Crime Reads » Essays

Why Writing About Cults—and People Who Join Them—Is Never Easy

Why Writing About Cults—and People Who Join Them—Is Never Easy

40 years after Jonestown, an author reflects on the empathy gap between those who joined, and those who think they never would.

By Courtney Summers | November 18, 2020

Aileen Wuornos and the Powerful Allure of (Certain) Serial Killers

Aileen Wuornos and the Powerful Allure of (Certain) Serial Killers

What my fascination with Aileen Wuornos taught me about the strange relationship between violent offenders and their many fans.

By Phyllis Chesler | November 18, 2020

My Mother, The Mystery Writer

My Mother, The Mystery Writer

Orania Papazoglou, aka Jane Haddam, was a complicated woman who wrote about complicated people.

By Matthew DeAndrea | November 18, 2020

The Classics of Miami Noir: Long on Beauty, Short on Rectitude

The Classics of Miami Noir: Long on Beauty, Short on Rectitude

Les Standiford explores the history of crime writing in Miami, from Zora Neale Hurston to Elmore Leonard and beyond.

By Les Standiford | November 17, 2020

Has Greed Fallen Behind as a Motive for Murder in Modern Crime Fiction?

Has Greed Fallen Behind as a Motive for Murder in Modern Crime Fiction?

A look at the traditional motives for killing: Love, Lust, Loathing, and Loot.

By Elka Ray | November 17, 2020

The Crime Novels of Mexico City

The Crime Novels of Mexico City

A sprawling city with a rich tradition in mystery and crime fiction.

By Paul French | November 16, 2020

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The Evolution of Espionage Fiction

By Otto Penzler | November 16, 2020

Censorettes: The Women Wartime Censors Who Kept The Allies Safe And Uncovered A Nest of Spies in Brooklyn

By Elizabeth Bales Frank | November 13, 2020

What Ozark Gets Wrong: The Latest Tricks in International Money Laundering

By Michael Niemann | November 13, 2020

It's Time To Add Some Magic to Your Cozies

It's Time To Add Some Magic to Your Cozies

Indulging in the fanciful and adding in some magical realism is how a cat cozy can become a talking cat cozy.

By Jennifer J. Chow | November 13, 2020

Writing Outside Representation

Writing Outside Representation

E.A. Aymar talks with fellow crime writers about appropriation, and how to write across identity lines responsibly.

By E.A. Aymar | November 12, 2020

The tortuous literary puzzle <em>Cain's Jawbone</em> has been solved for the first time since 1934

The tortuous literary puzzle Cain's Jawbone has been solved for the first time since 1934

Only three people have ever cracked it. The most recent sleuth did it during pandemic lockdown.

By Olivia Rutigliano | November 11, 2020

Was Uncle Dino a Murderer?

Was Uncle Dino a Murderer?

Dino Taraporevala was a beloved family friend—until he murdered two elderly people in the street. Or did he?

By Nev March | November 11, 2020

Inside Trump's Long War Against the American Intelligence Community

Inside Trump's Long War Against the American Intelligence Community

Of all the institutions Trump has undermined, his attacks on the US intelligence apparatus, grounded in the bizarre and egotistical, may be the most harmful for long-term security.

By Robert Littell | November 11, 2020

You Don't Look Like a Private Investigator

You Don't Look Like a Private Investigator

How a breast cancer diagnosis took Elizabeth Breck from working as a private investigator to writing about one.

By Elizabeth Breck | November 11, 2020

The Deadly Art of Politics

The Deadly Art of Politics

"History, it seemed, was one long crime novel, an endless terrain of infractions littered with culpability and cunning."

By Jeffrey Fleishman | November 10, 2020

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