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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If it was once possible to claim (as Cyril Connolly sneeringly did) that ‘there is no more sombre enemy of bad art than the pram in the hall’, what does that make your iPhone? It’s easy to think of ways in which it—and the apps you’ve downloaded—make it harder to write than ever, what with the incessant temptation to doomscroll (thank you, 2021) and the ever-present lure of a quick endorphin hit from a Like or a Retweet. At a slightly more serious level, any major sea-change in the way we all communicate also compels contemporary writers to think carefully about the way we tell stories—and about the kinds of stories that we choose to tell. This can happen in subtle ways …
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Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap is the longest-running West End play in history. It opened in 1952 and has played continuously in its original production in its original theater since then (except for a mandatory fourteen-month break when all the West End theaters closed due to COVID). It has been seen by more than ten million people. But the characters of the new film See How They Run do not know this yet. The film, directed by Tom George and written by Mark Chappell, is set on the night of the one-hundredth performance of The Mousetrap, in 1953. Richard Attenborough (Harris Dickinson) is the lead, playing the detective. His wife, the actress Sheila Sim (Pearl Chanda), …
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“All great literature is one of two stories,” according to the quote usually attributed to Leo Tolstoy. “A man goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town.” Where the journey is concerned, perhaps no other text has had as much influence on writers or been borrowed from so frequently as Homer’s epic, The Odyssey. It’s true in my new crime novel, and many other books—from literary fiction to mysteries—by authors whom I admire. For starters, of course, look no further than James Joyce’s Dublin-set Ulysses for a modernist example of a writer mining Odysseus’ ten-year journey to return home. But over the years, allusions to the Odyssey have populated numerous other novels, …
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“A TRUE CLAIRVOYANT IS BORN, NOT MADE” read the all-caps declaration in The Indianapolis Star on March 5, 1911. Making this bold statement? “The Man from India.” The claim came in a classified advertisement for Professor Stanley, a clairvoyant who practiced from North Illinois Street in the Indiana capitol city. Professor Stanley – who offered psychic readings for 50 cents – declared in his ad, “ONLY ONE STANLEY.” “The only adept of Hindoo (sic) occult mysteries practicing in America at the present time,” the Man from India noted. But what about Professor Sidney Elkins, billed as “The Man from India” in the Chicago Examiner on June 25, 1911? Elkins, whose readings cost…
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CrimeReads editors select the month’s best debuts in crime, mystery, and thrillers. * Vera Kurian, Never Saw Me Coming (Park Row) Vera Kurian’s extraordinarily entertaining Never Saw Me Coming is one of a few books in a new trend I’m calling “yoga pants noir,” in which hot girls in athleisure wear are no longer the victims—and they might be the killers. College freshman Chloe has carefully cultivated her nonchalant Cool Girl personality, but she has a secret: she’s a psychopath, hell-bent on getting revenge against a boy from her past who’s also attending the same school. The problem is, she’s not the only psychopath on campus—there are at least six others, all part…
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The CrimeReads editors select the month’s best debut fiction. * Rijula Das, Small Deaths (Amazon Crossing) Rijula Das’ sweeping novel of sex workers and the quest for human dignity is bitterly cynical, surprisingly humorous, and astonishingly beautiful. Lalee lives and works in Calcutta’s red light district, where she barely scrapes by. The murder of a popular courtesan is a chance to note the indifference of police, but gives her an opportunity to assume the dead woman’s life and clientage. Will she lose herself in the heady world of the elite? Or will she face dangers that she could never imagine? Why was the elite sex worker murdered, and what did she know about …
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The summer is officially over, the days are beginning to turn cold, the leaves are falling, and the pumpkins proliferating…which all means it’s time to put on your flannels, brew some tea, and cozy up with a chilling international thriller or two! September brings plenty of new international releases, including Scandi noir, French historical fiction, and an Italian meta-mystery. Max Seeck, The Ice Coven Translated by Kristian London (Berkely) Max Seeck burst onto the international scene with last year’s chilling debut, The Witch Hunter. Now, the story continues, as Seeck’s heroine tries move past her encounter with a coven of murderous witches by plunging into a new…
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Lunatic fans! Teens run wild! Unlikely assassins! Twisted twins! And that old favorite, trouble in paradise! September is a festival for thriller fans, with many delights to sample. Don’t fill up on bread—let’s get straight to the main course. Meg Elison, Number One Fan (Mira) Elison’s premise is a little rocky: a popular fantasy novelist, Eli Grey, gets into a car she thinks is taking her to a speaking engagement. Assuming the car has been provided for her, she accepts a drink from the driver and wakes up in his basement. Light on family and friends who would miss her, Grey is left to her own wiles to figure out who her captor might be and what the motivation is for…
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No serial killer fiction list would be complete without mentioning Red Dragon. Hannibal Lecter probably needs to introduction, but remains the model for the devilishly smart and manipulative psychopath. Of course, Harris gives us not one, but two serial killers within the book’s pages, and “The Tooth Fairy” is a very different kind of killer: one who is troubled, and unstable, and almost finds himself drawn to be kind when he falls in love. It’s a great portrait of the different types of killer, and of how trickery nearly undoes investigator Jack Graham. The Bone Collector has to go on any serial killer reading list too. Jeffrey Deaver’s gripping tale of a quadriplegic…
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Where do we begin as novelists? We set out to chronicle the story of a life—not just any life but a meaningful one, a person who matters to us. I don’t know about you, but every time I start a new novel it’s as if I’ve never written one before. I don’t have a clue how to do it. There I sit at my computer, staring at that blameless white rectangle, waiting. It can take a long time. Days, months, even years—a time of personal exile let’s call it, where you wander, somewhat aimlessly, in sweatpants and your favorite t-shirt, across the wasteland of your mind, agitated, confused, ashamed, with your pesky accomplice, Doubt, as your only guide. If only you had a good idea. I me…
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“Democracy! That’s what it means, Slim! Everybody equal. Like tonight! All them big shots, listening to little shots like me, and being friendly!” —Sergeant Brooklyn Nolan, in the film Hollywood Canteen, 1944 In The Hollywood Spy, Maggie Hope travels from London to Los Angeles during the summer of 1943, with the United States at war. Maggie’s there to solve a murder, of course, staying as a guest of her friend Sarah, a ballerina starring in the Gold Brothers’ Star-Spangled Canteen—a fictionalized version of the actual Warner Bros. film, Hollywood Canteen. So what was the Hollywood Canteen? Well, the real Canteen was a social club for Allied servicemen, founded by John …
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I had been thinking a lot about serial killers. In fact, as I drove through the steep, rugged terrain of northwest Georgia, on my way to Cloudland Canyon State Park, I was listening to a true crime podcast. I think it was an episode about Lawrence Singleton, the “Mad Chopper.” For months now, I had been slowly wading into true crime documentaries and podcasts, wanting to understand our culture’s fascination with all things murder. While watching one of these documentaries, I had recognized footage of a school where a famous serial killer abducted his final victim. I realized with horror that I’d spent the early years of my childhood just a few blocks away, that I had of…
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I’ve taken countless writing classes and joined many groups, but for me, the best writing education comes from reading. I love it when I’m reading a book and the author makes a choice—a plot point, a character trait, a scene or line of dialogue—that takes my breath away, that provides a lesson in craft that I can’t help but try to apply to my own writing. Here are seven books that taught me how to be a better criminal (writer). Jane Harper – The Dry This is an easy one. It was the first book I read in the genre nicknamed “outback noir,” and in addition to its appealing protagonist and well-plotted mystery, it’s a fascinating example of how to use the setting of your s…
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Whether it’s movies like The Game and Ready or Not, dystopian science fiction like Ready Player One, or thrillers like the ones listed below, there’s something fascinating about stories where a game turns deadly. Bit of advice for any character in a book like this: If someone asks if you want to play a game, your go-to answer should be “definitely not.” In my sophomore thriller Blood Will Tell, the six friends gathered near a Northern California ghost town don’t heed that advice. When the alpha in the group suggests they play a drinking game, the others go along with it, despite their misgivings. As often happens, it goes badly. Only five of the friends return home, and …
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Thrillers are so much fun to read, and to write. Since I started in this business, there was always the one cardinal rule that you couldn’t break: your characters are to be likeable, at all costs. Well, that’s no fun. Especially in this genre. If I were writing romance, I would absolutely be sure that my main character was quirky-yet-loveable, and their love interest was possibly damaged from heartbreak but had a heart of gold themselves. Hijinks ensue, they fall in love despite themselves, and have a happily ever after. That’s the formula. That works. For thrillers? Give me some nasty characters. As long as they don’t kick puppies, I’m here for the unlikeable charact…
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By the end of World War II, it was obvious that pulp fiction magazines—which had served for a couple of decades as fecund breeding grounds for crime and mystery writers—were on the wane. Publishers of new-style paperbacks moved in quickly to gobble up those periodicals’ market share, rolling out reprints and, later, original works. A number of authors who’d made their bones penning short, punchy stories for the rough-paper monthlies (Raymond Chandler, Cornell Woolrich, David Goodis, and Erle Stanley Gardner among them) successfully made the leap into paperback publication, as did many pulp-practiced artists. The switch by readers to longer stories and slightly higher-qua…
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It’s almost time for SXSW, and since I moved back to Austin a year ago, I figured I’d put together a list of novels featuring musicians to read. I thought this list was just going to be a random selection from multiple years, but it turns out there are a ton of great music mysteries coming out just this year alone! Below, you’ll find seven novels exploring the intersection of creativity, celebrity, and crime, with a variety of musical genre inspirations, including pop stars, punk rockers, classical musicians, metalheads, aging folk singers, and even a tribute to grunge. Jennifer Banash, The Rise and Fall of Ava Arcana (Lake Union, April 1) So, anyone familiar with th…
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CrimeReads editors select the month’s best debuts in crime, mystery, and thrillers. * Erik Hoel, The Revelations (Overlook Press) Hoel’s debut is one of the year’s most ambitious novels to date, a provocative and weighty exploration of nothing short of human consciousness. The story centers on a researcher fallen from grace but offered a second chance in an elite postdoctoral program, where his own search for the roots of consciousness come into a sudden clash with the the investigation into a colleague’s death. The novel is packed full with ideas, debates, scientific inquiry, and language that seems itself to come alive. This is a mystery novel you won’t soon forg…
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Crime thrillers in the big city can work well because the reader feels the anonymity of being one of millions; danger can come from around any corner. Conversely, rural crime thrillers work best by showcasing the intimacy of a small town, where it may be easier to hide a crime, but nearly impossible to hide a secret. I’ve long been obsessed with the crime genre, though most of my knowledge admittedly comes from film, so I thought I would break down 7 films that partially inspired my novel. All are rural mysteries or crime stories that take advantage of the “wide-open intimacy” of a small, tight-knit community. Lone Star Lone Star is a ‘90s rural crime drama spanning …
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When I was in college, I lived in a house with five other girls. Next door to us lived six more boys. Behind us lived my roommate’s boyfriend and his five roommates, and across the parking lot we all shared lived my boyfriend and his five roommates. Then, in a small house bumping up against the corner of the parking lot, were locals: a slight, older man, his wife, and a pack of chickens who wandered among our houses and escorted us to our doorsteps. Our lives were messy and intertwined, even with the man and his chickens, but also glorious, defined by the rare kind of effortless intimacy that can only be temporary, unable to sustain itself for too long without splintering…
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Show don’t tell. Avoid flashbacks like the plague. Don’t info-dump backstory. Get rid of your prologues. There is no shortage of advice and rules out there for the burgeoning writer. However, as long as each of the above reveals something about your main character in a vivid and interesting way, I would argue those rules can be seen as—in the immortal words of Captain Barbossa—“more what you’d call ‘guidelines.’” As a reader, one of my favorite ways authors break these rules is by playing with form and incorporating epistolary or other non-prose elements in their fiction. I adore prose, but nothing makes me more interested in a book than seeing snippets of diary entrie…
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When crime fiction features multiple members of a family, the protagonist soon learns that to mess with one of them is to mess with more of them than bargained for. This is definitely the case for Lucy Lancaster—my genealogist main character in Fatal Family Ties, the third book in my Ancestry Detective Series—after Lucy is hired by one of her former co-workers and ends up entangled in three branches of her client’s family. Whether the family members in question are in a lighthearted cozy, a dark-and twisty thriller, or within a historical mystery, the more relatives that crop up, the more the action ramps up. The stakes are higher, as is the tension. The lengths to which…
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There’s something about winter in the Midwest, where the darkening days can oscillate wildly between cozy and menacing, snow-day, Christmas morning joyful and late March, still-frigid-here dreary. The season is full of beautiful contradictions, pregnant silences and angry squalls, comforting nights by the fire and wild adventures out on the frozen lake. And what about the tedium of being shut up with the same people day after day in a house that smells like wet wool? Stephen King might have set The Shining in the Rockies, but he could just as well have dropped the Torrance family in an abandoned vacation home on Lake Erie in the middle of February and no one would be surp…
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While every reader is a book lover, there’s a special subspecies of bibliophile whose passion for rare books goes beyond preordering the latest bestseller. Often, we care as much about the book itself as about the story. The binding, the paper, the illustrations. Books are tangible relics of human history, and showcases of human creativity. And sometimes it is the story we care about—or rather, the way the story moved us the first time we read it. We crave a connection through time with the author who made us feel so deeply, and one way to achieve that is by owning a signed first edition that the author touched with his or her very own hand. Over time, those first editio…
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My latest novel, Velvet Was the Night, is a noir set in the Mexico City of the 1970s. This is a changing world, beset by political and social turmoil, and a space where different forces are violently clashing. To me, it seemed like the perfect decade for a noir, but when I told people what I was working on, they tended to be surprised I was writing a book set in 1971. Most of them associated the word ‘noir’ with the 1950s. Noir has always had a close relationship with film and it is no wonder that when we think of noir, we tend to harken back to iconic images inspired by Golden Age Hollywood rather than more modern proposals. But noir did not vanish once people traded…
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