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James Ellroy

It Was All A Blur: 4 Novels that Blend the Boundaries of Fiction and Non-fiction

By Joseph Knox

December 6, 2021

When I first started reading, I thought of fiction and non-fiction as two sides of the same coin, one nation perhaps, but cut in half. They were East and West Berlin, always divided, and with a heavily guarded border running down the middle, an impenetrable wall that could never come down. Then I read James…

16 Crime Novels That Could Save Humanity

By Greg Levin

July 29, 2020

The famously acerbic author, poet, and alcoholic Charles Bukowski once said, “Without literature, life is hell.” Sure, he was likely drunk and didn’t remember saying it, but that doesn’t make the quote any less profound. Great works of fiction entertain and inspire. They educate and heal. Yes, even crime fiction. In fact, especially crime fiction.…

Five Authors Who Wrote Too Close to the Flame

By Alice Blanchard

December 2, 2019

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.

James Ellroy This Storm

Book Review: This Storm by James Ellroy

By Weston Ochse

June 3, 2019

This Storm by James Ellroy is a massive novel of World War II Los Angeles—when torrential rainstorms hit the city, a body is unearthed in Griffith Park. The cops rate it a routine dead-man job. They’re grievously wrong. I’ve been reading the Demon Dog of American Literature since I stumbled across The Black Dahlia in…

5 Great Crime Novels Meet 5 Great Jazz Tracks

By Andrew Cartmel

May 11, 2016

Although reading is a largely visual task (albeit in practice and not in the sense of a picture), what makes it so enjoyable is the imaginative task of creating a world with all of your senses from what is being described through words. And, as often is the case, music is the perfect accompaniment to reading—the…

2015’s Edgar Awards: Mystery’s Faithful Gather

By Leslie Gilbert Elman

April 30, 2015

Once a year, the mystery writing community reaches critical mass in a place filled with the greatest living purveyors of the genre. The moment occurs at the Edgar Allan Poe Awards Dinner hosted by the Mystery Writers of America. This year, it took place on April 29 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York.…

Letter from Lyon: At 2015’s Quais du Polar

By Jake Hinkson

April 17, 2015

The Quais Du Polar is the largest crime fiction festival in France, and that’s saying a lot, because the French love crime fiction. Sure, mysteries (and to a lesser extent, noir) are big in the U.S., but crime fiction in France is a cultural phenomenon reaching back decades. The French, god love them, are obsessed…

Dark Christmas: 7 Noir Holidays Films

By Jake Hinkson

December 17, 2014

I’m not sure why there are so many noirs set around the holidays, but maybe it has something to do with seasonal depression. We all know that this time of year can be especially hard on people, when our usual American propensity toward surface cheer becomes something of a national obligation. After all, we quite…

MWA Announces 2015 Grand Master, Raven, and Ellery Queen Award Winners!

By Crime HQ

December 12, 2014

Mystery Writers of America has just announced its new Grand Masters for 2015, and authors Lois Duncan and James Ellroy will be honored at the Edgar Awards banquet next April 29th. In addition, Ruth and Jon Jordan from Crimespree Magazine and Kathryn Kennison, the founder of Magna Cum Murder, will be awarded Ravens for outstanding…

Pulp Nonfiction: A Guide to Studying Hardboiled Crime

By Jake Hinkson

May 11, 2014

You know you’re officially a mystery fanatic when you start reading books about books. Luckily, over the years many studies of hardboiled and noir crime fiction have been published to meet the needs of just these kind of fanatics. Here’s a short guide to some of the best. 1. “The Simple Art of Murder” by…

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