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,
3,491 topics in this forum
-
- 0 replies
- 68 views
I was fifteen when I was introduced to my first serial killer. It was 1991 and I was sneaking into the cinema to watch The Silence of the Lambs. I was already obsessed with all things FBI, having binged on cult classic, Twin Peaks, but it wasn’t until I was watching Harris’s terrifyingly charismatic Hannibal Lecter do his dance with Agent Starling that I started to understand such ‘monsters’ existed in real life, and there were real people dedicated to hunting them down. That movie sparked in me a curiosity into the dark side of human nature, and I spent my teens gorging on true crime and thrillers. I was born in the UK in 1975 and grew up with the gruesome headlines a…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 535 views
It’s no secret that cozy mysteries often feature cats. They’re the trusty side-kicks, the comic reliefs, the silent partners with noses dewy for crime. Rarely are they the protagonists though. That role is saved for the sleuthy humans with their dual legs, lavender lattes, and marvelous penchants for snooping. Yet, as much as I love these mysteries with their human protags and perspectives, as an animal lover, I always find myself wanting to know more about the cats. Perhaps it’s because I’ve realized that when they bathe they’re actually doing laundry, or because during food time they all have the vocal ranges of Pavarotti, but I’m curious to experience the world (and th…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 325 views
CrimeReads editors select the month’s best debuts in crime, mystery, and thrillers. * Noel A. Obiora, A Past That Breathes (Rare Bird Books) A Past That Breathes is an urgent and timely addition to the new pantheon of the courtroom novel. Set in 1995, Noel Obiora’s debut begins with the murder of a prominent Los Angeles musician. Her Black ex-boyfriend is quickly arrested and looks to be soon railroaded for the crime, unless two young attorneys can show he’s being framed. Obiora’s decision to set the novel in 1990s LA allows for a nuanced and deeply resonant exploration of racism in the American justice system. –MO Fabian Nicieza, Suburban Dicks (Putnam) Fabien…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 231 views
Family is messy, and let’s face it: literature thrives on mess. Fiction, it seems, is chockfull of unpleasant and even twisted family relationships. As both a reader and writer, I don’t mind mess, of course. But, when it comes to father-daughter relationships, I prefer complex and tender over destructive and perverse, and I must confess: I’ve always been a sucker for the books that capture that particular relationship with just the right tenor. My newest book, These Silent Woods, has themes of love, sacrifice, and redemption at its core, and I hope readers will fall in love with the father and daughter who inhabit the pages. Cooper, a flawed but dedicated dad, and Finch,…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 93 views
Detective series or thrillers about murders demand from the reader a level of intellectual curiosity, as well as nerves of steel and a strong stomach. When well written, they are gripping page turners that, more often than not, leave the reader with a sense of satisfaction that the crime has been solved and the perpetrator punished. However, novels about missing people demand and offer this, and more. They propose the tantalising possibility of hope. The enduring appeal of a story about a missing person comes, I think, from the fact that it allows the reader to grapple with a broader range of emotions, everything from despair to hope. The missing and their left-behind …
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 41 views
Mention the word “thriller” in the same sentence as Washington, D.C., and most people conjure up fast-paced tales of spies, political intrigue, and military operations. Mystery and thriller writers like David Baldacci, Margaret Truman, Julie Hyzy, and Tom Clancy, to name just a few, have had huge success mining the halls of power at the Capitol or settings like the White House. But there’s more to the DMV— as locals call the District, Maryland, and Virginia — than politics. It’s a city like any other, a place where ordinary people navigate relationships, raise families, care for ailing parents, and occasionally stumble across a dead body. All three of my domestic suspen…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
Cozy mysteries are a popular genre. But there are many sub-genres that capture the attention of amateur sleuth-lovers. One of those niches is the magical cozy mystery, a strange mix of murder mystery mixed with fantasy, paranormal or supernatural elements. I think my mystery series, the Enchanted Bay Mysteries, must on paper read like one of the most bizarre of the sub-genre. Mermaids. Murder. Mystery. But I think (I hope) it works because I write the series as realistically as possible. Does that seem contradictory? It might but if you create the world of your series based on reality that just happens to have magic in it… maybe not. For example, in A Hex For Danger, t…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 235 views
My obsession with jaw-dropping final twists dates back to an upstate New York middle school classroom in the 1970s, where I first read Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery. I remember skidding into the shocking denouement and then promptly backtracking to reread the entire story, looking for clues and marveling at Jackson’s brilliant literary sleight of hand. From then on, I was drawn to any author—screenwriters, included—capable of wrapping up a story with a blindside. Sci-fi novels or films were never my cup of tea back then (or now), but I remain captivated by the chilling final reveal in Planet of the Apes. Browsing library shelves, I gravitated toward modern-day suspense o…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 9 views
There’s nothing I love more than sitting down with a queer mystery or thriller—obviously, as a writer of the genres myself! The twists, the turns, the “oh my god!” moments, there’s nothing like it. Add the riches of queer history, the complexity of queer identity, and the double-lives queer people often have to live and you’ve got a recipe for a killer thriller. Across YA and Adult, queer mystery and thriller are catching steam, throwing out convention and leaving us gasping at that final twist. Below are some of my favorites in both age categories, from the Dorian Gray inspired to the wilds of 1800’s smuggling rings. I hope you’ll pick up a few if you haven’t read them …
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 44 views
I often wonder, what is it about a haunted house that truly scares us? Is it the sounds of tapping against window frames, a creaking door, or shadows that seem to dance along the periphery of our eyesight? These are just sounds, aren’t they? These are just sights, right? A noise or the wisp of something rushing past can’t really hurt us. What is it really and truly that generates dread regarding a haunted home? Is it the possibility that a human form can materialize before us? And even if it does, can a ghost harm us? Who knows? I believe that much of what generates fear in a house thought to be haunted is the memories, and the history that lingers, of cruel and awful o…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 39 views
What could be more destabilizing—or trail more fascinating narrative threads—than a person vanishing without a trace? It’s no mystery why countless authors kick off their books with people gone missing. Marry this trope with speculative fiction, and you’ve got stories whose possibilities are literally limitless. In my new book, The Bad Ones, four people vanish from around a wintry suburb in a single night. The best friend of one of the lost learns that a slumber party game centered around a figure of local lore is key in unlocking the mystery. Here are six more supernatural and horror-inflected stories in which vanishings drive the plot. Knock Knock, Open Wide, by Nei…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 254 views
My love for twists started at a young age when I cracked open my first Lois Duncan novel. I couldn’t believe the thrill I could get from reading a book, nor how exciting it was to follow along with a story while making my own predictions as to how it would end. Then I started encountering the ‘knock you off your feet’ twists in books and in film. You know? The twist that leaves your jaw hanging open, that has you questioning how you didn’t see it coming, or how the writer pulled it off. I’ve always been a reader that picks up on the clues carefully laid out and the red herrings that were tossed in to pique my suspicion, so when a twist comes along that I don’t see coming,…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 269 views
We are living through an epidemic of wrongful convictions. As I write, almost 2,500 wrongfully convicted men and women have been exonerated, totaling more than 21,000 years lost. Conservative estimates are that only one to two percent of all convictions are of innocent people. That’s an impressive success rate, and it’s comforting to think that our criminal justice system incarcerates the correct person 98–99 percent of the time. However, this is not good news if you are among the one to two percent. Think about what that means in actual numbers. There are approximately two and a half million people incarcerated in the United States, which means there are thousands of…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 600 views
The “coming-of-age” novel is its own multiverse of stories, spanning genres from fantasy to romance to adventure. Varied though these novels may be, they are generally underpinned by the universal themes of self-discovery and a fall from grace. The difficulty of finding your way into a rigid society is always in the ether too, authority of one kind or another looms large and a protagonist will either succumb to the tight space of adulthood that is on offer, or find a way out. The “coming-of-age” novels that have elements of mystery or the supernatural are my personal favorites. They are like fairy tales for grown-ups where the notion of the end of innocence is taken to e…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 199 views
When I moved from central New England to the barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina, I left behind many things, including family, friends, and ice scrapers. One thing I retained: my love of mystery novels. Especially cozies which, as the name implies, reassure the reader that all will, indeed, be well. At least until the next dead body turns up. My favorite cozies depict the beach-strolling appeal of the southeastern U.S. But for the amateur sleuths who populate the pages, life is not a permanent vacation. Not only are these plucky women puzzling out perplexing crimes, they’re also juggling the contradictory demands of family and career. And they’re drawing stre…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 71 views
\We do love our special events—birthday parties, weddings, family reunions, and such. These happenings give us a chance to acknowledge important milestones in our lives and celebrate traditions that have brought us together for generations. But what happens when these cherished occasions go wildly off the rails? There’s something quite sinister and devilishly fun when a celebration turns calamitous. Despite all our planning and good intentions, the wild card is always other people, and in our hearts, we all know that nothing is quite as safe and secure as we pretend it to be. In my own domestic suspense novel, THE BLOCK PARTY (On-sale July 18), I explore the secrets and l…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 159 views
Who among us, crime movie fans, wouldn’t want to see Agnes Moorehead and her sidekick traveling around and solving murders? Who wouldn’t want more of Denzel Washington as Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins? Or follow-ups to “Gone Baby Gone” with more faithful versions of author Dennis Lehane’s complex characters, Boston private investigators Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro? That’s the frustrating, never-gonna-happen discussion I’m hoping to draw you into today. Namely, the crime movie series that cried out to exist but do not. Hollywood made four dozen Charlie Chan movies.” Six “Thin Man” movies. Six “Perry Mason” movies in the 1930s alone. And we get one lousy Hoke Moseley movi…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 146 views
“It’s important to know your genre if you’re going to make an impact on it,” says Millie Blomquist, the protagonist of my debut novel, Breaking In, a story in which Millie leads a group of film students to pull off a real life heist by utilizing what she learned from the movies. Her knowledge stems from having watched and documented over 150 heist movies, which meant I got to watch and document over 150 heist movies (though to be honest, Millie is much more discipled than I am as I stopped taking notes after movie #102). To fully submerge myself in the genre, I started back when heist films were fully steeped in black and white noir. Working my way through the years, I d…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 84 views
One of the first things I did after inking my initial two-book contract as a suspense novelist was head to Barnes and Noble and buy a couple of Nancy Drew mysteries. I’d been offered the contract based on only four chapters and an outline for a mystery—in part because I’d already worked with the publisher on a successful non-fiction book—and as sweet as I found that arrangemnent, there was a hitch: I wasn’t a hundred percent sure I could write an entire book, especially one that readers would find entertaining. It was time to accelerate my learning curve. Since my day job running a magazine meant that my learning curve needed to be approached late at night or early on …
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 62 views
The hero of Leave No Trace, Michael Walker, is a former park ranger and current special agent for the Investigative Services Branch (ISB) of the National Park Service (the park service’s version of the FBI). So to celebrate the upcoming publication of Michael’s inaugural adventure (February 27 from Minotaur Books), I thought I’d provide some context for the role park rangers have played in pop culture, specifically film and television: Hey There, It’s Yogi Bear (1964) Of course, we had to start with the animated film that was based upon the syndicated TV show “The Yogi Bear Show.” Ranger Smith, Yogi’s perpetual, decades-long nemesis in Jellystone National Park, was ve…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 79 views
When I sat down to write a murder mystery set in Harlem, from my desk in London, I somehow felt a familiarity with this neighbourhood across the Atlantic. I’ve visited Harlem in person before, but most often I’ve travelled there through the pages of some of my favourite novels. There’s a rich history to Harlem that is explored through the vision of great authors. It also strikes me that many of the social issues that are discussed in these novels are still with us, even when they were originally written eighty or ninety years ago. These are some of my favourite books that capture the essence of Harlem and combine it with compelling stories and vivid characters that will s…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 191 views
As a reader, I’ve always been drawn to first person fiction. I love that it allows such a deep dive into a character’s mind while limiting my access to information, which I find crucial in building suspense. Mostly, I love that first person narration is conversational. It’s as if I’m pouring myself a couple fingers of bourbon, pulling up a rocking chair alongside an old friend, and listening to their most intimate, honest recollections. Of course, an hour in, I might feel that the narrator wouldn’t make much of a friend at all and that they’re completely full of shit, but that’s left up to me, the reader, to decide. And I like that responsibility. Since my personal libr…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 301 views
The art of espionage is as old as war itself, so it’s no surprise that popular books and films have long included stories of spycraft and undercover derring-do. Spies must possess qualities we generally admire—courage, intelligence, adaptability, endurance—as well as specialized skill sets that give them an added advantage in their fight against the enemy. They are fascinating because we wonder what it would be like to be in their shoes, what decisions we would make when faced with the same choices. The elements of danger, ingenuity, of deadly expertise and secret-keeping, all lend a certain allure to the bloody business of war. WWII seems an especially fertile ground fo…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 89 views
My new historical fiction release The Cuban Heiress gave me the opportunity to incorporate my love of suspense and history. Set in 1934 on an ill-fated luxury cruise ship the SS Morro Castle, The Cuban Heiress is the story of two women whose lives are endangered as the secrets of their past come back to haunt them. On a cruise ship filled with a mysterious cast of characters, twists and turns abound alongside the real-life enigma of the fate of the ship. My favorite historical novels are the ones that have a mystery at their core, propelling the plot forward as they send readers on a quest through history to put the pieces together. From 1920s Ecuador to New York City in…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 38 views
Cozy mysteries are having a moment. The sub-genre is expanding and has resulted in a surge of popularity. Modern cozies maintain the core elements including a light-hearted tone, an amateur sleuth, and no graphic sex or violence. Yet they’ve become more inclusive and expanded their boundaries to embrace current technology as well as the use of contemporary verbiage. The shift has infused a new energy into the category, bringing with it themes and humor that resonate with a broader readership. When writing my new cozy, Peril in Pink, I was inspired by the modern mysteries I’d been reading. Without a doubt, I knew I wanted my book to be in that lane, too, particularly whe…
Last reply by Admin_99,