George Easter and Deadly Pleasures

I haven’t had much time for reading since my return from holiday, but at least I’ve managed to devour the latest issue of George Easter’s fanzine ‘Deadly Pleasures’. This is issue 58, and I’ve been a reader (and, often, a contributor) to the magazine from the outset, having first got to know George as long ago as the memorable 1992 Bouchercon in Toronto.

‘Deadly Pleasures’ differs from other crime fan magazines that I’ve mentioned here, such as CADS and Give Me That Old-Time Detection, in that the focus is primarily on reviews of modern books. (We're talking here about print magazines; there are also some superb online publications such as Shots and Crime Time). But DP features numerous shortish articles too, invariably including a piece from the admirable Philip Scowcroft: this time, Philip surveys ‘Asia in British Crime Fiction’.

One of the many things I like about George is that he has a very soft spot for British mysteries, and from that first meeting I’ve always found him very generous about my own books. A regular section in DP is ‘News and Reviews from the UK’, and there is also an article on Scottish crime fiction by Jeff Popple. There is extensive treatment of Second World War mysteries, and Laura Wilson is featured on the cover.

Among many interesting bits and pieces this time around is a short article by Carlos R. Zafon and this reminds me that I still haven’t got round to reading The Shadow of the Wind. I bought my copy at the time of original publication after that very good judge Maxim Jakubowski told me it was his favourite book of the past twelve months. But somehow it’s slipped down the pile...