Crime Reads » Western

Weirding the West: Strange Tales That Complicate the Picture of Texas

Weirding the West: Strange Tales That Complicate the Picture of Texas

Elizabeth Gonzalez James on the weird, wild literature of her home state.

By Elizabeth Gonzalez James | January 23, 2024

Shane’s Lot: How a 1949 Gun-Toting Loner Still Rides Through American Literature

Shane’s Lot: How a 1949 Gun-Toting Loner Still Rides Through American Literature

Maria Hummel on American Iconography and the 21st Century Revival of Western Writing

By Maria Hummel | January 10, 2024

The Best Speculative Crime Fiction of 2023

The Best Speculative Crime Fiction of 2023

Alternate histories, scifi thrillers, and magical murder mysteries

By Molly Odintz | December 22, 2023

Lee Goldberg on Westerns, Crime Novels, and Writing A Genre Mash-Up

Lee Goldberg on Westerns, Crime Novels, and Writing A Genre Mash-Up

Some genres are just destined to be together.

By Lee Goldberg | November 7, 2023

The Cowboy Detective, Undercover and in Danger Among the Texas Desperados

The Cowboy Detective, Undercover and in Danger Among the Texas Desperados

Charlie Siringo became famous for his daring undercover missions in the final days of the Old West.

By Nathan Ward | September 7, 2023

How Cormac McCarthy Used Crime Fiction’s Tropes to Make Masterpieces

How Cormac McCarthy Used Crime Fiction’s Tropes to Make Masterpieces

On the author's evolving style and journeys through the darkness.

By Nick Kolakowski | June 23, 2023

Best Reviewed
Books of the Week

Which Elmore Leonard Adaptation Should You Stream This Weekend?

By Dwyer Murphy | May 26, 2023

Taylor Moore on Thrillers in the New Green West

By Taylor Moore | April 20, 2023

Seven Great Rural Crime Films

By Jeremy Scott | April 12, 2022

Billy the Kid’s Fictional Afterlife: From the Ridiculous to the Sublime

Billy the Kid’s Fictional Afterlife: From the Ridiculous to the Sublime

Nick Kolakowksi takes a closer look at fictional portrayals of Billy the Kid through the ages.

By Nick Kolakowski | March 25, 2022

Is “The Counselor” Cormac McCarthy’s Overlooked Masterpiece?

Is “The Counselor” Cormac McCarthy’s Overlooked Masterpiece?

The 2013 noir was a mostly derided flop. But what if it's actually one of McCarthy's more brilliant works?

By Nick Kolakowski | March 18, 2022

How Lee Child's <em>Killing Floor</em> Was Transformed Into

How Lee Child's Killing Floor Was Transformed Into "Reacher"

After years of waiting, Reacher fans have a new hero—and a story that goes back to the beginning. Lee Child's biographer, Heather Martin, looks at the brand new series.

By Heather Martin | February 3, 2022

Craig Johnson on Spirituality, the West, and the Plight of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

Craig Johnson on Spirituality, the West, and the Plight of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

A missing person poster at a library on the Crow Reservation was the inspiration for the newest Longmire novel.

By CrimeReads | September 21, 2021

Why Are Westerns So Violent? Because They Have To Be.

Why Are Westerns So Violent? Because They Have To Be.

To write about the Old West without incorporating violence is to do a grave injustice to the historical victims of colonialism, genocide, sexual violence, and cultural erasure.

By Gordy Sauer | August 25, 2021

James Lee Burke on Organized Labor, Corporate Evils, and the Plot to Dumb Down America

James Lee Burke on Organized Labor, Corporate Evils, and the Plot to Dumb Down America

The author's newest novel is a searing portrait of the 1960s American West and corporate exploitation.

By David Masciotra | August 16, 2021

How to Write an Effective Villain

How to Write an Effective Villain

Scouring classic thrillers for tips on how to write villains that will keep haunting readers long after the last page is read.

By Paul Howarth | June 8, 2021

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