Definitely worth checking out this week are two sites dealing with women, mystery, history, and brand new books. First up is Megan Abbott‘s “Story Behind The Story” essay at The Rap Sheet, published earlier this week. Abbott discusses the roots of her new book, Bury Me Deep, in the 1931 true crime story of Winnie Ruth Judd — a ripe-for-the-tabloids tale that Abbott calls “one part James M. Cain, one part Edith Wharton, and one part Edgar Allan Poe.” Read the full column here, check out a recent interview with Abbott at Hardboiled Wonderland here, or visit the author’s own site here. Or, even better, just buy the book itself.
Meanwhile, another woman of mystery is in the news again: Agatha Christie, with both a soon-to-be-published book including recently-discovered Hercule Poirot stories and a new summertime series Six By Agatha on PBS (each coming on the heels of revelations several months back about Agatha & Alzheimer’s). Fellow Mystery Scene contributor Oline H. Cogdill posted an essay on All Things Agatha earlier this week, alerting me to some of this news, including an announcement that Kate Stine, Mystery Scene editor and former director of the Agatha Christie Society, is hosting a Christie-themed discussion this week at Barnes & Noble’s online Mystery Book Club. Still time to join in on that conversation, continuing for several more days.
