The Crime Lady: My Year in Crime
Dear TCL Readers:
Once again, it’s been a while. 2021 has been like that, moving agonizingly slow and blindingly fast, sometimes at the same time. The year will end with uncertainty and anxiety, and perhaps, with an abundance of caution, but my sense of hope remains intact.
In any event, much of my time has been split between writing the Crime column for the New York Times Book Review and preparing for the February 22, 2022 publication of my next nonfiction book, Scoundrel. (Pre-order the US edition, published by Ecco, or the Canadian edition, published by Knopf Canada.) The pre-publication reviews are all in, and they are almost universally rapturous — not every day your book is deemed an “instant classic” after all:
“Mesmerizing…Weinman does a masterly job resurrecting a stranger-than-fiction chapter in American criminal justice….This instant classic raises disturbing questions about gullibility even on the part of the very bright.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“[A] strange and compelling tale. . . . [Scoundrel] is a psychologically fascinating must-read for true-crime buffs.” —Booklist (starred review)
“Enthralling…. The book is a must-read for true crime fans, but it will appeal to nonfiction readers across genres for its thrilling blend of crime, media, and politics in mid-century America…. An immediately absorbing story.” -Library Journal (starred review)
“Wholly compelling reading from an author well versed in the true-crime genre” — Kirkus Reviews
Some wonderful endorsements have also come in:
Scoundrel also finds itself on various Most Anticipated Books lists — ‘tis the season for that, after all — from Town and Country to Alma to Maris Kreizman’s pinned tweet to Publishers Weekly, which named the book one of its Top 10 Spring 2022 History titles. Stay tuned after the new year for periodic updates on Scoundrel, including announcement of (I hope!) in-person events.
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Now that the first calendar year of the column is coming to an end, it is time for my favorite books, which posted online earlier today and will run in Sunday’s print edition. Here’s the opening paragraph:
Here is a secret worth sharing: Every year is a good year for crime fiction. I’ve known this for as long as I’ve been a serious reader of the genre, but was reminded anew as my first calendar year writing the Crime column nears its end. It’s been a pleasure to reconnect with old favorites and to acquaint myself with new ones, and to tour the ways in which crime writing opens a window onto society, revealing frayed and newly forged strands. Whittling down the list to a thieves’ dozen of standouts was difficult, as it should and must be.
(And yes, the “thieves’ dozen” reference is a Donald Westlake one.)
The books in question are:
Nekesa Afia, Dead Dead Girls (Berkley)
Alexandra Andrews, Who Is Maud Dixon? (Little, Brown)
S.A. Cosby, Razorblade Tears (Flatiron Books)
James Kestrel, Five Decembers (Hard Case Crime)
Naomi Hirahara, Clark and Division (Soho Crime)
Derek B. Miller, How To Find Your Way in the Dark (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Velvet Is the Night (Del Rey)
Richard Osman, The Man Who Died Twice (Pamela Dorman Books/Viking)
Willa C. Richards, The Comfort of Monsters (Harper)
Stephen Spotswood, Murder Under Her Skin (Doubleday)
Since I had some extra room, I threw in mention of notable reissued crime novels by Charlotte Carter, Yukito Ayatsuji, Anthony Berkeley, and all-time-favorite Dorothy B. Hughes. Not listed, because they are books by friends, but still counting, are the latest by Megan Abbott, Julia Dahl, Alison Gaylin, and Laura Lippman.
I wanted this favorite books piece to be a guide, in some way, to my past year in reading as well as what I’m planning for the column in 2022 and beyond. I’m always eager to see series mysteries of every stripe and subgenre, and reissues are absolutely my jam. Psychological suspense will mostly be given space elsewhere (though I’ll be reading many of them anyway, I suspect.) And if a book is eligible for the Best Critical/Biographical Edgar award category, I am very interested as well.
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READ/WATCH/LISTEN
The Globe and Mail recently asked me to recommend my favorite true crime podcasts of the year, and I gladly obliged. I also spoke about the genre’s ethical thorniness on an episode of The Argument, with host Jane Coaston and lawyer and Undisclosed podcast co-host Rabia Chaudry.
If a pandemic could not get me to up my television viewing, nothing much will, but I will say that Only Murders in the Building is an utter delight, as was the second season of The Babysitters Club. It is also good to be back attending film screenings and live theater. The new production of Company (which opens this Thursday) was a riveting experience, and it is a special thing to see Patti LuPone on stage.
My colleague Sarah Lyall, who writes the monthly-ish thrillers column, has posted her favorites of the year as well.
The recent exoneration of Anthony Broadwater, the man convicted of the 1981 rape of Alice Sebold, spurred me to reread her 1999 memoir Lucky. It was, shall we say, a vertiginous experience, one that I wrote about for Elle this week. This story isn’t finished, and I reckon I’ll revisit it in some form down the line. For now, I am posting this October 18, 1999 New York Daily News item without comment:
Finally, my deepest gratitude to all of you, who continue to subscribe to this newsletter even when I’m not posting often. The frequency will increase in the new year as promotion for Scoundrel mounts, but for understandable reasons I’m also rethinking what to do with this space. Thank you for your patience, and for reading.
Until the New Year, I remain,
The Crime Lady