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What’s happening in the world of book news for crime and mystery readers? An excellent audiobook production announcement, a revival play about Truman Capote, Colin Firth in a Noir adaptation, and more!
Emma Thompson narrates!
The audiobook of Gisèle Pelicot’s memoir, A Hymn to Life, is being narrated by Emma Thompson! In a video posted to the Vintage Books Instagram account, Thompson discusses the importance of the memoir and what an honor it is to narrate the story. “It’s a story that really inspires courage and compassion, but also crucially demands change.”
Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Truman Capote
From March 6th to April 12th, Jesse Tyler Ferguson will perform in a New York revival of Jay Presson Allen’s Tru as Truman Capote. “The play, drawn entirely from Capote’s own words, is set in December 1975 as the writer is alone in his New York apartment, reeling from a crisis that cost him the elite social circle he adored.” Playbill has all the details here.
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A bidding war!
Clare Mackintosh has made a name for herself writing thrillers and procedurals (The Last Party; I Let You Go) and now her upcoming fall thriller, It’s Not What You Think, had a bidding war for the adaptation rights. The winner is Red Planet Pictures, with Kam Odedra to write the TV adaptation. Here’s all the details in the Red Planet Pictures announcement.
Colin Firth joins noir adaptation
Metropolis, the 14th novel in Philip Kerr’s Bernie Gunther series, is being adapted for Apple TV. The currently filming production just added Colin Firth in the role of Paul Lohser, a murder detective in 1920s Berlin. Jack Lowden will play the titular Bernie, who has recently been promoted to the Murder Squad while a serial killer appears to be loose. Deadline has more details on the adaptation, and if you want to start at the beginning of the book series, pick up March Violets.
A backlist post still worth the read
This may have been written by Jonathan Forney for Pop Heist in 2024, but it is still worth the read today. “Scooby-Doo is not about a group of teenagers and their talking dog stopping costumed weirdos. It’s asking audiences to imagine what kinds of problems we can solve if we work together[.]”
Browse the books recommended in Unusual Suspects’ previous newsletters on this shelf, and see 2026 releases! Until next time, come talk books with me on Bluesky, Goodreads, Litsy, and Multitudes Contained.
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