Monday morning I had to go downtown and I wasn’t surprised to see the Chicago River was already green. I was taken aback by the green fluid spouting from the fountain in the Daley Center Plaza. I know. I know. Green everything is a March tradition in Chicago, which seems to have adopted the Irish saint as its official patron. Somehow the green fountain just seemed wrong. Even more wrong than green beer, or the green hair that seems more prevalent around March 17th.
Have a happy St. Patrick’s Day anyway.
If you ask any two participants about a mystery convention, you might conclude from their answers that they'd attended different conferences. From my point of view (a Chicagoan's), Left Coast Crime 2010 was nearly perfect. The weather was in the upper fifties, and overcast the first day but not raw, not snowing or pouring. The “stars” of the show—Jan Burke, Robert Crais, Steven Cannell, Michael Connelly, and Lee Child—formed a constellation far brighter than most conventions offer. And the event was well organized and well run. Panels were—for the most part—interesting and spaced far enough apart for attendees to hit the loo, the book room and the signing line before the next event began.
Some of the highlights:
Robert Crais, Steven Cannell and Michael Connelly interviewed by Jan Burke.
A serious panel on humor in mysteries.
The first rides on the historic Angel’s Flight trolley in three years.
Michael Connelly.
Lee Child.
The only glitch—lunch was delayed on Saturday due to the sort of misunderstanding writers frequently insert in their stories. (Someone at the caterer’s wrote down the wrong time on the order form, so the sandwiches were being constructed as they should have been delivered.) But that gave us a topic to discuss with total strangers while we waited, and made the food seem even better when it arrived.
All in all, if you missed LCC 2010, you missed a great good time.
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