Crime Reads » Essays

How Do You Write a Mystery When Every Plot Is Taken?

How Do You Write a Mystery When Every Plot Is Taken?

How to Mix Things Up, Do Justice to Tradition, and Still Keep Your Crime Writing Fresh

By Tessa Wegert | March 9, 2020

The Art of Letting Your Heroes Get Beat Up Now and Again

The Art of Letting Your Heroes Get Beat Up Now and Again

Sometimes the most powerful thing an author can do is kick a guy when he's down.

By John McMahon | March 6, 2020

When The Casinos Came To Atlantic City...

When The Casinos Came To Atlantic City...

Tracing the Rise and Fall of a Resort Town Reinvented as a Gambling Den

By Caitlin Mullen | March 6, 2020

Discovery and Decay: Lost in the ’90s

Discovery and Decay: Lost in the ’90s

The formative obsessions that led to a new Brooklyn Noir.

By William Boyle | March 5, 2020

The Homme Fatal: Reimagining a Noir Archetype

The Homme Fatal: Reimagining a Noir Archetype

Dangerous partners, queer icons, and a story that became a crime novel.

By Russ Thomas | March 5, 2020

Noir in the Land of Enchantment

Noir in the Land of Enchantment

"Conquered and reconquered, colonized and commodified, Santa Fe understands—from historical genocide to the murders of family members—the intimacy of violence."

By Ariel Gore | March 5, 2020

Best Reviewed
Books of the Week

Cheerleaders, True Crime, and the American Dream

By Lizzy Steiner | March 4, 2020

The Sublime Isolation of the Scottish Isles

By Douglas Skelton | March 4, 2020

Fact, Fiction, and a DNA Surprise

By Betty Webb | March 4, 2020

<em>Double Indemnity</em> isn’t <br>about bad people—<br>it’s about redemption

Double Indemnity isn’t
about bad people—
it’s about redemption

It's not a movie about doing terrible things, it's a movie about making mistakes (and owning up to them).

By Michael Ledwidge | March 3, 2020

William Boyle's Technicolor Brooklyn Noir

William Boyle's Technicolor Brooklyn Noir

The author's noirs capture the borough in all its madcap, desperate, violent complexity.

By Daneet Steffens | March 3, 2020

The Man Who Turned on the Here: On the Lam in Mexico with Ken Kesey

The Man Who Turned on the Here: On the Lam in Mexico with Ken Kesey

Robert Stone recounts a visit to Kesey's fugitive camp, an encounter with a Mexican agent, and a long discussion about drugs and life.

By Robert Stone | March 3, 2020

How to Write Believable, Realistic, and Responsible Violence

How to Write Believable, Realistic, and Responsible Violence

A thriller author shares 7 lessons for writing violence.

By Ed Ruggero | March 3, 2020

How to Be a Crime Novelist and a Parent...Without Losing Your Mind or Your Moral Compass

How to Be a Crime Novelist and a Parent...Without Losing Your Mind or Your Moral Compass

Everything you wanted to know about changing diapers and solving fictional murders but were afraid to ask.

By Jason Pinter | March 2, 2020

A Brief History of Sex and Espionage

A Brief History of Sex and Espionage

How lust, emotional intimacy, and honeypots influence spy games and shape the world order.

By Michael Smith | February 28, 2020

<em>The Woman in Black</em>, and the Ongoing Effort to Make New York City a Little More Gothic

The Woman in Black, and the Ongoing Effort to Make New York City a Little More Gothic

A haunting play debuts at a New York City theater famous for innovative and unsettling productions.

By Olivia Rutigliano | February 28, 2020

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