Unique, Brilliant Sherlock Novel PR Stunt

Sherlock Holmes (2009 film) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Play dead in a Sherlock Holmes novel for £5,000
‘Although Anthony Horowitz has already given away some clues, saying he is three pages into “Holmes 2”, some of which describe, of course, “a grisly murder in London” and “a tailor’s shop for midgets” in Fleet Street, there is another twist in the tale for readers: the opportunity to star in the novel themselves.

‘As part of a fundraising initiative, Horowitz will write the winner of a charity auction into the new book. Prospective victims can bid on eBay, with funds being donated to bullying charity Kidscape…’
full story
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/10262254/Want-to-play-dead-in-a-Sherlock-novel-Thatll-be-5000.html

Medieval Poison Ring Used for Political Murders
‘Bulgarian archaeologists have unearthed a medieval bronze ring that might have been used for political murders some 700 years ago, local authorities have announced.

‘Found at the site of a former medieval fortress in Cape Kaliakra, not far from the Black Sea coastal town of Kavarna in northeast Bulgaria, the finely crafted ring was probably worn by a male on the little finger of the right hand.

‘Intriguingly, it features a round, hollow cartridge decorated with granulation and an artificial hole.

PHOTOS: Deadliest Poisons Known to Man

“’The cartridge was adapted into the ring for the poison to be poured into a glass quite seamlessly,” the Kavarna municipality said in a statement…’
Discovery
http://news.discovery.com/history/archaeology/medieval-poison-ring-used-for-political-murders-found-bulgaria-130821.htm

Woman’s Scribbled Note Solves Her Murder
It led police to Elizabeth Begaren’s killer and then her husband

‘A note scrawled by a prison guard minutes before her death was the clue that led to her killer, Orange County prosecutors said at the trial of her husband, who is charged with arranging the killing.

‘Elizabeth Begaren scribbled down the license plate number of a car that followed her onto an Anaheim freeway on-ramp in 1998, jurors were told Wednesday during opening statements in Superior Court.

‘Her husband, Nuzzio Begaren, was driving the family sport utility vehicle. He pulled over and a gang member got out of the other car and shot her, prosecutors contended.

‘Police found a torn-up piece of paper in the dirt by the side of the freeway and reassembled it. On it, Elizabeth Begaren had scribbled the words “light blue” and the plate number, prosecutor Larry Yellin said…’
more
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/22/elizabeth-bergaren-nuzzio_n_3796915.html

Fresh Air Remembers Crime Novelist Elmore Leonard
Leonard was a pioneer of hard-boiled crime fic and he’s great for his writing simplicity

‘Elmore Leonard, the crime novelist whose best-sellers included Get Shorty, Freaky Deaky and Maximum Bob, died Tuesday morning at his Detroit-area home, according to statements from his longtime researcher Gregg Sutter and .

‘He was 87 and was recently hospitalized after a stroke.

‘In March 2010, . As Noah wrote then, “Leonard has written 43 books, almost all of which have been optioned for films. His fans – there are many – say he’s the best crime writer ever, and they can recognize any page based on the sound.”

‘Leonard explained that sound this way:…’
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/08/21/213790688/crime-novelist-elmore-leonard-dies