Words of the Month
cachinnation (n.): “loud laughter,” 1620s, from Latin cachinnationem (nominative cachinnatio) “violent laughter, excessive laughter,” noun of action from past-participle stem of cachinnare “to laugh immoderately or loudly,” of imitative origin. Compare Sanskrit kakhati “laughs,” Greek kakhazein “to laugh loudly,” Old High German kachazzen, English cackle, Armenian xaxanc‘. [Perhaps this is a way to understand what Chandler meant when he wrote in “The Simple Art of Mureder”: In everything that can be called art there is a quality of redemption. It may be pure tragedy, if it is high tragedy, and it may be pity and irony, but it may be the raucous laughter of the strongman.]
The Robot Did It ~ The biggest twist in the new mystery story “written” by artificial intelligence? It’s pretty good!
Man Uses AI to Write 97 Terrible Books, Sells $2,000 Worth
Nerding Out at New York’s Antiquarian Book Fair
It’s Okay to Like Good Art by Bad People
What is this summer’s big mystery book?
Flea Market Cons and Other Slippery Shenanigans
Midway as Menace: On Carnivals, Characters, and the Fear of the Other
With Their Knowledge Combined, Two Scholars Are Deciphering a Long-Lost Native Language
*Historian and mystery novelist is first woman to head Archives
*A stolen purse, a thriller writer and a particular set of skills
Man returns overdue library book nearly 100 years after it was checked out
Why a Small-Town Record Store in Rural Pennsylvania Was My First Library
Only in Florida: couple steals rare books, vintage comics, AND endangered tortoises.
Words of the Month
giggle (v.): c. 1500, probably imitative. As a noun from 1570s.
More people are getting away with murder. Unsolved killings reach a record high
Computer system used to hunt fugitives is still down 10 weeks after hack
Ransomware Gang Hijacks College’s Emergency Broadcast System to Threaten Students
Dallas disrupted by hackers – courts closed, police and fire sites offline
Europol is worried criminals may exploit the powers of ChatGPT. Here’s why
The Last Honest Man: Frank Church and the fight to restrain US power
The Terrifying Secret Weapon The CIA Created To Assassinate World Leaders
MLK’s famous criticism of Malcolm X was a ‘fraud,’ author finds
Criminals are using AI in terrifying ways — and it’s only going to get worse
Abortion Clinics See Triple-Digit Spikes in Stalking, Burglaries, Bomb Threats & Arson
CIA chief announces new steps to address sexual assault, harassment allegations
Your DNA Can Now Be Pulled from Thin Air. Privacy Experts Are Worried.
FBI misused surveillance tool on Jan. 6 suspects, BLM arrestees and others
The Tortured Bond of Alice Sebold and the Man Wrongfully Convicted of Her Rape
He Freed an Innocent Man From Prison. It Ruined His Life
The NAACP says Florida isn’t safe for Black people. Unfortunately, they’re right
Russia calls for Lindsey Graham’s assassination after controversial comments about ‘dying Russians’ (after his comments were edited by the Russians to sound terrible)
AI Deepfakes of True-Crime Victims Are a Waking Nightmare
Words of the Month
groan (v): Old English granian “to utter a deep, low-toned breath expressive of grief or pain; to murmur; to lament,” from Proto-Germanic *grain- (source also of Old Norse grenja “to howl”), of imitative origin, or related to grin (v.). Meaning “complain” is from early 13th C., especially in Middle English phrase grutchen and gronen. As an expression of disapproval, by 1799.
Inside The Battle For North Dakota’s Bookshelves
A Tiny Blog Took on Big Surveillance in China—and Won
Idaho Library Reverses Book Ban After Breaking Open Meetings Law
‘Publishing these books is a risk’: Taiwan’s booksellers stand up for democracy
Illinois set to become first state to end book bans
Hayley Kiyoko Says Cops Warned Her Not to Include Drag Queens in Her Nashville Show
The book battle is escalating, with library funds on the line
So, What Are Agents Seeing in the Era of Book Bans?
Asked to Delete References to Racism From Her Book, an Author Refused
Oklahoma Guv Defends Cutting PBS for ‘Indoctrinating’ Kids
Lawsuit filed against Twitter, Saudi Arabia; claims acts of transnational repression committed
School librarians face a new penalty in the banned-book wars: Prison
Book bans soared in the ’70s, too. The Supreme Court stepped in.
Book Banners Take Over Idaho Library Board After Disgraceful Campaign
Salman Rushdie warns free expression under threat in rare public address after attack
Hong Kong leader says public libraries must ensure books don’t violate laws
Hong Kong neck-and-neck with Florida in bookbanning competition.
China’s comedy crackdown sparks fears of Cultural Revolution 2.0
Author resigns from PEN America board amid row over Russian writers panel
Target becomes latest company to suffer backlash for LGBTQ+ support, pulls some Pride month clothing
Georgia School District Book Removal Violated Civil Rights
Glasgow Subway Ad Censored for Featuring Michelangelo’s ‘David’
In 1933, Helen Keller Wrote a Letter to Book-Burning Nazis About the Power of Ideas
Maryland families sue school district over LGBTQ book policy
China Removes 1.4 Million Posts and 67,000 Accounts in Latest Social Media Purge
Texas Legislature moves to regulate school library content
Words of the Month
cackle (v.): early 13c., imitative of the noise of a hen (see cachinnation); perhaps partly based on Middle Dutch kake “jaw,” with frequentative suffix -el (3). As “to laugh,” 1712. From 1856 as “a short laugh.”
Seattle Public Library to let young people nationwide borrow banned books
Hawaii’s Native language nearly vanished—this is the fight to bring it back
New Capitol Hill bookstore brings fresh perspective to familiar space
Hundreds of Oregon hate crimes go unprosecuted every year. Here’s why
Author Louise Penny on her ‘Gamache’ series and writing with Hillary Clinton
New Idaho law creates crime of ‘abortion trafficking’
*Oregon woman’s 13-year stolen car odyssey uncovers deceit, purged records and state DMV gaps
Novelist James Patterson, journalist Vicky Ward plan book on killing of Idaho college students
Police near Seattle issue warning about AI phone scammers impersonating family members
Man arrested in Seattle mail thefts that halted delivery for hundreds
Idaho college murders strain town financially as investigation expenses mount
A Seattle bookstore named after a cat balances tradition with plans for bold new chapter
Artist who falsely claimed Native American heritage sentenced to 18 months’ probation
What Makes Seattle Such a Good Setting for Thrillers?
Words of the Month
grin (v.): Old English grennian “show the teeth” (in pain or anger), common Germanic (cognates: Old Norse grenja “to howl,” grina “to grin;” Dutch grienen “to whine;” German greinen “to cry”), from PIE root *ghrei– “be open.” Sense of “bare the teeth in a broad smile” is late 15th C., perhaps via the notion of “forced or unnatural smile.”
John Wilkes Booth ‘Wanted Poster’ at auction, rarer than US Constitution
They Hired a P.I. to Find Missing Loved Ones. He Turned Them Into YouTube Content
Did F. Scott Fitzgerald think all women over 35 should be murdered?
What scares master of suspense Dean Koontz? Plenty.
Koontz had the indoor pool removed and installed a custom library of his 20,000 books by other authors, many of them first editions. (Philip Cheung for The Washington Post)
Cops hoping to spot lurking mountain lion set up camera. Something menacing appeared
Connecticut ‘witches’ exonerated by Senate lawmakers
Alabama digital road sign hacked to display white supremacist messages
‘Mad and offensive’ texts shed light on the role played by minstrels in medieval society
How Arthur Conan Doyle Was Duped By Some of the Victorian World’s Most Obvious Hoaxes
Words of the Month
titter (v.): from the1610s, “giggle in a suppressed or nervous way,” probably of imitative origin. Related: Tittered; tittering. The noun is attested by 1728.
AI Spam Is Already Flooding the Internet and It Has an Obvious Tell
OSHA cites Amazon for failing to adequately aid injured workers
A Group of Amazon Drivers Just Joined One of the Biggest Unions in the US
Is Temu the Future of Buying Things? Imagine if Amazon and TikTok had a baby.
To become an Amazon Clinic patient, first you sign away some privacy | Perspective
Coroner says blunt force injury killed worker at Amazon warehouse in Indiana
Amazon pays small-town florists and funeral homes to deliver packages
Oregon cuts Amazon $1B in tax breaks for 5 new data centers
[Oregon lawmakers move to scale back tax break reforms]
Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin wins contract to land NASA astronauts on moon years after heated bid process
US regulators launch investigation into worker death at Amazon warehouse
Amazon investors reject proposals on worker safety, climate impact
Words of the Month
guffaw (n.): from the 1720, Scottish, probably imitative of the sound of coarse laughter. Compare gawf (early 16th C.) “loud, noisy laugh.” The verb is from 1721.
MWA Announces the 2023 Edgar Award Winners
Author Fatimah Asghar is the first winner of the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction
Here are this year’s Pulitzer Prize winners.
Announcing the 2023-2024 Steinbeck Fellows.
International Booker prize announces first ever Bulgarian winner
Haymarket Books is launching a fellowship for writers impacted by the criminal legal system.
Haruki Murakami wins Spain’s Princess of Asturias Award for literature.
Words of the Month
chuckle (v.): from the1590s, “to laugh loudly,” frequentative of Middle English chukken “make a clucking noise” (late 14th C.), of imitative origin. Meaning shifted to “laugh in a suppressed or covert way, express inward satisfaction by subdued laughter” by 1803.
A chapter ends for this historic Asian American bookstore, but its story continues
What Will the Bookstore of the Future Look Like?
Concise Writing: How to Omit Needless Words
James Ellroy, Michael Connelly discuss ‘Widespread Panic,’ a crime novel set in 1950s L.A.
Susan Isaacs: Why It Only Took Me 45 Years to Write a Series
Chinese man builds bookstore on a mountaintop. Yes, he’s a poet.
Charles Reznikoff: The Finest Noir Poet You’ve Never Heard Of
Meet the owners of the newest bookstore in Brooklyn.
Simon & Schuster again up for sale, executives confirm
9 Books Illustrating Agatha Christie’s Enduring Presence in Our Cultural Zeitgeist
Dennis Lehane on Boston, Busing, and the Summer of ’74 [see JB’s review below]
The State of the Crime Novel, Part 1: A Roundtable Discussion with the Edgar Nominees
The State of the Crime Novel, Part 2: A Roundtable Discussion with the Edgar Nominees
Do Great Actors Make Great Novelists?
Whodunnits With a Killer Twist
Kelly McMasters on Starting a Bookstore to Save Her Marriage
What Journalism Can Teach You About Writing Fiction
7 Fabulous Crime Novels and the Craft Lessons They Drive Home
Not even NYT bestsellers are safe from AI cover art
TikTok Users Report Reading 50% More Because of BookTok
This Black Woman Opened A Free Library In Brooklyn
Nearly 1,000 Years Old, This Text Shows the Ingenuity of Chinese Woodblock Printing
James Comey is trying to master the twist ending. This time, on purpose.
Ron DeSantis’s context-free history book vanished online. We got a copy.
True crime can be an unedifying business, so why am I drawn to writing about it?
How Should We Feel About Barnes & Noble Now?
Good news: there are more bookstores in the US this year than last.
What I Learned About Writing From Reviewing
How Screenwriting Can Help You Write Stronger Fiction
Lost story by ‘poet of the tabloid murder’ James M Cain discovered in Library of Congress
The Origin of the Red Herring and its Place in Literature
Ancient books in northern Italy frozen to salvage them from flood damage
How Not To Get Murdered At a Thriller Conference
Ivy Pochoda on Writing About Violent Women (Without Making Excuses for Them)
Vengeance Becomes Her: 5 Great Thrillers About Women Getting Revenge
Books and Murder: The Perfect Match
Words of the Month
chortle (v.): coined 1871 by Lewis Carroll in “Through the Looking Glass,” perhaps from chuckle and snort. Related: Chortled; chortling. As a noun, from 1903.
Author Events
June 8: Brenda Peterson signs Stiletto, Elliot Bay, 7pm
June 9: James Comey signs Central Park West, Third Place/Town Hall, 7:30pm
June 19: S.A. Cosby signs All the Sinners Bleed, Powell’s 7pm
Hallmark’s ‘Carrot Cake Murder: A Hannah Swensen Mystery’ Reunites Alison Sweeney, Cameron Mathison
Hollywood turned spy fiction’s most hard-boiled killer into Austin Powers [the Matt Helm books are great – JB]
Neil Jordan on Marlowe, Noir, and a Los Angeles That Doesn’t Exist Anymore
Dorothy B. Hughes at the Movies
‘Vertigo’ is still the best movie ever. Or the worst movie ever. Discuss.
Creating the ‘Buddy Tragedy’ of White House Plumbers
Here’s that Murder on the Orient Express adventure game you wanted
Natalie Portman Now Finds Her Role in ‘Léon’ to Be ‘Cringe’
When ‘Homicide’ Hit Its Stride
Eddie Murphy in Talks to Star in ‘Pink Panther’ Movie
Scorsese’s eagerly awaited ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ premieres at Cannes
5 Things The Bourne Franchise Has That James Bond Doesn’t
James Bond Thunderball risked ‘sex and sadism’ X-rating and scared Sean Connery to death
David Lynch interview: ‘Even in the so-called dark things, there’s beauty’
10 Times James Bond Almost Cast An American Actor As 007
Ian Fleming Nearly Saved The Silliest James Bond Movie
Which Elmore Leonard Adaptation Should You Stream This Weekend?
Why Chris Pine Chose Star Trek Over An L.A. Confidential Sequel
The Best New Crime Shows to Watch This Month
7 Great Espionage Films Set During WWII
Words of the Month
yuck (v.): to “laugh,” 1938, yock, probably imitative.
May 6: Sam Gross Was Funny to the End
May 19: Jim Brown, NFL Legend Turned Hollywood Action Hero, Dies at 87
May 20: British novelist Martin Amis has died, according to his agent. Amis was 73
April 28: Looted Monastery Manuscripts Rediscovered During Office Renovation
May 3: Right-Wing Doctors’ Org Accidentally Leaks Massive Trove of Sensitive Documents
May 3: Maryland appeals court denies Adnan Syed request to reconsider murder ruling
May 3: European police arrest more than 100 mafia suspects in drug crackdown
May 4: Victims Say $39M Ponzi Scheme Was a Father-Son Operation
May 8: The Billion-Dollar Ponzi Scheme That Hooked Warren Buffett and the U.S. Treasury
May 10: Met Museum Will Hire Team to Investigate Looted Art
May 12: She Stole $54 Million From Her Town. Then Something Unexpected Happened. The place previously best-known as Ronald Reagan’s childhood home, site of the Petunia Festival and the Catfish Capital of Illinois, was now also the home of the largest municipal fraud in United States history.
May 16: How to raise $89 million in small donations — and make it disappear
May17: Man indicted for stealing Dorothy’s ruby slippers from Wizard of Oz
May 19: Whistleblower Claims FBI Had The Zodiac Killer Identified, Covered It Up
May 25: $100 Million Gone in 27 Minutes
May 26: Peruvian police seize cocaine bricks wrapped in Nazi insignia
May 26: Investigators Using AI to Help Solve Cold Case of Missing NJ Boy
May 26: FBI Reveals Alleged Plot to Kill Queen Elizabeth During 1983 Visit
>May 27: Feds hid JFK film that could prove ‘grassy knoll’ conspiracy: lawsuit
May 27: Arby’s Sued After Manager Found Dead in Freezer
May 28: The pope and Emanuela Orlandi: Vatican back in the spotlight over mystery of missing girl
Words of the Month
laugh (v.): from the late 14th C., from Old English (Anglian) hlæhhan, earlier hliehhan, hlihhan “to laugh, laugh at; rejoice; deride,” from Proto-Germanic *klakhjan (source also of Old Norse hlæja, Danish le, Old Frisian hlakkia, Old Saxon hlahhian, Middle Dutch and Dutch lachen, Old High German hlahhan, German lachen, Gothic hlahjan), from PIE *kleg-, of imitative origin (compare Latin cachinnare “to laugh aloud,” Sanskrit kakhati “laughs,” Old Church Slavonic chochotati “laugh,” Lithuanian klagėti “to cackle,” Greek kakhazein).
Originally with a “hard” -gh- sound, as in Scottish loch; the spelling remained after the pronunciation shifted to “-f.” To laugh in one’s sleeve is to laugh inwardly so as not to be observed. “The phrase generally implies some degree of contempt, and is used rather of a state of feeling than of actual laughter” [Century Dictionary].
Deanna Raybourn — A Sinister Revenge
One of the things I love about the Veronica Speedwell Mysteries is how Raybourn seamlessly weaves natural history into her mysteries! In fact, as in A Sinister Revenge, they become critical to the plot! Imparting just enough info, should you like, you can find out more about whatever she’s spliced into the story.
In A Sinister Revenge, we find ourselves exposed to fossils, or more specifically, one giant fossil. Said fossil is at the heart of this murder in retrospect, where the remaining members of a group of friends come back together to discover who amongst them is a murderer….whilst Veronica and Stoker are on the outs, and Tiberius tries his hand at playing peacemaker.
Honestly, this series is so much fun.
I cannot recommend these books enough. You don’t HAVE to read the first in series to read this one….so long as you recognize several books precede it. However, if you do not, you will miss much of the nuance betwixt the main characters — Veronica, Stoker, Tiberius, and Merryweather. Plus, the books are such a lark; why would you not want to start with the first?
For the next several months, I’ll be doing something a bit different. You see, I’m re-reading all of Louise Penny’s Gamache books, and I’ve gone on about them before, but this time, I’m approaching them a little differently, so hang with me.
Then I’m reviewing either a movie or TV show that I think you should watch, and of course, I’ll tell you why.
Ready? Okay, here we go:
What brings me back to these books is not Inspector Gamache himself, although he’s an inspiration and an icon. It’s Three Pines, the hidden little Canadian village where so much takes place – and rest assured, it isn’t Cabot Cove – and where so many special and wonderful people live.
“At the top of the hill Armand Gamache stopped the car and got out. He looked down at the village and his heart soared. He looked over the rooftops and imagined the good, kind, flawed people inside struggling with their lives. People were walking their dogs, raking the relentless autumn leaves, racing the gently falling snow. They were shopping at M. Beliveau’s general store and buying baguettes from Sarah’s boulangerie. Olivier stood at the Bistro doorway and shook out a tablecloth. Life was far from harried here. But neither was it still.”
It’s the sense of community that brings me back. All the people with their mixture of good and bad, selflessness and selfishness, small kindnesses and petty cruelties, all the very human parts of us call to me, and the quiet, unassuming little village seems like a refuge. You’ll love it here.
Speaking of community, have you seen the movie The Old Guard? It’s written by an author I know I’ve mentioned more than once, since he’s a fantastic author and an all-around great guy, Greg Rucka.
[JB has watched The Old Guard a number of times and was thrilled to hear a sequel is coming!]
I was 14 and just in high school when Boston erupted over forced school busing in 1974. I remember seeing pictures and news footage of outraged white people screaming and throwing things at the buses carrying black students into their world. Adults. That impression is deep. There were only a couple of black students in my high school, which as in a predominantly – if not all – white suburb. But there was no overt objection to those kids, at least that I was aware of then or now. You can bet there was silent objection. Had to be. But I just couldn’t grasp the snarling fury of those parents in Boston. It reminded me of the news coverage of 60s civil rights protests in the South. I knew nothing of South Boston. Then.
South Boston is the setting of probably my favorite series of books, Dennis Lehane‘s Patrick and Angie private eye novels. Wouldn’t be surprised if I’ve read the series a dozen times, and Darkness, Take My Hand more than that. Reread it just a couple of weeks ago, on a trip home. His new novel, Small Mercies, is set in their world, in 1974 as the busing is about to start. As made clear in his books, South Boston was a homogeneous and insular place, and folks don’t like to be told what to do, especially by cops or government – they’ll only accept orders from the Irish gangster who runs the whole shebang: Marty Butler, surely a stand-in for the actual king, Whitey Bulger.
Set against all of this anger and prejudice and mindless hatred of those people, he gives us the story of Mary Pat Fennesey, a lifelong resident who has never questioned anything she’s been told. But then her last child vanishes – she lost a son to drugs after Viet Nam – and her daughter Jules is her heart. The answers she starts to receive to her requests for help, and the fury released by the upcoming busing, cause her look long and hard at her neighborhood and herself.
Hers was childhood of bewilderment, violence, and devoid of reason. “She can’t remember that girl, but she can feel her. She can feel her bafflement and terror. At the noise and the fury. At the storm of rage that swirled around her and spun her in place until she was so fucking dizzy from it, she had to learn to walk in it without falling down for the rest of her life.” To use a phrase from Darkness, Mary Pat is a person of impact. Her actions cause ripples that alter what comes next.
Her relentless search for answers brings her into conflict with those who want the questions to stop. And then there are her friends, her family, who don’t like seeing the the truth that her answers expose. She won’t be swayed or stopped. One fist-fight – at 44, Mary Pat is still the battler everyone remembers from her childhood – leaves her looking “like she was attacked by the live trees in a fairy tale.” But you can be sure those trees don’t look so hot, either.
Lehane had just turned nine when Boston blew up over busing. It obviously left a deep impression on him. Small Mercies is a book of heartbreak and determination, both from the resistance to change and from those who dare to. It is beautifully written, of course, and provocatively challenging. It’s a proud addition to Dennis Lehane’s shelf of literature.
If you like what we do, spread the word!
BUY SMALL ~ SUPPORT SMALL
Seattle Mystery Bookshop 