Crime Reads - Suspense, Thrillers, Crime, Gun!
CrimeReads is a culture website for people who believe suspense is the essence of storytelling, questions are as important as answers, and nothing beats the thrill of a good book. It's a single, trusted source where readers can find the best from the world of crime, mystery, and thrillers. No joke,
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Like all of my mob-drama-obsessed brethren, I anxiously awaited The Sopranos prequel, Many Saints of Newark, which aired on HBO on October 1. Not for the blood or the body count but for what has elevated the mob canon of books, film and television since Mario Puzo published his novel The Godfather in 1969: Family. Sopranos creator David Chase became transfixed with the Corleones while studying for his master’s degree in film at Stanford. “I was just ready for that book,” he would tell Stanford magazine of Mario Puzo’s Biblical novel. Decades later, battle-scarred from toiling on TV shows like The Rockford Files and Northern Exposure, Chase embarked upon the road to cre…
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You may be thinking, lately, “what’s with all the horror content on CrimeReads? This is a crime fiction site!” And yet, like obscenity, genre fiction struggles to mold itself to any particular definitions, instead resting on the principal of “I know it when I see it.” I organized a roundtable discussion with some of the many horror fiction writers crossing over into thriller territory (to be posted next week) and many of the respondents described horror not as a genre, but as a feeling. And as well they might, for horror seems particularly difficult to *ahem* nail down. The following list is composed of horror titles that are very much of interest to crime fans, and were …
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The punk rock scene I came up in never had much in common with an English village. But the nocturnal world of basement clubs and backstage passes has long proved rich territory for crime writers examining themes of community, creativity, and fame. As I’ve turned from my usual cat cozies to psychological suspense, the mix of inspiration, ambition, alcohol, and passion that fuels this gut-level music has proved irresistible. And while there are wonderful mysteries set in the various musical universes, from the famed La Fenice opera house (Donna Leon, Death at La Fenice) to the brothels of Storyville (David Fulmer, Jass), I’d like to highlight five non-crime novels that left…
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As a voracious reader since age seven (Nancy Drew), bookstores call me as if magnetized. There’s something magical about rows of crisp colorful bindings and the scent of fresh ink. Used bookshops are especially intriguing, often offering bargains and rarities. On lazy Sunday afternoons years ago, my parents used to load us into the station wagon and drive to a magnificent used bookstore in Hallowell, Maine. The building was old and quaint, with peeling paint and creaky wood floors. Books were piled in the window. Stacked on the floor. Crammed into cases. I still remember my held breath when we entered, against the dust and danger of knocking books over with a misstep, y…
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The Victorian era is, for what seem like obvious reasons, defined by the life span of the British Queen Victoria, which dates from her birth in 1837 and ends with her expiration in 1901. Those early years, when she was an infant and then a toddler and then an adolescent (although it may be difficult to envision her as such) did not actually produce much in the way of what we recognize as “Victorian fiction,” which developed later in her life—and beyond. Indeed, much Edwardian fiction, if we read it without being aware of publication dates, has precisely the tone and attitude of the works produced during her long reign. Nonetheless, this volume strictly adheres to the par…
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If you’re anything like me, the books that tend to stick with you are the ones that simply blow your mind. The ones that take you away from reality and make you think about everything in a completely new way. My personal favorites are the ones where I can’t decide if I would really love the tech or speculative situation to be real, or if I’m super thankful that it’s not. Speculative fiction is a broad category of fiction, which includes any genre that has elements that do not exist in reality—we’re talking sci-fi, fantasy, paranormal, etc. It’s these “what if” scenarios that my mind tends to go to when tackling a new project. My new book, Lies My Memory Told Me, was bor…
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A few years ago, when I decided to move from my city apartment into an old small house in the woods, everyone thought I was crazy. And actually, maybe I was, because the forest and I are not always best friends, to be honest. During the day, I love the surroundings – the peace, the specialness . Then again, some nights I cannot sleep: animals scream, the wind rushes through the trees, everything creaks. This is when my brain starts to develop dark visions and strange fears. So what else should I do but write thrillers? And is it a coincidence that so far all of my books are at least partially set in the woods? Of course not. “Write what you know,“ says Mark Twain, so I ma…
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At the conclusion of the seven Quirke novels, starting with Christine Falls and concluding with Even the Dead, it seemed as though Benjamin Black, aka John Banville—(and more later about the name game he’s adeptly played) had achieved a perfect narrative arc. Over the series, we learned how Quirke had become the misanthropic misfit he is and how the repressive Catholic Church’s control of Dublin in the 1950s permeated all aspects of an often depressing, yet occasionally vibrant life. Quirke, a pathologist who seldom actually practices his trade, cannot help but involve himself in any number of suspicious deaths, enduring beatings and complicated love affairs along the wa…
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Another week, another batch of books for your TBR pile. Happy reading, folks. * Anthony Horowitz, A Line to Kill (Harper) “Bestseller Horowitz’s superior third mystery features former detective inspector Daniel Hawthorne and a fictionalized Horowitz (after 2019’s The Sentence Is Death)in an effortless blend of humor and fair play.” Publishers Weekly Otto Penzler (ed), The Big Book Victorian Mysteries (Vintage / Black Lizard) “This doorstop volume will provide hours of pleasure reading for fans of traditional mystery fiction.” Publishers Weekly Vannessa Veselka, Zazen (Vintage) “Veselka’s prose is chiseled and laced with arsenic observations. . . . Ves…
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It’s one of the oldest tropes in pulp: After a few rounds of plastic surgery that leave them unrecognizable, a protagonist returns incognito to their old haunts, often on a mission of righteous revenge. Not only is it a primal bit of wish fulfillment (who hasn’t wanted to completely chuck their old identity, especially after a hard week?), but it’s given directors and writers the perfect tool to plunge into the heart of noir’s biggest themes, from identity to the pain of finally letting things go. You can’t discuss plastic surgery and noir without mentioning “Dark Passage” (1947), starring Humphrey Bogart as escaped convict Vincent Parry and Lauren Bacall as Irene, a wom…
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What’s a better time of year for a cozy mystery than Halloween? There are cats and witches and long, dark nights around the hearth, drinking mulled cider and telling ghost stories. It seems like All Hallows’ Eve is second only to the December holidays as a popular time of year for amateur sleuths to track down the ghastly murderers who disrupt their communities. If you haven’t yet bobbed for books in the Halloween cozy barrel, here are a few to get you started during the days and nights ahead. Killer Takeout: A Key West Food Critic Mystery by Lucy Burdette Being a seasonal resident of Key West means I’m a particularly avid fan of Lucy Burdette’s Key West Food Critic …
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While I probably shouldn’t let you know exactly what happens in my novel In the Land of Dead Horses, I can tell you where and why the action occurs. Much of it takes place in the desolate region shared by western Texas and northern Mexico, and why it happens involves old conflicts between Spaniard and Indian, Mexican and Anglo—clashes that, more times than we might care to admit, have led to violence on both sides of the border. Fact is, the relationship between the U.S. and Mexico is rooted in crime. Texas’s declaration of independence from Mexico in 1835 was itself considered illegal—sedition—by its mother country. The “peace” that followed Texas’s victory at San Jacin…
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Welcome to the CrimeReads Streaming Guide, where we spotlight a very specific category of crime movies we think you should be watching right now. ___________________________________ It’s October! The season of woolen garments, fun-sized candy, and scary movies. But this is a crime website, so rather than tell you about a bunch of straight-up scary movies to stream this month, I’m going to suggest a bunch of scary movies that are NOT horror movies! Yes that’s right… no supernatural hoopla here, folks. Just some good, old-fashioned villains whose behavior does not tip the scales towards slashers or horror tropes. No vengeful ghosts, no knife-wielding masked trespassers, n…
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As readers of thrillers and suspense, we love the feeling of adrenaline pumping as we sleuth our way through clues left strategically for us by the authors. While we constantly crave these page-turning mysteries and action-packed plots that keep us guessing until the final pages, more and more authors have started turning to unique formats and structure to help them stand out among the masses. Not only does a unique format in a thriller give a breath of fresh air to readers in the genre who see a lot of similar tropes, but it’s also a fascinating and strategic tool for how those delicate breadcrumbs are revealed. These techniques, while more challenging to execute, propel…
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As a licensed private investigator, I’ve followed people for days without them noticing me. But I wasn’t driving a red Ferrari with personalized plates—that would get me noticed in the first block. Can you imagine seeing a car like that behind you as you go to the bank, then the post office, then the mall? My surveillance vehicle can’t have anything distinctive about it, and it certainly can’t be a bright red car that cost over a hundred grand. Magnum PI was a popular TV show, and you’re allowed to love it; but even before I became a PI, I couldn’t watch it. It just wasn’t realistic to me. And so it was with my reading. I became a PI in my 20’s, so my taste in authors in…
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Oh, we live in troubled times, don’t we? I could list all the things wrong with the world, but why bother? All you have to do is turn on the TV, or scroll through social media, or simply walk down the street and you’ll likely be inundated with the many terrible crises we’re all facing. Who needs more of that? No, instead of reminding you of what’s wrong with the world, I’d like to offer you an escape. An escape to a world that seems much like our own but with a few key differences. It’s a world where you can expect to be handled gently. Where you can snap your fingers or wiggle your nose and life becomes miraculously easier. Here you can rest safely in the knowledge that …
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Consider the moment you wake from a nap into disorientation so pure, the first thing you see when you open your eyes—a lamp, a windowsill—is distorted and unfamiliar. You glitch. Draw a blank. Imagine a distillation of this perception as an elusive high. I’d argue that the kind of fiction that bottles up this feeling and pours it down your throat is more terrifying than any haunted house, vengeful ghost, or Little Kid Who Sees Things. That’s not to say that the time-honored elements of horror can’t be used to great and satisfying effect, or reconfigured into something wholly fresh. I’m not one to mess with the staples that make up so much of the horror I love. But it’s …
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Shawn “S.A.” Cosby is a writer who needs no introduction. He’s everywhere. His latest novel, Razorblade Tears, was an instant New York Times bestseller. Before that, Blacktop Wasteland garnered nearly every accolade imaginable: Los Angeles Times Book Prize Winner, New York Times Notable Book, NPR’s Best Books of 2020, and more. Needless to say, I was thrilled to have the chance to sit down and talk “shop” with such a successful author. A dude from the South. Gloucester, Virginia to be exact. I was so excited, I logged into our Zoom meeting ten minutes early. Over an hour later, I was still waiting, staring at my own bald head on the computer screen instead of Shawn’s, w…
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One of the most common questions novelists are asked is, where do you get your ideas? For me, and for many writers of historical fiction, inspiration is all around us. It’s on the sidewalks we traverse, the streets we drive, anytime we look outside our windows. That house was built from a 1911 Sears Roebuck catalogue; that bodega used to be a mob hangout in the 1920s; these cobblestones were laid since the 1840s. One small nugget of knowledge about how things used to be can spark an idea, which grows into a story, which can be spun into a novel. Novelists mine all kinds of sources, and I don’t believe it’s a coincidence that I began writing what turned into the Gilded G…
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When The Best American Mystery Stories series began in 1997, I was eleven years old and an eager consumer of the criminal and the macabre. I’m glad I spent my childhood without the Internet for many reasons, but one of them is that I didn’t have access to Wikipedia’s list of serial killers by number of victims. Instead, I savored whatever I could get from my closed universe of resources: reading materials chosen by elementary school teachers and my easily scandalized Korean immigrant mother. I treasured my mass-market collection of Edgar Allan Poe stories, and over twenty years later, I remember “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “The Landlady” by Roald Dahl—a creepy st…
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By spring of 1978, Hillerman was about 60 percent done with what he was calling People of Darkness, telling the Albuquerque Journal that it would again feature Joe Leaphorn. The draft began in Miami, Florida, far from the dry, desolate landscape of his previous novels. Contract killer Alfonso Silk is getting his shoes shined without exchanging a word with the man at his feet. Vigilant and hyper-careful, Silk receives no mail or telephone calls at his apartment, nor any visitors except for the occasional call girl. On a pay phone at a Rexall Drugstore, Silk is instructed by someone identified as “Major” to kill a Navajo with a bomb. Except for this one reference to the tar…
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Patents, start-ups, intellectual property rights—skullduggery over technology innovations and cutting-edge ideas may strike most of us as a modern-day development of nerdy entrepreneurs and savvy hedge fund investors. But in reality, Regency England—where groundbreaking advances in a variety of scientific fields got the Industrial Revolution cranking into high gear—was also a hotbed of intrigue and high stakes wheeling and dealing, as inventors competed for both fortune and fame. A prime example was the steam engine, the workhorse machine on which a whole new range of modern industries were built. In 1712, Thomas Newcomen patented the first commercially successful steam-…
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I spent many hours as a child, sitting with my grandmother on her couch, watching black-and-white films from the days of classic Hollywood. Her favorites were mysteries, and if there happened to be a ghost or some paranormal element to it, so much the better. It was inevitable that when I started reading that I would gravitate towards mysteries and paranormal stories—with a particular love for ghost stories. I loved the Hardy Boys and the other series for kids; and I still love watching films from classic Hollywood. I eventually outgrew the Scholastic Book Club and the kids’ mystery series (I read almost all of them), and happily spent hours examining the paperback racks …
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In rounding out the detective T. R. Softly in my first mystery novel, Everything Is Jake, I followed convention and endowed him with a hobby. That he has an after-hours pursuit is unremarkable; many well-known fictional detectives do, though Softly’s is unique, I believe, to crime fiction: he is a devotee of letterpress printing and lives with a six-ton Heidelberg SBG cylinder press in his Georgetown basement. His singular passion, which he developed during his college years, does not play a large role in the story that introduces him. But Softly’s a newbie, as am I, and I’m hoping the hobby will contribute in future outings not merely to his character but also to the plo…
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County fairs—an enduring slice of Americana—conjure memories of thrilling carnival rides, neon lights that turn night into day, the thumping of music felt deep in one’s chest, heady deep-fried scents wafting from food trailers. These are the memories of childhood, before the patina of nostalgia fades, and our minds take note of the inherent creepiness that lies dormant in the shadows of the midway. Fairs have played an important role in society since Roman festivals, and possibly even earlier. Medieval fairs blended religion and commerce. In modern times, fairs often mark the end of summer, a celebration of an agrarian lifestyle and accompanied by a soundtrack of country…
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Vision Boards... and the Wisdom of 8th Graders
The other day my 8th graders and I were brainstorming emotions for possible memoir stories. We were coming up with ideas like "incredibly excited--when my team won the soccer tournament." The idea was to jot down just a few words to jog our memory, so later, we could write some rough drafts and then even later, we could decide which story we wanted to invest some time in as we revised and edited and shared. image by Pixabay I was sharing my memoir ideas because in my class, I write right alongside my students. To get them s -
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Links: Board Games, Photography, & More
http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Depositphotos_52671211_original-300x200.jpgHey hey! It’s Wednesday! I personally can’t believe it. The days are going by rather quickly, at least for me. This Saturday, I’m getting my third tattoo based on one of my favorite horror movies, The Witch. I am more nervous about having to rent a car in Boston to make it to the shop, which is a couple hours out of the city. Wish me luck! I also feel like we’re beginning the slow, miserable march to the holiday season. Not my fave. … I am obsessed with this artist on TikTok. She use -
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Illuminate I Could: On Lucille Clifton
Caroline and son. Courtesy of the Clifton family. What is our relationship to history? Do we belong to it, or is it ours? Are we in it? Does it run through us, spilling out like water, or blood? I think the answers to those questions, at least in America, depend upon who you are—or rather, on who you’ve been taught to believe that you are. If the history you descend from has been mapped, adapted, mythologized, reenacted, and broadcast as though it is the central defining story of a continent, perhaps you can be forgiven (up to a point) for having succumbed to a collective distortion. But wh -
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A Freebie, a Gothic Thriller, & More
The Lady and Her Monsters The Lady and Her Monsters by Roseanne Montillo is $1.99! This is part biography and part sciene, as Montillo weaves in Mary Shelley’s experience working on Dr. Frankenstein and the science behind it. Carrie mentioned it her Mary Shelley birthday post, but warns of animal cruelty. The Lady and Her Monsters by Roseanne Motillo brings to life the fascinating times, startling science, and real-life horrors behind Mary Shelley’s gothic masterpiece, Frankenstein. Monti -
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New York Pitch Conference - September 2021
Assignment 4 - Approaching Comparables - Sixty Eight by Brian Freeman Sixty Eight is a speculative, historical fiction novel that is written in the first person. Because of the respect and admiration I have for Lyndon Johnson, I chose to have him narrate the story in order to give him the literary voice that he deserves. One book that my story compares to in terms of perspective and depth of character is Claudius the God by Robert Graves. Written in the first person, Claudius the God is about a Roman emperor who deals with his own handicaps as he reigns on the throne during a political m -
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New York Pitch Conference - September 2021
Assignment 3 - Breakout Title - Sixty Eight by Brian Freeman Sixty Eight is a trilogy of books spanning across 38 chapters, 80,000 words apiece and divided into even thirds. Because of this, I am not sure whether there needs to be a separate title for each book under the Sixty Eight moniker, similar to the Lord of The Rings (Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, Return of The King), or simply a numbered volume collection of three books. Considering the book centers more on 1968 than the narrator and main character Lyndon Johnson (the story is written in the first person), Sixty Eight, s -
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BEASTS AND BEAUTY: DANGEROUS TALES by Soman Chainani (BOOK REVIEW)
Content warnings: Traditional fairy tale grimness, including violence, death and murder, child abuse, forced marriage, and so on; racism and colourism. Nothing is graphically described. You think you know these stories, don’t you? You are wrong. You don’t know them at all. Twelve tales, twelve dangerous tales of mystery, magic, and rebellious hearts. Each twists like a spindle to reveal truths full of warning and triumph, truths that capture hearts long kept tame and set them free, truths that explore life . . . and death. A prince has a surprising awakening . . . -
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Three Aspects of “Revision:” Reworking, Refining, and Revisioning
Revision. We all do it … and do it … and do it. Writers have had a lot to say on the subject. There’s Vladimir Nabokov, who boasted that his pencils outlasted their erasers. Dorothy Parker, who claimed that she couldn’t write five words without changing seven. Robert Cormier, who quipped: “The beautiful part of writing is that you don’t have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon.” One of the clearest statements about revision comes from the always-brilliant Neil Gaiman: “When you’re ready, pick [your manuscript] up and read it, as if you’ve never read it before. If the -
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The Real Through Line from The Godfather to The Sopranos Is the American Family
Like all of my mob-drama-obsessed brethren, I anxiously awaited The Sopranos prequel, Many Saints of Newark, which aired on HBO on October 1. Not for the blood or the body count but for what has elevated the mob canon of books, film and television since Mario Puzo published his novel The Godfather in 1969: Family. Sopranos creator David Chase became transfixed with the Corleones while studying for his master’s degree in film at Stanford. “I was just ready for that book,” he would tell Stanford magazine of Mario Puzo’s Biblical novel. Decades later, battle-scarred from toiling on TV shows li -
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10 New Horror Novels Perfect For Crime Fans
You may be thinking, lately, “what’s with all the horror content on CrimeReads? This is a crime fiction site!” And yet, like obscenity, genre fiction struggles to mold itself to any particular definitions, instead resting on the principal of “I know it when I see it.” I organized a roundtable discussion with some of the many horror fiction writers crossing over into thriller territory (to be posted next week) and many of the respondents described horror not as a genre, but as a feeling. And as well they might, for horror seems particularly difficult to *ahem* nail down. The following list is c -
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Five Great Novels Immersed in Music Scenes and the Lives of Musicians
The punk rock scene I came up in never had much in common with an English village. But the nocturnal world of basement clubs and backstage passes has long proved rich territory for crime writers examining themes of community, creativity, and fame. As I’ve turned from my usual cat cozies to psychological suspense, the mix of inspiration, ambition, alcohol, and passion that fuels this gut-level music has proved irresistible. And while there are wonderful mysteries set in the various musical universes, from the famed La Fenice opera house (Donna Leon, Death at La Fenice) to the brothels of Storyv -
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Murder in the Stacks: Mysteries That Take Place In Bookstores
As a voracious reader since age seven (Nancy Drew), bookstores call me as if magnetized. There’s something magical about rows of crisp colorful bindings and the scent of fresh ink. Used bookshops are especially intriguing, often offering bargains and rarities. On lazy Sunday afternoons years ago, my parents used to load us into the station wagon and drive to a magnificent used bookstore in Hallowell, Maine. The building was old and quaint, with peeling paint and creaky wood floors. Books were piled in the window. Stacked on the floor. Crammed into cases. I still remember my held breath when -
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Stuff We Like: Pins, Patches, and Decorative Adorableness
It’s time for another edition of Stuff We Like! http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/SWL-Pins.png We love pins, and we love lots of different pins, and I’m sorry in advance for this one. It’s temptation in the extreme! Want to see? Just click that image above or click right here, and come shop with us! And if you’d like to browse some more, we have a complete Stuff We Like archive, including past Gift Guides and other posts of our favorite items. View the full article -
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Redux: The Subway Back and Forth
Every week, the editors of The Paris Review lift the paywall on a selection of interviews, stories, poems, and more from the magazine’s archive. You can have these unlocked pieces delivered straight to your inbox every Sunday by signing up for the Redux newsletter. Welty, ca. 1962, Wikimedia Commons This week at The Paris Review, we’re waiting for the bus and descending into the subway. Read on for Eudora Welty’s Art of Fiction interview, Gish Jen’s short story “Amaryllis,” and Frank O’Hara’s poem “Corresponding Foreignly,” paired with a portfolio of photographs by G. M. B. Akash. If you en -
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Non-Fiction, Dystopian Romance, & More
Holiday Fakeout Holiday Fakeout is 99c! This anthology just dropped and features over 20 romances with fake dating during the holidays. Talk about catnip! If I did my math correctly with the listed page count, each story is 100 pages or slightly more. Need a date for the holidays? Oh joy…We’ve got you covered with 22 fake holidates to heat up your season! Travel from small towns to cosmopolitan cities, snow covered mountains to gorgeous mansions. You’ll meet sexy billionaires, brainy tech -
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FLAMES OF MIRA by Clay Harmon (COVER REVEAL)
Today we’re thrilled to host a cover reveal for Clay Harmon’s debut novel, Flames Of Mira. Described as an epic new fantasy series set in a world of ice, fire and magic, this is a tale of redemption with a magic system to rival that of Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series. Want to know more? We got you covered, here’s the official blurb: People like Ig are born from life-threatening trials that bind periodic elements to the human body, forged in the boiling volcanoes and subterranean passages under Mira’s frozen lands. One of the most powerful known elementals, he is forced to work as an
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