Baltimore crime is all the rage in the United Kingdom these days.

I have Google alerts set for Baltimore crime and Baltimore police, and it's been blowing up recently with reviews of Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets, a book that came out nearly 20 years ago, and The Wire.

David Simon appears to be on a press jaunt through the England and Ireland, hosting a screening of The Wire in Glasgow as Homicide is re-released with a shiny new cover that now touts it as a "true crime classic from the creator of The Wire." Good marketing.

In addition to numerous book reviews, Simon had an op-ed in The Guardian, is profiled in The Telegraph (in which the reporter spent some time with Simon and homicide chief Terry McLarney and experienced the wrath of an O's-Sox game when his hotel reservations were canceled), and gives an "exclusive interview" to The Times (how can it be an exclusive given all the other stories? Just sayin'...).

Of course, there's also the announcement that Simon will be penning a miniseries for HBO about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the 12-day search for John Wilkes Booth, which is being co-written by Tom Fontana, who worked on "Homicide: Life on the Streets" and "Oz". Busy guy.