Writers Born Today - Tapani Bagge

It's the birthday of Tapani Bagge, born October 2, 1962 in Kerava, Finland. He has written dozens of novels in several genres, including children, Young Adult, espionage and historical. In addition he has written for television, the stage and even comic books.

But he is best known for his crime novels (18 and counting), which lean towards hard-boiled noir. They contain considerable black comedy and have won numerous awards, including the The Finnish Whodunnit Society’s annual award in 2007 for his novel Black Sky. Some of his historical crime novels (Black Vortex and Red Shadow) explore the tension and conflicts which arose from the Finnish War with Russia and its effect on a nation struggling to maintain its freedom in the shadow of the Russian bear. Despite their historical setting, they speak of the same crises that trouble Europe today.

As a crime writer he counts among his important influences Elmore Leonard, Donald Westlake, and Joe Lansdale . He was 10 years old when he read his first hard-boiled novel, The Lady In The Lake by Raymond Chandler. "That book really started my never-ending love story with tough guys and dangerous dames, at least in fiction," he said in an interview with FinPop, a website devoted to Finnish culture and the arts.

Bagge's work can be hard to find, but Thrilling Detective has posted two of his short stories on their website, The Face in the Concrete, which features Onni Syrjänen, a drunk lawyer forced by lack of funds to do his own detective work. Another story featuring his protaganist Onni is One More Shot.

You can read an entertaining interview with Bagge where he is interviewed by...Tapani Bagge. It's entitled Dancing With Myself.

Based on the limited number of stories I've read, I can say this is a writer worth getting to know. His novels aren't yet available in English. That's a crime that needs to be solved, and soon. Justice delayed, after all, is justice denied.

Bagge on Writing:
"The best part comes when the characters take the story and run, and leave you wondering if they really know where they are heading. That's the most high I've ever gotten, and it leaves no hangover whatsoever."

Writers Born Today - Elisabeth Sanxay Holding

It's the birthday of Elisabeth Sanxay Holding, born June 18, 1889 in Brooklyn, New York. She was educated at Miss Whitcombe's and other proper schools for ladies, and began her writing career penning romance novels. Her husband was a British diplomat.

Based only on this, it would be hard to foresee a time when Raymond Chandler would call her "the top suspense writer of them all." But at a time when mystery writing was dominated by men, she helped create noir fiction with her mystery and suspense novels.

Psychological suspense was her strength, and she displayed it best in her novel The Blank Wall (one of Chandler's favorites). The tale of a mother trying to protect her teenage daughter from a lecher who later turns up dead is still read today, and thankfully available in a Kindle edition. It's been made into a movie on two occasions, first in 1949, The Reckless Moment with Joan Bennett, and again in 2001, The Deep End with Tilda Swinton.

The Blank Wall is included in the Library of America's upcoming fall release, Women Crime Writers, edited by Sarah Weinman.

Ms. Holding also has a story in Weinman's collection of domestic suspense stories, Troubled Daughters, Twisted Wives, which was well received when it was published in 2013.


"Before anybody had ever heard of ‘pyschological novels of suspense’ Elisabeth Sanxay Holding was writing them, and brilliantly."

                                                                                               - Anthony Boucher

Mystery History - The First Edgar Award

The presentation of the 2014 Edgar Awards is just a few hours away. By late evening or early morning, we'll know the winners.

But do you know who won the very first Edgar given for Best First Novel in 1946?

Meet Sgt. Julius Fast, who was still in the army when his debut novel, Watchful At Night, was published. Fast's protagonist suspects the accidental shooting of an army buddy was really murder, and follows a trail of clues to uncover a domestic spy ring.

The novel got good reviews (the Saturday Review called it "well worth reading") and it was selected as the winner of the first Edgar Award in June 1946 by the newly created Mystery Writers of America. The award included a special leather-bound edition of "The Portable Poe" by Viking Press. The now classic Poe Statues given out tonight hadn't been created yet.

Other awards were given for Best Picture of a Mystery Nature, to Murder, My Sweet (based on the Chandler novel Farewell, My Lovely), Best Radio Mystery Program (it was a tie between The Adventures of Ellery Queen and Mr. and Mrs. North), and Best Mystery Criticism to Anthony Boucher for his reviews and commentary.

I wish all the nominees Good Luck, and for the attendees, you have an exciting evening ahead of you. For the rest of us, I'm sure we'll all be watchful at night until the winners are announced.

Mystery Weekend Roundup for Friday December 13, 2013

Fear of Friday the 13th Has a Long History

Today is Friday the 13th, a day so rooted in ancient fears and phobias, that even in this modern age, it paralyzes some people. According to an article in the National Geographic, fear of this date will effect at least 17 million people and cost the economy almost a billion dollars in lost productivity. One historian traces the fear to the number 13 and an old Norse legend. Other associations are rooted in religion. Judas, for example, is the 13th guest at the Last Supper and betrays Christ to the Romans.

In 1980, the teen slasher film Friday the 13th was released and has spawned an entire horror movie industry.

Even today, most buildings and high rises have no 13th floor, and your chances of being assigned room 13 in your local hospital or inn are practically nil.

In a bizarre coincidence, the Apollo 13 mission, which crippled the spacecraft and nearly cost three astronauts their lives, was launched on 4-11-70. The digits total to 13. The launch time was 1:13 PM, 13:13 in military time. The crew was scheduled to arrive at the moon on April 13th. The rest, as they say, is history.

By the way, the fear of Friday the 13th is known scientifically as  friggatriskaidekaphobia. Bet you can't say that fast three times in a row.


More Gift Ideas for the Holidays


Mystery Scene Magazine has a great book list out if you're looking for gift ideas. There's something in here for everyone, whether you've been naughty or nice, including a travel book by Agatha Christie and a bio of  Raymond Chandler. New works include a recently discovered treasure chest of Dashiell Hammett stories and a great anthology of female suspense writers put together by Sarah Weinman. There's even a collection of Christmas mysteries edited by Otto Penzler.


Need more ideas? Here are some additional "Best of" lists compiled by various websites, blogs and publishers.

Best Crime Fiction 2013 from down under by Fiona Hardy.

NPR Guide to the best Mysteries and Thrillers.

Best Books of the Year from the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

Best Mystery & Thriller List from Publishers Weekly.

Goodreads Choice Awards for 2013.

Top 100 Books from the Kansas City Star.


Creativity...It's a Good Thing! Isn't It?

An interesting article crossed my desk from Slate Magazine, suggesting that while we all crow about the importance of creativity in our lives and jobs, we really don't like it.

Could this be true? After all, every resume on the planet probably contains some reference to "thinking outside the box". But in the real world, we prefer risk averse behavior, and working with people who fit inside the box...and the cubicle.

A study from Cornell University confirms this theory. But in a surprise, according the author of the study, Barry Shaw, "The effect can liberate creative people from the need to fit in and allow them to pursue their interests."

This may not be as crazy as it sounds. Many a great work of art has originated from misfits and nonconformists. The very act of writing a novel to completion is a massive act of creativity that very few of us 6 billion people ever accomplish. How many times have you ever heard the phrase, "I've always wanted to write a novel"? And how many of those people ever do?

Perhaps that's for the best. Frankly, I don't have time to read the pile of books I've got on my nightstand now!

60 Years Ago Today, The Long Goodbye is Published

In 1953, after several years of struggle, Raymond Chandler's novel, The Long Goodbye, came to print. He wrote the book while nursing his wife through an extended illness, which eventually took her life. It had a profound impact on Chandler. His last years alone were marked by alcohol abuse and loneliness.

The Long Goodbye is one of Chandler's most personal stories, and he put a lot of his own suffering into the characters. He told his agent, "you could not know the bitter struggle I have had in the past year to achieve enough cheerfulness to live on, much less to put into a book."

Anthony Boucher gave the book a rave review in the New York Times, and declared it one of the best private eye novels ever written. Today it is recognized as a classic work of art and helped cement Chandler's reputation as a great writer. In 1955 the Mystery Writers of America awarded The Long Goodbye an Edgar for Best Novel.


"To say goodbye is to die a little."

                     from The Long Goodbye

MYSTERY WEEKEND ROUNDUP for September 28, 2013

One Novelist's Filthy Secret...Exposed!

I found this amusing little essay at the New York Times Opinionator page and I'm still laughing. Brad Parks, author of The Good Cop, dishes on his dirty little secret...mainly that writing crime fiction involves lying!

For a former news reporter, this was a tremendous hurdle to overcome, since everything he'd ever learned in the news room stressed truth and facts, backed up by multiple sources.

Safe to say, he's succeeded, and has joined the rest of us liars.


Michael Chabon Visits Kansas City

Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Micahel Chabon visited Kansas City recently. If you missed his appearance, you can still listen to him talk about words, writing, and how he finds time to write while beiong a busy parent. Join him with Steve Kraske on his radio program, Up To Date.



Raymond Chandler's Struggles with The Long Goodbye

J. Kingston Pierce has a great Chandler article on his blog, The Rap Sheet, this week. See how Chandler struggled with his novel, The Long Goodbye. I wasn't aware that Chandler was thinking of dumping his popular character Philip Marlowe, abandoning crime fiction altogether, and writing an English melodrama.

He confessed to his publisher, that he couldn't manage it. "It begins to look as though I were tied to this fellow for life. I simply can’t function without him."

We are all grateful.