Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. Vol. 131, No. 1. Whole No. 797, January 2008

Blog Bytes by Bill Crider

The Internet is always changing. New blogs come along every day, while blogs that I’ve been reading faithfully disappear. Reader’s Almanac is a case in point. I touted it last issue, and now it’s history, though Bill Peschel promises that something else will appear in its place, maybe by the time you read this. Stop by www.planetpeschel.com and check if you’re so inclined.

Jochem Van Der Steen is a Dutch writer (White Knight Syndrome) who often writes in English. He maintains the Sons of Spade blog (sonsofspade.blogspot.com), which is devoted to “spotlighting the fictional P.I.” The site features mostly reviews of private-eye novels and interviews with their authors, including people like Dave White and Shamus winner Andy Straka. If you like P.I. fiction, you’ll want to be sure to bookmark this site.

James Reasoner’s not Dutch, but he knows his P.I. fiction, being the author of the legendary Texas Wind. He’s also the author of Dust Devils, a superb crime novel that recently received a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly. Reasoner has published hundreds of Westerns under many names, including his own. The most recent is Death Head Crossing. He’s published dozens of short stories, too. His engaging Rough Edges blog (jamesreasoner.blogspot.com) gives monthly updates on his writing progress and has regular reviews of the books he’s read and movies he’s seen. These aren’t always mystery-related, but they’re always well worth your time.

The Lady Killers don’t really kill ladies. They’re women who kill people in their books, and The Lady Killers is the name of their group blog (theladykillers.typepad.com). Their own names are Jane Finnis, Cara Black, Rhys Bowen, Mary Anna Evans, and Lyn Hamilton, and variety is the name of their game. Evans and Hamilton write archaeological mysteries, but Hamilton’s have various exotic settings while Evans writes about the American South. Black’s novels are set in Paris. Bowen’s historicals are set in New York at the beginning of the twentieth century, and her contemporary mysteries are set in Wales. Finnis’s series is set in Roman Britain. So you can imagine the entertaining assortment of topics they discuss in their blog entries. There’s always something new.

Detectives Beyond Borders (detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com) is maintained by Peter Rozovsky, a Philadelphia copyeditor who has a great interest in mystery novels by writers from other countries. If you’re a fan of “Passport to Crime,” you’re certain to be interested in Rozovsky’s comments on writers like Gianni Mura, Fred Vargas, and Jean-Claude Izzo, among others.