Crime Fiction Links of the Week for February 17, 2018

It's time again for Crime Fiction Links of the Week, our weekly round-up of interesting links about crime fiction from around the web, this week with Altered Carbon, McMafia, Waco, tributes to Victor Milan and much more.

Crime fiction in general:

• Garrick Webster shares five of the best French crime fiction writers.
• Criminal Element shares a list of cozy mysteries coming out in March. 
• Brian Greene revisits the 1974 crime novel Help, I Am Being Held Prisoner by Donald E. Westlake.
• Jamie Bernthal revisits the 1955 crime novel Model for Murder by Pater Campion. 
• Jamie Bernthal also revisits The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle. 

Film and TV:

• Tim Dowling calls series four of Shetland a stunningly bleak crime drama.
• Sam Wollaston calls the Scandinavian crime drama Modus a pacy, but undemanding thriller.
• Luke Buckmaster calls Underbelly Files: Chopper a crime drama that butchers logic and style.
• Ardi Alspach shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Waco.
• Ian Sales ranks all the Bond films from worst to best.
  

Comments on Altered Carbon:

• The G. takes a look at the first three episodes of Altered Carbon.
• Graeme Virtue wonders whether Altered Carbon proves that filmic cyberpunk has a life beyond Blade Runner.  
• Devindra Hardawar declares that Altered Carbon is more than just a Blade Runner rip-off.  
• Alex McLevy calls Altered Carbon a sprawling potential blockbuster of a series.
• Alex McLevy reports that Netflix has harmed Altered Carbon by the surprise release of The Cloverfield Paradox on the very same weekend.
  

Comments on McMafia:

• David Stubbs shares his thoughts on the series finale of McMafia.
• David Stubbs also wonders whether McMafia was TV's answer to The Godfather or a dull dud.
  

Tributes to Victor Milán:

• Victor Milán, author of science fiction, fantasy, westerns and adventure fiction, died aged 63.
• George R.R. Martin remembers Victor Milán.
• Craig W. Chrissinger remembers Victor Milán.

Writing, publishing and promotion:

• Several crime writers share how they handle current social and political issues in their novels.
• Ivan Weinberg explains how a famous friend helped him write his first novel. 
• Oren Ashkenazi asks how useful Kurt Vonnegut's eight rules of writing still are.
• Damien Walter discusses the four skills of the full stack writer.
• Diana Pharaoh Francis explains how writers can learn from books that don't quite work.
• Sara Wood talks about the process of designing a book cover.
  

Interviews:

• Booktopia interviews Ben Sanders.
• Marina Sofia interviews Vanessa Barrot and Noel Balen.
• Good Reading Magazine interviews Steve Cavanagh.
• Mrs. Bloggs: The Average Reader interviews A.J. Finn.
  

Reviews:

• Doreen Sheridan reviews A Dangerous Crossing by Ausma Zehanat Khan. 
• Sandra Mangan reviews Come a Little Closer by Rachel Abbott.
• Dick Lochte reviews Glass Houses by Louise Penny.
• Catherine Turnbull reviews The Gathering Dark by James Oswald. 
• Anne Bonny reviews City Without Stars by Tim Baker.
• Scott Adlerberg reviews The Devil at Your Door by Eric Beetner. 
• Janet Webb reviews The Plea by Steve Cavanagh.
• Sarah Mangan reviews Gallery of the Dead by Chris Carter. 
• Kristin Centorcelli reviews The Legacy by Yrsa Sigurdadóttir. 
• Kristin Centorcelli also reviews The Bookworm by Mitch Silver. 
• Karen Oberlaender reviews The Maori Detective by D.A. Crossman.
• Mal McEwan reviews Hydra by Matt Wesolowski. 
• Jamie Bernthal reviews A Different Kind of Evil by Andrew Wilson.
• Angie Barry reviews Death in the Stars by Frances Brody.
• Catherine Turnbull reviews Miss Blaine's Prefect and the Golden Samovar.
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Plum Pudding Murder by Joanne Fluke and tries a recipe from the book. 
• Matt Fowler reviews Odd Child Out by Gilly Macmillan. 
• Ross Johnson reviews Gunpowder Moon by David Pedreira.
• J.L. Gribble reviews Hounds of the Underworld by Dan Rabarts and Lee Murray. 

Crowdfunding:

• The Newcastle Noir crime festival in Newcastle, UK, is looking for funding.
  

Con reports:

• Anna Caig offers an overview of British literary festivals, including several devoted to crime fiction.
• Dino-Ray Ramos shares the schedule for the 2018 PaleyFest in Los Angeles, California. 

Research:

• Ant Miller recalls what it's like to be kidnapped.
• Will Storr explains how radioactive poison became a means of assassination.

Free online fiction:

• "Punks Jum Up to Get Beat Down" by John Vercher at Akashic Books.
• "All In A Day's Work" by Vy Kava in Flash Bang Mysteries.