The World's Finest Mystery... by Ed Gorman Read Free Book Online Page A

Do-Not Press, Allison & Busby, Harvill Press, No Exit Press, Serpent's Tail, and others) have proven a fertile breeding ground for newer talent of an often unconventional nature (despite adverse financial returns Serpent's Tail and Harvill persist in translating overlooked foreign-language mystery authors), and have repeatedly taken risks that larger publishers, many of whom are part of multinational conglomerates, can't afford to. At year's end, Bertram's, one of the U.K.'s largest wholesalers, also warned of major cuts in their stock base, which can only work to the detriment of smaller imprints. Already author John Harvey's courageous Slow Dancer Press has called it a day, faced with the poor sales and difficult distribution.
     
     
As a former publisher myself, I realize similar gray clouds have been dominating the British book scene in one form or another for ages now, but with the changing pattern of the retail landscape (and the coming of age of e-retail), I am distinctively worried about the future and the growing obstacles for newer talents to make a mark on the scene, whether inside or outside of the crime and mystery genre. On the other hand, maybe any change in existing patterns should also be viewed with guarded optimism, as none of us can accurately read the crystal ball of the future. After all, the collapse of the British public library system a decade or so ago did result in many established crime writers who catered cozily to that market finding themselves both out of print and without publishers, and this was no bad thing, leaving openings for new voices and the flowering of a harder-edged school of British crime writing and a distinct elevation of literary standards. So only time will tell who is right. Just like a whodunit, in fact!
     
     
On the awards front, the year began in a jolly mood with Colin Dexter and Lindsey Davis winning the annual Sherlock Awards for best detectives, followed by Peter Lovesey being awarded the Diamond Dagger by the Crime Writers' Association. The CWA's end-of-year awards as usual evinced some degree of controversy because of the number of American writers on the short lists (Jonathan Lethem, Donna Leon, and Boston Teran won, although Scottish author Denise Mina took the Short Story Dagger), but the big commercial news of the year was Ian Rankin's swift ascent of the best-seller lists, the debut of his character Inspector John Rebus on television (portrayed by John Hannah), and his ensuing crowning as a television pundit. Couldn't have happened to a nicer person or more worthy author!
     
     
Still on the small screen, Inspector Morse followed his literary demise in the adaptation of Colin Dexter's final novel A Remorseful Death , and Julia Wallis Martin and Gillian White also saw novels adapted for television alongside perennials like Reginald Hill, P. D. James, R. D. Wingfield, and Ruth Rendell.
     
     
On cinema screens, British gangster and crime films were sadly both unpopular and most unwelcome during the first half of the year due to a glut of bad, independent productions (many made possible by Lottery money) cobbled together with all the worst mercenary intentions in the world in imitation of the success of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels , mistaking blood, guts, foul language and violence for plot. Many a critic and spectator sighed at least once a month at how low some filmmakers went in the process. Unwilling to give these terrible films further publicity by even mentioning them, all I can advise you is to ignore any British crime films dated 2000 with the exception of the pithy Ordinary Decent Criminal (with Kevin Spacey), which took a curious lens to a tale already tackled in a more political perspective of a gang leader in Ireland. Our patience was saved by the bell, though, when Guy Ritchie's follow-up to Lock, Stock, emerged in the autumn and confirmed that he is a real talent (and also now Madonna's husband, of course) with a unique approach in which