A busier than usual September has delayed my Bouchercon
wrap-up. Do not let that lead you to think this year’s event was anything other
than a success. For me, on multiple levels. (I’ll have more to say about the ‘multiple
levels’ business in the coming weeks.)
I used to break down every panel I attended. I’m not doing
that this year because
·
I didn’t go to as many panels as I used to
·
I didn’t garner as much new information from the
panels I did go to
This is in no way a criticism of the program. I’ve been attending
conferences since 2008 and have published sixteen novels since then. I still
look forward to learning ways to make my writing better and more fun for
everyone, but much of what I hear now is, with notable exceptions, a variation
on something I already know. That’s to be expected when one gets to be my age
and has the same level of experience.
What follows is a recap of the things that struck me as most
noteworthy. I credited the speakers when I could, but there were times I’d be
finishing one note and something else I wanted to record was said and I didn’t get
a chance to see who said it. If your name has been omitted from a comment, please
accept my apology. No slight was intended.
BOUCHERCON NOTES 2025
Alex Kenna: Neo-noir is an ‘endless smorgasbord of pain.’ (I
will definitely use this line in a blurb someday, and told Alexx so.)
Brian Thiem: Increased reliance on technology has lowered
the Oakland homicide clearance rate from 70% to below 50% because of the
investigators’ increasing reliance on the tech, and waiting for the results to
come in, when they should be knocking on doors.
Bruce Coffin: The ending of an action scene is the beginning
of a sequence based on the consequences of the action.
Carter Wilson & Bruce Coffin: The diner scene between
Pacino and DeNiro in Heat has more suspense than any of the violent
action.
Mandy Miller: It’s the writer’s job to make interesting
things that could be boring. (In other words, don’t let ‘this is boring’ be an
excuse for improper procedure.)
Mandy Miller: Knowing the law is less valuable than knowing
the procedure.
Sherry Lewis Wohl: Cadaver dogs can detect cremated remains.
(Uncertain): DNA taken from a service member can only be
used to identify a corpse, never to bring charges.
(Uncertain): Some experts will spin evidence so they’ll get
hired again. Some never even look at it.
Katherine Ramsland: Forensic meteorology is the study of how
weather affects a crime scene. (This is actually a thing.)
Sherry Lewis Wohl: Search & rescue dogs and their
handlers are volunteers.
John deDakis: Cable doesn’t answer to the FCC, so there are
no consequences for inaccuracy.
(Uncertain): Reporters may do a lot of their long-term
investigations on their own time. They’ll complete their assignments as quickly
as possible so they can work on the other things.
Jordan Harper: Writing should be hard the way playing a
sport is hard, not ‘lifting a car off of someone’ hard.
Gary Phillips: Private eye novels are really about the PI
looking for themselves. (That hit home for me, given the book I’m working on
now.)
Christa Faust: Location and character are not distinct. POV
means everything.
Kristin Perrin: Explore how a person can change a place as
well as how the place can change a person.
Thanks to everyone we met and spent time with, both old
friends and new acquaintances. I don’t want to list names here because I know I’ll
leave someone out. Special thanks to Lou Berney, Diana Chambers, Lee Matthew
Goldberg, Claire Johnson, and Boyd Morrison for making our panel a joy to
moderate. Suffice to say it was great to return to Bouchercon after five years
away. We’ll miss Calgary next year, but 2027 in Washington DC is already on the
schedule.
