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Essays

Knock, Knock. Who’s There? Trouble.

By Hank Phillippi Ryan

February 1, 2023

What is it about someone showing up at your house carrying a suitcase? Do you hear the Jaws music? There’s nothing quite as illustrative of what “point of view” means as when you view your home through the eyes of a guest. Why did you not see the spider webs on the chandelier? Why did…

Someone Had to Write It: Finding Our Distinct Thriller Voice

By Amber and Danielle Brown

January 26, 2023

It’s an understatement to say we love thrillers. It’s our favorite genre and has been for the longest time, more specifically ever since we became obsessed with Eric Jerome Dickey’s slick, sensual, fast-paced sagas back in the early aughts. Lit fic comes in as a close second because we are partial to long-winded character studies…

A Grifter’s Song: Hustlers on the Run by Nick Kolakowski

By Nick Kolakowski

January 19, 2023

They’re in love. They pull off scores. If they make one wrong move, they’re dead. That’s the story of Sam and Rachel, hustlers and anti-heroes of “A Grifter’s Song,” a long-running series of novellas by some of crime fiction’s most notable authors. Each new entry ratchets up the tension: can the pair carry off yet…

Our Favorite Books of 2022

By Crime HQ

January 3, 2023

The Fall Girl by Marcia Clark “Clark utilizes a dual narrative technique…It’s a clever, well-executed move that emphasizes the psychological aspects of the story over the procedural elements, which largely predominated earlier works…The Fall Girl shows Marcia Clark at her absolute best.”   Child Zero by Chris Holm “Chris Holm’s Child Zero is one of the…

Why Write a Victorian Mystery? By Will Thomas, Author of Heart of the Nile

By Will Thomas

January 3, 2023

Whenever I’m at a book event or a writers’ convention, I get a questioning glance when I say that I write a Victorian mysteries series. “Why Victorian?” I’m often asked. The answer is simple. To me, the Victorian Era was the golden age. There is an image of men in formal suits with walking sticks…

Researching Police Corruption in Nigeria

By Edward Zuckerman

December 5, 2022

How could I meet some African cops? I could go to Africa and get arrested, but that seemed less than ideal. I was writing a novel, a thriller called Wealth Management, and I wanted the characters to include a detective from Africa (he would travel to Switzerland to investigate a financial crime with a connection…

Kensington CozyClub Mini-Con October 2022

By Doreen Sheridan

November 29, 2022

After a delay of three years, I finally got a chance to attend a Kensington CozyClub Mini-Con! In 2019, the pandemic put paid to Kensington Publishing’s usual slate of CozyClub mini-conventions, aimed at lovers of cozy mysteries and held regionally on a regular basis. Now that it’s 2022 however, things have gotten safe enough to…

How the Tragic Death of Violet Sharpe Inspired a Classic Mystery

By Mariah Fredericks

November 17, 2022

Most mystery fans are aware that Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express was inspired by the Lindbergh Baby kidnapping. In the classic mystery, Poirot investigates the murder of Samuel Ratchett. Years ago, Ratchett was behind the kidnapping of “Little Daisy Armstrong,” but he escaped punishment. As Poirot discovers, everyone on the train has a…

Ten of the Most Unusual Places in Fiction

By Elly Griffiths

November 16, 2022

Years ago, I had lunch with some friends in a London restaurant. It was in a courtyard near Holborn, a strange cobbled yard with a stranger name: Bleeding Heart Yard.  When I got home, I Googled the location and found that, in the seventeenth-century, a woman called Elizabeth Hatton (of Hatton Garden fame) was murdered…

Killing Your Darlings, Literally

By Craig Henderson

November 15, 2022

Everyone who’s old enough remembers where they were when Kennedy was killed. The mention of Elvis and Lady Diana Spencer provoke similar recollection. Why is that? Simply because they were famous? Or because they touched the lives of so many? Maybe your favorite Elvis song, played continuously on a loop, woke you from a ten-year…

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