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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The first time I found myself crawling through a burning building wasn’t the realization of a life-long dream. Instead, my thoughts were “What the f*ck am I doing here?” As things calmed down that day, it occurred to me that this was a strange way to earn a living. I’ve now been a member of the Philadelphia Fire Department for thirty-six years. When I began to write seriously, it was only natural my job be integral. I write crime fiction and most of my work is written from the point of view of the criminal, largely because that’s what I enjoy but it’s also a product of my time in the fire service. The narrator of my novels, Three Hours Past Midnight and A Few Days Away, …
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IN THE GALAXY of New York City nightclubs, the Copacabana burned brightest. Getting in wasn’t easy. Celebrities, socialites, and sports stars all jockeyed for a coveted table amid the faux palm trees. But one particular patron never had a problem. When he made his entrance—striding briskly, confidently, and with a slight smile—a frisson of excitement rippled through the crowd. Patrons of the club knew exactly who he was. Asked where he sat when he went to the Copa, Sonny Franzese—handsome and charismatic underboss of the Colombo family—smiled and said, “Wherever I wanted.” Sonny frequented all the city’s top clubs, but he felt most at home at the Copacabana, with its r…
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Well, I never had a use for one before, but once I realized that the book I’d embarked on with good cheer would require services of that kind, he wasn’t far to find. My story was located in Northern California and up to Seattle and environs in a summer—2012—that would prove either transitional or transformational for the recreational use of grass (skunk, weed, marijuana, ganja) up and down the Left Coast’s faulted and flamboyant shores. I already had a cop who was involuntarily constrained from busting the people he wanted to because if he did it his town’s economy would fall into the pit and then who would say anything like Eureka about it? I named this vengeful peace o…
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This is the story of two novels, both written by me, one unpublished and one that just came out this month. The first, the one in the drawer, was a very violent tale about people who are able to regenerate. The second, a direct reaction to the first, is about a world where violence is no longer possible. But the real story here is how writing these two books led me to reconsider my own approach to writing violence in fiction, and to think more broadly about both readers’ and writers’ expectations around violence generally. I have always been a little squeamish. I nearly failed biology in college due to an inability to dissect a frog. And I’ve never gravitated toward the …
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Thriller fans, we need to talk. Don’t worry, nobody died (yet). But I feel compelled to let you know the next few months are going to be really intense. I know, we’ve had a lot of intense; but this is the good, suspenseful, kind of intensity, the kind that we chase. There is a phenomenally rich year in reading ahead of us. I am already getting alluring summer and fall titles (the powers that be are just being mean when Don Winslow’s new book arrives in January and I have nine lists to do before I should read it). Though I am not an optimist by nature, I hope you know I always give it to you straight. I feel confident here in March to say 2022 is going to be a good one for…
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As the debate rages on between genre and literary fiction, I am always fascinated whenever the two converge. I am particularly excited about a new literary novel coming out, Neruda on the Park, by debut author Cleyvis Natera. As an AfroLatina author whose work in crime fiction takes on gentrification and women of color vigilante justice, I was excited to interview Cleyvis about how she deals with some of those themes in her book. Here’s our conversation: Aya de León: Although Neruda on the Park is positioned as a literary novel—and the writing definitely has all the beauty we could ask for in literary fiction—I also see it as a crime novel. Especially because it sort of …
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Imagine you’re a time traveler and find yourself stuck in nineteenth-century America. The year is, say, 1883. The location, New York City. Like today, there’s lots to see and do here in the Empire City. Be sure to catch a glimpse of the Brooklyn Bridge while it’s still under construction. Hop on the elevated railway and visit Central Park. Or see the newly installed electric street lamps that line Broadway. But danger lurks here too. Pickpockets and confidence men haunt the streets. Barroom brawls are a common occurrence. And then there’s disease. Cholera, typhoid, smallpox, yellow fever. Though scientists of this era are beginning to understand how these diseases are sp…
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Norman Mailer ridiculed novels that fully rely on plot as “heinous.” The two time Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Naked and the Dead, The Executioner’s Song, and Harlot’s Ghost asserted that the problem with plot is that it becomes a “bed” into which the protagonist must fit. The novelist has to “stretch” the character to unnatural lengths, or “cut him off at the knees.” Crime literature has a conflicted relationship with plot, and most classics of the genre showcase their authors ability to avoid the trap that Mailer aptly describes. Perhaps, most famously, many of Raymond Chandler’s novels have plots that are razor thin, and barely discernible. Georges Simenon wro…
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The online advertisement offering work to Hungarians looked promising. The chance to live in a rich country in one of the greatest cities in the world—a capital city, no less—would prove irresistible to someone struggling to survive. Which is precisely what the advertisement was designed to do—draw in the desperate, particularly if they happened to be young, attractive, and female. Although modern-day Hungary may have broken the shackles of communism, as we’ve seen in other former “Iron Curtain” countries, many get left behind in the new capitalist society. So when a chance to leave becomes available, the decision is often an easy one to make. For women involved in sex w…
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Ah, gaslighting: when someone in your life tries to convince you that you’re going crazy, usually for their own gain. It’s normally a spouse or a partner acting as the villain, but that’s not always the case—and especially not for this list. I’ve always found gaslighting scary, but especially during the time when a woman could be put away for nothing more than being “hysterical,” which is why I chose it as a theme for my third Jane Wunderly novel, DANGER ON THE ATLANTIC. So let’s take a look at some classic gaslighting films. Gaslight, 1944 We couldn’t have this list without it! In fact, this is one of the places that the term originates from. (Remembering that this i…
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Serial killers are a regular feature in crime novels. More often than not, they’re pitted against a hero sleuth who is sickened by their nemesis’s behavior and lives for the chance to see the monster behind bars. What happens, though, when the killer is a member of their own family? In recent years, several mysteries and thrillers have explored this premise, which adds a layer of moral and emotional complexity to the conventional good vs. evil theme. There’s a lot to unpack with a concept like this one. What kind of loyalty, if any, would somebody feel toward a member of their family knowing that individual committed an unforgivable crime? What if the killer’s family is…
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There’s something about a coming-of-age book or film that gets me every time. It’s the yearning, I think. I love the wistful, romantic feelings they inspire, and how they crystalize what is usually a gradual, drawn-out process into a definable moment in time. Coming-of-age stories are about endings—of youth, or innocence, or simply the person you once were—endings that tilt toward a new beginning. They represent a growing awareness of one’s belonging in a darker, more complicated world, so it makes sense that a crime might be the triggering event in such stories. When I sat down to write Pay Dirt Road, I wanted to capture the feeling of being young and aimless. My protag…
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When I was nine years old, I learned what it meant to be adopted. My mother had been adopted as an infant, and always spoke about what a gift it was to be raised by her parents, my grandparents. That fact being wholly undisputed, I also recall turning to my mother one day and asking, “But what about our medical history? Do you know anything about that?” She shook her head, and a burning curiosity for answers was born in me. Decades later, I was working on my debut novel when I learned that Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. was identified as the elusive Golden State Killer. Having grown up in Sacramento, California, the area that DeAngelo first began attacking his victims, I was …
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I am a lifelong lover and obsessive consumer of all kinds of genre fiction in many mediums, from the original Star Trek series to yakuza and samurai films, from JG Ballard’s sci-fi nightmares to PG Wodehouse’s sparkling farces. But if there is one genre form that attains a kind of Platonic perfection, the genre of genres, I believe it has to be the mystery, specifically the detective story. In The Wild Life, the newest novel in my Bouncer series, Joe Brody, a strip-club bouncer who sidelines as a fixer for New York’s mob bosses, is given a new kind of assignment: detective. Sort of. A number of the city’s most sought after sex workers have disappeared and the bosses fear…
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We’ve got a few big spring weekends coming up and while maybe you want to watch The Little Drummer Girl for the third or fourth time, hoping that this go around it might actually be good, that Michael Shannon won’t undermine the whole thing with his bizarre choices, that in this viewing it’s just going to be Pugh and Skarsgard on a cross-European iridescent spy romp, but no, it won’t be, it can’t be. So we need some new shows. Here we go. (Or if you don’t want new shows, you want the old, the good, and the le Carré, opt for The Night Manager instead; that one really holds up.) The Informant Streaming on: HBO Max Seasons: 1 Here’s a worthwhile new series about 1980s…
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I was named after a crime novel. My parents chose my nickname, Polly, after Dorothy Sayers’s Lady Mary Wimsey, a rebellious aristocrat who defies her upper-class family and sometimes assists her brother, Lord Peter, in solving crimes. When I was growing up, my mom relaxed each night after dinner with a glass of Chardonnay, a pack of Virginia Slims, and a paperback mystery by Ngaio Marsh or Colin Dexter. I remember thinking how great it would be to write a book that someone could disappear into like that. What was it about crime fiction that she loved so much? How did these writers keep her attention, and how could I do the same thing? When I became a novelist, I formulat…
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I first heard the term “feminist thriller” a year or so ago. Oh! I thought, because it was, to me, at that time, a novel and intriguing descriptor. I thought how much I would love to write a feminist thriller myself. Then, I began to consider what “feminist thriller” truly meant, and I very much hoped that I had already done so with my debut novel, The Favor, which was described by Kirkus Reviews as “an unnerving feminist retake on Strangers on a Train.” My goal with the book was to explore the endemic nature of intimate partner violence, to demonstrate that intimate partner violence can reach women with any level of education or affluence. Specifically, The Favor focuse…
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There’s a lot of good crime tv happening right now. In the interest of helping you sort out viewing schedules, we bring you a monthly guide to what’s coming next. We Hunt Together Showtime – Premieres July 3rd (season 2) The British detective series returns, after a bit of a hiatus, for its second season to air in the States. Serial killers, emotional traps, sexual attraction – all still at the center of the series, which has a bit of style and wit to it, setting it apart from the usual fare with an interesting perspective and a charismatic detective pairing. Black Bird Apple TV – Premieres July 8th One of the year’s most anticipated crime shows, this one comes …
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Elements of the Gothic permeate every aspect of American media. We see it in film, music, literature and on TV shows, where it continues to grow in popularity from the crumbling plantations of HBO’s True Blood, to the lush landscapes of Louisiana’s Oak Valley Plantation in the first season of True Detective. More recently, Ozark and Love Craft Country have captured the imagination with its Gothic settings and characters. It’s no surprise that the Gothic is making its presence felt in the pages of crime fiction. But why should we care? We should care because the stories we tell ourselves shape our society, and crime fiction is the second bestselling genre in the country…
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It took Anthony Bourdain forever to get around to featuring Taiwan in one of his food shows, even though he’d been to the country a few times already. He finally made an episode about the capital, Taipei, for his series “The Layover.” I was psyched to see it but after the show aired in January 2013, a few things bugged me. First of all, Bourdain lands at Taoyuan International Airport and then takes an hour-and-a-half cab ride to the W Taipei. He has a few drinks in the hotel bar that hit him “like a cement mixer.” Then he hops on an eastbound commuter train for half an hour to go to Keelung Night Market? Assuming that the jet lag and alcohol intake don’t knock him out (…
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SUZUKI LOOKING OUT AT THE CITY, Suzuki thinks about insects. It’s night but the scene is ablaze with gaudy neon and streetlamps. People everywhere. Like a writhing mass of luridly colored insects. It unsettles him, and he thinks back to what his college professor once said: ‘Most animals don’t live on top of each other in such great numbers. In some ways, humans are less like mammals and closer to insects.’ His professor had seemed pleased with the conclusion. ‘Like ants, or locusts.’ ‘I’ve seen photos of penguins living in groups all bunched together,’ Suzuki had responded, gently needling. ‘Are penguins like insects too?’ His professor flushed. ‘Penguins have nothing …
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ABANDONED BOAT IN CHESAPEAKE CONNECTED TO UNSOLVED MISSING-PERSON CASE BRANDYWINE, VA.—The Virginia Coast Guard is searching throughout the Chesapeake Bay for a local fisherman after his boat was discovered abandoned on the southern shore of Gwynn’s Island. Henry McCabe, 35, is the owner of the 1974 Chesapeake deadrise. The boat was discovered run aground by a passerby, who noted signs of recent occupancy, including food and children’s clothes. Attempts to locate McCabe have been unsuccessful. Spokesperson Sally Campbell said, “No distress calls were made to our current knowledge, and no hazardous weather was present. So far there are no signs of foul play.” The disc…
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Each day started with a brief meditation session where I would clear my mind and say to myself, “All that matters is the characters. Follow their lead, their needs and desires, and everything else about the narrative will unfold naturally.” As after all, in fiction, it truly is the characters who guide the story. Let them lead and the story-arc will follow. During my brief meditation, I would ask my characters what they were doing that day, how they were feeling, what they needed, and even if there was anywhere specific they wanted to go. Then I would kindly ask them to show up to set, so I could guide them on a wild and horrific adventure. And during this new ritual, I…
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Eight thousand meters (over twenty six thousand feet) is the place known as the “Death Zone”. Every moment a person spends up there their body is dying, the lack of oxygen causing hallucinations, swelling of the brain and fluid leaking into the lungs. It is so dangerous that death is an accepted risk in the extreme high altitude peaks—even before you add in the risk of avalanches, serac falls and crevasses. In 2019, I became the youngest Canadian woman to summit one of these 8,000m peaks, Mt Manaslu, and I experienced life in this extreme place for myself. And as a writer, I couldn’t help but wonder— where better for a serial killer to hide, than a place already known as …
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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…
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