Crime Reads » John Copenhaver

Writing Queer Icons into Crime

Writing Queer Icons into Crime

A Roundtable Discussion with the Contributors to the new anthology, "Crime Ink: Iconic"

By John Copenhaver | September 4, 2025

Queering Crime Stories: Establishing a New Order in Mysteries and Thrillers

Queering Crime Stories: Establishing a New Order in Mysteries and Thrillers

"What if, by the end of a mystery, we don’t want to return to where we were but to a new place of openness and acceptance"

By John Copenhaver | June 11, 2024

Ryan Murphy’s <em>Dahmer</em> Equates Queerness with Monstrosity

Ryan Murphy’s Dahmer Equates Queerness with Monstrosity

"What happens...when you marry the aesthetics of Murphy’s brand and his straight pandering to a true crime story about Jeffrey Dahmer?"

By John Copenhaver | January 6, 2023

Sympathy for the de Vil: Reading Beyond Likability

Sympathy for the de Vil: Reading Beyond Likability

Readers shouldn't set too high a bar for fictional empathy—and authors shouldn't indulge in exaggerated excuses for their character's bad behavior.

By John Copenhaver | October 5, 2021

The Femme Fatale: Subverting and Complicating a Noir Trope

The Femme Fatale: Subverting and Complicating a Noir Trope

How crime novels—and two high-profile TV adaptations—are challenging our ideas about female criminality.

By John Copenhaver | September 13, 2019

Closure: Crime Fiction's Most Satisfying and Elusive Gift

Closure: Crime Fiction's Most Satisfying and Elusive Gift

How Fragments Become Mysteries, Solved and Unsolved

By John Copenhaver | April 27, 2018

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