Crime Reads » Essays

When Ideas Collide: How Asking Questions Can Help Writers Craft Inventive Thrillers

When Ideas Collide: How Asking Questions Can Help Writers Craft Inventive Thrillers

Lynn Tavernier on John Grisham, Stephen King, and literary inspiration

By Lynn Tavernier | November 25, 2025

Crime and the City: Palm Beach

Crime and the City: Palm Beach

Exploring a Floridian enclave of wealth, shopping, and scandal.

By Paul French | November 24, 2025

Why ‘Blackhat,’ Michael Mann’s Hacker Movie, Deserves a Re-Watch

Why ‘Blackhat,’ Michael Mann’s Hacker Movie, Deserves a Re-Watch

Mann's film was derided at the time, but now looks more like a careful study of the evolution of modern crime.

By Nick Kolakowski | November 24, 2025

In Her Majesty's Secret Service: Defending Queen Elizabeth I from Death Threats

In Her Majesty's Secret Service: Defending Queen Elizabeth I from Death Threats

D.J. Nix on British espionage, code-breaking, and more, centuries before MI6

By D.J. Nix | November 24, 2025

Elmer Apple and the Chang Gang, Or, A Microcosm of

Elmer Apple and the Chang Gang, Or, A Microcosm of "Yellow Peril" Crime Fiction

Was Apple's Asian supervillian a set of harmful stereotypes, or just bizarrely crafted and terribly written?

By Curtis Evans | November 24, 2025

Murderers, Menaces, and Monks: 5 Novels Featuring Monstrous Men

Murderers, Menaces, and Monks: 5 Novels Featuring Monstrous Men

Heather Parry recommends Hanya Yanagihara, Patrick Süskind, and more

By Heather Parry | November 20, 2025

Best Reviewed
Books of the Week

6 Espionage Novels with Charmingly Clueless Protagonists

By Jonathan Payne | November 20, 2025

Murder, with a Dash of Nutmeg: Why Food and Mystery Pair So Well in Fiction

By Carmela Dutra | November 20, 2025

Ziegfeld’s Folly: The Actress, the Showman, and the Mystery of the Missing Jewels

By Dean Jobb | November 19, 2025

Are Villains the Most Important Characters?

Are Villains the Most Important Characters?

Mike Maden on writing villains that will elevate your thrillers.

By Mike Maden | November 19, 2025

H. Lee Justine on Online Comments, Influencers, and the Insidiousness of Family Vlogging

H. Lee Justine on Online Comments, Influencers, and the Insidiousness of Family Vlogging

The author of "You Watched in Silence" transforms social media toxicity into a thriller

By H. Lee Justine | November 18, 2025

Brotherhood of the Byline: Andrew and Lee Child on Jack Reacher, Past and Present

Brotherhood of the Byline: Andrew and Lee Child on Jack Reacher, Past and Present

John B. Valeri in conversation with the legendary authors of "Exit Strategy"

By John B. Valeri | November 17, 2025

A Mountain Lion Cruises Laguna Beach

A Mountain Lion Cruises Laguna Beach

How a chance big cat sighting inspired T. Jefferson Parker's newest California mystery.

By T. Jefferson Parker | November 14, 2025

7 Dark Paintings that Inspired Kosoko Jackson's Latest Novel

7 Dark Paintings that Inspired Kosoko Jackson's Latest Novel

Macabre and menacing art by Salvador Dali, Francis Bacon, Henry Fuseli, and more

By Kosoko Jackson | November 14, 2025

Woolrich’s Window: Adrian McKinty on Visiting the Apartment of a Noir Master

Woolrich’s Window: Adrian McKinty on Visiting the Apartment of a Noir Master

At 103rd and Broadway, Cornell Woolrich looked out at New York City and wrote the story that would later become 'Rear Window'.

By Adrian McKinty | November 13, 2025

Silence That Screams: On Hysteria, Hauntings, and Why Every Story Is a Ghost Story

Silence That Screams: On Hysteria, Hauntings, and Why Every Story Is a Ghost Story

How the dead helped Meagan Church write "The Mad Wife"

By Meagan Church | November 13, 2025

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