162 Holiday Cover, William Kent Krueger

Hi Everyone,

When William Kent Krueger’s father lost his oil company job over matters of conscience, he went back to teaching, then, as now, a poorly paid profession. And, as Krueger remembers, “We all got jobs to help support the family. So what I saw in the summer that I was 13 years old was the importance of standing by the things that you believe in profoundly, the consequences of that, and accepting the consequences in a spirit of perseverance, endurance, and courage.” These lessons were put to use in Krueger's highly anticipated This Tender Land. Teri Duerr, a fellow Minnesotan interviews the author in this issue.

In the 1970s, the 11 p.m. hour on ABC was wide open for something new and different—and along came ABC’s Wide World of Mystery. A young Michael Mallory was parked in front of the TV, enthralled, and all these years later still has fond memories.

Elly Griffiths has two popular—and very different—series: the Dr. Ruth Galloway mysteries about a forensic archaeologist in Norfolk, UK, and the “Magic Men” historical mysteries series featuring one-time members of a WWII special ops unit. John B. Valeri gets the scoop on this versatile author.

Wondering what to get that special someone this holiday season? Ponder no more, as Kevin Burton Smith brings us his annual gift guide for mystery lovers.

Turns out J.K. Rowling of Harry Potter fantasy fame is also a major mystery geek. As Nanc y Bilyeau discusses in he r ar ticle , Ro w ling writ es solidly entertaining PI novels under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.

Amateur sleuth Samantha Washington dreams of owning a mystery bookshop and writing Britsh historical cozies—two dreams of her creator, V. M. Burns, as it happens. “With this series,” says Burns, “I’m able to live vicariously.” John B. Valeri maps out the author’s other dreams in his interview.

Also in this issue, we have interesting My Book essays contributed by Tara Laskowski, Marcia Rosen, and Bonnar Spring.

And now we come to some housekeeping matters. Brian and I took over Mystery Scene 17 years ago in 2002. At the time, the price was $32 a year for five issues, a schedule and price we’ve maintained for all these years. As you can imagine, our print and mailing costs have increased considerably in that time. But we still don’t want to increase prices, so we’ve decided to make Mystery Scene a quarterly publication starting in 2020. We will increase the page count of each of the four issues—in February, May, August, and November—to offset the change. The subscription price of $32 a year will remain the same. We think this is the best way to proceed. We hope you agree and that you’ll continue to be our partner in crime. Happy holidays to everyone and best wishes for an entertaining new year!

Kate Stine
Editor-in-chief

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Peter Swanson on Reading for the Season
Wednesday, 15 September 2021

Naomi Hirahara’s powerful new book, Clark and Division, follows the Ito family in 1944.

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Naomi Hirahara on "Clark and Division"
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Jane Stanton Hitchcock on Giving Voice to Great Reads
Thursday, 18 October 2018

"For me, the books I read were the call—the call to adventure, to thinking, to acknowledging other points of view. But to complete the ritual, I needed to respond."

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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Reading: A Call and Response
Saturday, 16 June 2018

Cynthia RiggsI am surrounded by books. Every room, every space in my large, sprawling 1750s house is full of books...

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Cynthia Riggs on Living in a House of Books
Monday, 30 April 2018

Our history and experiences can define us, inspire our actions, and as writers impact our words and stories. Mine most definitely has: my father was a small-time gangster. Really.

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My Book: The Gangster’s Daughter
Thursday, 12 April 2018

"My ah-ha moment came when I read The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald.... That was it for me – I was off to the races."

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Jacqueline Winspear on The Great Gatsby
Sunday, 01 April 2018

Nietzsche once wrote, “There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.”

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My Book: Head Wounds
Thursday, 15 February 2018

"Mystery books were daring and exciting, firing up my imagination and making me yearn to become a girl detective or even a secret agent. They also empowered me to make up impromptu ghost stories around the campfire for my Girl Scout troop and sneak into the cemetery at night on a dare."

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Laura Childs on Growing Up Reading
Thursday, 27 July 2017

vietselaineCR CristianaPecheanuFire and Ashes, the latest Angela Richman Death Investigator mystery, is an exploration of a fatal fire. To research this novel, Viets delved into the devastating consequences of junk science and arson investigations.

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Fire and Ashes and Arson