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,
3,487 topics in this forum
-
- 0 replies
- 117 views
At first the bodies sank to the seabed. Then, after only a few days of submersion, once the internal organs had begun to putrefy and the flesh had swelled with noxious gases, they rose again to the surface like inflated balloons. Later that same week they came ashore one by one and at different locations, as if in death they disdained each other’s company. They fetched up all along the bleak and empty coastline that stretches from Yarmouth to Caister, Winterton and Happisburgh. There were even some that drifted as far north as Foulness and the estuary of the Humber. They were deposited on the sands as the tide ebbed. In some, the softer parts, the cheeks and the lips, …
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 110 views
When I was a kid in the early 1970s, my late father was a hippie turned political idealist working, quite effectively for several years, to change the system from within. As you might imagine from that thumbnail biography, pop was also a pot smoker. Being exposed to rolling papers and bongs from my earliest days, marijuana held no allure or mystique for me. I took a toke or two with friends in high school and college, once earning a quarter’s worth of ribbing for the epic coughing fit triggered by a single dorm-room inhalation, and that was the end of that. My mood-altering substance of choice is bourbon, and I still fondly recall giving my dad a requested taste of Pap…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 103 views
New Jersey has my heart, even if I don’t live there anymore. You can blame the exorbitant property taxes for that. Like most Jewish kids from my town, I was born in New York City, but raised in its shadow. I grew up in a sprawling suburb of massive subdivisions and mini-malls; of traffic along the Route 9 corridor; and of new synagogues and old churches. My high school had two thousand students in it and was within walking distance to Old Tennent Cemetery where descendants of witch-hunter Cotton Mather are entombed. The mall is still only a five-minute drive from there. On the way to Nordstroms, you’ll pass Monmouth Battlefield where Molly Pitcher supposedly took her husb…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
In a small attic bedroom in Cleveland, in the Jewish neighborhood of Glenville, Jerry Siegel tried to sleep. It wasn’t the summer heat that was keeping him awake nor his snoring older brother Leo snoozing noisily beside him. Twisting and turning, Jerry had a new idea for a story in his head. It involved a character like Samson, Hercules, and Moses all rolled into one—a new character that was an amalgamation of everything he had ever written or read. And he had read a lot. Jerry, a nerd with glasses, had had few friends at Glenville High—ignored not just by the girls but the boys, too. He had been bullied for years, kids taunting him with rhymes like “Siegel, Seagull, b…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 151 views
Is it possible? That the saga of Elizabeth Holmes, as long and drawn out as it was, has finally reached its conclusion? Since we last spoke, Holmes’s co-conspirator (and erstwhile May-December lover) Sunny Balwani has been sentenced to about 13 years in the federal slammer. We also learned that the ever-enceinte Holmes is likely to spend her decade-and-change sentence at FCP Bryan, a minimum-security facility just 90 minutes from where she grew up. (Also that Holmes booked a one-way ticket to Mexico back in January 2022, shortly after her conviction. Speaking of flight risks, might I recommend indie rock duo Tommy Lefroy’s song of the same name? It’s 59 seconds of ethe…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 103 views
I can’t say exactly why everyone seems to be captivated by an antihero story, but I can say why I am: antiheroes make shit happen. They’re active and ambitious characters, taking big swings, relentless towards their pursuit of greatness, whatever that means to them, and they’ll stop at nothing to get what they want, nefarious deeds included. That alone always has the makings of great entertainment and I am here for it. I love thrillers, always have, but I personally craved a story with a wild woman front and center, one who some might say is a villain, where others might say she’s a hero (ahem), but no matter what side of the argument a person falls on, they want to hang…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 165 views
It started out as more than just a ride. In the early 1990s, Disneyland Paris (then called “Euro Disney”) had planned a whole Jules Verne area, “Discoveryland,” to be one of the main features of the new amusement park. According to researcher and documentarian Kevin Perjurer, the area’s centerpiece was going to be a giant copper and steel pavilion, and inside it would be a replica of The Mysterious Island, the home port of Captain Nemo from Verne’s 1872 novel, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Docked in a giant pool would be Nemo’s golden submarine, the Nautilus, which was to be its own walk-through attraction and feature an underwater restaurant. There was going to…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
Reality often plays a role in fiction. There are contemporary “ripped from the headlines” stories—these days often with a podcaster as the protagonist— lining the shelves are novels inspired by murders, kidnappings, bank robberies and airplane hijackings among many other bad acts. And then there are historical mysteries peopled by bold faced names of the time. (Teddy Roosevelt makes an appearance in Mariah Fredericks’ Jane Prescott series; Princess Elizabeth collaborates with Maggie Hope in an early installment of Susan Elia MacNeal’s series of World War II mysteries; famous figures from Dwight D. Eisenhower to John F. Kennedy appear in James R. Benn’s Billy Boyle mystery…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 196 views
The human urge to uncover hidden things is behind the enduring appetite for crime fiction, where we turn the pages to search for the truth. The impulse to solve clues and find buried treasure explains the success of everything from The Da Vinci Code to The Goonies, and hatched a sub-genre that sparks the kind of obsession you’d find in the pages of a psychological thriller. Literary treasure hunts, word-and-picture books containing clues to buried treasure, literal or figurative, inspired my latest suspense novel, THE SKELETON KEY. In my fictional treasure hunt, a golden skeleton is scattered across England, the clues hidden in a storybook called The Golden Bones. What s…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 98 views
Ever since Aesop wrote his fable about the city mouse and country mouse in the 6th century B.C., there has been an urge to divide the world into two kinds of people – those who prefer the country where it’s safe and comfortable, and those who long for the city, where there is more variety but also the perception of greater danger. In the world of mysteries, you can see a similar sort of dividing line. Cozy mysteries are typically set in a small town or country village, where the murders are less gruesome and a true villain should be easy to spot in a tight-knit community where no one can stay a stranger for long. Thrillers, noirs and more hard-edged mysteries are more o…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 94 views
Here is the first sentence of my new novel: “After I finished writing my last novel, I fell into a long silence.” And here is the opening sentence as I originally composed it: “After I finished writing my last novel, which was called Defending Jacob, I fell into a long silence.” The narrator of that original draft, as you might have guessed, was a character named Bill Landay. Was the character actually me, the guy who wrote Defending Jacob — which is to say, not a fictional character at all? Or was he something in between — me, thinly disguised? That was for the reader to decide. At least it would have been. In the end, “Bill Landay” did not survive the editing proces…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 119 views
My daughter jokes that I know every terrible thing that has ever happened to anyone on the planet. I have a morbid fear of parking lots, white vans, crowds, movie theaters, and any place where disaster or evil has struck. I’m not alone in my fear. Fear is something that the media encourages and covers—especially when a young girl goes missing. My new novel GOING DARK explores the phenomena of how the media decides which victims to cover. The media’s obsession with certain types of victims—white, photogenic young girls—has even been given a name “missing white women syndrome”—in that while certain victims of crime are reported on to minute detail, many other victims are ig…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 123 views
Another week, another batch of books for your TBR pile. Happy reading, folks. * Katie Lumsden, The Secrets of Hartwood Hall (Dutton) “[A] captivating debut. . . . Assured prose propels this well-crafted tale of family, friendship, and the cost of personal freedom. Fans of the great Victorian novels, in particular Jane Eyre, will have fun.” –Publishers Weekly Cheryl Head, Time’s Undoing (Putnam) “[Head] brings her gift for strong women protagonists and suspense to this tale about a young, Black female journalist from Detroit on a dangerous quest….Vivid and affecting….This heart-seizing tale even has a touch of the supernatural as it celebrates Black live…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 103 views
The best one-two scam in American Literature comes from Mark Twain. First, Tom Sawyer tricks his peers into paying for the privilege of whitewashing a fence; then, using the proceeds, Tom buys up the tickets that his classmates have earned by memorizing bible verses, and presents them to his teacher at an opportune time, kicking off a bible-awarding ceremony which almost everyone watching understands to be a sham. The episode lays out an important principle of con artistry in American Literature: it is easier to earn money than respect. Do whatever you need to do in order to get rich, and use those riches to buy you a place in society. The purchase of esteem is the unavo…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 111 views
The first time I nestled into a comfy corner of the sofa to watch the television show, Treme, I have to admit, I didn’t get it. I didn’t connect with the show or the characters. And I’m not proud of the fact. But then all that changed one windy, still very chilly March when I visited the city of New Orleans for the first time. As authors, we invest a significant amount of time into our research and I’m no exception. Books, interviews with locals, movies – all of these resources provide invaluable information that we use to construct our fictional worlds. But I’m of the mind that says when you have an opportunity to visit a location in person, take it. Because in my case,…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 93 views
Writers Kathleen Kent and Alma Katsu are both known for their historical fiction and mysteries, but did you know that, in real life, both worked in the shadowy world of national security and intelligence? In this interview, the authors of BLACK WOLF (Mulholland Books, February 14) and RED LONDON (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, March 14) compare notes on what it’s like to write thrillers on matters close to home. ALMA: When people find out you once worked for CIA or the Defense Department, I think they’re surprised to find out you’ve written anything else, but one thing we have in common is that we’ve both written in a variety of genres. For you, it’s been historicals, crime thril…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 167 views
The first time I met Brendan Slocumb, I was flabbergasted. It was late 2021. We’d both been selected for a Library Journal panel featuring debut novelist. Nita Prose and Eva Jurczyk, two soon-to-be superstars, were also in the mix. I was nervous. I wasn’t sure what to expect. Then Brendan started talking . . . He had the voice, a beautiful, buttery baritone. He had the look, tattooed forearms peeking out from under rolled up sleeves. And he had the backstory, a concert violinist turned author. Like I said, I was flabbergasted, watching as Brendan wove all the aforementioned assets into a thrilling introduction of himself and his debut novel, The Violin Conspiracy. …
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 112 views
Some months it’s a struggle to find three or four new crime shows worth highlighting. March is not one of those months. There’s something for just about everyone coming out. If you’re like me, the new Kim Philby limited series based on the Ben Macintyre book is the highlight—the knitwear alone might be worth the price of admission—but we’re also zeroing in on hallucinatory cross-country thrillers, mysteries set aboard ships, some new Perry Mason, the return of Yellowjackets, and much more. Wreck (Hulu / Premieres March 1) A slasher-thriller-comedy that was a hit on the BBC, now coming to America. A teenager sneaks on board a cruise ship, determined to find out what h…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 106 views
We all know about toxic friendships, frenemies and friend-foes, where those that have your back are the most likely to knife you there instead. Countless thrillers have been inspired by the topic, not least by me – The Lies You Told is all about what happens when a supposed friendship is masking something a lot less amicable on the inside. What I want to address now is something darker still: the friendships and relationships but for which terrible events might never occur, the meeting of two people but for which they might each have lived an entirely blameless life. The damage moves along a spectrum. Take Jane Austen’s Emma as an example (not an obvious fit in a crime …
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 129 views
The CrimeReads editors select the best month’s new novels in crime fiction, mystery, and thrillers. * Peter Swanson, The Kind Worth Saving (William Morrow) High school English teacher turned private investigator Henry Kimball is plying his trade in the suburbs when a new case comes through his door: a woman from his past with a husband who may be cheating, a case that seems determined to drag Kimball back through his own past tragedies. Swanson is bringing the keen pacing and insights of psychological thrillers to the private eye genre, and with remarkable results: The Kind Worth Saving is a pitch perfect mystery with all the humanity and depth we’ve come to expect …
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 117 views
The more complicated the heist, the more interesting the story. Nobody wants to buy a ticket to a heist movie where the safecrackers break into a vault within five minutes and get away effortlessly with the loot (it’d also be a very short movie). Flicks in this subgenre are generally at their best when stuffed full of double-crosses, unexpected complications, and supposedly uncrackable security systems. With that in mind, which heist films have presented their protagonists with the toughest and most unique challenges? These seven titles are memorable for a reason—what they put their respective criminal masterminds through is positively fiendish. Rififi (1955) The c…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 106 views
When I was in high school, a friend of mine committed suicide. It was shocking, terrifying, unexpected. No one knew what demons haunted him, though in the aftermath, at the funeral, there were whispers. Abuse. Depression. The corrosive power of over-expectation. He used a shotgun; there was an open-casket funeral. I was scarred for life. I still can’t fully imagine what it was like for his mother. What I couldn’t conceptualize nor understand as a child I am all too cognizant of as an adult. Many times on my failed journey to have children of my own, my friend came to mind. After every miscarriage, I would tell my husband God knows something. He knows that something migh…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 207 views
You won’t find Von Goom’s Gambit described in any chess textbook. But here’s the history. On April 5 1997, Von Goom entered his first ever chess tournament: the Minnesota State Championship. In his initial match, he lost to a man named Curt Brasket in twenty nine moves. A series of equally humiliating defeats was to come. Von Goom lost the further six games he played, including one in three moves, and another – after 102 moves – to a five-year-old child. He fared no better in the years that followed. Close to half a decade later, in fact, after studying relentlessly and entering numerous tournaments, Von Goom had failed to win even a single competitive game of chess. T…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
- 0 replies
- 115 views
Five hours and forty-six minutes after a trapper pulls the skull from the depths of Starry Swamp, shaking sludge and Spanish moss out of its eye sockets, the entire town of Bottom Springs, Louisiana—all five-thousand-two-hundred-twenty-nine Christian souls and the small handful of Godless heathens—has heard the news. Once again, they whisper, a person has been claimed by the swamp. But days later, Sheriff Thomas Theriot holds a press conference. Sheriff Thomas Theriot has not held a press conference once in his thirty years of service to the law. In Bottom Springs, there’s never been a need. So this morning, when he stands outside his office with the reporter from the Tr…
Last reply by Admin_99, -
“Arlington Road,” the 1999 thriller starring Jeff Bridges and Tim Robbins, defies easy definitions of good cinema. It effectively escalates the suspense throughout its two hour running time, creating an inescapable mood of paranoia and panic. The performances from its two lead actors are brilliant, and much of its dialogue is unforgettable. Despite its attributes, it has a storyline with craters of illogic. While audiences should suspend disbelief whenever watching a film, “Arlington Road” turns on so many one-in-a-million coincidences that it almost becomes an exercise in absurdity—characters bump into each other in shopping mall parking garages at the exact moment that …
Last reply by Admin_99,