. Hayes by Marsali Taylor. She found it to be "an enjoyable and detailed p[olice] p[rocedural] set in rural Canada" with "an interesting set of characters.... The plot moved at a good speed, and the final twist was unexpected, but fairly clued."

Thanks to Ms. Hayes and Ms. Taylor for reviewing the novel. I'm very happy to see it receive positive attention in the UK.


You can read the full review on Promoting Crime Fiction here. 

The Crime Fiction Grab Bag: Bloody Scotland Checks In

It's time for another Crime Fiction Grab Bag, and this time Bloody Scotland holds the spotlight.

The verdict is in! Bloody Scotland, the first crime fiction festival held in Scotland, is reported to have been a great success. The local paper, the Stirling Observer, were very pleased to have had this event take place in their back yard.

The brainchild of Lin Anderson and Alex Gray, the festival ran from Sept. 14 to 16. The BBC News online provides a look at novelists Alex Gray and Caro Ramsay.

The Daily Record hailed the festival as a success, providing links to several interesting video clips in which festival participants are interviewed.

The Daily Record also focused on Alex Gray, and how she consulted with a pathologist while researching her novel.

Finally, online blogger Bookwitch provides an excellent summary of the festival, complete with many photographs.

On another note, in case you missed it, here's the Guardian UK on an author's apparent descent from near-fame to shame as a result of the sock puppet scandal.

Finally, I invite you to read my recent interview with New York-based book manager Lori Higham on Newsblog, in which I discuss the writing process, influences, and more: http://enewsblogs.com/literature/michael-mccann-marcies-murder/