The latest from John Straley.

Radio station KCAW in Sitka, Alaska, caught up with author John Straley (long based in Sitka, but he has moved to California), discussing topics such as the role of the Trappist monk Thomas Merton (probably best known for The Seven Storey Mountain) in Blown by the Same Wind, Straley's new mystery set in the fictional town of Cold Storage, Alaska.

Val McDermid, £10, and a mystery bookshop.

The Guardian gives Val McDermid £10 to spend in a mystery bookstore. See Val talk about Agatha Christie; her love for the Penguin green-backed novels; and one of her favorite American mystery writers, Alaska resident John Straley.