Hi there, reader! 2019 has been an incredible year for new crime fiction. From debut authors to returning favorites, serial killer thrillers to psychological suspense, this year has offered up a little something for everyone. I’m thrilled to share with Criminal Element readers my picks for the Best Crime Books of 2019 by Month—aka my…
Sticking It To The Man: Revolution and Counterculture in Pulp and Popular Fiction, 1950 to 1980, edited by myself and Iain McIntyre, is the first comprehensive account of the ways in which the changing politics and culture of the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s were reflected in pulp, crime and popular fiction in the UK, United…
Lifelong New Yorker S.J. Rozan’s storied career has spanned decades and encompassed both writing and teaching. Her unique melding of substance, style, and structure has branded her one of the most decorated members on the contemporary mystery scene. Rozan has been the recipient of the Edgar, Shamus, Anthony, Nero, and Macavity Awards, as well as…
Though it has been over four hundred years since William Shakespeare’s death, his works continue to inspire new generations of authors. There’s just something about the Bard, isn’t there? The tragic love of Romeo and Juliet, the darkness of King Lear’s psyche . . . Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets are rife with possibilities for retelling…
Eudora Welty once said, “Fiction depends for its life on place,” and perhaps nowhere is that truer than fiction set in Maine. What is it about this sprawling, forested, mostly empty state with its craggy coastline and innumerable lakes and ponds? Mention Maine and associations seem to go off like flashbulbs. Whether that’s due to…
Every holiday season, I get bombarded with messages from friends and fans telling me they’re dying to buy me a crime-fiction-related present but aren’t sure what to get such an accomplished author…
Before I dove into Silent Joe, T. Jefferson Parker was one of those names alongside Michael Connelly, Robert Parker, Sue Grafton, and dozens of others on a mental list titled “Authors I Should Probably Read One of These Days.” Thanks to this reread, I can finally cross him off, though if I’m being honest, I’m…
I’ve always loved reading mysteries, from dark Nordic Noir to faster contemporary stories. I’ve inhaled everything from Jo Nesbo’s Harry Hole books to Jonathan Kellerman’s Alex Delaware mysteries, to Ann Cleeves’ stories set in the remote Shetland islands, and J.D. Robb’s mysteries set in a futuristic New York.
Alaska. Even when I think about it, a hollow sense of the vast wide open makes my stomach drop a little. I’ve traveled to Alaska a few times and I truly love it; its primitive beauty is breathtaking—though I’m not sure I could live there. I’ve visited the big city of Anchorage, the capital city…
I am in awe of Truman Capote’s work. He is an exquisite writer. If you read Other Voices Other Rooms, Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Music for Chameleons, which includes the brilliant novella “Handcarved Coffins,” you’ll see what I mean. They are literary classics.
