March 2026
CRIME NOTES AND ANECDOTES
FROM ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS
Happy March, all, and Happy Publication Day to me! The Delivery, the new Mercury Carter thriller, is now available as a hardcover book, an e-book, and an audiobook. More on that below, along with an expanded events calendar and lots of recommended reads, but first…
Speaking of milestones, I hit a significant one this month, marking fifty years since I started running as a scrawny teenager. My first-ever race was a quarter-mile in March 1976 in Newark, New York, a cold day with snow on the ground. Fittingly, I celebrated the anniversary earlier this month in rather similar conditions.
Many runners strive for streaks of consecutive days, something I avoid out of fear of injury. I’m not immune to the concept, however, and recently hit 100 straight days on Duolingo, the language app where I’m learning Catalan to keep up with our Catalonian granddaughters (the “base” language in this case is Spanish, which further stretches my brain cells).
Despite some March snow (including the rare Styrofoam-ey sleet known as graupel), we’re seeing plenty of harbingers of Spring, including this long-time furry resident who emerged recently looking no worse for wear after a cold winter.
Finally, this month’s obligatory cat pictures feature Bubba catching up on his Call The Midwife viewing…
… while Stretch takes in an episode of The Pitt …
BOOKS ETC.
In what’s likely an unfortunate sign of things to come, Hachette Book Group announced it was halting publication of a horror novel over allegations the author relied heavily on Artificial Intelligence.
In happier books news, defying all expectations from just a few years ago, the number of independent bookstores continues to grow in one of the coolest retail developments of my lifetime. Now, thanks to The National Association of Black Bookstores (NAB2), there is a comprehensive record of Black-owned bookstores nationally. Anyone have a favorite indie bookstore they’d like to highlight?
Additionally, this item on the Substack “Book Post” details multiple promising reading trends, particularly among younger readers.
SHORT FICTION
A new mother whose impoverished family is teetering on the brink of ruin takes solace in her husband’s announcement of a solution. But has he made things worse? My story, “Shopping That Way,” appeared earlier this month in Black Cat Weekly.
MERCURY CARTER
Now to The Delivery, launching tonight at Gramercy Books (details below), with a tip of the hat to CrimeReads for a nice top-of-their-website promo this week. The sequel to The Mailman finds freelance mailman Mercury Carter trying to make a delivery in Providence, Rhode Island, when (surprise, surprise) things go awry, and he must spring into action once again, in this case to find a missing woman whose fate is tied to a far-ranging criminal conspiracy.
Lesa’s Book Critiques said, “If you love white knight adventures with unexpected heroes, you’ll enjoy Mercury Carter’s exploits in The Delivery.” The Delivery was also rated “Recommended!” by Aubrey Nye Hamilton and called “an exciting read” by the Akron Beacon Journal. Marilyn’s Mystery Reads said earlier this month that, “Andrew Welsh-Huggins has created a terrific character in Mercury Carter. Carter is warm, dependable, and capable of (handling) himself in any situation. This is the second book in the series, and I’m looking forward to the third.” (As am I.)
(Want the inside scoop on things I learned writing The Delivery and more? Check out my Q&A on Fresh Fiction, my Crime Wave Podcast conversation with Bonnar Spring, and my CrimeReads essay on how early 1970s TV and film dramas helped inspire the creation of Mercury Carter.)
Meanwhile, appreciation for The Mailman continues, most recently after it earned a Barry Award nomination for best thriller of 2025.In addition, the German-language edition of The Mailman has garnered a lot of interest from German book influencers, including my favorite review, which called the novel “Mega gut.”
UPCOMING EVENTS
Tonight! 7-8 p.m., launch of The Delivery, Book Two in the Mercury Carter series, at Gramercy Books, where I’ll be in conversation with Edgar Award-winning crime writer Natalie Richards.
Wednesday, March 25, 7-8 p.m., Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Rookwood Pavilion, Cincinnati, Ohio. Author talk and book signing.
Tuesday, March 31, 2026, noon to 1 p.m., Ohio County Public Library, Lunch with Books program, Wheeling, West Virginia.
Thursday, April 16, 6-7:30 p.m., New Albany Branch of the Columbus Public Library, discussion of The Delivery, book sales afterward by Prologue Bookshop. Register for this free event here.
Saturday, April 25, 10-4 p.m., Dragonfly Bookshop, Hilliard, Ohio. Join me in celebrating Independent Bookstore Day at one of central Ohio’s newest and coolest bookstores. (The bookstore’s “Author Alley” will be at Otie’s Tavern & Grill around the corner in downtown Hilliard.)
Monday, June 2, 6-7:30 p.m., Storyline Bookshop, Upper Arlington, Ohio. Launch of Rescue Me, the new Andy Hayes private eye novella.
Tuesday, June 9, 6:30 p.m., Gathering Volumes bookstore book club discussion of The Delivery, Perrysburg, Ohio. Copies of Rescue Me will also be available.
Wednesday, June 10, 6-7:30 p.m., Thurber House picnic series, discussion of Rescue Me and The Delivery, and how I balance two series, Columbus, Ohio (full details TBA).
Thursday, June 18, 6-7:30 p.m., Morgenstern Books, Bloomington, Indiana. Author talk on The Delivery and Rescue Me. (Full details TBA.)
Saturday, Oct. 10, 10-4 p.m., Ohio Author Festival, Crossroads Branch of the Guernsey County Public Library. Book signing and mystery writer panel.
Saturday, Nov. 7, 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m., Buckeye Book Fair, Wooster, Ohio. Stop by one of Ohio’s oldest and biggest book fairs, held annually just in time for all your Christmas shopping needs!
FUTURE READS
(Recently purchased books high on my TBR pile)
RECOMMENDED READS
_ 49 Hours Alone, by Natalie D. Richards. A propulsive YA thriller follows two young women hiking on remote Utah trails as danger lurks around every corner. Reading this makes me even more excited about being in conversation with Richards at my launch tonight!
_ Another Bullshit Night in Suck City, by Nick Flynn. I don’t normally pick books by title only, but I couldn’t resist in this case. This memoir by Flynn, a celebrated poet, recounts his years working in Boston’s largest homeless shelter, where one day he encounters his long-estranged father, a chronic alcoholic now living on the streets. (The title refers to Flynn’s father’s mocking description of his rough life.)
_ Kindred, by Octavia Butler. An intriguing time-travelling tale from the late sci-fi legend that finds a Black woman in 1976 mysteriously transported again and again to a plantation in Maryland decades before the Civil War where she must protect the life of the plantation owner’s exceedingly unpleasant and complicated son to ensure her own future.
_ The Running Ground: A Father, A Son, and the Simplest of Sports, by Nicholas Thompson. Although the timing was a coincidence, this memoir pairs nicely with Flynn’s, as Thompson recounts his relationship with his own erratic father. But the book is also a fascinating look at Thompson’s rise through journalism—he’s now the CEO of The Atlantic—along with his impressive accomplishments as a world-class master’s long-distance runner.
What's the best book you've read recently?
Happy reading and writing!
Andrew
THE LAST WORD
(from Ellis Rosen)
