• Essays

    A Crime Writer and Taekwondo Instructor's Top 7 Fight Scene Mistakes in Fiction

    "A good fighter is a strategist...If you’re writing a skilled character, show that strategy."

    May 3, 2021  By Melissa Koslin
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    Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet: Film Noir's Greatest Odd Couple

    For two actors, a chance pairing in "The Maltese Falcon" conjured up a strange charisma—and an enduring partnership.

    April 30, 2021  By Keith Roysdon
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    Meet the Sutantos: How My Wacky Indonesian Family Inspired A Murder Mystery

    On crafting a cozy mystery full of the cheerful, conflicting advice of a large extended clan.

    April 29, 2021  By Jesse Q. Sutanto
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    On Using Crime Fiction to Reveal the Dark History of Minneapolis

    "The dark corners of my sunny city fascinated me as a writer, the shocking appearance of darkness in its sunny corners even more."

    April 29, 2021  By W.A. Winter
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    How the Darker Side of the Fight for Women's Suffrage Inspired One Historical Mystery Novelist

    Victoria Thompson has published almost fifty historical mysteries. During the research phase, she's always looking for that one fact that takes your breath away.

    April 28, 2021  By Victoria Thompson
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    On the Dognapping Gangs that Terrorized Victorian London, and the Poet who Fought Back

    The tale of the most dramatic dognappinng of the 19th century, which sealed a romance and changed literary history.

    April 27, 2021  By Olivia Rutigliano
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    Nine Things Your Thriller Needs to Be Lean, Mean, and Exhilarating

    Meg Gardiner breaks down the essential elements of great thrillers.

    April 27, 2021  By Meg Gardiner
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    The LAPD's Secret History of Citizen Spying

    Los Angeles has a long history of activism—and police infiltrators in activist groups.

    April 27, 2021  By Michael Nava
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    The Amazing Tale of Fergus Hume and William Freeman; or, the Critic’s Comeuppance

    Critic William Freeman despised the mediocre mysteries of Fergus Hume. But was bad writing all there was to his enduring hatred?

    April 26, 2021  By Curtis Evans
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    She's Your Man: A Ode To The Trouser Roles and Tenement Kids of the Gilded Age

    A historical novelist turns to the cross-dressing actresses of the turn of the century in crafting a fierce, independent sleuth.

    April 26, 2021  By Kathleen Marple Kalb
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