Crime Reads » Essays

Jack Reacher and The Grand Unified Theory of Thrillers

Jack Reacher and The Grand Unified Theory of Thrillers

Malcolm Gladwell dives into the world of Lee Child and his legendary wandering warrior.

By Malcolm Gladwell | August 20, 2020

Music History, Noir, and the Plot Against Hip Hop

Music History, Noir, and the Plot Against Hip Hop

Author, filmmaker, and music journalist Nelson George on the book-within-a-book that appears in all his novels.

By Nelson George | August 20, 2020

'She Has Haunted Me:' Virginia Woolf, Mothers and Me

'She Has Haunted Me:' Virginia Woolf, Mothers and Me

On Grief, Memory, Fiction, and Motherhood

By Maggie Humm | August 19, 2020

The Texas Terrors of My Childhood Imagination

The Texas Terrors of My Childhood Imagination

How a chance sighting of a Texas Chainsaw Massacre poster kickstarted a lifetime of writing horror.

By Christopher Rice | August 18, 2020

The Crime Fiction of New Zealand

The Crime Fiction of New Zealand

A new generation of New Zealand authors is continuing a tradition of mystery.

By Paul French | August 17, 2020

How an Indiana Preacher's Son Transformed into a Western Lawman—and a Killer

How an Indiana Preacher's Son Transformed into a Western Lawman—and a Killer

Ed Cantrell went to Wyoming and cast himself in the mould of Western gunslinging icons. Then, he was charged with murder.

By Rone Tempest | August 14, 2020

Best Reviewed
Books of the Week

The Unbearable Freedom of Feral Children

By mariaromascomoore2 | August 14, 2020

My First Thriller: David Morrell

By Rick Pullen | August 13, 2020

Why Writing About Psychopaths Keeps Me Sane

By Nina Sadowsky | August 13, 2020

Faces on the Milk Cartons: The Lost Boys of Des Moines

Faces on the Milk Cartons: The Lost Boys of Des Moines

In the 1980s, three Iowa boys went missing. Their disappearances loomed large in my childhood, and have haunted me ever since.

By Kali White | August 13, 2020

Maybe We Read Crime Fiction Because Deep Down, We All Know We're Complicit in Crime

Maybe We Read Crime Fiction Because Deep Down, We All Know We're Complicit in Crime

One author's theory for why we keep returning to crime.

By John Galligan | August 12, 2020

What Drives Obsession in Fiction?

What Drives Obsession in Fiction?

A Psychologist's Pointers for Exploring Obsession and Infatuation in Crime Fiction

By R. J. Jacobs | August 12, 2020

The World of Robert B. Parker's Spenser and the Birth of the 1970's Private Detective

The World of Robert B. Parker's Spenser and the Birth of the 1970's Private Detective

The hardboiled protagonist who navigated both crime fiction's progressive and reactionary strands.

By Susanna Lee | August 11, 2020

Fraud of the Century: The Ponzi Scheme, 100 Years Later

Fraud of the Century: The Ponzi Scheme, 100 Years Later

In 1920, Boston’s Charles Ponzi gave a classic confidence trick its name. Why are investors still falling for such a notorious swindle?

By Dean Jobb | August 11, 2020

My Pandemic Master Class with <em>The Silence of the Lambs</em>

My Pandemic Master Class with The Silence of the Lambs

What I learned from re-reading Thomas Harris in lockdown.

By Julia Heaberlin | August 11, 2020

He Made His West London Youth Into a Spy Novel. It Wasn't Such a Stretch After All.

He Made His West London Youth Into a Spy Novel. It Wasn't Such a Stretch After All.

"I didn’t get to choose which side I could stand on. That was decided for me dependent solely on race and religion."

By Khurrum Rahman | August 10, 2020

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