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,
3,417 topics in this forum
-
- 0 replies
- 208 views
Maybe it’s just the size of my apartment and my comparative isolation over the past two years, but I’ve rediscovered a love for stories set in tiny spaceships where no one can hear you scream (or cry into your cat’s fur or whatever). We’re also still in the midst of a technological revolution that blurs the line between crime writing and scifi, as well as benefitting from a long tradition of mingling the two in the service of exploring modern dystopian tendencies. In the spirit of collaboration between the genres, I’ve collected a few scifi noirs and speculative thrillers that should appeal to crime readers (as well as fans of horror). This year’s science fiction seems t…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 211 views
The allure of a vacation, especially in a luxurious seaside destination is so great that the thought of something potentially dark lurking beneath the sun and glitz feels particularly frightening to me. If we can’t be safe in paradise, where can we be? We almost expect darkness in the woods, in a haunted or deserted house, in remote, inaccessible areas and lonely car parks but most certainly not on the beach or at a luxury hotel resort. My third thriller, The Ex-Husband, is about a reformed con artist who finds the roles are reversed when a former victim seeks revenge. Charlotte Wilson and her ex-husband, Sam, worked on luxury cruise liners. Surrounded by wealthy guests,…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 215 views
Cozies are my favorite books. I write them. I read them. I wished I lived in them sometimes. Well, I wish I lived in the charming towns and shops where they are set. I have no interest in finding a dead body or solving a murder. However, there is nothing better than to escape into a cozy when the real world seems a bit all too much. When I really want an escape, I like to read a paranormal cozy. These are cozies with a little bit of magic to help or hinder the sleuth find the killer. They can have everything from witches to fairies to ghosts to mystics. Each is unique in how it treats the magical side of things in the stories, and that’s what makes paranormal cozies so mu…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 274 views
Today the Mystery Writers of America announced the nominations for the 2022 Edgar Awards, celebrating the best mystery writing of the year in fiction, nonfiction, and television. The winners will be announced on April 28th, 2022, at the 76th annual Edgar Awards. Congratulations to all the nominees. ___________________________________ BEST NOVEL ___________________________________ The Venice Sketchbook by Rhys Bowen (Amazon Publishing – Lake Union) Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby (Macmillan Publishers – Flatiron Books) Five Decembers by James Kestrel (Hard Case Crime) How Lucky by Will Leitch (HarperCollins – Harper) No One Will Miss Her by Kat Rosenfield (HarperColl…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 210 views
It’s January! The most sluggish, torturous month of the year—in a good year. This January, things are not better, we’re just older and more tired. But the TV is good, which isn’t a tradeoff, but is at least a nice way to take the edge off after we’re done standing in a corner of the room and screaming. These shows are listed in chronological order, and the first few have already aired so you can get right to streaming. The Cleaning Lady, Season 1 Maybe you like shows about people who, after being abandoned by the bureaucratic systems that are supposed keep them safe and healthy, take matters into their own hands and dabble in various criminal enterprises in order…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 220 views
You can’t explore the sociology of California without encountering cults. It has long been associated with them, and has produced a formidable roster; but many, including Jim Jones’ notorious Peoples Temple, originated elsewhere and relocated. Likely for the same reasons a lot of average people do: great weather, an ethos receptive to new ideas, and access to Hollywood and money if you play your cards right. Cults like Children of God, Heaven’s Gate, the Manson “Family”, NXIVM, Unarius Academy of Science, and depending on who you talk to, Scientology, have called California home. And they’ve all left indelible, if not ignominious impressions on the collective conscience. …
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 205 views
It was time to begin a new book. I had a few ideas. Usually, I begin with a very basic situation and find my way forward from there. So I wrote a few thousand words about a young woman named Helene who was stuck working at a gas station in a remote and unpopulated corner of Montana. I really liked Helene and her problems, and thought it was a good beginning to a book, but I couldn’t figure out where Peter Ash, the series protagonist, would fit into the story. In fact, I was so unsure that I put it down and started something else. This time, I began with Peter. I put him in the back of a moving pickup, wrapped in a tarp, his arms and legs tied. He freed his feet and fe…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 239 views
I haven’t always been Hope Adams. My real name is Adèle Geras and for more than 40 years I wrote a great many books under that name. I began as a children’s writer and also published many books for young adults. Then I wrote six novels for adults which were about families, love, relationships, secrets, lies: the common currency of what is sometimes called ‘women’s fiction.’ When I saw the Rajah Quilt displayed in the Victoria & Albert Museum, I knew I wanted to write a novel about it, but didn’t realize at first that it would be a murder mystery. All I knew was, I wanted to use another name because this story was something of a departure for me; something quite dif…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 186 views
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…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 209 views
Hey crime friends! Remember those days when Young Adult fiction was all, “teenage girls vs. the apocalypse”? For those of us who used to scoff at the genre, the past five years have brought on a reckoning with our own internalized literary prejudices as the genre pivoted away from dystopian futures and towards our, well, dystopian present (best represented, of course, by stylishly bleak ventures into modern teenage life and its many discontents). Young adult mystery novels are on the rise and ready to dominate the discourse, especially given YA fiction has a reputation for responding to changing concerns, and new platforms, far more quickly than its adult counterparts. P…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
John Kapoor had already amassed a small fortune in pharmaceuticals when he founded Insys Therapeutics. It was the early 2000s, a boom time for painkillers, and he developed a novel formulation of fentanyl, the most potent opioid on the market. In the following excerpt from The Hard Sell: Crime and Punishment at an Opioid Startup, Evan Hughes tells the story of the founding of Insys and its first development of the drug that would later put the company at the center of a federal drug trafficking conspiracy investigation. ___________________________________ For any pharmaceutical startup, a central challenge is how to sustain the company financially for the years required…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 194 views
When T. Jefferson Parker heard that the argument was going to be made in this article that he is the quintessential California crime fiction writer, he gave a quiet laugh and said, “No pressure. Well, you know, I’ll graciously accept that compliment and note that we would get push back on behalf of certain other writers that we know and love for that title. So accepted and proud, but cautious.” Fair enough. Since California is a big state with a population of almost 40 million and sometimes it seems as though at least half are writers, we’ll narrow it down to claiming T. Jefferson Parker is the quintessential writer of Southern California crime fiction. And while it migh…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 222 views
What is it about Sherlock Holmes that has captured the popular imagination arguably more than any other figure in fiction? Is it his incredible intellect that has us all enthralled? Is it the gaslit streets, the long dresses, frock coats and top hats? Maybe it’s the sometimes-stiff, formal language. Is it Dr. John Watson himself, ever confused but always loyal, or the simple friendship between two such different men? Regardless of the reason, there’s no doubting the continuing popularity of the Great Detective. When I first had the idea of setting a cozy mystery series in a store dedicated to all things Sherlock Holmes, I wondered if it might be a stretch trying to stoc…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 186 views
The holidays are over and now the real drudge of winter is upon us. At least for those of us living in the northern climates. For me, a native Wisconsinite, I look forward to having a stack of great books to help keep me occupied during the long winter months. There’s nothing better than curling up near the fire with a great mystery while the snow piles up outside. But where to start when there are so many great books to choose from? As all mystery readers know, there are many diverse categories of cozy mysteries. I thought I would pick one book from each of my favorite genres to share with you today. These are all great stories that are sure to entertain the most voraci…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 350 views
Another week, another batch of books for your TBR pile. Happy reading, folks. * Nick Petrie, The Runaway (Putnam) “Nail-biting …Shifting points of view serve to heighten the suspense. This adrenaline-fueled ride will keep readers turning the pages.” Publishers Weekly Lisa Gardner, One Step Too Far (Dutton) “It’s not often that a thriller so deeply casts us into the darkness of both nature and the human heart…Terrifying, primal, and very, very tense. Read it with your heart in your throat—but read it.” Kirkus Reviews, starred review Marie Rutkoski, Real Easy (Henry Holt) “This is a story about flawed people just doing the best they can to live their live…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 251 views
The three men came stumbling into town shortly after ten a.m., babbling of dark shapes and eerie screams and their missing buddy Scott and other missing buddy Tim. Yesterday, the five of them had headed into the woods for a bachelor party weekend. All friends since college, four of them wouldn’t have minded a golf weekend or quality time at a casino/resort. But for future groom Tim, the woods were his happy place, so into the mountains they’d gone. Fully equipped, packs, tents, sleeping bags, , cans of beans and franks, and yeah, as much beer and Maker’s Mark as five fit young men could carry. Which was to say, a lot. But they weren’t total idiots. As an experienced backc…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 276 views
Last year, dear crime friends, I got super into horror—what other genre could be better at capturing our current doom-laden era, or our numerous discomforts and accommodations with modern life? It turns out that horror and crime fiction often enough aren’t so different after all, and like last year, 2022 brings with it a host of crossovers perfect for readers of either genre. As a service that perhaps will reveal my own ignorance of the wider genre, I bring to you 12 upcoming horror novels sure to please fans of thrillers, noir, and psychological suspense. (Notice something missing? I want your recommendations too! Please leave a comment with any other titles you want us…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 272 views
In the flawless, stainless neo-noir Blood Simple, the 1984 directorial debut of Joel and Ethan Coen and the acting debut of Joel’s soon-to-be wife Frances McDormand, a character clandestinely commits a murder in the back room of a Texas bar—an act which sets off a chain reaction of suspicion, guilt, and brutal cover-ups. In the background, on the bar wall, hangs a clever prop which will reappear numerous times throughout the film: a sign mandating that all employees wash their hands before returning to work—a bit of realistic décor as much as a harbinger of the ramifications to come, for its calling to mind the futile hand-washing hallucinations of Lady Macbeth after she …
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 216 views
Here’s a fun exercise that illuminates various generational and communicational chasms: go find someone under the age of twenty-nine and try explaining Michael Douglas to them. I mean, really explaining him. I’m not presuming you know the man personally. (Or that you have seen The Kominsky Method.) Who among us could claim to know what fires his soul? No, I’m saying try explaining to someone who wasn’t necessarily around to witness the phenomenon just what a massive, extravagant star Michael Douglas really was. It’s a little difficult, no? It had something to do with his charisma, I’m pretty sure, but that charisma was rather of-its-time: that moment from the late 80s int…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
It all started when a close friend who grew up near me in the forests of northern Wisconsin shared how she had received a phone call out of the blue that led to the discovery that her late father had led a secret life: fathering at least three illegitimate children with three different women. Her father had been very wealthy and my friend was one of his three heirs. She and her siblings had one question: Did this mean those illegitimate children were also his heirs? At her request, I called an estate lawyer who said that if they had not been specifically excluded by name in her father’s will that the answer was “yes.” My friend was upset with this news as were her sibli…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 452 views
Fadeout, originally published in 1970, introduced Dave Brandstetter, an insurance investigator based in Los Angeles, in the first in a series of twelve crime novels the Los Angeles Times would hail as “groundbreaking” in the 2004 obituary of its author, Joseph Hansen. Why groundbreaking? They were beautifully written and dexterously plotted, but that wasn’t the reason. Brandstetter himself, rich, white and blessed with movie star good looks—a far cry from his hard luck noir predecessors like Philip Marlowe and Lew Archer—doesn’t seem, at first glance, to be much of a groundbreaker. But the adjective is justified because Brandstetter is by nature what Marlowe and Archer w…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 245 views
We know this story: A hard-bitten, oft-fired reporter, looking for a fast track back to a big-city newspaper job, hopes to milk a sensational story for everything it’s worth. In the process, he shakes things up in a tough desert town. Yep, that’s the plot of Ace in the Hole, the 1951 classic directed by Billy Wilder and starring Kirk Douglas as the unethical reporter. But of course, as you know from the headline, we’re here to talk about The Night Stalker, which has everything Ace in the Hole has, plus police corruption and vampires. The basic premise—a hard-luck loser, whether he’s a reporter or cowboy or private eye or drifter, runs up against the powers that be in a…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
London, September 11, 1888. The noise of hammers and steam engines filled the air in Whitehall, the construction site of the New Scotland Yard headquarters. Little did the architect of the red-and-white brick Gothic castle on the bank of the river Thames know that its site would become a crime scene investigated by the police force’s detectives. Frederick Moore, a laborer at the site, spotted an object lying on the mud. When he picked it up, he made a horrifying discovery. It was a woman’s arm, neatly amputated from the body. In the following days, the victim’s torso and leg turned up at the site. This was most certainly murder. It wasn’t the first such case in that peri…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 237 views
If you came to espionage fiction knowing nothing about spying, you would assume from reading the great spy novels of the last 100-odd years that the secret world was populated almost exclusively by white, middle-aged men. There have been innumerable female spies throughout history yet very few stories written about them – and even fewer female spy novelists. Similarly, while many notable real-life spies have been young men and women in their twenties, youthful protagonists rarely make an appearance in the classic spy novels of yesteryear. Of course there are any number of young adult novels about teenage secret agents – Anthony Horowitz’s Alex Rider sequence springs to m…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 238 views
The usual killers are easy to spot. They can be uninhabitable, dystopian futurescapes of planet Earth: deserts with salt flats, unbreathable air, or submerged ruins of cities. These settings could become a reality in our lifetimes, but tomorrow’s threats are not always today’s concern. Killers of the present can take the shape of extreme weather: superstorms, tornadoes, and tsunamis. They act like deadly assassins sent by vengeful mother nature—but was she miscast in this role? What if the killers in a climate change/disaster thriller were also the architects of their unsustainable circumstance—us? The Effort begins when a large comet is spotted on the edge of our bli…
Last reply by Admin_99,