Years before Max Allan Collins wrote Road to Perdition—the eponymous source for the Oscar-winning movie starring Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, and Jude Law—before his Quarry novels were turned into a Cinemax original series, before Collins was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America or took over writing the Mike Hammer novels from…
Killing Quarry is the newest book in the Quarry series by Max Allan Collins. Collins has written several other Quarry novels for Hard Case Crime, a Quarry graphic novel, and his Quarry character was the focal point of Cinemax’s eponymous series. It is not the most recent novel, in terms of series chronology, as Collins…
Girl Most Likely from New York Times bestselling and award-winning crime master Max Allan Collins follows Krista Larson, 28-year-old police chief of a small midwest town. Krista braces for more excitement than usual when the town hosts the high school reunion, which is followed up by a triple murder investigation. Max Allan Collins’ new novel, Girl Most Likely,…
Every Wednesday, we here at Criminal Element will put together a list of Staff Picks of the books that published the day before—sharing the ones that we are looking forward to reading the most! This week, Steve Berry's latest Cotton Malone thriller combines with the final completed Mickey Spillane novel to highlight a killer week…
Last night, the Mystery Writers of America presented the 71st annual Edgar Allan Poe Awards at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City. Celebrating the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction, and television published or produced in 2016, the yearly event gathers a veritable who's who in the genre. Below is a list of all…
The Will to Kill is the latest Mike Hammer novel, originally started by the now-deceased Mickey Spillane and finished by the deft hand of Max Allan Collins. Mike Hammer predates James Bond and was a contemporary of Phillip Marlowe. Let that history sink in, and then celebrate that we have a brand-new Hammer novel. Typically,…
To a detective character from a big city like New York or Los Angeles, the Midwest might look like one big flyover zone. But to plenty of mystery writers (myself included), the Midwest looks like home—and a good setting for a crime novel. We have plenty of cynicism to counteract that apple-cheeked, earnest idea…
Cinemax is really amping up their original series lineup! Outcast has been everything it promised and more—seriously, I was hooked from the terrifying roach-and-finger dinner from the opening scene. If you haven't seen it yet, go watch Outcast and read Angie's great reviews! Now, they've got a new series premiering September 9th, called Quarry—based on…
Read this exclusive guest post from Max Allan Collins, author of Better Dead, comparing his own Nate Heller series to finishing Mickey Spillane's posthumous Mike Hammer manuscripts, and then make sure you're signed in and comment for a chance to win a copy of his newest Nate Heller thriller! I have been writing about my fictional P.I.…
Better Dead by Max Allan Collins is the 15th Nathan Heller Thriller (Available May 3, 2016). It's the early 1950's. Joe McCarthy is campaigning to rid America of the Red Menace. Nate Heller is doing legwork for the senator, though the Chicago detective is disheartened by McCarthy's witch-hunting tactics. He's made friends with a young…
