There have been black writers writing black detectives since the beginning of the 20th century. There were black Holmes’ and black Marlowes and black Marples, policemen, amateur sleuths, and private eyes, coexisting with their “mainstream” counterparts almost since the beginning of modern crime fiction, but they were ignored, unseen, unpublished. These black writers, these pioneers,…
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.…
Our book, I Got A Monster: The Rise and Fall of America’s Most Corrupt Police Squad, explores the Baltimore Police Department’s Gun Trace Task Force (GTTF), a gun-seizing unit praised for getting guns off the streets and supposedly stopping crime while simultaneously creating crime and running what one cop later called a “criminal enterprise” within…
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, the first in a new series from Walter Mosley and a prequel Charles Lenox story from Charles Finch highlight…
Down the River unto the Sea by Walter Mosley is the first book in a new series featuring Joe King Oliver, a disgraced former cop turned private detective in New York City (available February 20, 2018). Walter Mosley writes with a voice that flows as easy as that river of the title, and he introduces…
If you’re not familiar with ThrillerFest, it’s the official convention of the International Thriller Writers, held every July in New York City at the Grand Hyatt hotel. The basic convention is two days, Friday and Saturday, with the Thriller Awards banquet held Saturday evening. But, there’s a lot more if you include CraftFest, Master CraftFest,…
Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley is the 1st book in the famed Easy Rawlins series. Since his introduction in 1990, Easy Rawlins has been the star of more than a dozen novels by MWA grandmaster Walter Mosley. In his debut outing, Devil In A Blue Dress, Rawlins arrives fully formed. At its…
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! Check back every Wednesday and see what we're reading for the week!
The annual Edgar Allan Poe Awards dinner, hosted by the Mystery Writers of America, was a night of milestones—starting with the Edgars themselves, which turned 70 this year. That’s 70 years of celebrating the best of mystery fiction, crime fiction, suspense, thrillers, and true crime—all the stuff we love to read and watch, all the…
The Mystery Writers of America have announced the Edgar Award nominees and special winners. The Edgars banquet—an annual black-tie gala celebrating crime fiction, non-fiction, and television writing—will be held on Thursday, April 28th, 2016 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City. As always, it's a fantastic list of great work that deserves to…
