BOUCHERCON 2017, DAY ONE!

Day One of Bouchercon 2017, the world mystery convention underway in Toronto, is now a wrap for me, and it will soon be time to put up my feet for the evening and relax.

This morning I held what's called a "20 on the 20 Spotlight" session. These are 20-minute presentations/readings/Q&As that give fans a chance to interact with authors in a somewhat more intimate setting than the panel discussion events which take place in very large rooms.

Unfortunately, the venue for the 20 on 20s was hard to find, tucked away on a different floor somewhere between the broom closet and the freight elevator (figuratively speaking), so all the 20 on 20s, including mine, were sparsely attended. However, the show must go on, and so it did!

I'm not tired, just very thoughtful.

Afterward I headed down to the book dealers room to sign autographs. While I was there, I went across the floor and introduced myself to Margaret Cannon, the legendary Globe and Mail crime fiction book critic. I've always wanted to meet her, and while she can't review my work because her paper doesn't consider independent authors, she asked for a copy of SORROW LAKE because she wanted to read it anyway. Such a very nice person.

One of the great things about conventions is that you have a chance to meet people. I don't get out much, so that's a real plus for me. I had some great conversations with fans from Las Vegas, Wisconsin, California and Ottawa, and spent part of the afternoon getting re-acquainted with Toronto novelist Rick Blechta, who has to be one of the nicest people you'd ever want to meet.

Tonight is the opening reception, but I think I'm off duty as soon as I post this baby. I'm bushed.

Oh yeah, one more thing. This the view from my hotel room AT NIGHT. Catch you later.

Crime Fiction Grab Bag No. 10

It's time to reach into the crime fiction grab bag to see what's newly published or coming shortly.

Bruce DeSilva, the winner of the 2011 Edgar Award for best first novel (Rogue Island), has written a follow-up novel entitled Cliff Walk, which once again features the protagonist Liam Mulligan, who is an old-school investigative reporter at a dying Providence newspaper. It is billed as a hard-boiled mystery, and Mulligan investigates corruption, kickbacks, and the sex industry in Rhode Island.

Award-winning author Loren D. Estleman has written a biographical novel entitled The Confessions of Al Capone. It is billed as a well-researched and intimate portrait of the legendary Scarface and his inner circle after his release from prison in 1941. Capone was suffering from the neurological effects of untreated syphilis and, aside from his occasional periods of lucidity, spent his last years ranting and rambling as he awaited his own death.

Bill Pronzini has written another in his “Nameless Detective” series entitled Nemesis. The detective must work to clear Jake Runyon and save the agency's reputation after they become the target of a vicious legal vendetta.

Kevin Egan has created a thriller entitled Midnight involving a conspiracy to temporarily conceal the death of a New York County Courthouse judge.

On the Canadian crime fiction front, see Margaret Cannon's reviews in The Globe and Mail at http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/summer-entertainment/murder-in-montreal-and-other-new-crime-fiction-worth-a-look/article12283137/.

And on the other side of the Atlantic, see reviews of recent crime fiction in The Telegraph at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/crimeandthrilerbookreviews/. This issue contains an interview with Mark Billingham on his latest novel, The Dying Hours, as well as an article on William McIlvanney, the Scottish novelist generally regarded as "the father of tartan noir".