The Townhouse, locus of much of the action in Last Call (SDB lived down the street in the mid-nineties). (Edward Keating / New York Times)
“Hey, what’s the discussion thread doing on Wednesday?” For weekly-schedule reasons that aren’t compelling, we’re trying it this way for a little while. Feel free to bookmark it ‘til Friday and come back! …If people still bookmark stuff; I don’t know. I’m old. Anyway: let’s get to it!
Any early predictions for the nominees for Best Fact Crime at next year’s Edgars? Having just finished Elon Green’s Last Call, I’m pretty sure that’s a slam dunk for a nomination: deeply researched, not overlong, not preachy, and the prose is not without flaw but it cooks (see above re: scheduling but if I’d had a traditional “sitting,” I could have finished it in one).
Harold Schechter’s got a book in the mix, I think; Dean Jobb’s doorstop on Neill Cream; maybe the John Glatt on the latest in Princeton’s hall-of-shame alum listing; which of this year’s books do you think is getting the nod this time around? — SDB
I agree on Last Call — it's really well done. I'm interested to see if Patrick Radden Keefe's Empire of Pain is considered. I think it's pretty clearly true crime, but am not sure what the Edgar team will think.
I'm just crossing my fingers that "The Murders That Made Us" gets nominated, although I'm totally prepared to be crushed by Green come awards time. His piece on The Doodler for The Awl is an enviable piece of journalism.
You know I have to weigh in on this one! Last Call is a shoo-in I think and deservedly so. I would love to see Empire of Pain nominated and it totally could be (especially since Death in Mud Lick won for 2020). My only hesitation is that Say Nothing by PRK was overlooked and that was even more directly true crime than Empire of Pain. But the nominees have been skewing more in an investigative journalism direction lately.
A few other ideas (note, I have not yet read any of these titles): The Babysitter by Liza Rodman and Jennifer Jordan, Murder at the Mission by Blaine Harden, Two Truths and a Lie by Ellen McGarrahan, and Couple Found Slain by Mikita Brottman. I'm curious if they would consider From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry by Paula Yoo as it's a YA title. I'd also love to see Don't Call it a Cult by Sarah Berman nominated as it is the most comprehensive and well done NXIVM property I've consumed to date.
I agree The Case of the Murderous Dr. Cream seems like Edgar catnip.
EMPIRE OF PAIN isn't on the list and I doubt it will be submitted, but am happy to be wrong! Also don't sleep on the newest books by Kate Summerscale and Margalit Fox, both of which I enjoyed (as well as, obviously, LAST CALL and THE BABYSITTER, both of which I blurbed)
I agree on Last Call — it's really well done. I'm interested to see if Patrick Radden Keefe's Empire of Pain is considered. I think it's pretty clearly true crime, but am not sure what the Edgar team will think.
Is it too late for Hidden Valley Road? And will the insurrection books count...?
I'm just crossing my fingers that "The Murders That Made Us" gets nominated, although I'm totally prepared to be crushed by Green come awards time. His piece on The Doodler for The Awl is an enviable piece of journalism.
You know I have to weigh in on this one! Last Call is a shoo-in I think and deservedly so. I would love to see Empire of Pain nominated and it totally could be (especially since Death in Mud Lick won for 2020). My only hesitation is that Say Nothing by PRK was overlooked and that was even more directly true crime than Empire of Pain. But the nominees have been skewing more in an investigative journalism direction lately.
A few other ideas (note, I have not yet read any of these titles): The Babysitter by Liza Rodman and Jennifer Jordan, Murder at the Mission by Blaine Harden, Two Truths and a Lie by Ellen McGarrahan, and Couple Found Slain by Mikita Brottman. I'm curious if they would consider From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry by Paula Yoo as it's a YA title. I'd also love to see Don't Call it a Cult by Sarah Berman nominated as it is the most comprehensive and well done NXIVM property I've consumed to date.
I agree The Case of the Murderous Dr. Cream seems like Edgar catnip.
FYI, you can view the ongoing submission list for the Edgar Awards (and specifically, Best Fact Crime) at this link: https://mysterywriters.org/edgars/currentsubmissions/#fact
EMPIRE OF PAIN isn't on the list and I doubt it will be submitted, but am happy to be wrong! Also don't sleep on the newest books by Kate Summerscale and Margalit Fox, both of which I enjoyed (as well as, obviously, LAST CALL and THE BABYSITTER, both of which I blurbed)