Booked and Printed
By Robert C. Hahn

 For years, consolidation among book publishers was a cause for alarm among authors, agents, booksellers, and readers: as the number of big publishers dwindled, the concern ran, the fewer would be the opportunities for midlist authors to be published, and the narrower would be the range of works offered to readers.

But nature abhors a vacuum, and in the mystery field especially, smaller, more agile, and more focused alternatives have sprung up to meet the demands that the few remaining big houses no longer satisfy. Moreover, advances in printing and information technology have lowered the barriers to entry for aspiring new publishers who know the mystery market well enough to identify a niche that they can fill.

Within recent years, for example, Hard Case Crime and Akashic Books have brought a hardboiled sensibility to the mix, joining such established indy publishers as Crippen & Landru (which specializes in short story collections) and Poisoned Pen (traditional whodunits). Melville House has introduced a line of international crime fiction, adding a depth to the bookstore shelves that complements the offerings of Soho Crime. And Oceanview Publishing has joined Five Star in bringing out terrific books by overlooked authors.

This month we look at recent books from three of the newer indy publishers and imprints. These books also share common thematic elements as each incorporates filmmaking as an essential component of their mystery.

Arundel Publishing is a brand-new independent publisher of non-fiction, mystery, and young adult fiction headquartered in Warwick, N.Y. Their initial mystery title, These Violent Delights ($14.95) by Sharon Linnéa, is also the debut of a new series set in the movie industry.

As the twentieth anniversary of the film classic Tristan and Isolde approaches, studio Paramount prepares its first ever DVD release, but a planned reunion of cast and crew faces certain challenges. For director Pierce Hall, who also played King Mark, the film was both his greatest achievement and his final one: He died just before the film’s initial release. The movie’s male lead, Peter Dalton (Tristan), had other major roles, but then he disappeared completely a decade later, his fate unknown. And though the film made a star of newcomer Anastasia Day (Isolde), she subsequently appeared in only a play and a couple of movies before marrying the elderly Sir Neville Huntington and becoming the Duchess of Esmonde; since his death, she has lived as a virtual recluse in their stately home.

When Anastasia receives a call from Leah Hall, the daughter of Peter Dalton and now a director, she realizes just how many of the cast and crew of Tristan and Isolde are already dead. Three died violent deaths and a number of others could be considered suspicious. As the date for the reunion draws closer, there are more deaths and both threats and attempts on the lives of other cast members.

Linnéa delivers a romantic suspense novel in which the fatal triangle that ensnared Tristan, Isolde, and King Mark is reflected in that which ensnared the three movie stars, making the two tragedies seem equally inevitable.

Crème de la Crime has been around since 2004, but in 2011 it became an imprint of Severn House, where it publishes new works by some of Britain’s most well-established crime writers, such as Simon Brett and Paul Doherty, as well as some less well known to American audiences, such as Paul Johnston. Johnston writes three series, including the Quint Dalrymple procedurals set in near-future Edinburgh, and the Matt Wells mysteries, which feature a crime novelist.

Johnston’s half-Greek, half-Scots P.I. Alex Mavros is the focus of the third, a delightfully offbeat detective whose specialty is locating missing persons. The Silver Stain ($28.95) is his fourth outing.

Mavros is visited by American film director Luke Jannet and his assistant Alice Quincy, who offer him an exorbitant fee to go to the site where they are filming “Freedom or Death,” a movie about the Battle of Crete in 1941. The personal assistant to the film’s star, Cara Parks, is missing, and Cara is refusing to perform until she is found.

Memories of the war are still bitter on Crete, and the enmity is personified by two foreigners who have made Crete their home and are acting as consultants on the film. Rudolf Kersten was among the Nazi paratroopers who invaded Crete and began the bloody struggle. Acquiring great wealth after the war, Kersten returned to Crete and attempted to make reparations by building the Heavenly Blue Resort, a first-class hotel that provided employment for many Cretans during its reconstruction and afterwards as well. Englishman David Waggoner was a Special Operations Executive who fought with the resistance against the Nazis; he now lives in a remote village and doesn’t believe that Kersten was innocent of participation in German atrocities.

Mavros handles a coin theft for Rudolf Kersten, then makes quick work of finding the star’s assistant, Maria Kondos, helping to rescue her from the village where she had been taken. Unfortunately things heat up once more when one of the consultants is found dead, and Maria, not yet recovered from her first ordeal, is kidnapped again.

A vivid background is supplied with snippets of memoirs from both Waggoner and Kersten, and as Mavros probes the antagonism between the men he discovers an unexpected personal connection to the events on Crete.

Johnston’s resumption of the Mavros series after an eight-year hiatus is welcome indeed and should encourage readers to seek out the earlier novels.

Camel Press, a new imprint of Seattle-based publisher Coffeetown Press, bills itself as “a feisty little publisher with a mission” publishing “romance, mystery/suspense, science fiction, horror or any combination of the above.” One of their new publications is the debut novel by James L. Conway Dead and Not So Buried ($15.95).

Conway’s debut introduces Hollywood P.I. Gideon Kincaid, a former cop in L.A. who planted evidence used to convict a man who was certainly guilty—but not of the crime for which he was convicted. That event likewise triggered the end of his marriage to Stacy Wilson, a fellow cop whose career suffered as a result of Kincaid’s actions.

Gideon scrapes by on few cases and sets his dreams on his just-published novel Rear Entry, which shows no signs of being the hoped-for breakthrough. But a call from Westside Cemetery changes everything. The remains of fabled movie star Christine Cole, who died an early, tragic death, have been stolen and a two-million-dollar ransom has been set for their return. The kidnapper’s note demands that Gideon be the one to handle the payoff.

The perpetrator is failed actor Roy Cooper, whose career consists of heartbreaking near misses. He decides to get even with those he considers responsible for his lackluster career by first extorting money from them and then knocking them off. Gideon’s connection to Cooper and his offense will become clear later but meanwhile Cooper has other targets in mind and Gideon is destined to play the role of messenger as Cooper targets various producers and directors and actresses he blames for his failures.

Conway plays much of the novel for laughs, poking fun at the vagaries of show business, Gideon’s desire to become a best-selling author, his love-hate relationship with Stacy, and his obliviousness to the affections his lovely young secretary Hillary feels for him. But Gideon also has to contend with the very real killings Cooper is committing, the attempts of his ex-wife’s new partner to frame him, and other misadventures. Conway plants some neat twists that should have readers struggling to catch up as Gideon tries to figure out the identity of the kidnapper and save lives.

ALL POINTS BULLETIN: Deadly Pleasures has announced their Barry Award nominees for Best Short Story, and they include three from AHMM: Doug Allyn’s “Thicker Than Blood,” Jeffrey Cohen’s “The Gun Also Rises,” and Eric Rutter’s “Purge.” Visit http://www.www.deadlypleasures.com/news for voting information and to see the rest of the nominees. • SleuthSayers (www.sleuthsayers.org) continues to run regular blogs by many AHMM authors and other short story mystery writers. • Author Eric Cline has launched a new blog: http://www.www.cruelcline.blogspot.com. •  Hush Now, Don’t You Cry, the eleventh book in Rhys Bowen’s Molly Murphy series,  2012 from St. Martin’s Minotaur; the movie version of Her Royal Spyness is currently in development.