When asked about my Caitlin Strong series, I always describe them as modern-day westerns. And, in fact, the thriller form itself owes a great deal of its heritage to that genre. Having grown up with the films of Audie Murphy and Roy Rogers—not to mention classics like Shane, The Magnificent Seven, and High Noon along…
A Dangerous Man is a brilliant new crime novel from the beloved, bestselling, and award-winning master of the genre, Robert Crais, and the 18th book in the Elvis Cole and Joe Pike series. Robert Crais is back with another installment in the Elvis Cole and Joe Pike series, and he’s done it again with another…
If you’re going to Bouchercon in New Orleans, I’m afraid you won’t have any luck finding the King in Yellow or Lost Carcosa. But you can still have a lot of fun exploring a state known for its criminal history. Louisiana was the perfect setting for the first season of True Detective because you can…
An observation I had in my years working for Sports Illustrated: athletes and the heroes of crime fiction have much in common, but most simply this—a ruthless clarity of purpose and an ability to perform at their best when the action reaches its climax. Below I’ve assembled a football team populated by great characters from…
Murder is coming to Long Beach, CA, and Bouchercon has announced the nominees for the 2014 Anthony Awards! Congratulations to the nominees listed below: Best Mystery Novel Suspect by Robert Crais A Cold and Lonely Place by Sara J. Henry Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger The Wrong Girl by Hank Phillippi Ryan Through the…
I considered titling this post “The Night I Hugged John Connolly,” but that might sound like I’m showing off. So I’ll begin my recap of the 68th annual Edgar Awards gala banquet at the nominees’ cocktail party, the prelude to the grandest evening in the mystery community’s year. In a reception room at the Grand…
Mystery Writers of America has just announced its new Grand Masters for 2014, and authors Robert Crais and Carolyn Hart will be honored at the Edgar Awards banquet next May 1st. In addition to these worthies, also to be feted will be Aunt Agatha's—a new and used mystery and crime bookshop in Ann Arbor, Michigan—…
Not only Bouchercon's own Anthony Awards, but Mystery Readers International's Macavity Awards, Deadly Pleasures Magazine's Barry Awards, and the Private Eye Writers of America's Shamus Awards were given during Bouchercon. So far we've only gotten to the Anthonys (for shame), so here are more of these recently-announced worthies to add to your TBR pile: …
Deliciously complex, these characters are bad, sometimes even evil, but by showing us moments of goodness and their humanity we get sucked in to rooting for them. Don’t worry this isn’t a paper on the antihero in contemporary crime literature. It is a list of some of my favorite complicated fictional criminals. Tony Soprano, The…
Sometimes it seems like this police drama is all but forgotten. Later shows such as Homicide: Life on the Street and NYPD Blue seem to have all the acclaim. And the show lasted just six seasons, a fraction of the staying power of the Law & Order and CSI franchises. But it’s still the best…
